Kael's breath came sharp and ragged beneath his mask as the street around him trembled under the barrage of clashing Quirks. The air crackled with tension — a volatile mix of shadow and light, destruction and desperation.
He stepped forward, the weight of the civilians' safety pressing down like an anchor. Every face he'd saved flashed through his mind — innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a war they never asked to fight. He swallowed hard and refocused. No hesitation.
Ryken's cold gaze locked onto him. The shimmer of Reflector danced across his skin, ready to repel any direct attack.
"You can't win, Equinox," Ryken said, voice low and venomous. "Every time you stop us, we come back stronger. This time, we end you."
Beside Ryken, the dreadlocked woman narrowed her eyes eyes, energy crackling along her tendrils. The hulking man cracked his knuckles, steam rising in furious plumes.
Kael flexed his fingers, shadows gathering like liquid silk around his arms.
"No direct contact. They know exactly what I can do if I get close." Kael's mind raced, calculating angles and timing. "I have to fight smarter, not just harder."
Suddenly, a piercing scream cut through the chaos.
Kael's head snapped toward a nearby alleyway where a mother was pinned beneath a toppled street sign, her child crying out for help nearby.
His instincts surged.
"Stay back!" Kael barked to the villains. Shadows stretched from his hands, whipping toward the debris pinning the woman.
Ryken's shimmer lit up again, but the tendrils were aimed at the debris, not Ryken's body. This time, no reflection.
The rubble shifted and fell, freeing the woman, who scrambled away with her child.
Kael vanished into the shadows, reappearing beside them to usher them toward safety.
Meanwhile, on a high-rise rooftop…
Mount Lady surveyed the streets below, her giant form a towering beacon of hope and power.
"Manual, how's the evacuation going?" she called through comms.
"Clearing the subway tunnels now," Manual replied, manipulating swirling water to guide frightened civilians safely.
Kamui Woods swung past, wrapping errant villains in wooden cages. "We've got a surge of street-tier villains trying to capitalize on the chaos. Nothing major, but they're relentless."
Best Jeanist appeared beside Mount Lady, threads shooting out to disarm a fleeing mugger. "Edgeshot and I are working the side streets, keeping things contained. No one's slipping past us."
Mount Lady nodded, eyes narrowing toward the city center where the fires burned brightest. "Keep it tight. If that fight goes sideways, this whole district could be lost."
Back on the street, Kael ducked behind a crumbling wall, breathing heavily.
Ryken and his allies circled, eyes sharp, waiting for him to make the next move.
Kael's fingers twitched. His mind was a whirlwind of shadows and strategy.
He glanced up, spotting a group of terrified civilians huddled near a burning car, unaware of the danger creeping closer.
His heart clenched.
"I can't let them get caught in the crossfire."
With a surge of energy, Kael launched himself toward the civilians, shadows morphing into protective barriers around them just as one of Ryken's companions fired a blast of concentrated energy.
The blast struck the shadow shield, erupting in a spray of sparks.
Kael's lips tightened.
This was no longer a simple fight—it was a war for the city's soul.
…