It became abundantly clear within a few short moments that the boy's strategy had failed miserably. The cloak of light acted as a barrier to the outside world, and the Air Apparent had no need to breathe. It was an entirely useless tactic.
Fortunately, evaporating the water was only the first stage in Hesperus' plan.
Augustus was a Child of Jupiter, able to manipulate the electromagnetic force. On the surface, the two obvious applications of this were control over electricity and magnetism. Hardly a complicated power. And yet, the Children of Jupiter have spent decades furthering their study of this force, furthering their knowledge of the limits and application of their power. Though he was young, the boy was an excellent student. He had learned that electricity was more than plug sockets and lightning bolts, it was the life blood of the universe. Brains and bodies function through electrical synapses, without it, there would be no such thing as life. And yet, it goes deeper. Without electricity, matter itself would not exist. All matter is made up of building blocks, of incomprehensibly tiny particles. These particles possess an electric charge. Electromagnetic manipulation was far more than it seemed. It allowed Hesperus command over matter itself.
Using magnetic fields, he channelled the water vapour into a column, surrounding both combatants. The swirling hurricane of mist encompassed the two of them, as the man monologued and the child concentrated. Grinding his teeth together, Hesperus began to search out every molecule of water that floated in the air, mentally latching onto each and every one of them as his enemy spoke. He had moments to put his plan into action.
"Accept defeat, recover, and face me again when you have grown. I would look forward to that battle." Tranquil looked kindly at his opponent, pleading with him to abandon the fight, before it was too late.
"You have the gall to threaten me? You genuinely believe that your victory is inevitable? Take your pity and your mercy elsewhere, I have no need of it!" Hesperus screamed at his foe, the twisted parallel between them apparently lost on his arrogant mind. While the child looked a pitiful, battered and blood mess, his foe stood upright and confident, untouched beneath a shield of light. "I do not 'battle' for honour, or respect, or any other ridiculous notion! I fight to survive, I fight to learn, and I fight to kill." Augustus glared daggers at Tranquil as the man geared up for a punch. "There will be no 'next time', for you will not live to see it. Today, victory belong to--!"
Interrupted by his rampaging enemy, Hesperus took a blow to the face, blood spurting from his mouth as he wheeled backwards in mid-air. Then, raising his legs as Tranquil made to continue his flurry of punches, he planted both feet on the knuckles of the next oncoming punch (one of the advantages of his minuscule frame and tiny feet). Using the power of his foe's attack as a springboard, Augustus was launched into the distance at breakneck speed with a bloody smirk, as his trap was triggered. The instant his feet left their improvised jumping platform, the entire area was engulfed in a ear-wrenching explosion of pure energy.
Using his powers, the child had been using the blinding heat as an energy source to break the atomic bonds of the poisonous steam, separating the hydrogen from oxygen. He then set about a much more difficult task, one he had not personally attempted before, though he had been taught the theory by his elders: fusion. By magnetically driving the hydrogen molecules together, again using the ambient heat energy resulting from the microwaves bombarding the battleground. The hydrogen atoms began to collide together, forming helium and generating massive amounts of energy, in fact the same way that the sun produces its energy. And so, a miniature sun exploded into being around Tranquil, as Hesperus attempted to engulf his enemy in the most powerful explosion he could possibly muster. The Flash Cloak may provide protection, but that protection must have its limits. Augustus hoped, as he soared away into the distance, refusing to look back, that the intense energy of his newly created star would reveal that limit.
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