Travelers

Chapter 24 - The Renegades

Jacob walked down the street, theorizing what powers the others could possibly have. He had asked each of the others if there was anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Cat had mentioned that she could hear music, but nobody else seemed to be able to hear it. Mal hadn't noticed anything new, but Rose had seemed to fade every once and awhile, as though she simply wasn't there. Not as though she weren't invisible, but simply as though he couldn't pay attention to her. They first decided to try and figure out the source of the mysterious music. Cat guided all of them to what she thought would be the source. Soon they found the music, and all of them could hear it. A man stood on the sidewalk playing a violin, his case before his feet, open and waiting for passersby to give him a spare coin from their pockets for his performance. Suddenly, they all could hear more than just the violin. They heard a piano, a bass, cellos, violas, and more violins. Cat seemed to be listening, her eyes closed. The busker seemed confused by the extra sound, but played on. Cat's hand rose in the air as the song came to an end, and she gave the cut off as the invisible orchestra played their last chord. Suddenly, a wave of wind blast forth from the dramatic ending, and Cat opened her eyes. That must have been something relating to her power.

"Go ahead and keep playing," She told the man, who was staring at her, "Don't let me keep you from making music." Together they walked away, and Jacob suddenly turned. He stared at a puddle in the side of the street. He turned to a stranger and asked them the yet another question.

"Hello. Probably a strange question, but has it rained recently?" he asked the man. He shook his head and went on his way muttering something about kids and crazy. Then he pointed straight at the puddle and said, "That puddle can't be there if it hasn't rained. Even worse, it has been following us. It has been in the street everywhere we go. Mal, you know anything about this?" Mal shook her head, but then nodded as she stared at it longer. Suddenly, the water went rigid, as it had been moving in the wind, suddenly it rose from the ground as Mal watched it. Jacob nodded in approval. It rose above their heads, and then darted as Mal flicked her wrist towards Jacob. When it was above him, she flicked her wrist downward, sending the water crashing down on him. He was soaked straight through to the skin, his jeans darkened and his shirt sticking to his only slightly muscular frame. He laughed and looked at his shirt. Then suddenly he was dry, as all the water in his clothes was drawn back to the floating puddle. The puddle flattened in front of Mal, and she put her foot on top of it. The rigid water floated, and she trusted her weight to it. It held and she took another step up. She could walk on water.

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They walked through the gates of the stadium, their applications accepted and they waited in the room just off the field. Mal watched as they called Cat out onto the field, and she strode through the entrance to greet the teams on the field. Jacob had explained they would be given a few minutes to show off their powers, and they would either be rejected or deemed worthy of being a Renegade, by each of the patrol teams saying if they wanted them. If any teams objected to the contestant becoming a Renegade, then the team leader could contest. Then that contestant would have to face a member of the challenging team. Cat set down a small speaker and it began playing music. Suddenly, an invisible force seemed to distort the air around her as it swirled through the air. Suddenly, the target on which she was demonstrating her powers was thrown through the air, but before it smashed into the crowd, which was trying to scramble out of the way, it stopped. It floated slowly back to field as the song played on. A small cannon launched a foam ball, the launching lever being pressed by her power. The ball stopped just a few inches before it struck her in the head. It was thrown with intense force, possibly even greater force back to the cannon.

She showed off for one more minute, and when she was done one team had requested her on their team, but nobody objected. She went and sat to join the team that had accepted her. The captain greeted her and introduced himself as Adrian, then the others introduced themselves as well. There was a young boy named Oscar, a girl named Ruby, and another girl named Danna. The captain was sitting next to a girl who introduced herself last. She explained that she was Nova, more commonly known as Insomniac. She pointed out that the others were known as Smokescreen, Red Assassin, Monarch, and Sketch as she pointed to Oscar, Ruby, Danna, then Adrian. It was then that Mal came out to show off her own power, things went well, and one of the other teams decided to accept her, but things got complicated when another team challenged her. The captain was a calm looking woman with a sour look on her face. Adrian said her name, Frostbite, with distaste clear in his voice. She stood and pointed out that her power couldn't actually do any damage much less do anything to stop a dangerous criminal. Mal powered up, ready to fight.

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The woman stepped down from her table, and an icicle appeared in her hand. Mal took a step back, realizing this woman had ice powers meant that she would be an effective counter to Mal's powers. She launched the icicle through the air, which Mal dodged easily. Suddenly, she found her feet trapped by ice, and pillar of ice crystalized from the air around her hands. She struggled against it for only a moment, then looked the woman in the eye.

"Thank you. I couldn't find anymore water easily," she said with a smirk on her face. Suddenly, the ice shattered. The water floating around her seemed to absorb the ice, melting it on touch. The woman charged her, icicle in hand, since she evidently couldn't be immobilized. Mal summoned the water to swarm Frostbite and swept her off her feet. The icicle flew from her hand and anytime she would freeze the water it would immobilize her. Several of the captains sat forward in their seats, watching to see if Genissa Clark would be shown up by this water prodigy. Adrian was smiling, and Mal had to admit it felt good to see a well known hero smiling at her. She looked up and noticed a woman sitting with the other members of the council. The look on her face was the exact opposite of Adrian's. It was disappointment. Mal knew that she needed to finish her fight. She could hear Rose cheering from the gate, cheering for her friend. Mal ended with a flourish. She brought the water back to herself, it swirled around her waist, launched her into the air, then she trusted her weight to the water once again, creating a small foothold in the air. She jumped off of it, now at least a few yards in the air above and in front of Frostbite. She came down as the Genissa rose and attempted to freeze the water in place, but that was only a mistake. Mal had summoned the water in a coat around her arm, and she came down as the water finally crystalized. It shattered on contact, and Genissa fell, unconscious. Mal stood victorious, but Rose couldn't wait for her turn.

She walked out on the field when her alias was called. She was like a walking shadow as she entered the field. Nobody watched her, not a single eye tracked with her movements. She approached on of the main tables, and powered down. The captain jumped back, just realizing that she was there.

One of the men in the main council asked her how exactly her power worked. It had been as though she couldn't have been seen at all. She had the power to control attention. She could determine if someone would notice her or not. She couldn't force someone's attention on her, but she could keep it off.

"Oh, phew. I guess I am still unique," the man said. Mal had told him that he had the power of invisibility. I guess knowing that she didn't necessarily become invisible was a relief to him, but never being noticed wasn't much of a super power, and would be quite detrimental to whatever team she was on. The council deliberated for only a moment before giving their decision. She was being rejected. She would not be a Renegade.