Chapter 29:

Katherine screamed. Gua soldiers were shooting at them. Three marked black vans followed them in attack formation. She knew Mabus was in South Park. She knew he wanted his hosts back. She wouldn't let it happen. She couldn't take another possession and Katherine was only a child. She didn't deserve to suffer under Mabus as she had.

Katherine's screams and force field powers sent at least one van flying. It rolled three times before crashing into a light post. She didn't care about damage to the city. Her main priority was protecting her family and destroying the anti Christ Mabus.

She ducked when bullets flew through the back window. The kids huddled on the floor for safety.

"Holy crap!" her husband exclaimed as she swerved to avoid oncoming traffic. "These guys don't quit!"

She caught a glimpse of Human Kite as he aimed his eye lasers at one of the vans. Mosquito sent a swarm after the other car. The Gua fled their vehicles even though they were still hurtling down the road at top speed as mosquitoes swarmed their car.

Gua vanished as if they never existed in the first place once her police department shot soldiers trying to escape the swarm.

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Everything happened quickly. She didn't even know how she got home. She was horrified and fell to her knees when she noticed the front of her house had been shot up. The windows were broken from the outside and the front door was riddled with bullet holes and swinging from one hinge. Shell casings littered her front porch and outdoor furniture was smashed and broken.

"Oh god!" Her husband panicked. The cops and the Freedom Pals volunteered to check if it was safe to go inside. They didn't know if soldiers or even Mabus himself were in the house. It could be a trap.

"Annie!" She didn't bother to wait until the police cleared the house to enter. She rushed inside because not only had she left her younger children behind with Annie and Keisha watching over them President Garrison was still at the house under a protection detail. If Mabus had succeeded in capturing the President the work they'd done to unite the planet was all for nothing and Mabus may as well have already won.

"Keisha?"Alexander followed her into the house obviously concerned for the welfare of his wife and his own children. "Keisha? Kylie? Rosie?"

Her living room was trashed. Broken furniture was strewn across the room, broken glass crunched underfoot and family photos she had displayed on the walls had fallen to the floor. It looked like a bomb hit it. Almost all of her possessions had been destroyed in what was obviously a shootout between Gua soldiers and President Garrison's secret service. Panic increased when she spotted two dead secret service agents.

"Keisha?" Alex shouted. She followed him when he rushed towards the basement.

She hoped they were hiding. She couldn't take it if they had been captured.

"Annie?" She remained behind her husband as he and Alex stood by the basement door with guns drawn. Everyone was on edge since they didn't know what they were going to find.

"Mayor?" Katherine was as nervous as she was. The kid had turned pale and her Freedom Pal friends had to help her sit down before she fainted from shock.

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He still had access to some of the bioengineered human husks he needed for the invasion. It wasn't anywhere near the original number he wanted. Most of them had been destroyed and he still couldn't contact Gua forces in other countries to gain access to international resources. Despite this he marched most of them into Washington to take over the White House during the President's absence. His impatience grew as he still hadn't heard back from the team he'd deployed to find the President and the hosts.

When he was sure no one would interfere with the army he'd set up at the White House he returned to South Park. He knew Mary McDaniels was trying to link with him to gain information on his whereabouts. He responded in kind since he could probe her mind for information on her location. He didn't have to worry so much about the brat because he knew she would be with Mary McDaniels.

"DON'T BLOCK ME!" He roared with frustration when he realised he couldn't access her mind as easily as he thought he could. The minute he was able to calm down he thought it was necessary to try to get the information from Katherine Holloway. She was considerably weaker than Mary McDaniels and would be easier to break because of this. A smug smirk broadened across his decaying face.

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"What the fuck happened here?" She asked when she finally found her family along with the President and a few remaining secret service agents alive and huddled in the basement.

"I thought it was a racoon." President Garrison was shitting himself. He sat in the corner rocking back and forth trembling with fear. "That wasn't a racoon."

"No shit!" Annie explained the situation. The Gua attacked the house. When they couldn't find her or Katherine they decided to take the kids to lure her out of hiding. "They said they could get to you by using us as bait."

"We don't have any bullets left." Peterson explained. She had wondered why three Gua vans were parked outside her house and there was no sign of any soldiers.

"Did you get all of them?" She asked frantically. She hoped none had escaped. She didn't want any stragglers getting back to Mabus. He'd already drained her by trying to probe her mind.

"K-Katherine?" Annie ignored her question and notice Katherine looked unwell. "Are you okay kid?"

The kid slumped against the wall. "I don't feel so good."

She worried it could trigger a seizure. She still didn't trust the hospital and suspected it was crawling with Gua. At least they had Keisha and Annie – both had medical training – to help treat Katherine if it were.

"My head hurts!" Katherine could barely focus. She looked like she would throw up. Her face turned green as she clutched her stomach. "I'm going to hurl."

Freedom Pals standing next to Katherine backed away so they were out of range if she were to vomit.

"You have to shut him out." She realised what was happening the minute Katherine told her she could hear a scary voice in her head. Mabus was trying to probe the kid's mind for information. "Think of something else. Anything. It doesn't matter, just block him."

Katherine screamed and pulled out strands of blue hair in frustration and fear. "S-shut up! Leave me alone!"

"What's going on Mayor?" Mysterion asked with concern.

"He just tried this with me." She explained. "I was able to block him. He's trying to find out where we are."

Katherine fainted. Blocking Mabus had drained her. She picked her up and carried her to Annie's old room upstairs. It was one of the few rooms of the house that hadn't been destroyed during the gun fight.

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"Aw! They didn't!" She didn't know what President Garrison was clamouring about until she looked at the TV. Surprisingly it wasn't destroyed during the shootout.

"What is it now?" She had only just started cleaning the mess the Gua soldiers left behind while they were trying to find a way to lure Mabus out of hiding. They had the means to destroy him but Mabus was nowhere to be found. Police and even secret service agents volunteered to search the town.

"They took over the white house." Garrison turned the volume up on the TV. According to the news report the White House was occupied by an unknown army who waited for the President to return.

"I thought we got all the husks." She was stunned and almost fainted. Mabus was toying with her. He might be weaker but he was still determined to conquer the planet.

"I could launch a missile." Garrison sipped a can of beer. He had no qualms about blowing up the White House. Garrison held the football protectively in his lap. "It's probably the last few soldiers left."

She slumped in Barbrady's recliner chair. "I just want this to end. I can't take it anymore!" She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't care that everyone could see.

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She heard the panic downstairs. The Mayor was right. Mabus had to be destroyed. She knew where to find him since he had unwittingly given her his location. She changed into costume and stashed the dagger in her belt. She hoped no one would notice since she was supposed to be resting in bed. She didn't remember fainting or having another seizure. She felt weak, but Mabus was weak too and it was the best time to get it over with. She just wanted the nightmares to stop and she hoped that getting rid of Mabus would give her some peace.

She quickly made up her bed to make it look like she was still sleeping before she teleported from the manor house.