Magnus
I sat in the middle of my old apartment... The same one I've been sharing with Lio for years now. My idea.
I looked down at my phone. No calls from the jail. No calls from him. I should go down there and talk to him.
But... The look in his eyes. He was trying to kill those kids. He was doing everything he could to save me.
I looked at my healed arm, which is only healed because of him. Several days, and hes still gone. He should be back by now. Surely Ryan didnt mean that... Unless.
I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, Ryan, Sarah and Eren giving me worried looks.
"I'm sorry... Lio escaped from the jail last night.. He wasnt alone. Flare and Mask were both there with him. They helped him escape. They killed-," I cut him off with a solid strike to the nose, watching him stumble.
"You did this!!! You shouldn't have locked him up in the first place!," I heaved, grabbing him by the collar.
"You said that he would be fine! That it was a scare tactic! I didn't think you were serious!," I roared. He wiped his bloody nose, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Hes a killer.. I left him unchecked under your supervision as long as that never was the case. As long as he was in control of himself. This past week hes proved that nothing's changed. The only way to save him from Tara-,"
"You mean the bitch you work for behind your pesky little job as a detective? Come on Ryan. Admit it! You're scared of the fact he could've killed you, Flare and all of those SilverClaw gang members the second he was released from Lyras torture! That's what a killer would've done. He needed us! And you threw him away like trash. That's all that I see," I shoved him to the ground. That may be true... But yet.
"Magnus... He joined Flare... That means we're on opposite sides of this war now.. No matter what drove him to that... We kept him murdering Lyra under the wraps... But in the past 72 hours he attempted murdering two teens, whether they attacked you or not, and wiped out half a police station all by himself," Sarah started. She put a hand on my shoulder.
"He is now on the Feds priority list too... His ranking is SSSS+... They believe if he continues going on without holding back, he can become even stronger... Hes the strongest on their side... Which means we have orders to kill on sight," She turned away, glancing down.
"Theyve called us all in for a meeting. We need to go to Headquarters," I nodded, avoiding eye contact. My stomach twisted inside itself.
I'll find Lio first.. Then I will save him.
*******
Ashton
"Who's this pipsqueak?," I demanded, staring down at the weird short girl consuming food next to me almost inhumanely.
"Names Leona!!! Nice to meet ya!," She exclaims before shoving a taco in her mouth. I stared at her in awe.
"Whered you get all that food?," I asked, sitting down across from her. She gave me a devilish smirk, swallowing her food.
"I stole it from Lightning dude over there... Hes real dense," She giggled, digging through the bag. I turned, seeing the blonde frowning inside his locker.
"Man, I could've sworn I brought my lunch with me today," He grumbled frustratedly. I raise a brow, looking at her with satisfaction.
"You're quite the little devil, arent you?," I asked. She smiled, pushing the bag of empty taco wrappers aside and whipping out a box of pudding cups.
Wait a second....
"THISE ARE MY PUDDING CUPS!," I roared, going to snatch them back from her. She hissed and swatted my hands away, before devouring them with immense speed. I stared in awe and disgust as she wiped the chocolate off her upper lip and threw away all six pudding cups...
My pudding....
"Ashton... Our puddings missing," My twin sister, Mia moaned behind me. She sat down, giving me the puppy dog eyes.
"Can we go buy more?," She asked. I shook my head, glaring at Leona.
"She ate all our puddings... So shes buying us lunch.. Hey airhead!," I yelled, catching the dudes attention :who lost his tracks to this food eating machine in front of me. He saw the bag of tacks and stormed over, putting his hands on his hips.
"She ate pur food.. So she owes us lunch," I informed him. She gave me teary eyes, her bottom lip trembling.
"B-but I was so hungry...," She whimpered. Then she smirked, standing up. I could've sworn her nose grew four inches.
"That's fine!!! I always have lots of money cause I'm always hungry!! I dont mind buying you guys some food!," She cheered. From behind us a male and a female stalked up, giving us confused glances.
