The instant Starboy gained altitude, the field snapped into place.
Below him, Pyro was a burning streak—fire wrapped tight around his frame as he juked sideways through falling debris.
He dragged flame across the surface of the vine he'd been harassing, scorching long sections of it as it recoiled and snapped back, chunks of burning matter sloughing off and crashing into the street below.
Starboy angled to dive—
Then the boom hit.
Not close. Not here.
A heavy impact rolled through the ground and up his spine, strong enough that even in the air he felt it in his chest. His head turned on reflex.
In the distance, the mechanoid stood its ground.
A vine lashed toward it, tangled thick as a building, coming in low and fast. Blue light flared as the shield snapped into place—hexagonal plates locking together just in time. The vine struck—BOOOM~—and the barrier held.
Then the mechanoid fired back.
