The barn was silent. Smoke clung to the rafters, thick and acrid, mixing with the stench of scorched metal and gunpowder. Jack took a deep breath, the static from his last energy burst still crackling faintly around his fingertips.
Dr. Kim glanced down at her wrist console, her brow furrowed. "Okay... I can try to siphon a little power from Crimson 5 to jumpstart the truck. That should get us moving."
Jack surveyed the wreckage surrounding them. "No more delays. We need to get to the lab before they send reinforcements."
Maya wiped the blood from her katana and slid it back into its sheath. "Then we better make it fast. I've got a feeling this isn't over."
Jack nodded and followed Dr. Kim toward the truck. Maya was close behind, eyes scanning the horizon, every shadow a threat.
Then—
Crack!
The sharp crack of a high-powered rifle shattered the silence. A bullet tore through Dr. Kim's arm, spinning her to the ground.
Jack's heart dropped.
No. Not her. Not now.
He was already running before his brain caught up, falling to his knees beside her, his hands trembling as he tried to stop the bleeding.
"Dr. Kim!" he cried, the sight of blood soaking into the dirt stealing the air from his lungs.
Maya dropped to her knees beside her, katana clenched tightly. "Stay with us!" she snapped, but her voice trembled with rising rage.
Jack's heart pounded as he turned toward the treeline. His breath caught in his throat as a figure emerged.
Rolland.
He stepped out from the shadows with a smug grin, the barrel of his rifle still smoking.
Jack's jaw clenched. "Rolland."
"Wasn't even aiming for her," Rolland said with a shrug. "Guess I missed. Still... watching you break over her pain? Worth it."
Jack didn't let him finish. With a flick of his hand, he hurled a nearby crate with telekinetic force.
Rolland vanished in a blur.
The crate smashed into splinters against a tree.
Jack froze, stunned. That speed...
Rolland laughed. "You think I didn't learn from last time? You're not the only one with tricks up his sleeve."
"How did you?" Jack started.
"There's a friend of your future self. Hates you almost as much as I do," Rolland sneered. "She gave me something. A serum said it could cheat death. Gave me powers like yours."
Jack's mind reeled. Someone from the future? Who? Faces and names flashed through his mind—people who might have known him or his future self, but none of them fit. Who would help Rolland like this?
"I don't care what you took," Jack growled. "You're not leaving here alive."
He struck out again with a telekinetic blast.
But it rebounded, slamming into Jack.
He crashed into a nearby tree, the wind knocked out of him.
Rolland strolled forward. "Don't you ever learn? This," he tapped the glowing device around his neck, "is a force reverser. Courtesy of your 'friend' from the future. As long as it's on me, your powers don't work."
Before Jack could respond, Maya was already moving.
She launched at Rolland in a blur of motion, her katana flashing with deadly grace.
Rolland barely had time to react, her blade scraped across his side, tearing through his jacket. He hissed in pain and twisted away, firing a shot from his pistol that narrowly missed her head.
Maya ducked low, spinning into a sweeping kick that knocked Rolland's legs from under him. He hit the dirt hard, but recovered fast, twisting mid-fall and launching himself backward with enhanced speed.
She charged again, her blade a blur of silver arcs. Rolland ducked and weaved through her strikes, fists glowing faintly with unstable energy. He caught her sword on his forearm bracer, sparks flying, and retaliated with a vicious elbow to her ribs.
Maya grunted, but didn't falter.
"You think you're fast?" she growled, sweeping her blade toward his legs.
Rolland leapt over it and aimed a punch at her throat but she caught his arm mid-swing and twisted, flipping him over her shoulder and slamming him into the dirt with a thunderous crack.
He coughed violently, dirt spraying from his mouth, but grinned through bloodied teeth. "Didn't think you had that in you."
"That was me holding back," she spat, raising her blade.
Rolland roared and surged forward again, fists flying in a flurry. They clashed in the center of the barn like titans, steel against bone, speed against fury. Maya landed another cut across his chest but Rolland managed to strike her square in the sternum with a charged punch, sending her flying.
She slammed into the truck with a metallic crunch and crumpled to the ground, groaning.
Jack, still struggling to rise, gasped. "Maya—!"
Rolland limped toward him, blood dripping from his wounds, but his expression was wild with victory.
"Look around, Jack. Everyone close to you either dies or gets hurt. When my father ordered me to kill you, I didn't hesitate. I wanted this."
He stepped closer, eyes gleaming. "I remember back in the future? When I told your future self I wanted to be just like him? He laughed. Said I was weak. Said I'd never measure up."
He pressed the barrel to Jack's forehead. "Well, guess what? Tables turned."
Jack stared him down, chest heaving.
Rolland hesitated… then slowly lowered the gun.
"You're not even worth the bullet," he muttered. "My men will handle you. I've got better things to do."
He turned and walked away.
Maya stirred, groaning as she forced herself up. Her grip on her katana never wavered, even as her body trembled. "We need to move her," she said, eyes locked on Dr. Kim.
Jack crawled to Dr. Kim's side and lifted her. She was unconscious, pale, but breathing. Blood soaked through her jacket.
"We're not leaving her behind," Maya snapped.
Then they heard them.
Footsteps. Voices.
Rolland's men were surrounding the barn.
"They've got us pinned," Jack muttered. "We can't take them all."
"We don't have a choice," Maya said, raising her blade once more, battered but defiant. "They're not getting away with this."
Jack met her gaze, jaw clenched.
"We bring them down. Now."
(To be continued...)