“Holy shit!” I hissed and ran my fingers through my hair. “What the hell is going on down there?”

The shanty town border was locked down, the outside of which looked like a battle zone. Singular fires were spread about a massive two block crater. The ground dented inward and cracked by an explosive impact.

Men and women stood atop the border wall hurling glass bottles that shattered and spewed fire on impact. Figures on the street in the dark-blue uniform of the SPBI, fired blunted rounds at the defending citizens.

The SPBI were taking cover behind their vehicles as a few people on the shanty-town wall shot rounds periodically. Keeping them pinned down.

“Why’re the SPBI here?” Karen asked, after a moment spent considering the chaos down below. We were situated on a hilly rise overlooking the shanty-town and its border. The road leading up the shoddy wall was littered with debris, and SPBI vehicles. As well as the wreckage of a Helio-jet leaning against the border’s wall.

“How the hell did they even take it down?”

“My guess,” Patricia began as her gaze roamed critically over everything below. “Is that the SPBI and cops were send in to clean up this… mess up,” she gestured towards the pile of oddly constructed huts and houses beyond the border.

“Then why aren’t the SPBI deploying their Sentinels. Those fuckers could clean this place out quickly,” I mumbled and shook my head in confusion.

“Maybe they already have. I have no idea how they managed to down a Helio-jet. But I’m guessing that the impact crater is either from the craft, or whatever they did to bring it down.”

“Or more of those fuckers are malfunctioning,” Karen suggested and shrugged. It was a frightening possibility.

“I think…” Ophelia trailed off her gaze fastened on something else entirely. She was stood behind us and staring out towards the inner city. “I think the SPBI efforts are probably focused elsewhere at the moment. Look,” the angelic-woman nodded her head.

I followed her gaze and my eyes widen.

Three massive plumes of smoke rose up from somewhere within the inner city. Helio-jets were scrambling through the air all over the sites.

“This is just anarchy,” I said in disbelief.

“I think we picked the wrong night for a rescue attempt,” Karen muttered.

“Or the perfect night,” Patricia retorted. The Technomancer turned back to observing the fight going on down below. The SPBI had gained a couple metres of ground towards the border, after a cop ran up the middle of the street with a riot shield. A Kevlar vest thrown over it.

This drew the snipers fire and allowed the SPBI to advance.

“With all of this madness going on. A Locator detecting our powers will draw less immediate concern. This may even scramble our signatures a little but not by much.”

“I wonder how many others are thinking the same as you,” Ophelia said and rubbed her arms like she was cold.

“Quite a bit I bet,” the Technomancer replied. “Oh shit. I think we’ve got a major problem.” The raven-haired woman leaned forward and frowned in concentration.

“Karen, does that guy look familiar to you?” The Technomancer pointed towards the shanty-town border’s wall. On top of the wall walking amongst the men and women guarding there, was a well-dressed man with a dark complexion.

I instantly recognised his broad build. It was the Devotee of the Unbound cult.

“Shitty…motherfucker,” Karen hissed and ran a hand over her face. “Why is he here?”

“Maybe the Unbounds headquarter are in the De-Sub sector?” I guessed.

“But so are ASP society members,” Karen frowned. “I doubt they get along well.”

“It wouldn’t be the first-time opposing factions have lived in the same area, and it won’t be the last. Come on, let’s go going. Waiting here any longer won’t do us any good, nor will it rescue Elias’ mom.” All three women nodded firmly at that last mention, much to my amusement.

I didn’t bother to mention the possibility that both factions could actually be working together. After all, what if the Lich in Winderall is also the leader of the Unbound? I shook my wandering thoughts away and chased after the women as they began to walked down the hill.

The trees obscure any view of us as we made our down towards the bottom.

“Do we actually have a way inside?” I asked Patricia.

The Technomancer nodded and gestured ahead of us. I followed her finger and saw the thick grated door embedded in a mound of dirt, untouched and unnoticed. “This’ll take us underneath and just up inside the border. It’ll be brief I promise,” she assured Ophelia, who suddenly looked queasy at the prospect.

“Was it a sewer?” I asked.

