The last member of Team Techno

4:39 p.m. — Japan

The late afternoon sun hung low over the city, glazing the streets in amber light as Kira and Decibolt streaked overhead on their hover bikes. The engines hummed beneath them, steady and sharp, cutting through the warm air. Neon reflections slid across glass towers as the shard tracker on Kira's wrist pulsed insistently.

"We're on a roll! We've found over half of the shards. Soon we'll bring Theo back," Molecular Girl said, her voice bright with momentum.

Deciboltsmirked as his bike dipped lower.

"Then we can beat him up for making us go through all this."

"Exactly," she replied.

They followed the signal until it led them toward a small children's park wedged between apartment blocks. Laughter drifted upward—carefree, light. Bright swings swayed. A ball bounced across the pavement.

Decibolt slowed, scanning the area.

"The shards are in there somewhere," he said.

Molecular Girl hesitated, watching the children.

"But there are children in there. If they see us, they'll go crazy wanting pictures and things like that."

"Can you blame them?" Decibolt said smugly. "They can't get enough of me."

She rolled her eyes.

"We'll de-transform and go in."

They veered into a quiet side street, found cover behind a delivery truck, and powered down. The hum of their bikes faded, replaced by the distant sound of children playing.

On Kira's side

No sooner had Kira stepped into the park than a young boy ran straight toward her, breathless and excited.

"ボール取るの手伝って！" the boy said, tugging at her sleeve.

Kira blinked, instinctively reaching for her helmet before remembering it wasn't there. My translation device is attached to my suit, she thought.

The boy pointed urgently. "あの木の上にある！"

She followed his finger to a tall tree near the fence. A bright ball was wedged between the upper branches.

"It looks like he wants that ball," Kira said softly.

She climbed the tree with ease, bark scraping lightly against her palms. Leaves brushed her face as she reached the branch and nudged the ball free. It dropped, bouncing across the grass.

The boy cheered.

Then the world shook.

A thunderous explosion rolled across the city, deep enough to rattle Kira's teeth. A dark plume of smoke spiraled upward in the distance.

"What could have caused that?" she murmured, eyes locked on the rising cloud.

"Did you feel that?" Hakim asked through the comms.

"How could I not?" Kira said. "We have to check it out."

She jumped from the tree. In a flash of light, armor sealed around her. Hakim transformed beside her, and moments later their hover bikes roared to life as they shot toward the explosion.

At the explosion

Police sirens wailed through the ruined street. Several squad cars lay overturned, metal warped and smoking.

At the center stood a woman in black combat armor, a tri-blaster resting easily in her hand and a plasma blade humming at her side.

"Tri-blaster, plasma blade, black armor. That's Mira Goni," Molecular Girl said, already tensing.

A police officer shouted, "Drop the shards!"

The woman tilted her head. "Now, why would I do that?" the summoner asked calmly. "Mira!"

The tri-blaster flared.

A shockwave tore outward, sending every police car flying. Steel screamed against asphalt as vehicles slammed into walls.

"We'll take it from here," Decibolt said in Japanese, stepping forward.

"You heard him! Fall back!" the officers shouted as they retreated.

"She's a tech-based summon, combat power 661," Molecular Girl warned.

"Hey, analysis is my thing!" Mira Goni said. "Zarnold, give me a read."

"They are both decent fighters," Zarnold replied. "The female one is an Earthling, while the male is emitting an unknown planetary energy. Estimated success: 75%."

"75%? For these guys?" Mira scoffed. "They look as if they couldn't defeat a single Ortan."

She fired.

Kira caught the blasts midair, holding them in place with molecular kinesis. The pressure made her arms tremble—

"Zarnold, start gathering data on their powers—every ability, attack, and defense."

A plasma slash detonated the suspended energy.

The explosion hurled Kira backward. She hit the street hard, pain exploding through her ribs. A thin stream of blood slipped from her nose as she pushed herself up.

Before she could recover, Decibolt attacked, sonic blasts rippling through the air. Mira deflected them effortlessly, boots igniting as she surged forward and punched him square in the chest.

He skidded across the pavement, coughing.

