The Rain Transformed

Thunder boomed across the dark sky as rain poured onto the city below. The droplets fell gently down on the terrain. However, the rain was only a minor inconvenience to the residents of Denver compared to what was taking place within the city.

At the entrance of a towering skyscraper, the headquarters of a mega-corporation known as World Marshall, two figures danced, fought, and ran through the rain; their metal bodies glistening with the rain. The two combatants have been going at it for the past thirty minutes, neither showing signs of slowing down.

“So this is Jack the Ripper’s terrifying true form?” one of them commented. His name was Monsoon, a captain of the private military company, Desperado Enforcement and a member of the Winds of Destruction.

"You won't be so glib when I ram my foot up your ass," cackled the other combatant. Like his opponent, he too was a cyborg; an extremely unstable, if not more lethal one at that. His body resonated with an ominous red aura that seemed to match his high frequency blade perfectly. The crimson sword he wielded only appeared red as it was soaked in the blood of his previous victims. This cyborg was Raiden.

Monsoon sped towards Raiden, a trail of purple haze following in his wake. He brandished his signature sais and unleashed a flurry of jabs at Raiden, each hit aiming to do serious damage to the cyborg ninja. Raiden easily saw the attacks coming and successfully parried each one. In the blink of an eye, Raiden deflected one of Monsoon’s attacks downwards, catching the cyborg off-guard. Smirking, Raiden immediately seized the chance for a counter-attack by violently smacking Monsoon’s helmet with the hilt of his blade. Not soon after the ninja relentlessly slashed at the dazed Desperado captain; deep gashes appeared on Monsoon’s body as Raiden continued his savage barrage. Finally, Raiden built up power in his right leg and spun in place, releasing a nasty roundhouse kick directly to Monsoon’s head. The cyborg screamed in pain as he was sent flying across the courtyard, sliding to a stop against the wet ground.

“Pain is a meme too!” Raiden laughed grimly. This is what he lived for: the glorious pain of battle and soaking in the blood of his enemies. He indulged in it, yearned for it. However, he could not shake the voice in his head screaming for recognition.

“This isn’t me! I am not a psychopath, dammit!” the voice called out. It was… him. The spineless coward that kept him locked up, burying him in lies and false promises.

“Sorry kid! It’s time you let good ol' Jack out to play…” the cyborg whispered. There was no “Raiden” anymore. There never was, only Jack the Ripper…

“Was that all? I could barely register those as scratches!” Monsoon yelled leaping back up onto his feet.

Jack the Ripper shook free from his thoughts and directed his attention back to his combatant. Monsoon twirled his sais in the air as a purple haze leaked from his body. Jack wasted no time and quickly activated his Ninja Run, charging towards Monsoon with a fierce intent.

Monsoon smirked. He pointed his arms towards the incoming ninja and activated the electromagnetic forces in his body. In a flash of purple, Monsoon’s arms shot out towards Jack with his sais gripped firmly in the hands of the speeding limbs. Caught off-guard by the sudden attack, the Ripper was launched off his feet and landed square on his back. Monsoon’s sais then impaled their target.

Monsoon smiled as his enemy was knocked off his feet. He quickly took control of his arms again by using his electromagnetic currents and began to swipe at Jack from a distance. The cyborg ninja could barely block each attack as the detached limbs continued their relentless onslaught. Each swing from the sais grew closer and closer to damaging the cyborg who was pinned to the ground.

“Enough!” Jack screamed. He swung his blade at the floating limbs above him, sending them flying from the cyborg ninja. The Ripper took this moment to leap back on his feet. Jack snarled; his right eye glimmering red with anger. He activated his Ninja Run once more, charging towards Monsoon.

“I can’t fight… not like this.” There was that voice again. Jack the Ripper shook his head and ignored it. He wasn’t going to let that coward rob him the satisfaction of slicing his enemy limb from limb. The Ripper closed in on Monsoon and released an unrelenting barrage of sword swipes, aiming to slice the Desperado captain to pieces.

Only they didn’t…

“That your best?” Monsoon taunted. Jack was flabbergasted at the sight. Monsoon had separated sections of his body to dodge every blow from the ninja’s blade. Jack continued to slash at the electromagnetic cyborg. Sadly his attempts proved fruitless as Monsoon kept on separating his body to avoid the attacks.

