Radioactive: Chapter Five

Radioactive

Chapter Five

~Hanging On~

Row sighed as he looked at the scene in front of him behind the police line. Some glowy Other had destroyed a major highway and sent a good chunk of it tumbling down toward earth. They were on the same section of the highway where the blue Other stood. Across the gap were more police cars and men in case the Other went that way. Now he, or she, was simply standing there, eyes closed in some kind of meditation.

“Where are they?” Row muttered to himself.

“Hey, Row! Row Harper!”

Row turned to see a police man run up to him, “What?”

“Some guy over there wants to see you,” the man shouted, “Said something about—”

“Hello, Harper,” Kaiba walked forward, ignoring the other officer’s protests. Kiri and Jekyll followed close behind him.

Row looked over his shoulder at the shining Other then back at the group of three coming at him, “About time you all got here!”

After the events of The Turn, Row got involved with the Tower unbeknownst to his superiors or anyone else for that matter. Whenever they needed him, they seemed to get him to where he needed to be without it being suspicious. Like now, was it really a coincidence that all the other detectives were on vacation, sick or had an unfortunate asthma attack forcing him to be called out to this scene?

Kaiba looked around, “I think we can handle this.”

“Really?” Row almost laughed, “You can handle this? Just the three of you? I’ve seen your kind work but really, you have to be rational. That thing took out a mile worth of concrete if you count the highways below.”

“Well, I don’t see you helping out,” Jekyll decided to join the conversation, “So I guess it has to be just the three of us.”

Row looked at Jekyll, “Oh, I thought I recognized you, Armitage Shanks.”

Jekyll tipped his hat, “Doctor Eon Jekyll, at your service.”

“Eon? Dr. Jekyll?!” Row shot a glance at Kaiba, “Have you been harboring a serial killer?!”

Kaiba smiled, “Now, now, Mr. Harper, surely there are more than one Dr. Jekyll in the world.”

“Not many,” Row muttered, “and this one gives me the creeps.”

“Just don’t get on his bad side,” Kaiba walked passed Row, “Come on! We have work to do. Have your officer’s step back. Wouldn’t want any of them to know you’re working with the Tower, would you?”

“Or for any of them to get hurt,” Kiri followed him.

Row laughed, “Really though, how do you plan to take that thing down?”

“Same way we deal with everything else,” Jekyll flexed his wrist. Three surgical scalpels shot into place between his fingers.

Rows eyes narrowed, “Don’t think that just because you’re an Other, doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you.”

A dark smile creped across Jekyll’s face, “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Jekyll walked passed Row casually. Row sighed and ordered the other officers to fall back. On both sides, the officers retreated until they couldn’t see the Other anymore. Kaiba continued forward.

He could see the Other clearly now. Her skin was blue and it glowed blue similar to her skin color. She looked transparent, almost as if she were made of glass or crystal. In her meditative state, her wings were folded around her. She hovered over the gap in the highway.

“Subject’s vital signs are normal,” Kiri reported, “Subject emanating strange powers; cross referencing power waves with listed powers in personal database. Unable to find a match. Logging into Tower database: Log-in successful. Start search. Unable to find a match. Next course of action?”

Jekyll looked at Kiri, “Well, now that’s fancy. How come you get all the good toys, Kaiba?”

Kaiba ignored him, “Log suspicious power waves in new file accessible only by you, me and my Father. Store any other similar waves in this file in the future.”

“Understood,” Kiri’s vision was full of folders and files. She sorted and filed things where they were supposed to go, “Task complete.”

Jekyll looked at the floating Other, “Is anyone else starting to feel a little ignored?”

“How do you suppose we fix that?” Kaiba crossed his arms.

Jekyll brought up a hand, scalpels is hand and an almost childlike smile on his face. Before Kaiba could stop him, Jekyll threw the small daggers at the winged Other. The Others eyes opened and she opened her wings with an enormous gust of wind repelling the attack as if it were nothing. Kaiba took a step back at the sudden impact. He took a glance at Jekyll. The man had the wildest smile on his face as he braced against the wind, one hand keeping his hat from flying away.