"Power analysis: 10% complete," Zarnold reported.

A grapple hook shot from Mira's wrist, latching onto a rooftop. She swung, kicking Decibolt down before blasting Kira into a wall. Concrete cracked behind her. A sharp cut opened along her.

"Kinetic punch barrage!" Molecular Girl shouted, charging.

Mira crossed her arms, sliding backward under the impact.

"16% complete."

"Sonic storm!" Decibolt yelled.

The air screamed—but Mira carved through it and sent him crashing into a storefront.

"25% complete."

"You guys are just firing random attacks," Mira said coolly. "No definite pattern, no combined attacks, and your synergy is terrible. You act as individuals instead of as a team."

"She's just like Techno, trying to teach us instead of fighting," Molecular Girl muttered.

"If she wants a team-up, we'll give her one," Decibolt said. "I'm going in with a sonic step, reducing the gravity around me just a little to increase my speed. You can handle that, right?"

"Watch me," she replied.

"Sonic step!"

"Anti-gravity!"

Decibolt vanished in a blur, striking again and again. The final Decicannon slammed Mira into the ground, shattering the street.

"31% complete."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Mira laughed.

"Why are you encouraging them?" the summoner demanded, her voice sharp with frustration.

"They don't have the strength to actually beat me, so why not have a little fun?" Mira Goni said, rolling her shoulders as her boots flared to life.

"Just like Techno, she thinks she's far more superior," Molecular Girl muttered, tightening her stance.

"You fought Techno and you're still standing," Mira Goni said, lifting her blaster slightly. "It could be one of these three things: he let you go when you couldn't fight anymore, you found a way to escape, or—highly unlikely—you have untapped power and actually defeated him."

"Sonic pulse blast!" Decibolt shouted.

"Kinetic punch barrage!" Molecular Girl yelled.

The air shattered as sound and force collided with Mira simultaneously. The impact sent her hurtling backward, armor screeching as she tore through debris before slamming into the far end of the street.

"Here's a lesson for you: don't get distracted on the battlefield," Molecular Girl said, already pressing forward.

"46% complete," Zarnold reported.

"Well played," Mira Goni said, her voice steady even as she ignited her boots.

She launched skyward in a streak of fire, seized both of them midair, and hurled them upward. A second blast followed, sending them even higher before a grappling line snapped tight around them. With a brutal yank, she dragged them back down, slamming them into the ground hard enough to crater the street.

"Urgh, cyclonic gravity!" Molecular Girl groaned.

The air twisted violently as a vortex formed, dragging Mira inward. She fought against it, boots flaring as she tried to break free, but the pressure crushed inward from every direction.

"Deflect this—sonic storm—gigantic sonic disc!" Decibolt shouted.

A massive spinning wave of compressed sound tore through the vortex, smashing into Mira and flinging her across the street.

"Gravity enhance!" Molecular Girl said.

The force multiplied instantly, driving Mira straight down like a meteor. The ground exploded beneath her on impact.

"67% complete," Zarnold announced.

"Those were straightforward attacks, but not enough to beat Techno," Mira Goni said, rising slowly from the crater, armor scorched and cracked. A thin line of blood ran from her nose. "So I think I'll go with option 1 or 2, but 3 is still on the table."

She fired.

Kira and Decibolt split in opposite directions as plasma tore through the space between them. Kira twisted midair and flung the tri-blaster from Mira's hand, metal spinning away in a shower of sparks.

"What are you going to do now?" Molecular Girl asked.

Before Mira could answer, a sudden wrist blast detonated at their feet, throwing both of them backward. Kira hit the pavement hard, the breath ripped from her lungs as fresh blood spotted the ground beneath her.

"Never underestimate your opponent's arsenal," Mira Goni said.

Her grappling hook shot out, wrapping around Molecular Girl's arm and yanking her forward. Mira met her with a brutal series of punches to the gut, each impact driving air from her lungs.

"Full body repulsion!" Molecular Girl cried.

The force exploded outward, hurling Mira across the street and slamming her into a collapsed storefront.

"78% complete," Zarnold said.

