Franklin pounded yet another microbot humanoid into pieces only for it to regrow and attack again. He grunted and ripped it off the ground before tossing it into the wall, hoping it would stay away for a while.
"How long we gonna be doing this?" he shouted.
"As long as it takes!" Emily cried back, her inflated fist knocking back some gorilla-looking formation into two others.
Franklin huffed before punching a hole in the chest of another humanoid and tearing it apart. All their hopes were on Sumin right now. Franklin certainly hadn't expected two giant creations to start slugging it out but he wasn't complaining as long as their one came through in the end.
He destroyed another humanoid for the umpteenth time. This was too easy for him. They weren't strong enough to hold him down and any attack of theirs just bounced off his skin. He couldn't say the same for his clothes which were becoming more and more torn but he wasn't hurt so it wasn't that big a deal. And the others seemed to be faring well so far. Emily seemed to have a dark drive in her as she obliterated one formation. Seeing Luke like that must have done something to her. Franklin knew it had for him. He had been tempted to run, not wanting to end up like his teammate. But he'd wanted to bash these guys' heads in more.
Madison was holding her own. She'd picked up a nifty skill of placing the formations in force fields and then contracting them, breaking them back down into microbots. And whenever things got too difficult, she just turned invisible to escape.
And Gabriela…well, Franklin honestly wished she would leave. It wasn't that she wasn't holding her own, but more that it was clear it was hurting her. Her arms were glowing bright orange, almost like they'd been bathed in magma or something. And with every movement she made, she hid a wince or grimace. Franklin wasn't sure what this upgrade in her power was doing, but it obviously wasn't pleasant. Unfortunately, none of them could back out now. They were in this until the end, for better or worse. Franklin just had to make sure it was better.
He saw several formations suddenly collapse in a row and knew that had to be Travis's work. The dude was constantly zipping around the area. Franklin knew he'd gotten first crack at Swarm but it hadn't worked out. Now they had to hope Sumin could pull it off.
He turned and at that moment saw six spiky tendrils form across the room, all aimed for Sumin who was falling right towards some monstrous formation, unaware of the other danger.
"Oh shit!" Franklin mumbled and started running. Even then, he knew it was too late as he saw the tendrils strike, hitting directly in Sumin's unprotected back. He watched their light creations fade and saw the monstrous formation prepare to bite down and kill them.
No. Never again.
He wouldn't let anyone die. Not on his watch. He felt his muscles tighten even more and he charged, practically leaping the last few steps until he was smashing through the formation, his fists parting it like it was made of water.
The whole thing collapsed around him but he didn't pay attention to that, only on the falling figure above him. He reached out and caught them before they could hit the ground. Sumin groaned, clearly trying to stay conscious but Franklin could already feel his hands growing wet with blood.
"Ah, the next challenger." Franklin looked up to see Swarm coming towards him, riding on a moving hill of microbots. "What do you think your super strength will accomplish, huh?"
"Travis!" Franklin yelled. A second later, his friend was there taking Sumin off his hands before disappearing again. Now battle ready again, Franklin strengthened his stance and prepared for the coming attack.
Is this how you felt, dad? he wondered, his fear almost choking him. Looking death in the face, not knowing if you'd survive? How can anyone deal with that?
"Let's see you block this!" Swarm declared, and the microbots rushed straight for Franklin without forming together, looking more like a flash flood. Franklin snapped out of his musings and just breathed.
"I just remind myself what I'm fighting for. Then I face the threat head on and just do the best that I can. That's all anyone ever can do."
Franklin threw his hands back and slammed them back together with all his strength. The last time he'd tried that, all he'd managed to create was a loud clap!
This time, it went a bit differently.
The instant his hands connected, a wall of wind and force burst from them. The microbots that had just reached him were suddenly blown back, leaving a gap between them. Franklin didn't hesitate, charging forward. With each step, he dug his feet into the ground and pushed off, giving him more speed until he was running like a locomotive straight for Swarm.
The man, who had been disoriented by Franklin's clap, saw him coming and Franklin noticed the microbots forming up around him. But he didn't care. He needed to end this, now.