The Other sang a series of notes before charging at the three Fixers. Kaiba jumped out of the way with Kiri at his side while Jekyll dove in the other direction. Jekyll rolled to his feet and attacked again. Kiri pivoted on one foot and switched herself into combat. She brought out two guns and fired at the Other. Both attacks somehow had no effect on the Other.

The Other sored up into the sky and flapped her wings. Kiri pulled Kaiba to one side. Shards of glass or crystal rained down on their stretch of road. The doctor, who was more nimble on his feet, dodged the raining tears of death easily. Kaiba shot a look at Kiri.

“We need to cut at least one of her wings off,” he stated.

Kiri nodded and looked up. She ran until she was just underneath the winged Other and jumped into the air. The Others blue eyes spotted her and she moved out of the way. Kiri soared above her. She twirled, a long sword appearing in her hand. The Other looked over her shoulder to get a better look at her but it was too late. Kiri put all of her strength into the attack. The sword lodged into one of the crystal like wings. The other screamed in pain and started to plunge back down to earth.

Kaiba looked up, “What the—?”

Both Kiri and the creature fell down through the damaged highway. Because the highways below were damaged as well, they would continue to fall to the ground.

“Come on,” Jekyll said as he ran toward the edge.

Kaiba ran and followed him. He jumped into empty space and fell. Kiri was struck by momentary confusion. She tried to remove the sword but it was set in its place. An alert appeared in her field of vision. Long story short; if she didn’t do something now, she was going to plummet to her death. She looked over her shoulder for a brief moment. Kaiba and Jekyll were coming after her. Jekyll drew three more scalpels and threw them down. Kiri caught one in-between her fingers. She determined that her current mission was to get out of this alive.

Kiri released her grip on the sword and started to free fall. But the Other turned and grabbed her leg. The Other screamed her defiance, she was determined to bring Kiri down with her. Kiri took the scalpel and threw it in the Other’s eye. Again, the Other screamed in pain but she didn’t let go.

Jekyll threw down six daggers, losing his hat in the process. All six landed in vulnerable spots on the Other’s damaged wing causing it to crack and break along the cut where the blade and partially entered. With the blade free, Kiri grabbed the hilt and drove it into a fracture that had started to form across the Others chest from her damaged wing. Kaiba straightened his arm and a long blade appeared. With a jerk of his wrist, there was a loud crack as the piece of steel came free. He threw it down into the Others clavicle bone, or where it would be. In so much pain, the Other let Kiri go.

With limited time, Kiri threw her right hand over her head. A compartment opened in her arm and sent out three cables that sored into the air above their heads. On the ends of the cables were sharp three pronged points that dug into the concrete above. With the points in place, the cables jerked to a halt stopping Kiri’s decent. The Other, however, continued the perilous decent and shattered into pieced upon impact, cutting short an earsplitting scream. Kaiba grabbed onto her free hand saving himself from a similar fate while Jekyll grabbed one of the cables and slowed his decent before colliding with Kiri.

He rested one foot on her shoulder and the other against the taut cable. One gloved hand gripped onto the wire. He looked down at Kaiba and Kiri.

“That was fun, now wasn’t it,” he mused.

Kaiba was understandably in a bad mood, “Oh, yes,” he said sarcastically, “it’s always fun plummeting to your death. Right up there with using pliers to pull off your fingernails. Great fun!”

“Oh, is that you down there Kaiba?” Jekyll looked unamused, “I couldn’t see you down there from all the way up here.”

Kaiba glared at Jekyll, “Why I ought to—!”

“Please!” Kiri stepped in before things got out of hand. When she thought she had their attention she sighed, “Not here. If you can’t tell, we’re in a bit of a bind. It would be much appreciated if you would all just shut up while I figure it out.”

For a moment, there was glorious silence. Slowly, Jekyll’s hat floated down from some unknown height. Casually, he grabbed it brushed it against his leg and placed it back where it belonged; on his head. A few more moments of silence blessed Kiri’s circuits as she sent a help signal toward home.

Kaiba looked up, “Have you ever lost that hat?”

“Never,” Jekyll stated, “Almost eight years now.”

