Chloe persistently sprinted through the dense forest until finally breaking free of its clutches. Guided by the map on her watch, she set a course for the South Federation base. Her stamina, though markedly improved, was pushed to its limits as she sustained a speed of 400km per hour. The two-hour non-stop run drained her, but it brought her within striking distance of the city where the clandestine base resided, still 30km ahead.

          Just as she was about to catch her breath, a figure materialized tens of meters ahead, arm outstretched horizontally. If she didn't alter her course, she would collide head-on with the arm. In a flash, she activated her ability to become intangible, passing through the obstacle unscathed.

           Fiona watched with a touch of surprise, turning to face the stationary Chloe. "Your power is quite intriguing," she noted.

Chloe looked at the individual who had completely dismantled their entire team with a blend of dread and vigilance on her expression. Remembering that Fiona was the one who had abducted her aunt, a surge of anger ignited in her chest.

Ignoring Chloe's silence, Fiona continued, "I presume you're Chleo's niece. She mentioned you often, how you were a sweet little girl. It appears you've grown since then." Her gaze remained fixed on Chloe's wristwatch.

Chloe's fists clenched at the mention of her aunt. The way Fiona casually dropped her name felt like a slap across her face. But more than the anger, a wave of concern washed over her. What will happen to her aunt?

"I'm not the same little girl anymore," Chloe gritted out. "And you have no right to speak about her."

Fiona shrugged her hands and said, " That's not right. You know I've known Chleo for more than 2 decades now, I even confessed my feelings to her once."

Chloe was taken aback by Fiona's confession. It was hard to imagine this ruthless woman before her having any genuine feelings for someone, especially for her aunt Chleo. This revelation, however, didn't lessen the anger that Chloe felt towards Fiona. It only added a new layer of complexity to the situation.

" And now that we have Chleopatra in custody in such a weakened state, I was thinking I could relive my old fanatsies and have some fun with her. If you follow me back peacefully, I might let you watch." Fiona continued on with a bashful expression.

Chloe felt a sickening churn in her stomach as Fiona's words cut through the air. Her calm, almost playful demeanor made the situation feel even more twisted. The audacity of Fiona to suggest such a thing sent a wave of revulsion through Chloe.

Chloe couldn't hold back her anger anymore and charged right towards Fiona, "Over my dead body," she spat back, her voice seething with rage.

A hint of a smile played at the corners of Fiona's mouth as Chloe, bereft of her composure, stormed towards her.

Chloe's combat training was rudimentary, having only learned the basics of hand-to-hand combat in the past ten days. Faced with this predicament, she had to improvise, integrating her abilities with her fledgling combat skills.

Their violent dance disrupted the deserted outskirts of the city, the clash of powers echoing in the silent streets. Buildings quivered, windows shook, and dust clouds rose with their forceful movements. Chloe's punch missed its target as Fiona teleported away, reappearing meters away. Chloe redirected her charge at the new location.

Fiona smirked, "Teleportation is quite convenient, isn't it?" she taunted, disappearing just as Chloe was about to connect her punch. Chloe's fist met only air, but she spun around swiftly, narrowly evading Fiona's surprise attack from behind.

"I can do much better" Chloe retorted, her body fading into invisibility. Fiona scanned the vicinity, her eyes narrowed. Chloe was out of sight, but the crunching gravel beneath her feet gave her away.

Fiona was knocked back by an invisible force, crashing into an abandoned car. She recovered quickly, teleporting away before Chloe could seize the advantage. When she reappeared, her eyes swept the area, narrowly avoiding another invisible strike by a hair's breadth.

Their fight went on, a tense game of hide and seek amidst the dilapidated buildings and deserted streets with the roles constantly shifting. Fiona would teleport, trying to keep Chloe on her toes, while Chloe utilized her invisibility and intangibility to land unexpected hits.

However, Fiona was not purely on the defensive. She was waiting for the opportune moment, her gaze frequently straying to Chloe's wristwatch. Seeing Chloe, now visible, charging at her, Fiona seized her chance. She waited until Chloe was within range, then teleported directly in her path.

Chloe, caught off guard, attempted to phase through, but Fiona was faster. She ensnared Chloe's wrist, her fingers encircling the watch as Chloe phased through her. Chloe's body passed through Fiona's, but the watch did not. It unlatched from Chloe's wrist and remained in Fiona's grasp. Chloe turned and saw the triumphant smirk on Fiona's face, the watch secure in her hand.

"Thank you for the gift, darling," Fiona said mockingly, her eyes sparkling with triumph.

Chloe understood the significance of the watch; without it, she couldn't activate the teleportation platform leading to the Hidden Society HQ.

She lunged at Fiona in an attempt to retrieve the watch but could only watch in dismay as Fiona teleported a safe distance away.

"Give it back!" Chloe yelled, using her heightened agility to sprint towards Fiona at a lightning-fast pace. Despite her speed, Fiona merely smirked, her figure blurring out of existence the moment Chloe reached her.

             Fiona reappeared further away, toying with the watch in her hands. "It seems to suit me more, albeit being somewhat redundant," she jested, securing the device on her wrist. She sent a playful wink Chloe's way, igniting another surge of fury in the younger woman.

