// JUSTICE //
I NEVER THOUGHT JOSIE would be a trendsetter. Or that Renee would genuinely be proud of her.
But here we are.
"Phone. Seriously. Josie was the only one smart enough to leave hers in the truck," North said in front of me.
"I mean, I can literally download the entirety of the world's data and indefinitely store it in my memories, but, you know..." Josie said cockily.
I turned away from North and stared her down. She only smirked and shrugged.
I rolled my eyes. "I need it," I told North, because Onyx was still messaging the device.
"You really don't. And if you leave it in your back pocket, it'll be destroyed. Come on, Jax." North slowly blinked and looked at me with a shitload of patience. I could almost go on, annoying her further, but it's not like she's Josie or anything.
But I didn't budge. I just looked at her with the phone in my hand. There are very valid reasons to have it with me. What if we get to the car and Onyx calls at that exact time? Someone other than me might pick it up. Especially since I was sitting in the middle on the way here.
North's tone was in charge yet understanding when she spoke again, "What could you possibly need it for?"
"I'm in... the photography club at school. Scenery, landscapes, nature. It's the assignment this week." The lie slipped easily past my lips.
North rose her eyebrow and turned her head toward Josie. I hated that they were friends again or whatever. I stared the girl dead in her eyes and immediately mouthed, 'Amy' and nodded towards Renee. She seemed to get the point, because she inhaled sharply and then nodded.
Her hazel eyes looked back at North. "It's true. He's just so multi-talented, isn't he?" Josie said with a squint.
"I know that was sarcasm, but it's true, so thanks for the compliment," I said quickly.
"Oh, you are so full of yourself—" Josie was finally losing her cool.
"Enough! Are you guys really doing this again?" North yelled. "Keep the phone, take three pictures now, then give it to me."
"When does the fun stuff start?" Sandie asked. He was in his thirteen-year-old form, his actual age.
"Fun?" I asked with a laugh. I shoved his shoulder. "How long have you been a member of this team?"
"Come on, Jaxon. You wouldn't call this fun?" Renee asked. My eyes widened as I watched her take out a blaster gun from her back pocket and reload it. It was the kind reserved for superheroes.
And us during team bonding days.
Sadly.
"I suggest you all run or hide," Renee said stoically as she pointed the gun.
Thankfully we were all wearing our suits by now, so when I was too slow to duck behind the rock and the marksman shot me, it only hurt a lot, not damaged a lot.
"Ah," I winced, holding my upper right arm. I looked around to find Sandie behind a tree looking back at me. He nodded, I nodded, and he became me.
Damn. It's like looking into a sexy mirror. With olive skin. But only part of my face showed behind my mask anyway.
Sandie rolled out around the tree and Lawmaker's blast subsequently followed. However, Sandie was quick enough to shift into a one-foot tall child and crawled out of the way. At that moment, I stood from my rock and used my telekinesis to fling Renee into a tree.
A smile broke out onto my face. "Yeah Lawmaker. You know, this is fun!" I yelled out.
One down, three to go. Maybe two if I grow a heart and don't take out Sandie. Nah, who am I kidding?
I puffed my chest out and began stalking around. I definitely needed to find Cyber first. It's not everyday we get to fight without punishment. It's like the purge on days like this. Or Onyx-day, but I get all the gifts.
That's when I heard it. I immediately stopped walking, finding myself surrounded by trees and brush. "Hey, Cyber. Been a while since we got to do this, huh?"
"Time and place for overconfidence, Jax."
The Suit. I glared and raised my hand to my temple, my other arm outstretched and fingers extended. "Sure you don't want to team up and down Cyber? She's the second-biggest threat after you. Whaddya say, friend?"
"Time and place for friendship, too," she said.
My eyes widened before I felt the sharp energetic blast knock me into the forest ground. I groaned and grabbed my rib cage. Now that I know where North was— well, I first ran for cover behind a large tree. But then I pointed in her direction and telekinetically shook all the leaves off a dozen trees. There, the Suit was using an energy field to grapple onto a branch of a tree.
Piece of cake. I used my powers to try and unlatch her from the tree. But I strained, teeth clenched as I failed to release her from her perch. "Just... Fall!" I gritted angrily as the veins in my arms began to pop out while my power struggled to move the Suit even an inch.
"Fine," I yelled, fully coming out of the brush and unconcealing myself. "I'll do it myself."
I pushed my legs forward as I charged into the tree with my super strength. It rocked forcefully, but stood upright for the most part. So I grabbed it with both hands and began rocking it back and forth.
