It was downright crazy, what was happening in this very moment - four of us versus a moderately small army of Sigmas. My self-healing ability was firing on all cylinders at this point, so it was keeping me going. I couldn't help but wonder if it would still hold this strong against the five when John and I, after finishing up with these guys, went after The Inevitables.
At this moment, it was a skirmish. John was making quick work of the Sigmas surrounding him - he wasn't moving as fast as he could or using the strength I knew he had. I was guessing, he didn't want to show all his cards before going up against the Ones. There were points, while fighting and we got separated, I could only see his helmet glowing. From the corner of my eye I could see fire blazing here and there and lightning bolts - my sister and Volt were holding their own. The plan was to attack them from the front and behind, working our way to the middle and it was presently working. The lesser Sigmas stood no chance against our coordinated assault. It was a bit sad that we had to use lethal force, but if they could think of joining forces with The Inevitables, then they deserved what they got.
Fire burst out from somewhere around John's location as another pyromancer emerged out of the fray and attacked John - that must have been the Pyromancer from the bank in John's story earlier on - barraging him with flames. The flames sent John back a few steps, visibly making him uncomfortable as he grunted. The next time I had the chance to glance at John, I saw him yelling as he sped through the flames and snapped the neck of the guy on fire, instantly quenching his flames. Damn. If he'd actually wanted to kill my sister the day we first met, he could have. I became even happier this big-headed brute was on our side. A Sigma Three who shot laser beams from his eyes attacked John almost immediately, shooting the beams at him. John blocked the beam with his forearm, sped to the attacker and holding the assailant's head in his palms, used his thumbs to blind him.
Just then I caught sight of Obeten locked in battle with... himself? No. One of the two's body was cackling with lightning, the other was mundane - a shapeshifter. Shapeshifters were usually Sigma Fours. They were annoying in that they could confuse you or outsmart you, turning into whoever they chose to but they weren't very strong. True enough, Obeten lit the counterfeit with enough electricity to fry him or her back into their real form. A lady fell out of the smoke, however, knocked unconscious by the voltage of electricity. All the water from the rain acted as boosts for Obeten's electrocution.
I tackled a Sigma to the ground and pummeled his face to a bloody pulp. Before another one could touch me, I jabbed his knee, breaking it. When he knelt down in front of me in pain I reached for his neck and snapped it. I got up and smashed the first guy's face in with my boot. Another one had drawn a gun and started shooting at me before I laid my eyes on him. I made my way, speeding to him and spearing him to the ground with my body - the force knocked him out instantly. Just then I had a crack behind me; John had broken an attacker's back before he could get to me while I was picking myself off the interlocked floor. Before I could thank him, he had sped away, visiting more death upon our enemies. Here and there, he flew up into the sky, holding one or two Sigmas and sending them hurtling back into the skirmish, followed by a pulverising energy blast. The four of us were starting to get closer in the fray. That meant our plan was working. The flower girl's order for them to take us alive turned out to be a huge mistake that worked in our favor. I kept fighting and moving till I bumped into something warm. I jumped around to see my sister - John was right, she could choose what not to burn . She smiled at me in her inferno form and I winked through my mask. We separated and continued fighting. The next goon I hit gave me a startle - when I hit her, my fist passed through her. I jumped back and took a look at her; her frame shimmered a bit - she was a phaser like my sister. She sneered at me.
"You know, I watched you three come in here. I saw the way he looked at you - I know that look. I really don't know what a One as powerful as him sees in you. He should be with a queen like me! Or maybe it's your pretty face he likes", she said bitterly. "When I'm done bashing in that face of yours, we'll see if he still likes you then, won't we?", She finished, motioning for me to come fight her.
If she was trying to piss me off, she had really succeeded. I charged at her. Everytime I tried to hit her, I failed and everytime I missed, she hit me with tenacity - this bitch was a Two. I tried again and this time, she kicked me a few feet away, my back to the floor. She made towards me, stalking me like I was prey.
"Comet, a little help here; I've got a phaser on my hands", I said into the comms.
Before the girl could reach me, my sister landed in front of her and switched to her own phasing form, her figure shimmering here and there. I grinned. The other girl didn't seem to flinch though. She lunged for my sister and they started to battle. My sister was a Three and this Sigma was a Two with phasing abilities. So I jumped to my feet and ran to my sister's aid. The next few hits were from the Sigma and we found ourselves tumbling away. Dammit. A couple of Sigmas tried to take advantage of the situation but we quickly did away with them and focused on our opponent again. When I glanced in the phaser's direction, I saw her making her way towards us in the remainder of the fray.
