The volter shrieked again. That was getting annoying. Just shut up and get on with the violence. I ended up making the first move, lunging forward and batting at the stupid thing with my sword.

  I mostly just wanted to knock it forwards off the roof, hence why I basically just nudged it with the weapon stretched out in a single hand. It worked. I succeeded in knocking the stupid, noisy Anathema down onto the grass—but not without it unleashing its pent up charge straight into my sword. You know, the sword that was made of metal that I was holding with my metal body. As it turned out, I made a great conductor.

  "Nice try, idiot."

  I barely even felt it. Almost all of the current flowed through the outermost layer of my metallic surface, and it wasn't remotely painful. A conductor of my size was more than large enough to handle such a pathetic load, and I wasn't just some ordinary human stuffed in a metal shell. It turned out my body was capable of actively shunting the electricity where I wanted it to go—and that meant I dumped it right back into the stupid Tier 2 volter.

  "Yeah? How do you like that, huh?" It didn't seem to actually do much—if anything, all I'd done was helpfully reload its spent coulombs. Flapping about indignantly, the stupid bird tried hitting the others with its lame electric attack. Guess you realized it wouldn't work on me, huh? I wasn't going to allow that, though. Even if they'd all backed up too far for it to hit—well, it was the principle of the thing, right?

  Electricity was electricity, and this particular version wasn't some kind of fancy violet. It was just the normal stuff, and that meant it was super obnoxious to try to aim. All I had to do to intercept the bolt was stick my sword out. That was exactly what I did, catching the arcing energy and shunting it down through my leg and into the ground. I quickly transitioned into a heavy, two handed overhead strike. The volter tried to flap away, but a whirling vortex of icy air locked it firmly in place. Thanks, Laurence.

  A wave of teal light also passed under my feet—but I was faster. The sword came down, smacking into the annoying bird with enough force to shear off an entire wing. While it wasn't quite metal like I was, the volter's body was similarly hard, tough, and inorganic. It seemed more like some kind of glassy ceramic—an insulator instead of a conductor, ironically. Either way, it broke beneath the force of my blow.

  It wasn't enough to finish it off, though, and I stepped back to let Kevin do his thing. Now missing an entire wing and still being battered by Laurence's little whirlwind, the volter was completely incapable of avoiding the luminous, crystal spikes that skewered it from below. Now, it was truly locked in place. Utterly helpless, it had no chance of surviving the subsequent explosion. Shards of crystal and ceramic alike rained down over me.

  The former soon evaporated into motes of light that swirled back into our strike specialist's outstretched hand. Round of applause? Can I get a round of applause?

  "Nice work, everyone," Laurence said. "That was smooth."

  "Very smooth," Maria remarked. I noticed she also had a gun—several, actually. Guess Katherine decided to share the goodies, huh? "Much smoother than it usually is."

  Yeah, because of me. It wasn't arrogance, it was the truth. I was the strongest one here—Katherine might be a Star Guardian, but she was still a full effective tier below me. Perhaps more important, though, was that I filled their missing frontliner role really, really well. Major win for team composition, let's go!

  After we grouped up and Katherine confirmed the volter had been the only major threat nearby, we had a quick discussion about what to do next. I of course mentioned the kraken that was nearby—it would have been a little weird if I didn't, since they all were eager to hear how the hell I ended up falling out of the sky and crashing through a brick wall.

  "So you're saying it threw you," Kevin confirmed. "Picked you up, slung you around a bit..." He made a twirling motion with his finger. "...And then it just chucked you a few hundred feet through the air?"

  I nodded. "Yep. Well, a few thousand feet would probably be more realistic."

  "Damn." Kevin looked in the direction that I came from again. He couldn't see anything, of course, because none of us could. It was too far and there were too many fences and buildings and things in the way. "Should we even try fighting something like that?"

  Probably not, I admitted to myself, but I kind of want to try a round two. I wasn't going to say anything yet, though. I wanted to see what the group reactions were before making any particular move.

  "Probably not," Laurence allowed, "but if there's another team already engaging it, I think we should go check it out. Even if our teams combined aren't enough to take it down, it sounds like this other team might need help even if they've decided to retreat."

  "So what do we think?" I asked. "Do we want to go check on how things are going—maybe see if there's anything we might be able to do—or would it be better to just fuck off somewhere else?" I did my best to look plain and innocent. Definitely not deliberately framing that in a super manipulative way. Nope, not at all. I would never.

