[center] [img]https://vgy.me/weS5zP.png[/img] In [h2][u]Target Locked #13: Target: A Chance Encounter[/u][/h2] [b]Location: French Quarter, Lost Haven Time: Afternoon – Day of Alien Invasion[/b][/center] With the noise of the alien craft whirring overhead and the all-encompassing sounds of terror in the streets of Lost Haven, Kayla had the right idea of being scared. On what was supposed to be another day at the office, looking at the new location Jeremy had in mind with Jai, it ended up being a case of the archer having to don on her outfit and began her attempts on defending the city. The words of War Pulse on that confrontation of fighting these threats with the pinnacle of the stone age going through her head, which brought her some comfort through all of this. Sure, she would have wanted to be with Jai to help ease herself a bit more, but she had made a good call with them separating to cover more ground and get to Racheli as well. In her mind, this was a perfect opportunity for Midas to do something nefarious and take her friend away again after fighting so hard to find her in the first place. As she jogged through the streets, she took the opportunity to shoot arrows at anything that wasn’t human and hostile. Not knowing why the aliens were attacking and for how long, she grabbed every single arrow she had in her apartment to use against them. This included her competition arrows, which only had a bullet tip as per the competition regulations. With each shot, she made sure that with the aliens being down that she would pick them back up as to not leave a trail of arrow-riddled bodies to her apartment. The hour of running to get anywhere remotely towards the city center was getting to her. The archer could have made it easier on herself and drove her motorcycle, but that screamed a target on her back to the fighters above to attack. Her lungs burned, forcing her to breathe heavily as she pushed on. Archie remained in her pocket as to stay out of view. Overhead, an alien craft began its approach to rain a hail of death from above. Fletch thumbed the button on her makeshift gauntlet as the quiver on her back whirred in place. When it stopped, she skidded to a stop and pulled the arrow out from the quiver. Compared to the ad-hoc design she had before, the arrow was a little sleeker in design, with the broadhead tip further extended than the regular arrows and the shaft of the arrow bulging to accommodate for the change of arrow tip. Knocking the arrow in place, she drew the compound bow back as the fighter continued bearing down on her. Her shoulder blades tense as the release aid snapped open. The arrow flew out from the bow and hit square in the center of the cockpit area. Moments after impact, the ship was rocked with a ferocious fireball as Archie’s seeds were pierced by the bullet tip that was within the design of the arrowhead. The ship exploded over a group of aliens that seemed to be firing down a road perpendicular to the one she was on, them going up in the fire. The ship began swaying in the air as all control was lost inside, the lasers no longer firing. The archer watched as the ship sailed over her head as it crashed into the street behind her. The craft further exploded as it came to a rest, no doubt killing the alien invader inside. Pleased with one less ship in the air to harm the civilians, Kayla turned in the general direction of the Sherman Center and pressed onwards, using her grapple to speed up the process. -------------- [center][img]https://i.vgy.me/GgOdXM.png[/img] [b]Location: French Quarter, Lost Haven Time: Afternoon – Day of Alien Invasion[/b][/center] Since leaving the boat after his chance encounter with Terra Firma and the angelic hero he was with, Anhur limped his way through the city from where he was dropped off. He cursed his luck with the day’s events, where he stopped the Chinatown bridge from exploding due to some small-time terrorist organization and the resulting confrontation. His disappointment grew when he reached Rendezvous B was destroyed by the aliens that the boat took longer to get to the closest to where Dullahan could be. The throbbing in his leg and shoulder had surprisingly lessened since the events at the bridge, but they were still a hindrance to him, especially as he now relies on his close-quarters skills to fend off any attackers. He darted into another alleyway as another squadron of aliens went by him, sticking close to the shadows as to not be spotted. Their weaponry was impressive, that he had to admit. [i]Maybe I can get the information from the terrorist and grab some alien tech for us to reverse engineer?