Lana Elwood
With the back window of the criminals' car smashed open, I have a clear view of what's happening inside. Kya and Elektra commute in the vehicle before coming to some sort of agreement. "Dog boy," I snap at the boy with stormy eyes. "Can you get a read on their thoughts?"
Glaring at me with fury and strain, I see him mentally reaching out to tug on their energies. "Leo is too far out of range. Something's coming up, though, so don't screw up."
"I'm not the one who opened the door for five juvenile delinquents!" I shout at him, picking up speed. "Will Ren's power be beneficial from here?" I question.
"No, or I would've used them," Cerberus utters, narrowing his eyes like there's more he wants to say, but he bites his tongue. "Let me try something." Alex opens the sunroof and sticks half his body out. Part of me wants to slam on the brakes and break his spine just so I can work on this mission alone. Alex's powers are quite useful, but the rest of him is totally annoying and extraneous. If he didn't have a mind or a conscience, then we'd get along a lot better.
He raises his hands as thunder stirs. Meanwhile, Elektra swerves into the other lane, weaving in and out between trucks and cars. Behind us, police sirens wail and their patriotic lights flash in my review mirrors. I have clearance from Asylum to do this kind of thing, so I won't be penalized for engaging in a supernatural car chase, but the police can't tell this from the outside of the car. They should be stopped before stopping us.
Above, Cerberus jerks his hand and swings it in an arc, two fingers pointing at the stolen Camaro. A fork of lightning stabs right behind the car, Cerberus forgetting that our target is moving. I would never make that mistake. I never make any mistakes.
"Dog boy!" I screech. "Take care of the police."
He grunts, flashing me a menacing expression before obeying me like the good little pet he is. Using Elektra's lightning, he sends thick, barely-targeted bolts at the three white cars, which either burst into flames or lose control and park themselves off the road – ending their pursuit. Suddenly, Elektra accelerates her vehicle and the range for Cerberus to harness her energy becomes unattainable. As a result, the lightning stops streaking across the sky at Cerberus's command, and Cerberus slinks back to his seat. His tan skin loses color and he struggles to sit up straight again. "Keep up or I can't do anything!" he yells, slamming his fist on the armrest.
"Don't talk to me like I'm not your superior!" I establish my dominance, speeding up until I finally find my criminals.
"You're not," Cerberus replies.
"One bad word from me to Asylum and you're dead. Now get to work up there."
Cerberus grunts and goes to stand, but before that, something I've never experienced before happens. From the backseat of the Camaro, Kya kneels and holds her arms out towards us. There's an intense look on her face. One conjured from pain, fear, and malice. I didn't know someone like Kya could feel such things, or at least display them. I was surprised at learning she killed her parents, but something tells me that when she did kill them, she was wearing that exact face.
I expect her to clench her fists to freeze something; perhaps the rain around us, our tires, or just the whole car altogether. That's been her tactic so far, but then again, she's never looked like this. Cerberus sees what I see. "...the hell?" he whispers under his breath, green-gray eyes widening in worry.
Kya takes a breath so deep I see her chest rise and fall from here. Her fingers space out from each other and she closes her pale eyes.
This is the calm before the storm.
Her eyes burst awake and it's like Kya's been reimbursed with a new life. She raises her hands high in the air, her fingers limp. Somewhere around me – around my aura; my very existence – icy fingers crawl around my energy. They pry at my power, as if trying to overrun them.
Kya's fingers suddenly straighten and she shifts her hands so they're in front of her abdomen – the core of energy for chi users – and she aligns the edges of her hands together, as if creating a vertical wall.
My bones feel frozen, my ambitions for chasing down Kya and her friends suddenly drain, and I feel empty; totally hollowed out. I suddenly feel as if there's no purpose in my life. As if I don't have a meaning. I don't possess the energy to press my leg to the gas pedal, or to look at Cerberus to see if he feels what I feel. I don't have any motivation or physical ability to move out of my current position. It's like I've been reset and am waiting to be programmed or directed. Oddly, I look to Kya as if to see what she wants me to do.
