Log 11: Beyond Human

Percival tumbled out of the way of a punch that proceeded to dent the ground. Because of SRS's enhancements, he didn't have much of a choice but to dodge for 30 minutes or seriously injure the victims of whatever black magic was afflicting them. Plus, getting hit wasn't an option. He inferred the severity of Janel's injury from the fresh dent in the tiles.

Percival glanced about the room, noting that the others were having just as much trouble as he was. Even those with magic are not all-powerful. Idree was weaving between attacks, trying to distract or disarm the aggressors while also not getting hit. Andree was doing the same, but neither were using their powers.

Index was nowhere to be seen. Percival knew her well. He assumed she’d gone off to call the authorities for aid. In this situation, he agreed with her completely.

All of a sudden, Percival saw Janel fly out from behind a corner and crash into a storefront. Percival quickly weaved around an aggressor and sprinted over to Janel. She was unconscious, but somehow alive. It was obvious that she was losing blood, but the fact she soared through the air was equally as worrying.

***

Andree was flung into the wall by one of the SRS victims. He had been taken off guard by seeing Janel airborne and failed to react quick enough. Pain shot through his back, but luckily he had been able to soften the blow a little using his wind magic.

Andree stumbled to his feet before raising his left hand and sending a powerful, concentrated, blast of wind at an SRS aggressor who was attacking Idree. The attacker flew nearly nine feet. Andree felt a little bad for the victim, but he had to consider the wellbeing of his allies above that of the citizens in the current circumstances.

Andree began moving to help Percival when he saw her. A woman in black bike shorts and a white tank-top jumped out from behind the corner and rushed toward Percival. Even though she had the same red glint in her eyes, something was different with how she moved. Andree had to help, so he curled wind around his legs and flung himself straight toward the woman, crashing into her.

***

Osiris, Meghan, and Katherine were leaving the tennis center when Megh and Kathy's phones began buzzing incessantly. Looking at the notifications, they found that several people were sending messages about a large-scale SRS attack occurring at a mall on the Southside of Chicago.

"Um, Osiris," Meghan began. "This is bad, right?"

"Indeed. We must make our way there immediately," Osiris said.

"I'll call a taxi!" Kathy declared.

This was a stroke of luck! What were the chances? Kathy's stomach was growing knots. Was it fear? Anxiety? Maybe stress? Or all three? No matter the case, the taxi would arrive soon and Katherine would be getting her body back! Everything was turning up wonderfully!

It wasn't long before the trio was in the taxi and making their way toward the mall. A number of police vehicles were situated outside the building when they arrived. Kathy hurried over, trying to make her way to the doors, but an officer stopped her.

"Sorry, but no one's allowed in here right now. If you haven't heard, there's a Mass SRS attack happening," the officer explained.

"I know what's going on but—!"

"Officers, my team and I will be handling the situation from here," a half-elf man with amber eyes cut Katherine off.

Kathy looked at the man. Three men followed him, all armed with ZL-18 rifles and wearing military-grade protective equipment. But the half-elf wore jeans and an open coat.

"Under whom do you operate?" the officer inquired.

The half-elf showed the officer something, but it was hidden from Kathy's view by the officer's head. The policewoman sighed.

"I'll inform the chief." the officer walked away.

Katherine glared. "Who are you? And what gives you the right to order the police around?"

"The name's Perraden Octavia, and I work for some very influential people," the half-elf said. "It would be wise for you stay out of the way, Ms. Pecan."

"But I can hel—"

"We will stay out of your way, Mr. Octavia," Osiris interjected, putting his hand on Kathy's shoulder.

"Excellent," Perraden replied. "L-3, make sure they don't follow us."

"Yessir!" the soldier said.

Once the police had left the area, Perraden and the other two soldiers headed into the mall. Katherine was pissed at Osiris, spinning him around.

"Why the hell did you let them go?!" Kathy whispered angrily.

"I have a plan, do not worry," Osiris assured.

"Spill it," Meghan demanded.

"To show you is simpler."