  There were a couple of seconds where all six of us just looked at each other, all trying to gauge the others' reactions. Finally, Kevin clapped his hands together. "Right. Let's go slay a kraken, I guess."

  "Alright, I think I have a plan," I said to the rest of the group, all of us hunched behind an overturned SUV.

  We'd stopped about a block away from the kraken, and sure enough, the other team was still flailing against it. Oil Spill's stupid ability had covered even more of the street by this point, turning the entire intersection into a veritable ecological disaster. Max had also joined up with us—I hadn't moved that far from the spot where I'd originally left him, and Katherine led us over towards him once he entered her detection range. Annoyingly, no one else was as fast as us two, which meant it took frustratingly long to return to the scene of the action.

  "The vulnerable part we want to actually focus on is the upside down head part in the center." I pointed at the towering kraken, hoping the rest of them could understand what I meant. "The problem is reaching it. Their own strike specialist can hit it and do damage, but it heals way too quickly. We either need to cancel that regeneration or just hit it with way more firepower."

  That was typical when it came to fighting Anathema, of course, which was why the team composition was important in the first place. I then pointed at the dark, oily substance slicking the whole street. "That shit is supposed to be their sustained damage. Problem is, the guy who makes it can't throw it high enough to actually hit the main body." I then pointed at the five other Guardians darting in and out between its legs. "It's not entirely useless, because it's still working as a control element."

  I then focused on our own team members. "So here's what I'm thinking. Chloe doesn't have the same range limitation, which means we can start hitting it with sustained damage as soon as we move closer. That should help out their strike specialist. Kevin—I'm guessing there's not much you can do to hit the top half, right?"

  He shook his head. "Yeah, that's way too high. I need a solid surface to work with."

  I already knew that he could only attack through nonliving surfaces, so that was about what I expected. "That means we can actually use you for control and distraction. I imagine it won't like it if you start pinning those legs. If you can get spikes through a few of the feet, I imagine that will help out everyone else a lot."

  He nodded.

  I moved on to addressing Laurence, Katherine, and Maria. "Meanwhile, I'm thinking we can actually use Katherine here as bait. While all that's going on, what if she uses her power to get its attention and piss the thing off even more? Do you think you can do that?"

  Slowly, Katherine nodded. "I think so, yeah."

  "Great." I pointed at Laurence and Max. "That means we need people backing Katherine up. I figure that can be the three of us. Me and Max can be the bodyguards, basically and Laurence, you can focus on shielding the rest of us."

  Finally, I pointed at Maria. "And you can keep an eye out and rescue someone whenever it ends up going completely wrong."

  That was it. That was my plan. It was far from perfect, of course, and I was leaving out a major part of it. Specifically, I was planning on getting 'separated' and then climbing up one of the legs again. They didn't need to know that, though. I also was aware that other people might have better ideas, and I was genuinely open to hearing them. I'd sort of taken over for a moment there, and I didn't actually want to be the official leader or anything. That sounded like way too much work, if I were being honest.

  "Sounds solid," Maria said. "I don't have anything better."

  "Neither do I," Laurence said after a moment, "what does everyone think?"

  Everyone seemed to be in agreement, and we quickly started acting things out in accordance with my own tactical genius. "Watch out, this stuff isn't just slippery. It's super corrosive, too." I made sure to warn everyone about the nastiness of Oil Spill's stupid mess. Strangely, no one else seemed bothered by it.

  "Seems fine to me," Chloe remarked, and the others agreed.

  What the hell? I could definitely feel it sizzling and bubbling against my 'boots.' Why the hell is it—oh, come on. Is it because I'm an Anathema? That was the only explanation I could think of. Oil Spill must be able to limit his stupid ability to only affect Anathema. Fucking hell. While it wasn't a major problem for me in this instance, it was actually some seriously bad news. The fact that a random Tier 1's ability could automatically make such a distinction was more than a bit worrying. It made me realize I might need to be even more cautious among other 'Guardians' than I'd initially thought.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  It didn't take us long to reach the danger zone, so to speak, and that's where we split off. Kevin was already sending out a pulse of his teal light, and he, Chloe, and I split off from the rest of them to circle around the other side of the looming titan. That was a slight modification to the plan that we'd made during the final approach. Chloe and Kevin also needed some amount of protection, and I was quick to slot myself into that role.

  It was convenient because Chloe was going to end up in the same place I wanted to end up—namely, the central underside of the Tier 3 Anathema's main body. Ironically, activating her buoyancy and using the pull of her life-draining power to latch onto the underside itself was probably the safest place she could put herself, at least within the range where her power could effectively target it. "Damn," Kevin grunted from beside me. "This is one tough motherfucker."

