It wasn't Ash, but a soldier that brought Eric a bottle of water and a sandwich—peanut butter and jelly, of all things. The soldier didn't say a single word and left before Eric could come up with anything to ask it. He sat on the cot and ate, wondering what made Claudia so sure she could make him join Scorpion. How long until she tried again? Eric uncapped the water bottle and took a long drink.
A popping sound came from the direction of the glowing cell bars. Eric jumped to his feet and backed up to the opposite wall. There was another pop, and the red beams flickered twice before going out entirely.
A heartbeat after they disappeared, the lights went out.
Eric stood in stunned silence for a moment before some part of him had the sense to move his legs, to get out of the cell while he had the chance. He stumbled blindly through the dark until he was sure he was safe, should the power come back. He stuck his hands out in front of him and walked. His fingers brushed cold concrete.
The door out of the cellblock was somewhere to his left, and there were two soldiers on the other side. Eric crept toward the door, listening for any sign of movement. Nothing.
Eric paused when he found the door handle and focused on steadying his breathing. Once he opened it, he'd have to act. He tightened and untightened his right fist. He could fight a couple of robots. At least here, he didn't have to worry about his fire getting out of control. It wouldn't spread in the concrete tunnel, and any damage he did do would be a good thing, anyway.
Eric yanked the door open. Well, he tried to. It was much heavier than he expected, and his initial pull only moved it a few inches. He yelped in surprise, grabbed the handle with his other hand, and pulled harder.
More darkness waited on the other side. Eric stepped through the doorway, swallowed, and lifted a shaking hand. Fire burst to life in his palm.
The light glinted off the visors of the two soldiers staring at him. They each held a gun.
"Return to your cell and wait for the power to return," the soldier on the left ordered.
Eric extinguished the flame.
"We are using night vision," the soldier warned. "Do not attempt to escape."
For a moment, Eric considered giving up and going back. But fire waited at the tips of his fingers. His powers threatened to come to life, ready to break free whether he gave them permission or not.
Night vision. Maybe he could use that against the soldiers, at least for a few seconds. Long enough to get past them. He lifted his hands slowly and took a step back as if he planned to return to the cell. He mustered all his energy and let the heat take over.
Fire exploded from his palms.
The blasts were bigger than Eric had expected. One of them struck the soldier on the right and sent it crashing to the ground. The other missed, leaving the remaining soldier free to lift its gun.
Fortunately, Eric's hunch that the sudden bright light would screw with the android's senses seemed to be correct. The soldier took long enough to aim that Eric was able to lunge forward before it could fire, acting purely on instinct, his hand entirely engulfed in flame. When he grabbed the soldier's arm, it hissed and let off smoke. The gun slipped from its grasp and clattered against the floor.
Eric lifted his free hand and fired another blast directly into the soldier's face. It staggered backward, smacked into a wall, and collapsed.
He didn't want to wait around to see if the soldiers were still functioning. He raced into the darkness, bracing himself for whoever—or whatever—might appear to stop him. Quickly realizing that it would be all too easy to collide with solid concrete, he held out his hand and lit a flame to light his path.
The fire illuminated a fork in the hallway up ahead. Hoping he could trust his memory, Eric veered to the right. Voices reached him now. As he continued, he could pick out distinct phrases.
"Why's the power out?"
"Are we supposed to be doing something?"
Eric didn't recognize the voices, but they sounded young. He slowed and checked on his fire. The flames had spread farther up his arm than he'd intended, and it took him a few seconds of violently shaking it to extinguish them completely.
He pressed forward toward the voices, completely blind until the light of a flashlight cut through the blackness ahead. Eric quickly pressed himself up against the wall. The group of kids had to be just around the next corner.
Now that he was trying to hold still, Eric realized how out of breath he was. His body trembled outside of his control and his lungs demanded the ragged rise and fall of his chest. He hadn't even run that far—using so much fire for the first time in his life was taking a lot out of him.
A new voice spoke, cutting off the others. "What are you all standing around for?"
Eric's heart jumped at the sound of Ash's voice. He had no chance of getting by without being noticed. And trying to find another way around would undoubtedly get him lost.
"What are we supposed to do?" a girl asked.
"Go look for Eric—the prisoner," Ash ordered. "Or at least stand by an exit to make sure he doesn't escape."
