The two choppers that had already been in the Fortuna Guard's possession filled up quickly, while the new one was left behind for the Fortuna's technicians to make their modifications. Eric found a seat by the window, where he wound up with Sam on his right and Adam on his left.
Summer paused next to the door to the cockpit. "So, where are we headed, exactly?" she asked Wren.
"Just south of Seattle," Wren said. "I can fly—"
"I'll fly, you give directions," Summer said. She stepped into the cockpit. "Come on."
While Wren followed Summer, Veronica took a seat on the other side of Sam. "Are you nervous?" she asked quietly.
"Not really," Sam replied. "I guess I'm getting used to this. What about you?
Veronica shrugged. "I actually feel pretty good about this."
Sam glanced at Eric. "Eric?"
"I feel good about this, too," Eric told him, relieved to find it was true.
A few moments later, Summer and Wren reemerged from the cockpit. "We'll be on autopilot for a few minutes," Summer announced.
"So, what exactly is Scorpion trying to steal?" Sam asked, eyeing Wren.
Summer glanced at Wren and raised an eyebrow.
Wren rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Parts to build more soldiers, or something."
"Yeah, I already asked," Summer said. "Seems like the kids aren't given many details on Scorpion's plans. They just follow orders."
"Kids?" Wren said indignantly. "We're the same age!"
"How old are you?" Veronica asked skeptically.
"Sixteen!"
"Close enough, I guess," Summer muttered.
Eric glanced out the window. Before long, city lights were popping up in the black below. Rain started hitting the window. He groaned. "Seriously? Rain?"
"It's Seattle, what did you expect?" Adam asked.
Eric turned to face forward and sighed. "I was hoping I could have a little luck, for once."
Summer laughed. "Hey, it's the perfect opportunity to practice electrokinesis instead."
"I guess." Eric glanced down at his hands as they curled into fists. "Still gonna hate it, though."
Wren smirked. "Ooh, good. It pisses Ash off so much that you have two powers."
"He's that mad?" Eric asked, glancing up at her.
"Yeah. He already hates losing recruits." Wren shrugged. "And you had a lot of potential."
Eric frowned. "Ash thinks I have potential?"
"I mean, you've done pretty well in fights, considering your lack of training. If you let him train you?" Wren shook her head. "But whatever, that's never gonna happen. You're all a bunch of nerds."
"Hey, are you on our side now or not?" Summer asked, her voice teasing.
"Doesn't mean I have to act like I think you're cool or something."
"Whatever you say." Summer chuckled and started toward the cockpit. "I think we should be getting close."
Wren followed her in. Eric went back to staring out the window. A couple of minutes later, they were descending.
The landscape below was mostly dark forest, and the warehouse stood out in the night, illuminated by bright lights around the property. An empty road cut through the trees and past the field where the building sat.
Two Scorpion choppers were already parked on the concrete, and a third was landing.
"Wren, I thought you said they were only bringing a small team!" Eric shouted.
Wren appeared in the cockpit doorway. "I don't know, I just do what they tell me!" She glanced out the window, her expression a mix of worry and annoyance. "Typical of Claudia to change everything last minute. I bet even Ash doesn't know what's going on."
Sam's eyes closed. "The choppers don't feel very full. I think we might still outnumber them."
"Then why bring so many?" Eric asked. He looked around. No one offered an answer.
The Fortuna Guard's chopper touched down on the opposite side of the yard from Scorpion's aircraft. Eric rose to his feet and joined the crowd of altered filing out. Their second chopper landed next to them.
Puddles scattered across the pavement in front of the warehouse reflected the towering lights and black sky. Across the yard, doors on the Scorpion choppers slid open. Ash and Seth emerged from the one on the left, along with five other altered.
Fifteen soldiers followed them.
A figure appeared in the doorway of the rightmost chopper. To Eric's surprise, Claudia Montgomery herself stepped out.
Eric stepped forward. "What's going on here?" he yelled, fists tightening at his sides.
"Why don't you tell me?" Claudia rested a hand on her hip and swept her gaze over the Fortuna Guard. "Wren?"
Wren walked forward and stopped a few feet to Eric's left, her eyes wide. "How did you know we were coming?"
"What, you thought we wouldn't track your phone?" Claudia asked.
Wren's hand darted to her jacket pocket. "But I—!"
"Relax, Wren." Claudia waved a hand. "I talked it over with the Director. Get in the chopper, you can go back to Scorpion. Just stop being dramatic."
Wren's face lit up. "Really?"
"Oh, come on!" Summer exclaimed from somewhere behind Eric.
"Are we really surprised?" Veronica muttered.
Wren took a step forward. Paused. Glanced back at the Fortuna Guard. After a long moment, she smirked. "Sorry, nerds. But you really oughta reconsider fighting people stronger than you!"
"Seriously?" Sam exclaimed. "You said you were on our side!" Frustration crept onto his face as Eric glanced back. "I sensed you were on our side!"
"I really wasn't planning on betraying you," Wren said, a surprising earnestness finding its way into her voice. "But Scorpion's my home."
With that, she turned and ran through the rain toward the Scorpion choppers.
