We were all standing in front of a wooden house. It stood close by to the highway. We hadn't been able to completely leave the city in the short time being pursued and all that it wouldn’t be a good idea to lead them to our hideout.

We were in that area just before actually leaving the city, but you keep seeing pockets of houses. In one of those was this one. It was apparently also a floriculture shop judging by the number of vases around. it was run down now, with plants overgrowing their pots, and vases with only weeds and others still with only dead bare earth.

The house was in the same state of abandonment. The paint long since having flecked off, and the wood warped by the elements, even broken at places. Much like the thrown vases around.

LED waited for everyone to get out of the cars. Both parked just inside the place, which had easy access with the big gate of meshed arame being left open. As I got out with everyone, I saw him looking around critically.

“We'll go to the back; they’ll have to circle the house.” He said finally. “Or go around the outside; the mesh is old but it’ll serve as an obstacle, if they try to come from behind.”

Most of the team nodded. David was pale faced standing feebly. Spotlight was still splayed passed out inside the car.

“Payback and Spyglass move the cars. Take Spotlight out when we get there.”

The two Dawnbreakers nodded and went to do their stuff. David walked to the two-step stair in front of the old house, sitting on the thing and putting his face in his hands.

I kept thinking about how it could be my fault that Paul had died. I wasn't paying enough attention. What even happened to the other woman, had Robert killed her after we left? I was not only thinking of my team when I left them behind, but also on Julie’s power. And that realization burned.

Led called to me interrupting my thoughts. “Can you tell how far away they are?”

“I can tell, roughly. " Even berating myself for being selfish I didn't stop. Still analyzing the power tethered to mine.

In the time it took for us to arrive here and start planning I had identified and copied a huge deal of the guy's powers. It felt different from any other time I had tried doing it. The powers being so closely connected made it trivial to compare and construct the same matrixes and fractals. Davids power also helping, with the pieces just copying themselves to me.

The way the tether worked, which was originally the only way it was supposed to be used for, was to tell the other side of the tether the distance from the tracker. I recreated the pieces on my matrix so it also fed me the information.

It did not teach me how to interpret it, though. “They're in that direction.” I said pointing. It was from where we also had come from. “Which is obvious. But I can tell they're approaching quickly.”

I could feel the distance it fed me shrinking even if I couldn't really translate the distance into meters or kilometers.

“Can you tell how much time till they’re here” LED asked.

I frowned thinking it over. taking the distance as a whole and waiting for them to close what I guessed as more or less 5 per cent of the distance. I raised a hand in a wait gesture so LED got that I was trying to figure it out.

After around a minute they had crossed it over. So, 2 minutes to ten percent, that will be 20 minutes for a hundred.

“Roughly twenty minutes” I told LED.

He nodded. “Plenty of time then. Let's try and finish organizing everything in under ten, to be sure.”

I went to check on David while they slowly passed the cars to the back of the property. There was just enough space, with them running over the overgrown plants. LED went walking to the back to see how things looked.

I sat at his side. Just awkwardly being there, and deciding on a neutral approach. “Want to talk about it?”

He took his hands out of his face, a shocked expression still on his face. “It’s just so different, seeing him dying there in front of me.”

“Different?” I asked, confused.

“Sorry.” David grimaced. “You don’t know exactly how my powers function, but I learn everything you know. It’s like I saw your friends dying as well.”

I did know how it funcioned. It just never crossed my mind. My powers copied it to deal with powers and I kinda forgot about the memories.

“Ah.” I said, coughing up to that, it had been a while since anyone knew about that episode in my life. I hadn't told to anyone on the new group as well. only vaguely to Spyglass. Everyone there seemed to hold their share of trauma, we just didn't really share it around.

“Are you mad that I know?” he asked a little concerned.

I sighed. “Not really. But then you understand my perspective. Not trying to diminish it but I didn't know Paul, so it doesn't sting as much. Just on the level of seeing a human life being snuffed out.”

He grimaced harder at the reminder. "It was just so visceral as well.” He looked at the sky a concerned expression on his face. “It made everything seem more real, like I'm really seeing what's at stake for the first time.”

I nodded. Already having confronted death before and deciding to keep going. This was a decision for him though, and now I was playing differently. My body seemed almost unkillable. Struggle would come to me in other ways. Like dealing with my tunnel vision regarding powers.

“You can always choose to not participate in fighting the regime.” I said to him finally.

“That's true.” he said mulling it over. “Don’t we have a duty towards it though?”

“I don't know about duty, but people deserve freedom, and now we have the power to do something about it.”

“Come on you two.” Payback called as he came from the passage to the back. Gesturing for us to follow. We went after him, and got a look at how things looked on the other side.

The back part of the property made the front look like a proper flower shop. Mounts of smashed vases and dirt were laying around, interspaced with mountains of debris or walls of vases. You could see a little where there would be passages going deeper into the property like a maze of vases and flowers. it was all somewhat covered in weeds and plants where there was dirt.

They had parked both cars sideways blocking the two passages directly from the front; making walls that we could hide behind.

“Some of us will hide behind the car. We'll separate the others inside the house and in the surrounding mounds.” LED told us.

“They know exactly where we are and the tracks the car left are unmistakable so we can't surprise them completely, our goal is to strike at the moment they think they got us.”

“I could stay alone behind the cars, if the shot at it or something I'll be fine.” I said.