Several tendrils stabbed him but they just broke apart on impact. A few more tried to wrap around his arms to hold him back but he just snapped them off, not even pausing. He felt his feet begin to sink and saw the microbots pulling them down, so he just ripped them free and kept moving. A giant monstrous formation appeared right in front of him but he just punched it into oblivion. An even bigger wave than last time came roaring towards him, so he threw his hands back again and created an even bigger clap that caused even a few windows to shatter, the microbots dissolving from the attack.
It was at that moment that Franklin truly felt his family motto sink in.
Unbendable.
He charged the last few yards.
Unbreakable.
He threw his fist back as Swarm looked up in fear.
Unstoppable.
He punched the villain in the chest with everything he had, screaming out at the top of his lungs. Swarm's whole body folded around Franklin's fist before he went flying, smacking into one of the support columns and breaking it apart on impact.
Franklin breathed hard, wondering if maybe he'd put too much power into that punch. But then he saw Luke's bloody body and Sumin falling to the ground and found he didn't care. The man deserved to get some punishment.
Still, he didn't think this was the end. Nothing was ever that easy.
Just like he suspected, he heard Swarm groan and saw him slowly stand back up.
"You're a bit more- Whoa!" Swarm cried as Franklin charged and threw another punch his way, only barely managing to dodge this one. Instead, it demolished what was left of the column. Franklin kept going, throwing haymaker after haymaker and constantly keeping Swarm retreating.
"Why the hell are you brats so powerful!" Swarm complained. He lifted his hand and his microbots formed beneath him, shooting him upwards onto a pillar.
"Oh no you don't," Franklin growled, tearing right into the pillar and tossing all the microbots aside, causing the whole thing to wobble and shake.
"Stop that!" Swarm ordered. Franklin saw him raise another hand and a second pillar rose up which he jumped onto. Franklin instantly moved to attack it as well, but the microbots suddenly latched onto him, surging over him to envelop him. He started brushing them off, not stopping for a second as he made right for the pillar. The microbots tried to hold him back but he didn't let them. He wouldn't let anything stop him now.
"Why won't you just fall?" he heard Swarm complain, but didn't answer, leaping for the pillar.
Then he was surrounded by darkness, feeling two things slam into him from either side. It took him a second to realize what had just happened. Swarm had created two huge blocks of microbots to trap him between them.
"Like that'll work on me," Franklin huffed and started ripping it all apart. He could feel all the microbots attacking at once, trying to hold him back, to restrain him. He couldn't help but remember his first fight with Swarm how with just a handful of these things, the villain had managed to hold Franklin back. Because of that, he, Travis, and Madison had almost died. He refused to be that helpless again. So he didn't hold back. He summoned all his power and strength and went crazy. The microbots felt like small grapes peppering him, not even a real threat. He could feel a few form up, trying to bind his arms and legs or even tighten around his throat, but none were powerful enough to beat his unbreakable skin or to match him in strength. Within a few seconds, he tore his way from the microbot pile and stepped back onto solid ground.
He grimaced as he realized the bots had been partially successful as they had apparently moved him across the room without him noticing. But no matter. He just started running again.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Swarm yelled and Franklin saw the horde of humanoids and other formations charge for him, trying to intercept him.
They were like bowling pins to the ball. He barely even punched them, just ran straight through them, knocking or running them over, sometimes just breaking them apart. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt stronger than before, something that both terrified him and made him feel a rush inside.
Well, if he was stronger, it couldn't have come at a better time.
"Take this!" The microbots formed up, building on top of each other until they were shaped into one massive fist, almost the same size as the giant robot before. With a throwing motion, Swarm sent the fist right for Franklin and he just charged to meet it.
He recalled when Swarm had had a the microbots only around his wrist and had managed to hold Franklin back with that one fist.
But that was before and this was now. Swarm may have leveled up in size, but nothing he threw would ever be strong enough. Franklin leapt the last yard and threw his own fist forward, striking the giant one right in the center.
The impact sent a shockwave rippling around but Franklin didn't notice or care. He just kept pushing back, not allowing himself to be moved even an inch back. The fist held strong and he could easily imagine Swarm adding even more microbots to it to increase the power, but Franklin just pushed back harder.
