The explosion in the school parking lot sent shockwaves through the building. Students screamed as debris rained down from the shattered ceiling. Josh and Sasha exchanged a look of grim determination.
When they walked outside, they saw a chaotic nightmare. Cars were overturned, flames licked at twisted metal, and figures moved with a disturbing, inhuman precision. At the center of the destruction stood a woman unlike any Josh had ever seen. She was heavyset, with a powerful build, and her vibrant orange and purple jester outfit seemed to mock the devastation around her, expressing her greed and madness. In her right hand, she wielded a bizarre scepter topped with a disturbingly lifelike puppet replica of her own head and face. The puppet's eyes darted with manic energy, its mouth moving in sync with her own, distorted voice.
"Qun Via..." Josh mumbled in his head upon recognizing the woman. “An infamous C-rank villain who was renowned for pirating and ravaging villages and ships off the shores of the Caribbean, for the sake of amassing fortune and goods... But why the Hell would someone like her be blowing up cars in the freaking suburbs?”
Via wasn't alone. Swarming around her were dozens of spider-like machines with four thick, articulated limbs and a single, crimson eye that glowed with malevolent intent. Each drone was the size of a large dog, their metallic body sleek and deadly. Laser beams, intense and bright, shot from their crimson eyes, cutting swaths through the remaining school property. Josh recognized them from textbooks and online articles.
T4-drones.
Unlike previous models, which were mainly designed for transport, servants, and occasionally security, these later versions were made as weapons of war. Often employed by rogue militaries, ruthless personal armies, heavily armed cartels, and terrorist organizations.
"Welcome, students!" Via's voice boomed, amplified by the puppet's uncanny vocalizations. "Enjoying my little demonstration?" she asked in a condescendingly sweet and joyful tone. "For you see, I've come to this backwater school of yours to, and no pun intended, teach one of you brats a lesson in disrespecting one of my peers!" The mad Caribbean jester then flashed her wide grin to the trembling students and teachers. "So, are you going to come out and face your punishment like a big boy..." Her grin then stretched further. "Or do I have to take it out on all your dear acquaintances?"
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Seeing and hearing the threat, Josh, without hesitation, focused his Ki, channeled it into his right fist, and charged toward the nearest drone. He struck it with enough force to level a whole building as it shattered the concrete below it... But to his shock, the T4 didn't even register the hit. The only evidence of it getting struck was a faint shimmer around it.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, kid, but my T4s are protected," Via spoke out in mocking sympathy. "The force fields around my dear T4 babies can withstand well over six hundred tons worth of TNT. So, unless your meta-gene can generate a miniature nuke—and that is assuming you don't care about the collateral damage afterwards—I am afraid it's checkmate."
Josh cursed under his breath. “A force field? That explained the shimmer.” He dodged a barrage of laser fire, the beams searing the ground where he had stood moments before. He was fast, faster than he had ever been, a skill honed in the life-or-death battles of Alleran. Yet the T4s were relentless, their movements precise and coordinated as they tried to overwhelm him.
"I have to admit, given your strength and agility, I can see how you managed to take that reptilian brute down," Via commented, her puppet-like head tilting with a disturbing curiosity. "Shame my employers are so set on seeing you dead..." She then chuckled, and her puppet-headed staff mimicked her. "But then again, I never had any problems crushing would-be heroes like you!"
Josh dodged another laser blast, narrowly avoiding his head. He couldn't help but make a joke in this situation. "Your employers? Are you his mommy or something?"
Via’s eyes widened with manic glee. “Hardly. Even my bountiful womb wouldn’t accept that ugly lizard, let alone spawn him… but I doubt yours will look any better when my actual baby boys are done with you."
He realized he was at a severe disadvantage. His usual tactics, his enhanced strength and speed, were useless against these machines. He was pretty sure he could break through the shields anyway, but the problem was the aftermath. Such a... well, nuclear-level attack would endanger not only his friends and classmates but also who knows how many innocent people.
What troubled Josh the most was how Qun Via got such a powerful force field installed. Most standard issues, even on the black market, could only block up to machine-gun rounds or cannon fire from tanks at best, not full-on nuclear strikes. He needed a new approach, and fast. After a quick thought, he smiled. He knew exactly what to do.
As another volley of lasers flew past him, Josh reached into his hammerspace pocket, his fingers brushing against the familiar, smooth surface of the Philosopher's Stone. He pulled out the stone, its crimson surface pulsing with a faint energy, and then, with a flick of his wrist, he produced several small vials, each filled with a different colored liquid, their contents shimmering with latent potential.
