Miraculous World: Georgia Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Culmination

The welcome home for their dad was amazing. He was fine, he would be fine, the burns had been significantly more painful than serious. Three days after the fight, there were only a couple of places on his body that still had gauze wrappings. Heck, he even said they were mostly optional. “I’ll probably take them off before I…” His voice kind of trailed off, his eyes guilty. He looked down at the dinner table, holding plates of sushi his wife had made to welcome him home.

Everyone at the table looked a bit uncomfortable, and since that number had doubled it was a lot of discomfort. The cat was out of the bag, even if in this case it was two otters, a penguin, a whale shark, and a flamingo. Leigh, AKA Mom, AKA the superheroine Tidal, cleared her throat. “There is a lot to catch up on. The girls have certainly stepped up to take over patrols. Elemental has not been seen since we fought him. Sarah?”

The oldest daughter swallowed what she was chewing on and handed a piece to Kerah, the penguin floating next to her. “We’ve been staying out of normal crime, but a couple of police have told us that having more superheroes running around has reduced that a bit. People deciding to stay home, I guess. Like Mom said, nobody’s seen Elemental. Blaster’s missing, too. He escaped yesterday by blowing up his cell wall and walking out.”

Anna interjected. “He’s missing in both identities. Paul’s been absent from school, his parents believe he’s been kidnapped. There were police asking about him. Blaster’s social media pages have also gone dark. It’s the first time he’s gone three days without posting anything in more than a month.”

Lizzy nodded. “We haven’t turned in the reporter yet. He was gone before the ambush, and Mom said we needed to leave him in place.”

Sam leaned back, chewing thoughtfully on his own next piece as he handed one to Mishpah the Otter. “That makes sense. He’s been covering the attacks regularly for ratings, so we can use him as an early warning system. Once Elemental is dealt with, Ryan Parker can be next. He, at least, isn’t about to blow up a power substation or try to light a superhero on fire.”

Leigh coughed politely. “Elemental didn’t ‘try’ to light a superhero on fire, love. In case you forgot, he succeeded.” Sam winced a bit at that, but Leigh continued. “You know, now that we’re all here… girls, can you answer me a few questions? I find myself with a burning curiosity.” She was giving Sam a bit of a hard stare on that word. He, in turn, was studiously pouring some more soy sauce out as he tried unsuccessfully to ignore it.

“Sure, mom, what’s up?” Sarah was as curious about the questions as anyone else.

“When did you girls get your Miraculous? Where did you find them?”

“During the New York trip.” Sarah was the speaker, but Lizzy and Anna nodded in agreement. “I saved an old lady crossing the street, and that evening Sparrow found me. She gave me the headband. Kerah and I have been working together ever since.”

Sam looked over at his middle daughter. “Lizzy?”

“After the zoo thing, Sparrow gave me my barrettes and partnered me to Dag.”

“Anna?”

“Second to last day, that whole…”

Sam looked alarmed. “Okay, I think I get it. No need to bring up THAT one. I’m less surprised than I should be that it was you, though.” He calmed back down. “Kerah, did Sparrow intend to give it to a set of sisters?”

The floating penguin shook his head. “Definitely not. She was trying to scatter us across the country to start tackling things wherever we went. Sarah and her sisters all just happened to prove themselves worthy.”

Sam had to laugh. “Always knew you three would change the world. This isn’t exactly how I thought it would happen, though.”

Sarah got thoughtful. “What about you two? Slipstream and Tidal have been active for, what, two years now? How did you manage to take the family on trips when there was hero stuff to do?”

Leigh giggled a bit. “Why do you think we went where we did? Everywhere we went was on hero business. Whether chasing someone down in Korea or meeting the organization in New York, we just decided to make them trips for you all.” She sighed. “Going to need to make a few calls once we get through the current troubles. They probably need to know.”

Lizzy thought of something. “Wait, we know where WE got our Miraculous, but what about you two?”

