QuickShot:
I see all the sharp and shining teeth of the little robots as they jump into the air. It's like they're showing them off as they attack us.
With no time to spare, I throw down my bow and focus my power. I feel myself building up with the red energy, the power flowing throughout my body. My mind becomes more focused, and when I open my eyes, I spread out my hands and the red energy shoots out.
It turns into a red barrier that shields all of us. Even Silent. The robots that jump are knocked back. They fall onto the other robots and knock them down as well. The other robots nearby that weren't knocked down start attacking the barrier. They bite and bump their heads against the barrier.
Despite being in the barrier, I can still feel every bite and every single bump. It's become too much for me to handle. I drop to my knees a few seconds later.
"QuickShot," Ms. Justice says, turning toward me. She kneels down in front of me so we're face-to-face. As she kneels in front of me, I can see the worry in her eyes. They're shaking.
"How long can you keep this up?"
"Not long," I answer. Already, I feel tired. My arms and legs are shaking, and I feel beads of sweat flowing down my face. One bead reaches my eyes, I try to shake it off but Ms. Jusitce stops me. She wipes my eyes for me.
"Come on," Ms. Justice says, standing back up. "We need to get out of here! We can come back later!"
"Ahh, no we can't," JumpStart yells, all eyes now turning to him. "The doors are closed, and I can't get them open. We're trapped!"
I look toward the iron doors we came through. They slammed shut, and despite both JumpStart's and Silent's best efforts, they stay shut."
I feel myself running out of breath. It feels like the air is literally being squeezed out of me. I can hear myself panting like a dog in the summertime.
"Breath," Ms. Justice says, holding my face in her smooth hands. "Calm down and breathe. One step at a time. One step!"
I look past Ms. Justice's head and see the barrier starting to flash. Some of the robots attacking manage to push through. Their little heads are phasing through my barrier.
"Breath," Ms. Justice repeats, making me face her. "Breath. Breath."
Looking at Ms. Justice right in her soft, blue eyes, I stop for a minute and start to breathe. I stop panting and instead, start to breathe. I slowly breathe in through my mouth and then out. I repeat this over and over again, and as I do, I notice the barrier stop fading. The robots that manage to get their heads through are now missing their heads.
Silent:
I watch as Ms. Justice reassures QuickShot, that somehow making it so the barrier protecting us stops flashing.
"Adorable," I think as I look around. "But I doubt that will last long. If we don't do something fast, the barrier will fall again and we will be chopped liver."
I turn toward the elf as he tries to use one of his stun batons to pry the iron doors open. He gave the other baton to the knight and together, they both try.
"They can leave if they want, but I won't. I need to end that evil doctor before she can use the Iron Fist armor to hurt innocent people, but how?"
As I look around some more, I tilt my head up and see the fire sprinkles in the ceiling. The fire sprinkles do look a bit rusty, but as far as I know, they should still work.
"Fire sprinkles," I think to myself. I look at the line of fire sprinkles and see them covering the whole hallway and more. I then look down at the scrap metal robots.
"Dr. Cho built these from parts I have laying around. She built them fast so when the OutCasts came, she would be ready. With that tight deadline, there's no way she could have waterproofed them!"
I check my pockets for any pellets but stop when I eye QuickShot's quiver.
"Excuse me," I say, stepping forth to go through QuickShot's quiver.
"Hey," Ms. Justice shouts, standing up. "What are you doing? Why are you going through her quiver?"
"Because I need something," I answer, going through all of QuickShot's trick arrows. "No. No. No! Where do you keep your explosive arrows?"
"Explosive arrows," JumpStart repeats. "Wait, what are you going to do with explosive arrows?"
"Right side," QuickShot answers. "Upper corner."
"Thank you," I say, pulling out an arrow with a silver cylinder as the tip. "What's the blast radius for this?"
"It goes from a foot to a few yards."
As QuickShot answers, I see the barrier starts to fade again.
"How long do you need?"
"I don't even need a full foot."
I break off the tip from the rest of the arrow and throw it at the fire sprinkles. The tip explodes and unleashes smoke. The smoke triggers all the fire sprinkles and I watch as water begins to pour out.
"Water, water, everywhere," I say, watching as the scrap metal robots start to short-circuit. They spark and shake and their eyes flash on and off before finally falling over. "More than enough to take down those junk bots."
Seeing the scrap metal robot down, QuickShot lowers her arms. As she does, she too falls but Ms. Justice and JumpStart catch her in time.
"Are you okay," Ms. Justice asks.
"I'm fine," QuickShot whispers. She nods her hanging head.
"Come on," Ms. Justice says, carrying QuickShot toward the iron doors. "Let's get out of here. Before anything else show up."
"Fine then," I say, bending down to grab QuickShot's bow. I give her bow back. "I need to stay here."
"No," QuickShot shouts.
"What," JumpStart asks.
"We can't leave," QuickShot says. "We need to take down Dr. Cho before she can finish repairing the armor."
"With all due respect, fearless leader of the OutCasts," I say as I turn and start to walk, "But I know about your power. You used them even a little and you're wiped out. You can barely stand. Do yourself a favor and get out. I'll handle Dr. Cho."
"No way," QuickShot screams. As I walk away, QuickShot grabs my shoulder and turns me around.
"I'm a soldier," she pants. "In case you didn't know. Do you know what that means?"
I eye the old fashion pilot helmet and googles on top of her head.
"Please put your trays back in their upright position?"
"No. It means we do not leave anyone behind. Listen up here, Silent because I don't want to repeat myself. I may have been against you working with us at the start. I still am but for the time being, you are one of us. You are an Outcast, and we Outcasts help one another. So lead the way. You and the rest of the team can fight in front. I'll cover us from the rear."
I stare at an exhausted, slouching QuickShot who is using her bow as more of a walking stick than an actual bow. I look her in the eyes, and then in the eyes of the other threes.
"As a knight," SpeedBlade says, stepping forth. "I am to give my life to my fellow warrior."
"As an elf," JumpStart goes on, raising his hand. "Well, we don't really have anything like these two, but it's implied. Don't leave your brother or sister elf."
"I was taught two things," Ms. Justice adds, putting up two fingers. "Don't run from your problems, and don't run from those who need your help."
"Funny," I say with a chuckle. "I was taught those two things as well. Fine then. Follow me."
I turn back around and stomp on the head of a scrap metal robot, crushing it as the five of us venture through the raining, flooded hallway of my base.
Dr. Kimberly Cho:
"I can't believe it," I shout, slamming my fists down on my table. "I can't believe it! The stupid, stupid sprinkles!"
I look up and see the sprinkles still showering me and everything in my workshop. Everything in here is soaked, including my computer and all my tools.
"They're useful," I scream, throwing them to the side. "Argh! Fine! It's time to end this!"
I look up at the Iron First armor. Using my power, I bring the armor to life, the hand turning into a fist.