Revenge Fantasy

There are three key components to Yumi's ability.

The first is reflex. With superhuman reaction time, Yumi has been capable of moving at speeds far beyond what a normal person can see. She catches bullets within fractions of a second, is capable of precisely and immediately spotting things, and crosses distances swiftly in the blink of an eye. The telltale sign that she does this is when her eyes flash a bright blue. It's almost as if she's teleporting with each flash, using her phenomenal ability to move her body—or parts of it—from place to place.

The second is strength. Through some miracle, Yumi's body is capable of performing phenomenal feats no human in their right mind would even attempt. She rips off the arms of androids, carries an entire person with ease, and shows physical resilience to the most absurd of feats. So far, the biggest feat is that she can jump from the 6th story of a building, while injured with bullet wounds, and cushion her fall with one single platinum blonde woman. Yumi surpasses her physical limits on the verge of death, almost going toe-to-toe with the pistol-wielding sniper by dodging her shots.

The third is, curiously enough, endurance. It is the odd outlier that she has used the least so far. She had demonstrated it once before with the Serbian Flashbang when she used water to cool off and heal John's searing arms. Now, the same water is used to heal her own body, almost fixing her wounds to a state where she can move and stand once more in a mere two minutes (with Shortcake's help).

These are the three key components of Yumi's ability, as seen so far. The tall, towering, brown-haired Yumi is an absolute force to be reckoned with. As the only reason why the unconscious Chouko Ashford is still alive, her very existence defies all reason.

These three components culminate and collide together in this very moment, as Yumi puts her all into getting up and punching Trojan straight in the stupid light-up face. The endurance to heal her wounds, the reflex to lunge at Trojan before he can even react, and the strength to inflict massive damage and harm upon the man.

Trojan is wincing in pain, feeling every bone in his face—the face beneath his LED mask—breaking and cracking.

Cynthia is bewildered as to why this woman is still alive, even after having a bullet fired into her brain.

John is unfazed and calm. Out of everyone, he has the most experience with Yumi, and is fully aware of what she does.

Shortcake is panicked, her processors trying to make sense of what just happened. Nothing about Yumi makes sense to the android.

Finally, Yumi, as she's putting her full might into the punch, as she's back into fit and fighting shape with Shortcake's help, has the coldest look on her face.

How does Yumi's ability connect these components? How does Yumi muster the superhuman reflex, strength, and endurance to even still be standing?

Moments (if not minutes) before, Chouko had a basic hypothesis as to how Yumi's ability worked, but she lost consciousness before she could fully grasp it. All Chouko understood was the teleportation, the reflex of the ability. She didn't have a clear understanding of how her ability could utilize its endurance, nor did she recognize the abnormal strength behind the woman's ability.

No, Yumi's ability is far more convoluted than that, and it is the key to victory.

At this very moment, in the middle of breaking Trojan's face, all Yumi is thinking is that she needs to end this. She needs to be the one to overcome this desperate situation. She's failed twice already, so she cannot fail again. She will not suffer a total knockout. She needs to take yet another all-or-nothing gambit, at risk of getting knocked out a third time.

So, with all her focus, her eyes flash first, and her entire body is coated in a veil of energy. In Yumi's eyes, her blood glows a bright blue...

... and the truth of her ability is front and center.

Everything around Yumi, in her eyes, turns a faint shade of blue. A dry, blank hue that deprives all vibrancy from the world itself. Everything turns almost grayscale, with just the faintest hint of color remaining.

All of the reactions to Yumi are still and frozen, their faces and bodies completely unmoving. Cynthia's shock, John's calmness, Shortcake's panic, and Trojan's broken mask... all of it comes to a complete stop.

This is her ability. Yumi, with a rejuvenated body fit to go all out in this very moment...

... has stopped time.

Time itself, and everything that follows it, comes to a complete stop for Yumi. Not a single inch of movement. Not a single gust of wind. Not even a single flowing or trickling drop of water. The world itself comes to a complete halt for Yumi, stopping in this very moment.

Following the flash in her eyes, her veins glow the brightest and most vibrant of blues, a cerulean spotlight amidst a faded blue backdrop. The energy in Yumi's blood is at its fullest in this very moment, surging with energy and power.

