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MENAWHILE BACK ON EARTH
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The battlefield had collapsed into pure hell.
Smoke churned through the sky in thick, black ribbons, hanging low and heavy, scraping the lungs with every breath. The air burned. Burnt flesh, melted concrete, spilled fuel, and ozone mixed into a stench that stuck to the back of the throat. Flames crawled along collapsed buildings, licking up broken walls, casting violent orange light over the ground.
Bodies were everywhere.
A mixture of humans and demons. Pieces of both tangled together. Severed limbs half-buried in rubble. Melted armor fused to bone. Some fresh corpses still twitching, nerves firing long after death.
Screams cut through the chaos, some were sharp others were hoarse. And some even were cut short.
The remaining heroes held the line.
They were barely standing.
Photon's shoulders sagged as he fought. Sweat streamed down his face, mixing with blood that wasn't all his. His breathing came hard, chest heaving, each inhale scraping like glass. He blocked a claw with his forearm, the impact jolting his bones, then twisted his body and rammed a blade up under a demon's jaw. The skull split. Black fluid poured out, splashing across his boots.
Blink materialized beside him in a flash of warped air.
Her daggers dripped thick black blood, hands trembling just slightly as she reset her grip.
"Guys," she said fast, voice already strained, eyes darting over the battlefield. "Cover me. I'll take the women, kids, elderly. Just keep these fuckers off my ass."
Photon didn't even look at her.
A demon lunged. He drove his boot into its throat, crushing cartilage. The creature gagged, claws flailing. Photon yanked his blade free and gutted another in the same motion, spraying gore across his chest.
"My hands are full here but—!"
He twisted, barely catching an incoming strike, sparks screaming off metal. He shoved forward, severing a demon's head mid-snarl.
"—I'll try my damn best!"
Blink didn't wait.
She vanished.
She reappeared across the battlefield, grabbing a sobbing woman by the arm. The air snapped as they disappeared, reappearing seconds later behind a collapsed barrier where others were already huddled. Blink didn't stop. She barely steadied herself before flickering out again.
She teleported. Grabbing people. Dropping them to safety then Teleporting again.
Her body flickered violently with each jump. Vision blurring. Stomach lurching. Sweat ran down her spine. Her hands shook harder now.
"Come on—come on—move! Move!" she snapped, shoving civilians forward, physically pushing some when panic froze them.
A shrill cry tore through the noise.
"H–help! Please—someone, help us! We're trapped!"
Blink's head snapped toward the sound.
She appeared above a narrow alleyway, boots skidding as she landed. Her daggers were already moving. She cut down two undead mid-charge, blades biting deep, bodies dropping at her feet with wet thuds.
"Hold on!" she shouted. "I got you… just stay where you are!"
She took one step forward…
And reappeared in that moment her stomach dropped.
A pale figure stepped out from behind a crushed dumpster.
Long limbs. Wrong proportions.
A Mimic.
He was holding a child by the throat, fingers dug in, feet dangling inches above the ground. The kid clawed weakly at his wrist, face red, eyes wide and glassy.
Mimic still wore part of someone else's face. The skin didn't fit right. It stretched too far when he smiled.
"Gooooooot youuuuu…" he sang softly.
Blink froze.
Her breath hitched. Her fingers tightened around her daggers until her knuckles went pale.
Then the shadows moved.
Red eyes ignited all around her. One after another. Dozens. Shapes pulling free from darkness, bodies scraping against walls and ground as they turned toward her in unison.
They rushed her.
Claws slammed into her arms. One tore into her shoulder. Another raked across her thigh. Pain exploded. Warm blood soaked her suit. She screamed, forcing it down into a snarl, stabbing wildly, blades sinking into whatever she could reach.
Something bit into her back. She felt her flesh tear. Felt her spine jolt.
She spat blood straight into Mimic's chest.
"G–good… o-one…" she choked, coughing hard, blood bubbling from her mouth.
"…asshole."
Her arm stretched out, shaking, fingers barely working.
She touched the child's ankle.
And pushed.
The kid vanished in a sharp crack of displaced air, teleported far beyond the alley.
Mimic watched it happen, head tilting.
"Ahhhh…" he sighed. "Heroic to the end…"
The horde swarmed her.
Claws tore through her abdomen. Her scream broke as her torso split open, intestines spilling onto the ground. Bones snapped. Her arm twisted the wrong way, torn free at the shoulder. Something crushed her face.
A final wet crunch.
Blink was gone.
Above the battlefield, Spectra streaked through the smoke, lasers cutting wide arcs through demon ranks. Bodies fell apart mid-air, reduced to smoking chunks.
"What's happening down he—"
She stopped.
Her feet touched the ground without her realizing it.
Blink's remains were scattered across the alley. Blood smeared up the walls in wide, uneven streaks. Pieces of her gear lay crushed into the concrete.
Spectra's pupils dilated. Her jaw trembled.
"No…NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Then her voice tore out of her.
"BLLLLIIIIINK!!!"
The scream shook the air.
Her eyes ignited white-hot.
Beams erupted uncontrolled, ripping through the battlefield. Demons were sliced apart instantly. Bone liquefied. Flesh evaporated. The heat ignited buildings behind them, walls collapsing as asphalt curled and split under the blast.
Demons shrieked as they dissolved into vapor.
"YOU FUCKERS WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
She dove into the horde, firing nonstop.
The ground trembled.
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