The next day, Max and Kayla went on patrol again. It was just as quiet as the day before, and Max was getting bored, looking off into the white sky. The segments of his staff floated lazily around him as he walked down the street, glowing faintly. "Hey, Max?" Kayla asked, sipping the coffee she'd gotten from the café they'd visited for lunch. "What's up with that?" She pointed at the pieces of metal in the air. Max shrugged his shoulders, and the segments seemed to get brighter for a moment. "Honestly, I don't really know." He waved his hand, and they flew together to form one staff again, light fading away. "Devon told me that the staff is like an extension of my own mind, or something like that." He spun the staff once, before splitting it and sliding both batons into the steel loops on the back of his coat. He'd had them custom made specifically for Vinculum Dominus, arguing that it was a practical modification. What he hadn't mentioned was that it made him feel really cool, drawing both batons from his back like he was Nightwing. "I'm not entirely sure why they like to float around, but I will admit they have their uses." Kayla tilted her head, intrigued. "Oh? What would those be?" She asked, taking another sip of her coffee. "I haven't really confirmed this theory, but I think they might be able to sense danger." Max put his hands in his pockets. "They tend to draw more energy when there's something dangerous nearby, and I can feel the change in pressure when they channel more Flux." Kayla's eyes widened. "Really? That's… cool." She smirked, then spoke under her breath. "Wish I got a magical stick for breaking the rules…" Max laughed, turning to face her. "Well, maybe next-" He started to say, but he was interrupted by his phone ringing.
Max looked down at his screen, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Huh. It's not an Association number…" He shrugged and started to decline the call, before Kayla stopped him. "This is an Association phone though. If someone's calling this number, it's gotta be for a good reason." Max sighed, shaking his head, and answered the call. "This is Max Calder, Association field agent 942-C. Who am I speaking with?" There was a pause, and an audible sigh of relief from the other end of the line. "Thank God, you picked up! This is officer Hanson speaking." Max stopped walking. "Officer? As in-" "Yes! We need your help! I know we're not supposed to get the Association involved in normal police affairs, but we're desperate!" Max furrowed his brow, and his staff glowed on his back faintly. "What's the situation?" He said, voice serious. "My partner and I were called to stop a street fight, but these people are-" A loud crash sounded out on the other side, alongside a guttural scream. "They're crazy! They've gotta be on some kind of drug or something!" The man swore under his breath, just loud enough to get picked up by the phone. "We're at the old scrapyard on Denton. My partner, she's…" Max heard metal banging, and the click of an empty firearm in the background. He flinched instinctively, and felt his Flux flare up. "Oh, FUCK!" The officer shouted on the other end, and the line went dead. "That's not too far from here," Kayla said, staring at Max, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Max let out a long sigh, and pulled his batons off of his back. "Alright, let's go." He said, and they both took off down the road to Denton Street.
They arrived at the scene remarkably quickly, and even Max was surprised. He'd learned to channel his Flux through his muscles to strengthen his attacks ages ago, but reinforcing his legs to run faster was still relatively new to him. It felt amazing, and his body felt lighter, like he was running in zero gravity. Despite the fact that the scrapyard was four city blocks away, he wasn't the least bit out of breath after sprinting there. Kayla, on the other hand, was a bit worse for wear. She was leaning over, breathing hard, with her hands on her knees. "Jesus… How do you do that?" She said, in between wobbly breaths. Max smiled, and stepped toward the gate of the scrapyard. "Maybe I'm special. Who knows?" As he walked through the slightly ajar gate, his smile faded away instantly. There was a dented police cruiser just inside, with blood smeared on the hood and doors. A female officer sat against it, clutching her stomach, unconscious. She was breathing, but was clearly struggling. She looked as if she'd gotten mauled by a bear, covered in scratches and blood. As Max stepped closer to check on the woman, he heard a shout further into the scrapyard. The sounds of conflict rang out from the other side of a stack of crushed cars, and there were streaks of dark blood in the wet pavement. A man lay on the ground, with a dark red puddle still forming beneath him. His eyes were empty, dead. "Hey, Kayla?" He said cautiously, stepping around the body, weapons ready. "Yeah, Max?" She said, already taking her leather gloves off and cracking her knuckles. "Stay close to me, I've got a bad feeling about this…" She nodded, and followed behind him as he rounded the corner. The smell of something rotting hit Max's nostrils, and he grimaced. An older woman was crouched just feet away from Max, eyes wide and feral. She was clutching something furry, a mangled chunk of some animal, and there was blood smeared all over her face. She didn't acknowledge Max, looking up only once before going back to chewing on the chunk of meat. "What the-" Kayla started to say, before she noticed a wounded police officer standing by the building to the right. He had one eye closed, covering it with one hand, and was leaning on a pile of metal scraps, gripping his taser like his life depended on it. Further into the yard, a group of five more people were fighting over something in the dirt. They were fighting like wild animals, clawing and scratching at each other. The officer breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two approaching, and he gestured for them to join him.