Sam got a dreamy look in his eyes. “Your mother and I were taking a romantic walk along the beach one day. It started getting on towards evening, nobody was around, and we found a little hidden area. We went in there for privacy…”

“DAD!”

“... and while we were talking we found a really pretty pair of rocks, joined together where they met. We each grabbed one, they came apart, and that’s how we met Maya and Mishpah.”

Maya the otter floated and nibbled at her own food. “You were the first loving couple to come there and find us, which finally let us free!” She looked at the others. “Your parents agreed to partner with us, so we’ve been doing heroics here ever since.”

Leigh shook her head. “Actually, speaking of that. Elemental is on the loose and probably really mad. More so than usual, I mean. We need to figure out where he is going to hit next, because I guarantee you he isn’t going to settle for a forest fire.”

Sam got serious, grabbed the last sushi roll on his plate, chewed and swallowed with a thoughtful look on his face, then spoke. “We know he can absorb, become, and use energy forms in his environment, along with classical elements. What we don’t know are the rules his powers play by. For all I know, he can go into the middle of the city and invoke the Chinese Elements to use the metal there.”

The rest of the evening went quickly as they talked. The news was on, talking about random things ranging from potential stormy weather to a new nuclear station coming online to a scrap metal reclamation project at the local junk yard. In the end, though, it was a school night. Sam had to get back to his day job now that he was home from the burns. The girls still had to get their homework ready to turn in. Leigh had to somehow keep everyone on the right track then go out to continue patrols. Before all of that, everyone needed sleep.

The fact that a student was still missing was dampening everyone’s moods in school. Even the three sisters who knew what Paul had been hiding were wondering what had become of him. Between that, the three new heroines running around, and exams coming up? Nobody knew what to think. It should have been just another Wednesday. Now the girls just wanted to get to the end of it.

The last bell rang, and the girls got to the bus. It began to make its way through the steadily-increasing rain, and the girls got to work on their homework as they had gotten used to doing these days. Managed to do it pretty quickly, too. The patter of rain on the roof and the glass covered their hushed discussion with their partners. Who needed to go where now that they didn’t have to hide from their parents, when their turns would be. It was a good thing they did, since the trip would be interrupted before they got home.

There was a flash outside, and for the space of one idle thought Lizzy wondered if it was lightning. The crack and boom, however, were significantly closer than was comfortable. Specifically? The flash hit the nose of the bus they were riding in, knocking the entire vehicle spinning. Given that the vehicle in question was large enough to hold sixty students (and presently held about fifty), that was quite a hit. The sudden jolt sent the people inside sprawling across the seats and aisles, piling up in tangles of limbs and bodies. There was a roar from outside, to the left of the bus as it now sat. “GET OUT HERE! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE!”

Anna looked in the direction it came from. “That’s Blaster,” she said in a harsh whisper. “He means us, I know it. How are we going to get to him without revealing ourselves to the other students?”

Sarah looked around. “Leave that to me. I think Blaster might have figured us out, but no need to take risks.” In a louder voice, but definitely not as loud as the villain outside, she addressed the passengers. “Guys! File out of the bus and scatter into the woods! Don’t let him see you, and as soon as you’re clear you can call the police or the Heroes!” Eager to follow the one voice in the chaos that sounded like she knew what she was doing, everyone grabbed their things and rushed to comply. The sisters mingled with them to get out, but as soon as they were out of sight they took a wildly different action.

“Kerah, skate!”

“Dag, from the depths!”

“Varod, stand tall!”

Tux, Deep Blue, and Bright Feather leapt out of the woods less than a minute after the initial attack, ready for anything. Including jumping out of the way of another blast of white light coming from the former junior hero across the road. “Whoah!” Tux yelled. “Not exactly interested in talking today, huh?”

“Can it, Tux, I know who you are. Three heroes around high school age show up at the same time and close enough to the school to stop me?” He kept throwing attacks at her as Deep Blue and Bright Feather tried to circle around. “You ruined my life, your sister zapped my eyes and I just recovered from it. You’re going down right here, right now!”