Osiris walked into the parking lot, around a semi-truck, and went over to the soldier and patted his shoulder. The man's knees buckled and he fell to the ground, clutching his ears. Osiris then proceeded to remove L-3's helmet before using a chokehold to knock him out.

"What was that?" Meghan asked, confused, shocked, and horrified.

"I have several powers, the two I used here are temporary destabilization, and invisibility."

"Osiris, We're gonna need a better explanation than that," Kathy said.

"If I touch a living person I can destabilize them for 2 minutes," Osiris began. "To become unseen, I must first leave the vision of a living creature, after which point I can become invisible to that creature for 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I can only become imperceivable once a day."

"Uh-huh," Megh and Kathy said in unison.

Osiris picked up the ZL-18 rifle from the ground. "Let's continue forward."

"Sounds good," Kathy agreed.

The trio made their way through the mall. At first, they moved slowly, trying not to be caught by Perraden or his men, but the pace picked up when they saw people running in terror from further in the mall.

***

Several minutes earlier, Andree had tumbled his way in front of the instigator's hand. A dim crimson glow shown from between her lips, Andree's right eye began glinting red. Andree sent a concentrated blast of wind into the instigator's chest, flinging her through the air and into the escalators.

Sparks sputtered from the broken staircase. The instigator was dazed, Andree took his chance, propelling himself through the air and swinging toward the prone woman. A yard before contact, the instigator tumbled out of the way and quickly jumped to her feet.

In combination with wind from his magic and the physical enhancements of SRS, the strength of his punch shattered the bottom half of the escalator and sent out a powerful blast of wind that sent the instigator flying. She was ready this time, though. She guarded herself with her arms and was able to land without suffering further injury, only spitting a little blood from her mouth.

Andree whirled around and charged the instigator. She parried every punch and kick he threw, dodging any that utilized his wind magic.

***

Janel's eyes fluttered open. Her vision was blurred at first, but she quickly noticed that Percival was carrying her. This was embarrassing. Had she screwed up that badly? What happened?

"I'm glad you're awake, but we have to get you out of here," Percival said, while moving away from a shattered store front.

Janel thought about what had happened. Why did the name Lyssa sound so familiar? Where was Janel? Wait—Lyssa! The instigator! They were at the mall! Janel's eyes became wide.

"Let me down!" Janel yelled. "We need to help the others!"

"Stop struggling!" Percival ordered. "You're badly injured. As your employer, my first priority is your—"

"I don't give a shit what your first priority is! I have to help them defeat Lyssa!"

A large piece of mall debris flew toward the duo. Percival spun around, shielding Janel with his back, but the impact never came. A loud blast from a rifle sounded and the debris was knocked away.

"Like it or not, Vow," a familiar voice said to Percival. "But I'm actually here to help you for once."

Janel glared at the half-elf. She hated him with every fiber of her being. They didn't need his help.

"Thank you, Atlas," Percival grimaced in annoyance.

"You get your bodyguard to safety while my men and I deal with the superhuman," Atlas ordered.

Still being carried, Janel was shocked when Percival silently started running away! She would never have listened to a man like Atlas. Why was Percival running? Did he care for the wellbeing of his employees that much?

"Why can't I—Nnhn!" Janel was going to say more, but a sharp pain shot down her back. No, wait, Janel couldn't faint. She needed to help! NO! But, within moments, everything faded back to darkness.

***

Perraden handed his rifle to one of his soldiers.

"Sir?" L-4 asked.

"We don't want to hurt the Alexandria's. Even if she claims not to care, Vultus would have my head if either of them died," Perraden explained. "Besides, we don't want to murder our target."

Perraden looked around the area. Several small chunks of mall debris lifted into the air and smashed into the SRS victims who were still conscious, other than Andree, which was most of them. In large part, the aggressors were knocked out. But a few still stood, for one or two more hits.

"The hell?" Idree Alexandria barked, twirling around. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting rid of the distractions," Perraden replied, nonchalantly walking toward Lyssa and Andree's scuffle.

