The arches of the generator clunked, and started to separate. The moving pieces started to spin around them, whipping up wind and heat within the dish. Light silhouetted every movement.
King slammed Leni's head into the metal beneath them. Meltdown bathed King's hide in fire but was swatted away almost immediately. Leni got back up to fight again.
"You did well," King ran a tongue over his teeth. "Bringing me here. Enacting your little plan or scheme. But it will fail. You cannot match my strength! I cannot be bested!"
Leni shot forward, punching and kicking his abdomen with everything she had. King just looked down at her and laughed.
He grabbed her by the head and reeled her over his head. He slammed her down, trying to bash her brains into the plating below them.
"Keep your mitts off of her!" Meltdown tried tackling him, his whole body ablaze.
Leni found it hard to get her bearings after King released her. The light above them was stabbing her eyes. She heard Lori's voice calling out, sobbing with fear and worry.
She bent her arms, forcing herself up to her hands and knees. She looked at King swiping his claws at TJ, who ducked and dodged like a true boxer. He threw punch after punch, firing balls of fire with every blow.
Leni remembered her first fight with King. He was too strong then, and he's even stronger now. As much as Leni wanted to beat him, she can't fight him head on like this. It's just going to get her killed.
"Uh-oh," she suddenly heard Raj above her, "Oh dear. That's quite the oversight."
"What? What's wrong?" Lori snapped to him.
"Even with this new generator running, it's going to take some hours to get fully charged to our desired conditions."
"How long?"
"About… twenty... no, thirty-one hours?"
"She can't fight him for that long!"
"I know! I know," Raj fretted. "It's… It's the heating that's the problem. The whole machine is to generate the kind of heat for a proper reaction! If… Maybe Tyrone can provide…"
"Leni!" Lori called down.
Leni shot forward, instead of punching, she pulled on the main on top of King's head, pulling him away from Meltdown. When his massive claws threatened to close around her, she let go and dashed around to TJ's side.
"We need fire," Leni listened to Raj shouting above them. "We need, like, a lot of fire."
"Then go," TJ started up, "Get your sister, and Raj, get out of here. You don't want to be hear when I go off."
Leni looked at King, before looking back to TJ. He needed time, and regardless whether or not he could build up the energy he needed in time, King would definitely kill him.
"I can't just leave you here."
"Just go! I'll be fine!" He bowed his head and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Por favor perdóname, Mamá."
Leni turned to the villain.
She had to do something.
She took a deep breath, just as King was standing overhead. She blew out air, trying for the same affect she had earlier. She had to hope, to pray, that she could do it again.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw King covered in a thick coating of ice. The statue twitched, slightly, but he was immobilized.
"Oh my god," Leni muttered. "I did it."
"Great," TJ grunted. "That buys me some time. Now get outta here!"
Leni had to dash up and in between the spinning pillars and out of the dome. She had to take a second to rub the spots out of her eyes.
Leni spotted her sister leaning against the railing, watching her with wide eyes.
Leni flew over, scooping up Lori and the kid mad scientist by their waists.
"Wait, what's going on?" Raj panicked. "Wait. Tyrone, wait!"
Leni flew down the hall, trying to put distance between them and the machine.
"We can't leave!" Raj ordered. "We should be far enough away."
"Should be?!" Lori panicked.
Leni set them down, an arm around each of them. If the light started coming towards them, she'd fly them out. She's fast enough. She can get both of them out.
Probably.
As they watched the light show in the far room, colors swirled and flared up. It was like an inferno swallowed a rainbow. Hues of blue and pink and green flashed against the walls. All the while, King wailed.
"NOOOOOOO…!"
Soon after, the colors died down. The light dimmed, but never died. As Leni reached out with her hearing, she heard nothing, except for two faint heartbeats. The breathing was labored.
Leni let go of the two teens and tentatively took a step forward. One of them was very hurt.
She dashed forward, leaving the other two to run after her and call her name. Leni paused at the edge of the dish, seeing that the source of the light was the crystal wired into the machine. She put her hand up to block out the stabbing light, enough to see two bodies lying beneath it.
Leni jumped down without hesitation. She pulled one of their arms over her shoulders, pulling him out of the dish, and setting him on the ground up above. This one was Meltdown. Most of his clothing had burned away. There was no sign of his helmet, or the battery pack Raj and provided. He looked unharmed, for the most part.
