Altered Cosmos

Chapter 19; Target Locked

Levi enters his fighting stance as he carefully watched Jake who had entered a strangely open pose with two objects on his palms which looked like……

“yo-yos?” Levi asked in confusion just as Jake flings another yo-yo at him which he easily weaves by, his eyes following the fast-moving yo-yo as it flies into a tree and completely obliterates the hard trunk.

<What the hell?> He thought as the yo-yo flies back to Jake.

“Don’t let the appearance fool you!” Veronica shouted out before suddenly jumping back as MJ throws her heel down on the ground she was standing on, completely crushing the spot.

“They’re more dangerous than you think!” She said as she moves to the side with MJ closely following her with more punches and kicks.

Levi leans backwards, leaving the yo-yo to weave over his body. “No kidding.” He grumbled as he rolls to the side before dodging as another yo-yo collides to the ground.

Jake grunts as he brings both yo-yos down on Levi with his green energy radiating from them, increasing their speed and force.

Levi grunted as the yo-yos land, slamming down with a loud crash, cracking the ground and covering the area in dust and smoke.

But as Jake was about to retract his yo-yos, a sudden chill hits him as a blurry figure moves past him. Levi raises a hand up to deliver a chop to Jake’s back when…he sees a yo-yo inches away from his face.

He instinctively blocks with an arm but the force of the yo-yo sends his body flying back. He flips back to his feet before hitting the ground and he looks up to see Jake swinging not two…but three yo-yos around his body.

“Ow.” He grumbled in pain and looked at his arm which was a little bruised from the yo-yo attack.

Jake continues to spin the yo-yos around as he walks forward. “It’s useless. Just hand over the tag before our captain gets here.” Levi shakes off his bruised arm and stands up with a determined look in his eyes. “Very well.”

Jake fires another fast yo-yo attack but Levi dodges, his static shell still enhancing his speed. He continues to move and evade Jake’s attacks before suddenly appearing behind him.

He was about to throw in a punch when he senses another attack and rolls to the side as another yo-yo appears out of thin air, making four total yo-yos spinning around him. 

Levi immediately leaps to the side as a yo-yo smashes into the ground he was standing on before charging forward with his senses fixed on the four moving yo-yos around Jake.

He dodges them smoothly and performs a spin to weave past another with his body now in front of Jake but before he could attack, he senses another yo-yo and side-steps to the left only to block as another yo-yo smacks into him. 

His arms shake with pain as he slides some metres back with a frustrated look in his face as Jake remains completely unscathed with 6 fast moving yo-yos spinning around him.

<Damn it. He keeps increasing the number of yo-yos to counter but still…> He glances down at his pained arms and clenches his fist. <I entered his blind spot and he could still sense me.>

A sudden crash attracts Levi’s attention to the side where MJ dives out of the smoke to attack Veronica in front of her.

MJ throws some punches and Veronica narrowly evades all of them before slashing at MJ’s arm, sending some blood spilling just as MJ rams her foot into Veronica, sending her flying back.

A sudden incoming presence causes Levi to move to the side, just as a yo-yo grazes past his cheek with high speed. Levi turns back to Jake as the yo-yo retract back. “You should always pay attention during battle.”

Levi grits his teeth as some blood spill down his cheek when he suddenly realised the trick to Jake’s gear.

<He’s using them to create a barrier.> He thought as he could see and perceive the yo-yos releasing amounts of green energy which formed a field of energy around Jake’s body. “So that’s how you keep sensing my location.”

Jake’s expression softens a little as he smiles. “You figured it, huh.”

Levi wipes the blood from his cheek and smirks as he speaks. “You’re creating a perspective field of energy using those yo-yos to increase your detection radius. The moment I step into that radius; you’ll be able to know where I am…even with my speed.”

“You discovered my secret in a few minutes. Impressive.” Jake said before his expression returns back to its serious state.

“Then you’ll see how pointless your efforts are. We need to settle this now because all this fighting is nothing but a very loud welcome call.”

