Chapter Three: The Attack
It was lucky Lisa had been clinging to the gate when she activated her invisibility again, otherwise, she would have dropped into the water. These clothes were heavy enough; she didn't need them waterlogged.
From up the tunnel came splashing and crashing so loud it caused the Phantom to look up. The right side of his face was covered by a white mask and his black hair was slicked back. He didn't look half bad, Lisa thought.
The Phantom went to the gate, looking straight through Lisa's invisible body, searching for the source of the sounds.
Lisa turned and saw a man, looking as if he'd fallen into the water completely, heading for the gate and carrying a gun. Lisa tensed, but the Phantom just stood with his arms crossed there at the edge of the lake, seemingly unafraid. Even his mind was calm.
"Welcome, monsieur," he said. "M. Lefevre has sent another to get rid of me, I see. I believe he's forgotten what happened to the last one." He picked up a rope from one of the statues. The end was tied into a noose. "How did you like my trap doors? I designed them specially to make it difficult to make it this far. I commend you on your persistence."
Trap doors? Lisa thought. Plural?
The assailant poked the barrel of the gun through one of the holes in the gate. "I assure you, monsieur, I am an excellent marksman."
"Of that, I have no doubt," said the Phantom. "I should think Lefevre would want his money's worth. However, if I alter my position slightly, your aim will be off."
"I do not need to enter there to shoot you," said the assailant. He started walking up and down the gate, adjusting his aim. Lisa heard a click and a creak and, suddenly, the gate started to slide upward. He must have tripped an outside switch.
Lisa panicked when the gate started its slow ascent. She had to move and move quickly. What she was about to do probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but she had to otherwise she'd be trapped or squished, whichever.
Below, the Phantom moved to a lever, most likely to close the gate, but the assailant was too quick. The two struggled, the Phantom trying to keep the gun from pointing at him.
Concentrating with everything she had, she both cut the invisibility and shape-shifted into a fish. Luckily, the two men below were too distracted to see her plop into the water. There, she rested for a few moments, gathering strength for what she had to do next. Flipping her tail, she breached the water and landed, flopping, on the shore. She shifted back before she could suffocate.
When she got her normal eyes back, she turned to the sparring pair. The assailant was gaining the upper hand, pushing the gun barrel towards the Phantom's chest. Lisa couldn't stand there and do nothing any longer. She tried to use her telekinesis to pull them apart or knock the gun out of their hands, but she didn't have the strength due to the combination of powers she'd been using.
The two men managed to twist themselves around each other, the assailant putting the Phantom in a sort of headlock. The Phantom, however, managed to slip away, although he knocked off the mask, taking the wig he was also wearing with it.
The assailant caught sight of the Phantom's face, eyes wide. The Phantom took that momentary hesitation to wrap the noose around the other man's neck. Choking, the assailant fired his gun, the shots going wild. Lisa herself flung herself out of the way of one.
Both men fell to the ground at the same time, the assailant dead and the Phantom unconscious. It was over.
End chapter three.