With a gun and a radio tucked away, Visette headed toward a secondary building where Charlie was likely to be. The hall was all but empty until a “janitor” pushing a cleaning cart turned a corner. He seemed startled by her appearance, seemingly recognizing her, but regained his calm and continued pushing his cart.

Visette walked as normal as always and didn’t give her intentions.

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to class?” The man smiled. His janitors uniform seemed a bit too small for his upper body. His build resembled a soldier rather than an academy employee but Visette still scanned him to confirm what she already knew.

“I am going to use the lavatory,” Visette replied, hiding her true intentions.

As the distance between them closed, he tightly gripped the broomstick and a snapping sound could be heard. When they were only steps away from each other, he raised the sharpened broomstick and thrust it at Visette but she twisted her body to dodge it. As the Abnormal posing as a janitor went to draw the stick in for another strike, Visette arrived in front of him and buried her knife in the side of his neck.

His body immediately became weaker after receiving the fatal wound. He struggled for a few seconds before going limp and collapsing.

Visette wasted no time in disposing of his body, opting to toss his fresh corpse into the cleaning cart only to discover a disassembled combat rifle was inside. She theorized that the Abnormals who infiltrated the school were attempting to take captives. If they were set on assaulting the academy directly, they could have done so very easily.

Visette pulled the piece of the combat rifle out of the cart and quickly put it together. There was only one magazine available so she loaded it in and tossed the rifle over her shoulder before heading to the bathroom to dispose of the body.

…

Elsewhere, Charlie was busy jotting down notes as a semi-retired pilot gave a lecture on the structure of aerial vehicles.

“I wonder what Vis is doing…” She sighed.

“What was that Ms. Wakefield?” The pilot asked. He was a man in his mid-40’s and likely had a great deal of experience with his age, but he seemed incredibly enthusiastic.

“I-I said that I was interested in the Hummingbird Aerial Craft,” Charlie said.

“Ah! That is my personal favorite,” The pilot replied, continuing with an excited face, “Generally, Novidium batteries can last for months or years in some cases but the Hummingbird can drain in a day. Do any of you know why?”

“It’s the maneuverability comes with a high power cost,” A young man with blonde hair answered.

“That is correct! It doesn’t have much speed and it cannot climb to a very high altitude, but it can provide battlefield support due to its agility. Now-” Just as the pilot was about to continue, the door to the classroom was kicked off its hinges and sent flying.

The class became silent as a group of men with combat rifles walked in. At the forefront, a man with pale skin and a violent look about him began speaking.

“Listen up! You can think of me as your new teacher and these fine men with me as my helpers. Now, there are three rules to professor Luke’s class!” The leader of the group, Luke, shouted. “No fucking screaming. No fucking moving without being instructed to do so. And most importantly, no speaking unless spoken to. You all got that?”

Luke scanned over the classroom, seemingly eager to find a deviant. Scars covered his face and his physique was threatening by itself, so to the students who had no combat experience, there was no one who wanted to speak up.

“Hold on! You can’t just-” The pilot approached Luke and was grabbed by the throat in response.

“Ah, our first rule breaker!” Luke shouted with joy as one of his men strangled the pilot.

“Kill him?” Luke’s “assistant,” asked.

“Do it. We need to make an example out of these brats.”

The pilot struggled for a few more agonizing moments before his entire body went limp.

“Anyone else?” Luke asked, but there was no one dumb enough to answer.

Luke’s lips curled in satisfaction as he spoke once more. “Then all of you stand up and get in line. We’ll be putting you in restraints for now.”

As Luke’s men moved to subdue the students, he spoke into a radio. “This is team number one, we have the aerial side locked down.”

[Alright, we’ll be making the announcement shortly. Fox doesn’t care if you have to rough them up but don’t hurt them too bad and definitely don’t kill anyone. Remember, the VIP’s are off limits. Except for VT.]

“Yeah, yeah.” Luke shrugged.

Charlie remained silent the entire time but she counted the number of men in the room finding a total of ten, including Luke. And the way Luke spoke, it seemed as if there were more around. But what stood out most was the abbreviation, VT.

‘Visette!’ Charlie guessed that VT was meant to describe Visette.

Since it didn’t seem like any of the assailants knew about her white-haired friend’s abilities, she calmed herself.

If there was anyone who could help her, it would be Visette. She only hoped that Visette would arrive in time.

…

[Attention! There is an announcement for all of you wonderful students within this academy. The Freedom City Militia has now taken control and by now all exits should be chained shut and guarded. Most of your classmates, friends, and teachers have already been captured. Well, a few of your teachers may be dead already. In any case, there are stragglers about and it is in your best interest to come to one of the following four locations, the auditorium, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, or the library. If you are found hiding, you will be beaten. Severely. Now, please hurry to one of those four locations within ten minutes or expect a swift punishment.]

