~(Y/n)'s POV~
Ah December, a month filled with holiday cheer and cold weather. Only one of those things bothers me and it isn't the damned weather. Now I don't hate it when other people show their holiday spirit. I, however, am not for it, and hate when I get dragged into it. I had just barely finished with my final in Powers History when Cass had decided she needed to take May shopping for her own clothes, and I needed to come along because I'm the "Number one Shopping-Pack-Mule" according to Cass. That and the Twins had disappeared the second they learned what she was doing.
"I'm supposed to be the number one hero in the city, and yet I'm still getting dragged around by someone who has no powers and someone who plays with toys..." I huffed under my breath.
"Hm? Did you say something?" Cass asked.
"Nothing, it's nothing." I waved it off and changed the subject. "How many stores do you plan on taking her to? And how the hell do I keep getting dragged into this when you have two brothers?"
"What's wrong? You're walking around the city with two beautiful girls. Who could ask for more than that?" Cass teased.
"That's the problem! People are gonna get the wrong idea!" I tried to argue as people, mostly men, started to glare. "Scratch that. People ARE getting the wrong idea." I grumbled
"Quit complaining before I stab you." May commented as a plastic knife grazed my side.
"How can you say that like there isn't a problem with that...?" I asked.
"Relax. If I wanted to do something like that, I would've done it already. I've already been living with you for a week. You would be dead by now if that was my intention." May said as she rolled her eyes and put the toy in her pocket.
"Oh yeah. That makes me feel so much better." I started rolling my eyes as I trudged through the city with them.
Eventually, we end up at the mall to... you guessed it, buy more clothes. Cass claims the best shops are in the mall and May had never been inside. Plus, Cass and myself are tired of May borrowing our clothes. In fact, she's wearing my sweater right now.
Before shopping any further I managed to convince them that we should at least get something to eat before they keep using me as a pack mule. So we stopped by the food court.
As the two girls started to discuss the heroes of the city, and who was the hottest, I looked around the wide space of the food court. It wasn't a bad place, clean, well decorated, well lit...Almost too well lit actually, the lights were way too bright...
That's when I heard the buzzing, and it wasn't that the lights were too bright, but that they were visibly flaring up in brightness. Even the lights kept off during the day that they used to light the court at night were on and getting brighter.
My skin started to tingle and before I even realized what I was doing I had stood up and pushed the two down, covering them with my own body.
"W-What the Hell (Y/N)?!" Cass was pissed, but her face also seemed red. May's face also seemed to grow red but she also seemed to have realized something was wrong. "Hello?! I'm talkin--" before she could finish complaining to me, the buzzing from the lights grew louder, enough for everyone to hear, then, that's when everything went to hell. As if every bulb in the mall shouted with effort one last time, they all shattered, sending glass flying everywhere. People were screaming, Cass and May had both yelped and clung to me. I grimaced since my back felt a bit sore from some shards hitting me.
"Are you two okay?" I looked at them for injuries. May was nuzzled into my shoulder, Cass nodded "Y-yeah...I don't think I got hit." I nodded and moved us under the table, wanting to leave them in cover so I could check what was going on, yet before I could, things got worse.
A blinding flash, followed quickly by a deafening roar of thunder and the entire skylight shattered, glass rained down like a midsummers storm and I barely had time to cover the girls again as I was pelted by glass ricocheting into our hiding place. That's when everyone heard it, over the screaming and tinkling of glass, laughter. A voice that sounded no older than myself, let out a gleeful, joyous laugh that echoed throughout the mall plaza.
"Hahaha! Wow! A mall! I haven't torn one of these up in awhile! You're trying so hard this time Twinkle Toes. It's like you're trying to kill me or something!" His voice was light, and he sounded like he recently escaped a mental ward the way he was laughing. "Oh wait...you are! Ahahahahah!"
When I looked towards the voice from under the table, I didn't see his face. He wore an electric blue hoodie but the sleeves were gone, either torn or burnt off. He wore ripped jeans and some normal running shoes. His arms were wrapped in medical bandages that came loose down near his hands, the ends of the bandages hanging loosely. The hood was up and I was too far to make out any features in the now semi-dark court.
The boy looked around the court, his body language showed he was pretty happy about the scene of carnage. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was a Villain, and one of the most dangerous kinds. He was Twisted, but he wasn't a mutant, and wasn't....completely insane. Seems more like he's treading on the fine line of complete insanity. Then, another blinding flash landed across the way from him on the other side of the court, which I could only figure, and hope, that it was the Hero chasing him.
"Well? What are you gonna do, Radiance? What's stopping me from blowing this mall into tiny, sparking pieces this very moment?"
'Radiance? THAT Radiance?'
Suddenly, Radiance disappeared, and all that was left behind him was a trail of light. Not even a second later, the Villain went flying backwards, smashing into a wall, causing the wall to crumble and fall. Then, just as quickly, the wall completely opposite to that wall, and closer to us, was smashed into pieces, a trail of Light and crackling lightning followed the destruction.
While it felt like an eternity, they must've been breaking walls for well over thirty seconds. I was starting to doubt the building would hold.
"Raijū! You piece of shit!" Radiance yelled, and charged at the Villain, who I can now only assume is called Raijū.
...Wait a minute.
