Despite the promise that tonight we're going to get all the answers, after half an hour walking, we haven't got any closer to finding the location of the Pit. The only thing we're succeeding on is earning alarmed looks from passersby's. For that, we can only thank our weird costumes. And by ''we'' I mean me and the woman in white; the rest of the group is either flying or moving at ultra speed.
''You are really quiet, you know,'' my companion says. ''It's really hard to know what you're thinking about.'' I look at her over my shoulder. She's keeping a distance from me, probably worried that I might see her face.
I don't know how to answer her. To be honest, I still can't believe that this is really happening. This still feels like some weird dream.
''Are you scared?'' the white woman asks me.
''No,'' I answer and I really mean that.
''Good. I think you can trust us.''
I almost laugh, though there's nothing funny, really. She's right, the six of us are in the same situation: clueless, confused and eager to find the answers. Somehow, this realization comforts me.
''So you really don't know each other in…'' I almost say real life but manage to stop myself. This is real life. ''You really don't know any of them?'' I fix my question.
The Woman shakes her head. ''I don't know about the rest but I, personally, don't. There is one thing I've noticed, though- judging by their behavior, they're all teenagers.''
I don't answer but keep pacing in silence, letting this thought sink in. What if I've met them? What if they go to the same school as me, walk the same hallways, have their own struggles? And I've never imagined that there could be others like me.
I want to ask if she's a teenager too but I can't bring myself to do it. ''What are your superpowers?'' I ask instead.
''Healing. They've nicknamed me White Lotus. I'd prefer if you call me just Lotus,'' she says and from her tone, I can tell that she doesn't want to talk about it. I can't understand why – the powers of healing are beautiful, it is a blessing. Not like the powers that I have: fire that creates only pain and destruction.
''Can you tell me about the others?'' I ask. This question has bugged me for a while now. I want to know more about these people. I want to know about their powers and their struggles. I don't want to feel alone anymore.
Lotus doesn't answer right away, sharply turns her head to the right and goes in the direction where she has noticed Speedy. She waves at me to follow her. I don't have to be told twice– from across the street, a group of drunken men had started to whistle at us.
''Well, this is Speedy,'' Lotus say as we approach Speedy. In a blink, he's gone, leaving only a gust of wind behind him. ''As you can tell, Speedy's power is inhuman speed. Her original name wasn't Speedy, it was… I can't even remember...Anyway, much to her annoyance, Cap started to call her Speedy and, well, it kind of became a thing.''
I stare at her for a moment, trying to process the information.
''Wait, you said her?''
Lotus chuckles. ''That's just my theory. No one really knows, though Cap agrees with me,'' she says looking straight in the distance. ''But believe me when I say that I have a keen eye when it comes to people.''
I shift uncomfortably and push my hood higher on.
''Then there's Tech,'' Lotus continues, '' he has an absolute control over all mechanical things. He has built this mechanical board, maybe you saw it. He always has it with him. That's why he jumped off the building so recklessly, he ''called'' for it, safely landed on it and flew away. I also believe that out of us five, he has the best control of his powers.''
I don't comment, I wait for her to continue.
''The last two – Cap and Four – I have a feeling they know each other,'' Lotus says and crosses her arms. ''They are very different, though. Cap's thinks of all this as a joke. He can't take a thing seriously. It's kind of annoying, actually. He even insisted us to call him ''Captain Awesome'' or something. Because of his incredible superpowers- super strength, an ability to fly and who knows what else.'' I'm sure if I could see Lotus's face, she'd be rolling eyes right now.'' Naturally, we disagreed and shortened it to just Cap.''
''And Four?''
''Four's the most mysterious one. We don't know his superpowers or even why he's called Four. He-''
''Hey, what's with the gossiping?!'' Speedy interrupts us, making me jump. I don't think I'll ever get used to her appearing like this.
''Stop scaring us like that, you creep,'' Lotus scolds her.
''Sorry. Cap says they've found the Pit. It's this way,'' Speedy says pointing at the dark alley in front of us. I haven't even noticed how we've got here, so far from the center of the city.
I check my wristwatch – 21:23.
Sorry, Caleb, I'll be late.
…
We meet the others at the entrance of an abandoned building.
''How do you know this is the right place?'' Lotus asks Four.
''Don't ask stupid questions. I just know,'' answers Four not even looking at her.
I smirk. He must be a really warm person...
''We could use your help, Torch,'' Cape says, motioning at the building. ''You know, do your thing. Light the way.''
Once again, this isn't a smart decision. Going first in an abandoned building seems like a foolish idea but, at the same time, I don't want to seem like a coward. With difficulty, I force myself to create a small fireball in my hand. A weird satisfaction fills me when I hear someone take a sharp breath. I take a step forward and others part to let me through.
I don't even make it through the door, when a surge of cold water hits my hand, putting out the fire I've just created. My hand has turned into a block of ice. An unbearable pain shoots through my whole body and I fall down on my knees.
Confused, I look at the direction where the attack has come from and see that there are two persons standing in the distance. I don't even have time to understand what's happening when one of them, the taller one, starts sending waves of water in our direction. I have to crawl backward to escape the freezing water.
People around me scatter, my teammates they start charging forward and for a moment everything becomes a blur. The world has turned into a carousel of sounds of splashing water and cries of pain.
I have no idea what the other one is doing but something like a white vapor is coming out of its hands. It seems effective enough to knock out Speedy.
Dizzy, I get up and rub the frozen hand with my other hand, melting the ice around it. Lotus rushes to me but she's stopped by a powerful wave of water, pinning her to the ground.
The next wave comes to me. The other attacker blows the same white vapor into the created surge of water and it turns into deadly spikes of ice, all of them flying in my direction. My mind goes blank. I only manage to take two large steps backward, then lose my balance and land on the ground.
Just when I think, it's the end, Four appears next to me. He makes a wide gesture with his hand, swaying everything away from us. Not only he waves away the daggers, what he did turns out to be so powerful that both attackers flew away too.
Apparently, they hadn't expected for one of us to be so powerful because once they get back to their feet, they don't waste their time and run away, quickly disappearing from our view.
''I'll go after them!'' Cape says, anger filling his voice. I see that he's dripping wet too.
''No!'' Four commands. He crushes down next to me and breathes heavily. What he did was probably very exhausting.
''Why not? They tried to KILL us!'' Cape doesn't give up. I don't understand why he need Four's permission. Maybe he's the leader.
''I said - no,'' Four repeats through clenched teeth. ''Look at Speedy and Lotus. They need help.''
Cape stomps his feet and I swear the ground shakes for a second. Then he goes to Speedy and helps him or her to get up. Tech does the same with Lotus.
''And you!'' Four ruthlessly pulls me on my feet. ''If you aren't able to do something, then you shouldn't have come in the first place!''
I glare at him angrily. I don't know why he's being so unfair. I was struck with a freezing cold water too; it wasn't like I didn't do anything because I didn't want to.
I shake off his hand. I have a strong desire to just go away, leave all of this behind but I do the complete opposite - I walk into the dark building. Surprisingly, my hand bursts into a flame very easily. The fire I've created lights the room. Looks like this building has been a workshop once – it's wide and empty except for a table in the corner, with a broken mechanical door separating the rooms. Attached to these doors, there is a green sticky note.
I take a step forward to have a closer look. The handwriting on the note is the same as always, only the message is different:
Not yet.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Maybe you can take you guesses on the Power 7 identities now? What about the two mysterious attackers?
Hope you enjoyed and see you later,
MC
