Alex felt like his lungs were collapsing. His vision narrowed and he nearly fell over. Everything felt slanted. This had happened to him when he was younger. He was playing on the playground as one did when they were young. His friend had climbed in top of the monkey bars and was walking across them when he lost his balance and fell over the side. When his friend got up, his arm had been broken. Not only broken, but the bone was sticking straight out of his skin. Just the sight made Alex weak in the knees.

This whole train of thought gave Alex the same feeling. He was sick to his stomach. How could he even be considering this? It was wrong? He remembered reading comics growing up. There was always a time when the hero had to decide whether taking a life for the greater good was worth it. Would they save more lives by ending one? Would it change the hero? Would they even be a hero after making that decision?

Many times, if the hero had decided to kill the villain, then they too went on a path of villainy trying to reconcile with what they had done. Would that happen to Alex? Did he want to risk it? He thought back on the girls that had become his family. Sarah, Katy and Taylor looked up to him. They were the ones that had helped him push through the darkest time in his life. Could he face them after doing something so dark?

So many questions bounced around in his head. He didn’t know the right answer. He looked around and quickly saw Cameron. He was still fighting David but it was clear: He was losing. He was taking way more hits than he was landing. If this continued on much longer, then it wouldn’t matter what Alex chose as they would likely all be dead. Cameron was the one that was keeping them afloat right now. Like the float on a pontoon, if they lost him they would tip over. Alex needed to make a decision and quick.

He thought about David. If he were to survive, he would be a tyrant in Hillcrest. Sure there was the Nova Squad, but what did that matter. David was extremely charismatic. If he were able to convince even a few awakened to join him, he could be unstoppable. What kind of things would he do? He was clearly ambitious. He wanted more power and rewards above all else. He didn’t even hesitate to throw a man out of a building. A man that was on his team, just for making a mistake. He didn’t even really make a mistake. What was he supposed to do? Know that Alex would trip into their illusions? It didn’t make any sense. For such a small transgression, the punishment was death.

No, a man like David couldn’t be left alive. It was funny Alex didn’t even feel an ounce of regret for essentially signing a death sentence for the man. Whether he would actually be able to fulfill it was another question, but if the occasion arose he didn’t feel like he would hesitate to kill the man. Maybe it was because Alex had seen him do something atrocious. He hadn’t seen this man do anything except attack alongside his team. Was that enough to kill the man?

He looked over again. David was holding Cameron above his head. Cameron was squirming in his grasp but Alex could tell, he was tired. With a downward motion, David brought Cameron’s head down towards the ground. Cameron shielded himself with his arms and braced for impact. He crashed into the ground buried down to his chest, head buried in the ground. David cackled.

Alex decided.

What was his decision? None of his friends would die. Not if he could help it. He would make decisions to ensure that. If it were the girls he wouldn’t hesitate. He had only met most of these people. He considered Lila a great friend already, even if she didn’t consider him one. Their time together was short but he could tell. Each of these people would be able to do great things. He would help them achieve that. He quickly rushed over to comatose man and stomped down hard. His head offered little resistance. Like stepping through a rotten pumpkin, Alex went through the man’s skull. He would have to fully process what had just happened later.

Right now, he had a friend to save.

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Cameron was doing everything he could. Him and Alex were really starting to wear David down. They likely would have beaten him eventually if that stupid guy hadn’t woken up, and at the worst time too. Alex was out of the fight, focusing on the new arrival. It was up to Cameron to finish this. He pulled on all of his limited knowledge of fighting. He had always been scrappy, able to fight kids much larger than himself. That was until he got big himself. After joining the football team, he bulked up. No one wanted to mess with him anymore. He had grown lax in the past years. He no longer needed to fight as much. He was the top dog.

Not anymore.

David was bigger, stronger, and seemed to have better training than him. Cameron was the last line of defense for the rest of his team though. If David got through him, then everyone else would be toast. He was barely durable enough to withstand his attacks, he couldn’t imagine Lila or Sophia lasting very long in a straight up fight. Ethan might, but that wasn’t only because the dude was extremely resilient and his powers seemed to make it really hard for his enemies when things got hairy.

