Post by Vapovile on Oct 21, 2021 4:49:53 GMT
Located in the outskirts of the Washington countryside, a nice 2-story house sat at the end of a gravel driveway, decorated with dark wood panels and glass all along the sides to give a view of nature outside. Inside, a red-headed woman was busy putting on her shoes to go check the mail. Mia wore a casual grey hoodie and jeans, enjoying her day off from work. A tall man with short brown hair sat in the living room, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
“Gonna get the mail real quick, don’t start without me this time, Jason!” Mia called over, puffing out her cheek in annoyance. He craned his head over and tapped lightly at the buttons on the remote. “Come on, I was in the bathroom and Nora pressed play. Can’t fault me for that, right?” He joked, Mia rolling her eyes.
“Come on, a 2-year-old pressed that exact button? Seems a little suspicious to me.” Mia gave Jason a wink and opened the door, stepping out onto the gravel. The fall rain had already started, so Mia put her hood up to not mess up her hair too badly. Putting her hands in her jacket pocket, she began her way down the driveway.
When she got to the mailbox, Mia felt a menacing aura engulf her surroundings, like a weight had been put on the air itself. She turned to the right and saw an impossibly tall man standing before her, looking slightly over 3 meters tall. His long red hair was longer than even her’s, reaching down to his waist. His body was inhumanly muscular, and wore a ripped black gi with gold trim as he looked down upon her.
“...Are you the one known as...Mirror knight?” The titan asked with a deep, almost angelic voice. Mia took a step back and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mia said defiantly. The man stared at her for several seconds, then blinked.
“You match my research.” The man took out a notebook and flipped to a bookmarked page, showing Mia a picture of herself with a storm of white particles dissipating around her body. He closed the book and put it back into his gi.
Mia frowned at the imposing figure. “I want you off my property. Now.” She demanded. The man grinned and stepped forward, Mia feeling the vibrations from his massive step. “I have come to prove myself stronger than the legend...you will fight me.” He demanded, Mia drawing her sword and pointing it at him.
“Like hell I am! I don’t care who you have to prove your worth to, it’s not going to involve me! I only arrest criminals and stop evil, not maintain some seat at a world power ladder!” Mia yelled at the man. He nodded and held out his right hand, summoning a colossal hammer that dwarfed even his own titanic body in size. The ancient runic writing made Mia think this man was divine somehow.
“...guess I need to prove myself a criminal.” He said casually, turning to her house in the distance and twisting his hammer. He unleashed the titanic hammer directly at the structure, ready to demolish it. Before it could hit however, it was stopped by what appeared to be a wall of glass, sending the hammer careening into the air like a pinwheel.
Mia glared at the man with hatred in her eyes. “You...DARE attack my FAMILY?!” She yelled, kicking off at blinding speed and grabbing the man by the throat, breaking the sound barrier and sailing far into the wilderness. A flurry of white shards formed around her other arm, forming a gauntlet that she drove into the man’s chest, sending him sailing further into the wilderness with extra power, crashing against the ground below and dusting himself off.
Landing directly in front of him, Mia walked forward with hatred in her eyes. “Trespassing, threatening an officer, attempted murder...you are hereby under arrest!” The shards that covered her arm now appeared all around her body, linking together from her feet upward, forming a shining suit of armor that looked to be made out of mirrors. Within a second, her helmet closed up to finish the suit. “State your name, you piece of trash.” Mia spat, pointing her shining white longsword at him.
The expression in his face changed, growing a wide smile and eyes twinkling with joy. He summoned his hammer once more and stepped forward. “Khaleriel, formerly known as the Scourge of Babel before I was expelled from the HWBC. You will be my next step on my march to the top, where even God will kneel before me!”
