Metal Men Story

Arsenic and Tungsten

-“Hahaha! Hit me you pathetic halfbreed, you limpwristed meatbag, you despicable freak!”
Even as Stella pounded away with all her mouth, that Metal Man’s mouth kept on jabbering and mocking. Her fists flashed like lightning and struck like thunder, yet she might as well have been tickling him with a feather for all the damage it did. Blunt force, blades, drills, energy blasts. He all shrugged it off like it was nothing and acted as though the battle was some kind of farce.
-“Bah, I tire of this” Tungsten declared and let loose a single punch that struck Stella in the ribs like a freight train. The world seemed to stand still for a moment as waves of pain surged through her nerves at the speed of thought and memories flashed through her mind. Memories of lying on a kitchen floor. Memories of blood pooling on the linoleum. Memories of a hole for a heart. Memories of a metal man with bright eyes and a heart of gold, giving away his life for hers. Her body flew limply through air and brick as the darkest moments of her life flashed before her eyes.

As her visions gave way to reality, Stella found herself in a heap of rubble. Clear shapes emerged from blurred colors as she stood up, dusted herself off and regained her bearings. The strange metal man stood in the hole she had made when he punched her through the wall, arms outstretched to his sides in a mocking gesture.
-“Is this the ‘hybrid vigor’ I’ve heard so much talk about? This fleshling is the child of Gold Leaf himself and bears his essence? What kind of an absurd joke is this? You’re little more than a pathetic nugget!”
-“Keep on talking” Stella growled under her breath as she clenched her fists tighter and her face once more became a scowl of grim determination.
-“What’s that, little one? Still think you can beat me? Well, time to reconsider that though!”
As the metal man assumed a battle stance to once more attack Stella, his twisted grin grew into a grimace of pain and surprise. A pair of thin robotic hands that glimmered faintly grey had seized Tungsten’s neck. From where they had grabbed the arrogant metal, cracks spread and color faded. A scant few stammered words escaped the “lips” that once had been flapping so wildly.
-“Y-you!”
-“Yes, me” a voice, hoarse, raspy and cold as death responded. The hands moved from the neck and casually swatted away half off Tungsten’s head in a cloud of dust, sending him sprawling to the ground. From that cloud, a lean figure with sharp, shining eyes emerged, clad in simple robes and wearing a smile that radiated confidence and spite.
-“Arsenic, it can’t be! I saw you fall from grace, banished, destroyed in all but form. How...”
-“How did I come back? Oh, that’s quite simple. A mutual friend, let us say, with a knack for restoration and an eye for talent, saw it fit to tip me off on this little opportunity and, well, you’re not exactly at covering your tracks, Tungsten.” Arsenic hissed as he placed a foot on Tungsten’s chest, rendering the seemingly invincible metal’s body into something as fragile as cookies.
-“Bastard, they’ll punish you for this” Tungsten cried weakly
-“Oh, really? Who’ll be there to tell them about this? Certainly not you”
Arsenic stomped down on the weakened area, crushing another chunk of Tungsten into a fine powder.
-“There are powers at work here far above your understanding, imbecile. Never again will you bother your betters, you pathetic cur. And, oh, by the way, Gold sends his regards.”

As the last words escaped Arsenic’s lips, he saw a glimmer in the corner of his eye. With speed unbecoming of his wiry frame, the metal man twirled around and caught Stella’s fist inches from his own face. A smile that grew into a chuckle crept onto it.
-“Pathetic child! Do you not know who I am? Did you not see what I did to someone you couldn’t even dent? What chance in the world do y-“
He seized up halfway through a word, his expression shifting from confident from confused. The malaise that consumed other metals did nothing against this child. The only other one who could do this was...
In a split second, Stella took advantage of this confusion and focused, gilding her free arm as she threw a string of punches with it. Arsenic’s grip loosened immediately as he barely dodged her attacks. Right as she hit the ground, she leapt forward again, this time launching her leg in an arc with a mighty roundhouse kick. Arsenic dodged and weaves through the flurry of attacks coming his way while frantically grabbing at whatever ungilded parts he could reach. Finally, he felt something in his hand. A shoulder, solid yet fleshy.
-“Caught you” he proclaimed as confidence returned to his metallic visage.
Yet, Stella remained unfazed, her determined scowl shifting into a grin that struck fear into the would-be metal assassin. Her right hand shifted into a shapeless mass of gold before a blade emerged from the wrist. With a decisive stroke to the elbow, she severed the metal’s arm cleanly. The part that clutched her shoulder began quickly losing forms Arsenic staggered backward, clutching his stump, iridescent liquid oozing forth from it. The fear that had claimed him in that unfortunate moment became desperate anger. As he braced himself for another round of attacks from Stella, he heard a sharp crack. Then, a loud, sudden impact and a cloud of dust.

Stella skidded to a halt midway through her lunge, almost shredding her sneakers in the process. As the dust cleared, the still twitching body of Arsenic was revealed. A bronze spear had skewered him from the side, pinning him to the ground. Agony dominated his features, his mouth quivering and his brain frantically searching for words and actions behind wild and empty eyes. A familiar figure could be seen, standing on the roof of the building by the hole Tungsten’s entrance had made. A machine warrior, not unlike those of ancient Greece, stood gleaming red under the sun, clutching his side.

Concern overtook triumph as Stella rushed over to him, anguish creeping onto her features.
-“Uncle Bronze, are you...”
-“Okay? No” he groaned in pain “Though Iron and Chrome are worse. These guys struck without warning. They’re duking it on on 7th and HNGH!”
Bronze fell onto his knees as Stella stepped forward to support him.
-“Uncle!”
-“Bah, just go! Help the others! I’ll make it!”
With a simple nod, Stella stood up as steely resolve straightened her features. As she ran off into the distance, Bronze allowed himself a moment of fatherly pride before an errant gaze disturbed him. Arsenic, impaled on a half-withered spear, gazed over towards him, a slight smile showing through the pain. Now what do we do with you, Bronze thought to himself.