I guess saying that I'm sorry doesn't quite cut it, so I will say: here it is, and only two chapters to go.
I partly rewrote the last chapter and merged the formerly two parts of 'Congress' (as it is called) into one. Therefore I advice rewriting that part again for better understanding. Now, this part was up once, but I didn't like how it turned out so I rewrote it almost completely, making it more like I originally planned it. The part with Layla and Raven starts out like it did the first time, but it will end differently. The next part "Fate" will be up in a few days, as I am currently writing it ._.
It was in the middle of the night that Warren woke, bathed in sweat and panting. He didn't know what woke him, or what time it was, but as he looked out of the window, he caught sight of a full moon, sending it's sallow light down towards the earth.
His breath formed clouds, and he shivered uncomfortably as soon as the sweat cooled down. It was then that he thought it useless to try and go back to sleep. Instead, he heaved the heavy blankets from his body and sat up on the edge of his bed. It really was a frosty night.
A shirt was soon found in the mess that covered his floor, as were somewhat clean, black jeans. Now wide awake he tried to comprehend the bothering thought that bugged him.
"Oh right", he breathed, to no one in particular, "Will is dead."
Soundless he picked one of his leather jackets from the drawer and went down the stair to the hall. Still wearing no socks or shoes he felt the tiles painfully cold against the soles of his feet and shivered once again. He didn't need any light to orientate himself inside the headquarter and soon found his shoes.
"Warren", he managed not to look surprised as he faced the girl, her skin as pale as the moonlight, her clothes the usual green attire, "They just aired it, a special broadcast. A city in France is currently under siege by the military. Even the soviets and America have send troops, you know what that means?"
Warren huffed, there was only one logical possibility: "It's them."
It needed no further explanation, no further discussion. Layla would go, she would go now and there was no stopping her. Quickly Warren went through the things he could do now.
He could follow her, try to protect her, leaving a note for Nivia to follow them as soon as everyone was awake.
He could also wake someone now, or try to wake everyone so that they could operate together. But they wouldn't be fast, if the whole group was to embark into battle, there had to be preparations made. And by then, Layla would be long gone.
"Give me two minutes", it wasn't a plea, more like a stated fact, as Warren turned towards the living room. He knew Layla would wait for him at least.
The common room was empty, save for Nivia, who was lying on the couch, apparently to give Warren some space after what happened. She seemed peaceful, but Warren knew that she, too, suffered from this situation. Shaking her slightly he whispered a "hey", effectively waking her.
"What's wrong?", her voice mellow, tired.
Warren sighed softly: "They have attacked, and I have to go to protect Layla. Gather everyone and follow us as quickly as possible okay?"
Nivia groaned and sat up straight, looking at him critically. She didn't approve, he felt that, but he couldn't wait now. "Please."
A sigh of defeat: "Be careful out there. Don't do anything stupid."
The train was almost empty and they had the whole section to themselves, which would hopefully stay this way until they reached France. Warren took a small screen out of his backpack and explained to Layla: "This stores everything we know about our enemy. We should probably study it, since knowledge is important when it comes to supervillains."
The small machine lit up and showed them the database entries, that Royal Pain had made beforehand.
First they had the three that Warren had encountered.
Kyan, the man who could shape-shift into a monster.
Yepa, the albino man, who could stop time.
Niall, the guy who could manipulate the spirit on a person.
Then, there were the people that Royal pain had located and analyzed.
A girl called Vyne, who could apparently manipulate gravity.
Kia, a young woman with an unknown power, who had only been seen fighting with a gun.
And Keith, a man who was able to turn things into dust.
Finally there was that strange person that Layla had spoken of, but no one knew what power he possessed. It had killed Will, and it hurt Warren just thinking about that, but what exactly it had done was a mystery.
And then they reached it, the city that was chosen to be the stage for the fight of the military against the supervillains.
He had expected the town to be devastated, in ruins, but nothing could have prepared him for this. It was a glimpse of what would have happened if the society of superhumans had ever decided to turn against the people they were supposed to protect, and it was frightening to say the least. A whole part of the skyscrapers that made up the core of the city had partially faded, as if it turned to dust. And considering one of his enemies' powers it seemed as if just that had happened. There were fires everywhere, since the military had started using flame-throwers and tanks, now not only against the supervillains but also against the inhabitants that had gone berserk.
Layla tugged at his sleeve and pointed towards a building that had a huge hole in it, a hole with the perfect shape of a circle and sharp edges, like it had been cut out by a knife.
"This", she said loudly, to overpower the noises of the battle, "Is the doing of that man!"
Warren growled: "I guess you want to take care of him?"
She nodded, and Warren wished silently for the others to hurry up. Without saying anything, though, they proceeded through the buildings, avoiding any military, and finally reaching the battle-zone.
There were people running everywhere, throwing stones, screaming at each other, robbing shops, smashing windows, burning cars. Warren grabbed Layla's arm and shouted: "You go ahead. And be careful. I'll hinder the others from joining you."
He knew he couldn't really protect, Layla, as she was as strong as he himself, and probably even more truculent than he right now, as her rage overpowered his.
As soon as she was out of sight he turned, getting a glimpse of the clouded sky and wondering if he had seen this somewhere in his dreams. The sun was hidden, only passively giving her light to the world that was flooded with violence.
