Gabriela had never been kidnapped before, so she wasn't quite sure what the proper procedure was. Whenever she'd heard about people being kidnapped, she'd always thought about those poor people and she maybe briefly considered what she would try to do in that situation. But it wasn't something she had ever really thought would happen to her. She knew there were so many things she should do. There had been so many lectures from police officers and officials warning her about this and she always did her best to listen in when they came to the school to talk. But now her mind had gone blank. She was pretty sure she should be reaching for her phone or trying to make some sort of sign she was in trouble, but she couldn't for the life of her think of how to do it.
Her day…well, it hadn't been going normally she had to admit. Superpowers did have that effect. But she had managed to keep it under control, so nothing truly strange happened outside of Sumin informing her that they too had superpowers. But even with that, she tried to keep her day as normal as possible right up until the end when she was told that three more people from their school had powers and that there were criminals with powers too.
She hadn't even begun to process that as she made her way out of the school when she suddenly felt something pointy prick her in the back. "What the-"
Then she felt a hand cover her mouth and the pointy thing jab painfully into her spine.
"Don't scream and come with me, or die. Your choice."
It was at that moment she realized she was being kidnapped. That was the last rational moment her brain had as it then completely froze up. She just walked where her mysterious kidnapper led her right down the back stairwell to the bottom where there was only a supply closet.
She was finally released, being pushed aside and she turned instantly. She wasn't sure what she should do. Try to run or attack or scream or something. But she didn't do any of those things. She just stared at the man who had kidnapped her.
There wasn't much to see though as whoever it was had a metal mask on. So her attention turned to his hand and she had to withhold a gasp as she saw the writhing black material flowing around it. Except for the end which had extended into one long metallic nail that looked capable of stabbing right through her and maybe the wall.
Wait. Sumin had told her that the others had fought someone last night. Was this…was this them? No, it couldn't be that much of a coincidence, could it?
"It seems to be a strange twist of fate that you received a power as well, Ms. Fuentes." The way he said that struck a chord in Gabriela's mind but she didn't have time to think about it as he continued. "An ironic coincidence. Just when all my plans begin to come to fruition, I learn that seven individuals have emerged with new powers that might upset those plans. To cap it all off, one of them happens to be…you. The second person I hate most in the world."
That line got through the fog of fear flooding her mind and she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Second-most hated? Who was first? And why was she second? Who the hell even was this guy and what she had done to him to make that number on his list?
"It sort of does feel like fate that I have a good reason to kill you now," the man murmured, almost to himself. "And I actually can get away with it. How funny."
"Wh-who are you?" Gabriela barely managed, her voice soft and hoarse.
"To you? Not anyone important, I imagine. Just another outlier on your path in life. Until now however. Now, I am the bulldozer that will obliterate that path for good."
That might have been funny if the situation wasn't so scary.
"But first, I'm going to show you how my life was ruined. See this?" He raised up his weird, metallic hand with the long claw still attached. "Watch." He then pointed the claw right at Gabriela and it shot right for her. She didn't even have time to scream before it struck. But instead of impaling her like she thought it would, it grew and wrapped around her, binding her arms and legs together tightly. Whatever the stuff was, it was as flexible as rope but hard as iron. Some of it even went across her mouth, gagging her.
"You see this, this is why my life was ruined," the masked man told her. "This is my baby. My greatest achievement. But because I was too ambitious, too hardworking, I was punished and was left to scramble for resources in order to complete my goal. Now, my time is at hand. And you will get to witness it. Before you die, I mean. Hold still for a minute. And don't bother crying for help. Your voice won't reach anyone."
He opened up the supply closet and stepped inside, disappearing from view. The second he was gone, Gabriela felt her mind begin to work properly again. The fear was still there, but it wasn't quite as fierce now. Not that made much difference as she was still tied up and being prepped for execution. That very thought caused her heart to skip at least 3 beats.
She was still trying to process how she had suddenly wound up in this situation. But she couldn't dwell on it. In all those warnings and lectures she'd listened to, there was one thing those people forgot to mention. What to do if you had superpowers.
