“Fuck, fuck, fuck… come on,” I hissed beneath my breath. My phone’s reception wasn’t as reliable as I’d hoped atop a mid-rise building near campus. Don’t even get me started with the WiFi — the only signal my phone could find was from the rich assholes in the penthouse below. Unfortunately for me, ‘I_Love_Money!’ wasn’t their password.

Planting my forehead against the cold metal parapet, I groaned. The self-defense tutorial video I was attempting to play on my phone wasn’t loading, nor were any of the videos I’d watched with Kayden previously. “This is ridiculous,” I whispered in an agitated mumble to myself. “What am I doing — seriously, am I insane? I don’t have the first idea of how to approach this.” I straightened up and started to pace around the perimeter of the roof, hoping to rid myself of anxious rock weighing down my stomach. “Don’t the movies always show the hero being guided by someone? Where do I get the building schematics? How do I make sure I enter through the right air-vent? And how the hell do I stop dry heaving?!” I pulled at my hair in frustration. None of this was coming as easy as others had made it look. If I made a mistake, actual lives were on the line. Even if I didn’t make any mistakes, there was still the inevitability that I was going to glitch out at some point, leaving myself open. I needed something fool-proof. Something even I couldn’t screw up. Otherwise, I couldn’t risk it.

I checked my phone for the time, swiping over about a dozen missed call notifications from Mom. “Oh, great,” I moaned. “Forty-five minutes left. Way to get a head-start, Ricochet.” I needed a plan. Rushing in wasn’t going to cut it. Prim was expecting me, and I’d need to deal with her first to get everyone else to safety. The slight bulge of Kayden’s doodle in my pocket registered against my skin.

Save the victims first. Always.

Kayden’s words rang through my mind, halting my gait. Prim would use any hostages against me. As far as her memories had shown, she wasn’t above anything. I needed to level the playing field a bit.

But how?

I absent-mindedly stared at the rooftop door while considering my options. My plan had to be clever, otherwise she’d see right through it. Maybe a lie within a lie? One of the classic Mom plays. I studied the translucent glass pane in the upper center of the door. It was old and faded, distorting my masked-reflection staring back in a “house of mirrors” way where I almost looked far older than seventeen. An idea sprung to life in my head.

If I could race a bomb over several city blocks to the shoreline before it exploded, why couldn’t I be in two places at once?

“Huh. I wonder...” Lowering myself into a ready stance, gravel spewed out from behind my heel as I jumped into a sprint. Racing between the door and the adjacent roof’s edge, I dug as deep as I could without accidentally ejecting myself over the edge. I’d heard of speedsters creating afterimages of themselves, but had never actually seen them do it. Was it even possible? I wasn’t sure; while there was a vague outline of my body at both endpoints of the sprint, both were clearly not the OG Ricochet Prim was expecting.

I needed to go faster. I clamped down on the bolt of energy and willed everything I could from it. Being the only plan I had, this had to work. Time slowed even further as I sped between the points faster and faster. Sweat formed and evaporated from my forehead in the same breath.

More! I needed more speed! The gravel gave way to PVC beneath my padding feet — needed to work on being less ostentatious in the moment. I planted my heel down and turned back. Finally, finally, staring back at me was my own reflection — in a sense. It looked a bit intangible, but it was me. If Prim noticed, I could pass it off as phasing. She’d expect me to be on my guard, after all.

 Breaking my stride, I jogged back to the parapet and gazed down at the academy. The crowd gathered on the street had grown in size; a helicopter hovering in the air held cameras aimed at the school.

Couldn’t really ask for a better introduction.

I retreated as far back on the roof as I could and lowered myself into a runner’s position. The bolt within me buzzed eagerly, signaling to me that it too was ready.

A single exhaled breath floating in the breeze was all I left behind. The footing the roof provided fell away from my sprinting feet as I flung myself forward into thin air, just before finding purchase on another building’s glass facade. I moved diagonally in a downward-arching path in the direction of the ground. The glass disappeared out from under me just as quickly as the gravel and PVC of the first building had as I dropped onto another rooftop, this one with a curious new opportunity. The news helicopter from before was hovering precariously close to this building, its cameraman nearly hanging out the side of it for what I assumed to be a good shot of the school. The blades were still moving, but from my perspective they couldn’t have been going faster than one or two miles an hour.

Turns out the movies weren’t wrong — you totally can run across the blades of a moving helicopter as long as you’re fast enough. I observed the school as I descended — andrAI surrounded it and something dark had been set up on the roof. Potentially a spawner or mini factory for more of them? I made a mental note to check it out later.

With another powerful leap, I dove toward a passing semi-truck to reduce the distance between myself and the ground. After a simple roll off the top of its boxy metal trailer, I hopped onto the street pavement and blasted off toward the school.

She’d see me coming, but that was the point. The andrAI merely twitched in response to my presence, none fast enough to do anything to stop my advance onto the campus grounds. Let her think I was being reckless. That I didn’t have a plan. People have underestimated me my whole life. It was time to play the role.

The exterior metal shielding was simple enough to phase through, though the sudden shift to wood before emerging out the other side sent slimy chills down my spine. I landed solidly on the other side onto a bed of shattered glass with a crunch. The windows to the main office must’ve been knocked out by the andrAI. Darkness engulfed the trashed hallway; ceiling lights were dark and devoid of light and nearby lockers were dented and scuffed up. The lenses of my goggles quickly adjusted their shading. Instantly, the scant lighting of the room seemed to grow and intensify somewhat.

“Night vision… very cool.” My senses on alert for incoming clelium, I turned back around and firmly gripped the door handle on one of the main entrance doors. Prim was obviously in the gymnasium, waiting for me with some trap. If I could keep her talking, there was a good possibility I could evacuate the gymnasium before she could enact whatever she had planned. The door ripped away from its hinges without much resistance. 

“Guess Sammy was right,” I mumbled, wiggling my fingers beneath the metal shielding over the exit. “Place is made of fucking cardboard.”

I pried the metal up off the marble flooring, allowing fiery-orange daylight to spill into the entrance foyer. Wedging a piece of broken door wood beneath it seemed to keep it from sliding back down, giving me about three and a half feet of clearance to slide between, hostages in hand.

Turning on a dime, I zipped deeper into the school. My advance was eerily unfettered even as I approached the gymnasium. It was almost as if I’d jumped forward twenty-five years into an empty, dilapidated building. No sign of bots, hostages, or Prim.

Yep. Definitely a trap.

My feet stopped at the precipice of the gymnasium doors, or rather what was left of them. A deeper inky darkness infested the room, obscuring sight even for my goggles. I inhaled deeply. 

“Stay calm, stay cool, stay collected. Three C’s, Gabby.” Energy surged from my chest as I prepared myself.