"It's not going to work. If your enemy has the high ground, you meet them there," North said gently.
I grunted past the kind words and took them to heart. I was soon grabbing every protruding part of the tree and using them to sling myself further and further up the trunk. Until there I was; one swing below the Suit's curled up, one-handed placement on the tree. I grinned devilishly before pulling on the branch and propelling myself up.
I didn't expect North's two-legged kick to my chest and backflip off the tree.
With wide eyes, my arms flailed as I fell through the branches I'd just climbed up. My body conducted the ground with a loud thud, and I lay there struggling to catch my breath.
// CYBER //
Holy crap. I forgot what the Suit could do before she was a couch potato. It's like she hadn't forgotten a thing since before leaving Centropolis. Like muscle memory. Like riding with no training wheels.
I turned around quickly to get out of the way. I ran through trees, looking past my shoulder every now and then for signs of the Suit's emergence. But eventually I came face-to-face with a pretty battered Lawmaker.
"Shit," I exhaled as I sunk to my knees beside our leader. How long has she been out? Her eyes were closed, but there was still a sense of urgency on her face. "Lawmaker, are you okay?" I asked.
Slowly, her eyes opened, and for a moment I realized this was the most vulnerable she's ever looked. But then I felt it. The cold metal press of a barrel right beneath my jaw.
"Up," she commanded.
So I did. I stood up and backed away.
"Never let your guard down," she said with the blaster trained on me still as she stood up.
"You're right," I agreed quietly. "So I guess this means you won't shoot me?"
"If I were Law, would I shoot you?"
"No—" I said quickly. At least I hope not! Law was the prettiest— I mean nicest superhero. Which also meant she was the most gullible. "Order maybe," I tried more truthfully.
"She'd take you in by any means necessary,"Lawmaker seethed.
Yeah, lesson after lesson, I get it. I'm definitely going to get shot.
I saw Lawmaker pull the trigger, and the blast came rushing toward me. So I, of course, used my new thing I just realized I could do. My cyber chips emitted to form the shield in front of me, the solid projections bouncing while holding the shape.
Lawmaker's eyes widened in anger. "I'm the one person you tell about any new abilities!"
I wonder if I can... hmm, I thought as I twisted my hand to encapsulate the blast in my cyber shield and swung it around my body like a slingshot. Lawmaker was caught off guard by the now redirected blast— oh no, I forgot she could—
I should've expected Lawmaker to redirect the flying object as it was part of her marksman set of powers, whether she used it often or not. Without lifting a finger, she redirected the cyber chip-blast-capsule back my way. This time it flung at me with the chips, but they suddenly dislodged and flew into the tree I'd just been blasted into.
"Fucking ow!" I sneered in surprise
"Was your fight with The Suit worth it now?" she chastised angrily. She inched closer as I sat helpless against the tree trunk in immense pain. "What were you two arguing about in the first place?"
I looked down to hide my embarrassment. There was no way I was going to tell my super villain team leader that the biggest conflict within our group all started because of a disagreement about a girl. A normo girl.
Damn. I'm just noticing more and more how shitty I am. Which is normally fine, being a villain and all, but not if you do it to your own team.
"The Hunger Games versus Divergent," I heard, startling me as I looked up to find The Suit.
Immediately after the words left her mouth, she was blasting Lawmaker. The older woman flew up and then fell 4 feet into the ground. She didn't move but her chest rose steadily.
"Damn, Suit. You just lied to Lawmaker," I said. I used the tree to prop myself up before getting to my feet.
"Technically those movies are about girls," North replied. I cocked my head in wonder while she lowered her arm and cautiously walked toward me. "Are you okay?"
I frowned and dropped my apprehensive position. "No. That woman never fails to amaze me. And bruise me on team days. She's like 40. Do you know how embarrassing that is?" I sort of forgot how brutal team-bonding days were.
A passable smile reluctantly crept onto North's face. "Can't be fun. But we've learned the only way to take her down for good is to team up, right?"
Damn. Where the hell would I be right now if we hadn't made up earlier? Probably in Justice's position; buried within forest brush with a near broken back. "That was cool of you to do," was the best I could thank her.
Suit's face broke into an unreadable smile. "You're welcome Cyber."
I nodded since that's exactly what I needed to hear, deserved or not. North reached down, and I clapsed her hand. My brain switched back to being a villain the second I was back on my feet.
"So. this means Quiksand is the only one left. Strategies?"
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