Quinn pulled out his wrench, clutg it tightly with both hands as he stood protectively in front of Fii. "Just stay behind me. I'll hahem."

  "Aw, ain't that sweet. Your boy-toy's gonna save you! Or try to, at least. This'll be fun to watch." Zoltar taunted. He drew his sidearm and poi at Quinn. "You know what, why don't you toss that on away and kneel on the ground? Hands behind your back. Do what we say, and we'll let you walk away with only a few broken bones. Otherwise...you might end up with a few bullet holes in ya."

  Quin the gangster, unfazed by the threat. "Not happening. Tell you what. We're going to leave now. If you or your buddies y a hand on us, you're dead."

  The surrounding gang members broke into fits of ughter upon hearing those words, only to be silenced by a fierce gre from Zoltar.

  "Get a load of this guy. Thinks he's some tough shit because he's got a tool in his hands? Why don't you show him what happens to trash when they disrespect me?" he hissed. "Grab them. I'll teach them a lesson."

  The Gully Rats' grins widened as they swarmed closer, spreading out to surround the duo. One of them brandished a length of steel , spinning its end in a loop as he moved to fnk them. Another lifted his bat, wielding it with both hands as he advanced.

  Quinn shifted into a bat stance, gripping his wrench firmly, preparing to engage. He gnced back at Fii, whispering softly. "Don't worry. I got this."

  No, I think you don't.

  Fii gritted her teeth in frustration. Damn it. She had to act, but she needed a pn. And she o make sure that Quinn would be safe. A g the thug with the told her that he was her biggest at the moment.

  Before she could think of a pn, Quinn threw his wrench at Zoltar, taking him by surprise. The tool smacked into the hand that was holding the pistol, f the gao drop the gun.

  While the rest of the gangsters stared dumbfounded, Quinn lunged for the fallen on and picked it up. He whipped around, firing at the gangster carrying the . The first shot missed, but the sed caught the thug in the shoulder, causing him to double over in pain, dropping the as he clutched the wound.

  Two other thugs rushed at Quinn. Quinn sidestepped one and bashed him in the jaw with the butt of the pistol, knog him to the ground. He blocked a strike from the other, hitting him squarely in the chest with a well-pced kick, sending him sprawling backwards.

  The remaining gangsters hesitated, caught off guard by Quinn's aggressive move.

  Quinn traihe pistol on them, pointing at their chests. "Back off. Right now."

  Fii blinked in astonishment.

  Wait...he really got this? Woah...

  With their momentum broken and the thug with the taken out of ission, the others fell back, hesitating. A few of them exged uain gnces, shifting their gazes over to Zoltar, seeking guidance.

  The gang lieutenant snarled, pointing at Quinn angrily. "Stop standing around like idiots and grab him! I'll kill you all if you screw this up. Rush!"

  His words spurred the thugs into a. They charged towards Quinn, r, brandishing their ons. Quinn fired another round before it clicked empty. One of the charging thugs tumbled to the ground as a bullet struck him in the leg.

  The other four pounced on Quinn, tag him to the ground. He struggled, throwing a pund managing to knoe of them off. Two others jumped on top of him, smming him back to the dirt. They pinned him down, pung and kig as they restrained his arms and legs.

  "Fii, get outta here! Run!" Quinn cried out as he wrestled against the three assaints, twisting his body desperately as they punched him repeatedly. "I 't hold them long—" A vicious blow to the face cut off whatever else he inteo say, elig a pained grunt from Quinn.

  Argh! Damn it! I have to help him!

  "You two, deal with the girl." Zoltar ordered. Two of the gooached themselves from the group wrestling with Quinn, grinning maliciously as they verged on Fii. "The rest of you, keep her friend occupied. Break his face, his legs, his arms—whatever—just keep him down and quiet. Once you've khe fight out of him, bring him over."

  As the gangsters approached, Fii backed away slowly, cirg the cart with the package on it, trying to keep it between them and her. But they merely followed her movements, edging closer and closer until they could reach out and grab at her.

  Fii altered the gravity around her just enough to enhance her reflexes. That should be enough.

  One of the thugs lunged for Fii. Fii ducked, avoiding his grasping hands and slipping past him. Before he could react, she sprang upright again, smming her fist into his temple. The thug stumbled sideways, stunned, dazed, and reeling. Fii capitalized on his disorientation, driving a powerful ko his stomach, doubling him over as he gasped for air.