Levi knew Jake was right. All this fighting and energy would be easily detectable to someone as experienced as Nina but still… “Sorry but I’m a really bad sport. I’m going to give it my all.”

Jake lets out a frustrated sigh and stares at Levi. “So be it.” He grumbled as he fired three of the yo-yos at Levi who just watches as the yo-yos approach in slow -motion.

<He’s right. We need to end this quick before Nina gets here and…> He grunts a little and the electricity around his body flickers before returning to normal. <I took too much time. I’m almost at my limit.>

He looks at the yo-yos still approaching him and a small smile spreads on his face as he thinks to himself. <It will only be for a moment but I’m going faster.>

He finally moves, weaving past all three yo-yos as he charges forward. Jake reacts as he moves back and pulls his fingers, causing the yo-yos to fly back to him.

Levi dodges each of them without looking as they fly back to Jake while he still charges forward.

As Jake was about to launch another attack, Levi’s footing suddenly changes as his energy level rises causing his figure to spread and spilt……

“Afterimages?” Jake mumbled as three blurry copies of Levi zooms forward.

Jake furrows his brow and swings his arms with surprising speed and coordination, creating two more yo-yos that zooms towards the after-images with greater speed compared to the others but once they hit the afterimages, it zooms right through all of them.

Jake gasps a little as a sudden presence suddenly appears behind him with a fist aimed for his back but Jake reacts once again, moving a finger and creating another yo-yo which flies towards Levi from the right……

But Levi grunts as he ducks down, leaving the yo-yo to whizz over his hair and with a burst of energy, he fires a powerful electrical field around him that temporally disorients Jake……just as another yo-yo suddenly appears, speeding towards Levi’s face.

Levi quickly moves his right arm in a swift fluid movement and deflects the yo-yo aside.

“Damn it!” He shouted out in pain as the yo-yo seemed to have cracked some bones but he doesn’t hesitate as he throws a foot into Jake’s side, the sheer force of the kick sends Jake rolling across the ground with some of his yo-yos sent flying.

A painful jolt rings through his hand but he drops his foot down with determination in his eyes.

<Don’t stop!> He thought as he charges forward again, his foot crushing the ground beneath him as Jake continues to roll before suddenly springing to his feet when Levi reaches striking distance.

<Got you!> 

He was about to throw another punch as the still disoriented Jake……when he senses a powerful presence coming from the sky and dropping fast…

He grits his teeth and suddenly jumps back, confusing Jake already prepared to counter, but he too senses it a moment later and leaps back…just as speeding figure slams down on the ground they were just on, completely covering the spot in dust and flying debris.

“Damn it.” Levi mumbled as felt a familiar energy signature and almost freezes in place when a violet light pierces through the dust cloud. 

“You kids looked you were having fun.” 

But before Levi could even react, Nina suddenly appears in front of him.

<No way.> He thought as he prepared to block but Nina instantly creates a ball of violet energy and blasts him with it, sending him flying.

He crashes down to the ground with his Static shell finally deactivated before flipping back to his feet.

He glances at his barely charred shirt even though the sensation of a burn on his chest seemed severe before looking up just as Veronica attacks Nina with savage slashes…

But Nina smiles as she weaves to the side, and rams a foot into her gut, sending Veronica into a tree with resounding thud.

Nina chuckled as MJ charges at her but as MJ leaps, Levi watches as Nina holds a hand up.

The violet energy concentrates on her palms, becoming visible before suddenly changing shape and appearance to resemble a handgun with a large muzzle.

She then pulls the trigger and a blast of purple energy collides into MJ, sending her sprawling…all within a second. 

“Let me in on the fun.” Nina chuckled.

Jake grunts as he creates the blaster he used in the first class, aiming it at Nina who turns to him with an eerie glow in her left eye which made him tense up and fire the ground several times instead, creating a thick dust cloud that covers almost the entire clearing. 

After a short moment, the dust cloud clears, revealing only Nina in the clearing with an impressed smile on her face.

