Ch02 Strong As A Locomotive

Readers beware. Red X Japan contains violence, sexual content and other crap that some readers may find offensive. Discretion is advised.

Red X, Johnny Rancid and other characters are property of their respective creators and DC comics and have only been modified by Human X to fit the story. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance these characters or situations have to anyone in your own life are purely coincidental…maybe.

Hello again. Paul here, well I haven't had any food all night and while I was sleeping another of the caves crumbled down on me. Oh no, I'm fine. Thank you for asking. It's just that my leg has been caught under some rubble and now I can't move from here. It's alright though. I've met a little mouse who seems to also be stuck here and we've become quite fond of each other. I just hope someone finds me soon.

---

The sun burns brightly in the sky today in Oscura. It's beams seem even more bright since Superman came to the city.

Johnny shields his eyes from the sun as he steps out from a small bike shop with a paper bag in his left arm.

"The hell?" He cringes at the natural light. "I wish it would go back to blizzards. At least then I could freaking see half the d*mn time."

"Still, it's better than being cold." The shop owner leans on his shop door and smirks, grease dripping from his gloves. "Now you take care of that part there. I had to get you on six waiting lists just to get half the parts on that little baby. It was a hell of a lot more expensive than I thought too."

"You bet." Johnny grins happily. "Maybe now I can get my girl flying again."

"Well, take care." The shop owner closes his door and heads back inside.

Johnny starts walking home but Punk Rocket runs out in front of him, dragging some amplifiers on a dolly.

"Oi!" Rocket yells out, trying desperately to keep himself from gasping for breath but failing miserably. "You ain't…huff…Got da time to b-be…walkin' 'round…like you. Hwah! Own the place."

Rocket pulls himself together and raises his pick into the air.

"You ain't got s*it on me now Rancid!" Rocket yells out at the top of his lungs. "I got me some new tech froma very powerful source! Sonic Tech! An it's gonna rock yo world!"

Johnny breezes past him without noticing and continues walking home.

"Oi!" Rocket yells back after him, kicking his amplifiers around so they face Johnny. "Now die wit da power of rock!"

Rocket brings his pick down on the strings, releasing a furious sound wave which hits Johnny in the back dead on, shredding his shirt clean off.

"Now ya see the power I got ya jerk!?" Rocket laughs happily. "Whatcha gotta say now?!"

Johnny turns back around, revealing the crushed part he just bought, completely destroyed and lying on the ground.

"Now die!" Rocket lifts his pick to make another strike but Johnny's fist rips through the guitar like it was paper and crushes Rocket's stomach.

Rocket drops to his knees and spews on the ground.

"D*mn." Rocket lands with his face flat on the ground. "That seemed a bit harsh."

Johnny storms back into the bike shop. "Hey! I need you to reorder those parts! Some dumb*ss with a guitar! I dunno! I think he was a hobo looking for cash or something! How should I know!?"

"So…" Punk Rocket cries a little. "So harsh."

---

"I still don't get it." Charlotte grumbles and stares at Alex from the couch beside his. "How did you know Superman was in Oscura. And how did you know he'd show up to take down that Bad Stan guy?"

"Mad Stand." Alex tries to work out some documents for his job on his computer. "It really isn't that hard to figure out. Just keep trying with the clues I gave you."

"What clues?" Charlotte snarls. "You just went on about punch and stuff."

Alex sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. "You're hopeless."

"Well, fine then." Charlotte tosses a couch pillow at him. "I don't care how you did it then! You probably just saw him somewhere before everything started happening and are just trying to look smart!"

"That must be it." Alex agrees with her half heartedly.

"Jerk."

Mary smiles at the two of them. "I can't believe you where lucky enough to see Superman. That's so cool."

"Eh. I don't get what's so special about him." Charlotte nods her head back and crosses her legs. "He was just like any other super hero I've seen. He just shows up, throws the bad guy around a little and leaves. I mean, he was even blown through a wall by Mad Stan."

"The criminal activist who held up that burger place last week because they stopped serving chilli fries after three?"