Gabriela had been keeping it down all day so she knew it was just ready to burst out. And it did, her entire body glowing brightly as she tried to destroy her binds. But whatever the stuff was, it was stronger than her power. She tried pushing more into her hands, trying to burn through the stuff but even that didn't work. So what could she do then?
"Damn it!" she cried. Or, she tried to cry but the gag prevented it so she really just muffled it. Still, it felt good to let loose a little so she used some of the more fancy words she only used in private or when she and her friends got sugar high from eating too many crepes. It wasn't really helping her escape but wailing her frustrations did make her feel a little better.
Not having anything to lose, she tried one last time, unleashing as much of her power as she could, causing her entire body to glow like the sun. For a split second, she thought her bonds were weakening and a ray of hope shined through. But when she tested it out, it was as tight as ever.
She slumped over, tears leaking down. Was this really how she died? This didn't make any sense. She had her whole life ahead of her, a whole career path sketched out. She couldn't die. She had too much to do, so much to live for. How could she die now? It wasn't fair!
No. She had to keep going, no matter what. She was sure she had felt something the last time so maybe that meant the binds were loosening, just more slowly than she wanted. She gritted her teeth and pushed even more power than before, the glow even stronger around her but she kept going. This time, she wouldn't stop for anything.
"Ack!" someone cried out, startling her and causing her to stop. "Seriously, what the hell?"
She looked up and would have gaped if she could when she saw Luke Decker standing at the top of the stairs, blinking from her power. What the hell was he doing here? Better question, could he save her. "Luke!" she cried out, though it came out more like "Lumph!"
"Huh?" he said, looking down and noticing her. He seemed to freeze for a second, taking her in. Then he moved, running down the stairs and kneeling down next to her. "Gabriela? Wha-what is this? What's going on?"
Gabriela almost sighed in relief before the supply closet and…something emerged from within. Something big, dark, and definitely scary. Her eyes widened and she frantically started screaming through the gag, begging him to turn around.
He frowned, not understanding and she felt her hopes sink. But then he froze, his eyes flicking behind him before he turned.
Or he would have if not for the long metal spike that shot out from the masked man's wrist that pressed sharply into Luke's back. Luke instantly tensed up, his body going stiff.
"Oh Decker," the masked man tutted, actually shaking his head. "I so wish you hadn't come to this. I was hoping for one of those arguing buffoons. Now, I can't let you leave here alive."
"Who the hell are you? And what did you do to Gabriela?"
"Oh, her? Why nothing…yet at least. But I'll be getting to the fun stuff very soon."
Gabriela tried again to blast her way out but she'd barely started to glow when her binds suddenly tightened. She choked, feeling one wrap around her throat and begin to squeeze it.
"Now, now, I wouldn't do that," the masked man warned her.
"Let her go, you sick piece of shit."
"Oh do shut up, little boy. There's nothing you can do so why don't you just-"
He was interrupted when he was sent flying into the wall, hitting it so hard that it cracked and even crumbled it a little. Gabriela felt the binds around her throat loosen and she was able to breathe normally again. She took in two shaky breaths before looking up, seeing Luke's outstretched arm towards the masked man. So he had powers too. At this point, Gabriela wasn't really surprised.
"Here," he said, kneeling down again. "Let me-"
This time, he was interrupted when an enormous black fist suddenly wrapped around him, cutting him off. Gabriela saw the fist had the same writhing material as her binds. As it held her, she could sort of feel it. It was hard to explain, but it felt like millions of tiny ants crawling over her. But it was dulled down so much that she could easily mistake it for liquid. And yet still, it was stronger than steel. Stronger even as her blasts still weren't doing anything.
But not for long. Gabriela had managed to blow a hole straight through the earth yesterday. And that had been when her emotions went into overload. So she just needed the recreate those emotions to produce the same effect.
She might have thought the fear of dying would be enough but now she realized that fear was actually holding her back. She was still too afraid to focus, to use it right. It was clouding her mind too much. She needed something more to cut through it. She needed…rage.