Tux dodged a couple of bolts and swatted aside another with her ice axe. “Not sure if I have time for a rival right now, Paul.” He reacted as if slapped, but then kept up the assault. “We have bigger fish to fry. Like your buddy, Elemental.”

“Elemental ain’t my buddy.” Blaster’s attacks kept coming close, but thankfully they were only hitting trees so far. “We had a deal, that’s it.”

Tux’s sisters were almost in position. She just had to distract him a tiny bit longer. There was one easy way to do it, too. Tux grabbed a couple of tree branches and larger wood shards, then started throwing them back at the enraged ex-hero. “Looks like he didn’t exactly consider it binding, huh? Just left you to rot.”

The next blast was much bigger, but thankfully also only turned a tree into toothpicks instead of hitting Tux. “That deal is OVER! He left as soon as he figured out his new energy thing! He…” The rant ended suddenly as a bright pink ribbon wrapped around him, pulled him backwards, and ended with another oar to the back of his head. Bright Feather and Deep Blue had done exactly what Tux needed them to.

Deep blue opened a compartment on her oar and looked at the time. “Police should be here in a minute or two. None of us used our abilities, stay in form?”

“I think so.” Tux agreed.

Bright Feather looked at the fallen form of Blaster, thankfully still breathing. “It’s going to be more than that. I think I know where Elemental is going to strike next, and it’s probably going to be tonight. The new nuclear reactor fires up in three hours. If he’s going on about new energy forms…”

Tux’s eyes closed. “Then that’s the most likely target. That could get really bad, I don’t want to know what he’d do with a core powered by uranium.”

Bright Feather looked around the area. “I’ll let m… uh, Slipstream and Tidal know.” She pulled out her contact card and sent the signal, but all they could do from there was wait. Thankfully, the wait wasn’t long.

A blue car pulled up to the side of the road near them, familiar since they saw it in their driveway every day. Out into the rain stepped their father. “Sarah! Lizzy! Anna! Where are you?” He saw the three superheroines standing to one side and ran to them. “Please! Can you get my daughters? They were on the bus that got hit and should be nearby.”

Tux almost forgot that he knew who they were until she saw him wink at them.

Deep Blue was quick on the uptake. “We’ll find them, sir. Come on!” She dove into the densest bit of cover she could find, followed by her sisters. When they emerged less than a minute later, they were themselves again… and their Kwamiis were munching on fish slices in their backpacks.

They piled into the car and their dad pulled away. “Alright, police are sixty seconds away and I made sure Blaster was cuffed and tagged while you were getting changed. Where to?”

“The new reactor, Dad,” Anna responded. “Blaster said Elemental was obsessed with a new energy type, and I figure he’s had storms to use before.”

Lizzy took a deep breath as she visualized one particular memory. “Heck, he zapped me with lightning when we fought.”

Sam looked at the clock. “Going to have to scoot, then. Call your mother and tell her to meet us there. I’ll park once we get to the edge of the traffic slowdown for the event, we’ll transform and go the rest of the way on foot. Any idea how he’s going to attack?”

Anna shook her head no. “Could be anything.”

Sarah looked out of her window as the trees passed by and the raindrops hit. “Not quite anything. We know he can’t use fire or lightning in this weather.”

Anna joined in. “Earth is a possibility, so is metal, I guess.”

Lizzy shook her head. “Or water. Plenty of that around.”

Sam shrugged. “If he uses a water form he’ll be vulnerable to the power set Slipstream and Tidal have. Okay. Assume he comes in with something strong, tough, and physical. Tux’s axe should be perfect for it if he does, so will Deep Blue’s empowered form. Bright Feather will help with whip work beside Slipstream and Tidal if that happens. Clear?”

“Yes, Dad,” all three of the girls said. This was the difference between a rookie and an experienced hero. They fell silent in thought as their father drove as quickly as he safely could. When they were almost there, Sam’s pendant beeped. It was Tidal, she was in position inside the control room, the technicians happy to have a superheroine there.