Sam let out a hiss of frustration.
"Come on, Sam," Veronica said. "It's not that shocking."
"I should've been able to tell."
Eric turned so that he could face them without straining his neck. "Why would Claudia change her mind? That seems kind of weird, right?"
"Who knows what her deal is?" Summer stretched one of her arms. "Let's just get this fight over with."
"Right. We still outnumber them, right?" Eric gave Sam a sideways glance.
Sam's eyes had narrowed in concentration, his gaze fixed on the enemy. He frowned. "Someone's in the middle chopper," he muttered.
"Huh?"
"He's staying hidden on purpose, he's thinking—" Sam's eyes widened. He took a step forward. "Wren!" He screamed. "Claudia's lying, the Director's going to take you to his lab!"
Wren, who had almost reached the choppers, stopped and spun around. "What?"
Claudia looked toward her army of altered and exchanged a knowing glance with a girl. The girl nodded. Lifted a hand. Electricity jumped from her palm to Wren.
Wren yelped in pain before dropping to the ground.
"Hey, what's going on?" Seth stepped away from the rest of the group. "Wren?"
"Don't bother. She's unconscious." Claudia waved a hand. "Get her in the chopper."
Two soldiers moved forward to pick Wren off the ground.
"Where are they taking her?" Seth demanded.
Ash grabbed Seth's arm. "Just do your job!" He turned and pushed Seth toward the warehouse. Other altered followed, but Ash held back. He glanced at Claudia.
"Go guard the warehouse!" Sam shouted. "I'm going to try to figure out what they have planned with Wren!" He sprinted across the pavement as soldiers carried Wren to the center chopper.
"Should we try to rescue Wren?" Eric asked.
"I say we give it a shot," Summer replied. "Who knows what they're going to do with her otherwise. Plus, she might have useful Scorpion information." She glanced back at the other altered. "Everyone else protect the warehouse. We'll join you as soon as we can."
The rest of the altered, including Adam and Raveena, raced to catch up to the kids from Scorpion headed for the warehouse doors. Eric, Summer, and Veronica ran after Sam. Eric rubbed his arm across his face in a pointless attempt to wipe the water off his skin.
Sam stumbled to a sudden halt. The Director himself stepped out of the chopper. He nodded to the soldiers as they carried Wren inside.
Eric and the others caught up. "What are you going to do with her?" Eric demanded.
"There's one way for you to find out." The Director lifted his chin. "We'd gladly take you, too, Eric."
Something about the way the Director said his name made Eric's blood run cold. He glared back. "Never."
"Well, maybe Ash should give catching you another try."
Ash stood nearby watching the exchange with a cold expression. He didn't give any indication of hearing the Director's orders.
The Director turned around and reentered the chopper. "If you can get me Sam, too, all the better!"
"But the warehouse is your priority," Claudia added as she returned to the chopper she'd emerged from. "Don't fail!"
This time, Ash nodded. His icy gaze moved to Eric. He lifted his hands, pulled a stream of water from the rain, and charged forward.
On instinct, Eric summoned fire to the surface. A few short-lived bursts of flame lit up the night before dying in the rain. The stream of water smacked him in the side of the face and knocked him to the ground. Right into a surprisingly deep puddle.
"Eric!" Summer exclaimed.
Eric pushed himself out of the puddle and scanned the area. The remaining soldiers were headed for the warehouse entrance, ready to join the fight.
"Go help the others!" Eric told the others. "I've got him." He drew out his second power and jumped to his feet. Electricity lit up the space between him and Ash. Pain flashed across Ash's face, but he managed to hold his ground. Eric lifted his fists, bracing himself for the next attack and doing his best to ignore the discomfort of his sopping wet clothes.
Instead of attacking, Ash looked him up and down. "What are you wearing?"
"Uh." Eric glanced down. "You kind of interrupted our party."
"Party?"
"Yeah." Eric swung his arm and sent more electricity jumping at Ash. Ash barely dove out of the way in time. "Are you not allowed to have fun at Scorpion?"
Ash straightened up. "Sounds like a waste of time. I thought you wanted to catch up to us in training?" He swung the whip of water again. It struck Eric in the ribs and sent him stumbling a few steps to the left.
A shout from Veronica drew Eric's attention toward the nearby battle.
"Cover me!" Veronica yelled. "I'm going to up the gravity in the warehouse so they can't take stuff out."
"On it!" Summer and Sam moved to either side of her, eyeing the approaching soldiers.
Eric turned his attention back to Ash in time to dodge another swing of the water whip. Eric retaliated with a burst of lightning. The attack missed, but it was enough to throw Ash off for a moment.
Slowly, Eric forced his fight with Ash closer to the warehouse. Scorpion's team had gotten the doors open, but the fighting at the entrance indicated they had yet to get their hands on anything inside.
As Ash twisted the whip into a sphere, he asked, "Why did you try to help Wren? She turned on you the first chance she had!"
Eric eyed the sphere. "Why didn't you try to help her? Haven't you been working together for years?"
Ash snorted. "And disobey Claudia?" He flung the sphere forward. Eric ducked. The water grazed the top of his head.