No, Cameron needed to help protect them. David wasn’t going to get through him. Yet, Cameron was continually coming up short. Why did he always feel like he was coming up short? He tried his best with everything. He excelled in most things he did. He never saw those things when all his shortcomings were a blasting siren calling for his attention. He was inadequate. He had always been. Why else would nobody have adopted him? Everyone Cameron thought he had worked past this, it kept coming back. Every failure screaming at him, ‘This is why no one wants you.’ This is why Cameron threw himself so hard at defending others. Everyone thought that he was so selfless.

They were wrong.

Cameron was as selfish as they came. He helped others so that they would need him. Cameron needed that. It gave him strength. It was only a happy side effect that he was helping others to get what he wanted. Not that helping didn’t make him feel good too. There was nothing like making another person happy and then sharing that happiness with intense gratitude towards you.

That is what pushed him forward now. His teammates needed him. He would protect them so that they would continue to need him. It was a symbiotic relationship. Both parties needed each other. It’s just that Cameron’s party didn’t know how much he needed them.

David was pressing his strength advantage against him. He was relentless in his furious attacks. Cameron was blocking what he could and fighting back whenever he saw an opening. No matter what he did though, he always felt like he was losing ground. It was one step forward, fifteen steps back. Cameron felt like he was playing tug of war all by himself against the rest of his football team. Nothing he could do would change the unbalanced scales.

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Cameron continued on nevertheless. What else could he do? He wasn’t going to give up that easily and he sure as heck knew he wasn’t going to run away. He wanted to confront this head on.

The attacks kept coming, Cameron kept losing more and more ground. He was getting thrown around. He spent more time in the air than on the ground. David grabbed Cameron one more time, hoisting him up in the air.

A failure yet again. I can’t even protect my friends after getting super powers.

David propelled Cameron downward and into the ground. He felt helpless before, now though, he couldn’t do anything. He was unable to get out of the ground, the range of motion underground was reduced to zero. He could hear the muffled sounds above him. There was a sound that set Cameron’s hair on end. It was the sound of his utter failure. David was laughing at his absolutely brutalized opponent, and there was nothing Cameron could do to change it. He had been way outmatched. He had lost.

As soon as it had started the laughing ceased. It was immediately replaced by the muffled sounds of an altercation.

At least I won’t be killed just yet. It appears someone has come to my aid.

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With the water Elemental out of the picture, Sophia, lila, and Ethan could focus on the remaining two enemy combatants. The Chrono lingered near the fire Elemental, likely because he didn’t have any pure offensive capabilities. He would stand in reserve and support the pyromancer as he could.

Sophia had been tiring out the flame artist and he was running on fumes. His shots were more spread out, and they didn’t seem to be nearly as hot as they had been initially. Her team had the upper hand. She wanted to get in close but while her hawk form was agile, every time she neared the man, she was forced to retreat as a scorching heat wave came her way. Her wolf form was slight more durable but she was hit easily with flaming projectiles.

Sophia had been trying to think of a way to get closer to the man. She needed to be fast but more durable as well. She had initially thought a rhino would be perfect. They were both fast and durable. The only issue was as she began the transformation she could tell it would exhaust all of her resources. She didn’t know if it was because of the relative size of a rhino compared to her size. It made sense to her. A larger form would be harder to make as it requires more mass.

I’ve got mass where it counts, just not enough for that.

Her wolf form was pretty easy and her hawk form even easier.

Ok so I’m about the size of a wolf. I’m much bigger than a hawk. So bigger is harder and smaller is easier. She chuckled while biting her lip. Ain’t that the truth.

So what animal could she turn into that was quick and durable and not too big? Alligator? Fast in the water but not as fast on land. Horse? Too big most likely. Cheetah? Probably not as durable as a wolf but a little faster. She ran through multiple animals, tossing each aside for various reasons.

