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Selena watched the chaos, blood mist in the air and anger knotting her stomach. She was disappointed in the way a commander would be, furious at how her "troops"—Mia and Katya—had failed to follow orders. And then, as if the universe wanted her to feel the sting of failure all the more acutely, Selena's voice echoed in her head, sharp and blazing:
'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!'
The psychic shout struck them both. Katya and Mia's eyes snapped open, the haze of the melee clearing for a moment of clarity.
Right then, Mia was a bloody mess on the cold, dirty ground. Her right eye was swollen shut, left ear torn and bleeding, her upper body painted with her own blood. Every muscle screamed with pain. Her breathing was ragged; each exhale carried flecks of blood to the floor. Maulers clustered around, some still getting their kicks in, boots and fists landing with wet thuds. A ring of them laughed as they watched her writhe, savoring the sight of a Viltrumite brought so low.
Finally a lot of them soon picked up their guns and began advancing forward to the bunker, after all there were more halfbloods. They can have their fun then if this was the most the halfbloods could amount to.
Katya finally saw the carnage she'd left behind. She realized—she'd abandoned Mia, who got swept up in the fight and lost sight of her teammate, her friend. The revelation hurt more than the Immortals' blows. She hovered mid-air, surrounded by nineteen Immortals—old, bitter men with deathless eyes. Down below, another Immortal stood and watched the Maulers batter Mia's limp, bloodied body.
Selena's voice rang again in their heads, ice-cold:
"I had better not come there and see you girls still struggling to carry out simple instructions."
And just like that, she cut the psychic link, her disappointment stinging more than any wound.
Hearing this, Mia clenched her jaw. The pain almost made her black out, but rage and shame kept her awake. She spat blood, eyes wild.
'I won't be a burden. Not today. Not ever.'
Deep inside, something primal surged—her Viltrumite blood howled for survival. She thought of Katya's unbreakable skin, Selena's psychic prowess, Flora's power to make you relive your worst fears.
'But what about me?' She thought desperately.
'Is all I have just red hair? Am I useless? Why do I even exist if I can't fight?'
Her fingers curled in the blood pooling beneath her, and she felt something ignite.
Meanwhile, Katya faced her own reckoning. Her stoic mask cracked as she looked down at Mia. Saving her wasn't an option—not yet. But she had to try, even with a circle of Immortals hemming her in. One Immortal, eyes burning with hate, barked a command and the rest closed in.
Katya dove, feinting left, then shooting right, luring her fight with the Immortals away from Mia for a heartbeat. She darted through the Maulers, her hands a blur, realigning vertebrae with clinical precision. She cracked neck after neck without fail as she tried to reduce the number of blue men.
Mauler after Mauler crumpled, dead before they hit the floor. The ones advancing toward the bunker turned to see their brothers dropping behind them, and panic rippled through their ranks. They turned their guns on Katya, but she was already gone, zigzagging away as the Immortals took the brunt of the plasma fire—irritated but unharmed.
Now that she'd drawn most of the threat, Katya's only goal was to swoop in, grab Mia, and get them both to the training room. If all went well, the training room's defenses could turn the tide, or at least buy them time.
But before Katya could reach Mia, an Immortal cut her off—bigger, faster than she'd expected. He grabbed her by the waist and hurled her back toward the others, and in a flash she was surrounded again.
Katya spat in frustration. As the Maulers joined in, the fight became a savage ground brawl. Immortals defended, Maulers attacked, and Katya found herself taking real damage consistently and for so long for the first time in her life. Her body was covered in bruises, cuts, and welts. She cracked an Immortal's neck, certain she'd killed him, only to watch a Mauler snap it back into place. The Immortal grinned, right back in the fight. She hadn't even managed to take down a single Immortal. Maulers were nothing compared to these deathless warriors.
'This is insane. The blue warriors I can handle. But these old bastards… I can't… I can see why Selena thirsts for strength is this strong. Being weak is not an option to achieve your dreams in this universe dominated by the strong.'
She went on the defensive, but the punishment mounted. Her breath came short, vision blurred, and blood stung her eyes.
'Is this how it ends? Where is Selena? Did they get her, too? Shit, I can't concentrate. My arms hurt, my body hurts, my back hurts, my hurt hurts. Dammnit, I just need a break, it's like they'll crack me open into a bloody paste soon.'
She fought just to stay on her feet as her body vibrated violently with several body blows and attacks all around her.
Then, chaos erupted. Screams echoed down the hallway as some Maulers—tough, blue-skinned, usually fearless—ran past Katya's brawl, terror on their faces. The brawlers paused, confused, and turned to see what could possibly scare the Maulers so badly.
What they saw made their blood run cold.
Standing in the center of the carnage was a figure both familiar and terrifying—a girl whose skin had turned charcoal black, shot through with red, lava-like cracks. Her hair, once a vibrant red, now flowed like molten fire down her back, every strand alive with unearthly energy. Her naked body gleamed, every muscle outlined by glowing veins pulsing with power.
'Is that… Mia?' Katya gasped, unable to believe her eyes.
It was. Mia's Viltrumite blood had finally mixed with her other half—the mysterious, ancient power dormant in her genes, empowering her even more than her ancestors. She was more than Viltrumite now. She was something else. Something new.
Katya's hope rekindled.
"MIA! IS THAT YOU?!" she screamed, her voice breaking with joy and relief.
Mia turned to her, and in her burning eyes was a promise—she was not going down, not today.
The hall was silent but for the distant rumble of gunfire and the whimper of Maulers who had glimpsed their doom. The Maulers nearest Mia tried to run. She raised a hand and struck a Mauler who was retreating, her hand passed through the Mauler's insides like hot knife through butter. She moved again and this time held another, raising him in flight from his head only as she incinerated his insides, reducing their contents to splashes of blue gore against the walls.
Katya used the chaos to break free from the circle of Immortals, launching herself toward Mia.
Mia nodded at her, lips curling into a predatory grin. The power in her body was intoxicating; she could feel every molecule vibrating with purpose. Her wounds healed before their eyes, muscles growing, skin mending.
The Immortal who was observing Mia this whole time lunged at Mia, but this time she forgot about defending and instead went for brawl which was his strong suit as he caught her in a choke hold again even though her body was hot literally and figuratively especially her molten hair that burned through his suit and skin so much so that he tossed her hair to the side and held on to put out her flame.
Katya moved to at least buy time by cracking his neck but Mia shook her head as she held the Immortal's hands and squeezed as she cut through his wrists and freed herself. Although it did take her half a minute to break through, she was successful in making sure that Immortal wouldn't be grabbing her again.
The Immortal bent over and cried out in pain as she slowly turned and raised his head slowly to meet hers as if they were lovers, as she pressed her thumbs to his eyes and right through his skull!
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