Alright another chapter here. Hope you all enjoy this.
"Luna" Normal speaking
POV changes or yelling
Used for quotes
Thoughts
Secondary thought speaker (Sasha or any other telepath)
**Luna's narration**
"People do not lack strength; they lack will." - Victor Hugo
"Laura? Silver? Cole? What happened? Is Sasha dead?" Moya calls us as soon as we emerge from the ruined tunnel.
"We blasted her pretty good Moya, but some guys came and dragged her out," I report to the agent once Cole exits the tunnel. "We're stuck in the Warren. Power's out so we'll try to get the first substation online, clear our headache." I can already feel the negative effects from the lack of electricity.
"There are three different transformers that you need to re-establish, you should all be able to meet up in order to power the downed distribution center," Moya replies while she gives us the GPS co-ordinates. They're all only a city block away from each other, but we'll all have to go in solo.
"Pulled some Intel on the Warren; A couple of days after the blast, the homeless people living there banded together and seized control of the entire borough. They call themselves the 'Dust Men'," Moya radios to me as soon as I'm in the sewer.
"Guess that explains why they're all wearing trash bags," I reply as I grab onto an overhead pipe, the conversation continuing as I shimmy over the sewer water. Water bad for electric girl. I fall in, I get zapped by my own electricity like there's no tomorrow.
"I suspect that they're being led by an extremely powerful Conduit so it'd be a mistake to underestimate them," Moya advises.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I say with annoyance, landing onto the platform of the transformer. I lift myself up to the tesla coils and let the energy flow throughout my body and into the other coils around me. As I hold my position in the transformer, a vision floods into my eyes.
I see myself jump off a building and propel myself in the air with static electricity, gliding across a street to tumble onto the roof of another building. Next I jump towards the train rails, glide and grab onto one of the support beams holding the tracks up. Lastly I'm grinding on a power line towards a roof, leap up and glide over the roof and continue to grind on the next power line.
"Oh hell yeah," I say, my voice echoing through the tunnel. Next objective is to get to the next platform so I won't kill myself swimming in the water. I get a running start and leap off my first platform. My arms are extended behind my back and static electricity flows out of my palms, providing me a way to glide through the air.
"Like I said before, oh hell yeah," I repeat as I shimmy along another pipeline. Gunk and slime cover my hands, another reason why I wear my gloves aside from the grip. I come to a stop upon seeing a few Dust Men blocking my path, armed with a few rifles and pipes. A sigh escapes my lips.
These idiots never learn. Oh wait, these idiots are different idiots. I send bolt after bolt of lightning at the Dust Men; sending static waves to topple them into the water while a few on land get restrained. As I walk past them I see a medical cross on an empty box; reminding me to make a call. T… t… tr… tr… bingo.
"Hi you have reached Trish Dailey's voicemail. Please leave your message and I'll try to get back to you. Beep." "Trish, its Luna. Silver, Cole and I are in the Warren; working to get the power back on," My voice echoes in the tunnel as I talk. "I wanted you to know that we're fine and we hope you are as well. Call us back when you can, or if you need anything. Bye." I hit the 'end call' button as I glide down to the distribution center. The distribution generator is a good sized drop, but I simply glide over the water instead. Traveling in style… Up at the center, I spot Cole and Silver waiting for me.
"Luna, something wrong with you?" Cole asks as soon as I land on a bridge to them.
"Not that I know of, why?" Silver points to my arms and the electricity coiling around them. "Look at your lightning, it looks… green." I check out my arms and indeed, the electricity seems to sport a green coloring. Now that I compare them; Silver's looks a little light-grey while Cole's remains a bright blue. The three of us, not knowing what to think, decide to complete our task of charging up the distribution centers and exit the sewer.
"I don't care how large it is or how breathable the air is, but I'd rather not have to spend any more time in a sewer that what I need to."
"Good work you three, I'll let you know where the next substation is when I find it," Moya reports to us when we reach the surface. Cole is just about to put his cell in his pocket when Zeke calls him.
"Hey man you got a sec? Dwight's sister called me and says he didn't show up last night. She says she's worried about him and all. Was hoping you could find him," Zeke asks.
