The mud blasts pelted toward Jennifer like cannonballs. She raised her gauntleted arms instinctively, bracing herself. Each impact sent tremors through her body, the dense mud striking with the force of a sledgehammer. She staggered back, her muscles burning from the sheer force.

Then one mud blast caught her square in the head.

The dense, suffocating mass clung to her face, covering her nose and mouth. Jennifer’s lungs screamed for air as panic surged through her. She clawed desperately at the mud. It felt like trying to peel off wet cement. Her vision blurred, her thoughts turning hazy until her claws managed to carve out a gap wide enough to gasp for breath.

Her relief was short-lived. A mud goat charged straight at her, its elongated horns gleaming like sharpened spears. Jennifer barely had time to react. She raised her arms in defense, crossing them over her chest. The goat’s horn slammed into her gauntlets with a deafening _clang_, the sheer force driving her backward. She felt the sharp edges graze her armor, threatening to pierce through.

She gritted her teeth as she was pitched to the side, and rolled across the ground. She forced herself up, her eyes locking on the mud goat as it prepared for another charge.

Two more were closing in fast.

Jennifer dashed to the side, her boots skidding on the grassy terrain as she narrowly avoided a second set of horns. Her mind raced. These things were relentless.

In the distance, James ran frantically, his silver disks spinning and slicing through the air relentlessly. A couple of them cleaved through a mud goat’s neck, but the effort it took was immense. The mud absorbed and reformed around the cuts, requiring him to repeatedly send disks to finish the job.

“Jennifer!” he shouted, panic lacing his voice. “I’m running out of—”

“Do your best, I can't help you at the moment!” she said, firing a glob of sticky goo.

The substance splattered across the ground behind her, spreading into a sticky trap. One of the charging mud goats slammed into the patch, its hooves sinking deep. It thrashed wildly, but the goo held firm, anchoring it in place. Another goat stumbled and fell as it tried to leap past, getting ensnared by the sticky mess.

Jennifer seized the opportunity, sprinting toward the first goat. Her claws gleamed as she slashed into its neck, the mud clinging stubbornly to her strikes. She growled, forcing her claws deeper, using every ounce of her strength. The mud goat let out a guttural, inhuman sound as its form began to break apart.

Without hesitation, she pressed her hand on the goat and began to absorb the creature’s ability.

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When she was done, it finally collapsed.

Her back arched, and a fiery sensation surged through her. It was like the key inside her was expanding, but the pain wasn’t overwhelming. It ended swiftly, leaving behind a surge of raw power.

Jennifer exhaled, feeling her muscles tighten, her movements sharper and more fluid. She didn’t have time to marvel at the transformation. Another mud goat lunged at her, its horns aiming for her chest. She swiped once, her claws slicing through half its neck. A second strike severed the rest cleanly.

Holy... HOLY SHIT! Now this is a power up!

A wild grin spread across her face. This newfound strength was a game changer.

Jennifer launched into hyper movement, her body a blur as she darted between the remaining stuck mud goats. In less than three seconds, she cleaved through eight of them, her claws a whirlwind of destruction.

James stared in disbelief, struggling to fend off the remaining creatures. His disks moved slower now, and his breathing was labored. He summoned another disk, but it flickered weakly, the strain of his efforts catching up with him.

One of the mud goats broke away, its eyes locked on James. It crept behind him, preparing to pounce.

“James, duck!” Jennifer shouted.

He dropped to the ground just as Jennifer fired a concentrated blast of mud. The projectile hurtled through the air, striking the goat square in the head.

The mud spread across the goat’s face, blinding it and causing its movements to falter. The creature reared back, thrashing in confusion as it tried to shake off the sticky substance.

Jennifer didn’t hesitate. She lunged forward, her gauntleted fists already raised. With a feral growl, she brought them down on the mud goat’s head with crushing force. The wet, compacted mud buckled under the repeated strikes, chunks flying with each blow.

“Stay. Down!” she snarled, driving her fists into the creature.

The goat let out a final guttural noise before its head collapsed entirely under her assault, the rest of its body crumbling into an inert pile of mud. Jennifer stepped back, her gauntlets coated in wet earth, breathing heavily.

Yeah... this is way more fun than using my claws...

James scrambled to his feet, panting hard. “Thanks,” he muttered, glancing at her with wide eyes.

Jennifer gave him a nod before turning her attention back to the remaining five mud goats. They charged in unison, their heavy hooves thundering against the ground. Jennifer aimed carefully, firing another volley of sticky goo at their feet. The creatures stumbled and fell, snarling and thrashing as they became trapped.

But claws are faster.

Jennifer moved in swiftly, her claws flashing as she took them down one by one. Each swipe was deliberate, two strikes for each goat’s neck, until the last one collapsed into a pile of inert mud.

She stood amidst the carnage, her chest heaving as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

James approached cautiously, his disks floating weakly around him. “I'm not crazy. But did you just use three different kinds of powers?”

Jennifer didn’t answer immediately. "No. You're just seeing things."

He was confused. "Does this have to do with... you being pulled to this world? The flame tornado."

Jennifer was surprised. She never expected him to come to that conclusion, not so fast. But it didn't really matter since she couldn't answer him.

"You... killed them all?" Two of the surviving security guards that had retreated into the school said, baffled.

Jennifer gestured at James. "He did a lot of the work too."

"You two look different than us and have these powers..." He dropped to his knee like he had experienced a revelation. "Gods. They must be real! You must have been sent by the gods to save us!"