Elektra
I've never been a fan of handouts, participation medals, or teamwork. "Everyone is a winner," and "I couldn't have done it without the team," are my two least favorite quotes. If I wanted everyone to be equal and on even playing fields, I'd be advocating for communism. But rest assured, I'm only hoping for my own dictatorship.
Another thing I never liked were the ideas of shared power. Is it really power when it's split between two or more people? I mean, what's the point? It's like winning a gold medal then having to split it in half to share with someone else. It's not even worth anything at that point.
But today, I get the smallest understanding on why people have two leaders. Up until now, Ren has been the one taking the lead. He's been organizing meetings with the Sages, setting up thought-out plans, and making sure everyone is accounted for. Since we first met, he's stepped up quite a bit. Though with the news of Kya's kidnapping, he seems to be falling apart. All those indifferent glances thrown her way recently, the vicious words he's thrown at her, and the obvious space he's wanted from her have all been exposed as a façade. For some reason, Ren's been doing all these cruel things to her to make us all and Kya think he hated her, but when she's in danger, he completely loses it.
And he lost it before Alistair showed up. Just her being out of sight from his Sages was enough to make him go bonkers. With confirmation she's been taken into the hands of an enemy who everyone knows is psycho, thanks to me, it only made Ren worse.
We reached a taxi with a small dilemma. There were four seats and five of us. I turn to Ren. "It's a sign," I tell him, not believing in such things but trying to dissuade him from coming. If something happens to us, we need him to come help us. He's being irrational right now. "You're not supposed to come with us."
"Shut it," he gruffly demands. "We all know you don't believe in that bull." He sinks himself into the passenger seat, where he impatiently taps a gloved finger on his leg. I'm a bit surprised he knew that about me. I mean, we all have been together 24/7 for a while now, but I've made sure to keep quiet so my departure won't be a grandiose affair. Have I been sharing too much?
"There's three seats..." Alistair numbly figures.
"Wow, someone's a detective!" Leo gasps, acting impressed.
Alistair rolls his mismatch eyes. "Are you still bitter about me stealing from you?"
Leo does that thing where he narrows his eyes, puts his hands on his hips, invades personal space, and whispers. Geez, now I'm getting to know these people too well. "Like an espresso, pal."
Sarah apologizes for Leo. "He's usually the one doing the stealing."
Lazily, Alistair looks to the Hispanic boy. "I see."
"Yeah, you've got eyes, don't you?" Leo sasses.
Ren's sharp voice pierces this pointless argument. "Get in the car, or I swear to God, I'm skewering you all on a kabob and frying you with my own hands!" Everyone got it together then, the instable tone in Ren's voice making us all a bit wary.
Alistair tenses up at Ren's words, shooting him daggers full of malevolence. Sarah tells him that Ren doesn't mean it – that he's just scared for Kya, and rightfully so. But Alistair doesn't seem sold on the idea. He slides in the car, not taking his eyes off Ren. Call me crazy, but I almost wonder if Alistair has some hidden beef with our Dragon.
"The bunker is made of total metal. It's almost infallible, considering it was designed to withstand earthquakes and block out flooding from monsoons. There's one entrance, which, unfortunately, is also our exit." I'm educating the population of Taxi from Hell on how we're to tackle the situation without getting our asses handed to us on a silver platter. My eyes scan over everyone to make sure they're bright-eyed and listening. Sarah is hanging onto my every word, her lavender eyes hungrily staring into mine. Ren is in the front seat with something scary in his eyes. Next to Sarah is me, uncomfortable in the middle. But no matter how uncomfortable I feel, I can't imagine how Alistair is holding up.
Sitting on the seat, he looks livid because, sitting on his lap is Leo. I repeat: Leonardo Hernandez is sitting on some strange man's lap. Leo's wearing a ridiculously smug grin, acting like nothing about this is weird at all. Damn, he must really hate Alistair.
"Go on," Leo calmly coos, wrapping a skinny arm around Alistair's shoulders. I swear I hear Alistair growl.
"...right," I say under my breath. "We have no idea what we're getting into. This is most likely a trap..." I shoot a look at Ren, who looks unfazed by this. He must have really meant what he said back at the dojo. "So, put up your guard. Sarah, I have a feeling you're going to have to use your powers. You'll be the quickest to distract anyone who might surprise us. Make them hurt a bit and we'll take care of the rest. Can you do that?"
Sarah frowns and looks down, unresponsive. She rolls up one of her sleeves and traces a scar. "Sarah," I snap. "I asked if you can do this. Kya's life could be on the line, as well as all of ours. If you were unsure, then you should've stayed behind."
Firmly, shoves her sleeve down and meets my eyes. Strained, she says, "I can do it." Leo takes her hand and smiles reassuringly, prepping her for the unknown.
"That's what I wanted to hear," I acknowledge. "Leo, you're going to walk around the surface of the bunker before we enter. Try to identify thoughts. If we can figure where anyone is down there, and how many people are there, then we'll have an advantage."
"Roger, that," Leo promptly absorbs.
"You..." I say, looking at Alistair. "Are you...like us?"
