Origin of Power

Chapter 19

Blood splattered the road and Shifter stood atop Minute Wonder victorious. I caught my breath as I manoeuvred my orb closer to where Lightshow and Mindbreaker were fighting on the ground.

"I'm going to free Lightshow up," I said. "Once I get the seed in place, secure Mindbreaker with your vines."

The vines were strong enough to lift cars and keep Dusk at bay, a psychic wouldn't have a chance. With her under control, the rest of us could focus on getting Shifter out of there.

I looked back at Binder when I didn't hear confirmation. He glanced at Mia, who nodded.

"Got it," he said.

My orb was in place. I swapped, startling Lightshow as I appeared beside her in a flash of blue light. I secured Mindbreaker's shoulders, not letting her turn her head to look at us; one experience of her power was more than enough. Mindbreaker screamed, writhing furiously as she tried to get us off.

I ignored her, turning to Lightshow and revealing Binder's seed. "We'll handle her, go and help Shifter."

She glanced once at Mindbreaker, then nodded. "Got it." She stood and moved away from us and towards Shifter.

Mindbreaker's struggling subsided as the vines grew and wrapped around her ankles and wrists, forming up at the base of her neck, where they stopped her turning her head.

I let go as a bang sounded overhead, ducking and glancing up. Snapshot had intercepted Lodestone, blocking his path to Lightshow.

"Do you really want a hero's blood on your hands," Lodestone roared. "There won't be a place you can hide from us if you do."

"Stay back and don't interfere," Snapshot shouted back. "This was her," he jabbed a finger towards Mindbreaker, "fault anyway. Anything you do will just make it worse. Let Lightshow handle it."

The hate in Lodestone's eyes made me pause. I was a part of this. They were just doing their job, and now one of them was almost dead. I could feel the frustration as his eyes drilled into Snapshot, who blocked his path. What could be in the crate that was worth all this? Sure there were things that needed to change. The Facility was wrong, and the HA were practically glorified bodyguards, but this had gone too far.

"I'll kill you for this, Tyrant," Mindbreaker spat with enough disgust that I found myself lost for words.

I held my breath, hairs standing up against my back. I could sense the same black energy around her as when she had attacked Shifter, but now she couldn't focus it.

"I'm not a Tyrant," I said, the words felt hollow as soon as they left my mouth.

"Then why are you working with that monster?"

I looked down at her, stunned. I wanted to blame her like Snapshot had, to tell her it was her attack that had sent Shifter out of control. But I couldn't. Looking at Shifter now, there was no denying it. She was a monster. It didn't matter why Shifter lost control, what mattered was that she couldn't control her power, and neither could the Nighthawks.

My eyes fell on Lightshow, slowly moving closer to Shifter. One hand outstretched like she was approaching a nervous puppy. She whispered so quietly I couldn't make out the words.

Shifter watched her curiously, a little of the anger gone from her eyes. Maybe there was still some humanity left in her.

"Just stop struggling," I sighed. "We're not going to do anything to you, so the only way you'll get hurt is if you do it yourself."