[/i] he thought to himself. That’ll certainly improve any sour mood Dullahan would have if the destruction of the bridges was a negative to The Eye’s operation in the city. All he needed to do was wait for a lone alien to walk on by and the weapon was his. As he weaved through the streets of the city to get to his leader, it didn’t take long before his wish was granted. A lone alien had emerged from the wreckage of a long-downed ship, grabbing any salvageable weapons on board as it looked to find another squad to fall in line with. Unfortunately, that wish was short-lived as Anhur grabbed it from behind and plunged his dagger several times in its chest with deadly precision. He didn’t take long as he grabbed all the weapons and grenades that were on the corpse, making sure to keep some of the one-time use items stashed away as to get them back to the R&D section. Content with everything, the skull-faced man turned the corner around the ship to continue with his newly obtained weapons. As he did, he watched as a small group of aliens was chasing a group of civilians away. Seeing an opportunity to blend in with everything that was going on, he raised the rifle and began firing at the group of aliens. They scrambled at the sudden barrage of their own weaponry being fired on them as they took cover behind destroyed cars at the junction. Getting into cover himself, he watched as the aliens now fired on him. [color=733d04]“Get to safety NOW!”[/color] he bellowed at the civilians as they ran past him. Some were killed by the barrage from the aliens as they try to get him, resorting to him to repay them in kind. While he was a good shot, he was only one person and did not like his odds against a militaristic alien force. When he thought things couldn’t get any direr, a ship flying over the group erupted into flames. The fireball and shockwave of the blast instantly killed the group. A few moments later, another explosion as the ship seemed to crash further down the road. Satisfied with his change of fortune, the skull-faced man began to head to the junction. At that moment, he saw a grappling line zip across the sky as a familiar heroine began to cross the divide. -------------- [center][img]https://vgy.me/weS5zP.png[/img][/center] As she crossed the junction where the group of aliens had been, Kayla looked down both roads to see if there were any other threats in the immediate area. As she looked one way, she saw another group of aliens heading away from the junction to confront another band of heroes some distance away. As they were too far away for her arrows to reach, she was satisfied with the absence of aliens down one road. As she turned her head as she reached the halfway point of the junction, her eyes focused on the lone figure that was walking towards the junction. It didn’t take her long to see the skull tattoo that was on his face. Time slowed for her as she recalled the bus explosion that started her path to being Fletch. She recalled the man’s face as he was now standing right there in the middle of the street. Concerns for the safety of the world were replaced with the burning hatred of rage as her eyes glowered in his direction. [color=e38c2d]”YOU!”[/color] she screamed at the skull-faced man below. She unhooked the grapple from the wall it was embedded in. Hastily, while still in the air, she grabbed a regular arrow and shot it in his direction. She sailed down to the ground. The man, seeing the arrow, rolled out of the way of the arrow. She landed with a thud on the ground. As she rolled back onto her feet, she knocked and shot another arrow. Compared with before, he knocked the arrow away with the new rifle. By then, she closed the distance and began a barrage of punches and kicks. She wanted him to pay for all the hurt he caused that day. Anhur stopped one hammer fist with the rifle. [color=733d04]“I see that you can come out of that hole you seemed to have disappeared off to, [i]Fletch[/i].”[/color] he sneered as he pushed her back. Knowing that his day was going to get much better if he could knock the bitch out cold and drag her ass to the nearest Eye facility for Dullahan to question her. [color=733d04]“It seemed such a shame that I couldn’t kill the bitch that no doubt sent you after me. I’m sure your head will suffice.”[/color] He lunged forward with a kick at the side of her hip. Kayla yelped with the impact but pushed through. She drove the fish with her bow into his kidney. He winced with the pain. She planted another into his sternum. He reeled from the punch. She drove a left hook to his head. He was prepared for the hook and grabbed the bow hand. He drove his other into her stomach. The archer stumbled back seriously winded. Underneath her cowl, she scowled at him. “Stop this!” Both fighters stopped as one of the civilians Anhur saved confronted them. “If you can’t tell, there’s fucking aliens attacking us. Focus on them instead of each other. Do your bitching another time.” Still reeling from the punch and seething with hatred, Kayla saw the logic in the man’s argument. There was no point in trying to get any information from him if the world ends up getting enslaved or destroyed. Besides, there was the point of getting to Racheli in the first place. The archer slowly straightened herself up as she glowered at the skull-faced man. [color=e38c2d]”This is not over,”[/color] she growled. Anhur followed suit, though his gaze never left hers. [color=733d04]”That, I can agree. Don’t lose your head in the meantime as that is mine.”[/color] He began walking past her, full-on shoulder barging her as he went past. Fletch’s head followed him as he walked off into the distance, disappearing in the smoke of the wreckage throughout the street. While it was hard to see her quarry walk away like that, there were more pressing matters at hand. Turning away from the civilian, who then proceeded to run back to the group they were running with, she lifted her arm with the grapple and began her journey towards Sherman Center.