x
A/N ok, so I probably should have put this on the other chapters120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdkLweASf7
but120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8dkyOKdZw
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk3Bwt8HAg
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmg4oD9v7lM
CONTENT WARNING!!!120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4jrMaPcqA
BLOOD, VIOLENCE.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvnD6xI4Ch
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyrBXFzq25
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgu0QAjhAG
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKjuoqR7oN
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gp4uVVC69
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwYpiXDaaA
Charlie sat in the back of a stationary and beat up pickup truck. Michael slept next to her, large gash on his head from where he had hit it. The strange man who saved them(Who she now knows is named Alex) sat on top of the pickup truck, feet dangling off the edge as he threw knives made of ice at any small animals that ran through the brush. Charlie never saw them but she heard their shrill screams when he missed them on purpose. Alex was a superhuman, and the one who had pulled the fire alarm in the school. According to him he had helped most of the superhuman children escape. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfkIvrDtnH
He kept up a steady stream of chatter that fell into the background for Charlie. It had been 30 hours since she last saw her father, and that combined with the crazy day she had yesterday left her sullen. Even the beautiful desert sunrise couldn't improve her mood. "Hey kid, listen for a second." said Alex, his light brown skin, browner trench coat and black eyes made him blend in with the landscape behind him. Like he had just popped out of the rocks to bother her, he always had an easy smile on his face, one that belonged on a kid in a different world, yet he always made it look so natural. "You're not that much older than me, 20 at the most. So don't call me a kid." Charlie replied, not in a mood for chit chat. Alex laughed, as if she had just told the funniest joke in the world. "I'm 19." he admitted, still chuckling to himself. "Anyways, you got any close relatives that are superhuman? Friends?" Charlie wasn't expecting this line of query, thought he was going to make yet another joke, or make fun of something. "No, no its just me. Why?" She asked looking at him, his smile was still there but it didn't reach his eyes. But her answer seemed to satisfy him. "Good. I can get you out of state, you can just lay low for a whi-" Charlie interrupted him "NO! I'm not just going to- to leave!" She stood up in the cab of the truck. "I'm going to go back to my family and I'm going to get them out of here! I refuse to be afraid of them." Alex looked at her, really looked at her. "Alright, that's what I like to hear. We start in an hour, Michael should wake up soon, and I'm sure he'll want to learn too."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarUiDBpS3o
Charlie looked at him bewildered, "What? Start what?" She asked him confused.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNLTvY7bW8
"I'm going to teach you how to fight, so next time you meet a subdoer, they won't know what hit 'em." He then laid down on the top of the truck and said nothing, presumably waiting for Michael to awake. Charlie felt a little bit of her gloom dispersing. She saw what Alex did, he saved them, effortlessly. If she could learn anything from him. She might be able to get her family out of here.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8Yfn5oncu
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5ulIczT0x
.............................................................................................................................................................120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOS4MCZKfKV
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbw6uduJ2T
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡap58nUp885
Michael woke up, swearing and cursing about his head hurting. "Where are we?" he said squinting into the sun. "No clue." Charlie replied "Meet Alex, he saved us" Alex hopped off the truck and landed near them. He waved at Michael, and said "Indeed I am! I-" Michael cut him off. "The guy who crashed the van and made me smash my head on the ceiling?" Michael looked irritated, his head had to hurt. He hit it really hard. "Don't worry, you don't have a concussion. Your powers being dampened caused you to fall into a semi-coma. But you're clearly awake now! So we can get started, if you guys are going to survive out there doing stupid shit. Like I do." He gave Charlie a little wink. "You're gonna need to learn how to protect yourselves. You did alright against those soldiers, but they were aiming to capture you and thus were going easy on you. Now that you're fugitives they aren't gonna be so merciful next time."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYEgge2stJ
Charlie was getting tired of his beating around the bush. "So, who's ready to become a badass?" Michael slumped over and just sighed. But he didn't say no. Maybe Charlies life wasn't over. This strange man in a trench coat had given her some hope.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsiBJ3wXSF
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XqUiHTtJa
For the rest of the day Alex started on teaching them his preferred martial art: Capoeira. This involved him showing them how to do a walking handstand(Charlie could already walk on her hands but Michael kept falling)120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR70bs0jdw
