The roar of the city was usually a comforting hum, but now, it was a menacing soundtrack to their desperate flight. Crystara, Pulse, and Revara cut through the dense foot traffic, their pace blurring the faces of stunned pedestrians. Behind them, eleven Awakened individuals, a relentless pack of predators, tore through the streets with chilling efficiency. One, a man with skin that rippled like heat haze, left shimmering trails; another, a woman whose strides covered impossible distances, seemed to glide just above the pavement. The air crackled with their unleashed intent, a palpable pressure that spurred the trio onward.
"What the fuck is happening?! What did I get myself into!" Pulse gasped, his lungs burning, the words ripped from his throat. "I just seriously got recruited!"
A chilling whistle sliced through the din. A blur of crimson and black descended from above, a woman with leathery, bat-like wings that beat the air with powerful, silent strokes. She was incredibly fast, a rope dark projectile aimed specifically at Revara. Then her clawed hand, tipped with sharp, obsidian nails, lashed out, mere inches from Revara's shoulder.
Pulse, running on pure, unadulterated instinct and a fear he hadn't known he possessed, lunged. He wasn't thinking about his powers, just reacting. His outstretched hand clamped onto the flying woman's wrist, an unexpected anchor that brought her plummeting mid-grab. The impact jarred him, but his grip held.
The winged woman shrieked, a sound like tearing silk, her free hand coiling for a gut-punch. But before she could strike, Crystara, a whirlwind of calculated fury, spun on her heel. Her palm connected with the woman's face with a sickening sound that reverberated through the street. The force was immense, sending the winged Awakened spinning through the air like a ragdoll, to crash-land with a crumpled heap against a street vendor's stall, scattering fruit and debris.
"Keep running! Faster!" Crystara bellowed, not even glancing back, her fingers already flying across the interface of a sleek, wrist-mounted device. Lines of code scrolled, holographic maps flickered, and then a faint, hopeful signal pulsed.
Just as the remaining awakened pursuers closed the gap, a symphony of protective countermeasures erupted from the towering, monolithic structure of the Vanguard Bureau. Brilliant energy shields shimmered into existence along its outer walls, followed by bursts of light and sonic waves that pulsed outwards like ripples in a pond. From the Bureau's upper levels, figures in Vanguard uniform, their powers flaring, launched themselves into the fray. A man wreathed in crackling electricity formed a human lightning bolt, crashing into a cluster of chasing Awakened. A woman conjured a barrage of crystalline shards that rained down on another group.
The battle raged behind them, a storm of unleashed abilities. Whumph! An invisible force field deflected a telekinetic projectile. Thwack! A super-strong Vanguard agent punched a charging Revenant Awakened through a parked car. But even with the Bureau's formidable defense, the enemy's desperation was a force unto itself. A couple of Awakened, their faces contorted with single-minded obsession, managed to slip through the chaotic crossfire, weaving around their own allies and Vanguard agents alike, their eyes still locked on Revara.
"Why are they so fucking desperate?!" Pulse yelled, the sheer intensity of the chase making his head spin. "They're practically sparking a war over this!"
Crystara, her gaze fixed on the Bureau entrance, responded without breaking stride. "They might be trying to make the old ass members of the Revenant Circle young again. The oldest ones, the founders, they're practically legends, but they're also teetering on the edge of the grave. If even one of them could revert back to their prime, they'd become a powerful force, but a single member is still not as powerful as Celestial Muse. But if all of them revert... well, then the Revenant Authority wouldn't just have a chance, they'd be the number one power in this country."
Just as the terrifying implications of Crystara's words fully registered, a shadowed alley mouth ahead of them darkened further. A figure materialized from the gloom, blocking their path. He was tall, wiry, with an unsettling stillness about him. This was a calculated ambush, not a random pursuer.
Crystara didn't hesitate. "Go around!" she barked, but her own feet were already carrying her forward, charging directly at the obstacle. She moved with preternatural speed, a blur of motion, her fist cocked back, radiating raw power.
The man in the alley met her charge with an unholy transformation. His legs, torso, and head remained vaguely humanoid, but his lower body erupted in a grotesque metamorphosis. Skin turned slick and green, muscles bunched and elongated, fingers and toes splayed into suction pads, and his eyes bulged, lidless and unblinking. In a horrifying blink, he was less a man and more a monstrous, bipedal frog-humanoid, a creature of nightmare.
