Mostly an excuse to write superpowered Kessa but can you blame me.
Even from across the gymnasium floor, Tessa could see the seething look of rage in Matthew's eyes. He and his partner stormed towards Tessa and Reese, about to wage war on the two heroes that had bested them that morning.
Tessa and Reese gave one another a look before divulging their paths. Reese darted out of the way of Matthew's partner, luring him away from the dangling citizen in the center of the gym. Tessa waited for Matthew to approach, and knowing enough about physics to know he was building up momentum, used it to her advantage.
Matthew was ten yards away. Five. Four. Three—
Tessa got a running start and leapt onto the bench that was set up on the course. Matthew darted directly into the bench's side, and before he could react, Tessa kicked off of him and onto the prop lightpost. She swung her way to the opposite side of the course, landing as the crowd cheered in her favor.
"You might have super strength, Matthew, but being a sulking ox isn't going to help your case," Tessa taunted.
Matthew clenched his fists. He gripped the bench, ripping it from where it was nailed into the floor. He roared in defiance as he threw it towards Tessa.
Tessa hit the deck, feeling the air rush past her head as the bench sailed over her. It hit the wall, shattering into pieces.
"Three minutes!" Coach Boomer called from where he sat. The dummy dangling from the ceiling lowered closer to the shredder.
Tessa muttered a curse under her breath, searching desperately for a plan. As Matthew stalked towards her once more, her turquoise eyes locked on a fire hydrant directly in the path of her opponent. She tried not to look too excited.
Right as Matthew passed, Tessa flexed her hands. She felt the tug in her gut that came with the utilization of her powers, but reveled in the massive explosion of water that surged from the hydrant. The crowd roared, and Tessa smirked as she strengthened the pressure of the water.
"Tessa!" Reese called.
By the time Tessa turned around, she was met with a punch to the face. She went down, hitting the floor as the crowd hissed. She blinked the haze out of her eyes to see Matthew's partner standing over her.
"What's your superpower, being unnecessary?" Tessa spat despite the flaming pain in her face.
The boy smirked down at her, and as he raised his fist again, he sailed in the opposite direction. A blur of blond and blue had tackled him to the ground: Reese.
Tessa staggered to her feet, taking a deep breath. Matthew had recovered from his douse as well, and spitting out water, he stalked over to Tessa.
"One minute!" Coach Boomer yelled over the wild crowd.
Tessa searched for Reese across the court, and locked her eyes on his as he ducked from a punch. She nodded desperately, hoping he got the message. Reese stared at her blankly, until he understood. He walked backwards, luring his opponent towards him.
"What makes you think you can just get away with this morning's stunt?" Matthew crooned as he approached.
"Well, let's see," Tessa breathed, peddling backwards to the fire hydrant. "I think it was my charming personality. Others tell me it was my likeability. However, to those that matter, it was how I always manage to find you walking into my traps."
Matthew blinked. "What?"
Tessa spread her hands, and the fire hydrant erupted into a tidal wave right as across the gym, Reese morphed into a solar flare. Light and water filled the arena, and Tessa used Reese's distraction to sail across the court, right over the shredder until the 'citizen' was safely in her arms on the opposite side of the room.
The buzzer sounded as time was called, and Tessa dropped the citizen in exhaustion. Her classmates surged from the bleachers onto the court to praise Reese and Tessa, but by the time she saw Kaden, Mark, and Dale, she was fading into a dark haze.
--
Tessa blinked, wincing at the fluorescent light that greeted her as she awoke. She sat up, her body feeling like it was just run over by a truck, which then proceeded to back up over her and run back over her again.
"Woah, easy," Kaden's voice floated around the room, and Tessa turned her head to see the speedster sitting at her bedside. "Don't move if it'll hurt you."
Tessa took a deep breath, looking around. "Why am I in the nurse's office?"
"Well, you took a dive during Save the Citizen," Kaden's voice was gruff. "Matthew's punch plus your being tackled by his friend didn't fare well."
Tessa sighed. That explained a lot. "Well, that answers why I'm here. How about you? Don't you have class?"
Kaden shook his head. "Free period. Flynn and I come down here to help when we can."
"It's the second day of school, Kaden."
"Janet's a good friend of ours."
Tessa took a moment to appreciate the fact that Kaden knew the school nurse on a first name basis, laughing under her breath. "How's Reese?"
"Nursing a busted lip in the library," Kaden nodded towards the door. "He didn't qualify for class exemption."
Tessa rolled her eyes with a laugh, but staggered to her feet. "So am I condemned to bedrest until the end of the day?" She gave Kaden a funny look.
The speedster laughed. "You are free to head back to class whenever you please, but given that there's only one other period left in the day, I'm not sure what you'd want to do."
Tessa thought about the situation for a moment. She could be a good student and wait for seventh period to arrive, or she could ditch the syllabi and classroom rules.
"Let's go," Tessa grabbed Kaden's hand, ignoring the arc of electricity rushing up her arm at his touch.
"Where to?" Kaden asked, a glint in his eyes.
Tessa shrugged. "Anywhere. But if we get caught, you're zipping us out of there."
Kaden grinned. "It'd by my pleasure."
And with that, they darted out of the nurse's office, everything a blur as Kaden rushed them through the school except the speedster himself, smiling down at her every once in a while.
However, Kaden skidded to a stop abruptly. Tessa gave him a dubious look, but Kaden only pressed a finger to his lips as he skirted them around a wall.
Tessa heard a door open and footsteps emerge.
"You should have done them worse than just unconsciousness. I gave you super strength to kill, not to injure." A distorted voice hissed.
"In front of the entire junior class? I don't think so." Matthew's voice countered.
"If you want to have some sort of foothold in the Uprising, I suggest you follow my orders next time around. I will not rest until every forsaken 'hero' in this school is plummeting out of its gravitational suspension."
Tessa squeezed Kaden's hand, feeling a flare of fear in her heart. He understood, squeezing back, and the next thing she knew, they were rushed out of there.
Her blacking out hadn't been a result of a rough day in gym class after all. Someone was after her and the other heroes at Sky High, and that someone had a reach into every classroom, every mind of every student in the school.