The brawl seemed close to over. Not because Andree was badly injured, but because Lyssa was done toying with him. She grabbed Andree and flung him across the mall. He crashed through the glass doors, and into a car.

Idree stood shocked. A tear slid down her cheek. This wasn't good at all. Andree couldn't die here. It'd be too much trouble if he did.

"L-5! L-4!" Perraden yelled. "Get Andree Alexandria to safety, or at least treat his injuries. Do not let him die!"

"Yessir!" The soldiers rushed toward the crash site.

"You're really pissing me off, Lyssa," Perraden grimaced in disgust.

"I do not care about your feelings, peasant." Lyssa glared.

"Sure, sure. Whatever." Perraden cracked his knuckles and neck. "Idree Alexandria, stay out of my way."

Perraden lifted a dozen rocks into the air and fired them at Lyssa, running in behind them. The instigator weaved around most of the debris, only getting struck by three small chunks. It was clear to Perraden that Lyssa wasn't in top shape. He could thank Andree for that—not that he would.

Perraden slammed the instigator in the chest. She stumbled slightly, but grabbed ahold of his arm at speeds he wasn't anticipating. Perraden managed to stay on his feet, but that didn't change the severity of the circumstance.

Lyssa twisted Perraden's arm, forcing him to move toward the ground. In seconds, she was on top of him. Perraden struggled, but quickly realized that even if she was injured, she was still leagues stronger than almost anyone he knew. She was truly beyond human.

"What do you want of me?" Perraden asked from the floor.

"Close your eyes," Lyssa whispered in a cold, droning, tone.

"Now's when you should help!" Perraden yelled.

A sharp pain shot through Perraden's body when Lyssa punched him in the gut. Thankfully, Idree heard his plea and grabbed the instigator around the waist. With the aid of a handful of small stones pushing up against Lyssa's chest, the combined strength was enough to move her away from him.

The half-elf jumped to his feet. The fight wasn't over yet. Perraden used his power to circle small chunks of mall debris around his right hand.

"I'm dropping the rocks on her chest, can you hold her for five more seconds?" Perraden asked Idree.

"Just do it!" Idree demanded.

The rocks fell off Lyssa and floated around Perraden's hand. The instigator was gaining ground extremely quickly. It was scary how little one person could do against an Awakened Aspect, even if that person had magic.

"Sorry, Ms. Pecan, but your body's going to be worse for wear when this is over!" Perraden apologized as the rocks fired at Lyssa.

Unfortunately, that last second was missed. Lyssa was hit in the stomach by one of the jagged rocks, but the rest struck her left arm and leg as she dodged out of the way, flinging Idree into the floor.

In moments, Lyssa was behind him and had one hand holding his head, and the other was ready to stab him in the spine if he moved. It was rare that Perraden felt fear, but this turned out to be one of those dreaded times. The fact alone that she could still move so fast while badly injured was terrifying. Worst of all, she had a hold of him.

"This will do fine," the instigator said.

A strange sensation washed over Perraden when Lyssa used her magic. He was angrier than he had ever been before. His vision was tinted crimson and the person he wanted to attack, for some reason, was Idree Alexandria.

***

Katherine stared into the battlefield. Unconscious bodies everywhere, possibly some dead. Perraden was walking toward another half-elf. She seemed to be attempting to reason with him. But, the thing that stuck out the most to Kathy was her body. Injured and bleeding. Jagged pieces of debris were stabbed into her left leg and arm. One shard gouged her stomach!

"What the hell happened?" Katherine said in shock.

"Your Aspect went on a rampage, just as reported," Osiris clarified.

"I can see that, but still," Kathy muttered.

"Go knock her down, girl!" Meghan said, pushing Katherine toward her body. "You got this!"

The words of encouragement weren't helpful, but Kathy appreciated them nonetheless. Katherine rushed at her body, attempting to grapple the instigator. Her body was definitely slower than normal, but she was still able to defend against Katherine's charge.

"Are you Katherine Pecan?" her Aspect asked.

"I am," Kathy answered. "Who are you?"

