As soon as Kada’s feet hit the ground, she bolted back towards the apartment. Thankfully, most of the might of the police force was still there. A few had clearly been injured and fellow officers were tending to them. The door to their apartment was busted open so there had to be a few searching inside. Tusmon was in the parking lot, crouched down on the circle of snow, examining Phon’s blood stains.

  Kada ran up just a few feet away from the nearest officer. As soon as one of them noticed her, she hollered, “Hey guys, did you miss me?” The few policemen that were near her quickly scuttled away back to the main group. They reformed into a firing line, and began to unload their clips at her. Even Tusmon had moved to attention and joined the shooting from where he stood.

  When the bullets were just a fraction of a hair away from hitting the Fiend, they began to melt, and the new liquid splattered up against her skin. She was definitely using more energy than needed to radiate her Curse than if she let them come in direct contact, but unlike Xard, she didn’t want her clothes to be tattered and full of holes.

  Kada winced as some of the melted bullets hit her exposed skin. It didn’t hurt directly, but due to the short range, the goo was still quite hot from the bullets being fired, and it burned a bit, even with her natural temperature resistance. It wasn’t something she couldn’t tolerate, but she was afraid it might possibly leave permanent marks on her skin. That was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, and decided it needed to stop as soon as possible.

  The woman wiped some of the liquid off of her stomach and reformed it into a bullet. She held it up, and looked at the police with a smirk—something sure to unsettle them. As if they were an orchestra that had practiced endlessly, all at once, each of their guns began to let out a harmony of clicks.

  It was the same clicking noise that indicated the gun had run out of bullets, and the clip needed to be changed. This clearly took all the officers by surprise, since they had only let off a few rounds each. The force began to examine their weapons, with a few ejecting their clips in preparation of putting in a new one.

  But the same goo which had coated The Fiend was leaking out of their guns. An officer pulled out a new clip, and panicked at the realization that it was filled with goop as well. Kada had used her Curse to melt every bullet within the surrounding area that was made of the same material as the one she was holding.

  The officers regrouped and began rambling at what to do next, with many different conversations going at once, all talking over each other. A few were still stunned in disbelief. The Fiend wasn’t going to let this panic go to waste. She began slowly radiating her Curse from her foot, causing it to seep down slowly into the road, melting every inch of asphalt around her as she went. She took her time, not wanting the officers to notice for as long as possible.

  Everyone was about ankle deep when Tusmon shouted from the parking lot. “Men, get off the ground now!” he yelled as he jumped onto a nearby car. Kada immediately reacted and instantly solidified it all. Only a couple officers managed to move quick enough, hopping up on the nearby fencing, even one grabbing onto a service pole. The rest had their feet definitively stuck, trapped by the asphalt. “She’s a distraction, go and find the rest!” Tusmon ordered the officers who could still move.

  They darted off in various directions prompting Kada to shout, “Cosdammit, get back here you bastards,” as she chased after them.

  ◆◆◆

  As Xard dropped from the roof, he just then realized how torn up his clothing was. Both main articles were riddled with bullet holes and had giant rips from when he released the shockwave. His shirt was still intact enough that it stayed on his body but had become completely open in the front. His pants, however, weren’t so lucky. Only the waistline was still attached, the rest was hanging behind him like tassels.

  The Fiend was amazed that none of the others had ridiculed him for it, but guessed it was due to the severity of the situation, or perhaps they were just used to seeing his clothes destroyed. Xard ripped off what remained of his pants since they would just get in the way.

  Surprisingly, his boxers were almost completely undamaged. He must have subconsciously avoided releasing energy from there to avoid ruining them. There was one small bullet hole on the right side, but it didn’t reveal anything that could be considered compromising.

  The man knew he had a task he needed to complete, but the idea of running around in such a disheveled and exposed manner appalled him. He briefly thought about calling up to Drim to throw something down to him, but then remembered all of his clothes were in a big stew of their various personal belongings. I’m curious how the things Kada melts and mixes together manages to reform properly afterwards, he wondered. It’s definitely a mystery… Alright, well I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and do this. Maybe I can secure some clothes along the way.

  Xard ran down the alley towards the nearest main street. Phon had gone through a lot of pain to describe where the police were, so he wasn’t going to let it be in vain. Ideally, he could run around to all the major streets between there and the train station and lure the cops away. This would hopefully also draw out any officers in nearby alleys and allow a straight shot for Drim. Thankfully, it seemed the snow had stopped and was already melting, making the run a lot easier, and the road ahead of him had already been plowed as well.

