Taking a deep breath she steadied herself, then with a quick jerk, she pulled at the door. The exoskeleton magnified the force by several folds and a loud ‘pop’ sounded as the door’s bar was torn off. Scanning quickly the inside, the noise didn’t seem to attract any unwanted attention. The Hummer was just a few meters away. Nori slipped through the open door and hurried toward the vehicle.

The door opened easily, and she jumped into the driver seat.

Intense light washed over her from all sides, blinding her. Nori yelped in surprise and raised her hands to shield her eyes.

“Mind telling me what the hell you think you’re doing?” a deep voice sounded above her, followed by the sound of a cocking gun.

5 - Mechanics

“Hands up, or we’ll shoot,” the deep voice said.

Nori closed her eyes in frustration. She was so close. Even though firearms seemed mostly ineffective against the Warped, they could still harm her. She held the Disruptor below the dashboard, but with the intense lamps shining at her, she could barely open her eyes.

She smiled bitterly. It's ironic that after escaping death by the Warped for this long, I end up murdered by a human.

The door flew open and a large hand grabbed her by the shoulder. Nori felt herself being yanked out of the seat and thrown into the air. With her high agility, she was able to tuck in her head in time and roll with the momentum, mitigating what would otherwise have been a bone-shattering impact. She rolled up to her feet and held out the Disruptor, moving it from side to side while blinking her bleary eyes.

“What? You don’t like being in the spotlight?” There was a deep chuckle followed by several others and the man who grabbed her moved into view.

Nori clenched her teeth. “Bulco.”

“Hey, I know you,” the black man said in surprise. “You’re one of the brats who tried to steal my spaceship. What the hell are you doing here? You got a death wish or something? Where are the two other brats?”

Nori pointed her weapon straight at his head. “I’m the one with the gun, so forgive me if I refuse to answer. And I’ll be taking your car with me.”

The man crossed his thick arms, staring at her unafraid. “Am I supposed to be afraid of this shiny kids’ toy?”

Instead of answering, Nori moved her arm slightly to the side and fired. A beam of pure blue energy shot out, missing the man’s head by centimeters and hitting the wall behind him.