Everything was calm, still, and quiet.

  She stirred, moving her aching body, the seats she sat on was on the opposite end of her vision. The van laid on its head, it’s creaking metal groaning in protest. Smoke thickened the air, and curled intensively. Her ears were ringing like a church bell, she forced herself to move through her swimming mess of a head.

  Caldera groaned, half-conscious. The driver was out cold. The van’s systems were offline. Cutting off any hopes of alternative communication, the maniac had. He couldn’t blackmail her anymore.

  She kicked the door open. It resisted and then fell off with one swift swoop. She crawled out of it. Dragging herself into the air. She struggled to breathe. The dust was thick here, and so was the smoke.

  Her eyes caught flames. The other van was on fire. They had put chemicals and canisters inside before they left. Annemarie was inside that van, her mind went through several possibilities, ideas?

  She panicked and called out to her friend and ally.

  “” she shouted in fear, her voice physically altered, hoarse. There was no response. Nothing. Not a peep. “Annemarie!”

  She turned, she couldn’t stand still. Limping forward to scan their immediate surroundings, perhaps if she acted fast enough, they can avoid any gruesome fate.

  Something clicked–recognition.

  She was here before, briefly passed it, it was close to the sea, the mountain pass. The border, the military base, the beach. She didn’t forget. It was a great day she had then. She and Kanako, the girls she met. It was only a few days ago, yet it felt so long away.

  A nasty realization stabbed through her. If the military patrolled these grounds. They could be ‘summoned.’ She could call for help.

  Her pulse hammered. She had one shot at this. She turned her trembling hands, to the full view of the moon. Light surged from her palm, gathering into a concentrated beam.

  She hesitated, where exactly should she shoot it? Like a strobe light. She let it flicker, flashing unmistakable sos into the night, the entire city would be able to see it.

  It shone brightly into the darkened sky. Bright and desperate.

  Then–

  A maniacal cackle erupted behind her followed by Gunshots.

  She spun around. Too late. Her heart dropped. But the bullets never reached her, they lost their energy midair. They dropped to the dirt.

  Caldera stood there, fuming, wild-eyed, a couple of extra burns on his face.

  The air distorted, and a bruised figure stood behind her. Annemarie stood and watched Caldera. Silent like a guardian angel. His expression twisted. He sprinted towards her, grabbing her legs and yanking Juniper down.

  Then–

  A rock hit him on the side of his skull and he went limp, thrashing into the dirt. Annemarie had shot it out by means of levitation?.

  A heavy gun cocked. Her head snapped. The massive bodyguard stood there, his clothes in holes and tatters. Annemarie stared him down, beckoning him to shoot. Daring him. He lowered his gun, shaking his head.

  Then he ran away. His heavy legs burrow in the sand. He didn’t make it far. Dozen's of buzzing noices could be heard at once, approaching them.

  A drone came out of nowhere, zapping at him. The bodyguard fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Juniper recoiled.

  More drones started swarming, humming and buzzing, like little insects. They surrounded them in Dyson sphere formation, but did nothing. Then— her ears shook as a horn started blasting. Engines started roaring from the distance–they came closer and closer still. The drones circled back, out of view.

  She turned. All-terrain vehicles, the insignia of the Pacifica national defense force stamped on the bonnet of the vehicles. Headlights cut through the smoldering smoke, blinding her.

  A military patrol.

  It worked.

  Her plan had worked, and they were so fast…

  The convoy surrounded them all in a precise, practiced formation. They flooded out, forming tight groups, rifles trained on everyone, even her. Caldera groaned, staggering. What was left of his goons rallied behind, him, they held out their guns but waited.

  Caldera . He , voice raw, .

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  In one final, desperate act, he snapped his finger, concentrating on the burning wreck of the van as a flame anchor. He flung his hands toward the van.

  The flames contorted, rising like a living beast, creating something high in the air. The flames roared, gathering fuel and mixing with the sandy wind. A would be firestorm.

  She braced herself as he threatened to bring him down, grabbing Annemarie close, and hoping for the best.

  A few shots went out, slamming into his legs. He collapsed, and his firestorm crumbled as well. The inferno lost its controller, sputtering and collapsing into the sand.

  His men, fell to the ground in fear and defeat. They turned towards her–rifles aimed at her.

  Her knees buckled. She went weak. Body screaming in overexertion. She dropped to the ground. Barely able to hold herself upright.

  A soldier stepped forward, confusion etched in his face. He loomed over her, waving his gun and a flashlight in his hands.

  “

  Juniper’s breath hitched.

  “I—I'm…”

  Annemarie stood beside her, hands raised, waiting. Silent.

  Then—

  Another engine roared. This one was different. Naked. Raw. Unrelenting. Smaller than their vehicles.

  Someone else was coming.

  A military buggy skidded to a stop, kicking up dust and gravel. Four figures sat inside– all too familiar. Except for the metallic figure at the wheel. In the back of the open buggy, stood Francesca, her curly hair blowing in the wind, relief on her face. She waved frantically.

  “Hey!!!”

  The soldiers snapped to attention, caught between controlling the situation and confusion. Evelyn stepped out. A short capelit on her back, and a beret above her reddish hair.

