When Gabriela got home from school, she had decided that enough was enough. She was finally going to sit down and write her speech and she would not leave her room until it was done.
That had been 3 hours ago. And she still had squat.
"Ugh," she groaned, bopping her head off her desk over and over. "Why is this so hard? It never used to be this hard."
"Still having trouble I see."
"Dad!" Gabriela jumped up in surprise. "When did you get here?"
He gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about? I've been home all day. I talked to you when you came in, remember?"
Gabriela blinked. "Oh, right, yeah."
He shook his head, chuckling. "Well, I just came in to tell you that I am leaving now. There are some things at the office that need taking care of. I won't be back til after midnight it seems so…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill dad, don't worry," she assured him. This often happened given the nature of his work. Though Gabriela still didn't know what sorts of projects he was working on, she did know they were all very important and time consuming. "Joaquim and I have things handled."
"I know you do, Gabi. And good luck with your speech."
"Ha ha," she said dryly.
"See you later," he gave her a wave before heading out.
Gabriela turned back to her blank piece of paper and let out another groan. At this rate, she should just hand Dredden his victory right now. Unless she came up with something truly brilliant over the weekend, she was toast.
"Why do I even want this position?" she asked herself aloud. "Just to look good on college applications? Yeah, that's a good line, I should lead with that. 'Hey everybody, guess what, I'm only using the student president so I stand above all of you went Yale comes calling. So sorry.' Bet that'll go over well."
She tried pacing around her room, brewing up some tea, even meditating for a little bit, but nothing helped. She even tried writing it with her dog Bruna on her lap for that extra 'puppy power!'
It did not work.
"Gabriela, dinner!" Joaquim called out.
"Coming!" she replied, sighing afterwards. "Oh well, maybe some of Joaquim's cooking will get my creative juices flowing. Oh who am I kidding, I'm never going to get this."
She wished that whatever had given her these powers had given her some sort of writing or inspirational super powers instead, something she could actually use right now. As tempting as it would be to blast Dredden off the stage next week, she was pretty sure that wouldn't win her the election. Though given the current state of their country's government, she might be surprised.
"Any luck?" Joaquim asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"Ugh."
"I'll take that as a no." He handed her a plate of fried sweet plantains, her favorite. "Here, have one. Fresh off the pan. But no more than one." He wagged his finger.
"I know, I know," Gabriela said, taking one. She knew it was supposed to be hot but she didn't really feel extreme temperatures anymore thanks to her powers. One of the small perks, she guessed. She placed the whole plantain in her mouth and felt it dissolve into caramelized goodness. "Eemmm!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, I am good," Joaquim acknowledged.
"You're freaking amazing," she said around the food.
"No talking with your mouth full. Now, enough of that. Let's get some proper…"
DING!
They both looked up as the doorbell rang. "Now who could be calling at a time like this?" Joaquim wondered.
"For dad maybe?"
"Then they should know to call first. He always takes his business at the office, not home." Joaquim looked ready to walk out but then the oven beeped. "Oh, the casserole."
"Don't worry, I'll get the door," Gabriela said, already walking out of the kitchen. She went over to the door just as it dinged again. "Alright, alright, hold your horses, I'm coming," she said as she unlocked it. "Now, wha-" She stopped, staring in surprise. "Mr. Warners?"
Her science teacher smiled at her though it wasn't a friendly smile. More like a menacing, reptilian one. "Hello Ms. Fuentes," he said, his voice cold with a hint of a sneer in it. "May I come in?"
"Uh…" she paused, not liking this. What the hell was her teacher doing here? Warning bells were going off in her mind and she now realized she should have looked through the eyehole before opening the door. "I…don't think that's a good idea. My dad's not home."
"Oh, well that's too bad. But no worries, this won't take long."
"I'm sorry, but the answer's no," she said, closing the door.
It stopped, Mr. Warners's foot blocking it from shutting. "Now, now, Ms. Fuentes," he said coldly. "No need to be rude."
The alarm bells had turned into sirens. "Leave," she said firmly. "Or I'll call the police."
"You may try," he replied. "But I'm currently blocking all signals, so you won't be able to get through. I'm afraid it's just us."
Gabriela felt her chest tighten in fear and she pushed even harder against the door, trying to shove the man out. But at that moment, there was a loud crashing sound from the kitchen. "Joaquim!" she yelled, losing her grip. Instantly, Mr. Warners pushed the door open and knocked her to the floor.
"I have been waiting a very long time for this," he said, glaring down at her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she muttered, feeling her power rising to the surface. At a second's notice, she would blast this asshole out of her home. Then it hit her. "Wait, is this about my dad? And that stupid experiment of yours?"
"It's not stupid!" he roared.
"That would be a yes then."
"I slaved over that project. It meant everything to me! It was going to change the world! But then your father ripped it from me, tossed me aside like garbage and left me with nothing!"
