Union

seventeen

July 18th

1936 EST

The cortex at headquarters was abnormally cold as Tristan and Calum sparred in training. Shards of ice and snow circled the two boys, ready to pierce one at the other's call. With Calum's power temporarily off probation, he had full access to his telepathic and gravitokinetic abilities. Every volley of ice Tristan threw at his opponent ricocheted back towards him.

Aw Tristan, you can't do better than that? Tristan shook his head to clear the voice and sent another blast of snow towards the telepath. All Calum had to do was raise his hands and it dispersed around him, not a single flake so much as grazing an inch of his body.

Before Tristan could even manage a successful attack, Calum had thrown him into the air and slammed him into the protective walls of the training platform using only his mind. Within the last few minutes, however, he had quit the offensive tactics and opted for a mere defense of Tristan's attacks. The amount of energy needed to manipulate gravity took a toll on Calum. If he had already used up most of his energy with his initial moves, why hadn't Tristan been able to overcome Calum's strength yet?

Maybe you're distracted. Calum's black eyes taunted him. Why didn't you kiss her, Tris?

All Tristan could think about was wiping the arrogant smirk off of his face.

It began in his chest, a growing block of ice that was encapsulating his entire body, from the inside out. Tristan could practically hear the glacier splintering as it extended into his extremities, chilling the space around him to such a degree that he could hear the crackle of his breath as it joined with the air in front of him.

Tristan narrowed his eyes and his lips curled into a malicious smile. With one swift movement, all of the ice that was filling him up and reenergizing his power flew from his palms in a slush that hardened around his challenger's feet, locking him into place.

Calum cocked an eyebrow and sneered, Maybe you should have trapped my hands instead. His dark eyes glinted wickedly, but before he could even raise his hands to begin his assault on Tristan, Tris manipulated what was left of his icy stores into an explosion of flurries that connected with Calum's hands, binding his wrists together.

Grinning triumphantly, Tristan taunted, "You were saying?" He strolled over to the control panel and clicked the release button. "I win." The walls rose around them and Tristan stepped off the platform. The rest of his teammates were huddled together, talking in hushed whispers.

"What's going on?" He asked, breaking into their circle.

"I have been tracking radio waves that mention the attack on Alexander Grayson's mansion," Avi said, locking eyes with Tristan. He appreciated being the only one Avi trusted enough with her secret. "Listen."

Avi raised her arm, sound waves emerging from it like a radio. Tristan cocked an eyebrow at the girl, but Avi just shrugged.

"Hey, Elsa, can you come unfreeze me?" Calum yelled from his permanent spot on the platform.

CJ groaned. "Please don't," he begged. Tristan grinned and turned back to the group, ignoring Calum's pleas.

"Liv, babe, come melt your favorite boy," he continued to shout.

She rolled her eyes, but broke away from the group to help the telepath. "What?" She protested when the others glared at her. "You know if I don't go up there he'll never shut up," she said, turning away from their disapproving looks.

"Tristan could always just freeze his mouth shut," CJ grumbled under his breath. He didn't make eye contact, but Tristan smiled slightly.

"We are receiving new witness reports from guests of the Grayson Fourth of July gala," the reporter cut through their discussion. "And an interview with Alexander Grayson himself."