February Flash Fiction Challenge - Nightcrawler vs. Kazuya Mishima

[JohnnyChany]

 

Jun Kazama stood in an open field. The wind gently stirred the tall grass around her. She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and allowed herself a moment of tranquility.

A sudden *BAMF* shattered the stillness, accompanied by the telltale scent of brimstone. Jun flinched slightly but quickly composed herself, a small smile formed on her lips..

“Kurt,” she said softly, “I may never get used to that."

"Ah, liebchen, it is an essential ingredient to my charm,” replied the veteran X-Man. 

Jun turned to face the blue-skinned mutant; his golden eyes gleamed with warmth. His tail swayed lazily behind him.

"It’s so nice to see you again."

Kurt took her hand.  "And you, mein freundin,  I must admit, I never thought I would ever have the pleasure of being in the presence of your radiant beauty once more.”

Jun blushed.

“I heard tales that you had fallen to the ancient warrior, Ogre," said Kurt.

Jun's expression wavered for a fraction of a second before she offered a noncommittal shrug. 

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Ah, I understand. Like many of my mutant brethren, I know well the confusion of returning from the dead. We don’t have to discuss the nature of your life if you don’t want to.”

Kurt bamfed to a nearby log and sat expectantly. “What would you like to talk about?”

Jun chuckled lightly. “As much as I would love to simply banter with you, I need your help."

Kurt’s easy demeanor shifted to a more serious expression. "Of course, you need only ask."

"It’s about Kazuya," stated Jun.

"Ah, yes. Kazuya Mishima. He is already on our radar. His worldwide tirade has not gone unnoticed. Rest assured, there are plenty of heroes ready to step in and take him down and the G-Corporation should the need arise.”

Jun shook her head. "That’s the problem. I fear his ambitions will lead him to perish in some grand battle, and I don’t want that. Not for the man I love."

Kurt studied her carefully. He recalled the previous conversations they had shared about her torrid romance with the current head of G-Corporation angling for world domination.

"Do you truly believe the man you loved is still in there?"

 "I have to believe that.” Jun insisted. “He’s buried deep inside, but he’s still there."

“Then, what exactly are you asking of me?" Kurt questioned.

Jun walked over to Nightcrawler and grabbed his hand.  "Kurt, you exude love and empathy in everything you do. You have a silver tongue that reaches hearts others cannot. If anyone can reach Kazuya, it’s you."

Nightcrawler let out a low whistle.

"You’re asking me to go into the belly of the beast and convince one of the most dangerous men in the world that there’s a better path? That’s one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever heard." Kurt paused and smiled. "And I love it."

Jun’s eyes softened with gratitude. “Thank you, Kurt.”

"If there’s any of that man you once knew still there, I will find it."

With a final nod, Kurt bamfed away.

G-Corporation’s headquarters was a towering monolith of steel and glass, and Nightcrawler infiltrated it with relative ease afforded to him from years of infiltration. Hiis teleportation abilities allowed him to bypass security measures. He appeared behind guards and dispatched them with swift strikes of his swords. He disarmed and rendered them unconscious before vanishing in a puff of purple smoke.

Eventually, he reached the top floor. His target, Kazuya Mishima, sat in a high-backed chair. His crimson eye gleamed with intrigue.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Kurt bowed politely.: "Guten Tag, I am Kurt Wagner. A friend of Jun Kazama."

Kazuya’s jaw tightened; his fingers drummed on the armrest. "Leave. Now."

"I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Kurt responded.  “Jun believes you are worth saving."

Kazuya sneered: "I don’t need saving. I am on the verge of achieving everything I’ve worked for."

"And what then? What is left for you to pursue once the world is yours? A life of solitude atop your dark tower?”

Kazuya’s face darkened. "That’s not the concern of a smelly blue imp."

Kurt chuckled, unfazed. “Smelly blue imp? Not the most pleasant nickname I’ve been given, but I can go with it. Not all of us are blessed with Devil Genes we can hide from the world at our own discretion.”

“What do you know of the Devil Gene?”

Kurt met Kazuya’s eye. “I know enough.”

