Lady Superior by Alex Ziebart Page B

double-fisted hammer blow across the jaw. He stumbled, then fell.
    One of the changelings threw himself on top of Kristen. He set his forearm across her throat, cutting off her ability to draw breath. Her lips drew back in a snarl and she grabbed him by the throat. She straightened her arm, lifted him up, and squeezed. When something popped, she cast him aside. Kristen kicked up to her feet and whirled to face the second who’d driven her down. The creature’s face elongated into a muzzle, sprouting coarse fur. Kristen leapt into action before the transformation could take hold. She threw all of her strength behind a punch that sent the creature tumbling down the highway in a tangle of limp limbs.
    Kristen settled into a close approximation of a boxing stance, arms up to guard her face, and took stock of the situation. The highway became chaos. She couldn’t count the changelings for their transformations, some mundane and others downright insane. Bears. Wolves. Tigers. Werewolves. Serpents. Things she couldn’t even describe. Not one of them seemed to care she was there. Other than the two who’d tried to pin her, none so much as looked her way. They wanted the lumberjack. Bleeding from the mouth, he teleported rapidly to escape them. It was useless. The changelings spread out, seemingly aware of just how far he could go at one time. When he jumped, one of them were there, grabbing at him or striking out, bouncing him between them.
    Of course, there was the traffic. Kristen guessed it was one or two in the morning, the hour of the trucker and the drunk. Though a far cry from rush hour, the traffic still tore around them, driving faster rather than slowing down. From where she stood, it all seemed like a strange dance—or a bad game of Frogger . They dodged cars while cars dodged them, all while trying to catch the lumberjack.
    Kristen eventually waded into the thick of it, and immediately punched a bear in the face. When it fell down and didn’t get up again, she concluded punching bears was a pretty awesome use of superpowers. “Hey! Pay attention to me, assholes!”
    They did.
    Though many continued their pursuit of the leaping lumberjack, the rest turned on her. She let instinct guide her. She put faith in her strength and speed, and just fought. Kristen fought with a fury, pummeling the array of creatures into the ground. Any who rose against her broke against her fists. How long did it last? Seconds? Minutes? She didn’t know. The longer it went, the harder her heart beat in her chest. Her lungs burned for air.
    From the corner of her vision, she caught a glimpse of the lumberjack on his knees, beaten and bloody. A serpent loomed over him, poised to strike.
    Kristen leapt. Whatever was in her way, it didn’t matter. She struck like a viper herself, lunging forward and smashing the snake down with a thundering blow. She stood over the creature and drove her heel down into its skull. The changelings fled like rats from a sinking ship. They formed a distant circle, suddenly wary.
    Holy shit. They’re afraid of me.
    Kristen raised her fists again and took a defensive stance beside the lumberjack. The changelings didn’t move. They looked to each other, seemingly unsure.
    Silence, save the thump of helicopter rotors overhead. Spotlights snapped on, illuminating the two Gifted. The changelings shifted at once. They became human again, and then owls, dispersing into the night. Distant police sirens joined the thrumming of helicopter blades. Kristen lowered her fists and grabbed the lumberjack by the shoulder and the seat of his pants, heaving him to his feet. When he seemed stable, she tugged her tangled shirt back into place as she spoke. “We need to get out of here. I still want answers.”
    Head bobbing from the blows he’d taken, the lumberjack watched the highway ahead. “What do you want to know?” he slurred.
    Kristen followed his gaze up the highway. They stood in the path of a coming semi-trailer. She