The Mana Tide festival was in full swing, the streets and plazas thronging with thousands of revelers. Their withered mana vessels, starved for power, eagerly drew in the wild energy saturating the air. The night pulsed with the smells of street food, the sounds of music, and the cheering of crowds.

Holographic displays flickered and glitched, affected by the surging mana levels. Neon signs danced as their electronic circuitry strobed rapidly, while advertisements for the latest cyberware and gene mods warped into bizarre, abstract patterns before snapping back to normal.

In the upscale districts, the wealthy lounged in exclusive rooftop bars, sipping designer cocktails and enjoying the spectacle from above. Fortunes changed hands over casino tables, while private parties raged in dimly lit clubs, the pounding beats of sub-sonic sound waves rattling everyone’s bones.

Back on the ground, the masses packed the central squares, shoving and elbowing their way through. Amid the chaos, pickpockets and smugglers worked the fringes, slipping through gaps to fleece unsuspecting victims. Law enforcement drones zipped around, their sensors scanning the sea of faces.

Street vendors hawked their wares, selling everything from cheap trinkets to overpriced ‘mana boosters’ promising to enhance the festival experience. Squealing children flitted from stall to stall, marveling at floating multi-colored lights and the swirling phantasms conjured by magical street performers.

Corporate-sponsored floats drifted overhead, their anti-grav generators sputtering intermittently. Speakers blared product jingles, while advertisements featuring celebrities and models were projected onto skyscrapers.

Throughout it all, the increased mana levels played havoc with the city’s technology. Maglev trains stuttered along their tracks, autopiloted taxis veered wildly before safety systems engaged, and even the omnipresent security drones seemed confused.

Meanwhile, high above the streets, away from the noise and light of the festival, a different kind of tension was building...

The roof access door exploded off its hinges with a thunderous crash. Agatha strode through the opening, her massive bulk filling it entirely. Behind her, Maria and Gertrude followed, their weapons at the ready.

“Well, that was subtle,” Maria muttered, her cybernetic eyes scanning the rooftop. “So much for stealth.”

“Stealth’s overrated. Besides, you said the guards would be changing shifts now.”

“I said they might be changing shifts,” Maria corrected, tapping at a holographic display projected from her wrist. “But these mana surges are playing hell with my data feeds. Half the city’s systems are glitching out.”

Gertrude moved silently to the edge of the roof, her sniper rifle already shouldered. She peered through the scope, sweeping it across the target building.

“How’s it look, Gertie?”

The old sniper’s lips tightened into a thin line. She held up three fingers, then five.

“Fifteen guards?” A groan escaped Agatha’s lips. “So much for accurate intel.”

Fingers flying over the holo-keyboard, Maria snapped back, “Intel’s only as good as the moment it’s gathered. With this mana interference...” Suddenly, her voice trailed off. “Wait, what the hell?”

A surge of energy rippled through the air, causing the holographic display to flicker wildly before dissolving into a shower of sparks. Maria cursed, shaking her hand as if burned. “Damn it! My systems are fried. We’re flying blind here.”

Undeterred, Agatha cracked her neck with a sound of grinding gears. “Doesn’t matter. We’ve come too far to back out now.”

She reached into her pack and pulled out a sleek, matte-black device. As she strapped it to her chest, the cloaking unit hummed to life, its stealth field shimmering around her massive frame.

“Remember,” Maria said, her voice tense, “that thing’s experimental. It’ll hide you from visual and most electronic scans, but it’s not perfect. Move slow, stay in the shadows, and for fuck’s sake, don’t grunt or pop your damn knuckles.”

“I’m not an amateur.” The bruiser barely stifled a frustrated groan. Her form was already blurring at the edges. “Just work on getting your tech up again, and make sure Gertie’s got my back.”

Gertrude nodded once, her eyes never leaving her scope.

With a deep breath, Agatha stepped to the edge of the roof. The wind whipped at her gray hair, and she paused for a moment to take in the scene below. The gap between buildings yawned before her. A hundred-meter drop to the festival-packed streets below. She could hear the distant roar of the crowds, smell the mix of fried food and sweat carried on the wind.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered, and stepped off the ledge.

