While breakfast at the Sparrow Academy was usually a cheerful and conversational environment, Sloane kept quiet as she recited her plan to warn Astrid over and over again. It may have taken hours to carefully plan this out, but she hoped the execution of it wouldn't be nearly as difficult. She dressed herself in a long white half-shirt and ripped jeans, enough for the moderately warm and cold afternoon. Phase one of her plan was to sneak out via her balcony, and with her defying gravity abilities, she wouldn't have to dangle herself over a dumpster and let go in hopes of falling on top of the odor-filled bags.
She glanced to the windows that looked out into the alleyway, praying that nobody was in the rooms and able to blow her cover. With the gentle breeze of the April day, her hands began to glow white as she hovered above the concrete platform, slowly rising one or two feet above it. With years of practice, she no longer needed to close her eyes and desperately concentrate. It all just naturally came to her, and with one single movement, she could move however she wanted without worrying about her powers fading.
"What in the world are you doing?!" A voice shouted. Sloane gasped, turning around to see Ben leaning halfway out her window squinting. "Just practicing my fear of using powers from a great height," Sloane quickly made up the excuse. Eighty percent of the time, Ben could easily call bullshit and confront people when they were lying, but his only response was to roll his eyes and mutter under his breath. Another passing breeze prevented Sloane from hearing him clearly, but she did hear him call her a pansy.
"What was that?" She questioned, her tennis shoes firmly landing back on the balcony. "I said it's weird you have a fear of heights when you can float as high as you want," Ben responded. "Well, I have a certain limit to how high I can be before I start to feel nervous," Sloane explained. "You would too if you had my powers," Ben scoffed at her last statement. "I'm not scared of anything," He stated. That's not true. Everyone's scared of something.
Sloane crawled back inside her bedroom and sat as Ben eyed her suspiciously. The room filled with unsettling silence, and his piercing gaze only made the gravity girl worry. "There's a reason as to why you're in my room, so you might as well just spit it out," Sloane said. "I need you to suit up. We're heading to the Hotel Obsidian to meet with the Umbrellas," Ben explained. Sloane tried to hide her worry with a nod. "Why are we meeting with them?" She questioned, though she knew full well what his true plans were. "They agreed to give back Marcus in exchange for the briefcase they left here,"
What's so special about a briefcase? Sloane wondered as Astrid never brought it up to her. "Apparently, they used it to time travel back home. But obviously, it failed," Ben answered. His response sent chills down Sloane's spine; it was almost like he read her mind. "Anyway, we're leaving in ten minutes. Don't keep me and the others waiting," The Squid Boy warned. When he left the room, Sloane dashed to her closet to grab her skintight burgundy and black suit. Not because Ben's threatening tone scared her, but because the image of Astrid being hurt at his hands flashed before her eyes.
There was no way Sloane could travel all the way across the city to the hotel to warn her and be back before the Sparrows left. I guess I'll have to mouth her the warning during the confrontation. She internally sighed, pulling on her boots. Though Grace meant well while designing the suits, Sloane couldn't help but wish it wasn't so tightly wrapped around her body. The first few times she wore it, she could feel her feet dragging behind her every time she tried to run. Even though she wore that suit for as long as she could remember, she could never break into it.
Outside the Academy, the Sparrows piled into a long black van. Ben and Fei sat in the driver and front passenger seats while the rest sat, or in Christopher's case, hovered above their metal seats. Sloane stared out the window as the car moved through the city, and no matter how incredible the view may have looked from inside the van, her fear for Astrid's life grew stronger and stronger.
~~~~~~~~~
"My turn!" Astrid smiled, searching the wooden board for a matching set of blocks. It was Mahjong Monday at the hotel, and the Hargreeves figured one game wouldn't hurt while they waited for their enemy to show up. The Shadow Girl's eyes scanned the markings, trying to find the other matching block, and after a few seconds, she finally found it. "So, do we have a plan yet?" Luther asked. "Just follow our lead, and it'll be fine," Allison replied, sounding calmer than she was previously.
