"Gods, why'd she send me to do this?"
Capricorn was complaining super loudly. "I should be back in my workshop."
"It's because you're the only one who knows how to use the ability-blocker properly," Aquarius answered irritably, fixing his tie. The school that the Scorpio attended had a uniform to wear.
"I'm sure you'll be useful," Taurus reassured him.
"You know, you're too nice for your own good," Aquarius commented idly. "It almost makes me feel guilty for teasing you so much." He was rewarded with a slight blush. "And you really do need to cut your bangs one day, I can't tell what your expression is that way!"
"Oh yeah!" Capricorn smiled widely. "Aries told me about the whole 'bromance teasing' thing! I'll just watch and step in if things get out of hand."
In response Taurus turned away. "Come on. Lunch is almost over."
Capricorn and Aquarius frowned at each other before following him. He's one tough cookie to crack, all right...
They slipped into class easily, since with the help of Moon's memory abilities and Capricorn's inventions they appeared to be like any normal student.
Halfway through class Aquarius tapped into the earpiece-telepathy. Hey guys?
Yeah?
I think there's a spy here. Spy, assassin, both are likely.
Who? Capricorn asked.
That girl, in the back, with the plain light brown hair in a headband. I'm getting suspicion vibes towards us from her.
Oh, so you felt them too? Taurus asked. I thought I felt a burning gaze on me earlier. That must've been her.
It's too early to tell whether she's an enemy or not, Aquarius said. Just be on guard and act natural. And keep an eye out for the Scorpio. Ursa says that whoever it is has a petite figure and long black hair. Plus a depressing aura.
Capricorn scoffed. Depressing aura. Ha!
They ran into a little trouble, though, when two more classes passed and they still hadn't found the Scorpio. They met up during break before their second-to-last class. "Dammit! Where could she be?" Aquarius cursed. "School's almost over and there's no way we'll be able to find the Scorpio if school lets out!"
"Should we ask around?" Capricorn wondered.
Aquarius shook his head. "That would take too much time, and be hecka annoying as well. Plus, the other students might get suspicious and-"
"The secretary."
Both of their heads turned towards Taurus, who had spoken suddenly. "What?"
"The secretary," he repeated himself. "That person probably has records of the students here. If we ask the secretary and say that we're Scorpio's relatives it'll be a lot easier."
The other two stared at him for a moment. "That's scary," Capricorn finally squeaked. "We've got another Aquarius."
Aquarius was grinning. "Nice. Let's do that."
During break...
Outside the office, Capricorn fished out a small vial filled with black liquid. "Here you go. That should change your eye color and hair color to black." He took out another one, this one purple. "And this one should change your appearance slightly to be a little more grown-up."
Aquarius took both of them and drank them in one gulp. A few minutes later, Taurus gasped at his completely new look. Aquarius was almost unrecognizable. "I hate this," He announced.
Aquarius smiled faintly, though he himself hated it too. "Why?"
"I like your blue much better," Taurus admitted. "Even though this is for a mission."
They'd nominated Aquarius to play the part of the 'cousin'. Once the Scorpio got summoned Capricorn would set off a small explosion in another side of the school so that the secretary, Miss Delenne, wouldn't get suspicious. But since they probably looked like complete opposites, he had to drink some of the appearance-changing potions Pisces had mixed up. To top off his disguise he slipped on a pair of rose-colored glasses.
"Okay, then, Aquarius, good luck!" Capricorn whispered.
Aquarius flattened his hair and stepped into the office. "Hello, are you the secretary Miss Delenne?" He had even assumed a slight accent.
"Yes," Miss Delenne answered. "Are you looking for someone?"
"I'm looking for a person named Scorpio. Is there anyone here by that name?"
"Yes, there is," Miss Delenne said. "Is she a relative of yours?"
"Ah, yes. I suppose she didn't tell you. I'm picking her up as a surprise. Today's the day when we first met, you see. Here is a note from her mother," Aquarius said smoothly, sliding a fake note to Miss Delenne.