That means the second person down there is…
Leni took a breath, and went back for the other victim. He was normal sized- er, well, normal may not be the word. He was actually quite stocky, and overweight. He was white hair that grew off the sides of his head. He had a matted and unkempt mustache. Leni turned her head as she realized his pants would slip right off if she carried him off too carelessly. With careful hands, she tied his large pants around the man's chest and scooped him up and carried him out of the dish.
He groaned as she set him down. Lori and Raj met up with her right then.
"Oh," the stocky man said, "I don't feel too good. Oh… my arm."
"Hold on," Leni crouched down. "Let me see."
Lori opened her mouth to intervene but stopped herself as Leni felt out the older man's arm.
"Don't move that too much." Leni instructed. "That's a pretty bad break."
"Here," Raj shrugged off his buttoned shirt and started tearing into it. "I can wrap that up."
"Wait a minute…" Lori broke her silence staring at the criminal. "I know you. You're that one guy! From the news! You're not some criminal mastermind, you're that idiot conman!"
"Idiot?" the man protested. "I'm a visionary! I'm- OW! Watch it!"
"I recommend being silent while I'm applying this splint," Raj commented.
Leni looked at this sad, broken little man. So much trouble. So much… carnage, and violence, and turmoil… all of it caused by him?
All of it caused by this small, stupid, worthless little man.
Leni grabbed him by the pants that were hiked up around his torso.
"I should-" Leni stopped herself.
"What?" the old man taunted her. "You already hurt me. I can sue you for that you know. I'll sue all of you! I know my rights!"
"Do you even know what you've done?" Leni questioned him. "All the pain you caused? How many people are hurt, or dead, because of you?"
She looked into his eyes.
"And you're not even sorry, are you?"
"So what if I'm not?" he leered at her. "What are you going to do about it? Kill me?"
A loud silence followed the question. He started looking nervous.
Leni was repulsed by the idea. She would never agree to it. But… he's such a petty and evil man. Could she really do this? Could she live in a world with this type of person running around; free to do whatever he wants?
Leni dropped him, letting him land on the hard-concrete floor.
"I won't hurt you anymore," Leni's voice was a low whisper. She turned her head and shut her eyes tight to push those thoughts out. "That won't make it right."
When she opened her eyes again, she saw Lori giving a stern look. It wasn't disapproving, or sympathetic, but she suddenly got red from anger and stomped over to King. She raised her foot back and kicked him in the face.
While the man formerly known as King rolled on his back, nursing his now broken nose, Lori stepped closer.
"That was for Lana," Lori reported. She served another swift kick to his crotch. She kicked twice more. "And that's for messing with my family."
Leni pulled on Lori's arm, pulling him away from the criminal. Lori turned to her little sister.
"I know," she told Leni before she could scold her. "I know. I was just… giving a warning."
Leni gave a disapproving smile, not planning on arguing with her.
"Did we die?"
The three of them turned to see TJ had woken up. He was still on his back, looking absolutely miserable. He held up his hand and stared at it. He wiggled his fingers, staring at them. He flexed them more and turned his hand, examining it.
"Well," he moped, letting his hand drop. "That's it, then. No more powers. No more explosions."
He took a deep breath and let it all out.
"I think… I'm okay with that."
"Alright, enough!" the man flipped over. "I give! I'll tell you everything!"
"Everything?" Lori looked to Leni, seeing that she was equally confused. "Everything about what?"
"Everything!" he repeated. "About the general. His plan. Everything! Just leave me alone!"
Leni walked and stood over the criminal, formerly known as King.
"First, you're going to Jail," Leni explained. "But before that, we're taking you to a hospital. After that, you're going to tell us everything we want to know.
The group crawled out of the basement one by one. Walking out to the street together. Leni kept a hand on the shoulder of the flabby criminal. Lori kept close to her sister. Raj had TJ's arm over his shoulders, carrying him out.
A crowd had gathered around the building, kept back by the perimeter that had been set up.
Police came up and escorted the pathetic King to the back of a police cruiser. Raj and TJ got their ride to the hospital in the back of an ambulance. The crowd cheered as both vehicles pulled away.
Leni took a deep breath, and looked at the crowd. She spotted them, standing near Hobbs, was her family. Her mother looked ready to cry with joy. Her father held her tightly. Her younger siblings crowded around the tape eagerly. They looked all kinds of relieved.
