Baird rotated his shoulder just in time to avoid the Thrasher's rocket-boosted stab. Nonetheless, the impact of the black-armored man's chest slamming into his shoulder sent them both sprawling onto the snow. A dozen bullets flew right over their heads, which Baird realized would have all hit him, had he not fallen. 

Still, his worries weren't over. 

Baird clutched the Thrasher's wrist and gritted his teeth. He pushed with all his might to slow the advance of the glowing blade in his hand. Then his eyes widened as the Thrasher's other hand lifted up a rusty revolver. His gloved finger slithered onto the trigger. 

Then, with a flash of maroon and a hiss of air, the black-armored man disappeared. His blade dropped to the ground and swiftly melted the snow around it. Baird peered into the sky and grinned, spotting a suited-up Wendy hurling the Thrasher into a nearby tree. 

Hannah dropped a few feet from Baird, an extended parachute floating to the ground behind her. She tossed his sword to him before firing her laser gun into the crowd of approaching Alconteans. The pinkish beam cut through the men with ease, and the concentration of their return fire diminished more each second. 

Keira also floated down on a parachute, firing her sniper rifle down at the Alconteans as she descended. Her contributions also divided the soldiers' attention, causing several of them to focus more on the attempt to shoot her down than killing Hannah and Baird. 

Baird put a hand on Hannah's shoulder. "You still need me over here?" 

She shook her head. "Nah, you should prolly help Brant out." 

He nodded and dashed to the end of the alley in search an alternate way back to the axe-wielding man. 

******************** 

Meanwhile, Wendy darted sideways in the air as the Thrasher boosted out of the tree. She fired an arrow at him. She landed the shot, but the arrowhead only penetrated enough to become riveted to the armor. The Thrasher removed the arrow and hurled it back at Wendy. She shrugged and allowed it to hit, watching as it bounced off her metallic breastplate with a chink. 

She rocketed forward and stretched her foot out to kick the Thrasher in the face. He darted up and transformed her attack into a clumsy midair somersault that ended in an uncontrolled fall. He flew forward and slammed her into a nearby rooftop. 

Wendy released all her air in one grunt. While she reoriented herself, the Thrasher pinned her down and unholstered his revolver. He nestled the barrel in a gap between her shoulder-piece and breastplate. Just as he fired the bullet, she jetted out of his grasp. 

The bullet penetrated the roof, and a child's scream shot out from inside. Wendy put a hand to where her mouth lay underneath the helmet. She lunged at the Thrasher to push him off the roof, and then she broke through to tend to the child inside. 

A small boy with copious tears streaming from his almond-shaped eyes stared at Wendy as she timidly stepped across the room. She removed her helmet and offered him a reassuring smile. 

"Don't worry," she said gently, "I'm here to help—" 

The boy hurled a toy truck at her head, and she grunted. The sharp corner of the miniature trailer slashed into the side of her forehead before landing with a clank on her metal boot. 

"Tow​ chhngay!" the boy shouted. 

Wendy bit her lip and unclenched her fist with a concerted effort. "I don't...understand. Do you—" 

She cried out again when the Thrasher sped inside and snaked his arm around her exposed neck. He placed the barrel of the gun to the back of her head, and she heard a click as he rotated the cylinder. 

Wendy made a rocket-assisted flip and landed behind the Thrasher. This time, his errant bullet tore through the door. She screamed when he snatched her hair and pulled her head down. 

The door flung open, and several shotgun pellets hit both the Thrasher and Wendy. The projectiles bounced off after leaving only dents on each fighter's armor. They both glanced up to see a frowning man cocking a shotgun and aiming at them again, this time at Wendy's head. 

The Thrasher darted up and through the hole in the roof, knocking Wendy down in the process. With only one target to focus on, the man aimed the twin barrels exclusively at the blonde Danlashian on the floor. 

Wendy held up her hand. "Please, don't! It wasn't me! It was him!" 

"Saum niyeay Kemarian." the man grunted, still pointing the weapon at her. 

The blonde bit her lip and paused for a second. Then she pantomimed, pointing outside, then making a finger gun. She traced a line with her finger from the hole in the roof to the quivering child still sitting in the bed. 

The Kemarian man shrugged and fired. Wendy gasped, covered her head and rolled to avoid the scattered shots. Then she snatched up her helmet and boosted outside. 

******************** 

Brant rolled in the snow to avoid another green orb. He slashed his axe at Buzzard's leg, but he leapt to avoid it and hurled another blast at him. Just before impact, Brant lifted his shield. 

Both men took a moment to catch their breath and wipe their sweaty foreheads. At that precise moment, Baird leapt in with his sword raised. He slashed the blade down into Buzzard's shoulder blade. 

The crooked-nosed man screeched. Blood and sparks together leapt from his wound. He hurled a blast at Baird, who dodged with a twirling leap. He stabbed at Buzzard again, but was forced to give it up to evade another deadly attack. 

Brant moved to rejoin the fight, but Baird's twirling sword and unpredictable movements rendered that dangerously difficult for all parties concerned. As he kept his eyes peeled for an opening, the artifactual skull hanging from Buzzard's neck by a chain caught his attention. 

His attention abruptly redirected itself yet again when the Thrasher swooped in and grabbed Baird by the back of his collar. He tossed the swordsman several feet away and unholstered a rusty revolver. 

Brant moved to assist the disoriented swordsman, but the cackling god of death interfered. The axe-wielder rolled his eyes and continued to block the rapid-fire succession of green blasts. One orb finally hit its mark, drawing a gasp to his lips. Thankfully, it was merely a glancing blow on his shoulder. 

