The Powers That Be by Aer-ki Jyr (best sci fi novels of all time .txt) 📕

was getting pummeled so much she used her Ubven on reflex, stopping the Saiyan for the briefest of moments, then Morgan’s Rentar melted her a path through it and the blur returned to pummeling her…but not before she was able to get a little better positioning and released a spherical Jumat blast that knocked Morgan back a meter, only to have her come in again.

The trailblazer’s Commando abilities were too damn good, and her Saiyan upgrade made her unstoppable…so Kara had to go into Essence mode and created a vortex around her, not knowing exactly where Morgan was even when feeling for her Core. She was moving too fast and flickering all over the place, so an area of effect attack was what was needed.

She spun the Momentum Essence around her, vortexing it outward so to push Morgan back, but somehow she fought through it, and Kara felt a foreign Essence mixing with hers right up to…

Suddenly Kara got hit in the jaw so violently it rung her bell and she lost focus for a moment…then was hit in the gut, the back, and 10 other places before she knew what was happening…

Reflexive rage filled her and she just pushed outward…everywhere, blowing Morgan down and into the mud as trees around them toppled and Kara’s clothing got obliterated off her body along with the blood coming from her nose that her Vorch’nas hadn’t gotten to fixing just yet.

When the punches stopped coming Kara calmed down, shut down her Siphon which had somehow turned on full blast without her realizing it, and saw Morgan’s legs sticking up out of the mud as her head and upper body had been driven down into it like a tent spike.

“Whoops,” she said, reaching out telekinetically to help pull her out, but Morgan didn’t need assistance, and when the torrent stopped she flew backwards into the air enough to get clear and flipped over to land on the ground, her head completely covered with mud as she spat and coughed it up, then telekinetically squeezed some out of her nose.

“That’s what you get for not saying ‘hi’ first,” Kara commented with an awkward frown on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking a break from Dino training. They’ve started to figure it out, and I wanted to see this super-power of yours myself. I didn’t expect to land more than a couple of punches at best. Why’d you let me beat you up?”

“I could barely see you,” Kara protested. “I’m glad you think I’m such a badass you can jump at will and not get the drop on…but I’m not. You hit too damn hard,” she said as the broken nose Morgan had given her audibly snapped back into alignment and sealed up.

“Training not going that well?” the trailblazer said apologetically.

“Yes and no. How did you sneak up on me?”

“Kgat and a little Essence hiding technique Wilson has been working on. Did it work?”

“I don’t know if I was just distracted or not, but I didn’t have any idea you were nearby, and even after you said something I couldn’t pinpoint you…though I didn’t try to look for your Essence. I was just happy to hear your voice.”

“That lonely out here?”

“I’m back to being the wonder girl that nobody else can keep up with.”

“Now that you know I’m here, can you keep me from hitting you again?”

Kara reached out a hand towards Morgan, but the woman didn’t move. Instead she let Kara get an Essence grip on her, which she solidified into a Hard Light body cast…which somehow Morgan broke with her own Essence until she quickly enhanced it with a Siphon flow. The second attempt pinned Morgan hard, and Kara slowly walked up to within a few inches of her face cautiously smiling.

“Stuck?”

“Afraid so. How much Essence are you having to use to hold me?”

“More than I expected. Somehow your skills are still better than mine, you just lack my power.”

“How much of your training is going into offense and defense?”

“Most of it is offense, but I’m working on the Black Shield I mentioned earlier. It’s the key, Morgan, and I’m not doing so good at it.”

“What about body form defenses?”

Kara shrugged. “Is that what you used?”

“Cut your extra power and I’ll show you in slow mo.”

“Alright,” Kara said, reducing her shackles to only what her body could produce, though the amount already there Morgan had to work through over time. She was somehow melting it like ice, and once she got enough movement to wiggle the whole thing cracked and fell apart.

“Did you see?”

“Yeah, and I can’t do that.”

“That’s because almost all my Essence training goes into movement enablers. I’m not going to be able to win an Essence war, but if I can keep my mobility a few seconds I should be able to close to melee range. I figure that will give me a chance if I move quick enough,” Morgan said as her hair went back to her normal red/black that matched her Ninja Monkey Clan colors.

“That’s all you’re practicing?”

“Mostly. We’ve got you for the big stuff, right?”

“Working on it, but Strovok is so far beyond me it’s crazy.”

“Is that true?” Morgan asked as the Mek’tal ran into view, hopping over one of the toppled trees and towering over both Humans.

“I can give you a demonstration if needed,” he said angrily, but Kara waved him off.

“It’s alright. My ‘Mom’ was just pointing out a flaw in my defenses,” she said, using Ginsi’s favorite insult for her Master…because Morgan really hated it, and the glare she gave Kara confirmed it.

“Do not hit her again,” Strovok warned.

“I’d normally say something pithy right now, but I get the feeling you could crush me pretty easily,” Morgan said, with a little variance in her normal poise that