Kenji didn't wait for the ceiling to buckle any further. He looked at Leo, who was already diving under the oil-drum desk, and then looked straight up at the distorted steel.
The "hollow" feeling was gone, replaced by a searing, high-pressure heat. This wasn't just a spark; it was the "Friction" he'd felt earlier—the ability to grind energy against reality itself. He planted his feet, the red static hissing around his shins like steam from a broken pipe.
"Leo, cover your ears!" Kenji shouted.
He didn't just punch. He braced his body and threw both palms toward the ceiling, releasing every ounce of the car-battery "jumpstart" in a single, vertical explosion.
BOOM.
The shipping container didn't just rattle; it groaned as the center of the roof was violently hammered upward. A massive sphere of crimson lightning tore through the steel like it was wet cardboard. The shockwave was so intense that the entire container jumped six inches off its concrete blocks.
The Reveal
Through the jagged, glowing hole in the roof, Kenji saw a silhouette get launched forty feet into the air. The figure tumbled against the backdrop of the full moon, silhouetted in a halo of red sparks before crashing into a nearby mountain of old tires.
Kenji didn't hesitate. He blurred through the front door, his respirator mask snapping into place. The air outside was cold, but the red energy around him was so hot the raindrops were vaporizing before they could hit his suit.
He reached the tire pile in a heartbeat. Standing there, his fists clenched and glowing, he waited for the intruder to rise.
"Paradigm?" Kenji's voice-modulator growled. "Or is the Puppet Master sending his B-team now?"
The figure groaned, pushing aside a rusted tractor tire. As they stood up, the moonlight hit their face. It wasn't a mercenary in a faceless helmet.
It was a girl. She looked a few years older than Kenji, wearing a high-collared white jacket and tactical leggings. Her hair was a shock of electric blue, and she held a staff made of polished, non-conductive carbon fiber. On her shoulder was a small, glowing patch: The Vanguard Academy - Elite Class.
The Rival: "Blue Bolt"
"Nice... pulse," she coughed, spitting out a bit of dust. She wiped a smudge of soot from her cheek, her eyes—bright, neon blue—locking onto Kenji with terrifying intensity. "A bit unrefined, though. You wasted at least 40% of that energy on the sound alone. A real pro would have made that silent."
"Who are you?" Kenji demanded, his static intensifying. "You're not with the Reclaimers."
"The Reclaimers are trash," she said, spinning her staff with a practiced, lethal grace. "I'm Aria, Rank #122 in the Vanguard Student League. My instructors sent me to find the 'Red Glitch' before Paradigm could bag you and turn you into a battery. But looking at you now..."
She pointed her staff at him, and blue sparks began to dance along the tip.
"...I think I'd rather just see how fast you actually are."
The Challenge
She didn't wait for an answer. She lunged, her staff moving like a blur of blue light. Kenji's Storm Sense flared—he could see the path of her strike before it landed, but his body was still heavy from the jumpstart.
"Wait, I'm not a villain!" Kenji yelled, dodging a strike that shattered a car windshield behind him.
"Then prove it!" Aria countered. "If you can't beat a student, you'll never survive Lady Law."