“Then you would know that it in part drives me to make the choices that I do,” said Kazuya.

“A pathetic excuse. I have demonic blood flowing through my veins, yet it has not stopped me from giving love and through His grace being fortunate enough to find those willing to give it back. Was the Devil Gene not also present inside you when you were romantically involved with Jun? An involvement that brought a son into this world.”

Kazuya stood from his chair and slammed his fist on the table. “Two lessons in the weakness such feelings can bring! Love made ME weak. Jun softened me, and because of her, I lost to Heihachi and was tossed into a volcano. The boy is an embarrassment and will never fulfill his potential because he is too afraid to commit to the Devil Gene inside him and is in constant conflict trying to hold on to worthless emotions like love. I made the right choice and that was reinforced to me when I finally dispatched that wretched Heihachi for good.”

“Did finally defeating your father bring you happiness?” asked Kurt.

“It brought me satisfaction.”

“A hollow victory, just like all the others you hope to obtain.” 

Kazuya’s lips curled in irritation.

"You call Jin weak because he refuses to surrender to his Devil Gene and forsake emotions like love. But love isn’t weakness. It’s strength,” Kurt preached. “I am motivated by love, and it has allowed me to survive impossible odds. Maybe Jin can reach his true potential when he fully embraces the love around him in his life.”

Kazuya’s eye flashed red. "This conversation is over. It no longer interests me."

“Perhaps then I could pique your interest if I proved a man motivated by love has the strength to defeat you,” Kurt offered.

Kazuya scoffed. "You think you can best me? That’s laughable."

Nightcrawler drew his swords and twirled them through the air. “Shall we put it to the test then? Unless you fear my blades and my mutant abilities.”

A dark aura flared around Kazuya as his devil form flickered into existence briefly. He smirked.

"I have no worry over pathetic circus tricks. I fear nothing."

“A duel it is, Teufel Mishima,” Kurt proclaimed.

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Nightcrawler
Read more about Nightcrawler at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Comics Links: Wikipedia: Nightcrawler Uncannyxmen.net: Nightcrawler Marvel.com: Nightcrawler

Kazuya Mishima
Read more about Kazuya Mishima at Wikipedia
Official Site: Namco Links: Kazuya Mishima- Wikipedia Kazuya Mishima- Tekkenpedia Kazuya- Fighters Generation

[RakaiThwei]

After seeing what Kazuya endured in Tekken 7, such as surviving a hyper laser shot from a satellite in space which obliterated a skyscraper, to possibly defeating Akuma as implied by the hidden ending, and leveling a city in his Devil form in Tekken 8...m

Yeah... The Marvel character loses. Badly. Horribly. And Kazuya makes him suffer all the while.

Kazuya wins.

[Macklemore]

Agreed. Kazuya breaks Nightcrawler in half. There's really no hope for him, considering a) for a teleporter it's very easy to catch him off guard and b) he leaves a disgusting smell where he teleports to so it's hard for him to be stealthy. Coupled with the fact that Kazuya's physicals are on an entirely different level, I don't like Nightcrawlers chances. 

[Pizza Guy]

Kazuya. For the reasons the other guys brought up.

[DSkillz]

Good tourney entry, Johnny. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me to see Kurt flirting it up with an older woman.  

It was a good attempt by Nightcrawler to try to talk Kazuya down, but he doesn't seem to be the type to conform to the good in folks.

I'm not liking Kurt's odds in a fight, either. If he was more ruthless like his Age of Apocalypse self, he could possibly teleport Kazuya's head off (though wading through that much power to do so may also do a lot of damage to Kurt as well). Given what Mishima's already been through, though, I doubt even that would take for long. Nightcrawler may evade Mishima for a while and get off some attacks, but I agree that Kazuma takes Kurt down in the long run. 

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - Macklemore
5.00 - Boratz
4.40 - Pizza Guy
4.50 - DSkillz

FPA Calculation:
4 Total Votes cast
18.90 Total Combined Score
18.90 / 4 = 4.72 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Nightcrawler: 3
Kazuya Mishima: 5