"What the hell's going on here?" Max said, eyes wide. Hanson shook his head, and his hands shook. "Damn junkies are fighting over a dead animal over there. When Becky- Officer Hargrave tried to diffuse the situation, they all turned on her." He took in a shaky breath. "Damn freaks. One of those bastards tried to stab my eye out with a screwdriver. A screwdriver! What the hell is wrong with these people?" Max stepped closer and patted his shoulder. "We'll take it from here, you should tend to your partner. Call an ambulance or something." Officer Hanson started to protest. "I can still help-" But Max waved him off, flooding his weapon with Flux. He turned to the crowd of combatants, and cracked his back. "Don't worry about us, we've got this." Kayla followed Max, and the symbols on her hands lit up. Max glanced at her, and shook his head. "Non-lethal attacks only. These aren't demons, we can't just go around incinerating civilians." He spun both parts of his staff. "Besides, can you imagine all the bad PR the Association would get?" He joked, before approaching the main group. Bloody chunks of fur and meat littered the pavement, and Max kicked a large piece aside before clearing his throat. "Hey!" He shouted, his voice carrying across the yard. "Back up. Everyone back up!" Not one of the people even looked up at him, continuing to mercilessly beat each other. Kayla moved up beside him and squared her shoulders. "Okay," She said loudly, her voice shaking slightly. "We're not doing… whatever this is. Hands off. Break it up!" One man twisted away from the group, turning his attention to Kayla. He glared at her, but his eyes were unfocused, like he wasn't actually there. Kayla started to say something, but the man lunged forward, swinging his arms wildly at her. She rolled her eyes, pivoting and catching his wrist with both hands, before redirecting him into the wall of crushed cars with a heavy shoulder slam. He crashed into the wall, air knocked out of his lungs, and growled in pain. Max stepped forward, and Vinculum Dominus came to life, the segments lighting up with crimson energy. The pieces shook for a moment, before settling down with a metallic click, and every crevice of the dual staves was flooded with Flux. "Last warning," Max said, though it was more for himself than for them. He lowered his voice, and twirled the two rods, before moving in. "Stand down."
The first man charged, swinging his fist at Max. He swung the left baton, landing cleanly on the man's forearm with a crack. The man kept moving, but Max slammed the right rod into his ribs, knocking him back. Max kicked him in the gut, and the man's eyes went wide. He fell to the ground, curling up in the dirt in pain. Another came in from Max's blind side, grabbing his jacket. As Max felt the fabric tighten, he spun with it rather than against it, driving the side of his left staff into the attacker's knee. The man's leg buckled, and Max followed up with a crack to the side of his head with the other baton. The guy crumpled to the ground, and Max turned to check on Kayla. She had a woman by the shoulders, holding her at arm's length, while the woman raked at her skin with her nails. Kayla's jaw clenched in pain, but she didn't use her flames. "Stop." She said, her voice sharp. In response, the woman spat in her face, and tried to kick her. Kayla recoiled, and scowled at her. "Fine, be like that." She said, annoyed, and swept at the woman's legs. She hit the ground hard, face-down in a puddle of slush, and Kayla drove her knee into the woman's back, pinning her neck with her forearm across the collarbone. "Breathe," Kayla muttered, as the woman thrashed in the freezing water. "Just breathe, you're fine." The woman continued to resist anyway, her eyes wide and glassy. Max snapped his attention back to the middle of the yard. Just two left… He thought, and stepped forward. One of them had a dead raccoon in his hands, clutching it tight to his chest, guarding it with his whole body. The other was trying to rip it away with both hands, his teeth bared like a wild animal. Max slammed one staff into the ground, and it separated into individual segments, floating around him. He pointed at the two men with the other rod, and the pieces hummed, before shooting forward. Three of them hit the first man's leg, and Max heard a sickening crack as his leg broke in three places. The others shot past them, embedding themselves deep into a wall of metal scraps. Max's eyes went wide, and he looked down at the staff in his right hand in bewilderment. I didn't know they could do that, he thought, as he grabbed the back of the second man's sweater. He yanked the man back, slamming him onto the ground with a thud. As he tried to get back up, Max spun the staff again, cracking it against the man's temple, and sending him stumbling a couple feet away before collapsing into the stack of junk behind him. Vinculum Dominus hummed, and Max turned to the last man. The segments that were stuck in the mountain of scrap metal glowed bright, and shot back towards Max, reconnecting with his staff. Four down, one to go.
