Vee watched as the enemy fighter stared down at the grenade stuck to his hand, his eyes widening in the moment of realization. His fingers scrambled to peel it off, but it clung stubbornly, like a sea urchin’s spines biting into his glove. She used the split-second distraction to swing her rifle from her shoulder, leveling it in one smooth motion, her stance steady. She pulled the trigger, firing from the hip. The shot tore upward, blasting through his helmet and vaporizing his head with a digital explosion, followed by the fiery burst of the grenade clamped to his hand. His arm disintegrated, and his body fell in smoldering pieces.
Not waiting to admire the aftermath, Vee tossed an incendiary round onto the remains, watching it catch and incinerate him. She knew she was exposed now - the entire enemy squad would be aware of her location.
“Kat, that was insane!” came the voice of Stein over the comms. “I thought he had you for a second.”
“No chance,” Vee replied, her tone sharp and focused. “But now they’re onto me. I need suppressive fire, stat.”
“On it!” Skater’s voice crackled through as a hail of cover fire erupted from her team’s direction, drawing the enemy’s attention. Ducking and weaving, Vee sprinted towards the rendezvous point, her camouflage still down, throwing up temporary shield walls to deflect stray rounds as she ran. The kinetic barriers shimmered, absorbing impacts and keeping her clear of bullets whizzing past. She moved low, only rising briefly to flick off a few shots at any visible opponents, each time targeting the chest first to weaken their shields, then following with a headshot to take them down for good.
Despite the cover fire, the enemy numbers felt overwhelming. Her HUD flashed with each new hostile detected, red markers multiplying as the squad regrouped. Glancing quickly at her team’s health bars, she saw they were barely holding on. Stein was at half, Brick was critical, and Jade, the elusive green-haired operative, was the only one near full health. Vee’s mind raced, realizing her original plan was too risky. She tapped into the comms again.
“Change of plans, team. Hold your ground, keep firing. I’m going to work from the perimeter. No way you’re all making it out if I try to pull you through.”
“Gee, thanks, Kat,” Stein replied, but his tone was all grit and determination. “We’ll keep them busy, just hurry up and do your thing!”
Vee smirked, knowing they had faith in her. “Give me thirty seconds.”
The firefight intensified, bullets and lasers ripping through the jungle. Vee pressed forward, crouching low and activating her agility boosters to dart in and out of cover. She tossed another decoy ahead, mimicking her form to throw off her pursuers, then sidestepped to find a better vantage point. Just as she slipped behind a wide tree trunk, a round smacked into her back, nearly sending her sprawling. Her shields flared, her health bar knocking dangerously low.
Another shot, and she’d be down for good, costing her the title.
Rolling to the side, Vee found herself face-to-face with a blade, slicing through the air toward her. Her eyes locked onto the enemy's, a split-second recognition before the figure slumped forward, a blade jutting from his neck. Jade appeared, his kukri gleaming, green hair spilling out from under his helmet like some ethereal wraith.
He gave her a nod, mouth curving into a smile behind his mask. “Thought you could use a hand.”
“Perfect timing,” she whispered, returning his nod as he melted back into the shadows
His voice came over the comms. “The field’s all yours, Kat. I’ll take the left flank.”
With her energy shield, and camouflage fully restored, Vee activated it, her form blending seamlessly back into the jungle. She continued moving toward the beacon, Jade picking off enemies from his position. They were a perfect team, both of them slipping through the shadows, clearing out enemies in tandem. Her HUD lit up with the results - squad health stabilizing, enemy numbers thinning as their suppressive fire wavered.
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The jungle fell silent, each enemy body left smoldering with an incendiary round to prevent respawn. As she approached the squad’s position, she let her guard down just enough to breathe, taking in the eerie calm that had settled over the battlefield.
“Alright, team,” Vee called, glancing around at the silent bodies, “what exactly are we doing here? What’s the mission?”
A voice piped up. “Mad Kat to the rescue!” Brick laughed, clearly relieved, but it was Stein who cut in with a smirk audible in his tone.
