It was a trap.
This was a gods-damned trap and he had foolishly fallen right into it.
Felix breathed heavily, feeling his power surge through his veins. The Necromancer beside him put up a brave front, though it was obvious how much he was trembling. A group of metas stood in a circle around them while the rest of the fleeing metas disappeared behind them.
Cowards.
The Guardian recognised every single one of his opponents’ sneering faces. He was not facing mere petty thugs this time. These metas were criminal leaders with men under them, and were all at least Tier three or higher. So Felix made the first move.
A pink bubble encased Orpheus and pushed him out of the cabin.
The criminals moved all at once. Red energy exploded from a pair of eyes, clashing with an intense psionic beam emitted from the boy’s hand. His telekinetic senses screamed in warning as a meta on his left disappeared in a flash. Felix’s mind worked furiously, crushing the speedster on the floor before his feet. The temperature dropped considerably as an ice wall hurtled towards him.
Another psychic blast bursted from Felix’s other hand, pushing back the ice. The metas collectively bellowed in effort as they engaged in their individual wars of attrition. Felix controlled his breathing, gradually increasing his power output to push them back.
Movement caught Felix’s eye in the midst of the chaos. The overgrown vines in this abandoned house were moving like snakes and rapidly multiplying themselves. He looked on in confusion as razor sharp tendrils began to grow out of their leaves.
The surrounding walls crumbled into dust as the psychic yelled in a final effort, knocking out the stubborn metas with a single wave of psychic energy. He turned his attention to the last standing meta, whose deadly harvest seemed to be ready. Her eyes glowed green as she sent a huge wave of barbed vines towards him, but Felix was not impressed.
“You attack me with vegetables?” he roared as though he was genuinely offended, shredding the plants easily with raw psychic energy. But his concentration was slipping.
Vines wrapped his limbs from behind, catching him off guard and ending his onslaught abruptly. The boy yelped in surprise as they stretched his body out while lifting him up in the air. The woman panted with effort, desperately trying to transmute a leaf into a jagged branch before Felix broke free of his restraints. A shadow approached them.
“Arise, my warriors.”
Ceramic tiles cracked as skeletal hands burst from the ground, rising from the graveyard just beneath the battle ground. The risen skeletons got to work quickly. Some used their sharpened bones to hack away at the vines holding Felix while the others faced their foe.
The criminal leader shrieked in primal fear, falling over her feet this time and scrambled backwards. She whimpered pathetically as the army of rotting skeletons descended upon her, commanded by the Necromancer who was now by Felix’s side.
“You magis and your weak spells.”
A powerful shockwave interrupted the spell and disintegrated all the skeletons. Felix immediately put up a force field before it reached Orpheus. It flashed intermittently as the psychic grunted in surprise. This was his first time blocking such an enormous force; none of his foes had ever managed to generate such power before. Felix glared warily at the figure standing in front of the woman. Just who is this guy?
“Felix Pagonis.” The man gestured for the lady to flee. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, comrade. My name is Titus Angelo, and I have a deal for you.”
“You know me?”
“I only wished I did; you would have been a great asset to our cause.” Titus stepped forward. “But fortunately, I do know your sister.”
Felix’s eyes stopped glowing.
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“Now what?”
Gaius ignored the pouting girl as his eyes lit up with magic once again. He could not be bothered with trying to impress her at the moment; saving the life of his reckless colleague was much more important. But nothing was showing up.
He blinked and focused more magic. There were only two possibilities as to why this was happening. Either his magic was somehow rebelling against his meta physiology, or Felix was way too far away for it to plot a path to reach him. He did not know which was worse.
“What are you doing?”
“Kleopatra, be quiet. I’m trying to focus here.” Gaius gritted his teeth in concentration.
Wait- There!
A faint trace of a magic path materialised behind his eyelids. The Sorcerer opened his eyes, which were now glowing much more fiercely than before. He turned around, allowing the gentle tug of the arcane energy to guide his movements. Gaius pointed into the distance.
“The portal took them that way,” he said curtly. “Let’s go.”
“What kind of magic did you use to decipher that?” Kleopatra asked curiously. “I’ve never seen anyone do this before.”