"Why is she so loud?," The boy demanded in a bored tone. The girl peeked into a mirror, smudging her eyeliner into a cat eye.
"And who's buying who food?," She asked. I blink led repeatedly.
"And who are you guys?," I demanded. The boy shrugged, plopping down at the table, everyone else following suit.
"My name is Jeffory... Go ahead and call me Jeff I suppose," He mumbles, prodding at the table.
"My names Tiana!," The girl doing her makeup exclaimed, before going on to fix her makeup.
"My names Archer... Are you guys working on the Flare case too?," He asked. Everyone at the table, including myself, nodded with a chorus of yeses.
"They wanted me because I'm super powerful," Archer cheered happily. I blinked.
Leona laughed loudly, slapping him hard on the shoulder... I think I even heard a snort.
"Oh buddy!! Nobody powerful would brag about it like that!," She exclaimed, laughing a little louder.
"I just wanted the free pedicures," Tiana drawled, picking at her flawless nails.
"Meh," Jeff grunted, before going back to his strange obsession with stabbing the table with his finger tips.
"Ashton got the promotion! So I came along with so he doesnt get in trouble," Mia smirks, patting my shoulder. I turned red, looking away. Shes embarrassing me.
"Aww, how adorable... Poor little Ashypoo still need his sissy to step up to the plate for him?," Leona howled with laughter. I stood up, my face burning.
"Its not like that Lizard lips!," I screamed. She smiled, standing up to face me.
"Then what is it like, Peas for brains,"
"Oh wouldnt you know Chunky!,"
"I'm considered Thick you know, With four Capital C's at the end.. What about you tooth pick! Looks like you dont eat enough!,"
"HA HA HA!!! I Am not ashamed of being skinny!,"
"Oh yeah then why are you blushing!,"
"B-because you're stupid!," I cried, my face burning even hotter. She smirked, poking my cheek with her finger, her green eyes seeming to glow.
"You like the stupid ones dont you,"
The whole table went silent, everyone staring at us.
"Well, if you two are done flirting, we have more important matters to discuss," A angry voice announced from behind us. I turned pink, sitting down and turning to the five people entering the room. I remember them from the first day.. They did their own thing, besides the fifth being the Agent who introduced us here... Theres one guy missing.
I locked eyes with the tall black haired dude who seemed fixated on the guy who isnt here, noting the tense shape of his shoulders.... Hes angry.
"Welcome newbies. This is our first official meeting. Beside me, are the very well known survivors of the original Flare attacks. In fact one of them, was one of the two at the center of these attacks," Agent Michale turned to The black haired one, who scowls and looks at the floor.
"Magnus, Sarah, Eren and Ryan will be assisting us with the case. We also have new intel. Flare and his little groupies have recruited someone you all may be very familiar with," He pulled a bunch of folders from his bag, waiting for the latest four to take their seats before he handed them out.
"Most recent recruit, Lionel Valdez. An SSSS+ Rated man with powers unlike any we've seen before. At first glance, his power is ice. However, at full strength he can freeze time itself," The table fell dead silent. I stared at the face looking back at me from the file. It's the guy who joined us before... So its Lionel Valdez? I thought he went by Hall.
"Sir... Isnt his last name Hall? That's what it was all over the news!," Archer asked respectfully. Agent Michael Shook his head.
"Our most recent sighting of him, he officially reclaimed his last name. Lionel was adopted by a woman named Michelle Hall after his mother was arrested. His mother, Maria Valdez, was a well Known Serialkiller, known as the Frost keeper. She would kill her victims, and store them in freezers all around the city she terrorized. The bodies were never usually found until a week after their disappearance. When they caught her because if a few mistakes she made, it was found out she had a son, whom she had been abusing for a very, very long time. His code name was Frostbite... We'll use that for now," He informed us. I remember this story... It was after Flare went off the radar... They reported Lionels story.. His father left him, his mother abused him, was arrested. After almost ten years, she was about to be released on good behavior when Flare melted the department she was in, killing her almost instantly. Michelle adopted him years prior, raising him to be as normal as she could, before Flare murdered her too.