Leni took a step towards them. Lori put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait," she whispered. "Your secret."
Leni bowed her head. All she wanted was to be embraced by her family, right now.
"Go," Lori instructed. "Meet us back at the house."
The General walked down the halls of the regal building. Being summoned by the President of all people was no small event. There was no word for the reason. The General lost enough sleep last night, apparently an intruder alert turning into a false alarm. It takes him long enough to get to sleep on a normal day.
Of course, it'd been easier if he knew what his enemies knew. That flying girl is still out there. The city is overrun by freaks. And, on top of it all, his team of snipers was missing. The monitoring colonels say they're still MIA, but with zero contact a KIA is more than likely. Oh well, more on the reserves. That's what a youthful army is for, after all.
And the point may be redundant, anyways. The way the news is telling it, that cat faced maniac has been defeated. Depowered and under a tight watch in a hospital. After this meeting, the General is going to have to arrange an accident.
But that's later. Now, he just has to turn this corner, and he'll be just outside the oval office-
…
Where the Senator of Michigan and a teenager young enough to be his granddaughter were waiting for him.
What immediately stuck him was the bright color of the girl's costume. A ridiculous color, flowing off of her cape, and a black mask that barely covered her face.
The second thing that struck him was that it appeared that the two of them were laughing playfully. Like they were friends.
The General straightened up, even more so now. He greeted the apparent traitor and the young girl. Was she even eighteen? Could she even drive yet?
"Senator Larson," the General greeted. "Making new friends, I see."
"General Law," the politician smiled wide. "Good to see you, old friend!"
What a laugh.
"Have you met our hero of the day?" the suit man slapped his shoulder. "This young lady has faced a number of concerning individuals, including that lunatic calling himself King."
The General put on a mask in the form of a warm smile. "Well, I owe you my thanks, young lady. As do we all."
"My pleasure," she curtseyed. "But there was something I had to do first. Before we could be done."
The militant man furrowed his brow. "Like what?"
"Like the fact that you let King out of Prison," the girl answered. "Like, how King killed over a dozen people. Like, how he memed over a hundred more people-"
"Maimed," the Senator corrected.
"And how that, like, makes you just as responsible for that as he is," the girl finished up. "Even if you are the General."
"Honestly, you should have been here last night," Larson grinned. "The whole building on lockdown while this young lady walks across the lawn to the main office window, asking if the President lives here! She has to be the most unapologetically straightforward girl I've ever met!"
The General wasn't laughing with him, though. He glowered at the two of them.
"So what?" his voice graveled. "You're here to arrest me?"
"No, actually," Senator Larson corrected. "The President couldn't be here to do it himself, but he asked us to demote you."
The girl pulled an envelope from a pocket and handed it to the older man. The general broke the seal and pulled the paper out to read. It was a short and punctual order.
"Demoted…" The General, who had a head full of gray hair. "…to a marshal?!"
"That was my suggestion, actually," Larson volunteered. "I couldn't help myself. I love the pun."
The General dropped the letter. His face fuming and burning bright red. He reached for a sidearm, one that he just had the habit of wearing. He ripped it out and took aim at the politician.
Only for the gun to disappear in his hand, replaced by the letter he dropped.
"You should read that again," the girl crossed her arms. The gun he held visibly in her grip. "Maybe reflect on the things you've done."
"Freeze! Hands in the air!"
The General flinched and obeyed. White House security charged in and handcuffed him. They escorted him away, the general turning a murderous eye to the pair before turning the corner.
The Senator chuckled. "Ah, that will never get old, I'm afraid." He turned to Leni. "Thank you again for your help. Although, might I suggest next time, maybe just send up a call."
"Right," Leni blushed. "Sorry about that. Thanks for hearing me out though."
"Of course, of course," he nodded. "I think we at least owed you that much."
Leni gave a small bow before departing.
Leni shut the door behind her and gave out a deep sigh.
"Leni, is that you?" Rita called from the dining room. "You came just in time!"
Leni rounded the corner to see her family sitting down and waiting for her. Each one with varying degrees of patience.
"Come on, already!" Lynn complained. "I'm starving!"
"Mom!" Lola complained. "Lana keeps using her tail to tease me!"
