James didn't hesitate. Lifting his pistol, he aimed at the man who used the barried ability on the footage and fired a shot at his head. The man tried to react, seeing the gun turn his way, lifting his hand, but the bullet flew quickly, piercing through his skull, before the barrier could be deployed. James quickly refocused, aiming his pistol at the other two.
He was lucky they hadn't expected him to break the NPSD's laws. Shooting to kill was illegal unless necessary, but James internally smirked. Everything he did for the moment was off the record. Sure, issues may pop up afterwards, but he was certain that they would be covered up. If not by the captain, then Xavier. 'He won't allow me to be arrested.'
The light on the floor began to fluctuate, and James noticed the man with the blue aura begin. The blue power spread out, attaching itself to the puddles in the warehouse that slipped through the leaking ceiling. 'Water-based. Can only use pre-existing sources, however.' James sighed in relief; he wasn't outside. Firing another shot, water flew up from the ground, forming a barrier around the two white gloves, catching the bullet, spinning it incredibly quickly, and throwing it to the side.
The other man moved, his yellow aura flowing through his body, becoming more dense around his limbs. James saw with his superior eyesight his skin harden, cracks forming along it like stone. The man charged forward towards the catwalk. Firing a few shots at him, the bullets bounced off as he swung his fist at the support beam, destroying it.
The catwalk snapped, and James fell, rolling on the ground, in a slight daze, the sound of crashing metal echoing as the catwalk nearly fell on him. Unable to worry about the pain, he rolled to the side as the man's stone fist slammed into the ground, crushing it and making dust stain his suit. James fired a shot, the bullet bouncing off. Despite it seeming ineffective, James noticed the area it hit crumbled a little, without healing. 'He doesn't have perfect control. Hard skin, super strength.'
It was a bad match-up for someone like him; his advantage in seeing when a move would be made before they did lost. Looking at the other man, he saw him gather all the liquid in the area behind him, forming a water orb. 'Better control but weak. Luckily, he can't just manipulate the water in my body.'
James rolled to the side again and jumped to his feet, a heavy fist landing where he previously was. Firing two more shots, each one bounced off. Although he was a good shot, he wasn't at a level where he could land a bullet in the same place every time. Clicking his tongue, he ignored the stony man and charged for the water user.
The orb behind him shot out serpents of water, aiming to grab his limbs. James dodged to the side and lifted his pistol, firing a shot towards him. The serpents flew back as the orb moved before the man, blocking the bullet and throwing it aside. James paid no mind, quickly firing three more, dropping the empty magazine as he ran. He needed him focused on defence. Reaching into his pocket, he reloaded and ran forward, firing over and over.
From behind, he heard the other man lifting a crate. Turning around, he saw him struggling to get it over his head. James knew he couldn't dodge it if thrown and focused on the water user. Firing over and over, he quickly fired the whole magazine, bar one bullet, until he was inches away from the water orb.
Sliding underneath it, he stabbed his knife into his leg, forcing him to his knees. Pushing himself past him, he heard the crate being thrown and looked, trying to gauge the trajectory. 'No trust in this world.' James said to himself, seeing that it would land where the two of them were. Dashing past the injured man, he grit his teeth and took control of his water orb, pushing against the crate, holding it in the air.
Turning around, he aimed and shot. The water broke in half, intercepting the bullet, but without the extra support, the crate broke through, crushing the man underneath without even being able to cry out. Reloading, he looked at the man in the distance who realised he had been played and took aim.
The man ran for another crate and kicked it over. The speed at which it slid across the floor was faster than James expected, and, as he dove to the side, it hit his leg, sending him flying backwards.
"Ahhh." Grabbing his leg, he was happy to see it wasn't broken and forced himself to stand on it despite the pain. The man charged from behind the crate, towards James, throwing a punch down. James couldn't dive out of the way and held his arm up to block it. His bones shattered with the attack, and another scream left his mouth. But fighting through it, he lifted his gun up and pointed it towards the area he had shot before and fired repeatedly, eventually breaking through the tough skin and drawing blood.
The man cried out and jumped back as James breathed heavily, letting his arm swing by his side. The knife fell out of it. James focused his ability away from his eyes, into his mind. Using his aura, he numbed his senses to try to cope with the pain. Despite his efforts, it barely helped; each movement sent a sharp jolt throughout his body.
Watching the man, he held his chest, the anger in his eyes growing with each second. Lifting his hand, it shook, and he fired until the gun was empty, pulling the trigger even when nothing came out. Each bullet bounced off, never hitting the same place twice.
