The League

Chapter 12 - Protonový blaster. Zacházet opatrně.

Right after he saw the fuse box, Phoenix saw the stone.

It was settled against a container, and under the Czech label was the English translation in much tinier print that he could only read when he got closer. Proton blaster. Handle with care. He crouched low, out of sight, and flew the stone into his hand while leaning away from the container, afraid the tiniest disturbance would set it off.

He shouldn't worry. If all the fighting and blasting hadn't made anything explode yet, nothing he did would do it now.

The stone was too big to hide in one hand, or in two. He knew he wasn't the person who could get this out of here safely. He ran to the fuse box and took note of exactly where Kate was. Then he broke the glass hiding the emergency equipment, took the flashlight, opened the fuse box, and used his telekinesis and a piece of glass to cut wires and flip switches.

The lights turned off. The outer hallways remained lit, but the shop itself was plunged into darkness. As Phoenix suspected, the lone skylight and glows from Novak's blasters gave off enough light to see a little, but everyone except him was caught off guard and disoriented.

Phoenix immediately threw the flashlight at Kate. It hit her arm and made her turn in his direction. She saw what he was holding, inhaled, and nodded.

He knew her superspeed had issues, she'd explained it to him, but all she needed to do was run it out of here. He tossed her the stone, and then she was gone.

..............................

Kate hated the Snakes.

She had some respect for them, though. They didn't have the history of extreme, irredeemable violence that most people in their positions had, and that she genuinely appreciated, but the rest of the respect was begrudging admiration for just how well they worked. They were some of the most talented enemies out there, and that wasn't a description she used lightly. They were always in step with the League, even a step ahead, but rarely a step behind.

Even now.

Not only was Amara a superhuman, but Crimson, Violet, and Azure were, too. If the trend continued, then so was the Black Snake. The intelligence specialists were going to have a fun time filing that new information.

Kate speed-ran until she was six hallway intersections away from the heart of the dealership, and then she turned right and stumbled to her knees. Navigating while the world was a blur was difficult, and though she'd at least gotten away without slamming into anything, the draining feeling still hit her when she stopped. Her legs felt like jelly. The vertigo was so strong that she almost threw up, but she settled for a single dry heave.

Her fingers tightened around the stone. Don't break it, she warned herself. She was already upset that everyone was taking part in a fight that she assured them wouldn't happen, and she wouldn't forgive herself if she damaged the stone that Phoenix found and trusted her with after he fell from a walkway. None of this was supposed to be his problem, and she was sorry.

Kate stood up, but the vertigo hit again, spinning her world. Her eyes widened at the floor; there were footsteps in the distance. She swallowed and tried to keep moving, because there was no point to her head start if she stalled and let someone catch up to her.

It was too late.

The footsteps stopped behind her. Kate straightened and turned around, meeting her followers' eyes with unflinching ease. Crimson extinguished the fire floating above his palm. He must've used it to see when the lights turned off, and she wished she'd noticed that. He'd no doubt watched her catch the stone and run off, and he grabbed Azure, and now, here they both were.