Morrigan: Year 3101.

The intercom crackled to life, filling the train car with a distorted voice. "This is the Paris Police Department. We have you surrounded. Surrender now or we will be forced to use lethal force."

Morrigan scanned around, desperately searching for a way out. She grabbed the nearest rifle, yanking back the charging handle only to find it empty. "Shit," she muttered, tossing it aside.

One by one, she checked the fallen weapons. Click. Click. Click. Nothing but empty magazines and dry chambers.

"Fuck me," Morrigan growled.

This was bad. Really fucking bad. The kind of bad that made her wonder if she should've stayed in bed this morning.

Her fingers brushed against something in her pocket. The vial of cyanide. She pulled it out, staring at the innocuous-looking liquid. What the hell was she supposed to do with this? Throw it at them? Ask nicely if they'd drink it?

The intercom blared again. "This is your final warning. Surrender now or we will open fire."

Morrigan's grip tightened on the vial as an idea formed. It was stupid. Suicidal, even. But it was all she had.

Before she could second-guess herself, the night air erupted with the deafening roar of the helicopter's autocannon. Morrigan dove to the side, feeling the heat of tracer rounds as they shredded through the train car.

She scrambled to her feet, sprinting towards the gaping hole in the side of the car. The wind whipped at her face as she reached the edge. For a split second, she paused, turning to face the hovering beast of a machine.

"Fuck it," she muttered, and jumped.

As Morrigan was airborne, time appeared to move at a snail's pace. The helicopter grew larger in her vision with its rotors spinning at a deadly blur. She reached out her arms, straining to catch onto something solid.

She slammed into the side of the cockpit and the impact rattled her teeth. Her nails scrabbled against the smooth surface before finding a grip. Hanging on for dear life, Morrigan pulled back her fist and slammed it into the reinforced glass.

The pilots inside recoiled in shock as they couldn't believe what they're seeing. Morrigan struck again and again, each blow sending spiderweb cracks spreading across the cockpit.

"What the fuck?" one of the pilots yelled, his voice muffled by the glass and the roar of the rotors. "Is she out of her fucking mind?"

With a final bone-jarring punch, the cockpit shattered and Morrigan wasted no time and hurled the vial of cyanide through the opening. It shattered against the control panel, releasing a cloud of deadly vapor.

The pilots' screams were cut short as they inhaled the poison. Their bodies convulsed, hands clawing at their throats before going limp.

The helicopter lurched violently and began to spin. Morrigan clung to the frame of the broken cockpit, her muscles straining as the centrifugal force threatened to tear her away.

"This was a terrible fucking idea!" she shouted.

The helicopter crashed into its slope, sending out a shower of sparks and screeching metal as it skidded downwards. With every jolt, Morrigan's body shook hard as her bones rattled within their sockets.

Then they were airborne again, tumbling end over end. Morrigan's world flipped upside down, then right side up, then upside down again. Her grip finally gave out and she was hurled into the air.

For a moment, she was weightless, suspended like a puppet with cut strings. Then gravity reasserted itself with a vengeance.

WHAM!

She slammed into the hood of a hover car as the impact knocked the wind from her lungs. The car's driver yelped, yanking the wheel hard to the side as his vehicle careened into a hover truck, setting off a domino effect of screeching metal and shattering glass.

Once the car stopped, the force caused Morrigan to bounce off the vehicle and hit the pavement face-first. Blaring horns and panicked shouts rang out as people scrambled to know what the fuck just happened.

"Oh my God!" The driver shouted as he got out of his car and sprinted towards Morrigan, his hands reaching out to shake her. "Hey, you okay?"

More footsteps approached, accompanied by the sound of car doors slamming.

"What the hell happened?" a woman's voice asked.

"I don't know," the driver replied. "She just... fell out of the sky and landed on my car!"

"Fell out of the sky?" another voice chimed in. "What, like some kinda superhero?"

"Does she look like a goddamn superhero to you?!" the driver snapped. "She's all fucked up! Look at her!"

"Alright, geez. I was just asking."

"Shit, should we call an ambulance?" someone asked.

Morrigan finally cracked open an eye, still dazed from her recent fall.

"Holy shit lady, I can't believe you're still alive. Don't move, okay? I'm going to call for help."

Morrigan pushed herself up, gritting her teeth as pain shot through her body. Her left arm hung at an awkward angle, clearly broken as she stumbled forward, favoring her right leg.

"Hey, don't move!" the driver pleaded. "You're hurt bad!"

She ignored him, limping away from the gathering crowd. Her body screamed in protest with each step, but she couldn't stay. Cops would be swarming the area soon, and they're the last person she wanted to see

Morrigan tapped her comms. "Aris, you there?"

There was a moment of static before Aris's voice came through. "Holy shit, Morri? I thought you were toast!"

"Takes more than a helicopter crash to keep me down," she grunted. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Tracking your signal now," Aris replied. After a beat, he continued, "You're about two klicks southeast of the original LZ.

"Ok, so where should I go next?"

"There's an abandoned metro station half a klick east of your position. Head there and I'll guide you to a safehouse."

"Got it. On my way."

She pushed through the growing crowd, ignoring their concerned looks and questions. As she limped down the street, she could already feel her body starting to knit itself back together. The pain in her arm was fading, replaced by an itching sensation as the bone realigned.

Sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer. Morrigan picked up her pace, ducking into an alley to avoid the main street. She just needed a little more time, a little more rest, and she'd be back in fighting shape.