She stared up at the masked man and pictured who he was underneath that mask. That way he talked. The way he walked even. She could easily imagine him in this man's place. The one person she hated most in this world.
Dredden.
"YAAHHHH!" she screamed, feeling the power practically explode out of her. The bindings held firm for a second or two before she pushed even harder and they finally gave way, disintegrating in her light.
"What?" the masked man snarled, turning too late as she threw her fist forward, sending a burst of power right for his chest. It struck him dead center, launching him into the other wall and cratering that one too.
"You want to kill me?" she asked, glaring at him. "Give it your best shot."
For a second, she thought he might be unconscious and that this was all over. Then she noticed his shoulders moving before he looked up at her, chuckling.
"Oh that can't be good," Luke muttered.
"You think you can beat me?" the masked man asked. "Do you have any idea who I am? What a foolish question, of course you don't. You're newbies, thrown into a world you don't understand just like the others. Given a drop of power and thinking you're invincible. You want to see what real powers looks like?" He lifted up his hands, like he was about to give a sermon only Gabriela figured it would be so much worse than that.
She felt the shaking first, the earth trembling as if there was an earthquake happening. Then she heard it, a slight buzzing noise that only grew and grew, as if a swarm of bees was coming for them. Then she saw it, right through the supply closet door. And as she looked closer, the first thing she noticed was that it wasn't a supply closet at all. Well, the first bit was but there was a backdoor leading to another, larger room. And from that room was a wave. A dark, shiny wave that was coming right at them.
"What the freaking hell is that?" Luke yelped.
"That is your demise and my salvation," the masked man cried out, hands still raised up high as if he was praising the Lord. "This is my dreams made reality. This is the culmination of all my hard work. Look upon it in all its glory."
Gabriela might have laughed at his cheesy lines if the situation wasn't so utterly terrifying. She wanted to move, to run away, but her legs wouldn't work, fear filling her mind once again. She could only watch as the wave washed into the stairwell, forming up around the masked man and lifting him up into the air. Now that she got a better look, Gabriela could tell that this wasn't a liquid at all. There were tiny specks in there. It was like…a combination of multiple things but what she didn't know.
"At last, my time has come. The reckoning is finally at hand. I will demolish this abysmal place, this infernal prison that denied me my greatness for so long!" the masked man roared, staring up at the ceiling and Gabriela assumed the school beyond.
"Dude," Luke said quietly. "Seriously, see a therapist. Or at least take a chill pill."
The masked man whipped his gaze to Luke's direction, causing him to gulp loudly. "You mock me boy, like all the others. I never liked you either and I have no problem killing you alongside Fuentes there. As for everyone else," he stared back up, "well, there will always be collateral damage."
That snapped Gabriela out of her fear. He was talking about destroying the school and everyone in it. If there was one thing she was grateful for, he had waited til the end of school when much fewer people were around. But there were probably still dozens left up there not to mention the teachers and other faculty working later. She was the future class president, damn it! This was her moment to step up. Protocol usually dictated she run and hide, and she still planned to do that. But like before, protocol hadn't accounted for her major power boost. Those were her people up there and she was going to protect them no matter what.
She felt the energy rise up inside her again and her body began to glow with it. "I don't know what the hell your deal is, and frankly I don't care," she told the masked man. "There's no way I'm going to let you hurt anyone here today. Or any day, for that matter."
"A bold statement backed up by…nothing of consequence," the masked man said. He raised his arm to her and the mass followed, swirling in on itself until it formed a giant spear aimed right for her. "You plan on stopping me? Give it your all. It should provide some entertainment before the main event."
The spear shot forward and Gabriela leapt to the side, missing being impaled by inches. It retracted and then struck again and she once again narrowly dodged it. This time though, she acted, running forward and shooting a blast of her power out of her fist fight for the mass. It seemed to work at first, her energy blasting a hole right through it. But then she noticed that it wasn't really her. The mass was just now moving around her blast, avoiding it completely.