  It didn't take me long to understand what he meant. His usual spikes were having trouble penetrating the rough, almost scaly surface of the titan's lower limbs.

  Meanwhile, Chloe was already midway through her ascent, and Glitterpuff's incessant, sparkly attacks were finally starting to make more progress now that Chloe was partially countering the regeneration. That being said, Chloe's ability alone wasn't visibly doing much. Being a Tier 3, the kraken was one effective tier higher than her, and like me, it was a stronger one. The titan's regeneration actually outpaced the withering effect her power usually had.

  That didn't make the effect useless, though—the damage the other team's strike specialist kept doing was now sticking around long enough that it was actually starting to accumulate. Chloe's power was acting as a constant regeneration sink that left the massive Anathema more vulnerable to other sources of damage. That alone was sending the titan into an even higher rage. I could tell just by its alien movements that the thing was no longer frustrated, but well and truly pissed.

  And that was before Katherine finally unleashed her own ability.

  I felt it when it happened. Much like with the horrible and irritating feeling she projected during our first incursion together, she must have targeted Anathema in general and not the kraken specifically. I was hit with it as well, and God was it unpleasant. For a precious few seconds, my vision seemed to darken and almost black out. A mote of primal fury kindled to life deep in my chest, and I had to grit my jaws and actively maintain my own focus.

  Doing my best to tune out the majority of the chaos, I latched onto the nearest leg and began to climb. Fuck you too, Katherine. I was really starting to rethink my decision to cuddle up with her. The disgusting, infuriating feeling she was projecting even overshadowed the sharp ache of my constant hunger. You know, I don't even care that it was my idea for you to do it in the first place. I am totally going to figure out another way to get you miserable and stressed out for this.

  Thoughts of beautiful, violent revenge kept me sane as I methodically stabbed my way up to the kraken's main body. The kraken itself was also going crazy, now—thrashing about wildly, it almost bucked me off several times without even trying. I was pretty sure it wasn't even paying attention to me right now. Good.

  By the time I made it to the top alongside Chloe, delicious fantasies tingled through my throat and made my teeth itch. In that moment, I experienced the most vivid and carnal fantasies in my entire life.

  I wasn't one for romance. I didn't really have romantic or sexual fantasies for the most part—sex itself could feel somewhat good, and there had been a few brief moments with guys where I felt this weird, unnatural thrill. It didn't last, though, and it was a fleeting, infrequent thing. Overall, I really just wasn't interested. Right now, though? Well, it certainly wasn't sexual, but it was probably the closest thing to real carnal drive and passion I'd ever felt.

  Even my Anathema hunger wasn't what I'd describe as bloodlust. It was just hunger. I wanted to eat things and stuff my face, and that just so happened to mean getting neck deep in gore at times. This, though? The hunger, the combat, and most of all, the horrible feeling Katherine continued to project—mixed together, I ended up almost literally blinded my the thought of sinking my claws deep into her flesh, of scrawling crimson lines across her pales skin, or just fucking crushing her throat or snapping her entire neck.

  But I wasn't going to do that. I was going to take down this stupid fucking titan, and then...

  Well, I'd figure it out when this was over.

  Katherine Legato

  Things started out well. With Chloe hampering the massive Anathema's regeneration, that other Guardian with the sparkly power started doing a lot of damage to it. Alex started climbing straight up one of the legs—which was just insane—and they'd quickly managed to distract the titan from the real threats.

  Unleashing her own ability had driven the giant Anathema crazy. So far, she hadn't been able to directly control Anathema. Even the most stubborn machines would at least listen to her in the most literal sense, and normal animals would sometimes respond with playfulness or cautious curiosity. Yet every Anathema she'd ever tried to touch with her spirit had rejected her outright. Virtually any attempt was met with some kind of cocktail of fear, confusion, hate, need, and just simple, unyielding aggression. It was nauseating.

  There was still at least a little bit she could work with there, though, and it wasn't too hard to project a feeling that boiled down to 'look at me, look at me, I'm shouting at you and think you suck, look at me.' It turned her into irresistible bait for any Anathema nearby, and this one was no exception. The towering monstrosity was kicked into a sudden frenzy, and it was absolutely mad.

  Suddenly ignoring everything else, the massive creature stomped towards her, Max, and Laurence. They were already backpedaling, of course, but the new, single-minded focus meant it was bearing down on them rapidly. "Uh, do you think we should—"

  Katherine interrupted them. "Run."