The threshold of the gymnasium faded into the familiar cement and cinder block room. Red dots popped up across my lenses, superimposed over the dark room. The lighting picked up, but not from my goggles. The fluorescent lights mounted overhead had begun to emit a faint glow. Dozens of figures began to come into focus beneath the red dots accompanied by quiet gasps and murmurs filling the room. Pained sobs. Tearful laughter.

My classmates, my teachers, and my friends.

A single pair of hands began to applaud from out of sight.

“There she is. Lady of the…” Prim glanced down at her wrist and scoffed. “Next thirty-three minutes? Gotta say, ‘Ricochet’, for a speedster you’re cutting things awfully close. Way to play up the stereotype.” Prim came into view, adorned in her armor and goggles. Determined to stay one step ahead, I began to focus my energy into small, fierce bursts while she continued to jape at me. 

“Behold, folks, your ‘savior’. Weird being on this side of the equation, huh?” She looked me up and down and stifled a giggle. “Making your form intangible so my clelium can’t get you, huh? Interesting strategy. Did Mister Miller teach you that one? "It was one of the only tricks I let him learn. You know how it is..." she gestured as she searched for the phrase. "Something about lab rats getting too clever.”

Good, she was buying it. “Aw, don’t talk about yourself like that, Prim. You’re more of a backstabber than a rat.”

Her smirk dropped into a scowl as murmured giggles spread over the populous. Cass was right next to her, hands bound by a thick black rope-like object. That’d make it tricky to get her out. My goggles focused on the band and popped a reticule onto my lenses.

 

Identifying substance… clelium. Contains a bonding agent which temporarily bonds to alter genes on contact, inhibiting transformative properties.

 

Huh. So that’s how she was keeping them under her thumb. Another line of text replaced it.

Tactical response: Long-term exposure results in rapid re-powerment once clelium is removed.

 

She licked at her lips predatorily. “Those goggles you’re wearing. Those are also quite interesting. Get them from a mutual friend of ours, I assume?”

I took a few tentative steps forward. “Let them go, Prim. I know you’re only here for me.” The familiar hum of the andrAI. At the edges of my vision, I could see them hovering in the air, laying in wait with me at the focus of their cameras. Good, they would pay less attention to the disappearing hostages that way.

Sammy’s croaky voice pierced the suffocating tension surrounding us. “Is that McArthur?” Sammy called with surprising gusto, tied down horizontally with multiple clelium bands as she was. “What’s up with the fancy duds?”

Sammy — always good for a distraction.

Prim turned towards Sammy, her scowl dissolving into a grimace. Seizing the opening, I yanked the bolt down into my legs. The core of my body heated up in tandem with time’s slow to a crawl. One of Prim’s legs was suspended in mid air, its movement slowed to a plodding pace in Sammy’s direction. Inhaling deeply, I scanned the room. With so many faces staring back at me, my heart felt about to shatter into a million pieces.

Who would I save first? What if Prim figured me out before I could save everyone — before I could save Cass? I tried clearing my thoughts. My decision needed to be strategic, not based on emotion alone. Ms. Catarelli could teleport, maybe even help me save others, but what if Prim sent the bots at the students once I got them out of the building? They’d need protection once I wasn’t around. My eyes settled on Mrs. Bittinboulder.

I scampered over the floor towards her and past several other students with posture as still and rigid as statues. Her body weight was far less of an impediment than I would’ve expected. Bright side of moving so fast, dead weight didn’t seem to be an issue. I hoisted her frame onto my shoulder and placed a hand on the back of her head for support.

My legs sped us through the corridors of the school and past the propped exit I’d left for myself. Sliding out into the light of day and taking care to ensure her safety, I regained my footing and sped her off the campus, past the mob of police and news personnel and a block over to the storefront of the safest place I could think of. Mr. Stavros had a hand placed over his eyes, blocking sunlight while he gazed out at the crowd down the street. I set Mrs. Bittinboulder down at the edge of the sidewalk and ripped off the band of clelium binding her with my gloved hands. The echo and reverb in my voice felt amped up when I called out to her over my shoulder while turning back towards the school.

“Shields up, Shield Mistress!”

The andrAI remained stationary as I tore back toward the school. Prim’s foot was a bit closer to the ground, her brows a bit more furrowed as she continued yelling at Sammy. Catarelli was the next person I swiped from the room along with a student I didn’t recognize, then Angus and Courtney, and on and on until I’d made at least fifty trips in and out of the building, maybe a little more. Prim was finishing whatever comment she was making and was in the process of turning back toward me. The bots seemed satisfied with the after-image I was refreshing every other trip, but she would figure me out as soon as she noticed a third of her hostages missing.

Shit! There wasn’t enough time for me to reach everyone! If I made a distraction, that would only buy me a few more seconds but would surely draw closer scrutiny from her immediately after. Still evacuating faculty, I tried desperately to figure out a solution.

Over the course of three or four trips, however, I noticed Cass standing abruptly and calling out to Prim, her eyes locked squarely on me. She conveyed exactly what she was doing with a wordless nod.

Buying time.

Another round of hostages, Cinney and Noe this time, were hoisted over my shoulders and ran out the door to join the others. Bittinboulder had evidently heard me and was in the process of materializing a shield overhead. Thankfully, there was still clearance enough between the ground and its forming walls for me to pass through. It looked like she was going for something more opaque. Smart; that would help to protect the identities of the students and faculty.

My brow was becoming slick with sweat and my breath was becoming hard to keep steady. Never ran so fast for so long. Pinpricks of pain were beginning to signal from my legs, but I forced my mind to stay focused. Couldn’t stop until they were safe.

Mr. Bayes, the janitor, and several other faculty members joined my rescue attempt until I’d removed more than half of the remaining hostages. I couldn’t make out what Cass had said to Prim, but whatever it was it was making her angry. In the span of one trip I returned to find Prim’s arm moved from her side to overhead and swinging downwards toward Cass’.

Markus, however, had jumped in the way of the blow. I saw the attack play out in multiple trips as his body crumpled backward into Cass and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Only a few more people were left. Lugging Buckley’s particularly massive frame had proved more taxing on my lungs than the others, but it was working. My aura trail was now filling the hallways outside. Garrison and his nephew were out the door and into safety; only Cass and Markus remained. Prim’s back was to me. If I could pick them both up, I could slip right by her and— 

Her arm flew back towards me with a blinding speed, knocking me off my feet and into the pile of broken bleachers a few feet away. Plastic, metal and wood cut against my arms and back as debris moved around my body like a stone in a pile of pebbles.

Prim stalked her way towards me while rolling her shoulder back. Her helmet surged up around her face in a mass of folding metal, clicking and locking into place.  “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice your pathetic rescue attempt, you little cretin?” she called, her voice no longer modulated but now clear as day. “I have to hand it to you, I expected you to either make a run at me or for Carmen here. Did your little dead friend teach you how to hero, Gabrielle?” The andrAI snapped back to life and swarmed down from their position towards Markus and Cass. Prim gestured to the drones dismissively. “Kill them. I’ve got what I need.”