I frantically thought up a plan. Bingo!
"Sis, she's a phaser like you but she's a Two. That means we're going to have to work together to beat her. When you phase and hit her, she's sure to turn solid to avoid being hit by you, in that moment, I'll slug her. If I try to hit her and she phases, you hit her at the exact same time in your own phase form. Understand?", I said as quickly as I could before she'd reach us.
"Got it", my sister said without looking at me and we both charged at the phaser.
We attacked her just as we said we would, switching points on her as she came in and out of her phase form. At that point, we became evenly matched but I was looking for an opening so I could deal a lethal hit. I finally got my chance when Nene tackled her to the ground and tried to punch her in the face in her own phasing form. The other girl quickly solidified. I was already in the air charging towards them, feet first. Because my sister was in her phasing form, I would pass through her - but the other girl, not-so-much. As I landed, I heard a piercing scream and felt bones break beneath my boots. As my sister rolled out through me and switched to her inferno form, I twisted my feet on the girls torso - a move I'd learnt from watching old Bruce Lee flicks. She was dead, her unseeing eyes wide in shock as the rain pelted on her lifeless body.
"If there's any queen here, it's me, not you", I spat on the ground beside her.
We turned to John and Obeten just in time to see Obeten, with a shout, channel a massive bolt of lightning from the sky and devastate the remaining Sigmas surrounding him and John. In this fight, it was very clear John hadn't yet exhibited his full power. It was better that way. We would need an ace up our sleeves... for what was coming next.
We all stood side by side in the rain as we were locked in a staredown with the five Sigma Ones anticipating who would make the first move. It was going to be the four of us against the five of them - we were at a disadvantage. However, we weren't going to give up without a fight; plus we had an escape plan if all failed - one last explosive charge placed in a critical part of the building's structure that would almost, if not totally, bring the whole hotel down.
John picked up an unconscious Sigma by his neck. He stepped forward and flung the sigma at the five imposing figures who hadn't moved an inch since the skirmish started. With impressive reflexes, the big guy stepped forward and caught the unconscious Sigma mid-air with one hand then he hurtled him above our heads, far away. We all turned to look instinctively - this guy was strong...and that Sigma was definitely dead. We turned to look at him as he went back to the spot he had moved from. He smirked as he looked us over as he clenched his fists.
"Lēohtan, this one is all yours", I quipped, motioning to the big guy.
I was about to give the team instructions through the comms when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Obeten step forward.
"Voilet, it's nice to see you again", Obeten said solemnly. My eyes went wide in shock as I turned to see who he'd spoken to. The girl with the purple eyes stepped forward too.
"I'd say the same, but I would have preferred it under better circumstances. I see you're still enjoying the suit I got you", she spoke, smiling wryly.
Shit. I was beaten hollow. I knew he was hiding something but I had no idea it was this...huge. She was the 'old friend' he'd mentioned who had given him the suit. John was steady but my sister couldn't keep it in.
"You know one of them and you said nothing all this time?", Nene's flames roared as she spoke angrily.
The average heighted guy started to laugh.
"I guess you guys aren't as tight as you think you are. Voilet had told us everything from the onset about this GLS reject...", the guy said. The other two guys didn't seem like they talked much. Guess they left that part to the other guy. "She and your friend over there were once lovers. After she took her first life, she transcended the mundane and found purpose in our cause. YOUR cause...is quite stupid...and hopeless. You're trying to save what is already doomed. Mother's will, will be done and there's nothing you lot can do to stop it".
Nene was so angry, she tried to take a step forward but John stopped her in her tracks. The big guy, the other guy and the girl with the laurel wreath on her head turned their heads sharply towards my sister. John shook his head, discouraging her while keeping his eyes trained on the five atop the stairs, some meters in front of us.
"So...that's why you left", Obeten said. "You killed someone. Voilet...I know you. Whoever you killed must definitely have had it coming or it must have been an accident. Look, I came here for you. We can go home...together. I still love you. You can stop this right now. You don't have to do this or help them destroy...", he pleaded.
