The Fall of Five

9

“I’m going to whip you into shape,” declares Nine. “That way, the next time there’s a mission, we won’t be the ones left sitting on our asses.”

Eight and I stand in the Lecture Hall side by side, watching as Nine circles around us, sizing us up like some kind of army drill instructor. I feel like rolling my eyes, and I can tell Eight is barely suppressing a fit of laughter. Still, I do feel sort of guilty about basically sneaking out with Eight, and I’m sure a little training couldn’t hurt. Plus, I think Nine is still bummed about being left out of Four’s rescue mission, and he seems really into this whole training thing. I decide to humor him.

“Unless you’d rather just be benchwarmers? You want to hang out and go eat pizza while the rest of us kill Setrákus Ra?” Nine snarls as he stops in front of us, staring us down.

“No, sir,” I say, trying to be serious. Eight immediately bursts out laughing.

Nine ignores Eight for now, focusing instead on me. “Healing and night vision. That’s about it, huh?”

“I can breathe under water,” I add helpfully.

“All right,” says Nine, considering my Legacies, “maybe you’ll develop a good fighting Legacy one day. Maybe you won’t. We’d still all be dead if it wasn’t for you, I guess. I know Johnny’s supposed to have the healing thing now, too, but I think he only heals girls he’s dating, so the rest of us still need you. Anyway, we’ll need to practice your speed and agility, so that when one of us goes down, you’ll be able to get to us. And maybe your healing will, like, evolve into something else if we practice with it enough.”

To my surprise, most of what Nine says actually makes sense. Except one thing nags at me. “How are we going to practice my healing?”

Nine’s smile is sinister, something I’d be really afraid to see from across the battlefield. “Oh, you’ll see. As for you,” he continues, turning to Eight, “I thought you were pretty badass when we first met, and then you took a sword to the chest first chance you got. Nice job.”

Eight’s expression darkens as he’s reminded of his run-in with Setrákus Ra. “He tricked me.”

“Uh-huh,” says Nine. “Way I remember it, you were so focused with copping a feel —er, hugging—fake Six that you got stabbed. You give a lot of hugs in the middle of a battle, bro? Use your head.”

“It seems like you could use a hug right now,” says Eight, grinning mischievously.

Before Nine knows what’s happening, Eight shape shifts into his four-armed Vishnu form, leaps forward, and wraps Nine up in a tight embrace. I can see the muscles in Nine’s neck and shoulders tense as Eight squeezes him.

“Let me go,” warns Nine through gritted teeth.

“You’re the boss.”

Eight teleports, taking Nine with him. He reappears just inches away from the ceiling and releases Nine. Disoriented, Nine doesn’t have a chance to gather himself and crashes to the floor on his back. Before Nine even lands, Eight has teleported back to my side.

“Ta-da,” he says, reassuming his normal form.

“You’re just going to make him mad,” I whisper. Eight only shrugs.

Nine hops back to his feet and rolls his head from side to side, cracking his neck. He nods, looking almost impressed.

“Pretty good move,” he says.

“Maybe I should be training you,” quips Eight.

“Try it again.”

Shrugging, Eight shape shifts again. He wraps Nine in the same hug, this time approaching warily, as if he’s expecting Nine to launch a counterattack. I’m expecting the same thing, cringing as I wait for Nine to throw an elbow into Eight’s face. Surprisingly, Nine doesn’t fight back at all.

Eight teleports them back to the ceiling again, but this time, when he’s released from Eight’s grasp, Nine quickly reaches his hand up to touch the ceiling. It makes me queasy just to watch; Nine’s gravity shifting so that instead of falling to the floor, he’s doing a handstand on the ceiling. It all takes no more than a second.

Eight’s already teleported away, reappearing back at my side. Just like Nine was expecting. Nine launches himself from the ceiling and, as soon as Eight materializes, Nine is plummeting towards him. Eight only has a moment to notice that Nine isn’t lying on the floor where he expected him to be. The next thing he knows, Nine’s foot is connecting with his sternum, sending him flying to the ground.

Eight picks himself up onto his elbows, wheezing, the wind knocked out of him. Nine stands over him, his hands on his hips.

“Predictable,” Nine says. “Why would you teleport back to the same place?”

In answer, Eight coughs, rubbing his chest. Nine reaches down and helps him to his feet.

“It’s all about surprise with you, man,” Nine explains. “You gotta keep ’em guessing.”

Eight lifts up his shirt. There’s a foot-shaped bruise already forming over his ribs. “Damn. That was like getting hit with a sledgehammer.”

“Thanks,” says Nine, and looks at me. “Here’s some practice for you.”