Several of the microbots tried to wrap around his fist but he used his free hand to knock them off. He grunted and heaved forward, gaining an inch himself. Then another and another.
"When you have something in front of you that threatens to overwhelm you, you stomp your feet into the ground and you push back harder."
"I know dad," Franklin muttered. "Because that's what we Carsons do, right? We don't stop for anything. We make them stop for us."
He felt even more energy rise inside of him and he cried out. All the pain he'd felt these last few months, everything he'd bottled inside since he'd come home to see that truck in his driveway, since he'd learned about his dad, came roaring out like an inferno. He didn't just gain inches as he pushed but feet and then yards, until he shoved his fist forward with everything he had, blowing the microbot fist backwards until it broke down.
Franklin huffed, watching them all fall for a second before moving again. He couldn't rest for a second, not with Swarm. He'd just create something else to throw at him, keeping him at bay. No, this needed to end.
"Kids these days." Franklin turned at the voice, glaring up Swarm still on his microbot pillar. "You really are impressive. But this ends here."
"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing," Franklin replied, getting ready to attack.
"Were you now? I must assume that means you've seen my trump cards over there."
Franklin didn't want to, a sinking feeling of dread filling him up, but he followed Swarm's finger and felt his energy leave him as he saw Emily and Gabriela suspended in the air, microbots wrapped around them, holding them tight. Spiky tendrils waved in front of them, ready to impale them. Emily was cursing wildly and colorfully, still trying to break out, while Gabriela was slumped over, looking exhausted.
Below them, Madison and Travis were in one of her force fields with a massive block of microbots pressing down on it. Madison was down on one knee, clearly trying to keep the force field up but it wouldn't last long. Travis just looked at Franklin with an unreadable expression.
Franklin felt like his lungs were being squeezed so tight, he couldn't breathe. He had been close. Or at least, he thought he'd been getting close to finally catching Swarm and finishing him. But apparently not. Now his friends were in trouble and even he knew there was nothing he could do.
"Now, I know I can't kill you even though I would very much like to," Swarm said, lowering himself slightly. "That skin of yours is just too tough. But I have to ensure you don't bother me again for at least a while, so…"
Franklin felt the ground beneath him shift and he looked down, seeing the microbots gather at his feet, pushing him up a little.
"Have a nice flight," Swarm chuckled.
"Oh shi-"
The microbots surged upwards, wrapping around Franklin and pushing him up to the ceiling. He wanted to fight back but this time couldn't, gritting his teeth as he bore it. They reached the top of the lobby before coming to a stop. Then, the microbots suddenly bent back, like a hand about to throw a ball, before hurtling forward. Franklin was launched up into the air, smashing through the ceiling and into the night sky.
For a moment, it did feel like he was flying but he couldn't even enjoy that as he did his best to orient himself midair, not that it worked. He hissed as he narrowly missed a building but he was descending fast now and the chances of his missing anything were slim to none.
And then they became none.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he swore, seeing what looked like an apartment building loom in front of him. There was no way he wasn't going to hit it. He just raised his hands in front of his face and prayed he didn't hit anyone on the way in.
He smashed straight through the wall, brick and mortar flying everywhere, but he didn't stop there, his velocity too intense. He bounced off the ground and kept going, his body cracking open the marble floor and creating a large gouge mark. He tried to reach out and stop himself but he was moving too fast and couldn't get a grip.
He finally came to a stop when his head hit another wall with a loud bang! He groaned, trying to get to his feet but just stopped, too disoriented from that flight. He did manage to look up in concern to see if he'd hit anyone or anything on his way in, but fortunately it seemed he landed in a hallway, missing everything.
"Oh thank god," he muttered, resting his head back.
Ding!
He looked up again just as the doors in front of him closed and he suddenly began moving down. It took him a second to realize he'd managed to land right in the middle of an elevator.
"Huh," he muttered, taking a second to wonder why the elevator had been open in the first place before slumping his head back again. He was tempted to punch the wall right now but considering the amount of damage he'd done already, especially the large dent his head had made, he decided against it.