“What would you do if you ever lost it?” Kaiba asked.

Jekyll looked down at Kaiba with a seriousness that could suck the air out of the world, “I won’t ever lose it, Kaiba. What would you do if that coat of yours were to meet an untimely end?”

Kiri was at her wits end, “Don’t make me let go. I will do it!”

There was an edge to her voice that signaled the end of the conversation…and any others that would have transpired. They waited, and waited, enjoying the uncomfortable silence; the kind of silence that can be enjoyed while dangling above ground when your life is in the hands of an annoyed android, that is.

Iridescent: Chapter Twenty-Five

Iridescent

Chapter Twenty-Five

~Winds of Change~

After the Fall

Chaud woke up when the bus lurched to one side suddenly. The sand storm started a few days ago and had continued since, delaying the caravan’s journey. The winds had subsided substantially the last twenty four hours. There was the occasional strong gust that rattled the vehicle but overall the wind was starting to die down. The bus lurched again. Chaud sighed. There was no way he was getting any more rest.

He stood up and looked out of the window. The visibility was much better than the day before. There was a possibility that they would set out today to the Great Oasis. Fang said they needed more supplies and needed to make a pit stop. Chaud thought it was fine. Their location was near there anyway. Chaud looked out the window and thought to himself.

“What on earth could you be thinking, Chaud?” Puppetmaster asked. His eyes looked with interest at the teen.

Chaud looked over his shoulder, “Nothing.”

“Nothing usually means something,” Puppetmaster smiled.

Chaud decided to throw him a bone, “I just had a dream, that’s all.”

Puppetmaster looked interested, “What kind of dream?”

Chaud shrugged, “Something about a mission. Can’t remember details.”

“You miss the way things were, don’t you,” Puppetmaster said, “Perhaps you miss someone in particular?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chaud said.

Puppetmaster waved a hand, letting the matter pass. The radio in the front of the bus crackled to life. Tempi jerked awake at the noise. She muttered something under her breath before answering it.

“What?” she said, obviously in a bad mood.

“We’re heading out,” Fang said on the others end.

Tempi looked outside, “Now?”

“We need supplies and we need them now,” Fang stated before cutting the line.

Tempi sighed and started the bus. The vehicle rumbled to life. A few slumbering bodies stirred slightly before descending back into sleep. Puppetmaster looked toward the head of the bus.

“It looks like we’re back on the road,” Puppetmaster said.

“Finally,” Chaud looked down at his sister.

Amber had wakened by the bus starting and looked up at her brother. She smiled at him and rubbed her eyes.

“Are we there yet?” Amber asked.

Chaud shook his head and smiled, “Not yet. We’re just getting out again.”

“Oh,” Amber yawned, “okay. Wake me up when we’re there.” She curled up by her brother’s leg and fell asleep in only a few moments.

Chaud looked at her. It was nice to see her so at peace. The past few weeks had been especially hard on them both but especially on Amber. She had to deal with things that Chaud hadn’t wanted her to deal with. In all honestly, she had grown up in the time she and Chaud had been together. Chaud sighed. Taking care of little kids was harder than he thought.

The trip droned on. Eventually Naru woke up. It was amusing to see his hair completely disheveled. Hina made fun of his appearance and said that she didn’t need to take as long as her brother getting ready in the morning. Chaud kept a diplomatic view, not taking one side or the other. Vicky simply watched their antics beside Puppetmaster who found in interesting to see the partial team interact.

Kumo and Chou sat near the front of the bus by their team leader. Chaud glanced at them occasionally. It seemed that Naru, Hina, Kumo, and Chou had come to some mutual understanding. They didn’t talk to each other as much since they were rescued. Now that they were back with they were back with their own teams there wasn’t much of a reason to interact. But Chaud sensed that there would be always be a certain connection between the four of them.

The children started to wake up and make noise. Many of them walked toward Puppetmaster to see what toys he could make them. The parents fed the youngest children food with the supply in the bus. The last to get any food was the older agents. The wind died down throughout the day. Soon the sand cleared up and the sky could be seen. The children in the bus were allowed to open the windows finally.

