Chapter Seven

Thanks to Rin and Zi for the base location and team name respectively, and both of them and Cookie for voting!

Chapter 7

A bank near Times Square...

Konjure slams his hand to the ground, and a bear appears. It bats the robber down. I slam my fist into the ground as well, creating a shockwave. I take a moment to look at Konjure, to see why I think he's familiar. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and purple markings all over his skin. He's pale, very pale. He wears a tang top like shirt, and shorts that puff out at the end. He holds a staff with a bear head at the top. I guess he can hit the ground with that and summon things as well. I can't figure out who he is, but I can't get rid of the nagging feeling that I know him from somewhere. We take out the villain. I notice a villain standing on a nearby building.

"Hey Power Inc.! I know you're watching! Today, we take you down! We're waging war."

I studied the files I downloaded onto the flashdrive. They show all of the villains and their weaknesses. The look on the man's face shows that he know I'm serious. He knows I will hunt them. And he calls his friends. Bad move. Tons of villains appear. Well, two can play at that game.

"Konjure, now!"

Konjure hits his stick to the ground. Our entire team appears.

"Let's do this." I notice my charm glow.

Meanwhile...

How could she do this to him?! Michael had taken Zoe in, and she abandoned him for a boy! A stupid boy she will probably break up with anyways. He needs someone else to help him. He needs a new team. He has searched for the past few days.

First, he finds Zak. Zak is a lot like Zoe. He was in a car crash with his family. Only he survived, as it was a truck with hostile fluids they had crashed into. He gained the power of flight and shooting poison. He is a teen, about Zoe's age. He has no family. And to top it all of, his name starts with a "Z" and has three letters. He will do.

Next he finds Hector. Hector is about 19 or 20, like Michael himself. Hector is a dark warlock. He has a dark horse, and can turn into a skeleton. He uses a gun, and shows no mercy to enemies. Ian will despise him. Good. Michael thought. Michael doesn't know much about Hector's past. It doesn't matter. He has a team.

Michael saw the battle about to begin. Idiot. He says, annoyed, to himself. He calls up his team. They'll need to protect some civilians.

Meanwhile...

I can hear Michael's thoughts so loudly in his anger. Wow, he's crazy. Konjure hits the ground, summoning two white wolves. They soar at the villain I am fighting, pinning him down. I hit him in the face, making sure only my fingerless gloves touch the man's skin. I learned all to painfully that touching the man's skin burned. One down... a lot to go... I think. I see Cloud fighting a girl with blue skin. I remember reading her profile. She freezes people on touch, the opposite of her male counterpart that I defeated. Wish I had remembered his profile.

"Heat her up!" I yell. He shocks her with lightning, and tears some bark off a tree. He throws it at her and hits it with lighting, setting it aflame. I jump up and knock my fist into her face, able to touch her because of my friend's help. She flies back. I see a kid fly up and move her out of the way of some innocents. Good to see we have damage control.
I see T.C. making fake heroes to distract his enemy, who, from my memory, can only fly. It seems we're not fighting their strongest yet. She lands from her flight, and I sweep my leg to trip her. She flies up. Okay, maybe not. I jump up high and kick her in the face. She falls down and T.C. reality bends his shoe to be huge and heavy. He kicks her. I see Green in need of help. I head down and slam into the floor, knocking her off balance long enough for Green to get an opening and stop her in mid-position. I hit her down to the floor. I see Konjure being attacked from behind. I call over to the man, who has intense hearing so he can predict moves. He turns to me. Konjure summons an elephant behind the man, and it stampedes at him. He gets his and knocked out. I look over to Ghost.

"Oh no..." She walks toward the man who put a hole in her hand. "Ghost! Ghost!" I sigh. "Arlen..." I whisper. There's no stopping her this way. Ugh, this'll be difficult. I jump up into the air. A villain is flying below me. I leap off of his head, jumping higher up. On top of a building, a man stands. I grab his shoulders and push myself higher into the air. I swing at a woman a push off her as well. I'm flying straight at Arlen, or Ghost, in the field.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IAN?!" She yells.

"I know that man hurt you, but I can't let you hurt him!" She shapeshifts smaller, and a soar over her. Good, I planned for that. I slam my feet down into the man, sending him flying. I leap back in front of Arlen.
"I have a hole in my hand! There's a ******* HOLE IN MY HAND! THIS IS MY ONE CHANCE TO GET REVENGE! THAT HOLE MIGHT NEVER GO AWAY!"

"Ghost, it's not about what's on they outsi-"

"PLEASE! DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" She sprouts wings and flies away. I leap into the air once more.

"Arl- Ghost! WAIT!" I can feel my charm heat up, and the strongest vision I've had appears as I see through Eddie's eyes.

Meanwhile...