The spear came at her again and she ducked under it. She knew she couldn't keep dodging forever so she came up with a new plan. As the spear came for her, she leapt to the side and then unleashed her power. But not at it. She fired a line right below it, blasting at the wall, before throwing her fist up, the line following and slicing right through the spear.
Severed from the main body, the end of the spear fell down and crumbled apart on the stairs while the rest retracted back to the mass. Gabriela let out a deep breath, blowing some her loose hair aside, before facing the masked man. "Anything else?"
To her disappointment, he merely chuckled. "It's funny to see you stumble around, thinking you can actually beat me, when you truly have no idea what you're up against. Did you really think cutting my work is the same as destroying it?"
Gabriela's heart clenched and she whirled aound just in time to see the mass on the floor lunge for her. She didn't even have time to dodge as it struck.
She had closed her eyes out of reflex, but it took her a second to realize she was fine. She opened them again and gasped at the spear-shaped mass hovering right in front of her. It then reshaped itself, trying to get her but something was holding it midair, preventing it from moving.
"Yeah?" She looked up to see Luke standing there with his hand outstretched, trembling a little. "Well, did you forget there were two of us?"
"No. I just didn't care."
"That's your mistake, asshole. Underestimating your opponent is the worst thing you can do. Let me show you." With that, Gabriela felt a push in the air and the floating mass was thrown right back at the masked man. He seemed to attempt to control it again but this time it didn't work as it struck his face head on, completely encasing it and forcing him to the ground.
Gabriela felt a hand slip into hers and she was pulled up the stairs.
"Come on, let's go before he-"
The masked man roared as he sprang back to his feet and the mass wave was launched right at them, threatening to drown them completely.
Nothing in the last two days had gone the way Luke had expected. But if there was one thing he'd learned from playing football, is that you had to be able to improvise. You never really knew what kind of play the other team would do or how they'd act so you had to be smart and think on your feet in order to stay ahead. So, here, as much as Luke wanted to freak out, he knew he needed to stay calm and think of how to come out on top. Or in this case, alive.
Which wasn't easy to do considering the giant wave of pure death hurtling right towards him and Gabriela. Still, he acted fast. Just before it struck, he threw his powers right back at it, creating a wall with his mind that formed around him and Gabriela, stopping the wave from reaching them.
He grimaced as the wave hit, feeling his powers being pushed back. He hadn't ever felt that before, mainly because he'd never really tested his limits, something he regretted now. He could already hear his father berating him for his negligence.
He tried to push forward but whatever that stuff was, it was too powerful. He could sense it a little. It was like thousands or even millions of tiny bodies all massed into one thing. That just gave it more power, forcing him to take a step back.
"Luke!"
He turned at the yell and yelped himself, quickly forming another mental wall before another wave could strike from behind. He grunted, moaning a little from the strain. Whenever he was exercising and felt that burning feeling that showed he was pushing his muscles' limits, he never imagined he might feel it in his brain. But there it was and it literally felt like his brain was on fire.
"I…can't…hold it…" he said through gritted teeth. He could feel the two waves pushing back hard, never giving him an inch. In fact he was giving way more than an inch with each second that passed. Pretty soon, they'd be dead.
"Surrender now, and I might make your deaths painless."
"As tempting as that is, we decline," Gabriela replied.
"Do you…have a plan?" Luke asked.
"Working on it."
"Very…comforting."
"Enough of this!" Luke glanced up and felt his mouth dropping as even more of the strange substance rose to tower over them. It struck the stairwell above and kept going until it had almost completely enveloped them. Dozens of spears formed from it, ready to drop down and skewer them. "Fun and games are over. Time to die."
The spears dropped and in that instant, Luke felt something. A feeling he'd only had a couple times before. The first time had been at his very first football game and he'd been so nervous, unsure of what to do, until the players came rushing at him. It had been this trigger in his body, this sudden surge that showed him exactly what to do. Now he felt it again, rushing through him. And without thinking, he grabbed Gabriela and took off.
The wave crashed down, shattering his mental walls, but he shot through it, dodging right by the second wave attacking from behind, making for the open door out of there. They soared through, sailing right down the hallway and away from that hellhole.