Alistair grimaces, brown brows furrowing with disdain. "Yeah," he indefinitely answers. I remember what Sarah said about him having two different energies coursing through him, as if he had two powers. "I can teleport if I've seen where I want to go."
"What else?" I ask.
Shocked, Alistair gapes a bit. Next to me, Sarah sits forwards so she can get a better look on him. "He's blindingly yellow," Sarah whispers next to me. "He's panicking. Something about him isn't right."
I must decide what to do about it. Do I continue to ask questions about his second power, which will cause more questions to follow? Like, how did he get oh-so-special? Can I get a second ability, too? Or, do I leave it alone?
I take a beat to think. With the likelihood of this whole endeavor being a setup, I decide against giving Alistair a pop quiz. We need all of our attention on rescuing Kya. Whoever Alistair really is can wait until then. The car ride is eerily quiet, the only sounds are the car jumping on the road and jousting us around.
I'm a bit unnerved about the idea of going into a metal sanctuary. My electrical powers will be extremely limited, if useful at all. If one of my bolts misses, then the whole bunker could feel the electrocution. I'll have to rely on the skills Brovinski taught me back in Russia. While I have faith in my physical skills, it's always been comforting to know I had supernatural forces up my sleeve.
"This is it," Alistair says to the driver, who halts and gives us quizzical looks. The only reason he doesn't question us is because Ren is here, and who would question a man of such high status? I can't wait until it's my time to shine. "We're here."
The cab has barely stopped and Ren is already opening the door and marching right up to the bunker doors – silver, parallel with the ground, with chains around a padlock. We file out of the vehicle. "Leo," I summon. "You know what to do."
He nods, then takes a deep breath. Leo's hands splay at his sides, feeling for strings right over the door. There must be nothing there, because he starts to walk elsewhere. Intolerant, Ren sighs and crosses his arms, staring Leo down. Wisely, Leo ignores him. He takes his time, feeling around the area. None of us dare disturb him with anything more than stares. Finally, he faces us, looking apprehensive. "I don't feel anybody down there. Not even Kya."
"Maybe they're too far down," Sarah supplies. "You've been practicing on reading minds with more people around, not when they're further away."
I roll my eyes and rub my temples, agitated. We came here undertrained and overreactive. It will be a miracle if we get in, get Kya, and get out unharmed. The sounds of chains rattling captures my attention and I turn to see Ren, working at the chains, melting the lock on the doors with Alistair staring him down with utter contempt. I don't know if Ren's noticed and not cared, or if he hasn't noticed because he's so occupied with Kya.
"Ren, this is suspicious," I tell him. "I don't know if this is a great idea."
He doesn't stop what he's doing, but doubt crosses his face, letting me know he's at least hearing me. "Do you have any better ideas?"
Yes. Go back home and figure something out, or leave Kya to fend for herself. She's a good person, yes, but I'm better. I would rather not put my skin on the line for just a chance at saving her. But I know Ren would have my head if I said that out loud, so I say null.
The chains break, along with the locking mechanism. Ren tosses them aside and grips the handles of the doors. For the first time ever, I see his face soften. That hardened glare, the constantly furrowed brows, the tight grimace, and the rigid stance vanish. His shoulders sag, his lips lower into a frown, and his eyes look tortured. Sarah and Leo exchange glances with each other, not believing their own eyes, either. Ren's defenses are down, and it's evident that he looks at Kya differently than he looks at us. I'd bet my life that if Kya and I switched places, he wouldn't react this way.
Quietly, he says, "Kya is down there. I can feel it. Before Alistair even showed up, I heard her calling for me. I don't care if this is a trap or not; I'm going down there. I want you guys with me, but if you don't want to follow me down, I'm not going to force you."
Good, then I'm staying out of this.
Ren's eyes skim over everyone else, trying to get a headcount on those dumb enough to descend into the unknown. "I'm going," Sarah unsurprisingly volunteers, making decisions with her heart and not her head.
And if Sarah is going, then that means... "Me, too," Leo confidently adds, voice unwavering.
Ren's golden eyes meet mine for a fraction of a second before sliding away. He already knows my answer. Grudgingly, he looks to Alistair. Though it's clear that the two are at odds for some unknown reason, Ren needs all the help he can get. Gruffly, Alistair nods. "I'm in."
"Alright," he concludes, eyes scanning his participants, measuring the damage they can all make. "Elektra, you'll be okay out here?"
"Yes," I answer. "If one of Reaper's men come out here, I can deal with them."
"Then it's settled," Ren grunts. "Let's go in."
He swings the silver doors wide and takes a look outside once more, as if worrying he might not see it again. Then he hardens his expression, clenches his fists, and enters the bunker unarmed, his only defense being his power. He's either unbearably confident, fatally foolish, or overcome with worry for Kya. I can never understand any of these things, as I've never cared for connecting with people, and I know the limits to my power. But these ties must be a powerful thing to make so many people charge into the depths of the Reaper, who has killed so many people just like them.
Indifferent to the situation, I sit by the doors and wait, wondering how long I'll have to sit out here until I can go back to the dojo.