A Challenger Approaches

Lexamich was not having a fun day. He was lost in the Hundred-Acre-Wood, at night. The trees and shrubs around him seemed to become monsters, creeping on him and waiting to take him to their grey van in an empty parking lot. He began to think that traveling here with Max might not have been such a bad idea after all. He reached the clearing at which he and Max had dug for their high-quality growin’ soil. To his disappointment, the shovels weren’t there. He began to search high and low for the spades, and became so absorbed in his search that he did not notice the figure that appeared in the clearing behind him. He held the two shovels in his hands, and spoke with a deep drawl “Hey buddy, you lose these? Because I found ‘em earlier just lying around, so I decided to hang on to them in case the owner would come ba- He was cut off by Lex’s staff connecting with his face. The stranger flew backward, losing both the shovels, and landed on the ground with a loud thud. “That’ll teach you to sneak up on me you demon baby!” Yelled Lex and he charged. The stranger raised his hand and a bright pulse of light erupted from his palm. Lex fell over sideways in mid-sprint, dazed and half-blinded by the sudden burst of light. The stranger leapt up”What the hell man?! I was just wondering if these were yours!” He walked over to Lex, who lay still on the ground, and raised his fluorescent palm up to his face. Lex winced, and tried to gain his bearings with the light in his face. “Wait a moment,” The stranger said, his tone turned darker as he observed Lex’s Organization robe. He frowned “You’re one of those nobodies in that Organization! I should’ve known!” He shouted in sudden realization and disappeared in big flash of light. Lex quickly got to his feet, wobbling as his vision clouded. He was then hit by a heavy blow to the back of his head. “I never would’ve known that you guys would show up around here at this hour!” Lex fell down. The stranger appeared before him, looking extremely unhappy “I mean come on! What’s it take for a man to get some sleep around here?!” He lifted Lex off the ground and tossed him, and Lex was suddenly airborne after receiving a solid kick. As Lex landed, a sharp pain shot across his back and he crumpled over. This stranger had unnatural strength and stamina, what could be the source to his majestic power? His opponent then discharged what appeared to be a massive wave of blue energy from his hands. He tried to avoid the attack, but was caught in the blast and was hurled further. He landed face-first, and peered out of the corner of his eye to see his opponent approaching him, his fists crackling with bolts of pure energy. As he drew near, Lex vaulted upward on his staff, and landed a punch on the stranger’s chest. He doubled over and raised a fist but suddenly stopped as everything including himself turned grey. Time had stopped. His frozen eyes were wide with confusion. Lex then bombarded him with several furious punches. Once satisfied, he willed time to move on and the stranger flew backwards accordingly, and Lex was sure he heard a voice shout “Combo!” somewhere far off. The stranger slammed into a tree, and then fell forward, his face planted into the forest’s earthy soil. He did not move. “Wow.” Said Lex, paying no attention to his seemingly unconscious opponent, but to the indent that he had made in the tree. Continuing to disregard the stranger, Lex picked up his lost shovels and started to depart. The stranger leapt up, fists clenched and ready to make contact with his face. Lex whirled around, dropping the shovels and smashed the guy’s face with his staff. He faltered, a giant welt forming where Lex’s staff met his face, opened his mouth to say something, but instead collapsed again. This time he didn’t appear to be alive. While the stranger fell into a coma, Lex’s staff disintegrated into a pile of dust. Lex took a moment to process what happened, and then reacted. “WHAT?! NO!” He said in exasperation, and crouched on his knees, fists raised towards the sky “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!” he then rose and pointed a finger at the unconscious stranger “You jerk! That was my weapon! My superior will wound me seriously for this! You’re coming back with me so she doesn’t kill me prematurely!” He then attempted to lift the stranger, but dropped him when his injured back protested. After a while, he managed to shoulder the stranger and hold his shovels, and walked away under the Forests’ bright blue moon.