"Dwight? Didn't that guy steal your car and strip it down for parts?" Cole replies. He listens in on the other end to Zeke. "So you think if I find Dwight, she'll 'reward' you with a date?"
"Thanks brother. Dwight works at the Chummy Chicken. Ya know, the only place near the harbor that smells like chicken instead of fish. Its right across that bar where we went once Trish got done with her medical exams; we went drinking right after you got your latest paycheck."
"Yeah, just wish I had that thing at the time," Cole sighs as if regretting something. "I'll see what I can do Zeke." He ends the call and begins to head towards the harbor. Once he turns a corner, Silver and I get a call from Trish Dailey.
"Hey Luna, I got your message and I need a favor from you and your sister. It's getting bad over here, people are dying and there's nothing I can do. I need to get a bus to Belmont and see if it has any supplies there."
"We came through the tunnel and it's trashed. Same with the Stone Canal Drawbridge." I report
"I know this guy, Roger Miller, who's an electrical engineer. He was a friend of my dad. If there's anyone who can fix the bridge, it'll be him. He lives in Valentine Park."
"We'll find him, don't worry." Silver and I look to each other and start heading to the park via the rooftops. It's good to be up above the ground, away from sewers and tunnels and especially crazy Sasha. I love the feeling of fresh air and the adrenaline that comes with parkour. I rush at a billboard connecting two roofs together and grin, as there's one 'move' that I haven't had a chance to show off. My feet carry me towards the billboard at a decent pace. My shoes make contact with the board as my hands skim the sides while my feet grip the sides of the surface. I tap the billboard three times with my shoes as I transverse the gap before rolling onto the roof. Silver follows behind me, wall-running across the gap as we make our way to Valentine Park.
"We found him Trish. These guys seem pretty pissed with him because they're watching him like a hawk," I inform our client from our view on a roof. Roger is in the middle of the small park with two armed Dust Men moving back and forth.
"There's a rumor going around that the Transients are capturing engineers, using them as slave labor for their tower. The worst part is they publicly execute anyone who refuses to work. If they have Roger, you'll have to take out all of them quickly," Trish informs us before ending the call. I look at the Dust Men and then to Silver; if Roger's going to make it out, we'll have to do this right. My hand flicks towards one of them, marking my target. She nods and both of us get ready. I scrape my foot on the roof, a near-silent signal to get ready.
Now! Lightning bolts fly from my palms and strike the heads of the Dust Men, killing them instantly. With the deed done, both of us glide down to meet the captured engineer.
"You're one of them, one of those with the powers," the man asks as he looks at us.
"Yeah, are you Roger Miller? Trish Dailey sent us, hoping to fix the Stone Canal drawbridge," I reply while I dust myself off.
"Oh, Trish is stuck in the quarantine as well? I used to go camping with them, you know? Fell outta touch when her old man got transferred out of state," Roger states as we follow him to the drawbridge. "What about Amy? She made it out?"
"Ye-yeah. She did," I say, lying as I don't want him to know the truth.
"Good, hate for both of those girls to be stuck in here," he replies as we follow him towards the bridge, keeping an eye out for Dust Men along the way. When we reach the bridge, Roger lets out a whistle; "Man this is screwed up nine ways from Sunday. Watch my back you two, this is going to take a while." He just finishes his sentence when several Dust Men start rushing towards us with wooden riot shields, assault rifles, and shotguns. Lightning flashes from our hands as we try to disable the enemy gunmen. Two transients fall to our lightning bolts and three are eliminated with shock/napalm grenades. I send more lightning bolts at the other transients that come from western side, some of them roaring like maniacs. Electrostatic waves are sent to push the suicide-bombers back while other lightning blasts detonate the explosives.
"There we go." The sound of machinery activating makes us look to the bridge, Roger smiling slightly as it lowers. That smile quickly fades when the bridge halts abruptly. "You've got to be kidding me. Hydraulics' on the other side aren't engaging."
"Can you fix them?" I ask the engineer.
He shakes his head: "Has to be on the other side of the bridge. Hang on a sec, I know someone who can help." Roger pulls out a cell phone and dials a number. "Lou, its Roger. Hydraulic #4 on the southern end of SC isn't engaging and I need some help getting it online. Where are you?"
"Memorial park, near the bridge, but unless you're carrying a gun, I'm not going anywhere. Reapers are all over the place."
