Super Powereds: Year 2 (86 page)

“Mary keeps the orb then; what do the rest of us do?”

“Alex should hunt down Britney, Mary and I will go after Amber and Tiffani,” Nick replied. “The rest of you fan out in your formations and hope we get lucky and find the right Julia. I’ll supply what help I can in that regard.”

“I think I should go after Amber and Tiffani,” Alex protested.

“Alex, Amber is very powerful,” Camille said gently.

“Which is why it should be me. In case you guys forgot our last match, I’m the only one with practice deflecting soundwaves. Mary has gotten a lot better in training, but I don’t think she’ll be able to pull it off. Sorry.” He said the last part to her with a look of slight embarrassment. Alex took no joy in pointing out the shortcomings of others; he merely wanted to give his team the best chance it had. Luckily for him, Mary had already made peace with the fact that there were some things he could do that she never would.

“No, you’re absolutely right,” Mary agreed. “You go after Amber and Tiffani, Nick and I will hunt for Britney.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for Nick to crank up his luck and find the right Julia?” Alice asked.

“And if I did, and she was with one of the combat members of her team, what purpose would that serve? I got skills, but they aren’t enough for me to take down a trained Super,” Nick said.

“Except for all the times you’ve done just that,” Vince added.

“That was just Gilbert. Mary made the right call on this one. First we hunt Britney, and then we go after Julia.”

“If the three of you are going to try and get the orbs then why don’t we stay with you?” Camille pointed out.

“This is a numbers game,” Nick explained. “If we can find Britney, and if my luck happens to work the way I’m hoping and lead me to Julia, and if that clone of Julia isn’t guarded by someone like Chad, and if we can do all of this in time to make it to the depository, then sure, it would be a great plan. That’s a lot of ifs. It makes more sense to send you guys out separately and increase our chances. Besides, this isn’t just about what we do, it’s about how we do it. Going off in different directions increases our chances of showcasing our various skills.”

“Makes sense to me,” Roy said. Vince and Alex nodded their agreement as well. Camille merely stepped to Vince’s side in preparation for departure.

“Looks like we’ve got a plan then,” Alice quipped.

“That we do. The others have already begun to move while we were talking, so everyone stay alert and keep safe,” Mary cautioned. “And move fast. We’ve got less than two hours to show everyone what this team can really do.”

172.

Roy didn’t have much of a plan as he jogged through the patches of forest. He knew he didn’t want to get near the giant pillar of red light; it was too early for anyone to be congregating around it. He also knew that any attempts at stealth were a waste of time. Roy didn’t want to go unnoticed, he wanted to fight. So instead of creeping and crawling along the ground, he just jogged casually in a wide circle around the beacon. He figured sooner or later he was bound to run into someone. If it was Julia, that would work, and if it was anyone else, he would make do. What he really wanted was to run into someone like Chad or Shane, someone he could truly pit his new strength against. Roy didn’t exactly get his wish, but it wasn’t too far off.

He felt his leg go out from under him as it was jerked quickly into the air. He found himself hanging upside down, a bright orange hand of energy wrapped around his ankle leading along a glowing path back to Thomas. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment, two warriors taking the measure of their opponent. Roy had never fought Thomas, but he knew the boy’s ability from Vince and Alex’s match against him in the maze. He didn’t imagine this would be too hard.

“You aren’t very quiet when you run,” Thomas observed.

“Nope,” Roy agreed.

“I suppose that means they didn’t give you an orb.”

“Go figure, they didn’t think I would do a good job of staying hidden.”

“You’re going to tell me which of your teammates has it.”

Roy flashed Thomas an upside down grin. “You’re welcome to make me try, but I gotta warn you: I’ve gotten a lot stronger than the last time anyone saw me fight.”

“You don’t say.” Thomas gathered his internal energy and prepared for the impending battle. Roy was a powerful opponent; he always had been. But unbeknownst to Roy, his team didn’t have a monopoly on people finding new ways to use their skills.

