Chapter 1 

James Byron was the head scientist for Luxtor Corporation, owned by Lynx Luxtor, a multi-billionaire. Dressed in his usual white lab coat, the thinly framed 31 years old man moved agilely around the small dark lab. After using state-of-the-art laboratories, this was a joke to the renowned scientist. Once worked as the right-hand man of his lover, James was on a mission to avenge his boss. Yes, Lynx Luxtor had made many questionable business choices but that’s not going to stop James. After the Supes locked him up, James had only one goal and that is to make the one responsible for this pay – True Blue, the leader of the Cindra Alliance. 

As he glanced around the small dark lab, spread out in front of him were mountainous stacks of studies on the hero, documenting everything to know about this god-like muscle stud from his private life, physical stats, and down to his very biological anatomy. For months, the scientist had no progress until he made a small discovery.

Turning over to his little setup of chemicals and bubbling flasks, the concoction is about to be completed. Known for his famed invulnerability, True Blue is impervious to all harm that befalls him. But this concoction… Targeted to change the very molecular structure of one’s body, this would be the downfall of mighty True Blue. 

Shivers went down his spine as he thought about how he is going to avenge his lover. James proceeded to complete his concoction with the final ingredient.

*Drip* 

Effervescence erupted from the concoction. 

 “…” 

This is odd. Something seems wrong…

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Chapter 2

“It seems like everyone’s out.” 

Alone in the mission room, lit only by the screens in front of him, True Blue finished submitting his report for the night. It was a long night and he had just stopped a meteoroid from crashing into Earth. Although unscathed, debris from the meteoroid had shredded his blue-white suit in various parts, exposing his bare rock-hard muscles beneath.

The towering 6ft 8 (2.1m) leader of the Cindra Alliance was quite a specimen of a superhero with muscles rippling through his arms. With dark luscious locks, piercing blue eyes, impeccable jawline, and perfectly shaped high cheekbones, True Blue turned eyes wherever he went. A white cape rested on his bowling ball shoulders and flowed down his tapered waist. The symbol “T” spread across the front of his suit, highlighting the smooth mountainous pair of pectoral muscles, topped with pert nipples and a glorious set of eight packs. His tights were thick as tree trunks and between them was a sizable package that left nothing to imagine.

Since young, the hero was brought up by a pair of devoted churchgoers. True Blue embodied the modest moral upbringing and is convinced that sex was shameful unless between married couples. As a straight Alpha male, he was every lady’s dream, but the stud believed in saving himself for the right one.

From the countless screens in the mission room, there was a bank heist going on at the city’s downtown and some supervillain was involved. His team members seemed pretty occupied. “Seems like they could use some backup,” thought True Blue. As he was about to head out to join his team, one of the screens flashed red.

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Chapter 3 

Orange Walk District, an industrial area filled with factories pumping out fumes during the day but creepily quiet at night. But not tonight, the area had been cordoned off by the police and firefighter departments. Emergency vehicles lined the narrow roads of the industrial park. The district was raining with soot from the fires raging on in one of the factories.

“A couple of chemical tanks exploded about 20 minutes ago. There were no causalities but reports showed that there are still a number of researchers trapped in the labs.” said the Commissioner. Commissioner Bridgeman was one of True Blue oldest and trusted friends. While at the age of 49, the man obviously had been working out regularly, and can easily be seen by how he filled out his uniform quite nicely. “We can’t go in as the chemical fumes are too thick. With the fires, we can’t send the hazmat squad in as well. We will have to rely on you again, True Blue.”

“Rest assured, Commissioner. Leave them with me,” reassured True Blue in his deep manly voice. He flashed his signature confident smile that puts the rest of the first responders at ease as the hunky hero headed toward the blazing building.

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Chapter 4

Surrounded by flames, True Blue activated his heightened senses to scan the area. His heightened sight and hearing could detect minuscule movements and signals and it seemed that he had found his target. The whole factory was empty, except for one human detected, and it was from underground. The hero swiftly made his way towards the stairwell down and a large vault door came into sight.

That’s odd, that person had… disappeared?

The vault door was left unlocked, slightly open. Stepping into the small vault, the room was dark, almost pitch-black. The ground was filled to the hero’s ankle with some sort of green liquid… Some chemical perhaps.

Why are my senses not detecting anything here? And where is that person?

*Slam*

The vault was shut in and the room slowly glowed a faint red.

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Chapter 5 

Luminated in a faint red glow, the reinforced room was lined with pigeon-blood rubies. Commonly found, the gemstone is not a major threat to True Blue despite being his only known weakness. Many villains had attempted to take him down with pigeon-blood rubies but had failed. The reason being, the gemstones themselves cannot be broken by True Blue’s super strength, but they can only weaken the hero so slowly and slightly. Usually, before he even broke a sweat, the villains have been rounded up.

But this time, he was trapped. The room was lined wall to wall, floor to ceiling with pigeon-blood rubies. With enough time, it will be devastating. Rushing back to the door, he pulled with his super strength, the door barely budged. Pulling back his colossal arm, he launched a super-powered punch onto the vault door.

