Amber x Lou : Let it Burn

Devise and Device

Amber POV
"So, what you're saying is that you want me to build a device that can hold force field energy inside it, and expand it when needed?" Pam clarified.

"Yeah," Jessie agreed, "That about sums it up."

Pam looked like she was holding back a giggle as she said, "Well, I guess I could try. But I'm not sure how to go about doing it."

"I can help!" Maruca chimed in. "I can boost your abilities with my own!"

"Psionipaths can boost abilities?" Leon asked in confusion, scratching his head. I was equally confused.

Pam laughed and said, "No, Leon! Maruca must be an Enhancer!"

"That's right!" Maruca confirmed, "I'm really grateful for the talent—it helps boost my own abilities in difficult situations where we battle in arenas."

Pam nodded her head wistfully as she lamented, "I've always wished to have the power myself, to help me build more creations that I've always dreamed of building. But given the rarity of the power—so rare that most of the younger generation have never heard of it, I never expected to actually be able to try it ever! Let's see what I can do..."

Maruca hummed as she channeled a bolt of energy into Pam's mind, making the woman gasp, "Wow, I feel so clearheaded now...and I think I know how to do this!"

"Be quick, though," Maruca warned. "My limit is twenty-four minutes, so the boost will wear off by then. And the last four minutes will be a hit and miss, depending on how good my concentration is."

Pam heeded her advice, rushing down to her scrapyard to grab a whole load of metal. She dumped the contents of her bag on the table, sorting through the different items at lightning speed. Finally, she scribbled down dozens of pages of notes on the device and rested on a chair, looking slightly exhausted.

Maruca looked slightly less tired, but her glowing skin seemed to have paled a little, probably due to the enhancing. But she still looked okay as she asked Pam, "So, any good ideas?"

Pam nodded and thanked her, "Yeah, thanks for the boost! Your enhancing helped me realise how to build the devices! My plan is perfectly devised now..."

The next few hours were just us waiting in the rooms above, discussing plans as Pam built the contraptions. Finally, the sizzling sounds from downstairs subsided and Pam called us down.

"Maruca, could you cast as many force fields as you can?" Pam asked.

Maruca cast three first, looking a bit shaky as she tried to maintain them. Pam quickly grabbed a metal gun-like object from the nearby table, pressing one of its two buttons. The one she had pressed was glowing green, whereas the other was a slightly dull red.

"Whoa!" everyone gasped unanimously as the odd contraption sucked the energy into its tip, a metal sphere and sealed shut immediately. The next minutes followed with the two repeating the same process. By the end, Maruca looked quite sweaty and shaky, but Pam offered her one of Byron's elixirs to clear her head and help her regain her energy.

"Ready to test it out?" Pam asked, not bothering to wait for a reply before she pointed it at one of the potted plants outside. The moment she pressed the red button, a flare of light shot out, encasing the plant in a glowing dome. And the green button sucked the force field back in seconds later.

"I call it the Shielder!" Pam announced proudly. "With this new device, you can capture your enemies easily—or perhaps contain a cyclone, tsunami or inferno that has gone out of control. It took me seconds to realise the words were an invitation, and I immediately sparked a blaze to test out the contraption.

Sure enough, the force field trapped the flames inside, never relenting. Same thing happened when Lou unleashed a blizzard.

"Finally!" everyone rejoiced. "We can capture those fools now, and make sure they never escape again!"

As each of us held one of the silver-nozzles weapons, little did we know that this very moment would cause yet another series of developments...