Running Over Water

[15 - That Joe?]

Percy

My chest tightened as life itself seemed to slow down: the elevator doors opening, my breathing, the little mosquito buzzing around in the corner. It's fine, you're probably overreacting, Percy, my voice rang through my head with such clarity, it made my eyes sting.

I raised my left hand, prepared to summon Caitlin's day-old tap water from her bottle to help in the fight, if it were to come. My right hand, the dominant one, stayed in my pocket, gripping Riptide. There was such a variety of what was to come through that elevator, it really made me realize how many enemies I've made over the course of my somewhat short life.

Suddenly, after my thoughts ended, the elevator door opened much quicker than anticipated and I clenched my teeth as I looked at who was waiting there.

A sigh of relief came out of me when I saw it wasn't a monster or the Reverse Flash, but that doesn't mean the man before me wasn't harmless.

He had dark skin and graying hair. Soft eyes and a face that showed an unreadable expression. He stepped out of the elevator, not yet realizing my presence before him. But his face turned into apparent shock as soon as his eyes looked upon me. His eyes directed to my head and all the way down to my feet, examining me quickly.

I guess he saw me as a threat because I watched as his hand glided down towards his thigh, and that's when I saw his gun holster. His bulky jacket covered it up, so I wasn't able to see it before. But now that his coat was pulled back, the gun was easily visible. I don't know why he was wearing such a large jacket in the middle of summer, but whatever.

He had grabbed his gun out of the holster but before he could do anything with it, I summoned the water nearby and the man's eyebrows raised in revelation as he saw the water go straight for him. His mouth dropped slightly before I raised my hand above my head and brought it down quickly, the water following my movements.

However, before the liquid slashed down on his hand, he quickly got ahold of himself and aimed the gun at me. He shot without mercy and I dodged bullet after bullet. Except when I was just rolling away from a bullet, he managed to catch me, and the bullet grazed my bicep, slicing my t-shirt. The pain was bearable, but blood dripped down my arm and onto the floor like raindrops.

The sounds of the bullets ricocheted across the room. I've never heard gunshots before, I wasn't used to the constant ringing that burned my head. The sound reminded me of the loud, popping fireworks on the Fourth of July, and it needed to stop. Covering one ear in an attempt to stop the painful buzzing, I willed the water to pull the gun out of his hand and it obeyed instantly.

He shrieked as the gun fell out of his grip. He bent down to grab it but I was quicker. I used the water to wrap around his body, reminding me of a slithering snake and pushed him against the wall with a thud. He grunted and thrashed against my grasp, but wasn't able to get free.

My water around his body was loose enough so he could breathe comfortably, but tight enough so he couldn't escape, even if he tried.

"Who the hell are you?" He wheezes out, looking me in the eye. The soft eyes I saw when I first met him were no longer there, instead, it was replaced by eyes full of hatred. But I mean, it's not my fault I'm trying to stop this intruder.

"I think you mean, who in the Holy Hera are you?"

"What are you talking about?" He gapes. Every few seconds, he'll try to struggle against the waters but it was no hope.

But before I could say anything, I heard Barry's angry voice come towards us.

"Finally," I mumble to myself. "Took him long enough."