He then taught them how to do something he called Au, a sort of cartwheel. He drilled those things into them until around 8:00 pm, when both Charlie and Michael began begging for mercy. "I'm exhausted, and I don't even get tired normally, how are you not sweaty?" Charlie complained. Michael just dropped into the sand, sweat soaking his shirt. "Well, that does seem good for today. Now just give me 30 minutes and I will be back with dinner." Then without any further words he hopped in his truck and drove off.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJ8QYYl2zY
Charlie and Michael both just sat in the sand, taking turns drinking from a large jug of water that Alex had made by letting ice melt.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9lbN4sZBz
"That dude's crazy" Michael finally said after a long time of nothing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOk1qCmozuY
"Totally, but he saved us. I still don't fully know why."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwuTdPPrk0
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuadPLsAvut
"Well..." Michael seemed to mull over his words, to make sure he said the right thing.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AChgHUX87
"He claims to have pulled that fire alarm. So I think he was just saving kids in general, we just got lucky." Michael's accent was less noticeable by the day. He must have come to the states recently. Lucky him. Charlie thought about how her life had changed in the past 48 hours. She never thought she would find herself on the side of a desert road, learning martial arts in the shade of a cliff face. When they heard the rumble of a truck come nearer they perked up, expecting to see Alex's beat up ford pulling down the road. Michael was squinting his eyes but Charlie saw very clearly that it was a black van, marked with the Subdoer logo embossed on its glossy side. A white circle with 4 black diamonds surrounding a red one, as if the red was in a cross hair.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvsPsz71Qz
"Michael... Michael we need to go. Now." Charlie said, trying to stay calm. Michael opened his mouth to protest but he saw the van and silently agreed. They stole up a beaten path, small prickly cactus impeding their progress.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTXj6LLqDp
"How did they find us?" Michael whispered in a furious whisper.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtKGgkTxFF
"I don't know... I don't know..." Charlie complained, why was she supposed to have the answers? Michael was being unreasonable. She considered briefly to leave him. She didn't have to outrun them, just Michael. It would be almost too easy, she looked at him struggling along the sandy hill, whereas she loped up with ease, slowly though. To match his pace. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡje1iHZgDLg
She banished the thought in a second however. It was unlike anything she would have done before, apparently bad situations brought out the worst in her. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZar6h6QINz
"Charlie.... Charlie..." Michael wheezed breathlessly. "We can't outrun them. Alex should return soon. We just need to hide or stall until then" Michael's words were punctuated by the van's headlights climbing over the hill. They'd found them. Clearly they had known that Charlie and Michael had been hiding here, but how?120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvBOj9OhNK
Charlie then had a terrible thought that Alex had been captured and had revealed their location. "Michael, what if Alex isn't coming back?" Michael shook his head, too tired from their exercise today, and then this run to speak. But his message was clear to Charlie: "We can't worry about that right now" Charlie nodded and spun 180 degrees to face the approaching van. Unlike them, it had no problem scaling the incline. "Michael, when it gets here; we break and run in different directions. Then they will have to split up on foot, giving us a better chance." Michael nodded, it's not like he had a better plan. The van approached rapidly. Making their 10 minute run look like nothing. "3, 2..." Charlie waited for the last possible moment. "1! Go now!" Charlie shouted, as she dived with a powerful leap to the left. Michael disappeared like he always did and now they were on their own. Unburdened with Michael, Charlie was free to run as fast as she could. She ran at a flat sprint that would make an Olympic athlete jealous. She flew across the sand as she heard the Subdoers unload the van with shouted orders from some sort of leader. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as the voices faded a little. They weren't as fast as her on foot, but she didn't breath easy yet. She looked around at the utter lack of hiding spaces. Small cacti and bushes spread sporadically, but that was all that broke the flat landscape. Charlie looked around frantically until she saw a ground squirrel burrowing in the sand, making itself partially hidden. She looked in the distance that she had run, Charlie had maybe 5 minutes.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6CVoLWAkq
"Better than nothing..." She said, and then started digging with big powerful heaves from her arms. The sand gave way quickly and she laid down into the small hole she had made but her shuffling around made most of the sand fall back in. "No time, No time..." She muttered fixing the mistake and pulling out more sand this time.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlTfygBYJn
2 minutes, she could hear them again.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC6LBJ8VxY
