“The plan stays the same,” Odim said, smashing through every obstacle she found. “We hit fast and hard. Send the unpowered scattering. The real target here is YamaYama. We can't afford to be pinned by his guards.”

Up ahead, a lush white mansion loomed into view. It rested alone amidst a grove of trees that sat protected by a white fence topped with wires. Gunfire went off around the premises, and an ominous column of smoke wafted from the opposite end of the building.

Odim veered into the paved driveway, on course for collision with a massive pair of gates. “All Mine!” she said.

All Mine raised a palm. Nothing happened within the vehicle. The exterior told a different story. Red sigils, about the size of car tires, formed a line spanning the base of the front wall. Electron orbits appeared within those sigils, gleaming with the same red light. All Mine made a fist, and the sigils spun: slowly at first, then rapidly, exciting the orbits within them.

The sigils transformed from red to orange to blue and contracted to the size of dinner plates. Then they exploded in a flash of light and mortar, bringing the gates and front wall crashing to the ground.

I glanced at All Mine, eyebrows flying into my hair.

All Mine offered a careless shrug. “Shock mines. I can detonate them to produce shockwaves at will or set them to respond to motion.”

Odim hit the brakes, throwing us out of our seats. “Out!” she commanded.

I raced to the obliterated wall. The pile of rubble offered great cover, though the dust cloud that lingered stung my eyes. I blinked past the tears and scanned the length of the grounds. The mansion lay about a hundred meters away from the fence, tucked smack-dab in the middle of orderly rows of trees.

A security guard clawed across the rubble, tracking blood beneath him. Our eyes met, and he reached for his gun. A rainbow-colored beam ended his movements.

Odim crouched beside me. “Don't stop now, Volley. We need to take advantage of the confusion or we are never getting past the grounds.”

Deeper within the premises, yells and gunshots rent the air.

Odim patted my shoulder. “Follow me and stick to cover.”

She climbed over the wreckage and raced for the nearest tree. I ran after her, heart pounding in my throat. She waited for me to catch up, and then she streaked from tree to tree like a giant huntsman spider. I tried to imitate her movements, tripping over undergrowth more often than not.

Some distance to the right, two trees toppled in a crack of wood. Two more trees collapsed further off to the side.

All Mine peeked out of cover behind me. She gestured and crimson sigils appeared on our left, felling another group of trees.

Two men, dressed in plain clothes and armed with guns, sprang terrified out of the wreckage. Odim tagged them before they could fire, and they crumpled, rolling out of sight.

We reached the last row of trees without further complications.

“This is strange,” Odim said, as we fanned out. “A mansion this big should have more people running around recklessly.”

“Isn’t the situation better this way?” I asked. The ambient gunfire had receded over the last few minutes, doing wonders for my pulse.

“Not really,” All Mine said before Odim could respond. “The absence of non-fighters could mean our attack isn't a surprise.”

I froze at the thought.

Odim tapped her earpiece. “Radio’s still down. Backup channels aren't working either. Whoever’s behind this must think they are smart.”

“You can get Fabricator-grade radio jammers on the black market,” All Mine said. “They cost a pretty penny, but money shouldn’t be a problem for YamaYama. I didn’t expect to go up against anything like this though.”

An ear-splitting shriek interrupted Odim’s reply. Our rusty truck sailed through the ruined gate and landed in a flaming heap by a tree. The ground quivered. Flames as high as treetops surged upward beyond the grove. They rose in great plumes, expelling grey pillars of smoke.

“Wicker,” Odim said in a small voice, even as the scalding air washed over us.

“That means Exhaust is close,” All Mine hissed.

As if in confirmation, a second round of gunshots emanated from the back of the premises, frenzied and scattered.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“The soldiers,” All Mine said.

Flames consumed the length of the wall behind us. We wouldn't be leaving via that exit. Which left forward as the optimum course.

“We’ll help them,” I said.

Odim nodded in agreement. “I will head for the mansion. All Mine, Volley, assist the soldiers and clear a path out of the grounds. If I am not back with Pro-now in thirty, you may abandon the mission.”

“What?” I said. “You can't give that order.”

“No, Volley, I can. With communications down, I am taking command. The original plan was for our group to reinforce Pro-now—”

“Then let's find him together.”

“And do what after?” Odim asked, bemusedly. “We can’t fight our way through actual flames. Someone needs to clear a path for our retreat, and the sooner you are back in safety, the better I will feel.” She glanced at the inferno. “I am ex-paramilitary, so I have enough combat training to hold my own. Pro-now would understand the situation once he sees the fires. I am only going in to ensure he doesn't need our help.”

“We'd be up alone against a couple of psychos,” I muttered.

“I am sure my men and I can stall those psychos for thirty minutes,” All Mine said. “We’re wasting time.”

Odim's empty eyes met mine. I didn’t want to divide our numbers, but there was no denying she had a point. I nodded in assent, and she broke off for the mansion.

