Chapter 13
It was almost a laughable cliché that the two mutants, new to the scene of disguised crime fighting came across their first public venture, which happened to be a fire. But for Nami and Adelina, who have practiced tirelessly for such an event, they were both eager and ready to put their skills and abilities to the test.
"I'll direct the water," Nami shouted as she jumped the rooftops. Adelina flew next to her, nodding. "You try to see if there's anyone still inside and get them out."
"Roger that!"
Nami jumped upward and down into the alleyway next to her, landing in a roll. She moved out of the roll onto her feet, sashaying into the street. While on the outside she looked cool-headed and (might she be so bold) awesome, inside she was nervous as anyone could be. There were so many eyes on her as she moved into the street, and there was so much hatred for her kind…..
Keep your face calm, Nami. She told herself. A good leader never shows how nervous she is.
"Look! Up there!"
Nami's eyes flickered briefly to the sky where Adelina was swooping down. She directed her eyes back down to the fire in front of her right as the winged girl broke through the window. Nami sild down into a crouch, moving her arms and reaching into the powers that she was born with. With each circular motion of her arms, more and more water gathered around her, until there was scarce any water on the street. Sweat dripped on her face as she heaved her arms forward, as though she was throwing a huge ball. The large glob of water that she had gathered hit the front of the building. Everyone gasped in shock as some of the larger flames fizzled out. Some of the water didn't hit, so Nami grabbed ahold of that power once more and repeated what she had done. There was a scream that distracted her, and she dropped the water, whirling around with her eyes wide.
A middle-aged woman, her hair scattered all over her face and her terrified eyes filled with tears, was being held back by a single firefighter.
"No! My baby's still in there!" She was shouting.
Nami turned back towards the fire, her eyes wide. She turned back towards the fire trucks.
She licked her lips anxiously, going over her options and weighing the cons.
"Damn it." She whispered. Nami turned to face the firefighters. "Captain! Which one of you is the captain!?"
"I am." A middle-aged man, decked out in his bright yellow suit, said. His lips curled into a sneer when he laid eyes are you. "What'd you want freak?"
Nami ignored that tone and took on the tone of superiority. "I need all the water in the fire trucks that you have."
"You're insane. Go back to the freakshow and let us handle our own."
Nami groaned, wincing with pain as Adelina pushed through her mind with a message.
Nami! The building's about to collapse and I've got some kids here! We need some water to douse the flames so we can get out!
Alright…. give me a moment.
"I'm going to take this water if you don't mind." Despite the protest, of the fire captain, Nami focused all her power and strength on the truck. The hose started to move wildly until she yanked it, and controlling the spurts of water that flew out of the hose, Nami shot it at the front of the house. Each hit, excluding a few stray shots, sailed through the broken windows. There was a harsh sizzling as each hit landed.
Nami stood still, gathering her breath. Her eyes searched tirelessly for Adelina as the flames started to die down. Adelina?
She waited for two heartbeats for the winged girl to answer her. Something shifted in her stomach, something that twisted it into knots. Nami's heart tightened.
"No…..Oh, gods above, please." She whispered. Adelina?! Please, answer me, damn it!
A moment passed, terrifyingly long for Nami, when Adelina shot out of the window, several children wrapped in her embrace. With no sense of grace, that probably couldn't be helped, Adelina dropped to the ground, shifting her body to where her back took the brunt of the hit. Nami sighed heavily in relief before rushing forward, hearing the children thanking the winged girl before pulling away and heading towards their parents. Adelina continued to stay flat down on the ground, as though stunned, coughing a bit as she sat up. Nami didn't hesitate to help her to feet, suddenly realizing the people that had gathered around them were looking at them.
Staring at them, Nami realized, with emotions she couldn't figure out.
Were they looking at them with fear? Apprehension? Gratefulness mixed in with curiosity?
Whatever the case, Nami realized their welcome was wearing out when they spotted a large van heading towards them. She saw the words 'NEWS CHANNEL 6' on the side of the van as it swerved to a stop.
"Adelina…." She whispered urgently. The girl was still a bit dazed. "Adelina, we need to go."
"Argh!" the young girl groaned silently.
"Ade…. are you hurt anywhere?"
"My wings…" she whispered. Nami glanced at the appendages, her eyes going slightly wide at the slight singes on the wings. They were filled with nerves and extra sensitive, so the singes, while not damaging, could probably be hurting like all hell. She wouldn't be able to fly out of here, Nami realized, worrying her lips a little bit. The news crew was coming out of the van, the huge camera focusing on them.
While that night was the debut of themselves to the world, she didn't want her face all over the national news as well as a government issued truck. Nami paled.
They didn't need the X-Men's enemies on them at the moment.
An idea came to mind. More specifically, a trick that she knew how to do, yet had a while to go before she could perfect it.
Now would be the best time to get it right.
Nami placed Adelina at her feet, before summoning the water, forcing it around her and her friend. As the water swirled around them, Nami made a clenching motion with her hands, forcing the molecules to start to vibrate. The liquid sizzled harshly, turning to steam.
While the cameras focused on her and her friend in an exploding amount of steam, and while men in dark camo dashed out of the back of the van, their weapons not even loaded, their forms being obscured by the steam, Nami gathered her injured friend in her arms and dashed off towards the alleyway. Her heart was pumping as, with some difficulty, removed the manhole cover. Adelina gathered her wits long enough to scoot down into the sewer, with Nami right behind her. Nami managed to grab the cover and pull it on right as she slid down the ladder The two dropped into the sewer, the foul stench of the filthy water filling their nostrils. Shouts could be heard from the soldiers, so the minute Nami's feet hit the water, she willed a spout to appear. The water hit the manhole cover, freezing over according to Nami's will.
The two girls could hear the banging of the soldiers on the lid. But they didn't care
They were both trying to calm down, their hearts beating fast and the adrenaline still pumping through their veins.
"I think it's time to call it a night." Nami said.
Beside her, Adelina choked out a laugh. "Why? The night is still young! Ah."
Nami glanced over and saw Adelina wincing, holding her shoulder with one of her hands. The blue-clad girl sighed as she took in the sight of those slight burns. "No. It's getting late. And besides, your hurt."
"Please, don't heal me with poo water." Adelina begged.
"Don't worry. I'll wait until we're back at the boarding house to do that. Here. Let me look at them." Nami got a closer look at the burns, noting that they weren't too bad. They probably felt worse than they really were. "No more flying for a little bit, okay? Just until we can get these healed and give them a break."
"Sure thing." With Nami's help, Adelina rose to her feet and the two started to make their way towards the direction of the alley that they started in. It was a silent walk, punctuated only by the lapping and dripping water.
As they were walking, Nami started to think back to the news crew that appeared moments before they made their escape.
She wondered who would seek them out first, the X-Men or the Brotherhood?
And which one would be more persistent?
Well. I guess we'll find out soon.