* * *

Vince and Camille were walking with care through the brush, trying as best they could to muffle their movements. He was far more adept than she was: a life of sneaking onto and off of railway lines will impart a generous amount of talent in stealth. However, even Vince wasn’t quite good enough to avoid detection. Neither of them heard their attacker approach, neither of them saw the practiced flick of his wrist. The first clue Vince had that they’d been attacked was the searing pain that ripped through his left leg. He let out a gasp and tumbled forward. Camille reached for him but found herself thrown backward, landing in a heavy heap ten feet away from her fallen friend.

“I loathe sneak attacks,” Shane said, stepping out from a small pine cluster and into a clear area. “I sincerely do. Even knowing they’re a recognized piece of strategy, they still make me feel dirty. I’m sorry I had to use one, but Vince is simply too dangerous to fight head on.”

The dangerous man in question was currently pushing through his pain. He tried to pull himself up and discovered that his right leg was worthless. Somehow Shane had cut his Achilles tendon, leaving the appendage unable to bear any of his weight. He ignored it, years of training kicking into place as he steadied his mind and began to take aim.

“None of that,” Shane said, another jerk of his hand precipitating a yelp of pain from Vince. This time Camille saw what happened: Vince’s shadow contracted into a thin blade of vibrating darkness, leaping up from the ground and cutting into his shoulder.

“I don’t mean to be cruel, but I’m not letting you work past the pain enough for a clear shot. Just surrender your orb if you have one, or tell me who I should be hunting. I’ll still have to incapacitate you, but there is no reason to make that process any more painful than possible,” Shane explained. He jerked his hand once more.

This time it was Camille who had to stifle a shout as she felt her leg go numb. This sent her crashing to the ground face first, since she’d been trying to sneak over to Vince and Shane.

“I can’t let you do that either, Camille. Look, you are both very pleasant people and I bear you no ill will. Please don’t make this hard on yourselves.”

Had Vince’s face not been pointed toward the ground Shane would have seen the silver-haired boy’s eyes nearly watering with effort. He might not have understood that Vince was thinking of all the people counting on him, of having to stand by while Shane incapacitated Camille, of feeling useless. What he would have gotten, almost assuredly, was some sort of warning about what Vince was trying to do. It likely wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Vince was already resolved. If Shane wouldn’t let him get off a clean shot, he would just have to settle for a dirty one.

Vince clutched his hands into fists and summoned up a torrent of fire that would have made a volcano feel impotent.

* * *

Alice decided after the first few minutes that Mary’s idea to take the high ground wasn’t such a bad one. After all, anything she saw would be available to the telepaths, which would help them coordinate their search for the orb holders. Besides, Alice was a flier at heart; trudging along on the ground when the air was accessible just held no appeal to her.

She shot above the trees quickly, lest one of their ranged opponents get off a lucky shot, then slowed her ascent as she got clear of a surprise attack range. The ceiling was still some ways above her, though as she rose higher she could make out the blue paint and spaced out lights used to illuminate the field and create the illusion of a sky overhead. It was an impressive piece of work, but one that lost its luster when one drew too close. Alice was so absorbed in looking at the ceiling that she nearly missed the other human figure floating over to her.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Violet greeted. “Guess we had the same idea.”

“You can fly?”

“I can do a lot of things. Now how about you hand over the orb I’m sure you’re packing and I won’t have to show them to you.”

Alice felt her lips draw tight as a mischievous grin crept across her face. Oh hell yes, this was going to be good.

173.

When he looked back on it later, Alex would realize that it was the same innocent curiosity formed during their relationship that allowed Selena to sneak up on him. Just as he had wondered if it was possible to deflect her ability, she’d tried to see if there was a way to avoid detection from his. It would take him some time longer to understand just how she’d done it, that she’d figured out he sensed the emotions and general sense of a person more than their specific thoughts and that she’d sung a song of emptiness to push those things down in all who heard it, but none of that information was available to him at the moment. All Alex knew was that he should have been safe, should have been far from anyone else as he moved toward the direction of Tiffani and Amber; however, he still rolled to the side when he heard a crackling sound from behind him.

