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"ABSOLUTELY GROUNDED! " Sapphire yelled through the phone speaker.
"GROUNDED?!" The entire team exclaimed in unison.
They sat scattered across a nearby rooftop, watching police below manage the wreckage left behind by the collapsed bridge.
"Lady Sapphire, with all due respect, what did you want us to do?" Ray popped a candy into his mouth, "Ryan made the call."
"So he's the leader now?"
Jennifer shifted uncomfortably. Even through the phone, she could practically feel Sapphire staring directly at her.
"I...was arriving late. I don't think he made a bad choice." She defended, "If we didn't step in-"
She glanced at Ryan.
"Ryan, say something!"
Ryan lowered his head.
"Lady Sapphire. I'm not apologizing."
"I-"
The team could hear Sapphire tossing things across the room.
"Project Renegade. Wow. Get your asses back here at once..."
Ryan snatched Ray's candy wrapper and crinkled it beside the speaker.
"Huh? I... I can't hear you."
He quickly hung up.
"You're a jackass." Dante shook his head.
"What? We'll deal with that when she gets here." Ryan shrugged.
BLITZ!
In an instant, Sapphire appeared behind him, casting an ominous shadow over the team. Everyone froze.
Then, one by one, they ducked out of sight. Ryan slowly turned around. He smiled sheepishly.
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Sapphire stood behind Ryan as he sat alone on the edge of the rooftop. His ear still throbbed from her earlier assaults.
She glared at the destruction below but couldn't hide the small, proud smirk tugging at her lips.
"Why did I have to get the worst of it?" Ryan winced.
"Stop talking."
Sapphire sat beside him.
"I'm trying my best not to yell. But you know why we can't do things like this. What if you got caught? What if someone died?"
"But they didn't."
Ryan stood.
"And if this is happening because of me, I can't just let things go south. I can't live with that again."
Sapphire clenched her fist, hiding the guilt in her expression. She knew he was right.
His voice had never sounded so passionate. Yet as he spoke, his lip quivered, though he tried to hide it.
"Who was that girl on the bridge?"
"A ghost."
Ryan curled his fists. His claws dug into his palms, blood trickling down onto his shoes.
"I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me."
Sapphire stood behind him, her hair flowing in the wind as Ryan stared across the skyline. For a moment, her memory flashed back to that scared boy climbing on the roof of the Vertex.
YOU ARE READING
Project Renegade: Genesis (Being Updated)
AcciónGrowing up stinks. Puberty, social connections, and trying to mature are already tricky enough. Add superpowers and an underground crime syndicate; stress might not describe it adequately. That's the life of Ryan Richards, and with no time to waste...
