"It is currently 7 a.m. central time. Air Force One should be entering Nashville airspace at any moment now from the north-east," I say over comms. The four of us are flying over Nashville now towards where we will intercept the plane. "Once we get eyes on it everyone will go to their assigned spot. Glitch, you take back left. Flare, back right. Spark you are going to be at the center of Air Force One rotating to cover all angles. I will be up front by the cockpit. Copy?" A yawn escapes my mouth. I had EXTREMELY strong coffee this morning and it still hasn't woken me all the way up.
Much to everyone's delight, I didn't mix in any Red Bull or energy drinks of any kind. Dying of a heart attack today wouldn't be a very good thing.
"Copy."
"Understood."
Spark is the only one who doesn't respond. Instead, she shifts closer and mutes her comm. I do the same.
"What are you worried about?" She asks, electric blue eyes inquisitive under her black domino mask.
"I'm not worried about anything. Why would you think that?"
"Everytime you get worried, the way you talk becomes formal. Almost like how rich people talk."
"Something is going to happen. I don't know why I think that but it worries me."
"You need to trust us, Hurricane. You can only hide under that mask for so long before something cracks."
I do hide under my mask. While every other hero around the country wears a more conventional brightly-colored superhero costume, like things you see in comic books or movies, mine stands out. Dark grey, almost black but not quite, leather covers me from my neck down. It lightens up from my knees down and a pair of combat boots complete the look (And add about three inches to my height). My mask is more like something Red Hood would wear but it only covers my face using nanotechnology developed by my parents.The location of my mask allows me to keep my hair in the braid that has become synonymous with Hurricane. Blue the same color as my mask swirls up my arms where I have several daggers stored.
We all have a full face mask, but the others prefer their domino masks. They say it makes them seem human to the rest of the country.
The roar of jets fills the air. Several hundred feet ahead of us and closing in fast is Air Force One. We get in formation and as soon as it reaches us, we fly by the windows. Three sets of hands press up against the windows with curious faces behind them. One figure lurks behind them and once he sees me, he waves.
Getting in formation around the plane is not difficult. Spark links our comms with the intercom system on the plane.
"Good morning First Family and all others on board! This is Hurricane speaking. We are honored to have you here in Nashville. The plane should begin making its descent here in the next few minutes. Please make your way to your seat if you have not done so already and fasten your seatbelts."
I fly just off the left side of the plane in view of the pilots. When they start the descent, they motion to let me know.
"The plane is beginning its descent," I say. "Pull back and fall into formation."
"On it."
I fall back to Spark and she doesn't say anything. Flare and Glitch meet us in the center of the plane and we veer off. I click off the 'business mask' and reveal a simple gray and blue marbled domino mask.
Once the plane stops, we hover right above where all the passengers will exit. I change from When the stairs get attached to the plane and everyone begins exiting, we gracefully drop down to the ground. I plaster on my best press smile and prepare to 'meet' everyone. Uncle Tom and Aunt Camryn are the first ones to exit the plane. They are followed by all my cousins in birth order. Spencer, then the twins Alexa and Brady, and Max.
Poor Alexa is the only girl other than Aunt Camryn in her family. What that means is whenever we see each other, she clings to me like dryer lint. Once they get to the hotel I'll have to officially say 'hi' to them. For now, it's time to be the hero everyone knows me to be.
The final notes of Hail to the Chief are being played when Uncle Tom approaches us.
Spark is the first to speak. "Mr. President sir. It is an honor to meet you." Remaining calm while talking to the president is not something I expected Spark to do.
"It is an honor to meet you as well. I am so glad the four of you could make it today. Flare, still keeping things cool out west?" He asks.
"Yes sir. Wildfires are now at an all time low and we have set up warning systems for the minute a new fire starts."
"Glad to hear it!"
"Mr. President." Glitch remains straight faced. Nothing fazes him while on the job.
"There you are Glitch! So nice to see you again!" Glitch has met Uncle Tom a total of once. It was a fluke run in while they were both in New York. Uncle Tom called me that night and told me how much he enjoyed meeting Glitch.
He finally gets to me. "There she is! The one who joined the four of you together!" Good to see you, Hurricane!" I've officially met Uncle Tom as Hurricane several times. The Elemental Four have been around for quite awhile but I existed as a hero before that.
"A pleasure as always Mr. President."
"I've told you a million times, call me Tom."