An exit. There had to be multiple ways out, then. But that wouldn't matter if Eric got caught here. He ran a hand along the wall behind him and inched to the left until he found a door handle. He twisted it, stepped back into the room, and pulled the door to within an inch of the frame. Less than a minute later, low voices and footsteps passed by.
Once the kids' voices faded into the distance and another minute of silence had passed, Eric stepped back into the hall and continued walking. He turned the corner and froze.
Two soldiers waited for him, motionless. Between them, arms folded, stood Ash. He held up the phone he was holding and aimed the flashlight at Eric's face.
Eric winced and raised a hand to shield his face. He let his other hand catch fire.
Ash lifted an eyebrow. "So, we finally get to see you use your powers."
"I already took down two soldiers," Eric told him.
"And you're already exhausted."
Eric's flame flickered out. "How—?"
"I've been training recruits for years." Ash took a step toward him, adjusting the phone so that the light illuminated the space between them instead. "Maybe you can take the soldiers, but you can't beat me. Not as you are now."
"Stop trying to convince me to join you." Eric hoped he sounded confident. "I don't need you to train me." No, that definitely wasn't confident.
"Prove it."
Lightning arced through the air and struck the soldier on Ash's right. Sparks danced across its armor as it dropped to its knees.
"Uh, that wasn't me," Eric said.
Ash whirled around. The light shifted. The other soldier raised its gun, only to have the weapon yanked out of its grasp and flung to the ground by some unseen force.
The lights overhead flickered on. At the end of the hallway stood a triumphant Summer and an exhausted Sam. Eric's heart soared, and he couldn't stop a grin from breaking out across his face.
"Eric!" Summer exclaimed. "Perfect timing. Now that they've got power back, we should get out quick."
Sam rubbed his forehead. "Agreed."
"Not so fast." Ash's gaze shifted between the three of them.
Summer laughed. "You're outnumbered, dude." She smacked a closed fist into her open palm. "And I may not be able to take out your power again, but I'm still a long way from tired."
As reassuring as Summer's confidence was, most of Eric's focus was on the fact that he still had to get past Ash to reach her and Sam, and that the three of them still had to find their way out without running into soldiers.
Ash's eyes narrowed. Overhead, one of the exposed pipes trembled. Eric took a nervous step back. Summer and Sam tensed. The narrow hallway hung in suspense for a heartbeat.
A gap appeared between two connected sections of pipe, just wide enough for water to burst through. Ash twisted to face Eric and swung his arm in an arc. The water moved with him, spinning into a stream that raced through the air.
Now or never. Eric dove forward, narrowly dodging the blast of water. He made it past Ash, but stumbled only a second later, giving Ash the chance to grab his arm.
Eric swung blindly. His hand caught fire before he could stop it. Ash pulled the water spraying from the pipe into a wall to shield his face. Eric's fist passed through, and his flame went out. He yanked his hand back in surprise.
Footsteps raced toward them. Ash let go of Eric and jumped back to dodge a bolt of electricity.
Summer reached Eric's side and launched another attack. This time, she grazed Ash's shoulder with electricity. He winced but retaliated within seconds. A pillar of water shot up from the floor and struck Summer's stomach hard enough to send her stumbling back a few steps.
Eric straightened up and stepped forward, lifting his fists. Sam lifted a hand, too, but his movements were slower.
Ash backed into the spray of water still spilling from the pipe. He raised his arms. A wave rose from the pool forming on the floor.
"Eric," Summer warned.
Eric was unable to do anything but stand, frozen, as the wave grew taller in front of him.
A hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Get out of the water!" Summer exclaimed. "And run!"
"What about you—?" Sam started as he moved toward Eric.
"I'll be right behind you!"
Eric pulled himself back to the present and joined Sam in running down the hall. Once he'd fallen into a steady pace, he looked back. The air crackled. Summer stepped forward, into the massive puddle that surrounded Ash. Bright electricity danced across the surface.
Ash stumbled into the nearest wall, face twisting in pain. Summer turned and broke into a sprint. As she neared Sam and Eric, who'd both slowed down, she frantically waved a hand. "Go!"
Eric met Ash's eyes one last time. Ash pushed himself away from the wall and rose back to his full height. He didn't move to fight or even speak, instead watching them in silence through narrowed eyes.
Eric turned and followed Summer and Sam.