Ian doesn't notice them. He's too busy fighting Arlen. So, I guess it's up to me. This is why he appointed me field director. My name is Eddie. Out here, people call me Cloud. It suits me fine. I have the power to control the weather. Right now, I'm definitely going to need them. We're not alone. The villains who attacked the base are here. The government is here. We're outnumbered. Alone. Our only help is Michael's team, and they're working with the crowd. We are so doomed. I whip a tornado around a rooftop. Two villains get sucked into it. A third holds on. Choke. I remember reading about her in the files Ian stole. Unbreakable grip, so when she chokes you... well, you die. Great. I can't use my lightning at the building directly, there is a lightning rod. I decide to try something new. I focus on heat right above her. I see her getting annoyed. While her grip may not brake by pulling her off, she can still let go by choice. I focus on it getting hotter around her. I can't go hot enough to melt the metal she holds on to, but I can make it burn like heck. I know she can't stand it much longer. Something flies at me from behind. I can't lose now! It hits a rock. Konjure must've saved me! There is something weird about that kid. I feel like I know him from somewhere. Maybe I should ask Ian later. I intensify the heat one more level. A heat wave and a tornado, dang this is taxing. She still won't let go. We need help, we can't do this alone. Fire goes to her hands as well. Who controls fire? That girl from Stewie's team! They must be here. We're not alone. The woman finally lets go. She is swept up into the tornado. I drop the villains from the sky. Maybe we do have a chance.

Meanwhile...

All out war on the streets. Kicking ass and taking names. Just how I like it. My name is Hector. A few days ago, a man named Michael inducted me into a team of sorts. I have the power to turn into a skeleton. I can use dark, warlock powers. And to top it off, I have a dark horse. Oh yeah, and one more thing. BANG! A shot hits one of the men. I have a gun. I shoot all around me. No survivors. A bullet flies at a boy. Is he on my side? Ah, heck. Who cares. I take out tons of people around me. Ah, this is fun.

Meanwhile...

Whoa! I leap out of the way of a bullet and roll to the side. Who's shooting so randomly?! I'm Konjure. I have the power to summon things if my hand is touching the ground. It also works if my hand is touching something that is not living that is on the ground. I slam my wooden stick which I use to summon things into a villain. I see someone hurtling at Cloud. Oh no you don't. I've known him for a long time and I won't let you kill him. I jump and touch a bench, summoning a rock which he flies into. Few. I slam into someone. Oh no. Drako Starr AKA Midnight Breaker, who turned evil. This is bad.

Meanwhile...

"Ghost! Wait!" A purple shield surrounds her. I reach it. There's a flash of purple light, and we're gone as my charm begins to glow.

Meanwhile...

Oh no. Ian disappeared. And just when reinforcements got here. We're doomed. The three I took out with the tornado aren't even close to everyone.

Meanwhile...

"What's going on?!" A woman stands in front of me.

"No time. Your friend is in serious trouble."

"Huh?!"

"The hole in her hand is driving her insane. We have to stop it now."

"How?!"

"The reason she can't shapeshift back is she was so freaked out by it. There's a mental block to keep her from shapeshifting."

"How do we fix it?"

"I have the power to take them down, but the insane side of her is fighting back. You need to go into her mind and stop her, get the old Arlen back."

"I can't leave the fight. And how do you know all this?!"

"Don't worry, time here goes faster than out there. And I have my ways."

"How do I know I can trust you?!"

"We don't have enough time for that!" I suddenly fall asleep. I wake up in a strange place. Is this Arlen's mind? I have to be very careful not to disturb things. I walk past everything, even the weirdest thoughts. But some thoughts are too tempting not to see. So when I do sneak a peak, I stare at it, in shock. Whoa. My charm glows again, as if there is something I need to see.

Meanwhile...

A kid knocks a villain far up. I jump from tree to tree, building to building, and knock him down from the air. My name is Rennae 'Ren' Sloan. People like to call me Vigilance. I have enhanced human abilities. The kid who is helping me seems to have super strength, like Ian, but more focused on his fists. Where is Ian, anyways? Well, at least we got reinforcements. I slip off what I was holding. Uh-oh. I swallow something. I grab back for it, and easily pull myself up. Few, that was close.

Meanwhile...

Arlen is so gonna kill me. I stare at her, fighting many of herself. Multiple personalities! A scream cuts off the scene I stare at. I make a mental note to talk to Arlen about it later. I run towards the sound of the noise. I see Arlen staring at the helicopter taking off with Drako. Is this a nightmare? Does she always see this when she falls asleep at night. She shoots at the helicopter, but to no avail. Drako shoots darkness at her. Is this all what actually happened, or is it just a fabrication, made partly from memory? I don't leave time to consider it. I leap up into the air and bounce from tree to tree, finally reaching the copter. I punch it hard, bringing it down. I grab for Drako, but to my surprise, it all disappears.

