7

Titus and his commanders stood on the cobblestone street, faces grim and eyes trained on the smoke-filled wreckage of the building. Anticipation hung heavy in the air as they awaited any sign of Max emerging from the rubble.

"Do you think he'll come out?" said Griselda, as she was ready for Max to come out.

Ryan replied with a sarcastic but confident tone, "Of course he'll come out, even if I need to drag him out myself. You know, darling is probably already waiting to fight me."

"Have fun breaking him!" said Titus, giving a toothy smile. "How long can this fight be dragged out because I'm getting bored?"

Max drifted off to sleep while lying on the ground. In his dream, he was back in Star City with his loyal teammates, working together to save the people from evil villains. They used their powers and skills that they had learned to defeat the bad guys and protect the people they loved. The memories of his adventures and the friendships he had formed were precious to him, and he would never want to lose them. Max felt grateful for the bonds he shared and the exciting times he had experienced with his team.

Suddenly waking up from his dream, Max tried to make sense of his surroundings, only to realize that his mind and body felt disconnected from the world around him, as if they were transported to a mysterious realm beyond his wildest imagination, filled with strange sights and sounds. (I must save my friends; I must save the people; I must save the city,) he thought.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, battered but unbroken, holding a crackling live wire in his hand. A flicker of excitement lit up his bruised face. "I will save them."

Max chewed on the live wire, feeling a jolt of electricity surge through his body. "I will win." Lightning crackled across his body, sending sparks flying in every direction and destroying the building. Despite the electrifying chaos, he remained unfazed, his body absorbing the energy from the wire with each powerful surge. The intense sensation coursed through him, fueling his determination as he continued to chew on the current with unwavering focus.

The area grew tense as Max's hair began to emit a soft yellow glow of electricity. As his energy surged, a brilliant blue heptagram star materialized on his chest, its red and black core pulsating with power. The air crackled with electricity, sending sparks dancing through the area as Max's transformation continued.

The vibrant transformation Max experienced was unlike anything he had ever seen before. His once-brown hair now shimmered with a golden hue, radiating light that seemed to dance in the surrounding air. But it was his eyes and eyebrows that truly stole the show—a brilliant shade of purple that seemed to glow with an otherworldly energy.

The moment Ryan saw Max's new form, he got excited and said, "You have a new transformation? I want to fight it, darling!"

"So, Max has gotten a little upgrade, huh?" Titus smiled and continued, "This should be just the challenge I have been looking for in recent times. A fight to get me excited!" He started walking towards the rubble.

"What is this new form?" Griselda was stunned as she silently observed us from a distance.

Griselda's eyes narrowed in determination as she focused on her target, her finger tightening on the trigger as her gaze never wavered. "How pathetic," she muttered, raising her gun. Before she could pull the trigger, a crackling bolt of lightning shot out from the dark, blood-soaked ground. In an instant, the air was filled with blinding light and a deafening boom as her head was violently severed from her body.

"Oh my God...! W-what happened...!" Ryan was in shock and froze in place; in horror, he saw the gruesome scene of his teammate's beheaded body.

Max cupped his hands together, the crackling sound of electricity filling the surrounding air. With intense focus, he channeled the energy into a single, searing point in his palms, his eyes blazing with determination. Without a word, he released the charged beam of power towards Ryan, the force of it sending him hurtling backwards with a deafening crack and leaving behind a smoking trail of scorched earth.

Ryan struggled to regain his footing after Max's brutal attack, feeling his body tingling with numbness as adrenaline surged through his veins. Desperation fueled his every movement as he ran towards Max with each step, closing the gap between them. With an outstretched hand, Ryan reached towards Max in a desperate attempt to bring him down.

Max swiftly countered Ryan's grab by grabbing him and pulling him close, delivering a powerful punch to Ryan's face as a surge of electricity coursed through his hand, sending him flying backwards. Not content with just one blow, Max then flicked his arm, encasing Ryan in a swirling storm of crackling electricity balls before it erupted into a dazzling display of explosive power. The sheer force of the blast sent shockwaves through the air, leaving a smoking crater where Ryan had stood just moments before.

Ryan lay on the concrete road, a still and lifeless figure amidst the chaos. His body bore the scorched marks of the electrical explosions that had ravaged through Max's powers, leaving him unresponsive and broken.

Max looked around but couldn't find Titus, even when Ryan was fighting him. He didn't see him anywhere.

"Well, well, well... Look at what we have here. Poor little Max is all alone, with no one to protect him. This situation is quite unfortunate... However, I do believe it is the perfect opportunity for me to strike!" With a deafening roar, Titus descended from the sky, hurling two cars at Max. The cars flew through the air like fiery projectiles before colliding with a devastating crash, sending flames and debris scattering in all directions. The explosion that followed illuminated the sky, transforming the once serene scene into a chaotic battleground of fire and destruction.

Titus landed on the ground safely; his hard body protected him from taking any damage. He clearly looked through the smoke, but he didn't see anywhere near it. Max was unaffected by this; he wasn't even in the explosion range when the cars exploded; he was already behind.