The thick chain paid out behind her, lowering her slowly down the side of the building. Her muscles strained against gravity, keeping her movements smooth and controlled. Each second felt like an eternity as she descended, but there was no going back.

A sudden flicker of movement caught her eye. The roof access door of the target building swung open, and a new group of guards filed out. Instantly, Agatha froze, pressing herself flat against the wall. Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched them fan out across the roof. There were more than before - at least twenty now. And at their center...

“Fuck me,” Agatha breathed.

A massive form lumbered onto the roof, dwarfing the goblin guards. The ogre stood at least twelve feet tall, its mottled green skin covered in crude cybernetic implants. Its piggy eyes narrowed as it sniffed the air.

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Gertrude’s rifle came up, her scope trained on the ogre’s head, but Maria grabbed her arm. “We can’t risk it. Not yet.”

Below them, Agatha had frozen in place. Her cloaking device flickered, struggling against the increasing mana levels. She was barely halfway down, dangling like a spider from its web.

The ogre’s head turned, fixing its gaze on the exact spot where Agatha was hanging. With a grunting sound resembling grinding stones, it reached for the massive gun attached to its back.

“Aggie, move!” Maria’s voice crackled through the comm link.

Agatha didn’t hesitate. Without a second thought, she gripped the chain in both hands and ripped it apart. For a moment, she hung suspended, as if defying gravity. Then, with a kick that left cracks in the building’s facade, she launched herself towards the opposite roof.

The ogre’s gun was more appropriate for mounting on a vehicle than for being held by hand. Yet, without even flinching, it opened fire and unleashed a torrent of high-caliber rounds that tore through the air. Agatha twisted in mid-air, the bullets whizzing past her, close enough that she felt their heat on her skin. Despite the barrage, her momentum carried her forward, unwavering.

In the next heartbeat, she slammed into the ogre with the force of a wrecking ball. The impact sent both of them crashing to the ground, and the roof cracked under their combined weight. The ogre’s massive weapon, torn from its grasp by the collision, went flying, skidding across the rooftop and coming to rest near the edge.

The collision sent shockwaves across the roof, and in its wake, chaos erupted. Goblin guards opened fire indiscriminately, their bullets peppering both behemoths without concern for friendly fire. Armor plates rang like bells as rounds ricocheted off Agatha and the ogre’s reinforced bodies.

From her vantage point on the adjacent rooftop, Gertrude sprang into action. Immediately, one guard’s head exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter. Another fell, clutching at a smoking hole where his heart had been moments before.

Agatha and the ogre rolled across the roof, trading punches that would have pulverized normal humans. Her fist, wrapped in layers of synthetic muscle and metal, slammed into the ogre’s jaw. Teeth flew, along with bits of crude cyber-implants. The ogre roared in pain and rage, but managed to close its meaty hands around Agatha’s throat.

Warning lights flashed across Agatha’s vision as the pressure threatened to crush her windpipe. With a snarl, she brought her knee up, servos whining with the effort. It connected with the ogre’s groin, and even through its armored codpiece, the impact was enough to make the creature howl. Its grip loosened, and Agatha seized the opportunity to headbutt the ogre. Blood sprayed, and a section of its cranial implant cracked, exposing the flesh beneath.

The brutal fight had not gone unnoticed. More guards poured onto the roof, drawn by the commotion. Gertrude’s rifle sang out again and again, each shot finding its mark with deadly precision. But there were too many, and they were spreading out, making it harder for her to pick them off.

“Aggie, we’ve got incoming!” Maria’s voice crackled through the comm. “Security drones, ETA thirty seconds!”

Agatha grunted an acknowledgment as she ducked under the ogre’s wild swing. Her fist drove into its solar plexus, the impact sending shockwaves through its massive frame. But the creature was tough, its crude implants and natural resilience allowing it to shrug off blows that would have felled an ordinary opponent.