Despite the slightness of the impact, the blast tore a hole in his clothing, and a swollen boil rose on his skin, throbbing with pus. Brant flinched, but remained focused at the task at hand, resolving not to allow Buzzard to give the boil a companion. 

******************** 

Meanwhile, Baird scrambled to his feet and tackled the Thrasher. He wrested the gun from his hand and tossed it to Wendy as she swooped by. He grasped either side of the man's charcoal helmet and pulled up. The Thrasher clasped his hands down on Baird's wrists and resisted his effort to remove the helmet. 

With a grunt, Baird prevailed, and a pair of gray eyes stared up at him. The martial artist threw several punches at the man's face, tossing it from side to side and decorating it with bruises as he did so. 

The Thrasher blocked Baird's next swing, head-butted him, and crawled over to his helmet. Wendy dropped down, stepped on his hand, and kicked him in the face. Before she could attack him again, he jetted into the sky. Wendy hurried to follow. She pushed her boots to their maximum speed, but the mercenary still gained distance on her more each second. 

A claw shot through the air, grasped the Thrasher's arm, and reeled him in. Keira kicked the mercenary in the face as she drew him in with her grapple gun and then watched victoriously as he lay sprawled out on the rooftop. Aaron dashed over from extinguishing nearby flames to lift the man up. After disorienting him with a poke in the eyes, Aaron wrung his neck. 

Wendy landed with a thud and crossed her arms. "I was gonna do that." 

Aaron shrugged and walked back over the fire on the other end of the roof. "Should've come over faster." 

"Says the one who made these bloody rockets too slow!" Wendy shouted as she followed him. "Did you see how bloody fast he was going?" 

Aaron nodded. "Yeah, how about you take them off of him? When we get back, I can study them and see if I can get you an upgrade." 

Wendy glanced at the black-armored corpse. "For once, I like that idea." 

Down below, Baird raced back over to slash at Buzzard again. He dodged, allowing Brant and Baird to make eye contact. With a jerk of his head, Brant signaled the swordsman to move one way, while he lunged the other. 

Brant grasped the back of Buzzard's chained necklace and pulled it tight, constricting his airway and yanking him back. He struggled to escape, but the brawny man held on tight. With the scrawny man immobilized and choking, Baird swung his blade at their opponent's neck. 

With an eruption of blood, unidentified green liquids, and electric sparks galore, Buzzard's head flew off his body. It landed with a thud in the snow, laying to rest in a growing pile of blood. 

Brant frowned as the skull attached to the necklace began to regain its reddish glow. He hurled it at the ground and glared at the artifact. 

"I'll banish you as well!" he shouted as he raised his axe over his head and increased its size threefold. 

He swung the mighty axe down on the glowing skull with gritted teeth. The artifact exploded into bony shards while the axe crumbled into a pile of black dust. A blinding flash of light and a powerful blast emanated from the spot as well, sending both Brant and Baird flying into the nearest building. 

After a moment of disorientation, the two men sat up and crawled over to the spot where the artifact had sat in the snow. The skull had been broken into so many pieces that its previous form became indiscernible, impossible for a newcomer to guess what it had once been. The little red glow that still hovered over the jagged pieces faded away with a demonic screech before shrinking into nothingness. 

Brant spat blood from his mouth before meeting Baird's gaze. They clapped their hands together and shook them vigorously. 

Brant glanced around and frowned at the sudden disappearance of the multitude of flames that had once consumed the city. No work of Aaron and Sila's, it appeared that the demon's banishment had also resulted in the quenching of its infernal fires. 

Whether by dropping from the sky, descending a line, or running from around a corner, all Brant and Baird's comrades gathered around with wonderment in their eyes. Aaron helped the two to their feet and offered them unsure smiles. 

"First off, that's nasty." Aaron said, pointing at the boil protruding from Brant's shoulder, "Second, what just happened?" 

Brant laid a hand on Baird's shoulder. "He beheaded Buzzard. And I destroyed his artifact. We've won." 

"So, does dat mean his spirit's no more?" Hannah asked. 

Brant nodded. "So much for his plans." 

"Well, this calls for celebration!" Hannah exclaimed, "I'ma make cookies for everybody!" 

Aaron chuckled. "That sounds heavenly. While you cook those up, we can patch up that last hole and get moving." After a pause, he added, "And get that eye-sore dealt with." 

Sila touched Brant's boil with its metal finger. "Disgusting." 

Brant rolled his eyes before meeting Aaron's gaze. "Sounds like a good plan. Let's do it." 

With that, they all strolled back to the edge of town, casting regretful glances at all the residual damage done to the buildings and populace as they went. They hadn't been able to save everybody or everything, but at least they'd done what they could.

******************** 

A/N: If you're like me when I was writing this, you were on the edge of your seat for a few minutes there. Some intense action there, and a teamwork defeat! And finishing that off with Brant shattering the skull with an axe...I don't know how to put into words how epic the image in my head is of him doing that, but I hope I captured it adequately enough. 

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, please remember to give it a vote and some comments to let me know. Thanks!

I'm not sure if I've asked this already, so scold me if I'm being unoriginal. But then again, things change over time, so I'll ask anyway: Who's your least favorite non-villain character in this cast, and why? (No judgements or anything like that, I'd just like to know to gauge some things. 😁) 

And I'll dump a random question here before I go: What's your favorite kind of shoe to wear? 

(For me, it'd just be plain ol' work boots. The ones I have are waterproof and tough, so I can do pretty much anything in 'em and still be fine. Splashing in puddles is particularly fun sometimes. 😂) 

That'll be it for me this morning! Have an awesome day, and I hope to see you in the next update.