"Because you were stealing money from other projects," Gabriela argued. As she talked, she readied her right hand, her power rising into it.
"Excuses! Do you have any idea what it's like, to have your talents wasted teaching mediocre science to a bunch of little brats like yourself. My whole life I knew I was meant for greater things but again and again I was denied what was rightfully mine. All these years, I've bided my time, waiting for my moment. And now it is here."
"So what, you're going to kill me?" Gabriela asked. She couldn't believe this was happening right now. She'd had no idea her science teacher was such a maniac but based on his rant, he was clearly crazy.
"Kill you? Yes, but not now. There are a few things we need to take care of first."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you," Gabriela said, powering up, "but you messed with the wrong girl. HA!" She threw her hand up, a bolt of energy shooting out right for Mr. Warners's chest.
And then it stopped.
Gabriela blinked, not sure what just happened. It looked like the energy had sank into the man's chest. Like it had been absorbed or something. But that wasn't…
Mr. Warners suddenly let out a burst of laughter, causing Gabriela to look at him in shock. He wasn't even surprised by her energy blast, like he had been expecting it or something. But how could he have known?
"Really? That's it? That's all you've got? I've spent the last few weeks remolding myself to become as powerful as possible to face you all and you haven't done the same?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head. "How disappointing. I was hoping for a bit of a challenge."
"Wha-what?" Gabriela was having trouble understanding what was happening.
"You still don't get it do you?" Mr. Warners sneered. "Then allow me to demonstrate."
He threw his arms open wide and Gabriela gasped as the ground suddenly came alive, filling up with millions of tiny things like ants or…
"Microbots," she muttered in horror, looking back up at her teacher as a dark mask covered his face, a mask she recognized all too well. "Swarm."
"There you go," he said. "Do you have any idea how humiliating it is for someone of my stature to be defeated by a pack of unruly children with powers they barely understand?"
"Yeah, well too bad," Gabriela snapped, rising up. "Cause you're about to have your ass handed to you all over again."
She recalled what Travis did last time and threw another blast of energy, directing it right for the man's mask where he controlled the microbots. However, just like before, the energy struck the metal and then seemed to be absorbed into it, disappearing.
"Aw," Swarm said condescendingly, "not go as you planned?"
"H-how?"
"You think I was just twiddling my thumbs these last few weeks. No, I was making myself strong, strong enough to absolutely destroy you and ensure that no spunky brat ever has a chance of beating me. I recorded your energy levels from our last fight and updated my microbots here so that they'll absorb any attack you throw at them. With every blast, you're just powering them up and making me stronger. So thanks."
Now Gabriela knew she was in some truly deep shit. She had no idea what was going on with Joaquim but it couldn't be good and she wouldn't be able to call for help if he really had disrupted the signals. She needed to get out of here fast. But how?
She would just have to do what she could for now. Stall him til a better plan appeared.
"So…why did you wait this long anyway?" she asked, taking slow steps away from him. "To kill us I mean. Not that I'm complaining, but you were there at school. You could have killed us whenever you wanted."
"Oh how little you truly understand, child," Swarm spat. "Yes, I had plenty of chances. But I couldn't take them. You ruined everything that day you know? That was my great debut for the world, the moment I would show everyone what I was capable of and attack the great Emperor. Lord Kane himself. But then, you defeated me. And I was forced to go into hiding." He growled as he talked and his eyes became unfocused. Gabriela looked over to the windows, wondering if she should chance it on the balcony. "You can't make a scene like that and expect to get away with it. Not in this world."
"Yeah, attacking a school full of kids will do that."
"I'm not referring to that, Fuentes!" he yelled. "I don't care about the normal authorities. I used my powers in public in full view of the world. And because of you, it resulted in nothing. A strict violation of the rules." He chuckled darkly. "Kane has been hunting me but he hasn't found me yet. Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm coming for him. And will finally show them all my true purpose. Those years at that miserable school will finally pay off and I will have everything I deserve."
"Cool, but you still haven't answered the question," Gabriela said quickly, realizing he was swiftly going back into 'killing mode.'
"Do you truly not understand? Do you not where your powers come from? About who you are now? You've had weeks to learn but it seems you've chosen to ignore it. What a shame, for you anyway," he said, shaking his head. "Those powers belong to the Cloak Guard. When you united against me, you unveiled yourself to the world, revealing that that power had returned. They know who you are, and are watching you to see what you'll do next."
Gabriela sucked in her breath. It was just like Travis had suspected. This greater world out there, keeping tabs on her, like she was some sort of specimen in a lab.
"They want to know if you will be a threat or not, not that it will matter much soon. If I had killed you, it would have just drawn attention to myself before I was ready. But, sadly for you, I am now. So I don't care if they do come for me. With my power, I will defeat any who come in my way. Starting with you and your colorful friends. Now, enough chit-chat." Behind him, his microbots rose up like a tidal wave, ready to strike. "Let's get on with it."