As the sun started to set, their destination was in sight. They drove toward the Great Oasis for supplies. The caravan curved toward the cluster of oases, resorts and hotels.

Fang veered toward one of the buildings. Shadow leaned against Fang with his feet propped out the window. Fang gave him frequent annoyed glances. Shadow, however didn’t pay him much mind. He even teased Shadow occasionally. Shadow looked our through the dashboard as the windshield wipers smeared sand left and right. He saw something that interested him. Shadow sat up, bringing his feet back into the jeep and pointed.

“Well, what so you think about that?” Shadow smiled, “Looks like someone beat us here.”

Fang had already noticed.

Zara walked out onto a large balcony outside. The sandstorm had subsided and she was out and about to stretch her legs. She propped a sniper on her shoulders and walked around on the balcony. Zara looked out at the desert and stopped. She saw a trail of dust rising in the distance. The caravan approached, Zara called to Deontay.

“Hey!” she called.

“Mmn,” Deontay looked up from what he was doing.

Miwa walked outside. He jumped up on the ledge beside Zara and looked over to see. His tail wagged with excitement.

“We have visitors,” Zara said.

Deontay raised an eyebrow, “Really? Are they coming this way?”

“Yeah,” Zara walked back inside, “I’ll go check things out.”

“I’ll join you,” Deontay followed her, “Keep an eye on things Miwa!”

Miwa turned his head, “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

Together Deontay and Zara walked out to the front of the resort. The caravan pulled up as Zara walked out into the sun light. The jeep pulled up first. Fang stepped out and looked at her.

“We’ll you seem to be doing well for yourself,” Fang stated.

Zara shrugged, “It’s alright I guess. What are you doing here?”

Fang motioned to the caravan, “We need supplies. That and we’re getting off the Island.”

“The world is small,” Zara pointed to Deontay, “We’re doing the same thing.”

“You have anything we could use?” Fang asked.

Zara motioned inside, “Got a few things. Help yourself.”

“You’re just going to give them to us?” Shadow asked as he walked around the car.

“No,” Zara said, “I just haven’t thought of what I want yet.”

Shadow smiled, “Oh.”

“Zara?”

Zara looked around Fang and saw a school bus. Vicky ran off the bus and ran toward her. Hina walked after her beside her brother. Vicky threw her arms around Zara in a friendly hug. She then ran over to Deontay and gave him a Vicky-sized bear hug. Deontay hugged her back and spun her once in the air.

“Kew!” Kew kewed at Deontay.

Deontay put Vicky down, “Now who is that?”

Kew sat on Vicky’s shoulder. His fur stood up on end making him look bigger than he was. Deontay reached over and petted Kew. At first Kew growled at the stranger but after a while his growling stopped and he even purred a little.

Hina slapped Zara on the back, “Where have you been!? We’ve been looking everywhere for you two!”

“You haven’t been looking at all,” Naru said to his sister.

“I have too!” Hina countered.

Naru looked at Zara, “She wasn’t.”

Chaud walked out of the bus wondering what all the fuss was about. He saw Zara standing there talking with the others. Amber stood by his side. She looked to Zara then back up to her brother. Amber rolled her eyes and sighed. She grabbed ahold of her brother’s hand and pulled him toward Zara.

“Amber wait—!” Chaud struggled.

“Come on! I want to join the others!” she said, “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

When they were close enough, Amber ran behind her brother and pushed him forward. Chaud bumped into Zara. Zara stepped backward. She pushed Chaud away from her.

“Watch where you’re going!” Zara snapped at him.

Chaud smiled, “Sorry, about that.”

Zara looked Chaud over, “You know, I didn’t miss you as much as I’d thought.”

Chaud sighed, “Thanks. I’m glad you feel that way.”

Zara shrugged, “What? I actually enjoyed the peace and quiet that your absence brings.”

“I love you too, Zara,” Chaud caught himself, “As a friend, of course.”

“Right,” Zara walked off, ignoring Chaud the rest of the time.