  When the Fiend sprang from the end of the alley onto the road, he immediately saw cops standing next to barricades near one of the cross sections. To his annoyance, they hadn’t immediately noticed him. There was also a good chance that even if they did, they wouldn’t pursue him. He believed it likely they had orders to prioritize the Drazahs, especially since Phon was already injured. So the fugitive needed to provoke them.

  Xard had spent most of his life trying not to offend anyone, so shouting insults would definitely be a new experience. “Oi you mawhgsacks. I see you’re just as terrible at your job as ever. Don’t even notice when a criminal is right behind you. Pathetic!” A bit of his growing disdain for the police may have leaked in there.

  “What did you say, you little Zjik?!” one of the officers fumed. She gestured to the others there, and they all drew their guns to aim at Xard. “Get on the ground or we will fire.”

  “Hmph, as if you collateral damage specialists could hit me. You’re welcome to give it a try if you like. I may even let you get close out of pity,” the fiend taunted once more. He then turned around, and dashed in the opposite direction of the officers.

  They had successfully taken the bait. Just as Xard began hopping over a barrier to head down a side street, a bullet which he hadn’t even noticed whizzed right past his head. It was too close for comfort. He would have to leave his Curse on the entire time, or he’d likely get popped unexpectedly. They definitely weren’t such poor marksmen as the man had made them out to be.

  What Xard saw next stopped him in his tracks. The road he’d just turned down was still populated. Having not been evacuated, a few civilians were out on the sidewalks, with a few more poking their heads out of their buildings to check the cause of the commotion. The fugitive began to panic a little. He now had three enraged cops chasing after him who had already proven they were willing to pull the trigger. If they had any sense of being proper police left in them, they wouldn’t fire when there was a chance of hitting civilians, but that was a risk he couldn’t take.

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  The Fiend needed them to get the public cover, but knew human curiosity wasn’t easily swayed. He needed to make them afraid. His first thought was to fire energy from his finger and pretend it was a gun. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much stored, having only the amount he’d managed to grab when he dropped off the building. There was also a good chance the civilians wouldn’t understand the threat. So he was left with plan B: act crazy.

  “Damn humans, you’re in my way!” Xard shrieked, clutching his head and swaying to act as insane as possible. “Get out of my way, you’re always there! Always staring! Move it, or I’ll crush you all.” The Fiend lifted his leg and slammed hard against the ground. A small shockwave of cracks rushed forward, smashing the street to pieces. Within seconds, the road was clear.

  Xard heard the police approaching the corner, and resumed his death march down the road. Though the street was clear, he could still feel the occupant’s gazes and was filled with guilt, hoping that the incident hadn’t left any of them too traumatized. He was also feeling the full force of the shame and embarrassment brought upon by his outfit.

  If the man himself was to see someone running down the road in their underwear, he would take it upon himself to stop the individual, lecture them, and send them away with new clothes. Now that the tables were turned, he wanted to curl up into a ball and fade from existence. The Fiend couldn’t think of any possible way that someone would garner excitement from such acts, finding it harder to understand why the crime popped up so often on public warrants, Kada included.

  Xard knew there were security cameras littering the streets, so his indecency would likely be shown all over. He shuddered at the idea of the expression his parents would make when they saw it. The streaker was also slightly mortified and worried about his own ability for acting deranged.

  After Xard made sure the police tailing him were close enough, he darted out onto the next main street. Thankfully, the police on the road were already looking his way due to the previous ruckus, so it didn’t take as much provocation as the last group. The Fiend repeated this pattern for a while, running down each main street, taunting the police, and getting them to chase after him, eventually amassing a large group of at least a few dozen officers running after him in hot pursuit.

  But the whole ordeal started to feel tiresome, not the running itself, but because the redhead had to purposely slow himself down. He needed the police to think they had a chance at catching him, and their aspirations would be instantly thwarted if he were to move at his full speed. The man even went out of his way to make it appear he was desperate to escape them, knocking down trash cans and other objects that could get in their way.

  Xard had even let a few bullets purposefully hit his body. It allowed him to store a little bit of energy, but still wasn’t significant enough for him to pull off a big move. He could use it to wound a few officers, but worried that they might stop pursuing him if they felt they were in an overbearing amount of danger. Thankfully, he was nearing the end of his gauntlet, with only a couple main roads left to run.

  The current section was a street full of businesses, usually frequented by shoppers, but was thankfully deserted. One of the bullets fired at him had missed by such a wide margin, it had shot and broke the glass of a storefront ahead of him—a clothing shop’s display with mannequins sporting the latest fashion. The near-nudist’s eyes widened at the opportunity. He hated himself for even considering stealing, but his embarrassment had reached its limits.