"Shit." James couldn't help but wonder if this was it. If he was to die in the dark warehouse. The man who had seen James had lost his sharpness, slowly walked over, limping from the pain. Just as he was a meter away, James looked up, hearing the skyline shatter. From above, he saw a woman wearing the same uniform as him jump through her hand, reach behind her as a wheel spun.
"LUCKY!" Her playful voice called out, and the wheel stopped on the number seven, forming a beam of light in her hand, which morphed into a foam hammer. Swinging it down, the ground underneath her cracked, making the two lose their balance. James fell on his arm and cried out in pain, but watched as the woman, unaffected by the shockwave she made, rose and charged towards the man, swinging her hammer up into his chest.
The stone over his body cracked as a large dent formed in his chest. His body flew across the building, crashing into a random crate, flying through it and skidding across the floor. The woman, with fiery red hair and bright brown eyes, looked at him. "You shouldn't go out alone. You know this." Playfully saying she made no attempt to help James up and dashed towards the man she just hit, the speed she moved with making her look like a blur.
Throwing the hammer up, she caught it and swung it down atop the man, a bright smile acorss the face. The door behind opened, and walking in was another man wearing the NPSD uniform, who sighed at the sight. Rose walked back from the darkness, dragging the man she had just pummeled behind her, making everyone wonder how someone who looked so skinny could easily drag a fully grown man.
Knowing he was fine, James finally let himself relax, his consciousness slowly fading. "Not yet. The Captain has a lot of questions." A man with brown hair and eyes spoke. His square face was adorned with a gentle smile as he took James' arm and held it. His hands glowed with a light green light as sweat fell from his forehead. James heard his bones and muscles slowly reattach with a gruesome sound, but one he was happy to hear.
"He sent you guys?"
"You called and suddenly hung up after going to Aurora. Also, the guy in charge of Auroa forced us to open the case up. Meant the captain could send support." Rose happily said and looked around. "To kill a guy whilst outnumbered is impressive. Especially with your abilities."
James couldn't help but smile as he flexed his healed hand, "Two actually." Pointing over at the area where the man was crushed, he had a proud smile, forgetting he was on the verge of death a second ago.
"Wow," Rose said with a mocking tone and looked at him, "You idiot. Why go alone? You know you ain't a fighter."
"I was short on time. I didn't expect all this. I'm surprised Xavier made this open, however." James frowned and remembered his title. 'How much did he see?' The threat level of the Grand Prophet of Auroua rose exponentially as he silently thanked him as well. "Cheers, George." Thanking the man who healed him, he slowly got up.
"First name bases." Rose joked, getting an eye roll from the two.
"This is going to be annoying. You know the rules." Looking around, George said with a frown, seeing two dead bodies.
"They attacked first," Rose said unhappily to George, looking around at the bodies. "Besides, who will actually care. At most, we get put on the naughty seat for a while." Rose confidently replied. Although it was a crime that James had committed, it was a loosely enforced one, with the courts usually favouring the officer in the rare cases it was brought to trial.
"Is he still alive?" James asked, looking at the man Rose had dragged with her. Nodding, she lifted her hand and delivered a heavy slap across his face before placing the foam hammer on his chest.
James and George had the urge to rub their foreheads, seeing Rose blatantly use the threat of violence when questioning. Giving a knowing nod to one another, they both swore not to bring it up as they had done so many times before. "Now." Rose playfully said, pushing the hammer deeper into his chest. The man struggled to breathe, let alone think, as he stared at the woman's brown eyes.
James activated his eyes once more and watched, waiting for any hidden tricks, getting his gun ready. The man opened his mouth, and James rushed forward, grabbing Rose and pulling her back, seeing a change. The purple aura that had been present in all three men moved, rushing towards his head and encircling his brain. James watched as it imploded, destroying the man's brain. From his nose, eyes, and ears, blood poured out.
------------------------------
"We must..." The Gentleman paused for a second, frowning and closing his eyes. His fingers tapped the top of his cane as he took a deep breath.
"Something the matter, Lucas?" Alannah asked, seeing his sudden change.
"The issue in the warehouse has not been dealt with."
"Is this a problem?" Alannah asked, leaving him silent for a second. Tapping the top of his cane, his charming smile returned.
"It shouldn't be." Already thinking of a way to deal with it, Alannah said nothing and waited for him to carry on the conversation.