Back on Toshi's side—while he was tracking Fitz using the GPS signal—he got a call from Syd.
{...Have you found him yet!?}
"...Yeah. He's hiding in a nearby shop not far from your location. I shot him four times, but he managed to get up and run. Must be wearing body armor."
{...It's been ten minutes already... Roxxy's ice tracker on him should've melted by now! Be careful!}
"...Got it. No problem."
Toshi kept his eyes on the signal on his phone. He could still see the red dot tracking Syd Barrett.
"....."
The signal darted and weaved through debris and corners, but then... it stopped.
Toshi froze, slipping behind cover nearby while alternating his focus between the screen and the smoke-filled road ahead.
"...Why'd it stop...?"
"....."
"Did he find the tracker?"
He brushed wind-blown hair from his face, piecing the puzzle together.
If that's the case... then that sudden stop must mean he's trying to remove or destroy it… which means we'll lose him immediately.
"...Not good..."
He gripped his gun tightly, about to leap from cover when—
He was shot from behind.
Multiple times.
"!?"
Someone shot Toshi in the back. Bullets tore through his jacket and slammed into him full force.
He dropped to the ground, covered in dust.
"...Ugh!"
The impact was strong enough to break his spine if fired at close range.
Toshi coughed up blood and turned his head to see who fired at him.
"!?"
His eyes went wide. It was Fitz.
The assassin didn't waste the opportunity. He shot out both of Toshi's legs, blood soaking his pants.
"AAAAAAGHHH!!!"
Toshi screamed in pain, but he managed to shoot back.
BANG! BANG!
Fitz ducked back into cover.
thud...thud...thud...
There were five .45 ACP rounds embedded in Toshi's back… and four more in his thighs.
Nine shots total. He couldn't move his legs anymore. His nerves were completely severed.
All he could do now was drag himself forward using his arms.
And because he only got two shots off—while Fitz had emptied a full mag—Fitz had to reload in cover, giving Toshi the advantage for the moment.
"...What's going on?! Why... did the tracker...?!"
Toshi checked his phone again… and then it hit him.
The red blinking signal had moved far past where Syd and Sally were.
"...He tricked us!"
"...You think I'd just destroy the tracker the moment I found it? That's rookie shit… and I'm no rookie," Fitz chuckled.
Fwooosh…
A gust of wind blew past Toshi, stirring his hair—and it all clicked.
"The wind... That's it! He found the tracker… but instead of destroying it, he used his power to send it into the sky and let the wind carry it off to bait us!"
"Bingo! But it's too late now!"
Fitz finished reloading and prepared to shoot again.
"You're out of bullets, and even if your skin's bulletproof, you can't walk anymore. Even dragging yourself will be a struggle. You won't get far!"
"...Ugh! Gotta… find cover..."
Toshi clawed at the ground with all his strength, trying to reach a safer spot—but he barely made it an inch.
So he made a choice.
He stopped moving.
"....."
And aimed his gun toward Fitz's cover, ready to use his speed skill to shoot before Fitz could react.
Fitz, expecting this, didn't peek. Instead, he tapped at the screen on his wrist device.
[Please select object to 'Drop']
[Please select location for 'Drop']
"...?!"
The harsh sunlight cast shadows across the ground… and Toshi noticed something round moving above.
He looked up—and saw Fitz's DIY metal bombs.
Five of them.
"!!!!!"
"Go on! You've got that speed ability, right? Let's see if you can outrun these!"
Fitz laughed maniacally.
"You could try shooting them midair, sure… but if you do, I'll blow your brains out while you're focused on them."
"Shit!... Dammit!"
Toshi raised his gun, preparing his technique, while Fitz readied himself to strike back.
Fitz was right.
Toshi had only two options: shoot Fitz and risk dying in an explosion, or shoot the bombs and get headshotted.
"It's over! No matter what you pick—you die!"
But right as the battle reached its climax—
A massive red object flew through the air between them.
It was huge, launched with incredible force.
Toshi and Fitz both instinctively dove out of the way.
And Toshi saw it clearly: it was the same red firetruck Fitz had dropped on him back in the store!
It swept the falling bombs away, crashing into a building across the street before tumbling to the ground.
"What the hell?! A firetruck?! From where?! ...No, wait—how the hell did it fly like that?! It was like The Hulk threw it!"
Fitz immediately knew this wasn't Toshi's doing.
A third party was involved.
And then he saw him.
"Syd!"
Behind the path of the firetruck, Syd Barrett appeared. Next to him stood Sally… and a foam fruit box.
"A foam box? That's a fruit crate, right!? Don't tell me…"
Fitz connected the dots.
"That's it! During the chaos in the market, he must've grabbed it when he hid with the girl!"
Exactly.
"The light weight of foam… swapped with the firetruck... Give credit to Jody—she came up with the idea..."
Because back on the bridge… Jody had asked Syd to swap her body's properties with a plastic bag instead of steel.
It stunned him at first—until he heard her reason.
That's what sparked the idea for him to adapt it himself.
"...That bastard! He doubled back!?"
Fitz was drenched in sweat.
"And who the hell would leave their friend to get beaten alone?"
With that, Syd charged at Fitz, sending Sally off to run toward Toshi.
"...C-Can you stand...?"
Sally ran to help support Toshi. Even if she couldn't do much, it was better than nothing.
"Yeah... But hey... Can I ask you a favor?"
"Huh?"
.
.
.
WHAM!
"OWWW!!! You son of a—!"