In fact, she's now briefly thinking about what Ashford did, about how Ashford somehow healed her. It felt like she was on top of the world, and then the immediate moment her eyes flashed... it all went away.

Yumi cannot have a repeat of that. She needs to keep this high.

"... here we go," Yumi calmly tells herself, as she gets to running. With an overwhelming flow of energy pulsing through Yumi's veins, all feeling in her body goes completely numb as she carries out her plan.

Right away, Yumi locks onto the first objective: Chouko Ashford's safety. Her body cuts through this frozen world, sprinting quickly to Chouko and grabbing her by the shoulder. In a forceful motion, she lifts the frozen body and throws it straight at the back of the truck.

By doing this, for a brief moment, the world unfreezes and shows Yumi doing this very action. Touching Chouko and exerting force is enough for Yumi to teleport from Trojan to Chouko in everyone else's eyes, the motion allowing time to flow for two seconds.

John quickly sees this, witnessing Chouko being thrown in his direction. Quickly, he holds his arms out, ready to catch her.

Cynthia widens her eyes as the dead girl walking disappears completely, hearing Yumi throw her. Quickly, she looks to the android standing on her pistol, breaking into a sprint directly at it.

Trojan continues to fall backwards, groaning and shouting in absolute pain as his mask is shattered. Through the spreading cracks of the mask, the middle of his pale face is revealed with a crushed and bleeding nose that's smashed into his face.

His android army reacts as quickly as possible, with all of them shouting out in unison: "COMMENCING WITH—"

Then, time goes still once again.

Yumi lets out a hard exhale, her eye twitching after throwing Chouko. Yumi initially looked completely healed, but a single minute isn't enough to fix everything. Bullet holes form in the muscles of her right arm, the wounds opening up to reveal the bits of metal still in her body.

Even so, Yumi stays strong. In the next frozen moment, Yumi spots the white-haired android on the ground, the one that saved her. If Shortcake didn't do what she did, then Yumi would not be standing. This android needs to survive, and Yumi needs to get the android out.

So, she dashes straight to Shortcake, hoists her up with one hand, and throws her in the same direction she threw Chouko.

Shortcake's body is outstandingly light, so less time passes from Yumi throwing her.

John, in the glimpse of his eye, spots an airborne Shortcake. Keeping up with Yumi, he plans his next actions: catch and hoist Ashford into the back of the truck, then catch Shortcake and retreat to the driver's seat of the truck itself. That's what Yumi's plan likely is.

Cynthia, sprinting up to her targeted android, grabs its hunting rifle. Both hands forcibly grab it, one hand on the trigger.

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Trojan's body hits the ground, his mask sparking and short-circuiting. He lies on the asphalt, his real face exposed to the air around him, revealing the broken face of a scrawny and scruffy college student. His brown eyes stare up at the evening sky after being punched straight in the face.

"—EXECUTION—" the androids call out, continuing their automated orders and aiming at where Yumi previously stood. Their systems aren't trained to deal with targets like Yumi, and are unable to keep up with her spontaneous changes in position.

Time stops once again.

Yumi has thrown both individuals and stands completely still as her arm bleeds. In an ideal scenario, she punches and beats up the surrounding androids, taking out the threat to her and her pops' safety.

However, the rest of the wounds in her body may open up further if she goes to attack twelve androids. Twelve of them with guns, guns that can rip even more holes in her body and such. Time cannot be wasted here, as much as she really... REALLY wants to beat them all up. Yumi has to be smart. She has to be strategic.

So, Yumi runs quickly to the truck, dashing past John.

Her brown hair blows in the wind as she makes a mad sprint for the truck, exerting herself further. The bullet wounds in her legs open up, blue blood leaking out of her wounds and joining the trail of water behind her.

John catches Ashford, then spots Yumi running past him. The missing pieces fall into place, and a coordinated, calculated train of thought runs through his head as he reacts quickly. He forcibly throws Chouko straight into the truck itself as far and quickly as he can.

Following this, Cynthia forcibly pulls the trigger of the rifle of the android's gun into her pocket mirror. The bullet phases right through the mirror itself, giving just enough recoil from the gun to slightly disorient this android.

"—PROTOCOL."

