Chapter 2

Skirmish and Sortie

The drone force marched forward towards the team on the ridge, their cold, glowing eyes studying their targets. Daniela gritted her teeth as Hector and TJ flanked on her left and right, all three taking defensive stances. TJ's arms seemed to pulse, the shining black scales that adorned them rippling as his muscles swelled in size, his fingers becoming large dagger-like talons. Behind the trio, Jack and Caitlin did their best to make ready for the marching clockwork horde's attack. Daniela broke into a run towards the enemy line, arms outstretched as she shouted back to the others.

“We can’t let them push us off the edge!”

Daniela's arms connected with a drone on either side, her stone-enhanced form dragging the heavy metal chassis of her foes crashing into the earth. Hector was fast on her heels, his hands glowing as his force constructs took shape in front of him. With a rapid backhand motion, Hector's force fist smacked two more drones over the edge of the ridge to the depths below. TJ began to engage a drone in hand to hand, locked with the machine in a contest of strength as he attempted to wrestle control of the clash, brow creased in concentration.

A purple burst of light announced Jack's arrival into the brawl as he wound up with his fist and swung at a drone that was advancing on Hector. There was a brief ringing of flesh against metal as Jack recoiled his hand in pain from the botched attack and screamed. “SON OF A BITCH!” He had no time to lament further as the drone turned and swung at him but Jack proved the quicker as he hopped backwards, with the fist missing him by inches. Jack attempted another rapid jab only to feel more pain. Hector stepped in and a large manifested hand clamped down on the top of the drone's head before squeezing. The mechanical cranium sparked and crushed under Hector’s powers as the drone crumbled to the ground, non-functional.

“I can’t hurt these things!” Jack shouted in frustration, springing into a front flip as Hector slammed a large open hand of energy down as a wall to give Jack some breathing room. To his credit, for what Jack lacked in supernatural strength he made up for with whatever spurred him to keep leaping and tumbling around the battlefield. Several backflips allowed the wily youth to dodge a series of blows like a cat on its last life. From there, Jack fell to his stomach and rolled out of the way as a large vine yanked another aggressing drone off the cliff, courtesy of Caitlin.

Hector spawned a small swarm of fists and began to swing for the fences on another drone, crushing and denting its metal plating in a violent barrage, so furiously delivered that the air above its fallen form wavered from the heat accrued by the rapid deformation. Off to Hector's right side, Daniela was straddled on top of a drone, ground pounding its face into destroyed circuitry and scrap. Beyond her, TJ was thrown bodily to the earth and his drone opponent advanced, delivering a solid kick that sent him skidding. Caitlin ran to body-block the drone from further harming TJ and her arms lashed forward, a twin pair of thick tree roots erupting from the earth in a helix formation, perforating the drone's chassis. With another twist of her hands the two branches broke away, bisecting the drone in a shower of sparks.

She smiled, offering TJ a hand to help him to his feet. TJ took it with a flustered look to his face, his eyes refusing to meet hers. Caitlin tilted her head and opened her mouth to speak but ended up yelping in surprise as a robotic hand grabbed her and dragged her backwards.

In a rush, Daniela grabbed at the drone attacking Caitlin, metal crunching underneath her stony grip. With an overhead chopping motion she divorced the drone's arm from its torso. TJ followed from behind with his enhanced talons, rending the machine until it ceased to function.

The teens regrouped in a semi-circle, breathing heavily as they waited for several tense moments for more drones to appear. The surrounding forest remained silent, however, and Hector allowed himself to relax first, the glow leaving his hands as he let out a sigh.

“Okay, well that sucked.” Jack said, flexing his injured hand.

Hector opened his mouth to respond but took in a large breath of air instead and put his hands on his knees, nodding in agreement.

“Is everyone okay?” Daniela asked with a quick glance to her teammates.

“Yeah, I'm alright,” TJ said with a nod.

Hector gave a thumbs up. “I’m cool.”

Caitlin responded with a smile and a nod.

“Guys seriously, I think I broke something,” Jack said. He flexed his hand and hissed between his teeth.

TJ smirked. “Y'all couldn’t even take one?”

Jack threw his hands in the air. “Oh come on, I’m not super strong or super durable, I-I-I can’t shapeshift or summon friggin' vines from thin air!”

“Hey!” Caitlin shouted, scorned.

“Not that it’s not cool, which it is,” Jack replied, enunciating each word carefully. “I’m just saying I wasn’t exactly prepared for killer robots right off the bat. That's all.”

“Good thing we had your back then, huh?” Hector said with a smile.

Jack shook his head, clapping Hector on the back with his good hand as everyone shared a smile. “Yeah… yeah I guess you’re right.”

