The Whispers of Arcanum
Chapter 5 - “Collateral Damage”

The group arrived at the abandoned warehouse, the new meeting place for the resistance. Orion teleported them all there, and they quickly found their way inside. The place was dark, and the air was thick with the scent of mildew and dust. None of them were comfortable but they couldn’t go back to their original meeting place because it wasn’t safe.

As they walked further in, they could hear the muffled sounds of people talking in hushed tones. The group soon came upon a room where a small group of people sat around a table. The leader of the resistance, a tall, imposing figure with sharp features and deep-set eyes, sat at the head of the table.

“Welcome,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “I am Raze, the leader of the resistance.”

The group introduced themselves, and Raze listened intently as they explained their situation. When they finished, he leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“The government has been cracking down on us harder than ever before,” he said.

This man was different but the word for his act wasn’t professional. Just different.

“We need all the help we can get if we’re going to make a difference.” He finished.

He then outlined the resistance’s plan. They would launch a series of coordinated attacks on government facilities, disrupting their operations and sending a message that they wouldn’t be silenced. The majority of the group was happy to help but Tempest and Eden were not up for it.

Orion and Tempest didn’t quite trust the guy but Maya assured them they were just superstitious.

Maya found herself drawn to a young woman named Lila, who had the power of plant manipulation. They spent hours talking and laughing together, and Maya felt a connection with her that she couldn’t quite explain.

“So, do you mind me asking to know more about your past?” the girl questioned, her voice throwing a more masculine tone.

She had jet black hair and freckles on her pale face. Her eyebrows arched like knives and her dark blue eyes alluring Maya.

“Well, I was orphaned at a young age. At the orphanage I didn’t really fit in. So when I found out about my powers I wanted to show them off. The first time I built the confidence to do outrageous things with my powers; I was threatened by almost every person there. My friend lLily helped me through the emotions and took me out of the orphanage. Then I met the rest of the group, it was just what I needed and where I felt like I fit in. Everyone was nice and welcoming and it really helped,” Maya said. “Now we’re here.” She tallied.

Meanwhile, Nico spent most of his time tinkering with gadgets, trying to create ways to improve their chances of success. He was also the one who discovered a flaw in the government’s security system, which they could exploit to gain access to one of their most heavily guarded facilities.

As the day of the attack drew closer, tensions grew higher and sureness did too. The group knew that they were risking everything by going through with it, but they also knew that they couldn’t sit idly by and watch as their friends were hunted down and persecuted.

On the day of the attack, they prepared themselves and cautiously set out to the facility. It was a heavily guarded fortress, surrounded by barbed wire, guard dogs, armed guards, soldiers, and FBI agents.The group split up, they partnered and each took a different route to the facility.

Lily and Eden walked on the right side of the facility. They could see several people guarding the facility and quickly made a plan to get rid of them.

“This ll be your time to shine. I’ll float you over there and you’ll kick some butt.” she said, forcing motivation into Eden’s head.

Eden jumped off the building. She closed her eyes hoping Lily’s plan worked. She stopped in mid-air and floated down to the guards. They turned and shot at her instantly. Lily was prepared to help her by forcing bullets out of the way but just then a blue mist from Eden’s body flared towards Lily. Lily’s powers were blocked off. She could feel herself getting stronger. Eden was using power regeneration to block off her powers.

Eden stayed down there. Bullets were fired and smoke flew in the air. Lily thought for sure she was dead but when the smoke cleared Eden was standing there. Bullets flying straight through her body. The blue mist fogged her body and ets just slowed. They got close to her and forced through her body. On one side and out of the other.

Tempest was with Lila. They were entering through the front of the facility. They walked up to the big, gray, bulletproof door and Tempest opened it with ease using wind. The breeze felt good to Lila, she was sweating since this was her first mission. They burst inside and guards were everywhere. The guards were just standing there until Lila reached her hands into the air and behind her came vines. The vines looked thick, strong, and painful. Lila reached the vines out and two guards by the neck and the vines squeezed, strangling them. They fell to the ground and the rest of the guards attacked.

Their guns weren’t as upgraded and high maintenance as the guards outside. Tempest brung a gust of wind through the room and blew the guns out of the hands of the guards in front of him. He threw kicks with his long legs, knocking guards out of consciousness.

Lila fought with her fists. She threw vines at guards strangling, tackling, and tripping guards.

Orion and Nico were together. They were in the main building. The place was a hive of activity, with scientists and soldiers scurrying about, trying to salvage what they could and working on different things. Orion teleported around and fought guards. Some guards slipped out of the room in fear, leaking out of the main building and falling into traps. Orion teleported back to Nico, and took him to the main computer quickly. Guards try defending themselves but Orion is too discreet and speedy for them.He kicks, throws, punches, tackles, and scares guards.

“Almost done!” Nico shouted across the room to Orion.

“Take your time,” Orion replied. “This is fun.” He claimed, smirking.

Maya was with a guy from the resistance they had met up with, Ethan. Etahn hew telepathy powers. Maya and Etahn were to eliminate guards on the left side of the buildings. As soon as they started walking down the side of the building they were caught by a guard.

“Halt!” The guard demanded.

Ethan and Maya turned around. The guard started shaking and Ethan’s eyebrows raised. The guard’s gun turned away from us and toward himself.

“Listen, I can help you!” The guard pleaded.

Ethan was really with the whole betrayal act. He threw his head to the right and the guard ran straight into the electric fence and fell to the ground, dead.

“That’s new!” Maya commented.

They were walking down the side of the buildings but there were very few guards sao combat wasn’t needed as much.

“So my sister?” Ethan questioned breaking the silence.

“Sister?” Maya cross-questioned.

“Lila.” Ethan claimed.

“Lila?” Maya cross-questioned again.

“Maybe be a little more discreet with your feelings for her next time.” Ethan confronted with a straight face.

May just smirked and continued the mission.The group fought their way through the chaos, and they finally reached the main control room. Nic finished hacking into the system and disabling the security protocols.

The others fought off waves of guards as they made their way to the center of the room. Finally, they reached the main console, and Tempest used her powers to overload the system.

There was a blinding flash of light, and the room shook as the system shut down. The group cheered, knowing that they had struck a decisive blow against the government.

But their victory was short-lived. As they made their way out of the facility, they were confronted by a squad of heavily armed soldiers. The group braced themselves for a fight, but before they could react, there was a deafening explosion, and their eyes flashing and burning. Everything went black.