With The Splice Circle in upheaval, the Ani-gangs have decided it is the perfect time to try and wipe each other out to serve the new leader without competition. So The Scales and The Cloven have been trying to kill each other in the streets all week, leading up to one final rumble rumored to be tonight, in an abandoned electric plant on the outskirts of the Fringes.
After botching the Gravitas case, he decided that stopping gang violence in the Fringes (violence he helped escalate in the first place) would be an excellent, smaller-scale way to start rebuilding his reputation.
On their way to the plant, he fly beside Tarana. She can move through the air by shooting jets of water from her hands and feet, like high-pressure hoses. The problem is, she moves considerably slower than him—he has to exert extra Power to fly slowly enough for her not to fall behind.
He's kept mildly entertained, however, as people on the streets below are drenched by the excess water pouring down from Tarana's flight.
"How long will this take?" Tarana asks. "I've got a hair appointment later."
He's about to respond when he notice Tarana's H-Chip flashing away on her wrist—she is mentally texting while flying. This girl is going to get herself killed and it'll be all Travis fault. What on earth possessed him to pick her?
"So how do your parents feel about you heroing?" Travis ask, remembering the reason.
Tarana looks at him, sending over some grade-A death-shade. "Is that why you picked me? Because of who my parents are?"
Travis pauses for a moment, considering his answer. "I picked you because you seemed like you needed the most training."
"Yeah, sure thing, Mr. Screwup." Tarana laughs hysterically. "Well the joke's on you because my parents don't even know I'm here. They don't want me to be a hero at all."
Perfect, he think. Not only will Tarana's media connections not help him, but if her parents find out about him working with her, they'll probably torpedo his career even deeper.
"Don't look so thrilled, wannabe," Tarana says.
Even though she'd probably kill Travis if she knew, Tarana looks ever-so-slightly defeated. She must have to deal with people using her all the time….
After that, Travis and Tarana continue their flight in silence.
They finally approach the abandoned electrical plant, way later than they expected.
"I can't believe I'm going to stop a gang fight," Tarana says, looking bored. "That's so low budget. Can't we do something a little flashier?"
"Just worry about getting out alive," Travis says, his patience at its end. "And follow my lead."
"Wannabe," Tarana says, dropping down toward the plant. "I think you should be following my lead. I've got this."
Travis sigh, diving down after Tarana. Here goes nothing.
Travis crash through a broken window, followed closely by Tarana Rain. But what they see makes them both freeze.
They're too late.
Dozens of Ani-gangsters already cover the ground, lifeless and emptied. Also strewn among them are the bodies of seven heroes, all wearing brown-and-red costumes—at least Travis hope that red is from their costumes. Travis gasps as he realize that all of them are really young, probably some amateur youth startup team that tried to make a name for itself by stopping the rumble.
Travis is about to question the wisdom of bringing his own brand-new teen sidekick into this mess, but his attention is stolen by the vicious battles taking place below him.
A few dozen Ani-gangsters remain standing, their movements blurring together; lizard tails and venomous fangs rip into coarsely haired flesh. Cloven hooves and twisted antlers bash thin, scaled torsos everywhere he look.
"Oh no," Travis say, frozen in the air. The scene is more grisly than he ever could have imagined.
Tarana Rain looks just as horrified, despite her big talk just a minute ago. Unfortunately, her powers can't keep her hovering next to Travis, so she begins to plummet down toward the fray, terror-stricken.
Travis swoop down to scoop Tarana Rain up, flying to the edge of the plant to drop her off.
"Listen to me, do not get involved in the fighting!" Travis shout. "I just want you to get all of those fallen heroes to safety. Can you do that for me?"
Tarana Rain doesn't even blink, still frozen with fear. He bet Tarana has never seen anything quite as gruesome as a Fringe gang fight before.
"Can you do that for me?" Travis shouts louder, trying to snap Tarana out of it.
Tarana Rain finally nods, so Travis spin around and dive into the fray.
Travis generates two massive fists of black energy around his hands, the size of small boulders. He then closed his eyes and slam his fists into the ground, causing it to erupt in a massive quake.
When he opens his eyes, he find the Ani-gang members scattered across the plant, completely battered and disorganized. He can make out the sound of Tarana Rain's voice cheering him on in the background. Travis smile, thinking that this might go smoothly after all….
But before he can finish his thought, something sharp sinks into his shoulder.
Travis screams as he feel fangs rip at his flesh. Instinctively, he let out a strong energy pulse and the grip loosens.
He whip around to see a blonde girl falling to the ground, her hair flared in the shape of a cobra's head. As she hits the floor, Travis can see his blood dripping from the girl fangs.
Ignoring this sight, he turned his attention back to the remaining Ani-gangsters, knowing they'll probably attack him before tearing back into each other.
He raise his arms to throw up an energy shield but find that they've gone numb. Within seconds, he feels the numbness travel down his spine. Then his legs give out.
There must have been some kind of venom in cobra-girl's bite because he's now paralyzed from the neck down. He swivels his head desperately to see that the gang brawl has started up again all around him. It won't be long before one of them comes to finish him off….
"I moved those other heroes out of the line of fire," Travis hear Tarana Rain shout from somewhere nearby. "Why are you lying there?"
"That cobra-girl bit me and now I can't move," Travis says, thankful that he can at least speak. "Can you get me out of here?"
Tarana Rain steps over Travis to try and move him, but then her face goes blank. "The gang members, they're coming for us."
"Tarana Rain, listen to me. You have to make a stand."
Tarana looks ghostly.
"I don't think I can do this," she whispers.
"Pull yourself together," Travis shout. "Just do what I tell you!"
He already studied Tarana Rain's Powered profile while he was waiting for her, so he know how to utilize her abilities in ways she probably doesn't even know herself.
Tarana Rain looks down at him like he's insane. However, as several Ani-gangsters start to close in for the kill, she gets it together. Closing her eyes tightly, Tarana Rain stretches her arms over her head and begins to scream at the top of her lungs.
Immediately, Travis feels the ground tremble and he turns his head toward the far wall, which has begun to buckle, trickles of water pushing through.
"Wait, Tarana, what are you doing? That's not what I told you to-" Travis start to say, but it's no use. Before he can finish, the wall gives way and a tsunami crashes through, carrying massive chunks of concrete with it.
Travis jaw drops. There's no way anyone in here will survive that wall of water—not even him and Tarana.
He closed his eyes. At least his body is still numb, so he shouldn't feel much of anything when the water hits. He just hopes that he doesn't end up drowning to death.
Then he feels his body jerk violently and swing up into the air. He clenches his jaw, expecting a rush of cold water, but all he feels is a sprinkle of mist.
He opens his eyes to find himself in Tarana's chest, rocketing into the sky above the tsunami. Below, the remaining Ani-gangsters swirl around, desperately trying to survive the whirlpool.
"Holy sh*t," Travis whisper as the tidal pool winds down, gushing out of the exits. He can't tell if anyone survived—all he knows is that no one on the ground is moving.
Once the flood clears, Tarana hose-rockets Travis back to the ground and places him down.
"I didn't know I could do that," Tarana Rain says, astonished.
Then, before she can say another word, Tarana Rain faints.
Sh*t, he thinks as he lie in the now-silent plant, completely paralyzed.
This is not good.