He was out of the fight. He wanted to scream out but he couldn't, forced to just glower. He couldn't help them anymore. He would still run back to them as fast as he could but he didn't think it would be fast enough. His friends were on their own against Swarm, and they were currently trapped and looked ready to die.
"God damn it all," he muttered hoarsely. "Don't die guys, please. Find a way through this and beat his ass."
The elevator doors dinged open again and Franklin looked up to see an elderly couple stare at him in both concern and fear.
"Sorry," he said, standing up and wobbling a little, still woozy from the landing. "I'll, uh…"
He stepped out of their way and started making his way down this hallway. It was only when he'd walked a few feet that he realized something important.
"Crap, this isn't the ground floor."
Emily let out another string of curses about what Swarm could stick up and down certain parts of his anatomy, all the while trying to break through these stupid microbots. She couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to get captured, forcing Franklin to have to…well, get thrown away like that. He'd been winning and she'd been his downfall.
It had all started when Gabriela had finally collapsed. Emily had expected it to happen seeing as the girl seemed to be barely holding herself up anymore. Still, she should have asked Travis to get out of there quicker as the instant she fell, the microbots swarmed over her.
Emily had run over, stretching out her arms to grab hold of the girl before the microbots and bring her back. Then, she'd been forced to fight off the horde with the girl on her back, desperately trying to keep her from falling. It actually wasn't really fighting as she was mostly just keeping the enemies at bay while she figured out what to do. She couldn't ask Travis for help as he was never still long enough, constantly zipping around the battlefield, trying to find a way up to Swarm. And Madison looked exhauster herself, her force fields becoming weaker and weaker.
Emily had known they wouldn't last much longer which was why she was praying so hard for Franklin to succeed. She herself was feeling her bones and muscles ache. She'd never stretched them so hard in such rapid succession, something she'd have to add to her training sessions if she got out of this. With every punch she threw or kick she launched, she felt a bit more tired.
And now, with the extra drag of Gabriela draped over her, things got exceptionally more hard.
She bit her lip as one tendril managed to get her in the thigh but she karate chopped it and kept moving. But that was just the start. She had already been slowing down but now she just couldn't keep up, getting too many cuts and stabs across her body. They were only minor ones but they were starting to add up and wear her down. She tried punch back but she could really only use one fist. And she could barely even inflate it anymore.
"Emily!" Travis suddenly appeared next to her and for a second she thought she was saved.
"Here Travis, take her out of here," Emily said, handing Gabriela over to him.
Or, at least, she tried to. But at that moment, the microbots made another move, one large tentacle coming right for her. She made to get out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough and her leg, exhausted from the strain, gave way beneath her. The tentacle hit her dead on, knocking her back and Gabriela out of her hands.
She tried to get back up but her body protested the movement, aching all over. She could barely even stretch her arms anymore. She didn't see what happened next as the microbots swarmed over her, encasing her. She did feel herself get pulled up into the air and moved around. It was only when the microbots left her face that she finally saw what was happening and she cursed herself for putting Franklin in that position.
She could only watch as he was thrown away. Now they were down…well, pretty much all of them. Gabriela was out. Franklin and Sumin were gone. Travis and Madison were trapped. And Luke…
She suppressed the shudder of fear and refocused. She had to find some way out of this or they were all dead. She could still stretch herself, albeit not too much. This fight had drained her more than she would care to admit. But that didn't mean she was done, not by a long shot.
"Well now," Swarm said, turning back to her. "Let's move on, shall we?"
"Dude, what the hell is your deal?" Emily asked. If there was one thing she could tell about this Swarm guy, it was that he loved to talk. And she needed time to regain some energy. "Do you get off killing kids or something?"
"Annoying brats like yourself, oh yes. I was stuck teaching miserable little runts like yourself for years. But now, at last it will end."
"Wait, teaching?" Emily frowned. "Are you…one of our teachers?"
Swarm reached up and lifted off his mask, revealing a familiar face. "Surprised?" he asked.