Winding his hammer back, Khaleriel swung it forward, shattering all the trees in its path. Mia delivered a roundhouse kick, her armor stopping the hammer in its tracks and shooting it backwards, throwing the attacker off balance. Mia rushed in with blinding speed to run Khaleriel through the chest, but he dodged to the left with surprising speed, delivering a palm strike to Mia’s helmet that sent a shockwave around the entirety of Mia’s body...but Mia herself didn’t move.
“So the reflection is based on the original object’s speed…” Khaleriel observed. Before he could say more, a wave of sparkling glass shards erupted from Mia’s body, engulfing his body and blasting it into the forest. He quickly recovered, slamming his hammer into the ground as he observed the glass wave approaching.
“The rumors are true...your defense is nearly perfect.” He said to himself, then smirked. Khaleriel wound up his hammer and smashed it into the ground, blasting apart the ground beneath and sending a wave of earth into the approaching storm. Seeing that the wave wrapped around the rocks gave him more information.
Growing a pair of white angelic wings, Khaleriel shot past the wave and toward Mia, his hammer now expanding. Its insides made Mia’s eyes widen in surprise. Black flesh pulsed beneath, surging with golden energy. He landed on the ground and grinned wide.
“I commend you, Mirror Knight. I can’t even land a single strike on you as I am. However…” The hammer expanded outward, revealing a black void. He made a step toward it...but then a geyser of glass shards erupted from the ground, sending the hammer careening into the air. Mia looked at him defiantly. “Like HELL I will let you get stronger!” She yelled, dashing forward and slicing diagonally. Khaleriel tried to block it with his hands, but was reflected once more, a deep gash now appearing across his chest. He grunted, and tossed some sand at Mia’s face. Much to his surprise, she seemed to pause, allowing him to fly into the air after his hammer.
“Oh no you DON’T!” Mia yelled, hopping onto a platform of her own glass, but it was too late. The half angel had already leaped into the hammer, and began to shift. She finally got to the spot and slashed downward into the mass, bisecting it...but then two sets of red eyes appeared above.
“Witness me at my best, Mirror Knight!” His voice was now almost animalistic. Khalerial’s body was now entirely covered in darkness, with thick steel plating coating the outside of his body. Black ooze engulfed Mia’s body, and while it was reflected from her body due to her armor, it still formed a sphere of control around her body that was then slammed violently into the ground.
Mia quickly recovered, slashing diagonally once more and making her glass shards push apart the ooze from the inside. While the insides did expand, the world also began to swirl, throwing Mia’s footwork off. The knight glared at the situation she was in.
“Your armor looks impenetrable, but there is one flaw…” His voice echoed from the inside. The orb was then inundated with red energy that arched everywhere inside the space. Mia kept slashing at the ooze, but the holes mended almost instantly. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing.
Her armor covered her body, providing a nearly perfect defense...but she still needed to breathe. And she couldn’t make a small air opening because of the energy attack outside. He was trying to suffocate her. Glaring at the ground, Mia’s sword glowed brilliantly. “Let...me...OUT!” She yelled, stabbing the sword into the ground and sending a wave of shards directly into the ground, shoving away the ooze enough to where she could see ground, and dove inside, reappearing several meters away. She quickly opened a small air hole so she could breathe again.
“Hah...hah…” Mia looked at the monster before her. “I don’t care what you do, I’ll reflect anything you throw at me!” Gathering shards in her sword, Mia launched a wave of shards that ripped through the trees, uprooting them and tearing up the ground below. The monster Khaleriel shielded himself from the torrent by leaping to the side, where Mia was there to deliver an upward slash that tore off his right arm.
His left hook bounced off her once more, Mia twisting her body and slicing off his other arm, holding out her hand. “Back to hell with you!” She yelled, sending a wave of shards directly into his chest and engulfing the monster in a torrent, spreading across the ground and tearing apart anything it touched.
Mia landed back on the ground, staring at the sea of glass that was before her. “I think...that’s it…” Mia said, now having her breath back. However, her attention was then drawn to the arm she had severed, which was now growing back into...a hammer? A door opened on the handle of the hammer, and Khaleriel’s body stepped through.
