A summon prior to his own time

México — Jalisco — 10:40 a.m.

Kira and Decibolt materialized in a shimmer of blue light, arriving in their third state of their fifth country: Mexico. Heat rippled off the pavement, carrying the smell of roasted corn and diesel.

They split without pause. Kira shot south, boots tapping lightly against the stone walkway, while Decibolt veered north on his hover bike, engines humming like a contained thunderstorm.

Decibolt's Side

Decibolt skimmed over the street, visor scanning.
"There should be shards just up ahead," he muttered.

He rounded a corner, and two sparks glimmered from the top of a streetlight.

"There you are."

He launched upward in a burst of sound, snatching both shards before gravity even remembered to pull him down.

"That's this sector cleared. On to the next."
He shot off, leaving twirling dust in his wake.

Below, a boy tugged his mother's sleeve.
"¡Mira, mamá! That guy's on a hover bike!"

"Hover bikes aren't... real," she began—then froze as Decibolt streaked past.

Two men nearby whispered in Spanish as he vanished.

"Wasn't that guy on the news?"
"Yeah. Something about crystals releasing dangerous warriors."
"As if we need more villains. The V.S already give us enough problems."
"They've got a new leader, apparently."
"What happened to the old one?"
"They say some superheroes took him down."
"Well, it's about time. If we have villains, we'd better have heroes too."

Decibolt was already blocks away.
"Closing in on the shards," he murmured. "They should be around here somewhere."

Kira's Side

Molecular Girl skidded to a halt beside a fountain.
"Scanner's detecting shards inside," she said.

She plunged her hands into the cool water, fingers closing around shimmering fragments.

A young girl pointed. "Daddy, that woman is stealing from the fountain!"

Her father marched forward. "What do you think you're doing? Those coins belong to the community!"

Kira winced. Spanish wasn't her strength.
Time to test the new translator.

Through the mic, her device rendered her English into flawless Spanish:
"I'm not stealing. I dropped some jewelry and I'm retrieving it."

The man squinted. "Aren't you that girl from the news? The one with the dangerous crystal shards?"

"Um... yeah," the device translated.

Before he could say more, sirens wailed. Police tore past, chasing a thief on a motorcycle. Kira's galaxom detected another shard—on the thief.

"Sorry," she said through the mic. "I need to go."

She materialized her hover bike, swung onto it, and shot off after the pursuit.

The Chase

"¡Detente ahora!" an officer shouted.
"As if!" the thief yelled back, weaving through traffic.

"Shoot her tires!" another officer ordered.

The bullet struck clean. The motorcycle skidded violently, sending the thief tumbling into an alley. Scraped and bleeding lightly from her elbow, she scrambled up, breath sharp.

Three officers surrounded her.
"Surrender! You're trapped."

The thief lifted her hands—shard glinting between her fingers.

"Prior Warrior!"

Yellow smoke exploded outward, and a male summon stepped out.

"Prior suit: initiate."

A sleek deep-blue armor folded around him with mechanical precision.

"How did he do that?" one officer whispered.

Prior Warrior marched toward them.

"Freeze or we shoot!"

He didn't even slow down.

"Fire at will!"

Bullets pinged harmlessly off his armor.

He reached them in three strides. One punch knocked the first officer out cold, a sharp kick dropped the second, and a decisive chop finished the third.

The thief smirked. "Too easy."

She didn't see Kira drop from above.

Kira punched Prior Warrior across the alley, leaving a thin streak of dust

"Who are you?" the thief shouted.

Kira's translator crackled.
"You really don't watch the news."

The thief sneered. "Prior Warrior—handle her."

He lunged, throwing a flurry of punches. Kira dodged every strike, then spin-kicked him across the pavement.

He rose slowly. "Finally, a worthy opponent."

He pulled out a deep-blue compact device, glowing with cyan circuitry.

"Meet my Prior Weapon."

"That looks like a dumbbell," Kira said.

"Looks can be deceiving. Prior Weapon One."

The device unfolded into a long staff.

"Does this look like a toy now?"

He rushed her. The staff cracked against her head, ribs, and legs in rapid strikes, sending her tumbling. Kira rolled, wincing, a small cut forming on her cheek.

She scanned him.
"Tech-based summon. Combat power: 599. Not that tough."

She charged, pummeling him with a series of gut shots before knocking him over.

He coughed, wiping a streak of blood from his lip.
"You've got skill. But I have tech. Prior Weapon Two."

The staff unfolded into a scythe. He swung viciously. Kira cartwheeled backward again and again, the blade slicing the air inches from her.

"Full body repulsion!"

A wave of force slammed him into the dirt.

"But where you have tech, I have powers."

He snarled, the blade glowing.
Laser slashes rippled outward. They hurled her back into traffic, and a passing car clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning across the asphalt with scraped palms.

"Look both ways next time," he taunted.

He raised the scythe again—
A sonic boom cut him off.