"Lyssa. Now die." The instigator tried to hit her, but Katherine was able to narrowly tumble out of the way.

Lyssa was dangerous. Katherine had almost been hit! If the instigator were in peak form, Kathy wouldn't stand a chance! Lyssa threw several more punches, with the last one landing squarely in Katherine's chest. The force sent her flying nearly fifteen feet, crashing into the floor.

Katherine's pain sensors triggered, but it wasn't actually that bad. The doctor was right, they were on a low sensitivity. That was perfect. The pain wouldn't distract much.

Lyssa was making a quick advance toward her. She had to think fast. Kathy grabbed a loose rock and flung it at her body, but Lyssa dodged.

Katherine ran the long way back to Osiris and Meghan, trying to avoid Lyssa. It seemed to work, though her body may have simply taken the chance to rest or was readying an ambush.

"You know how to shoot that, right?" Kathy asked Osiris, looking at the rifle.

"I do," he affirmed.

"Good. I want you to shoot at my body if she approaches, just don't kill her. We have to incapacitate Lyssa asap."

"Is there anything I can do?" Meghan inquired.

Katherine thought. Megh was a normal human without combat training of any sort… What could she do?

"You can help get people to safety," Katherine answered.

"I'll start immediately!”

"Just stay out of trouble," Kathy ordered.

"Right-o!" Meghan hurried off.

Lyssa appeared from behind the corner, advancing with a limp. Katherine got ready to rush her, and Osiris fired the rifle. Lyssa dodged the blast, leaving the wall behind her with a small melted hole in it. Katherine was suddenly very happy Lyssa didn't get hit, but also knew it was time for offense.

Before her body could regain proper balance, Kathy tackled her legs, knocking her to the floor. She got on top of her body, sitting her knees on Lyssa's arms, and started choking her body out. Lyssa swung her legs into Katherine's back, causing a cracking noise and Kathy to go tumbling a couple feet.

Osiris shot at Lyssa again, but she dodged. It was clear that shooting wasn't going to be useful. Kathy got to her feet and tried to get back to Osiris, but Lyssa wouldn't let her. The strikes were slower, that was good. Lyssa's injuries were catching up to her.

Katherine had a sudden realization. Something that could work. Kathy let a punch graze her arm, kicking Lyssa's injured leg hard in return. The instigator let out a grunt of pain. While her body was still feeling the slam, Katherine jumped behind and twisted Lyssa's wounded arm behind her back. The instigator screamed in pain and fell to one knee.

But, before Kathy could do anything else, her robotic body destabilized. Lyssa was going to recover before everything was back to normal! This was bad! Very, very bad!

"Fix this, Osiris!" Kathy tried to scream, but only the first word made any sense. Thankfully, it seemed that that was all Osiris needed.

He ran over and pulled Katherine away from Lyssa, slamming her to the floor. He put his left thumb on Kathy's lips, placing his left index and middle finger on her forehead, before placing his right thumb on her chest, and his right middle finger below it. A radiant purple light spread from eye, down to the four points and faded into her skin.

It was like someone had hit her chest with a sledgehammer, but everything felt stable! It was miraculous. Katherine jumped to her feet. She looked at Lyssa. The instigator was just beginning to stand up. Kathy charged forward and grabbed her again.

Lyssa gave out another screech of pain, before collapsing to the ground. "Osiris! Destabilize her! Now!"

Osiris ran over and touched the instigator's shoulder. Lyssa's knees buckled. Katherine let go of her body, hoping she had minimally injured herself.

"What do we do now?" Kathy asked.

Without answering, Osiris put Lyssa in a chokehold, quickly knocking her unconscious.

"That... works…” Katherine said, surprised. “Anyway, you said we can do that transferring back thing, right?"

"Unfortunately not," Osiris expressed.

Kathy was confused. "Why not? She's right here. I'm right here. What's so hard about it?"

"Since your body is now stable, I cannot transfer your soul back. It is outside my power."

"Oh... I told you to fix it... didn't I...?" Kathy looked at her body.

