Cobalt

Part 7

STELLA

When the scream first made its way through the gym everyone stopped dancing and looked around for the source.

It had come from the DJ. A girl, presumably super, stood atop their setup. She was gazing up and to the corner of the gym. Everyone followed her gaze to see another super, this one male, on the basketball hoop and another flying by shooting flames from his hands. Worried commentary from the students started to erupt.

The super in the middle jumped down from the hoop and stepped toward the crowd. The scared students collectively backed away.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you. I just need some volunteers," he said. He sounded as if he was trying too hard to say the words. As if he were reading them off of a script.

No one in the crowd replied. They all waited for Venus City's finest superhero to show his masked face and save us from these strangers.

Normally this would be about the time that I go into a long internal rant about how supers make us dependent on them and how they could be just as dangerous as these guys. Even more so. How they probably shop at the same stupid costume store and how the supers wear the same masks these strangers were wearing. But instead, I found myself anxiously waiting for Cobalt's arrival just like everyone else.

That's when I realized what the girl's power was. The stupid enthusiasm. The positive attitude. The dancing. Even Quinn and his resistance to dance to his favorite song.

It was her, it had to be. She had somehow altered our attitudes. That was her power. I just hoped it was her only one.

During my moment of realization, I heard what sounded like Quinn's voice say Seriously? I can't get a day off?

I turned toward the back of the gym to see him pushing through students to get to the front of the crowd. Megan stood in the back, watching the following events from as far away as possible.

Before anyone could react to what the center super had said Quinn was at the front of the crowd slowly pushing everyone else back. "Volunteers for what?" He asked.

The center super didn't answer Quinn but instead addressed the crowd once more. "So... who wants to be a super?" Again, his words came with a lot of effort. He waited for hands to go up or for people to start cheering but the crowd remained quiet, everyone afraid to make a move in front of the guy with flaming hands in the corner. I think if they were asked the question under normal circumstances most people in the room would have answered "Heck yeah, I want to be a super," but these weren't normal circumstances.

The center super took a step toward the crowd and that was when Quinn spoke up again, "I asked you a question," he said. For a moment I wondered where Quinn had found this new confidence and bravery. It surely wasn't there before now.

"And I asked them a question, but I'm not throwing a fit because they didn't answer. If they don't want to volunteer I'll move on to plan B." His statement was casual but every word came with care.

"Well excuse us for not wanting to get ourselves into something when we don't even know what it is," said Quinn.

"You have a point." He looked to his left then his right as if nonverbally exchanging information with his super-powered friends. " I guess we're going with Plan B."

As his friend said that, flaming-hands-guy flew closer to the middle of the gym and the crowd moved like water would if you took a hairdryer to it. He seemed to move in mindless direction just to scare the students but we quickly realized he had encircled a group of students in the middle of the gym. They were trapped in a ring of fire. This would have been a good time for Cobalt to show up and save the day like he usually does. Unfortunately, all we had was the kid I had known since kindergarten that's really good at Chemistry

Quinn dashed for the punch bowl. He poured it on the fire and the circle was broken. The students frantically poured out of the fire ring.

As Quinn waited for each student to escape the super he had been speaking with crept up behind him.

I should have been worried. I should have cried out to Quinn and warned him. There were a million things I should have done. I don't know if it was shock or the girl super on the DJ setup using her powers, but I couldn't seem to do anything but watch. So I watched.

I watched him grab Quinn and pull his arms back for them to be tied. I watched Quinn wince in pain at the ropes (ropes? What century is this?) they tied around his wrists. I watched the other students do nothing, frozen in shock or fear or both-probably aided by the girl super.

The center super started to go for the students and the girl started to talk on a phone I then noticed she had been holding. She called the center super once she was off the phone.

"Just bring the guy. He wants us back now," said the girl.

With that they all left in a hurry, taking Quinn with them. Oh, crap I heard him say though no one else seemed to notice he had said anything. It was probably the fear that had deafened them.

Once the supers were gone everyone started to display the emotions really felt. Most people still just stood still in shock. I saw Nova across the gym start to cry. One of her best friends had been kidnapped.

I had been blaming my indifference to the situation on that girl's powers but now that she was gone I still felt like I was observing everything from a distance. Like it wasn't real. Like I was watching it on TV. I was lumped in with everyone else, unable to process what happened. Too shocked to do anything but stand around and go over it again and again in my head.

The chaperones started to walk around and check on all the students. Some of them had small burns from the fire or bruises starting to form from falling the when the crowd shifted for the flaming-hands-guy. I hadn't realized it at the time but that flaming-hands-guy had nearly caused some students to be trampled by others trying to get away from him.

I turned back to Nova where Justin was now at her side, comforting her. I wasn't sure if I should feel grateful for Justin that he was there for her when I didn't feel like lying and telling her it was going to be okay. Or if I should feel jealous that he was taking my job as best friend to make her feel better.

I decided on the former and took on Nova's role while Megan, a woman who is as much an aunt to me as she is to Quinn, took on Justin's role of making me feel better.

As I sat in the bleachers with my head on Megan's shoulder I realized tonight was an example of every reason I hate supers.

How are we supposed to know which supers to trust when there are ones like the three that showed up tonight? And thanks to the flaming-hands-guy the school will have to spend money and time that it doesn't have on repairs in the gym.

And worst of all: Cobalt wants to save people so much that they've become dependent on his help yet he doesn't show up when he's needed most.

Cobalt- a superhero to Venus City
Superpowers- invisibility, telekinesis, and super inconsistency.

AN

Sorry, this part took a while. I was working out some plot issues. Hopefully, now new parts will be coming regularly again.

-Sarah