Iridescent: Chapter Five

Iridescent

Chapter Five

~Scarecrow~

After the Fall

Chaud woke up slowly. The rain had started to taper off in the early morning hours. Amber was close by. She sat on a tree root, with the gun he lent her in her hand. Amber struggled to stay awake. A twig snapped somewhere in the woods and she shot awake. She aimed the gun at arm’s length in the direction of the sound. Amber shook with fear.

“I think I’ll take that back now,” Chaud stated as he reached for the gun.

Amber looked at Chaud and smiled, “Chaud!” She threw her arms around her brother.

“Ow! My arm!” Chaud exclaimed, “That is a bad bruise.”

“Sorry,” Amber apologized.

Chaud smiled through the pain, “Well, what was in that pack that you just had to have back there?”

Amber shrugged, “Just some extra food and three weird vials.”

Chaud looked interested and held out his good hand, “Let me see.”

Amber went through the bags and retrieved the three blue vials. Chaud looked at them and knew instantly what they were. He flipped on in the air and caught it.

“These are going to be useful,” Chaud smiled.

“What are they?” Amber asked.

Chaud answered, “These vials counter what the Silver Void does to us. It gives a pretty good power high but a real mean crash. What it does is push you to at most limits and as Others that means activating our powers in every cell of our body. So when it wears off, the user is understandably exhausted. Some even die.”

Amber shifted uncomfortably, “You won’t use it, will you?”

“Only if I have to,” Chaud smiled.

There was a long silence. Amber looked at her hands, deep in thought. Chaud let her think as he tried to get to his feet. He threw on his back pack, wincing as he tried to move his arm. He made a mental note to keep an eye out for some aloe plans to help with the healing. Chaud made sure they had all their things before looking over his shoulder at Amber.

“Let’s get going,” he told her.

“You haven’t eaten yet,” Amber stated.

“Yeah, I did, just now,” Chaud lied.

Amber glared at him, “We have enough food now, just eat something.”

“I’m fine, really,” Chaud smiled.

Amber crossed her arms, “I’m not moving until you eat the rest of the bread.”

Chaud sighed. Even though she was adopted into the family she acted more like their mother with each passing day. He knew that she meant every word that she said. They were going to get nowhere if he didn’t eat the bread. So he sat down again and took out the bread. Amber watched every move he made. He ate the bread making exaggerated eating motions. When he had put the rest of the bread in his mouth he dusted the crumbs off his hands and got up.

“Swallow it first!” Amber insisted.

Chaud’s shoulders rose and fell in a silent sigh. He did as he was told and only then did Amber stand up. She picked up her pack and waited for Chaud to lead the way. Chaud led on after gaining his bearings. After their run through the forest the day before, he understandably got a little turned around. They walked in silence for a few more minutes. Amber looked thoughtfully at the ground while they walked.

“Where are we going?” Amber asked after a while.

“To the north east corner of the Island,” Chaud answered.

Amber looked at him, “Why?”

“There is where out ticket out of here is,” Chaud continued walking.

“Then why are we going north?” Amber asked.

Chaud picked up a stick and drew in the fresh mud, “We’re taking the long route through the mountains and the desert.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to go over the gorge?” Amber pointed.

“There are also a lot of people,” Chaud said, “There won’t be so many people in the mountains and desert because they aren’t the nicest places to be. There isn’t a lot of food. So that’s why we’re going that way.”

“You don’t want to run into people like those men that tried to kill us, do you?” Amber looked at her brother.

He smiled, “I’d be a lot easier to protect you, that’s for sure.”

Amber nodded as if confirming something to herself, “Teach me how to fight.”

Chaud stared at her, “W-what?”

“Mom said that she didn’t want me to learn how to fight like you boys. She said that I was her little girl and that I should let you boys do the fighting.”

“She said that?” Chaud raised an eyebrow, “This is coming from a woman who threatened an accidental trespasser with a rocket launcher? She, our mother, the same one who prides herself on being a good shot said that she didn’t want you to learn how to fight? Dad had to hide all the guns in the house from her and she said that fighting was too violent for you?”

Amber shrugged, “I think the word she used was ‘unladylike’.”

“Mom’s the last person to be using that word,” Chaud muttered.

