The Bolt from the Blue (Working Title)

Chapter 1- Benji

All in all, the whole thing took less than seven minutes: the shopkeeper pressed the alarm at 9:17, the Team arrived at 9:19, Veronica fled the scene at 9:21 and Benji was dead by 9:23.

"Can you move faster?" Angelica screamed as Veronica furiously jabbed at the wires with a pair of miniature tweezers.

'Do you want to try?' Veronica felt tempted to snap back, but she needed to concentrate. The device she held in her hands could stop the police from arriving by portal, and indeed should already be serving that function, but, like all the blockers Veronica made, it had chosen the worst moment to stop functioning. Angelica had seen the light go off, yelled at Veronica that she couldn't invent things for shit and the shopkeeper had used that momentary distraction to press the alarm under the counter, and now they had mere moment before-

A swirling oval of bright blue and dark red light spun into existence in the centre of the shop. A portal. Angelica swore, the shopkeeper laughed and Veronica threw the device at his head. He ducked, and it smashed against the wall as the Team began to pour out of the portal. Veronica touched the gun in her waistband as started to formulate a plan.

The moment the first figure stepped out of the portal Angelica lunged at them. She looped her arms around their neck and swung herself around, dragging them to the floor with her beneath, a perfect human shield in place. The shopkeeper ran out screaming, and Veronica dived behind the counter.

 A second Team member stepped out- a woman with long red hair- she drew a gun from her belt and pointed it at Angelica's head, "let her go."

Veronica scrambled desperately in the rubble behind the counter, sifting through wires and bits of twisted plastic, frantically searching for the main component.

A third Team member stepped out- the air around him was hazy, and a short trail of shimmering ether lead from his fists to the portal. He was the teleporter. Veronica's hands came across the piece she was looking for just as he turned and spotted her. He made to say something and she launched herself at him, leaping clean over the counter top and across to him. She rammed the component- a microchip with a tiny round battery attached and two short copper wires sticking out- into his neck, making sure the metal connected with his skin. He gasped and slapped his hand to his neck, but his connection to the portal was already broken and with a rush of air the shining oval disappeared. Veronica hit the floor and then started crawling towards the door.  

On the other side of the shop, Angelica snarled "Go on then, fire!" She tightened her grip on her hostage.

The redhead grimaced, "Daria," she was addressing the woman in Angelica's grip, "do it. Use your power."

Daria whimpered.

"Daria, come on!"

"I'm sorry," Daria whispered, and then her eyes turned black. Angelica screamed in agony and her hands flew off Daria's throat as if it was burning hot. Daria rolled off of her and staggered over to Benji, the redhead. Angelica was left convulsing on the floor, and the teleporter- John- was still spasming under the effects of the microchip as Veronica reached the front door, sprang to her feet and ran out.

Benji went after her immediately. Daria ran over to John and ripped the chip from his neck. He groaned and looked like he would fall to his knees but Daria steadied him.

"John? John?"

His eyes snapped into focus.

"John, Benji's gone after the other one; she'll need back up."

"Right," He sprinted out the door.

Daria turned to Angelica, who was prostrate and moaning in the corner of the shop, her eyes closed and her voice choked.

"I really am sorry," Daria muttered, as she reached for the radio on her belt.

Outside, John looked around wildly for them and caught a glimpse of Benji ducking into an alleyway. He pelted towards it. It was only about two hundred yards. He shoved past a bewildered man and jumped over a fallen bin. He could hear someone shouting- probably Benji- as he came up on the turn.

A shot rang out.

The world seemed to slow, but John kept on running. Then he stopped- as much as he tried to fight it, to run to Benji and assist in any way that he could, his training kicked in. He stopped right at the edge of the alleyway, just before the turn, and then leant round for a quick assessment, ready to retreat in case of further fire.

But both guns were on the ground. Veronica's was lying far away from her- she'd obviously thrown it after firing- still smoking slightly. Benji's was lying right next to her, her fingers mere millimetres from the handle. She was staring up at the sky with a strangely detached expression, her mouth shut but her eyes wide open and glassy. There was a hole in her left breast and blood was oozing out.

Veronica was screaming hysterically, kneeling on the floor, her fingers flexing with shock. John stopped, and tried very hard to remember what to do in the case of a Team member being shot. He reached for the radio on his belt, pressed the button heard the static and heard himself say 'Officer down.' He knew he needed to repeat it, but a small part of him thought that this would seal Benji's fate; that if he left it unsaid, she would magically jump up, the wound vanishing from sight and the bullet travelling backwards into the gun. But he repeated it anyway. Because that was procedure. Because he couldn't do anything else.

Because Benji was dead.