The Silver Ghost

'I got here just in time, it seems.' I thought in relief, crouching down on the roof of a warehouse.

The warehouse was massive but incredibly inefficient as there were three truck docks next to each other, with two commercial garage doors next to those. Essentially only one way in and out.

The building was rectangular in shape divided into two sections: The warehouse storage and the Office space. Two-thirds of the building belongs to the storage section, while the remaining third included the offices and other faculties. The doors and entrances were located at the intersection between both sectors allowing easy access to either.

'I could try the roof; the skylights may be a potential point of entry. I don't know the current situation, the stealth approach is always the most desirable, but it takes too much time, time they might not have. But going gun's blazing could just put their lives in danger. I need more information, and getting closer could risk getting caught pre-maturely.'

I gather my mana into my eyes, activating Mana Sight. The world lost color, then blue outlines and blotches began to appear superimposed on the colorless vision of the world until they took shape.

'18 in total. 4 at the entrance, the rest spread out across. 4 are bundled together. There are four inside what appears to be a shipping container. Since my mana is coming from there, I'm guessing that's where Jenn and her friends are. There seems to be something blocking my mana vision. What is that? It's all fuzzy.'

Suddenly a massive spike of mana surged from the container as two individuals approached Jenn and her friends. As the mana flared, it became blurred then would spontaneously disappear.

"Seriously, I haven't even finished assessing the situation," I said, jumping up noticing the signs of a battle taking place. "The brunt force way, it is!" I reaffirmed, putting on my mask, and jumping down from the roof.

Not waiting, I rushed my way towards the entrance, the door next to the last overhead door. I got to the door and knocked.

"Hello, someone ordered a pizza?" I asked, cracking my voice.

The door immodesty flies open, "Who the fuck?" A large man pointing a pistol to my face interrogates.

I reinforce my leg and kick with all my power between the man's legs, creating an audible cracking sound, followed by a hollowed yell of anguish as the man fell to his knees.

Noticing a woman reaching up to her radio, I said, "Oops, sorry, can't let you do that," as a flame rope erupted from my palm.

The spell entangled her arm, melting her sleeve into her flesh. Her mouth opened, attempting to yell, only to be cut short as I yanked the Flame chain pulled her towards me. Before the woman was in the air, a spiked ice shield was conjured to my right side and launched itself across the floor. In its path was an unfortunate kidnapper aiming his gun; unable to react quickly enough, he attempted to jump sideways. Regrettably, his effort was in vain as the spiked pierced his legs and dragged him across the lobby.

I turned and faced the last remaining man standing, who abandoned his gun, casting a petrification spell turning his skin to stone, and charged at me. As he ran, each step thundered and fractured the concrete below his feet, a true juggernaut. Instinctively I jumped to the side and jerked the flame chain still attached to my palm.

The half-ton man rammed straight into his comrade; unable to stop due to the momentum, he dragged the woman across the lobby until they crashed into the thick and reinforced warehouse walls. A boom resonated across the building concurrently with the juggernaut smashing into the wall, forcing my attention to it.

'A gunshot!'

I then turned back to the stone man and shot a torrent of water; in a few seconds, he was soaked. I then commanded my mana and shot a directional Arctic Embrace at him. The frost left my palms and surrounded him, the woman embedded into the wall and the man by the door in blizzard winds.

In the blink of an eye, they turned into ice statues. The stone man lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. The rock covering his skin shattered as it hit the floor; his flesh bounced back like solid rock.

I turned and walked to the man pinned to the wall, still struggling as his torso hung 3 feet off the floor, his legs skewered into the concrete pillar. On the way, I picked up the gun he had dropped while being dragged and gave it a once over. I then arrived before him, placed my hand on his mouth before he could scream, and sealed it in ice, making sure to leave his nose free.

'This way, I have at least two alive to question later. If Neutered Man dies of exposure, I'll have this one alive. If the pincushion dies, I'll have Neutered Man. If those two don't make it, I'll just secure two more.'

Activating Mana Vision, I swept my sight across the lobby, scanning the warehouse end to end. After a few seconds of adjustment, due to static, I managed to detect 14 mana signatures localized at the opposite end of the building.

"Now, 4 down 10 to go." I said while examining the signatures when I noticed 2 frail signatures. "Oh, well, look at you girls, taking care of 2. I guess that makes 6 down, 8 to go."