They arrived. News crews, spectators, and people who feel they’re important enough to need to be there were everywhere. Sam parked and handed the girls earbuds. “Coordination is key and we’re going to be scattered. Transform, take your places, and keep your eyes out.”

Five heroes checked in with each other, four heroes got out of the car. Slipstream made sure his perch was visible to the spectators outside, his presence as reassuring to them as Tidal’s was to the technicians. Tux was in the parking lot, where her agility might give her an edge. Deep Blue was guarding the main entrance to the building, where raw power might be needed. On the roof among the potentially hazardous stacks, Bright Feather kept her own eye out. All of them checked in every five minutes like clockwork. As the governor began a speech about this historic moment, all five of them got more and more nervous. This was the kind of moment that should have been drawing villains like flies to honey.

A woman’s familiar voice crackled over the earbuds. “This is Tidal. Checking in, and the technicians are firing up the reactor. They’re going to keep it to ten percent until the crowds are gone.”

“This is Feather, everything looks normal up top. Stacks are venting steam like they should.”

“Slipstream here. Audience is cheering, the governor is ending it. They’ll be gone soon.”

“This is Tux. No new arrivals at the parking lot for the last ten minutes. Something’s wrong, I know it. We’ve missed something, something big.”

“Deep Blue here. I have a hunch. Slipstream, if they’re leaving, can you cover the door? I’m going to check inside. Service paths nearby the reactor core. Tidal, how is the power output looking?”

“Just got to ten percent. They’re leaving it there overnight.”

Slipstream got to Deep Blue and tagged out. Deep Blue turned and ran inside, waving to the guard with one hand as he let her pass. There was a map on the wall, one glance showed her the way to where she needed to go. “I’ll be there in about thirty seconds.”

The staticky return she heard chilled her to the bones. “Tidal here. You’re breaking up a bit.” There was a sudden commotion on the line. “The output increased again. It’s at ten and a half percent and climbing. They’re trying to slow it down now.”

Deep Blue’s eyes went wide. “He’s in here somewhere! Guys, I’m going to need backup!”

She heard the others all respond, but couldn’t understand the words. The static was too bad. Something was interfering, and that meant radiation in the air. Either there was a leak somewhere, or else Elemental already had his power. Neither of those was good. She found the hall that traveled around the reactor core itself. He had to be close.

To her right were service hatches. To the left were more normal rooms. Each large enough for a meeting, with two doors facing the hallway she was in. About a third of the way around the circle, she found one facing a service hatch, and though the hatch door was closed a sickly green light flowed through it. The door to the conference room was open, letting the light pass without further interference. Without hesitation she ducked into the other door to the same room. There, she found Elemental.

He was about the same size as normal, but his

flesh glowed with the same sickly green light that connected him to the reactor core. His bones seemed to show black through his body, almost the only truly solid thing about him. He looked at her. “I knew one of you would show up. Pity you’re too late. I’m already connected to the reactor core. Infinite power is at my command.”

“It’s not infinite, Elemental. The technicians are going to shut down the reactor now. You will only have what you managed to steal, and when it runs out then you’ll still be your same, powerless self.” Deep Blue was talking a bit louder than normal. She had to delay him, distract him. She had to give the others time to get here and a way to find her.

“They can’t stop me. I came in with enough juice to fuel the reaction, and now I can sustain it no matter what the people here do.”

There was static in her ear, the others were talking but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. “Came in with it? Oh, I see. You came in human form with some kind of radioactive material in your pocket. Look normal, hide, soak up the power, use it. Wouldn’t need to be much, just enough so that you could nudge the reaction to start drawing from it.”

“Sharp. And now I’m well past your ability to stop, soon enough I will be sufficiently attuned to blow open that door and take it all for myself.”

The static in her ear went silent. Then, suddenly, it sounded again. Two bursts, one short burst, then three bursts. Then silence. It was code. It meant “GO.”

