Blood Circulation (or If I Had Your Name)

Chapter VII: Like Ships that pass through the Night

"I have recorded all the conversations and the actions that took place here," said Hal as he addressed the crowd, his voice giving me comfort for once. "I offer you all one chance at redemption. Surrender your weapons and yourselves, and face due process."

When no one answered him, he took the opportunity to glide towards me. With a practiced hand, he checked on my body and my bleeding nose. "You will manage," was all he said to me. I took his hand and he hoisted me to my feet. Most noticeably, that heavy emotional feeling is gone, which means Natasha is out. Her body twitched a bit. Ew.

"No mercy even at your crushes?" I said, cheekily, "and here I thought you were an ass-loving person. Guess that means you love your job more."

"No amount of temptation can pry me away from exacting my duties, Wyeth." He turned to the crowd, and said, "As for the likes of you all, I should have figured something was amiss when the museum attendant was cuffed and tied and several of the ship's employees were sound asleep after finding traces of sleeping powder in their mugs. I despise repeating myself, but just in case you lot did not hear me, I order all of you to lay down and submit for processing."

"Or what?" came one from the crowd, and when he showed himself, my lips parted in disbelief. "There's like twenty of us and only two of you," said Andres, and his voice didn't quiver in the slightest, it was firm and angry. By then, he was already in front of the crowd, "Since we found out that you don't have any powers and Wyeth is too weak to do anything, I think all of us can take you down. Natasha may be out but we're still here, aye? We willingly took part in her plans to hurt the one person who bullied us for years. Kinda poetic given Indanaw's history, but I definitely understand what our ancestors felt now. I'm feeling patriotic. You should be on our side, Hal. Help us rise against our bully here!"

He appeared to have more to say to me than Hal, but I never heard him finish. His voice gurgled into nothingness when Hal dashed towards him with a speed that seemed to blur his body, my eyes couldn't keep up. In one fluid movement, his extended arm crashed against the neck of Andres and, despite being bigger than Hal, managed to throw him against the frozen crowd.

Without looking at me, he said, "Wyeth, I grant you permission to use your powers on the condition of a non-lethal approach."

Non-lethal, my ass. You could have snapped that idiot's neck with that speed!

"Definitely love that plan, Hal," I said through the pain, "but I can't use my shadow without any light."

"Not a worry." Hal then reached into his pocket and took out his smartphone. To it, he said, "Laura, if you please."

"Laura?"

Immediately, the ceiling lamps hummed with life as they rained upon us bright light. I can already feel my shadows swelling and shaking. They took on the forms of a square, a spear next, a giant circular blob that almost took the form of a dick – and it feels great to use them without being restricted.

"That's a Helluva lot better. Let's go kick some ass, Hal!" I said.

Years of practice (not to mention "borrowing" certain computer parts in shops) allowed me to move alongside my shadows. I see it as an extension of myself. So long as I have light, my shadows will never leave me. I was quickly upon them, surfing on the floor thanks to the shadows at my feet. Jim couldn't move away from my path, for the fear glued him to the spot. My shadows wrapped around him and formed a tower which I jumped off of and my feet landed squarely on his face. My bruises sang at my quick moves and caused me to pause and recover. At the corner of my eye, however, I saw Ishmael's face riddled with anger at the sight of his unconscious best friend and stormed to face me. He struck with his fists, but my shadows were quicker, and it lifted me backward, extending my safe area. I commanded it to push me forward, and, thanks to the momentum, my fist connected to his jaw which gave a satisfying crunch noise. My bruises complained once more.