Crystara's punch, aimed for his chest, whistled through empty air. The frog-man didn't meet her head-on; instead, with an impossible spring, he launched himself sideways, adhering to the brick wall of a building as if gravity had ceased to exist for him. He scaled it in two massive bounds, his bulbous eyes, now gleaming with predatory intent, locking onto Revara.
Adrenaline surged through Pulse like an electric shock. He felt it, a primal scream of warning in his gut. The frog-man's sudden change in direction, his target, his speed, it was all too clear. He was going for Revara.
"Revara, move!" Pulse yelled, even as the frog-man launched himself from the building's peak, a green and brown missile hurtling towards them. He moved with a horrifying, silent speed that caught even Crystara off guard as she tried to reorient herself from her missed attack.
Pulse, without thinking, thrust his arm out, trying to grab Revara, to yank her out of the trajectory of the oncoming awakened. His fingers closed around her wrist, his grip desperate, fueled by a raw need to protect. But in the frenzy, in the desperate rush to save her, his powers, usually requiring a conscious spark of intent, activated.
A strange, humming sensation radiated from his hand, through Revara's wrist, and into her entire body. Revara gasped, her eyes widening, not in fear, but in pure, unadulterated euphoria. Her face flushed, her breath hitched, and a long, drawn-out cry of exquisite pleasure escaped her lips. Her body began to vibrate, a low, intense hum that she couldn't control. Her arms flailed wildly, a strange, ecstatic dance of confusion and bliss.
The frog-man, mid-leap, was a fraction of a second from tackling Revara. Her flailing arm, vibrating uncontrollably, lashed out, a purely accidental slap. Normally, it wouldn't have even registered as a tickle to the monstrous Awakened. But the vibration power of Pulse, a power that destabilized matter and energy, had transferred to Revara.
The vibrating slap, a mere brush of her hand against the frog-man's chest, was catastrophic. Instead of a mild impact, an invisible shockwave exploded from her palm. The frog-man's charge was instantly halted, his body seizing up as if struck by lightning. A guttural croak of pain ripped from him as he was flung backward with astonishing force, a green blur crashing through the sturdy wooden door of a tailor shop beside them. The door disintegrated into splinters, and the frog-man vanished into the ensuing dust cloud.
Crystara skidded to a halt, her jaw literally dropping as she stared at the shattered door, then at Revara, who was still screaming, a sound of pure, uncontrollable ecstasy, her entire body vibrating visibly. Pulse, equally stunned, still held Revara's wrist, the humming energy a strange bridge between them.
"Pulse! Let go!" Crystara snapped, her voice cutting through the ringing in their ears.
Pulse immediately snatched his hand back, as if burned. The vibrations instantly ceased. Revara's euphoric scream choked off, replaced by a shuddering gasp. Her legs gave out, and she flopped to the ground like a wet noodle, panting heavily, her skin shimmering with sweat, or perhaps the lingering after-effects of whatever incredible sensation had just coursed through her.
Crystara was by their side in an instant, scooping Revara onto her back with surprising ease. "We'll talk about that later," she grunted, adjusting Revara's weight. "Let's go!"
And so they ran again, Crystara carrying Revara, Pulse a step behind, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and awe. The Vanguard Bureau, still far in the distance, seemed to recede with every pounding step.
Pulse's thoughts raced, trying to process the impossible. He had accidentally used his powers, yes, but he hadn't focused them for harm. He'd only intended to grab her, to pull her away. Yet, Revara had not only vibrated, but she had become a conduit for his power, sending a charging Awakened flying with a mere accidental slap. He was glad, immensely relieved, that Revara hadn't exploded, hadn't been internally damaged by the immense internal vibrations. When his power had touched her, he'd seen her internal organs, as he did with anything he affected, but he'd also perceived something else, something he couldn't explain. An impossible, crystalline structure nestled deep within her, glowing faintly, humming with its own strange energy. It was like an organ, but unlike any he'd ever seen or felt before. This had never happened when he'd punched someone, sending them flying with localized vibrations that shattered bones and organs or was it he isn't just paying attention when he fought the thugs because he's too focused on destroying them.
"I definitely have to do some experimentation," Pulse muttered to himself. He knew, with a chilling certainty, that he had just stumbled upon a profound and terrifying secret or discovery about awakened.