Cobalt

Part 1

Thanks to RubaiaKhatun for making this cover!
STELLA

Beads of sweat started to form on my forehead and upper lip, the idea of failing Chemistry seeming more imminent with each passing moment. Baffled, I stared at the question on the board as if my life depended on it, which in a way it did.

It read, "Which if the following elements is a transition metal?" The three answer choices being Francium, Meitnerium, and Cobalt.

I had only ever heard of one of those elements before Cobalt. The name of Venus City's newest and most popular superhero. Or if you ask me, it's the biggest pest. I had considered getting bug spray on multiple occasions. That joke would be a lot funnier if he had bug related powers like Ant-Man or Ladybug (yes, I sometimes I fill my time with cartoons).

Cobalt does more harm than good for this city, just like the other supers provided they do anything. Sure they might have fancy powers and save hundreds of people from hostage situations and burning buildings, but they're messy. News flash: insurance doesn't pay for everything. Taxes end up paying for most of their messes. My taxes.

I tried to calm my growing anger at the thought of supers and pay attention to the lesson, something I'd need to do if I wanted to pass Chemistry.

To my right, I heard someone answer "Cobalt." For a moment I had forgotten we were talking about the element again, and looked around for the superhero before I realized he wasn't the topic of conversation. It was Quinn that had answered, one of my lifelong best friends and someone who actually understood chemistry.

"Correct." I guess the answer had the same name as our superhero. Mrs. Destine, the Chem teacher, looked as if she was about to start lecturing on the importance of knowing the periodic table again, but someone spoke before she could.

"Speaking of Cobalt," they said from across the room, "turn on the news."

"How would you know what's on the news Justin?" asked the teacher, obviously aware he was on his phone in class.

"You can take my phone later, just turn on the news," Justin persisted, playing up his English accent to sound more charming. Mrs. Destine was unable to resist that British charm and did as he asked.

The TV screen flickered on and the orange and yellow VCN logo flashed onto the screen before switching to a redhead in a white blazer." This is Christy Stewart, live in downtown Venus City where a girl who appears to have long sharp claws is terrorizing innocent citizens. More info on the matter as it presents itself."

It was apparent she was new by her struggle in keeping her emotions neutral for the camera. Her hands trembled and her mouth had taken on an awkward shape from forgetting to smile. Sort of like the face you'd make if your friend just tried on a dress, and you being the honest friend, sip in a wince-like breath and reply "I think you should try on something completely different."

"My mom works downtown," Nova, another good friend of mine said. She was worried about her mother's safety in her tiny yet popular coffee shop, Top Off. I could see how worried Nova looked at the thought of her mom in danger.

"I'm sure one of the supers will handle it. Now, back to our lesson," said the teacher getting slightly irritated that her not-so-interesting lesson was being interrupted.

Quinn spoke again, asking permission to go to the restroom before she could continue teaching.

"Hurry. I can't have the only student that understands this out of class for too long or I'll actually lose my mind." He stood up from his desk without hesitation and nearly ran out of the classroom. I could still hear his sneakers squeaking on the tile floor and echoing through the halls as he sprinted down the hallway, and thought it must have really been an emergency.

A few moments later, Cobalt was onscreen, ready to save the day and make the citizens pay. He wore a blue-black suit with a white angular 'C' stitched on, starting at his left shoulder and curving down his chest the meet his thigh. They say he's called Cobalt because there's real cobalt in his suit, but no one was sure.

Just like they were unsure about his name, they also didn't know where anyone's powers came from. Some said it was aliens or medical experiments. Others said it was simply evolution, but again, no one knew for sure.

Cobalt approached the clawed girl slowly, holding his hands out, ready to react if she made a move.

She had a crazed look to her: wide eyes with wild hair and torn clothes. Her claws were long an sharp, just as Chrissy had described them. Another adjective I would use is 'terrifying.' I had to admit: with a super as the criminal, it was understandable to have another super fighting, though I still didn't like it.

Cobalt was moving his mouth but the words weren't picked up by the microphones. He seemed to be trying to calm her down. I could see the fear on Cobalt's face. Obviously, he was just as surprised as everyone else to be facing another super.

Usually, supers are either the flashy heroes in tights that we see on the news or they're just ordinary citizens living very mundane lives with a little convenience like super speed to make sure they're never late. They're never criminals.

She leaned toward him, her claws slashing at his face. Cobalt disappeared, using his invisibility to dodge and confuse her.  She, along with the citizens watching, looked around for Cobalt.

He reappeared moments later behind her and pushed her to the ground, pinning her down. She struggled beneath his grip, throwing her shoulders up to try and throw him off balance. Cobalt took his eyes off of her for a moment to look for a way to bind her hands. His eyes locked onto a convenience store and it seemed he had an idea.

  The clawed girl took this moment of opportunity and threw up one shoulder with all the strength she had left. Since he was distracted at the time he lost his balance and the girl used that to get out from underneath him and pin him down.

She raised a clawed hand in the air to slash his throat, and I prepared to avert my eyes. Once she brought her hand down, Cobalt rolled out from underneath her. The claw missed his neck, but now there were three long gashes spanning from his collar bone to just below his shoulder. But he was free.

He used his telekinesis to make a pack of zip-ties fly to his hand from the shelf of that convenience store and opened them up with his teeth. After pulling out a single tie, Cobalt clasped her hands behind her back, careful to avoid the claws, and tightened up the zip-tie until her skin started to bulge out like muffin top where the tie was.

The camera zoomed in on the superhero. His suit was stained with blood from where the girl had gotten him earlier. His face, or at least the parts I could see, were smudged with dirt and his chest rose and fell with the deep breaths he took.

Once he handed her over to the police, Cobalt became invisible again. Everyone on the scene and in the classroom looked like they had just finished a marathon. They had all just let out a breath they had been holding during the whole fight.

"Well now that's over, can we please get back to our lesson now?" Mrs. Destine begged.

Only seconds after she had gone back to explaining how the periodic table works (something about periods and groups), Quinn came strolling back into the classroom. "What'd I miss?"