The Crane Hermit Part 1 [Complete]

“Kill if you’d like, whatever you feel necessary. I don’t care how you do it, so long as the message is clear. There is plenty to fear. Give them the feeling of the presence of Hell on Earth. Wherever you want, however you want.”

Seventeen listened to the words the old martial arts master spoke to him as he flew toward his first destination.The words themselves were hollow and meaningless. Only a pathway leading him to what his true desire was. The desire being to gain ultimate power and this Master Shen would prove to be his first stepping stone. While he didn’t take very kindly to taking orders from yet another old relic of a man, he knew it would be necessary move. As far he’d known, the old sensei had the knowledge of an ultimate fighter, although he might not be one himself. Such knowledge would be the key to furthering Seventeen in his own endeavor for strength.

His programming held another mission in mind besides his own, though he did his best to resist its demands in favor of more pressing matters. He was well on his way to organizing a force to be reckoned with throughout Earth and perhaps other frontiers. With what the crafty cyborg had in mind, the objective of crushing the renowned protector of Earth known as Goku would be as simple as stepping out an insect. His time would come.

Still, here he was. At the bottom of the totem pole, preparing to scratch and claw his way to the top. Was this how they all did it? The finest of warriors really had to work so diligently for such power? How annoying. However, being that it was his only way considering he’d destroyed his creator before his completion, he left himself with little choice at all. A more positive outlook on the situation, however, was that his immortality gave him all the time in the world to gain knowledge and supreme power. Not that he’d wait all that time.

Fixating his thoughts back upon the task the old martial arts master had laid upon him, he scanned the area for the nearest major city to begin a reign of terror in. Seventeen thought it best to make his actions swift, so as not to attract too much attention from those who take it upon themselves to bring light in what would soon be an extremely dark time. While gliding in and out of clouds, he let his inner scouter do all of the seeking of a prime target. It was mostly picking up on smaller villages and settlements, those which would be a dull whisper to the world if they were to be even wiped completely from it’s surface. “Come on.. let’s get this shit over with..”

Frustration was just beginning to set in when his scouter picked up on a massive group of life forces, more cluttered together than in the villages. Feeling a bit of relief mixed with excitement, he waited for his scanner to complete the examination process. With any luck, there wouldn’t be any random spikes in power, indicating someone of note who could hinder his objective.

*blip.. blip... blip... beeeep*

The scanner completed its reading of the city and its people. An average reading of the population came in and was more than satisfactory to Seventeen. He even did a bit of a cheer in his mind in response to the great news. Not a man in sight that could stop him today.
Bringing himself downward in latitude as he closed in on the city, he began to come into clear view of the city and the citizens. A tinge of joy ran down his spine as he was now gliding above the streets, catching the glances and stares of the now confused people. The attention was nice to have, considering he’d probably be getting a lot more of it as his time spent here went on.

After flying, whipping around and through the crowds of citizens, he came to a sudden halt in the very middle of traffic. His landing caused many vehicular collisions in the drivers’ attempts to avoid running into him. Some ran into each other while others went directly into surrounding establishments, possibly crushing those that were in the way. And.. chaos ensues. They scatter like ants when faced with the unknown.

Seventeen’s eyes remained stared down directly at a man who sat in the driver’s seat of his car in front of him, obviously looking to pass. The human’s face read of anger at the current situation and he looked to be struggling to unbuckle his seat belt. A rather tubby one, this guy. The scorn of the human race. Obesity.

”Hey, what the HELL is wrong with you? Are you absolutely insane? Look what you did, you idiot! You can’t just stride on through traffic, there are crosswalks for a damn re--”

Seventeen looked on at the man, still making direct eye contact as if peering into the man’s very essence. He tuned out each word the man spewed out of rage, no longer amused by the now very expected reaction. It was time to have some fun with these lower lifeforms. After making sure that each of the surrounding people were prepared to take witness, he lunged forward in a flash leaving behind a sort of after-image.

Before the chubby little man could blink, his ranting and scolding was halted when Seventeen was now directly face to face with him. When the citizen finally realized that Seventeen was before him, his eyes widened in disbelief at what he had seen. He could hardly tell if Seventeen had moved forward or if he himself had been moved. ”H--Hey.. how did you..”

Seventeen stopped him with an interruption. “I know, it’s amazing, right? Why not just chalk it up to.. magic..? In fact, would you like to see another trick?”

At this point, the citizen was swallowing a lump in his throat. He was certainly dreading what might be coming next from this apparent wizard. The lifting of Seventeen’s hand even caused him to flinch, cringing into a sort of huddled position and squinting his eyes closed. The cyborg wrapped his right arm over the frightened man’s broadly fat shoulders and around his flabby neck, bringing him into view of what he was prepared to do next. After making sure the man would have a clear view, he lifted his free hand toward the pile-up he’d caused when he landed and took a moment to choose which one would be his target. His intentions were to create a sort of domino effect in explosions. “Now.. watch closely..”

Plenty of the onlookers had been standing aside at this point. While they were not sure what would be coming next, they had the sense to know that it would probably be something they did not want to be in the way of. It would appear they at least had some sort of instinct in their hollow minds. After clenching his grip around the man tighter into a sort of headlock, Seventeen began gathering energy into his free hand. He only collected enough for a minor explosion, just enough to take out at least one of the cars. The impact should do the rest. After the formation of a sphere in his palm completed, he prepared himself for the launching of it. “Bang!”

In an instant, the sphere bolted from his palm and toward the overturned truck in the center of the pile-up. The ball tore through space, quickly enough for those close enough to feel the velocity of it as it whipped past them. Upon impact, the truck immediately erupted into a blaze and caused the several surrounding vehicles to follow in suit. It went just as he had hoped. A sort of chain of explosions scattered across the street and the scattering ensued, along with the screams of horror. Debris was taking to the air, with plenty of scrap metal crashing through the glass of the surround buildings. Seventeen did not take the time to look around for casualties, as the shivering man in his clutches caught his attention first.

The shivering lead to whimpering and even his eyes were beginning to well up with tears. Seventeen looked down at the man to see the terror in his eyes before looking up to see if it matched the faces of those now running for their lives. “Yes, that’s what I was looking for. That look right there. I believe that’s it, anyway. Hell, and to think. None of you even had to die. Not by my hands, anyway. I’m sure the guy in that truck made it out alright, what do you think, huh??”

He squeezed a bit more around the neck of the terrified citizen, toying with him as much as he could. After laughing it up for a moment, he loosened his grip and eventually let go. “Alright, now. Go on, run with the rest of them. You look like you could use the exercise.”

Without a moments waste, the man scampered off probably in sheer hopes that Seventeen did not change his mind. His feet nearly gave out on him a few times, as his legs were shaking like wet noodles. Seventeen continued to laugh lightly at the sight and began walking down the street, through the now chaotic scene. He was now headed back to report the completion of his task. Surely, a display like that would get tongues wagging.

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WC - 1,615