Chapter 2 Power and Control
Shortly after they trained, the air in Vexen felt heavier than usual. Under the freeway overpass, Mira, Alec, and the others gathered in the shadows once again — their usual spot. It was quiet, hidden, and perfect for meetings that couldn't be seen. But today, the tension hung thick in the air. They weren't just meeting. They were going to end Ember — and, if they could, the entire Phoenix gang. Alec still couldn't understand why no one listened to his disguise idea. It would've been smart.
At the scrapyard, Mira stood ahead of the group, her stance sharp, eyes fixed. Her pale hands twitched at her sides, sparks of electricity dancing on her fingertips. She looked ready to strike at anything that moved. Alec stood beside her, arms crossed, scanning the area. Everyone was silent, watchful.
They had a plan. But the truth? None of them really knew what they were walking into. Ember's gang wasn't just dangerous — they were lethal. And Ember herself… she was the heart of it.
The group was as ready as they could be.
Owen spun a small fireball in his hand, grinning like he always did before a fight — reckless, fearless, or maybe just pretending to be. Deep down, Alec knew he was nervous.
"Owen," Mira snapped. "Stop playing with fire and move around. You can't just stand there — stay alert." He rolled his eyes, letting the flame fade. "Yeah, yeah, I'm listening. Just waiting for the fun part." He shot Alec a look. "You know — the part where we wreck stuff." Alec raised a brow. "Fun's not the word I'd use. We'll either die or live. Hard to call that fun." "Right," Owen said, chuckling. "You're way too serious sometimes. Relax. We'll be fine. You, me, Mira, Irene — we're a perfect team." Alec gave him a flat stare. "You mean a bunch of people who can barely use their powers without bleeding are about to walk into gang territory to take down the leader who runs half the city?" Owen smirked. "Exactly. Who needs control when you've got firepower, right?"
Alec just shook his head. Typical Owen. Reckless, impossible — but loyal. Always loyal. He remembered the first time they met, a year ago. It was a freezing night. Alec had just come back from a supply run, carrying food and medicine for Mira, who was already suffering from power backlash. When he stepped into his apartment, he froze. Owen was standing in his kitchen — a ball of fire in one hand, eyes darting between Alec and the cash in his drawer.
Alec didn't flinch. He'd seen this before.
"Dude," Alec said calmly, leaning against the doorframe. "You're not robbing me. I worked for that cash." Owen blinked, confused. "What the hell? I'm literally robbing you — how are you calm—" "I know who you are," Alec cut in. "And I know why you're here. You want the Phoenix drug. Autonomisation, right?" Owen's expression shifted from shock to amusement. "And what if I do? You gonna stop me?" Alec shrugged. "Not my problem. But I'm not funding your addiction. You've already ruined enough of your life with that stuff."
Owen snorted. "My life isn't ruined. I'm just doing what I enjoy."
"Yeah? Then enjoy it somewhere else," Alec said evenly. "Or we make a deal. You stop robbing people, stop running, and maybe — maybe — I can help you get your shit together. You need it."
Owen stared, caught off guard. "Help? From the guy I tried to rob? You're a weirdo."
"Maybe," Alec said. "But I'm serious. You're drowning in that drug. You can keep going until it kills you, or you can try something different. I'm offering you a way out, and a home." Owen was silent for a long moment. Then he laughed — short, bitter. "You're crazy, man. But fine. I'll take your weird offer. You're dumb, though. I could've burnt this place down." Alec smiled faintly. "Yeah, and I could've snapped your neck with my powers. Guess that makes us even. Welcome to the group. Get a job — plenty of jobs for fire manipulators."
Owen had laughed then too. "Guess I'm stuck with you and your loser friends."
Back in the present, Owen chuckled at the memory and summoned two small flames in his hands. "So I guess I'm with you freaks for life. Good to know."
Mira shot him a glare. "Cut the jokes. We're not here to fight for fun."
Alec nodded. "We came with a purpose. If we want to survive, we need to act smart. No mistakes, Owen."
"Alright, alright." Owen folded his arms. "But just so we're clear, fighting with purpose isn't really my thing. But I guess it isn't bad. With Phoenix running this city. Maybe that's reason enough to motivate me." Irene stepped forward, rolling her eyes. "You all talk too much. We've waited weeks for this, and there's no one here."
"Irene," Mira said, clearly annoyed. "We need a strategy, not a fire show. The fact that no one's here could mean it's bad — really bad."
Irene smirked. "Strategy and fire. I've got both."
"Perfect," Mira muttered. "A walking explosion against a gang full of drugged-up killers."
Alec smiled faintly. "At least she's confident. Let's look around." The scrapyard stretched out before them — rows of rusted metal, oil-slicked puddles, and twisted car husks. The air reeked of fuel and decay. Alec couldn't stop thinking about how different the world might be if no one had powers — no gangs, no drugs, no curse.
But that was a fantasy.
"Something's off," Alec murmured. He'd said it more than once on the way here. Mira ignored him. She was too close to Ember to stop now.
Owen's flames flared. "No guards, no patrols. Either they're dumb or this is a trap. We've been here too long without seeing anyone."
"I say we find out," Irene said, summoning a blazing orb.
Owen closed his eyes, scanning the area for heat signatures. His face darkened. "People — coming from all sides. A lot of them."
Mira's lightning crackled to life. "We're not leaving. We find Ember and finish this."
The air exploded. Fire erupted across the yard, lighting up the night. Figures emerged from the shadows — one after another, climbing the piles of junk. Flames licked their hands. Tattoos glowed on their arms: the Phoenix insignia.
"Twenty," Owen counted. "No — twenty-two."
"Shit. It's a setup!" Irene shouted.
A loudspeaker hissed to life. A distorted voice filled the scrapyard.
"You really thought Ember would wait for you here, Mira?" The voice laughed. "You shouldn't have trusted me. You thought I'd betray my leader?"
Mira's stomach sank. It was the man she'd spared.
"She knew you'd come," he taunted. "She planned this. Hope you said goodbye to your friends — because you won't get another chance. Remember my name. It's Aiden."
The speaker cut off.
Then the fire users attacked.
Flames erupted in a ring around them. Mira screamed, leaping into the air and unleashing a surge of purple lightning. Several enemies dropped instantly, but more replaced them.
Alec ripped a truck door from the junk heap and flung it telekinetically into a rushing group, crushing two. "I can't hold this many!" Blood dripped from his nose.
Owen laughed wildly, hurling massive fireballs alongside Irene's waves of flame. But the gang fought back with precision — one of them absorbed Owen's attack and hurled it back. He canceled the blast just in time before a fist slammed into his gut, throwing him across the yard.
"Owen!" Irene screamed.
Fireballs rained down on her. She spun, unleashing a wall of flame, but several enemies overrode her ability, twisting her fire back toward her. She screamed as it struck her leg — burning through skin and fabric.
"They're trained!" she shouted, panting. "They can use override!"
Alec yanked Owen behind cover with telekinesis, nose bleeding steadily. Owen's arm hung limp — likely broken.
Mira kept fighting, but her lightning was fading — purple flickering into orange. "I can't hold it back anymore," she gasped, blood streaking her face.
A fire user lunged for her — and suddenly an invisible force slammed him into a car hood. Alec was beside her, pale and shaking.
"We're leaving. Now," he ordered. He ripped metal and debris into a wall, shielding them. "Mira, move!"
Owen, limping and weak, threw two fireballs to cover them. Irene cleared a path with wide bursts of flame.
"We're not gonna make it!" she shouted.
Mira closed her eyes, trembling — then unleashed everything.
A thunderous pulse of lightning tore through the scrapyard, electrocuting half the field. The shockwave knocked everyone flat, blinding them in a thirty-foot radius.
It gave the group five seconds.
They ran.
They didn't stop until they were ten blocks away, hiding inside a half-collapsed building in Vexen's dead zone.
Everyone was burned. Bloodied. Shaking.
Alec's arm hung uselessly. Irene's leg was scorched. Owen laughed once to lighten the mood — then groaned in pain.
Mira just stared at her hands. "It was all for nothing," she whispered. "I almost got you all killed."
Alec knelt beside her, voice steady despite the blood dripping from his chin. "We didn't win. But we survived."
Mira's voice trembled. "Aiden — the one who told me Ember's location. I should've known."
Owen spat blood. "Yeah. Set up from the start."
Alec nodded grimly. "We're not ready for her. Not even close."
Irene looked down, her voice hollow. "We nearly died. Even if we could fight, our bodies would give out before they do."
Mira's fists clenched, lightning flickering weakly around her. "She's still out there."
Alec's tone dropped, low and certain. "Next time, it won't be her gang coming for us."
Everyone looked up. They knew exactly what he meant.
Then — a voice.
"Are you guys okay?"
A girl stood directly in front of them.
They all stared at her.
To be continued…