"I wouldn't call him a criminal activist." Alex adds in. "More like a radical nonconformist. He just doesn't like doing things the same way as everyone else and in his case thinks that justifies his ridiculous actions. He's most likely a spoilt child used to getting his way and trying to rebel against a system which caters to his every need."

"Is that your professional opinion doctor?" Charlotte asks him with a snide tone lining her words.

"He must be very rich to be able to buy a gun that can hurt Superman." Mary tells them. "I thought I'd look into sonic technology since it's a non-lethal weapon. But it was way too expensive and they don't seem to sell much of it legally."

"All weapons are lethal." Alex corrects her. "Sonic technology as a hand held weapon has been employed numerous times throughout the ages but it has mostly been kept as high profile in the military or sold on the black market. In the later case it has been used as a powerful way of counteracting superheroes. It is most definitely deadly."

"You mean like, how you can use sonic vibrations to split a persons head open, or by using the right frequency you can cause steel to crumble." Charlotte asks.

"Exactly. If used correctly sonic vibrations could work much like my Wenrou Bangong De Fangshi (Way of Gentle Strikes). At that point invulnerability doesn't hold much weight." Alex thinks back to the Superman incident for a moment and decides to raise another point. "But what we saw wasn't the same as regular sonic technology. Somehow Mad Stan's weapon converted sonic waves into a blast of physical energy like a laser beam. It's been done before by members of Multigon and some regular people have been able to do it, but I don't recognize the design of the gun itself. It doesn't match Mad Stan's military motif so he didn't customize it after buying it from another source. That means that he didn't create it himself either. I doubt he has the mental capacity to do something like that either."

"So what you're saying is that someone has copied the technology and sold it to Mad Stan?" Charlotte asks.

"No. The tech is definitely new. Judging by how the handle was positioned and the placement of the conversion device the gun doesn't match any of the technology currently in rotation either in the underworld or the military. We're looking at a completely new sonic user. Most likely a scientist who stumbled upon the knowledge and decided it would be more profitable to sell his weapons on the black market instead of going for the recognition."

"Wow." Mary beams. "You're so smart. I can't believe you remembered all of that after just seeing it once."

"And he wasn't even paying attention the entire time." Charlotte grumbles. "He was too busy drinking punch."

"It was good punch." Alex smiles. "But it seems we have someone taking advantage of the fall of the Depraved so that they can start selling weapons without being muscled out of their profits. Since he sold to Mad Stan I'm guessing he sells to anyone who pays."

"Sounds like this guy could become a pain in the butt." Charlotte sighs. "Should we track him down and stop him?"

"I don't see why we should." Alex objects. "If we let him o about his own business we may be able to use him or his tech later on. Besides, it isn't our problem so why should we be the ones to deal with it."

"But who's going to stop him if we don't?" Charlotte tries to continue arguing the point.

"The police."

"He does have a point." Mary tries to settle Charlotte down. "It is the job of the police to take care of these things. It might take them some time but if Alex says it's alright."

"I guess." Charlotte backs down and slumps back into the couch. "But what about the monster sightings?"

"Monster sightings?" Mary asks, shaking a little as her hands grip the sides of the couch.

"Yeah. I heard about it from a friend at school." Charlotte smile becomes hauntingly dark. "There have been several cases of people running into a giant monster in the east section of Dusk Street. They say its massive and it has beady glowing eyes. It attacks late at night and holds onto the victim, sucking their life away through the teeth in its hands. It forces them to the ground and sucks their souls out of their chests, howling like a demon."

"Mnnn." Mary clenches her pillow to her chest as shivers run up and down her spine. She buries her face into the pillow as Alex silently sneaks up behind her.

"So far there have been only a few sightings of the creature but it's supposed to be ten feet tall and covered in pulsating veins with a gapping mouth filled with teeth." Charlotte continues to tell her story, slowly turning from her regular voice into a whisper. "Some people say it is the soul of a man who committed suicide after his true love cheated on him with another man. That's why most of his victims are pretty young girls. He waits for them to walk alone at night and when no one's around he reaches out and grabs her by the arms screaming-!"