  She moved with precision and authority, shoulders squared together, The air of command leaving her body. Terminal– frail and scrawny, lurked behind her. Scanning the scene until he locked on Juniper. He followed Evelyn like he was her lost little brother. She caught a glimpse of wonder in his eyes.

  The man in the driver’s seat sat still. He was clad in black armor, cybernetic light glinting off him in the moonlight, a sword rested on his back–cruel and efficient. He looked more like a ghost than a man.

  The soldiers froze. Then–

  “Commander!”

  They saluted Evelyn.

  [Perhaps there’s a reason more to the reason she runs a vigilante group, but don’t ponder about it right away.]

  It made sense, she commanded authority wore, military gear, and carried a gun with her all the time, and yet–

  It didn’t matter now. She was free.

  She stumbled toward her boss. Barely still a stranger and now a sign of relief. A soldier ran straight towards, aiming directly against her.

  “Stop–” Evelyn said. “These two are mine.”

  Juniper bolted past him, breathing raggedly as she reached her, grabbing her arms.

  “” she panted, “?”

  Evelyn’s expression softened.

  “No,” she reassured her. “It’s still there. We heard everything. We acted fast. Not only that, but we prioritized securing it first. Sorry, we took so long.”

  Terminal adjusted his glasses, voice sharp, analytical. “My drone caught the transmission. When you blew it up, some of the internal modules survived. We were tracking you. But you moved so fast. The SCRA is actively raiding the underground compound of the arsonist cult as we speak.”

  Evelyn exhaled, her hands settling on her hips. “What you did was reckless.”

  Juniper stiffened.

  “Under no circumstances should you ever do that again.”

  A beat.

  “But… I get it. It was your first day, and you were put in a horrible position. That’s on me. I shouldn’t have let you go. I’m sorry, Mimicry.”

  She nearly forgot they were capes, no first-named bases.

  Juniper looked down, her face hanging heavy. She didn’t know what to say.

  Then Francesca ran up to her, crushing her in a fierce, breath-stealing embrace. She rose slightly, towering over Juniper. Juniper stiffened—then melted into it. It was awkward, but Francesca had been nice enough to care for her in the past.

  A second later, Terminal awkwardly leaned in, making it a messy, lopsided, almost comical group hug.

  She didn’t care.

  Because it was real.

  It was over.

  The cybernetic swordsman—gave her a silent nod. A familiar one. He must be Metal Ronin.

  And Of course. It was John.

  The same man who had driven her home once. The same man who had silently looked out for her. Evelyn stepped past them, approaching Caldera’s limp form. Francesca, still half-clinging to Juniper, muttered, “So… is he the big bad?”

  Evelyn on the ground. “No. Just another pawn. Let’s leave the information for debriefing,”

  Her gaze flicked to the remaining pyromaniacs, now restrained. “Brainwashed fools.”

  The soldier approached hesitantly, stepping in front of Evelyn.

  “Commander… It’s Arkangeal now yes, This is a weird situation,” he muttered. “My field commander should be here soon. I can’t explain this.”

  Evelyn nodded. “Not a problem, Sergeant. I’ll handle it. SCRA should be here soon too, a full party, I can hardly wait.”

  The soldier giggled nervously. A full party meant a mess was on your hands.

  Juniper looked down at her hands. Bloody, shaken, burned. She had woken up this morning thinking she would go on a shopping trip with Kanako.

  Now—

  Now she was something .

  A different person. A person the city had . She had seen dead bodies, and people being killed in real time, bonded briefly with a strange girl.

  The SCRA had forced her hand, she got tangled–

  [Shut up Juniper. For once, calm down. Relax. Go home.]

  Syschan’s voice flickered through her mind like static.

  Juniper blinked, eyes suddenly wet, and turned to Evelyn.

  “Can I go home now?”

  Evelyn’s expression softened. She gave her a small, gentle hug. “Of course. You’ve been through a lot. Take it easy. Metal Ronin will take you home.”

  Juniper hesitated. She pointed at the shot man on the ground, he was still breathing. “He… knows who I am. He implied he paid for information from some mole or government official or something. I-”

  Evelyn only shushed her. “Forget about it. I’ll handle everything. We’ll deal with everything else, later, alright?”

  “Okay.”

  Evelyn brushed passed her. Turning to Annemarie. Neither of them spoke, Evelyn shoulder fell on her. Her eyes were distant, she was exhausted.

  Juniper watched them.

  The soldiers. The capes. The scattered bodies of the goons. There was no going back. She wasn’t the shut-in kid she had once been. She was part of something now. And she hated that. Her freedom slipped away.

  A sharp ping echoed in her mind.

  A flickering screen appeared before her.

  [...The user survived against improbable odds.]

  [...Trajectory altered considerably.]

  *****

  [SYSTEM ALERT: CRISIS AVERTED.]

  [Event: Potential Catastrophic Incident Active in Zone [Pacifica Central District].]

  [RISK LEVEL: HIGH. Chance of User Mortality: 47%.]

  [Calculating Rewards…]

  [Randomizing Rewards…]

  ****

  _All-purpose stat boost +1

  _Enhance the passive of the user’s choice

  A final prompt blinked at her.

  [Choose a Passive]

  She’d do it later.

  Right now—

  She just wanted to go home.