              Each watch distributed to the enhanced humans in the hidden society was designed to work exclusively with their assigned users. If the DNA of the user didn't match the initially identified wearer, the device's functionalities would be inaccessible.

             "Well then, I wish you luck in getting back to HQ. I'll be coming to visit once Im done taking a shower."

             With those parting words, Fiona disappeared, leaving Chloe alone amidst the ruins. Chloe's mind raced as she grappled with the gravity of her predicament. Bereft of the watch, she had no means of returning to the Hidden Society HQ, nor did she know how to find her aunt.

               The weight of her situation bore down on her, amplifying her exhaustion made her body feel heavier than it already was as she collapsed to the ground. The burden of her decisions was amplified by her exhaustion, tears welling in her eyes as regret swamped her. She was so close, she could have just ran when she had met Fiona, yet her anger got the best of her. And now, not only will she pay, but her aunt and the rest of her teammates will feel the consequences of her actions.

              For a while, she allowed herself to collapse onto the cold, hard ground, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. She lay there, immersed in her despair, clenching and unclenching her fists, scattering the dust beneath her.

             As the initial shock ebbed, she realized she had no time for self-pity. With great effort, she heaved herself off the ground, dusted herself off, and sucked in a deep breath. She couldn't afford to stay put. Fiona's capabilities allowed her to locate Chloe from anywhere. If she didn't move, she was sure to be captured and taken back to the dreaded facility. And the sacrifice of her aunt would all be in vain.

           Now, she was already tired from all the running and fighting. Her abilities couldn't be used infinetly as she also required energy intake. Since she couldn't teleport back to the base, her best bet was to try and make her way back to base on foot. Going by vehicle, Fiona could sneak up and teleport her back to the facility alongside the vehicle. She had to always be on guard.

            The main problem was that the Hidden Society HQ was deep underwater far away from any of the continents.

            Her predicament was further complicated by the location of the Hidden Society HQ, nestled deep underwater, far from any land. Relying on memory, she plotted a course towards the South Federation shore, some 2600km away from her current location and a staggering 3500km away from the HQ.

             Chloe started towards the shore. She would try going to find food to replenish energy, but relying on just human food to repenish energy would take her several hours of non-stop eating.

She had to think of another way. But her options were limited.

            After running for another two hours, Chloe found a small town. It was late, and the streets were nearly empty. Just as she was about to enter a little diner to dine and dash, a familiar figure appeared in front of her.

             It was Fiona. She came back waving at Chloe with a smile on her face like she was meeting an old friend. Chloe wasted no time and started running towards the shore. When they arrived at the facility, it was 10 am in the morning, but as she was running and entering new time zones, it was about 5 pm in the afternoon.

Chloe had to keep on moving, everytime she had tried to stop for a little break, Fiona would appear beside her, if not for her quick reflex's and turning intangible, she might had already been in the facility with the rest sof her teamates.

It was a cruel game of cat and mouse that spanned through different cities and terrains, a continuous chase that tested the limits of Chloe's abilities and stamina. Every time Chloe thought she had lost Fiona, the woman would reappear, smiling and waving as though they were old friends instead of enemies. The repeated teleportation had made it difficult for Chloe to predict Fiona's whereabouts.

Several hours had passed and now it was in the dead of the night, and the ocean on the border of the South Federation was finally within sight, Chloe's body was tired from the constant running and over use oof her ability but nevertheless she kept pushing forward, as the roar of the waves grew louder in her ears, it gave her a false sense of accomplishment that she had completed her mission, her eyes dulled as exhaustion quickly over came her as she collapsed to the sand on the ground with a smile on her face, " I did it."

Fiona appeared beside her with a slight smile on her face, " Not quite, darling."

Fiona reached down to pick her up, but before she could touch her, she teleported several tens of meters away. Fiona took deep breaths as she looked towards Chloe. Beside her was a boy no older than 17 with silver hair and indifferent blue eyes, his hand gripping where her neck should have been.

"You should leave now," the boy said, his voice carrying a hard edge.

Fiona looked at the boy that seemed a little familiar, and before she could reply a series of loud sonic booms resounded seemingly only now catching up with the boy's actions. Fiona's eyes widened in surprise as the booming sounds reverberated through the air, causing a few nearby seagulls to scatter in fear.

Fiona's eyebrows furrowed at the boy's tone "What makes you think you could give me orders"

Since it seemed Fiona wasn't going to listen to his suggestion, Verlin decided to end this charade. Before Fiona's brain could even register, she was sent flying several kilometers into the ocean at mach 3.

Verlin looked at Fiona's figure that had just landed in the water, Enhanced humans were a lot more resiliant than he had originally thought, their physical body alone was enough to withstand the G force from the sudden acceleration. He at least thought that was very impressive.

He shifted his attention back to the familiar yet different friend on the ground. At first, he wasn't sure it was her. If not for the identical DNA from Chloe. He wouldn't have thought a process that only took 2 days would have such great changes.

He gently picked up Chloe and told Desna, the AI on the ship to land the pyramid of solitude in the Artic wasteland and to make sure to be undetected by any satelittes. He slowly floated off the ground and made his way North.