All Mine took point for the two of us, peeling around the grove. “Let me ask again. Are you sure you can do this, Volley? I’m aware the Pacesetters aren’t trained for this kind of warfare.”

“I can,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow. “If you have breath to spare, help me brainstorm. How do we beat the evil duo?”

“Blow them to pieces?” She shrugged at my glare. “Works for everyone.”

“Can you be serious just this once?”

“Yeah. Yeah. We can take Exhaust. I suspect that bastard is the weaker of the two.” She chuckled, despite jogging at a brisk pace. “Heh. Weaker. Get it?”

I really wanted to punch her.

“Putting that aside,” All Mine said. “I have my theories on Wicker's abilities. He’s resistant to heat and physical harm . . . oxygen deprivation too. But he is still a living, not-breathing person within the blaze.” She spread her arms. “Let's chop off his head and blow him to pieces. No one can recover from that.”

I ignored her for the sake of my mental health and appraised the battlefield within my mind's eye. “You outrange Wicker,” I said. “But he beats you out on firepower and damage over time. He has also taken the initiative by hemming us in . . .”

“Which means the longer we stay here, the worse things could become.”

I grunted. “We help the soldiers, but stopping Wicker takes priority. Anything less will mean our deaths.”

“Sounds like a plan,” All Mine said.

We rounded the building.

Bullets like screaming death strafed the grounds. I ducked into cover, pulling All Mine beside me.

Of the eight soldiers we'd started with, six were all that remained. They clustered into a staggered formation and backed up in our direction, firing at random.

No, not at random. A figure darted between the trees. One soldier fell over with a scream, gun clattering out of his grasp. The figure appeared atop him, masked and wreathed in smoke. Gloved fingers twined a wire around the soldier’s throat.

I whipped out a shell. The missile slammed into Exhaust's chest, punching a hole straight through her vest. My second shot went wide, but the damage had been done. The supervillain dissipated in a cloud of smoke.

“Not bad,” All Mine said.

“I didn't hurt her,” I replied. “She's a Rook. She's practically intangible.”

“You saved that soldier, either way. Come on.”

We crossed the grounds and joined up with the troops. A few of them doubled over their knees, gasping for breath. The rest checked their gear.

“Ma,” the highest-ranked soldier greeted, inclining his head. His thin eyes and mouth stood at odds with the rest of his face. “I am corporal Lawal. Acting commander of the squad.”

All Mine sized him up. “I take it sergeant Paul is dead?”

Lawal nodded. “Enemy bullet to the cheek, ma. He gave as good as he got.”

“Report.”

“We were spotted en route,” Lawal said, gaze downcast. “We eliminated the first wave of defenders and blew an entrance through the wall. A second wave welcomed us, but we cleaned them too and sent squirters running. We were trying to take stock when that freak jumped out of nowhere. She knifed Private Afam in the face before we could muster a response.”

“Bullets won't work against her,” All Mine said. “How many grenades are you carrying?”

“Between us?” Lawal turned to his men. They held up their fingers.

“Eight,” he said, finishing the count. He gestured at the smoke pouring out of the front of the manor. “I take it the other freak is behind that display?”

“Wicker, yes,” All Mine said. “He's trying to box us in. I don’t need to explain what will happen if he succeeds.”

Lawal’s thin eyes raked over my face and continued in the direction Exhaust had fled. His lips curled into a snarl. “You don’t, ma. I won’t let that happen.”

Leaves crunched behind me. I dove out of the way, ripping a shell free from my bandolier. The group spun as one, but Exhaust didn’t appear in our line of fire.

She appeared behind it.

A gloved hand closed around the jaw of the furthest soldier. The man screamed, but it died in his throat. A long knife sank into his eye.

Exhaust stabbed him twice more in the face before we reacted. Two soldiers opened fire, ripping both victim and apparition to shreds.

“Fuck!” All Mine swore as Exhaust vanished into the wind.

A faint giggle rode among the treetops.

The fallen soldier dyed the ground with his blood, innards spilling out around him. I turned away, and the breath hitched in my throat.

“Diamond formation,” All Mine called. “Now!”

I stumbled along, disoriented by the call.

“We head for the nearest wall. Leg it!”

Someone nudged me in the proper direction. We surged as one toward the wall on the right, marching over soil and leaf mold.

Smoke from Wicker's fires billowed across the grove. Laughter rang in my ears, worsening the sting on my corneas. Exhaust’s gas mask vanished into a hole in a tree.

“Stop looking,” All Mine said, nudging me again. “You don't want to slow down.”

“W-we can't leave Odim behind,” I said, throat dry.

“We aren't leaving anyone. We'll stop Exhaust. But we need to move.”

Smoke filled my nostrils. I sneezed, blinking for a half second.

Exhaust stood beside me. Her bony figure misted in the wind. She raised a finger, flicking All Mine in the visor.

“You'd stop me?” she wheezed. “How cute.”

A grenade fell out of her palm.