“It’s called… True Vision.” Gaius decided that he could afford to tell her the truth. “It’s a form of reality magic that shows me how to increase the probability of the best outcome. It also allows me to see a few seconds into the future and avoid any dangers.”
“Reality magic?” Kleopatra gasped. “I thought Divination took its place a long time ago! Where did you learn that? It’s supposed to be an extinct form of magic.”
“I-uhm… I read a lot,” Gaius stuttered and put a hand on his head sheepishly. His expression turned serious again. “C’mon, we really ought to leave now.”
“And don’t tell me you kids are planning to get there on foot?”
Gaius glanced at the lady sauntering towards them. She was dressed in a frilly crimson robe that ended right before a glaringly white cowl. A technomagick visor covered her eyes, though it did little to hide her mature yet demure features. Soft fair skin peeked through the gaps between her clothes, making her catwalk all the more elegant.
“What’re you doing here, Cleric Nerva?” Kleopatra scowled, not attempting to mask the irritation in her voice.
“Why, I’m here to help you, of course.” The Cleric clasped her hands together and muttered a prayer. Gaius and Kleopatra examined themselves as protective symbols materialised all over their clothes.
“What? You’re not going to stop us?” Kleopatra sounded genuinely surprised. “I thought you said I wasn’t ready to be a Guardian.”
“Without practical experience, yes.” Elpis smiled warmly as an arcane liquid leaked out from her fingers. It dripped onto the pavement, forming a silver puddle on the floor. “So what better way to enhance your combat abilities than to actually be involved in one?”
“I’m doing this my way.” Kleopatra folded her arms. “I’m warning you. I won’t hesitate to fight back if you get in my way this time.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Elpis gave her a wry smile as she snapped her fingers. The puddle shimmered and turned into a portal.
“This will lead straight to Angelo’s hideout.” The Cleric gestured for them to step into it.
“Come on, the boy isn’t going to save herself.”
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“Return. My. Sister.”
Felix glared at the man as the pink glow around his body burned fiercer than ever. Orpheus glanced nervously at his friend looking as though he was about to explode at any moment, while Titus only seemed impressed by the sheer magnitude of his foe’s aura.
“May I ask you a question, comrade?” Titus frowned a little. “Why are you on their side? Do you think you’ll have a better life aligning yourself with the people who oppress our kind? Or have you forgotten what you are?”
“I’m just a brother worried sick for his sister.” Felix’s eyes flitted to the Necromancer beside him. “And I don’t discriminate between races.”
“How noble of you. Or should I say,” Titus’ voice dropped menacingly. “How remarkably naive of you.”
Felix watched his every movement carefully.
“Sorry, it was not my intention to be hostile.” Titus paced around the devastated cabin. “It just… infuriates me what society has done to all of us. They keep telling us to be part of their world, and yet all they’ve done is turn the world against us. How many of them actually accept us for what we are?”
The man pointed to Orpheus.
“How do you know he isn’t your friend just because of your strength? Can you be sure he will not turn against you when a war inevitably breaks out between both our kinds?”
“When?” Felix asked cautiously.
“Power is a universal language, my brother. The weak cling to the strong in hopes of shelter until they find a way to bring us down,” Titus said. “Such was, and still is, the way of our world. Meta-kind once reigned superior, until magic was discovered. They begged for mercy when they were at our feet, and stepped on us when they were gifted the power of arcani. Our power.”
“That’s bullshit,” Felix spat. “Arcani exists naturally and manifests itself in different ways. You must be stalling for something. I won’t let you.”
“My boy, I don’t want anything else but for our race to reign superior again.” Titus chuckled. “You have the strength of a god, as do I. Take your place as the rightful ruler of humanity by our side. It is our birthright.”
“You’re a fool if you think that’s going to convince me. Return my sister to me now.”
“Oh I will. But only if you agree to aid my cause. Come with us. Lend your fellow metas your power, and your sister will go free.”
“Felix, don’t do this!” Orpheus shouted desperately. “It’s a trap!”
“I’ll never fight for a criminal like you.” The pink glow returned to Felix’s eyes. “Now tell me where my sister is, before I beat it out of you.”
“Ah Felix, who said anything about you fighting for us?” Titus threw his head back in laughter. “We need your power, not you.”
“But I suppose this deal is off, then. Pity, I would’ve preferred you to come quietly.”