“Quick thinking. When faced with a tougher opponent, a surprise attack will be your best bet.” She said as she causally spins the gun on her fingers without moving an inch.

But her grin remains because even though she couldn’t see them, she could still sense Jake and MJ’s residual energy but she couldn’t detect Veronica or Levi at all. 

After a short quiet moment, Nina turns around as if to search for them just as MJ bursts out from the bushes to attack Nina from behind………but she ducks, sweeping one of MJ’s ankles and causing her to lose her balance as she runs past.

Nina then grabs Veronica’s arm as she attempts to attack Nina from above and flings her into MJ who manages to stand her ground a little with Veronica in her arms…just as Nina fires her blaster at them, creating a small but powerful blast that sent them flying back. 

In that moment, 15 yo-yos burst out of the trees at the same time aiming at her with sound-breaking speeds…but Nina suddenly turns around, simultaneously creating another gun which resembled a small SMG.

She grins as she fires the yo-yos with high rate energy bullets which completely destroyed all the steel-like attacks before suddenly using the butt of her blaster to smacks aside a yo-yo that attempted to hit her from behind without a single glance.

Jake clicks his tongue as she turns towards him still in the bushes.

Nina softly chuckles as she points her blaster at Jake’s hiding spot with violet energy glowing in the gun’s muzzle.

“What a cute little gear you’ve got there, Jake.” Jake suddenly stiffens in shock at her words and as the gun prepares to fire, Nina’s expression suddenly tenses when a figure appears beside her.

She grits her teeth with enough force to partially crack the lollipop in her mouth and weave back as a fist suddenly flies past her face. She looks at the white-haired figure soaring past her with a shocked expression in her eye.

“This kid.” She mumbled as Levi lands on the ground and looks around…but Nina was nowhere to be seen.

<Where is she?> He thought as he looked around, frantic…when he felt an incoming presence and dives to the side as Nina drops her heel down on the ground he was standing on.

She glances at him as the debris flying around from her landing still fall mid-air.

“I knew it.” She mumbled as the debris finally hit the ground and Levi rolls to a one-knee crouch with hands ready for combat. She grins at Levi widely and aims her two guns at him. “I like you, kid.”

Levi flinches in fear at the unbearable pressure of her energy signature directed at him. Its pressure on par with Peter’s. He grits his teeth and stands as he quickly thinks of a plan.

<She’s too fast.> Nina raises a brow when Levi forces his energy out, straining as he creates electricity and coats his body with it again, reactivating his Static shell. <Full speed, this time.>

He thought as he inches forward, powerful electricity running through his eyes as he suddenly zips forward, leaving a crushed footprint in the ground and a trail of electricity with the sound of thunder following as he runs around Nina, creating several fast-moving afterimages to confuse her.

“Wow.” Nina mumbled in awe at the dozens of Levi copies zipping around her with a sound defying speeds…just as a Levi speeds past her, the blue glow from his eyes leaving a trail of light as he prepares to attack with electricity crackling around his fingers.

But his eyes widen in fear when his lightning projectile moves right through the Nina in front of him……and a blurry blonde figure appears behind him, violet light trailing from her eye as well…

Levi instinctively retreats as she fires a barrage of high-speed bullets from her SMG. Levi dodges each of them as he continues to flip backwards.

Nina then jumps aside as MJ throws a kick before following her with a series of punches and kicks. 

Nina laughs as she grapples MJ and throws her to the side just in time to evade Veronica’s slashes.

“Yes. That’s it. Work together to defeat the stronger opponent.” She mumbled as she punches Veronica who blocks, but the momentum sends her flying back just as Levi throws a palm strike at Nina which she manages to deflect downwards. 

Levi then plants his hands to the ground and spins, sending his foot to her head which she manages to avoid.

Nina then aims the butt of her gun at Levi who manages to escape with a low spin before performing a high-speed and flexible back-flip which Nina manages to avoid with only the slight grazing of her chin.