"What's this? A new blaster?" Molecular Girl said, spotting the tri-blaster and scooping it up.

"Zarnold, initiate blaster transport!" Mira Goni shouted.

The weapon vanished from Molecular Girl's hands and reappeared beside Mira in a flash of light.

"The tri-blaster is a weapon given to the Enforcer of Honor. You have no right to wield it!" Molecular Girl shouted.

She rushed forward, blades flashing. Mira raised a molecular wall just in time. The blades struck, sparks flying—but a wrist blast shattered the barrier instantly. Mira stepped through and struck Molecular Girl down, sending her skidding across the street.

"Hey, I'm in this fight as well!" Decibolt shouted.

He fired a rapid volley of sonic blasts. Mira dodged with casual precision and answered with a plasma slash that caught Decibolt mid-motion and slammed him into the ground.

"Aaaaagh!" Molecular Girl screamed.

Her aura flared violently. She spun, driving a kick into Mira's tricep before unleashing another full body repulsion that sent her flying.

"90% complete," Zarnold said.

"Super Sonic Decibolt – Sonic Platforms!" Decibolt shouted.

Platforms of compressed sound formed beneath his feet as he sprinted upward, then leapt.

"Decicannon! Decicannon! Decicannon!" he roared.

Each blast hammered Mira deeper into the ground as he landed, cracks spider-webbing outward beneath her.

"Analysis complete," Zarnold said. "The female possesses Molecular Kinesis, uses it to manipulate movement at the molecular level, enhancing her agility and attack force. The male fighter possesses Sonic Manipulation, and can change the size, density, and compression of sound waves. Integrating suit to match powers and fighting style."

"Are you going to get up or just stay there playing dead?" Molecular Girl asked, chest heaving.

"Here's another lesson, never forget about the bigger picture," Mira Goni said as she stood.

"Kinetic punch barrage!" Molecular Girl shouted.

Mira dodged every strike effortlessly. She countered with a sharp punch, a kick to the ribs, and an uppercut that snapped Molecular Girl's head back before blasting her into the ground.

"Decicannon!" Decibolt shouted.

Mira dodged without even looking. Her grapple snapped around his leg, smashing him into a wall before yanking him back and kicking him flat onto the street.

"How are you doing that?" Molecular Girl demanded, blood streaking from her lip as she pushed herself up.

"My suit has become accustomed to your fighting style, predicting your next possible moves," Mira Goni said.

"Her suit, huh?" Molecular Girl said. "Decibolt, keep her busy!"

She activated her hover bike, engines screaming as she tore away down the street.

"She most likely has a plan," Zarnold said. "Logic dictates that you should pursue her."

"You're not going anywhere!" Decibolt shouted.

In the electronics store

Kira burst through the door, breathing hard.

"Y-You're one of those heroes!" the owner stammered.

"I'm going to need that, that, and this," Molecular Girl said through her mic, pointing rapidly.

"How much for all of this?"

"Please take it; it's on the house."

"Than—"

The grapple yanked her backward.

Finale

"Molecular fusion!"

She fused the gadgets together

"Any last words"

"Umm, yeah. What does EMP stand for?"

"Electromagnetic pulse."

"Nope—your defeat."

She threw the fused device under Mira"

"Charge it with your sonic pulse blast!"

He charged it, and the device released a wave that knocked out her suit.

"Zaranold, initiate reboot now"

"Super!"

"Finale!"

"50% complete."

"Kinetic punch!"

"Supersonic ripple blast! "

Their combined attack struck, and Mira vanished in yellow smoke.

"M-My summon!"

"T-The shard now!"

She gave him the shard before she was knocked out.

Guardian's Chamber

"Galactic Officer Mira Goni," she said.

"So you guys are summoning me this time?" Mira replied.

"Your teammates said you might know a way to defeat Techno."

"I knew it! You didn't defeat him. Which one was it—did he let you go, or did you escape?"

"It doesn't matter," Kira said. "How do we defeat him?"

"The short answer is you can't," Mira said. "But now that he's a summon, your best shot is to wait for him to deplete his summon energy."

"Theo is seriously going to pay after all this," Hakim said.