"Ryaaaah!" Alex grabs Mary by her arms and yells.

She nearly jumps out of her seat. Realizing she'd been tricked Mary's eyes fill with tears.

"Eh?!" Alex cringes as tears stream down Mary's cheeks. "You made her cry."

"Me!?" Charlotte almost falls off the couch. "You're the one who snuck up behind her and scared her half t death."

"But you where the one who told her that scary story. Though, I must admit it was pretty good for something you made up."

"I didn't make it up. I really did hear it from someone in class. Apparently it was on the news but barely any people saw it because of the Superman uproar."

"You…hu…guys are…s-so…mean!" Mary tries to calm herself down but can't choke back the sniffles.

"Aw." Alex scoops her up into his arms like she's a crying child. "That's a good girl. No one's gonna hurt you."

Charlotte glares at Mary disapprovingly. "Aren't you supposed to say something like "Put me down! I'm not a child!", or something?"

"I would." Mary clings onto Alex's shirt, her face going red. "But I can't move for some reason."

Charlotte grumbles and gets up off the couch. "Anyway, I gotta go."

"Where too?" Mary asks.

"I have a date with Lois." Charlotte grabs her coat.

"I didn't think you went for the married to her job type." Alex grins.

"It's a lunch date, not a real date." Charlotte shoots him a dirty look. "And it's none of your business what my type is."

Alex and Mary flinch as the door slams behind her.

"What's with her?" Alex asks.

"Are you sure you're a psychologist?" Mary asks him. "Because you kind of miss the obvious signs."

Alex tilts his head and tries to think about it but Mary pinches him on the cheek.

"You owe me for making me cry." She demands. "Ice cream. And lots of it."

"Ice cream it is." Alex gives in and goes to grab his wallet.

---

Clark Kent walks alone through Dusk Street. The paper in his hand has a hastily drawn map on it in blue pen. He tries to read the nearly indecipherable little street names but comes up with nothing. He wanders around shifting his eyes from the aper to the buildings around him.

As Clark passes an alleyway a younger man with a T painted over his face silently begins to fallow him. He comes up behind him and pulls a knife out of his pocket. Reaching back he prepares to plunge the knife into Clarks back.

Clark adjusts his glasses and begins to turn around but before he does the man fallowing him is kicked in the head. The impact of the foot knocks him straight into a wall and makes him drop his knife.

Alex sets his foot back on the ground and smiles at Clark. "Luckily for you I saw him coming."

"Thanks a lot." Clark says as he looks down at the mans knife. "I didn't even see him coming."

"You should keep your ears open." Mary tells Clark as she happily lick a massive ice cream cone and Alex picks the knife up off the ground. "A lot of gang members tend to hang out around here."

"Then shouldn't you stay away from here too, little girl?" Clark asks her.

"Little girl?" Mary snaps off a bit of her cone with her teeth at that comment.

"She's fine with me here." Alex tells Clark.

Clark lets it go and returns his attention to Alex. "I guess you're right. Those martial arts must come in handy. So, what are you up too?"

"Buying ice cream for the little girl." Alex purposely avoids telling Clark about Mary's condition.

Mary shoots him a dirty look and decides to play this game herself. She looks at Clark with big teary eyes and a quivering lip. "This man told me if I went with him he'd give me ice cream. But then he got really mean and tried to touch me in a private area."

Clark looks at Alex with wide eyes and the two of them stand there silently before Alex decides he should come out with the truth.

"She's got systemic hypoplasia. It prevents her body from aging and she's actually about ten years older than I am." Alex pats Mary on the head as she smiles like a sweet little kid.

"Oh…" Clark takes a breath in relief. "You had me worried for a second."

"That will teach you for making fun of another person's condition." Mary proudly takes a bite out of her ice cream.

"So, whatcha doin' wandering around Dusk Street?" Alex asks Clark who shows him his map.

"Trying to figure out Lois' directions."

