I know. I am horribly late. But, I have an excuse! Even though that probably won't cut it...
Life has been insane, since I've had activities and two different sets of people came from out of town to stay with us during two separate weeks. Plus, my muse was being sulky, and I don't write well when I have no ideas. So, even though this is kind of another cliffhanger and a huge surprise, be reassured that my muse is back in gear and I will have the next chapter up before Christmas.
Chapter Fourteen
Siren
Pnígo grinned, showing her jagged teeth. It would be so easy to get these mermaids to destroy each other. As for the land people…. she would enjoy watching her mermaids rip them apart. The Siren closed her eyes, opening them again to watch the scene from inside her puppets. Three sets of eyes, seeing the world in monochrome, were watching their prey. She forced them to raise their hands, calling on their power. Fire seared through her veins, and for a moment, Pnígo's control slipped. They were fighting. Fighting against her! The Siren clamped back down on them, reinforcing her spell. A large patch of ocean started to bubble as she called upon the strong elemental magics that she controlled, creating a massive sea serpent of seaweed and air and fire. She made her creature turn on the blue-scaled mermaid that was bound on the sand, relishing the terror that emanated off the mermaid and the land people in waves. Their fear was simply delicious, fueling her power. Fire erupted from the monster's maw, swirling towards the blue-scaled mermaid. Liz screamed as the flames engulfed her, hiding the girl from view. "NO!" The black-haired land boy cried, while the other was frozen in shock. Pnígo licked her lips with a bruise-colored tongue, releasing her hold on the other mermaids. Ava, Jemma, and Marie stumbled down the path, breaking into a full-out run. Tears welled up in Ava's eyes as she stared at the rough expanse of glass where Liz had been. There wasn't even a trace of her even having existed. Liz Moore was gone.
o0O0o
Marie completely lost it. Fire crackled in her eyes as she rose from the sand to send a burning glare straight at where Pnígo stood in the shadows. The Siren had a smug smile on her paper-white face. "You. Did. This." Marie could barely recognize the voice as her own. She didn't care, either. The black-haired girl gave herself completely over to the fire burning within her, letting it take control. Flames licked around her obsidian locks, never even singing the hair. Electricity crackled around her fingers, the tendrils of lightning in sharp contrast to her bare arms. Behind her, Ava, Jemma, Max, and Steve unconsciously backed away. For the first time, Ava and Jemma were afraid of their friend. Marie stalked towards the Siren, leaving a trail of scorched sand and granules of glass behind her. "You killed Liz." Pnígo backed away from the furious mermaid, suddenly afraid. "Yessss. I was born to kill mer-folk. You will die. All of you. One by one, I will pick you off. For I am a hunter, and you are the prey." The Siren kept up her bravado, deciding that she had had enough of this. She reached for Marie's consciousness again, but was blocked by walls of fire. This girl was far more talented than she appeared. Thwarted, she switched targets.
Jemma slowly raised one hand, her eyes pure black again. Tendrils of green erupted from the sea, wrapping themselves around her friends, Max, and Steve. :Good,: Pnígo purred. The Siren stalked out of her hiding place, giggling as she past directly by Ava and Marie, who were dangling upside down with tails. "See? You cannot even hope to defeat me." The blond Siren ran towards the water, diving into the sea.
o0O0o
On the beach, the four people were still held in the air by seaweed. Jemma's eyes were still black, seeming to not even move. "Jemma! Don't do this!" Ava cried to her friend. Marie's fire had been doused by the wet plants, but the red-scaled mermaid still wasn't about to give up without a fight. She summoned flames into her hands, trying to get the fire upwards enough to burn through the tendrils. Jemma's head whipped around to look at her with a creepily blank expression. Without a single movement, the girl set more tendrils to wrap around Marie's hands, cocooning her in wet seaweed.
Steve was hanging by his feet, upside down from the slimy plants. He saw an opportunity, glancing over at Max and conveying his plan with a glance. While Jemma was distracted, Steve closed his eyes. His abilities weren't the most developed, and they required a lot of concentration. But they just might work. The brown-haired boy vanished without a sound, and reappeared directly behind Jemma. The possessed mermaid whipped around just in time to get splashed by a handful of water. She flopped to the sand, unconscious with an emerald tail. Max, Ava, and Marie fell to the sand with a loud thump, the two girls with tails still. Jemma's eyes flickered open, the black receding and the girl pressing a hand to her head. "What happened? The last thing I remember was Marie attacking that girl…. Pnígo." Marie dried herself and Ava off, running over. The two mermaids stared at Steve. "How did you do that?" They asked in unison. Steve cringed. "er…. I'm a teleporter. I can vanish and reappear anywhere within a certain range, as long as I know where I'm going." Marie kept her eyes on him, still wary as she dried Jemma off. "So. You didn't think to mention that you can teleport?" A thought struck the pyrokinetic. She turned to look at Max. "Do you have a power?" Max swallowed, looking distinctly guilty. "Yes…. I'm- was- Clairvoyant. I can see the future. Well…. I could. I first learned about my powers when I was 13, then I lost them about a year ago. They returned a few days ago. At least I think so. I dreamed about this happening. I knew that this was going to happen, that Liz was..." He fell silent. "I thought it was just an ordinary dream, so I didn't tell anyone other than Steve." Ava closed her eyes, a tear leaking out and trailing down her cheek. The redhead walked towards the water, Marie calling after her. "Ava! Where are you going?" Ava turned to look at them. "I just need to be alone." She vanished into the water, the others looking helplessly after her.
Tell me what you think!
Also: If you like superheroes (Spiderman{Never seen it, actually}, the Avengers, Marvel in general) check out a tv show called 'Agents of SHIELD'. In it, Coulson is alive and it is set between the Avengers and Age of Ultron. And past it. I just read an ADORABLE fic about it (No prior knowledge of the show is required). Skye is a kid. Just search 'Giving up is easy, but we'll take the challenge.'