Elektra suddenly gets into the other lane, passing a slow car. In the next few seconds, I will collide with that passed vehicle. I know this and yet, I don't contain the ability the get out of the way or slam the brake pedal. I want to call for Cerberus to tell him to lift my foot off the gas pedal for me, or to veer the steering wheel, but I don't even have the ability to do that. I've lost all of my basic motions. I've been paralyzed.
Then, without my brain telling me to, my hands grip the wheel and jerk it to the side. My tires squeal as they trace black, rubber circles on the road. The world around me blurs together in one swift motion. My foot, without me making it, lifts off the gas medal and rides out the eternal spinning.
We seem to be moving for hours and hours before we come to a stop. The sunroof remains open, with rain pouring in. More police approach us in the distance. I've lost any sight of Elektra's vehicle at all. And for some reason, I lack the control to fix any of it.
At once and without warning, the icy fingers gripping my nerves and soul are ripped away, leaving me gasping for air – for anything to fill my body which felt so empty before. I haven't felt this powerless since my father killed Takumi Nightshade. But at least then, I was filled with discontent and exasperation – with a will to kill.
This instance, I felt nothing. I was incapable of feeling, doing, or sensing. My body moved as if being regulated by someone else. Undoubtedly, Kya found a way to do this. I don't know how her power gives her the ability to do this, but somehow, it does. The incredible coldness I endured felt far darker than the sources I tap into to engage in my own ability. Keep in mind: my source is the thrill I get off death. What the hell can be darker than the ending of a life?
I find myself – for the first time in a long time – underestimating my enemy. Kya is far more powerful and evil than I could have ever imagined. No...Kya's powers are far more evil. If Kya was a person that was conniving, then she wouldn't have forced me to evade a head-on collision, and when we spun out of control, she wouldn't have eased my foot off the gas pedal, and when we finally came to a safe stop, she would've made me do a lot more before releasing me from her grip.
"You felt that, right?" Cerberus asks, voice trembling. He holds himself, trying to feel warm after the ice that settled in our souls. I can't blame him.
"Yeah..."
"That was almost..." Cerberus pauses to catch his breath after being stripped of his body and mind. "That was almost worse than trying to harness your power."
"Not almost," I correct him. "It was..."
"That was terrifying," he whispers, almost inaudibly. I would've made fun of him for being such a wimp. I would've said something about the dog boy tucking his tail between his legs, or yelping and cowering in fear. But I can't because he's right. It was terrifying.
Police cars surround our vehicle, and slowly, Cerberus and I get out with our hands in the air and badges in our hands to show we're the good guys.
They lecture us about safety and procedure, but I can't seem to focus. All I can think about was the expression of pure, vile malevolence that plastered itself on Kya's face. I can't imagine the kind of lurking, destructive violence hidden in her power.
Cerberus and I get let off the hook. The two of us pack back into our car, silent as we pull back onto the highway. Cars behind us get towed away. Nobody was hurt in the series of accidents. The only thing that was hurt was my control.
Historically, the world around me was always changing. I was travelling country to country, dealing with wide ranges of the supernatural and bringing them in through a myriad of methods. The only constant has been myself; my consistent success, my strong will, my steely determination, my incredible capability. So, when all of this was stripped away from me, I felt completely incompetent. I felt like I was nothing more but a strong body incasing nothing more than the shattered pieces of a broken soul.
In the end, maybe that's all I really am.
"If we want to catch up..." Cerberus finally speaks, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "...we're going to have to go faster."
"We don't need to catch up," I respond, going the speed limit as my mind delves into thought. "There's a hell of a lot more about those five that we don't know about. If we want to conquer them, then we're going to have to take them by surprise."
"What are you saying?" Cerberus asks for clarification. I notice him sitting up a bit straighter, his attention more trained on the road ahead, his nerves on edge and focus sharpened. He isn't taking too well to the body-takeover, either.
"I hope your passport is in check," I notify. "We're going to Japan."
We'll get there, track down the delinquents, take our time getting to know the ins and outs on how they function, and strike when they're weak. It'll take time, but all good things come to those who wait. And it's not like there's much I'm itching to get back to. My bastard father? My dead mother? My lost love?
I have nothing but time.