The last one was on his hands and knees, still trying to crawl to the scrap meat he'd dropped despite his wounded leg, desperately dragging himself forward. Max looked down at him, and his stomach tightened. "Hey," He called out, his voice lower now. "Look at me." The man on the ground didn't respond, still clawing at the wet pavement, shaking. Max stepped toward him, and raised his staff. As the shadow of the staff crossed the ground, the man finally looked up at Max and snarled. "You're done." Max said, breathing hard, and brought the staff down hard on his skull. The man went quiet, and Max stood there for a moment, inspecting his staff. Not a single scratch, huh… He thought, but was interrupted by the sound of Kayla screaming. "Get off of me you freak!" She shouted, real fear in her voice for the first time. Max spun around, staff raised, and started to run towards her. The woman they'd walked past on the way in was on top of Kayla, pinning her to the ground, her hands wrapped tight around Kayla's wrists. Kayla's knees scraped in the slush as she tried to fight back, but she couldn't find any leverage. The woman was deceptively strong, especially for someone so thin. The woman leaned forward, and her teeth snapped at her neck. "What the f-" Kayla whispered, and twisted hard, freeing her right arm, but the woman kept trying to bite into her, eyes blank. Kayla's eyes went wide. "Max!" She shouted desperately, trying to squirm free. Max sprinted forward, staff raised, and the remaining segments flew together to extend his reach. He covered the distance between them in two big steps, and his boots skidded on the pavement. Then, as Max was mid-swing, the air tightened around them. I know this feeling… Max thought, and he jumped back at the last second, ducking down to the ground.
A burst of fire detonated from Kayla's hand at point-blank range, engulfing the woman on top of her instantly. The roar of the fire drowned out the woman's scream, before fading away just as quickly. The woman reeled backwards, clutching her face. The skin across her cheeks and forehead was blistered in seconds, turning dark red, and her hair was singed off. She stumbled, blind, and tried to scream, but only made a faint rasping sound. Kayla scrambled to her feet, breathing hard, and backed away. "I- I didn't mean to-" She choked out, voice thin. Max sighed, and gave the burnt woman a shove towards a snowbank. She tripped, collapsing face-first onto the dirty snow, before going limp. Kayla locked eyes with Max, and tried to explain herself. "I- I swear I didn't mean to do that-" Max's face was blank, unreadable, and he stepped toward her. "Please, I- I don't wanna go to jail!" She said, tears forming in her eyes, and she backed away from him. "I never wanted to kill anyone…" She closed her eyes, and her hands shook. "I-" She started to talk again, but stopped when she realised Max's hand was on her shoulder. "It's okay, Kayla." He said, voice quiet. "You were defending yourself." She shook her head. "But I-" "You'll be fine, Kayla." Max said, and patted her shoulder twice before turning around to look over the scrapyard. There was blood everywhere, soaking the snow and tinting the slush a deep red. Small chunks of animal viscera were littered about the clearing, and all five of the initial combatants were incapacitated, as well as the burnt woman. As the sound of sirens filled the air, Kayla spoke again. "If I didn't… I would have died…" She whispered to herself. Max turned back to her, and nodded his head. "Exactly." He said, and started toward the gate. "Never hesitate to defend yourself, Kayla." He split his staff, sliding both halves into place on his back. "Because the monsters in this world won't think twice about killing you." She stood there for a moment, thinking about his words, staring at the woman she'd burned, before running to catch up to Max. Officer Hanson thanked them for the assistance, and they went on their way. "It's been like, ten minutes, I wonder why the ambulance is taking so damn long," Max said, and Kayla nodded in agreement. "That's Sector Zero for you." She joked, and they both laughed halfheartedly. Then, something small buzzed past them, nearly touching Kayla's ear, and she flinched. "What was that?" She asked, looking around the now-dark street. "Looked like a bug or something," Max said, and shrugged it off. "Wanna grab dinner at Daniels?" He asked. Kayla grinned, and ran ahead of him. "Sure! I heard they've got all-day breakfast!" Max shook his head, smiling. "You and those pancakes…"