Part of me is missing

Chapter 7 - Wires

Romeo took a deep breath. He stood up and, in a flash of light, looked like his human self again.

"Depowering her would clearly be the best thing to do, but then those viles would shatter," Romeo explained.

"Then how do we get them?" Jesse asked.

"Wires," Romeo stated. The three friends that stood before him scrunched their faces in confusion.

"Wires!? How are wires going to depower an admin!?" Petra snapped.

"Direct punches alone could shatter the viles. We need to depower her from a distance, and the magic from the gauntlet can travel through certain materials if I'm not mistaken," Romeo explained, "And since wires can carry power to other places, the gauntlet's power can travel through it as well. It makes sense, after all."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Lukas said in agreement. Jesse nodded. Petra wasn't convinced.

"Wires can carry electricity, but the gauntlet isn't electric, is it?" Petra snapped.

"Technically it is," Romeo replied, shrugging.

Petra shook her head in defeat. Romeo smiled. They had finally created a plan to defeat this other admin and get the viles. The only question was: what would they do after getting the viles? Jesse thought that maybe they were the last viles, and maybe Romeo knew?

"Romeo, what do we do once we get the viles? Are they the last known viles or something?" Jesse asked.

"I'm pretty sure they are. I'll check with Xara though, she knows," Romeo replied. Jesse nodded.

"Well I'm sure we can get some wires from Redstonia," Lukas piped up, "We should set up a time with Olivia to get them."

"Yeah, I'll go do that. While I'm gone, you three should relax, it's been quite a week," Jesse said.

"Once you're done, you'll get some rest too, right?" Romeo said, rather condescending.

"Yeah, of course," Jesse said, jogging over to her office. Romeo shrugged and left the two others in a flash.

Petra and Lukas just stood there for a few seconds until Lukas went back inside. Petra heard him shuffling and turned to him.

"Hey, Lukas? Is it okay if I stay with you for a bit? I... don't know my way around yet," Petra mumbled. Lukas laughed and took his friend's hand, leading her inside.

~~

Jesse sat in her bedroom, watching the sun set over the town and the stars come out. She breathed out heavily. Jesse looked to her right side and stared at the nub that was left after her arm got cut off. She hadn't thought about it much, but it really did leave a massive impact on her. The first few days after were the hardest days of her life, but she had everyone she loved nearby. Everyone was caring about her and making sure that she was okay. It was nice.

But even then, Jesse felt like she'd never recover from it. But she did! Jesse is still just as capable as before. She wanted to believe this, but she couldn't. She'd never be as good of a fighter as a person with both arms. She'd never be whole again.

Jesse sighed again, looking back up at the skylight in her bedroom. The stars were poking through the blanket of purple, pink, and orange that had covered up the blue sky from the daytime. Now was not the time to pity herself, she had work to do.

~~

The following day, Jesse, Lukas, and Petra went to Redstonia to pick up the wires. Petra was stressing for the whole ride there. Jesse and Lukas both noticed but didn't know what was wrong. Jesse decided to ask.