She then inches forward in that moment, sending her elbow into Levi’s back which sent him sprawling. “That’s what I’m talking about.” 

She suddenly ducks back as a yo-yo weaves past her face and she suddenly charges at Jake with terrifying speed.

Jake then attempts to create a shield when Nina suddenly disappears…before sending a foot into Jake’s chin, sending him flying upward with a spurt of saliva and blood before she suddenly spins, grabs his tag and round-house kicks him away.

“One down.” She backs away, dodging from side-to-side as MJ began throwing punches at her. “You’re not going to get me like that, kid.” 

“We’ll see about that!” MJ suddenly slams her foot down with enough force to send debris of large and small into the air including both of them. 

While mid-air, MJ grabs a large rock and hurls it at Nina who shatters it with her blaster just in time to see the entire squad aiming attacks at her mid-air.

Nina lets out a joyful shout as they all continue to head towards her. “You guys are awesome!” 

Nina suddenly releases her guns, leaving them to float beside her in the air as she weaves past another yo-yo attack and grabs the string, pulling Jake along with it towards her.

She then drives both feet into his gut, sending him flying back down just as Jake hurls one last yo-yo at her as he falls…

But she grabs her blaster and deflects the yo-yo aside with the butt of the gun, sending it into MJ’s forehead, the steel yo-yo shattering against her skull.

She then quickly fires the blaster at Veronica, sending her back down while Levi manages to reach the tag on her jacket.

<If I can just…> His fingers suddenly touch Nina’s tag……just as his Static shell runs out abruptly and his body freezes in pain. <Damn.>

Nina then grabs him and flings him down to the ground with a crippling thud. Nina finally lands gracefully on the ground and catches her SMG with her free hand just as Veronica and MJ hit the ground not too far from her.

“Damn it.” Levi grumbled as he struggles to get into a crouch position with his stare at Nina who was smiling at him some distance away.

“Alright. I think that’s enough games for today.”

“But you still haven’t-” His eyes widen in shock when he reaches for his tag…but it wasn’t there anymore. Nina chuckles as she holds up two tags excluding the one still on her jacket. “When did…How?”

She lets out a laugh as she causes her weapons to shatter from her energy. “Years of experience, kid.” She said as she turns to the others picking up themselves with sores and bruises. “Sorry. I might have gone a little too far.”

“That’s an understatement.” Jake grumbled with a hand on his gut and Veronica nods in agreement, her appearance completely normal now.

“Yeah.” MJ grumbled as she rubbed her head with a groan. “Was there a point to you totally kicking our butts?”

Nina chuckles fondly with hands on her hips. “There ‘is’ a point. I got to see all your techniques and gears up close and personal.” She suddenly tosses aside her finished lollipop and pulled out a brand new one when Jake approached her.

“My sneak attack, it’s like you’d seen it before.” Nina continues to unwrap the lollipop without glancing at Jake as he speaks. “I’ve never showed anyone that gear. How did-”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Nina mumbled as she finally sticks the lollipop in her mouth and lock eyes with Jake. “I know everything about all of you. Your relationships, activities and abilities. I’ve been informed of all of those things.”

“Informed?” Levi grumbled as he sits back down to the ground and Nina raises a brow at him.

“Those Bands are meant to monitor you, aren’t they?” Levi stares at the band still pulsing on his wrist as she goes on.

“Your movements, powers, weaknesses, strengths, gears… As long as you use them, the band records that info and sends it to the Index main frame. How do you think you were specifically placed together in a squad?”

Nina lets a little laugh and glances at MJ wiping the small blood on her arm from Veronica’s slash. “Still there are some things that can only be known in the field.”

Veronica gives Nina a sceptic experience as she speaks. “What do you mean?”

