Zoom, Academy for Superheroes: Part 1

Bad Blood

        "Now we got problems, and I don't think we can solve them. You made a really deep cut, and, baby, now we got bad blood. Did you have to do this? I was thinking you could be trusted. Did you have to ruin what was shiny? Now it's all rusted. Did you have to hit me where I'm weak? I couldn't breathe. Rub it in so deep, salt in the wound like you're laughing right at me."
-Taylor Swift

*****

        Something must have been a little bit off with the universe today, nobody woke up happy. Argument broke out whenever anyone opened their mouth, nothing was done right, everything was a mess, it was just one of those days.
        Dylan and Jack were constantly at each other's throats. Jack was feeling particularly apathetic today, something that Dylan just didn't have time for. When Dylan's anger upset Cindy, it was Summers turn to intervene, giving both Dylan and Jack an earful for their childish behaviour.
        Tucker tried to innocently to the conversation, but got pulled into the argument himself, and poor Cindy just tried to stop the arguing in the only way she knew how, which was screaming at the top of her lungs.
        After that fallout, Cindy and Summer sat together on the couch in the lounge, venting to each other about everything that was wrong with their team. Tucker angrily headed for the kitchen, Jack stormed out of the room, probably in search of Marsha, and Dylan was out of the room with a slam of the door and proceeded to lock himself in his room and stare at the wall.

        Miss Holloway's mood was also turning sour as the hours passed. Grant was busy in the lab today, so he had to insist Marsha as his slave until Grant was finished. He had been asking her to do things all day, and getting mad when something wasn't done exactly how he wanted it.
        When Jack ran into the two of them, they were in an empty conference room, Laraby was giving Miss Holloway an angry lecture about how the staples she'd put in his papers were too close to the outside and would rip the papers easily. Jack rolled his eyes and Marsha crossed her arms in frustration.
        "Jesus, take it easy. You're giving her all this crap over freaking staples?"
        Laraby's face went red in anger, Marsha's eyes widened as she motioned for Jack not to push it.
        "Nobody asked for your damn opinion Shepherd!"
        Jack rolled his eyes once more and grabbed Marsha lightly by the wrist.
        Come on, let's leave him to go scream into his pillow." Jack said as he pulled Marsha along, she looked back at Laraby but she wasn't exactly resisting.
        "Hey, I'm not done with her, I have more work! Shepherd!" Laraby's intentions of keeping Miss Holloway for more slavery failed as her and Jack were already out the door and around the corner.

        No one realized how bad of an idea it was to have Jack and Marsha alone together on a such a tense day until it was too late. It didn't take but ten minutes for friendly conversation to turn bitter. Who knows how the argument even started, but it escalated quickly.
        As they were arguing, Summer and Dylan turned the corner to enter the lounge, just as Jack and Marsha were in the middle of doing the same. The younger couple were arguing as well, on the same subject as earlier today. Cindy and Tucker soon found their way into the room to see what the fuss was about and it didn't take long at all for them to be pulled into the argument as well.
        It was quite the scene; the four children bickering obnoxiously, the two adults shooting sharp words at each other. Nobody even realized that the door had swung open until they heard Laraby's booming voice raging across the room. All six of the bickering team mates jumped in surprise.
        "Now, while you useless super powered freaks have been arguing over God knows what, all day, I have been doing my job! Something you've all failed to do!"
        The four kids fell silent and looked at the floor. Jack crossed his arms and rolled his eyes in annoyance and Miss Holloway held her hands behind her back, her face was turning red.
        "We have a situation! Shepherd, Holloway, with me, now!"
        They all, with the exception of Jack, jumped once more as Laraby spat the last word out with extra force. Jack sighed before slowly following Laraby alongside a nervous looking Marsha. When they were alone, Laraby said something that nobody saw coming.
        "Shepherd, you remember Ember?" Ember. Now that was a name that Jack hadn't heard in a while.
        "Of course I do, do you think I-" He was about to say something rude before he was interrupted by Laraby. Ember was the old Zenith team's arch nemesis, he kept coming back until one day they defeated him for good. Or they thought they did.
        "Well, we originally believed that he was dead, but now we have reason to believe that he is very much alive. We didn't know until today, but Ember has been trapped in another dimension. You might remember, today is the anniversary of the day that you and your team defeated him. Now, with the new Zenith team assembled and stronger than ever, he's coming back. We've only a matter of hours."
        Before Jack could even process this information, the four children burst through the door, making it clear that they had been listening the whole time.
        Marsha was looking at Jack, hoping he would look back and reassure her that everything would be alright. She didn't know if he was still in shock at the announcement, or he was still angry at her from their argument, but he never looked back at her. And that made her more nervous than she was before.
        The kids were all talking over each other, asking questions on top questions on top questions. Laraby was still feeding them information and when Marsha asked Jack a small, simple question, he snapped back at her, harsher than he'd really wanted to, causing another argument between the two. Imagine that.
        Everyone's talking and arguing was interrupted by Laraby telling them to be prepared, Ember was most likely to re-enter this dimension in the same spot that Concussion had almost a year earlier. Then, Laraby was gone without another word, leaving the team to continue arguing.
        They all fell silent when a strong wind, which seemed to be made of bright orange air, began to circulate around the room. Cindy whimpered, Summer comforted her, the three boys looked around themselves for signs of danger.
        Marsha impulsively placed her hand on Jack's arm while frantically looking around herself as well. She was obviously scared, she knew that Ember was one of the strongest villains any of the old Zenith ever had to face. But she felt her blood run cold when Jack brushed away her hand and walked out the door.