The androids aim for the next spot where Yumi was standing, completely losing track of where she is. Collectively, they look around, aiming their guns all over, trying to find her.

Another flash in time. Everything freezes, and Yumi jumps into the truck. It feels like her legs are being crushed.

As much as she wishes she can do more, Yumi lets out a cold breath and assumes her position... standing in the truck itself, right in front of Chouko Ashford after John throws the girl in. Her arms are out, and she prepares to catch Ashford and cushion her fall.

Yumi lets out a tense, tense breath. She is exhaustedly panting and wheezing, a bright blue trailing from her eyes as she stares out at the sight before her. A parking lot of androids, all frozen stiff and losing track of where she is.

Everything before her eyes looks so... empty. So many things she did not get to do...

... and time begins to properly flow once more.

The color returns to the world as Yumi's time has come to an end. The orange of the sky returns, with everything gaining back its vibrance and saturation.

Yumi stands in the back of the truck as the unconscious Chouko is thrown into her arms. The brown-haired woman falls backwards soon after, collapsing and hitting the truck floor... finally, ever so finally spent of her energy. She keeps her arms around Chouko, allowing herself to fall limp and rest.

John catches Shortcake shortly after, and quickly carries the lightweight android to the driver's seat of the truck itself. Granted, he doesn't understand why he's bringing Shortcake in particular, but that's the theme of this arrangement... keeping a close eye on the android, to hold one ounce of a bargaining chip over Ashford herself.

Cynthia fires a second shot, using the android's rifle to shoot the one standing on her pistol. Blood trails down her face, revealing a sick and deranged look behind the eye she's been hiding this entire time.

The bullet pierces right through the android's head, a clean shot to its systems. Its hands open to drop the shotgun, and its body falls over.

Cynthia lets out a proud huff, then runs to her gun to pick it up quickly. Adrenaline courses through her body as she stares down at the weapon, breathing heavily.

In the next moment, as she's preparing to join the Serbian Flashbang in the truck, under the belief they still had a truce...

... she sees the truck driving away, immediately.

"W... Wait!" Cynthia shouts to John. "W... What are you doing?! Did we not have a deal?!"

John, hearing this, has his foot on the gas pedal as he speeds away. The body of the truck's hacked android driver falls out of the truck itself, run over by each one of the left wheels.

No signs of stopping, John drives as fast as he can away from the parking lot. He has Ashford, he has Yumi, he has the android... there's no point in sticking around for a useless and difficult woman.

Yumi is alive... I don't need her anymore. Goodbye, Cynthia Cage.

"... you rotten...!" Cynthia shouts out, realizing that she's being abandoned. Quickly, she starts to run after the truck itself. Gun in hand, and her other hand reaching out to the pocket mirror on the parking lot, she sees the opportunity to dash straight to the truck itself. The pocket mirror magically flies into her hand in the next moment.

However, bullets start to rip into Cynthia's body.

Surrounding Cynthia, all of Trojan's androids lock onto her and fire at will. They cannot detect where Yumi is, and have directed their execution protocols to Cynthia herself.

Cynthia's eyes widen as she feels several, several bullets shooting into her body. Shots from pistols, hunting rifles, sniper rifles, and shotguns. Each one pierces some part of her body, from legs to back, stomach to chest... even her own hands, ripping through her knuckles.

She collapses after shots to her ankles cripple her. The first thing she sees is the black raincoat, the one belonging to the hacker responsible.

Trojan lies on the parking lot with a petty and malicious grin on his face. A deep sigh echoes out, realizing he's screwed. The best he can do now is flip off the platinum blonde woman, killing her and starting from square one.

"T... That's... what you get, you dumb bi—"

Interrupting Trojan's sentence, Cynthia pulls the trigger of her pistol right at the side of Trojan's head, having the bullet go diagonally through his cheek and into his brain.

The man is immediately dead, dying with a smile on his face.

Cynthia lets out an exasperated sigh, the calm look in her face a juxtaposition to her body being turned to a bloody mess. She doesn't scream in agony whatsoever, as her mind doesn't even feel the urge to cry in agony. She just lies against the asphalt, feeling the life leave her body.

Every shot that the androids take is in her body, exclusively her body. Not a single one hits her head. Cynthia can still think and focus, having her mind intact for her final moments.