"Whatever you say sir- I mean Tom." I offer my hand for the traditional handshake but he pulls me in for a hug. Whenever he sees someone he has met several times, he moves on from handshakes to hugs.
"Good to see you Cel," he whispers under his breath."
"You too Uncle Tom. I'll be by the hotel later."
"Sounds good sweetie."
Aunt Camryn comes right behind Uncle Tom in line with Max in tow.
"So nice to see you again Hurricane." She offers her hand and I take it in a firm shake. "You need to come to D.C. sometime soon." The double meaning is not lost on me. She's saying, 'Come visit us. We miss you.'
"You too Mrs. Valencia. I'm hoping to come sometime this fall. Just depends on several factors. Hi Max! I hope you enjoy your stay here in Nashville!" I squat down and offer him my hand in a high five. Reporters clamor around us for a shot of Hurricane giving a high five to the youngest son of the First Family.
"Will I get to see you again Celeste?" He says quietly. Max may be the baby of his family, but at ten years old he is definitely able to understand how important my identity is.
"I'm stopping by later!"
"Yay!"
Alexa and Brady come through without nothing more than a handshake. They are fourteen and keep quiet. Once Brady leaves to join the rest of the family, Alexa gives me a quick hug and the press snaps pictures. Spencer walks by and glares up at me. (I may be a little off the ground just so I can be taller than him)
"Hello Hurricane."
"Spencer." My smile falls for a split second. "It's been quite awhile since I've seen you."
I know the press will spin this into something it's not. They always do.
"Yes. Yes it has. If you don't mind, I need to go join the rest of my family."
"Of course. Go right ahead."
He strolls away from us to where they are posing for an official picture.
"We need to get the Four in here!" Uncle Tom's voice booms over the chatter.
The press secretary, Bailey Floyd, looks absolutely ecstatic at the recommendation. "That is such a great idea sir! Now, let's put Hurricane and Flare over here by Spencer, and Glitch and Spark can stand over by the First Lady."
I float a few inches over the ground and move over by Spencer.
"You cheated on your height," he whispers to me.
"No I didn't."
"You have on heels. You know you're shorter than me."
"Just stop whining and smile for the camera Spencer. We'll handle this later." The fake press smile goes back on my face as I turn to face the cameras.
He mumbles under his breath. Probably something along the lines of 'Yeah right.'
~~~
Once all the photos are taken and the First Family has gotten into their designated cars in the Presidential Convoy, we fly up to watch the procession.
"Well that went better than expected." Glitch flies lazily on his back.
"What do you mean by that? We just met the freaking President!" Spark is doing barrel rolls of excitement up above us.
"And did you see his son? Dang. Talk about being good looking."
"Watch it there Flare. That's my cousin you're talking about. Besides, he isn't interested in guys."
"Damn it. I find a guy I like and it turns out he's straight," Flare complains.
"Welcome to my world." Spark floats down to the rest of us. "But it's the opposite."
"Sure it is. You find girls who are straight or guys who are gay. Never in between." Flare retorts.
"Okay you two, let's move on from ending your families bloodline and on to making sure the First Family makes it downtown safely," Glitch says. "Where are they staying again?"
"The Westin. It's over on Clark Place if I'm right."
Spark starts typing on her arm. She added a mini tablet into her suit to make access to what seems like a million things easier. It never needs to charge since it runs off of the electricity produced by her body.
"You're right. It has that weird pool on top of it."
"You know, I've never understood that pool. There's barely any water in it and it's tiny."
"Like you!" Glitch says.
"I'm not tiny!" I insist.
Flare laughs. "Girl, you're what, five four? Like it or not, you're short."
I fake pout. "And here I thought you guys were my friends."
"We are. That's why we get to make fun of you." Glitch narrows and extends his arm just to poke me in the side.
"Hey!"
My face turns bright red. Deciding to get him back, I pull water vapor from the air around us to form a big ball of water and wrapped it around his arms and legs. One smooth flick of my wrist froze the water and Glitch begins plummeting towards the ground.
"HURRICANE! PLEASE LET ME GO!" He calls during his descent.
"Nah. Don't think I will!"
Flare and Spark are both doubled over midair in laughter.
"You gonna save him?" Flare asks.
"In a minute. This is fun to watch."
Right before Glitch hits the ground, I get control of the ice and pull him back up. Unfreezing him, I keep the water around his arms until he's gained his balance in the air.