Fitz clutched his fist in pain after punching Syd's face—it felt like punching a concrete pillar.
"My body's steel, dumbass!"
And with that, Syd pummeled Fitz's face mercilessly until it was a swollen, bloody mess.
Fitz managed to grab Syd by the collar and counter with a sweep kick, slamming the boy to the ground.
"Steel body, huh? Well, you screwed up by trying to go toe-to-toe with me!"
He pulled out a bottle of acid he'd kept and quickly splashed it all over Syd's face.
"...Acid!?"
"That's right! Let's see how cocky you are now! You forgot acid reacts with metal, huh!?"
He slammed the acid bottle—glass and all—onto Syd's face with full force, soaking him in chemicals and shattered shards.
"Heh!"
There's no way he's surviving that. His face should be a melted mess—
But it wasn't.
Syd's face looked completely normal, as if he'd only been splashed with water.
"!?!?!?"
"Yeah. I didn't forget. That's why I swapped already!"
Suddenly, Syd hooked his legs around Fitz's neck, flipped him, and hurled him straight into the hood of a nearby car—crushing it completely.
"AAARGH!"
Three of Fitz's ribs cracked from the impact.
"...Ugh!"
He coughed up blood, slumped against the wreck.
"Look closely, you idiot! This isn't steel!"
"...Skin's hard as metal… but not corroded by acid..."
Fitz slowly pushed himself up.
"He… swapped it for aluminum... from the firetruck's valve!?"
Once Fitz realized, Syd pulled his gun and fired at him immediately—intending to end it right there.
But—
[Please select an object to 'Drop']
[Please select a 'Drop' point]
Fitz didn't choose any object nearby.
He selected the car he was on.
"What the—?!"
Both Fitz and the car he clung to vanished instantly, making Syd's bullet hit empty air.
"!?!!?"
"Syd! He selected the car he was on! He's gonna drop it on us!"
All three of them looked up—sure enough, the car was plummeting from the sky…
But it wasn't falling on Syd.
It was heading straight for Toshi and Sally.
"Shit!!!!"
As for Fitz, who was still attached to the car, he yanked a cord beneath his bulletproof vest—
FWOMP!
A parachute popped out of his vest, separating him from the falling vehicle.
"He's not sparing the kid anymore!?"
"He's changed his mind! He's gonna kill all three of us!" Syd shouted.
"I didn't think I'd have to pull out my trump card! You're one of the few who made me do this!"
Originally, this trick was meant for escaping—but Fitz decided to use it to end the battle.
If he couldn't win, he'd at least leave with the kid's corpse.
Given Toshi's condition and Sally being just a child… there was no way they could dodge.
Syd hurled himself toward them just as the car Fitz had clung to came crashing down.
KRAAAASH!!!
The impact crushed the car into scrap metal.
Fitz dropped the parachute and landed beside the wreck, limping toward them through the dust.
And what he saw made him grin.
There was Syd Barrett—coughing blood, near death. His body, once tough as steel, had been crushed almost entirely.
And yet… he still shielded Sally beneath him. The girl was miraculously unharmed.
"...Hmm?"
Fitz admired Syd's dedication to the mission.
He turned to the wreckage and noticed a body writhing in pain—not clear who from here, but it was easy to guess.
Toshi.
"...So, you were ordered to take the girl alive too, huh..."
Fitz nudged Syd's side with his foot. The boy shifted slightly, allowing Sally to be pulled free with ease.
"...Unconscious? Or dead already?"
He lifted Sally and checked her breath—she was still breathing.
"You protected her... even when I was trying to kill her... Gotta hand it to you... Since she's still alive, I'll finish your job."
Fitz turned and limped away with Sally in his arms, intending to regroup with Soo-min—but something felt off.
He looked back at the body next to the wreckage. As the dust settled…
It was Sally.
"!?"
Then… who was he holding?
The realization hit—but too late. The girl in his arms was pointing a gun at his chin.
BANG!
Fitz's entire head exploded. Eyeballs, blood, pink brain matter scattered everywhere.
His body dropped instantly. The girl in his arms was now free.
"..."
Syd slowly pushed himself up from the ground… bones grinding with every movement.
It hurt like hell, he thought.
No—hell would've been merciful.
His arm was broken in two places, shoulder dislocated, ribs puncturing his lungs, wrist shattered…
The girl who had just blown Fitz's head off turned and returned to Syd—and her body morphed back into Toshi.
"...Huff... huff... huff..."
"...Cutting it close, weren't you?" Toshi said.
Syd chuckled weakly—any more would've torn his lungs.
"...Yeah... good thing we switched in time..."
He motioned for Sally—who had been pretending to be injured by the wreck—to get up.
She looked at the defeated Fitz, then at the battered Syd and Toshi…
A thought crossed her mind:
[Now's my chance to make a break for it!]
She took a step—then froze as Syd pointed a gun (empty, but she didn't know that) at her.
"You think I don't know, you little shit?"
"...I-I give up... 😢"
Not realizing the gun was empty, Sally had no choice but to obediently follow.
.
.
.
Fitz
Alias:FreeFall
Ethnicity: Unknown (Caucasian)
Language Proficiency: English
Ability: Can launch any non-living object into the air and freely designate its falling position by issuing commands through a power system embedded in a specialized "arm-mounted device."
Type of Ability: Manifested through an arm-mounted device consisting of:
A single green glove connected by a tethered cable.
A touchscreen interface that only Fitz can operate.