The Shadow

CHAPTER 15 - PANIC

Z didn't panic often.

At least, she tried not to.

The rare times she did, she would either snap herself out of it, let it pass, or someone would take notice. That someone was usually Crosshair. She filled the same role for him. It was a mutual understanding, a mutual trust. And it was something that she thought would be unbroken. Whether it was a simple panic attack (The Bad Batch knew all about those, everyone had one at some point), almost dying, or something else. Crosshair had been there.

He knew her.

She knew him.

Which was why she couldn't believe he was standing against them. She couldn't force herself to face the reality. Crosshair was trying to take them in. No force of nature could change that. Nothing could change that. Not even Z.

She couldn't breathe.

She didn't know when that started.

Crosshair and Hunter were speaking, arguing, like they always did. This time it was different. Harsher. She could hear them, but the words didn't register. Nothing registered. She could only stare at the clone, her brother, the one who was betraying them. Crosshair's gaze slid over to Z for a moment, and she held it. Crosshair's eyes narrowed.

"Aim for the girl."

Z ducked to the ground once the shooting started. She couldn't tell who had said the words, but she had a sinking feeling that it was Crosshair. She pressed her back up against a crate, pressing down on her ring quickly four times. She didn't care if he got it.

Z squeezed her eyes shut, punching herself in the leg to try and get herself to focus. She was spiraling, she knew it, but she couldn't bother to stop it-

Crosshair was shooting at them.

Crosshair was going to kill them.

He was gone.

He wouldn't come back...

Back...

Weapons.

She needed weapons.

To kill him with-

She couldn't get her thought straight she couldn't-

Was he the only one?
What if Hunter was next?

Wrecker?

Tech?

Echo?
Hell, what if the kid was next?

Zero was a soldier. She knew she needed to focus. She was made to fight, not to have panic attacks in the middle of the battlefield.

Her leg was hurting.

She knew it was.

Pain had always made her acutely aware of her situation.

Z punched herself one more time, a sharp pain moving through her leg, settling down in her bone. Something she knew was going to cause a problem later.

She forced her eyes open.

A few strands of hair had come loose from her ponytail, now flying in her face. She was still up against the crate. She was still alive.

"Z!" Hunter said, moving to crouch next to her. "You with me?" She stared at his visor for a moment before nodding, unsure whether her voice would work. "Alright," His shoulders deflated a bit. He turned to look back over to the Marauder.

"I need you and Omega to get to the Marauder, can you do that?" Z once again nodded, pushing herself into a crouch, ignoring the pain in her leg. She couldn't feel it all that much. There was too much adrenaline in her body to feel it fully. She moved Omega in front of her, the two were about to make a break for it when-