RaveSpace

Aurora opened her eyes. The noise around her was muffled and she couldn't focus on a singular voice. People were sobbing, screaming and angry. Her vision was blurred, but she could see things close to her, like Ed. She could see Ed. Aurora tried to move, but her body was in too much pain. Even though the wounds on her torso had become lesser somehow, it still felt like they were as deep as they had been. Every injury she had picked up from the fight and from the victims, while not physically present, were there as though the pain had been delayed. She scowled slightly, but even wrinkling her face caused her agony. So she lay there on the cold ground, pretty much paralysed. 'I'll have to work on this. There's got to be a way to shut off the pain completely. I can do it, I know I can.' She thought to herself.

“Lucio?” Aurora suddenly whispered at Ed. She remembered the last thing she saw before losing conciousness was a huge hole in Lucio. The smell of burnt flesh filled her nose, induced by the memory. Aurora closed her eyes. Lucio was... He was dead.

The Green Blink's head was spinning, her vision blurring as Canagold took her down. She slumped back and, with a feeble effort, held up her hands in surrender. Canagold backed off and turned his attention to the rest of the room. A few injured students were getting back to their feet and Canagold was quick to help them up so they could get one another to safety.

Ruin wiped vomit from his mouth through the hole that had been burnt in his mouthpiece. He set his eye on Blink, who was clambering onto all fours, wiping blood from her mouth.

'No,' grunted Ruin. 'Not today. Not this time.'

He rose to his feet, taking aim with the plasma cannon once more. Screams from the students, who were now desperately pulling themselves up and running for the exit. Dammit! No clean shot...

Ruin held his aim, readying himself for the right moment. Blink saw him, her teeth clenching, still weak, perhaps too weak to teleport.

There was a gap in the fleeing crowd.

Ruin fired.

'NO!' Canagold yelled, turning at the sound of the plasma cannon. He tried to fling himself in the way of the blast, but he was too slow.

Blink smiled. Then she was gone.

A student running past behind her took the hit instead. He was hurled off his feet, burning and collapsed to the floor. Motionless. He was gone. Ruin just looked on, his eye wide with horror and fury.

Blink appeared behind him, one baton left in her hand. She was ready to strike, when a metal hand stopped her. It had grabbed her from behind. Turning, she saw the blank face plate of a Guardian Drone. She tried to teleport. Instead, she got an electric shock sent up her arm. She winced in pain.

More Drones were filling the room. They helped students to their feet, carried the injured, ushered those who could still walk to the door, checked who needed medical attention. Two gripped Ruin and sent an even more powerful shock through him, disabling the electronics in his armour, leaving him dazed and powerless. The ones that saw to Herbert, Signe, Olem and Chris handed them small Olympus business cards that they printed from a port in their hands. Outside the club, they were directing medical personnel to the students who needed them. These were the Drones as they were supposed to operate.

'Pretty good, don't you think?' The voice was female and young enough to be a student. Whyzz entered the room in her pink and grey costume, brushing her fringe out of the way of her face. 'I've been hard at work on the Drones, even got them on wireless,' she said, gesturing to an earpiece she was wearing.

Canagold was crouched beside the student Ruin had shot down, his head in his hand. He got up, turning to Whyzz.

'Nice of the cavalry to finally get here,' he said.

'C'mon, it was Ruin,' said Whyzz, walking around the Drones.

'And Green Blink, it turns out,' said Canagold.

'Yeah,' said Whyzz. 'Her.' She stopped in front of the captive Green Blink, whose mask's lenses had been broken, leaving her eyes exposed. And they were staring straight into Whyzz's. 'Mackie...' she whispered. 'Doesn't have to be like this.'

'Yeah,' said Blink. 'Yeah, it does, Laura. For me, at least. You can still turn your back on them. You're better than them.'

Laura bit her lip, trying to ignore the words. They cut deeper than they should.

'What were you even doing here?' she asked. 'Not your usual bank robbery job, is it?'

'I was only here because I had to hide,' said the Green Blink. 'Robocop over there had been hot on my tail all night. Had to get away somewhere I thought he wouldn't follow. Obviously I undermined his bloodthirst. He used to be one of yours, didn't he?'

