Ivory Chronicles

Act II - Revolutionary Insurgency Part 7

Sparks of the Sun

As we navigated through the dense Vanity Island traffic toward Urices, the island's Capitol, Senator LaBorda's speech was fresh in my mind, but my patience was wearing thin. The never-ending stream of cars and people incorporates the chaos that had become a part of daily life here. I had missed driving, but today, it was only serving to amplify my frustration. The Senator's words about progress and prosperity felt hollow when every inch of this city was clogged with people, most of whom weren't even locals, just opportunists seeking to exploit our lands.

Ryan fiddled with the car's stereo, attempting to escape the stifling atmosphere with a good song. "This traffic is killing us." he muttered.

I couldn't help but agree. I turned to Mateos and Caleb, who were seated in the back, feeling the need for a distraction from the infuriating traffic. "You guys didn't say much about your powers back there." I asked them.

Mateos spoke first, his face lacking the excitement that usually accompanied discussions about abilities as if it was nothing out of the extraordinary for him. "I can swap things I'm looking at." He began demonstrating with a dime and a nickel he grabbed that were lying around in the car. A small vortex materialized next to the coins, and they disappeared. When he opened his hands, the dime had switched places with the nickel. It wasn't as instantaneous as Ivory's teleportation, but it was still impressive.

Ryan couldn't contain his excitement. "That's pretty neat! What about you, Mateos?"

Mateos seemed less enthusiastic. "I can duplicate myself, like, literally create another me." He admitted.

"Dude, that's incredible! How many can you make?" Ryan was still excited about knowing their abilities.

"Like, two or three," Mateos answered with a hint of disappointment. "It feels like my body's being torn apart, and it weakens me with each duplicate."

"So, these duplicates, are they you? Same mind, same likes? Can they use your power?" I was intrigued by his ability.

Mateos nodded. "Yeah, they're me, but they have a mind of their own. And I've never seen them use my power. They know they were created by me. But I can undo them; it's like I have a link to them."

Ryan's eyes lit up. "Imagine having an army of Mateos, with the backup of The Sunspears!"

I leaned back in my seat, a smile tugging at my lips. "The Sunspears?" I chimed in. The name was intriguing, and it didn't sound half bad.

Ryan grinned. "It's got a ring to it, don't you think? We're here to bring a little sunshine to this island. Plus with Lucia's sun-like powers, and us being the people's protector, it kind of all connects, you know?" Clearly, he had been giving a lot of thought to the name.

Suddenly I slammed on the brakes as we encountered a sea of cars blocking the road's entrance to Urices, the old city. A massive protest had erupted right here, the people spilling out of their vehicles and shouting at the blocked road on the opposite side, where black SUVs were bind by the crowd. It seemed the people thought the same thing as us, and they had already blocked Senator LaBorda and his drivers, the only way out.

"This is our chance! Let's go!" Ryan hastily exited the car.

Glancing back at the others, they hesitated briefly, then joined the fray. This was the moment we'd been waiting for, our first opportunity to act as The Sunspears, to prove ourselves to the people.

Police officers emerged from the SUVs, brandishing weapons and shouting warnings. Amid the racket of shouts and car horns, their commands were barely audible.