"What was that for?" Glitch is absolutely PISSED at that.
"Hey, you brought it on yourself."
"Why you little…" He shoots towards me and I shift out of his way.
"Gonna have to do better than that!" I taunt.
He changes directions midair and I drop down about ten feet.
"Is that how you'd treat your mother Glitch? Because I know she would not be happy if you did this to her."
"That's it! I give up!" He throws his hands up in defeat. Looking down at the interstate he asks, "Where did your family go?"
"Oh shit. We lost them!" Flare looks scared. "WE LOST THE PRESIDENT!"
"No, we didn't. They're just ahead of us. See?" I point a little ways north where several news helicopters are hovering and a police escort is visible around the Presidential Motorcade. "It'll be easy to catch them. Don't stress yourself out there Spark."
Glitch flies a few inches away from me. "Try anything else and you won't be able to walk for a week."
"Ooh, kinky."
His ears turn bright red. "Not like that. I'll make sure your legs don't work."
"You might want to rethink that. It still sounds like you're offering something else." I know exactly what he means but seeing him flustered is more fun.
"Then let's break this down to the bare basics. Legs twisted into spirals, unable to get up. Does that help you?"
"Still sounds like you're offering to screw me."
"That's not what I'm- You know what?"
"What? You don't want to do it?" I fake a pout.
"I never said that. You just must not be as smart as I thought you were."
'Oh shit,' I think. 'He's figured me out. But at least he knows what I'm going for.'
"What makes you think that, West?" That'll piss him off. Out of all of us, Glitch is the one who's most concerned about using code names, NEVER real names in the field.
"I'd watch it there, Hurricane. Don't want anything about being related to the President, or worse, being leaked to the press."
"You wouldn't dare." He won't do it. Because what'll be waiting for him is worse than what would happen to me.
"Oh will you two stop flirting!" Spark literally pushes us apart. "We need to catch up to the convoy before they reach downtown. That's when the formalities officially start!"
"Then everyone get your butts over here!" I press the button and let my full face mask spread out again. Everyone else follows suit. Three fully masked faces stare back at me. One green, one yellow and black, the last red and orange.
They all rush to get by my side. "Don't get too far away from me or you'll be left behind. Now, hold on." I summon a strong gust of wind and push us towards the city quickly.
Within the span of seconds we are caught up with the Presidential Motorcade. We enter downtown and remove the full face masks. Crowds line the street. Everyone is hoping to get a look at the First Family and the Elemental Four.
"Remember, we're here to protect the First Family. Feel free to take as many pictures as you want, but the second you see trouble, your ass better be ready to fight. Shadow may use this as an opportunity to attack."
Spark and Flare immediately dive down and land among the crowds. Cameras immediately start flashing and I decide to send a little idea over the comms.
"Get pictures with the kids," I say. "They look up to us the most."
Laughs echo over the comms. When I look down, Spark and Flare both have a kid in their arms and are flying them a few feet off the ground.
I can't help it. This makes me happy. People seeing us as more than heroes is one of my favorite parts of the job.
Water vapor gets pulled towards me and I dash over the street leaving a fine mist behind me. The resulting effect is a rainbow. Everyone turns skyward and gets as many pictures as they can before it disappears.
We move through downtown until we finally reach The Westin. Glitch quickly forms barricades to keep the crowds away from the entrance and we line up. Flare is across from me and we stand right by where my family will exit the car.. Glitch stands by Flare and Spark stands beside me. We watch Uncle Tom, Aunt Camryn, and the rest of my cousins pull up and exit. Looking perfect as always, they walk into the lobby where a press conference is set up.
~~~
Standing at attention between Uncle Tom and the press, the questions seem to go on for hours. Most of them concern new policies put in place by different states and what Uncle Tom thinks of them. Then one catches my attention.
"President Valencia, what do you have to say about the policy Congress just approved this morning to restrict the country's heroes to certain areas?" A reporter in the back asks.
He looks taken aback. If it was approved this morning then that means they waited until he was in the air. They went behind his back.
"I have no response to that question at this moment. If they feel it is best, then the whole country must implement that."
Reporters immediately clamor to ask us questions. After all, we are the ones it affects the most.
I start to feel lightheaded. The lights are blinding.
The last thing I hear before everything goes black is "HURRICANE!"