  Ahug came at her from the side, swinging a crowbar wildly.

  Fii darted under his attack, grabbed his arm, and flipped him over, smming him to the ground.

  A third thug circled around to her left, wielding a knife. Fii feinted an attack, causing him to swing the bde in a wild arc. She snatched his wrist as he overextended and twisted his arm, f him to let go. She caught the falling knife in midair and threw it away. Then she unched an elbow into his face, smashing his nose. He crumpled to the ground, writhing and g out in pain as blood spurted from his face.

  By this point, the first thug she'd attacked had recovered his wits and charged at her again. Fii blocked his punch, defleg it to the side, then drove a palm into his face. His eyes rolled back as he colpsed in a heap, out cold. The sed thug tried to tackle her, but Fii swept his feet out from under him and kicked him iomach. He crashed to the ground, groaning weakly as he curled into a ball.

  The gangsters surrounding Quinn stopped assaulting him long enough to gawk at the se, distracted by the sight of Fii defeatihree oppos so easily.

  Zoltar stared wide-eyed for a moment before turning his rage orio who were supposed to subdue Quinn. "What the fuck are you doing!? Stop her! Hurry up, ahe others, damn it!" He barked furiously. "Do I have to do everything myself? Fine!"

  He charged at Fii, attempting to club her with a bat.

  Fii dodged, dug low, and drove an uppercut into his as she rose, knog him off bance. She then spun around, nding a swift kick to the back of his head. The impact sent the gang lieutenant sprawling forward, colliding face-first with the ground hard enough to send a plume of dust billowing up. He didn't get back up.

  Meanwhile, Quinn had mao free one arm, and he seized the opportunity to roll aside, dislodging one of the thugs from atop him. The thug grappled for his arm again, but Quinn grabbed him by the shirt colr and delivered a powerful headbutt, breaking his nose and splitting his lip. Blood poured freely from both injuries, and the thug backed away, holding his head in agony.

  Quinn shoved ahug off and scrambled to his feet. He raised his fists, gring defiantly at the remaining two gang members. They regarded him warily, sizing him up. After a brief moment of hesitation, they decided discretion was the better part of valor, turning tail and running away.

  "Damn cowards, you get back here!" Zoltar's furious yell echoed through the street as the fleeing pair retreated from sight, leaving only the gang's battered aen leader behind.

  He attempted to crawl after them, but Fii strode over to where he y and grabbed hold of his neck, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. "Ahhckkkk!" he sputtered in fear, g uselessly at Fii's arm, trying futilely to escape her iron grip.

  She unceremoniously kneed him in his groin, cutting off whatever pathetic excuse he had to say, before tossing him away like the trash he was. He nded in a heap, whimpering as he writhed helplessly on the ground.

  That was...kinda satisfying, but also a bit disappointing. Her blood used to run cold whenever Zoltar and his crew showed up to harass her. Yet, now? That whole thi anticlimactic. The rush she felt when she fought Kasumi and her sed-in-and was way more exhirating than this.

  Was this really all she'd been afraid of before?

  Pathetic.

  Quinn jogged over to Fii, panting heavily. He was a bit bruised, and blood trickled from the er of his mouth, but otherwise he worse for wear. "Holy shit, Fii. Where'd you learn to fight like that? You totally thrashed them." He eyed her in awe.

  Uh, oh. She had to e up with an excuse fast.

  Fii leaned against the cart for support as if she were exhausted. "Oh, uh, that? Yeah, um, I saw a video somewhere about how to fight. Thought I'd give it a try. Seems it paid off." She forced a chuckle, trying her best to appear ving.

  "Haha, yeah, no kidding." Quinn grinned. "Seriously though, that was incredible. You moved so fast, and were strong enough to take those guys down easily. Wish I could fight like that." He massaged his sore ribs gingerly. "Thanks for the assist, by the way. Sorry I couldn't hahem all by myself, like I said."

  Fii shook her head dismissively. "Nah, I needed help, too. We worked together and that's what ts. Hey, let's get out of here before more of 'em show up. We've already wasted too much time dealing with these assholes." She paused to check the cargo on the dolly cart, ensuring it was still intact. Fortunately, everything seemed undamaged, so she exhaled a sigh of relief.

  She took hold of the handles again and started walking. This time, Quinn remained close by her side as she pushed the cart onward, ready to intervene if needed.