The team recovered for a moment, their gazes drifting out to the far side of the ravine. Daniela referenced the device on her wrist once more, brow furrowing.

“We have to get across. This waypoint is straight ahead in that direction,” she said pointing to the other side of the expanse.

“I think I have an idea. Hang on, let me concentrate,” Caitlin chimed in as she ran to the edge of the cliff. The green-skinned teen dropped to her knees, almost in prayer, closing her eyes to focus.

“What’s she doing?” Hector asked.

“Dunno, let's watch and find out,” TJ said smartly.

A tremor shook the ground beneath them and all eyes turned to Caitlin as small saplings and vines began to grow and twist out from a perimeter around her. The others looked on in awe while bright green shoots darkened into rich mahogany browns, winding and weaving together in an efficient dance that began to stretch out over the canyon. From that same structure, more boughs and trunks writhed backwards behind the group, grasping at trees and digging into the ground, anchoring and adding strength to Caitlin's growing bridge.

Caitlin's body began to tremble a bit and a tense look grew across her face. The makeshift bridge was just barely touching the other side of the gap but it appeared Caitlin was having problems. Her breathing was more rapid and her skin had a sheen to it. The bridge seemed to groan in protest as it slammed into the other side, vines and trunks curling around stones and piercing the cliff face to secure it in place.

After several more minutes, the sound of growing roots and churning soil began to wane and the bridge of plant life grew still, seeming firmly settled. Caitlin eased herself into a sitting position, winded from the exertion. Hector went to her side and offered a supporting hand. Caitlin accepted with a grateful expression and gently rose to stand beside Hector, leaning on him for support.

“Caitlin, that was… amazing,” Daniela said her eyes wide with wonder.

TJ nodded his agreement while Jack approached the plant bridge, testing its strength by arching a foot out onto the intertwined vines and tree trunks and pressing down a few times. Planting his anchor on the solid ground behind him, he proceeded further along its length before giving an experimental series of jumps and hops. The bridge held him without even showing a sign of distress and he turned back to his teammates, giving the thumbs up.

“Seems okay,” he said approvingly.

“No time to waste, then. Cait, can you walk alright?” Daniela inquired, stepping onto the bridge behind Jack.

Caitlin nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m just going to bring up the rear here.”

“I’ll stay with you. We’re a team after all, yeah?” Hector said with a smile.

“Let's go,” TJ said curtly as he hopped onto the bridge himself.

The team made it to the other side of the divide in short order, Daniela taking point again to navigate with the others trailing behind her. Foliage swallowed the candidates in a wash of colors once more as they progressed towards their goal, walking in silence until any sign of the divide and bridge behind them was replaced by the thickening forestscape.

Hector looked at Caitlin, who still seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

“Doin' alright?” he asked with concern, noticing a small patch of what he thought might be dried blood coming from her nose.

Caitlin smiled and brushed an errant lock of white hair from her face. “I’ll live, Hero. Don’t worry about me.”

“That's my job. We only succeed if we do this together,” Hector replied firmly.

“You're really serious about this, aren’t you, Hero?” She said with an amused tone.

“It’s Hector, actually.”

Caitlin laughed, putting on a mock pout and lowering her voice an octave. “So serious, mister big important man.”

Jack and TJ shared a laugh as Hector let out a sigh. Caitlin gave him a playful shove, staggering a little as she caught a small dizzy spell, forcing Hector to support her weight. “Don’t worry Hero, we’ll get there,” she said reassuringly.

Hector opened his mouth, forming his words carefully. “Sorry, it’s just… this is a really big deal to me. With everything my family did to support me and get me to this point—”

“—You feel you owe it to them to succeed,” Caitlin finished for him.

TJ cut in from ahead, talking over his shoulder “Y'all ain't the only one that’s got something to prove. Not trying to knock you down a peg. Shoot, if anythin' I’m agreeing with ya. Hector’s right we gotta go beyond.”

“Can we take like five minutes to not? My hand is friggin' killing me,” Jack whined.

“We just started moving again and you want to stop?” Daniela exclaimed.

“But my hand really hurts. I think I broke something,” Jack said.

Daniela pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, her body tensing. “Jack, I know we don’t really know each other but come on.”

“I’m not invulnerable, Daniela!” Jack retorted.

Daniela wheeled on Jack, about to escalate the argument further before catching herself. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, exhaling slowly. “One hour. Can I get one more hour of marching? Then we’ll take a break, okay?”

From the back, Hector and Caitlin shared a look as TJ watched disinterested.

“…fine,” Jack said, a sour look on his face as they continued their pace.