“So you bested even that...huh. I suppose this means I have lost, Mirror Knight.” He said with a shrug, taking a step to the side. Mia stood with her sword ready. “I’m glad I figured out that air weakness though. I guess your defense isn’t as absolute as you think. Although…” His face grew into a grin.
“I think there’s another flaw in your defenses. No matter what material your armor touches, it reflects anything that isn’t your body, no? Well, if that were the case…” His eyes flashed menacingly. “...how are you keeping that stance on the ground? Could the bottoms of your feet be...unarmored?”
Before Mia could do anything, black ooze clung to the bottom of her shoe. She attempted to armor them up, but Khaleriel had already grabbed his hammer and stepped forward with a wild grin on his face. “Let’s see...how far...you…” Khaleriel’s hammer glowed a deep black color, blasting away any raindrops that attempted to fall on it. His stance then shifted, Khaleriel taking a knee as the hammer ripped through the ground beneath, and shattered to the surface straight into the bottom of Mia’s feet. “FLY!”
Mia screamed in pain as the force ripped through the bottom of her feet, instantly shattering her shoes and launching her legs so far up into her torso that the bone began to show as her entire body began to pinwheel into the air. Mia immediately closed her entire armor up to the outside world, but her concentration was clouded by her shattered legs, and not being able to tell what direction was up.
Her sense of perception grew worse when everything started to grow dark. Flashes of blue filled her mind, but mostly darkness. Mia’s eyes widened when she realized what was happening. Wordlessly, the knight tried to summon a sphere of glass around herself, but she couldn’t tell which way to reflect herself. She slowed her breathing, knowing there was little air this high into the atmosphere. Eventually, her glass managed to slow her down enough for her to take stock of the situation. Mia nearly screamed in horror.
The Earth lay before her, a view only possible from the edge of space. She knew not to speak, for she only had the oxygen in her armor. Pointing her sword forward, Mia’s glass shards concentrated around her feet and sent the knight racing back toward the ground, specifically where her fight was.
But despite the blistering speed she was going...Mia didn’t know if there was going to be enough air inside. Her mind began to flash back to her husband Jason, how they met at a normal game of tennis she attended and eventually grew into a relationship. Her daughter Nora was born just 2 years ago, and already made Mia happy to be a mother and wife. Was she really going to die up here, alone in the Earth’s atmosphere?
Fire burned in Mia’s eyes as she increased the speed of her descent, unbelievable amounts of heat being reflected off her armor. She had finally reentered the atmosphere, but the air was still far too thin. Darkness began to creep into the edges of Mia’s vision as she unleashed as much reflective power as she could.
On the ground, Khaleriel was watching the sky. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so the angel decided to take a closer look. Jetting off on his angel wings, he soared in the direction he shot Mia.
The Mirror Knight was now fading in and out of consciousness, body speeding through the air like a rocket. A small figure in her vision caught her attention though. It had long wings and a humanoid body. If she was going to die, he was going to come with her!
Pivoting her jet stream to the right slightly, Mia could now see that it was indeed Khaleriel winding up his hammer once more. This was it. Mia pointed her sword directly at the angel, Khaleriel swung his hammer…
...and completely missed. Mia coated the outside of his hammer with glass, so it bounced harmlessly off while her own sword speared the Nephilim straight through the chest, and began to take them both down to the Earth below. “This...is...the...END! SHINING JUDGEMENT!” Mia used the last of her air to send an eruption of glass straight into the wound, vibrating inside his body and tearing it apart from the inside, making him explode entirely. She grabbed a strand of his long hair to keep his head intact, and the viscera reflected off her armor.
Both of them crashed into the ground violently, Mia’s armor reflecting her body off enough that it didn’t hurt her...but her legs were still shattered. The knight breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to stare up at the sky from the dirt below. Were they in Canada? Alaska? Russia? Didn’t matter now.
