Can't Touch This

He didn't know if it was adrenaline or just the addicting sense of power but the teen burst out of cover without a moments hesitation.

His body was like a feather as he seemed to glide and swerve across the ground unorthodoxly, picking up speed like a rocket blasting into the atmosphere.

And immediately Brimstone began to open fire.

*THOOM THOOM THOOM*

Bullets spat out of the heavy machine gun, blazing in a streak of white-hot metal towards the teen.

But not a single bullet landed as the teen bounded ten-steps with a single push of his foot, zig-zagging in midair as he went.

The bullets riddled the church walls with holes, shattering a window into pieces yet they made no mark on him.

The teen spun around and twisted through the air, changing his direction with each subtle turn and the bullets just whizzed by harmlessly.

At this point, the machine gun's barrel was a bright searing red as gun shells clattered to the ground.

Then, the trail stopped.

Need More Bullets?

Within a few seconds, he was right in front of the Brimstone. Widening his eyes, the old veteran reached for the pistol at his side, throwing the machine gun down as he tried to duck for cover.

Too late.

The teen didn't even blink as he raised his gun, body still flying through the air sideways as he pulled the trigger twice.

Blood sprayed as the bearded man snapped back, attempting to stand straight for a moment before collapsing to the floor, two bullets in his head.

Cold. Dead.

The teen skidded to a stop, staring at the body with a slack jaw.

Red hot blood pooled across the moss-covered slabs.

He'd just ended a man.

He had just killed someone.

It was so sudden and so abrupt that the teen didn't really know what to do.

For a moment he just stood there in silence, and then he remembered what he was trying to do.

Run.

As he tried to burst off, suddenly a bright blinding flash exploded in front of him.

His head immediately turned away, only for the ground below him to suddenly rumble and crack in fiery-orange light, a concussive force blasting into him.

The teen's bones rumbled as his vision blurred and his body shook rapidly.

Raising his ghost, he could barely even ove a step, his whole body stunned into place.

His eyes turned to the church itself. It's doors had been long blasted in, and he could barely see in his blurred vision as two silhouettes ran out.

Fish In The Middle Of A Desert.

That was what he was.

And what happened to a Fish In The Middle Of A Desert? 

They died without being able to move an inch.

The teen watched one of the silhouettes raise his rifle, static ringing through his ear as he awaited death. 

It would have been more dramatic if not for the fact that the teen knew he had more than one life.

But death was still death, and he felt getting his brain blown into mush was going to be very painful and agonizing.

He couldn't do anything, so he just waited for the "bang" to come.

*BANG*

A pain burned through his shoulder and he staggered back as the bullet connected. Blinking for a moment, the teen felt his hair flurry about in a strong gust of wind.

It had missed his head.

*Fwoom Fwoom*

And then a funnel of fluffy white clouds obscured him as he grimaced, the aftershock of the explosion mostly dispersed.

He raised his ghost, looking around him in wonder. Swirling around him by some manipulation of wind was a dome of clouds. Fluffy and white, they completely obscured his vision on all sides, and a cool breeze spread through his body.

Then, there were more gunshots.

The teen instinctively dodged as bullets ripped through the clouds. He slammed off his feet and sped out of the cloud, direction ever-changing even as he moved through the air.

He seemed to almost glide through the air, swiftly dodging a few corpses as he burst out of the church estate and onto the streets like a human remote-controlled knuckleball, tracers still streaking through the air behind him. One of the about thirty struck its target.

"Shit!"

The teen cursed as he planted his foot into the ground, sliding over a parked yellow car.

His shoulder and left leg ebbed on with a flaring pain.

While still fast, his speed had decreased quite a bit after getting shot.

He ducked down behind this car, before noticing something.

There was someone else also behind this car.

And unlike him, they were completely unhurt and holding an assault rifle.

"Ma porca puttana!"

The teen slapped himself in the face as the muzzle of a gun was pointed straight at his head.

Why was his luck so bad?

At this point, he observed who he believed to be his executioner.

A fair-skinned man he was, tall and muscular with a hint of regality to him in his fur-lined coat. A pulsing metal techno-bow was slung across his back and he wore leather hunting gloves. He had long snow-blonde hair which was swept back and a sharp clean-shaven face. But what caught the teen's eye the most was… The man's right eye.

Marred by an x-shaped scar, it was completely bionic, glowing a vibrant blue color in complete contrast to his harsh winter-grey left eye.

The ice-cold owlman.

Hardbass ripping bear-hunting Russian archer.

Railgun disguised as a bow blasting babushka loving…

Yeah.

"Wherever they run, I will find them."

Agent no. 6 of the Valorant Protocol, Sova.

"Who are you? A Kingdom Operative? No… What is a child doing amid a battlefield?" His voice was calm and cool, with a thick Russian accent as he analyzed the teen cautiously.

Unlike the guys he'd encountered within the Church, this Sova seemed a lot more reasonable at least. The others saw no hesitation in attempting to put a bullet in his head.

So maybe, this was one of the quote-on-quote, good guys?

The teen could only hope for the best as he sat there with a gun pointed at his face.

"I can't really explain why I'm here right now, but I wouldn't suggest going in that church." The teen said, grimacing as he clutched his shot leg.

"As dangerous as it may be, those assailants are a threat to this world. My comrade has already entered the battlefield, and it will do well for me to support her."

Sova reached to the quiver on his right thigh, smoothly nocking an arrow to his now-equipped bow and firing it.

A blue sonar-like aura seemed to emit out of the projectile as it landed well within the hedged church walls.

"Sova! Get in here already, I've got the enemy Breach and Cypher running further inside!" 

The exuberant yet bubbly voice of a young woman spoke from a small microphone clipped to Sova's glove.

"Copy. I am on my way." The Russian man raised his gloved hand to his face before giving the teen a look.

"Get as far away from the Church as possible and seek medical attention. The situation may worsen here soon." 

He spoke gently in that heavy accent, hoisting the bow back over his shoulder as he grabbed the sleek black rifle.

The teen watched blearily as the blonde-haired hunter expertly got up and ran into the church, gunshots still ringing throughout.

What a guy.

Shakily getting to his feet, the teen hobbled across the debris-riddled street. He noticed that the buildings around the church had seemingly long been abandoned, with doors left open and cars had been haphazardly parked all around him.

He made it quite far away from the church in this hobbling state. The teen felt that if he tried to re-enter his "Too Much For Z-Block'' state, he might just keel over and die. Just needed to make it a bit farthe-

His whole body trembled as he lurched forward, the post-adrenaline shock slamming into him full force as his knees buckled.

Widening his eyes grudgingly, he muttered a few words before face-planting into the concrete below, the world around him darkening.

"Oh, cacchio."