His gaze turned to the street, noticing a homeless man trying to escape the grip of a group of police officers who were beating him with sticks, a mother, kneeling next to her dead child, laughing hysterically. A small girl, crying, trying to run away, slipping, falling silent.
Everything was going to hell, a picture of cruelty.
And then it stopped, everything, the battle falling silent, the people freezing in their movements, even the air seemed to stop its flow.
Yepa.
"Looks like Utopia was only a dream after all, eh?", his voice strong, his steps confident, belying his empty, blind eyes, "But a beautiful dream nonetheless, don't you think so, Warren?"
Warren arched a brow: "Is that what you were trying to create, an Utopia?"
"Why not?", he reached the black haired boy and smiled faintly: "Do you think we have to be evil only because people see us as villains?"
Warren tried to remain civil, but his body was twitching to attack: "You killed Will."
"We killed many people, for various reasons. And we were killed, many of us, does that make the people that killed us just as bad? Right now, you would gladly kill me, using that fire of yours."
Warren took a step backwards, readied himself: "So what, you want to attack me? Why don't you freeze me as well?"
Yepa laughed: "Because you can't harm me. Or lets say you don't know how."
Nivia gasped when everything around her froze, everything except herself and Jeannie, who looked just as flustered as her. "We have to get to Warren and Layla before it is too late", the blonde girl reminded her former teacher and got her to nod and follow.
When they crossed another street Nivia caught a glimpse of white and turned. Warren was standing there, talking to a person she had seen one time before, on a photo in their hideout. One of them.
"I don't freeze everything, as you would say. I stop the time of a certain thing, in a certain distance. Also specific people, but never everything. And since I stop the fire, you can't attack me. As soon as the flame leaves you it will-", Yepa never finished his sentence as he was suddenly enwrapped by a cold, wet material. Ice.
Warren blinked. Then again, not realizing what was happening. Until his surroundings started to move again and he heard a familiar voice shouting his name.
When he turned he saw Nivia and Jeannie running towards him, but what caught his attention was a police officer, who was starring at the frozen man.
Aghast he watched as the man pulled out a pistol with a surprising speed, pointed, pulled the trigger.
The bullet pierced the white man's chest, the next one went through his head. Then the ice broke, leaving him crumpled on the street, the dirt of the road, the blood, everything staining his body, like watercolor on an empty piece of paper.
It was strange, and Warren felt a certain uneasiness that came with the death of the man, as if something bad had happened. Or was it something bad? The man had been his enemy after all. But before he could pursue the thought further he heard a scream.
And footsteps approaching. He turned, noticing a young man with fawn hair, who suddenly appeared next to the dead body of the albino. With that man was a girl, maybe Warren's age, with short gray hair and a stern look on her face.
He remembered their names being Vyne and Keith, the man who could turn things into dust and the girl who could manipulate gravity.
This was not too bad, he knew that he could beat them with the help of Nivia, and they had Jeannie as a backup.
"You", Keith pointed at the policeman who had shot Yepa, "Have killed the quiescence of time, now you will meet decay."
Warren instantly created a fireball in his palm, ready to throw it as Vyne's gaze grazed him and he lost ground.
When he regained his balance, he heard the sound of gunfire and watched in horror as both, the bullet and the policeman turned to dust in a mere moment. They didn't dissolve slowly, they weren't hit by a blast of some sort, they just turned to dust all at once, as if they never had existed in the first place. This guy was dangerous.
Layla walked up to the building and clenched her fists. Knowing that the man who killed Will was in there she couldn't hesitate, but could she beat him, could she really face him and win?
All these thoughts vanished, however, once she entered the devastated house, that had once been an office-complex, and face the demon.
He was standing in the middle of a large, empty hall, looking at her smugly as the town outside turned to ashes. "You came, just like he said."
Layla didn't reply, just gathered her strength and prepared to attack.
"Did you understand my powers yet?", he asked with a low but clear voice, the big raven on his shoulder cawing loudly.
"Will touched you", Layla said now, a little more confident, "If I stay at a distance I will be fine."
He laughed, menacingly, his eyes still without emotion: "No, you didn't understand at all. You want me to explain it to you?"
Layla hesitated, was this a farce, a trick to kill her, touch her? She summoned a few vines that protected her from direct harm at least and nodded slowly.
"You see, my superpowers don't come from an accident, animal bite, or from my DNA. They originate in pain. Not physical pain, but psychic. I'm the one they call Raven, simply because that is the only part of my soul that is left", his voice now slick, his eyes never leaving Layla's, "I hated my parents, and they hated me so I found a way to get rid of them and in doing so I earned the power to get my will, whatever that may be. But I have one restriction."
"What restriction?", Layla asked silently.
He grinned: "I have to 'see' it with my eyes, that is why you can know what I am going to do. It will show in the reflection of my eyes before I can will it into existence. Thankfully no one can come close enough to me to actually see the reflections in my eyes."
"You are crazy", Layla mused, "There is no such power, there can't be such a power."
Raven laughed again, this time a little more challenging: "And what happened to Will?"
Layla suddenly felt a pain in her chest and cringed slightly: "He got", she breathed angrily, "Surprised."
And then, she unleashed her power, completely, letting it burst out of her, into the ground, into Raven, in the shape of vines, flowers, trees, and all kinds of plants.
here it is, I must say I still don't like some parts, but it has a nicer feel to it than the last version thanks for putting up with me and sorry again for never keeping the promised dates :