"I already made my choice, Obeten. What's done is done. There's no love here to be found for you. If you're here to join us, it's not too late. The Sigmas you all killed are inconsequential in the bigger picture...", she gasped, stopping midway and staring into space, then nodded after a few seconds, creeping out the four of us still under the rain. Obeten stepped backwards.
"What was that?", Nene asked.
"Mother has spoken to her...", the girl with the laurel wreath answered Nene's question. "What did mother say to you, sister?", she said to Voilet. Voilet smiled at her warmly, then looked towards us.
"Mother is happy I've given you the choice to join with us. She has said if you refuse to join us, you will have to watch your friends die by our hands", Voilet spoke calmly as water flowed and spiraled up and down her frame.
The four of us glanced at each other. John spoke.
"Tell your 'mother' we thank her for her offer, but we'd prefer she sticks it where the sun doesn't shine", John said, a low growl in his voice. The Sigma Ones shared a low laugh, except for Voilet who was staring at Obeten. The average heighted speedster cleared his throat.
"She's Voilet, she's Gaia, he's Reign, he's Atlas and I'm Mercury", he said as he pointed from the purple girl till he pointed at himself. "These are our names...".
"What the hell for?", Nene asked, her frame still on fire.
"Oh, just so that you know who kills you today...starting with you, fire girl", he replied.
In that instant, Reign raised his hands and released a wind that knocked us backwards, with the rain already falling heavily, it looked like a mini hurricane. Obeten, my sister - who had temporarily lost a grip on her inferno form - and myself tumbled to the floor and desperately grabbed at the interlocked floor as the wind threatened to send us to kingdom come - them more than me, because of my Sigma Two strength. While we held on, we had to dodge some of the incoming debris too. Out of the corner of my eye I saw John being pushed some inches backwards, shielding his body against the powerful wind with his arms while his boots skidded across the ground. Almost immediately, the wind reduced it's speed and I started to regain my balance. I looked up just in time to see Mercury move. In the blink of an eye he sped towards my sister who was still in the process of getting up. He was so fast, if I was totally human, I'd probably not have seen him move. Even now, I wasn't fast enough to stop him and neither was she. He was a Sigma One speed demon - literally. Just before he reached her, something out of nowhere hit him and sent him flying backwards into the bottom of the stairs. It surprised all of us and Reign lowered his hands, ending the strong blast of air to clearly see what had just happened. I looked towards Nene thinking I'd find John responsible for the save. Instead what greeted my eyes was another all-too-familiar frame in his black and blue supersuit leaning over Nene and helping her to her feet - Kaycee. He made it. I grinned. He winked at Nene while he held her hands and she smiled back squeezing his hand then he grinned at me. He turned to Obeten and nodded approvingly. Obeten returned the gesture. We couldn't talk yet, not with what was about to go down. We all turned our attention to the front of the hotel, a few meters past John's drenched frame - his helmet still glowing. He merely glanced at us then looked back at our enemies.
The remaining four had begun to walk down the stairs, getting ready for a showdown. The speedster blurred to his feet just as the others reached his side.
"Ah, I see. A tier three speedster who has found a way to upgrade his speed to an impressive level. It won't be enough, copycat. You'll never be like the original. But be happy, you get to die by a real speedster's hand", Mercury said as he mirrored the other's steps, moving slowly towards us. I glanced at Kaycee. He was right; Kaycee moved faster than he normally did just now when he saved Nene. In answer, Kaycee, grinning, flashed a black bracelet at me - an AAB. The way it worked, I knew the boost wouldn't last forever. Well, whatever time he had left, we were going to make the best of it. I nodded to Obeten and Nene. They touched their bracelets, turning it on - it was now or never. We hurried to John's side.
Nene lit up with flames stronger than I'd ever seen her summon before, her eyes locked on Reign. Obeten frame began to cackle with stronger electric bursts as he looked towards Voilet. Kaycee's body began to vibrate at the same frequency Mercury's did. I turned my head and locked my eyes on Gaia's slender frame. She had begun to summon vines from the ground around her as they walked towards us. I cracked my knuckles and flexed my wrists, ready to push my strength and self-healing to its limit.
John spoke as he walked forward, yellow energy enveloping his arms, "Jade, Comet, Runner, Voltage, Lēohtan. I say these names so that you know the names of the people who'll kill you today".
In the sky, lightning flashed and both teams charged at each other.