"Thanks," Arlen says.

"Does this mean everything's fixed?" I ask.

"Fixed? No, we're all trapped in our dreams. You just saved me."

"Our dreams?"

"When the subconcious mind took over, it cast parts of the full Arlen all into nightmares, leaving the biggest piece of her my itself, with the biggest nightmare."

"This isn't her biggest nightmare?!"

"No. I'd say about her third. Second is the shooting, and first... we're not supposed to know about," the pseudo-Arlen says.

"Can you take me to the center of her mind? Where the subconcious is keeping her?"

"Alright, but I don't think you'll like what you find." Another vision begins.

Meanwhile...

Oh no. Drako. I see he's already facing Konjure, but the kid'll need help. I am field leader after all, so I can make these decisions.

"Konjure, get back, this is between me and him!"

"No I'm h- I mean, okay!" Konjure bounces away.

"Why did you leave Drako?"

"Don't you already know... Eddie?"

"Superhero names!"

"Shut up," Drako sarcastically adds, "Cloud."

"Fine... Midnight Breaker," for a second, we almost manage smiles. The half-smiles quickly fade.

"I don't have time for this. My orders are to fight strong enemies."

"You'll find me stronger than you think!"

"What're you gonna do? Pour rain on me?"

"Actually... yes." I make it pour rain just around him. If I can make it hotter, maybe I can make it colder too. I freeze the rain around him in a cage. He breaks it open with dark blasts, but I have all of the time I need. I strike him down with lightning.

"You've gotten stronger, but not strong enough!" Darkness surrounds me.

I focus on sunlight, "I'm not the little weakling you once knew!" The light breaks open the cage of darkness, and I send another lightning bolt.

"You always forget that I have telekinesis," he taunts. He pulls a metal rod to him, taking the brunt of the lightning. I take the opening to sweep him up in a tornado. He quickly takes it over with darkness. "That's the problem with you, you can't follow up an attack!"

"Why did you leave?" I know the answer. It's Jason.

So it takes me by surprise when he answers, "Because I wanted to." And that's when I realize the horrible truth. Drako Starr has been brainwashed.

Meanwhile...

I can tell when we reach the center. I can practically feel something wrong. This is the mental block. Arlen's subconcious stands in the middle, with her concious tied up behind her.

"Arlen, stop! I just want to help!"

"HELP WHAT?! MAKE THE HOLE IN MY HAND BIGGER?! I WON'T LET YOU MESS WITH ME ANYMORE!" Suddenly, I see what the pseudo-Arlen meant by worst nightmare. Dark versions of Eddie, Drako, and I block my path. Her worst nightmare... is us turning evil. I grimace when I realize Drako did turn evil. Her worst nightmare is happening now, and we have to stop it. Luckily, we're only fighting fragments of her mind, so hopefully they shouldn't be that strong. Right? I quickly dodge one of Drako's dark blasts, then hit him, sending him into Eddie. Lightning charges the floor, so I jump to the air, then slam the ground as it disappears. I spin Eddie in a circle, and he tries to electrocute me. I throw him at Drako, who tries to block with a dark blast, taking them both out. I leap at the dark me, and our fists collide. We fly back into the walls.

"I'm you. I know your secrets. I know your fears. You're afraid to let your friends die, but I could kill Arlen right now."

"No! Stop!" Wow... I'm really getting to myself. But I realize something. This isn't my mind. "No, you're not me! You're a fragment of Arlen, basing what she knows about me into a mind. I won't let you defeat me!"
I leap at the fragment and crush it.

"No!" The subconcious yells.

"Yes. It's time to end this." My charm glows AGAIN. Still, Eddie's fight is getting interesting.

Meanwhile...

I have to do everything I can to stop him. He knows our secret identities. I'm surprised the government haven't come knocking at our doors. It's easy to see that these villains are connected to the government somehow. Brainwashing, the helicopter. I'm sure there's more evidence I'm missing. He surrounds himself with metal to protect from lightning, and his shield starts looking kind of like a pot. That gives me an idea. I quickly pour the strongest rain I've ever done into the pot, and heat up the water. He has no choice to but to fly out, as the water begins to boil. I strike him down with a powerful lightning bolt, but I suddenly freeze in place. A blue hand picks up Drako, and jumps back on the helicopter. Drako's new team retreats as I heat the ice around me into melting.

"No..."

Meanwhile...

I slam into the floor, but she sprouts wings to fly up and miss the shockwave. There's no way I'm going to beat her alone. I charge at her, and purposely just miss her, so I'm next the the normal Arlen. I untie the strings.

"Arlen!"

"Ian! We have to take my subconcious down! I can feel what she's doing to my mind!"

"Agreed."
The subconcious sees me and knocks me down and out of the way. Walls come up between her and Arlen. It's up to you now, Arlen. I direct my charm at the wall.