Osiris put his hand on her shoulder. "Do not bemoan. Now that we have your body, you can bring it to the doctor who put you into the android, and he can transfer you back. I'm sure."

"That's a good point, thanks for reminding me, Osiris."

"I can't allow you to do that," a white-haired elf said from behind.

Katherine looked at the man. He had upwards of thirty armed and armored soldiers blocking the mall hallway. They looked to be wearing the same equipment that Perraden's men had. But, their rifles were definitely pointed at Osiris and herself.

"Why not?" Kathy asked.

"Because Lyssa is simply too useful. So we'll be taking her. Squad 3, collect Atlas. I'm sure he's unconscious by now," the elf ordered.

Five soldiers broke off from the larger group and headed into the mall.

"You can't just take my body away!" Katherine exclaimed. "I have a chance to get my career back, I have to take it!"

The white-haired elf sneered. "I really don't care what you think. Now, if you don't wish to be harmed, get out of the way."

"Choose your fights wisely," Osiris said to Kathy.

She ignored the Aspect's warning, and walked up to the elf. "I don't give a shit who you are. This is my body. You can't have it."

The elf frowned. "You are foolish, aren't you?"

The man raised his hand skyward and slammed it into Kathy's right arm. Not only did her arm shatter into several parts, but the impact also sent a shockwave through her entire body. The pain was unreal. She couldn't even scream, it was so bad. Instead, the world faded to black, and Katherine Pecan fell to the floor.

***

Several minutes earlier, Idree had been tumbling away from chunk after chunk of debris, only boosting her speed with magic when necessary. She was trying to find an opening, but it seemed that SRS may have increased Perraden's endurance.

The situation was as bad as could be. If she was struck by rocks, it was over. If she got in close and her plan failed, that would be the end again. Her only choice was to dodge until Perraden changed his mode of attack. She didn't want to charge him directly, but she didn't have another choice at that moment.

After a couple minutes, Perraden began collecting a mound of mall debris above him. He had probably realized that his upper limit was increased by SRS! If that got big enough, there was no dodging it. It was now or never. Idree rushed in and pressed her right hand to his chest. A massive burst of electricity was expelled into Perraden and part of the surrounding area, but the half-elf just grinned.

"Shit," Idree said, fear washing over her completely.

Idree hadn’t considered that SRS had enhanced his resistances as well! He must have already been resistant against electricity, but because of SRS he was virtually immune to it! This was the end. He'd drop half the pile and crush her. She couldn't move in time, the shadow was already moving closer. Or—away?

The pile of mall debris was pushed away by a powerful gust of wind. Two shots from Idree's right detached Perraden's right forearm from his body, with the heat from the blasts cauterizing the wound.

"Move before he recovers!" Andree yelled.

Idree used the small amount remaining of her electricity-stores to help her run over to Andree and Perraden's soldiers as the debris crashed to the floor.

Perraden was pissed. He turned to the four of them and charged. Rocks lifted behind them, but Andree was able to knock them away. Perraden punched, but L-5 redirected it into the ground. L-4 put Perraden into a chokehold and the others stopped Perraden's escape until he lost consciousness.

All of them dropped to the floor, allowing their muscles to relax after the intensity. The band only got a few minutes of sitting before five soldiers entered the area.

"L-4, L-5, we're under orders to collect Perraden," one of the soldiers stated. "Please, come with us."

"What about the Alexandria twins?" L-5 asked.

"Leave them. The city will deal the damages. This incident will be classified as a Mass SRS terrorist attack. Nothing else," the soldier answered.

The twins let the soldiers take Perraden away, along with his arm. Even if they had wanted to stop them, they couldn't. Idree didn't have any electricity left in her stores, and Andree was badly injured.

Idree pulled out her phone and called Dr. Glass's clinic.

"This is Dr. Brady Glass, how can I help you?" the doctor intoned.

"Hi, it's Idree. We'll be visiting your clinic in a little while, can you pick up Saturn from school? I don't think we'll be able to."

"No problem," Brady answered. "She can stay at my place until you've been discharged."

"Thank you so much."