1.25

It had been a slow morning in the Primal Lands. Stick’s injuries were a lot worse than she let on, it was past midday and she was still in bed.

Silas had been spending most of the morning talking to Michael about a recruitment possibility with Quincy. Michael had said he wouldn’t give an endorsement but knew of a few heroes that were having tryouts. Michael also agreed he could help give the concept of what Quincy could become if he were ever taken in.

Hunter and Jimena had been sparring for the last two hours and Gauzelle had finally crashed and gone to sleep.

“This is Twister. I need help from anyone willing to lend a hand. I’m having a problem trying to subdue a pair of crooks. One is Halite but I have no idea who the other one is. Please, I need help at the Baker District. Hurry.”

Hunter and his team suited up and Silas drew the short straw on having to wake Gauzelle. Waking Gauzelle was like slapping a bull and hoping nothing happened. If she woke herself, all was calm and quiet. If somebody had to wake her, it was all a red haze.

Silas leaned in and poked at Gauzelle. The moment he did, Gauzelle wrapped up his arm and slapped him in the face.

“Ow, what was that for?” Silas asked, rubbing his cheek.

“Sorry. What’s happening?” Gauzelle continued like nothing happened.

“Some hero named Twister has asked for help.” Hunter informed her.

“Who’s that?” Gauzelle asked. Silas pulled out his phone and showed a picture of the hero. He was a short, stout man with a ruffled beard. His suit consisted of mainly red with hints of green.

“Twister?” Jimena asked.

“He’s able to spin really fast. Like, ridiculously. Moves around like a mini tornado.” Silas tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Mainly works solo, don’t think he’s ever really been a part of a team.”

“Who’s Halite?” Hunter asked. The team made their way to the edge of the Primal Lands park.

“Basically living salt crystals. Tied to all sorts of crimes. Normally operates alone, so I’m interested in seeing who he’s teamed up with.” Silas explained.

Luckily for them, the Bakers Distract wasn’t far from the Primal Lands. Just like the name of the area suggested, it was a small area made up ok bakeries. Artisans from all over the world came here to display their skills and sell their goods. Hunter used to visit the district a lot as a child with his parents.

The bakeries along the main street were closed, workers and customers were hiding inside.

As the team approached the main square, they parted as Twister came flying toward them. He slammed into a tree and pulled himself up. He was head and shoulders shorter than Hunter.

“Hi there. And you lot are?”

“Power Squad,” said Silas.

“No,” said Jimena. “We don’t have a team name yet, but we are Mite, Balloon Boy, Quagmire and Gauzelle. What’s the situation?” Twister pointed behind them and they turned to look at the two powers Twister had been fighting.

Halite wasn’t much taller than the average adult. But he’s shoulders were broad, and his legs were thick as branches. The square crystals were a faint orange and deep blue. Even with his vague humanoid shape, he looked like a monster.

Next to Halite was a lean teen, he looked around the same age as the other teens. He wore a plain t shirt and shorts. A strange blue mist floated around parts of his body. Hunter was certain he saw the ethereal light take the form of a shark.

“Who’s the kid?” Hunter asked.

“No clue, never seen him. Packs a bloody punch. Whatever that light is that dances around him, that’s his power. He starts transforming into a scary monster as the fight goes on.” Twister explained.

“What about Halite?” Jimena asked.

“He’s strong and durable. But not as strong as our mystery guest,” said Twister.

“So we hit harder,” said Jimena.

“That’s my cue.” Silas inflated himself. “Twister, can you launch me with a punch?” Twister at first looked confused but then spun into action. He swerved into Silas’s body, launching him forward.

Halite braced himself for the collision, but the stranger stepped in front. In a flash, Hunter watched the strange light coalesce around the kid, and it really did look like a shark. The eyes turned cold black and the kid widened his stance. He thrust out his fist, the image of the misty shark flashed along the arm. The fist belted into Silas, who momentarily stopped, and rebounded.

The kid’s skin took on a shad of grey and his teeth grew jagged.

“Whoa. We may be in over our heads,” Gauzelle remarked.

“No, we can do this. There’s five of us and two of them,” said Hunter.

“That guy just one-shotted our powerhouse. How do we answer that?” retorted Gauzelle.

“We’ve dealt with strong people before. And dinosaurs.” Hunter opened his two flasks of dust. “Do we do this as a team, or work around each other?” Hunter asked Twister.

