Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~FORTY FIVE~

~amelie~

"Dad!" I yell, and I start sprinting towards the direction I heard him shout from.

I crane my neck to see over the people in front of me, and I'm just about to barrel through a group of fighters when a hand on my shoulder pulls me back.

"Look!" hollers Lila, and I turn to see her pointing in a totally different direction. "Amelie, look!"

No matter how much I try, I can't see whatever she's pointing at. I'm about to panic, worrying that I won't reach Dad in time, when an idea streaks through me and my legs grow, lengthening until I tower above everyone else. I can see the whole battlefield from here, and my eyes sweep over the clusters of fighting bodies, searching for Dad. I see Hunter, Amber, Sophia, Genevieve, and then -

Right the middle of the fighting, there's a small space that's empty of people, apart from two figures circling each other. My subconscious figures it out before I do, and my legs shrink back to normal as I yell for Lila to follow me, and I take off running. It takes seconds to sprint through the crowd, a crowd that's slowly growing quieter and ceasing to fight as we get closer to the empty space. I'm panting as we break through the layers of people, and then suddenly there's nobody in front of us, and my eyes widen as I take in the scene before me.

Dad's face is dark with pain and fury as he walks in a slow circle, holding one of his guns steady in the air, pointing towards his opponent. His enemy has two firearms, and they're both trained on Dad. Horror rises up in me as his enemy speaks, and I recognise the voice immediately.

"I must admit, Nathan, it doesn't surprise me that you'd side with these... sub-human scum," says Roman dismissively, and Dad's expression grows even darker. "I always knew you were weak."
"They are not scum, they're people. They're more human than you!" Dad shouts through gritted teeth.
Roman smirks. "More human? You mean, I'm less human than those monsters, because I want to see them all locked up?" The smirk turns into a sneer, and he leans closer to Dad as he hisses, "You forget, you were the one who started imprisoning them. And you've been doing it for sixteen years. You're no better."
Dad's knuckles whiten around the gun as he grips it tighter. "I was trying to help them! You have no such reason."

The fighting around us is slowing down now, and the shouted, venomous words coming from Dad and Roman are attracting people's attention. But they're not paying attention to the ebbing battle - their eyes, and their guns, are fixed on each other.

"You have no idea what my reason is," Roman spits. "Superhumans murdered my family. My wife, my child." His eyes narrow, and his face twists with hatred. "I'll avenge them if it's the last thing I do. And I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."
Dad shouts, "You killed my wife, you bastard! In cold blood! You're going to pay for what you've done, before you hurt anyone else."

There's an unearthly silence then, as all the fighting ceases, and stillness descends over the battlefield. Dad and Roman are frozen in place, guns pointed straight at each other, daring the other to make a move. And then Roman starts to laugh.

"Do you really, honestly think you can stop me?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and smiling. "You don't have it in you. You can't kill me. You can't do anything," he hisses, leaning forward slightly and emphasising the last word.

Dad's eyes widen slightly, and his gun wavers as a mixture of shock and confusion registers on his face. He opens his mouth to talk, but Roman cuts him off.

"Still trying to defend yourself, I see. Do you need me to show you how utterly powerless you are?" There's silence, and Dad's just staring at Roman, a dark look on his face, calculating what to do. I'm frozen, motionless, waiting for something to happen, and next to me Lila's breathing is quiet and shallow.

And then Roman laughs again, and says, "Alright, then."

His leg flies out in a roundhouse kick that connects with Dad's hand and sends his gun flying, and my father cries out as Roman cocks his gun with lightning-fast speed, and then the gun fires. One, two, three shots, and then there's screaming all around me as people start falling, crumpling motionless to the ground, and I realise Roman's not even aiming in terms of sides. Everyone here is a superhuman, apart from him and my father. He's going to kill everyone if we don't stop him.

Dad roars and launches himself at Roman, and his enemy fires again before he's knocked sideways, Dad barrelling into him. Dad punches him hard, sending his twin guns skittering across the ground, and Roman yells and leaps to his feet, pushing Dad off. Dad stumbles and Roman capitalises, hitting him in the stomach, but he ignores the blow and tackles Roman to the ground again. They're both yelling as they smash into the floor with a heavy thump. Dad catapults to his feet and balls his fists, gripping Roman's shirt, punching his face, but then Roman twists away from his grip and sweeps his leg round and then it's Dad who's on the ground. Roman's eyes are full of fury as he lifts a hand to his face, and touches the wet blood trickling from his nose. He stares at it for a few seconds as Dad scrambles to his feet, and then his gaze flickers up to his enemy. There's a beat of pure stillness, silence, and my heartbeat is pounding in my ears.

And then Roman roars, filled with rage and hate, and he brings his leg up in a sweeping kick, aiming for Dad's face. At the last moment my father dodges, and strikes Roman across the jaw. Roman staggers slightly and Dad presses forward, hitting his stomach, his head, his side, and then suddenly Dad cries out and doubles over. Terror fills me and my eyes widen, and next to me Lila tenses. Roman's mouth twists into a cruel sneer, and he kicks Dad in the side. He doesn't even attempt to dodge, and the blow connects, and Dad screws his eyes shut, clutching his chest as he staggers. Roman punches him again, a hard, fast blow to the chin, and Dad stumbles again. That's when I notice his hands - clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Roman sees it too and frowns, pausing, as everyone watches Dad. Suddenly, he lets out an agonised yell, the sound ripping through the silence, and jerks upright, face twisted in pain as vibrant orange spheres coalesce around his hands. Roman's eyes go wide and he curses, spitting out a filthy string of expletives, and it feels like I've been punched in the chest as I stagger backwards, horrifying understanding coming to me. Somehow Dad has regained his powers - the powers he can't control, can't stop. My rapid heartbeat thumps in my ears as I scream at the top of my lungs.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!"