[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6bK49TU.jpg[/img][/center]
[b]”The Ranchero of Miracle Mesa” - Glitter And Gold: Part Four[/b]

[center][i]“The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.”[/i][/center]
[center][indent]-Anonymous[/indent][/center]
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[indent][b]Warpath, Texas[/b][/indent]
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[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]"Unless you've got a hand grenade in that belt, I think you might need my help!"[/color][/quote]

[color=#f92a0e]”Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch wouldn’t do much, kid.”[/color] Vigilante wouldn’t be surprised if he could outrun the shrapnel, somehow. Conventional approach wouldn’t work, sumbitch was too strong, fast, and durable to tag ‘im. Only thing Vig could think of was maybe putting two shotgun barrels in his mouth and hoping that’d crack it… But mosta the guns were in the barn now, and that was busy gettin’ perforated by pieces of the town. There were a coupla spare shotguns n’ rifles over by Black Star but… Gettin’ those presented its own problems.

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]”This guy's a bit above our weight class- we're gonna need a plan!"[/color][/quote]

[color=#f92a0e]”Could try to keep this dust up n’ you could pepper him with yer irons… Assuming you’ve got any in that thing.”[/color] Vig responded. He slashed at the ground with his whip again as a hunk of concrete as long as his arm sailed past his head. Vig shot a glance back at the kid to watch as the armor around his hands shifted into a huge plasma-cannon-dohickey. Vig grunted in satisfaction and slashed again. Maybe things weren’t so desperate after all.

“[i]Fool! Release me![/i]” The Spirit howled in his mind. Vig grit his teeth. Damn thing always wanted out, but it never [i]fought[/i] like this. It [i]really[/i] wanted a crack at whatever the hell kinda force was powering Black Star. Vig could still feel the waves of energy rolling off of Black Star, like The Spirit was hijacking his sense to make him understand… Vig considered letting it out. Certainly stood a better chance than he did. But maybe it was keepin’ mum on the kid ‘cause it knew Vig would never let it out otherwise.

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]”Yeah, not helping. You get any better ideas other than 'kill him'?!"[/color][/quote]

[color=#f92a0e]”Tryin my [i]best[/i], compadre.”[/color] Vig frowned, trying to whip up more dust. It was so scattered by now that it was gettin’ mighty hard to get up another cloud… Their time in cover was limited, n’ it seemed like the kid was pussyfooting around [i]shooting[/i] the bastard.

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]”I got it! Not compatible! Dios mío you're useless. What does that even mean?!"[/color][/quote]

Vig didn’t have a spell to consider that particular statement before the kid raised his cannon and started firin’ anyhow. [i]Teenagers[/i]. Every shot of the plasma was boring a big ol’ hole in the cloud. It seemed like it was taggin’ the big feller good, but it was also makin’ em easier targets. Vig tried to usher him through the remnants of the cloud as he fired, minimizing the amount of shots Black Star could get in on them. Big guy wasn’t takin’ em too good. In the moments of clarity Vig had, he saw burns all over his costume, and he looked [i]mighty[/i] pissed.

[color=#f92a0e]”Kid, I’m startin’ to think this ain’t exactly tenable. We’re blowin’ through our cover fast n’ a one-legged man in an ass kicking competition.”[/color] Vig whipped again and no dust rose from the cracked surface of the ground. Do or die time. Vig turned to look at the kid. He seemed deadly focused on firing, not paying Vig no mind. At the same time, he seemed like he was somewhere else entirely.

[quote=@Superboy]
[color=7ea7d8]”Great. Just great. My psychotic Jiminy Cricket comes with an error message. Terrific."[/color][/quote]

[color=#f92a0e]”Kid?”[/color] Vig watched as the alien’s weapons melted away into wicked blades protruding from his forearms, they looked as long n’ sturdy as the prow of a battleship. As the smoke cleared Vig saw tension ripple across the surface of the armor. [i]No[/i].

[color=#f92a0e]”Kid!”[/color] Vig tried to loop his lariat around the kid but it was too late, he rushed forward, blades at the ready, coming to puncture Black Star through and through. Vig launched after him, but the kid cleared the way to Black Star in what must’ve been miliseconds. He tried to sidestep but the kid caught him just right, puttin’ one of his stabbers right into the big guy.

[color=#B2CC50]”AGH!”[/color] Black Star recoiled. [color=#B2CC50]”Insolent whelp!”[/color] A hand as big as a baseball mitt curled into a fist and crashed into the kid’s stomach, making him stagger back from the force. Black Star threw and uppercut and the kid got launched into the air like a rocketship. Black Star caught him by the neck at the peak of the throw and choke-slammed him into the ground. The sickening crunch of alien metal reverberated through Vigilante’s head.

[color=#f92a0e]”Motherfucker!”[/color] All Vig could see was red. This… This [i]animal[/i] had come into [i]his town[/i] and was beating a goddamn [i]kid[/i] half to death. He could barely register his movement, all he could hear was his breathing and the pounding in his ears, and The Spirit boiling to the surface of his mind. He could feel his legs starting to pop and boil with an unnatural heat, but he didn’t mind. He pulled a double barreled shotgun from one of the proches that lay unmolested and screamed, firing one, and again. He was right before Black Star now, and his gun was empty. The supervillain raised a hand to crush Vigilante’s skull. Vig brought the shotgun around for a swing,

And The Spirit of Vengeance finished it. Orange hellfire exploded from Vigilante’s skull as The Spirit cracked the shotgun over Black Star’s chest. The villain stepped back and grunted, then delivered a palm strike to The Spirit’s jaw. The Spirit stumbled backwards and snarled. Hellfire was already knitting the crack in the bone back together.