Suddenly, a searing pain penetrated Jack the Ripper’s back causing him to stop his attack. Monsoon’s arm was drawn back, allowing him to stab the Ripper right in the back. Monsoon quickly seized this window of opportunity and kicked his opponent high up into the air, leaping up to meet the ninja. The arms that belonged to the Desperado captain quickly reattached themselves to their owner.

“Back to the earth with you!” Monsoon jabbed at the ninja with his sais several times before sending him crashing back down. The Desperado captain reveled at the sight of the dazed Jack. Unfortunately he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed as he had expected more from the infamous killer.

Jack, however, felt even worse.

The rain did little to soothe him from the dizziness and anguish he felt. He was a natural-born killer, one of the most ruthless and merciless to ever grace the battlefield. And here he was, losing to a gimmicky cyborg. Despite finally being released after so many years, he was still being held back. Held back from what he truly is, what he was truly capable of.

“I am not a bloodthirsty killer. I kill to protect, never out of anger, vengeance or pleasure.” It was him! HE was the one holding Jack back, the one yanking on the leash. Even now, during the heat of battle, HE kept holding Jack back!

“Go away, dammit! This is my fight, not yours,” Jack shouted, slowly picking himself off of the ground. Thunder boomed through the rainy sky, Jack the Ripper fought to maintain his focus. He couldn’t lose this battle, no matter what.

“I am not a murderer!”

“Yes, I am!”

“I kill to protect!”

“I kill because I love it!”

“I am not Jack the Ripper anymore!”

“I always was, and I never will be anything else!” the cyborg ninja screamed furiously. He was kneeling on the wet ground, staring at a puddle. The reflection taunted Jack: it was him but not him at the same time. The reflection pictured him without the crazed look in his eye, without the blood splatters or the red aura. Instead, it pictured him defiant and head-strong, the bloodthirsty look forsaken.

It stared back at the Ripper, HE stared back at the Ripper!

“Hey Jack,” Monsoon’s voice snapped Jack back to reality.  “This one’s on me!” Before Jack could respond, Monsoon used his magnetic power to fling four large APCs (and Military Choppers) directly at the cyborg ninja. Jack was doomed; he had no energy left in him and no time to react.

The flying vehicles crashed into Jack, smashing him into the hard concrete as they burst into a violent explosion and shower of flames.

“This cannot be! Raiden, what happened? You are supposed to be stronger than this!” Doktor, one of Raiden’ support crew, yelled over the defeated cyborg’s codec.

“You cost me the fight, you know? You just couldn’t let me out, could you?”

Raiden shot his eye open; he brandished his high frequency blade while leaping to his feet, assuming a combat stance. However, the ninja was confused: where was he? Raiden scanned immediate area. It was empty, an abandoned limbo. If someone looked closer, they would spot a thin mist of fog circling in the distance of this seemingly never-ending space.

“Over here, Raiden,” a harsh, mocking voice broke the quiet atmosphere of the white limbo.

Out of the corner of his eye, a bright, crimson light flashed brilliantly. Raiden turned to face the source, and gasped at the horrifying sight.

Raiden saw a perfect copy of him standing just a few feet away. His body resonated with an ominous red aura. He had a bloodthirsty look on him, and his eye shined a bright, crimson light. This was NOT Raiden!

“Surprised to see me?” Jack the Ripper smiled. In the blink of an eye, the Ripper lunged towards Raiden. Jack snatched his prey by the neck and held him in the air, his grip growing tighter and tighter. The helpless Raiden could do nothing to break free; he flailed around to shake loose; he tried to pry open Jack’s hand but his strength failed him.

“You cost me the fight,” Jack growled.  “All because you were too much of a spineless welp to give in!” the psychotic cyborg threw Raiden as if he were trash. Raiden manipulated his momentum to land on his feet again, but was swiftly sent flying again by a sudden kick to the jaw. The Ripper walked slowly towards the grounded Raiden.

“You buried me away, turned me into a bad dream. And for what? So people could accept you? So you could kill with a clear conscience!?” the Ripper yelled. Raiden took out his blade and charged towards Jack, intending to cut him down once and for all. However, the attack proved futile as Jack simply caught the blade in his right hand as if it was a stick. Raiden’s surprise was cut short by a punch to the abdomen. Jack then delivered a powerful haymaker directly to the ninja’s face.

