[OLD] The Phoenix Project (#3)

Twelve

Victoria sized Icarus up. She'd been in a fair amount of fights with kids from Scorpion, but this kid looked stronger than most of them. It probably took a lot of muscle to power those wings. Besides that, though, he didn't seem to have any powers. It would be a relief to not have to worry about being attacked with fire or ice or god-knew-what-else for once.

As a bonus, Icarus seemed to want to avoid fighting. He moved with apprehension and hesitation as he lifted his arms to mirror Victoria's defensive position.

Victoria made the first move. As her arm moved through the air, she concentrated, trying to recreate what she'd done with Seth.

But there was no surge of energy as her fist struck Icarus in the chest. He grunted and took a step back, but didn't seem to be in too much pain.

Icarus retaliated. His first swing was slow enough for Victoria to dodge. His second, however, hit her in the gut.

Victoria gasped as pain coursed through her body. He'd hit her right where the bullet struck her copy earlier. She'd thought the pain was gone for good, but it looked like an injury that bad would take longer to fade.

"Sorry!" The words tumbled out of Icarus's mouth, taking Victoria by surprise. As she staggered away from him, she heard Ivy cry out.

Victoria turned and watched Ivy smash into the floor. Oh, that had to hurt.

The staff rolled across the dark wood of the museum floor, away from the deep cracks the blast of energy had left.

Arachne and Summer moved at the same time, their fingers stretching toward the staff. Their hands found it in the same instant. Electricity crackled between them. Arachne cried out and relinquished the staff.

Summer stood up, hands tight around the staff. It began to give off a purple glow, like it had earlier. But as everyone in the room turned to watch, the light grew brighter and brighter. Summer yelped in pain and dropped the staff.

"Summer!" Victoria temporarily forgot her own pain and ran toward Summer. She made it about halfway when the violet light turned white and became blinding.

Victoria stopped and threw her hands in front of her face. She squinted, trying to make out someone, anyone, in the glare.

The light vanished. Summer lay motionless on the floor, and the staff was gone.

As the Supers rushed over, Summer groaned and sat up.

"Where did the staff go?" Arachne exclaimed.

Victoria knelt down next to Summer. "Maybe it went back to whatever goddamn dimension it came from."

"Don't be ridiculous," Arachne snapped. She turned to her team. "Let's get out of here. Maybe Smith has an explanation."

"Yeah, we're not letting you leave," Summer said. Maybe she'd meant to sound demanding, but her voice came out weak.

Spencer crouched down on her other side, and Ace sniffed at her as he spoke. "Let them go. I'm sure this won't be the last we see of them. We need to get you back to the chopper."

Arachne, Icarus, and Raven disappeared through the door they entered through. Spencer reached for Summer's arm to help her up, but Victoria summoned a copy next to him. "I've got her," she insisted.

"You sure?" Spencer asked. "You don't look like you're in great shape yourself."

"I'm fine," Victoria said through gritted teeth.

"It's the gunshot, isn't it," Summer said. Pushing aside the hands of those who tried to help her, she climbed to her feet. "I know it was a copy, but I'm sure that kind of pain's gonna linger way longer."

Victoria shrugged. "I'll be okay."

"I guess we're all pretty beat up," Spencer said. "Let's go, before some other problem decides to show up."

It took five minutes for them to find their way out of the museum. Another ten took them back to the chopper. Victoria struggled to hide her pain as they climbed in. There was no physical damage, but she was guessing it would take a few hours for the pain from the gunshot to fade.

Michael Jones was waiting for them, safe and sound, thankfully. Everyone settled in, and Ivy offered a brief explanation of what they'd taken from Scorpion. Jones nodded along and when she was done, sank deep into thought.

"You sure you're okay?"

Victoria looked away from the window and found herself staring into Summer's eyes. "I..."

"Your hand's still on your stomach. Do you need painkillers?"

It took Victoria a moment to find her voice. "I, uh, I'll be fine. I just need to lie down a few hours."

Summer rolled her eyes and reached under her seat. "Here, there should be something in this bag."

Victoria laughed, but quickly stopped as pain shot through her body.

"What?" Summer asked.

"Feels like we switched, I guess. I used to be the one forcing you to take medicine." Victoria held out a hand. Summer stared at her a moment before chuckling and handing her a couple of pills.

"Need water?" Summer asked.

"No, I'm fine." Victoria put the medicine in her mouth and swallowed. Great. Now don't choke and make yourself look like an idiot.

She thankfully managed to get the pills down fine. To her dismay, though, Summer was still staring at her.

"Is there... something else?" Victoria finally asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Never mind." Summer turned her head to look out the other window.

Victoria's attention moved to the left. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed Ivy watching her.

"What?" Victoria asked.

"Nothing." Ivy's gaze darted to the right. Sighing, Victoria stared out at the earth flying by beneath them. She lost all sense of time until the Fortuna came into view and brought her back to the present.

As they approached, though, she thought back to the first time she'd seen the ship. Claire and Spencer and Terrence had just dragged her from home and given some jumbled explanation about Scorpion and Claire didn't know where Dad was and Victoria didn't know if she'd get to go home again and—

Victoria bit her lip as the memories surfaced. She'd met Ivy for the first time, and snapped at her of course. And then she'd gone inside.

Victoria had stormed down the hallway, ignoring the fact that she had no idea where she was going.

"Hello?" she'd called. "Could someone on this stupid boat help me?"

She flew around the corner and collided with someone. Victoria gasped and stumbled backward. "Ow! What the f—?"

Her voice abandoned her as she looked up and found herself face-to-face with a tall, athletic girl about her age. Dark eyes met hers. Victoria stared, mouth agape, as the girl gave her an unreadable expression.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

Victoria flushed. "I, uh..."

"Are you Claire's sister?"

Victoria finally found her senses. "Yes. I'd like to speak to whoever's in charge," she demanded.

The corner of the girl's lip turned up in a smile and she raised an eyebrow. "Nice to meet you, too. Follow me. I'm Summer, by the way."

Victoria had simply sighed and followed Summer down the hall.

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Sorry for posting a day late again, guys! My work schedule changed a while ago so I work all afternoon Friday and sometimes I don't get a chance to update. I only have two weeks left of school, though, so after that we should be on time every week. 

Thanks so much for reading! I love interacting with you guys, and your votes and comments mean a lot :)