Ash launched into a frenzy, sending blow after blow of rainwater directly at Eric's face. Even with electricity, it was all but impossible to fight back. Eric stumbled backwards, hardly able to do anything more than wipe the water off his face with his sleeve. His hands kept trying to catch fire outside his control, but he wasn't producing anything more than sparks.
Eric flung up a hand and finally managed to send another blast of electricity at Ash.
Ash grimaced and stumbled but kept his balance. "Is that all?" he asked as he straightened up. "I've been hit with worse in training."
That was all Eric had. He'd already been tired before Wren showed up at the Fortuna. Ash hit him with another blast of water, and he fell to the ground. Water splashed as he collided with another puddle.
For a moment, Eric was somewhere else. A dark room. People watching him. Drowning. A forgotten memory.
He shook his head and dragged his mind back to the present. A glance to his left revealed the battle had spread out, and a few altered were fighting only ten feet away. Most of the soldiers were down, but shouting from inside the warehouse suggested Scorpion had got in. No sign of Veronica.
Eric found Summer as she fried a soldier and tossed it aside. She turned and met his gaze. Concern flashed across her face. "Eric!" she yelled. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine!" Eric pushed himself up off the ground. "Just—exhausted."
Ash lifted a puddle's worth of water off the pavement and sent it flying at Eric. Eric darted to the left.
"Okay, time for an electrokinesis lesson!"
"What?" Eric switched directions to dodge another blast of water. "Now?"
"Yeah!" Summer replied. "Electrokinesis has one advantage over other abilities. You can use it to recharge." She looked up.
Eric followed her gaze to one of the light posts illuminating the warehouse yard. Right. He wasn't confined to the fading energy inside himself. Shifting his attention back to Ash, he took a few steps back. Ash watched him apprehensively but didn't move to attack. Yet.
Eric's senses reached up to the light post. He took a steadying breath. Find the electricity. Don't try to control it, just find it. Feel it.
Ash lifted his hands and summoned a new water whip. Eric latched onto the electricity running through the post and yanked it toward him. A massive bolt of lightning arced through the air to his chest.
"Whoa!" Eric yelped in surprise as energy surged through him.
The light exploded, sending shattered glass raining down on the pavement.
Ash dropped his water and took a few steps back, light from the electricity dancing across his face. His eyes widened.
Shouting came from the warehouse. Eric turned. Scorpion kids ran out, carrying boxes. Veronica followed in pursuit, but she was more focused on fending off the soldiers following her.
Eric raised a hand and aimed lightning at one of the soldiers. The soldier flew backwards, throwing off sparks that Veronica barely dodged. Summer took down the other two soldiers with more precision.
The fastest Scorpion kids reached the choppers, set down their boxes, and turned to run back in.
"That's enough!" Ash called to them. "Load up the chopper and get the engine started!"
"This isn't everything!" a girl yelled back.
"We're out of soldiers and they have us outnumbered." Ash shot Eric a glare. "We're leaving."
"Not with those boxes, you're not." Eric stepped forward, hands lifting. Sparks had barely reached his fingers when a ten-foot wall of water rose from the pavement, blocking his path to Ash and the Scorpion choppers.
Summer appeared at Eric's left, breathing hard. "We have to stop them."
Eric nodded in agreement. But Ash's wall expanded in both directions, curving into a circle to protect the choppers while Scorpion loaded up boxes. Eric glanced over his shoulder as the other altered approached, Sam and Veronica leading the way.
"We have to get through that wall!" Eric exclaimed.
"Yeah, we're not letting them get away with this," Summer added.
Sam and Veronica exchanged glances.
"Look, I know you two can keep throwing electricity around, but the rest of us are exhausted," Veronica said.
Sam nodded. "And even if you're not tired, you are injured. Summer's bleeding."
Frowning, Summer lifted her arm. Blood trickled from the skin near her elbow.
"Wait, when did that happen?" Veronica rushed to Summer's side and examined the wound.
"Aw, it's not that bad." Summer smiled. "Must've been when that soldier knocked me down."
Eric sighed. Even with the new energy coursing through his veins, he couldn't ignore the aches all over his body. "Yeah, I do feel pretty banged up."
"We did the best we could. We weren't expecting this many," Sam reminded them. "And they didn't get as much as they wanted."
Eric turned to stare at the wall of water. "Let's at least stay to make sure they leave."
"Sure."
A moment later, Raveena emerged from the crowd of altered. "I can heal injuries while we wait."
While Summer held out her arm for Raveena to examine, Adam moved away from the crowd to stand on Eric's right.
"I saw you pull electricity from the light post," he told Eric. "That was pretty cool."
"Thanks. I feel kinda bad about breaking it," Eric replied.
"Could've been worse." Adam shrugged. "And we did save some of their stuff."
"True." Eric couldn't bring himself to tear his gaze from the water wall. "I just wish we could have stopped Scorpion entirely."
"We did pretty well, considering they took us by surprise," Summer said, examining her healed elbow as Raveena walked off to help other altered.
"Besides," Sam said, his gaze hardening. "We're almost ready to take the fight to them."