"Don't worry; I've got something better than a gun. See you in a bit."
"I'll head over to get Lou, you stay here with Roger," Silver says. Before I can stop her, she runs up the half-lowered bridge towards the Neon District.
"You two sisters or something?" Roger asks while he waits for Lou to arrive.
"We're twins," I answer. "Silver's two seconds older than me, but we like to say we're equals." Roger nods and gets a call from Lou, saying that he's at the bridge and working on the hydraulic. About a minute later more Dust Men start showing up on my end, determined not to let the bridge down. I toss a few shock grenades and mix in some lightning bolts. My hands seem to act independently; one shooting at a shield-bearing transient while the other throws shock grenades at the ones with the boom-sticks. The grenades blow the Dustmen to kingdom come along with blowing up a nearby car. A gunshot causes me to duck down on instinct, as a hole appears in the concrete behind me. Far back, I spot a Dust Man with a rifle; who seems to be cursing at me.
Narrowing my eyes, I put more charge into another shock grenade before throwing it towards the sniping Dust Man. The grenade lets loose a bundle of kinetic energy as it falls near the transient, sending him flying with the force of the energy. When I look at my surroundings, the only foes I spot are a few crab-like creatures made out of metal junk parts. A grin forms on my face as I draw my sword and wait for the crabs to come at me. One of them leaps up for me, making it as high as chest level before getting skewered by my blade. Another tries to stab me with some sort of tail, but it gets sliced in half. That's when I feel something sharp hit my leg, another crab.
"Gah! Frigin knee humper!" I cry out before delivering a kick straight into the shell. The crab flies through the air before a lightning bolt destroys it in mid-air. "Trick shot!"
"Hey Laura we found the problem," Roger calls out. "The power grid is under voltage, we need a boost to fire off the hydraulics. Mind in helping?" I turn back to the power-box on this side of SC and fire off a few lightning bolts to charge it up. I can hear Roger's and Lou's cheering cries as the bridge lowers itself.
"And to think; if I would have taken an early retirement, I would've missed this. Thanks for your help," Roger says as he pats my back.
"We should be thanking you for getting the bridge online," I reply while shaking his hand.
"A friend of Trish is a friend of mine. Here's my number and Lou's, if you need anything give us a call. Now I've gotta find somewhere to hole up. Tell Trish I said hi," he says before heading elsewhere. Then I dial my phone after putting in the numbers.
"Hey Trish, it's Luna; we got the bridge down and we're going to make our way back to Zeke's. Hope to see you around, bye," I leave my message on her voicemail and hang up as I make my way to my sister. I'm about to greet her we both get a call from the same person.
"Hello Luna, I am Selene. We met on the roof. Now listen closely because I want you to listen to what I have to tell you," I get a call from the crazy future lady and then an all-too-familiar voice sounds from the phone. "Please, no more… I'll do anything you want… just make the pain go away…"
"You're a real tough bitch you know that!" I growl out.
"On the contrary, I'm weak, quite weak in fact - which is why you need to learn this lesson and learn it well. Everyone has their breaking point: you, me, our sisters, even dear sweet Sasha. What separates the strong from the weak is the ability to take the beating. Hell, to love the beating - no matter how great the pain, never wavering from what needs to be done. Think you can remember that?" I don't have an answer as she hangs up and Zeke calls, asking if we want to swing bye (which we do)
*At Zeke's place*
"This super-hero thing is great. Solvin' crimes, getting some lovin' from the ladies," Zeke admits as we climb up to the roof.
"You're not a super-hero Zeke," Cole reminds his friend.
"Hell, I know that. But doesn't change that I've had a taste of the good life," he replies.
"Having these powers isn't a walk in the park," Silver says in a more serious tone. "With great power comes great responsibility."
"Don't worry about it Hellcat. People around here, they worship you three."
"Hell of a lot of good it's done for us," Cole replies
"Oh crap, I gotta go. Dwight's sister is hot and ready to go, if you know what I mean," Zeke says with a grin.
"Ignoring that last comment Zeke," I say, blinking and doing what I did with Sasha: turning around and pretending that those words did not enter my ears.
Kay. That's it now. Hope you all like it and please comment on it.