Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 1 - Owl

Athira drew in a long breath through her nose. One answer. That was all she wanted.

"I want Reader," she said. "If you tell me how to find him, I'll return your dice and leave." She paused, giving them a chance to reply. When they stayed silent, she flexed her gloved hand where her Black waited, coiled and ready. "If you don't, I'll dump you all on the steps of Elite HQ to join them for breakfast and discuss your criminal records."

"You're the one who's been leaving us for the Elites?" said Yellow glowy-eye, slamming a clenched fist on the table. Sparks skittered away from his skin and spilled onto the floor.

Athira gave up pretending to be polite. "Not my fault they decided to waste my time."

"We're not telling you anything." The Yellow nodded at the other two, though only the Red moved into position. The Green with the diamond skin ability remained standing at his chair. "Wonder how much someone would pay to see who's hiding under that mask of yours, Owl."

The Red and the Yellow charged.

Athira raised her hand.

The Black flooded out in a wave, dissolving the Red's shaped sword and smothering the Yellow's lightning before engulfing both men. As the two men struggled and swore, their Colours drowned beneath her own, Athira severed her connection to the Black. The liquid-like Colour instantly crystallised, turning hard and trapping the men in their own personalised cocoons with nothing but their heads exposed.

It took seconds, yet it wasn't enough. Hearing footsteps and angry yelling behind her, Athira turned to find two more idiots rushing towards her. One didn't look entirely human, covered in dark, shaggy fur as he charged her, down on all fours with claws that gouged deep lines in the floor — another Green, this time with some kind of monster shift ability.

It didn't matter. As the Green lunged for her throat with his fangs, Athira caught him in a fresh tendril of Black tethered to her hand. She threw him back at his buddy — another Red firing projectiles at her — then locked them together in a crystallised chunk of Black.

Athira dropped her arm back to her side.

It was such a small use of her Colour, yet the Blue runes on her arms were stinging, their aqua light spilling out from beneath her cloak. She was used to the pain. It was a small price for what the runes contained, as well as a constant reminder about the consequences of failure.

From the other side of the table, the Green with the diamond skin cleared his throat. "If we tell you how to find Reader, you'll let us go?"

"I'll let you go," said Athira, tossing the dice back onto the table in front of him. "They wasted my time."

"It was less than a minu—!" began one, right before Athira shut him up with a Black tendril around his mouth.

The diamond-skinned Green sat down. "He's headed for the restricted zone tonight. Starpoint, I think."

Dread clutched Athira's stomach. The next Surge would be at Starpoint tower, an abandoned building at the centre of the restricted zone. If Reader was there tonight, she had even less time to stop him than she'd assumed.

"How certain are you?" she asked.

"Certain. We bugged a few places. The more info you have on the guy you're working for, the more they pay you to shut up about it."

She had to get to Starpoint. Now.

"If you're lying, I'll find you again," she said, covering the door with Black and forcing it open with a flick of her wrist.

Athira leashed a thicker tendril of Black to her palm and used it to pick up the four men she'd cocooned in crystal shells. They protested, but they'd been warned. The Owl kept her threats, and while she didn't have time to deliver them to Elite HQ herself, it wouldn't be long before a concerned civilian noticed them restrained on the sidewalk and called the Keepers.

Free delivery.

"You think the Elites will go easy on you because you've turned some of us in?" yelled one of the trapped Reds as she dropped them at the mouth of the alley. Even at this hour, in this questionable area, people had already spotted them. "You think you're some kind of hero?"

Athira gave him one glance through her mask. His bravado crumbled as she floated a few metres into the air, lifted by the Black that permanently smouldered in her veins.

"No," she said, and flew into the sky, heading for Starpoint tower.

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A/N - As is NaNo tradition, there'll be vote goals during November for extra chapters :D 

50 votes on this chapter before next tuesday, and I'll post a second chapter this week <3