Looking over, Khaleriel’s head was beginning to grow a neck once more, confirming her suspicion. She crawled over on her stomach, reached into her pocket, and slapped a pair of power cancelling cuffs across his ears.
“There...you’ll live…” Mia said exhaustedly, kicking his head away so he rolled into a nearby bush. Maybe a raccoon would eat him. Mia reached into her pocket again and brought out a cell phone, pressing the red emergency number.
“H-hey...Marty...mind asking Aria to track my position and...send a medic crew? Not doing so well...bring some Enforcement too...powerful person to arrest...thanks…” Mia clicked off the phone and passed out.
Within minutes there was a team on scene healing Mia up with white magic. Alex himself came with the Enforcement team and stared the angel’s head in the face.
“This is the guy who attacked you?” He asked, Mia nodding her head, visibly shaken by the experience. She had never been that close to death before.
A deep glare descended down Alex’s face as he let go of the head’s hair and roundhouse kicked it into a nearby tree. Other agents tried to intervene, but he ordered them aside as he smashed his foot into Khaleriel’s cheek, the angel looking up at him with dead eyes.
“You attacked one of our best agents, just to prove yourself?!” Alex stomped on his cheek, leaving a boot print. “You’re lucky I’m not the one who determines punishment, or I’d have killed you without a second thought. Be thankful, scumbag.” Alex finished by slamming his heel into Khaleriel’s left eye, causing even the mighty angel to wince. The team quickly took both fighters away.
---
HWIC Headquarters, Aria’s office.
“And that’s why...I want to retire.” Mia stated, sitting in front of Aria’s desk. The HWIC leader looked on as she thought of her response.
“I understand your feelings, Mia. You want more time with your family, and you have been beyond helpful all these years. However…”
“Let me guess, the freaking squad? Nobody else to keep them in line?” Mia asked with a small amount of annoyance in her tone. Aria nodded her head.
“How about a compromise? We will pull you off of all combat operations beyond the absolute most necessary? If you are willing to stay employed with us, we can give you far more time off, and relegate you to more administrative tasks. We’re willing to work with you, Mia.” Aria tried to reassure.
Mia stared at the HWIC leader. Her sense of justice did want to keep her helping this organization make the world more peaceful...but then images of her life flashing before her eyes lingered in Mia’s brain. Fear had gripped the knight, gotten through her ultimate defense.
Aria stood up and went around her desk, pulling out a chair next to Mia’s and sitting on it, crossing her legs and leaning forward.
“You’re free to go and live a quiet life if you wish. Staff retention is my responsibility, not yours. But if you could find it in your heart to continue in a limited capacity, we could also give you a new identity. Wipe your records, and keep you off the radar of the Hidden World. Your husband will never know you’re more than a normal woman. The Intelligence branch can do this for you, Mia.” Aria offered. This made Mia pause. Could they really keep them from the Hidden world?
Letting out a sigh, Mia held out her hand. “Fine. But I want you to look into getting my replacement in the next few years. I don’t care who it is. I want nothing to do with the Hidden World after this mess…” Mia trailed off. Aria stood up and took Mia’s hand, pulling her forward and into a hug with her other hand.
---
Mia trudged down her driveway once more, turning the key and stepping into the house. Jason heard her enter and rushed over, lightly holding her by the shoulders. “Mia! You were hit by a car on the way home?! Are you ok?!” He asked, Mia lightly nodding her head and hugging her husband, tears beginning to form.
“Y-yeah...I’m fine. How’s Nora?” Mia asked. Jason glanced over to the hallway. “She’s doing fine, just asleep right now. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you back.” He reassured her, Mia’s eyes staring at the hallway before looking back down on the ground. “Honey...I’m going to be taking some time off work, ok? So...how about that movie we were going to watch?” She asked weakly. Jason nodded and picked his wife up, putting her on the couch and going to the kitchen.
