Shock and Awe (Enhanced Book 1)

Chapter 18

I dive behind a car, panting heavily. My suit is singed in multiple places and I'm pretty sure the ends of my hair have burned slightly.

The Advanced has the upper hand. He took to the sky just seconds after me and began hurling orbs of the burning energy at me with precise aim.

With little leverage in the sky, I immediately landed in the street after dodging several throws.

Something hits the car behind me with incredible force and the alarm blares. With an annoyed groan, I spin around, pick the car up, and use all of my strength to aim it at the Advanced above.

Not wanting the vehicle to fall back onto someone's house, I propel myself into the air as well, preparing to catch it.

The car lands true and sends the Advanced tumbling through the air. Just as I move to catch it, Amazing Man appears and carefully grabs the car before placing it back on the ground.

Thankful for his presence, I gladly turn my alarms off now.

Silence falls across the night.

Amaze and I scan the ground below, waiting for the Advanced to appear again.

"Powers?"

"Uh, plasma, I think? Glows blue, singes suits and hair, melts cars and street lights." I'm still panting, my words rushed and sentences poorly constructed.

Amaze swears.

As the curse falls from his lips, the Advanced lights up again.

"He throws the plasma with his hands," I pant, unrolling my whip. "If I can get close enough, I can pin his arms down."

"Hell, no," Amaze roars over the static of the Advanced's powers now getting closer. "That stuff could melt your skin. We're Enhanced, not invincible."

"Neither are the citizens of this city."

We both dodge an incoming ball of plasma.

"Is this a suicide mission, Awe?"

I want to tell him no, but the Advanced rapid fires orbs of deadly energy. Amaze and I have to separate. Plasma-guy takes into the sky, so I drift down low again, using trees as cover while I think of a plan.

Amaze throws different tech items at the Advanced — knock out gas, an electric bolas (interconnected cords with weights on either end designed to wrap around something), and even a flash grenade of some kind.

All of it burns as it approaches the plasma floating around the Advanced.

I know Amaze has used all of his tricks, so I step forward with my plan. Ripping a tree from the ground, I throw it like a javelin at the Advanced.

Plasma-guy drops his protective rings as he dodges the tree, and I strike.

My legs ache and burn as I push off the ground with enough force to crack the concrete. The force sends me well into the air and close enough to the Advanced just as he is getting his wits about him.

Without stopping to think — and possibly chicken out — I whirl my whip at the Advanced.

It wraps successfully around him and for a moment I think our battle is over, but, like slow motion, I see plasma rise from his body and consume my whip.

It travels sluggishly down the rubber whip toward my hand holding it. This plasma seems unstable and doesn't glow quite as bright. It's almost like syrup as it crawls toward me, sagging under the whip slightly.

The plasma coils around my wrist, then travels slowly up my arm. An unimaginable pain stems from every nerve that the substance bites into and I scream in agony.