Edward
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
But, yes.
Robert is dead.
We all stay silent. The fighting stops. Freeze's angry shouts subside, for only a second, until they become howling laughter.
"Wow," she coughs before each hiccuping giggle. "You got him real good, Randy!"
Randy mumbles something.
"What?" Freeze says.
He shoves her. "I said, shut up!"
As she steps back on her stabbed leg, more blood gushes out, but she decides to ignore it.
We all stare down at Robert.
Except Anne.
She gets up, with tears in her eyes and points an accusing finger at Randy.
"He was innocent. He didn't kill anyone. He didn't burn- He didn't shock people because it was fun! He wouldn't even kill someone who deserved it! And you, and you killed him! You killed- You killed Robert!" Her voice raises with every word.
Randy gets a scared look on his face, as he tries to step backward, but he trips and falls on his behind.
Roots start sprouting from the floor. I look at Juliette as the ground shakes, and she gets the hint. She sprints to the building's door and runs in. Anne keeps on shouting things to Randy. "It isn't fair! You should die! I should kill you! I will kill you! You'll get what you deserve, what Robert didn't deserve! I'll kill you!"
Then a root shoots up from the ground next to Randy and wraps itself around his neck. Metal yells, "Hey, stop!"
She doesn't stop. She just starts choking Metal, too.
Freeze cowers in the back, subtly trying to find a way to escape, but I use what strength I have to pull the water from her ice. She shrieks in pain as the water evaporates from her being, and I get ready to kill her, too. I get ready to make her pay for what she did to Robert, my teammate.
That is, until, Randy yells my name.
I turn to see my brother, five feet in the air, with a branch around his neck. His face purple, and red eyes bulging out, he squirms, trying to keep living.
"Anne, stop!"
She doesn't.
"Annabel Allen!"
She stops.
She turns.
But it's just me. "Stop! You know this isn't what he would do."
She hesitates. For a second, the branches killing my brother and his partner stop tightening. I see the Anne I've been in school with for several years, and she sees herself, too.
Anne's victims fall to the ground, hurt, but alive and unconscious. The rumbling from the earthquakes stop, just as Juliette arrives, half dragging a semi-concious Ms. Gordon.
Anne sits on the ground, next to Robert, a few tears falling from her eyes.
Anne gingerly lifts Robert, and takes off his jackets. She walks over to Juliette and hands it to her, not meeting her eyes. "Cover up."
Juliette takes it, and puts it on. Then she holds Anne and Ms. Gordon, who is now aware of what has happened to her son, as they cry.
I look at Velocity, who was frozen. She isn't anymore. She sees Robert on the floor and then looks at me. I give her a bitter shake of my head and she looks at her teammates. Velocity grabs a branch from the willow Anne was using to kill Randy and zooms by everyone, wrapping the villains in the strong vines.
We look at each other and she shrugs. "For when they wake up."
We all stay quiet, staring at the dead body. We stay like that for so long, that my brother and his teammates wake up. They don't try to escape, though.
Except Freeze.
She freezes the vines and tsks.
Arms outstretched, she gives a low chuckle. "Plants can't stop me."
Anne hiccups and stands up, swaying a bit. I feel the ground shake beneath me.
"They will."
I hold my arms out in front of me, ready to fight along Anne, but vines are wrapped around my wrists. I turn to Anne and she shakes her head.
"She's mine."
And then they charge at each other.
Anne punches Freeze, square in her icy jaw. Freeze freezes Anne's fist, twists it behind her back, kicks her knees, then elbows the spot between her shoulder blades. The ground splits open and, before Anne can throw her in, Freeze jumps over Anne, pushing her towards her own rift. Anne clings to the edge, and hauls herself up, dodging a blast from Freeze on the way.
As Freeze stretches her arms out, Anne opens up the floor and Freeze falls in with an ear-piercing screech. Finally, a thud reaches our ears, as a body hits the floor.
Anne peers over the edge, then closes the ground up. She falls onto her knees. "It's over," she whispers. "Freeze is dead."
I gasp, and Juliette mumbles something under her breath. But I know the truth: it had to be done. Freeze couldn't have been stopped otherwise.
Robert's mother looks up from the dead body. "Thank you. You avenged him," she manages to choke out.
Randy clears his throat. "Ma'am. I'm afraid she didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"I killed your son."
The idiot.
"You-you-you-" Ms. Gordon stutters.
Randy interrupts. "If you want him to be avenged, you'll have to kill me. And I understand if that's what has to happen." My brother sounds broken. "I'm sorry for what happened. And I know that's not enough, I know it'll never be enough, but I'm sorry."
Ms. Gordon looks at Anne. "Kill him."
Randy straightens himself and faces Anne, the saddest look on his face, but it's brave nonetheless. His eyes go down to the ground, awaiting it to sprout vines, or split open. Metal cowers, and Velocity stands by, her arms crossed, not ready to save Randy.
Anne shakes her head.
"You aren't dying today."
Randy looks up at Anne, pain inscribed into his eyes.
"No?"
"No. You're bringing him back to life."
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YOU ARE READING
Fire & Water & Earth & Air
Science FictionSo there is this girl. She can walk through fire and not get burned. Nor does she need anything artificial to keep her warm. So there is this boy. He does not need to come up for air. Nor does he need solid ground to walk. So there is this girl. She...