Blood splattered onto the unseen ground of the empty limbo, Raiden coughed and hacked up blood and saliva, but the Ripper was not finished. Lifting a leg straight into the air, Jack brought it back down onto the injured cyborg below. A satisfying cracking sound filled Jack’s ears, encouraging him to repeat the same stomping motion over and over and over again. A savage grin appeared on the Ripper’s face as Raiden’s cries of pain and agony danced in the psychopath’s ear drums. Finally, Jack kicked the defenseless cyborg onto his back.

“How…?” Raiden wheezed out. He could not breathe. The wind was knocked straight out of him as blood clogged up his windpipe.

“How am I doing all of this? How am I beating you senseless?” the Ripper yanked the high frequency blade from its master. “The answer is quite simple. I’m stronger than you, I always was!” Jack lifted the blade above his head, and brought it downwards…

Time stood still for Raiden; blood droplets fell onto his face and pain coursed throughout his body. The hilt of his blade towered above his chest as the rest of the sword was embedded into his body. The immense pain that Raiden had experienced was suddenly replaced by a cold numbness. His eyelids grew heavy, his breathing ragged. The cyborg ninja looked back at his psychotic doppelganger one last time.

“From here on out, nothing is going to hold me down,” Jack the Ripper’s red aura resonated brighter.

“Jack is finally back!” the Ripper yanked out the embedded blade from Raiden’s chest cavity, twirled it, and… sliced.

Sunshine filled the rolling, green hills with its brilliant radiance. The birds chirped, and a soft breeze blew throughout the land.

And one individual began to stir…

A tall bipedal creature awoke from its slumber, the drowsiness being replaced with a sense of awareness. It rose from the grass, dusting its metal exterior free of dirt and grime. The sunlight allowed the creature to see a small trail leading to an unknown place. Slowly, it began to stagger along the dirt trail, taking note of the lush scenery it was surrounded by; a juxtaposition of the metal creature’s origins.

Eventually, it reached a large wooden sign, with letters reading:

“Welcome to Ponyville, the happiest place in all of Equestria.” Raiden spoke aloud. He was perplexed by this new information. Waking up in the middle of nowhere was already too much to think about, but now, this sign spoke of two places that sound like they were ripped from a child’s imagination.

However, the cyborg ninja noticed several buildings in the distance. It was a village by the looks of it. Raiden could find out how he got here later. Right now, he needed to know where he was. Making a mental note to call his support group when he reached the village, Raiden built up his Ninja Run and sprinted down the trail and towards the village.

Up above Raiden, a small cloud began to follow the cyborg ninja.

“You’re not setting one hoof in Ponyville, you monster!” A small cyan pony creature poked its head from the small cloud; her rainbow mane blowing in the wind.

The rain continued to fall onto the plaza of World Marshall HQ. It looked as if a war broke out on the small residence.

Monsoon, the Desperado captain, laughed in triumphant glee in front of the wreckage of several APCs. He had just successfully dispatched the infamous Jack the Ripper, a cyborg that fought savagely but was ultimately no match for the electromagnetic captain.

“Wind blows, rain falls…” he said. Taking one final look at the wreckage, he turned around and began to march towards the entrance to World Marshall. He had to admit, he was quite let down that THE Jack the Ripper was dispatched so easily. Perhaps the tales of his slaughter and ruthlessness were mere exaggerations.

Jack the Ripper was all bark but no bite.

“Goodbye Jack, it was nice while it lasted.” Monsoon said off-handedly before suddenly stopping in his tracks. He heard sounds coming from behind him, from the wreckage. The Desperado captain grew nervous, there was no way he could have survived such an attack.

His fears were soon confirmed as a blade punctured through the armor of an APC, slicing through it as if it was butter.  After several tense seconds, the blade retreated back into the metal heap and pieces of the wreckage went flying.

A bright, red aura glowed from within the smoke, and a figure could be seen twirling a blade around. Monsoon started to back away in dread, hastily equipping his sais once more. Out of the smoke, the killer stepped out. He smiled as he saw his prey back away in fear. His eye shined a bright crimson once again.

“Where do you think you’re going,” Jack the Ripper asked. Monsoon quickly equipped his visor, prepared to fight once more.

“This fight just got a whole lot better!” Jack cackled.