The Custodes

Chapter 40 - Friend, Foe, And The First To Fall

Kayla felt vomit rising in her throat, turned aside to release it when a massive shadow washed over everything around her. It was as though the shadow had flicked a switch in her brain. All of a sudden she forced her nausea back down, letting her head tip slowly backwards all the way until she was peering up at the falling skyscraper. And, like always when her powers begin to activate, a moment of serene calmness washed over her - a feeling that despite the horrifying hell she was living in, everything would soon be alright.

As the building neared, and neared, and neared - more bodies falling as it did - Kayla took a deep breath down into her lungs, channeling her powers for a few short seconds; before letting her eyes flash green just as the building crashed down on top of her.

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Kayla awoke with a violent start, finding herself flat on her back as her pupils darted around at the sky frantically. They were halted by the gaze of a pair of upside-down, soft brown eyes peering down at her - the features around them materialising into Kelsie's concerned face. 

"Kelsie..." Kayla breathed in relief, sitting up straight all of a sudden and looking around the rooftop she had found herself on. It was familiar to her, of course; she'd successfully gone back once again. 

"Kayla, are you-" Kelsie started, but the other girl interrupted "I'm fine. Listen, I need Noah. Now. I'll explain later, but as soon as you can I need you to heal him. Quinn should be here soon-" As she spoke, Quinn's injured form appeared out of thin air in the centre of the roof. Kelsie gasped upon seeing the state she was in, hurriedly stumbling over to the girl before dropping down and activating her healing powers instantaneously. 

Kayla noticed the fatigue in the girl's movements, remembering how exhausting it was for her to use her powers to such an extent. She slowly pushed herself into a standing position, walking over to Kelsie before dropping a hand on her shoulder and sending her body back in time, resetting her energy levels. 

For a second it looked like Kelsie was going to resist, but given the severity of the situation she knew how necessary Kayla's help was, and instead muttered a quiet "Thank you." 

Kayla gave a simple nod, sitting down next to the girl and watching as she worked on healing Quinn's injuries. For the next short while, the two girls worked together to heal everyone that got teleported to the roof one after the other. 

With Kayla's help, Kelsie was able to exert much more energy at a much less reserved rate, healing everyone ten times faster than usual and to a far greater extent. Before long they were all up and energised, like they'd woken up from a nap as fresh as a daisy. 

Finally, Noah arrived on the rooftop - and Kayla prompted Kelsie to work extra fast on healing him. She wasn't sure how much time they had left, or if what she had planned would even be enough to stop the devastation she'd seen Zuro cause - but if that were the case, she would try again and again until something worked. 

The image of the woman who'd fallen right in front of her burned vividly in Kayla's mind. It served as a symbol of her determination; no matter what happened, Kayla wouldn't let that woman's fate come to fruition. 

She stared intently as Noah's eyes peeled open, still bleary and semi-conscious, though Kelsie's magic was quickly making its way through him. "S-...Stop...Kelsie..." Noah muttered, trying to push the girl's hands away from him "The others-...the others are-...Kelsie?!"

He shot up, meeting a stern look from Kelsie "Lie back down. I'm not-" But her words were cut off as the boy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, forcibly stopping her healing magic as she knelt there in surprise.

"You're okay...I was so worried. How did you-" "Right, I'm really sorry but if you can talk you can move. And we don't have time to lose here." Kayla interrupted, peeling Noah's arms off of Kelsie and dragging him bodily into a standing position.