“I said lower the knife!” The soldier repeated while slowly moving his finger toward the trigger.

The squad of Abnormal soldiers all had low-type traits judging by their muscle structure and that furthered Visette’s confidence. The only real issue was the sniper who was also likely to be an Abnormal.

[Say the word and I’ll take that bastard out.] Demetrius’ confident voice emerged from the radio.

Visette drew her knife and lowered it as if she were attempting to place it on the floor. At the same time, she channeled her psionic power and light bulbs illuminating the room exploded into pieces.

“Fire!” The squad of abnormals began firing their weapons but just as soon as they did, the large sofa came flying toward them, forcing the squad of eight to split.

“Take him out, Demetrius!” A soldier shouted into his microphone while firing a barrage of bullets into the darkness. They switched on their flashlights and began firing at anything that resembled a human.

[I can’t see.] Demetrius replied with frustration as he scanned the interior of the home through a scope.

Meanwhile, Visette was calmly hiding behind the durable support pillar waiting for her moment to strike. She grabbed the radio attached to her vest and began speaking, “Unknown hostiles have already infiltrated Councilor Fredrickson’s residence.”

[What? Who are they?! DSF? New Mayhall Military?] Lyn answered back in a fluster.

“They do not appear to have any affiliation with New Mayhall.”

[Shit! I’ll be there in five minutes. Wait- Are you under fire?!]

“Affirmative, I will engage them shortly and then report back.”

[Hold on, Vis, I’m–]

Visette turned the radio off just as the gunfire stopped.

“Shit! I’m out!” A soldier shouted as if to give her further confirmation.

Visette tightened her grip on the knife in her hand and rushed out while infusing psionic energy into her legs.

“Reload! Reload-”

Visette leaped out of cover and into the squad like a wild animal, thrusting the knife into the unprotected neck of the soldier who seemed to be giving the orders.

“Fuck!” The closest soldiers were shocked by the speed of their enemy and began fumbling for their ammo magazines while Visette already began moving again.

“Aaah!” Another soldier barely managed to cry out as a knife tore into the base of his throat.

“I got him now!” One soldier finished reloading but as he squeezed the trigger, the gun seemed to jam. “...What the fuck?!”

Visette’s eyes snapped toward his direction and with one swift leap she had already arrived, quickly ending his life with her blade.

“Who the fuck is this?! Demetrius, you need to kill this fucking guy or we’re all gonna die!” A soldier radioed his request but could speak no longer as Visette recovered her pistol and fired at his head, her bullet ripped through his eye and cut his life short.

[Do something, Demetrius!] The man known as Glasses ordered through the radio.

[Fuck it! Get down, I’m firing!] Demetrius shouted through the radio before the whizzing of bullets and shattering of glass filled the room.

Even among the sniper bullets, Visette could move without worry as the projectiles appeared to just barely miss her due to the distortion field she created around herself.

“Help! Help! Help-”

The only thing transmitted through the radio to Demetrius and the man referred to as “Glasses” were the screams of their squad being annihilated. Then, the room became completely silent.

[Say something!] Glasses yelled into the radio.

[Hold on!] Demetrius shouted back.

As he scanned the dark room he used the flashlights attached to the fallen rifles as a way to see. Among the stillness of the room, there was one figure standing there.

“I got you.” Demetrius grinned to himself as he fired a single shot.

As he waited for the impact, he was surprised to the body only twitched slightly.

“What the fuck?” Demetrius grew confused and narrowed his eyes as he observed through the scope. It then dawned on him that he fired at bait which meant the real assailant was lying close by. As expected of an Abnormal with traits above type-3, his eyes darted around as he looked for the target but he stopped cold as he saw a bright blue gleam among the darkness.

Visette channeled psionic energy into the ocular nerves of her right eye, giving her pupil a strange glow, and immediately spotted Demetrius after he exposed his position by firing at the body she propped up with her psionic power. She held her pistol with two hands and coated a single bullet with psionic energy so she could exceed the maximum range.

The moment Demetrius discovered her, it seemed like time slowed to a crawl. Visette’s mind ran wild while attempting to calculate the factors that may affect her trajectory as well as how much psionic power could be placed into a bullet without destroying it. It took far less than a second for her to figure it out and she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A bullet whizzed through the air and struck Demetrius right in below his neck even though he was crouched behind cover on a far away rooftop.

“Ahk!” Demetrius reacted with disbelief, immediately clutching at his chest. “No...way…”

He groaned as he discovered the bullet chewed through his armor and most likely exploded into bits of shrapnel inside of his body.

“Fuck!” Demetrius coughed out blood as he tossed his rifle aside and forced himself to his feet, retreating as quickly as he could.

“Lyn.” Visette turned her radio back on and began speaking, “I have eliminated all but two of the assailants. Of the two remaining, one is injured and the other was not present.”

[Shit…] Lyn was set speechless for a few seconds but quickly recovered herself. [I’m tailing the Councilor right now, he heard the gunfire and is avoiding that district. But...]

Lyn was likely conflicted about the importance of finding out the identity of the squad operating in New Mayhall and completing the original mission. She began to speak but stopped herself as the decision grew more complicated.

