As we rushed towards the door the sounds of war began from above us. It was a quick affair, we stormed into the parking lot where a couple of guys stood facing the other way, looking in the general direction of the gunshots. We opened fire before any of them realised who we were.

Realising that there were likely more patrols in the sewers I quickly shouted “I want two men guarding the sewers entrance! Other patrols are probably rushing back here right now!”

The guide came up to me and said “Indeed, we wouldn’t want to be attacked from behind. Smart move.”

I looked at him and said, “Thanks, you also did well getting us here…”

“Guido.” He said bluntly.

“Huh?” I grunted in slight confusion.

“My name, call me Guido.” He said.

<( … Is he for reals? ‘Guido the guide’? Really? )>

<[ It’ll be easy to remember. ]>

“Ok, Guido, What’s the next step?” I asked.

“Next we work our way through the building and eliminate any enemy presences we encounter.” He said, “We’ll make our way towards the communications room as a priority.

I nodded and gestured for the others to fall in line as we headed towards the stairwell doors. As I was reaching for the handle my danger sense started going wild and I froze. Suddenly the door flew off the hinges and threw me several meters backwards. It took me a moment to right myself and in that time a deep but womanly voice echoed through the parking lot.

“I thought I smelled a rat! Good thing I decided to come down ‘ere myself!”

Throwing the door off me revealed the origin of the voice, a tall and muscular woman who could only be described as ‘powerful’. She had black hair that hung to her shoulders and muscles that began to destroy her femininity. She was not unattractive, but the manly aura cascading off her probably drove all the guys away.

“I am Ajax, thought ya might wanna know since you’re about to die. Sorry hun, but business is business, time to say goodbye to your friends.” She said before charging me.

I sensed a movement around her fist. My eyes went wide when I realized what it was, she was psionically super-charging her fists.

I noticed her fist closing in on my face and quickly rolled away, jumping back onto my feet in the process.

She slowly turned to look at me with a smile and said “Oh? You’re quite a slippery one aren’t ya?”

I grit my teeth in displeasure as I looked at her.

Suddenly there were gunshots from behind her, but all the bullets missed. She redirected all of them without even flinching. I grimaced while thinking about how bad the situation was.

Knowing the rest of the team would be more likely to hinder me than anything else I shouted “GO! YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING TO HER!”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She gave me a smug look and said “The little lady is right. I won’t stop you, so take this opportunity and leave.”

Guido gave a solemn nod as we made eye contact and filtered out with the rest of the team.

“How noble of you,” said my assailant as she stepped closer, “but you should know how slim your chances are against me. What possessed you to send away your posse?”

I smirked and said “Unlike you, I can’t deflect bullets. I figured it would be stupid to lower my already ‘slim’ chances with wayward bullets, and I’d rather not give you the opportunity to turn a few my way either.”

She paused a step and looked at me in shock for a moment before saying “You’re prepared to go down fighting? That’s new, people usually beg for mercy.”

Without warning she lunged at me, throwing a fist straight for my chest. I saw it coming and knew I would never be able to dodge or block, I decided to jump back in an attempt to mitigate the impact.

Her fist landed squarely in my chest and I felt the bones crack as I was thrown across the parking lot. I rolled to a stop and wheezed as I tried to get back up.

As I staggered to my feet Ajax appeared in front of me with a powerful kick approaching my stomach. It was slower than the punch and I had time to cross my arms in defence, they absorbed most of the impact but my left arm broke as a result.

This time my back smashed into a column about three metres away. I was winded and fell to the floor in a daze.

I snapped to attention as I noticed a vehicle flying towards me and frantically dove out of the way. I almost cleared it but my right leg got crushed by the nose of the car.

I grimaced as I tried to pull my leg out, but I had no luck and was thoroughly stuck underneath the car. Suddenly the car was flung off me and Ajax stood above me with a sorry smile.

“I’m sorry, but business is business… you fought well.” She said sorrowfully as a sharp pain assailed my head and she bent down and picked me up by the throat.

<( Shit! Mental overload! She’s trying to Mind fray us! )>

<[ Block the damage! ]>

<( It’s impossible to block! )>

<[ Then redirect it or something! ]>

<(… That was surprisingly easy. )>

‘The hell are you doing!? It feels like my arm is about to explode!

<[ Try sending it somewhere else! ]>

I smirked as I got an idea.

I could feel the world fading into darkness as she strangled me, but I didn’t stop. I raised my right arm while Ajax looked away and touched her temple, sending all the psionic power straight back into her own brain.

She quickly turned her head back to me with a look of shock and surprise. Her look only lasted a moment before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed, dropping me to the floor as she fell. I fell to the floor and lay there without the energy to get back up. I still felt mentally worn from her Mind fray attempt and could barely keep the encroaching darkness at the edges of my mind at bay. Soon, I fell unconscious where I lay.

My mind was engulfed in darkness but some part of me still seemed connected to the outside world. I could still feel the coldness of the floor beneath slowly me robbing me of my body heat. The warmth of my body was sapped for what felt like an eternity, gradually making my whole existence feel cold and lifeless.

The only relief from the eternal coldness was the searing and burning sensation spreading through my right arm. The burning provided a stark contrast with the iciness swallowing the rest of me but it provided some sort of warmth. Though that warmth was eventually stolen from me as a gentle touch glide across my arm accompanied by muffled voices, soothing the searing pain beneath it as it traced everywhere on my arm.

After what felt like a brief moment of relief the gentle touch disappeared and I was once again left alone in the icy cold. The hellish coldness of the floor accompanied me for what felt like ages before I felt it disappear, replaced by the sensation of gravity and two small patches of warmth. Once again, I heard muffled voices as I felt the floor beneath me once again. This time the floor was soft and neutral, creating the sensation of floating in nothingness even though I felt myself being moved.

Shortly afterwards, I felt myself being moved onto a much softer and warmer surface. Heat gradually began returning to my body after a soft cover was put on top of me and I began to relax, my consciousness faded and I fell asleep feeling our success.