Character death.
Enjoy.
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The gunshot missed Mike by a mile, the result of the Titan not having paused to fully aim. Similarly, Nanaba's lightning missed another Titan as they overbalanced and stumbled. Both sides were forced to regroup, as neither could get an advantage over the other. Mike and Nanaba dodged bullets as they sprinted for a pillar –Nanaba throwing lightning near but not at them – trying to avoid hitting Marco. In the relative safety of the space behind the pillar, Mike and Nanaba tried to figure out how to handle the situation.
"So, got anything for me?" A bullet hit the pillar and scattered chipped concrete, and Nanaba shot her hand out quickly to shoot lightning in the Titans' direction.
"Just a bad feeling in my gut."
"Huh, I wonder why?" Mike sighed deeply at Nanaba's flippant attitude.
"Nanaba, I'm really uncomfortable with this whole situation. I've never been this blind on an operation before."
"I know, I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand lightly and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm used to not having you with me, so your premonition is an added bonus. Not having it right now doesn't really change much for me."
"I know but -" Mike cut himself off and the both of them tensed at the sound of fresh clips being loaded. "This shouldn't be the norm for you."
"Hush. We've had this argument before and I'm not having it again while we're being shot at. We can discuss your protective instincts when we're out of this mess and we have - ah!" She pushed Mike's head lower as another gunshot rang out and hit the pillar, shattering off another part of the cement. Nanaba quickly retaliated, throwing another bolt of lightning in the direction of the gunfire.
"We need to move. This pillar isn't going to hold out forever."
"I can't throw lightning around willy-nilly. I'm not holding back and I don't want to hit Marco."
"Take it down a notch?"
"Mike. They are shooting at us. I'm not setting my lightning to stun."
"And you're also worried about hitting Marco. Fuck." A gunshot hit the already pitted and weakened pillar and a chunk of cement went flying. Mike pulled Nanaba up and they ran to another pillar ten feet away. They crouched again, panting. "Even a little static is going to make them pause. I'm starting to be able to smell again and they're afraid of something. Not sure what though."
Nanaba gave him a curt nod and was about to send a weaker jolt of electricity out when a loud rumbling filled the room, causing everything to vibrate. A large chunk of cement fell from the ceiling, sending dust flying.
"They're blind, move." Nanaba pushed herself up and away from the pillar with Mike right at her side. She sent out low voltage strikes of electricity at the other side of the concrete, forcing them to duck for cover long enough for the two of them to advance. Unfortunately, the dust was settling quickly and they were visible to one another again only moments later. Mike and Nanaba were forced to take cover again behind the fallen concrete slab. With the decreased distance Nanaba was able to aim more accurately, but so were the Titans. They crouched while shots rang out and fragments of concrete shattered over them as bullets made contact with their cover. Patiently, they waited for the opportunity that they knew was coming.
At the sound of ammunition clips being discarded and reloaded, the both of them broke cover and charged forward again, scrambling to push themselves over the pitted concrete barrier. As soon as they could see the other side Nanaba threw out a crackle of electricity, hitting one of the Titans and causing them to drop to the floor, their limbs splaying out like a discarded rag doll. Mike was about to vault over the top of the concrete as well when he realized that one Titan had moved their gun back to aim at directly at Marco's head again.
Premonition was always an odd thing. Sometimes it was nothing more than a feeling, other times it would be full minutes. This time it was no more than a couple of seconds, but he could see it arcing out before him in the form of a bullet. If it hit its mark she'd never walk again.
Mike moved quickly, throwing himself towards Nanaba to push her out of the way and braced for the bullet that he knew would be grazing his side instead. But the bullet never came and he watched as Nanaba continued to fall away. He didn't think then, he simply dove after Nanaba, trying to catch her before she hit the floor. And now he could feel her in his arms; her pulse faded, her eyes blank. He cradled her close, blood trickling down his arms from the hole in her temple.
Premonition was a dangerous thing. The most inconsequential alterations could yield the most catastrophic consequences.
"Nanaba…" His voice caught and he held her closer and buried his nose in her hair. He inhaled deeply, the smell of death slowly creeping to cover Nanaba's own. He let his tears fall freely into her golden hair, his breathing coming in short gasps and sobs as he shook and held his wife.
A gunshot sounded and was followed by another. He would have welcomed pain, welcomed death, but he felt nothing. Mike lifted his head slightly in confusion to see the remaining Titans collapsed on the ground, their own bloody halos blooming from beneath their heads. Looking further he saw two people, both of them lowering their weapons in the wake of shooting their own masked comrades. From the shadows behind the duo another figure approached and Mike tightened his arms instinctively around Nanaba's body. He bent his head to bury his face in her hair again, searching beneath the scent of death for Nanaba's own. A feeling of vulnerability spread across the back of his neck. He didn't need premonition to know that there was a gun trained on him.
"Just do it." Mike's voice was rough as he spoke around the lump in his throat. He waited for pain, for oblivion – but nothing came.
"You know, I'd really hoped to get all of you." Mike didn't lift his head as he listened to the sharp snap of shoes on the floor. "This is a bit of a disappointment, isn't it?"
"Sir!" A feminine voice called out from one of the masked pair. "The fire upstairs is spreading."
"We're fine, there are other exits." The footsteps moved even closer. Mike knew that whoever the man was he wasn't more than five feet away; he could smell the stink of death on him. "A shame. Looks like she was pretty."
Mike's body tightened and his free hand curled into a fist while the other continued to hold Nanaba's head. He could feel the continued presence of the man continuing to stand no more than a few feet away from him, but he couldn't bring himself to care, continuing to hold Nanaba close. But now her scent had faded and was covered by death and blood and Mike let out a choked sob.
"Really now. If she meant so much to you maybe you shouldn't have pushed her into a bullet." Mike's jaw clenched and he looked up. The other man's face was framed by long shaggy auburn hair and partially-obscured by heavy eyebrows and a huge beard. He was taller than Mike even, and wore an expensive tailored black suit. Mike met the other man's dark eyes and glared, his body shaking as he was overcome with grief and rage.
"I didn't –" Mike's mouth snapped shut before he could finish the sentence.
"She wasn't very good though was she? Too overcome with emotion, might have gotten you killed trying to rescue that useless child." The man jerked his head backwards. He watched Mike for a moment, unperturbed by his lack of response before reaching out and grabbing Mike's hair to pull him to his knees, forcing him to let go of Nanaba. "Eyes on me now. I have questions for you."
"Go fuck yourself." He glared defiantly up at the man from his kneeling position. His face was twisted and ugly, tear tracks obvious as they ran through the dust on his face.
"You really want to join your woman, don't you?" There was a brief pause before the man's hand shot out, backhanding Mike across the face and sending him to the ground.
"Sir! We need to leave!" The woman's voice called out again. Mike lay there, blinking past the pain and staring across the floor into Nanaba's unseeing eyes. The man turned and walked away, leaving Mike where he was on the ground. He pushed himself up and towards Nanaba, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb along hers. It's not that Mike was injured, he could go after the three retreating figures, but to leave Nanaba –
"Oh, I forgot." Mike looked up as the man turned to walk back towards him, a wicked smile showing from beneath his beard as he drew a gun.
"My name's Ape."
A gunshot; blood splattered on the floor.