The strange thing was that even though the facility never received any information about the zodiac themselves, they had abundant information on the relatives and family of the zodiacs, so it was safe to assume that the name was correct.
After a minute Miss Delenne said, "Very well. I shall call for her. But it may take some time?"
"And why is that?"
"Well, you see, Miss Scorpio has a very odd habit of disappearing, quite literally. It may sound silly to you, but some of her classmates swear she disappears randomly and wanders around the halls during class instead of being there. She's known as "Miss Invisible" to most of the people in the school." Miss Delenne explained.
Aquarius's brow furrowed slightly. This is a strange development... she must have invisibility. If so, then it's no wonder we still haven't found her. She could've been sitting in the very class, silent and invisible without us even noticing her. "I see. Well then, we'll just have to hope for the best."
A few moments later they heard Miss Delenne making the announcement over the intercom. Capricorn waited a few minutes, then pressed the button. Three... two... one...
BOOM! A miniature explosion shook the school. (in reality, it was just a bunch of well-placed firecrackers and small fireworks. Nothing dangerous at all.)
"Oh my!" Miss Delenne lept to her feet. "What was that?"
"Sounded like an explosion!" Aquarius said in fake alarm. "Should I go and see what's going on?"
"No, Miss Scorpio's class is far from the explosion so she'll most likely be here soon, if she shows up. I'll go and see what happened myself. If she comes when I'm gone please just leave a message."
"Okay. Be safe!"
Capricorn threw a quick invisibility charm over Taurus and him, waited until Miss Delenne was far away, then they slipped into the office.
"Good job," Aquarius said, taking off his glasses. "That should distract her for some while."
"Do you think she'll come?" Capricorn asked, taking off the charm.
"Maybe. I guess this explains why we haven't seen anybody that looks like her all day," Aquarius said. "If she has invisibility it would've been difficult to find her."
Taurus's ears perked up when he heard a slight sound. "Guys-"
A moment later Scorpio blinked into existence, and hit Aquarius over the head with a chair. He hit the ground. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!" And then she disappeared. Another minute and she hit Capricorn as well, then blinked away again.
"Wait!" Taurus held out his hands, because he did not want to be hit over the head. "We're not here to hurt you! Please, listen!"
Silence. "I heard you talking," Scorpio's tremulous voice sounded. "What do you want?"
Aquarius groaned and picked himself up from the ground. "That hurt." His appearance was already shifting back to his normal appearance.
"Are you okay, Mr. Aquarius?" Taurus asked anxiously. "And how is Mr. Capricorn?"
"I'm fine," Capricorn muttered, also getting up. "I get hit all the time in the workshop, but just in case..." He closed his eyes and spread his arms. "Freeze."
Capricorn-Style Telekinetic Body-Freezing Skill - Wide Influence.
A moment later, everybody except for him found themselves unable to move, under the influence of his telekinesis. "Now..." Capricorn slid on a pair of crazy-looking glasses that enabled him to see through abilities. He found Scorpio frozen standing behind Taurus, a chair in her hands. "There you are." Then he took out his ability-stopper and injected it into her arm, and she flickered into sight. "Annnd... there we go!" He released everyone.
"I thought I told you not to do that," Aquarius snapped immediately. Capricorn shrugged, still using his telekinesis to hold down Scorpio's body, despite already drained from what he just did. (naturally, they were all struggling against it) He wrestled the chair away from her. "Sorry."
"What did you just do?!" Scorpio asked frantically as she tried to become invisible and stayed where she was. "Why can't I disappear?"
Capricorn held up a needle. "Ability stopper. I just injected a bit into you. Don't worry, the effects will wear off in 10 minutes, since I'm being nice, so we've gotta make this quick."
"Release me first!" she demanded. "I don't know what you're doing, but I don't like having no control over my body."
Capricorn sighed. "Fine. But if you try anything you probably won't like it." He released her and she collapsed onto the ground. "Who are you people?"
"We're ability users, just like you," Taurus said gently, helping her stand up.