  "You good?" Fii asked as they trudged along.

  Quinn nodded, rubbing his bruises gingerly. "Yup, just a couple of bumps and scratches. Nothing serious." He wiped the blood from his mouth before fshing Fii a wry grin. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"

  I don't know about that.

  "Guess so." She shrugged, returning the smile.

  She kept a close eye on the surroundings in case Zoltar or his goons had recovered and wanted revenge. Fortunately, nobody appeared to be following them. After a few minutes, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied that they were safe once more. "Okay, so, that was fun, but let's never do that again."

  "Agreed." Quinn nodded vigorously. "The sooner we drop this thing off, the better. Hopefully nothing else will happen by the time we get there."

  "Same." Fii agreed as they tiheir journey, making small talk along the way.

  After dropping off the air ditio Lyria's pce, Fii and Quinn made their way back through the Rust Market, stopping occasionally to buy some snacks along the way. Fii treated herself to a skewer of synthie meat aables while Quinn indulged himself in a rge bowl of soupy noodles.

  They chatted amiably as they strolled past various stalls, exging stories about their respective lives, trading jokes and funny aes. Fii learned quite a bit about Quinn and his life in the slums. Like how he grew up here and learned his craft through trial and error, sging around for spare parts, salvaging bits of teology wherever he found them, building new devices out of old pos, experimenting with different ideas in his spare time, teag himself whatever he could.

  After passing by the water towers, Quinn paused to survey the area before speaking. "Hey, uh, about earlier...thanks for having my back. I owe you one."

  Fii waved him off. "No sweat. Thanks for ing with me. If anything had happeo Rao's package, I'd probably get an earful, or even worst, be made to pay for everything. Couldn't let that happen. Besides, I had to keep you safe too."

  "Still, though," Quinn persisted, "seriously, thank you. You saved my ass back there. I owe you big time."

  "Don't worry about it, seriously." Fii smiled reassuringly. "We don't always have to grind gears without oil, ya' know?"

  Quinn ughed, g her on the shoulder lightly. "Alright, I'll hold you to that. Here, let me treat you to lunorrow to make up for today."

  Fii shook her head. "Nah, you don't o do that."

  "Please," Quinn insisted. "Just a little grub 'n' guzzle. Let me do something nice for you. " He gave her an ear smile. "sider it a date. Whaddya say?"

  Fii hesitated for a moment before relenting. "Fine, fine, sure, why not?"

  "Great!" Quinn excimed cheerfully. "Meet me at Rao's pce at noon. Don't be te!" He fshed Fii o grin before bidding her farewell. "Alright, I gotta get back to work. Catch you ter. Stay out of trouble, Fii!"

  "See ya." Fii waved goodbye.

  From the er of her eye, beyond Quinn's back, she spotted Zoltar and a few of his ies approag from an alleyipe pistols drawn. They aimed their guns directly at them.

  Before she could cry out a warning, her body moved faster than her mind.

  She stepped in front of Quinn just as the loud crack of gunfire split the air, drowning out his surprised yelp of arm.

  As the bullets streaked towards her, Fii focused orajectories, adjusting her gravikinesis to affect them. She imagined a vortex around her and Quinn, a gravity field that would bend the path of the bullets away from them. But uhe time she used it around Virgil, she made sure to give spaside so that Quinn wouldn't fall prey to her power.

  The barrier caught each bullet in mid-flight, slowing them down just enough so she could alter their vectors and push them off-course.

  But...why just move them away? Why couldn't I just...

  Fii trated, adjusting her gravity field to spin the bullets around them like tiny satellites, keeping them locked irajectory. The bullets spiraled and whizzed around them in a perfect circle, f a barrier of movial projectiles.

  Then she moved her hands, carefully direg the bullets' paths, bending their paths, so they aligned with the gangsters. The bullets soared through the air, trag a trail of sparks as they bore down oargets.

  Zoltar's eyes widened in horror as the projectiles hurtled towards him.

  The bullets hit the gangsters' ons, sending them flying through the air and knog their owners off their feet. One bullet grazed Zoltar's left arm, tearing through his skin and leaving a shallow gash. The rest of the bullets hit their marks, hitting the thugs' shins, calves, and thighs, and drawing a chorus of pained cries from the gangsters as they limped away.