The only thing she could think of in the heat of the moment was an armadillo. She had read one time that they could actually move pretty quickly. It also had the added bonus of being relatively small and if she were targeted, she could quickly roll up in a ball and that should absorb most of the damage. It would still hurt, but it should be less than if she were to take a direct hit otherwise. Would it be the best? Maybe not. Would it be enough for her to get close enough to change into her wolf form and land a decisive hit? Probably.

She only had enough energy for a few more transformations and so she needed to make these count. She transitioned to her new form and quickly made her move.

She made short quick movements, going from cover to cover. She didn’t want to be out in the open for too long. One thing she had learned in this short bout, the pyromancer sucked at aiming. Like he was actually horrendous. He had the look of someone who had never really done a physical activity before. Sure he, like everyone else that had been awakened, had physical improvements making him both more attractive and more physically adept. He still appeared to be exceptionally uncoordinated. She didn’t even understand how that was possible. He threw his fireballs like he was using his non-dominant hand. It’s was comical. He sometimes struck true but that was mostly due to the sheer quantity of blazing bolts he fired in her direction. She had nearly taken no damage at all from their entire exchange.

This did not change in her current approach either. She could tell that the man was worried. He began to look around to see if anyone would come to his rescue. Sophia couldn’t help but feel like a cat playing with a trapped mouse.

That’s something I can do now that I think about it. But what does an armadillo eat? I should come up with a better analogy for my current situation.

Her momentary distraction was punished as a fireball exploded in the ground, right in front of her face. Sediment and cinders blinded her momentarily and yet another blast of fire came at her, this time connecting with her side. She yelped in pain as she was launched backward. She scurried behind a fallen section of building, scolding herself for letting her guard down.

She recovered and began trying to make up her lost ground utilizing the same tactic as before. It was working after all, until she lost focus. Soon she was thirty feet away. Twenty. Then ten.

Now was her chance as she became a wolf once more. The transition always felt a little strange. Her skin would wriggle, almost like horde of worms were attempting to escape. The fur or feathers would then form, almost feeling like needles poking out of her skin. It got easier for her to not lose herself and her train of thought the more she did it. She didn’t feel like it was natural, at least not yet.

She leapt as an armadillo and landed as a wolf, right in front of the pyromancer. He quickly staggered back, firing one of his cones directly in front of him. Expecting this tactic, Sophia had already begun moving to the side. As soon as the danger passed, she charged forward. A swipe of her paw left the man’s leg a shade of red much darker than the flames he created. He fell to the ground in agony. He begged for mercy.

“Please don’t do this. We didn’t even want to fight you. David was making us. He was charismatic at first but then he started to get strong. Too strong for any of us to stop. That was when the facade dropped. He didn’t try to convince us that what we were doing was in our best interest, he just made us do it or face the consequences.”

“You know it’s crazy. I have heard this exact speech many times before. Too many to count. It’s always someone else’s fault that you did the wrong thing. There’s no way that you would do this kind of thing on your own. And you know what? Every time I heard it, I never belived it. Even now I don’t believe you. If you really didn’t want to do it, then you wouldn’t have. You just got super powers and you still think you need to listen to someone else. You can take charge. Be accountable for your own decisions. You want to know what my decision is?”

She didn’t wait for a response as she shot toward his face, her powerful jaws clamping on as she started to shake her head back and forth. Each movement rending more and more flesh from his corpse as he was already a lifeless lump. She transformed back into her own body. She recovered better like that and she was exhausted. She knew that there was more fighting to be done and she wanted to be as much help as she possibly could be.

She looked over and saw that Lila was facing off against the Chrono and Ethan was on his way. To the other side, she saw David fighting against Cameron and Alex. Well Cameron was currently in the ground but he seemed to be ok as his legs were still kicking around trying to find purchase anywhere.

Seeing that everyone had it handled, Sophia felt fine to take a little break.

I already did pretty good. I deserve this.