Grasping tightly to one of the broken bleacher boards, I whipped it in Prim’s direction, hoping to catch her by surprise. She deflected it with an indifferent flick of her wrists. In the small span of time her arm was blocking her view of me though, I launched myself from the pile of wood and slammed my knee into her helmet, driving her back a few steps. Before her reaching arms could grab a hold of me, I dashed toward Markus and Cass as the swarm descended upon them. Ripping their bonds to the floor and fitting both of them onto my shoulders, I dashed from the room and left Prim behind. The exit loomed ahead, just a bit further. I was so close!

Upon turning the final corner, my heart sank as I found the hallway had reverted to a state of deep darkness and my escape route sealed.

“Fuck!” I hissed beneath my breath. Prim must have closed it off once she figured out what I was doing. Keeping pace, I cut down one of the side hallways in search of somewhere defensible where I could buy time. Much to my surprise, Markus’ body suddenly gained far more slack and unwieldiness to it.

“What the — McArthur!” Markus screeched; “Where the hell?” His unanticipated movement threw my gait off, nearly sending us careening towards the lockers before I caught myself by jamming my boot into one of the locker doors.

“Markus! Now isn’t a great time to become a sack of deadweight!” I said angrily. “How are you even perceiving this?”

He grunted and adjusted himself on my shoulder. “Speedster attuned, remember? You’re putting off so much energy I’m absorbing it by touch.” He waved a hand over Cass’ eyes and sighed. “Looks like she ain’t so lucky.”

“Markus, I’d love to talk but I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“Yeah, I saw you Houdini-ing the rest of the school earlier. Why didn’t you choose an exit closer to the gym?”

My teeth gritted, I took off again down the hallway. “I did, but Prim closed it off. She’s got the andrAI after us; I need somewhere I’ll have a few seconds to make another exit.”

“What about the chemistry lab? When my guys and I got out of the gym earlier we tried to hole up there before those bots got us. Should have a metal door still on the hinges.” 

I twisted into the stairwell and bolted up the stairs at his suggestion.

“But why do you need time? Can’t you phase us through the window gates?”

I shook my head. “I can only do me. Not enough practice with it. Ideally, Cass can burn us a hole straight through one of the windows in there.” The chemistry door was open, thankfully; I slammed it shut and bolted over to the far side of the room where I set them down. Markus froze mid-reply as my energy left him. The walls were windowless, meaning we’d have to burn through solid brick instead of metal. 

“Crap!” I screamed in my head. This was going to take longer than we had time for. Piling several desks at the door, all I could do was hope that would keep Prim out for long enough to break through.

I dropped to my knees and began panting, exhaustion permeating every molecule of my body along with the more pressing glitch pain building up in my muscles. Cass and Markus burst to life at the same time, their words jumbling together into an incoherent mess.

Markus blinked. “There’s no windows in —”

“Gabby! What’s — “ I cut them off by holding my hand up.

“Make hole… fire, please. Prim’s… coming.” Cass glanced between the wall and me.

“I-I don’t know, I’ve only done something like this one, and it felt—”

“Now, Cass! Just — whatever you need to do, do it!” I screamed in frustration as a wave of pain wracked against my ribs. With a nod and squeak, Cass jumped up. After a brief flash, she turned her demonic red-orange firebreath towards the chalkboard and the brick wall behind it. The intercom scrambled to life.

One guess who's taunting voice echoed over the speaker.

“Come out, come out wherever you are, children. Just kidding, of course. I know you’re in the chemistry lab. Decided to pick one of the only rooms with active surveillance cameras, huh? Strange choice, but it’s been a few years since I wore a cape.” Looking up at the ceiling, I could tell she wasn’t lying. My fingers dug into the circular cap housing a small camera and yanked it and the attached wiring down.

“Oh, sorry!” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “I guess I should’ve tried to see things from your perspective, Prim, but now you’re blind as a bat.” Small thuds began to sound against the door, likely the andrAI smashing themselves against its surface outside. Prim wouldn’t be far behind.

I laid a hand on Cass’ back. “Come on Cass, you burned through the steel before. I know you can burn through brick.”

“It’s not — I mean, yeah, I can, but I’ll have to go deep for that kind of power,” she retorted between belches of flame. “It’s… doing that is complicated. Going full demon has these strings attached and I —” A much stronger force slammed against the door, jolting several stacked desks back a few inches.

“She’s coming!” Markus warned.

“Then dive, Cass! Dive as deep as you need to!” I pleaded. She regarded me with fleeting regret before giving in. Her wings stiffly extended backward, knocking me back in the process. One of her hands flew above her head where a small sigil formed in the air. Puffs of smoke filled the air as several cambions popped into the room with us.

“Hold the door!” She pointed them at our failing barricade. The tall demonic figures surged back and slammed up against the desks just as they fell back even further. The orange flames erupting from her mouth flickered blue before tripling in volume and bathing the wall in a coat of hellish paint. The temperature in the room skyrocketed, making my light gear feel like a winter coat in the middle of summer. Her horns began to twist themselves inward, inching higher and higher upon her head as what few teeth I could make out sharpened themselves considerably. The cambions’ combined strength served only to stall Prim, a loud cry filled the air as one of them erupted into a puff of smoke and Prim launched herself at the other two, tearing into them with manic fury I’d not yet witnessed from her.

As the wall finally gave way, Cass’ eyes darkened until an inky blackness completely overtook them.

Finished with the cambions, Prim dashed forward with her arms outstretched, desperately grasping for us. Cass spun toward her, driving a claw downward toward Prim’s helmet. Pushing the pain as far away as I could, I sped back up and grabbed both Cass and Markus. With a mighty jerk, they fell with me through our newly created escape hatch. Several andrAI were waiting for us on the other side; each drone wildly spewed clelium at their approaching targets. Deftly dodging any of the orbs and landing on the ground with a heavy thud, I raced the two off the campus, through the crowd and back to Bittinboulder’s shield. After placing them on the ground and taking care to direct Cass’ frozen slash out and away from anyone, I collapsed onto my back allowing the world to catch up while I dealt with my energy discharges.

Everyone resumed their normal pace and jumped in fright at us smoldering newcomers. Cass turned her head from side to side, surveying her new surroundings. I looked up through drenched hair clinging to my cheeks and forehead and called to her.

“You… you good Cass?” She didn’t immediately respond, opting instead to tilt her head as she surveyed me with what I could only describe as curious examination.

A perturbed thought ran through my mind. “Was this what she meant by ‘full demon’?”

