The dark orb dissipated. The shadow-user lowered his hand, expression hidden behind a mask of writhing darkness. Around him, operatives were already moving as they drew weapons, forming ranks, cutting off escape routes the trio's escape routes.
But the plant woman didn't wait for orders.
Her feet touched the ground as roots erupted from below. Massive, gnarled tendrils of living wood burst through the warehouse floor in a spreading wave, cracking concrete, toppling cages, splintering anything in their path. They moved with predatory speed, converging on Yenna's position from every angle.
Yenna reacted as ice barriers formed around her—walls of frozen mist that the roots slammed into and shattered. She was already counterattacking as ice spears launched toward the plant woman, trying to stem the tide before it overwhelmed her as a plant from beneath her sent her flying in the air.