Meanwhile...

I fight myself, matching move for move. How am I supposed to defeat someone who is me? I have to get my subconcious to stay sub, under my real concious mind. She matches me move for move. I realize that Ian's in my mind, and may have seen my secret. No time for that now, though. Suddenly, she falters.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I take my chance and do a sweep kick, tripping her. I slam her with a hammer, and she is knocked unconcious. It seems I've won. Suddenly, I wake up.

Meanwhile...

We're back in the room with the strange woman.

"Arlen, try to mend your hand." Arlen focuses on her hand, and suddenly, it's full again.

"Thank you! It worked. I kind of like these gloves, though. I think I'll keep them."

"Now, Arlen, can we not kill the man who shot you when we take him out?"

"Yeah. Let's do this!"

"Wait, one more thing. Who are you?"

"Ask your sister." Huh... what could that mean? Arlen disappears, but I am still in the strange room.

"Huh? What's going on?!"

"I am the woman who came to Chloe. This is about your charm. It gives you the power to observe your friends in battle, but you cannot interfere because of what you saw. The charm won't let you. The more emotion is felt, and the nearer I am, the more thoughts you can hear. If there is ever anything you need to know or a vision, it will come on here. Those you will be able to discuss. Now, you must go. Thank you."

The real world...

Arlen knocks the man down to the ground with a giant hammer. I slam the floor, creating a mini-quake centered around him. He falls to the floor. Arlen stands over him with a knife.

"Arlen, don't." She changes the knife back to a hammer and knocks him out.

"I'm not like them." Slowly, but surely, we drive them back. A final few arrive. I can tell their leader is here. It's time for a real fight.

It all happens so fast. Screaming... things falling. A car flies at some civilians, but Zak and Hector are able to stop it. Suddenly, Stewie, TFT, Vigilance and I are trapped with four villains. The leaders of the group I decide to call the Rogue Villains.

"Are you the leader of these villains?"

"We prefer powered individuals-"

"WHO DO EVIL!" Stewie yells.

"And we are the co-leaders. And the other two are the bodyguards."

"Alright then, I'll take the leaders!"

"No I will!"

"CAN YOU TWO SHUT UP AND MAKE A COMPROMISE?!" Vigilance yells at us. She and TFT charge at the bodyguards.

"Fine, I take right, you take left," I say, and charge at the male on the right.

"Deal."
I dodge spurts of lava rising out of the earth, and see Stewie dodging geysers. I sweep my leg at the man, and he disconnects from the ground for a second. The lava stops.

"Stewie keep them off the ground!" Neither of us can do it for very long. The lava barely misses my skin, tearing up my shirt.

"I can't hold her!" Stewie yells, fighting the geyser girl.

"Like it or not, we're going to have to do a team attack."

TFT throws a piece of metal turned throwing star at his enemy. It freezes instantly. His file called him Absolute-Zero, AKA Don Fischer, so I assume the one Vigilance is fighting is Supernova, AKA Lawrence Fischer. Don can freeze things on touch, and Supernova absorbs energy. TFT morphs a piece of metal from the makeshift wall that traps us into a sword, which freezes when it hits the enemy. He smacks the man again and the sword breaks. He does this multiple times. Eventually, Zero gets a lucky break and is about to touch TFT and freeze him when TFT is able to make a shield out of a watch on Zero. He turns it into a sort of handcuff, closing off Zero's hand. He does the same to the other hand, and continues with the sword technique, eventually knocking the man out.

Vigilance flips up and kicks Supernova. She seems to be easily taking him down due to the fact that his attacks are not energy based. He's still strong, though, and knocks her down. He takes out a grenade and lets it explode in his hands, absorbing the energy. He easily hits down Vigilance many times. Vigilance notices him wobble and how he seems unstable. She dodges his punches, causing him to become angry and use another grenade. She notices that he becomes even more unstable, and kicks his feet, making him fall. She knocks him in the head with a piece of metal, knocking him out,

Ian and Stewie jump into the air and slam their fists into the ground multiple times, creating huge shockwaves. Both villains jump, severing their connection to the ground and their powers. Both heroes punch the villains as hard as they can back down.

"I think we did it! I think... we won," Stewie exclaims excitedly.

"Yeah..." I comment.

"Hey, TFT, can you get us out of here?"

"Sure," TFT touches the makeshift metal wall and morphs it into a doorway. He opens the door and we exit. A woman walks up to me.

"Hello," she says in a british accent. "I'm Gabriella Mason, from the news."

"I know who you are."

"Well, I'd just like to say thank you on behalf of the city, and to welcome New York City's Heroes!"

"Hero-"

"Well, I have to run and interview the police, but thank you... uh... your name?"

"Call me Bruiser."