Cities and Sewers

16

We practically leap out of the uber as soon as we get to the field with the box of costumes in Mae's hand.

"Let's go find them fast!" I yell over the chaos of the weather. We go under the bleachers on Casper's side of the field where tons of people are hiding with their arms protecting their heads.

"NICO! GRAY!" Mae screams.

"LEE! LEVI!" I shout.

I see my brother with Nico and the Howard boys huddled by the bathrooms. Their hair and clothes, like Mae and I's, are soaked. I tap their shoulders.

"You guys are here!" Levi exclaims, embracing me in a hug.

I kiss Levi's cheek before saying at a volume only Mae and the boys can hear, "Listen, guys, I know we didn't set out to be superheroes, but whatever is causing this storm is here for us. I can feel it. These are all innocent people. We can't let them get hurt because of us."

"But they'll all know that we have powers," Lee says.

"No, they won't." Mae smiles, showing them the contents of her box of costumes.

"Let's save some lives," Gray says in his dirty football uniform.

We all run into the bathrooms with the folded up costumes in our hands.

"This is so much cooler and faster in the movies," I grunt as I peel off my soaking wet clothes.

We change as soon as possible and put our regular clothes back in the box, dropping it by Levi before we go to face our first foe. We walk out to the field montage-style.

"You guys ready to do this?" Lee asks. We all nod unsure.

"First step is to find the source of the power. Search the grounds in any way possible," I tell them.

Mae whisks off through shadows. Lee manipulates the gravity around him and his brother. Nico lifts the ground below his feet and carries himself around the grounds. I move with waves of water harnessed from the rain and puddles around us.

I'm about to turn a corner when I see moving hands barely below eye level. It means someone is standing. It means someone is using their powers. I move back to the center of the field and send a stream of water up to the sky. The rest of the group recognizes that this is my signal and meets me in the center of the field.

I point to where I found the source.

"What now?" Nico asks.

Gray looks around and I can practically see a plan formulating in his brain. "Mae, starting now, get everyone out of here." Mae leaves to start her task. "When she's done, Lee, I want you to create a huge force field around the football field to shield it from any outside weather forces. After that, we're gonna have to play it by ear."

"Everyone's out," Mae says when she gets back to the group.

Lee does as Gray suggested. The rain suddenly stops. Even the small tornado disappears. The lightning bolts being cast down can't get through. The girl from behind the bleachers struts out in front of us.

"What the fuck, guys?" she says nonchalantly. She's a gorgeous girl. Classic blue eyes and long, blonde hair with dark roots. She can't be much older than us. Seventeen or eighteen. I see Gray's expression change as soon as she steps out.

"You could've hurt so many people," Gray replies in a way that signals he knows her.

"Well, look who it is. You can wear whatever the hell you want, Grayson, but I know you." There's a slight slur to her speech. She kinda seems... drunk.

"Mel, what are you doing?" Lee questions. How do the boys know him?

"This," she says. Her hands are suddenly thrust out in front of her, shooting lightning bolts. We all duck and run for cover. The lightning bolts bounce off of the metal bleachers, hit the force field, and land on the field. Lee's straining to keep the force field up.

"Nico, grab her arms with vines!" Gray shouts.

"Who is that girl?" I ask Lee.

"Gray's last girlfriend," Lee says simply.

I want to know more, but it's obviously not the time. Mel's hands are restrained by Nico's vines. She stomps her foot on the ground causing an earthquake. 

The impact of the earthquake breaks Lee's focus and the force field breaks. Heavy rains return to my advantage. I strut out from behind the bleachers and send hard blasts of water her way. She puts her hands in front of her and sends lightning through the water, shocking my whole body. 

I fall to the ground and see wind fly her away from the football field. 

The detention squad runs my way. "Go get her," I breath out, holding my side. 

"She's long gone," Gray says, running a hand through my hair. "We gotta get you home." 

Gray and Lee help me up off the ground, letting me lean on their shoulders. People are waiting outside when we get there. There's a brief moment of silence before the crowd erupts in applause, cheers, and praise. 

A reporter runs up to us, her camera crew close behind. "Who are you?" she asks simply, still visibly stunned from the scene that just unfolded in front of her. 

"The Detention Squad!" Mae says into the microphone.

With that short stint of an interview, we make our way through the crowd. At the back, we see Levi waiting at his car. He runs our way when he sees me. 

"Oh my god! What happened?!" Levi exclaims. 

"It's nothing. I just got shocked," I tell him, my breathing still shakey. 

"Yeah. By lightning," Lee scoffs. I glare at him. 

"Let's get you home," Levi insists. 

A/N: What do you think? I told you. Shit got real. I'm very excited to hear your opinions on the Detention Squad's first real fight with a villain. So, this is all being published after prewritten over a long period of time which means updates are gonna have to start coming regularly. I say regularly, but I'm not gonna say when chapters will be posted because I'd rather take my time making it something I'm proud of. until then, love and appreciation to you and everything you do <3