KS14

The girl darted right for cover, body bent low. She darted behind some barrels and kicked one in his direction when he made to follow. Knowing from the sound that it was empty, he kicked it up into the air, then launched it in her direction with a powerful double-handed blow.

The thin metal careened through the air, striking the other barrels around her and bringing them all down in a loud and violent cacophony of metal. The girl snarled as they fell, and her eyes met his mask for a moment before she was buried. Vanguard paused, waiting for sounds or struggling beneath the mess. There was none.

Magician landed deftly beside him, rolling into a standing position and reloading her weapon. "Did we get her?"

"You saw as good as I," he said, not quite willing to sheathe his weapons just yet. "That was easy. Too easy."

"Perhaps she was just overconfident."

He frowned. "Perhaps…"

"If she were still moving, we'd hear her beneath all of that."

"True. Maybe I'm just paranoid."

"Not exactly hard given our profession, is it?" Magician laughed and put her weapon away. "Now we just need to- LOOK OUT!"

Vanguard didn't have the time to react before Magician kicked him away, using the force to push herself back as well. He struck the ground hard and rolled onto his knees in time to see the girl from before – apparently unharmed – engaging Magician and forcing her back.