“I’ll get the popcorn, you just relax, alright?” He said, Mia nodding her head. She clicked off the current channel, and onto the movie menu. As of today, the Mirror Knight was no more.
“Gonna get the mail real quick, don’t start without me this time, Jason!” Mia called over, puffing out her cheek in annoyance. He craned his head over and tapped lightly at the buttons on the remote. “Come on, I was in the bathroom and Nora pressed play. Can’t fault me for that, right?” He joked, Mia rolling her eyes.
“Come on, a 2-year-old pressed that exact button? Seems a little suspicious to me.” Mia gave Jason a wink and opened the door, stepping out onto the gravel. The fall rain had already started, so Mia put her hood up to not mess up her hair too badly. Putting her hands in her jacket pocket, she began her way down the driveway.
When she got to the mailbox, Mia felt a menacing aura engulf her surroundings, like a weight had been put on the air itself. She turned to the right and saw an impossibly tall man standing before her, looking slightly over 3 meters tall. His long red hair was longer than even her’s, reaching down to his waist. His body was inhumanly muscular, and wore a ripped black gi with gold trim as he looked down upon her.
“...Are you the one known as...Mirror knight?” The titan asked with a deep, almost angelic voice. Mia took a step back and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mia said defiantly. The man stared at her for several seconds, then blinked.
“You match my research.” The man took out a notebook and flipped to a bookmarked page, showing Mia a picture of herself with a storm of white particles dissipating around her body. He closed the book and put it back into his gi.
Mia frowned at the imposing figure. “I want you off my property. Now.” She demanded. The man grinned and stepped forward, Mia feeling the vibrations from his massive step. “I have come to prove myself stronger than the legend...you will fight me.” He demanded, Mia drawing her sword and pointing it at him.
“Like hell I am! I don’t care who you have to prove your worth to, it’s not going to involve me! I only arrest criminals and stop evil, not maintain some seat at a world power ladder!” Mia yelled at the man. He nodded and held out his right hand, summoning a colossal hammer that dwarfed even his own titanic body in size. The ancient runic writing made Mia think this man was divine somehow.
“...guess I need to prove myself a criminal.” He said casually, turning to her house in the distance and twisting his hammer. He unleashed the titanic hammer directly at the structure, ready to demolish it. Before it could hit however, it was stopped by what appeared to be a wall of glass, sending the hammer careening into the air like a pinwheel.
Mia glared at the man with hatred in her eyes. “You...DARE attack my FAMILY?!” She yelled, kicking off at blinding speed and grabbing the man by the throat, breaking the sound barrier and sailing far into the wilderness. A flurry of white shards formed around her other arm, forming a gauntlet that she drove into the man’s chest, sending him sailing further into the wilderness with extra power, crashing against the ground below and dusting himself off.
Landing directly in front of him, Mia walked forward with hatred in her eyes. “Trespassing, threatening an officer, attempted murder...you are hereby under arrest!” The shards that covered her arm now appeared all around her body, linking together from her feet upward, forming a shining suit of armor that looked to be made out of mirrors. Within a second, her helmet closed up to finish the suit. “State your name, you piece of trash.” Mia spat, pointing her shining white longsword at him.
The expression in his face changed, growing a wide smile and eyes twinkling with joy. He summoned his hammer once more and stepped forward. “Khaleriel, formerly known as the Scourge of Babel before I was expelled from the HWBC. You will be my next step on my march to the top, where even God will kneel before me!”
Winding his hammer back, Khaleriel swung it forward, shattering all the trees in its path. Mia delivered a roundhouse kick, her armor stopping the hammer in its tracks and shooting it backwards, throwing the attacker off balance. Mia rushed in with blinding speed to run Khaleriel through the chest, but he dodged to the left with surprising speed, delivering a palm strike to Mia’s helmet that sent a shockwave around the entirety of Mia’s body...but Mia herself didn’t move.
