"Long time, no see," he said. "I thought you were dead. Where's Lia?"

"Hi, Brick. What brings you to my formerly-pleasant corner of the world?"

"I just said it, fuckface. You thought you could get away with it?"

"With what? Being an Exhuman?"

"With kidnapping Lia. Stop playing dumb. Where is she?"

AEGIS' voice came through the earpiece. "Lia, sweetie, if you want to shoot him in the head, we all support you."

She didn't respond. All I could hear from her was panicked breathing. Karu and I exchanged a worried glance.

"She's safe. From you," I growled at him. "Do you have any idea what you did to her? Like at all?"

"Yeah," he said smugly. "I saved her from you. I saved everyone in town. People think I'm a fucking hero who put away the Exhuman before he could destroy everything."

"You're a stupid piece of shit is what you are. She's fucking terrified of you. All you did was hurt her and molest her--" I felt the words catch in my throat and my blood boiled. My hands wouldn't stop clenching and unclenching, my face twitched. Every time I looked up, I saw that face, smug, totally unrepentant.

"I saved her, and she loved me for it!" he shouted back. "After you were gone, she needed somebody to love and comfort her, and that was me! You just can't come to terms with the fact that I replaced you. I was the brother you could never be. A human one! Your own parents love me more than they love you."

I couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't control myself any longer. Every moment near this man just drove me further into my own hate. For the first time in a long time, images flashed in front of my eyes of everything I'd lost from being Exhuman, everything he'd taken from me, and through it all, I saw his stupid smug face smiling at me.

"Got her chained up in your little house then? That's fine. The first thing she sees when this is all over will be me--"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a noise like 'gurk', as I moved, faster than I knew I could, and drove my fist right into his gut. My rage poured over, my once-innocent sister, now happy to be killing people, criminal overlord, when she should be at home studying for midterms before winter break, talking with her friends, picking out clothes to keep warm against the balmy Los Angeles winter.

I hit him again, in the nose, feeling blood fleck on my arm and face. She was here, dressed like an assassin, behind the optics of a gun as big as she was. A fucking high schooler. The sweetest, smartest, most popular girl in her class. She was a shoo-in for captain on the volleyball team. She was an AP and honors student with a 4.0 GPA. She was the friend people called when they needed someone strong, someone they could trust with their secrets and their lives.

One more time, I struck, feeling like I broke my knuckles against his jaw. There was a crack and blood flew from his lips with the force of my hit. And now what? Now she sold people's secrets. Now she claimed people's lives. She had no chance or hope of being a normal student. Everything she had or was, everything she'd lost, I blamed this man. I poured that blame into him with my knuckles.

My fists moved on their own, driving into his face again and again, crunching and blood, and I didn't know if it was his or mine. Stigmatized. Ostracized. Beaten. Raped.

He caught my fist in his hand, his face blackened and sagging. Both of us gasping and panting for air. I tried to move, but couldn't. I was a quarterback, but he was a lineman.

"You stupid little shit," he muttered. "You can't beat me. I'm a goddamn hero."

He grunted and released my hands as Karu's leg swung and caught him full in the chest. Suddenly, he was back up again, gun in hand from somewhere, only inches from Karu's visor. I saw surprise cross her face, and the jetpack began to deploy, but at that distance, still off-balance from her kick, she couldn't move in time.

I heard a shot fill every bit of my ears and soul, and felt a spray of blood so hot it felt like it burned where it touched me. I flinched and closed my eyes. I wanted to vomit. I needed to move, needed to act, needed to do something, but I couldn't...couldn't open my eyes, couldn't look at Karu.

I heard a body hit the ground. The snow crunched under it.

No. I couldn't lose her. I loved her too much. Maybe, I thought insanely, if I stayed here with my eyes shut forever, she would never be dead. She could live as long as I refused to accept it.

Lia broke the silence. "That...that felt really..."

I realized I hadn't inhaled in several moments and my lungs were burning. I swallowed hard, and felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and met a green pair sparkling under the hazy red of the visor on her brow.

