Sasha winced, the stinging in her arms lingering. Cripes. Must have overdid it a bit. She tried to keep a happy face, though as she caught Mr. Xan looking. It was nothing she couldn't walk off. She'd faced far worse while training on Shiny.

"GT, what's our status?" Sasha asked.

"Reserves at 45%, Ms. Sasha."

"Oh. Guess it'll have to do, then."

She shrugged, turning her attention towards the ships fleeing into the sky. It seemed they were slowing down a bit, though she hadn't seen any signs of comet vessels leaving the atmosphere. Then again, it was hard to tell with how dark it had gotten. Had the days on Orion always been so short? She checked her commpad, the screen reflecting mid-afternoon in local time.

Huh.

She stared up at the clouds, air blowing through her fur. Was it rain? A storm? Ursa didn't smell particularly humid. In fact, as she looked closer, she saw that the clouds were only accumulating in one section of the city, the sky clear as day in the distance.

Wait....

Her fur rose, Mr. Xan picking up on the change as well.

Cripes.

She squeezed GT as a voice came behind them.

"So that's how you'd like to play this, eh?"

When she finally turned to see it, she saw where all the clouds were coming from.

Only a few blocks away, a funnel of black rose into the sky, the air swirling around it. Along with pieces of destroyed hovercars. Buildings. Road signs. They all rose, spinning around the growing funnel which stretched upwards, forming a tornado of debris. And it was coming towards them.

"Then let's play, Panther," Alexander's voice came.

Sasha's tail lashed behind her.

"Mr. Xan," she said. "We need to go. Now."

The panda looked from the rotating funnel to her, a reluctant nod given.

"Fine," he said.

They both turned to flee, Sasha fully sprinting away. Or at least she attempted to. When she looked down, she saw her legs weren't going anywhere. In fact, she was floating, her body rising backward. A gust yanked her, the panther dragged skyward, but halting when Mr. Xan caught her hand.

"Panther!" he shouted.

She looked back at the tornado, fur standing on end.

"C'mere, Panther!" Alexander's voice roared, his eyes glowing from within the funnel.

She threw her field in place, the pull lessened as she yanked forward. Hard. Both she and Mr. Xan went flying, the crash to pavement far from pleasant, but nothing compared to being shredded alive. They both scrambled to their feet, Sasha shaking off the hit.

"We need to go now!" the panther screamed.

"Crap!"

They took off as fast as they could, the tornado wasting no time in pursuit. Just what kind of monster were they dealing with? She could hear Alexander laughing as they fled, making a b-line for the amphitheater.

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***

Alexander showed no regard for city preservation, his spinning funnel tearing through everything and anything in his path. Sasha had to keep her field active if only to stop from being sucked in, though the same couldn't be said for the world around her. The road itself ripped away, Sasha going from a run to having to leap off flying pieces of pavement. Mr. Xan slowed down, channeling winds to knock a slab of road the tornado's way.

It broke on impact, pieces adding to the debris field.

Cripes. How the heck are we supposed to deal with that?

She could feel her energy fading. How long had she had her field active already? The thought made her bristle more. Would she survive if GT ran out? Would Mr. Xan? Cripes. Running out of time here. She looked to the panda fleeing a bit behind her. Between the two of them, taking out Alexander might have been possible. Maybe. But she doubted it would leave her any reserves to deal with the Comet Man.

Cripes. Guess there's no choice, then. She slowed down enough to catch up with Mr. Xan.

"I have an idea," she said.

Her hand reached out towards him, the panda looking at it with a raised brow.

"Just hang on and trust me."

He continued to stare, but he took her hand anyway. She immediately yanked them both skyward.

The buildings and hovercars darted away, Sasha jerking forward as hard as she could. Mr. Xan's grip tightened, as she'd hoped. When was the last time she'd had to carry someone with her? Gabriella had shown her it was possible, but the little girl had been a lot less cumbersome to move around with. With her liaison's added weight, she had to shift her gravity to compensate. And thanks to Mr. Erin's training, she knew just how to do that.

The tornado drifted further away, along with the pull from it. Even better, Sasha could see the amphitheater approaching directly ahead.

"There," she said. "We're almost there, Mr. Xan! Just keep hang-"

"Panther!"

A weight slammed against them, knocking them clear out of the sky.

They dove towards pavement, Sasha shifting her field so they stopped seconds before a fatal impact. Phew. They both dropped down.

"Cripes. What was that?" she asked.

Mr. Xan wasn't looking at her, his hammer still held high. If not for him, she knew the attack would have split her in two. The panther had never been the most durable cat in the cosmos, even with all her gravity training. She followed Mr. Xan's gaze, taking in the sight of someone standing atop a nearby building. Someone other than Alexander.

Her nose twitched, the scent of cologne drifting through her nostrils. It made her grimace instinctively. As did the human's face.

"Nice to see you haven't lost touch, old friend," he greeted.

She groaned. Of all the people in the cosmos, why did he have to be here too?

Standing atop the building, the smiling face of the AIC's newest admiral looked down at them, his red and brown suit replaced with one of solid brown. He jumped down, landing with what Sasha knew must have been extra flair for them. Mercury always seemed the show-off type. He gave a wink. Mr. Xan stepped in front of her.

"Admiral," he said. "So you're here too, huh?"

"And me, lest you forget!"

Sasha winced, the other voice coming much faster than she'd expected.

The tornado dropped away, Alexander landing before her as the dark clouds dissipated. Even with the sun shining down on him like some gift from the gods, he still gave Sasha the shivers to see again. Between him and Mercury, she wasn't sure which she had more reason to hate.

"Glad you could drop in, Admiral," Alexander greeted. "You're a little late, though."

Mercury shrugged. "Had to do a bit of clean-up first. Speaking of which, remind me to dock your pay for all this property destruction."

"It was partially the panda's fault. He was resisting."

Mr. Xan narrowed between the two, Sasha baring her fangs. How much energy did she- She shook the thought away. No. Can't think like that. She brandished her staff, growling despite everything. Alexander smiled at her.

"Now then."

Mercury raised his sword, the thin blade glowing under the sun.

"By the authority of the AIC," he said. "I order you both to stand down. Not that you'll probably listen, but figured I'd ask just in case."

She and Mr. Xan exchanged glances. She knew he wouldn't dare. And she had no intentions of surrendering either. Not when they were so close. She could see the amphitheater just within reach. And beyond that, Mr. Erin. The Comet Man. Iris. She lowered her staff, readying to pounce. Mr. Xan did the same with his hammer.

Mercury shrugged, Alexander's smile growing.

"Fine then," the Admiral said. "We'll do it the hard way."

His sword dropped, and the duo split apart.