AN: I'm sorry for how long it's been without an update. There's no excuse for 6 months. Honestly... as a writer/artist/game designer/whatever, I've never been able to finish any large projects. Especially a novel. It's like I'm scared that if I do finish I'll be proving myself wrong after all these years. It's not fair to you guys though, and that's what got me to sit down again and write this. I have another chapter ready to be published when I get back to my laptop, and hopefully I'll be able to write some more of the fight chapters tonight? The next ones won't be nearly as heavy on dialog.
"Tell me again why we're walking?" Matt asked.
"They would sense you coming. It's like sending a flare out. We need to get right up behind them without blowing our cover. And piloting Jillian would be a waste of time. She never had powers to begin with," Milo explained while scanning the alleyways for any sign of an ambush. The streets were eerily quiet, though several stragglers who looked like they could be homeless peeked out of shattered windows.
"Wish I could test if I could still use it. It's killing me not to know," Andrew muttered, staring at his hand.
"You'll get your chance eventually," Jillian said. "If it's not malfunctioning it means you still have control and you'll be fine. Don't worry about it."
"Guess you're right," he replied, kicking a piece of rubble in a makeshift soccer game. Angela stepped forward and swiped it to her side before he could reach it. They soon started dribbling it between between the two of them until it veered to the side and pinged noisily against a metal trash can. Jillian turned around with a scornful look like they were children misbehaving in church.
"We're going for stealth, remember?" Milo reminded them.
They both grumbled in disappointment but left the rock behind without further protest. Angela shivered and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. The smoke was starting to settle to the ground, making it difficult to breathe. She had to consciously fight the urge to use her abilities for every little thing. Just not being able to test it was torturous. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute trying to think about anything but the agony of not knowing.
"Entertain us with your mysterious secret plan then," Matt said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Milo responded evasively.
"Well," Matt continued, "even though you have no faith in us or this situation I can't bring myself to believe that you haven't come up with some kind of a plan."
"Jaime and Martin knew that the endgame would be on their asses in a day or two. Clara tracked down every remaining person with connections to that company and set a guard on them. Unfortunately, someone used their powers there and Jaime found them. We sent in reinforcements earlier today, but I don't think those hostages are going to last much longer," Milo explained.
Relief flowed through Angela's veins knowing that they weren't charging in blindly, guns blazing. "So we need to divert them from the hostages first?"
"That, and we need to split them up. They're much less powerful when they're apart, same goes for any of us. We also need to take out one of them in an ambush along with whatever backup they may have."
"They established a base a few miles away from the hostage building," Jillian added. "If we attacked both of them head on there's no telling who might be holding up remote shields for them. As far as we're concerned, damn near everyone at that base is an enemy. They do, however, have hostages there as well."
Andrew was the first to spot a potential hole in the plan. "So to split them up, we have to split up also?"
Jillian cleared her throat awkwardly but couldn't string words together.
"What she's trying to say," Milo said, "is that you won't be the ones going. Jillian volunteered before she even met you to go on the suicide mission to rescue as many hostages as she could from that base before sending a sort of alarm signal straight to Martin. His sister is there in a sort of stasis. As soon as Jillian is caught, every guard in that building is going to attack with telekinesis and he'll feel it a mile away. Knowing his sister is in danger, he won't trust his own men and he'll run right into a trap. He wouldn't expect us to be willing to blow up the entire building."
"But that would kill whatever hostages were left inside!" Angela cried in outrage. "Jillian wouldn't even have a decent chance to escape, let alone survive to blow up the building until Martin made it there!"
"I know," Jillian replied quietly. "It's not a surprise to me. I never had powers. I've seen so many people die around me... for no reason other than irresponsibility and vengeance. Finally I can be useful. It's not a bad way to die," she choked. Jillian stopped walking momentarily and turned her face so the others would not see her cry. Milo hesitated, too jumbled in his own emotions to comfort someone else. He placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. It occurred to Angela that before all of this insanity they might have been in a relationship.
"There has to be a better way to do this," Matt said, shaking his head.
"Unless one of you has the knowledge and materials to build a bomb, and can actually contain it given the circumstances, we need to cut down their power as much as possible," Milo sighed.
"Use the gasoline from all the cars left here and make a fireball and trap them inside?" Andrew suggested.
"Again... there could be two-hundred people helping them that we can't see. Someone has to storm that building. Be glad it's not you."
The group was silent with the exception of Jillian noting that the weird smells in the air could be toxic due to burning plastic or other materials. After wrapping makeshift bandannas around their mouths, talking became physically as well as emotionally cumbersome.
Angela noticed that Milo and Jillian were now walking side by side with their fingertips just touching.
All around them, pieces of burning buildings crashed to the ground. It was such a common occurrence that she stopped flinching eventually. The red brimmed sky was beautiful in a powerful and terrible way.
Jillian brought the group to a stop at an intersection. "This is where we part ways," she said matter-of-factly.
Angela bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. She had only known this woman for an hour or so, and yet here she was laying down her life for them and a hopeless cause. She wished she could reassure her that they would succeed and she wouldn't die in vain. It was a lie though, to Jillian and herself, and they all saw through it.
Jillian turned to Angela. "I still think you have a chance. Nearly everyone at the research lab has lost most of the people around them. They've lost the ability to connect. I think the three of you have something, something I've only ever seen with twins, with the exception of Jaime and Martin. You three have a connection. I can't feel the resonance like the others can, but I can see it. When you jumped in front of the dart for her, when you rushed into the infirmary. Genuine human connection strengthens abilities more than any drug we ever tested in the labs. I have faith in you. Now get out there and end this," she said, looking between all of them.
Before the group could try to think of something meaningful to say to fill the silence, Milo threw his arms around her. Jillian buried her face in his jacket and sniffled. "Please forgive me," she murmured. He tightened his grip on her and replied "we won't be apart long."