The man moved in a blur, but Felix’s shield was already up. It cracked as the resulting shockwave caved the ground in. Felix grunted in effort as Titus pounded his shield relentlessly. The cracks spread rapidly as the barrier weakened at a dangerously fast rate.
Gods, this man’s power is insane.
The pink wall reshaped into a spear as Felix brought his palms together and thrust it forward. It met Titus’ feet this time and shattered instantly upon contact. Orpheus yelled as he flew backwards from the wind pressure of the collision, tumbling onto the ground.
“Orpheus!” Felix called out, before growling at Titus. “Damn you!”
He clenched his fist and punched the air, mustering as much energy as he could into a single psionic blast. Titus formed a fist as well, blocking the attack with a punch of his own. But he had underestimated his opponent’s rage. A deafening tremor split the ground in half as it sent him flying a few metres backwards.
Felix screamed in effort, slamming a huge psionic hammer onto his foe. The ground sank as Titus fell to one knee, struggling to push back the equivalent weight of a skyscraper. He growled and swung the psychic construct to the side before leaping out of the way. The pink energy dispersed before it touched the ground.
“Lucia was right. Your psychic power would have sufficed to stabilise the spellcraft.” Titus stood up and coughed violently. “You’re making this very troublesome for me, Pagonis. Now I really have to resort to Plan B.”
“What’s plan B?” Felix asked hostilely.
“Just remember, you made me do this. Your sister’s blood is on your hands,” Titus growled. “And so is the blood of your fellow psychic types.”
“Grant me your power, O divine Muriel.”
A beam of white light struck Titus squarely in the chest without warning.
Three magis revealed themselves beside Felix as the cloaking spell dispelled in a puff. Elpis immediately tossed a device at Titus. It split itself into five separate pieces, catching the criminal’s limbs and anchoring it to the ground with arcane chains.
“Cleric Nerva? What’re you doing here?” Felix asked. “What is this?”
“Technomagick,” Elpis replied simply, tapping her visor with a slender finger. “Power nullifiers controlled by this. I’ll take it from here and personally escort this man to the constables.”
“The constables? What are they going to do with him?” Felix asked suspiciously.
“Take him to the gaols, of course. He’ll be executed by tomorrow, if we’re lucky.”
“Wait, what about my sister? He kidnapped her, shouldn’t we investigate that first?”
“I don’t think you comprehend just how dangerous this man is, boy.” Elpis folded her arms. “The world is going to be a much better place without people like him. You have to trust the authorities-”
“I don’t! They don’t care about us. I have to save Marcia!” Felix shouted and reached for Titus’ hand, but the glow surrounding him promptly dissipated upon coming into contact with his skin.
“What?” he sputtered. “Why can’t I use my telepathy?”
“They’re arcani nullifiers, Felix.” Kleopatra rolled her eyes. “It suppresses all the arcani it touches, including yours.”
“No! I need to read his mind before it’s too late!” Felix grew increasingly agitated. He turned back to Elpis as pink covered his irises.
Elpis yelped in pain as the visor was violently ripped from her face. It disintegrated with a single squeeze of the boy’s hand. The technomagick anchors fell back to the ground, and Felix seized the chance to reach for Titus.
But he was too slow.
A fist met his face, and the boy was sent tumbling away. Titus clapped his hands, knocking the rest of the magis back as well with the resulting shockwave. He sneered at them for one last time before disappearing into the distance with a full sprint.
“No, no, no… NO!” Felix scrambled to his feet, sending out waves of psionic hands futilely. But the criminal had long escaped, and so did his only lead on Marcia. Footsteps rushed towards him.
“Felix! Are you alright?” Gaius shouted.
“Foolish boy. What have you done?” Elpis berated him. “You let that man escape!”
“No! You did that!” Felix yelled back, his body trembling in anger. He stepped away slowly from the magis standing in front of him.
“You magis… All you magis are the same! You don’t care about us. None of your kind cares about us!” The aura surrounding his body grew more intense. “I won’t rely on you anymore. I have to save my sister… I have to save her myself…”
“Felix-” Gaius reached a hand to him, but it was futile.
The magis watched helplessly as the frustrated boy burst from the ground and disappeared into the clouds.