Truth be told, Khan realized what was happening only when it was too late. His battle senses were sharp beyond reason, and he was also ready for anything those Orlats tried to pull off, but Liiza's swift gesture had sohow been faster.
That result had been a mixture of carelessness and surprise. Khan couldn't consider first-level warriors as a threat. They were nothing more than ants in his eyes. They couldn't hurt him even if they tried, and the sa went for Liiza.
Most of Khan's attention had also been on the crowd and environnt, wary about revealing any information while absorbing every detail. After all, that place was extrely foreign to Liiza, so he was in charge of guiding her through it.
Moreover, the female Orlats had reached for Khan, which he didn't mind or care about. Touching him would have been enough to tell the alien he wasn't to be ssed with, but Liiza disagreed. Her hand had already been there, so she only had to let go of Khan to grab that dark red arm.
Everything else happened instantly. Actually, Khan had been the only one able to follow that developnt due to his heightened senses. Liiza's pure, transparent ice barely took a fraction of a second to cover the Orlats' arm and freeze it, inevitably shocking the clueless alien.
Yet, Khan now had the chance to react, and only helplessness filled his mind. It was already too late. Liiza had exposed her elent and had hurt the female Orlats. The ntal connection even reeked of chilling killing intent, making Khan feel sowhat awkward and cornered.
The female Orlats fell to her knees, but Liiza didn't let go of her numb arm. The skin under the ice even darkened, losing any trace of its red shades. Ultimately, a tiny crack appeared on the frozen limb, making the alien gasp in panic.
"rcy!" The female Orlats begged while her teammates stepped back, planning to retreat. "I was wrong!"
The female Orlats searched for the help of her companions, but her species wasn't known for loyalty and honor. Her teammates would have already run away if their fear of additional retaliation hadn't frozen their legs. Yet, they still avoided their leader's gaze, not wanting to ss with the cloaked figures.
The pleas didn't faze Liiza. She was about to put more strength into her grip, planning to shatter the frozen arm, but a hand went on hers, softly squeezing it to make it relax.
"I love you," Khan whispered once he leaned toward Liiza's hidden ear, "But we have to lay low."
That affectionate honesty distracted Liiza enough for Khan to remove her hand from the frozen arm. The female Orlats could only slump deeper on the floor at that point, holding her unresponsive limb while staring at it in disbelief.
Khan sensed the annoyed pout behind the makeshift hood, but Liiza didn't make it too hard for him. She glanced at the stunned, terrified Orlats on the floor, huffing before mustering an unwilling tone.
"Bathe it in warm liquids for a day," Liiza suggested. "If you are quick, you might not lose it."
The female Orlats was still too terrified to speak, but her survival instincts kicked in, making her nod repeatedly as she jumped to her feet. Her sane hand had beco quite cold while supporting her frozen arm, but she kept it there while hurrying away, probably planning to reach the next underground stop on foot.
anwhile, the other Orlats remained in their spots. They wanted nothing more than to run away, too, but neither of the hooded figures had given them permission, and they knew better than to act rashly.
Nevertheless, Khan nodded toward the escaping female Orlats, and the other aliens didn't hesitate to run away, glad they could finally leave that scary situation.
The Orlats running away didn't put an end to the issue. The cat wasn't out of the bag yet, but everyone in the area had seen that short scuffle and had witnessed Liiza's power. That hooded couple was scary strong and not to be ssed with.
Khan held back a sigh. Liiza revealing her elent wasn't good, but it was too late to do anything about it. He could only accept that the news would eventually reach the involved parties, probably bringing problems down the line. Still, that wasn't the ti to worry about them.
Khan didn't have to learn anything else from the holograms, so he headed toward one of the appointed stops near the railroads, his hand still holding Liiza's. She casually followed him, returning to her curious inspection of the area. It seed she had already forgotten about her previous action or didn't value it enough to waste her thoughts on it.
Obviously, the various crowds didn't have such short mories. When Khan and Liiza approached their intended stop, humans, Fuveall, and Orlats moved away, willingly giving up their spot in the queue to let them go first. Soone even left the group altogether, planning to take a different train.
That trend continued after another train arrived, allowing Khan, Liiza, and the people behind them inside. The place was narrow and crowded, limiting everyone's movent, but Khan and Liiza never experienced that. Those who had entered the vehicle with them kept their distance, even refusing to occupy the few available seats.
Khan didn't care whether he was sitting or standing, but those who had entered the train with him grew tenser in his presence, and that feeling started to spread to the other passengers.
People living in lawless zones had to develop good instincts about those subjects, so more and more attention fell on the hooded couple. Everyone was growing warier, so Khan headed for the nearest available seat, hoping his more relaxed stance would affect his surroundings.
The plan worked since the passengers started to lose interest in the hooded couple. Wary glances and occasional whispers still unfolded, but that was to be expected after what Liiza had done.
As for Liiza, she was aware of her surroundings but completely dismissed their dangers to indulge in her curiosity. Everything was new to her, so her enquiring eyes captured every available detail from behind the shades. She was especially interested in the diverse crowd, but the train gained its fair share of inspections.
Still, once the train set off, Liiza seed to have exhausted the curious details at her disposal, so she lay her head on Khan's shoulder, silently but affectionately sitting with him while the two headed for their new adventure.
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