Alex looks at the sore excuse for a map. "You're trying to get to Hotel Noir? That explains why you're cutting through Dusk Street. It is faster going this way but it would be safer to go through the park and come out at the north entrance."

"Thanks a lot." Clark tells Alex and gestures to the unconscious man with a T on his face. "I'm not sure I want to run into anymore of these guys."

"See you later then." Alex begins walking but as they are about to move past each other he stops for a moment. "Besides, I hear monsters have started showing up around the south of here."

With that Alex walks off with Mary skipping along behind.

---

"That was interesting." Mary tells Alex as she takes another big bite of her ice cream right off the cone. "You didn't have to give him so much information."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Alex smirks and starts eating his own ice cream.

"Right. And here I thought that those rumours said the monster was in the east." Mary plays along with him. "And yet you made a point about it being in south Dusk Street. Must be my imagination."

Alex reaches down and rubs a smear of vanilla off of Mary's face with his finger before putting it in his mouth. "Guess you're right. My mistake."

---

The day begins to grow late and one particular person soldiers through the darkness, a defeated scowl painted across his unshaven face.

"Man." Johnny sighs and rubs his aching shoulders. "I can't believe how cheap some people are. It aint my fault some jerk broke that stupid part. The freaking shop b*stard didn't even let me explain. Not even Charlotte would lend me any money. What's a few hundred thousand between friends? I guess she wants me to pay back those other loans I asked her for first…But I haven't had a job for a whole year now and there's nothing in this city for an ex-hitman. Maybe I shouldn't of put that on my resume…"

As Johnny walks past an alleyway he notices a purse laying on the ground. He walks up and opens it.

"Wow. There's nearly enough to cover half my loan from Charlotte in here." He looks around to see if anyone is watching him before he starts grinning. "Well, whoever they are, they can't be that bad off for carrying this much dough around in a purse. Stupid too. This is Dusk Street after all."

Before he leaves he hears a thump coming from the shadows in the alleyway.

"Uh." Johnny panics. "I was just taken' it to the police! I wasn't gonna steal it or nothing."

Johnny stops panicking when he begins to see the outline of the thing making the noise. A hulking purple mass slowly emerges, its form taking shape in the moonlight. Its eyes glow like fireballs embedded in a deformed face with a gapping, drooling mouth.

The creature drops a woman onto the ground. She is unconscious but still breathing. The creature takes a moment before realizing Johnny's presence and reach its arm out towards him.

Johnny steps back, forcing the creature to move closer into the moonlight.

"You saw me." The creature speaks, standing straight. "That's no good."

It reaches out for Johnny again. This time moving much faster but Johnny ducks under its hand and scoops the unconscious woman into his arms.

"Sorry purple…man…thing." Johnny starts running at full speed down the alleyway. "But if this chick is the owner of this purse I'm gonna get a pretty sweet reward for finding it and saving her life."

The creature catches up to Johnny in seconds. It reaches out again but Johnny uses a dumpster to boost himself up onto a fire escape. he starts climbing.

Johnny looks back down to see if the creature is fallowing him which it does easily. He finds an open window and places the woman inside with her purse.

"Evening miss." Johnny says to the woman living in the apartment. "Would you mind calling this young lady an ambulance?"

Johnny starts climbing again. Just before the woman in the apartment cal call him back to her the purple thing leaps up her fire escape.

When the creature makes it too the roof Johnny is waiting for it. He gets ready for a fight as the creature eyes him.

"Good job moron." The creature laughs at him. "You trapped yourself."

"Yeah, well!" Johnny just notices that there aren't any rooftops on his side of the building to jump too. "You're wearing green underwear!"

"It goes with the purple skin." The creature moves in closer. ready to grab him at any second.

Johnny charges in and jabs the creature in the stomach. It connects deep and lifts the creature off of its feet.

Johnny's eyes widen in pain as he feels a sharp pain in his arm. The creature grabs onto the arm and Johnny's neck, its grip tightening by the second.

"I guess you don't recognize me." The creature laughs as he holds Johnny still. "You must not watch much TV. My name is Rudy. I'm the Parasite."