  Xard veered towards the store and grabbed the closest mannequin by the broken glass. As he resumed his trot with his entourage, he glanced down at his score and grimaced. The mannequin was donned with a baby blue polo shirt, and red and white diamond-patterned golf pants. Is this seriously what people are into these days? the thief was disgusted. He had half a mind to go back and berate the shop owner over this crime of fashion.

  It wasn’t the time though, and even these eyesores were better than the rags he currently had equipped. Xard took the clothes off the mannequin, and tossed the newly naked figure back at the police, even tripping up a few of them, which he had to snicker at. He held the clothes against his chest and covered them with his arms. If he were to change now, his new garments would likely be riddled with holes just like the last set.

  Xard turned onto the last main street, which he had purposely planned to save for last, and had adjusted his route accordingly. It was the same street he had taken to school every day before his new life. He chose the area since he knew the layout well, having often spent time wandering the various alleyways with Warig. After getting the attention of the last set of cops, he ran part way down the road and stopped.

  The Fiend squatted down in the middle of the street, still facing away from the police. They took the opportunity to unload as many bullets as possible into his back. Jeez, these idiots, don’t they know they’re just giving me ammo? Xard questioned and rolled his eyes at their incompetence. When the number of shots had decreased, most likely meaning many were beginning to reload, the bullet-sponge decided he had stocked up enough. He held out his right hand to the side and let off a blast of energy, propelling him into the alley to the left.

  By the time the officers began funneling into the alley, Xard had already reached the end of it and changed his shirt along the way. He was trapped at a dead end and hastily looking around for an escape, or rather that’s what he wanted the police to think. “Give it up, you’re trapped with nowhere to go. The only way back is through all of us, and even you can’t take us all on!” The spiel was proudly delivered by the same officer who had yelled at him on the first road.

  Did she not just see me get shot 50 times without a scratch?! Is she actually that delusional, or is she overly cocky and confident in the might of the police force? Xard wished he could hang around to have an intervention with this woman about expectations and how she sees herself compared to the rest of the world.

  “Isn’t it annoyingly obvious that I lured you all here?” the fugitive questioned the group, still a little dumbfounded. “Like, you guys did exactly what I wanted you to do, every step of the way. Do your orders of ‘stop the dirty Fiend at all costs’ make you act so blindly that you can’t even think and deduce the situation for yourself? This was a trap... Apparently, you think you’re the ones who trapped me, but that’s honestly laughable.” The officers didn’t respond. Instead, they tightened their grip on their guns and glared with ferocity.

  “Oh Cosmos, it looks like I’m going to have to show you,” Xard sighed while placing one of his hands on his head in anguish. “I mean, it’s a little understandable, since my Curse isn’t as well known as the Drazahs’ yet, but at least have some sense of danger. In a way, it’s a bit admirable that you’ve chased me with such unyielding, and honestly annoying, tenacity. I can only hope that this blow to your pride will lead you to become better.”

  The Fiend turned back towards the dead end. He tucked his stolen pants under his chin and did a handstand. Xard could just as easily pull off this maneuver with his feet, but did not want to damage his still perfectly functioning shoes. He then leaned back a little, angling his feet just over the heads of the officers. A blast of energy shot out of his hands, sending him flying into the air, soaring over the police. While still in flight, he grabbed the pants, slid them on while doing a rotation, and stuck the landing of a masterfully executed backflip near the entrance of the alley that would have filled professional gymnasts with envy.

  Becoming a Fiend and training with the For Hires everyday had done wonders for his athleticism. While he knew he still had a long way to go, just this short amount of time allowed him to achieve something that most likely would have ended with him snapping his neck if he was still a normal human. Xard stretched out his arms towards the officers and crossed them, making an X with his limbs. He angled his wrists so that his palms were facing out flat towards the police.

  “I hope you have a good day, officers,” the fugitive addressed them, feeling a little bad about what was going to happen. Though the feeling didn’t linger for too long. “When you’re able to move again, I suggest taking the rest of the day off. Go home, take some painkillers, and have a nice long nap.” Xard swung both of his arms horizontally while he emitted every ounce of stored energy from his palms.

  Two large waves of pressure soared down the alleyway, tearing up the walls on either side along the way. It hit the first officers, sending them careening into the ones directly behind them. The wave carried the entire platoon to the back of the alley where they smacked into one big pile against the wall. If Xard had focused that energy through his fingertips instead, the waves would have been closer to blades and would have sliced through them all effortlessly.

  The Fiend stared at the result of his handiwork, thinking he may have slightly overdone it. He really needed to get better at gauging how much energy he had stored, though he had only used the energy that the police had inflicted on him themselves. It had been severely lessened as well by the two moves he had pulled off earlier. Xard wasn’t exactly sure what to do next, so he gave the officers the same slight bow he normally would when saying goodbye to someone and sauntered off to search for more chaos he could cause.

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