'Since the three mana signatures that surrounded Jenn earlier are okay, that leaves only the kidnappers, who could be injured.'

I took a step forward when suddenly I felt like I hit an invisible wall made of syrup. My body became sluggish and heavy, then my vision began to falter and flicker until I was left seeing the world in color.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me, so that's why I was having trouble manipulating mana. Freaking MBB's, It's been so long since I even heard of them that I forgot they existed. Now it makes sense that they are using Spellguns."

I ran back to the frozen kidnappers and picked up their pistols. I placed two in my leg holsters and two on my waist holsters. I didn't own any guns, but the costume I was wearing came with them at a discount, so I bought them to complete the look.

'MBB's are a pain in the ass, but at least there are ways to bypass them. If only my Mark was fully synced up, this would be easier.

For most people, they would only feel slightly heavier, but for me walking through the fields the MBB's produce is like trying to run a marathon in honey. Since I cling to my mana with every fiber of my being since I already have less than average, the MBB's fields don't only reject my mana, they expel my body with it.'

I expelled all the mana in my body until I was left completely empty. Then I began to concentrate as I circulated the environmental mana around my body. Instead of absorbing it, like all mages do to replenish their mana, I started to alter it. I broke it down and rebuilt it, then repeated the process until the mana began to vibrate, and visibly glow a pale white. After a few seconds, my body began to shiver, and I collapsed to the ground.

"Damn it, my body is still too immature for the whole process. But I got enough to hopefully last the entire fight." I stood up and scanned the warehouse again and noticed the mana signatures were moving. "I need to move; it seems they are heading this way."

I ran towards the closest shipping container, jumped up on top of it, and ran to the tallest stack overlooking the corridors. Most shipping containers were laid out in clusters two long five deep, creating simple pathways between them around two containers wide. The tallest stack was only 4 containers tall, most averaging 2 containers tall.

I got into position on the corner of the containers, laid down, and began to circulate my mana. A complicated series of calculations and processes revolved inside my body and mind as I used the unusual new mana to create a spell. I gather the moisture in the atmosphere and condense it into a ball behind me, then a current of electricity passes through it. Hydrogen and Oxygen gas began to emanate from my immediate surroundings, and using the same wind to muffle the electrolysis process, I directed it towards the passageway.

The hydrogen and oxygen began to mix on the ground, creating a mild fog covering the corridor. Soon a group of people turned the corner, immediately, the hydrogen started to affect them. Their gait shortened as they walked along the length of the first container.

'There they're. 14 total, 2 injured, 8 armed, Jenn and her friends are bound. Two of them are dangerous! The brunette woman feels familiar, the way she walks, a soldier?

Wait a minute, that blonde, I know her. So it was that bitch. I never knew she was the one responsible for Jennifer's death. This is gonna be trickier than I thought. Fuck!'

A few minutes later, they almost reached the end of the path, yet Jenn and their friends still remain in their trance. I picked up a small pebble that resided in the top of the container and tossed it towards Jenn.

"What the fuck is this?" A man yelled as a pebble smacked him in the forehead knocking him a step back.

'Oops, I missed."

Instantly, they all awoke from their trance.

"Take cover!" Jenn yelled as she tackled her friends around the corner. I cast a spell to open the door of the container behind them, knocking the head of the kidnapper who jumped behind them, throwing him back.

With the flick of my wrist, a spark flew from my hand towards the kidnappers. Nearly instantaneously, the hydrogen exploded, sucking in oxygen increasing the power of the flames. With some mana to exacerbate the process plus a frost spell, I stood up, ran back down to the parallel corridor, and braced myself in the corner. Using the shockwave to my advantage, I manipulated the wind to grab the group of teens and push them back.

"So you come here often?" I asked, seeing the dirty and bloody kids, my attempt to lighten the situation.

"Ost!" Jenn yelled as she jumped up in her dirty jeans and bloody shirt.

"Who?" A dirty-blonde hair girl asked, staring at me.

Shaking my head, I added, "Run towards the exit. I'll keep these guys distracted in the meantime."

The brunette was about to speak when I interrupted her. "Don't worry, there's no one there."

"Wait, I'm not gonna leave you here alone," Jenn protested, walking up to me.

"I said, run, soldier! That's an order!" I raised my voice. I knew Jenn's personality, and currently, I had no time to argue, so I decided to treat her like a soldier.