Emily gaped for a second before closing her mouth again. "Actually now that I think about it, no. If anyone was going to go full nutjob, it would be you Mr. Warners."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Emily shrugged. Honestly, she hadn't thought much about Mr. Warners before. All she really knew was that he taught her physics class and that he always droned on and on about the subject to the point where most kids distracted themselves for the rest of the lesson. Emily herself didn't know what even the last class had been about. Now that she thought about it, the last two classes with Mr. Warners had basically been him sitting at his desk and assigning them work which barely any of them did. He had seemed angry and irritable, mumbling to himself constantly. To his credit, he hadn't shot any glares Emily's way which would have been a slight giveaway, but she still didn't realize he was capable of this level of…well, insane psychopathy. Still, looking back, if any of her teachers were to crack, it wouldn't be hard to narrow it down to him. He definitely had a screw loose.
"You know something kid, I always hated cheerleaders."
"Let me guess," Emily rolled her eyes. "When you were a kid, you were a big science and math whiz or something, but that didn't make you popular with the ladies so all the cheerleaders, who I'm guessing in your mind were probably way prettier than in reality, shot you down, making you bitter against them. Is that about right?"
Mr. Warners glared at her. "Yeah," he said, sounding a little reluctant. "Always wanting to date the big hunks that were the jocks who only had a few brain cells between them."
"But they should have dated you? An insecure little man with a solid career ahead of him as a psychopath? Wow, what a bargain."
"Shut up. Anyway, I don't hate cheerleaders because they turned me down. I never asked any of them out. What would have been the point? I saw the way they looked at me. The way they all looked at me. Like I was something disgusting that had crawled out of the wall. I hate all those types of kids, the ones who think being popular will automatically guarantee success. True success comes from hard work."
Emily glared at him. "And what? You think I'm the same? You think I didn't work my butt off to get to where I am? Cause I did. I trained and exercised every day for the last ten years to be who I am today."
"Yeah, and look how that turned out," the man snorted. "Doesn't matter how hard you train or work out or whatever. The power of the mind will always be superior and as you can see," he gestured to the microbots surrounding them, "my mind completely trumped your exercise."
"Take those bots away and what are you?" she replied. "Nothing."
"Take those powers of yours away and what are you. Not-"
"A teenage girl in top physical condition with high grades in math, English, history, and, despite your terrible teaching, science."
"Oh well, if we're playing that game then without my microbots, I have three PH- why am I talking to you?" he suddenly cried out. "You are nothing but a hitch in my plans, a minor inconvenient annoyance. I have more important things to take care of so let's finish this, once and for all." He waved his hand and the block above Madison's force field pressed down harder. Emily couldn't hear what was happening inside there but from Madison's expression, it couldn't be good.
"Just hold on a few more seconds, ok?" she whispered.
"And now for you. I would say it's sad for your short, unfulfilled life to now end, but I don't care," Mr. Warners AKA Swarm told her.
"Wow, you should put those on 'Get Well' cards. Bet they'd be a big hit."
Swarm clenched his fist and Emily felt her bonds tighten. "Time to-"
He was cut off when two beams of light struck him in the head, sending him lurching back, roaring in pain, before he suddenly fell off his platform to the ground below. Emily turned in surprise and saw Gabriela glaring at where Swarm had fallen, breathing heavily.
"Hope you…have a plan," she panted. "Cause that…was all…I got."
"Don't worry. I've got you." Emily concentrated and channeled her power throughout her body. Whenever she had expanded different parts of her body like her arms or legs, she picture in her mind the limbs filling with hot air, like a balloon. Now, she imagined that happening all over her body, hot air stretching every bone and muscle she had.
With a pop! her body blew up just like a balloon, breaking all her bindings off.
Really glad mom isn't here to see this, Emily couldn't help but think, looking at her fattened body. She eased off and everything deflated back to normal, though she was now exhausted again.
You don't have time for that, she told herself. Swarm kept saying they were inexperienced and that he was going to win, albeit in different ways, and sadly she was starting to think he was right. He was still going strong and they were weakening with each second that passed. Emily would have to summon every ounce of strength she had left for this next bit. But before she could move, Travis suddenly appeared next to her.
"Whoa! How'd you get free?"
"Swarm was distracted, so we were able to escape," Travis said, gesturing behind him to where Madison was gasping on her hands and knees. "Listen, I need you to distract Swarm for a few minutes. Can you do that?"
