Hellooooooooooo peoples! It's been a long-o time, and for that I apologize! I had a MAJOR case of writer's block, and literally had two sentences written down for this chapter until yesterday ... so yeah. This chapter is a bit longer than normal, but don't get used to it. I probably won't do a ton at this length.
TurtleLynn: Eeeee! I know! She's finally making some friends!
So, yes! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to tell me what you think in the reviews!
oOo
4: Red Volcanoes and Blue Beetles
May 13, 2016
STAR Labs, Taos, New Mexico
Virgil and Ed obviously knew STAR Labs quite well. It was a good thing too, because if I had been leading us out of the labyrinth of halls, we would've ended up lost and eventually crushed.
We ran through the halls – well, I ran through the halls. Virgil rode on his manhole cover, and Ed, barely able to stand after teleporting me went with him.
My breaths came heavy and shallow, each one feeling like knives through my ribs and side. The boys had tried to make me ride on the manhole cover instead of Ed, but he needed it more than I did. I was used to pushing through pain.
"So," I asked as we ran. "You two know the Lab pretty well."
"Yeah well, we kinda used to live here," my eyebrows raised at Virgil's statement.
"Were imprisoned here more like," Ed added bitterly. I opened my mouth to respond, but I never got the chance. Without warning, part of the roof collapsed on us. In the split second before we were crushed, I put up a shield, keeping the debris barely four feet above the ground and knocking the three of us to the floor.
I grunted with effort as I sat up from my position on my hands and knees. Ed and Virgil sat up from their sprawled positions and stared at me in astonishment.
"You have powers too?" Ed asked in surprise.
"Yeah," I told them, pressing my hand to my bleeding side, body shaking from effort and blood loss. "Except I wasn't experimented on, I was born with them."
"How did you know –" Virgil started, but I cut him off with a wave.
"Later. We have to get out of here." I gritted my teeth and stood, crouching my head and shoulders against the low roof. They both stared at me. "I can't keep this up much longer while I'm bleeding to death!" I half-hissed, half-yelled at the boys. They scrambled to their feet, careful to keep their heads well away from my shield.
"This way," Ed yelled, leading us down the hall and though a side exit door. The door led outside to a parking lot surrounded by greenspace and the sound of explosions. I finally allowed my shield to drop, causing half the building to collapse in front of us. I immediately felt woozy, as if letting my shield down had drained all my energy. Ed and Virgil caught me under each arm before I hit the pavement.
I yelped at the fire shooting through my ribs. Black spots danced in front of my eyes and I wasn't really aware of where I was anymore. All I could comprehend were flashing lights that slowly seemed to be getting nearer. I quickly regained coherence when I realized that Ed and Virgil were carrying me to an ambulance. I had never seen a working one before, but I darn well knew what it was.
"No," I mumbled, straining weakly against the arms around me, trying to make my shaking legs stand. "No, no stop. Don't take me there." I tried to sound forceful, but could barely stay conscious.
"It's okay, Jade. We're almost there." Ed's Spanish accent seemed to want to lull me to sleep. Virgil said something too, but I couldn't make it out. I gritted my teeth and dug my heels into the ground, forcing myself to remain conscious.
"You don't understand," I pleaded. "You can't take me to a hospital." I could feel myself beginning to panic. This could ruin my whole plan. "I don't exist!" I screamed at them. I felt their confused hesitation. "Please." They changed direction and carried me over to the STAR Labs sign. They carried me around to the back of it and set me down near the parking lot, out of view. I grunted and hunched my back in an effort to lessen the pain in my ribs, holding my hand at my side.
"What do you mean you don't exist?" Virgil asked me, his eyes searching mine. Both of the boys crouched in front of me, impatient for answers.
"You won't believe me."
"Hey," Ed started. "We were kidnapped by aliens and given super powers. Try us." I stared at them, trying to decide what to tell them. Anything I made up wouldn't make any more sense than the truth, so the truth would have to do.
"I'm from the future. I came back to … to change things. It's kinda messed up over there, so we decided it might work if we came back and –" Virgil cut me off.
"Who's we?" I didn't have time to answer. Another boy ran over to us, followed by a girl who propelled herself with purple blasts of energy. The boy was Native, with long black hair and an orange bandana framing his angry face. The girl was Japanese and wore an assortment of tight black clothing covered by a cheerful yellow and green vest.
"I think we got everyone out," the boy said before looking at me strangely. He opened his mouth to speak again when a projectile blasting out of the side of STAR Labs interrupted him. The thing landed with a loud clang and methodically climbed to its feet.
It was made of red metal, with harsh glowing eyes and a strange insignia on its chest and forehead. I quickly recognized it as one of Professor Ivo's creations, Red Volcano. He stared at us for a cold moment before turning to watch another figure fly slowing out of the smoking hole he had created in the building. My breath hitched in my throat and my limbs went numb with adrenaline when I saw who it was.
Blue Beetle.
Red Volcano turned to us again and raised his hand, quickly encasing us in fists of hard concrete that he had summoned from the ground. I struggled against my bonds, hearing the grunts of the other teens beside me.
"Time to sacrifice your victory and save the meat bags like a good hero," Red Volcano's condescending robotic voice rang out in the parking lot, and for a brief moment I was panicked and thought I was going to be crushed.
"You shouldn't stereotype!" Blue Beetle shouted as he pointed his sonic blasters at Red Volcano and shot him, taking the fight farther away from us. As soon as the threat of being crushed had passed, we could each think more clearly and used out powers to escape our bonds.
The Native boy to my left created some sort of glowing hologram of himself and crushed the rock. The girl used her energy to crumble the rock as Ed teleported himself to safety. Virgil used his electricity to summon his manhole cover and bust himself out. I closed my eyes and concentrate, creating a bubble around myself that quickly expanded, blasting the rock fist to bits. The Native boy and Japanese girl looked at me in surprise.
"Your friend was going to sacrifice us!" Ed yelled, charging over to the Native boy. Friend?! I thought in surprise. The Native boy's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as he tried to respond.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the world around us. I would have fallen, but the Japanese girl caught my elbow and steadied me. I smiled a thanks to her before turning to see that Blue Beetle had completely obliterated Red Volcano, leaving pieces of him strewn across the ground.
Blue Beetle flew towards us, landing right in front of the group of us. My mouth was dry and my palms sweaty. He was right there! His eyes were narrow and angry, not as playful as they had been in his Justice League profile. He didn't seem to notice me as he spoke harshly to the others.
"Done. Now we need to get you to Green Beetle."
"Jaimie, I'm not sure –" the Native boy started.
"Tye, this is not up for debate. We need to go now!"
Now's your moment, I told myself, but truth be told, I was terrified. This boy, while angry, was not the monster I had come to hate. But that's what he will become, I reminded myself. It was time to act. Time to erase a lifetime of pain and death.
"You're not going anywhere, Blue."
oOo
So, yeah! That's where I'm ending for now! Mwahahahaha! Hope you liked this chapter! Please post a review and follow if you enjoyed it! Write more as soon as the inspiration hits me!