  They turned tail and ran.

  The massive Anathema thundered after them, twisting and flailing in pursuit. It's going to—without time to properly warn them, Katherine tackled the other two to the side. A colossal, ropy limb thicker than her own torso smashed down right where there path had been just moments ago. "Keep dodging!" All three of them rolled away in different directions, narrowly avoiding another limb that pummeled down against the pavement. The Anathema struck so hard, not only did the roadway crack, but it even smashed open the tip of its own tentacle.

  Fuck. Katherine realized she might have made it a little bit too angry. More slapping strikes rained down around them, and it was all Katherine could do to worry about her own survival through the next second. Her power could warn her to a degree, but it was a close thing, and she narrowly missed being completely pulped several times. She'd obviously stopped trying to enrage it, but the damage was already done. Where is everyone?

  It was hard to see what was even happening, now. Somehow, the safest place ended up being underneath the titan, but she still had to duck and roll and dodge constantly. Looking up, she tried to see if Alex and Chloe were still holding on up there. She didn't see any sign of Chloe—but she was just in time to witness Alex go flying off, having been bucked free by the Anathema's frantic motions. The other woman went crashing down to the ground a dozen or so yards away—well within smashing range of the titan's immense arms.

  A spike of horror stabbed through Katherine's gut. Everything's going wrong—it's all your fault—she's going to die—everyone's hurt—there's nothing you can—it's all—

  Panic threatened to overwhelm her, and it was all she could do to stand there, frozen.

  Ugh. Again? Seriously? I was starting to get majorly pissed off. Things were not going according to plan. Katherine must have overdone it, because the stupid kraken got so worked up that it threw me clean off its side without even trying. I was pretty sure Chloe had ejected a little bit before that, using her buoyancy to float up and a way to the safety of the open sky. I wasn't so lucky, and all I could do was try to hang on.

  I ended up failing at that, and now I was picking myself up off the pavement, once again battered and bruised. And angry.

  God was I pissed off. The frustration that came with trying to eat things discreetly, the irritation and humiliation that came from dealing with Oil Spill's stupid ability, the insult of being literally picked up and flung away like a piece of dirt, and then Katherine's stupid fucking bullshit? That heat continued to build in my chest. It burned, now, and I wanted blood. I wasn't even hungry—not hungry for food. I was hungry for spilled blood.

  This stupid fucking thing was winning, and most of all, that was what enraged me. Out of everything, it was the failure of my carefully constructed plan that ate at my insides. Failure like this wasn't acceptable. I wanted to win, Goddamn it, and it was just frustration after frustration. I am going to win. I don't care if everyone else dies. I am going to WIN.

  The titan was still flailing about wildly, and that would make it almost impossible to try climbing it again. Annoying. It was all so annoying. If I could just get up there, I could—I didn't even know. I wasn't thinking straight anymore. I wasn't even thinking. I just acted.

  Something shifted, and then I was running again, leaping, shoving off the ground and the air with too many limbs, soaring, flying—and then I was there, clutching onto the side of the kraken again. I needed to get underneath, but my other arms kept batting against the titan's arms where they joined up to the center, preventing me from crawling through the gap. Other arms—? What—ah, there we go. Hugging—no, folding them around me, I was able to slip through.

  Of course, that's when the stupid thing tried to grab me again. Wrapping around my legs, it tried to rip me away again—but I held on, if barely. It was strong. Stronger than me even, and it would soon rip my claws out of its own flesh if I let it continue. No. I won't allow it. I'd come too far for it to just do the same thing yet again, and that fury rampaging within my chest wanted a way out. I felt like if I kept trying to contain it, I would simply explode.

  So, just before the massive kraken could rip me free, I released it—all of it. Unhinging my great, metal jaws, I screamed in defiance—no.

  I roared.

  And with that roar came not just sound, but light—a brilliant, blinding beam of heat and light stabbed upwards through the heavens—and through the kraken in the way, as well. Within just a few seconds, the entire center had been reduced to char. The heat vanished, and I was overwhelmed with exhaustion.

  I wasn't even hunger. Just pure, aching exhaustion. I was falling—I hadn't let go, but the dead titan was falling, and me with it. I couldn't be bothered to do anything about it, though. I was tired, and I wanted to sleep. I had no idea where everyone else was, and I wouldn't be surprised if not all of them survived. Honestly, though.. I just hoped that at least Katherine made it out alive.

  Because, if something was ever actually going to kill her—well, I was going to be super pissed off if it was anything other than me.

  Spotify Playlist

  Discord Link