The acrid smell of smoke hit me as I neared the portion of the grounds that we used for socializing. I flinched when a raindrop splattered against my face, and I stopped to look up at the sky. Clear only moments before, weather manipulators had obscured the stars with angry clouds, unleashing a torrential downpour and vicious bolts of lightning.

Lily, the flyer with invulnerability, dropped in front of an enemy attacker and drove a knife through his eyeball, not flinching as bullets bounced off her skin. She twisted the blade and pulled it out as he dropped to his knees with a scream before she launched herself into the air again. Thankfully, I'd tossed the contents of my stomach on the beach earlier, or else I might have been sick at the sight.

I pushed myself further into the fray, surprised that Calum hadn't caught up with me yet. Anna was easily visible near the infirmary, her pink hair a bright beacon in the dark. She danced between assailants, dropping them with speed and efficiency. Her elbow took out the man creeping up behind her while she drove a combat boot into the stomach of the man in front of her. Pushing wet hair out of my face, I swallowed my warning scream as one of the downed attackers recovered and grabbed a gun from his waist.

I threw my hand out and pushed an orb of purple light towards the assailant. The blow would be a killing one, but I felt no remorse. Kill or be killed was our reality at this moment. The bullet connected with Anna's shoulder as the man who'd shot her ceased to exist. She fell to her knees, clutching the wound. I pushed my shaky legs through waterlogged sand to reach her.

"Anna," I shouted to be heard over the raging storm. "Anna, let me help you."

Grimacing, she let me look at her arm. I ripped the black fabric away and sighed with relief when I saw that the bullet had gone clean through. Our biggest concern was going to be blood loss, but thankfully, we were near the infirmary.

"What the hell are you wearing?" she demanded as I helped her to her feet.

I looked down and groaned. Once again, I was in the middle of a fight for my life clad in just a top, though at least I had underwear this time. "It's a long story."

"Oh, you're going to have to share," she insisted, her voice still strong and sassy despite the pain she was in.

"I'll share as soon as you stop bleeding and people stop shooting guns at us," I promised, firing off another beam of light at an approaching gunman.

"Done."

We made it to the stairs without further issue, but getting up them was going to be another challenge altogether. By the time we reached the top, I wasn't sure if I was supporting Anna or if she was supporting me.

The door was on its hinges, and the only light came from the flickering of a fluorescent light fixture hanging precariously from the ceiling. Rolling medical tables were overturned, shards of glass glittered on the floor, and various papers were scattered about. This room had seen fighting, but was now blessedly empty.

Patching Anna up didn't take long, but I could tell the loss of blood had taken its toll. She refused to let me give her any pain killers, insisting she needed to keep her head clear so she could return to the fight.

"No, you're going to stay here and stay safe," I commanded, echoing Calum's words to me earlier. The hypocrisy of the situation wasn't lost on me, but I shrugged it off.

"Fleur usually keeps a change of clothes in her office," Anna said, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow.

"Which would be located where exactly?" I asked, unsure about letting her out of my sight.

"If you step into the hallway, it's the first door on the right. Go. I'll be fine, but if you end up in hand to hand combat dressed like that, you're screwed. Not to mention Calum will swallow his tongue if he sees you like that."

"Oh trust me, I know," I answered, making my way to Fleur's office, thinking of Calum's promise to discuss my evening swim. I'm not sure which bothered him more: the swimming or the state I was in while swimming.

Fleur's office was exactly how I imagined it would be. Cool ocean tones covered the walls, and the furniture was a trendy mismatch of distressed pieces. Her desk was not messy by any means, but was clearly often used. I rummaged through the small armoire she had in the back corner and fist pumped when I found the standard uniform the Wonder Team was so fond of: sturdy but supple black pants and because it was Fleur, a navy blue long-sleeved shirt with a troll doll sporting Anna's hair color printed on the front.

I'd just finished tugging the top over my head when the beach house swayed dangerously as if it the stilts had been hit.

"Shit," I muttered, running back to the infirmary, my bare feet slapping against the cool wooden floors announcing my arrival to the woman who was standing in the doorway.

"Elaine," I hissed, recognizing her immediately.

"I see they failed to drown you, but no matter, I really wanted to kill you myself. Right along with this bitch."

Anna didn't stir, and I realized she'd passed out. "I'd say you touch her and you die, but you're going to die anyway." My words were braver than I felt; the memory of her suffocating me was overwhelming.

"Cute. Do you really think you've learned enough in the last few weeks to take me on? Not to mention, you look like you're barely staying upright. Nathaniel always was gifted with water."

An image of a fuzzy, dark shape crumpled on the beach flashed through my mind. "Was being the operative word in that sentence."

"Those who fail deserve their fate," she answered, clearly not attached to the man who'd tried to kill me.

The laugh that escaped my lips was brittle and humorless. "Well, then you're going to get what's coming to you."

This time, I felt the disturbance in the air as she pushed a force field out at me, and I threw myself out of the way. Dragging my power from my core, I hurled a beam at her, which she deflected with one of her shields. Instead of bouncing off of the shield, it sizzled and appeared to absorb into the force field. Elaine stumbled back as though she'd been burned.

I watched as she tried to summon another force field, but nothing happened. Somehow, I'd short circuited her power, and a big grin spread across my face as I approached with hands aglow. "Not so much fun when the fight is fair, huh?"

Elaine turned away from me and waved her hand towards the dangling light. The metal groaned as it pulled loose; the cords sparking in protest before the room plunged into total darkness. I'd forgotten about her telekinesis Talent.

With Anna in no condition to protect herself, I threw a ball of energy towards the light so that it dissolved on impact as I sprinted towards Elaine and tackled her. I shifted as my arms wrapped around her waist, allowing my muscles to grow and strengthen. Sharp pain radiated down my left shoulder as we slammed into one of the tipped over metal carts before hitting the floor.

Elaine squirmed in my grasp, her elbows jabbing sharply into the soft portion of my stomach. My grasp weakened with each hit she landed, powerful muscles pointless when every attempt to tighten my hold increased the agony in my shoulder. Allowing her to break free, I quickly rolled to the side and jumped to my feet. I was now positioned between the still unconscious Anna and the bitch with a chip on her shoulder.

Trying not to favor my shoulder, I dropped into the pose I'd learned over the last few weeks, my body assuming the position as though it were second nature. Cautious Camille urged me to take advantage of Elaine's inability to wield force fields and zap her ass, but I wanted to feel her bones crunch and her skin break beneath my knuckles. I wanted her to live so that I could watch those green eyes darken with fear when they carted her off to pay for her crimes.

The house swayed again as the war outside continued, but like a tenured sailor on the sea, my feet moved to maintain my balance. Elaine stumbled, and I took the opportunity to strike. My right fist connected with her chin, and because I couldn't deliver a decent punch with my injured left arm, I followed through with a kick to her head, driving her to the ground. A normal human would be out, but Elaine caught herself on her hands and knees. Spitting blood and something that sounded suspiciously like a tooth as it hit the floor. She struck with viperous grace, her foot sweeping in a wide arc beneath my legs.

I jumped, moments before she would have sent me tumbling to the ground, flipping backwards as she came up prepared to pounce. Dodging what would've been a searing blow to my nose, I ducked and jabbed twice in her abdomen, pushing a small amount of energy into the hit.

Or what I thought was a small amount of energy. Elaine flew backwards as if pulled by a rope, her small frame slamming into the wall, denting the plaster. She slid down, her full sandy brown hair covering her face as she crumpled into a heap on the floor and didn't get up.