For now, though, she was running on fumes and vampire stubbornness. But that had always been enough before, and she'd be damned if it failed her now.

——

Siobhan craned her neck, peering around the corner of their hiding spot. After a minute, she turned to Kazuo with a grin.

"Coast's clear," she said, waving her hand. "Let's bounce before those corpo-fucks find us."

Kazuo nodded, his legs still shaky from the adrenaline rush. They stepped out onto the street, trying to blend in with the crowd.

"Act natural," Siobhan muttered. "Just two normal people out for a stroll."

"Yeah, 'cause we look so fucking normal right now."

They walked side by side, their torn clothes and disheveled appearance drawing a few curious glances from passersby. Siobhan kept her head high, strutting like she owned the place. Kazuo hunched his shoulders, trying to make himself smaller.

"You know," Siobhan said, "for a guy who just escaped certain death, you look like someone pissed in your cereal."

"Sorry if I'm not thrilled about nearly becoming street pizza."

She laughed. "Come on, that was fun! Admit it, you loved it."

"Fun? You're insane. We almost died like ten times back there."

"Yeah, but we didn't. And now we've got one hell of a story to tell."

They continued down the street, weaving through the crowd. Kazuo darted around, half-expecting to see the police at every turn.

"Good thing they're not here," he said.

"Don't get your hopes up, the police is going to be all over this place soon."

"Geez, you're such a downer."

Kazuo froze mid-step as he caught a flicker of movement on a nearby storefront. A row of TVs displayed breaking news, their screens alive with gunfighting.

"Holy shit," he said, grabbing Siobhan's arm. "Is that Morrigan?"

She squinted at the screens. "Fuck me, it is."

The footage showed a white-haired woman sprinting across the top of a train while bullets ran down from an Apache helicopter overhead. The news ticker identified the location as the Paris-Nantes Maglev.

A news anchor's voice cut through the video: "We're receiving reports of an attack on the VIP car of the Paris-Nantes Maglev. The assailant, a woman whose identity remains unknown, is believed to have assassinated Al-Khaliq, a notorious terrorist leader. Paris police have deployed air support in an attempt to apprehend the suspect."

"Son of a bitch," Siobhan muttered. "She actually did it. Morrigan took out Al-Khaliq."

Kazuo shook his head in disbelief. "How the hell did she pull that off?"

"Who knows? But now she's got half of Paris trying to blow her ass out of the sky."

"So much for being discreet."

"Well, something must have happened that changed her plans."

"Think she'll make it?"

"It's Morrigan. She'll find a way out, even if she has to jump off that train and sprout wings."

They watched for a few more seconds as Morrigan dodged another barrage of bullets.

"We should go," Kazuo said, tugging her sleeve. "Before someone recognizes us from our little joyride earlier."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get the fuck out of here."

They ducked into a narrow alley, pressing themselves against the grimy wall. The whir of police drones filled the air, growing louder with each passing second. Siobhan peeked around the corner, scanning the sky.

A swarm of drones buzzed overhead with their cameras sweeping the streets below. Kazuo's stomach clenched as he watched them pass. Those flying bastards are everywhere, like a swarm of mechanical locusts. He hated how exposed they were, stuck in this piss-stained alley with nowhere to run. Every whir and buzz set his nerves on edge. He'd seen what those things could do - fry a person's brain with one zap if they got too close. He wished they could just disappear, blend into the walls like chameleons. But they were stuck here, waiting and hoping those flying fuckers didn't spot them.

The pair moved swiftly from one street to another, using awnings and overhangs for cover. Every few steps, they paused to check their surroundings. The city was transforming into a militarized zone before their eyes.

The streets are now crawling with armed forces, checkpoints popping up like mushrooms after rain. Police cruisers streamed past, sirens wailing as they converged on their last known location.

Rounding out to another corner, Kazuo's breath caught in his throat. There, he saw a massive mech stood at the end of the street, its hydraulics hissing as it scanned the area. Its guns swiveled around while it's scanner tracks potential threats.

Kazuo leaned close to Siobhan as they walked, trying to keep his voice low. "Hey, where's the nearest safehouse Aris mentioned?"

Siobhan fished her phone out of her pocket, tapping the screen with her thumb. "Hang on, lemme check." She scrolled through a series of messages, her eyes darting back and forth. "Okay, got it. We're actually pretty close. Just a few blocks away."

"Thank God," Kazuo said. "Let's go."

Siobhan grabbed his arm, pulling him back. "Not so fast, hotshot. We gotta be smart about this. One wrong move and we're fucked."

"What's the plan then?"

"We take it slow. Act casual. Blend in with the crowd. No sudden movements, no looking over our shoulders every five seconds like some paranoid tweakers."

"Right," Kazuo nodded, forcing himself to relax his shoulders. "Slow and steady. Got it."

They continued down the street, matching their pace to the flow of pedestrians around them. Kazuo kept his eyes forward, resisting the urge to scan for threats.

Acting casual. How the fuck was he supposed to do that when every fiber of his being screamed danger? His instincts told him to run, to hide, to do anything but stroll down the street like some clueless tourist. But she was right. Panicking now would only draw attention. So he forced himself to breathe, to relax his clenched fists, to match his pace with the oblivious crowd around him. It felt wrong, like trying to sleep during an earthquake.

"This is stupid," he said. "I look like an idiot."

"Don't be such a pussy. It'll all be over in a—"

"YOU TWO. STOP RIGHT THERE!" A booming metallic voice cut through the air.

Kazuo's blood ran cold as he turned to see a massive mech pointing its guns directly at them.