Cassia flexed her right hand then swung again. The eyes of the thug she held by the collar rolled back as he slumped unconscious and she moved gracefully between the thrusting stab of one of his companions and a mistimed full body tackle from a member of the other gang. Clearly, they had rolled into a disputed alleyway between rival street gangs and the ensuing brawl would determine which one got to rob them. Cassia’s eyes burned with rage as she drilled a kick into the knee of a hulking beast of a man. He collapsed in a whimpering mess, hands hovering over the spot where his knee cap was fully facing the wrong direction. Nobody would be robbing her today.

She swept past the now rusty gray car she’d gotten out of to join the melee and frowned at Eli lounging in the driver’s seat. He’d reclined the seat even. Shaking her head, she brought both arms in an arc in front of her, clapping hard on either side of the head of a knife-wielding gang member. Stunned, he was easy to fold forward and she smashed his face hard against the hood of the car. Cassia smiled as the resulting thump elicited a slight jump from Eli.

“Thanks for your help.” She mouthed through the windshield at him. He pointed past her with a raised eyebrow in response. Cassia heard the thug coming and didn’t bother turning. She slipped onto the hood and rolled into a crouch on the driver’s side of the car as the man swung down with a tire iron, smashing a dent into the bumper. The window cracked slightly as the man reared back for a second attack.

“Y’ know, lass, we could jus’ be leavin’.” The leprechaun Thorn spoke through the window to her with a nonchalance that did not match the setting. Cassia ducked her head under the swinging tire iron then struck with two jabs in swift succession. The man crumpled in pain holding both his throat and his unmentionables.

“Hard to drive out of an alley when you’re surrounded, Eli.” Cassia grumbled back at him as she picked up the tire iron and tested its weight.

“Lassie, y’ gotta start rememb’rin we got magic.” He reached out the window and grabbed onto her wrist as two of the gang members produced handguns and just like that their surroundings warped and changed as Eli’s mysterious powers teleported them away from the fight.

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Kevin’s despairing cry pulled at Meg even after it was cut off as he jumped away from the abandoned parking lot. She steeled herself, trying not to show any of the torment she felt. Mel wasn’t stupid and beneath all her bravado and forced confidence, she knew that this wasn’t a fight she’d win. She could buy them time though. She was good at that. And she would damn sure do her best for Kevin and the rest of her unlikely new friends.

Mel’s forced smirk grew genuine as she thought of them. They were her friends, as much as she’d tried not to make any. She was glad she had anyways. Even if she was about to die. Mel rolled away from the Pathfinder’s opening and heard it shut itself with a whoosh.

“Let’s do it then, you ugly shit.” Mel opened fire with the slender handgun she’d found in the Pathfinder. Bursts of energy shot from it and Aventus hissed and dodged to her left. Mel used the brief opening to turn and sprint towards the abandoned factory between them and the main road. She heard Aventus change direction and begin to chase her and fired blindly over her shoulder.

Pain burned in her right leg as she ran and she turned to see that the man that El had called Aventus was wielding a silvery whip. It snapped again and she managed to duck under it before slipping into a doorway of the nearby building. She glanced down and saw a bleeding gash that wrapped halfway around her calf just above her boot. She fired a flurry of shots from the covered doorway, slowing Aventus as he dodged and weaved through the bursts of energy.

He was incredibly fast, Mel knew she couldn’t beat him but she’d expected to at least be able to land a lucky hit. Exasperated, she rushed down the hallway to her right looking around for anything to use as a weapon before he caught up. Finding a room that must have once served as a small office with storage space, she quickly snatched up a hammer and continued rushing through the hallway that ran along the edge of the building parallel to the parking lot where the Pathfinder sat.

Mel didn’t get far before she saw Aventus’ shadow through the doorway she’d come through. She fired repeatedly, thinking maybe he wouldn’t enter the more confined space while she had a shooting gallery lined up.

“Oh shit balls.” Mel fired more rapidly as Aventus came rushing into the hallway, running along the ceiling then transitioning to the wall as she corrected her aim. Even in the tight hallways, he stepped easily between the projectiles with a cruel grin on his face.

Stolen story; please report.

As he closed the distance, he unfurled his silvery whip again but as he snapped his arm to crack it at her, they both realized the space was too tight as it hit ineffectively against the ceiling. Mel almost laughed aloud but her smile disappeared as the growling Aventus leapt towards her producing a long dagger from his belt.