"Aw, come on!" Lana complained, "Doc says I'm not gonna have this forever! I'll go back to normal eventually!"
Leni sighed, content with watching her family do their thing around her. As quiet as a hurricane, but there's still a sense serenity somewhere in there.
"Dang it," their father sighed. "I forgot the condiments."
"I'll get it!" Lincoln volunteered.
Leni watched as the boy got up and walked to the kitchen. He was still leaning on the chairs and walls, but it was such an improvement from before that she didn't care. He came back with the fetched items and set them on the table with a smile.
"So, Leni," Rita wondered. "Do you think things will calm down after… well, all of this?"
"Hmm…" Leni thought as she chewed. "Maybe?"
"Some of your bad guys are definitely still out there," Luna answered. "That Goat guy got picked up, but nobody saw who knocked him out."
Leni nodded. "Dream Queen," she remembered. "She said she was coming back."
"And Noxious, too," Luan reminded her. "We hadn't caught a whiff of him in a long time."
Lynn groaned and shook her head. "I still want to fight a bad guy, one of these days." She soon felt the heat of her parents' glares, boring into her. "Responsibly!" she covered.
"Maybe we could do something with ghosts, next time," Lucy wished in her seat. "Or even vampires."
"I mean, anything's possible," Lincoln answered while feeding a bite to Lily. "Things have gotten pretty crazy around here."
"Not gonna lie," Luna confessed, "Was kinda hoping I'd get to save the day with a concert."
Everyone laughed, and Leni patted her younger sister on the shoulder.
"I'll see what I can do," she answered. The two smiled at each other.
"Well," Lisa put down her tablet, "That's all well and good, but Raj and I have our own concerns. With the growing absurdity life has provided us with, we decided to do some recruiting."
Luan filled her parents in. "I helped create a chat room for her little scientist club. What did you name it, Lisa?"
The five-year-old blushed and hid behind her tablet. "The I.A." When this received confused looks, she added, "It stands for Intelligence Aquarium. It's a think tank."
Lots of lip biting and accusatory looks snapped around the table. Luan held her hands up in surrender.
"Don't look at me! She made that one up all by herself!"
That started making the table crack, everyone started giving into their giggling and laughter.
When things started to settle down, Lisa continued. "We have fifteen individual prodigies of varying ages, and only some of them are adults. We decided its better that more eyes were studying this super power granting phenomenon. Raj is especially excited to study it."
Lori turned to her sister. "Do you think it was a good idea to let Melt- I mean, Tyrone go back to Canada with Raj?"
Leni lowered her head. She felt Lincoln's eyes on her as well.
"He… doesn't have his powers anymore," Leni answered. "He can't hurt anyone but himself."
The table got quiet.
"Well," Rita said, "I think I can speak for all of us when I say how proud of you we are, Leni."
Leni looked up.
"It's true kiddo," Lynn Sr. added. "And people started to notice."
"Yeah, for sure," Lori pulled out her phone. "There are a lot of people out there copying you. Here."
Leni watched as Lori scrolled through video after video. Some kids in costume, but most of them had regular clothes, helping people in need. One girl acting an electrical generator for a homeless shelter. One guy stretched his arms to get a cat out of a tree. Even one seemingly normal guy helping firefighters lift some rubble for a man trapped under it.
Leni sighed.
"I wanted to help people," Leni muttered, "but this…"
"They're inspired, Leni," Lori told her. "They're following your example. You're a hero, Leni."
Leni felt tears well up and run down her face. She wiped them away and hugged the sister next to her.
"Um," Leni sniffed as she tried to clean herself up. "I think I'm going to turn in early guys. It's… It's been a long day."
"Okay, honey." Rita nodded.
"Rest up sweetie," Lynn Sr. advised. "We'll save you a plate for later, in case your hungry."
"Okay, thanks," Leni wiped her eyes clean and waved everyone off. "Goodnight, everyone."
"Goodnight!" they all called out in unison.
Leni floated up the stairs, making a left to her room as she always does. She changed out of her uniform and got under the covers.
It had been a long day. And things were changing again. People are getting bolder, both the good and the bad. And that's okay. Leni's not alone. She doesn't have to do this all by herself. There are definitely some bad days coming.
She knows she can handle it.
Thanks for sticking around till the end. I hoped you enjoyed it as much as i did.