It was at that moment that Luke felt his energy drop and he came to a stop, letting Gabriela drop to her knees. They both took a second to catch their breaths before Gabriela looked up at him in shock. "Luke…you're…um, you're…"
Luke frowned before glancing down and noticing for the first time that his feet were hovering off the ground. He felt weightless, as if that there was nothing left holding him down. He could feel his power at work, keeping him aloft with ease. He thought about moving up and he did, floating even higher.
"I can fly," he breathed in disbelief.
"You can fly," Gabriela muttered, shaking her head.
"I can freaking fly," Luke repeated, not sure if he should believe it. But as much as he wanted to, they weren't anywhere close to being out of trouble. He turned just as the masked man emerged from the stairwell.
"You're just full of tricks, aren't you?" he asked. "But tricks won't help you in the long run. Victory shall be mine."
"Still as corny as ever," Luke said, shaking his head slightly.
The masked man raised his arms again and they both felt a rumbling in the floor. The wave of metallic stuff practically exploded from the stairwell, cracking the walls and ceiling as it flooded over them making its way all over the hallway.
"You have a plan?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, run like hell!"
"That's a good plan." They took off, Gabriela running as fast as she could while Luke soared above her. He knew he could quickly surpass her so he quickly grabbed onto any nearby objects with his mind. Chairs, desks, tables, couches, books, bags, pencils, staplers, whatever. All of it was thrown back at the mass in an attempt to slow it down. None of it did much other than exhaust Luke's powers even more but he kept it up anyway. He had no idea what else to do against this.
It was only when they turned the corner that he realized something. There was no one else around. It may have been after school but there should at least be someone around. Students, some teachers, the janitor. But it was empty.
"What the hell?"
"Surprised?"
They both jumped at the voice, looking further down the hall to see the masked man there. "What?" Luke muttered, stopping midair. "But…you were just…" No. He couldn't hesitate. All his attacks failed because he was aiming at that strange stuff. But here was the leader, the one behind it all, unprotected. He just had to take him out.
"Big mistake pal!" Luke roared, pushing himself forward as fast as he could go right for the man. "You left your guard wide open for me to strike!"
The masked man didn't even try to move as Luke struck him dead-on, his fist landing right in the man's masked face. And then, his fist sank into it.
"What?" he muttered, not believing what he was seeing. His fist was all the way into the man's head. As if it was made of syrup or something.
Or something else.
"No way," he said to himself.
"Oh yes," the masked man replied, even though his mouth was gone. "Did you really think I would leave myself open like that? That I would let you strike me down as if I was some common thug? Think again, little boy."
The blow struck Luke in the side of the head before he could even see it. He flew into the wall and then dazedly wafted down to the floor where he lay there groaning. He lifted his head a little, watching as the masked man approached. Except it wasn't the man. It was just a copy. As he watched, the body dissolved, transforming back into the strange writhing substance. Its arms turned into giant blades that looked like they could slice through a ship.
"Luke, come on!" Luke felt himself get lifted up as Gabriela threw his arm around her shoulder, carrying him away.
"There's nowhere to run. I've been laying siege to this school for almost ten minutes now. Once my work was activated, I had it placed all over so that nothing could be spared my wrath. I have hated this place for so long and now it will be the stage for my triumphant debut to the world."
"What in the hell is he talking about?" Luke asked.
"I have no idea but he has definitely lost it."
"I am not crazy!" the man roared and even though the bladed figure showed no emotion, they could feel the hatred in his voice. "I am a genius, cast aside for too long. But no longer. Now my creations and I will show the world just who I am and what I can do. They will know the name of Swarm and tremble in fear!"
"Swarm?" Luke and Gabriela said at the same time.
"Yes. That is my name. Swarm."
Luke blinked and he saw Gabriela open and close her mouth, both of them thinking the same thing. I don't know whether to be scared of this guy or laugh at him.
"I see you doubt. Perhaps a demonstration."