“How many medieval ass weapons do you have!” Mel shouted as she raised the hammer to block the first slash. The second knocked the gun from her other hand, sending it spinning away. He moved with inhuman speed, too fast for Mel to counter every blow. She was good in a scrap, but as she backed down the hallway dodging and blocking for her life, more and more gashes and cuts began to mark her body.

Aventus smiled viciously and ducked under her guard, thrusting the dagger upward. In a motion only the desperate would attempt, Mel blocked the blade as it stabbed towards her stomach with her own left hand. The pain was enormous and she cried out angrily as the blade cut cleanly through her palm. She couldn’t feel her ring finger or pinky but she knew she only had a small window. Before Aventus could withdraw the weapon, she closed her remaining fingers around the hilt, holding it tightly. Aventus was fast but with her grip on his blade hand she found that his strength was that of a normal man. A strong, normal man, but not otherworldly like his speed. She wrestled against him as he attempted to continue his thrust and stab the blade not only through her hand but her chest as well.

As Mel pushed back out of pure survival instinct, the intelligent part of her brain remembered she was holding a hammer in her other hand. She managed two solid strikes to Aventus’ head before he managed to shift and resist her swings. He was clearly made of something more solid than the average human. Her next blow glanced off his shoulder and their shifting momentums caused them to fall sideways into the wall and slide to the floor in a heap. Mel maintained control of the blade stuck through her palm and Aventus refused to let it go as well so while they wrestled for control, they also swung and blocked each other’s other arms. Mel tried to catch the clawed side of the hammer in his thigh but had to swing upwards to knock Aventus’ hand away from her throat.

After what felt like hours but must have only been a minute or two, Aventus brought his fist down hard into Mel’s ribs and then backhanded her arm as she winced. The hammer flung free and clattered down the hallway. With the improvised weapon out of the equation, Aventus gripped Mel by the throat with his free hand and locking his other arm to give him extra strength, he lifted her off the ground.

“It’s been centuries since one of your kind put up such a fight. It’s usually like cutting through butter.” Aventus stared at her face, his own eyes cold. Mel watched a trickle of blood makes its way down his temple from where she’d struck him.

“If I knew how easy it was to crack your noggin’ I would have led with the hammer.” Mel groaned as she struggled for air. Aventus scowled then thrust her through the nearest window.

Mel landed roughly on the pavement, dazed and bloody. Glass scattered around her from the shattered window and Aventus himself stepped casually through it after her. Mel crawled towards where she thought the Pathfinder was, her vision was blurry and she couldn’t quite make out its shimmer. A shadow crossed her path and Aventus’ foot came down on her back, halting her progress.

“You’ve been quite the opponent, but I think it’s time we wrap this up.”

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Cassia leaned into Eli as their surroundings came back into focus and he shoved her back up. She blinked once taking in the horrific scene in front of her. Mel lay covered in bleeding wounds and Aventus himself had a foot on her back with a hammer raised over his head. She opened her mouth in shock as Mel spoke.

“About fucking time you showed up.” Her voice was ragged and weak but through her bloodied face, Cassia could make out a smile. Aventus paused his motion, his face briefly showing surprise before it moved to something sinister.

“Well, well. I didn’t expect you’d deliver yourself just like that.” He shoved Mel to the side with his foot and took a step towards Cassia. He spared a brief glance for Eli. “Run now, imp, and you might be able to die calmly before I finish destroying this world.”

Eli looked uncertainly at Cassia but she kept her cautious eyes on Aventus as he slowly advanced. The two sized each other up, carefully settling into fighting stances. Eli fanned to the side so that Aventus had to keep track of both of them at different angles. Aventus smiled. Cassia knew that he enjoyed a more challenging fight. It was quiet as they continued to circle slowly.

“Kick his ass, girl!” Mel managed enough strength to shout out. Cassia spared her a glance and grimaced. She didn’t look good and it gave Cassia the push she needed. She had to try to fight him off fast if she was going to save Mel from bleeding to death. As she prepared to strike, a ripping sound filled the parking lot and Aventus was suddenly knocked off balance as a bicycle clipped him. He hopped backwards as Elaine and Derrick tumbled in a heap with their bicycle jumper. Aventus snarled in rage and advanced back towards Cassia again.

“By the Depths, how many of you damned people are there!” He shouted as he prepared to swing.

“Enough to take care of you.” Cassia muttered back as she charged to meet him at full speed.