Chapter 539 Citywide Lookout

A spark of cosmic energy started as two sets of footsteps grew closer. Lee Seng kept his hand out as he imagined a cosmic door in front of him.

"What're you doing?" David whispered. "Why aren't we just making a break for it?" The nervousness in David's voice was only making Lee Seng more nervous.

'Why did I think this would work?!?' Lee Seng thought. Without telling David, he grabbed him and lifted him into his arms.

"What're you doing?" David said a bit too loud.

"Over here! I hear something!" Thief two shouted. The footsteps grew louder as Lee Seng looked ahead.

"Hold on tight. I haven't done this with anyone before." Lee Seng warned. He ran from his spot, disappearing as the thieves rounded the corner.

"Where are they?!?" Thief One asked. The two things looked around as Thief one tapped his earbud. "21-TQR to Squadron 4. We heard something over here. I think the intruders fled."

"Squadron 4 to 21-TQR, check all nearby locations. Everyone else, tighten security. Standby for HQ."

"Slow down!!!" David shrieked as Lee Seng flew past buildings and debris. He leapt over two cars and came sliding to a stop. He released David, who pushed away and turned around. He covered his mouth with a fist as he gagged.

Lee Seng took a look around and noticed a street sign down the block. He squinted his eyes to read the sign. It was faded and bare visible.

"111st…?" Lee Seng whispered.

"What're you muttering about?" David asked, lifting himself up. Everything had finally stopped moving so quickly and he didn't feel so dizzy. Lee Seng spun around in the opposite direction. The city block was large and he couldn't spot any signs..

"If that's 111st, then which way do the numbers descend?" Lee Seng whispered. "I guess I'll have to check."

"What's the plan? We don't even know where 51st and North is. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack."

"I'll follow this road and see if the intersecting streets descend or not. Then all we have to do is find 51st and figure out where North is." Lee Seng told David the game plan. "Take a moment to rest. You literally fought for my life. I can do the scouting for us." With that, Lee Seng split into two. A golden Echo shimmered for a moment then quickly took on Lee Seng's color palette.

"You're going to use an Echo? How will you be able to retain all that information?" David asked. "I can barely remember the mission half of the time. Are you sure you can even do such a thing?"

"Don't worry about me." Lee Seng told him. "I'll scout and be back in a jiffy." Lee Seng and the Echo darted in opposite directions. Lee Seng blocked his right eye as he looked with his left. He could see two different views, moving at the same speed. Lee Seng came to a stop at the first intersection and took a look around while his Echo continued further.

"I hope you can go further…" Lee Seng whispered. He found a faded rusted sign on the floor and grabbed it. He began to flip it when his Echo came to a stop, looking around. The sign in his hand was the street he was on. "Fe… I can't read it. This is caked with so much rust…" He tossed it aside as focused his attention to his Echo's sight. His echo was looking up at a sign, waiting for its true Master to take in the information.

"101st. So it's that way." Lee Seng whispered. He removed his hand from his right eye and made his way back to David.

"So, did you figure it out?" David asked as Lee Seng and his Echo showed back up. Lee Seng waved at the Echo, who waved back and disappeared. David watched a bit on edge as the Echo faded into gold and silver specks of light.

"Yeah, it's that way." Lee Seng pointed in the direction behind David. David looked behind and nodded, standing up.

"Should we continue on? More time passes, I feel like it's going to be harder for us to get the horses out." David asked.

"True." Lee Seng nodded, giving David a casual glance. "You sure you're fine?"

"I've done harder things." David brushed Lee Seng's concern off. "Plus I have my Sin form, so it won't be too hard on my body." David's bone armor form seeped back into his body, revealing the mask covering his face and his scrawny form.

Somewhere in the Monster City…

"Status update?" The domineering woman asked.

"21TQR form Squadron 4, Base 6 spotted the intruders… Well, they heard them escaping." A man in a suit and tie informed her. The domineering woman nodded and looked out the large windows of the skyscraper building.

"What's the status on the Hell horses?" The domineering woman asked. Before the suit and tie thief could speak, a large bald man with many jackets on sat up.

"Our people are already there as we speak." The large bald man replied. The domineering woman turned to look at the bald man. He was leaning in the office chair, slowly spinning himself. "Connors and Natalie were sent there."

"Will that be enough for the intruders?" The domineering woman asked. "That Fox mask individual summoned meteors and destroyed the Pack and a small part of the city, entirely. Should we assume he's dead?"

"I don't think so." The bald man shook his head. "We should send in more people in. If that Fox guy is really as strong as you say, we'll need all the extra help we can get" The bald man replied.

"Gather some more people and head over there, Jones. This may be Limbo, but if Debt Collectors are here like the reports say, we'll need to do our best against them."

"But, ma'am, they can just respawn." The suit and tie thief spoke up. The domineering woman looked at him and a pressure instantly squeezed his neck. The body dropped dead and Jones stood up, shaking his head.

"Should've just stayed quiet." Jones sighed. "One of you outside come clean up this mess!" The door opened and another suit and tie pulled the dead body out of the room.

"Can I count on you three to handle the job, Jones?" The domineer woman asked.

"Don't worry about it, Shade. I will do your bidding. You did give us a second chance and hide us from those pesky Collectors. I will do whatever you ask." Jones saluted. The domineering woman's face flickered, showing her true form for a moment as she smiled.

"Good. You may leave." Shade motioned. She turned back to look out the view as Jones started to make his way to the door. "Oh," Shade turned as Jones wrapped his fingers around the door knob. "Take some serums with you, won't you? Tell everyone its a gift from him."

"Yes, Shade. Thank you for your kindness." Jones nodded. The door opened and shut. The human woman's form began to shed, revealing a black wispy form with purple-black horns curling above her head to the back of her neck.

"Let's see what these Collectors can do…" Shade spoke with her distorted voice. "I have a feeling the Fox is still alive… It's only a matter of time before I get my hands on what I really want."

Lee Seng and David quietly made their way down the large street, counting down the streets until they eventually made it to 81st.

"Hold on." Lee Seng whispered, throwing a hand up. David stopped and stepped into the shadows. He poked his head out and looked at what Lee Seng was looking at.

"What?" David whispered. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Lee Seng sighed and pulled himself into the shadows.

"There's Glasses everywhere." Lee Seng replied.

"Huh?" David gave Lee Seng a confused look. Lee Seng looked at him odd before realizing that David could literally be a soul who hasn't come across Biohumans before.

"Snipers. Long range fighters." Lee Seng explained. David gave a nod as Lee Seng moved towards the door.

"Why are we going that way?" David asked, following.

"The snipers are just waiting for us. They're all over the place. I even saw a lot of foot patrol on 61st. They must be spreading their guys around the place. This isn't even North street." Lee Seng motioned to the street they were on.

"So what do we do? We don't have a way to get past all of those guys." David motioned. They stood in the debris-filled lobby as Lee Seng thought.

"There is something I can try doing, but…" Lee Seng trailed off. The sparks filled his mind again. "I'm not sure if I can do it correctly."

"What do you mean?" David asked, curious.

"Well… It's a long story but there's many things most people don't know about me. Let's just say… I've done this before, but I can't really… Do it unless I change my form."

"Into your fox form?" David asked.

"No." Lee Seng shook his head. He lifted his hand and plucked the mercury jewel off of his forehead. It instantly turned to liquid, wrapping around his wrist. "A form I don't want to use because it could come back at any moment."