I place my hands gently on Eight’s chest. The icy feeling of my Legacy tingles in my fingertips, passing through me and into Eight. It’s only a bruise so it’s easy; I don’t even have to concentrate. Which is good, because it’s not that easy for me to concentrate while touching Eight’s chest. If this is what training is going to be like, I could get used to it.

“Thanks,” says Eight, when I step back.

On the other side of the room, Nine has grabbed one of the stuffed Mogadorian training dummies and dumped it on the ground. He stands over it, looking at us.

“Okay, here’s the game. We’re going to pretend this dummy is—I don’t know— Number Four. He gets hurt all the time, right? So, he’s wounded and, Marina, you need to get to him and work your magic. Eight, you’re going to help her.”

“And what are you going to be doing?” I ask.

“I’m going to be the surprisingly good-looking Mogadorian that’s standing in your way.”

Eight and I exchange a look. “Two on one?” he says. “Sounds easy.”

“Cool,” says Nine, extending his pipe staff and twirling it menacingly over his head. “Let’s see what you got.”

Eight puts his arm around me, pulling me into a quick huddle. “He expects us to go right at him,” he whispers.

I nod, catching on to the plan quickly. “You should just teleport the body back to me.”

Eight holds his hand up to me for a quick high five, then spins back to face Nine. “Ready?”

“Bring it on.”

Eight starts forward and Nine stalks out to meet him in the center of the room. As soon as he’s drawn Nine a few yards away from the dummy, Eight disappears, reappearing over the dummy. It’s not that Nine doesn’t notice what Eight’s up to—he just doesn’t care. He bounds a few steps forward, coming straight for me. Caught off guard and more than a little nervous with Nine charging me, I backpedal. Nine is far too quick for me.

When Eight reappears with the dummy, Nine is standing with the tip of his staff pressed against the side of my neck.

“Good job,” he says to Eight. “Now you’ve got a wounded friend and a dead healer.”

I’ve never trained like this before, so Nine coming right at me felt really intimidating. I have to get over that feeling. I know Six wouldn’t have just let Nine put that staff up to her throat. I need to prove to these boys that even though I don’t have the offensive firepower they do, I can still fight back.

With Nine distracted by Eight, I slap the point of his staff away from my neck.

“Not dead yet,” I say, as I lunge forward and punch him in the mouth. Immediately, a flare of pain courses through my hand and wrist.

Nine staggers back a step as Eight whoops with happy surprise. Nine whips his head back around to look at me, blood lining his teeth as he grins.

“Good!” he shouts, delighted. “You’re getting it!”

“I think I broke my thumb,” I reply, looking down at my swollen knuckles.

“Next time, keep your thumb outside your fingers when you punch,” Eight says, balling up his fist to demonstrate.

I nod, feeling sort of dumb that I’d make such a basic mistake, but also a little thrilled that I just socked Nine right in the face. He seems to have appreciated it too, looking at me with a newfound respect as he wipes the blood off his face. I touch my hand, again feeling the icy sensation of my Legacy, intensified this time as it passes into my own hand.

Nine has picked up the dummy and dumped it back on the other side of the room. “Ready to try again?”

Eight and I huddle up for a second time. “Maybe I should introduce him to our old friend Narasimha?”

“Which one is that?”

“Lots of arms, lots of claws.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say. “Keep him busy and I’ll flank him.”

We break our huddle and Eight immediately transforms into one of his massive avatars. His handsome features melt away, replaced by the snarling face and golden mane of a lion. He grows to about twelve feet, ten arms sprouting out of his sides, each of them tipped with razor-sharp claws. Nine whistles through his teeth.

“Now we’re talking,” Nine says. “One of your parents must’ve been a Chimæra. Probably your mom.”

“Funny,” replies Eight, his voice a gravelly roar while in this shape.

I stay behind Eight as he stalks towards Nine, waiting for an opening to make a break for the dummy. Eight lunges forward, slashing at Nine with all his arms, forcing Nine to duck and weave away, parrying some of the blows with his staff. Nine prods at Eight with his staff, trying to keep him at bay, looking for an opening of his own.

As Nine twirls his staff for a counterattack, focused on Eight, I see a chance to make a difference. I reach out with my telekinesis and yank Nine’s staff out of his hands. He’s not expecting it, so the force sends him off balance, right into the waiting claws of Eight. Nine is slashed across the chest, his shirt torn to ribbons, the skin beneath cut open in gashes wide enough to need stitches. Both Eight and I hesitate at the sight of those wounds.

“I didn’t mean to get you that bad,” says Eight, the sympathy not really coming through his lion-head rumble.

Nine’s eyes have lit up, though. “It’s nothing!” he shouts. “Keep going!”

I’ve never seen anyone so excited by the sight of his own blood.

