Something about Sunshine’s brain had been changing recently, as though training her Radius ability had awakened a deep, festering desire to evolve past the limitations that were locked within her soul prior to her birth. Cursed with an underdeveloped brain that shouldn’t have been able to reach its peak till she was an adult, she destroyed that lock and subconsciously upgraded her intelligence. Cursed with a body that any capable adult should’ve been able to break, she broke that lock and released a strength only a few could obtain. Cursed with a disease that was destined to kill her, she chose to find a way to live.

Because there was no way in hell she was gonna let her dad see her as some pathetic weakling, and that meant not getting her ass beat by some random, unpowered nobody with a gun. However, that would be hard to accomplish considering that nobody had an ally with a frustrating ability. The ability to teleport himself and others.

Each sequence of events was simple but grew more repetitive with each passing second. Sunshine would dodge the bullet and attempt to cave the guy’s head in. Annoyingly, though, every sequence ended the same way—the man was teleported away, leaving her bat to strike nothing but air. She knew defeating that man was an undebatable possibility. She just needed to find a counter for that power.

With that decided, Sunshine bolted towards the teleporter, her aura flaring up and dissipating the droplets of rain that entered her radius. The man was averagely shaped, and his aura control wasn’t all that special. At least compared to Jesus’ or Jason. And yet… she was supposed to be wary of guys like this?

Not happening.

She heard a gunshot from behind her, but she didn’t need to turn around for that. With her Energy Sense activated, she planned on sensing the bullet’s position. Even though the bullet itself didn’t contain anything she could sense, the water from the rain had nuclear energy within them. And that energy latched onto the bullet, allowing Sunshine to see that the bullet was zooming towards her skull.

Once the outline of it was in her mind, she tightened her grip and turned upwards, a great focus etched on her face. Then, she batted the bullet, propelling it towards the man’s hands as pieces of the ground erupted out from her attack. As Sunshine expected, the guy already completed the requirement for his Radius ability—clapping his hands. He was above her, hands spread out. His previous position was now taken up by the man who had attacked her father and stole their bag of marijuana–tied to his front by a rope.

Although, Sunshine had something else to worry about. It felt like the speed of time had decreased significantly as the space between the teleporter’s hands were beginning to close. The droplets around her were like pieces of a puzzle, all containing the different ways she could go about this. Her brain itched, begging her body to scratch it, begging to do something. A small rock was a couple centimeters away from her eyes. The rock that would lead her to victory.

She hit the rock–no, tapped it upwards. Not too hard, though not too light either. Just enough so that it would go between the teleporter’s hands. The moment it reached that small space, the man slammed his hands together. However, nothing happened. In that very instant, Sunshine lifted her weapon, separating his hands and grazing his chin. She slammed the metal down on his head while blood suddenly burst from the side of his torso.

“Damn it!”, yelled the teleporter, gripping his wound. His voice was deep, and he sounded tougher than he looked. Sunshine could’ve sworn he saw him from somewhere—like during that auction situation with Dante. “What the hell are you aiming at, Elias!? Do I look like a little girl to you?”

“Hey, I’m under a lot of pressure here, Benji! It’s so goddamn cold up here,” replied Elias. “Maybe stop being so damn slow.”

“Well, get out from under that pressure and man up already! She caused trouble for you first, so you have to be the one to finish her off. That’s how we members of the Corleone family are. Even for weaklings like you.”

“Can you guys like… just give me back that bag?”, asked Sunshine, unimpressed with the guy’s motivational speech. “You have a pretty cool power, even though it’s annoying. I don’t wanna be forced to kill you.”

“Sorry, kid, but I can’t exactly do that,” said Benji, his breathing ragged. “I have friends and family back home who could use that.” He began to stand up. “Plus, the Boss wouldn’t like it if we lost to some little girl who decorates her weapon with flimsy toys”

Sunshine blocked another bullet from behind, to the surprise of Elias. “I could give you some of the plants, but only some. My dad would get mad if you took more than that. Actually, he'd get mad if I didn't take it all back with me…”

Sunshine noticed a smile on the guy’s face, and she realized that he was in the middle of healing his wound. Upon seeing that, she attempted to hit the man.

That was until… she coughed.