“No, it was an access tunnel originally. This quarter of the plateau was going to be used to cultivate flora and fauna farm’s originally. But the need of the industries and production outweighed our need of good care and environmental management. We stopped giving give a shit about how or where we grew our food and instead focused on building weapons.” She paused and looked away for a moment. “A mistake I’ve made one too many times apparently,” I heard her mumble under her breath.

I helped Karen pull the grate up and I held it as each women passed underneath. Patricia lead the way in, with Ophelia between her and Karen.

The blonde’s ass was firmly in front of me as I crouched down and brought up the rear.

“Everyone be quiet. We’re nearing the exit,” I heard Patricia whispered from up ahead. I absently nodded my agreement and thought that next time we’d each need a weapon. Karen had her spear, but in close quarters it would be useless.

I heard movement ahead, then Patricia grunted a second before an eerily loud screech swarmed through the tunnel. This was followed by a bang as the grate at the end of the tunnel slammed open.

“It’s clear,” came Patricia voice a moment later.

“God-damnit,” Karen muttered and shuffled after Ophelia.

“I did not enjoy that,” the angelic woman shuddered as she quickly shook off her large overcoat. Her wings instantly snapped out to their full wing-span as she trembled and paced. I walked over to her as she stared cautiously back at the tunnel.

Like something would jump out at her.

She immediately opened her arms and swept towards me, twisting us so that we both faced the tunnel. I shook my head, deciding this was something of a quirk of the woman.

“Let’s keep moving. If that Devotee asshole is here, then it’s likely other Unbound are as well,” Patricia murmured and brushed her hands across her thighs before setting off.

“Could the Unbound have their own Locator?” I asked as my gaze swivelled towards the shoddy huts we were fast approaching.

“It’s possible, but doubtful. If they have a Locator, then the Unbound would be at every possible incursion of superpowers before the SPBI. It’s more likely the Unbound have a cell? agent? within the SPBI. I imagine their operations would be more accurate if they had a Locator.”

“Right now they seem to be sending one or two agents of their cult to kidnap or persuade anyone whose collar is about to malfunction.”

“They have specific information of those events before they happen,” the Technomancer continued , then looked at me. “When did your collar malfunction exactly?”

“I think…” I started as I tried to recall. “I think it was after that Neal asshole hit me with that blast-wave-thing he did. At the time, I thought he had somehow deactivated my collar. But apparently not.”

“Possibly. We still don’t know how the Arium collars are malfunctioning.”

“Probably on purpose—or something like it,” Karen suggested, and shrugged as we walked within the shanty-town proper.

Ophelia once again wore her overcoat. Her eyes nervously shifted from peering eyes, to peering eyes, staring out at us as we walked past.

“How far away is the manufacturing plant?” I whispered to Patricia. My gaze flicked to our right as a figure swiftly leapt the gap between two rusted metal-shod huts.

“Another hour or two. It’s not far to the entrance. The area was sectioned off previously because the plants themselves were too unstable to move through. Why?”

“We’re being followed,” I murmured softly under my breath. A person walking ahead of us, had not once turned to look at the commotion behind him. Us. Instead he kept on keeping on. At least until he twisted and headed through a large dilapidated building coming up on our left.

“We are,” Ophelia nodded firmly. I looked down into the soft amber glow of gaze as she nodded slowly, her eyes ticked upwards. I caught her meaning and looked towards the tops of the different huts and Buildings.

On almost every other one was a person watching us. I started to feel as if we’d just walked into an ambush. My thoughts were made manifest a moment later, when the street suddenly broaden out into a large square clearing.

It was festooned with half eaten couches, broken television sets, and trash can fires. A few with grated grids covering their tops, used to cook meat on.

A dirty bald-man stood in the middle of the clearing before us. His hands rested patiently on his hips, his thumbs hooked in his jeans. An old deep vertical scar ran through his mouth. His visage was wrinkled and twisted around his rictus of a mouth. Behind him stood a row of grizzly looking men. Each of them as equally dirty and carrying clubs, bats, and shivs.

“Now. Why don’t you explain what’re you’re doing trespassing in our territory?” the scarred man said with an easy, yet cruel smile stretching his twisted features. I instantly disliked him and felt my Telekinesis power bubble to the surface, ready, and waiting to be summoned.