“TITANIC!” As she charged forward, she grew. Her head came to just below the ceiling, desks flying as she knocked them aside. The door behind her slammed open, and the rest of the family burst in behind her, already launching attacks as they did. “He’s in a radioactive form!”

Elemental’s connection to the radioactive core of the reactor severed as he jumped out of the way of that first burst of attacks. He came to his feet in the corner, one fist in the air and glowing green before throwing it forward at Deep Blue. The attack was intercepted midair by a wall of water summoned by Tidal, and what little came out the other side was barely enough to warm the air.

All six people there stood, powers charged but nobody daring to make a move. Slipstream spoke up. “Water can block radiation. At least enough that what’s left doesn’t matter to us. You can’t take enough time to charge or you’re getting obliterated by five heroes, so you’ll run out before long. Surrender. It’s the only way this goes, there is no reason to fight.”

“I think you’re wrong, Slipstream. None of you can charge here, either. Nothing for you to use, and I’ve been soaking in the output of a nuclear reactor. My bet is that I have more in the tank than you.”

“You sure you want to find out the hard way?”

“It’s the only way to do it.” Elemental immediately launched another two blasts of green light. The first got intercepted by another wall of water, but the second came within inches of clipping Tux.

Eyes wide, heart pounding, Tux yelled out “GLIDE!” Seconds later, she had zipped out of the room.

Elemental laughed as he dodged whips from the Otters along with Bright Feather’s ribbon. “Looks like your recruit’s a coward! Four to go!”

Deep Blue swung a couple more times, her power getting close to being expended. “I wouldn’t be so sure! Tux has never let us down yet!”

Elemental had to step backwards to keep that oar from clobbering him across the face. He found Feather’s ribbon wrapped around his left arm, but deterred her with another blast. “Really? It looks like I’m winning. Your mentors aren’t intercepting my attacks anymore, and I’m still going.”

It was true. Just avoiding and stopping his radiation blasts had already drained them of their reserves. They had nothing left to give. With one last laugh, he leveled his open hand at Tidal, ready to defeat his nemesis once and for all. His hand glowed…

… and just as he launched his attack, his arm was kicked to the side by a black-and-white blur. Tux was back! “Blue! Two steps back and strike through the ceiling! Feather! Hit it!”

“DAZZLE!” Without hesitation, Bright Feather called upon her power to level an enormous detonation of light and noise on their opponent. At the same time, Deep Blue struck the ceiling as hard as she could, her oar punching through it into the hidden area there. Suddenly, water began to pour out. Lots of water. Whether it was a cooling vent, fire sprinkler, or something else entirely, they had water.

“Ready?” Slipstream called out to his partner. She nodded in return.

“WATERFALL!” The two Otter Heroes lifted their hands and seized the water in their power. Before Elemental could recover, he was engulfed in a column of raging water that slammed him against the back wall. They held it on him until the glow left his flesh and his limbs stopped flailing. When the water stopped, he fell to the ground.

There was silence, other than the sounds of panting breaths. Slipstream looked over at Tux. “Just out of curiosity, what exactly did you run away for?”

“To find building schematics. Hope nobody got tagged by radiation blasts while I was gone.”

“It was close, but we managed to avoid it. Now come on. Let’s get this guy a bit more secure than last time. After that? I think I’m ordering pizza, it’s been a long day.”

One month later

Family game night is more entertaining with ten people playing. Cards flew across the table with chaotic abandon until Varod yelled out “peanuts!” There was good natured grumbling and teasing. It was nice. Where two heroes had been struggling to keep up, five were more than sufficient for all of the random things their area could throw at them. Even as more villains and monsters showed up, seemingly drawn there by the crime fighting family. Tux’s patrol earlier had gone smoothly, and they were all enjoying some well-earned time off.

There was a rustle and clatter from outside, and through the formerly-locked door a woman walked in. One whom everyone in the room had met exactly once before. The superheroine Sparrow. She looked around the room at those gathered there and tried to stay serious. She failed. With a sigh, she said what she came for. “I see I have a lot to catch up with.“

Fin