“Gabby…” she replied with a lilting tone, almost as if she were asking who I was. The shell of darkness infecting her eyes shattered and faded, allowing her irises to come back into view. Her horns receded and her teeth reverted to their normal, slightly less pointy state. “Gabby! I did it!” She shrieked and hurried over to pick me up off the ground.

“Yeah, you did!” I laughed, feeling more utterly grateful than ever before in my life. I had my best friend back. She was safe. Bittinoulder’s shield dome parted and we were ushered inside its expanse by several faculty members. All eyes were on us, waiting for me to say something. Anything. Queasiness was beginning to invade my stomach.

Applause, low at first, rose in an abrupt crescendo from every other person gathered with us under that blue, sparkling dome. A few whistles, even. Cass set me down on my feet perhaps a bit too early — the energy build-up I’d ignored earlier was returning with a venomous vengeance. My knees fell to cracked asphalt as discharge painfully erupted from my body in all directions, driving several people back a few steps.

Ms. Catarelli rushed over with several other teachers, but I waved them back. “Normal side effect of being —” Another wave of pain crashed against my sides before I could continue. I took a deep breath. “A total hero. Would’ve been cooler to say it all at once, but you get the idea.”

Mrs. Bittinboulder knelt down to my level, keeping her glowing hands in the air to maintain her shield. “Thank you, Gabby. From all of us. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Bubbling laughter rose in my throat. “No problem, let’s just change all my grades to a passing score and call it even.”

My phone buzzed to life in my pocket, calling my attention back to all the missed messages from Mom. I pulled it out and unlocked it, eager to inform her that I’d done exactly what she said I couldn’t. A different message, however, awaited me.

 

UNKNOWN:

A passing score? I believe I remember Kayden telling me they wanted that once during a medical evaluation.

 

The congratulatory voices surrounding me suddenly felt much more distant and quiet. My fingers instinctively typed back a reply.

 

ME:

Shut up.

 

UNKNOWN:

How did you feel sitting in that hospital room? Knowing they were dead? Did you wring and knot your fingers together until your knuckles bled? They say not to kill the messenger, but I bet you wanted to, huh?

 

The latency between my fingers speedily tapping at the surface of the phone and the appearance of my reply on-screen only increased as my blood broiled further.

 

ME:

One more warning. Stop.

 

UNKNOWN:

I’ve been to see them, you know. Surprisingly easy to get into a morgue. They made good time on that autopsy, too. Stitches running up and down the little skin they have left on their chest.

I’m quite good at killing, apparently. Is that weird for a person to boast about?

The teachers started to organize the students, making sure everyone was tended to and wasn’t gravely injured. Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t hear them over the thunderous roar in my ears. The trance of adrenaline and fury clouding my mind was interrupted by Anya LeRoux yanking my shoulder back and forth.

“Gabby?” She called again in a perplexed tone.

“Oh, Anya,” I shook my head to help suppress my growing rage. “Sorry. Sorry. What’s up?”

Her face lit up. “I wanted to say thanks again for wearing my suit! It’s so cool having an honest-to-goodness hero wear my designs. The goggles are a great choice, too.”

I looked back towards the academy, scouting for any andrAI formation change. “Oh, no prob.” Still floating there. I could launch directly from the ground if I wanted. I turned back towards her. “Actually Anya, I have a request.”  Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the sheet of Kayden’s doodles and showed it to her.

“Can you put this on my chest? I’m thinking of using it as my insignia.”

She looked the design over carefully. “Are you sure? It’s... a bit gauche.” The smile I wore flickered the tiniest bit, flashing into a frown for only a second. Catching my reaction, she nervously continued. “But you did save my life so who am I to judge?” A few other students jumped with fear from the light caused by her transformation; all eyes were now on us. She pressed her hands to the front of my suit. “What color did you want it in?

I looked down at the doodles and smiled. “Amber.”

The itching sensation was very mild this time, probably because my sports bra was between my skin and the changing fabric of the suit. She stepped back and nodded.

“What do you think?”

Running my fingers along the leathery fabric, I admired her craftsmanship and grinned. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” Storming back towards the other end of the dome closest to the school, I passed Bittinboulder who called out to me.

“Hey, Gabrielle. Where are you going?”

I didn’t respond to her question and rested a hand against the barrier. Prim was my only focus. I’d saved the civilians; it was time for the second part of this job. Energy leaked out from my chest into my muscles. Though the dome was formed from some sort of energy, I could still sense its vibrational frequency.

“To clock out.” My mouth dry and every fiber of my being twitching with anger, I passed my hand through her barrier followed quickly by the rest of my body. They all called after me through the cloud of dust I left in my wake, but I wasn’t listening. Buildings and people reduced to blurs as I raced back towards the city with newfound blinding speed. So fast was I running that my aura almost seemed to be reflecting my movements. I could almost make out a figure running alongside me, staring back.

It was time for Prim to pay. In the hole we’d absconded through, she stood perched; waiting. Jolting off the grassy knoll towards her, I stretched my arms out with my hands open and ready to grip at her pale neck.

What’s that saying? Fool me once and shame on you, but fool me twice...?

My body passed right through her specter-like image without any resistance and flew into the remains of the desk pile I’d stacked earlier, which hurt. A lot.

Shame on me.

“Too easy,” the witch chuckled. “You’re too easy, Gabrielle.” 

“Really? Holograms again? Fight me for real, you coward.” I kicked myself from the pile and took a swing at her. My fist sailed by her helmet without so much as a knick. Her mocking tone reverberated throughout the room. 

"Quick feet, Mac! Quick feet!"

My feet caught on the waxed floor, allowing me to double back and drive my knee toward her chin. “This is for Kayden!” Again, she somehow seemed beyond my reach and was untouched by my attack. I skidded to a stop on the other side of the room and paused my offensive. 

Prim giggled again. “My, mustn’t Kayden be disappointed?”

What the hell was going on? I’d been able to hit her earlier. I’d landed a good hit earlier. What was —”

“Different?” She said. Her helmet folded back off of her head. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t steal that little telepath’s powers, though he is on the list. Just using a new trick I wasn’t sure would work.”

I loosened my stance. “What?” 

She laughed and pointed at the room’s walls. AndrAI were hovering around us, watching silently. “Extra eyes. Remember? Super-genius connected to cameras; other sets of mechanical eyes. The predictive math isn’t too hard to work out.”

“Oh, right.” I gave myself a theatrical tap on the head. “The super genius that you stole? And is making you insane?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I figured that speedster brain of yours would make things different, but I’m curious how different. Never seen my quirk take effect on one of you before. What all did you see?”

“Oh, you know. A fall from grace. Dead sister. Classic hero to villain track. Pretty basic, if I’m being honest,” I sneered.

“Interesting,” she replied.

Hoping to catch her off guard, I sprinted forward and dove to the ground to sweep her feet. Instead of dodging, Prim’s irises and skin momentarily pulsed with red energy. She planted her boot smack in the center of my chest and flung me backward through the interior brick wall of the classroom and into the hallway, scattering bricks everywhere in the process. I slammed into adjacent lockers and clattered to the ground.