"Uh-Uh, nice try. We don't take orders from you," Diego tsked. But before either Viktor, Allison, or Astrid could respond to their brothers, they heard the sounds of patrons chattering and gathering near the front of the hotel. And for just a second, they could've heard the people mention the Sparrows. "Shit! They're here early!" Astrid's eyes widened. They immediately vacated their seats, watching as one by one the Sparrows entered the lobby. First Ben, then Jayme and Sloane, and finally Alphonso, Fei, and Christopher.
The five out of seven Umbrellas stood on the opposite end of the lobby, locking eyes with the few threatening faces, but as Astrid stood in front of her secret lover, she noticed Sloane's worried look, and it seemed like she was trying to mouth something. "Well, thanks for coming," Viktor spoke up. "Oh yeah, super glad to be here," Jayme rolled her eyes. "Where are the rest of you?" Ben folded his arms across his chest.
"What? Are you taking attendance? They'll be here," Diego smirked. Allison inquired about the briefcase, realizing from the looks of it, they failed to bring their end of the bargain. "Where's our brother?" Ben squinted. "Maybe we should try this again before I lose my temper," Allison took a menacing step forward, hands digging into her pockets. Astrid tried to make out the words Sloane was trying to say, but no matter how hard the gravity girl tried to subtly warn her, she didn't get the hint.
I don't get what you mean. She mouthed back to her, also confusing Sloane with her lip reading. Sloane glanced over to her siblings, jerking her head slightly. Something about the Sparrows? What about them? Astrid wondered. From Sloane's fourth or fifth attempt at trying to get her message across, it looked like she was trying to say... Run. "MOLOTOV THIS, BITCHES!" Stanley came running in with a flaming bottle clutched in his hand. "Stanley! Not right now!" Diego hissed. Before Stanley could respond, the Molotov Cocktail slipped out of his grasp, breaking into pieces and setting one of the banners ablaze.
The hotel guests clamored and hollered, trying to get away from the inferno, and with the Umbrellas distracted, it was the perfect time for the Sparrows to strike. "Power up!" Ben instructed. With a snap of his fingers, the Sparrows powers were activated. Christopher the cube spun around a few times, glowing with a menacing red. Fei arched her back, releasing a few of her ravens. And although she didn't want to hurt the woman she loved, Sloane had no choice but to activate her powers, her hands glowing white.
The Umbrellas barely had time to prepare themselves, as Ben called on Christopher, and within a split second, the Umbrellas fell to the ground, tightly clutching their ears as a piercing noise filled their heads. Astrid screamed at the pain, instinctively curling in a ball though she tried desperately to stand up and fight against it. Sloane's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she felt the loving urge to protect her.
"Kill them!" Ben glanced at Jayme, Alphonso, and Sloane. Jay and Alp glared as they approached their enemies, whereas Sloane could already feel a lump form in her throat as she approached her withering girlfriend. She couldn't kill her, not the woman she considered her soulmate. By some miracle, someone swiftly arrived to protect the Umbrellas, and with a loud shout, a wave of yellow rays flew toward the Sparrows. Within that tiny five-second window she had of no pain, Astrid saw it coming and quickly tackled Sloane to the ground, shielding her from the blinding rays.
Fei and Ben quickly ducked down before the rays could hit them, and Christopher hit the wall between the two entrances before his cube clattered onto the ground. But Jayme and Alphonso were at the center of the blast. Unable to duck down in time, the yellow rays hit them, searing their faces and sucking the life out of them.
After what felt like forever, the yellow rays diminished, and Jayme and Alphonso's bodies fell to the ground. "JAYME! ALPHONSO!" Fei screamed at the loss of her siblings, while Ben just looked around in shock. "FALL BACK!" He shouted before he, Fei, and Christopher piled into the revolving door and drove off in their van.
With the remaining Sparrows retreating, Astrid cradled Sloane's head in her hands, embracing her unconscious body in a bear hug. "Sloane? Sloane, wake up!"