Caitlin frowned at the team's exchange.

The group walked in silence for the remaining hour before Daniela called for them all to stop. Jack flopped to his bottom right where he stood, letting out a relieved sigh and rubbing at his hand some more. There was still a bruised friction between him and Daniela while the group rested. Danielas skin turned to its normal caramel color, the stone like texture seeming to melt away like wax off a candle as she busied herself with the wristcom.

“We should say something,” Caitlin said, nodding matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but what?” Hector asked.

“Anything. Come on Hero, you said we only succeed as a team right?” she said, giving him an indication with her chin.

Hector nodded and stood up, clearing his throat casually as he began to speak.

“Alright, guys, we should real–HHKKHKHKHK…”

Hector’s eyes went wide as a strange black tendril surged down from the forest canopy and wound itself around his abdomen and neck. The others barely had time to react before Hector was wrenched bodily upwards, swallowed by the foliage above. They were too late. From out of the treeline, four new teens appeared, already charging the resting party.

“Oh… SHIT!” TJ shouted as he scrambled to his feet, keeping his eyes on the aggressing team.

One of the newcomers, a tall and well-muscled teen with a square jaw smacked his hands together and a rippling wave of concussive force sent Hector's remaining companions to their backs, rolling head over heels from the blow.

Daniela steadied herself against a tree, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. “THEY’RE TRYING TO SPLIT US UP!”

She hadn’t had much time to shout out to the others when a second teen came leaping over a log and dropkicked her in the chest, sending her rolling again as she let out a cry of surprise. Daniela sprung to her feet as the this boy, who was glowing with a blue aura around his frame, ran to continue the clash with her. Quickly, Daniela touched at a steel ring on her left index finger, her skin beginning to take on a metallic sheen.

Having what she needed, Daniela braced herself as her opponent balled up his fists and swung a double overhand strike. Daniela caught the boy's hands and the earth beneath her quaked She pushed him backwards with a cry that sent him skidding hard against the cratered earth. He was strong — that much Daniela could see as she dug her heels in and raised her fists defensively.

The boy recovered, his aura pulsing as he came in at a slower clip. He dropped low on Daniela and then delivered a quick jab to the left, keeping her on the defensive as he looked for his chance. She retaliated with a jab of her own, failing to connect as her opponent dodged out of the way. He had overcompensated, however, and now stumbled to find his footing. She ran in, charging with her shoulder and pushing him back towards the center of the fray where Caitlin and TJ defended themselves against another pulsing wave from the well-muscled boy who seemed to be the leader of their unexpected opponents. The air billowed outwards with concussive force that shook the forest filling the air with loose foliage and detritus.

A boy and girl that looked to be twins were now closing in as well and Caitlin lashed out with her arms, the vines and large trunks that the gesture formed around her reacting as seamlessly as her own limbs to swat them to the ground. The pair recovered quickly but even as they began to glow brightly, gripping each other's hands, Caitlin was the quicker. She glared at her new opponents as her vines whipped and smacked into them again, giving them no quarter. She swept her hands out wide to either side, sending the twins careening into the branches overhead, only to come crashing back down to the hard earth.

“Hmph,” Caitlin huffed satisfied as she sank gently to her knees, sweat pouring down her brow from even more exertion of her powers.

Daniela caught another punch from the boy with the blue aura, pulling with a hard pivot that carried the boy over her shoulder and into the dirt. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, and she ran to aid TJ as the young teen shot out gouts of flame that was rebounding off of more concussion waves. She circled around the other team's presumed leader, watching Jack teleport behind her target, a rock in his hand as he smacked the muscular boy over the head, causing him to drop to the earth.

“WOO!” Jack hooted, throwing his hands out and crossing them in a triumphant gesture.

Daniela cut his celebration short. “Jack! Go find Hector!”

Jack looked to the forest canopy and his expression dropped. “Oh, right right, okay I'm on it!”

Jack wound up and pitched his anchor to the sky, disappearing in a purple burst of light as Daniela looked around. Something wasn’t adding up.

“You okay, Daniela? Thought we got split there for a sec,” TJ said.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be fine… I was fighting this other one. The kid that glowed blue. Did you guys catch where he went?” Daniela asked.

TJ shook his head. “Me and Caitlin had our hands full.”

Daniela looked up into the canopy as she heard the sounds of struggle coming from above them, but she had more immediate concerns.

“Lets make sure Cait is okay,” she said, rushing to Caitlin's side. Caitlin looked worse for wear between using her powers and getting hit with the concussion waves. She had plenty of punch but there was a noticable concern on TJ's face as he watched Daniela take care of their teammate.

“What else could go wrong?” he muttered.