[color=#B2CC50]”A metahuman after all.”[/color] Black Star drew himself up to his full height, towering over The Spirit. [color=#B2CC50]”But dead all the same.”[/color] Black Star lashed out and The Spirit and slammed it back, sending it crashing through the dust and cracking the surface of the dirt and stone below.

The Spirit’s head yanked up and stared Black Star down. [b]”Suffer!”[/b] Black fire billowed from its skull and roared across the sands into Black Star’s face. He sneered and swatted the fires away. He smiled. 

[b]”What!?”[/b] The Spirit cried. It could feel a niggling presence worming its way to surface of the swirling mass of souls that constituted its consciousness.

[color=#B2CC50]”My prowess is wasted on you.”[/color] Black Star snapped out a kick into The Spirits chest and smashed it clean through the siding of a house and through the antique living room couch. 

[b]”Hrrm…”[/b] The Spirit drew to its feet and stared out at Black Star, taking contemplative steps towards it, head held high. The presence fighting through The Spirit’s mind was stronger now, pushing aside more and more souls and climbing its way to the top. It was shouting, trying to force The Spirit’s attention. The Spirit ignored it and grabbed half of the couch it had crashed through and heaved it at Black Star.

The supervillain stopped in his tracks and absorbed the blow. The couch detonated into a cloud of splinters across his body. He started forward. [color=#B2CC50]”To think that [i]you[/i] are the only obstacle to my conquest. All this time plotting and planning, and I have the power dropped on my [i]doorstep[/i]!”[/color]

The Spirit recoiled, feeling the presence emerge on the surface of its mind, blazing with fury. [color=#f92a0e]”[i]You can’t take him alone! Neither of us can![/i]”[/color]

[b]”Watch me.”[/b] The Spirit grabbed the lariat from its side and it snaked around the home’s television set. The Spirit jerked its arm and the set slammed into Black Star’s face, burying shards of glass in his skin. In a moment The Spirit was upon him, slashing him with burning blows of the lariat and driving fists of fire into his body. Black Star howled and swept The Spirits legs out from under it, and kicking it through the drywall and falling through the porcelain sink.

[color=#f92a0e]”[i]He’ll kill us both! Let me help you![/i]”[/color] The Spirit shook stars from its vision and grabbed what was left of the fixture, hauling itself to its feet. Black Star picked his way across the destroyed living room, heading for The Spirit. [b]”Do not believe you can [i]control[/i] me, mortal.”[/b] The Spirit grabbed the cover of the toilet’s tank and charged Black Star, shattering it over his head. Black Star grabbed The Spirit and threw it into the air, obliterating the ceiling.

[color=#f92a0e]”[i]No![/i]”[/color] The presence called at the apex of the throw. The Spirit flopped onto the roofing, knocking off a score of shingles. [color=#f92a0e]”[i]We do this together.[/i]”[/color] The Spirit struggled to hold itself up. It shot a glance below, Black Star was preparing to leap up. [b][i]”Fine.”[/i][/b]

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkBUM-yMS7k]Brilliant red fire surged through The Spirit, pouring out of every gap in bone and sinew.[/url] A plume of fire leapt twenty feet in the air. The Spirit fell onto its back while Black Star flew up through the gap in the roofing. [color=#f92a0e][b]”Try this one on for size, pardner!”[/b][/color] Vigilante’s voice leapt out of The Spirit as two boots in a cloak of fire slammed into Black Star’s chest.

The Spirit had already rolled off the roof and begun sprinting for Vig’s house before Black Star landed. It reached out with his mind, feeling for something he [i]always[/i] knew was there, waiting for its chance. It reached out to him, its presence in his mind only seeming to amplify his power. A rumbling grew in the Saunders household as The Spirit drew closer.

The sound of shattering wood blew through the town in a sonic boom, and The Spirit looked into the sky to see Black Star coming down in a divebomb. Most of his costume had been burned away. His face was contorted in anger. The Spirit hopped backwards as Black Star hit the ground like a warhead. The Spirit staggered and locked eyes with Black Star. His chest was heaving. Wordlessly, he raised arms as big around as tree trunks to deliver a takedown.

A wicked bike exploded out of Greg Saunders’ garage in a sweeping arc, blowing Black Star’s legs out from under him. The motorcycle’s engine purred as it reached The Spirit, seeming to almost nuzzle into him. The motorcycle was warped from the one Greg Saunders had known. Bones and dark metal spiraled up and through its construction, like skeletal hands caressing the gas tank and accentuating the blazing skull at its front.

The Spirit sat on the bike and revved the engine. The sound reverberated through his very soul. He was home. Black Star pushed himself up, coughing out a mouthful of blood. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he stared at the bike and steeled himself for the coming blow.

[color=#f92a0e][b]”Now we’re cooking with [i]gas![/i]”[/b][/color] The motorcycle surged forward and smacked into Black Star like a battering ram. The Spirit could hear the crunch of Black Star’s collarbone as he tried to hold the bike back, digging his heels into the sand. The engine howled and crushed Black Star into the dirt. The Spirit pulled the motorcycle into a wheelie and then smashed down with it as an improvised fulcrum. Black Star’s nose cracked like a gunshot, his muscles quavered, trying to push the cycle off him.

The Spirit gunned the engine and ground a tire track onto Black Star’s face. He stopped moving, spare the subtle rise and fall of his chest. The Spirit stood, pushing the bike aside and balling up handfuls of Black Star’s costume. The Spirit held Black Star high in the air, and then brought him down like a cudgel, back into the dirt.

The Spirit knelt next to him, drawing close. Flames licked his face, burning away what little was left of his mask. [color=#f92a0e][b]”No one messes with my town.[/b][/color]