Visette listened to the announcement in its entirety as she left the bathroom. The takeover happened faster than she expected, but considering the students were likely to be timid, it made sense. Especially when the enemies were likely to all be Abnormals.

‘I have to avoid using firearms if possible.’ Visette drew her knife and began running down the hallway.

Her first goal was finding Charlie as she held the highest priority. She slipped past a few classrooms that were in the process of being taken over and headed straight for Charlie’s location but suddenly stopped as she spotted a red glass case with a fire axe inside. She spread her psionic pulse to make sure no one was in her immediate vicinity before removing her jacket, wrapping it tightly around her fist, and breaking open the glass case. With her knife in one hand and a fire axe in the other, Visette resumed her journey.

…

Back in Charlie’s classroom, the students were huddled together, staring at the floor to avoid the gazes of their captors.

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“Do you know who my father is?!” A blonde-haired young man asked with more curiosity than fear.

“I do,” Luke replied as he pulled a cigarette out of his jacket and approached the student. Once he was close enough to look him in the eye, he lit the cigarette and took a long puff of it before speaking, “Councilor William Locke is your father which makes you Jonah Locke.”

“Over there, that’s Charlie Wakefield. Her father is Commander Nathan Wakefield.” Luke spoke, nodding his head toward Charlie who was startled by his knowledge of her.

Before she could ask how he knew, Luke smiled and replied, “I know most of your names. Those of you with influential parents, anyway. We were told that everyone who doesn’t have a silver spoon upbringing is more expendable, you see.”

“Then why are you-” Jonah spoke once more but Luke cut him off immediately.

“Jonah, Jonah, Jonah. I’m not confident that any of us can restrain ourselves and I’ve been told not to hurt any VIP’s like yourself...That doesn’t apply to your friends.” As Luke finished speaking, he pointed to a random student. “Grab that boy right there and take him for a walk.”

“No!” The student cried out as one of Luke’s men grabbed him and dragged him out of the classroom.

“Please! No! I didn’t do anything!” The student screamed and thrashed wildly but could do nothing to overpower an Abnormal.

The entire time it happened, Jonah and Luke maintained eye contact.

‘Please, Visette.’ Charlie lowered her head, inwardly calling out for Vis to arrive.

…

Just as Visette was approaching the classroom, she could hear someone shouting and hid around a corner.

“No!” A student screamed as he was dragged by his hair.

“Shut up, kid. You’re only making me want to hit you more!” The Abnormal laid his gun against a locker and began beating the unfortunate student with his bare hands.

Visette sent out a psionic pulse and felt dozens of presences within the classroom but none seemed to be in the process of exiting so she rushed toward the lone Abnormal.

He was too busy beating up the innocent student to notice Visette until she was right in front of him.

“Huh-” He managed to mutter before she drove the fire axe into his neck.

“Ah!” The student let out a yelp as blood fell onto his face.

Visette ignored him and lifted the dying Abnormal up without removing her fire axe. He hung on the axe like a decoration and she moved toward the classroom just like that.

“Done already?” An Abnormal asked as watched his teammate enter the classroom. “Wait-”

He discovered the blood and more importantly, the white-haired girl who was carrying the fresh corpse a little too late. Visette flicked her hand and threw her knife, sending it into his throat.

“Hey! It’s her!” The other Abnormals took notice and raised their weapons.

Visette jammed the firearms with her psionics and moved without fear, tossing the body that hung from the axe away before retrieving her knife from the throat of one of the Abnormals.

“Visette Thales, is it?” Luke asked with a smile. “I’ve heard that you’re close to Charlie Wakefield, right? She’s apparently the only one you talk to. Well, her and a young man named Arthur Scott I believe? If you move, she dies.”

He pointed his rifle toward Charlie who curled up in panic but Visette’s expression remained tranquil like a still pond. She slowly raised her axe up high and positioned it for a throw.

“I mean it!” Luke shouted although he had no intention of firing.

Visette didn’t know that but it didn’t matter as she had already ensured their guns wouldn’t fire. She infused psionic power into her arm and threw the axe.

Before Luke and the other Abnormals could react, it had already struck him, knocking him onto the floor.

“Fire!” One of the Abnormals shouted before squeezing the trigger of their rifles.

A symphony of clicks brought relief to the students but distress to the Abnormals. Visette had already dashed toward them and stabbed her knife into the abdomen of one Abnormal before delivering a powerful strike to his rib cage causing a loud snapping sound to ring out.

