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Seven years…

It was hard to believe that so much time had passed since his parents uprooted their family and moved him and his sister, Mei, clear across the United States to live in Destiny City. A no-name place where they were supposed to start over from scratch. At least that was the intended plan if it wasn’t for the fact that he had signed his life away to the military in a moment of defiance.

No matter how stupid of a decision it was, there was no going back once he signed his name.

After boot camp, he had been stationed at Fort Hood in Texas for almost a year before being moved back to his home state on the West Coast. Fort Lewis was a decadent drive from any other major city but it was nice to be in a familiar place and close enough to old friends. But no good thing is meant to last and before he knew it or could properly prepare, Shen was given the orders that he was to Deploy to Iraq in a week.

That was one of the hardest things he had ever been through but it was far from the last.

Learning what his sister had become, a Senshi, or whatever it was she or those like her called themselves, was an interesting ordeal. As was discovering that there were literal monsters running around their city. Mei, or rather Sidouer as she was called when powered, had magic while he had a gun and yet this was the first time he didn’t have her back.

There is no describing how difficult it was to leave her to fight in a war that was no her own and not be able to help in any way. He couldn’t teach her how to fight or defend herself against these Agents that had broken into the convention. For the first time in his life he felt like a failure and even though Mei didn’t hold it against him, he couldn’t help but feel like he had let her down.

Reaching for the door handle, Shen let out an audible sigh as pulled the lever and stepped out of the dark silver Toyota Camry. The Uber driver inside popped the trunk for him so he could grab his luggage and after setting it on the pavement he pumped his fist on the side of the car to let Jess, the driver, let him know he had his things and could pick up his next customer.

He stood outside under the light of the streetlamp for what felt like several minutes. Thanks to the headwind his plane had been almost fourty-five minutes late, add in the car accident in the freeway that added almost a half hour to his commute, Shen wasn’t surprised that all the lights were off in the house.

“s**t…” He muttered to himself quietly as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and unlocked the screen. The damn thing was at seven percent and probably fifteen minutes away from dying, hopefully, Mei was still awake and could let him in since he didn’t have a key.

“What the ********!” Shen took a step backward and much to his chagrin his heel slammed against the military duffle bag that had been set on the sidewalk beside him not a moment ago.

His arm swung out in a fruitless effort to stay upright. However, gravity had other plans and he soon found himself sprawled out on his back where the back of his head smacked against the pavement.

There were stars in his vision when he looked up at the cloudless sky but he recovered quickly. In one fluid motion, he rolled over and rose to his feet. His right hand moved back to where his gun was normally holstered, however, this time it was not there. Due to flight rules and regulations, it was packed away in the locked case currently stowed in the bag between them.

The surprise on his face was not easily missed but he was tactical thinker and made a quick move to reach for the knife that was hidden in his right boot. “What do you want?” His upper lip curled as the blade was flipped open.

Even without an introduction, Shen knew what she was. A Negaverse agent. A fact only known because he remembered seeing officers like her before he was sent to Basic Training. That, and his sister had been keeping him up to date with what was going on back home while he was deployed overseas.

"I think I'll pass." He bit out." Not exactly inclined to negotiate with terrorists." The media spread false lies about who the real enemies were but he knew better.

Shen dodged the first attack and the second, but just barely. Her movements were quicker than he anticipated and he was still jetlagged from over 14 hours in an airport and flying quite literally half way around the world. His movements were slow but he was use to being sent on missions while being absolutely sleep deprived, this moment was no different than his deployments.

When the agent swung her flail a third time, he stepped forward instead of back and brought an arm up to catch her at the wrist. However, with her abnormal speed also came and equally surprising amount of strength and Shen knew his mistake immediately when he felt the rushing pain shoot down his arm and back again.

He grit his teeth to keep from waking the whole neighborhood. The knife was still held fast in his other hand and so he swung haphazardly, hoping to either cut her arm so she couldn't use the heavy flail or to stab her in the side to slow her movements. Either outcome would be suitable and allow him time to put some distance between the two of them.

While deployed, Shen had been shot multiple times. Many of those bullets should have killed him but his body armor had been what ultimately saved his life. He did not by any means make it back stateside unscathed. Although the plates were effective in stopping the 22 and 9-millimeter caliber bullets from killing him instantly, he did sustain several cracked ribs.

He knew, when the flail swung wide, that he was ******** agent’s movements were as quick and precise as most seasoned fighters. Although she lacked the levelheadedness of his military buddies, she was just as dangerous as the terrorists they faced overseas; unpredictable and with an advantage he was not prepared to face.

No amount of armor could have stopped her movements.

It felt like a punch to the chest, but worse. Shen could feel her fingers press against his skin through the shirt he was wearing, however, before he could take a step away her hand passed through and grasped ahold of something.

At that moment, that single heartbeat, time stopped…

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Shen’s jade-green eyes seemed to lock with hers and while he saw her lips move, he couldn’t understand what she was saying. The world around them tilted and his body fell heavily to the side in a crumpled heap. No amount of thought could force his limbs to move as the simple action of breathing brought so much pain.

“SHEN!”

The sound of his name being shouted from a ways away cut through the fog that surrounded his mind, Mei… His sister was here, one of the few people he had sworn to protect, and yet he didn’t have the energy or fight to warn her or tell her to run…

Over the last several years Shen had been punched, stabbed, and shot in the chest with a high caliber round that, had it not been for the plates his armor, should have killed him rather than broken a few ribs. However, none of what he had experienced while deployed overseas could have prepared him for the pain he was in now.

From where he laid on the cold ground, he watched her laugh as he struggled to draw breath. The pounding of his heartbeat was loud enough to drown out her venomous taunts and yet there was nothing he could to keep her from bringing his Starseed up to those poisonous lips. If possible, he would have kicked her kneecaps but movement, at this point, was next to impossible.

This was not at all how he imagined dying. Not here, not in front of his parent's home where they would find his body lying in the street come morning with no evidence of who murdered him. This isn't how it was supposed to end.

"SHEN!!" Just as he closed his eyes, resigning himself to this horrible fate, the sound of a familiar voice cut through the fog.

Mei... For all their lives he was the one who had protected her, and now he had no choice but to leave his fate in her hands.

It had been a long day and while the night was still young, Sidouer had not found any evidence of youma nearby and so she decided to do a short patrol and turn in early. However, she was finishing the current circuit when she felt a Chaos aura brush along the edge of her senses the closer she got to home.

The signature was stronger than a lieutenant's but not quite that of a general. There was a chance she could scare them away but if that failed she wasn't entirely sure she could take on a captain if they wielded an actual weapon. Nonetheless, she ran toward the woman without hesitation. "GIVE THAT BACK," Sidouer all but demanded and in that same breath, her hands slid along her gloves from elbow to fingertips. "Static Shock!"

The senshi reached an arm outward and from her outstretched hand, an arch of static lept forward.

Sidouer carefully caught her brother’s starseed. Cradling it in one hand she quickly stashed it in her subspace pocket before the Lieutenant had a chance to grapple it from her fingers.

Time was of the essence but until she dealt with the woman, neither she nor Shen would be safe. “This seed will never belong to you.” Worst case, she’d see it to the cauldron if this didn’t end quickly. “I suggest you run away little girl before I zap the s**t out of you again.”

The Senshi of Static didn’t wait for a response and launched another arc at the Negaverse officer. Like before the area around them lit up brilliantly and it was in the same moment the lights turned dim that she charged forward with all the intent to strike the crazed Lieutenant in the face.