Just like that, Nine is on the run. Eight gives chase, but he’s lumbering in this form and Nine is freakishly quick with his super-speed Legacy. Nine races up the nearest wall and flips over the charging Eight. He manages to land right on Eight’s back, with one of his arms hooked around his neck. Being so large, it’s nearly impossible for Eight to reach around and get at Nine, which must’ve been exactly what Nine had planned. With his free hand, Nine starts punching Eight, aiming for the pointy ears that poke through the tufts of his mane.

Eight roars in pain and then reverts to his normal shape. He crumples beneath Nine’s weight.

Meanwhile, with Nine distracted, I make a run for the dummy.

“Watch out, Marina!” Eight shouts.

I hear Nine’s pounding footsteps behind me. Behind me and above me. I roll to the side just as Nine dives off the ceiling, trying that same jump-kick move he used to surprise Eight. Missing me, Nine rolls, putting himself between me and the dummy.

Nine’s staff is just a few feet away. As he starts advancing towards me, I grab it with my telekinesis and send it flying at his head.

The blow smacks Nine in the back of the head, making him stagger, and giving me an opening to sprint past him. He shakes it off quickly, though, and is right back on my tail.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eight has gotten unsteadily back to his feet.

“Slide!” he shouts.

Not thinking, just acting, I do as Eight says. I slide to the ground like a baseball player would. I see Eight start to throw a punch at thin air, but in the middle of the motion he teleports. He reappears right in front of me. I go sliding between his legs and his punch goes sailing over my head, right into Nine’s jaw. Running full speed and suddenly stopped by a right cross, Nine is flipped head over heels.

I scramble to my feet and reach the dummy. I place my hands over an imaginary wound and shout, “Healed!”

There’s a moment where the room is totally silent except for the three of us breathing heavily. Eight sits down hard, gently rubbing the side of his face. I notice that his ear is swollen closed and his neck is puffy with fresh abrasions from where Nine was punching him, so the damage he endures in his other forms must be carried over to his regular one.

Nine lies on his back, groaning. His chest is shredded from where Eight slashed him, he’s got a fresh black eye, and I think I notice a trickle of blood from where I struck him with his staff. Suddenly, his groans turn to laughter.

“That was awesome!” Nine hollers.

Psychotic as his love of violence might seem, I find myself smiling and agreeing with Nine. That was actually a really good workout. It felt amazing to be able to push myself like that in an environment that wasn’t life or death.

“Man,” says Nine, picking himself up from the ground. “I had no way to dodge that last punch. Good move, dude.”

Eight turns his bruised face up towards Nine. “Yeah. I owed you one. Or, like, ten.”

I kneel down next to Eight and start healing his injuries. The icy feeling isn’t so startling anymore; in fact, it’s starting to feel more and more natural.

“Why’d you shape shift back?” Nine asks, picking at the gashes on his chest. “That lion dude bullshit was giving me fits.”

“I have to really concentrate to keep the form,” explains Eight. “Getting my head bashed in was definitely not helping my focus.”

“Okay,” says Nine, thinking this over. “Sandor’s got some nonlethal weaponry stashed somewhere. You should let me shoot stuff at you, and we’ll work on keeping your concentration.”

“Yeah,” Eight says dryly, “sounds like a blast.”

With Eight’s face returned to its far more appealing not-bruised state, I start to work on Nine’s wounds. “You know,” I tell him, “you’re actually really good at this.”

“Fighting? Uh, yeah, I know.”

“Not just fighting. I guess, um, thinking about fighting.”

“Strategizing,” puts in Eight. “She’s right. I don’t think I would’ve come up with that teleport punch if you hadn’t pushed me. And awful as getting shot at sounds, I actually think that practicing might be a good idea.”

Nine puffs up, even more than usual. “Well, you’re welcome.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” I say, watching the last cut on his chest slowly knit closed beneath my fingertips.

I glance up at Nine to find him looking past me, towards the doorway of the Lecture Hall. “Hey Ella,” he says, “did we wake you up?”

I turn around to see Ella standing in the doorway. She’s dressed in street clothes, the first time I’ve seen her out of pajamas or one of Nine’s baggy flannels in days. I’d think her getting dressed was progress, except her eyes are red-rimmed from crying. Ella doesn’t look at any of us, her eyes pinned to the floor.

“What’s wrong, Ella?” I ask, taking a few steps towards her.

“I—I just wanted to say good-bye,” Ella replies. “I’m leaving.”

“Like hell,” says Nine. “No more field trips today.”

Ella shakes her head, her hair whipping around her face. “No. I have to. And I’m not coming back.”

“What’s gotten into you?” I ask. And that’s when I notice it. Clutched tightly in Ella’s hands, practically crumpled from the way she keeps wringing it, is a piece of paper. Crayton’s letter.

“I’m not one of you,” Ella whispers, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks.