The Greek was glistening, breathing hard.
"[Costs a lot don' it?]" Paige asked.
"[So what?]" He replied, swallowing a cough.
"[Well I'll tell ya' why Vanessa's friend. Practice makes perfect and, after two lifetimes let's just say… I'm perfect.]"
She clapped.
"[Practice and time are why my shield's so strong and...]"
She stopped, vertigo ravaging her brain, mouth writing cheques her brain couldn't cash. Her spine was little more than a paper straw in a blizzard, in hell… and the straw was cheap…
Holy shit…
Was that smell pee? Hers?
It was enough to straighten her up like a stick had just been shoved up her butt. Knowing if it was hers would need to wait, a second wind was coming on.
"[And what?]" Vanessa said raising enflamed hands.
Should've done it in the first place, idiot.
"[And]" Paige continued, "[If ya'd acted like a proper elite, ya'd have known shielding ain't my original power. I absorbed it along with other neat stuff from weaklings, like you two.]"
The earth trembled and shook.
Paige pointed, there were five species of ape on the field.
The spider and snake were dogpiled by six bodies. They watched, silent, until the snake was held down, the black widow on its back, legs curled in on itself, twitching until Aramas dropped both feet on its head. Vanessa simply stood.
"[Ha!]" Paige all but screamed.
They turned back to her.
"[It's too bad. Yous nearly had me!]"
Paige's out right laugh fizzled to a soft chuckle then… just… stopped…
They backtracked; a deadpan Paige staring.
"[Now. Shall we?]"
Paige didn't laugh, giggle or smile when she focused on the friend.
He backtracked further.
Catching himself mid step, he clenched, she could see from his jaw alone, someone had just shoved a stick up his butt too.
"[Well kids, we all know da rules. I kill or remove ya' and I get ya' charge, right? Sorry but yous got me so good that I'm just too tired to remove ya. So…]"
She raised a hand.
A miniature inferno grew, only to shrink and solidify into the form of a human hand, hovering. Paige appeared to catch the flame with her palms and push it at him. Part of it burst, like the butt of a missile.
He raised his hand and it stopped in mid-air, it flowed on its own, getting distorted. After a few seconds it inched its way through until it rushed forward.
He was engulfed.
Paige punched forwards with both hands and a new stream burst from her palms. They united and exploded forwards, rushing through him.
She held for a few seconds before whipping her fingers around like she'd been stung, the fire dissipated. There was only sizzling fat, coal and ash.
Paige turned to see Vanessa's back, which was quickly shrinking.
============================================================================
She ran. Paige let her. Just long enough to remember what it felt like to be disappointed. But running isn't weakness—it's instinct. The real question is what happens when the fire catches up. And Paige? Paige is the fire.
"Sorry. I can't let ya go."
Next chapter, power stops being pretty. And survival stops being enough.