The Perfect Combination #1

Chapter 9: Marvie

A huge blast came from beneath Marvie, which made the ground shake, surrounding Marvie in an inescapable cloud of smoke and chaos.

At first, she was frozen in a panic. Then her instinct kicked in, and she began running, flapping her wings to clear out the smoke in front of her and ease her jump as she fought through the rubble. 

The whole landscape had changed around her, so she had to reorient herself. It seemed that whatever exploded had been planted outside the building as the building seemed to hold up pretty well. 

"Updates? Anyone hurt? Any info?" She called through her telecommunicator to the other Crimsons. She was seeking any affirmations of life, safety, and success in their mission. While running, she suddenly remembered that she wasn't supposed to, instead keeping track of the mission's progression from afar, but it was too late now, and she needed to know that her Crimsons were alive. 

She was willing to take whatever punishment might befall her for this later, protocol be damned.

All seemed hopeless during all the destruction, though soon she heard a cough coming from the slab of concrete beneath her. She rushed over to find Tevanna and Neo under it. 

"Are you okay?" she said, standing in front of them. 

Neo answered, looking up at her, "Yeah, this concrete blanket is keeping us real cozy," but his words were shortly followed by a wince from Tevanna.

"I think I twisted my ankle." Neo shot her a concerned glance, but didn't say anything.

"Well, before we can do anything about that we have to get you out; is there a side of the slab that doesn't have any of your body parts under it?"

Neo answered Marvie while to his right, "Yeah, my side".

Well, okay then. Marvie took a deep breath while formulating a plan.

"Tevanna, you lift with me until there's enough space for you to hand me your gun. Neo, when there's room for it, brace your arms and legs against it to help." They answered with nods, before Marvie started lifting with all her might. The slab moved slowly but steadily, and soon she received Tevanna's gun.

"Okay Tevanna, now it's your turn to hold it up." Marvie released the slab as soon as she felt the weight disappear from her grasp. She set her own and Tevanna's guns on high edge to support the slab. When it's secure, she stepped away and signaled for Tevanna to let go, too. 

"Now comes the hard part," she said.

"Now?" Neo said, a little short of breath, just like her.

"Yes, now. Tevanna, can you crawl out without help?"

"I can try." She started crawling out though it went slowly, it went. Many movements were followed by winces and her whole body trembled with effort. Her powers were not much help right now. 

When she was out, Marvie helped her up, as Neo followed her, and soon they were both up, or well, Tevanna was sitting. Marvie bandaged her up as best she could with their emergency kits, putting a brace on her ankle, but she was out for now and would need medical attention when they got back to base. If they got back to base. 

Marvie shook the thought from her head as she dug in her bag until she found their temporary bomb shelters. The research department had developed them only a few years ago, but they were highly effective, against nearly all forms of attacks. It built a bubble around you with air filters and navigation.

"Tevanna, get in and find out if there are any more who are hurt, and signal me if there are. Neo, you are coming with me." She wrestled the guns from under the slab and slings one to her back while handing the other to Neo.