The Black Hawk settled, its rotors a fading thrum against the chaos. The side door slid open with a hiss. Olam, his red eyes sharp, stepped onto the scorched earth, seven figures in black combat suits fanning out behind him, two being Zane Grants and Kyle Macher.
Olam: Alright men, get the wounded inside! (he barked.)
Two more choppers were already kissing the ground nearby, more armed figures stepping out from each one.
Kira Davies, Hajime clinging to her back like a shadow, moved towards Olam.
Kira: (Scoffs) You came.
Olam swept his gaze across the ravaged landscape, a mosaic of dead and dying.
Olam: Good to see you too, Miss Davies. Mind telling me what the hell happened here?
Olam and Kira began walking towards one of the choppers, Hajime still clinging to her side.
Kira: We dealing with a possible Omega mutant and Otis... (She stops, grabbing his arm as she looked up to his face with a worried expression,) ...this mutant is unlike anything we've seen. He has, SOMEHOW, stopped the powers of everyone here brought back an army of dead inhumans and whatever crawled out that prison, (She turned her gaze towards the building, directing Olam's eyes there too.)
Olam: (He looked down to his fist, risen between Kira and himself right by the middle section, his muscles tensing up for a shimmering white, orange and blue aura to appear covering his arm catching Kira's, surprised, attention.)
Kira: How—
Suddenly a human projectile, a blurred impact of flesh and metal, tearing through the side of one of the newly landed helicopters. The scrapnel exploded outward. Kira, Olam, and the nearby soldiers spun, rifles snapping up. Ezra Darhk lay slumped amidst the mangled wreckage, groaning, struggling to push himself upright. Gunfire erupted to their left. Olam and Kira turned to see Revan suspended in the air, absorbing a barrage of bullets.
Olam: Huh. You know, you didn't quite say this possible omega mutant can fly and be as strong as Ezra fucking Darhk.
Kira: Really? Must have slipped my mind from all the other BULLSHIT I've been seeing!
Revan's head tilted. His voice, a low rumble, carried across the battlefield.
Revan: Can't you all see? Are you all just too stubborn to accept the truth, blindsided by hope? You can't beat me. I am the end. I am what makes life truly worth... I... Revan... AM THE RED DEATH. (He extended an open palm towards a cluster of eight soldiers firing at him before they suddenly froze, rifles slackening, blood beginning to weep from their eyes.)
In the distance, a bronze-skinned soldier with black undercut braids, Silas Voight, helped Jaxan to his feet. "Can you walk?" Jaxan nodded, his gaze fixed on Revan and the eerily still soldiers.
The eight soldiers, a flicker of resistance in their vacant eyes, slowly turned, rifles aimed at their former allies. Rex and Ender's eyes stretched wide.
Rex: SHIT!
Olam: Soldiers, what the hell are you doing?!? (Olam asked in confusion.)
Fingers tightened on triggers before their rifles dispersed into countless butterflies into the air, from the distance Silas has his hand extended, most butterflies that had come into Revan's range had turned pale from their original color and fallen dead to the ground. The possessed soldiers all looked around for their weapons in confusion before Jack, a streak of lightning, ran through the possessed soldiers having his crackling streak of blue energy tag each one. Their bodies convulsed shorty with smoke and burns before collapsing to the ground.
High above, Revan scoffed. The mangled front section of the helicopter Ezra had crashed through, now a deadly projectile, slammed into him. It exploded in a burst of twisted metal and smoke. Revan hung in the air, utterly unfazed. Ezra, a furious blur, launched himself skyward, both fists extended. He slammed into Revan, driving him backward through the air.
Below, Jack reappeared beside Ivy, who huddled over Claire.
Ivy: Jack! (She cried, relief flooding her voice.)
Rex, Ender, Arthur, Maya, Selena, Willow, Vanessa, and Aurora converged on Jack.
Jack: We need to get her out of here fast, (he urged.)
Kyle arrived, Zane at his side.
Kyle: Get her into the helicopter, hurry.
Ender's eyes widened.
Ender: Kyle... you... alive.
Kyle: You goddamn right I am, (he grinned, then nodded towards Claire.) Now come on, pick her up. (Jack nodded, reaching for Claire's arm.)
Jack nodded, not wasting a second as he knelt, his hands gently sliding under Claire's back and knees, and lifted her into his arms. The movement was swift and sure, a testament to his lightning-fast reflexes. He held her close, her head resting against his chest, her face pale and still.
He listens in on her, hearing her soft grunts.
Jack: Don't worry, Claire. We'll save you.
Maya, her gaze fixed on her own hands, spoke in a quiet voice that cut through the surrounding chaos.
Maya: Heh... Uhm… guys.
As everyone turned to look, she held her palms up. A network of glowing, geometrical patterns, a luminous pink against her skin, pulsed faintly.
Ender: Is that...? (He began, his voice barely a whisper.)
Maya: Yep, (she finished for him, a grin spreading across her face.) My powers... they're back!
Rex, a smirk twitching at his lips, scoffed and bent down to scoop up a handful of loose gravel. As his eyes glowed with a familiar purple light, his palm radiated the same color. He opened his hand, and the tiny stones within it shimmered with an inner light.
Rex: YES! Finally! We can now have a fair fight.
Zane's brow furrowed in confusion.
Zane: Wait, you guys didn't have your powers?(He asked, looking between them.)
Kyle: WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! Jack, get her into the copter, now.
Ender: No, wait. Jack... He just attacked the enforcer instead of Claire...
Kyle: ...So?
Jack: We have to save him aswell.
Ender nodded before Kyle speaks out.
Kyle: Urgh. Have you both lost your minds?! Who in their right minds would wanna save an inhuman? (He pointed at the direction Phil layed unconsciously,) he has hunted and killed our kinds more times than I can count. I say we leave him here to die along side... (He looked around, his head swiveling from the unconscious Phil to the hovering Revan and the battling Ezra.)
He spun on his heel, his arms swinging out to slap his sides.
Kyle: Son of a bitch. (He muttered under his breath.)
Ender: What is it? (He asked, his voice laced with concern.)
Kyle: Martin... (He scoffed, running a hand through his hair.) He's gone.
Rex: What?!
Aurora let out a small chuckle.
Aurora: Bastard made a run for it without anyone noticing.
Kyle: Yeah... Of course he did, (he said, his tone growing serious.) You know why, Jack? Because there's no saving that inhuman. Martin knows that he's long gone."
Rex stepped forward, his expression grim.
Rex: He's right. Let's not waste time on a corpse and focus on the person in need. (He extended a straight, open palm toward Claire.)
Jack, however, remained still, his focus on Claire.
Jack: No... No. You don't seem to understand this whole situation since you've been DEAD for that all. If Phil dies... He WILL go after Claire and he won't stop. That's why we have to save him too.
Suddenly, a subtle vibration in the air caught everyone's attention. The ground began to tremble, growing into a full-on shudder that made the very earth groan. Rocks began to rise, hovering a few inches off the ground before coalescing into jagged, floating projectiles.
Willow: Woah... Do you guys feel that?" She asked, her eyes wide as a stone drifted past her face.
Zane squinted, his gaze sweeping the horizon before settling on the mountain peak in the distance.
Zane: Yeah, it's coming from that direction. (He said, pointing toward the source.)