“Please set a target as a priority. Pursue the injured soldier or intercept Councilor Fredrickson?”

[Damn it...Intercept Fredrickson! I’ll direct you and if you hurry, you may be able to find that injured soldier in time.]

“Understood,” Visette replied before examining the pistol in her hand. It’s frame had shattered into pieces while it emitted smoke into the air. Even though she had a mission, Visette suddenly had the thought of having the gunsmith develop a sidearm with a frame strong to handle high-caliber bullets.

She grabbed an extra radio from one of the corpses littered around the room and then jumped from the window. With psionic energy powering her every step, she began a dash toward the adjacent rooftops before leaping up and grabbing the sniper rifle Demetrius left behind.

[The Councilor is moving east, I think he’s heading toward DSF headquarters. You have to get him before he gets there or we’re done.]

“I understand.” Visette’s tossed the sniper rifle over her shoulder and concentrated more psionic power into her legs. She lowered body and jumped forward with an inhuman burst of speed while simultaneously creating a psionic barrier around her body to protect her internal organs.

…

Unaware of the terrifying being hunting him, Councilor Fredrickson sought refuge at the DSF headquarters. He urged his driver to increase his speed.

“Rampant gunfire in this city! And from the Upper Wards no less! I swear it was coming from my home!” Fredrickson, a rather thin-looking man with short hair, raved on.

Two guards sat on either side of him with another in the passenger seat. They maintained stoic expressions in order give him peace of mind, but it didn’t seem to work as he continued ranting nervously.

A guard at the front glanced at the rearview mirror as they drove along before he finally spoke up, “Sir-”

“What?!” Councilor Fredrickson barked back as sweat began to cover his brow.

“Sir, we’re being followed. Please calm down so we can-”

“Calm down! How in Anton’s name can I calm down?!”

“Sir, please-” One of his guards tried to put him at ease but completely failed.

“No! Do your jobs! If I die you’ll never find another person willing to hire you in this city!”

“...Yes, Sir.” The guard replied unwillingly before signaling to the other guards.

They all drew their weapons and turned off the safety while keeping an eye on the black truck that seemed to match their speed.

…

Maybe because they were so focused on Lyn’s vehicle or maybe because no one would expect a threat from above, but Visette easily traversed the rooftops without being spotted.

“I spotted Councilor Fredrickson’s vehicle.”

[Take it out if you can! He’s getting close to the DSF headquarters!]

Since it was late into the night, there was very little traffic to be found save a few cars but nothing that managed to slow the councilor down.

Visette didn’t reply and leaped from the rooftop, she began falling down but angled herself to land directly on the roof of the councilor’s car. Right before the moment of impact, she used her psionic power to cushion her fall and landed on the roof of the car with a soft thump.

Inside, Councilor Fredrickson became a neurotic mess, “What was that?!” He screamed.

“Sir, just-”

“In front! In front! Shoot! Shoot you, idiots!” Fredrickson screamed, pointing toward the front window where a black-clothed figure wearing a smooth ballistic mask was crouched.

Visette raised the sniper rifle and pressed it against the glass, taking aim at the Councilor until the driver woke up out of his daze.

“Shit!” The driver cursed as he began to turn the steering wheel wildly which caused Visette’s aim to sway. She fired off a shot and it easily pierced through the reinforced glass but struck the guard sitting in the passenger seat.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Fredrickson cursed as he held his head down, quickly becoming a sniveling mess under the threat of harm.

Visette paid no mind to his fit and tried to fire again but the rifle emitted a click, signaling that it was completely empty of ammo. She tossed the rifle away and instead began punching the reinforced window, with the bullet hole in its center, she easily began to break it apart with her physical strength alone.

“Hold on, Councilor!” The driver shouted as he came to an abrupt stop.

Visette was abruptly flung forward and went crashing into the street before becoming motionless.

“...Is he dead?” Councilor Fredrickson asked and then recoiled in horror as he witnessed Visette climbing to her feet again. “Drive! Drive! Drive!”

Under his orders, the car drove forward in an attempt to run Visette over and she surprisingly stood there waiting for it. Moments before it could hit her, the steering wheel jerked to the side and the car spun out of control and rolled onto its side repeatedly before crashing into a solid brick wall.

Visette exhaled lightly before approaching the car. She gripped the door and ripped it off before tossing it away as if it weighed nothing.

“Ah...Wake up you fools!” Councilor Fredrickson was the only one conscious and burst into a fit screaming as he watched Visette kneel down to peek inside the car.

“Ugh...Councilor?” A guard jolted away and turned toward Visette. He reached for his weapon but couldn’t find it as it flew from his hands during the crash.

Visette drew her knife and buried it in his neck before he could do anything further. The shocked guard could only let out a few bloody gurgling noises before going limp.

“No! Please! Please!” Fredrickson begged as he watched Visette snatch the now dead guard out of his seat and throw him aside.

“Councilor Fredrickson?” Visette inquired as she cut apart the seatbelt holding Fredrickson and pulled him out.

“Please! I have ties to a large Novidium mine! I can make you rich!” Fredrickson spoke while tears ran down his face.