In the chaos of the fight, a stray bullet found its mark, punching through a gap in Agatha’s armor at her hip. Pain lanced through her, but years of combat experience kicked in—together with analgesics and adrenaline released by her combat stims.

However, that moment of distraction was enough for the ogre to recover. Its massive hands clamped down on Agatha’s shoulders, lifting her bodily off the ground. With a roar, it hurled her across the roof. The world spun as she flew, ending abruptly as she slammed into the low wall surrounding the building—the impact knocking the air from her lungs.

She rolled to her feet, pushing aside the screaming pain in her side. As she regained her footing, the ogre charged, its thunderous footsteps shaking the very roof beneath them. Agatha held her ground until the last second, then dodged aside. Its momentum carried it into the wall, smashing through the concrete barrier.

For a heart-stopping moment, it teetered on the edge, arms windmilling. Seizing the opportunity, Agatha’s cybernetic leg shot out, catching the beast square in the back. With a roar of fury and fear, the ogre toppled over the side, disappearing from view.

Any sense of triumph was short-lived. Bullets whizzed past her head as the remaining guards opened fire. Above, the promised security drones arrived, their rotors whining as they descended on the scene. Agatha dove behind an air conditioning unit, the metal shrieking as it was peppered with gunfire from both ground and air.

“Maria! I could use some help here!” she shouted into her comm, ducking as a drone’s laser targeting system painted her cover red.

“Working on it!” came the strained reply. “These mana surges are playing havoc with everything. I can’t… wait, got it!”

Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. The drones wobbled in the air, their lights flickering erratically. Confused shouts rang out as the guards’ weapons jammed or shut down completely.

“You’re welcome,” Maria’s smug voice came through the comm.

Agatha grinned fiercely, watching as the drones spiraled out of control and crashed onto the roof. She burst from cover. The first guard went down with a crushed larynx, the second with a shattered jaw. A third managed to get off a wild shot before Agatha’s elbow caved in his chest.

Across the roof, Gertrude’s rifle continued its deadly song. Guards fell one by one, their bodies hitting the ground before the crack of her shots even reached them.

But more were coming. The roof access door burst open again, disgorging another wave of security.

“Shit,” Agatha muttered, eyes darting around for cover. Suddenly, something caught her eye—the ogre’s massive gun still lay where it had skidded earlier, near the edge of the roof.

With a grunt of effort, she lunged for it. Bullets pinged off her armor as she rolled, coming up with the massive weapon in her hands. It was almost comically large, designed for the ogre’s inhuman strength. Even with her cyberware, Agatha’s arms strained as she hefted it, servos whining under the tremendous weight.

As she squeezed the trigger, the world exploded into noise and fire. The gun’s recoil threatened to tear her arms from their sockets, but she held on, sweeping it in a wide arc across the roof.

Guards fell like wheat before a scythe. Concrete exploded, metal shrieked, and screams were cut brutally short as the hail of bullets tore through everything in its path. In seconds, it was over. The roof fell silent save for the ringing in Agatha’s ears and the creaking of cooling metal.

She let the gun drop, her arms trembling from the exertion. “Clear,” she panted into her comm.

“Show-off,” Maria’s voice crackled back. “We’re on our way down.”

Moments later, the other two women rappelled down to join her. Gertrude immediately took up a defensive position, her rifle sweeping the area for any remaining threats, while Maria went straight to the roof access door. She pulled out a small device and attached it to the electronic lock.

“How long?” Agatha asked, massaging her aching shoulders.

Maria’s fingers danced over the device’s interface as she replied, “Two minutes, maybe less. This security system is top-of-the-line stuff. It’s going to take some finesse to--“

Her words were cut short by a thunderous crash as the door exploded inward. Agatha lowered her foot, ignoring Maria’s exasperated glare.

“Or we could just do that,” the hacker muttered.

They stepped through the smoking doorway, entering a sterile white corridor. Emergency lights pulsed an angry red, and somewhere in the distance, an alarm wailed.

Their mission was only just beginning.