Incipience

Chapter 12

"You know, now that I know how you do that, it's actually pretty annoying."

I tighten the hold I have on her arm, "Is that you tapping out or just complaining again?"

Chloé gives me a cheeky grin, "Complaining."

A sharp jolt of electricity runs up my arm and through my body. I let go with a loud yelp. Chloé takes a step back to assess the damage done. I'm the only one of us that Chloé can use her abilities on since I heal so quickly, so she's been testing her voltage control on me all week. Unfortunately for me, she's gotten more comfortable with amping it up here and there. Just because I can withstand her shocks, doesn't mean I want to. I do my best to avoid her shots, but even I'm not faster than lightening. Ugh, I'm pretty sure that one of these days she's actually going to knock me out.

Chloé lets a few purple sparks dance across her palms, "Now that I have powers of my own, it looks like we're on equal playing grounds."

Diane laughs from the sidelines, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Chloé turns to give her a dirty look, "what makes you say that?"

I grab Chloé by the shoulders, hook one of my ankles with hers, and push her to the side in one swift motion. My friend lands on her side with a thud which furthers Diane's cackling.

I give her a petty smirk, "you were saying?"

Chloé responds in a series of grumbles and mocking imitations of me. 

"See?" Diane snickers, "you two are on completely different levels, Chlo'. Her powers are literally fighting and healing, so I don't think a few low voltage shocks are going to top Miss I-Took-Out-an-Entire-Fleet-of-Quinzentenians over here."

"I didn't take out a fleet, stop saying that."

Diane gives me a blank stare before turning back to Chloé, "so anyway, like I was saying: she's a ninja warrior and you're a defibrillator."

Chloé rises to her feet with a dramatic groan, "I'd like to see you do better."

"I can't," Diane shrugs. "There's no shame in knowing my limits."

"Can't you just read her mind or something?"

Diane shakes her head, "Yeah, I found out the hard way that that doesn't really work. She's only half paying attention to what she's doing and it's not like I can apply the knowledge I'd get from reading her mind fast enough for it to make a difference. I'm just as likely to get my ass handed to me as you are."

"You all make her seem like she's some sort of warrior goddess or something," McCormick grunts from beside her. "She's not as infallible as you make her seem."

"No one asked you, Peter Pan," Chloé quips.

"Peter Pan?" Diane cackles, "I was getting more Dumbo vibes from him!"

I give a faux hum of contemplation, "well, now that you mention it, the way he's been walking around lately does seem very Dumbo-esque, so I guess you're right, Di'. My only problem is that Dumbo is adorable and playful, McCormick isn't."

The only response McCormick gives is a mocking laugh before going back to his weights.

Ordinarily, the three of us wouldn't team up on him like this, but he's been nothing but a spoilsport since the morning after the invasion. If you ask me, it's because he's jealous. 

The three of them got their powers at the same time, but McCormick is the only one who doesn't have at least partial control over his ability. Sure, Chlo' accidentally gives us little shocks here and there and Diane gets headaches when she can't tune out our thoughts, but at least they can make their abilities work for them when they want them to.