Broken Stride

Blood in the Water

Cassian glanced around at the three newcomers as he rubbed at his nose. It was definitely going to bruise but it wasn't broken. He hadn't expected his leg to snap like that though—wait shit! His leg! Where—?

Cassian whipped around in search of the lost appendage, spotting it quickly—fuck. Of course, it would be just his luck for it to land next to the villain behind him; some teen with a scarf and gauntlets.

He glanced between the metal and the villain, only to realize all four of them were staring at him.

'Well, shit.'

"Are you listening, kid? Hey! I asked you a question!" Driver frowned, an aura of annoyance around them as they pocketed their weapon.

"I wasn't listening, no," Cassian replied plainly, shifting backward slightly. If he could just get ahold of his leg he could escape with [Shadow Dash] before any of the other villains would have a chance to attack. He'd signed up to fight one crazed murderer—not four.

"I asked you why you attacked me—" the purple-clad villain folded their arms—" do you have some problem with me? If so, I'd much rather we talked about it instead of fighting."

"Oh, well I wanted to try fighting someone strong—you were in a convenient spot," Cassian shrugged. "Plus, I heard you've been killing people so I can't exactly let you run free anyway."

At his words, a choked laugh came from the white-haired man standing behind Driver; he was quickly silenced with a smack from the woman clad in black.

"Uh, yeah, that's not me."

"Do you have proof it's not you?"

Driver scratched their chin thoughtfully for a moment before shaking their head.

"Well then—" Cassian tensed as a sudden sharp pain shot through his skull.

"Got you now, you bastard!"

Cassian turned at the sound to find the villain with the scarf inches away, fists raised to attack. Before his brain even had time to process what was happening, he'd grabbed the villain by the offending arm and launched him full force at the wall. The villain slumped to the ground, unconscious from the impact.

There was a low whistle from Driver as Cassian fell back on his hands. He pressed a palm against his eye, rubbing it slightly in a fruitless attempt to relieve the pressure building behind it. Everything was spinning.

"You feel dizzy, right?" Cassian glanced up at Driver, who was grinning down at him—" Not surprising. I'm surprised you got as far as you did with your measly 300 magic points."

"Only 300?!" The woman with the hat—(who had previously been attempting to stare daggers at him from over Driver's shoulder)—suddenly looked intensely interested.

"That's a 'D' level at best, though!" The white-haired man exclaimed, head moving from one villain to the other.

Driver shrugged with a small chuckle," it's been known to happen. Magic points don't always determine a fight. I think that much is clear after fighting you once, kid."

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Cassian tried to protest—sure Gangu may have only been 18, but he'd been 26 as a Psyker damn it! He wasn't gonna stand for some 12-year-old calling him a kid!

Driver ignored him—turning their attention instead to the weapon they'd pulled from their pocket. They opened a small hatch on the handle and pulled out a small, golden diamond, holding it up triumphantly.

"You know what this is, right?" Driver grinned, tossing it at Cassian.

Cassian expertly caught it (and definitely didn't nearly drop it). Did this prick think he was stupid? Of course, he knew what a magic stone was.