Poison Ivy

12.

"No! I don't want to hurt you!" I protested.

"Come on!" Ace exasperated. "I'm practically immortal!"

"Yeah, but you're not! You could still get hurt!"

"Would you quit worrying?!"

We skipped school today. Badge thought it would be a good idea to take a quick break, and focus on learning how to control my powers like he promised we would do. But like I had stated before. It was easier said than done. Ace was the second oldest out of all the guys. I think he said he was either twenty-five or twenty-six. He had done a lot of traveling and came across-how had he put it?- 'A wide variety of peculiarities.' He was the most experienced, even compared to Scarface, when it came to dealing with the supernatural, or human anomalies as Badge had so colorfully put it last night.

Ace recalled meeting a girl years ago in the Florida Keys who was similar to me. He couldn't read her mind either, so it drew him to her. Her name was Rayne. And like me, she had the ability to control an element. Not earth. But water. Ace told her about himself, and she showed him everything she could do with her powers. He was fascinated. The many years he had been traveling, he'd never come across someone who could do something like that. It was unheard of. Ace asked if there were others like her, but she told him she was the only one.

Based on what he learned from Rayne, there's so much more that I could do with my powers that I couldn't possibly dream of. And that's why it was imperative for me to learn to control them. Not only for the protection of others, but for the protection of myself. So, today's goal was to see how far my powers really did stretch.

"This is insane!" I raked my hand through my hand.

"You got it, Tatum!" Ryder yelled from above on the patio, where everyone else remained. Mostly out of harm's way. Of course, it didn't help that I had an audience watching me. It only made me feel more pressure.

"Perhaps you need some motivation." There was a glint in Ace's eye. Before I could ask him what he meant, he shrugged off his shirt and threw it aside.

"No, don't." I heard Ryder say on the patio. I turned around and saw him grab Badge's shoulder, who looked like he was about to jump off the patio and fight Ace. When I turned back around to face Ace, he was crouched down onto the ground, and slowly his body started to take form. I took a step back. I didn't know what Ace's Familiar was, but by Badge's reaction, I could probably guess that it wasn't a puppy.

Ace's skin disappeared and was being replaced by a thick black coat of fur. His nails grew out longer, and sharper, and he gave a threatening snarl. And the next thing I knew Ace wasn't before me anymore. There was a black panther. Looking very much sinister, and ravenous.

I took another step back. "Okay." I said quietly. I knew Ace wouldn't hurt me. He'd have to put up with Badge if he did, who was taller and definitely more built. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to scare me into believing that he would.

Ace gave another snarl followed by lunging off his strong hind legs toward my direction. Instinct just told me to throw my hands up, and similar to the way the mole from Whac-A-Mole pops out of a hole, a thick wall of rock, shot up from the ground, thirteen feet high, creating a barrier between Ace and I. Ace didn't have enough time to react and dodge away. He collided into the wall, and fell down to his side, slightly fazed.

I lowered my hands down, and watched the piece of earth fall back into place into the ground like a missing puzzle piece. I could hear from the patio above comments and whispers, but I had to focus on Ace. I knew this was only going to make him more determined. If Ace wasn't afraid, then neither would I be. And I wasn't going to hold back.