Prim effortlessly stepped through the hole and joined me in the hallway alongside the drones. “Don’t interrupt, Gabrielle. It’s so very insulting. As I was saying.” She pulled me up off the floor by the neck of my top and raised me to eye level. “The elevated processing throughout all centers in your brain must have allowed you to pull more information out of the flashes most people experience. Note to self: look into that when I land on Terra-23, I’m quite curious about the ramifications it may have on synthetic body modifications.”

“W-while we’re on the subject of modifications, your head sure would look better with a hole in the center of it,” I spat back at her. 

“How vulgar.” The metal of the lockers twisted and bent around my back with a sickening screech as she slammed me against them. Again and again, she’d pull me from a deepening dent in the metal and throw my body back against it like a rag doll. Bursts of light penetrated my vision as my skull slammed against the metal.

Satisfied with the me-sized dent in the lockers, she tossed me across the hallway. I slid over the waxed floors into the stairwell and tumbled down a couple of stairs before catching myself on the railing. Curled up in pain, the only other feeling I could seem to make out was increasing fear. She wasn’t supposed to be unbeatable. I was the hero, wasn’t I?

“Is this it? I killed your partner, taunted you about it, and this is the revenge you seemed so intent on exacting only moments ago? Come now, Gabrielle.” Her helmet closed back up. “Fight me like you mean it.”

Using the railing as support to lean on, I rose as she approached the stairwell, my muscles screaming in distress. She’d said the cameras on the drones were patching their feeds to her and she was working out my movements from there. She was predicting my moves and how I’d react and wanted me to know it. But why was she toying with me? If she could dodge every attack, why didn’t she just slap the gauntlet onto me while she had the chance?

“Why the games, Prim?” I called out to her, readying myself to strike again. “If you can dodge so well, you could’ve already landed your gauntlet on me. Why the cat and mouse?”

She cracked her knuckles, one after the other. “As far as the gauntlet is concerned, I suppose in a pinch I don’t technically need it, but it is preferable as far as my probability calculations for doorway stability are concerned. In regards to the ‘game’ we’re playing, well, you’ve answered your own question, Gabrielle. You’re fun to play with. I’ve been learning so much about you over the last few months — dare I say, I’ve come to care about you. Now I get to see what you can really do.”

“Don’t make me vomit,” I snarled. 

Dashing forward, I raised my fist toward her. AndrAI floated in the air behind her, watching my movements. Her left arm twitched, poised to counter any move I made. Any move, that is, except for sliding right past, between her legs. She let out a surprised exclamation as I bounced back to my feet and bolted towards the andrAI. They had little recourse save for ineffectively shooting clelium in my direction. Their metal casings were no match for my bitter swipes and punches. I tore to pieces any of the drones I could see in the hallway and slammed the door to the chemistry room to prevent any more from entering the hallway with us. Sensing a newly opened opportunity, I sped towards her, no sign of her predictive abilities making themselves known.

I internally smirked as I seized the perfect opportunity to send my feet into her stomach and knock her soaring through the opposite wall down into the foyer of the building. I dove through the opening, eager to keep up my onslaught.

She must’ve caught herself upon landing on the floor because she returned the favor; her shoulder slammed against my chest and propelled me into the main office. Ben’s desk crumpled around me like plywood and ejected papers into the air. Prim was already on top of me, slamming her white-knuckled fists into my face over and over.

“Oh no! You broke my spy-drones! However will I fight back?” Her foot connected with my ribcage, eliciting a sickening crack. Again I found myself tumbling through the air and into the other side of the office. I struggled against her ineffectually, but each blow I landed was met with a swift and painful reprisal. The wooden barrier separating the office and hallway shattered as I fell through it onto the marble floors.

“Ah, that’s right,” Prim chided me in her usual condescending tone; “Like that.”

Dust and wood particulate filled every gasp I took in, choking me from within. Going head to head with her while she was laser-focused on me wasn’t going to work, not with her strength. Sitting up, I raised my hand and looked to her expectantly.

She raised an eyebrow. “Uh… yes?”

“So, a couple of questions. Firstly, those powers you stole. The first set, the brainy ones. How come you don’t need to flicker to use those?”

She snickered. “It’s a mimic thing. Do you really care how I can hold them?”

I did, but only for the sake of talking. “You got me. Just buying time.” I denoted.

She let out a deep, intrigued robotic sigh. “Obviously.”

“But along those same lines... I assume you’ve been stealing Markus’ powers for the last few years, yeah? Is that why he’s underdeveloped?”

Her helmet dropped, revealing a thin smile plastered across her lips. “That’s right. Figuring out how to punch my way into the Kinetic Realm isn’t simply a matter of combining your powers. Shit’s complicated, Gabrielle.”

Rolling my shoulder back, I let out a low chuckle. “Alright. That answers another question, too. So you’re trying to rip it open, I assume, to find your dead sister. What, did Mel send her ghost into it? I’ve been there and I don’t remember seeing any poltergeists. Or can you finally tell me what you were hiding while I was strapped to your table?”

Prim retorted with a snobbish scoff. “What, you want me to spoil the ending for you?”

I shrugged. “I always did tend to skip to the end of the books I was assigned in class. Made it easier to bullshit the essays.”

“Fine. Spoilers, obviously. So multiverse theory? Got a handle on that or should I continue knocking your ass around and save the bother?” She resumed her prowl toward me, her skin briefly flashing red again.

I took a few steps back. I needed to keep her talking. “Sure. A bunch of dimensions folded over top of each other including the Kinetic Realm, Recusant’s Zone and a bunch of other ones.”

She threw an unexpected swing at me, one I wouldn’t have been able to avoid if I wasn’t a speedster. I hopped a few paces further back. “Almost, but not quite,” she mused. “Think of those dimensions as… sub-realities to our own. They’re anchored here and would follow our reality if it ever moved. No, there’s a bigger picture than that.”

I scanned over our surroundings. There had to be something I could use to my advantage. “What like… parallel universes? I mean yeah, our world is pretty much the stuff of comic books and sci-fi, but that’s bordering on crazy, Prim.” I slowly passed by a water fountain, which prompted an idea to pop into my head. “Let me guess, you’re looking for another version of your sister? I imagine that’s what the Terra-23 talk was about earlier.”

“Yes, actually. Good detective work, Gabrielle,” Prim replied, sounding genuinely impressed. “That’s less exposition for me to work through. If you want, I can mimic you again? I assure you, you’ll only be strapped down as a precaution while you experience the true awe of my brilliance.”

“Funny,” I replied flatly. “I hate to rain on that parade, but…” I swiped my foot beneath the water fountain, catching the metal pipe running up from the floor into the machine and bursting it open. Speeding myself up, I carefully bent it to jet a stream of water aimed directly at Prim’s helmetless face.

