Night came quicker than expected. Cassian stood in his living room with a laptop.
The information he had gleaned earlier had to be expanded on. As soon as he opened it, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, and answered Venita's call.
"Sir," she said with urgency. "You won't believe the information I found on Cyrus."
"What did you uncover?"
"He's not just another Bandit. There's something... different about him."
"Different how?" Cassian pressed.
"Just trust me. It's not something I should be sharing over the phone."
This was interesting news to Cassian. "Return to TEC immediately then."
The line went silent for a second. Then he noticed her breathing becoming heavier.
"Venita, what's wrong?"
Suddenly, an explosion rattled the background noise, followed by distant sounds of anarchy.
"My position has been compromised!" she shouted.
"Get out of there! I'm coming to back you up!"
Without wasting another moment, he began looking for footage of her location. It wasn't as advanced as AU's surveillance, but he managed to get a view of her surroundings. The image was choppy and unstable, but it was the only source he had.
"Stay on the line," he instructed, scrolling through the monitors.
Through the distortion, he spotted some movement. There was a slight fire raging in the apartment building nearby. Then he noticed a figure slip into the shadows. He squinted, focusing on the focus.
It was Cyrus.
Cyrus casually stepped from behind the corner of the building and said, "Never thought I'd find another Bandit after me here… What group are you from, or are you AU? No… AU wouldn't send just one Bandit after me."
This was bad. Cyrus was threatening Venita. But then, from the corner of the monitor, Cassian saw Venita approach. The camera caught her just in time as her phone slipped into her pocket, allowing Cassian to overhear the conversation.
"Not AU, champ," she responded. "Tell ya what, you can let me go, and we don't have to make this situation ugly."
"Or I can capture you here and find out what you're after," Cyrus replied.
Before Cassian could process the moment, Cyrus lunged at Venita. The two engaged in rapid hand-to-hand combat, striking and dodging as if to get the upper hand on one another. Then came a flash from Cyrus's Band.
Venita's feet were suddenly encased in ice, but she activated her own Band, muscles bulging as she broke through the freezing prison.
"You were saying?" She quipped with a smirk.
Cyrus looked stunned for a moment, but he quickly gained his composure. He raised an ice shield just as she aimed a punch, but Venita broke through with a powerful strike to his forearm.
Instead of retaliating with his Band, he pulled out a gun and fired. Venita dodged, shifting her body just in time. Cyrus's demeanor shifted as he moved to escape, but Venita pursued him.
He turned a corner, and just as she followed, ice shards flew past her, barely missing. Cyrus calmly turned and fired more shards her way. She ducked low, sliding through the debris until he ran into a dark tunnel underground.
She hesitated at the entry, looking back before deciding to step in. Pulling at her phone, she tried to get in contact with Cassian.
"Sir, sir, are you still there? If you can hear me, I'm going in after him."
Making the choice, she pushed herself into the tunnel, following the sounds of his footsteps.
As she moved deeper, the air chilled around her. The temperature dipped sharply, sending shivers down her spine. She activated her Band again, allowing her muscles to strengthen and withstand the freezing pressure.
However, as she progressed, the cold grew more intense, and she stumbled.
"Shouldn't have followed me to such an enclosed space," Cyrus's voice echoed.
His figure finally came into view, and she saw his chilling aura. He was also holding his arm, signifying that her earlier attack had done the right amount of damage.
Venita tried to laugh it off. "Oh, this is nothing to me."
"You think?" Cyrus didn't hesitate to amplify the cold, and she gasped as her body began to weaken under the weight of the temperature. "I noticed that your Band allows you to augment your body. The thing about mine is I can augment the whole environment."
In a moment's silence, Cassian was seen revving his motorcycle. He had long left, having deduced Venita could be in serious danger.
"I'll be there soon," he said, maneuvering like crazy.
When he arrived at the apartment building, he checked her phone's location. Her last known signal was coming from inside the tunnel. He entered carefully, sensing that something was wrong
The tunnel was narrow and dark. Cassian's heartbeat became louder as he ventured deeper.
"Venita!" he called out.
The moment he turned a corner, the sight before was horrific. Venita lay on the floor, motionless, her skin pale—worse than pale. Bruises marred her arms and legs. Blood pooled around her form.
"Venita!" he shouted, rushing to her side. He reached out, his fingers trembling as he wiped an icy strand of hair from her face. She felt severely cold to the touch. "No, no, no..."
He called her name again. "Venita! Wake up!"
But she remained unresponsive. Her Band was also missing. As he moved his fingers along her skin, he could feel the gunshot wounds on her body.
"Venita!" he cried again, to rouse her.
She was so cold, and this was his fault. He had let her go out there alone.
He quickly pulled out his phone, wishing to dial for help. But who would he call? AU's forces would apprehend them both if they discovered who she was. And if she called in TEC while Cyrus was likely still on the move, then they would get in severe trouble with Libra.
It was too late to save her. With each moment that passed, he felt her slipping further from him. She would not answer him, and nothing would bring her back.
"Please, Venita," he pleaded, voice breaking, but deep down he felt the truth.
Cassian shook his head in disbelief. Rage consumed him as he pressed his fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse. But he found nothing but silence.
What did she die for? It wasn't against what he was fighting for.
He fell back and time stood still as he sat there, helpless.
The shadows of the tunnel felt like they were closing in, like darkness was swallowing him whole. The world kept moving while he held onto a lifeless body, a worthy companion lost to the void.
"Darn you," he hissed. "Darn you, Cyrus…"
In that moment, Cassian knew that he would not let her death go in vain; he was going to take revenge himself and kill Cyrus at all cost!