I gasped and felt hot tears in my eyes. I had to hold it together. We had a war to fight. I couldn't go to pieces. I couldn't. Couldn't let myself feel...how I'd almost lost...

Brick...simply wasn't anymore. Everything from about halfway up his torso was simply gone, completely erased by the enormous force of a bullet the size of his head moving at mach 100. The rest of him lay on the ground at our feet. A red halo of blood around and on us, the only remains of his upper-half. Karu was looking at me intensely, worry carved across her face.

"...really good," Lia finished.

Slowly, carefully, the hand on my shoulder pulled me in for a hug and she just held me for long moments.

I stood and trembled, my breath coming in ragged. In my ear, I could hear Lia's, as shaky and ragged as my own.

I'd failed her. Failed Lia. She'd killed a man, and loved doing it. Even in death, Brick had one final word in corrupting her. I couldn't protect her from him, even when he was right in front of me.

I heard AEGIS and Lia talking excitedly about how good the shot was, even with me in the way, how exceptional her timing, like they were going over the highlights of a well-played game. Karu was silent, holding me for as long as I needed. I'd almost lost her as well.

We couldn't do this. I couldn't do this. I couldn't protect these people, what had I even been thinking. My hand inched towards the comms Blackett gave me, but abruptly Karu broke off the embrace.

"They're moving," she said. "It's starting now. Athan, back to the trenches, go!"

And then she was gone, a blue trail in the air. The air began to whistle as rockets streaked from the tank line, hundreds of them coursing through the air straight for me.

I didn't have time to think or feel or despair. The time to fight was forced on me. I did grab Blacketts comms, and threw it on the ground so I could crush it under my heel. I would protect my friends, with my own strength.

I'd learned my lesson already by trying to beat Brick with my fists. In my anger, my blind rage, I forgot the one thing about myself that he hated most, and that had almost cost Karu her life, and had cost Lia her innocence.

I was a fucking Exhuman, and these guys were about to find out exactly what that meant.

Messianic, I stood with arms outstretched, greeting the missiles as they approached. More of them poured from the tanks, thick trails of smoke from every corner of the enemy line, all converging on me as the closest target. There were so many and so much smoke it cast shadow over half the battlefield. I smiled and closed my eyes.

I felt the first hit and shatter, and then instead of the white trailing clouds over the battlefield, they were dark stormclouds. Lightning coursed through them, jumping from trail to trail, thunder booming and roaring as the arcs of electricity tore apart the air itself.

Stolen story; please report.

And then explosions. Huge, glorious explosions ripped through the enemy line. Tank after tank surged with electricity, and their insides ruptured like a swollen cyst. The enemy line broke and panicked as fires and pieces of machine flew through the air, and at least two of the tanks simply detonated, lightning catching on an ammo or fuel cache and creating an explosion so huge it made a small mushroom cloud.

Still, there were thousands left. The damage wasn't as catastrophic as it could have been, the infantry line had advanced under the rocket fire, and that had put the majority of them far enough from the vehicles to be safe from the blast. It sure looked like every single tank was out of commision, but the VTOLs, drones, and APCs were still up.

I decided to take Karu's advice and head back to the trenches, but not before catching everyone cheering over the comms. I couldn't help but to smile, even as I tried to remind myself, I'd probably just killed a hundred men or more.

Instantly. Effortlessly. Innocent people, doing their jobs. I couldn't become one of those Exhumans. I wouldn't allow myself to fall that far. Maybe these people had to die so that we could live, but I couldn't enjoy it.

"Guess you were right about being the one to negotiate," AEGIS said, welcoming me back after I'd navigated the trenches.

"Let's not pat ourselves on the back too hard," I said. "They haven't broken yet, they're still coming."

"Well, without that artillery, they'll have to fight my DOGs in the worst possible way. We may still be badly outnumbered, but at least we won't be so outgunned."