At that moment, a mountain of pain exploded inside her chest, sending the girl down on her knees. She didn’t even have enough time to regain her composure as the teleporter kicked her chest, sending her tumbling to Elias's side. His gun was pointed at her face, so she pushed through the pain, twirling her body in a circle and kicking his shin. He screamed, shooting the gun anyway. The bullet only grazed her neck, so she delivered a blow to his gut, blasting him to the side of the mountain.

This guy’s such a roach. She was about to strike him again when he was teleported again, replaced by a rock.

Sunshine gritted her teeth. So he doesn't just teleport himself with someone else, he can teleport someone with another object too. And he can heal too. Moles can be tricky, but his power shouldn’t be too hard to counter now that I had a better look at it.

She pulled out two of Dante’s small orbs out of her pocket, staring intently at the two men talking at a level she couldn’t hear, and said, “Minks and Rocko, help me.” The orbs flashed a green light, and then two radioactive gorillas popped out of them, beating their chest. They bared their yellow teeth at the surprised men, Elias fearfully aiming his pistol at them.

Sunshine’s teeth chattered uncontrollably while the metal on her bat felt even colder than usual. The rain only made the cold worse. Her head began to spin, oxygen slipping away from her grasp. The only thing that stopped the wind from pushing her small body off the cliff of the mountains was the aura strengthening in her feet. If she were to lose to these guys now, all the excuses she could make would be understandable, agreeable. However… being taken so seriously by these guys felt good to her. She couldn’t just not meet their expectations.

After a deep inhale and exhale, she charged through the space between the gorillas, aiming her bat at the ground. Once the gorillas started to run with her, Benji clapped his hands, teleporting one of the gorillas to his side while Elias appeared next to her. She didn’t attack him. Instead, she struck the ground. Both of the gorillas did the same. Debris rose above her and Elias.

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Elias pulled the trigger and Sunshine stopped. She didn’t hear a bullet come out. The guy was finally out of ammo. It seemed like Benji realized that as he quickly teleported Elias out of her sight. Elias was now next to the gorilla, and Benji had appeared next to her.

The teleporter punched one of the rocks in the air, causing it to crash into her face. However, she continued to repeatedly strike the ground along with the gorillas, and more debris filled the air.

“The hell are you planning, you little brat!”, said Benji, clapping his hands once again.

Unfortunately for Benji, nobody was teleported. Sunshine had noticed that every time he switched places with Elias or teleported him elsewhere, he always made eye contact first. In her mind, the only way to stop his ability in an open environment like this was to fill the air with so much debris that he couldn’t see Elias.

Fortunately for Sunshine, her theory was proven right. If there was no way for Benji to get away, then she could finally catch him with her Radius Ability. She made a finger gun, pointed it at Benji, and said calmly…

“Mind Trick: Bright Lights.”

A ball of energy formed at her fingertips, and she fired it, striking Benji square in the face. He clapped his hands, his eyes glowing with green light. But he didn’t teleport. Instead, he shut his eyes with a yelp, stumbling over the fallen rocks until he tumbled over the cliff. Without hesitation, she sprinted forward and caught him just before he plunged to his demise.

“What the hell did you do to my eyes!?”, he asked, holding onto her hand. “It’s like the sun is all around me everytime I open my eyes.”

“Uuuh… If you agree to give me that bag back, I won’t drop you,” she bargained, trying her hardest to not let his weight get to her. She could hear Elias’ screams as the gorillas continued to pound the ground.

Benji gritted his teeth. “You wouldn’t dare let me go, kid! You do know who I’m with, right?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re with… the guy with the gun, right?”

“Well, yes technically. But I was referring to someone more important.”

Suddenly, Sunshine felt a cold liquid drop on her neck, making her shiver. She turned her head and was surprised to see that the two gorillas were towering over her, one of them holding Elias in their drooling mouth.

The orbs she used to hold them were the same ones she used as earplugs when she fought Jason. They were given to her by Dante, and their intended use was to capture things that were weaker than the user. As long as that requirement was fulfilled, they should have been obedient no matter what.

That was what she thought until one of the gorillas grabbed her head and threw her across the rocky field. She landed hard on the ground, and Benji fell just a couple feet away. She struggled getting back up, spitting a bloody tooth out of her mouth. They were in orbs, so why the hell were they attacking her?

