Chapter 102: The Magnum War Part 2: Ambush

Romaine's POV

Once I was finally able to convince the siblings to come back to the lab with me, things only continued to go downhill from there.

-"Guys, the three of you are going to have to get out of there fast."- warned Cas over the comms

"What's happening?" Shante questioned

-"Two of Black Zero's Hunters are coming your way."- She stated, -"Trust me, you do not want to mess with them."-

"Well there's three of us and two of them, we can take them can't we?" reasoned Donte

-"Without your suits you won't be able to conduct your electricity well, that puts you at a much greater disadvantage than usual."-

"But if they're coming after us now, then this is our chance to make them tell us where Dondre is."

-"I'm not going to sit here and reason with a child. Romaine, get them to come ba-"-

Suddenly at the end of her line the signal cut off, only giving radio feedback.

"Cas, you there? Cas?" I called

To my dismay, there was no response. If this is what I think it is, then we may just be looking at a full on ambush. Though my question is, how'd they know that we'd be here.

Just as I was pondering the answer to my questions, my reflexes were triggered by the Apple's Eye, forcing me to react to incoming danger.

"Shiver Style: Xraya Palm!"

Shooting my right hand forward, a projectile of wind blasted between the siblings who were standing on both sides in front of me. Though not fully visible, my air blast seems to have hit an incoming bomb shell, which deflected it away from us. The shell fell a couple dozen meters away from us, leaving us only a few inches outside of the blast radius when it had exploded.

"What the hell-" Donte exclaimed

From the smoke of the explosion came two individuals. One flying in the air, wearing a smoke gray and lava red suit, and the other on the ground, donning a metallic blue suit.

"Cas was right on the money." I stated, "We're being ambushed."

"We should run" Shante insisted

"We'd just lead them to the lab. Then end up endangering the others." I pointed out, standing in front of them to protect them, "If you wanna go then I won't stop you, but I'm staying to fight."

"I'm staying too." Donte agreed, standing beside me

After slight hesitation, Shante then came out to stand with us.

"Then I'll stay too." She declared

"Zero's plan is to hit us while we're vulnerable," I noted, "but if we can beat these two right here and now, then we have a better chance of turning the tables on him."

I'd say we stop by the lab to pick up our suits so we have a better chance, but if my hunch is right then we'd just be going straight into another ambush. I just have to trust that Cas can handle herself.

But more importantly, I should be worrying about our current situation. Maybe I could use my Hyper Perception to come up with a plan, but without yet knowing their powers I can't counter them.

"Looks like boss man was right." Commented the one standing on the ground, "I had my doubts but clearly he knew what he was saying."

"If Zero planned an ambush for us, then he must be trying to eliminate or weaken us while he prepares for the war." I observed

"Bingo." Went the Hunter standing on the ground, "You're not as dumb as you look are you?"

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Let's hurry, the boss won't be pleased if we're late." Advised the other

"I know I know. You take the little brats, I'll deal with Mr Smartass over here" replied the second hunter, now placing his hands in his pockets, "Let's see how long you last kid."

It was then that the environment warped around me visually. Starting from him and spreading outwards in an instant, everything around me was now a shade of blue similar to his suit. It was as if a massive blue void originating from him had consumed me, causing me to view my surroundings in a blue-ish filter. All of this started straining my vision, even preventing me from seeing properly; the sudden shock of pierce to my vision ended up causing me to fall to my knees.

It was then that I noticed that Donte and Shante were nowhere to be found, neither was the other Hunter.

"I gotta put a stop to this." I muttered, failing an attempt to surge myself with electricity

"Don't bother with the parlor tricks here." my opponent discouraged, now standing over me, looking down as if I was nothing but dirt to him, "You're already inside my domain, there's no hope left for you. The name's Alkali, don't forget it."

Cassandra's POV

The moment the communication links got cut I knew exactly what had happened, though my future sight only confirmed my hypothesis.

Quickly taking off my glasses and putting my hair together, I ran through dozens of scenarios to find a solution.

"We're being ambushed." I stated, "He's trying to eliminate us before the war."

Taking my suit off its mannequin and changing into it in less than a second, I boarded the elevator waiting for it to move.

"Prince, I'm leaving you in charge. Keep me updated if you can."

"I'll do my best m'lady." He responded

Once I'd finally reached the ground level, I blazed outside to take a look at the current surroundings.

Watching as my opponent sped into the vicinity glistening in red, I felt my muscles get a lot more tense.

"So, you knew I was coming." He noted

"Maybe," I smirked, "though I would've sensed you anyway, Overdrive."

"Don't think I'll go easy on you because you're a girl. My orders are to kill."

"I don't expect you to go easy on me, but you'll have to excuse me; this is my first vis a vis with a speedster."

Overflowing with electricity, Overdrive blazed off into the distance; but though he was running away, part of me felt as if he was actually calling me in.

Surging my body likewise, I darted after him, leaving behind my bright gold lightning and a trail of dust.