“I will assume that your distressed state is a confirmation of your identity.” As soon as Visette finished speaking, she pressed her knife against Fredrickson’s throat and slit it open with a horizontal cut.

After making sure he was dead, Visette reached her hand into the car and a handgun flew into her grip. There was no hesitation as she fired off a shot into the heads of the two remaining guards, unwilling to risk discovery.

“Hey!” Lyn shouted as she stopped her car at the scene, “Time to go!”

A high-pitched siren of DSF vehicles filled the night air.

“I will pursue the injured soldier and regroup with you at the designated point,” Visette replied as she placed the stolen handgun into her holster.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! You did the mission now let’s go!” Lyn shouted angrily.

Although Visette would usually follow orders, she began to see the two remaining survivors as a liability. With the radio of Demetrius’ group in hand, she ignored Lyn’s yelling and launched herself onto a rooftop before her figure vanished among the shadows.

“Fuck!” Lyn slammed her hands against the steering wheel before turning the car 180 degrees and driving off into the night.

…

Demetrius and “Glasses” retreated back into their safehouse in Lower Wards without any other options. The abandoned house was the perfect place to hide if the pursuer was a relatively normal individual. Unfortunately, Visette honed on the radio channel that the squad used and since Demetrius didn’t have the time or thought to switch his radio off, she had very little difficulty in locating their position.

“I…” Demetrius spat up blood as he lay strewn out on a table, “I-I saw it, Glasses...”

“Quiet...We can lie low for a few days but it’ll be hard to escape after that mess.” Glasses produced a tray of medical supplies and began pulling out pieces of shrapnel protruding from Demetrius’ chest.

“What in Anton’s name happened in there? I never imagined our mission being so fucked up.” Glasses lamented as he deposited the shrapnel into a bowl.

“It was just one person,” Demetrius groaned. “Can you believe it? Just...one...fucking...person…”

“You’d think it was Anton himself!” Glasses wiped the sweat from his forehead as he pulled out more bullet fragments.

“Right? The only thing I could see was a tiny blue light and then the bullet hit me-”

“Hold on a second.” Glasses took pause as the pieces of fragments piled up. “This is a bullet from a low-caliber pistol!”

“What?” Demetrius raised his head with a pained expression due to the statement. “There’s no way a bullet like that could tear through my armor.”

“I know, it doesn’t make any sense but this is definitely from a pistol-”

Just as the questions began piling up, the front door to the abandoned building was kicked in and crumbled into pieces.

“Shit!” Glasses drew his gun and spun around but his body suddenly froze.

“Glasses...is it them?” Demetrius asked with a grunt as he tried to lift himself off of the table.

Glasses began letting out a series of strained gasps before he stood up rigidly and began walking forward with mechanical steps. When he stopped, he raised the gun in his hand and pressed it against his head.

“Glasses! What are you doing?!” Demetrius shouted in pure confusion.

“...Help,” A low murmur escaped his lips before he squeezed the trigger and painted the nearby wall with his brain matter before collapsing.

Demetrius froze in a mixture of shock and horror as his mind failed to comprehend what took place.

The sound of footsteps set his mind back in motion just as a figure wearing a ballistic mask and black fatigues emerged. He narrowed his eyes and gazed at the figure, finding their cold dark brown eyes extremely familiar.

“War Hound,” Demetrius muttered after realizing the identity of the person standing in front of him. “...It’s you isn’t it?”

Instead of answering, Visette approached the table and drew her knife. She would’ve killed him immediately if she didn’t need to establish a link between the squad of Abnormals and Demetrius.

“What city or force are you allied with?” Visette asked emotionlessly.

It seemed as if she was merely going through with a formality rather than interrogating someone.

“You’ll kill me either way, right?” Demetrius asked as he closed his eyes.

“Yes, you are correct,” Visette replied.

Demetrius began taking deep breaths before he summoned his strength and lunged at Visette but she effortlessly sidestepped him only to watch him fall flat on the ground.

“You’re an entirely different monster from what I expected,” Demetrius rasped out, “I don’t know what sort of trick you...used to kill Glasses, but it isn’t natural.”

Visette observed him for a few moments before she spoke, “I suspect that you are affiliated with Roslin. The way the soldiers spoke implied you have a relationship with Freedom City. With that in mind, it is very unlikely that Copper Haven directed this operation.”

“If you already knew then why’d you ask?” Demetrius laughed weakly.

“For confirmation,” Visette answered as she sheathed her knife. She walked over to the table and picked up a scalpel before she grabbed a handful of Demetrius’ hair and lifted his head before dragging it across his throat.

His body trembled as blood spurted from his neck and when Visette verified his death, she finally let go of him.

She spread out her psionic pulse in order to make sure there were no other presences in the vicinity before she entered a back room and discovered radio transmission equipment. She pondered leaving it intact or destroying it but it would inevitably be discovered regardless so she ignored it and left the abandoned building.

With all matters settled, Visette headed for the meeting point set by Lyn at a much slower pace. The mental fatigue of her psionic usage began to set in and although she was in no danger of losing consciousness, she was not comfortable with being in a weakened state.