*BOOM* The room shook from the sheer raw power of the mighty hero but visually nothing happened. The rubies withstood the earth-shattering punch. Inspecting his knuckles, True Blue knew this was the perfect trap for him. But by who? 

“Welcome True Blue” A voice echoed through the room, answering the hero’s internal thoughts.

Behind the hero, stood a tall muscular man with short dark hair and a well-trimmed 5 o’clock shadow. True Blue’s face frowned in disgust as he realized how skimpily the man was dressed. Strapped across his lightly-haired muscular pectorals was a black chest harness that glowed green and a black tong covered his groin. The man was almost naked. 

After getting over the fact that he failed to detect someone else in the room, he noticed that the man looked very familiar under the dimmed red glow.

“James? James Byron?”

The sculpted villain laughed, “I am surprised you recognized me after my body transformation. After a small mishap in my lab, I have full control over my body.” James smiled slyly at True Blue. He flexed his massive biceps to which they ballooned even bigger by the seconds until seemingly humanly impossible, they bounced back to their shape again. “Of course, I gave myself a nice muscular and toned body.”

“Enough of your jokes, James. I don’t know what are your intentions to trap me in here but once I take you out, you can join Luxtor in his cell.”

“Don’t you mention his name so casually!” screamed James, pure hatred flashed across his eyes. “My name is not James. It’s Instincture.”

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Chapter 6

Without wasting a moment, True Blue leaped forward to grab the crazed scientist in a body lock. He has to be cautious not to snap the man’s back as his super strength is still active even with the rubies slowly chipping it away. Instincture struggled against the muscular arms wrapped around his torse as he fought to get free. The villain was not a match for the hero’s super strength.

Knowing that he had the upper hand now, True Blue slowly pushed the muscle man to the ground, to make him succumb. However, the moment Instincture contacted the ground, he liquefied through the hero’s grip. 

“What the!” exclaimed the confused hero as he stared blankly at the ground below him. Suddenly, a green fist-shaped blob erupted from the ground and right into his chin. A straight uppercut, knocking our hunk back to his feet and sending him staggering back a couple of steps.

The green blob grew and reformed a human shape. The villain’s masculine features returned as a translucent green Instincture cracked a laugh. “I’m not that weak scientist anymore. My body constitution is that of a slime. I can control how my body moves freely like a liquid and I can absorb the properties of whatever I touch. This whole ruby-lined room is filled with my body.” as the villain gestured to the entire ground. The pool of “green chemicals” were actually part of his body! 

“The best of all, this slime body is your perfect counter.” True Blue maintained a determined look. It’s true. His power is super strength but strength is nothing to a blob of liquid. He can deliver punches all day to a puddle of water and nothing will happen. If what Instincture said was true, he would have also absorbed the properties of pigeon-blood ruby, making him all the more dangerous to our hero. Despite his predicament, the leader of the Cindra Alliance remained calm. He will have to figure this one out while waiting for backup.

In a true display of his might, he launched another super-powered punch into the villain’s chest. The muscular slime body exploded against the vault’s wall. “Ha! Not so tough after…. all?” said the muscled hero as the slime slowly reformed again.

“Ha-ha-ha! You can’t do any damage to me. So this is what it feels like to be invincible.”

He continued to deliver super-powered punches to Instincture, hoping to wear out the slime villain but to no avail. But time was of the essence, every minute passed, the hero was getting weaker. After about 30 minutes of constant pummelling in the power-draining room, the hero’s first sweat broke out. True Blue knew he was going to be in trouble.

“It’s my turn, hero”

A slime spear shot up from the ground grazing the hero’s tree-truck thighs. It cut through his suit and scratched his tights. A thin streak of blood surfaced.

No! It’s been too long, my invulnerability had been neutralized by the rubies. I need to end this now before it’s too late.

Realizing the weakened hero is at his mercy now, Instincture crackled hysterically. The muscled villain dissolved into the ground, spreading his slime body around the room. His green surface began to glow hints of pink from absorbing the ruby linings. Without a target in sight, the hero maintained his fighting stance, feet apart and arms ready.

A slime fist erupted from between the hero’s feet, rocketed upwards between his arms, and slammed once again into his chin. The blow hit the unsuspecting hero like a train as his mind went blank for a second and his guard went down. 

The villain’s attacks began as he continued launching continuous blows by erupting slime fists and spears from around the defenseless hero. 

“Oof!” groaned the blue hero in pain as a series of punches pummelled into his rock-hard abs. Spears continued to shoot up and tear the hero’s suit, each time grazing his taut body, leaving streaks of scratches.

Must endure until my team is here. 

With his invulnerability suppressed by the rubies, True Blue was knocked up senselessly. Each blow and cut delivered extricating pain throughout his muscled body. After being tormented by a rain of punches, the hero slowly collapsed into the ground, exhausted, bruised, and scratched up.

“This is only the start, my blue muscle hero.”

To be continued.