Caught in the Crossfire

Smoke was filling the air faster than the sky could get rid of it. Puffs floated up, covering the faces of everyone in its path. In just a few seconds, all of London was covered in a blanket of the thick dust. Visibility was low, as the air was pocketed with the blinding smoke of the fire bellowing on the pier.

The London Eye, which had been a staple of the city’s tourism, was nothing more than a pile of metal and gears beneath a raging fire. The bright ferris wheel whose lights had outlined the city was replaced with a pile of red and orange, which emitted a light unlike any other. Instead of the bright, happy bulbs, London was now decorated with a fire that smoldered everything around it.

People were screaming, but the sound was barely audible over the flames and the sirens of the fire trucks that lined the pier. The firefighters and EMTs were working as fast as they could, but it wasn’t fast enough. The death toll was growing higher by the second, and there was nothing Liam could do except watch.

His blood was pumping faster than it ever had been, and he wanted so badly to use all his strength to save as many people as he could, but with all the news crews surrounding them and all the people watching, he couldn’t make a move without being noticed.

Next to him, Penelope stood with her hand covering her lips, and an audible gasp fell from them as the fire moved to another of the piers shops. It was growing by the second and the water from the hydrants was doing little to put it out.

Liam reached out to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. With a small tug of his hand, her head was pressed against his chest, with both his arms wrapped around her. She sobbed into his shirt, her tears staining the fabric, but he didn’t care. His hand moved to hair, with his fingers running through it, both in his attempt to soothe her and calm himself down.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Penelope sobbed, her voice broken and cracking.

Liam pressed his lips to her forehead, leaving them against her skin for as long as he could. He wanted so badly to go out and help them, but even if he did, he wasn’t sure there was much he could do. Even with his superhuman strength, he wasn’t invincible, and he certainly couldn’t destroy the fire. It was what they needed the team for. He had skills, but he didn’t have the skills to save the world on his own. He’d gotten them to agree to help, but without them there, their help was pointless.

“We won’t let it happen again, Penny,” Liam whispered. “We’re going to get the team together and we’re going to stop this bastard before he can do any more harm. This ends now.”

Penelope pulled her head from his chest, her soft eyes meeting his dark ones. He pushed her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

“We can do this,” Liam said. “We can stop him together.”

A small tear fell from Penelope’s eye, and Liam’s thumb quickly brushed it away. Their plans to stop him in the future didn’t change the fact that they couldn’t do anything then. People were dying all around them. They’d announced themselves as heroes, but they weren’t doing anything to help.

“Are we just gonna stand around or are we gonna save some lives?”

Liam and Penelope’s heads whipped around, finding Harry standing before them, with Ashton at his side.

“Harry?” Penelope whispered, as her head tilted to the side.

“Call me Aquatico, love,” Harry said with a wink. “Now excuse me while I do what I do best.”

Harry jogged forward, jumping over the safety line the authorities put up. They shouted at him, but he continued anyway. In just seconds, he had raced to the end of the pier, with the water raging beneath him. A smile fell to his lips, as his hands shook beneath him.

With his eyes tightly shut, he looked up toward the sky, as he held his arms out to his side. It took all his concentration, but as he raised his arms, the water crashing below him raised as well. He was in total control, the water moving exactly as he directed it.

In just seconds, the water was in the air, hovering over the flames of the fire that continued to rage on. As Harry’s arms moved, the water moved with it, and when he dropped his hands, the water fell, instantly dosing the flames.

The people looked around in a panic, not quite sure exactly what had happened. To them, it seemed as though the water fell from the sky, as they hadn’t seen the boy who manipulated it.

The panic didn’t last long though, as the people were soon cheering, thankful that the fire had been put out, even though much of the pier had been destroyed and people were injured.

Penelope and Liam looked to each other, then out at Harry, who stood across the pier with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face.

They may have been a band of misfits, but they were a force to be reckoned with.