“So the reflection is based on the original object’s speed…” Khaleriel observed. Before he could say more, a wave of sparkling glass shards erupted from Mia’s body, engulfing his body and blasting it into the forest. He quickly recovered, slamming his hammer into the ground as he observed the glass wave approaching.
“The rumors are true...your defense is nearly perfect.” He said to himself, then smirked. Khaleriel wound up his hammer and smashed it into the ground, blasting apart the ground beneath and sending a wave of earth into the approaching storm. Seeing that the wave wrapped around the rocks gave him more information.
Growing a pair of white angelic wings, Khaleriel shot past the wave and toward Mia, his hammer now expanding. Its insides made Mia’s eyes widen in surprise. Black flesh pulsed beneath, surging with golden energy. He landed on the ground and grinned wide.
“I commend you, Mirror Knight. I can’t even land a single strike on you as I am. However…” The hammer expanded outward, revealing a black void. He made a step toward it...but then a geyser of glass shards erupted from the ground, sending the hammer careening into the air. Mia looked at him defiantly. “Like HELL I will let you get stronger!” She yelled, dashing forward and slicing diagonally. Khaleriel tried to block it with his hands, but was reflected once more, a deep gash now appearing across his chest. He grunted, and tossed some sand at Mia’s face. Much to his surprise, she seemed to pause, allowing him to fly into the air after his hammer.
“Oh no you DON’T!” Mia yelled, hopping onto a platform of her own glass, but it was too late. The half angel had already leaped into the hammer, and began to shift. She finally got to the spot and slashed downward into the mass, bisecting it...but then two sets of red eyes appeared above.
“Witness me at my best, Mirror Knight!” His voice was now almost animalistic. Khalerial’s body was now entirely covered in darkness, with thick steel plating coating the outside of his body. Black ooze engulfed Mia’s body, and while it was reflected from her body due to her armor, it still formed a sphere of control around her body that was then slammed violently into the ground.
Mia quickly recovered, slashing diagonally once more and making her glass shards push apart the ooze from the inside. While the insides did expand, the world also began to swirl, throwing Mia’s footwork off. The knight glared at the situation she was in.
“Your armor looks impenetrable, but there is one flaw…” His voice echoed from the inside. The orb was then inundated with red energy that arched everywhere inside the space. Mia kept slashing at the ooze, but the holes mended almost instantly. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing.
Her armor covered her body, providing a nearly perfect defense...but she still needed to breathe. And she couldn’t make a small air opening because of the energy attack outside. He was trying to suffocate her. Glaring at the ground, Mia’s sword glowed brilliantly. “Let...me...OUT!” She yelled, stabbing the sword into the ground and sending a wave of shards directly into the ground, shoving away the ooze enough to where she could see ground, and dove inside, reappearing several meters away. She quickly opened a small air hole so she could breathe again.
“Hah...hah…” Mia looked at the monster before her. “I don’t care what you do, I’ll reflect anything you throw at me!” Gathering shards in her sword, Mia launched a wave of shards that ripped through the trees, uprooting them and tearing up the ground below. The monster Khaleriel shielded himself from the torrent by leaping to the side, where Mia was there to deliver an upward slash that tore off his right arm.
His left hook bounced off her once more, Mia twisting her body and slicing off his other arm, holding out her hand. “Back to hell with you!” She yelled, sending a wave of shards directly into his chest and engulfing the monster in a torrent, spreading across the ground and tearing apart anything it touched.
Mia landed back on the ground, staring at the sea of glass that was before her. “I think...that’s it…” Mia said, now having her breath back. However, her attention was then drawn to the arm she had severed, which was now growing back into...a hammer? A door opened on the handle of the hammer, and Khaleriel’s body stepped through.