Decibolt barreled in on his hover bike.
"Sonic blast!"

The attack hurled Prior Warrior into the alley wall.

The thief's eyes widened.
"Who are these guys?"

Decibolt switched to Spanish.
"We're bringing you in. Easy way or hard way."

The thief smirked. "I beat the police. I can beat you. Prior Warrior!"

Prior Warrior stood, bruised but burning with energy.
"Prior Weapon Five."

The scythe folded. The staff split into two tonfas.

Decibolt asked, "What's your read on him?"

Kira replied, "Same as before. Combat power 599."

"Nothing we can't handle."

"You mean nothing I can't handle."

She dashed forward. He dodged, flipping to a reverse grip and striking her repeatedly in the gut. She gasped, stumbling back with a small nosebleed before blasting him with repulsion.

"Weaponry beats martial arts," he mocked.

He lunged at Decibolt.
Decibolt formed a shimmering Deci-shield.

"Good thing I don't need martial arts."
He released the shield and fired a Sonic Pulse Blast, throwing the warrior back.

Prior Warrior hurled his tonfas. They smashed Decibolt off his feet.

He raised them again. "Prior Weapon Three."

The tonfas snapped together, separated, and a chain connected them, forming nunchucks.

Kira hurled debris at him using molecular kinesis. He deflected every piece.

"Molecular fusion!"

She fused several objects into one massive chunk and hurled it.

"Prior Weapon Four!"

One handle extended a blade, becoming a sword-nunchuck hybrid. He sliced the fused mass cleanly.

He grinned. "I call it my swunch—chuck"

"Decicannon!"
Decibolt blasted him straight toward Kira.

"Full body repulsion!"
She slammed him into the pavement.

Prior Warrior groaned, pushing up on shaky arms.

"Prior Weapon Seven."

Two blades extended, forming dual swords.

"I am Prior Warrior. Prototype of perfection. I'll show you why weapons reign supreme."

He rushed to her. She raised a molecular wall. He vaulted it, striking her back and sending her skidding across the ground.

"Eat laser slashes!"

Kira flipped over them. Decibolt destroyed the slashes with a Decicannon, blasting Prior Warrior into the far wall.

The thief yelled, "Stop messing around!"

"Prior Weapon Ten."

His weapon folded into four metal plates that attached to his arm, forming a cannon.

"Feel the wrath of my Prior Cannon!"

He fired. Decibolt was thrown back, rolling until he crashed into a stack of crates, bruised and coughing.

Prior Warrior aimed at Kira.
She blocked with a molecular wall, struggling as the beam pushed her backward.

She seized a nearby billboard with molecular kinesis and hurled it.
He deviated the beam upward.

"As if a flimsy billboard will—"

Kira rocketed forward and punched him square in the jaw.

"Full body repulsion!"

She blasted him upward, then again mid-air, slamming him into the pavement hard.

The thief screamed, "I said stop messing around! Use Prior Weapon Eleven!"

Prior Warrior hesitated. "But after that, I can't use any others."

The thief threw her hands up. "You only understand my Spanish because of the shard's psychic link. I can't! so just do it!"

"Prior Weapon Eleven. Last Resort Bomb."

The weapon returned to its original form and began to heat, glowing dangerously.

"This bomb holds the condensed power of atomic and nuclear energy," Prior Warrior warned. "It targets one person and those near them."

Kira's eyes widened.
"If we get hit by that, we're done."

Decibolt wiped blood from his lip. "I have a plan. Just get him to throw it."

"What kind of plan?!"

"One that needs you to trust me."

Kira sighed. "Fine."

She powered up and rushed him.
He punched. She blocked, hammered his gut, then his face, then spun into three sharp kicks. He staggered.

He hurled the bomb.

"Supersonic Decibolt! Ripple Portal!"

Decibolt opened a swirling portal in front of Kira. The bomb vanished—and reappeared behind Prior Warrior.

It detonated, his suit was scratched, he was weakened but wasn't finished.

"My suit was design to withstand the last resort bomb and prevent it from being fatal to me."

"Pretty sure it wasn't designed for this. Gravitational Kinesis One"

He began to rise into air

"Kinetic Punch barrage"

A wave of punches Knocked him all over.

"And now to finish it, Final Supersonic Ripple blast"

The combined wave struck him head on, yellow smoke swallowed him, and when it cleared, he was gone.

The thief stared, horrified.
"How?! That's not possible!"

Kira stepped forward, translator echoing her voice.
"You saw what happened to your summon. If you don't surrender—"

"Surrender? Ha! Over my dead body!"
She pulled out a gun.

Kira blurred forward, disarming and knocking her out with a precise strike.

Decibolt approached, rubbing a bruised shoulder. "Since when do you know Spanish?"

"I don't. I built a translator device."
She smirked. "But I heard you speaking it."

Decibolt shrugged. "Crystal cadets are required to learn every language. Our Chosen One can come from any planet.

He grabbed her shards and put it through the portal.