'This will get messy no matter how I play this…' Karen thought somberly, her eyes darting around. 'Surprisingly, too, he'd held back this long.'
She threw a furtive glance at the smug-looking Danny and then to the muscle-brains at the door. Most of the patrons watched, while the rest minded their business. A few had tried leaving, but were 'politely' told to stay.
Her observations left her no room for negotiations. She had acted foolishly, and now, she risked putting a mark on herself. Karen clenched her fists in frustration, exhaling softly.
"How about I pay for the trouble?" She proposed, trying to find a middle ground. "There's no need to escalate this further. And law enforcement is just around the corner."
She tested their reaction.
Nothing.
"Alright, this fuss has gone on long enough." Danny frowned and then looked at his associates. "Pin her down."
The two hesitated, uncertain.
However, the sharp look Danny threw their way dissolved all hesitation.
John, being the closest, was the first to grab Karen's arm. Glancing at the approaching arm, Karen did not move. She had already gone over her limit, allowing scum like them to get so close to her.
That grace period was over.
When the man made contact, all hell broke loose. One moment, John's hand was grabbing at Karen; the next, he was thrown across the room, crashing into the decorative wall on the other side. He slid off the wall and passed out on the floor, his lips bloodied.
"..."
"You bitch! You're dead!" Danny cursed angrily, but Karen was already on the move.
In one fluid motion, she lunged for the bartender, whose actions were more suspicious than the others. She spun over the bar and delivered a vicious kick that sent the bartender flying.
Moreover, she had been right. The bartender had been reaching for a plasma shotgun. Luckily, she reacted faster than they had anticipated.
"Ah…!"
A piercing scream tore through the chaos as the patrons scattered to find cover. Many fled to the washrooms, the rest scrambling towards the back exit. At the entrance, the bouncers charged at her.
Still with the hood over her head, Karen dashed at the bouncers, meeting their fists head-on. She caught their fists with a powerful thud, absorbing the momentum like it was nothing.
The eyes of the bouncers widened in shock and surprise. They became hesitant, debating whether to press forward or back off.
"What are you doing? Take her down!"
Danny, however, was livid. There was no way he would allow a woman to walk all over his face like he didn't matter. But his wishes didn't matter.
Strength did.
Karen suddenly pulled at their fists, shuttling the two brutes over her shoulders. They crashed into the seating area, breaking everything in their path.
Harris, who had been frozen in place for a while, closed in on Karen from behind, barely dodging the bouncers. He hoped to sneak attack while she was distracted.
Sadly for him, he was going against someone completely out of his league.
In his right hand was a blade he swiped through the air, cutting an arc towards Karen's back.
"Eh?"
Right before his eyes, Karen's figure flickered and disappeared. She moved so fast that Harris could not follow her movements. But that was just the beginning…
The blade in his grasp was gone, snatched too fast for him to follow. Then it hit him.
"Ahh…!"
Excruciating pain, as he had never felt before, assaulted him out of nowhere. He lost his balance and fell to the floor. With horror-filled eyes, he looked down and saw his legs broken and bleeding.
"M-my legs…!"
Simultaneously, another horrific scream came from the back.
"Argh!"
Karen had appeared before Danny, delivering a devastating kick to his slightly protruding belly. He broke through the half-circle booth, crushing into the wall behind.
Danny saw stars.
The blow had been especially heavy. His gut felt like it was about to be split open. Bile rose to his mouth, mixing with the blood into something so nasty, he momentarily forgot the pain.
He was wounded like never before, and disoriented to boot! But most importantly, his pride was wounded. A sudden wave of anger coursed through him as he glared at Karen. "Bitch! You're going to regret this!"
"You should live through this first, moron." Karen voiced coldly, taking steady steps towards him, blade in hand. "All this could have been avoided if you had simply given me what I wanted."
"Hehe, what are you going to do about it?" Danny grinned, his teeth bloody. "The world doesn't move on your whims, you know?
"You should take your own advice," she shot back.
"Hmph! Don't think this is over. I may be the boss here, but my boss is on his way."
Karen paused for a split second, but a second Danny caught as clear as day. His grin widened as he added, "What? Did you think beating us would do you any good? Did you think I just sat back while you beat the others?"
As he hammered Karen with questions, he hoped to delay her long enough for the true boss to get here. He looked fearless, but only he knew how shaken he was on the inside.
Sadly for him…
"Hiek!"
Karen closed the gap in a flash, the blade at Danny's neck, "You were saying?"
She dared him to speak, but Danny wisely shut his mouth, his face pale and eyes wide with fear.
"That's what I thought," she mocked. "Now, if you wanna keep this neck of yours, I suggest you start talking."
"F-fine."
Danny folded in an instant. It wasn't like what he knew was guarded intelligence. Gritting his teeth, he spat the words out, "A friend of mine on that side told me planet Soren got destroyed."
Karen's heart dropped at his words, her face turning pale. The strength in her limbs gave out for a moment, unconsciously making her press the blade a little harder.
"Ouch!" Danny winced. "I'm talking, okay!"
Fortunately for Karen, Danny's squeal snapped her back to reality. Even so, she could barely keep herself from collapsing to the ground. Unaware of the turmoil raging in her, Danny continued, staring at Karen's hand with visible fear.
"He also said the clan leader fell during the battle, and the lady got captured."
Karen nearly dropped the blade in her hand, utterly shaken and devastated. What she had feared had happened. Lord Orion had fallen that night. No wonder the planet got destroyed.
But all was not lost…
'The lady is still alive?' In the turmoil of her collapsing world, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart. 'The lady is still alive!'
Grabbing onto that sliver of hope, she tightened the blade and pressed harder, "W-what else do you know?"
Danny gulped, terrified out of his wits. The woman was a truly difficult one. She was as powerful as she claimed, and she hadn't used her abilities yet!
Before he could respond, a commotion from the outside caught their attention.
"Danny, you sleazeball! Where's that bitch?!"
Karen quickly turned to look and cursed, 'Damn it. They're already here.'
From the entrance, several figures rushed inside, quickly filling the bar. Dressed in black, they looked like organised crime. Coming in last was a figure dressed in grey, a man Karen immediately sensed danger from.
"Well, well, well," The man chortled, amused. "Looks like you bit off more than you could chew this time, Danny boy."