Aegis broke the formation first, sprinting forward and leaping at them. He landed in front of Kathryn who blocked his first blow with her staff. Splitting it into a shield she blocked the next two stumbling backwards, glaring but caught her feet. Skidding backwards slightly she watched as he stepped forward and his fists slammed into her chest.
She flew past their line toward a nearby shop. Crashing through the glass and into a display he groaned falling through a display of chips. Looking over her shoulder she could just barely see the man who likely owned the shop cowering behind the counter. And from what she could see he likely had his gun under the table but knew it wouldn’t be effective.
Getting to her feet slowly she kicked the metal aside and held up her hand, “Sorry about this. We’re going to take care of them soon. Hopefully.”
Reforming her staff against the ground she darted out of the shop and back to the street. She could hear the echoes of the rest of the fighting but focused on Aegis as he sprinted forward crouched low against the ground.
She spun the staff around between her hands ready to block. Before he got close, Seth appeared in his path and slammed a fist into his jaw sending him sprawling across the ground. He bounced back to his feet, raising both fist and hunched his shoulders. Seth cracked his neck back and forth looking at him and then darted forward.
He swung wide and Aegis ducked under it dashing forward with two swift jabs into his chest. Another hook swung at his head and Seth managed raise his shield in time to block it. Aegis laid on the pressure next slamming his fist into the shield. Seth almost lost his footing but squared it under the pressure.
Kicking his leg out Seth swept Aegis’s legs from under him and then kicked him across the ground. Rushing after him he dragged the shield across the ground and punched him in the chest. The shield exploded and sent him flying backwards into the third floor of an apartment. He didn’t break the wall but he did make the building shake.
“You okay, Blue?” he asked going over to Kathryn.
“Blue?” she laughed looking at him. “Finally giving me a pet name?”
“Well I’d rather not use your real name right now, would I?” he motioned back toward their opponent as he came back down to the ground. He landed on his hands and knees and started shaking himself trying to get his vision straight. “Looks like keeping him down is harder than it looks.”
Kathryn raised her eyebrow, “You thought it’d be easy?”
“I hoped it’d be easier.”
She motioned to the fight behind them and then pointed her staff at their orange clad opponent. “We keep him busy, they keep them busy. Work together and help where we can.”
“Was that the plan?”
“It’s my improvisation.”
She started to say more when she heard the creak of metal and the whistle of the wind. Turning to look at the sky her eyes went wide as a car flew their way flipping end over end. Taking her staff she turned and stuck it into the ground. Blue light washed over them like a dome and the car slammed into it. It crumpled and then slid away bouncing across the ground.
Aegis was sprinting toward them in the wake of the car, ducking low with both arms in front of him in his boxing stance. He was fast, closing the distance between the them quickly and Seth got in front of Kathryn. He turned and swung just as he got close, his fist glowing.
Aegis dug his heel into the ground and his entire body glowed orange. Instead of standing up straight he was suddenly bent backwards. Seth’s fist swung through empty air as Aegis’s fist came up crashing into Seth’s jaw. He jolted stumbling backwards and almost fell on his back.
Standing comfortable Aegis swung his arm down dunking on the back of his head driving Seth down to his knee. Stepping forward he grasped both his hands together and brought them down hard. A blue shield raced across Seth’s back and cracked but protected him.
Stepping back Aegis looked up in time to watch Kathryn’s staff slam into his head. He stumbled backwards and rolled back as the staff came down again. Rolling aside and back to his feet again he blocked Kathryn’s swings as they thawked against his armor. She tapped the back of the staff separating the pieces and swung it around a whip. Aegis didn’t block this time and just retreated putting distance between the two of them.
Standing slowly Seth shook himself. Touching the side of his head he felt the crack in his armor and glanced back at Aegis. “So this is what it’s felt like?”
“Yeah. It’s rough. You okay?”
“Been worse.”
Aegis cracked his neck back and forth taking a step forward and they both turned to watch him. Unlike the last few times he wasn’t being aggressive and closing the distance anymore. Seth kicked at the ground lightly and rotated his arms, “I’ve got an idea. Follow my lead.”
The pair turned to face him again and Seth stood in front his fist raised but Kathryn’s staff had touched his back, a shimmering barrier of blue around his body. He charged Aegis swinging but he only connected with the orange glow of where he was. Aegis worked his way backwards dodging and weaving through the attacks looking for his chance.
Seth’s fist missed entirely as Aegis stepped through the punch and threw his own at his face. It connected with the barrier first and it slid to the side scraping across the barrier. Seth reached out and grabbed Aegis by the back, vaulting over his shoulders. Stumbling around, Aegis spun to face him with another punch but ducked down into the orange blur dodging Seth’s attack.
Seth’s punch missed entirely but this time it crashed into Kathryn’s shield. The purple energy raced through the pole as she connected the segments and shoved it into Aegis’s back. The combination of energy slammed into and sent him flying through the air and into a nearby car.
Kathryn spun the staff around and patted Seth on the back. “What do you know Violet. Your plan worked.”
The Harlequin Library 