The Custodes

Chapter 36 - When Gods Bleed

Kayla's eyes snapped open as she lay on the ground, thrown straight into the chaos of the battle once again. Her hands were scraped and bloody and her limbs pulsed with a faint, aching pain, but her adrenaline seemed more than capable of preventing her from feeling any of it. It took less than a second for her to get her bearings; she'd just dragged Neo out of the way of a lethal slice from Zuro, but he was already back up and going toe-to-toe with him again. Kayla knew the others were going to join in soon, yet - for some reason she couldn't explain - she no longer felt like saving them was her priority. Get them to save themselves. The words burned so prominently in her mind they were almost tangible, and with a newfound purpose she hurriedly dragged herself to her feet and took off running towards the sidewalk. Along it was a line of abandoned cars, intercut with open spaces where people presumably got in their vehicle and drove for the hills during the evacuation. For a split second Kayla wondered how the police were doing with evacuating the surrounding areas, but she didn't spend long thinking about it. Instead, she darted around the side of the car and placed her palm flat against it, watching with narrowed eyes as her friends fought Zuro. There was only a single chance, but she knew exactly when it was going to arrive. She peered over the hood of the car, eyes locked on Zuro as he blocked Axel's beam with his arm before taking a direct hit from Synthia's metal clad fist. The scene was familiar to Kayla, having witnessed it not thirty seconds ago, and it was fresh enough in her mind that she knew exactly when the opportunity would come for a clean, open hit on Zuro. As Milo hit Zuro with a wave of crystal from the ground up she closed her eyes, focusing on where her hand lay flat against the car. Hector had taught her this trick a long time ago, and with all her years spent in solitude she'd had more than enough time to hone it to perfection. There was a small tingle travelling down her arm, reaching her fingertips as she formed a connection to the car in front of her. All of a sudden, like a long, winding path laid out before her, Kayla could see almost every moment in the car's history - from before its manufacturing where the materials still linger in the earth; to its demolition, where those same materials spread out once more to be made into something new. Kayla wasn't interested in its life, however. What she was interested in was every single bit of force the car had ever endured in its lifetime. She travelled down the path in her mind, finding the force as she went and gathering it all in her palm. Rain drops battering against its roof - not much on its own, but when accumulated could go a long way towards what she was trying to achieve. Its owners, all of them, every time they slammed their door shut. She found that force and grabbed it, stealing it from its time and bringing it back to the present; to sit under her hand and wait for her to set it free. A car crash - two, actually. The force from the collision was more than enough for what she was doing, so she snatched it from where it lay and dragged it towards her, slowly forcing it down to her palm where it took on a bright green glow. That should be enough. Once she had a hold of it there was no way it could escape without her say so. Kayla opened her eyes once more, snapping back to reality as she watched the fight in front of her. Quinn had a purple chain around Zuro's neck, and Noah had just teleported Neo on top of the man. Kayla knew her moment was coming up, so she had to be quick. She slid her palm ever so slightly across the car, the almost blinding green glow following it as she made sure her trajectory was correct. All that force was sitting there, subdued, but if she let it go a second too early she'd run the risk of turning one of her friends into a great big red splat. Neo sent a kick into Zuro's head, but the villain grabbed his ankle and brought him down on top of Quinn, releasing her chain. This was it. Milo ran forward, his fist flying towards Zuro's face and forcing the man to leap back for the briefest of seconds. And with the coast clear, Kayla set free the ball of force in her hand.

For a second all she saw was green, and then her vision returned in the form of a light, reddish yellow matted with irregular spots of white. It took her a second to realise she was on her back, staring up at the sky, but when she did she hurried shot up and returned her gaze to her friends. All of them stood around, stunned and unmoving, as they stared at a building across the street from her - where a huge hole had replaced what used to be solid wall. Kayla caught the briefest glance of the car she'd just been touching inside the building, and underneath it lay a stirring pile of red flesh. The first part of her plan had gone well enough, it seemed. Now was time for the next part. "LISTEN TO ME!" She bellowed as loud as she possibly could, exhaling all the air in her lungs alongside all her fury and spite towards Zuro for everything he'd done to them. "I HAVE SPENT YEARS TRYING TO STOP YOU ALL FROM BEING KILLED IN THIS FIGHT!" Years was a slight exaggeration, but it did the job so who cares. "AND I AM FUCKING SICK OF IT! THIS ISN'T A BLOODY SPARRING MATCH - EVERYONE YOU'VE EVER LOVED OR MET IS GOING TO DIE IF WE DON'T STOP THIS EVIL SON OF A BITCH! SO FIGHT! FIGHT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT OR THIS'LL ALL BE FOR NOTHING! GIVE YOUR WHOLE FUCKING LIFE AND THEN SOME TO PUT HIM IN THE FUCKING GROUND! NO MORE DO-OVERS, NO MORE SECOND CHANCES, JUST BLOODY FIGHT UNTIL YOU DROP! BEAT THIS EVIL BASTARD TO A PULP!" There was a moment of silence after her words, that much Kayla could remember. But as soon as she stopped speaking her head began to spin from just how hard she'd screamed - and if she wasn't already sitting she undoubtedly would have collapsed. Instead she dropped her head into her hands, trying to stop it from spinning and silently hoping to god the others had gotten her message. If they didn't give their all they didn't stand a chance. Her fate, and the fate of practically everyone else on the planet, was in their hands now. She just hoped they knew what to do with it.