"I don't know who you are." Johnny says with a dull look on his face.

Johnny's strength drains quicker now as Parasite grips onto his arm more. "Then let me introduce myself."

The Parasite tosses Johnny over the side of the building and he hits the ground. Parasite fallows after him.

Johnny gets up and rubs the back of his head where he hit the ground.

"You should be dead." Parasite sneers at him.

Johnny spits on the ground. "I'm pretty durable."

"I could use some of that." Parasite goes to reach for Johnny but he ducks out of the way again and dives between his legs.

As the Parasite turns Johnny goes to punch him in the face. It connects but with little power behind it. The punch drains Johnny's strength even more and gives it to Parasite.

Parasite punches Johnny in the stomach which knocks him back a bit. Johnny chooses to retreat and starts running.

"D*mn." Johnny books it as fast as he can down Dusk Street trying desperately to think of some way out of this. "I can't hit that guy or he'll drain my strength away. That last punch hurt a lot. I guess he's been draining strength from people for a while and it all built up. Come on brain! Think! Think! Why does planning look so easy when Alex does it? Wait!"

Parasite catches up to Johnny and grabs him by the head. He tosses him through the boarded up window of a condemned building and jumps inside the same way.

Johnny starts to get up but Parasite kicks him down then grabs him by the neck and holds him against a wall.

"No where to run." Parasite cackles.

"I got a question." Johnny says. "Is that green speedo made of fabric?"

Johnny's knee nails Parasite between the legs so hard her drops down and lets him go. As Parasite kneels in pain Johnny runs away.

"Wow. I almost didn't expect that to work." Johnny says to himself as he looks for a place to hide. "I thought the fabric would protect me from his powers but I was half expecting it not to have junk."

---

The chase continues through the night. Johnny keeps only one small step ahead of the Parasite.

The Parasite leaps forwards, catching Johnny by the ankle. Johnny kicks him off but he can feel the tole all of this draining is taking on his body. He's low on energy and failing fast.

Johnny runs until he meets a dead end. Hearing the Parasite closing in from behind Johnny tries to open the door beside him. It's locked and the Parasite grabs him from behind. He elbows him in the gut and when his grip loosens punches him in the jaw. He uses the opportunity to grab a garbage can lid off of a nearby can and smacks the Parasite over the face with it. This would have worked if Parasite hadn't already taken so much of his energy. The hulking purple mass rips through the lid and pushes Johnny up against the wall, draining his energy through his arms once more. Johnny can't hold back his screams any longer as the agony of the Parasite's powers forces him to loose control of his voice for a moment.

In a desperate last attempt at escape Johnny grabs a knife from his pocket and slashes the Parasite across the face, blinding him with the blood. Parasite cries out in agony and grips his blood covered face as Johnny punches the door so hard it crushes the lock and swings opens.

The door leads into a dark meat locker. Johnny hides in among the hanging corpses of frozen animals, falling down hard against the farthest corner of the room. His breath is heavy and his muscles ache from the struggle. His consciousness can't take much more of this things attacks.

"One more touch and I'm through. This guy goes head to head with Superman. How am I supposed to-" Johnny realizes how he sounds in his own mind and bites his lip so hard it bleeds. "The hell am I thinking?! If that smug b*astard could see me now he'd say something like, "I don't want a Vegita character who can't even handle some reverse coloured hulk" or "I can take this guy out without even using my final form". Yeah, that's exactly what he'd say."

"Peekaboo." Parasite peers into the dark meat locker, searching for his prey.

"I may not be as smart or as fast as him." Johnny takes off his jacket and peers through the darkness, his unseen eyes gleaming with a deadly crimson light. His eyes are like still pools of blood. "But I'm sure as hell as crazy."

Parasite quietly looks around in the dark, unable to locate his target. He swings around as he hears the noise of something moving in the shadows but it is too late. He screams as his right shoulder is impaled by a flying meat hook. It digs into his shoulder and pins him up against the wall.