"But I..." Jenn began, then looked over at her friends. She looked back at me with resolution in her eyes. Then added, "Yes, Sir!" as she saluted.

"What? Who? Why" the boy asked as the blonde and brunette picked him up off the floor and dragged him towards the exit.

Jenn looked back at the frozen passage, then at me for a brief second before she followed her friends.

"Wait!" I yelled, just as she had taken two steps. She, along with her friends, stopped and looked back.

I took two pistols from my holsters, one from my right leg and one from my left hip, and passed them at Jenn. "Take those with you, here this too," I said as I tossed a small rectangular device to her. "When you reach a safe area, call the response team. I've already informed them of the location, but I don't think they took me seriously. Now, go!"

With that, Jenn turned and ran up to her friends before they all left together. I then turned my attention back to the corridor and scanned the aftermath.

'Five signatures left. Two were already injured, which means I only took down three with that explosion. It took me four minutes of mana gathering to only take out three; damn it!

At least 2 of them appear injured while they survived; their mana is flickering. Of course, she is fine but what surprises me is that soldier. Who the Hell is she?'

"You morons, Defensive positions, now!" A recognizable voice yelled from within the steam rising from the corridor.

The sudden temperature change caused a fog to cover the entire area, blinding them. The four around the blonde promptly moved into position, covering all sides.

Manipulating existing phenomena or materials conserves mana, relatively to creating it entirely from magic. I intensified the mist by adding a little mana, increasing its density further limiting their field of view.

'Since mana vision is a spell, with all the MBB around, they won't be able to use it; looks like they're at my mercy. The corridor is approximately only 16 feet wide; that will limit my mobility, but thankfully it will also limit theirs.'

Coating my body in water vapor, I jumped up the containers and ran towards the passage; I jumped in, blending into the mist.

"Six O'clock!" a man yelled.

"Movement, four O'clock," the soldier added.

I jumped and ran around when suddenly I turned and thrust my knife into the mist. Soon a warm liquid dripped from my hand, a small croak sounded before I pulled my knife and disappeared back into the fog. A thump startled the four remaining individuals, instinctually driving them to turn in its direction.

Not wasting the opportunity, I ran behind the man who stood guarding her left, his attention focused on the origin of the mysterious sound. I slither behind him, wormed my left arm underneath his arm, my hand behind his head, and pressed downward. I took my right arm and dragged the knife across his neck, ear to ear. His body slumped, aiding me in lowering him down soundlessly into the floor, turning 90 degrees, my back to the wall.

Unfortunately, my stealth didn't work as my instincts kicked in, and my body automatically jumped back. A small bolt sped before my face, inches away, giving me just enough time to trace its origin. Mindlessly, as the adrenaline rushed through my body, I threw my knife towards it, accelerated with mana.

A small groan echoed in the mist, immediately without a chance to adjust my footing, a gale erupted in front of me, catapulting me backward, slamming my body against the corrugated steel. The blow drummed as it bounced within the empty container, drowning my groan of pain as the air escaped from my lungs.

I fell to the ground, slightly disoriented but succeeded in regaining my coherence immediately, seeing before me the desolated frozen corridors where two women stood glaring. Surrounding them laid the bodies of 5 of their companions charred on top of the frozen floor. And two injured but unconscious and one man kneeling on the floor holding a wound around a knife protruding out of his shoulder.

The two blondes locked eyes at me, and without hesitation, aimed their pistols and pulled the trigger. I reacted by engulfing my right side in flame and thrusting myself out of the paths of the bullets. My body rocketed left uncontrollably until the spell exhausted itself, leaving me to roll across the cement. The blondes did not stop firing for a second as they traced me, every bullet, every shot, getting closer and closer.

Once I was capable enough, I pushed my palm reinforced by magic, twisted my body up using both feet to slow myself to a halt. In the blink of an eye, I skited across the length of two containers ending approximately 24 meters from the blonds, who stared in awe, holding their empty pistols. In the 80 feet between us, almost 70 individual holes traced a line delineating my flight path.

I stared at the blue-eyed blonde behind the white mask before I fell to my knee, grimacing in pain. Without breaking eye contact, I ripped my right sleeve and wrapped it tight around my right thigh, then stood up and faced them, ready to continue.

"Well, I was expecting more from you. You should have me by my balls on the floor right now. What's wrong? You having an off day, Argento?" I said, my voice enhanced by magic. The woman's face twisted in horror and shock as the name left my lips.