The Vigilante's Handbook (Misfits #1)

Forty Two: Ellie

I don't remember how I got on the ground, but here I was. There was snow in my face, my eyes, up my nose. The snow wasn't the worst part. It was the numb feeling that was spreading through me from the neck down.

I had been numb before. Ice powers did that to you. Lying in snow for a reason you don't remember will do it to you too. But this was different. It was a paralyzing kind of numb that said, "It's not worth it to move." More than physical, it was mental.

My eyes were closed too. I tried to open them. At first there was nothing, and I worried that they too were paralyzed. Then the tiniest of pressures as my eyelashes fluttered against snow. I was lying face down. With a movement that felt like a convulsion, I rolled to my side.

The three pairs of boots--I remembered the three pairs of boots now--were attached to three sets of legs and three torso and all the other body parts you would expect for boots to be attached to. Mostly I was focusing on the faces. Trying to, that is. They went in and out of focus with each wave of numbing. I don't know how I could feel more numb, but every second it got worse.

My eyes were closed again. It was easier to think that way. What happened before the boots? A screech, Miguel, Elliot, a few fights. It was coming back. I ticked through my list again. Julien, Foster, Malee, Diego, Cody, Foster, Ariana.

When I opened my eyes again, I could make out the faces. I knew who they were this time.

"Mona. Evan." It was the middle face that surprised me. Scratch that, it was less surprising and more like the final wrench of a knife in my gut. "Eleanor."

She smiled. The mind numbing feeling subsided just enough for me to push myself up so I was sitting on the snow. It felt cold through my suit. "You used to call me Ellie."

From somewhere behind me, Elliot added, "So did I. You lost that privilege."

Her eyes were trained on a point above my head, presumably Elliot. "Baby brother. I heard you got into PLA too. Are you living up to my legacy?"

I wished I had enough control over my body to turn around. All I could hear was the hum of energy and the crunch of Elliot standing up. Everyone always underestimated Elliot. It would have been nice to see him win this fight after the night I'd had.

Eleanor's voice was low and quiet. "Evan."

The air behind me exploded into light. It threw my shadow across the snow and burned glowing silhouettes of Eleanor, Mona, and Evan into my eyes. When I blinked, I could still see them. But before the lightning could arc over me and finish whatever Eleanor had started once and for all, Evan stepped forward with a palm extended like he was telling the electricity to stop.

It listened to him.

The power condensed on itself, growing brighter until even closed eyes couldn't keep it out. The shadow in front of me was blown away in the flash. There was no heat, no crackle, just light. Then it blinked out like it had never been there, and the grunt of Elliot falling to the ground, as expended as Lucia had been.

I wanted to shout at her. Shout about how she had set this up from the beginning. Recruited Evan because no one else stood a chance against Elliot. Not the most powerful superhero and certainly not her. She needed someone who could change Elliot's energy into something entirely nonlethal. It wasn't fair. This whole thing wasn't fair.

Ice burned in my chest. It hurt more than it ever had before. Like it was growing in barbed spikes from the very core of my body and pressing deeper into my organs. It cut through the static.

It was the ice that pushed me to my feet. Maybe a pillar behind me or maybe icicles threading through my veins until my legs could stand even when they were numb. Mona and Evan took faltering steps back. The ice inside me had quick instincts. It extended my arm. With a flicking motion, ice balls shoved them down. They were right to be afraid.