Nina gives Veronica a sudden scary smile before speaking. “It’s easy to use the fact that Levi here is the fastest or Jake’s energy level output is the strongest… But factors like that can serve as both an asset and a liability. For example, Jake…”

She turns to Jake who was wipes away the blood from his lip. “You’re as smart as I read about. Your tactic earlier against Levi was very impressive…”

Both Levi and Jake freeze for a moment. <She was watching us?> Levi thought with a concerned stare at Nina’s extremely calm expression. <I couldn’t sense her at all.>

“…you’re a quick thinker and your gears are very effective and diverse for any scenario…But your stealth skills need work. I could still perceive your hidden presence. The same goes to MJ.”

She turns to MJ with a slightly disappointed expression. “As far as Stealth is concerned, Veronica and Levi are naturally talented.” She switches her attention to Levi and Veronica with a small smirk on her lips. “I guess it’s a result of their outdoor upbringing.”

Nina lets out a chuckle and Levi shares a quick look with Veronica. “For MJ. Other than your already monstrous strength, you have an impressively durable body.”

“How could you tell?” MJ asked. 

“First. You’re the daughter of my old friend Pete and that guy is as durable as a military grade bunker.” 

“True.” Both Levi and MJ sighed with a little laugh before listening as Nina continues with a glance at Jake.

“I also learnt that Jake’s yo-yo gear is as strong as steel which is why I didn’t try to break it with my raw strength.” Levi recalls that the only moment Nina destroyed the yo-yos was by firing energy blasts.

“Yet…” Nina turns to MJ with an intrigued smile on her face. “I deflected the yo-yo straight into your skull and in contrast to the shattered gear, …” She points a finger at the spot where the yo-yo broke on MJ’s head. “…your head’s completely fine.”

The others then noticed this fact, not a single bruise or swelling…it was like the gear never even hit her head. 

“Which brings me to Veronica.” She turns to Veronica and laughs. “Clearly the beast among us. With impressive reflexes, stealth attacks and agility. One thing that did catch my eye however is the fact that you were able to injure MJ…”

Nina gestures to MJ’s arm where the slash wound was seen which was healing slowly. “And I have already commented on MJ’s durability……which also showed me that MJ’s healing factor is slow compared to the rest of you.”

MJ lets out a flushed smile and rubs her arm. “It’s a little embarrassing.”

Nina shrugs before continuing. “But that doesn’t mean Veronica’s an ideal tron. Even after having such impressive stealth skills, there is still a short moment when you let out a little of your murderous intent.”

Veronica sighs heavily and Nina smiles as she continues. “I know that Mastrons with beast powers normally battle against their ‘beastly’ side. It may be a short second which can easily be ignored by lower trons but a skilled tron will pick up on that.”

Levi glances at Veronica who clenches her fists in frustration just as Nina finally turns to him. 

“And lastly, Levi.” He takes a gulp with a tensed look as Nina speaks. “The fastest among all four of you and currently the only Lightning tron in the entire Index force. Quite the rep, huh…”

Nina then began walking up to Levi with an intrigued look in her eye. “But do you know what caught my eye about you, Levi?” Levi shakes his head slowly and Nina crouches down to stare him in the eye. “Your sensory ability…”

The others shared some quick looks before turning back to Nina as she continues. 

“From the moment we first met and even during the fight, you were able to detect my attacks… just before they connected.” She stares at him intensely before suddenly getting up with a grunt. “Your energy level may be a little less than the others but currently…”

She gives him a sudden scary look before finishing. “…you’re the most dangerous member of this squad…after me of course.” She gives the others a sceptic stare as she moves away from Levi.

<She picked all that up from just one fight?> Levi thought.

Nina suddenly stops and glances at a discouraged MJ. “I said ‘currently’, didn’t I?” The squad turns to Nina who looks up to the now setting-sun with a calm expression.

“You can sit around, moping or you can work your butts to take care of your weaknesses and increase your strengths because as far as I’m concerned…” She throws a look over shoulder, her violet glowing eye pulsing. “…you all have the potential to level up.”

MJ punches her palm with a grin on her face while Veronica and Jake share a determined nod. Levi clenches his fists with ambition just as Nina lets out a little chuckle. “Well, kids. Welcome to Squad Target.”