"We all know the story... What are we gonna do about it," The black haired man snapped.
"Magnus... We are well aware of your relationship with Frostbite-," Magnus stood up, slamming his fist down on the table and turning to him.
"His name... is Lio... Lio Hall.. He isnt a criminal!," He yelled.
"He murdered 30 police officers...," Agent Michael retorted.
"Magnus sit down please," Anither man pleaded. Magnus sat down huffing.
"Thank you Eren... As I was saying, because of his rating being so high, we have put either kill on sight or arrest him. However, I doubt he will go willingly. Today we gathered intel on the potential where abouts of one of the top rated in their group. Mask went off on a side mission for Flare. We believe he is after one of you," He looked over us, locking eyes with the older female who frowned at her hands.
"Today, A select few of you will be sent out to capture or kill him. The rest of us-"
"You're a hypocrite," Magnus growled, his head lowered.
"Decay... SSS rated. Dynamite, SS rated. You said, SS rated or up, kill on sight. When Lio tried.. You locked him up," He stood up, cracking his knuckles.
"Its sick how you can condemn one to death without knowing them... Or their stories. Its sick how you can condemn one to death for following your orders, and being punished for them. What you're doing here is wrong, and I wont let it pass," Magnus looked up, a coldness freezing his expression.. Hes terrifying.
"Do something about it then, Mr. Barnwell," Michael ordered with a smirk. Magnus ran forward, his hand catching ablaze.
Before I knew it, two figures rushed Magnus. Eren and Ryan. They caught him by the arm and flipped him to the ground, pinning him there.
"Let go of me," Magnus warned, his face turning red with rage, a vein popping out on his neck.
"Dont do this Magnus," Eren pleaded.
"LET GO OF ME!," The building began to vibrate, smoke filling the air. I watched in horror as Magnus started to burn, his skin turning black with burns, his lips twisting into a sadistic grin.
"He once said something to me.... I'll break every bone in my body to beat you... No matter what it takes," His fire faded, and he turned his head to Michael.
"Dont underestimate him... He wont sit back and let you kill him... In fact, if anything he will kill you first," He laughed, looking up at Ryan.
"Now let go of me... Before I kill you... You weak little pest," He growled. Ryan smirked.
"Who's the one pinning who again," Ryan shut up almost instantly, a flash of light so quick I could barely see it illuminating the room. Before Anyone could see what happened, Ryan screamed in pain, writhing on the floor without arms, blood splattering everything. Everyone in the room screamed, staring in horror as Magnus rose, his eyes locking on Magnus.
" Do what you want... But I want no part of it... I'll bring Flare and his groupies down on my own... In my own way," He growled. I panted, fear constricting my chest.. So much power.
"ARREST HIM!," Michael ordered, but no one moved.
"Get in my way, Fedral Agent Michael, and Ill end you... Lay a finger on Lionel Hall... and I'm coming for you," No body could do or say anything as he strutted from the room.
Lio
I watched as my old scars returned on my fingers and toes, the markings, however faded, still tainting my skin.
"You're like me," Flare had explained. Apparently at some point in my life, a drug was used on me to enhance my strength. No surprise there. At least I know where a lot of my excess power comes from.
"You do realize you and your boyfriend are on opposite sides now dont you?," Flare had asked on our way to the warehouse. I had shrugged, looking at my hands. If he ever loved me the way he claimed... He wouldnt have sat back and watched them arrest me. He would've defended me... He wouldnt have judged me.
"Yeah... I guess so. But this is the way it has always been hasn't it... Him the best of the best, and me always chasing after him?," I bit my cheek.
"Its time our little rivalry was renewed,"