Wanted Mutants

Chapter 14

“So you were the one...” she twisted her body to see Death standing in front of her. He stretched, and he chuckled, “Well, I’ll take your band now.” A feeling began to bubble inside her as a voice told her, ‘don’t give in... Fight’ his hand inched ever forward when she rolled away from him. He tried to grab her, but she vanished and flew off. An explosion echoed in the distance as she made her way there. She saw fire raging through the ruins of the abandoned city. The intensity of the flames made it hard for her to get close, but she could make out Ragnarök and Fire-Fairy, still locked in combat.

“Fire-Fairy give up, you can’t win. I am the Flame.” Rargarok's voice echoed over the roar of the flames. A series of explosions and archin flames forced Kari to float backwards. “You will never win because you do things off of instinct and that makes it easy to predict your moves.” Just as soon as the firestorm started, it ended. The heat dien down allowed Kari to float closer to see Fire-Fairy kneeling on the ground and Ragnarök holding her band. “Learn from your mistakes and then challenge me again.” He turned and jogged back toward the fight where devastation and Gabriel were battling it out. Her gaze shifted around the battlefield to see a dark shadow spot on the wall of a building. It looked like it was preparing to pounce on Ragnarök as he walked by. Her heart stopped as her thought became reality. Death's shadow launched itself at her leader. But out of instinct she flew straight into it, knocking both of them to the ground.

“Damn it Kari.” Death grabbed her arm and she mentally pushed him, sending both of them flying. The dust from her body bouncing on the ground only made her ache and want to give up. She was tired, and her energy was fading fast. Her bones popped and cracked as she willed herself to her feet. “Just give me the band.” He held a shadowed scythe, and she readied herself when a high-pitched sound rang in her ear. Her vision blurred, and her hearing distorted. A terrible headache crackled across her mind, trying to center herself, but failing, her eyes began to glow ethereal blue. Words left her without her permission,

“You want my band.” her limbs moved of their own will, “Come and get it.” her gaze focused on him as she waited for him to charge, but he never did. A tendril of shadow tried to grab her, but she charged so fast he stepped back. Her mental hands grabbed his scythe, and she vaulted herself behind him. Her silence lingered in his ears and he felt a pang of fear shoot through him. With a slight tilt of her head she sent him flying into the air. A burst of speed allowed her to keep up with him in midair.

“Kari….” She grabbed the band on his arm and floated out of his reach. Unable to control her own body, frustration, fear, and sadness ripped at her. As Death plummeted, she turned her back and looked at the band in her hand when the ringing in her ears stopped. Her vision cleared, and her headache subsided. The sound of Death's body hitting the ground returned her to her senses. She floated gently to him, and in a sheepish voice she asked, “Are you alright?” She knelt beside him, and he slowly sat up wincing,

“What the hell was that?! You could have killed me?” She looked away and tears fell from her eyes.

“I’m sorry... I didn’t mean it... Please, forgive me ” she looked down, and her ponytail drooped over one of her shoulders,

“You have got to get your powers in check before you participate in another one of these matches, okay.” She nodded, and he stood up slowly. He stretched, “Well I’m out so I’ll see ya later.” He turned and walked off, her heart ached as he left. She wished to stop him, but her legs would not allow her to move from the kneeling position she was in. She sat in the dirt holding the band in her hands. The cool metal shimmered in the light. 'What did I do?'

“Kari…” she heard a voice, but as she looked around there was no one, “Kari, where are you…” she panicked as she tried to figure out where the voice was coming from. When she remembered the communicator in her ear, “Kari! This is serious. Devastation. He was ambushed by the kid and Gabe. They took his band. Ragnarök is fighting them now. We need you to hurry up.” She took a deep breath and she stood up. She tried to fly, but for some reason, her body wouldn’t take to the air like it normally did. Her heart was heavy, and she felt a pressure overcome her. She staggered about as she began walking back toward the fight. The heat of the day began to set in, and her body seemed to drag itself when another message came through, “Kari, are you alright, where are you?”

“I’m not feeling so good.” She stopped, and she whipped the dirt from her face, but when she pulled her hand away she saw the distinct crimson color of blood staining her hand. She fell to her knees and she began a self-assessment. Beginning with her feet, she worked her way up the body when her eyes stopped on her side. A piece of metal had lodged itself in her. She was bleeding heavily and once she saw it, the pain flooded over her. She winced as she pushed herself to her feet, but she stumbled and fell again. Like a bird who had broken its wing she struggled to get to her feet. The pain was becoming a task, but she managed to crawl to a rock where she pulled herself to a standing position. She began to taste her own blood in her mouth,

“Kari, I’m on my way, so stay put. This match is almost over. We got Masterminds band and Gabe still remains though.” Her legs grew weak as her own body weight forced her to sit. She checked her wound again. The blood wouldn’t stop, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. Because she knew if she removed the metal it could cause more damage, so she left it. The heat rising off the ground forced her to find shade. Her body refused, but she forced herself to the nearest building, and she leaned against it. A shadow flashed past her, then a large thud made her look up to see Gabriel walking toward her. He held a long rod with a ball-like blade at the end.

“Give me the band Kari and I can get you help.” She knew he knew she was hurt, but she looked up at him. “You’re hurt, let's not fight, just let me have it.” her heart began to beat faster, and the blood began to ooze out of her faster,

“NO I can’t let you have it.” she pushed herself to her feet and she wobbled but found her balance in the building. “I can’t”, she took a deep breath, and she calmed her nerves, ‘please I know we’re tired, but we have got to move’ she turned, and she took off into the sky. Her body obeyed her for a while but the world started to lose its color and become dull. The wind held her, but her consciousness left her, and she fell to the ground. She fell on the same side as her wound, only pushing the metal deeper into her as she slid to a stop in the dirt. Her body lay limp in the sand.