The enemy line advanced steadily, APCs moving in formation alongside the infantry, who remained behind the shieldbearers. Now and again, the VTOLs would break off and tear through the sky, chasing Karu or being harassed by her. One or two of them fell, ripped by explosions, or some kind of mid-flight sabotage, but otherwise it was impossible to keep track of where she was. Her comms were just the constant whine of engines, and controlled breathing.

Finally, it seemed, they were at the optimal range for small-arms, and the distance between our lines and theirs lit up like a carpet of glowing lava, as laser and gunfire filled the air. The constant roar of fire was punctuated by an occasional booming report, and one of the shieldbearers would drop, courtesy of Lia. Before the others could recover the barrier and get it back up, the DOGs would automatically target the new vulnerability and burn down an entire column of soldiers.

Still, we were running out of ground a lot faster than they were running out of men. The DOGs were resilient, but apparently had nothing on the enemy bomb-drones, which sprinted forward, completely unphased by gunfire of all kinds, launched themselves into the trenches and detonated, blowing pieces of the DOGs skyward. I watched as one drone was caught by a DOG's arm-blade, the huge robot crushing down on the smaller one using size and weight alone, and then with a sharp flick, sent the drone flying back at the enemy line before it exploded in the air like a firework.

I threw fistfuls of lightning with no effect. The personal barriers were too robust, deflecting and absorbing anything I could throw at them. If I were close, it would be trivial to get my swords around them, or force lightning through them, but from back here, I was utterly useless. AEGIS was much the same, armed only with a rifle that fired blasts in a staccato burst, even slamming the same barrier four or five times, it simply glowed an angrier shade of orange for a few seconds before dissipating back down to normal.

Experimentally, next time she fired, I also threw a full volley of ten bulbs at the same target. As our combined fire hit it, the shield glowed hotter and hotter orange, eventually turning white, before burning out and flickering out of existence momentarily.

Long enough. The last of my darts slipped through and electricity exploded in a small area, killing the bearer and the man behind him. The next soldier in line dove to recover the shield, but the DOGs had already picked up on the weakness and drilled a new hole in the line, before the remaining shieldbearers closed the gap.

Maybe it was because that was my kill, but it made my mouth go dry. Watching the next man dive forward to try to save his own life, and those behind him, it was such a human moment. I didn't want to be reminded of the lives I was taking, but I refused to shut it out.

So that left me with being here, claiming souls like a reaper, and feeling a burning shame grow in my heart with every life I extinguished.

We'd been doing okay, but the tide was beginning to turn. The VTOLs had taken up flanking positions, strafing our lines from the sides, and the troops were close enough to begin deploying some of that unconventional weaponry the XPCA was famous for. Pits, and entire combat lines were flooded with solidifying goo or instantly-freezing ice, trapping DOGs helpless inside. Explosions went from occasional to constant, as heavier munitions were brought to bear and the bomb-drones infiltrated further and further into our lines. AEGIS looked worried as she worked her rifle again, and again.

Our lines were breaking. Our number of robots was shrinking faster and faster. I had to get out on the front lines to hold them while we still had any lines to hold. I began to see Karu more and more, as she got more reckless and aggressive, her airborne assault wiping out entire clusters of men, and then disappearing again, with hopefully only a scratch.

I bolted from the trench, ignoring AEGIS' protests, and sprinted forward, feeling a hail of blasts and bullets sizzle on my shield even in the single moment I'd been exposed. With a thought, I brought my blades to life, six of them now, as a result of my practice, and held them in front of me as I charged the line.

Fire rained down on me from all sides, and I could feel my skin burning as searing shrapnel punched through my shield like a downpour. Jumping over a trench entirely, I was only feet away and brought my swords to bear.

Instantly, I found a gap between two shieldbearers and slid my sword through. With a punching gesture, I drove it parallel, right through the first man, and into the second, dropping two of the shields at once. I moved down the line, carving a path in their defenses, and leaving as much opening as I could for the rest of our robots and AEGIS to pick off the unguarded men behind.