The training with Alice and Mary might not have increased his raw force as much as they’d hoped, but it had damn sure helped train his reflexes. Alex jumped up and spun around, noticing a small smoking spot on the ground where he’d been standing, and faced the opponent who’d managed to sneak up on him. Jill stood there, her arm still raised and a small device glowing on her gauntlet. She was barely recognizable; the suit she wore had clearly undergone some serious modifications. It gleamed in the fake sunlight, dark metal flowing across her body, little notches and bumps giving away the various devices that she could call to action with a mere thought. All of it was topped off by a helmet with two barely-visible eye slots. It should have greatly obstructed her vision, but Alex knew Will’s craftsmanship too well to count on such an oversight.

“Nice dodge,” Jill said, her voice somewhat muffled by the apparatus enclosing her head. “You’re getting better.”

“You, too; you’ll have to tell me how you managed to avoid my mental detection,” Alex replied. As he spoke, he brought down the same telekinetic force he’d used on Will in the second match, pressing on her like she was a sandwich in a panini press. Unlike Will, she didn’t immediately buckle. Her suit had either been formatted to increase her strength or somehow counter this exact strategy; knowing Will it was probably both. She did begin to go down slowly, her shoulders hunching and knees buckling outward. He was about to turn up the pressure when the song hit his ears. It was a song of slumber, one that made his head swim with visions of soft pillows and thick blankets.

He glanced to the tree line and sure enough, there was Selena, singing her siren’s lullaby. Alex switched into sound repelling mode, but the necessary focus meant he had to release Jill, who immediately called forth two new glowing devices to the gauntlets around her wrists.

“You were right,” Jill called to her teammate. “Having Will create a sound negation device was a good idea.” The handy doodad allowed her to fight in close proximity to Selena without falling under her spell unless Jill willingly deactivated the system. It was a good thing, too. Alex’s ability meant he could very effectively counter either one of the girls in combat. Both of them working in tandem, on the other hand, now that was a task they doubted he’d be able to handle.

* * *

“Things aren’t going too hot, are they?”

Mary glanced at Nick, whose face wore an expression of practiced disinterest. If he’d been asking because he cared, one wouldn’t know it from looking at him. Mary was used to that part; what concerned her was how unsurprised he seemed at the idea that their team was in trouble. It was especially impressive since she hadn’t given him any updates since they separated.

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t, I merely suspected. You’d be feeding me information about each person’s victories if they were having any. Since you’re silent I’m assuming it means they’ve hit a few obstacles.”

“Too soon to tell,” Mary replied. “But a few of them are in some tough fights. Vince and Camille are facing Shane, Alice is squaring off with Violet, Roy and Thomas are about to throw down, and Alex just got ambushed by Selena and Jill, with one of Julia’s clones watching from a safe distance.”

Nick made a clicking sound somewhere in his throat. “Fuck. That is not an ideal lineup for us.”

“A couple of them could swing our way.”

“Sure, but not the most important one.”

“I think you’re underestimating Vince,” Mary said.

“I doubt it,” Nick shot back. “I’ve spent more time working with him than anyone else in this group. I’ve run endless scenarios in my head to try and prep him for as many of them that are winnable as possible. I think it’s safe to say that right now I know Vince’s abilities better than anyone else, himself included.”

“Except his father,” Mary pointed out.

“Allegedly. That cute little tip hasn’t been proven yet.”

“Yet?”

Nick gave a curt nod. “Keep me updated on their fight. Once I know how it shakes out, I’ll know how to proceed.”

“You have a plan for if he loses?”

“I have a plan for everything. I have a plan for Zeus blasting down through the ceiling and declaring himself the king of Naples. Just because I have one doesn’t make it particularly good.”

“I see.” They walked in silence for a bit longer, Mary redirecting them a few times as their target changed direction. Eventually Mary’s curiosity was too much, and reading Nick’s mind was no help as he was purposely obfuscating by doing complex math in his head.

“So, are you going to tell me what the plan is?”