After that, she practically leaped toward her next victim and sliced his throat open, moving on the next. The Abnormals abandoned their weapons and staged a pathetic attempt at hand to hand combat, striking at Visette but coming up empty. And each miss cost the group of Abnormals a life until there was only Luke left who squirmed on the floor.

“Fuck that hurt!” Luke shouted as he pulled the axe from his chest.

Visette was curious as to how he survived until she noticed the thick metal chestplate that the axe was wedged in.

“I knew I wasn’t being too careful by wearing this.” Luke tossed away the broken metal plate before drawing his own knife and assuming a defensive stance. “That armor was meant to stop the claws of a Corrupted. If you threw it a bit harder, you would’ve killed me-”

Visette didn’t let Luke finish and sprinted toward him with her knife in hand. She swung her knife without hesitation and Luke instantly found himself on the losing end. He was forced to keep moving to avoid her strikes but Visette pursued him relentlessly. Within ten seconds of their fight, Luke’s arms were already decorated with cuts. He suddenly struck at what looked to be an opening, but Visette drove her knife into his abdomen, adeptly guiding the blade between his ribs. Then, she twisted the knife before driving her fist into Luke’s throat, causing his head to recoil back. As if it wasn’t enough, Visette kicked one of his legs causing him to fall forward and wrapped her arm around his neck and made a lifting motion.

With a loud snap, Luke’s body fell limp as Visette released her grip. Ignoring the pure shock of the students around her, she immediately approached Charlie and cut her free. Charlie didn’t seem very surprised by the dead bodies Visette left behind. Strangely enough, Jonah didn’t seem as shocked as everyone else either.

“Are you injured?” Visette asked as she examined Charlie’s body with a psionic scan.

“I-I’m fine!” Charlie hugged Visette upon being freed.

“Ah, everyone else!” She realized that the other students were still bound a few moments later.

Visette selected one at random before cutting him free and pointing at Luke’s knife, “Cut the remaining restraints.”

“...Okay,” The girl replied sheepishly.

“Are you comfortable with handling a firearm?” Visette asked Charlie as she drew the revolver from her waistband.

“Yeah, I can shoot a revolver, easy.”

“Firing should not be necessary, it is only a precautionary measure. If you are uninjured then we should depart immediately.”

“Wait, where are we going?”

“Commander Wakefield instructed me to rescue you.”

“My Father did?”

“Yes.”

“...Is that the only reason you came to get me?”

“No, even if I did not receive the order I have already evaluated you as a valuable person and would have protected you regardless.”

Charlie’s face suddenly bloomed into a smile as Visette’s words, as emotionless as they were, brought her comfort.

“Oh, but what about everyone else?” Charlie was suddenly brought back to reality by the eyes of the clueless students.

“They are not a priority.”

“Wait! You can’t just leave! If they find out two of you escaped, what would happen to everyone else?!” Jonah shouted and his classmates began to agree with him. He was hesitant to press the issue further so he was relieved when everyone else did it for him.

“You can’t just abandon us here.”

“My Father is a councilor, you have to get me out.”

“And my mother is an officer in the military, you have to get me out!”

Visette’s mind didn’t change at all by the emotional pleas of her classmates but Charlie’s became filled with complicated thoughts.

“Visette...I can’t leave with everyone in danger.”

“You are my only priority, Charlie,” Visette replied before her gaze fell on the students. “If I am obstructed in my attempt to rescue you, I will eliminate whoever is responsible.”

Her words were so dull that it didn’t feel like a threat. So it took a few moments for the meaning of her sentence to dawn upon those wanting to be saved. For the sake of accomplishing her task, she had no qualms with killing anyone, enemy or not, who tried to stop her. The smell of blood and bodies decorating the room seemed to sober her classmates up.

“At the very least, we have to- you have to rescue Arthur...We have to Vis. I won’t go without him.”

Visette lowered her head as her mind began racing. She was searching for the best possible compromise that allowed her to complete her objective with minimal risk. She briefly contemplated knocking Charlie unconscious and taking her out but she was ordered to prevent any harm from befalling the girl. That, and carrying Charlie over her shoulder would negatively impact her combat ability.

“I will find a safe location for you to stay and then I will proceed to rescue Arthur,” Visette finally spoke.

“Wait, can we at least come with you?” Jonah cautiously asked, even though he was much calmer when facing Luke.

“There is no issue but, as of now, I am under no obligation to provide protection to any of you,” Visette answered and then removed the radio from Luke’s corpse. She felt it was best if she could keep tabs on her enemies and since she was undiscovered, it was all the more important.

“Remain close to me, Charlie,” Visette said before gripping the fire axe and heading for the door of the classroom.

Outside, the beaten student had already run off in a panic but Visette wasn’t concerned with finding him. She spread out her psionic pulse and searched for an empty room with a group of students in tow.