I felt like a tornado, blades spinning every possible way, leaving screaming, twitching, smoking corpses in my wake, as I killed as fast as I could move. I saw a soldier prime a grenade and throw it at me, and held still so it would impact my shield. It fizzled into nonexistence like the rest, and I gave him a smirk before killing more of his friends.

I couldn't allow myself to fall into this. I wasn't that Exhuman. This way led only to death and despair.

But it was so easy. These thousands of men, tiny playthings compared to my power. Here, the finest force of the finest army in the world, a huge void in their lines, carved by one person. By me. I'd been fighting for less than a minute, and how many had I already claimed? A dozen? Two dozen? Three? If you counted the men behind the shields I had killed indirectly, a hundred?

And not a scratch on me. They couldn't touch me. I was like a god, or a force of nature to these people. Could they stop a tornado just by outnumbering it?

At my feet, one of the drones. I stepped back and lanced my blades into it. Its small armored legs shuddered and it fell motionless to the ground. Another soldier was priming a grenade. This time, I simply wove my sword through the lines and drove it through his throat. The active grenade fell at his feet, and after a moment, exploded into a glacial starbust of ice, trapping the other nearby men inside, frozen in their attempts to flee the blast.

I laughed at it. I was laughing at death on a battlefield. I was that Exhuman.

The scales of karma shifted, and the bomb-drone at my feet exploded, sending me flying through the air, the battlefield and all on it, passing under me as in slow motion. My ears rung painfully. My skin felt hot and constricting all over my body. Pain was everywhere...except one place...I couldn't feel my leg. I looked down...or up...whichever way the rest of my body was, and realized, I didn't have a leg anymore. Meat and sinews, and a perfect arc of blood, tracing my flight through the air like a rainbow.

I didn't hit the ground. Something caught me in the apex of my flight and abruptly jerked me further skyward. I recognized the roar of the jetpack. The world spun under me.

So stupid. So arrogant. I'd lasted less than a minute on the battlefield, most of it with my friends screaming at me to retreat. What kind of god could I possibly have mistaken myself for?

Karu was saying something. She was doing something. I didn't know what. In the next moment, we were back with AEGIS on the ground, and Karu was sticking something on my arm. Several somethings. I felt myself inhale sharply, and my eyes saw with clarity I'd never had. The pain was there, but instead of ruling over me, it was like a curiosity I was observing in a museum display. Karu seemed to be speaking very slowly.

"--bat stims," she said. "Will help with the shock. He is losing a lot of blood."

"I...I'm fine, I think," I said, and sat up. Karu forced me back down.

"You are on a lot of stims right now," she said, and forced my arm into view, where there were three patches on my arm. When had she rolled up my sleeve? I found myself thinking on the question with unnatural focus. I must have been in and out of consciousness. It would have given her ample opportunity.

AEGIS had a length of cloth. Yellow and white. She had a bare arm. The cloth was her sleeve. She was tying it around my leg. My leg was gone. She was creating an emergency tourniquet to stop the blood loss. If I lost too much blood, I would die.

"I need to get back out there, we can't hold them," Karu said. AEGIS nodded, and threaded a metal bar through the tourniquet. She turned it violently, and I felt renewed pain in my leg, from a distance. She turned it again, and again, and again, constricting the fabric more and more. The pain was fascinating in its unbearability. I wanted to feel more, wanted to see how much I could take in this state of mind. It washed over me like a wave. Yet, I remained unmoved.

"We're almost out of DOGs," AEGIS said. She didn't look at me when she said it. She was talking to herself more than me. She was anxious. We were losing badly. Karu's engines raced in my ear through the earpiece. They were turning on and off even faster than before. She was pushing herself as hard as she could, moving and fighting faster and harder. Her body couldn't take that strain.

I stood, wobbling on one leg. AEGIS tried to arrest me. We had no time for that. I was needed on the field. I was the only one who could turn this fight around. She had to understand that I had to go.

"Athan, if you go, you'll die. You can't fight."

"If I stay, we all die," I said.