She recoiled as the torrent of water splashed into her, giving me just the opening I was looking for. Her arms thrashed about haphazardly as she tried to predict where I’d be attacking her from. I skipped behind her and began hammering away at the small of her back, each of my punches landing like jackhammer blows. She staggered forward, dazed but for a moment before twirling around and swinging at me again with her helmet raised.

She had a natural height advantage on me and thus had longer arms and reach, so I needed to move swiftly to keep from falling into their grasp. Twirling around her, I spread my hits out evenly onto her ribs, chest and stomach. One of her hands went to grab at my hair, prompting me to send a punch directly at one of her boobs. The plate dented inward, leaving an imprint of my knuckles when I drew it back.

Prim howled in pain and planted the full force of her thigh muscles into a kick in my sternum. Caught off-guard by the evaporation of all air in my lungs I hardly noticed crashing into yet another classroom, one I recognized as Ms. Catarelli’s.

“So we’re fighting dirty, huh, bitch? Fine, I can roll with that.” Prim roared as she lunged through the opening after me. Still desperately trying to take in air, I spun out from under her trajectory just in time; the floor beneath her erupted into a series of spider web-like cracks.

“Dirty?” I shouted back; “You went after my hair, you basket case!” A desk narrowly missed my head by a few inches and crashed against the far wall.

“Because you were going for my kidneys, you little tranny!”

“Oh, resorting to slurs now? Real classy!” I shot back. Using the uneven terrain to my advantage, I dashed over Catarelli’s desk. Steadying my back against the wall, I propelled the desk towards her. She ripped into the metal like it was construction paper only to find my knee smashing against her helmet. Clutching at it, her amethyst-goggled eyes gazed up at me with pure disdain.

“She’s alive, you know.”

“Who?” I sneered. “Wunderkind? I think we both know those tights ain’t fitting over those thighs any time soon. Did you ever get that stitching right?”

She turned her head to the side. “The Mechanic.”

My fists tightened. “Don’t even.”

“It’s true,” she cooed. “If you want to believe that hag is well and truly dead, be my guest. But I did catch a glimpse of a large data transfer some microseconds before that building went up in flames. So yes; she is still alive — if you can call it that. But now Melora Alphonse will always be known as a criminal. And she’ll be too scared to come out of hiding to prove anyone wrong. There’ll be no redemption for her. That’s a result I can live with when I leave this world behind.”

“You fucking monster!” I shrieked, lunging for her throat. 

How dare she? How dare she wreak so much havoc and destruction!

Her fists slammed into my back before I could reach her with agonizing force, sending me face first crashing into the floor. My face and upper arms went numb from the shock.

“Talking works both ways, Gabrielle.” Unable to power through the confusing combination of pain and numbness tormenting my body, I laid motionless at her feet. In one swift motion, she grabbed the back of my collar and hoisted me up into the air, held aloft by the tension of my jacket alone. My eyes fluttered open and were met with a large crack running down the side of one of the goggle lenses. My jacket now acting as a makeshift collar under her taut grip, she passed through the classroom doorway, proceeding to an unknown destination.

“I mentioned them before, but I’m quite curious about those goggles, Gabrielle.” She lowered her helmet. “Best I can tell, they look to be a crude focusing device. Those shutters have been expanding and narrowing quite often, mimicking what I assume are your eyelid movements. Are they a grown-up version of those glasses you so recently adopted, Gabrielle?”

“B-bite me,” I groaned.

She winded her way through the school, being joined by scores of heretofore unseen andrAI from classrooms and hallways. “Curious thing is, I detect some form of AI in there. Can’t quite see it though. Some of her work, I suspect?” She smirked deviously. “Melora Alphonse. I hope there’s more of her out there. I’d sure love a good rival.”

A weak cough escaped my lips. Hoping to keep some semblance of dignity, I peered down at her. “Kept the andrAI as a backup, huh Prim? Scared I’d kick your ass?”

She let out a hearty laugh. “Oh, no, no, no. If I was afraid of that, I’d have hit you with everything at once. I just wanted one last good fight.” 

I tried kicking at her to free myself but found any attempt thwarted by a swift blow to my gut from her free hand. I cried out; my insides felt as if they’d begun to liquify from all the abuse she’d dealt me.

“Ah, ah, ah. Enough of that, Gabrielle. You’re coming with me so I can get right to work when I drain you.” Prim stepped onto an andrAI drone with little fanfare. “Up.” She commanded. We began to lift slowly toward broken out skylights above us.

The cold autumn air felt refreshing against my bruised and bloodied skin, even beneath my suit. Instead of staying perched on the drone, she stepped off onto the gravel lining the academy’s roof and began toward two ominous looking machines set up in the center of the roof. The andrAI scattered into the surrounding sky as we encroached on the devices intuition told me Prim’s plotting ass had set up. The helicopter from earlier was hovering off in the distance, their cameras surely aimed at us. 

“Perfect introduction for Ricochet, Gabby,” I groaned inwardly. “Hanging dazed and vulnerable from Prim’s grasp like a kitten hanging from its mother’s mouth.”

I rolled my eyes. “Wow. Look at you, moving your lab to the roof in sight of the six skyscrapers immediately surrounding us. Someone’s on an exhibitionist streak.”

Her helmet dropped down. “Let them watch.” She smiled gently. As we approached the structure of the machines became more parsable, one of them recognizable, the other completely foreign. The vase-shaped machine with robotic appendages attached at the lid I’d seen before in her lab. It sat upon a large machine the size of a building HVAC unit with so many angles and corners it looked like a geometry project. They were wired together with cords and cables, large and small. Lights pulsed within the larger machine in a clockwise rotation.

“Your doomsday device, I take it?”

Prim scoffed, looking somewhat hurt. “Is that really how you perceive me? It’s merely a doorknob, Gabrielle.” She giggled. “One with a small detonator inside, but a doorknob nonetheless. Just as an insurance policy.” She tossed me into the air to reposition her hand around my throat. 

I gasped for breath, my fingers clawing at her vise-like grip for relief. A luminescent keyboard projected out from the side of the device along with several displays showing various progress meters and percentages not unlike the monitors of my body from her lab.

“Breathtaking, right? I’ve been working on this bad boy for years. I call it a kinetic engine.” 

I made a face. It was a really bad name.

She shrugged. “I know, I know. Look, I’m a scientist, not a shitty marketing executive like your father. I’m the one who had to figure out how to make the damn thing work.” She ran a gloved finger along the harsh edges of the machine and let out a gleeful squeal. “Do you know what a shape that has twenty sides is called, Gabrielle?”

I coughed in reply.

She returned her freehand to the translucent keyboard and began to type. “Of course not, I’ve seen your grades. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

Bitch.

