Biological Supercomputer System

"We must slow them down!"

"What do you suggest?!" Emily asked, ducking to avoid a mana bullet that scorched the air where her head had been moments before.

"Try using your powers to shoot at them! They will be forced to evade, and that gives us precious seconds!"

"What about you?"

"Just pick me up!"

June then shapeshifted into a bird again and spread his wings to be carried. He didn't want to fly away, albeit it would have been good to find help. He was too scared to leave her, and her dying, if he did.

June wouldn't actually be that useful even if he remained, but his worry didn't allow him to leave.

Emily veered to the right, taking a sharp turn down a narrow side street. The Vindicators adjusted their course, their boots scraping against the pavement.

One of the Vindicators raised his arm, the metallic plating of his armor glinting as he took aim. His eyes narrowed behind his visor. He squeezed the trigger, sending a burst of mana bullets streaking through the air.

<That was close!>

She didn't even know how she avoided that. Maybe luck just played a part in that. There was no doubt, though, that if the bullet hit her, she would have been dead.

<I need to do something...>

The alley had given her an idea. The problem was that she was already out of it, and to do what she had in mind, she needed another alley.

The good thing about it was that even if her plan didn't work, at least she might be able to injure them enough to make them desist from chasing.

Here was the problem, though. These guys were Vindicators, and it didn't matter what Emily did. They would still chase her. Besides, these guys didn't use their brain crystal power yet, and she had no idea what they could do.

She ducked into an alley, the clone following overhead. The narrow passage forced their pursuers to slow down, unable to maintain their speed in the confined space.

Emily activated her Time Freeze brain crystal power. The world crawled around her-dust motes hung in the air, the Vindicators' movements reduced to a glacial pace. She raised her weapon, channeling mana into each shot of her brain crystal rifle.

The barrage erupted—a stream of mana bullets hung in the air for what Emily would have said for many seconds. She watched them slice through the slowed time, then get out of her range and crawl down to the world's speed.

The frontmost Vindicator's hand moved. Somehow, he got enough reaction speed to notice the mana bullets as soon as they left Emily's range. He was still slow in Emily's perception, but faster than any normal human was outside of her power's effects. Light coalesced in his hands, forming a brilliant blade of what the young woman assumed was coalesced and materialized light.

Emily's eyes widened as the Vindicator's sword carved through the first of her mana bullets. The shots split cleanly in two, the halves dissipating into sparkles of energy.

<Light powers,> Emily thought.

These were rare brain crystal powers, and for good reason. Like lightning, light-based attacks moved faster than anyone could perceive. Only Vex had been able to avoid those kinds of attacks when Erik used them, while the others could only create protections.

The difference between her and Vex was that she didn't know how to use her powers well enough to accomplish the same feat.

Emily wasn't sure how Vex had managed during the battle on Maynard Island. Though she had seen him move incredibly fast, her experience with the same power suggested he must have only slowed time down-and even then, light would still move swiftly. RàƝο𐌱Ɛṩ

This meant the Vindicator was likely avoiding attacks through expert positioning and careful strategy. His mastery allowed him to use his powers efficiently, perhaps slowing time just enough to dodge incoming attacks.

There was no way to know that, but Emily knew well that bridge had already burned for her, since she had to use a lot of mana just to survive and escape these guys.

There was also another difference between them. Vex was not alone. When fighting against a beast like Erik, he relied on his comrades, something she couldn't currently do.

Besides, while there were ways to stop lightning, there was no known way to stop light. <Things would only get worse if the Vindicator has some kind of ranged attack-energy beams, and something like that.> She couldn't risk finding out.

Time still moved like molasses around her as she grabbed June. The clone's wings folded against her grip, but he was unable to understand what was happening. Everything was simply too fast for the clone.

Emily pumped more mana into her neural links, pushing her Time Freeze more, but also increasing the mana drain on her reserves. She needed every fraction of a second she could get if she wanted to escape.

She sprinted down the alley. The Vindicators followed, but their movements were still much slower than those of the young woman.

The light sword still gleamed in the lead pursuer's hand. Then she left them behind. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Maintaining the Time Freeze brain crystal power was hard, but she couldn't release it yet. Not until they gained enough distance.

The surrounding buildings passed in a blur as Emily raced forward. From her perspective, she moved at her normal running speed while everything else appeared frozen in time.

The world took on an eerie slowness, like a 0.057 video, while to any observers she would appear as nothing more than a lightning-fast streak through the streets. The stark contrast between her fluid movement and the motionless environment reminded her of just how powerful her Time Freeze ability was.

She clutched June closer, protecting him from the whiplash of her acceleration. The clone remained still, unable to even understand what was going on.

The alley opened onto a wider street. Emily knew they were going to be exposed, but the straight shot to their destination might be worth the risk. The alternative meant more turns, meaning more chances for the Vindicators to attack.

<I should be far enough...>

Her Time Freeze shuddered again. The world sped up around her as her power waned. Then it

stopped.

June found himself pressed against Emily's chest, disoriented and confused after the sudden burst of speed. His small size made it also difficult to get his bearings, and the world around him seemed to have changed completely in just a few seconds.

"What the... Where are we?"

"I had to improvise a little!"

"Ok, but where are we exactly? I can't recognize any of these buildings after that sudden burst

of speed," June said.

"We are closer! That's the important thing!"

Emily maintained a brave face, but fear gripped her chest. Her hands trembled, and her heart

pounded against her ribs.

Fighting two Vindicators alone was dangerous-even with her Time Freeze power.

Besides, a storm of thoughts was going on in her mind. What if the others weren't done yet?

What if they already left, searching for her? What if they didn't find her and she ended up

killed, or worse, captured, by these two guys?

She paused. "June! Go search for the others!"

"What? I can't leave you alone!"

"June!" She shouted. "Sorry, but you are slowing me down! Besides, the faster we find the

others, the faster we can get out of this mess!"

Despite the harsh words, the clone knew she was right. With a nod, June spread his wings and launched himself from her arm. He quickly gained altitude, soaring straight up into the clear

sky to search for their companions.

<Almost there,> she thought. <Just a little further.>

Emily could scale the building to find the others, as June did. The problem was that it would

give way to her position. She couldn't allow that.

The Vindicators' heavy boots thundered against the pavement behind her, their metallic footsteps growing faster and closer with each passing second. However, now that June wasn't there anymore, she could increase her speed a little.

<Damn! They are already here!>

Emily could practically feel their presence behind her.

The building loomed ahead, its brick walls just fifty meters away. Emily's heart raced-if Amber and the team had completed their mission, if they were searching the area for her right now, she only needed to survive for some other minutes. Just some minutes of running, dodging, and staying ahead of these Vindicators.

She stumbled but kept her footing and kept running. Then she reached the building and

jumped up.

"Ye-"

A beam of light cut through the air where her head had been a moment before. Emily ducked instinctively, rolling in mid-air to maintain her momentum, but lost the chance to grab something. She started falling down. The Vindicator really had a ranged attack ability-

exactly what she'd feared.

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