Sonya got to her feet, taking a step to the right as her eyes stayed fixed on Ahe Chairman poked his head up from behind some struaterials, looking around in fusion. Marta shifted forward, her gaus g into fists. The young man standing in front of the portal didn’t move for a heartbeat, he looked frozen, his eyes still vat. Sonya g Marta. She wondered for a moment if perhaps Hyunh had actually gooo far in what she’d doo the man’s mind, had this been a miscalcution? The Chairman slid out from behind his shelter just as the portal rippled again.

  Veloce came out and all hell broke loose. At that moment, every single light in Las Vegas went dark. A rolling bckout surged across the city like a tidal wave as every instin Sonya’s body screamed at her that she had very assuredly miscalcuted but in a far worse sense. Every hair stood on end, every fiber of her being recoiling in a terror born of raw survival instinct. Death was in front of her. The pn had been to pressure his mind and make him snap, shing out in a what Hyunh had doo him. He etunt and unstable so it should have been an obvious oute. He shouldn’t be this powerful!

  A’s head jerked bad he whipped his hand out to grasp at Veloce, the woma out a shriek of pain as she darted past him, c herself as bolts of electricity raced across her skin and she hurtled into a far wall. Meanwhile, A jerked and writhed where he stood, his body jolting and his head twitg backwards as if he was in the midst of vulsions. His eyes rolling bad his mouth falling opericity leapt from his teeth before skittering across his skin like a thousand is. Marta reacted before Sonya could protest, frozen as she was in the face of not a young A, but a reminder of what he had been like at his prime.

  Marta grabbed her arm. Sonya blinked and whipped her head in her friend’s dire. “Marta, no! He’s-”

  With a sudden whipping motion Sonya felt numerous g’s of force a her body as Marta literally threw her at the portal. A’s eyes came into focus as she hurtled past him, she met his gaze, wild eyed, feral, and glowing with the yellow wrath of The Great Eel fully realized. This was more than a temper tantrum, it was like the ability itself had taken the reins. He cracked his mouth with a smile and reached for her just as she hit the portal.

  –

  Marta watched with relief as Sonya passed through the rippling surface of the portal. She felt a chill run over her skin when she looked back at Duong. The young man stared at the portal for several seds as if fused about where Sonya had gone. He frowned and tilted his head before turning to look at Marta. She ched her fists. Sonya’s rea had spoken volumes and the darkness around them was just as telling. Something had gone very wrong that Sonya hadn’t taken into sideration.

  “Son?” The Chairman called out.

  Marta whipped her head in the old man’s dire, “Chairman! Stay away!” She shouted. She started to move forward but a spark jumped off the ground a a charge through her muscles. She grit her teeth and pushed through the pain, she had to get to the old man!

  Duong looked over his shoulder at the Chairman who froze mid step, eyes wide with fusion. “My boy, what’s gotten into you, I-”

  The rabid young man raised his hand and poi in the dire of his father, the st of ozone filling the air, “Blind and stupid,” came a chittering croak from the back of Duong’s throat. It barely sounded humaricity gathered on his fiips in a fsh of light that Marta had to throw her hands up to protect her eyes from. Healing them would take seds that she couldn’t afford to spend.

  “Chairman!” Marta shouted, “Run!”

  The st of blossoms cut through the st of ozone like a knife. Marta heard a cry and then a cp of thuhat momentarily left her ears ringing. The light faded and she looked up to see ay spot where the Chairman had been standing. She whipped her head around and spotted a woman a short distance away, the unscious chairman slung over her shoulder. There was a sword in her hand. Bck Lotus.

  “Handmaiden! What’s the situation?” She shouted as Duong slowly turo face her.

  “He’s gone berserk!” Marta shouted back, “We o get the Chairman out of here, Miss ovna and Miss Feng are in the dungeon!”

  The swordswoman shot the portal a gnd a frown before nodding. “Uood!” Bck Lotus responded and tapped her earpiece, “Doorway!”