“It’s an icosahedron. Twenty sides, thirty edges. Not exactly necessary for what I need the machine to do, but who doesn’t love a bit of flair? More than makes up for the name, I’d say. If I’ve got my calculations correct, this should let me open a doorway to Terra-23. That’ll be the closest match to our own world.” 

With her holding me as she was, I was able to inspect the luminescent displays the machine was creating. Only two of them were even legible from the side, the third’s information was totally illegible. The progress bars, however, proved different. There were several markers, one at sixty-seven percent filled, another at eighty-eight percent and the last at twenty-three percent. Unfortunately, the text accompanying them was basically chicken-scratch from this angle.

“If your calculations are correct?” I squaked out from her grasp. “Look how well that went last time. You stole the intelligence off some other alter and went insane because you couldn’t handle his quirk.” The memory of that crackling, pulsating void briefly filled my mind.

I was starting to worry that those weren’t just warnings, but predictions.

“W-what if this fails? What then?”

Prim’s fingers wavered for an instant before continuing. “It won’t.”

“How do you know?”

She shot me a tired stare. “Because I do. The chances of failure are minimal and have been accounted for. Just like every other action I’ve had to take; this is for the greater good.”

My lungs screaming for more air, I choked out a response. “Is there any part of you left in there that's s-sorry?”

Her helmet folded back. “Talking isn’t going to save you this time, Gabrielle.”

I pressed her. “There’s not a part of you that feels shame for all the people you’ve hurt?”

The gauntlet whirred to life around my neck. “Gabrielle.”

“Not a single shred of shame left to feel when you find your sister? No, when you find this innocent woman. Won’t you feel any semblance of remorse when her face looks upon what you’ve become?”

Her grip tightened immeasurably, cutting off nearly all blood and airflow. She yanked me close, her nostrils flaring and her eyes wild.

“Listen here you mumpsimus little twirp. I’m not sorry for doing what I had to. I’m not sorry for the actions that got me here.” I scratched at her fingers, desperate for relief.

“I’m not sorry I stole powers nor am I that I ratted you out to your dipshit dad. I’m not sorry I took school children hostage and I’m not sorry I manipulated your mother’s workplace systems to fire her.” I stopped clawing as her words hit me. 

She was responsible for Mom losing her job? Deep, deep within my chest, a small spark flared to life.

“And I’m most certainly not sorry I killed your little fucking girlfriend/boyfriend or whatever the fuck they were.”

The spark was growing; now a bed of iron hot embers and ash. She was responsible for every single thing that’d gone wrong in my life. My hands gripped against her as my body shook with fury.

She lowered her voice to a hiss. “The only thing I’m sorry about is impressing upon you the delusion I ever, even for one second cared about your wellbeing. You were always a pawn that came with baggage. And that’s all you will ever be to anyone else.”

Whatever bindings had held me back; whatever was left in me that strove for the kind of mercy I’d seen other heroes display evaporated in the instant after she stopped speaking. They fell away as Prim and I phased through the gravel rooftop surface and dropped toward the gymnasium floor two stories below.

Her hand fell away from my throat as she looked around in panic. I caught a glimpse of blue flash beneath her skin before her helmet pulled up over her head. I dug my fingers beneath her plated armor and grappled onto her. 

“It — it was you! You destroyed my life!”

My fist slammed against her helmet dozens of times before a final blow shattered the metal casing over her skull and onto the ground below.

Our fall was stopped by a swarm of andrAI flooding through the doorways into the space beneath us, providing a soft landing pad to cushion our fall. Prim bounced off her back and rolled onto her feet despite the precarious nature of our footing in a practiced and precise manner. 

I bolted forward in the blink of an eye and tackled her off of the horde, smashing her back into the hard polished floors with a sickening thud.

Rolling off of her before she could reach out at me, I snatched her leg up into my hand and dashed out from the gymnasium. Once the front door barrier came into view, I dug my heel into the ground and transferred all of my forward momentum to her by letting her ankle loose from my grasp. She flew forward at a blinding pace and slammed through the barrier with little resistance. Daylight once again surged through the opening, bathing the hallway in an orange glow. The Prim-sized hole proved large enough for me to jump through, allowing me to regain my visual on her. The crowd of police and reporters had parted around a smoking and toppled over news van.

Her form catapulted from the van wreckage high into the air and back towards the school. AndrAI converged around her, taking up her rear. 

“You can’t stop me! Casey means too much to me to stop now!” She screamed down at me.

Sparks and bolts jumped around my body viciously as the energy in my chest exploded outward. 

Step after step drove me over the campus lawn. The andrAI proved to make great launchpads; I jumped from one after the other until she was within my reach. 

“Not more than Kayden meant to me!”

I planted all of my strength into one more kick, flinging her through the glass face of a nearby building and scattering shards into the air. Office carpeting melted into mush in my wake as I stormed past her wake of broken cubicle walls and desks. Cracks ran up a cement column at the side of the floor as she dug her fingers in to halt her momentum. I threw all my weight into a shoulder check aimed at her pelvis, sending us both tumbling through the other side of the building and back out over the street.

Ready and waiting, the andrAI swarmed around our intertwined bodies and thrust us back into the air. We tumbled across their surface for a few seconds, each trying to gain an upper hand on the other before the drones submerged us into their cloud.

Grey and silver, metallics and matte finishes washed over me like clothes in a dryer. My sight was virtually eliminated and my sense of orientation was shot to hell. Prim seperated from my grasp, slipping into the endless sea of robots further and further away from me. Small glimpses of light occasionally pierced the black and grey veil over my eyes, showcasing an uncomfortable bird’s-eye view that made my stomach drop.

The drones smacked into me from every direction, prohibiting all but the fetal position to protect myself. They were too much! Folding in upon each other and knocking me around, my senses were beginning to be cut off. A twinge of pain radiated upward from my foot, indicating another glitch was starting to form — and fast. Prim was nowhere to be seen; once more she was going to escape. I groaned; the pain was rising up into my hips. Prim didn’t get to do this! She couldn’t keep getting away! Never again! Every muscle in my body clenched and aching, I bit sharply into the bolt of energy in my chest, letting out an animalistic scream.

“Prim!” Bolts of electricity and lightning detonated outward off my arms and legs into the surrounding air. Arches of energy sizzled into the metal surfaces of the drones and fried their circuitry inside out.

The swarm halted and twitched as it began to part, revealing one Eliza Prim wearing a surprised grimace as she descended back towards the earth, no longer supported by mechanical means. I propelled myself towards her off the top of a still-hovering drone. Like a twisted dance in slow motion, I fell towards her faster and faster. She raised her arms up to catch me.

In what I could only describe as the purest form of irony, one of the short-circuiting drones slammed against her shoulder and broke her form before hurtling upward towards me. I thrust my fist through its frail exoskeleton, a quaint prize falling into place within my fingers. 

