Starfire gasped as she watched friend Johnny’s chest explode. Her heart skipped several beats as her brain processed the attack. The scraps of cloths, sizzling electronics as the limited super armor fizzled out. Then the blood splashed through the air.

Her training kicked in. From the way Johnny was falling… the cowardly sniper was towards the tree line. The lack of energy beam meant it was Earth’s modern weapon. A kinetic assault.

Her eyes left Johnny as she saw one triplet move. The girl became translucent as a second attack shattered against the woman’s back. A green goop and gas got released, but Sofia used her wind power to push it up and away.

Once the wind died down, Candice was there spraying the experimental healing jello. Candice then placed a disk onto Johnny and he and the transparent woman vanished with a pop.

Kori turned to eye the tree line and tried to calculate the attacker’s position.

[In the trees at the very front. I cannot pinpoint the sniper. They are using a type of camouflage technology.] Friday instructed through the earpiece.

Friday had eyes all over the forest. The fake woodland creatures were now converging into the area.

“GAAAH!” Starfire shot to into the sky. The world whipped by as she reaches the clouds. Then she angled down and hit her fastest speed. The world blurred as she shot down like an avenging angel.

The air cracked as she broke the sound barrier and smashed into the crop of trees. Pulp, earth, and leaves erupted from her forceful landing. The one prominent cliffside crumbled apart from the force of her landing. Friday would later track a tree as far as three kilometers from the point of impact.

[I see him. The figure is heading straight away from you. Heat should distort space enough to reveal him.]

[Haaaaaaah!] Starfire floated into the air and fired off energy blasts. She kept them condensed and hot, aiming for power over speed.

Her green plasma attacks rained down into the area. The burning quasi-liquid balls splashed into the various trees and bushes.

Fire sprung up all around her. The air warped because of the heat as the fire soon spread.

Then she saw it. A shimmer.

The Warlords of Okaara had trained her with strict discipline. Endless training had granted her a true warrior’s skills, abilities, and experience. She did not hesitate and struck while her will was still burning.

The world exploded once again as Koriand’r leaped forward. Distances shrank as she lunged and punched at the man’s waist.

The air sizzled and popped as she thrust her right fist forward in a classic lunging attack. They needed him alive, but not in perfect condition.

The target had avoided the attack. A sudden pirouette to the left.

Kori changed directions as well, but the original energy attack continued forward. Plasma and fire erupted as they met the ground. More flames. More heat.

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[Bang!]

Kori reeled from the shot. It was powerful, but not powerful enough. Her clothlike armor was more than capable of handling such weak kinetic shots.

Kori stared at the shimmering figure and the smoking barrel that floated midair. Then the gun clicked and whine.

From where there was power, now a shower of bullets peppered her form. Most didn’t even make it to her as the heat intensified. As her rage intensified.

The last few rounds melted before splashing against her combat costume. The unique heat-resistant fabric was a gift. A master-crafted design from the forge masters of Okaara.

“Shit,” the not-a-man yelled as she dropped her gun and sprinted away.

[Fwip!] [Ziiiiiipppp] The figure fired off a cable and flew away like a bird.

It was not fast enough.

Kori flew through two trees, her figure glowing as her raw emotions supercharged her body. It granting even greater reaction times as she moved. Though the from would start melting her internals if used for too long.

She had been training even harder these last few months. The giant, inhuman monsters had rekindled that passion she had when she was younger. The urge to be strong. A vigorous leader. A powerful warrior.

Her people had forsaken her. Her sister, a traitor to not only family, but to the people, she was to protect.

Friend Johnny had embraced her. He needed a warrior at his side, not a dainty diplomat. Something she could fulfill.

Kori caught up to the woman in seconds. The shimmering woman was traversing the forest with a wire. A grappling hook.

Kori found the hook attached to a tree. She punched forward and a ball of plasma ensured that it would never grab onto anything ever again.

The assassin faltered as her line got cut. She landed on the forest floor at a dead run. The shimmering form trying to stabilize now that they were beyond the intense heat.

Kori swooped in and with point-blank plasma blasts ended the invisible woman’s career.

Her target shrieked as the plasma destroyed her legs. The cloak shimmered into view. The fabric sizzled as the internal circuits shorted out.

Kori tore off the cloak to reveal a blue woman. Grabbing the severed wire, Kori wrapped up the woman and tied the injured woman up.

Bones cracked as Kori took no care in how tight she wrapped the wire. This assassin would receive no mercy from her today.

[Reinforcements are almost on site. The fire will get contained and no other hostiles detected. Please drop off the prisoner and you can head to the mansion.]

Looking around at the fire and devastation… she felt numb at the actions. A mental fortitude from the Warlords of Okaara. A Warrior's Mind they had called it.

While she was sad that the woodland critters would now be displaced. She also knew that the soldiers would put out the fires soon. The fire had not spread that far yet.

Taking to the air once more, Kori flew back to the security forces.

They would take the prisoner, and she could focus on her most important friend.

—

[Should we go with the Supreme Leader’s Plan B?] Friday asked as Johnny’s face appeared. A wavelength of his voice imprint hovered in the air.

They already imprinted his voice into her data banks. A control variable in case he got injured or killed. The problem was this was supposed to be for the distant future. Not today!

“Yes,” Candice grimaced as she approved Plan B.

[To my wonderful assassins… I applaud] Friday began imitating Johnny’s voice. The sound came across the fairground speaker system to the world at large.

[Taking down one of my body double is no small feat, but I am currently safe in the Mansion. As for everyone else, please enjoy the fireworks. This evening has begun with a unique bang!]

The crowds seemed to sag into relief. Having the leader of a military nation injured in their refugee camp was never a comforting event.

Candice waved as Friday began the countdown. Which lead to the meticulously arranged music and pyrotechnics.

A pop song began playing as synced fireworks launched into the skies.

Everyone ignored the murder. Their minds focusing on the impressive display of music and lights. A brighter alternative to what may have really occurred.

Candice stared into the skies. She was looking forward to this earlier today. Now she was desperate to run to medical to check on her best and longest living friend.

They had survived the invasion of 2009. This little bullet was just another sad failure. Right?

————

Chapter 55: Better luck next time!