Gabriela knew now that she was out of time. "You know, I still think you're taking my dad firing you a little too-"
She summoned her power up and shot it out of her hands, aiming not for Swarm but for the ceiling right above him. It cracked and gave way, pieces of stone, mortar, and wood all crashing down. Not even looking to see her work, Gabriela turned around and pushed her energy into her feet, blasting out and shooting herself down the hallway.
"Umph!" she groaned as she hit the wall hard, cracking it. Still, her power absorbed most of the impact somehow, so she was fine. She gave herself a brief second to look back and saw just a dust cloud, the ceiling destroyed. But she didn't even have time feel relieved as she saw some dark shadow rise from behind the smoke.
"Time to move," she muttered, rushing into her room and slamming the door behind her. It wouldn't hold Swarm back at all but hopefully it would give her some time.
"Good!" she heard Swarm cry out. "Make it more fun for me! Give me a challenge!"
"God, how did no one see how screwed up you are?" she wondered aloud. She needed a way out of here, fast. She rushed over to the window and threw it open, gulping at the height. Why did they have to get the apartment on the top floor? Hadn't her parents ever worried they might need some sort of escape route?
There was something she could try, but she hadn't tested it out yet which was really stupid now that she thought about it. She'd been so focused on her ridiculous speech and all that nonsense that she'd pushed her powers aside. And now she was paying for it.
She heard a soft trickling sound and turned around to see dark spots appear all around her door. The microbots. Which meant Swarm would be inside in seconds.
"Well, no time like the present," she said to herself and leapt out the window just as her door burst apart.
She thought the first time she'd been kidnapped would be the most terrifying moment of her life. She could not have been more wrong. Feeling the wind rush around her, the building just fly past her, the ground rush up to meet her. This was true terror.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she chanted, her insides hurtling around wildly. She was going to be dead in seconds if she didn't do something. So she had to act now.
"Come on Gabriela!" she yelled. "Just focus, and…FLY!"
She thrust out with her powers and suddenly she wasn't falling. Well, she was, but not as fast. She blinked, taking huge breaths in, before focusing. She thrust out more with her power, her hands glowing a bright orange. She slowed down even more and she kept pushing until she came to a relative stop, just hovering there midair.
"Whew," she said to herself. "I am so glad that worked."
She'd noticed it when she had been flying with Luke when they'd been trying to escape from Swarm. The way her powers had responded, like it was ready. She'd practiced a little later and had noticed when she pushed out with her power a certain way, she could propel herself into the air. Like a jetpack, in a way. She hadn't really practiced with it though, focusing on other things. But she was so glad she hadn't forgotten about it.
"Ok, time to get the hell out of here," she said, looking back up at the penthouse. No telling how long it would take Swarm to get down. She looked down and saw the ground wasn't too far off. It would be better to try and float down there. But, then again, there were still plenty of people out on the street who would definitely notice a girl flying down to them. No, better to find another option.
She took another look around and spotted the neighboring building's roof just a little higher than her current position. Perfect.
She added more thrust and wobbled a little, trying to keep her balance. "My life just keeps getting weirder and weirder," she said, shaking her head as she slowly made her way up through the air. She just hoped no one would spot her right now, though probably no one would believe it.
A few minutes later, she reached the roof's edge and with a final push, she managed to get over it. She immediately released the power, dropping herself onto it. She stumbled, falling to her knees before recovering herself.
"Alright," she nodded. "Now to get-"
SLAM!
She froze, as something big hit the roof directly in front of her, cracks forming and dust blooming around it. Before she could do anything, a dark, writhing tentacle shot out and wrapped around her, squeezing her tight.
"That was a good show," Swarm said, stepping out. "I see you did learn a few things. But it would have been best to land in the street, not that it would have made much difference. I would have caught you no matter what."
Gabriela pushed back but the microbots held her tight. She wanted to use her power but it wouldn't do any good. She needed to think of something before…
"Lights out," Swarm told her right as something struck her on the back of the head, causing her vision to fade to black.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she did wake up. All she knew was that she had a throbbing headache and that she couldn't move.
In seconds, she was awake and she gasped, everything coming back to her.
"Ah good." She turned to see Swarm standing a few feet away. "It's about time."
"Wh-where are we?" she managed, her throat dry.
"Why don't you take a look around?"
Gabriela blinked as she took in her surroundings before gasping again. It was the main lobby of her dad's building. But it was empty, the sky black through the windows. She'd been out for a few hours then. But…what were they doing here? And where were the guards?
She got her answer when she spotted a pair of legs behind the main desk alongside a pool of blood. She stared in horror but didn't have time to think about it as the microbots rose her up.
"This is where you and your father will die and I at last will have my revenge," Swarm declared, raising his arms high. "This is where I will ascend."
Oh god, what do I do? Gabriela thought desperately. Guys, I need you. Please, help.
But she didn't think anyone was listening.