The explosion threw DiLorenzo and Marlo backward, their bodies tumbling across the pavement as smoke billowed from where they'd been standing moments before. Di lorenzo had managed to deflect the shot but the impact from the blast still did more than enough damage.
"All units, report status," Riva's voice crackled through their communicators.
Static answered her from most channels.
Huey crouched behind a debris pile, collecting residue the least of his worries as adrenaline sharpened his focus. Something was wrong with this whole setup. The pairs had been spread across the rift zone in a grid pattern ideal for sample Collection. but it also meant they were isolated, vulnerable.
"Mira," he called to his partner, but she was already moving toward the eastern perimeter where the explosion had originated. Ice crystals formed at wake her as she thread the shattered pavement
"... No" she murmured, those black eyes with silver rings reflecting the firelight. "No, not again I won't let them get hurt"
Before Huey could ask what she meant, the ground beneath Mira shifted. A section of the storage facility they'd been approaching tilted inward, and suddenly she was gone, buried under tons of precisely collapsed concrete.
"Mira!" Huey started toward the rubble, but another explosion, closer this time, sent him diving for cover.
The second shot came from an entirely different angle.
Through the smoke, Huey caught a glimpse of crisp dark suit, shades and the distinctive barrel of a high-powered rifle. The shooter was moving, repositioning between shots with professional efficiency.
"This is Josephine, Khadija is using her crest to amplify the waves going through the jammed comms. " her voice came through tight, with controlled fear. " Luan and I are pinned down near the north checkpoint. Someone's manipulating the shots, they're curving around our cover."
That ability. Huey's blood went cold as memories clicked into place. still recognizable from the underground lab where Marcus Chen had died.
The guard who'd walked through blue fire.
"Jazz," he whispered, the HUD coming on activating his passive detective skills. "Can I Analyze the situation with bird's eye."
He saw things differently now as the world before him. Came alive with data streams, trajectory calculations, analytics and patterns..
"Kid, you're not going to like this," Jazz's voice was grim in his head. "The shooting's precise. Someone with inside knowledge planned these kill zones."
More explosions erupted across the rift area. Through his enhanced vision, Huey watched as other student pairs found themselves trapped or under fire. Jonas and his shard construct Chirp were trying to coordinate a defense near the western checkpoint.
Willy's panicked voice burst through the comm: "We can't get through! There are invisible walls everywhere! It's like someone's controlling the space around us!"
Layla's deep voice followed, surprisingly calm despite the chaos: "Stay behind me, Willy. My strength can break through most of these barriers, but we need to be careful."
Khadija was using her sound amplification to try coordinating the scattered groups, but her voice kept getting muffled.
"All students, remain in your assigned positions," Riva's voice cut through the chatter. "I'm working on extraction, but we need to maintain tactical spread until backup arrives."
Huey's instincts screamed warnings. Why keep them spread out when they were under attack? Why not consolidate for mutual protection?
Unless the goal wasn't protection.
A kinetically-enhanced bullet punched through the concrete barrier beside his head, showering him with debris, Huey barely dodging in time. The shot had curved around three different obstacles to reach him.
"Impressive," a deep voice called across the battlefield.
Upon hearing that voice, Huey was completely sure now. The same guard who'd tangled with the hooded vigilante, He'd survived how many thousand volts, albeit scarred now with a mouth that seemed to shift to one side. Most likely indication of a stroke from the shock.
DiLorenzo's voice crackled through the comm,: "I can see the shooter! He's using some kind of kinetic energy manipulating crest to alter bullet trajectories. Marlo's hurt but conscious, we need immediate medical assistance !"
"Negative on extraction," Riva responded smoothly. "Too dangerous to move wounded until the threat is neutralized."
But Huey was watching her through his enhanced vision, and she wasn't moving to neutralize anything. She was creating spatial portals, yes, but they weren't for attack or defense. They were for positioning.
"Jazz, cross-reference Riva's portal placements with the shooting positions."
The analysis took three seconds. "Bright idea, kid. Every portal gives the shooter better angles or cuts off student escape routes. She's not fighting him, she's helping him."
The realization hit like a physical blow. Their supervisor was working with the sniper.
Josephine's light constructs in the distance as she and Luan tried to create defensive positions. But every barrier they built, every tactical position they took, was being countered before they could deploy it..
More students were falling. Some wounded, others eliminated. Huey counted at least four pairs that had gone completely silent. The sniper and Riva hunting them, using inside knowledge of abilities and positioning to turn the field exercise into a massacre.
Willy and Layla were putting up the strongest resistance. When another curved bullet trailed, this time toward Willy's position, Layla didn't hesitate. she caught it barehanded, the kinetic impact drove her to her knees, what should have been a kill shit but her durability was able to hold up.
The emotional response was immediate. Wheeler surged with power we had never seen before, expanding from a small squirrel into a massive vortex that deflected incoming fire and cleared sight lines.
"Layla!" Willy's voice cracked with worry as blood streamed from her injured frame. "Are you—?"
Milo tried using her invisibility to flank the shooter's position, but he somehow knew she'd where'd s. Every student ability was being countered before it could be deployed effectively.
The bodies were piling up. Students Huey had seen in hallways and laughed alongside in lecture halls. Now they were just casualties in some stupid power tussle
"Riva ," the sniper's voice called out, conversational despite the violence. "Phase one is complete. Are you ready to proceed?"
But Riva's response was to create a massive portal above the remaining students.
And Huey realized he was the only one who understood what was really happening.
The only one who could stop it.