As she's lying there, bleeding out, deprived of the miracle of "surviving bleeding gun wounds" that both Chouko and Yumi have, the platinum blonde sniper thinks of only one thing.

She does not think of the family used as the bearded man's hostages, nor does she think about her ravenous rage towards Chouko Ashford.

No, her only thought is...

... 28... 29... 30...

John is driving away, thinking of his next move. A relieved look is on his face as he drives, finally finished with this diner. By some luck, he's obtained Ashford, claiming the prized bounty that has the entire mercenary world in flames.

There is a possibility that mercenaries will be in pursuit of this truck, but Trojan's automated measures should be enough to bypass it all. The ride should be smooth from here on out.

Yes, now it's time for him to relax, and—

"W-Watch out!" Shortcake exclaims loudly, out of nowhere, quickly lunging at John.

John snaps out of his thoughts, a bewildered and confused look as his eyes glance at Shortcake. Her hands are gripping his beard hair, trying to pull him to no avail. The android isn't strong enough to pull him whatsoever.

For the android to be doing this while he's in the middle of driving, John's instincts kick in. It had to be urgent. So, he quickly leans forward, going along with whatever the android is doing. A brief second spent not focusing on the road, one foot slamming on the brake pedal as he goes forward.

Following this, the windshield of the truck shatters.

The bullet from the hunting rifle, the one that the sniper fired into her pocket mirror, comes clean out of the truck's windshield. It pierces a hole into the cushion of the driver's seat, aimed straight at where John's head would have been.

John's eyes are wide as he feels the glass shards of the windshield land in the truck itself. His eyes stare forward at Shortcake in sheer disbelief, his body frozen stiff in slightly morbid terror. "Y... You just..."

Shortcake, nervously staring back at John, lets go of his beard and stumbles back into the passenger's side of the truck. "U... Uhm, Diane," Shortcake begins to explain, still using the fake name Chouko previously instructed her to use, "figured out the window shooty thing uses 33 seconds... I... I saw her shoot the pocket mirror and counted... a... and it was, uhm, almost 33, so—"

John quickly gets up and brings focus back to driving the truck. The chills in his body catch up with him, a cold tingle in his shoulders and spine as he stares forward. He drives for dear life, simply aiming to get away from the diner before any other unwelcome individuals appear.

Shortcake, meanwhile, nervously looks around and finds her seatbelt. She grabs it and quickly clicks it over herself, securing herself in place.

In the back of the truck, the cargo car itself, Chouko and Yumi are lying unconscious. The truck doors remain open with no one to close them, leaving the diner behind while the two manage to remain in place.

The two enemies, the blonde sniper and the masked hacker, are now dead and bleeding out. Cynthia's body lies dead, with the color in her eyes fading to black. Trojan's eyes remain wide open.

The army of hacked androids stands in place, armed with guns and awaiting commands. Even with Trojan's death, they still succumb to whatever Trojan's methods are, simply statues amongst a scene of death.

John's nerves do not quiet for a single moment as he drives, as the constant thought of watching out for every single possible obstacle and threat rings through his mind. Another mercenary could attack, or another shot could ring out from Cynthia. Anything at all could happen.

Yet, one thing lingers in his mind after all this...

"... thank you," John impulsively tells Shortcake, giving the android credit where credit is due.

Shortcake continues to sit in place, worry and concern over her face as she stares out the window. It's over. She and Chouko are finally safe.

Well.

Not exactly.

Shortcake's processors catch the detail that John and Yumi are still people who are after Chouko. These two are still threats to her and Chouko's safety. She is now at their mercy, uncertain what they're going to do next.

Her pink eyes glance at John, staring at the man as he stares forward. Horrible, horrible thoughts are generated by her processors, giving her thoughts of panic and concern. Her eyes turn yellow, even, shining their warning lights and notifying her of the danger this man holds.

Once again, she's in a position where she... doesn't know what to do.

Shortcake looks away, the words of gratitude discarded from her memory as she stares out the window. She enjoys the passing Tennessee scenery, completely lost and scared, uncertain of what's going to happen next.

It will all be okay, Shortcake thinks. It's all going to be fine, and Chouko is going to live.

... hopefully...?