“We can't assume they only got the tracking on you.” Payback said.

That was true not even me, even having copied the guy's power could tell if it was on the others. Not knowing if the other tethers would also appear connected to his matrix. I felt they would, but chose to not say anything.

“Let's put Spotlight inside the house, hopefully he'll wake up soon. As it was just two targets.” LED continued telling the plan. “Then Spyglass will hide inside the house. You go there too David, as you won't be fighting. Payback will go to that mound.” He pointed at me then “You and me go behind the cars.”

“Before you all go, I’ll buff everyone.” LED said. Rings of lights rising from his hands.

“How much time till they're here?” He asked while buffing me as I was the closest.

“They're more than half the way they were before. Five minutes away give or take.” I answered as I felt the combined buff settle over me. The white ring of LED’s power gave an overall enhancement to speed, mental awareness and keenness, and to physical strength and durability.

“Okay. Let's move then” LED nodded and finished buffing the group and we started the preparations.

Spyglass had to smash the door for them to get inside but the wood was weakened enough that it wasn’t any trouble and I and Payback carried Spotlight inside the house. The inside was just empty space, with some debris accumulated at the corners. I saw some rats running away at our approach and the place reeked of mold.

“Not a great space to breath in.” I remarked as we laid Spotlight on the bare floor a little away from the door.

Spyglass entered as well motioning David to stand close to Spotlight. Payback and I moved outside, and she closed the door. The smashed hole in the door where it used to have a handle the only thing that could give them away.

The wait after that was some of the tensest moments I had lived through. What they say about what crushed people being the calmness before the conflict seemed to be really true. My only saving grace was that I could feel they approaching, so I wasn't blind to the situation. I could only imagine how it was to the others.

I heard the cars arriving just as I felt they were on the other side of the house. They stayed put a bit, probably thinking it over. I gestured to LED behind the other car. Between us only a wall of pots so he could see me to this exact purpose. He nodded to me acknowledging that he understood.

The sound of their boots smushing the plants and shifting the stones was crisp through the breathless moment... They approached slowly taking their time and I didn't dare move.

At this point their tracker would know where I was behind the car. just as I could clearly feel where he was from here.

“tsk tsk tsk trying to ambush your pursuers?” Robert said terribly acting.

“We haven't come here to play Robert” I heard Julie’s voice this time reprimanding him.

“Ah don't be such a killjoy Julie. You have only given me anger today.”

I frowned at their conversation thinking over their power. Wasn’t rage the one he shot fireballs with... shit!

I jumped away from the car and just in time as it exploded. The fireball exploding under it catapulting the car as it ignited the fuel.

I rolled uncontrollably in the confusion. A column of smoke billowing from the remains of the blue car. Poor Paul the guy was not having a good day. rest in peace I thought in a bit of grim humor.

I got up slowly, my body adapting already and I pulled from it what I started thinking as my battle form.

Each time I did it was easier, and I was quickly covered in a protective layer. tough leather skin on the outside, and mesh that absorbed impacts underneath. It must look weird. the dark brown leather skin covering every inch of my form. Not that it mattered.

I couldn't see anything from here but I still felt the place the tracker was. They were standing a little behind where I thought Robert and Julie were.

I looked at the car LED was behind over the mound that separated us. He was running back and not a second later the car was smashed on its side. I saw the car raising in the air deforming around the force, that was probably Julie. Great now we were stranded.

LED swung his arm in a circling manner pointing to where payback was hiding I nodded undertaking the message and started running through the islands of pots to where he was.

Arriving I saw Payback crouched behind the a wall of pots, they hid his form but also left some holes for him to see through. It had a clear view of the soldiers in front of the destroyed cars, at the front were Robert and Julie behind them other 4 man stood in the same military garb, although with what seemed less shiny points. I guessed Julie and Robert and one of the others were of higher ranking.

"That ones at the back must be the rest of their team, a tracker and two other support members." Paybak told me

"What about the other guy, the just as shiny" I asked him in the group the Tracker's eye followed me

Payback chuckled “I'm thinking he’s the Neodym. Could have any power.

He watched them in silence a bit more, as Robert and Julie talked we too far to make anything out.

"We should attack any time now" Payback said."You took your pills"

Pills? I asked, a second later my brain catching up as I put a hand on the belt I was wearing, of course the fucking pills. I grimaced having forgot about them the whole fight earlier.

But which one would be the best for now, I was still far from the fight. Although I thought we'd be starting soon. I heard bangs and smashes as it seemed Julie had decided to clear the field. Sending out waves of force blowing earth pots aside and smashing the cars.

I had no more time to consider as Julie suddenly stopped her attack, putting a hand on her abdomen. One of the other teammates screamed alarmed, and the other three quickly turned to the house. Payback chose that second to start shooting LED seemingly doing the same.

The Neodym and the tracker were both hit. Some others shots seemed to fly around. And then they starting pinging on white surfaces.

"They have a shielder, fuck." Payback cursed

He frowned lowering his gun slight and watching the situation.

I thought it out. if we don't do anything they'll seize the advantage.

I cut the theter. Making the tracker confused. He called the attention of his group and that was the window i would attack from.

"I'm going to rush them. Try to take the shielder out. It must be one of the two we don't know about yet." I told Paybak.

Immediately after that I got around the wall of vases and sprinted towards the militaries.