Chapter 261

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> *I don't get it! Wasn't this supposed to be a hike? Why did we get attacked like this?*
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*- Evie, in tears*

This is the 261st episode of *unORDINARY*.

## Synopsis

### Rowden Hill

#### 11:10 AM

Remi and Arlo finally reach the base of the trail. As expected, carrying such a big fellow for a couple of miles has left the Lightning Queen rather winded. However, she refuses to take Arlo's advice to cacth her breath when the lives of their fellows are on the line. A short march later, the two are alarmed at the sight of a blast coming from the treetops. Clearly, they are getting close, and begin heading straight there. But they feel a pulse that Arlo recognizes as the Ability Dampener. He warns Remi that a fight of their own is sure to follow. On cue, they are surrounded by agents Spectre sent to subdue them.

Roland tears of a piece of his own shirt and wraps it around the wound Evie sustained. That doesn't stop her, and several others in their party, from crying in terror. For reasons unknown to them, they were being attacked by a murderous gang. Their chances of survival were bleak, considering that Isen, Blyke, and even *John* were being overpowered.

Speaking of, John holds tight onto his latest injury. While Isen checks in on him, John states that it their efforts weren't in vain: he didn't get shot twice. He asks if Isen can tell where the remaining sniper fired from. Isen says it's no use, as their return fire must have encourage the second one to relocate. John grits his teeth, and says that he feels confident enough to fight his way through the guys with knives, even with one more sniper left. Blyke concurs, and promotes the idea of getting out of there to where they can contact civilization right afterwards.

The three of them emerge and prepare to engage at John's signal. Suddenly, Evie calls out a warning, but it's too late. Isen is hit by a beam from behind. Blyke and John turn to see that the one who fired it is part of Spectre reinforcements.

Further down the hill, Arlo and Remi find their attackers bearing down on them. Arlo throws up a Barrier, which fails to impress the ponytailed agent keeping her distance. He learns that it's because she's got some sort of shockwave attack strong enough to wear down his weakened defenses. He warns Remi that their fight won't be a leisure cruise, and to stay on her toes as soon as he dropped his Barrier. Remi faces off against two of the knife-wielders. Their attack is swift, and they manage to gash her. Undaunted, Remi believes that she'll still be able to outpace them with her reduced speed. She dodges their next attack and grabs them and zaps them. She realizes the depths of her situation when her attack fails to take them out as intended. Arlo remains on the defensive as more wave attacks are sent at him. He figures that Spectre having some strong would be useful in putting down the more "troublesome" targets, and wonders if there's more than one to deal with. His inability to produce domes allows another agent to sneak up on him and grab him. Arlo quickly knocks him away, but realizes that the touch was meant to disorient him. His energy rapidly fades away, leaving him barely able to fend off more attacks. Remi is in the midst of launching another attack with higher voltage when she notices Arlo's predicament. He warns her of the one who did this to him, but it appears that she'll soon have to worry about dealing with all four attackers by herself.

Back at the first attack, John thinks back to how Seraphina first described Spectre to him. The idea that it was the kind of noble, equalizing organization he could get behind was clearly a load of bull. He looks at the thugs who blindsided their group and curses them before opening up a can of original recipe Joker on them.

## Appearing Characters

* Arlo
* Remi
* Assorted Spectre Agents
* Roland
* Evie
* Dylan
* Safe House Members
* John
* Isen
* Blyke

## Appearing Abilities

* Aura Manipulation
* Hunter
* Energy Discharge
* Several Projectile Abilities
* Barrier
* Lightning
* ***Spikes***
* ***Sleep Touch***

## Notes & Trivia

* This chapter was initially released on Fast Pass with an extended fight scene at the end. The scene was later cut short, but Uru-chan remarked on the error on her Twitter, saying that readers got a sneak peek of the following chapter's beginning.
* Only one timestamp appears in this chapter. However, the following chapter denotes that the ending scene took place five minutes after Arlo and Remi arrived (in comic book time).