Page 70 of The Not So Super Hero
“Believe me, she can do more than hurt you.”
While Bailey was ready to get the hell out of there, Zane seemed uncaring as per usual.He had his arms crossed, eyes taking in their surroundings with an apathetic expression.Nate noted that and said, “You look ready to start.”
“Define ready,” Zane spat.
Nate rolled his eyes and instructed Bailey to head over to Adrianna.Bailey had no idea who that was or where she was until he pivoted on his heel to find a door.The door stood in the middle of the street, leading nowhere.Bailey glanced at Nate with a very “what in the fuck is this” expression.
“Go on in,” Nate instructed, smiling far too eagerly.
Bailey gave Zane one last look, his cheeks brightening upon finding Zane watching him.There was a moment of staring before Bailey quickly opened the door to find a room within that held both Natalia and Chris.Bailey felt better heading in after seeing them.As soon as the door closed, it disappeared.
The moment Bailey disappeared, Nate moved.Shards of ice shot in Zane’s direction.He dodged, shielding himself behind a car.The ice impaled the car, screeching metal and breaking glass.
“No powers for you, Zane,” Natalia instructed.Her voice echoed from nowhere.“Think of this as a game of tag.Tag Nate and you win.”
“Bullshit,” Zane growled, taking an opening to bolt towards an alleyway.
Zane was quick on his feet for someone who didn’t exercise.Bailey watched from above, the room being hidden by Adrianna so that they could see out but no one saw in.
Zane jumped on a dumpster in the alley, kicked off it, then grabbed hold of the fire escape.He climbed the stairs with Nate hot on his trail.It was obvious he wasn’t trying that hard.Zane knew Nate had excellent aim and if he had wanted to hurt Zane, he already would have.While Zane preferred life on easy mode, he was already exhausted.Was it nap time yet?
Zane ran across the roof to slide behind a shed moments prior to Nate coming into view.He felt that their game wasn’t very fair.Nate got to use his mutation.What bullshit.It irked him that Nate was the one doing the chasing, too.He wanted to push the smug bastard off the side of the building or into a raging volcano.
A pillar of ice shattered the shed.Expecting an attack, Zane used the mess as cover to crawl beneath the pillar.He reached the edge of the building before Nate caught sight of him.He kicked himself off the building, hit the adjacent tower, and repeated the process until reaching the ground.Damn, he was already panting.Zane remembered when he could do that for fun.Now he was cramping.
Groaning, Zane moved through the streets.He kept low and quiet, hiding in the shadows, behind cars or in buildings.However, Zane never went too far.He kept Nate in sight because if he didn’t know where the bastard was, he was more likely to get caught.He wasn’t exactly sure how long this “game” would go on since he, apparently, had to tag Nate.What were they, five?
From above, Bailey watched, leaning against the glass like a kid in a candy store.In reality, the city wasn’t that big.Adrianna explained the room was the size of a typical gymnasium.Their surroundings changed according to Adrianna’s will.The guys ran around the same area that changed in their eyes, but not in actual space.Her mutation only worked indoors, though, and couldn’t get it any bigger, though that didn’t make her any less impressive.
“What’s the point of today?”Bailey asked, struggling to keep up with Zane.He continuously lost sight of him, even from up here.
“This is as close as In the Field experience we can give him.Sadly, we kind of have to force him into it considering the circumstances,” Natalia explained, leaning against the glass with no fear of it breaking.Bailey actually stepped away from time to time because his paranoia ate away at him that the glass would shatter and he’d fall to his death.
Bailey nodded.None of them knew when Rebirth would attack again.The quicker they train Zane, the better.Not to mention they could leave afterwards.
“You, Nate, and Zane were at Raiffel together, right?”Bailey inquired.“All three of you were close then.Were there others?Maybe someone else here Zane knows?”
Bailey’s question seemed to have hit a sore spot.Chris frowned while Natalia looked away with an almost solemn expression.There wasn’t a chance for him to apologize for whatever bothered her.Natalia quickly answered, “Those that we knew most were lucky enough to have homes to return to.Some are heroes as well, working in their home countries.We actually returned to Mexico.However, our parents didn’t have much, so it appeared Rebirth had no issue...keeping them quiet.”
Bailey nearly tore through his lip, gazing solemnly downward.
“It wasn’t the same place without them, so Nate and I decided we’d never let Rebirth have their way again.We returned to the U.S.and waited for their inevitable return,” Natalia finished.
“You two were heroes before anyone even knew your names.”Bailey smiled, Natalia returning the action with a slight blush beneath her eyes.“I don’t think I could ever be as brave as you and Nate.”
“Oh, I believe you’re a lot braver than you think.”
“Yeah, you’re dating Zane.That’s pretty brave,” Chris chimed in, causing Natalia to giggle.
“We’re not dating!”Yet?No one listened.
“Natalia, your brother is about to get it,” Adrianna spoke quietly, yet she garnered everyone’s attention.
Everyone looked out the window to find Nate standing atop a building.Zane worked his way towards him, Nate completely unaware of the danger.Natalia snickered, then full on howled with laughter when Zane finally did what he wanted to do all day; he kicked Nate right off the building.
Chris and Natalia were in hysterics.Bailey cursed until he realized Nate was okay.His ice erupted from the ground, catching and pushing him into the sky.Nate screamed all forms of curse words.At least Bailey thought that was what they were, which only had Natalia crying from laughter.
“Is it ok for it to get so violent?”Bailey asked, squeaking at the spears that Nate threw in Zane’s direction.He dodged, hopping or sliding under them, then disappearing into the shadows.