  Zoltar cursed loudly as he stumbled back, clutg his bleeding arm. "What the fuck?! She's a Meta?!!" he yelled. "Goddamn it! Fet this shit!" He spat angrily befesturing for his gang to retreat, not even b to pick up the ons they'd dropped. "Let's get outta here!"

  The gangsters hurriedly hobbled after him, cursing and shouting profanities as they fled into the distance.

  Ohey disappeared, Fii lowered her hand, exhaling a shaky breath as she released her gravity field.

  Quinn slumped to the ground beside Fii, his jaw sck with disbelief. "Fii...You—you have powers? You're a Meta?"

  Fii's eyes widened, realizing what she'd done. Her eyes darted around the area to see if anyone else saw her. It didn't seem like anyone did. Only Zoltar and his goons knew she was a Meta. And Quinn now, too.

  Crap. Not good. Not good!

  "Sorry, I gotta go," she blurted out before rushing off, but Quinn reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

  "Wait!" He tugged on her wrist. "Hold on a sec. Hold on a sed. How...? Where...?" he spluttered, uo formute his question coherently. "Just, hang on. You've been a Meta all this time? Is that why you knew how to fight so well?"

  "Yeah, kinda," Fii replied hesitantly, averting her gaze from Quinn's. "I mean, yes, kinda, sorta, yeah. Um, look, please don't tell anyone, okay? It's kind of a secret. I trust yht? Promise me you won't tell anybody, please?" she begged desperately, staring into Quinn's eyes.

  Quiated briefly but nodded. "O-of course. I promise, I'll keep this a secret. You t on me. Just...wow...I never would have guessed you were a Meta. That's...crazy." He gnced around to ehey were still alone and lowered his voice, leaning closer. "Fii, I swear I'll keep this a secret, but those guys from the Gully Rats also saw you; walls talk, streets scream. Are you going to be okay?"

  Probably not. Edith isn't gonna like this o, and Virgil would probably lose his mind.

  "Uh..." She frowned, unsure how to respond. "I'll...figure something out. I'm...gonna go now. Bye. I'll see you ter."

  "Um, wait, what—" Quinn began to reply, but she rushed off before he could finish.

  Zoltar's muffled scream cut through the air as Virgil slowly pressed his bowie khrough the man's chest. His blood seeped onto the dusty crete of his dive, f a dark crimson puddle beh him. Virgil's other arm grappled the gangster's throat, strig his breathing, and preventing him from uttering more than a pathetic croak.

  Around them, several gangsters y sprawled out on the floor, all dead from stab wounds.

  Virgil dug his knife deeper into Zoltar's flesh until it was hilt deep, then twisted the bde.

  Zoltar choked in his blood, then finally went limp, his eyes gzing over as he bled out. Virgil withdrew the knife and flicked the blood off. He stood over the bodies for a few moments, gazing at them with pt.

  This wouldn't be the st of the Gully Rats. Their leader would just appoint someone else. But Virgil didn't care; these scum became more of a liability sihey saw Fii's power. He wiped the bloodied bde on Zoltar's jacket and tucked it bato his boot holster before stepping outside.

  He'll have to signal the Pallbearers to remove the bodies; the blood stains will be a chore to .

  The sun had set by now. No doubt Edith was berating Fii at the ic for being reckless and dispying her power outside of her heroic alter-ego. The kid deserved the tongue-shing; she had no business using her powers for personal reasons. He was fident she uood the risks, but sometimes, young people are blinded by emotion, especially when it es to proteg their friends.

  Well, hopefully this experience will serve as a s lesson.

  Virgil lit a cigar and puffed away as he gazed upon the dipidated ndscape. He walked through the narrow alleyways toward a small ste building, passing by the locals who scurried away at his approach.

  Good, the fear keeps them from meddling.

  He picked the lod opehe door to a dimly lit interior. A row of tables stood covered in equipment, tools, and random junk. He sed the spad saw the guy ith Fii earlier, w at the far end of the room. The kid hadn't noticed him yet; he was busy tinkering with some traption. He didn't evehe door open or Virgil approach.

  Virgil coughed deliberately, drawing his attention.

  Startled, the guy dropped whatever he held, scattering its tents everywhere. He looked up and gulped visibly. "Oh, uh...hello? I...help you with something?"

  Virgil leaned casually against the wall, taking a puff of his cigar. "Sit down," he instructed in a calm tone. "We o talk."

  AnnouLocal Sng:

  Dive: A safe spot or hideout.