Sorry for the long wait. A mix of writer's block and lack of WIFI slowed me down.

I forgot to in the prologue, but I need to thank WhiteZephyr again for allowing me to use her characters in my stories.

Chapter 1: Calm Before The Storm

Indiana
Kyle

I'm at my house a few hours later. The news is showing the aftermath of the attempted robbery. The criminals had a similar mark on their shirts as others who have attacked random places. The name of their group is unknown, but we will find out. And we will stop them.

The plan is to attack them right at their base, which Kayla located in an abandoned factory. It's now or never.

I meet Jared, along with our friends Kendra and Brandi, at the park. We pile into the back of Jared's truck, and he drives to the target.

The Factory once made farm equipment, but has been abandoned for years. It was scheduled to be torn down to make room for apartments, but the project was cancelled. We now know why.

We climb the building using ropes and enter through the sky lights. The place seems empty. We split up and search the entire area, but find nothing. Instead, something, or someone, finds us. I can't tell who or what, because the last thing I see before falling into unconsciousness is a pair of golden eyes.

Halfway to Indiana, at a hotel in Kentucky

Cody

I must say that the only thing worse than being stuck in an RV with 7 other people is staying in a hotel room with Wes and Jason while Amy and the girls sleep in the motor home. Those two morons are freakin' crazy. I will get revenge, and it will be sweet.

Soon, we're on the road again. Or would be if the city we were about to enter wasn't in lockdown. From what I heard, a gang has taken over and there are no conduits in town.

Well, now there's eight. We leave Amy and Trish behind with the RV and approach the guards at the roadblock.

"It's not safe in there, kids," a guard says.

"We can handle this," I reply, activating my fire. A bluish, ice-like mist surrounds Jason's arms. Wes does the most daring thing. He takes a guard's gun and fuses it with his right arm.

"You're conduits?!" asks the guard whose gun Wes took.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jason asks like a total idiot. After a few seconds of whispering between the guards, they let us into the city.

Once we enter, we split into three teams. Jason and Kayce go to the left, Wes and Violet decide to take the right side of town. I go with Cassie to search the downtown area for any sign of the gang.

It doesn't take long for us to find trouble. A guy grabs Cassie's wrist. I quickly force him to release her. Actually, I shot the guy in the face with blue flames. Either way, he let her go. Problem is, the sound of his final screams alerted the others in the area. Now, I'm back-to-back with Cassie and surrounded by at least twelve thugs. I activate my fire and glance back at Cassie.

"You might want to use your powers," I suggest. Cassie hesitates, but nods. Seconds later, her arms become metal and blade-like. Her fingers become like ten miniature swords. She runs at a guy, slashing his stomach open. She then spins and stabs another in the lung. I'm watching her attack the guys, completely distracted. I don't see a pair of thugs aiming their guns at me. Before they can shoot, however, they fall to the ground. Five blades protrude from each of their chests. I give Cassie a look that can only mean 'What the hell?'. She smiles at me, but two other guys grab her and start dragging her away as the remaining six guys surround me and aim their guns at my head. I narrow my eyes at them, "You think you're tough, do ya'?" My flames spread up my arms, forming the usual X on my back.

"Well, you're not!" I slam both my fists into the ground, creating a spinning ring of flames around me. The ring quickly grows and expands, engulfing anything and anyone, within a ten-foot radius. I then lessen my flames and form both of my hands into guns. I fire a pair of focused blasts of fire the way Joan Grey showed me. They hit both men in the faces, effectively defeating them. I run to where they dropped Cassie and help her to her feet.

Let's hope the others can handle these fools.

Wes

Walking through a seemingly deserted town with the daughter of a famous conduit hunting for psychotic gang members. Makes me wonder if my life is just a game. Anyways, I'm walking through a neon-lit street with Violet. I see a small patrol a few blocks away. I signal Violet to stop as I survey the area from behind a concrete barrier.

Five men, armed with handguns.

Parked cars on both sides of the street.

I look around for anything I could use as a shield.

A metal trash can lid.

I fuse my left hand with the lid. By other arm is still fused with the guard's assault rifle. I look at Violet.

"Stay here, Vi," I whisper.

"You sure you can handle them?" she asks. I narrow my eyes at her.

"I'm a walking weapon. I'll be fine." Before she can object, I jump over the barrier and use the cars as cover. I slowly approach the gang members, positioning myself behind them before I attack. I fire a short burst at one of them. The others turn and open fire on me as their friend falls. I block the bullets with my shield arm and quickly take out the rest of them. Well, I thought it was all of them. I hear someone load a shotgun behind me. Then…

I hear the sound of the guy screaming and his gun hitting the ground. I turn to see the guy, trapped under an electric car and Violet standing beside it.

"Thank me later," she says. I decide to lose the shield and fuse my left arm with the dropped shotgun.

Might be useful later.

Jason

Well, the area that me and Kayce are searching is full of gun-wielding bastards. In fact, we're travelling on the roofs of the buildings. I look over the edge.

Looks like we're standing on their base.

I signal for Kayce to get ready. Then, I launch a freezing beam of energy at the ground.

The street instantly freezes. The thugs can't stay standing. They slide around uncontrollably. I can't help but laugh. Now, Kayce fires a pair of blue energy beams. The beams reflect off large ice crystals, increasing in power as the beams cross and fry the thugs. Well, all but one. Their leader, steps out of the building. And it's obvious he's a conduit.

I guess those police officers meant no good conduits.

I jump down, creating a frozen crater on impact with the ground. I glare at the gang leader. He returns the glare before he literally becomes a flock of crows. He flies behind me before reforming and sending a small flock of crows after me. I spin around and freeze the birds just in time. I then throw ice spikes at him. He again becomes crows and easily dodges. I don't stop my attacks. I follow where the crows fly and fire rocket-like freezing blasts. Soon, he's unable to fly and reforms. He's about to attack me with those crows again, but before he can, Kayce round-the-house kicks him in the face. I take this as my chance to finish him off. I simply place my hand on his chest and freeze him solid. Problem: solved. Now, we need to find Cody and the others and get out of here.

Cody

1 hour later

Back at the RV, we wait for the guards to reopen the highway. A few minutes later, we're all back on the road.