"Yeah, but what are you going to do?"
"I need to test something real quick. If it works…then I know how to take him down. But it will rely on Madison which is why I need her to rest and regain her strength. So, can you really hold him back for like three minutes?"
Emily looked at him seriously. Honestly, she wasn't sure she would be able to last one minute, or even thirty seconds. But so many of them were down. And it was clear Swarm wasn't going to stop. She didn't know Travis that well, barely at all in fact, but she knew from right after the first fight with Swarm, how he'd tried to get them to be a team, that this was something he took seriously. So if he said he had a plan, she trusted him. And no matter what, she'd give him those three minutes.
"Yes," she told him. "I got this."
"Great."
Right on schedule, they heard a roar of anger coming from behind the microbot pillar. A second later, it dissolved and Swarm appeared, practically shaking in rage.
"Be back soon. Stay alive," Travis told her.
"That's the plan," Emily replied. Then, without further ado, she charged. She did have to admit that she had a bad habit of challenging herself to activities that she didn't have much of a chance at succeeding at, like climbing the rock wall one-handed, or hitting a bullseye blindfolded. But honestly, it just made it more fun for her.
Swarm met her charge, throwing several tendrils of microbots at her, each one aiming to stab her. Emily danced around them, just avoiding their barbs, and kept going. She threw her fist right toward Swarm's face but he just stepped out of the way. "What was that-" he laughed.
Inflate, she thought and her fist expanded just as it was about to pass him, her now blown up thumb and index finger smacking Swarm and knocking him back. Emily didn't let up, stretching her legs so that she was towering above him and then kicking out with her left leg and catching Swarm off balance, launching him backwards.
Unfortunately, she wasn't able to see him crash as a giant hand of microbots appeared, catching him in midair.
"Ha," he said, the hand turning into a platform to lift him up again. "Do you really think you can keep up with me? My microbots can go for days on end while you look like you might drop any second now?"
"So what? You gonna put your money where your mouth is and fight? Or are you too much of a coward?"
She half-expected him to get enraged and attack but he just smirked at her. "Alright then. You know, I was expecting this to be easy but you kids are getting to be quite the challenge. I guess I should expect no less from the power of the Cloak Guard."
Emily perked up. "You said that last time, even acted afraid of it. What does it mean?"
"It's truly a fascinating tale, but you won't be alive much longer to hear it." He threw his hands forward and the microbots surged at her like horizontal black geysers. She was prepared for it however and stretched her arms up quickly, grabbing hold of the rafters above and yanking herself up, narrowly avoiding getting hit, even when pulling her legs up to her chest. She reached the top but didn't dawdle, eyeing the ground below and swiftly sending her foot right back down, stretching it at top speed.
Unfortunately, Swarm saw it coming and a microbot shield formed around him, her foot bouncing right off it. She quickly retracted it before the microbots could grab hold of it.
"Do you see now?" Swarm yelled up at her. "Your exercise can never hope to measure up to my science. Why put yourself through more strain and torment in a fruitless endeavor?"
"Someone like you can never understand, so why even try?" Emily shot back. He wasn't completely wrong though. She didn't think she would be able to keep up with his microbots for much longer. Had it been three minutes yet or only thirty seconds? She just hoped Travis would pull through or else she was toast.
"I have slaved my entire life for my goal, worked towards only this one purpose. To show the world what I am truly capable of, to finally have the glory I deserve. I have created the ultimate tool that will usher in a new era. Even when my work was stolen from me, when I was cast aside, I never stopped fighting for that dream. And now, when I am so close to finally achieving it, do you think I will let some snot-nosed little punks like you take it away from me?"
"Snot-nosed?" Emily questioned, quickly rubbing her nose and thankfully seeing it was so far snot-free. It was not, however, blood-free which was probably worse.
"Alright, go big or go home," she told herself before dropping down from the rafters right for Swarm. He saw her coming, just as she predicted, but she acted fast in response. She stretched her arm right for him, pushing it as fast as she could. Then, just as the microbots began to form up to stop it, she putting as much energy into her hand as she could muster, imagining it filling with hot air again except this time pushing that idea to the absolute max.
