Miranda sat on the couch, listening to every detail about Cole McGrath's tale. She was absorbed in it, trying to wrap her head around the idea that it wasn't just a story. It had actually happened.
"Right now, we can only send you Blast Cores. They should let you unlock some of your new powers just like they helped Cole's," Lucy Kuo explained.
"Wait, if Cole already used the Blast Cores, how am I supposed to?" Miranda questioned, getting off the couch and surveying the Residential Isle and the starry sky above her.
"We managed to infuse left over RF energy into them. I think they'll work the same way, only you'll have to look for an electrical current to spark it," Kuo stated. "Also, I'm sending a program to you and your friend's phones. It should allow for multi-person conversations at any time. I'm going to fill your friend in on everything," she added.
"Okay, so what am I supposed to do? I can't lie on my ass and do nothing," Miranda muttered, pacing impatiently.
"From what I hear, the Black Stars are hoarding supplies in some warehouses nearby. Apparently there's some new Conduit already there," Michael spoke up, having heard the shadow Conduit's muttering.
"Okay, I'll check it out. Wish me luck," Miranda sighed, cracking her knuckles before Michael and Kuo hung up. After taking a deep breath, she started running, leaping between rooftops and using her 'Grapple Tendril' to make longer jumps. After a few minutes of running and leaping, she heard something below.
"Please, I have a family to support…." a man pleaded, standing against a wall as two Black Stars pointed guns at him. With an irritated growl, Miranda leapt down, landing silently before sneaking towards the gang members.
With speed born of practice, she swiftly brought her elbow forward, slamming it into on member's face while sweeping her foot forward, dropping him, before she rolled forward, smashing a booted foot into the second's side, firing a black tendril at his head before he could recover.
"Thank you. I won't forget this," the mugging victim thanked, running back towards the main street.
"Guess I'd better get used to this happening," Miranda sighed, sprinting back into the main street as she continued towards the warehouse. It took a few minutes, but she soon arrived, hiding behind a dumpster as she took a good look at the situation.
"Okay, looks like there's plenty of them. Too many for one Conduit. And no option to thin the ranks like last time," Miranda pondered, trying to think of a way to fight, when she felt a strong wind blow past her. From her hiding place, her violet eyes watching in awe as someone no older than she was somersaulted onto the top of the warehouse in one swift move.
"You boys ready for an ass kicking?" the boy taunted. His hair was a light brown and boyishly long while his eyes were a bright grey/blue combo. He wore a blue jacket over a black top, grey jeans and white sneakers. Before Black Stars could fire on him, he jumped into the air before slamming down into the ground, creating a massive shockwave that sent most gang members flying.
"So, you're the other Conduit I've heard about?" Miranda called, coming out of her hiding place as the boy looked at her in surprise.
"Miranda? I heard there was a Conduit nicknamed the 'Shadow of Blackwater', but I didn't quite expect it to be you," the boy exclaimed, running over to the girl.
"Do I know you?" she questioned, cocking a brow in curiosity.
"I'm Tyson Askew. We went to the same school before the lockdown, though I've probably heard more about you than you do about me," the boy replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I see. How's about we get to know each other after we deal with the Black Stars," Miranda sighed, slowly walking towards the warehouse.
"Sure. Let's get some grub," Tyson joked, cyan tinted wind swirling around his hands. The two of them watched as the warehouse doors opened, gang members charging out, human members opening fire while two Conduits threw chunks of earth at the pair.
"Miranda, hit this!" Tyson shouted, throwing a swirling cyan orb into the air. As it neared the ground, she fired a black tendril at it, the orb bursting into a black tornado, sweeping any human Black Star into the air while black tendrils hit the Conduits.
While the Conduits were dealing with the tornado, Miranda ran at one, sliding between his legs before delivering a powerful kick to the back of his neck, knocking him out quickly. She snuck a glance at Tyson, watching as he leapt into the air, performing a spinning downward kick that struck the Conduit on the head, knocking him out.
"Where'd you learn to fight?" she called over to him as they ran into the warehouse, keeping her eyes open for any ambushes.
"When you're stuck with the Black Stars and the First Sons and you discover you're a Conduit, you tend to learn how to fight pretty quickly. Besides, why have powers when you won't use them?" he sighed, close behind the raven haired girl as they advanced deeper into the warehouse.
"Seems pretty quiet," Tyson muttered, his eyes darting around, trying to pick out any signs of the Black Stars.
"You just had to jinx it," Miranda hissed, violet eyes glaring at the wind Conduit, who simply took a few steps back, his hands up in a gesture of apology. Rolling her eyes, the goth simply continued on, throwing the rear doors open.
"Oh bugger," Tyson cursed, practically jumping when a shot rang out. In front of him were at least twenty Black Stars, who, like him, practically jumped when the shot pierced the quiet. Glancing to his side, Tyson noticed Miranda had been hit, clutching her side.
Now down on one knee, the shadow Conduit looked to a nearby rooftop, trying to find the sniper. Finding him, she watching in shock as her violet eyes met the cold grey eyes of her father as he walked away, a look of disgust clear on his face.
"That….that asshole…I'll kill him," Miranda growled, black tendrils snaking around her whole body as she shook with rage, her violet eyes literally glowing as her blood dripped onto the ground. "I'll kill you all!" she yelled, a cloud of black mist surrounding her, before she thrust her arms forward, black tendrils skewering every gang member in front of her, crimson blood dripping onto the ground while blank, lifeless eyes all stared at her as she collapsed, her arms shaking as she tried to support herself.
"Damn it, we better get somewhere safe. You need that wound treated," Tyson exclaimed, scooping her up as she coughed up more blood. With cyan wind dancing at his feet, he ran, faster than any Olympic sprinter, towards the nearest medical clinic as the goth in his arms slowly lost consciousness.
"What….what happened? How did I do that back there?" Miranda mentally asked herself, watching as another vision started to play out. This time, she watched as the man from before, presumably Cole McGrath, threw a concentrated orb of electricity at a group of red hooded foes, watching it explode.
She then saw herself throwing a ball of swirling black mist at a group of foes. Black tendrils snaked out from where it landed, slowly pulling the enemies towards it, before it exploded, sending them flying.
The sun was slowly dipping beneath the horizon as Miranda's eyes flickered open. She was lying on her back, her view being that of the water glistening in the evening sunset. Despite feeling weak, she managed to push herself into a sitting position.
"Still alive?" Tyson joked, seeming to appear from nowhere. The wind Conduit sat on the arm of the couch she was sitting on, glancing out at the sunset.
"Yeah. How long was I out?" she inquired, her head pounding as she glanced up at him.
"A few hours. People got the supplies from the warehouses. No-one's moved the bodies yet," Tyson replied, his silver/blue gaze now on Miranda.
"I don't know how I did that. I just saw…who shot me, lost it, and just lashed out. Didn't know I'd unleash that much power," she muttered, avoiding his stare.
"I'm not blind or stupid. I saw it was your dad who took the shot. You don't need to hide that from me," he reassured, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I don't need or want sympathy. Like I said, I'm going to kill him for being one of the Black Stars. He'll pay for what he's done to me," she hissed, clenching her fists as black tendrils snaked around her arms.
"Um, I'm going to go and check up on my parents. Someone named Kuo was looking for you, so I'd give her a call," Tyson stammered, jumping to street level before dashing off, moving like that which he controlled.