"GYAAAAH! Fu-!!!" Parasite is cut off as another hook flies out from the shadows and implies his left leg.

"Surprised?" Johnny's voice echoes from the blackness. "Granted, this hiding in shadows thing isn't my usual style. But anything to get the job done."

Another hook flies out but this time Parasite uses his free hand to catch it.

"Whatsa matter big man?" Johnny's voice mocks the Parasite again. "You where looking so big just a minute ago. I guess you can't hurt what you can't touch. That was a bit of a problem for me. Usually I just punch the f*ck out of whatever happens to tick me off but I can't do that with you. So I thought I should start using my head and this is what I came up with."

Another hook assault. This one is deflected by the hook Parasite already caught, but the damage he received is taking its tole.

"I used to be an assassin you know." Johnny sends a decoy one with a dead cow hanging on it. Parasite uses it to protect himself from the real attack which fallows. "I've been living the easy life for too long. Forgot how easy it is too spill someones blood."

Having taken enough of this abuse Parasite rips the hooks out of his should rand leg, tossing them back into the dark and searching around for Johnny. "Coward! Where are you! Come out here and fight me!"

"You know, I was just thinking it was about time I did that." Johnny's body starts to become visible as he steps further into the light. "I prefer beating the life out of my opponents with my own hands anyway."

Ceasing his chance the Parasite reaches out to grab Johnny by the arm. Johnny's fist collides with the Parasite's face. The impact knocks the Parasite back against a hanging piece of frozen meat.

"How?" Parasite wipes the blood from his face and look at Johnny who holds up his right hand, wrapped in his jacket.

"Metalla version 3 fabric. Harder than any substance known to man but it looks and feels like leather. I gotta hand it to the kid. She knows her stuff." Johnny cracks his knuckles under the jacket. "The best part is that it let me punch you all I want without worrying about your pesky powers. Shoulda thought of this a long time ago."

"Meta-" Parasite grinds his teeth together as he gets back to his feat. "Did Corbin send you to take care of me? I get it. He wants to muscle me out of my share. Well, I aint gonna die without a fight."

Parasite runs in and attacks Johnny. Johnny moves out of the way and cracks one against his face. The impact knocks him back again but this time the Parasite wont back down he goes for it again and again but can't get near him. Johnny nails him in the face with two more straight shots in a row and he looses his balance.

"Ring out." Johnny smiles victoriously.

"You're gonna kill me now, right?" Parasite snarls. "I'll fight you till I don't got anymore life in me."

"I would." Johnny stretches his neck to get the cricks out. "But I don't do that anymore. I used to a lot but I'm not getting any money out of this so I just don't feel like it."

"Stupid move." Parasite grabs onto Johnny's ankle with his foot and the last of Johnny's strength is zapped from his body. He falls to his knees as Parasite rises.

---

"Ah. Feels good." Parasite flexes his newly amplified muscles and picks Johnny up by his collar. "Now I'll show you how to end a fight."

Parasite lifts Johnny over his head, bringing him down on a meat hook. The hook breaks through his rib cage, ripping through his lung. Blood pours from Johnny's chest as he tries to move, but his body wont listen to him. parasite drains more energy from him as he beats on his face over and over again. He grabs the chain holding the meat hook to the ceiling and throws it across the room. Grabbing two more he stabs them through Johnny's arms and nails him to the wall.

"Ow." Johnny says, holding back his pain.

"Too tough to scream?" Parasite asks.

"No." Johnny grins up at him, crimson death still burning in his animalistic glare. "I just know someone who would kick my a*s if I let myself give in to someone like you. To be honest he scares the crap out of me."

"He scares you?" Parasite laughs. "Then I must be making you s*it your pants."

"Shut up." Johnny grins right back. "You're nothing compared to him. Don't even try to put yourself in the same league."

"Oh? Must be a real monster?"