~*~*~*~

“Whose territory?” Patricia counted immediately. She placed her hands behind her back. The bands on her wrists flexed and began to extend until they covered from her fingertips to mid-forearm.

I felt Ophelia tense up beside me. Her hands clasped tightly to her overcoat as if she were about to fling it off and take to the skies.

Karen was the only one who seemed nonplussed by the show of force. She idly fingered the lightning bolt pendant on her choker as she eyed the ranks of people critically.

“We know all about you,” the scarred man leered as his eyes travelled over the women, and came to rest on me. “Though this one, we were assured would join us eventually. I suppose the leader will be disappointed to find out we killed you.”

“The Unbound,” I nodded, confirming my suspicions. “How did you know we’d be here?”

“Oh, we know everything in this city. Ever heard of a Diviner?” the scarred man asked casually. Tossing out information so easily that I suspected he meant to kill us all. Or take us prisoner.

I frowned not liking this situation at all.

I glanced at Karen, as Patricia grimaced at the man’s question. The blonde Stormcaster turned around to face behind us. Her eyes narrowed as she measured something.

“I’ve heard of Diviners,” Patricia nodded, still grimacing. “They can scry, define a person’s intentions, and tell fortunes.”

“Oh, it’s all true,” the scarred man laughed mirthlessly. “Our leader herself is the Diviner, and she’s seen everything that is to come. This quarter of the city you’re unrightfully trespassing on, will be a safe haven for our people in the trying times ahead.”

“That’s all… very fascinating,” I drawled, flexing my hands, anticipating a fight. “But our business is with the ASP society not the Unbound.”

“So you either let us through,” Patricia took over, her gauntleted arms coming out to her sides. “Or we’ll march right through you.”

As if on some unspoken command, Ophelia threw off her overcoat and snapped her wings out. Her divine healing powers manifesting themselves as blades made of solid gold light, extending from just above her wrists. Karen drew her Braken pendant from her choker but didn’t summon her spear right away.

I, on the other hand simply tried to look menacingly determined to fight anyone that came near me. I didn’t want to change into my otherworldly guise just yet.

Even if it did make summoning my powers slightly easier.

The scarred man grinned, his rictus of a mouth twisted with excitement. A pulse of yellow light burned through his veins and his body began to shift. Growing and changing. The scar on his face, cutting vertically through his mouth split open. The man twisted and became something else.

A malformed hulk of a man stood in his place. His otherwise simple human legs looked odd on his horrendously formed muscular upper body.

His head was far smaller than before, half of his feature stretched across his muscular, stubby, neck and massive shoulder. His one coherent eye took on a wild gleam as the other spun in its socket across the stretched portion of his face.

His fists left two-foot-wide impressions where they impacted the ground. To make matters worse a pale purple fire alighted the clubs and shivs in the other men’s hands.

“Uhhh… Patricia… what are they?” my voice cracked slightly.

“He’s some kind of partial shapeshifter. I’m not… not really sure what he is.”

“And the purple flames on their weapons?” I asked as the men advanced first, leaving the hulking thing in the rear.

“A Modifier’s doing. Likely they can penetrate any armour, or something in that variant of Mod. But a Modifier’s power boost only lasts once.”

All good information to have.

We formed a tightknit semi-circle and prepared ourselves for a fight. Something nagged at the back of mind, but I couldn’t pay it any attention as the men were quickly upon us. They leapt at us with ferocious, wild abandon.

Their bats and clubs flying out, striking at us. Their shiv’s thrusting towards our guts. They knew what they were doing, but luckily they were still mundane people. I flung out my hand and crushed the wrist of a man swinging his club at me with a Telekinetic grip. Wrenched his falling weapon from his hand with a gesture and smashed it across his skull a second after it smacked into my open palm.

Then a shoulder barrelled into my side, a hand thrusting a shiv straight for my kidney. I caught his wrist and slammed my palm into his sternum. His body exploded backwards and ragdolled into another man trying to bash Ophelia’s head from behind.

They went down in a tumble and I held out my hands out calling forth my power to bind them place. As they struggled to break free, I looked around to see Karen charging the hulking shapeshifter.

Patricia ducked and fired at a cluster of enemies, while Ophelia used her wings to propel herself at her own opponent.