“I normally work alone, but this is way over my head.” Twister snarled and clenched his fists. Silas bounced back to them and deflated.

“If that guy gets my head, I’m out.” He shuddered and reinflated himself. Halite rushed them; the kid hung back.

Hunter side-stepped Halite, he knew he was useless in that fight. He stared down the kid. The shark swum around the kid, who now reverted to his normal self.

“Don’t get hit,” Hunter said to himself. “Twister and Gauzelle, I’m gonna need your help with this one. Quagmire and Balloon Boy, finish Halite quickly and come round to help us finish this one.”

“Right,” everyone responded at the same time.

Jimena shot her slime balls at Halite’s face but to little effect. Silas rocketed past her and aimed for him, but the salty golem braced for impact. Silas hadn’t built up enough momentum yet and so ricocheted off his target.

Halite quickly closed the gap between himself and Jimena. Jimena kept shooting her slime balls, but he swung in underneath. She dove aside to dodge, but his great big fist collided with her rib cage. Jimena hadn’t expected it to hurt so much, and it knocked the wind out of her.

Twister came tearing past Gauzelle and Hunter. His spinning reminded Hunter of a small tornado. The kid waited and, in a flash, the shark rose behind him and came down and bit Twister. Hunter was glad it was a phantom; the potential gore would not have looked pretty. Twister ground to a stop and collapsed.

“Gauzelle, stick close.”

“Right.” Gauzelle moved closer to Hunter. Hunter and Gauzelle took a wide circle approach to their enemy.

Jimena held her side, using only one hand to shoot her slime balls. She now shot at Halite’s feet, hoping to stick him to the ground. It worked. His feet stuck to the ground, but he snapped off his feet, new feet grew, and he continued to rush at Jimena.

“That’s unfair,” said Silas as he rushed past.

“Silas, you’re going to have to slam down on him from above. I’ll distract him, make sure you come down with a lot of force.”

“Yeah,” Silas immediately kicked up and soared up high.

“What do you hope to accomplish one on one?” Halite laughed. His voice was low and grating.

Hunter and Gauzelle had gotten a little closer to their foe. The phantasmal shark jutted and hung about his body, snapping constantly. But never truly separating from his body.

“He doesn’t have reach with that creature. We have the advantage if we keep our distance,” Hunter informed Gauzelle.

“I hope you’re right.” Gauzelle stayed close to her ally. After seeing what this kid did to Silas, she was a little unnerved.

Hunter pulled all the dust he had from both bottles and had it float around his arm. He hoped his dust could close in undetected, maybe blind the kid.

Hunter directed the dust toward his foe. He kept it low to the ground.

The teen stared at Hunter, tilted his head to the side.

“Help me.” The voice was timid and soft. Hunter jerked his head in confusion, breaking his concentration on the dust.

“Did he just ask for help?” Gauzelle asked.

Silas continued to shoot up. He grew nervous as there was nothing to bring him back down. He deflated and allowed gravity to pull him back down. He inflated and his mind raced as he tried to figure out a way to make a bigger impact against Halite.

Jimena strafed and continued to aim for Halite’s feet. He kept snapping his feet and continued to move. After doing this for the tenth time, he was noticeably smaller than when the fight started.

Hunter approached the scary teen. He willed the dust up around his legs and directed it to his arms.

“What’s wrong. How can I help?” Hunter asked. The boy’s eyes turned black and Hunter felt his spine tingle. The shark flashed around the boy’s arm and it shot out at Hunter. Hunter raised his arms and closed his eyes, bracing for the impact.

The pain was excruciating. Hunter was on the ground and his arms screamed in pain. He willed his fingers to move and surprisingly, he had control over them. How were his arms not shattered?

Gauzelle unravelled and wrapped around the bad guy’s legs. She willed herself with all her might and the kid tripped and fell to the ground.

“Hunter, now.” Hunter snapped to the fallen foe and willed all the dust he could to fly into the nose of the shark kid. The kid sneezed once. The shark flashed and his eyes flickered black and back to normal. He sneezed again and again.

Gauzelle slithered out, reforming to normal size. She kept an arm wrapped around the head and slammed it face first into the ground. The teen’s noise exploded in a red haze and he collapsed. The shark flickered out.

Silas plummeted, he slammed on Halite’s head, crumbling the foe to dust.

“Michael, help.” Hunter spoke into his communicator.

“What happened?”