She scoffed. "Right, and I'm the president of the U.S!"
Without even blinking Taurus let electricity arc up and down his body. Her jaw dropped. "Wait... so that means..." she looked at Capricorn. "You were using telekinesis, weren't you?"
Capricorn beamed. "Correct! You're smart!"
"So then what's your power?" she asked Aquarius. "Do you even have one?"
Capricorn muffled a laugh and Aquarius glared at him. "Yes, though I can only show you one before the clothes I'm wearing are not fireproof." He slowly let frost cover the right side of his body, then it disappeared. "Believe us now?"
Scorpio nodded slowly, eyes wide.
"Will you come with us?" Taurus asked. "You'll be safe where we're going."
Scorpio opened her mouth, but at the very minute Aquarius called, "Watch out!" They watched as something carved away at the office doors until it finally collapsed.
Standing in the doorway was the girl that Aquarius had pointed out earlier. "I thank you greatly for bringing me Scorpio!" she cackled. "Slippery girl, that one! But now that you've got her, we'll be leaving."
She rushed to grab Scorpio, but before she could she froze quite literally in her steps. Ice blocks trapped her where she was standing, but her eyes glowed red and a moment red lasers shone out of them, breaking the ice. "Now then... WHO TO BURN FIRST?!"
So began the game of ninja lasers. Which was basically them dodging every which way to avoid the girl (who we'll call Laser Lady for now) who was cackling maniacally as she shot heat rays at them.
Which, of course, ended up badly scarring the poor office, but they paid no attention to that, more worried about their own lives.
Scorpio was moving a little slower than the two of them. It were still five more minutes until the blocker wore off, and she was biding her time until then because she knew how to defeat Laser Lady, or at least hold her back a little so they could escape. "Are you okay?" Taurus asked, the two of them taking refuge for a minute behind a desk. "You keep holding your stomach."
Before Scorpio could answer Laser Lady cackled, "Did you know, I gave her that nasty wound! Quite the bloody one!"
Taurus grabbed her shirt and lifted it to reveal several bandages wrapped around her stomach, bright red blood staining it. He gasped.
"It's okay!" Scorpio said, then winced. "It must've opened again."
Aquarius and Capricorn, on the other hand, were slightly torn. Capricorn was drained from using his power like that earlier, and Aquarius couldn't just burst into flames because 1. He didn't want to destroy the office any more than it already was and 2. His clothes were flammable and he did not want to be caught in his boxers now. He was still debating when Capricorn said, "Uh, Aquarius? I think you might want to stop Taurus...!"
Aquarius looked up. Taurus had stopped up from behind the desk, eyes still hidden by his bangs but his face silently and absolutely murderous. Electricity crackled all over his body, and frost started to creep into the office. "I was going to go easy on you," He said in a dangerously low voice. "But not when you've hurt Scorpio like that."
Ice crackled into existence into three small balls around him. "And I can't accept that fact."
Laser Lady didn't stand a chance. Within a few moments she was twitching on the ground, frozen there. Taurus took out the Flipside Gun and pointed it at her head.
"Wait, Taurus!" He paused. Scorpio wobbled to her feet. "Think about what you're going to do!"
Slowly the murderous intent faded from his eyes and he switched the lever to Light Mode. He shot her in the head with a Light Bullet. She was lifted to her feet and a glowing halo with small wings appeared above her head, as her body started glowing them started disentegrating, finally fading away.
Aquarius let out a breath. "Good job. We didn't even have to step in."
"Yeah." Taurus let his bangs cover his face again, hiding his expression. "Let's go. Wait for me outside." At that very minute, Miss Delenne came back. She took one look at the office that was completely wrecked, at the blood that was starting to seep through Scorpio's clothes, and fainted dead away.
"Well, I guess now I don't have to knock her out," Capricorn said, offering a hand to Scorpio.
As Aquarius passed Taurus, he brushed his shoulder lightly. "It's okay," he murmured under his breath. "You did the right thing."
Taurus unwound a little bit. "Let's go."