Did Dante… lie to me?

No, he didn't lie. His ability didn't work for her because… those gorillas didn't acknowledge her strength. She was weaker than them. Her eyes widened in fury, digging her nails through the hard ground.

Sunshine refused any future where she could be brutally beaten by a bunch of dumb monkeys. To her dismay, that was a future the gorillas intended on making a reality as they proceeded to smash on her back, forcing a loud pained shriek out of her mouth. Elias fell in front of her, blood spilling out of the large holes in his body. The bag was behind him. If she didn’t think fast, she’d end up dead just like him.

Sunshine extended her hand sideways, attempting to reach her baseball bat. One of the beasts delivered a punch to her arm, snapping it like a twig. Her eyes bulged upon hearing the crack. She slapped a hand over her mouth, shoving the scream she wanted to let out back inside of her. She prioritized redirecting all of her defensive aura to her back, presuming the gorillas would only attack that part. She was wrong…

Despite the pain of it all, her eyes began to fixate on a roach crawling towards her. It stopped in front of the girl and just watched. It was as though the bug was taking pity on her. Perhaps it found a similarity between the two of them. A fellow weak creature who could do nothing but allow the strong to stomp on them.

If Jerome could see her now, the first thing he’d do was save her—save her because she couldn’t win. And that… was complete bullshit. How long would her dad have to save her? How long would he have to risk his life for some weak little kid? How long would she be some weak little kid?

She had to find a way to use her Radius Ability on them, but how? No, it wouldn’t matter anyway. If she gave them the minds of a different animal, they would still act rabid. If she gave them what Benji had, they’d probably act even crazier knowing they couldn’t see.

Dang it! Damn it!

If her Status Board was still undamaged, she could call Jesus or maybe Dante to come and rescue her. She just needed to find something to distract them. If Benji’s still alive, she could direct their attention to h-

No! If I did that, then that would mean I had to get help. Even if I use Benji as bait, that would still be help…

However, there wasn’t a future image of this battle where she came out on top. Where Sunshine was the only one standing. All the water falling in the sky kept pounding it on her head.

She gritted her teeth upon the unfortunate realization. Sunshine couldn’t beat them…

Shut up! No, that’s not fair! I want… I want…

“I want to win on my own!”

The second she screamed that desire, one of the gorillas smacked her to the wall of the mountain. She coughed up a mixture of saliva and blood, staining her hoodie. As her body slumped to the wet ground, the effects of being so high up finally got to her. Breathing was getting harder, and her lungs were betraying her. She could almost hear the loud wind mocking her, whispering all things she didn’t have.

The evolution of what was supposed to be an undeveloped brain and the speed she gained with her aura training didn't mean anything if she didn't have the strength to go with them. That was something those gorillas had, something Jerome had.

And yet, it wasn't just strength. Sunshine was missing something else completely different from any of those traits. She thought back to what her father did back in the Underground City. Even though the odds were stacked against him, he still went there to save her anyway. Strong guys like Jason and Kofi were there, but he didn't care at all.

All because she trusted Jerome would save her, and he took that trust and placed it in his heart.

Love?

Was that the missing trait she needed?

No… That's bullshit!

There’s no chance in hell that was the damn answer! That wouldn't explain guys like Dante, Jason, Kofi, or that girl inside her dad with emotions filling their every movement, and none of those feelings were love. All of those fighters were absolutely crazy, insane…

Crazy? Insanity…?

A flash of realization exploded on her face while all the memories from her past flooded her brain. Strength, speed, intelligence were all important factors in winning a fight. But what all those people she listed had in common was that they were all crazy in their own way.

Jerome was crazy to feel all of those odds crushing his back the last month, and still win the majority of his battles. Dante and Jason were crazy to attack Sunshine in front of a crazy man like her dad, and still turn out alive. The gorillas were practically born crazy.

She needed to be like them.

So when the gorillas came up to her, preparing to smash her head in, all she could do was smile. As the light in her eyes began to dim, she used one hand to make a finger gun and pointed it at her chin.

“Mind Break: Dead Girl Walking, Adrenaline Surge.”