The floor around them was suddenly flooded by the strange substance and they tensed, ready to run, but this time it didn't go for them. Instead, the stuff started to form up in different spots. Over twenty different areas began to rise up, figures being created out of them. Luke and Gabriela could only watch in mounting horror as a variety of monsters were formed from the stuff. Some looked like wild beasts, one as big as a bear but looking ten times as dangerous. Others looked more humanoid but with added features like spears or swords in place of limbs or with larger fists or extra limbs and sometimes tentacles.
"I can create my own army in a matter of moments. An army that needs no rest, no nourishment. An army that will never stop, that can be reformed with a mere thought. A swarm of endless soldiers that will wipe away all my enemies."
Definitely scared, Luke decided. But it's still a stupid name.
The figures charged and Luke quickly went on the attack, Gabriela right beside him. She started firing off blasts of energy from her hands, blowing holes right through the figures while Luke tried grabbed them and tossing them aside. But whenever he did, he had that feeling again of a million different things he was holding onto, making it almost impossible to maintain his grip as they just slipped through and reformed. So instead he created mental walls and pushed them against the horde. It was more taxing but it had a better effect.
Gabriela was still having trouble though. Her blasts did seem to be hurting the figures but it seemed more comparable to having a paper cut for them than having their heads or chests blown open as they swiftly filled the holes and recovered. Luke noticed something when they did though. It was like small pieces of it were dropped and left aside each time. Gabriela was certainly doing some damage but there was simply too much for them to handle alone.
They were swiftly surrounded and backed up against the wall, still firing off with their powers. "Think you can fly us out of here?"
"Not like I have much of a choice," Luke replied, gritting his teeth. "Hang on." He pushed upward, lifting off into the air. If this wasn't a life or death situation, he might have actually enjoyed the sensation. He aimed right for the windows, throwing his power out and shattering them.
As they flew, several spears shot out to them, forcing Luke to dodge, slowing them down. One nicked his leg and he winced, dropping a few feet.
"Can't you go any faster?"
"Why don't you fly me out of here instead?"
Luke tried pushing away the spears when they came for them but it was harder each time so he focused on flying them out of there. But it was harder now. It was taking everything he had just to stay aloft. His energy was spent and he didn't know how much longer he could last. He tried imagining it like a football game, the window being the end zone and the spears and stuff just weird, violent players.
"Look out!"
Luke dodged on instinct, rolling through the air right before one of the strange monsters could hit him. It landed back on the ground, turned and leapt again, forcing Luke to fly up to avoid it. He looked back at the window and saw more figures forming up there. Getting through them would be practically impossible.
Were they really about to die? Luke's breath caught in his throat. He didn't want to die. This couldn't be it. No, he just had to push through like always. Training with his dad over the years had taught him how to surpass his limits, making them one of the best football players around. This was no different. No way was he going to die now.
"Hold on," he said to Gabriela, summoning up as much energy as he could. He had only one shot at this so he had to make it count. He raised his hand and shot it out right into the middle of the horde. For a split second, there was only the sound of a slight humming. Then the area exploded with pure force, as if a bomb had gone off without the fire and smoke. The figures all shattered, crumbling into millions of pieces, leaving an opening right to the window.
"Alright, let's…" Luke said before he fell to the ground, his flight gone.
"Luke, what's going…Luke!" Gabriela said urgently but he could barely hear her, as if his head was underwater. He had never felt more drained in his life, like he had just run up a mountain.
"A strong front, but ultimately useless." Luke just managed to lift his head as Swarm approached. Behind him, the figures were now reforming. "You have great power, but no true strength to wield it yet. Such a pity. Oh well. Time to end this."
Luke bowed his head, wheezing. He had failed. He needed to do one thing and he failed. And now they were going to die.
"Now my army will-"
Swarm was interrupted when a giant, glowing fist slammed into him, smashing him into pieces as well. Gabriela and Luke stared astonished for a second before turning around.
"You have an army," Sumin said, hands raised up high. Behind them stood a plethora of figures that were a mix of animals, robots, soldiers, and other random items, all glowing a deep indigo. "So do I."