Chapter 36
Bailey stood over Ashley’s unconscious body and activated another skirt shield to protect them both from the oncoming tidal wave. Strangely, when Ashley had been knocked out, instead of going still, Oakie had begun fighting even harder. It was as if she had asked him to protect her, and he was still obliging. But, though Bailey was currently fighting back such a huge rush of water, their aqua adversary was not her main concern. Of the two remaining villains, Torrendous was clearly the biggest threat.
Seeing Ashley crumple to the ground from a vicious bludgeoning attack, Bailey ran over to her with the intent of using her panic button to end the trial for both of them. But then she thought that if she could just protect Ash while taking out the last two villains, it would be a badass way to show everyone how awesome she could be. Plus, she could always use the panic button later if she got into further trouble.
She had since gotten into a bit of a rhythm, alternating between using her shield and her arm strikes to batter away the hurled objects, large waves, and a litany of other attacks that her two enemies had employed thus far. Granted, if they decided to get in closer to take her out, things could get tricky, but Bailey had done well thinking on her feet up until this point, so she just needed to trust her instincts and do her best.
As the current shield timed out, a huge boulder plummeted toward them, Bailey blasting it out of the sky with a lightning bolt. She took a quick accounting of how many prewritten options she still had at her disposal. Glancing down, she saw about 20 more shields but less than 10 of each of the arm attacks. She could still use her phone, but it would slow her down quite a bit, leaving larger openings for her opponent’s counters. She regretted not bringing her old shield wand into this battle with her. Oh well, next time, she would not make that same mistake.
All of a sudden, the ground began moving below her feet, and quicksand began churning. “ Oh fuck!” The situation had just changed dramatically from bad to worse. This could only mean one thing: Earthshatter was back. Bailey didn’t know if she had been rescued by an ally or if Ashley’s sleep grass had just worn off. But it didn’t really matter. With Earthshatter back onboard, Bailey’s chance of surviving the trial and emerging victorious was now close to zero. Ugh. Why? Why now? Where was everyone else?
When she had left Bobby and Joel on the beach, it seemed they had the situation under control. However, that was before a series of giant tidal waves had taken out the entire city, so she didn’t really expect them to still be around. She was, however, shocked that there was no sign of June or Ken at this point in the trial. Those two had spent most of the month training. Judging by the power levels of the villains, she assumed Torrendous had taken them out, but who could know? And if he had taken June and Ken out, how would she be able to survive?
Bailey threw up another shield, which gave her moments to assess. But time was against them all as they were slowly descending into the quicksand. Maybe she should just throw in the towel. There was no shame in it, especially not since she and Ashley seemed to be the last two Challengers standing. She looked down at Ashley’s still body, noting her shallow breathing. Maybe it was cruel to keep her in the trial in her condition. But if she could just give her friend a little recovery time… maybe recovery was possible? Bailey knew it was wishful thinking, but that was the only type of thinking she had left.
She decided to go for a Hail Mary. As her current shield dematerialized, Bailey pointed her lightning fist right at the water meta’s feet, then adjusted her aim slightly, attempting to hit the water below him, as she let rip with all of the remaining “lightning” words she had left on her costume one after another in succession. The entire city lit up with electric energy as the flood waters themselves acted as a conductor. Oakie then burst into flames, but Earthshatter quickly created a small plateau to get above the water, and Torrendous was already flying above the city in twister form. That hydro baddie, however, began smoking like a chimney, toppled over into the rapids, and was pulled into Earthshatter’s gaping chasm.
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“Yes! I did it! Okay, only two left. Although I guess I’m just back where I started,” she realized dejectedly, talking to herself or hopefully to Ashley. “Except we’re slowly sinking into the earth with every tiny movement I make.” She tried to hold as still as possible to slow the sucking situation. The current state of affairs wasn’t ideal, but she had seen worse. Hadn’t she? Okay, maybe not, but things had been bad for a while now, and she was still standing. Again, she looked at Ashley. “Well, I’m still standing, at least.” She was trying, though unsuccessfully, to stay positive.
Torrendous landed next to Earthshatter and shifted back to human form. “Okay, little girl. You have done well. But it’s time to throw in the towel. You are clearly outmatched.”
Earthshatter joined in, “We have your rhythm figured out, and before long, my little ‘quick-pit’ will have swallowed you whole. You know what it feels like to suffocate in quicksand? It isn’t pleasant, I assure you.”
Bailey pulled the panic button out of her pocket. The sand was up to her knees, and she needed to make sure she removed it from her waist pocket before it was too late.
“I’ve got you right where I want you,” she lied. She wanted to put on a good show for the viewers. If this was going to be her last stand, she might as well make it memorable. “You may have figured out my rhythm, but I have figured out both of your weaknesses!” Another lie. Might as well keep up the ruse.
Bailey threw up another shield quickly as the previous one died and started thinking of words she could use to get them out of the quicksand without putting them in an even worse tactical position. When she had first discovered generally how her powers worked, and before she had the good sense to think through all potential outcomes, she recklessly tried random words to see what they could do... eventually experimenting with teleportation. She had found it unreliable, and on the second try, she had ended up falling from 15 feet above the ground and had been hospitalized for weeks. There hadn't been a third try after her parents had urged her to think about what might happen if she ended up inside a wall or in outer space. So, teleportation was out.
She could try to create a rope or some sort of ladder, but getting herself and Ashley’s limp body both out of the quicksand using those means would leave them both vulnerable to a counterattack. Especially because Bailey would need to use her phone to do so, which was her slowest option at present. As she was mentally running through her options, her shield dropped. Before she could throw up another one, two things happened simultaneously: A giant boulder flew in their direction, and their descent suddenly halted and reversed. Having no lightning charges remaining, Bailey pummeled the giant boulder with fire from her right hand and ducked down, avoiding certain doom by mere centimeters. Looking down, she noticed both she and Ashley were glowing, wrapped in a mysterious energy beam of white light. She traced the beam back to its origin. Ralph. The weirdo kid, who was obsessed with Ashley, had come to their rescue. He stood atop a flipped school bus and, using his meta ability of tractor beams, pulled them from the quicksand to hover over the safety of the sidewalk.
However, before she could celebrate, Torrendous and Earthshatter acted in unison to take down her unexpected savior. Before Bailey could even thank him, Ralph was pummeled by rocks and wind, ending his trial and leaving Bailey, once again, alone in the battle.
Now, Bailey was safe from the quicksand but still had no plan for taking out the two villains. It had probably all been for nothing. “Fuck it,” she thought, held her right arm straight in front of her, and let loose with a truly awe-inspiring torrent of fire aimed directly in the faces of her enemy.
The flames actually created an all-around negative effect, as Torrendous quickly morphed into his tornado form and absorbed the fire, becoming a goddamn flaming cyclone. Earthshatter helped her partner by adding rocks and rubble to the mix so that by the time the twister arrived, it was as deadly as possible. Bailey was out of ideas. She only had one more option. She threw her body on top of Ashley’s and pressed down on her panic button, officially ending The Challengers’ trial, and any and all hope of success.