'Get her out of here,' said Whyzz. The Drones responded immediately, carrying the Blink out of the room. 'And him,' she added. A small squadron of Drones assembled around the two who were holding Ruin. Moving together, keeping him shut off from the students, the Drones marched him away, his metal boots dragging along the floor.

Whyzz looked on in shock as two Drones carried out Lucio's body on a stretcher - under a blanket.

'You okay?' It was Canagold. He was closer than she had realised.

'It's a tough job,' said Whyzz.

'I know this in-the-field stuff isn't really your area...'

'It's all just still a bit new. Not as desensitised as I guess you need to be.'

Canagold nodded and the two headed outside to address the remaining students, Canagold flying up to hover in the air over their heads.

'If I could have your attention,' he said. 'We need everybody who is able to, to start dispersing. If you're not injured or directly tending to an injured person, please start to leave the area so the paramedics can do their job. The situation that occurred tonight - an armed confrontation between two illegal superhuman combatants - has been contained. Both, the criminal known as the Green Blink and the criminal known as Ruin, have been contained and are now being moved to a maximum security Olympus holding facility. I would also like to extend my thanks, on behalf of Olympus, to all of you who looked out for one another tonight and behaved in a calm and sensible manner. And I am pleased to tell some of you, whose actions tonight may be overlooked given certain factors, that an Olympus recruitment centre for superhuman students will be opening on your campus within the week. Thank you, everyone, for doing your part tonight in a moment of crisis!'

Along with Whyzz, he rejoined the people on the ground, ushering students along who were still able to move and helping the paramedics get to people who needed their help.

Herbert lay on the ground, wounded but no majorly. The drones ignored Chris running towards him and carried Herbert away. He was taken outside to a medical tent but he managed to get out quickly, his various cuts cleaned up.

From there he stood outside the club, people milling around.

Herbert looked down at the card in his hand and frowned. Could Olympus tell him what was going on with his failing powers? Shaking this thought away he tried but couldn't find his friends but he struck by how people inside might still need help.

Hobbling, cuts over his body, his clothes ruined and still carrying Aurora's injuries he made his way inside. It was a miracle he was still walking actually.

Making his way inside the ruined club he ignored Chris and Olem, who seemed fine and found Signe. He knelt next to her.

"I'm going to get you out," he promised, lifting her up in his arms with a little struggle and carrying her out. "Sorry for not asking you," he said as he took her outside and placed her next to the medic tent. Without looking back he walked back into the club, scanning it.

There he was: Nathan Cloud, invisible to everyone but Herbert. Herb made his way over and knelt next to him, slapping his face.

"Old man. Wake up."

Herbert appreciated the help Chris gave him previously and smiled. "Yeah, Signe is with the medics and she should be okay." He turned shook Nathan again, but the was unresponsive.

"It's Nathan," he told her. "He's invisible. I can see him somehow, and no i don't know why. I don't know I started getting my superspeed back tonight either," he said quickly. "He looks like he'll be out a while." He turned back to Chris. "You okay? I thought you did a good job," he told her with a weary smile.

Signe was being bandaged up. After having her shoulder relocated they found Signe had fractured two knuckles from her hitting the floor. She sighed, watching the medics around her. Her anger had gone now. Great. She must have looked like a really immature psycho. Were the others OK? Lucio? Aurora? She tried to see but most things were swarming with drones now. Her hand makes in enough bandages it was the size of her head, Signe berated herself. Great. She really was in the wars this year, and that's before anything to do with the superpowers comes in.

Chris was grateful for Herbert's continued and unwavering support. He really did seem like the kind of person you could always rely on. She warmly smiled back at him.

"Well......thanks again I guess," she said, blushing a little. Maybe she had made a difference. "I don't know about Olympus yet. I'll see how things go."

She looked at his arm as he held it out. He was firing lightning before!? Now there was nothing. He also fought Blink at not quite the speed he had been able to move at before but still very fast indeed. What was going on?

"Hey Herb? What's going on with your powers? I mean, you demonstrated some sort of superspeed and then started to spit lightning?" She enquired, a puzzled and concerned Look on her face.

"Oh."

That was all the response Chris could muster. This was all starting to sound really strange to her and considering they lived in a world with supers and anything seemed possible, that was saying a lot.