“But would you teach me how to fight and use my powers?” Amber asked again, “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Chaud looked at her, “You’re not a burden.”

“But I feel like one!” Amber said loudly, “I just feel in the way and useless! I mean, how many times did you need to save me in the city? Huh? Four times and you saved me two more times when we got to the forest! And then there was yesterday! What if you died yesterday!? What would happen to me!? I don’t know the first thing on how to fight! You have to teach me, you just have to!”

Tears started to form in Amber’s eyes. Chaud reached out to hold her. He could rarely say no to his sister but at the same time he didn’t want his mother’s wrath when things finally got back to normal.

Chaud sighed, “Well, better late than never. Another reason to go through the mountains. That’s where all the masters train their apprentices, right?”

Amber had to smile, “Shut up.”

“Come on,” Chaud started jogging up the incline, “Let’s make the most of this daylight.”

“We’re running?” Amber asked.

“Hey,” Chaud called over his shoulder, “in gym class they made us run around the Island for five days, not including the city portion though. Of course we didn’t have to run the whole nine days and we had camps where we slept the night. They gave us a backpack full of water and bug spray and sent us off. Zara finished the fastest in our class. We need to get your stamina up! Let’s go!”

Amber sighed and started to run behind her brother. She maintained his speed for several minutes as she did run the five mile run in middle school. Her stamina was decent for the children her age on the Island but it was nowhere close to her brothers. He barely showed any effort. It was even possible that he was slowing down so that she could keep up.

After about five miles, Amber’s limit, Chaud slowed down to a quick walk. He reached into his pack and gave her a water bottle. She accepted it and drank a big gulp.

“Not too much,” Chaud said, “You’ll get sick.”

Amber nodded and gave the water back. Chaud put it back in his backpack.

“We should be there soon,” Chaud said.

“There?” Amber asked breathlessly, “There where?”

“You’ll see,” Chaud smiled, “We should be there within the hour.”

Amber nodded and walked quietly. She tried to keep an even pace with her brother. She watched him closely. Amber noticed that, unlike her, Chaud didn’t make so much noise in the brush. As he walked, he seemed to subconsciously avoid stepping on twigs and branches that would make noise. She watched him and tried to follow in his footsteps. Her noise level dropped significantly though not entirely.

It was what she did. She copied. It was her power even if that was taken away from her because of the inhibitors. As a copycat she could copy a person’s ability and power to a T. Of course some practice would be necessary but for the most part she could copy someone’s form and access that power. Even if her power was taken away, she still had the skill. She could copy Chaud’s movements easily but she wouldn’t be able to copy his powers.

Chaud looked at her and smiled. Apparently he was waiting for when she would catch on that she was making too much noise. Amber felt embarrassed that it took her so long to figure it out. She must have been like a bear trampling through the woods compared to his light footsteps.

Soon they came to a clearing in the forest. In the center of the clearing was an old shrine. Half of it was burned and charred yet half of it remained standing. Amber guessed that a missile struck near the building. Chaud looked a little worried at the sight of the building.

“Stay here,” he instructed her.

Amber protested, “But—”

“Just for a minute, okay,” Chaud said before drawing his gun and heading for the building.

Chaud entered the first floor. No one seemed to be living there at the moment. He progressed upstairs and found much of the same. The place had defiantly been looted and the original residence had long since left the place. But the building was still standing and he wondered why there weren’t any squatters in the building. When he entered the portion of the second floor where the roof was blown off he got his answer. He sighed.

“Is that and inhibitor?” Amber asked.

Chaud turned quickly, “I told you to stay outside!”

Amber simply shrugged. Chaud turned back to the sighed. One of the devices that the New Order used was sitting half way through the floor. It hummed ominously as a signal it was working.

“Come over here,” Chaud signaled to her, “Help me move this.”

Amber looked at him, “Where are we moving it?”

“Outside,” Chaud walked closer to the device.

“Why?” Amber shuffled nervously.

“We need a scarecrow,” he smiled to reassure her, “No one will come a mile of this place when they see this sitting right outside.”

Amber nodded and walked up to help her brother.