  In an instant an archeared to the hero’s left that she tossed the Chairman into. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished and Bck Lotus turned her full attention to Duong.

  “Hero A, stand down!” She shouted, leveling her on in his dire. “This is my only warning!”

  Duong gnced bad forth betweewo women. Marta raised her fists and took a step to the left, watg Bck Lotus’ position. She’d attack as soon as the other did. Her legs tensed and she felt the power of her heroic strength build, amplified by Baldur's body. Bck Lotus lowered her stand bent her khe st of blossoms filling the air again. Duong didn’t move, not for a full heartbeat before he barked out a ugh and the two exploded into motion. Marta drove her fist forward at his head while Bck Lotus brought her on in a low uppercut towards his legs and knees.

  K!

  Metal gaus and sword collided with imperable flesh. Eyes glowing with blue-yellow light flickered in Marta’s vision for a moment before her world became a thuorm of pairicity roasting her from the i before she was flung bodily through the air, colliding with a wall and passing through it. Another body hit the grouo her as her flesh immediately began w to restore itself, the pain fading almost as rapidly as it came. She coughed and forced herself to her feet as the flesh of her faitted back over her teeth, rest lips that had been blown off.

  o her, Bck Lotus got to her feet as well her eyes narrowed at the glowing form of Duong as he stepped through the hole he’d made with their bodies. Lightning arced off of him in spurts while his head swayed left and right to an imaginary jaunty tune. He was humming.

  Marta ched her fists again and g Bck Lotus whht her finger up to her ear before cursing in her native tongue, she pulled an earpiece out of her ear and tossed it to the ground. “They’ll e,” Bck Lotus spat, “ you hold out?” She asked.

  “He ’t keep me dead, if that’s what you’re asking,” Marta groused.

  “Good enough,” The swordswoman aowledged, “We o keep him here.”

  Marta entered a fighting stance, “Uood.”

  –

  Sonya hit the ground oher side of the portal, skipping across the ground before rolling and scrambling to her feet. She spun around and was about to dart back through the portal before she froze, her heart pounding in her chest. Her hands fell to her sides. With only thirty seds of uptime what good was she against a monster like that? She only hoped that reinforts would e before Marta had to eoo much. Enough heroes should be able t him down, though now she was anticipating more than a few casualties.

  She clicked her tongue,. Damn it. This is more than I expected. What happened?

  She rounded on her feet and looked around, her eyes flig up towards the top of the yon walls and down at the dirt path that winded between them. She sighed, she hated this puch. The gnolls were tiresome and wild creatures that had excellent senses. It made it an absolute pain in the ass to scout it out ba her past life. She rubbed her ned searched the path ahead of her, her meical eyes fog oails on the ground. Splotches of blood here and there but no bodies.

  Her expression darkened. It looks like Hyunh is holding out, she thought, putting her focus ouation at hand. Prioritize survival, find Hyunh and make certain she’s dealt with. I’ll be a liability oside so I’ll stay here as long as possible. She looked down at her fingers and flexed them, Better not get ged just yet. She thought and turned her attention towards the cliff overlooking the path and started climbing. A mier she was looking down at the path below as she moved along in a crouch, her old skillset ing in handy.

  She kept her senses focused ahead of her, listening for any sound or shift. Occasionally she heard a bark or howl from one of the gnolls somewhere in the distanbsp;

  BANG!

  An explosion sounded off in the same dire of the gnolls. There you are. She thought and picked up her pace, eager to catch up with her quarry.

  –

  People were screaming.

  Marta threw her arms up again and blocked the blow ing for Bck Lotus. The electricity rippled across her body in a terrible wave that was immediately soothed by the rapid healing that followed. The swordswoman darted out from behind her, her body whipping through the air like a rocket even as her movements were as nguid and graceful as a feather. She murmured something and a series of pink arcs of light ripped through the air behind her, verging on Duong as she nded and darted past him.