Her hand inflated until it was practically gigantic, looming over Swarm. He shrieked and his microbots surrounded him just as Emily made impact, slamming him into the ground.
Emily grimaced, trying to hold onto it. She'd never tried going anywhere near this big before and it was so much more painful than she thought it would be.
"Clever!" Swarm cried, popping back up. "But still not enough." His microbots rose up and surrounded her fist, sharp knives appearing all around. But before they could attack, Emily released her grip and retracted her arm, nearly slumping over as she gasped in breaths.
How much longer could she keep this up? Not much. She didn't even think she could launch any more attacks. But…if Travis still needed time, then that's what she'd give him.
Swarm didn't even speak this time, the microbots launching up like giant stalagmites, trying to impale her. She started moving, jumping from rafter to rafter, never stopping or pausing anywhere. She couldn't afford to.
"I'll give you another minute maybe before your body finally gives out," Swarm called up to her. "But I can keep going forever. My microbots will never stop."
"Is he trying to kill me or give me a sale?" Emily asked, panting. "Come on Simmons. You survived your botched ear piercing. You survived the big infection from your botched ear piercing. You survived that half-marathon with a broken wrist. You survived Millicent Fresse's bullying in third grade. You survived that photoshoot with the screaming director. You survived that date with Channing Bliss. And most of all, you survived your dad deciding you weren't worth it. This…this is nothing. So keep moving and keep surviving. Right!"
As the microbot spears came at her again, she dropped down to the ground, stretching out her legs to hit the floor first before retracting herself into them. "That should actually stop mom worrying about me falling off stuff," she muttered before running again.
She took a brief second to worry about where Madison and Gabriela were but she didn't have time stay worried. She could only hope they were fine. She focused on the mounds of microbots chasing after her.
"The power of youth is truly extraordinary. It is amazing to see you last this long."
"Does he ever shut up?" Emily grumbled, stretching out and grabbing a support column to pull her to safety before the microbots could slam into her. From there, she just kept running and jumping to avoid every attack. A microbot wolf appeared in front of her but she punched it and broke its face apart before moving on. A spear shot for her chest, but she dodged around it and kept running. A huge wave of microbots came roaring at her but she stretched for another column and pulled herself several feet off the ground before swinging away.
And with each movement, she felt her heartbeat increasing. She was already sweating buckets and she had thrown up twice, though the second time hadn't actually been anything. She hadn't felt this exhausted since she'd spent a whole day trying to break the world record on front flips. At least now her joints didn't feel like they were killing her. Just her entire body.
"Come on Travis," she said. "That had to be three minutes, right?"
She didn't have a watch so she couldn't tell. It honestly felt like it had been an hour but her sense of time might have been off, along with most of her other senses. But he had to be coming soon, right? Unless…
No, she scolded herself. There is no unless. He will come. Just hold out.
"Not much longer now, Ms. Simmons. Why continue to torture yourself?"
Emily glared in his direction. She wanted nothing more than to smack that pompous asshole in his stupid face. Maybe…she had one last attack at the ready. If she could just get a good hit in. Travis had taken him out last time with a lighting strike to his mask. So maybe…maybe just one punch was all it would take. She stood her ground and watched as Swarm neared, waiting for him to get into position. One hit. That was all she needed. She threw her arm back, aiming as best she could. Her vision was a little blurry but she could still just make out Swarm's face and that was all she needed. "Take this," she muttered, and threw her fist.
And then she collapsed, the strain hitting her hard.
No, she thought weakly. Can't go down like this. Come on…get up.
"And there it is. The limits of the human body, even one as malleable as yours. You lasted a bit longer than expected, but no matter. The end is still the same. Now…goodbye."
Emily saw the spear coming for her but couldn't move. She was finished. She could only watch as her death came for her.
Until something grabbed her and pulled her out the way.
"Wh-what?" she mumbled, confused as the spear shot past her, striking nothing. She'd been…saved? But by who? There was no on there.
"What the hell? Where did you go?"
Huh? Emily didn't understand. She was lying right in front of him. How could he not see…
She glanced down at her hands and realized they were invisible. Madison.