She kicked the pile away and then sat in the hole, it barely fit her but it had to be enough. She shoveled more sand on top of her, ignoring it when some got in her mouth and eyes. When she was done only her eyes and a bit of her mouth weren't covered in sand. When she closed them she was mostly invisible to anyone who didn't pay attention too closely. She had finished all too soon because 30 seconds later she could hear 4 Subdoers stomping past her hiding place. "It couldn't have wandered far, it was fast but not fast enough to get down the hill before we caught up." Said a first one, with a gruff and scratchy voice. Another one spoke then "She, ran this far. We just have to capture them, not insult their humanity." That time it was a woman, this surprised Charlie, they didn't accept women frequently. "Y- yes ma'am, sorry ma'am." Said the first one. This surprised Charlie even more, only the Elites and the leader of each state's regional headquarters, had any sort of authority in the Subdoer corps to warrant such a reaction. The fact that this Elite was also a woman surprised Charlie more than her being here. She'd be happy for her if the woman didn't detest her very existence. "Split up, find her. If she can not be found within 20 minutes abort the search and go assist the others with their search for the red headed one." "Yes Ma'am" resounded the 3 subdoers in unsison. Charlie heard them all saunter off but the Elite stayed. Charlie could hear her almost imperceptible breathing. She was just standing there. Waiting it would seem. Charlie's heart started fluttering, did the Elite know she was there? Was this just a trick? Charlie had never heard of an Elite having such patience before but it didn't rule it out. Charlie was trying to decide whether to run or not when she heard a familiar voice. "Tsk Tsk Tsk, what are you doing so far from Boston Viper?" It was Alex. Charlie hadn't heard him approach but the Elite made no noise of surprise, that must have been what she was waiting for. "I could ask you the same thing. Up to no good I'm sure." Charlie heard the grinding of metal on metal and then the crackle of electricity. Like someone had drawn some sort of weapon. "Shall we?" Alex asked, his tone making it seem as if he was asking her to tea. "We shall" Viper said, betraying even less emotion than Alex.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfwfoWZcg5
Charlie was really panicking now. Alex was good, there was no denying that. But to face an Elite? There was no way. Charlie listened as they exchanged blows, ice on steel, superhuman versus Elite. She was waiting for just the right moment. Or, really she was just gathering her courage so she could help Alex. If he lost here....120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyciBKPVMWM
She didn't even let herself finish the thought. 120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOac6OpHlqJ
Just as she felt their melee reach right next to her, she jumped up from the sand. She got a glimpse of what was happening. The Elite's weapon turned out to be a long metal whip, with arcs of electricity all over it. Her armor was white colored and she had an engraving on her armor's left shoulder that said BOSTON CORPS: FIELD LEADER. Viper swiveled around and arced the whip in such a way as to keep both Alex and Charlie away. Charlie was stunned. She had lost the element of surprise as quickly as she had it. "Oh, hi Charlie, nice of you to pop in" Alex said giving her a wink. Charlie looked into the impassive face mask of the Elite. Viper... The name and the whip and the things that she represented. Charlie was stuck in place. The last time she had come into contact with Subdoers, she had been beaten by common soldiers. The Elites are supposed to be 50x as skilled as a normal soldier. "Charlie? What an excellent name. I regret that I have to bring you in. But it is the nature of the job." Viper, the Elite spoke in a calm voice. Nothing in her tone betrayed any dismay at being at the odds of two against one. Charlie was still rooted in place from fear as Viper sized up Alex and Charlie. Then just as sudden as they stopped. Alex and Viper launched into combat again. Alex had a sword made out of ice in both hands and blocked and dodged the erratic, yet controlled movements of Viper's whip. Charlie backed away subconsciously. Those two were way out of her league. She tripped on a bush and sprawled across the sand. Alex looked up for a moment to see what had happened to Charlie, and Viper took his momentary distraction to score an attack on his chest with her whip. It made a sickening sound as it tore through his flesh and shocked him. He let out a sharp inhale at the pain and fell to the ground. Viper wasted no more time on him, and started stalking towards Charlie. "Charlotte? Is that your name? I must thank you, Alex had been a thorn in my side for quite some time, I can't say that I am sad to see the back of him." She flicked her wrist and Alex's blood was sent in tiny drops onto the sand, staining the brown with crimson. Charlie was scrambling back to get away from her. Viper then broke into a run and Charlie jumped to her feet and attempted to get away. She felt a searing pain around her ankle and a tug, but for the first time since Alex had saved them, she was glad for her powers. Viper pulled with all her strength and Charlie could barely notice the force. She yanked her foot up, freeing herself from that horrid shock and yanking Viper forward. She fell face first in the sand and Charlie started running. Maybe this wasn't the end for her. She could circle back and save Alex and everything. She had taken only twenty steps before her sudden burst of confidence was deflated like a balloon. The three soldiers from before were in front of her, guns at the ready. One of them raised some sort of walkie talkie to his lips and said "Found her Ms., bringing her in."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSP8UNYDknN
120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQ3QkfGuT3