  He snarled and threw his hand out, electricity leaping from his palms and intercepting Bck Lotus’ attack as he reached to grab ahold of her. Marta sprang forward and grabbed him by the wrist, the electric charge once again rag through her body as her muscles screamed in protest. She threw her bato the throw, ung him back-first at the ground with all the force she could muster. The instant he collided with the ground his body burst into a spray of sparks and bolts, scattering and sending a sedary wave of pain through Marta’s body that almost had her doubling over.

  Bck Lotus raced past her, not stopping for an instant as she chased him. Marta looked up to see him take two hops bad part his arms to either side of himself, lightning sprayed from his shoulders and up into the air before washing out in a wave of lightning that cascaded far and away from him, catg civilians who were desperately trying to get away from him. Bodies hit the ground as he whipped hand out and rings of electricity spread out from his palm, catg Bck Lotus as she prepared atack. She snarled and whipped her on up and down, cutting through the rings before resuming her pursuit.

  Marta shook off the pain again and darted after the dueling pair. Cars exploded around them, Duong showing no i in keeping colteral damage low. Electricity spread across the ground as if it were a perfectly natural ductor before shooting into the air and casg out to kill anyone and anything that got close to their fight. He’s tireless! She thought, trying to figure out a way to pin him down.

  Ahead of her, Duong nded on a car and raised his hands agaiing ready to release aorrent of electricity. Marta pumped her legs, moving to catch up and act as shield again when something dark hurtled through the air from Duong’s left. The mad hero barely noticed in time to step bad avoid the shadowy arrow fired from a rooftop a startling distance away. Bandit! Marta realized only to have her suspi firmed as a n of fme erupted from Duong’s feet that was joined by a ring of blue spheres of light around the spot, peppering down on the man from above.

  A bolt of lightning darted out from the n of fme and nded nearby, ref into Duong who lifted his head up in a sneer as Firestorm and Bluestar nded o Bck Lotus.

  “What are you two doing here?” Bck Lotus shouted.

  “Our jobs!” Firestorm shouted back, “We brought friends!”

  On cue, archways rose up from the ground throughout the decimated street. Lifesaver and Vytal stepped out of ohe back, ready to provide healing at a moments notice. Pathfinder appeared at mid range, drawing a rifle from his coat and pointing it at Duong. Then more started to e through, heroes that Marta didn’t reize but assumed where members of the guilds located here in Nevada. Two dozen people in e, their powers at the ready, came out to fa Set.

  Aood up straighter as his eyes swept over the crowd of heroes. Ead every one of them ready to fight to stop him. He bore his teeth, electricity rag up his fad through his hair. He threw his head bad ughed. Above them, the clouds darkehunder rumbled, and a bolt of lightning shaped like an eel began to course through the murky bess.

  It’s terrible roar set off the round of the fight.

  Marta kicked off the ground and hurled herself at Duong, fist reared back. She puraight through the jittering e of electricity he left behind and rolled across the ground, catg herself aing to her feet. Fmes, bolts of energy, arrows, cussive waves of wind, bullets, rays of starry matter, attacks of all kinds came from every dire as Duong darted from spot to spot, trying to reach the heroes with weaker defenses. Every time he hough, Bck Lotus was right there swinging her sword with a wash of pink illusory petals floating around her.

  Duong whirled, trying again and again to deliver a direct atta Bck Lotus while she danced around him, keeping him focused on her while the others raiheir attacks on him. Marta dove in once more, her entire mind focused on keeping him tained as long as possible only for the madman to let loose a roar that sent everyoumbling back. Marta nded o Bck Lotus.

  “Pn?” She asked, panting.

  “Hold him here as long as possible,” Bck Lotus said, “Sapporo will be ready soon.”

  –

  Sonya stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down and watg as Hyunh fought off the gnolls that had surrounded her. Amethyst bolts of energy erupted endlessly from her fiips as she whirled and danced in pce, desperate to keep them at bay.

  Found you.