The Monarch Effect

Chapter 12: A Flashy Introduction

Chapter 12

Oh, the money my future therapist will make off me. The emotional therapy will last years, but if I act now, maybe I can save on physical...

My mental state may be diminished, but maybe I can at least save my physical state.

I push her back as hard as possible, but she doesn't budge an inch. As my body begins to scream for air, my attempts to get free devolve into fleeting pathetic little slaps against whatever my hands can land on.

"Varialax..." I manage to whisper in a raspy voice. "Hel..."

The grip on my neck begins to get tighter. I see a prompt appear before me, but her grip tightens before I can read it. I croak out a yes, hoping for anything but death at this point.

The familiar green squares appear on my arms just as my consciousness begins to slip. As my vision gets blurry, I give one last shove with my now green and white arm.

A great relief washes over me as I fall to the ground with my arm automatically moving and catching me. Now kneeling with one hand on the ground, I feel a rush of air enter my mouth everytime I breathe. As my vision comes back, I notice my body is fully armored once again. I also notice the purple powder from earlier sparkling all over me.

"What are... why aren't you..." I hear the raspy voice infront of me. The girl looks at me with raised eyebrowss that turn into a contorted manner. "What sort of sorcery is this? Did Wissen..."

As I slowly stand up, my hands move on their own. The green squares start to form in the space around my armored hands.

APC9K

FLAMETHROWER

My eyes widen as a smaller submachine gun appears in my right hand while a giant flamethrower appears in my left. My mouth gawks and my mind races as Varialax raises both of my arms, pointing at that assassin.

Her eyes narrow as she lowers herself to the ground, striking a menacing pose.

"W-WAIT!" I scream as Varialax locks on. "M-mam, we d-don't have to- VARIALAX, DON'T KILL HER!!"

INTERPRETING....

APC9K (RUBBER VER)

BALLISTIC SHIELD LEVEL IV + FLASH

The squares briefly appear and disappear over the gun's magazine while the flamethrower completely vanishes and is replaced with an imposing riot shield.

But as I argue with Varialax, I notice the woman has completely vanished. The machine snaps my head up, revealing the assassin on the ceiling looking down at me. A reticle appears on her as Varialax snaps my arm at her.

Even with full auto, Varialax only gets a few shots off before she latches onto me in the blink of an eye! How is she this fast? It's like she's... blinking somehow?

The assassin gives a flurry of ferocious punches, making me glad I'm wearing armor. It's not hurting Varialax, but I can still feel forces traveling through my body. I might bruise after this...

Varialax snaps my arms to grab her, but she maneuvers herself to where she's on top of my neck, using her legs to snap my neck. Varialax is having none of that as my hands finally reach her and throw her with tremendous force, only for her to land on the wall with her two feet sticking there.

My arms shoot up in time before the submachine gun unleashes a hail of bullets, only for the assassin to vanish again. Shots and ricochets echo throughout the room as my body whips repeatedly, trying to land a single hit.