She glumly marched back to Viper as they prodded her in the back with their rifles. Charlie was so disappointed in herself. She wished she could be brave like Michael or Alex. She hoped that Alex had managed to escape with Michael somehow. However, with the injury he sustained it was unlikely. When she reached Viper her heart fell. Michael was on his knees with a rifle to the back of his head. Alex was still sprawled out on the sand, he looked dead. His tan skin looked sickly, and his shirt was soaked through with blood. Viper and the group of Subdoers stood around waiting, for the van more than likely. Charlie felt terrible. There would be no Alex to save them this time. No Alex to save anyone, not anymore. She felt like it was her fault for not helping him. She was forced to kneel next to Alex's sprawled form and was relieved to see he was breathing. She looked at his face and saw him wink at her, the most minute of actions, she was hardly sure that it had happened. But she was reassured when Michael looked at her and nodded slowly. It was clear they had shared words. Both Charlie and Michael had been given cuffs that kept them from using their powers. But Alex... He was sprawled on the ground. By all appearances he was dead or dying. "In... 5 seconds. I am going to cause a distraction, run like hell after its over." Alex whispered. Charlie was barely sure that he would be able to stand, much less cause a distraction. Either way, Charlie counted "one one thousand two one thousand three one thousand..." when she got to five she felt an immense chill in the air. It was a sharp contrast from the warm night of 5 seconds ago, she could see her breath fog in front of her. All of the Subdoers reacted slowly except for Viper, who whirled around and leapt back from where Alex laid, or where he had laid. He was getting up, the slash on his chest was covered in ice, it appeared that he had frozen his own blood to stop the bleeding. All eyes were on him, including Charlie's. So when she felt her cuffs broken with a rock by Michael she was surprised. "Lets beat feet, He'll be fine I'm sure." Charlie wasn't going to argue. They both sprinted away from the Subdoers, leaving sounds of fighting and gunshots in their wake. Charlie was afraid for Alex and took a look back. She saw that she had had no reason to fear for him, he was dodging and ducking under their attacks, graceful like a dancer. It looked like he knew where they would attack before they did. Charlie stopped watching when she saw him hit the first one with a weapon. She knew that they were in a kill or be killed situation, but it didn't make it feel better to see it. When her and Michael got to Alex's pick up they saw that it was destroyed. There were bullet holes in it and slash marks all over it. There was blood every where, and Charlie saw the crushed helmet of a Subdoer. Michael let out a low whistle "Remind me not to get on this guys bad side..." Charlie shuddered, she walked to the other side of the road and deliberated. On one hand, she wanted Alex to be able to find them again. But on the other she was worried that if she stayed here there would just be more Subdoers that could find her. "We'll stay here, but if anything starts to come from any direction we can just leave." Charlie took a deep breath, it was good to know that Michael was thinking the same thing. She felt her body slump, she was suddenly tired. Her and Michael looked at each other, Michael's face was dirty and he had a gash on his forehead. Charlie was covered in sand and she had gotten some of Alex's blood on her shirt somehow. This was all suddenly very funny to Charlie, she must have been cracking from the stress because she just doubled over and started laughing. Michael looked at her oddly before just shaking his head and going to sit on the ground a few feet away. It wasn't long before her laughter died out and she also sat down on the sand. "What if he doesn't come back Michael?" Charlie had tears in her eyes now. Alex had survived for much longer than they had and now Charlie felt it was her fault that he was in such danger. "He won't, they tell ghost stories about that guy." Charlie was confused. "Ghost stories?" Michael nodded. "If you've ever been to Massachusetts, the Subdoers there are scared silly of him." Charlie widened her eyes in surprise, wondering if she should be in awe or afraid. "There's this rumor that he killed 20 Subdoers whilst they all tried to take him in. They call him the Cold devil, for his ruthlessness and power. I wasn't sure it was him till I saw the way he fought the Subdoers back there, the way Viper leaped back when she felt the cold, they're really scared of him." Charlie was dumbfounded. On one hand, he was their savior, he had offered to teach them to fight so they could protect themselves. But he was also a ruthless killer. "Michael... do you think... do you think he was right to kill those Subdoers?" Michael shrugged. "The rumors also say he avoided killing them for a long time, but something made him crack. I think that he's just a product of his environment. His world has been a kill or be killed game for so long now, its hard to begrudge him for choosing the first one.120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEEeICOKot
After that, they were silent as they waited. It wasn't long before Alex came down the hill. He said nothing, he just walked wordlessly up to them both, dropped a piece of scrap metal Charlie recognized as being apart of Viper's whip, and several bullets, the bullets looked like they had impacted something and had gotten smushed. "Lets go.... it isn't safe here."120Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4sRTT2xgD8
Then the man just turned and walked to his wreck of a truck. Charlie and Michael had no choice but to follow.