“It’s simple,” he said. “Capture the Flag.”
Vee narrowed her eyes. “So why are you all huddled up here like sitting ducks?”
Stein’s grin could practically be heard over the comms. “Because we have their flag,” he said, pulling a bright, holographic banner from behind his back. The flag glowed, a stark contrast to the darkened jungle.
“Alright, so you’ve got their flag,” Vee replied, tapping her foot. “Then what’s the holdup?”
“Well, we’re smack in the middle of enemy territory,” Stein admitted. “We need to get it back to our base, which is back at the spawn point - only the enemy’s been keeping us bolted down.”
“Fantastic,” she muttered. “Why am I just hearing about this?”
Jade chuckled. “Better late than never, right?”
“Alright, here’s the plan. You guys keep up the cover fire. I’ll take the flag.” She reached out, grabbing the flag from Stein and securing it onto her back. “Jade, I’ll need you to run a decoy with my projected signature. Make them think you’re me.”
Monk nodded, adjusting his projector settings to mimic Vee’s stance, movements, and even health stats. With the decoy activated, he appeared nearly identical to her, carrying what looked like the flag. She glanced at his projection, impressed with the details. “Looks good,” she said. “Camouflage up, everyone. Jade, lead them out. Draw their attention north.”
Her squad scattered, Jade slipping into the shadows first, his decoy peeling off in the opposite direction. Vee moved in silence, letting her teammates lure the enemy away while she headed toward their base.
System Notification: New Objective - Secure Friendly Flag for Extraction. Warning: High-Risk Zone.
The HUD flashed with red markers as more enemies respawned, spreading out and setting up sniper positions around the jungle base. Vee crouched low, her form blending seamlessly with the surrounding foliage as she circled the perimeter. She spotted a cluster of three guards around a figure holding what had to be their flag. They weren’t just sitting ducks - each one had a different vantage point, with two positioned higher, watching for intruders. And she wasn’t fooled; the flag bearer was a decoy. It was a trap.
Smart, she thought. But not smart enough.
She crept forward, formulating a quick plan. With a flick of her wrist, she deployed a few concussive grenades, tossing them to the sides of their positions. As the explosions echoed through the jungle, she darted in. The guards scrambled, firing blindly toward the blasts. She slipped in behind one, dispatching him with a silent blade to the neck, then dropped an incendiary on him before moving on. Her HUD showed the decoy flag flickering, and she knew the real flag was close.
Just then, the actual flag bearer appeared, dashing from cover with two more guards. Timing her movement perfectly, Vee pulled back, throwing her last flashbang. The blast stunned them, leaving her a clear opening. She lunged forward, dispatching each with quick, efficient strikes.
She grabbed the flag, feeling the weight of the victory within reach. But as she turned, she saw the final challenge: two remaining snipers with rifles aimed directly at her.
Without thinking, she threw down a smoke grenade, obscuring their view, then activated hyper-sprint mode. Her camo shimmered, flickering in and out as she burned through her suit’s remaining energy reserves. She bolted through the underbrush, ignoring the faint warning lights on her HUD, each pulse matching the pounding in her chest. The flags draped across her back glowed faintly, a beacon in the dim jungle as she tore through the trees.
She broke past the treeline, her teammates’ figures emerging in her sight. With a final burst, she dove behind the defensive perimeter her team had set up, the enemy gunfire fading as she hit the ground, breathing heavily. She’d made it to the platform.
System Notification: Objective Complete - Flag Secured. Victory Achieved.
A cheer erupted through her comms as her teammates congratulated her, relief clear in their voices. Stein clapped her on the back, laughing. “That’s why you’re Mad Kat!”
Vee grinned, still catching her breath. “Just doing what I do best.”
As the team celebrated, she leaned back, satisfied. This was her element - the chaos, the precision, the thrill of the win.
She looked at the final results and saw that she’d placed third. Her Kill/Death ratio was even with first place, and the rest of her stats were too. She glanced at second place, RoadKiller, and saw that theirs were the same.
A three way tie. Not bad.