The Unfortunates

Chapter Eight

I was a spinning machine, ducking under batons, matching Taser strikes with electricity of my own, grabbing pistols out of police officer's hands and electrocuting them so they were worthless. I had trained hard and now it was paying off. Nobody could touch me, and I suddenly felt as powerful as if I had super speed as well.

A police officer reached out a hand with a Taser, his dark blue eyes hard, and I grabbed it out of his hand and turned it on him, touching it to his arm and turning it on. He collapsed to the ground, fists clenched.

After a few seconds I shrugged and electrocuted the Taser, making it useless, and tossed it to the ground. "Cool toy!" I yelled at the police officer, who was getting to his feet again, pain on his face.

"You..." he panted.

"But not as cool as powers." I smiled. "Adios!"

And I ducked underneath his arm as he reached out for me in anger and snuck towards the cell where Anna was held.

I passed Chase on the way, who was blurring through the room, taking down officers before they even knew what hit them. "Good going, Stead!" I said, thumping him on the back as he blurred by me.

Chase slowed down for a second to answer, "Doing great yourself, Lightning," with a smile in his voice through his silver mask. Then he took off again. I saw two police officers go down in five seconds as he blurred past them with his fighting moves and used his super-strong legs to score knockout hits.

Mason was nearby, engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fight with a police officer. He was so fast and strong I nearly forgot he didn't have powers. "You go, Lionel," I yelled, not touching him for fear of messing him up but wanting to grab his hand for support.

The police officer seemed to grow frustrated and pulled out his baton. "Uh-uh, that's cheating!" I tsk-tsked, electrocuting it. The charge ran through the officer's hands and he dropped the baton, swearing.

"Thanks, Lightning!" Mason exclaimed, and I squeezed his hand as I ran by, not able to resist myself. He laughed from behind me as I continued racing towards Anna's cell.

Finally, I reached the cell. Right in front of it was Zenna, looking inside.

"L' Esprit!" I said, and she turned around.

"Oh, hey Lightning," she said. "Just trying to think of a way to get Thunder out."

"I was thinking this," I said with a grin, holding up a ring of keys I'd taken when I grabbed from the Tasered officer's hands while he was temporarily paralyzed.

Zenna laughed, and I couldn't help but smile, realizing this was the first time I'd ever heard her laugh, though it was through her mask. "Well," she said, "I guess that's one option."

I approached the cell and said quietly, "Anna?"

Anna was sitting on the cot at the back of the cell where they probably planned to keep her overnight. She looked up at the sound of my voice and her face brightened. "Lightning! You guys came back for me!"

"Yeah, we did," I said softly. "Are you going to be able to walk?"

"I think so," Anna said. "I sprained my ankle when Swift slammed me into the ground, but it wasn't too terrible of a sprain and they gave me stuff to reduce the swelling at the hospital."

"I'm so sorry." I hung my head and felt my stomach drop with shame. "I couldn't save you. You were hurt so badly right before my eyes."

"I'm okay," she said, brushing hair behind her ears, "really. But I would like to get out now."

I nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, I bet." I heaved a sigh. "Let's do this."

I started towards the padlock at the front of the cell, holding the keys out and wondering which one to try first.