NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 17: **Chapter 17: The Breaking Point**
**Chapter 17: The Breaking Point**
Cipher's smirk was gone. He stood in the center of the warehouse, his flickering form betraying his instability. Ethan could see it—the slight hesitation in Cipher's movements, the cracks forming in his overwhelming power. The Bat-team had done their job. Now, it was Ethan's turn.
"You think you can stop me?" Cipher's voice carried a metallic edge, reverberating with raw energy. "You don't even understand what I am."
Ethan steadied his breathing, his mind calculating every possible fusion he could create from his surroundings. The wreckage from Batman's last charge, the shattered remains of security drones, the metal framework of the warehouse itself—everything was a potential weapon in his hands. But he needed to be careful. If he fused the wrong combination, it could backfire.
Batman, still recovering from Cipher's blast, called out. "Ethan, now!"
No more hesitation. Ethan lunged forward, grabbing a severed power conduit and a fractured Batarang from the ground. As soon as his hands closed around them, his ability surged to life. The objects melted together, reforming into a high-voltage throwing weapon crackling with unstable energy.
He hurled it.
The weapon struck Cipher's chest, discharging a surge of electricity that sent him staggering. His form flickered violently as his teleportation malfunctioned, sending him jumping randomly across the room. He reappeared near a pile of debris, only for Batgirl to strike from above, landing a powerful kick to his head. He vanished again, reappearing just in time for Nightwing's escrima sticks to land a rapid succession of strikes against his ribs.
Ethan took the opening.
He grabbed a collapsed steel beam and focused. His ability coursed through him as he fused it with the remnants of the security drones. The metal reformed, shifting under his grip until it became a massive reinforced spear lined with electrified nodes. It hummed with raw power.
"Batman, push him toward me!" Ethan yelled.
Batman didn't hesitate. He surged forward, delivering a brutal strike to Cipher's weakened side, forcing him off-balance and right into Ethan's path.
Ethan thrust the spear forward.
The impact was instant. The fusion-charged weapon pierced Cipher's armor, embedding deep into his torso. A shockwave of energy erupted from the point of contact, sending out a pulse that shorted out every light in the warehouse. Cipher's mouth opened in shock, his glowing eyes wide with disbelief.
"No… this isn't… possible…" Cipher's voice was barely a whisper as his form began to destabilize entirely. The energy within him surged out of control, his body flickering in and out of existence. He let out one last, furious scream before his entire body imploded in a burst of energy, sending shockwaves throughout the warehouse.
Ethan barely managed to shield his face as the explosion rocked the foundation. When the dust settled, Cipher was gone. Nothing remained except for a few scattered remnants of his armor, crackling with dying energy.
The silence was deafening.
Ethan exhaled, his body finally feeling the toll of the battle. His hands trembled as he let go of the fused weapon, which clattered to the ground. The warehouse was in ruins, but they had won.
Batman stepped forward, surveying the scene. "It's over."
Nightwing let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair. "Damn, that was rough."
Batgirl nodded, wiping a streak of dust from her face. "But we did it."
Ethan, still catching his breath, looked down at his hands. He had done it. He had fused something powerful enough to end Cipher. But deep inside, a lingering thought gnawed at him.
What if Cipher wasn't truly gone?
He pushed the thought aside for now. There would be time to worry about that later. For now, they had survived. And Gotham was safe—at least for tonight.