“So you bested even that...huh. I suppose this means I have lost, Mirror Knight.” He said with a shrug, taking a step to the side. Mia stood with her sword ready. “I’m glad I figured out that air weakness though. I guess your defense isn’t as absolute as you think. Although…” His face grew into a grin.
“I think there’s another flaw in your defenses. No matter what material your armor touches, it reflects anything that isn’t your body, no? Well, if that were the case…” His eyes flashed menacingly. “...how are you keeping that stance on the ground? Could the bottoms of your feet be...unarmored?”
Before Mia could do anything, black ooze clung to the bottom of her shoe. She attempted to armor them up, but Khaleriel had already grabbed his hammer and stepped forward with a wild grin on his face. “Let’s see...how far...you…” Khaleriel’s hammer glowed a deep black color, blasting away any raindrops that attempted to fall on it. His stance then shifted, Khaleriel taking a knee as the hammer ripped through the ground beneath, and shattered to the surface straight into the bottom of Mia’s feet. “FLY!”
Mia screamed in pain as the force ripped through the bottom of her feet, instantly shattering her shoes and launching her legs so far up into her torso that the bone began to show as her entire body began to pinwheel into the air. Mia immediately closed her entire armor up to the outside world, but her concentration was clouded by her shattered legs, and not being able to tell what direction was up.
Her sense of perception grew worse when everything started to grow dark. Flashes of blue filled her mind, but mostly darkness. Mia’s eyes widened when she realized what was happening. Wordlessly, the knight tried to summon a sphere of glass around herself, but she couldn’t tell which way to reflect herself. She slowed her breathing, knowing there was little air this high into the atmosphere. Eventually, her glass managed to slow her down enough for her to take stock of the situation. Mia nearly screamed in horror.
The Earth lay before her, a view only possible from the edge of space. She knew not to speak, for she only had the oxygen in her armor. Pointing her sword forward, Mia’s glass shards concentrated around her feet and sent the knight racing back toward the ground, specifically where her fight was.
But despite the blistering speed she was going...Mia didn’t know if there was going to be enough air inside. Her mind began to flash back to her husband Jason, how they met at a normal game of tennis she attended and eventually grew into a relationship. Her daughter Nora was born just 2 years ago, and already made Mia happy to be a mother and wife. Was she really going to die up here, alone in the Earth’s atmosphere?
Fire burned in Mia’s eyes as she increased the speed of her descent, unbelievable amounts of heat being reflected off her armor. She had finally reentered the atmosphere, but the air was still far too thin. Darkness began to creep into the edges of Mia’s vision as she unleashed as much reflective power as she could.
On the ground, Khaleriel was watching the sky. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so the angel decided to take a closer look. Jetting off on his angel wings, he soared in the direction he shot Mia.
The Mirror Knight was now fading in and out of consciousness, body speeding through the air like a rocket. A small figure in her vision caught her attention though. It had long wings and a humanoid body. If she was going to die, he was going to come with her!
Pivoting her jet stream to the right slightly, Mia could now see that it was indeed Khaleriel winding up his hammer once more. This was it. Mia pointed her sword directly at the angel, Khaleriel swung his hammer…
...and completely missed. Mia coated the outside of his hammer with glass, so it bounced harmlessly off while her own sword speared the Nephilim straight through the chest, and began to take them both down to the Earth below. “This...is...the...END! SHINING JUDGEMENT!” Mia used the last of her air to send an eruption of glass straight into the wound, vibrating inside his body and tearing it apart from the inside, making him explode entirely. She grabbed a strand of his long hair to keep his head intact, and the viscera reflected off her armor.
Both of them crashed into the ground violently, Mia’s armor reflecting her body off enough that it didn’t hurt her...but her legs were still shattered. The knight breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to stare up at the sky from the dirt below. Were they in Canada? Alaska? Russia? Didn’t matter now.
Looking over, Khaleriel’s head was beginning to grow a neck once more, confirming her suspicion. She crawled over on her stomach, reached into her pocket, and slapped a pair of power cancelling cuffs across his ears.
