“No!” Daniel shouted as Jung In drug Claire backward and Seung Yeol started for him. He refused to let them have her. He’d sooner die first! Without even telling it to, his powers snapped, cascading out of him like a blazing phoenix as he lashed out at the entire room. Before it even reached them, Jung In turned, a similar power manifesting and completely blocking his attack. Daniel was flung back as Seung Yeol reached him. The man put a boot in his chest and a rifle in his face. 

    “Go on, give me a reason to pull the trigger,” he teased. Daniel seethed up at him, his eyes going to Claire who fought Jung In with all her strength. And was winning. She grabbed the arm he held about and sank her teeth deep into his flesh. He reeled back, releasing a scream that was muffled by his helmet. 

    “Stop her!” Chang yelled for his men. While Jung In was distracted, he pushed his way into Seung Yeol’s mind, forcing enough psychic energy into his brain to completely overload it and shut him down. The man hit the ground dead, gray matter leaking from his ears before he even knew what happened. Daniel shot to his feet, running full speed at Chang as his soldiers aimed and prepared to fire. “No! We need him alive!” he shouted, grabbing the man closest to him. “X-229, stop him!” Chang ordered. Jung snapped into action, flinging Claire to the ground and running to intercept his brother. They hit the concrete floor rolling, trading blows like prized fighters in a cage match.    Edward cursed, scrambling towards her as his soldiers stood dumbstruck, unknowing of what to do. They scattered, attacking Daniel from all sides, only to be tossed fifty feet in the air by snapping tendrils of energy. 

    “Daniel!” she shouted when she spotted him amidst the fray, just in time to witness Jung In landing a particularly devastating punch to his brother’s face. 

    “Don’t ing move!” Chang snapped at her. Claire glared over at him, getting to her feet and backing towards the closest plane. 

    “You sonofa! This is all your fault!” she screamed at him. The man cursed, taking a step towards her seconds before the building went dark. The power dropped with an indistinct whine and Claire saw that as her chance to book it. She took off past Edward who dove for her, catching her ankle and sending them both tumbling to the ground. 

    “Get off of me!” she screamed, rolling onto her back and lashing out with enough force to stun him as she landed a solid kick to his face. He shrieked in pain, releasing her and rolling away as he clutched at his abused face. She scrambled onto her knees then onto her feet, only to be grabbed by one of the soldiers. Claire fought, struggling against him as gunshots fired above her head. The man holding her sprayed rapidly into the air, gaining the attention of the entire hangar.     

    “Claire!” Daniel screamed when he caught sight of her. His eyes blazed a magnificent blue as he his brother and delivered a punch to his helmet that was backed by every ounce of fizzling, snapping power he possessed. Jung In fell away, the helmet splitting as he hit the ground and went completely still. 

    “Don’t move!” the soldier ordered as Daniel got to his feet. He didn’t listen, just ran full speed at the man even as he trained his rifle on his head. Claire screamed as he pulled the trigger, sending bullets flying in Daniel’s direction. To her complete and utter surprise, he emerged from the cloud of gunpowder and muzzle flashes completely unscathed, jumping and punching the soldier with the same amount of force he’d given his brother. He dropped, hitting the ground in a puddle of his own blood as Daniel reached for Claire. She grabbed him without hesitation and shook him. 

    “What the hell were you thinking?! You could have been shot! Why weren’t you shot?!” she screamed. Daniel just smiled. 

    “Tell you later?”

    “Or you could tell her now,” Chang said, hooking an arm around Claire’s throat and snatching her away from him. His face was bloody and distorted as he pressed a gun against her temple. “You couldn’t just cooperate, could you? You always had to be the ing difficult one!” he screamed. He was frustrated and off balance, his entire body shaking with unspent emotion. Daniel’s eyes went from his frazzled form to Claire.

    “Your shield is down, Chang. You wasted your trump card. Just give up.”

    “Have I?” he asked then looked down at her. His finger twitched a millisecond before he squeezed the trigger. She heard the bullet leave the chamber, felt the rush of air and heat as the lead slug sped towards her head.

    “No!” Daniel screamed as the entire world seemed to slow to