A/N: Chapter 4's a shortie, but i needed some transition stuff to help further along the plot. I'm not gunna lie. Right now I don't have much but as I write, its starting to cook up rather nicely. But I do have a general idea where this story is gunna go. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter! Next up is an update for What if: Redux! Also I intend to do some doodles of the armor/guards dipicted in this chapter :3 be sure to watch my DA for those!

"Hey Dizz, wake up over there."

The woman in question, Dizz, snapped awake and grunted, waving a gloved hand before adjusting her goggles. Suddenly a fist nailed her in the shoulder and she nearly fell out of her chair.

"What's the big idea, Gald?" She stared intently at his masked face, features obscured by a masked helmet with crimson red lenses over the eyes. All over he wore plates of silver armor with red markings. The markings on her armor were white.

"Sleeping on the job again? Wont catch any crims' with your eyes shut. Oh- and its Commander Gald to you, Lieutenant." Gald said in a mock serious tone, but the sarcasm and joking nature was obvious.

"We're in the Old Palace district- No one commits crimes here." She retorted, voice filtered by her own mask. Aside from her voice, it was fairly difficult to tell who was male or female. The two raised fists and pounded knuckles.

"Oh? Is that so? What about that guy?" He pointed to an older gentleman, strutting down the street and tossing the wrapper from his snack onto the ground. "Littering. Or her-" Lanes of zommer traffic passed idly below along one of the major roads, and from their guard post above the buildings, they could see almost the entire city- at least what wasn't consumed in smog and the evening's haze, or the ever present silhouette of the new Palace. A woman on a zoomer was going much faster than the other drivers, many swerving to avoid being hit as she dove in and out of traffic. "Speeding."

"Petty crap." She shrugged, shouldering her rifle that had been set next to her. "We haven't had a major crime in years."

"Keep taking your job so lightly and the folks up top might notice." Gald then plopped down onto the old chair, his own baton-rifle laid across his lap.

"I'll take my chances. Oh did you hear about Dalma and Runo? They got let go, exiled for bullshit reasons, along with a bunch of other Guards. Somethin' about treason. I say bullshit."

"Wait- Really? Why didn't I hear about this?" Gald suddenly seemed quite taken aback and went ridged.

"Guess being a Commander don't mean squat these days. That whack-job on the throne is even worse than Praxis and his slut of a daughter."

"That 'whack-job' signs your paycheck, Dizz. Might want to pay a little respect." Gald sighed, idly stroking the barrel of his rifle. "Anyways get going. Shift change."

"Ya ya, See ya tomorr-" Before she could finish her words, a fireball rose violently into the air several blocks away as the city's very foundation shook, setting off alarms on zoomers for miles. Then came screaming from below. "What the hell?!"

"I don't know, but sound the alarm!" Gald would've made a grab for the switch himself, but Dizz was closer. She threw herself at the wall, broke the cover and threw the switch up. All across the district, klaxons wailed. Their helmet radios were alive with chatter, most of it incomprehensible through the static and flurry of voices.

"They're calling all nearby reinforcements to Sector 8." Dizz said, as if Gald hadn't possessed his own radio.

"No shit Sherlock, Lets go!"

Things at street level were completely out of hand. Smoke had filled the streets, making passage nearly impossible by zoomer which caused multiple accidents as the situation escalated. Civilians attempting to flee from the explosions unknowingly trampled those unable to move as quickly. Despite arriving by cruiser, they were forced to park to avoid the congested air space and the lower hover zone wasn't much better.

"What was that about no major crimes?" Gald shouted over the roar of the crowds while barely dodging a frightened woman rushing past, and Dizz shot him an angry glare, which was immediately nullified by her mask.

"Not quite what I meant!"

Another guard in plain unmarked armor was fast approaching from the direction of the explosion. Gald stepped in his way and the man came to a grinding halt. Seeing the red stripes on Gald's armor, the man immediately saluted.

"Commander, Sir!" He said shakily before Gald dismissed him and he dropped the formalities. All around, small fires burned in piles of debris, though the bulk of the damage seemed limited to one area- the remains of a passing fuel-carrier which now laid in pieces all across the intersection. A few human corpses lay amidst the destruction., many charred beyond recognition.

"Mind explaining whats going on, Recruit?"

"Roughly five minutes before the explosion, one of the patrols encountered a woman stealing from a shop. Reports are sketchy- we haven't be able to compile an appropriate description yet!" He said in one breath so quickly that he winded himself.

"Get on that, but do we at least know which direction the assailant fled?" Gald set a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder and he seemed to loosen up some.

"U-Uhh, North, I believe." He flustered, as if his brain couldn't move fast enough. "Yeah, Nor-"

Just then, another plume of fire rose angrily into the sky a quarter of a mile north of their location. It wasn't nearly as massive as the first, but its shock wave still shook the city at its roots. Overhead the sirens still blared, and soon the surrounding sectors sounded theirs until a quarter of the city was placed under alert.

With an authoritative pat on the back, Gald took off in the direction, followed by Dizz and the recruit. They battled against the throngs of people until they came upon the second site. Smoke made visibility difficult, but gunfire rang out as the smoke pulsed reddish yellow with the light from muzzle flashes.

"Standard issue rifle." Gald said under his breath, words amplified by the build in microphone within his helmet. "Whoever the attacker is, they're not firing back."

Suddenly everything fell silent. The screaming civilians were long gone and only the omnipresent howl of the alarms loomed. Then just as quickly as the silence had come, it was broken by a blood curdling scream and the smoke was parted by a flying object. Dizz sidestepped and narrowly avoided being caught by the flying body of a fellow guard. His chest armor had been burned clean through, and he was screaming as his flesh seared.

Then more gunfire, and another scream, but this time like an angry apparition.

"Get back!" The voice screamed. "Or I'll fry all of'ya!"

A gust of wind barreled through the streets, taking with it much of the smoke until finally enough cleared for Gald and Dizz to see the assailant.

Roughly fifty feet away stood a dark skinned woman, half-dressed in scraps of red fabric and leather, with dark knee-high boots and a wide array of unusual jewelry. Her dark hair had been pulled back into dreads, and on one hand she wore a glove with metal claws. The most peculiar feature of all were her short rounded ears.

"Freeze!" Gald shouted, raising his rifle. Dizz and the recruit followed suite.

The woman laughed and grinned a little too wide. "Oooh man I wish Cole was here to see 'dis..." Then fire wicked up her arms as she took slow, even paces forward. "If its a fight you want, then its a fight you get, Bring it!"

With inhuman strength, the woman leaped high into the air.

A/N: Angry swamp queen..

See you next chapter!