The Eccentric

10

Chaos. Chaos is the only word that can be used to describe the scene in front of me.

Guards come running in from each entrance with guns and knives in hand. Some bear fireproof suits while others are prepared with bullet proof vests, rifles and heavy metal helmets. The Eccentric waste no time. Two Blazes set themselves alight and run towards the guards with determination, a female guard shrieks in surprise and jumps away from the men on fire as they run toward her. Welders begin to pull apart cell bars allowing the occupants to squeeze through then shape the metals into various weapons that can be used by the others. I watch in astonishment as a Sage brings a guard under their control and forces them to hand over a set of keys to a Clone who then multiplies them self to unlock four sets of cells at once. A Reform shapeshifts into a warden and stands by the door telling the guards that everything is under control and they are not needed, adding to the confusion, while a Freeze blows a breath of ice onto the door to keep it frozen shut.

I look around for Tate and see a head of sandy blond hair burning the lock off of a door to a cell containing two girls about our age, a petite one with platinum blond hair and rosy cheeks and a larger girl with a devilish grin and blood stained clothing. The larger girl stands over a body that lays lifeless on the ground while smirking at the small frightened girl.

"Get me out of here," sobs the blond girl as her cell mate turns her attention from their presumably dead cellmate to her next victim. The smaller girl screams and throws her hands out in front of her, sending the taller one flying away with a strong gust of air. The bigger girl hits the wall with a thud, then disappears. A Breeze and a Mask. She appears again behind the small girl and tackles her to the ground.

"Get off her!" Tate shouts at the girl and yanks the door open. He throws a small ball of fire at the Mask on top and her uniform goes up in flames. She lets out a loud bellow and falls off of the girl onto to ground, rolling around in an effort to put out the fire while shifting in and out of reality. Tate bends down, careful to avoid the girl on the fire and helps the smaller girl up. She blushes while smiling up at him and I can't help but slither into her mind and read her thoughts.

Oh, he's cute.

I feel a small pang of jealousy but I shake it off. It's not like I own Tate, yet alone am dating him but seeing her swoon over him as he comes to her rescue like that still hurts. All of a sudden, my thoughts are interrupted by a relatively tough tug on my arm. I look down and see Emmie looking up at me with big, frightened eyes and a gaping mouth.

"Watch out!" she shouts and points behind me. I turn around and am face to face with a guard's gun.

I freeze and begin to tremble when the guard takes a step toward me, one wrong move and I could be gone. I whimper as he places the barrel of the gun against my chest but then makes the mistake of lowering the gun slightly at the sight of my fear. I take advantage of him letting his guard down and flick my hand slightly as it sits by my side. The metal gun goes flying across the room under the control of my Welder powers, flying over the platform and landing on the other side. Completely out of reach. Defenseless, the guard looks at me with pleading eyes. The tables have turned.

"Please don't hurt me," he begs and falls to his knees with his hands up in defeat. I wonder if he, unlike many of the other guards, knows the full extent of my powers. I feel a small pang of regret and wish I could let this man go but he is useful. He needs to be used in our escape otherwise, we won't be able to get any further.

It was Tate's idea. To reach into a guard's memories of entering and exiting the compound, then put together a map in my mind with my Gifted powers. The power of smarts. Photographic memory. If only it was that easy. I told him that Dr Mann had insisted that Tens can only use one ability at a time and even if that wasn't true, I still had little control over my powers and can't guarantee I would get the right memory. For all I know, I would probably struggle to find his first day at primary school in his tangled mess of memories yet alone vague events at work. But Tate wouldn't listen. He looked into my eyes and held my hand, I believe in you. A goofy smile makes its way to my face as I recall Tate's words and the guard gives me a confused look. I shake my head and remember where I am and what I have to do.