"Hehehe." Johnny laughs through his perched lung. "I honestly feel bad for you. I've seen some weird sh*t in my line of work. Most people don't even experience stuff like that in their nightmares. But watching that man fight. It's terrifying, and somehow inspiring at the same time. He's my best friend but he scares the s*it out of me. If it where him instead of me, you'd be laying on the ground in a puddle of your own p*ss. So don't you dare compare yourself to him you worthless, insignificant parasite."

"That may be so. But I know someone like that too. A pretentious prick who stands above the world casting judgement on the rest of us." Parasite grabs a hook off the wall and reaches back to strike Johnny with it. "But neither of them are here right now. And it doesn't matter how much power your friend has. You're still going to die."

Blood splatters across the floor as Johnny's heart is ripped open by the hook. His body is pulled off the meat hook and thrown into the corner.

---

Parasite wipes the blood off his hands and gets ready to leave. Before he can get out of the building a flash of red light explodes in front of him, tossing him back into the meat locker.

"I thought those rumours sounded like the work of someone I knew." Superman defends and walks in through the door. "Good thing I decided to take a midnight stroll down south Dusk Street. Out for a midnight snack Parasite?"

Superman immediately notices the body laying in the corner, covered in blood.

"No." Superman's eyes widen in horror. Those eyes burn red as he returns his deadly gaze to the Parasite. "You didn't!"

"Oh yeah." Parasite gets too his feet. "When I heard you where in town I was hoping I would be abel to see you. Your Kryptonian powers are just what I need to get revenge on this guys boss. I teach him for betraying me."

"So he was a hit man?" Superman's rage blazes through his eyes like a burning fire. "But that didn't mean you had to kill him. with your powers wasn't simply making him become unconscious enough?"

"Enough to get away." Parasite runs at Superman. "But not enough to satisfy me!"

Superman blasts the Parasite with his heat rays and grabs him while he's down. He tosses him out through the roof and fallows him through the hole made by the impact.

---

Superman searches for Parasite on the rooftop but his mind is clouded with grief. He's mad at himself for letting someone die by Parasite's hands. The pain distracts him so much he doesn't notice when Parasite leaps out from behind and grabs hold of his face.

The surprise attack takes a lot of the Kryptonian's power and the impact is made worse by the heat beams which proceed afterwards.

"That guy down there had impressive strength and endurance for a human." Parasite flexes his new muscles and dodges Superman's punch with his stollen super speed. "Hard to believe he was one, but I took all of his power and he turned out to be a mere mortal like the rest of us. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

Parasite smacks Superman in the back of the head with a super powered punch and knocks him straight into the rooftop. He sits down on his back and grabs his face, sucking the strength out of him with tremendous speed.

"No!" Superman tries not to panic. "If only I didn't let my grief get the better of me. How did Parasite get this strong?"

---

Johnny's body lays lifeless on the floor.

Suddenly his chest fills with air and thrusts forwards towards the sky as his eye lids bursts open and he gasps for breath.

"Hwahhh! Hoh, ha ha." He breathes heavily for a moment. After getting a grip on himself he sits up and pulls the hook out of his back. Next are the ones in his shoulders. After that he relaxes again and lays back on the floor looking up at the night sky through the hole in the roof. His mind wanders through everything that just happened to him as a soft grin appears on his blood stained face. His open chest lifts and falls as he laughs in a mixture or relief and disbelief. "Aw. Thats rich. Looks like you wont be able to avenge me after all Alex. Too bad for you."

---

On top of the building Superman feels the deep pressure of one of his own punches as Parasite delivers a straight punch to the face.

"You're not at the top of your game anymore." Parasite laughs. "Did me killing someone make you loose your edge that easily?"

"I still have enough power left to take you down Parasite." Superman flies up into the air and charges a massive blast of power but by this time it is so weak Parasite doesn't have to dodge. He walks out from the blast, smoke coming off of his unscathed body.

"Even that dead man back there did better than you tonight." Parasite flies up and grabs Superman by the throat. "I guess it's time you finally joined the dead yourself."

"Hey!" A rock smacks against Parasite's head. He looks back, disbelief filling his glowing eyes. Johnny calls up to him from the rooftop. His clearly there but seemingly not effecting him. "Don't talk about me like I'm dead! I aint getting written out that easily!"

