Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~FORTY FOUR~

~amelie~

The fighting has faded slightly as we sprint back out into the battle. Although the shouts are as loud as ever, there are multiple bodies sprawled on the ground. A lot of them look unconscious, but one or two are covered in blood, slowly leaking from fatal bullet wounds. I have to forcibly push away the image of the girl that appears in my mind.

I scan my surroundings for anyone else I know, and spot Hunter several metres away, engaged in a vicious hand-to-hand confrontation, teleporting everywhere and anywhere around his opponent to distract and confuse them. Lila is fighting a man who towers over her, and she looks like she's losing. I grit my teeth and start to run towards her, but suddenly a group of people surround me, and I can't get through them. Something knocks into my side and I crash into something else, and they hit back with a vicious elbow to my stomach. I double over, breathless, and I barely manage to dodge the fast punch they send towards me. I catch a glimpse of a pair of dark eyes narrowed with hatred as the breath rushes back into me and my fist swells, and on top of the shift I attempt to change my hand further, trying to confirm my sudden suspicion. I almost gasp as a burning feeling sparks in my hand, and as I swing my fist and it makes contact with my opponent's jaw it sparkles in the sunlight, and I realise that my suspicion is right, that my ability is not just changing my size, my shape, my appearance.

I can turn into metal.

The shock that fills me at my realisation suddenly evaporates, replaced by worry, as Lila lets out a yell and through the mass of people I see her fall to the floor. My eyes widen and I step over my opponent, who's on the floor, thrown to the ground by my metallic punch. I see someone coming at me from the corner of my eye and I twist, shoving my shoulder into them, and they fall back and then there's nobody between me and Lila.

I sprint towards her as her opponent raises his fist, going for a knockout punch. He swings down as her arms jerk up in a cross shape, covering her face, and the punch hits her arm and Lila cries out. I let out a yell as I barrel towards him, and his head turns to face me and his eyes narrow. I clench my fists as they swell and turn metallic, and the now-familiar cold sensation I get while morphing clashes with the spark of steely heat. The man snarls and shock appears on Lila's face as I run straight into him, fists first. We collide and he's knocked back, and then I lash out with a kick to his side that sends him sprawling, and he doesn't get up. I stare at his crumpled form, at his chest, and I'm filled with relief to see that it's moving, and he's breathing. I turn back to Lila and hold out my hand, and she takes it, grimacing as she pulls herself up.

"You okay?" I ask, slightly out of breath.
"Yeah," Lila answers, frowning at her arm. It's already bruising, and she hisses slightly as she moves it. "It's painful, but not broken."
I say, "Good. What happened?"
She gestures at his unconscious body, and tells me, "My illusions didn't affect him. I couldn't confuse him like I normally can, and on top of that he's bigger, stronger, a better fighter." She shakes her head and glares at his body. "Stupid power. Almost as stupid as mirrors."

I'm about to reply when a loud shout streaks through the battlefield, filled with pain and fear, and the familiar voice sends jolts of shock through me as my mind immediately jumps to the worst case scenario. I turn around, suddenly panicked, and search for the speaker. He shouldn't be here. He doesn't have powers. And if anything's happened to him... I can't imagine.

Even after all he's done, I can't help worrying about Dad.

~~~

~sophia~

"ammy!" i scream, as ryan tackles me to the ground and i hit the floor with a thump. "ammy!" but i can't see her anymore, and i don't know if she can hear me.
ryan glares at me as i try to get away from him, and my eyes sting as i scream. "shut up!" he yells, and raises his hand.

i stop moving, terrified, and stare at him. but he doesn't move either. he just stays in the same position, about to hit me, and stares at me.

"i can't hurt you," he says suddenly, and narrows his eyes. "you're only a child. even if you're his child."

i'm confused, because i'm not sure what he's talking about, so i don't say anything. ryan stands up and offers me his hand. i feel nervous, but i reach up and take it, and he pulls me to my feet. i'm about to say thank you when i see someone running towards us, and i let out a scream. ryan's head whips round just as someone leaps on him, and he roars, throwing them off. he hits them, hard, and then i squeeze my eyes shut as he keeps punching them. i don't want to see it, and i'm breathing heavily as someone touches my shoulder and i shout, pushing them away and balling my fists. i open my eyes, terrified, to see ryan standing there, hands up.

"it's okay, it's me," he says, and i breathe out in relief. he nods at my fists. "that's sweet. but that's not how you punch someone. if you hit them like that, it will hurt you more. see, if you clench your fist like-"

there's a sharp noise and ryan's eyes go wide and he goes still, and his eyes travel down slowly to the crackling, dark purple blade protruding from his chest.

i'm frozen as i watch the weapon retract from his body with wide eyes, and then Ryan falls to his knees. I can see the person behind him holding a short shard of energy, and, as i watch, she advances on him. the energy lengthens into a serrated blade, and as ryan coughs wetly his eyes flick over to me. i stare at him, horrified, as he jerks his head to the side, grimacing in pain.

"go!" he mouths, but i still can't move. I can't leave him behind.

the blade is coming closer and closer to him, and then his face twists into an expression of sheer desperation and fury.

"Go, Sophia!" Ryan yells, and the girl holding the blade jerks her head up and sees me, and i run.

i run, away from ryan, away from the girl, away from my sister, and i don't even know where i'm going. All I know is that this is my fault, that I should never have come out here, that Ryan got stabbed because he was protecting me. Yells of pain and explosive noises surround me as I tear through the throng of fighting people, sprinting like I never have before, as tears stream down my cheeks, and then I reach the base and the Defenders spot me, and I see James behind them. They grab me and pull me back inside, and then I'm safe, I'm out of the battlefield, and I think I just saw somebody die.