Rounding a corner, they found their path blocked by five armed guards. Rifles cracked, bullets zinging through the air. 12 threw up another glowing shield just in time, the barrage of gunfire clanging loudly against the barricade of solid light.
While they were distracted, 11 flung out her arm. Shadows streaked forward, slamming into the guards and flinging them savagely against the walls. They slumped down, unconscious.
"Go!" 12 yelled, dropping the shield. The trio raced past the defeated guards towards a set of double doors at the end of the hall - the entrance to the stairwell leading topside.
Just as they reached the doors, six more guards poured into the hallway, blocking their escape. They skidded to a stop, trapped.
"Surrender!" a guard ordered.
"No chance!" 12 retorted. She crossed her arms, a blinding flash erupting forth. The guards cried out as white-hot light seared their eyes.
While they were blinded, 13 rushed forward so fast that he didn't even realize his feet were no longer touching the ground. he swiftly incapacitated the guards leaving them collapsed in a heap of groaning bodies.
"Let's go!" 13 yelled, phasing through the double doors with the girls close behind. The heavy metal door whooshed shut behind them, sealing off their pursuers.
They raced up the stairwell, their footfalls echoing off the concrete walls. Bursting onto the ground floor, they sprinted down the final hallway towards a set of large steel doors - the facility's entrance.
…
13 burst through the steel doors first, shielding his eyes against the sudden blinding sunlight. He stumbled to a halt, boots sinking into soft dirt and blades of grass. Trees stretched up towards a vivid blue sky, their leaves rustling gently in the breeze. They had done it. They were outside.
"We made it!" 12 cheered, turning her face up to the sunlight.
Their celebration was short lived. At the edge of the tree line, a dark figure stepped out, blocking their path to freedom. The Warden. He was wearing a specialized combat suit that was designed for flexibility and protection. With a short military-style hair cut.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" The Warden asked. His cold eyes locked onto 13 like a hawk spotting prey.
13 tensed, ready to fight. Beside him, 11 and 12 took up defensive stances.
"I won't let you take us back there," 13 said through gritted teeth. The Warden merely smirked.
"I'd like to see you try and stop me, boy."
With blinding speed, the Warden charged forward. 13 reacted on instinct, propelling himself into the air and sailing over his head. The Warden skidded to a halt, whipping around to follow 13's flight path. But he quickly disappeared.
Turning around 13 reacted immediately, flying forward and delivering a spinning kick aimed at the Warden's head. But as if sensing the attack coming the man deftly blocked it, grabbing 13's leg and flinging him aside. 13 crashed to the ground with a grunt.
"You'll have to do better than that," the Warden sneered.
A blast of light streaked over 13's head, slamming into the Warden's chest. He flew backwards, carried by the momentum of 12's photokinetic blast.
"Don't touch him!" 12 yelled, hands glowing with summoned light.
The Warden leapt back to his feet, brushing dirt from his uniform. "You'll pay for that, you little-"
His threat was cut short as writhing shadows erupted from the ground, twisting around his limbs and immobilizing him. 11 stood with one arm extended, face set in concentration as she manipulated the darkness.
The Warden strained against the shadowy bonds. With a guttural yell, he flexed his muscles and ripped free of the shadows' grip.
"Enough!" he bellowed. "I'll discipline you myself!"
He charged towards 12, even as she desperately flung up a barrier of solid light. His fist smashed through it as if it were glass, grabbing her by the throat. She gasped for air, clawing at his hand.
Suddenly, the Warden cried out as 13 phased up through the ground, delivering an uppercut to his jaw. The impact sent the man reeling, releasing his hold on 12.
"Don't touch my friends," 13 said coldly.
The Warden spat blood. "I'll kill you!"
He lunged at 13, who swiftly turned intangible. The Warden's fist passed harmlessly through him. Before the man could react, 13 grabbed his arm, flipping him over his shoulder and slamming him into the dirt.
The Warden swept out his leg, knocking 13's feet out from under him. In a flash, the man was on top of 13, massive hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing mercilessly.
13 choked, vision going dark at the edges. He tried to go intangible but he couldn't concentrate. Then the pressure was gone as the Warden howled in pain, shadows constricting his limbs once more. 11's doing.
13 gasped for breath. "Thanks," he wheezed.
"Let's finish this," 12 said. Her hands blazed with light.
13 and 11 nodded. The Warden bellowed in rage, fighting the shadow bonds.
…
13 watched as the Warden strained against 11's shadow bonds, muscles bulging as he fought to break free. This man was determined to capture them again, no matter what it took. They had to end this, now.
11 flung out more writhing tendrils of darkness, further ensnaring the enraged man. He bellowed, the veins in his neck protruding.
"You can't hold me forever, girl!" he spat.
"She doesn't need to," 12 said. Her hands blazed with summoned light. "We just need to hold you long enough."
She flung out both hands, unleashing twin beams of energy. The searing photokinetic blast slammed into the Warden's chest, driving him back a step. He grunted in pain but kept his footing.
"Is that the best you've got?" he sneered through gritted teeth.
In response, 11 made a pulling motion with her arm. Shadowy tendrils wrapped around the Warden's limbs yanked taut, eliciting a pained yell as his joints were wrenched in their sockets.
Taking advantage of his distraction, 12 focused her will, shaping the light around her hands into a glowing sword. With a fierce cry, she leapt forward, slashing at the Warden. He barely managed to twist out of the way, the blade of solid light singing his arm.
"Why won't you just stay down?!" 12 yelled in frustration. The Warden just laughed darkly.
"It'll take more than parlour tricks to stop me, girl."
13 watched the exchange anxiously. They were wearing the Warden down, but he just kept coming. 13 knew he had to act.
As the Warden surged against his bonds, muscles straining, 13 turned invisible and took to the air. He rocketed forward, flipping in midair and driving both feet into the Warden's back.
The man grunted as he was driven to his knees. "You just don't learn, do you boy?" the Warden snarled.
In response, 13 grabbed him by the collar and flung him bodily through the air. The Warden sailed twenty feet before crashing to the ground and skidding through the dirt.
But still, impossibly, he began to rise again, murder in his eyes.
"Stay down!" 11 yelled. More shadows erupted from the earth, smashing the Warden down before he could fully stand. He thrashed violently, slowly fighting his way back up out of the inky darkness.
13 could see it in his friends' faces - they were tiring. The Warden seemed unstoppable. They couldn't keep this up much longer.
As the hulking man finally lurched back to his feet, clothes torn and covered in dirt, 13 knew there was only one option left. He either escaped with his friends or died trying.
...
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