The academy rooftop whizzing toward us, I grabbed a hold of her chest plate and slapped my palm against her forehead just as our bodies collided with the academy rooftop in a plume of smoke and debris.

Everything hurt. My legs; my arms. My face especially. I don’t know from how high we fell, but the tweaking pain in my muscles gave the impression that it wasn’t a short distance. By some miracle, we hadn’t gone through the roof a second time and had only cratered the surface. Forcing my arms to grab at the outside of the me-sized hole, I flopped onto my back and smiled.

Prim wasn’t looking good. Only moans and whimpers were drifting over from her crater to my ears, even as she pulled herself up, glaring back at me with dazed, unfocused eyes. A circular red mark centered on her forehead was surrounded by cuts that seeped droplets of blood down onto her suit.

“You…” she wheezed. “You little…”

I let out a contented sigh as clelium rolled out from my gloved fist onto the gravel. “Don’t strain yourself, Eliza. You’ll need your energy for the paddywagon ride. By the way…” I pulled myself to my feet and approached her. “Before I forget.”

I stomped my boot onto her gauntlet, crushing the device and sending sparks and spare parts scattering over the rocks. She screamed in agony, but I wasn’t listening. She didn’t deserve my sympathy.

“Figured you’d like a taste of your own medicine.” I smiled wryly. She clawed at my leg impotently.

“You clod!” she howled at me. “I don’t… I can’t remember how it works! The machine — I can’t remember!”

I pushed my foot down harder into the crushed metal. “All the better.” She flinched, shielding her face with her unpinned arm. “Don’t act like you don’t deserve more of an ass-kicking.” She kept her face shielded and remained silent. Removing my boot, I made my way towards the rooftop edge. “Brb. Gonna get some clelium bracelets from one of the students you held hostage before you turn back.”

She called out to me, her voice burning like acid. “Why do you think your alter is an inverse?” My feet stopped moving.

“Don’t.”

She stumbled onto her knees, coughing up blood in the process. “The prevailing theory is that our alter forms reflect our inner personalities. I look the same because I know exactly who I am, and I’ll never apologize for it. Why, I wonder, is yours a barely five-foot-two girl with a huge chest while some people get a coat of fur or scales?”

I turned towards her; all the blood remaining in my veins boiling over and my power surging. She took a few tentative steps toward me, no longer wearing the gauntlet and now clutching at her other arm. She gave me a scathing look.

“I mean, just look at you. Cute and pert in all the right places. Is this what you think womanhood is?”

My body convulsing with rage, I tore forward and knocked her onto her on her ass with the heel of my boot. “I know what you’re doing!”

A harsh, snorting laugh spewed from her lips as she clutched at her sides. “There’s certainly no shortage of causes to choose from. Daddy issues? Maybe you imprinted a little too hard on your mommy without your dad around.” She stood back up on unsteady legs. “Or is it autogynephilia? I bet that’s it. It just gets you all excited to imagine being some little whore.”

I slammed my fists into her chest and jaw, sending her flailing back a few more feet until she crashed against her machine, clutching at it’s sides to stop her fall. The vapors of her now haggard breath had become opaque as the cold temperature settled in around us. Blood trickled past her lips, persistently licking at the edges of her coy smile.

“In that case, I’d like to be asked for my consent before being subjected to this… fetishistic behavior.”

“Fuck off!” I roared, pent-up energy violently arching off my body. She didn’t deserve to talk anymore. She didn’t deserve to continue throwing barbs at me. And I wasn’t going to take it anymore. I dashed forward, ready to throw all of my weight into her and her stupid machine. I’d let them both shatter to pieces.

She dropped to the ground before I could make contact, avoiding my electrified fist. But the energy didn’t stop moving. Kilowatts of energy shot from my burning knuckles and passed over the metal exterior of the machine. I watched the bolt invert and cycle itself as it rushed out from the shockwave of my fist and up into the arms attached to the top of the device. Lights all over the machine burst to life, emitting a harsh, glancing glow as if an old lightbulb had been replaced.

I looked down at Prim.

She looked up at me, grinning from ear to ear. Her wrist turned over to reveal a small glowing display; her finger placed atop a large red button.

“Remember what I said about backup plans, Gabrielle?” She tapped the screen.

A gruesomely hideous screech tore through the air. My eardrums under crippling, unimaginable pain, agony far worse than any of the glitches could have hoped to be shook through my very bones. Each wave radiated from my chest — from my energy. It churned within me, agitated and angry. And a jerking sensation. Up. Up through my throat. Out through my mouth, through my eyes, my skin. Dancing, lustrous yellow lights swirled up into the air only to fall into the gaping maw of her machine. I struggled against its pull, but grew weaker with every passing moment.

You could say it was over before I realized what had happened, but that wouldn’t be true. I was already painfully aware of what she’d done.

I fell to my knees, my gear now ill-fitting and tight. Despite the all-consuming urge to devolve into cries of horror and sorrow creeping up alongside droplets of tears forming at the corners of my eyes, I was never presented with the opportunity. An invisible shockwave jettisoned out from the core of her machine and slammed my body against the far wall of the rooftop. I crumpled to the ground and curled into myself. Wetness ran over my upper lip and slipped between my lips. I touched at them and pulled my finger back.

Blood.

Luminous and radiant orange-red light spewed from the machine up into the sky, drawing nearby clouds into some sort of gravitational pull around it’s center. Crackles of lightning ruptured outward toward the ground, striking nearby buildings and cars in the process. The top of the building was bathed in a sudden rush of orange-yellow-red light emanating from a pulsating mass of colors — of hurt and pain and suffering slowly forming overhead; all too suddenly I knew if the bolt were still in my chest it would have turned scalding and excruciating.

She’d done it. The Kinetic Realm was… it was…

Pieces of gravel all around me wobbled and bobbed as if under pressure by an unseen hand. Each one gradually lifted into the air, at first only a few feet. But they kept rising. Higher and higher until more objects joined their ranks. Tree branches, large globules of water, even large chunks of debris from the school were rising into the air towards the center of the wound. The air was overrun with an inescapable strange metallic chlorine taste.

Prim was desperately scurrying over to the machine, leaving me alone to stare up into undulating eternity. I could almost make out shapes within the mass shifting as much in color as they did in form.

Dozens and dozens of figures formed, riding the waves of chroma and tidal shifts. Each stared down at us. Down at me. One of them glowed brightly, much brighter than all the rest. It radiated a prismatic, oscillating light before settling for deep amber-yellow of lightning. It’s limbs fully formed into something more humanoid, a shape I’d become intimately familiar with rocketed out of the opening and blazed a trail of light through the darkening sky. It plummeted down, past the clouds and lightning and floating debris. Down towards the school — down towards me. My limbs still in shock, I could do little but flinch as it met me head on in a flash of light.