"Damn it Ghost what did you think you were doing?!" Wizbit yelled at me, we had taken shelter in an abandoned building about a mile from the club, we were tired, I, Whisperer and Lathain were covered in dust and dirt from the blast and KC was applying stim patches to the still unconscious elf.
I pulled my gear from my pack, eager to get out of the dress and shoes.
"I don't know Wizbit" I shouted back, "you know as well as I do that I can't control this" I threw my arms up "it wasn't like it was planned!"
"You damn near destroyed the room Ghost, heck you could have killed Lathain!" he pointed to where KC was patching up Lathain, KC doing her best not to look like she was listening. "Look at him Ghost" he said "For god's sake, he's damn near fried, did it ever occur to you that the tech gear he carries is the stuff keeping him alive?" I went silent and still, Wizbit's anger continued "You're always the same Ghost" he yelled "You rush in, you never think do you?" he yelled "the place was warded Ghost, how did you even pull that juice? I swear its one mystery after another with you"
"I told you I had no control" I yelled "Believe me I was just as surprised as you to find this thing can build even in a warded zone, its not like I asked for this Wizbit, so back off!"
"I will when you learn to not be such a danger to those around you, you could have gotten people killed. You need to keep this under control, you're too much of a loose cannon, you shouldn't even be on this mission" Wizbit yelled, he paused realising what he had said.
I stormed from the room taking my things with me, my scars already glowing after the heated argument, betraying the pent up emotions I tried to shut down. Whisperer looked to follow but was called back by Wizbit.
Damn him I thought, he knows I didn't choose this curse, that control is difficult. He had no idea what it was like living with a magic bomb inside your chest, what it was like waking up in the middle of the night because the horror of your nightmares had set the pressure off, waking in pain at the burning sensation over the whole of your left side or that the scars you knew were not just skin deep but that your heart and left lung were also scarred. I found an empty room and after checking no one had followed me I changed quickly, glad to be out of the dress and simple shoes. I pulled the pins from my messy hair and spent a moment trying to fight back tears, calming myself by pulling my hair into a long rope braid.
My nerves a little more settled I vented off the electricity in small waves, trying to stop them from lighting up the dim room, it wouldn't do to give off our location when so many people would be out looking for us.
I dug into my pack to look for my knives, cursing as I cut my finger on one of the sharp edges; I put the bleeding digit to my mouth.
"You need a band aid?" I heard KC ask, she stood in the doorway "Before you ask the guys didn't send me, they're too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice you've been gone too long" great, I thought, just what I wanted to hear
"So why are you here?" I asked, KC shrugged
"Geraldine and Hacker are arguing, Wizbit and Whisperer are shouting at each other. Even Adam seems to be getting in on the fighting, aside from Bob who's watching over Lathain everyone is shouting at everyone else, so I figured why not get some peace and quiet"
I stared at her a moment, thinking she maybe had an ulterior motive but she seemed sincere enough, KC it appeared was like that. Simple was the best way forward, remove all the complications, I wished for a moment I could have her sense of resolve and not let things get to me as they did.
"Do you have a wet stone?" I asked changing the subject
"Sure, but don't you think those knives of yours are sharp enough?" she asked me, looking pointedly at my cut finger.
"Something to do" I told her, she shrugged and dug a stone from her side pocket, rummaging around for a small water bottle that she threw my way too. We sat in the small room for about a half hour, me sharpening blades, KC checking her guns, I looked at a small bone handled pistol she was cleaning.
"Did you always have that?" I asked her, she smiled at me
"Nope, brand new this one, picked it off one of the club bouncers" I slid my eyes to one side trying to think back
"but we didn't get into any fights with the bouncers" I told her, she laughed at me
"Who said anything about fighting" she winked, I was so shocked I honestly had no response for it, I shuddered a little, feeling uncomfortable, but then it wasn't my life.
A shuffling sound indicated the arrival of Wizbit, looking sheepish, hands dug into his pockets, he looked at me, pausing a moment when he realised I wasn't alone, he ran a hand awkwardly through his hair
"I'm sorry I snapped at you" he said "I didn't mean to let my . . . discomfort at your abilities get the better of me" he looked up at me, his grey eyes telling me he'd had a big row with the rest of the team and lost over this issue, I could make him feel crappy about himself but I didn't see the point in drawing it out. I knew his feelings towards my condition, knew that it scared him, that he was still adjusting to it as much as I was.
"It's OK" I told him "did Lathain put you up to this?" I queried, Wizbit wasn't really the type to apologise
"Lathain's still out cold" he told me, I winced; the elf must have taken a really bad hit to still be out
"Well I'm done here" KC announced breaking the awkward silence and rolling up her guns, how she carried all that armoury I had no idea "What's the plan now?" she asked
"Well Lathain still needs to wake up, it'll be hard to move him otherwise, so I say we stay put, keep an eye open for guards and when he wakes we'll make a move then" Wizbit said "I got a decent look at the area, there's a way out on the roof if we need it and I've warded the main room so if anyone comes looking they'll think its empty" he said, he shuffled his feet a moment then not knowing what else to say walked back to the main room.