This isn't good. If it were just an Elite Agent, Malcolm and I could manage. But her... the air around her feels different. Is she SDU? No, I confirmed they were all on a mission elsewhere...
Then again, why is she here now? Did we miss something?
"Lisa!"
Malcolm snapped her out of her thoughts.
"We'll fight. She's been tailing us for days and we still don't know how. She could be part of the Special Division Unit—maybe reassigned last minute."
SDU... the one force we were warned to watch out for. Damn it.
As the duo tensed, the woman finally spoke.
"Judging by your expressions, you're not ready to face an SDU operative."
"Oh, don't get cocky," Lisa shot back. "You seem strong, but not infallible. Nothing's set in stone... yet."
Without warning, Lisa hurled a telekinetic blast.
BOOM!
As the dust cleared, Lisa's excitement vanished. A transparent barrier shimmered in the sunset's reflection. The woman had been pushed back a few meters—ground cracked in a fan shape—but she was unharmed.
"That was a powerful spell," she said, calm and unfazed, "but against an Anti-Wave Disruptor, it's just a parlor trick. You're not ready for me. But I'm ready for you."
"Any energy-based attack—magic or otherwise—won't work. Unless you've got something else, return what you stole and surrender."
Sara delivered her assessment coldly.
"Malcolm, almost all my strong spells are energy-based. I—"
"—won't be much help, I know," he finished. "She's using a high-grade armament that nullifies energy."
He clenched his fists.
"Time to get physical."
In an instant, Malcolm vanished—reappearing mid-strike with a flurry of punches.
Sara dodged some, but several landed hard, sending her flying. She crashed into a car. Luckily, the Nanite Suit absorbed the impact, dulling pain and already working to regenerate her injuries.
So physical attacks work... good.
Lisa could do more, but that Anti-Wave Disruptor is like her natural enemy. Damn it. We'll have to manage with what we've got.
CRACK!
As Malcolm strategized, Sara rose, cracking her neck and spine as the nanites re-aligned her bones.
The Nanite Suit numbed pain, enhanced strength, and repaired damage—but even it couldn't handle sustained beatings forever.
I'll need a new tactic.
They all realized the same thing at once.