“There...you’ll live…” Mia said exhaustedly, kicking his head away so he rolled into a nearby bush. Maybe a raccoon would eat him. Mia reached into her pocket again and brought out a cell phone, pressing the red emergency number.
“H-hey...Marty...mind asking Aria to track my position and...send a medic crew? Not doing so well...bring some Enforcement too...powerful person to arrest...thanks…” Mia clicked off the phone and passed out.
Within minutes there was a team on scene healing Mia up with white magic. Alex himself came with the Enforcement team and stared the angel’s head in the face.
“This is the guy who attacked you?” He asked, Mia nodding her head, visibly shaken by the experience. She had never been that close to death before.
A deep glare descended down Alex’s face as he let go of the head’s hair and roundhouse kicked it into a nearby tree. Other agents tried to intervene, but he ordered them aside as he smashed his foot into Khaleriel’s cheek, the angel looking up at him with dead eyes.
“You attacked one of our best agents, just to prove yourself?!” Alex stomped on his cheek, leaving a boot print. “You’re lucky I’m not the one who determines punishment, or I’d have killed you without a second thought. Be thankful, scumbag.” Alex finished by slamming his heel into Khaleriel’s left eye, causing even the mighty angel to wince. The team quickly took both fighters away.
---
HWIC Headquarters, Aria’s office.
“And that’s why...I want to retire.” Mia stated, sitting in front of Aria’s desk. The HWIC leader looked on as she thought of her response.
“I understand your feelings, Mia. You want more time with your family, and you have been beyond helpful all these years. However…”
“Let me guess, the freaking squad? Nobody else to keep them in line?” Mia asked with a small amount of annoyance in her tone. Aria nodded her head.
“How about a compromise? We will pull you off of all combat operations beyond the absolute most necessary? If you are willing to stay employed with us, we can give you far more time off, and relegate you to more administrative tasks. We’re willing to work with you, Mia.” Aria tried to reassure.
Mia stared at the HWIC leader. Her sense of justice did want to keep her helping this organization make the world more peaceful...but then images of her life flashing before her eyes lingered in Mia’s brain. Fear had gripped the knight, gotten through her ultimate defense.
Aria stood up and went around her desk, pulling out a chair next to Mia’s and sitting on it, crossing her legs and leaning forward.
“You’re free to go and live a quiet life if you wish. Staff retention is my responsibility, not yours. But if you could find it in your heart to continue in a limited capacity, we could also give you a new identity. Wipe your records, and keep you off the radar of the Hidden World. Your husband will never know you’re more than a normal woman. The Intelligence branch can do this for you, Mia.” Aria offered. This made Mia pause. Could they really keep them from the Hidden world?
Letting out a sigh, Mia held out her hand. “Fine. But I want you to look into getting my replacement in the next few years. I don’t care who it is. I want nothing to do with the Hidden World after this mess…” Mia trailed off. Aria stood up and took Mia’s hand, pulling her forward and into a hug with her other hand.
---
Mia trudged down her driveway once more, turning the key and stepping into the house. Jason heard her enter and rushed over, lightly holding her by the shoulders. “Mia! You were hit by a car on the way home?! Are you ok?!” He asked, Mia lightly nodding her head and hugging her husband, tears beginning to form.
“Y-yeah...I’m fine. How’s Nora?” Mia asked. Jason glanced over to the hallway. “She’s doing fine, just asleep right now. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you back.” He reassured her, Mia’s eyes staring at the hallway before looking back down on the ground. “Honey...I’m going to be taking some time off work, ok? So...how about that movie we were going to watch?” She asked weakly. Jason nodded and picked his wife up, putting her on the couch and going to the kitchen.
“I’ll get the popcorn, you just relax, alright?” He said, Mia nodding her head. She clicked off the current channel, and onto the movie menu. As of today, the Mirror Knight was no more.