"H-How are you alive?" Parasite calls down. "I killed you."

"Weird isn't it?" Johnny calls back. "Wish I knew myself. Something like this did happen once. A little while ago I fought this pyrokinexis guy…pyrokonosis…He used fire, and well, I he ended up self destructing. Like a Voltorb or something. Anyway I could have sword I was caught in the blast. Sometimes I sort of think I remember smelling my skin burning but until now I thought I just imagined it when I was knocked unconscious. But now I think I might have just came back from the dead or something."

Parasite drops Superman and rushes Johnny.

"Get out of the way!" Superman refuses to let Johnny die again. "He has my powers now too!"

Johnny lets Parasite get in real close before grinning down at him, his bloodlust restored. He steps out of the way seconds before Parasite can touch him and elbows him in the back.

"Now, my first thought was that you just forgot to finish me off, but then I saw this hole in my chest and realized it goes right into my heart." Johnny lets Parasite stand up. "So then I thought it might be that I regrow my body after I die. That would be pretty cool right. But that's not it. That guy I told you about said something like this before.

Parasite moves in again and tries to attack but Johnny dodges again and this time gives his a direct punch to the stomach, his hand covered in his jacket for protection. "Anyway, I've nearly been killed a few times already. I fought a werewolf who put me in the hospital, been exploded and got my but kicked through countless buildings, and somehow I walk keep walking away without a scratch. My friend called it something specific…It's that thing sayins do."

Johnny punches Parasite over and over, effortlessly staying a step ahead of him. "Well, it's like, I get stronger each time I almost die. Or I guess in my case I get stronger even when I die. Now what did he call it?"

Parasite reaches out for Johnny's face. "Oh, yeah."

Johnny grabs the Parasite by the wrist with his protected hand. "Reactive Adaption. Or something like that. Either way."

He holds the Parasite still with no effort whatsoever. "It means that no matter what you do to me I'll come back. And I'll be even stronger. Unlike you my power can only grow."

Johnny's eyes redden even deeper with his bloodlust. To the Parasite it is like looking into the eyes of a crazed demon. A god of bloodshed. "But I wonder, how much power do you think you can take?"

Johnny grains hold of the Prasite's face with his unprotected hand. The power pours from him in the form of crimson light. The Parasite screams in pure agony as the sheer force consumes him.

"Please stop! I can't take it!" Parasite begs. "Please! I'll do whatever you say!"

Johnny lets go of his face and the Parasite falls on the floor. "Get out of my city. The next time I see you here, or if I hear anything about some purple monster around here again, I'll show you what it feels like to have your heart ripped open. And unlike Superman over there, I wont give you enough time to absorb my power."

Johnny kicks the Parasite off of the rooftop and lets his limp body falls on the ground bellow.

"Are you really alright?" Superman asks Johnny, concerned for him.

"Oh, yeah." Johnny turns around and grins like a goofy idiot. "I'm totally hanging in th-"

Johnny faints but Superman catches him.

"Bringing the Parasite in will have to wait. You need a dcotor"

Preview Time!

Mary: "So, I was thinking. Why is this ark called Red X Japan?"

Charlotte: "I guess because Alex is an otaku, maybe."

Clark: "What is an otaku?"

Alex: "Our enemy could end up being from Japan. But it's more likely that HumanX just screwed up with the name."

Clark: "Um guys. What is an otaku?"

HumanX: "I did not! There's a reason for the name!"

Charlotte: "So, what is it?"

HumanX: "You'll have to find out when the time comes."

Alex: "Bored now. Preview time!"

Mary: "Next time on Red X Japan. Johnny is in the hospital? What the heck for? And who is this new guy trying to start something in Oscura? I don't know what's going on but I think Alex may know more than he's letting on. I wish he'd tell the rest of us what's going on once in a while. Wait. If this guy can beat Superman what chance do we have? Next, Red X Japan To Test His Metal."

Clark: "Is anyone going to answer me?"