The angelic-woman grunted and dodged to her right as a shiv shot towards her side. At the same time, Ophelia weaved herself into a spin and whipped her wings around to knock her attacker down.

The man gasped as his back hit the dirt, and then gasped again when Ophelia drove her golden wrist-blade through his chest. He curled around her fist and gurgled as light emanated out from his eyes.

I heard Patricia growl and twin shots of plasma blasted neat charred holes through the thigh of a man who had managed to stab his shiv into her shoulder.

“Fuck this!” she cursed angrily and stomped both of her feet. The bands around her ankles and knees activated and extended with a whirr of motion. She grunted and jumped, her knee exploding forward into the nose of a man winding up to strike at her. The thrusters beneath her boots rocketing her attack.

As she finished her assault, her following leg sent a burst of thrusters making her flip. She brought the heel of her other foot whirring down onto the dazed man’s skull.

He crumpled, and I felt the Telekinetic binding break on the two men. They rose stumbling to their feet and grimaced at the bodies of their fellows.

“Sit,” I commanded, condensed down a ball of Telekinetic force in each hand. Flattened the plane of force into a narrow slither like a smith would straightening out iron on an anvil. Then shot them simultaneously into a leg’s of both men.

Neat, two-inch-wide penetrating wounds appeared in their right and left thigh. Yet the explosive force that tore out the back of out their legs had them howling in agony, vomiting, and quickly losing consciousness.

“Damn…” I breathed, realising my mistake. I hadn’t maintained the Telekinetic blast form. Which meant it lost cohesion rather explosively.

“Ophelia?” I asked, turning, my mouth open to regard the angelic-woman. I wanted to ask for her aid in healing the men I had grievously wounded. The words died on my lips though as I caught sight of Karen fighting the deformed shapeshifter.

The blonde Stormcaster darting in, delivering rapid thrusts of her spear. The lightning coursing along its length, send arcing lances exploding across the Shifters body.

His thick heavy arms swept around, either trying to snatch her up or crush her. A bolt of plasma sent by Patricia hit the Shifter and he grunted deeply from within his chest.

Karen ran in, her spear weaving and intricate dances around her arms and back as she pirouetted and jabbed the point into the Shifter stomach with a thrust. The beast of a man howled and before Karen could pull her spear free, the Shifter send an enraged backhand barrelling into her.

The Stormcaster was flung off her feet and send sailing to smash through the rusted sheet metal of a hut. Ophelia lurched onto her wings and flew after the woman.

Braken still lodge in the Shifters gut coursed a feral stream of lightning unaided. Brilliant bolts of blue and white jagged arcs tore across his massively obscene abdomen.

His enormous meaty fist closed painfully around the spears shaft and dislodging it, throwing it aside. Braken clanged as it hit the ground and the lightning emanating of the weapon seized soon after.

The Shifter turned to regard Patricia and I menacingly. His deformed muscular body was scarred horribly by the chaotic black trenches caused by Braken.

“Think we can take him?” Patricia asked and flexed her hands.

“Not gonna use the full suit?” I asked instant of answering her question.

“Not right now if I can help it. Once it’s on it has to stay on. Otherwise there’s a twenty-hour cooldown after I deactivate it.”

I blew out a breath and nodded. The Shifter started a slow approach towards us. His small man-sized legs looked weak and brittle, in comparison to his upper half.

I ran a hand through my hair and shrugged, finally deciding to answer her question. “I suppose we’ll have to see then, won’t we.”

“Your damn right we do. I hope Karen’s okay,” Patricia mumbled, squaring her slender shoulders. The tear in the shoulder of her tight jumpsuit bled freely.

“Hurt?” I asked her, nodding at the sight. We had time to discuss. The Shifter seemed incapable of anything more than a really slow walk.

“Like a bitch,” the Technomancer growled. “Whatever their Modifier enchanted the weapons with makes them bleed like a pounded pus—”

Her words were suddenly drowned out as a quake rocked through the ground, a wave of hot air washed over us. A blazing mushroom cloud of ash and smoke rose up in the not far distance.

I suspected there was a new development at the shanty-town border. Before I could even shake my head at the mad swirl of events rocking the city in this single night. The Shifter was upon us.

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]