Aquarius watched him stride out with a small amused smile on his face. So guarded, just like I am...maybe he changed a little more than I thought.
Outside, Capricorn hoisted Scorpio onto his back. "Ugh, geez! Why'd they put the office so far away from the exit? I'm not teleporting here, someone could catch us. We need to get out of the school first!"
Without speaking Taurus held out a hand. Electricity gathered in a flat circle in his palm, growing bigger and wider until there was a large and flat blue disk of sorts, hovering in the air. He nodded at it. "Get on."
They did, exchanging glances like, What the hell is this?!
Taurus got on last and crouched down, touching the ground, and the shield shot off. "Umm...what exactly is this?" Scorpio asked.
"A way of transportion," Taurus answered, turning the corner. "I compressed the electricity in the air and around us to create a sturdy surface that I can also control. You might know it as Blue Disk."
Capricorn gasped. "Wait, that technique *Yurinema uses?!" *Yurinema = a highly ranked instructor.
"Yes."
"So you can copy techniques! When Aries told me that I thought she was joking."
They reached the front doors of the school. Capricorn flung them open and they tumbled onto the ground. "Let's go!"
Aquarius tossed the teleportation device from his pocket and they disappeared immediately.
--------------------------------
"PISCES!" Capricorn bellowed the minute they teleported into the facility and Scorpio fell to the ground.
Pisces ran in, looking slightly irritated. "What? I'm in the middle of mixing that potion you requested, so-Oh my!" Her irritated expression melted away as she rushed over, water already gathering around her. "Stay right there." She closed her eyes and lifted her hands. The water swirled around Scorpio. It glowed, then dissipated. Her wound was healed.
Scorpio looked down at her stomach in amazement. "Wow! Thank you! And I can disappear again!" She disappeared and reappeared.
Ursa beamed when she saw Scorpio. "Good, good! We've got the Scorpio!" She did the explanation again. By the end of it Scorpio's eyes were wide. "That seems like such a big job... should I really take it?"
"Of course," Ursa said. "You fit the position perfectly."
Leo ran in, followed by Gemini. "Hey, who's this hottie?"
"I'm Scorpio," Scorpio said shyly.
"Nice to meet you Scorpio!" Gemini chirped. "I'm Gemini, and that's Leo."
Leo turned to Ursa. "Um, Virgo and Cancer would like me to say that they're currently not here because Aries was trying to cook cookies to wake Libra up, who is currently fast asleep, and then set the kitchen on fire, and so they're helping her clean up."
Ursa shook her head in exasperation. "Honestly, I keep telling her that she needs to learn more control, especially when cooking." She sighed. "Well, never mind that. Scorpio, you'll meet them eventually. Capricorn, if you would...?"
Capricorn tossed the clicker to her. "Press the button. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
Scorpio pressed the button and a few minutes later the air flashed before them, changing shape. They watched as a swirl of darkness outlined a person, then disappeared.
"The ability to manipulate shadows and invisibility," Ursa announced. "You'll work nicely with Libra, I'll have to schedule a pair training session."
"You can manipulate shadows?" Gemini asked.
Scorpio nodded. "I was going to use the shadows and blacken her vision while we escaped, but..." She gestured vaguely at the spot where Capricorn had shot her.
"Sorry about that," Capricorn said, having the decency to look embarrassed.
"The zodiacs are almost complete," Ursa said, settling back into her throne. "The last person we must get is the Sagittarius. The circus where they are traveling with will stop nearby the day after the next. Tomorrow, you will all be expected to train, especially after school." She smiled.
"After all, aren't circuses known to be wild?"
-----------------------------------
There, done!
As I warned you, these chapters may be slightly shorter but with more action quicker.
I realized that I've been mentioned Moon a lot but you're probably confused on what she does. She's Ursa's higher-up. She has complete telepathic control and is a master at that and manipulation of memories. Moon is the one who does all the memory-arranging and memory-wiping and is invovled in Aquarius and Taurus's past.
But I won't tell you that now.
So, hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!
-awakened-angel-chan