I felt the color drain from my face. Radiance...and Raijū...
"Cass..." I whispered.
"Huh? What is it, (Y/n)? You okay? Looks like something's bothering you."
"T-Those are..." I pointed at the fight that was ensuing in front of us.
"Huh? Who? That Hero and Villain fighting? What about them?"
"T-They're the only two...who have Twisted...and are able to control it."
Cass' face started to change into a look of utter fear. Seems like the situation has finally dawned on her. "You mean..."
"That's...Raijū and Radiance!"
The truth is, Radiance and Raijū have fought many times in the past. This always ends with a large amount of destruction. A lot of people die during their fights, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or because Raijū felt like turning up his voltage, effectively killing them. So basically, just being here means our lives are at risk.
Another flash of light and a deafening crack of Thunder made the table we were under shudder, and Raijū cackled.
"Yes! This is why you're the best Twinkle Toes! You're the only one who can catch me! C'mon! FASTER!" He flashed again, it'll be a miracle if we weren't deaf after this, or dead. "If you don't speed up, everyone in this building will die! AHAHAHAHAH-" He suddenly stopped laughing, then slowly turned his head, until he was looking straight at us. "It seems there's someone ELSE here who might be fun to play with~" Raijū began to slowly walk towards our table, electricity arcing off his hands, striking the ground.
'Shit! I gotta think of something fast!' I thought to myself.
"Of course, not as strong as me, but nobo-" Raijū was cut off by a fist, and went flying into another store.
"Don't you dare get sidetracked, you scum."
As the smoke settled, Raijū was nowhere to be found.
"Wow, that one actually kind of hurt a little bit."
"Where is that voice coming from?" Cass asked. She looked at me, a worried look was in her eyes. This must be especially horrifying for her, she doesn't even have any powers. "Are we... gonna die?" Tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I-I don't wanna die..."
I pulled Cass into a hug.
"I'm not gonna let you die."
Cass grabbed the back of my shirt, and buried her face into my chest.
"(Y/n)...why do you have that scary look on your face?" May asked me.
"..." I didn't say anything. As much as I wish I was, I'm not strong enough to defeat Raijū.
A loud crash rang throughout the mall, as lightning struck the ground near Radiance, and Raijū reappeared.
"Your turn!" Raijū grinned sadistically, before raising a single hand in the air, causing electricity to fly out from his hand, directly into Radiance, sending him flying, much like when Radiance was flung.
"Come on, Radiance. As much fun as this little cat and dog chase we have going on between us, I just really don't think it's gonna work out. It's not you, it's me. I just feel like we want dif-"
"Oh, shut up will you?" A light blinded us all, as if the Sun was becoming brighter by the second. Then, once the brightness died down, Radiance stood in the spot he was standing. "Now, first I'll kick your ass, then I'll lock it behind bars for good."
Raijū sighed.
"Look Twink. I enjoy a trip to the mall as much as every crazed supervillain. But I'm starting to get bored." Raijū grinned sadistically, and swept his hands out dramatically. "I think I'm gonna go play with all the nosy people outside. I'm sure a few amps and a couple thousand volts will teach them to keep out of other people's business." He then laughed maniacally as he disappeared in a final flash of lighting, thunder echoing off the walls of the now ruined court until it was silent. The only sounds remaining were crying and alarms blaring.
"God damn it!" Radiance screamed from frustration, standing in the middle of the wreckage. "He always gets away!"
"Hey, Cass, it's fine. See? He's gone now."
Cass, still trembling, slowly pulled her face away from my chest, and looked left, then right. She looks back at me, tears still brimming her eyes.
"Thank you..."
I gave her a cheerful smile, hoping it'd cheer her up. "I told you that nothing would happen to you, didn't I?"
Her face steadily grew red, before she pulled her arms back from around me.
"A-A-Anyway! I want to go back to the dorms! We'll try shopping some other day, I'm mentally drained..." Cass sighed.
"Well...I expect a near death experience would definitely be a mood killer..." I chuckled dryly.
~Time Skip~
We all made it back to my dorm. After a while of us just hanging around my dorm, Cass said her goodbyes to us, and May went to the bathroom to shower. Just then, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I pull out my phone, and see a text message from Douse.
'Hey, let's meet up. I wanna see you again. Same spot as the other night?'
I smiled, then started my reply.
'Of course, see you there in about half an hour?'
I waited a few seconds, then got a response.
"That's perfect! Can't wait to see you! <3'
I smiled again, and put my phone in my pocket.
"May! I'll be back later!" I called out.
"Okay!" She called back.
'Another night looking at the stars with Douse.' I thought to myself, with a grin across my face. 'I can't wait, I need to recharge, and being with Douse will definitely help.'
A/n:
Phienix0629: It's been a long time coming, but here it is! I'll try to get the next chapter out a lot sooner next time. Also, as promised, I'll start working on The Odd One Out tomorrow, because I really like that book, and it's been blowing up the past month or so. Anyways, thanks so much for reading! I'm enjoying writing this one for you guys too, and I hope you guys stick around to see what's to come.
Trenchcoat: Yo! As he said sorry for the long wait, life kinda sucks so our Che dukes rarely align. I will try and get the next chapter posted as soon as possible! I'm excited to see what you guys think of what comes next :).