Kids At War: Crossfire

OCEANSHIP CITY PORT
SEPTEMBER 13, 02:24 EST

Carmine Malone puffed smoke from his cigar as he oversaw his men unloading his cargo. Anxiously, the mobster checked his watch. They were running behind schedule and they couldn't afford to waste any more time. Oceanship City had gone to shit in the last few months and, even for a gangster, being out at night was the recipe for disaster, in more ways than one. If the police didn't nab you, the freaks with superpowers would. "C'mon, hustle!" the fat man barked in a hushed voice. "We need this cargo delivered to our client before morning. You know how grumpy Oswald gets when he doesn't get his toys."

The henchmen seemed to take the word to heart. They sped up, rushing the crates into the moving truck. Carmine rubbed his chubby fingers together with a smirk. Oswald always paid big bucks. And, for all the chemicals he was asking for, the mobster was sure he was going to get a bug hunk of dough. One of his hired hens carrying a crate shuffled and lost his grip for a second. "Eddie! The fuck you think you're doing! Don't spill any of Oswald's shit! The cemeteries in this city are full enough without your fat ass." Eddie nodded his head furiously and scurried along, placing his crate in the truck as fast as he could.

"Wrap it up boys, the docks are quiet tonight, a little too quiet," Carmine continued. He began to move towards the truck, ready to take the passenger's seat. "And I don't like it."

---

Two figures perched on top of cargo containers peered down at the mob boss and his cronies as they loaded crates into their truck. One of them, a short boy, barely an adolescent, leaned forward, his head dangling over the edge of the giant container. "Seems kind of small for a drug dealing," he said. His young face wrinkled in confusion as he scratched the tip of his nose with his finger.

Excitedly, the young boy turned his head to face the other standing behind him, a young man. "So, what to do we do now?" the boy asked with a big grin. "Do we go down there and teach 'em who's boss?" The young man shook his head and rolled his eyes, but he laughed, finding humor in the boy's enthusiasm.

"That's not exactly how we do things," he replied. He tapped a small communication device placed inside his ear with his finger and activated it. "Ben, Todd and I are in position. We can't see what they're loading, but there's a lot of it. Who's got the cash for this load just laying around?" Dealings like these had been going on for a little now, but who could afford them, as behind him.

Immediately, he got a response. "I don't know," Ben said. His voice was hushed, but loud enough for both boys on the container to hear. "River, Lorraine and I are in position too. We'll move first. Move right after we do, Walt." With that, the communication device powered down. Walt sighed and kept his eyes on the truck.

"I still think you guys should've let me try the link," Todd grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Walt glanced at Todd and just smirked. The two waited in silence for a few moments. Walt was beginning to wonder what was taking Ben so long to make his move. The cronies finished loading the truck and slammed the door. The tuck started up and began moving towards the road.

Todd was gripping the age of the container with his hands. Were they just going to let those thugs get away? Apparently not. The truck had driven just a few short feet when the ground beneath it began to shake. A pillar of earth rose from the ground and flattened one of the truck's back tires. "That's Ben's move, come on." Walt didn't give Todd time to respond before picking the younger boy up and speeding down off the container and to the ground.

The duo kept their distance, not wanting to be spotted as some thugs got out of the truck to examine the damage. "They're probably going to have guns," Walt leaned down and whispered. "So be ready for that."

Todd smirked up at Walt. "I was born ready!" They spotted a silhouette leap from container to container, slowly closing the distance between him and the truck. "There's River!" Todd excitedly pointed at the leaping adolescent. Walt and Todd watched River flip off the container he was standing on and he landed perfectly on top of the truck with a thud. Caught off guard, the thugs turned to look up at him.

"Isn't it past your bedtimes?" River asked with a smirk. As if to taunt them, he sat on the truck's roof and dangled his legs over the side. They glared up at him, but didn't seem to be taking him seriously. Walt noticed one of them ready to draw a gun from his pocket and, without warning, he slung Todd over his shoulder and sped towards the truck.

He stopped on a dime right in front of the thugs and this surprised them a second time. Todd climbed off Walt's back and looked smug. Now, all three cronies drew guns and took aim at the three young men. Walt looked down at Todd who smirked. "Do your thing, kid."

Todd rose his hand into the air, in front of the thugs. "Tlem rieht snug! the young boy changed. Magically, their weapons began to turn to liquid and became hot as acid. Shocked and terrified, the thugs dropped their now useless weapons and took a few cautious steps away from the boys.

"I'll never get over how cool that is," River commented as he slid off the roof of the truck and joined Todd and Walt on the ground. Everyone turned when the mob boss, with the rest of his henchmen emerged from the truck. The boss stomped over towards them, clearly infuriated.

"You're letting kids slow down the operation!" the boss yelled. He looked about ready to blow his top; his face was red and the look on it made River start to snicker under his breath. The boss looked to his thugs, clearly infuriated. "They're just kids! Shoot them!"

The thugs with guns Todd hadn't melted took aim. Walt subtly activated the device in his ear again. "Hey Ben, Lorraine, showing up any time would be pretty great," the speedster whispered.

Lorraine practically had stars in her eyes as she watched River, Todd and Walt jump into action. "Wow!" She whispered, somewhat awestruck. "Cool." The thugs appeared to be weaklings and their boss a frustrated fool. This wouldn't be much too hard, she concluded. It wouldn't make sense for Ben and Walt to send them on an overly dangerous mission on their first night. However, she'd gotten so carried away watching her teammates that she'd forgotten that she was supposed to actually go down there and join them.

She quietly clasped her hands together when Walt addressed them, the excitement and adrenaline of the circumstances bubbling in her chest. "My turn?" She asked Ben, a little innocence ringing in her airy tone. She tilted her head expectantly and grinned a marvelously large grin when he nodded at her. Lorraine took to the air, staying high enough above the truck that she'd go unnoticed by the thugs for a while. She was pretty sure Ben had told her to be very careful, but she paid no mind. She was used to that, as diving into trouble was something she did best.

The blonde cupped her hands over her mouth and mimicked the sound of somewhat heavy steps echoing from behind the cronies. A few of them turned and shot at empty space. They were taken off guard and completely distracted. It'd worked! Lorraine resisted the urge to laugh at her victory. She still had the element of surprise, after all. She needed to use it effectively, just as she'd been trained to.

"Shall we dance, gentlemen?" Lorraine landed in front of them. Without giving them a chance to even pull their triggers, she whipped her arms to the side, sending them all backwards with a strong blast of wind. Still holding control over the force she'd used, she whirled her wrist around, picking several of them up in a tiny tornado before flipping her hand carelessly, sending most of them tumbling into a row of crates. When she finished, she grinned. Deciding that a curtsy would probably just be hamming it up, she flashed a bright smile instead. The boss was getting angrier, scrambling back up to his feet as he grasped a gun that one of his cronies had dropped. He took a moment to look back at the pile of men Lorraine's blast of air had created.

"Being smacked around by a girl! You're all useless!" The boss gripped the gun even tighter before setting a hard gaze back at the team, singling in on Lorraine as she stuck her tongue out at him and gently pulled the skin under her eye down a little with her forefinger.

She shot back into the air when the boss angrily fired a bullet at her. She pouted playfully. "That was uncalled for, don't you think?"

A few of the cronies, dizzy, slowly regained composure, and reached for their guns in kind of a daze. Lorraine narrowed her eyes and watched them carefully. She moved backwards a little. She was quick, yes, but not quick enough to avoid several guns at once. Long distance attacks were her strongest, after all. She mimicked the sound of footsteps behind the boss once again. Surprised, he turned and shot carelessly at nothing once again. She decided that would be enough of a distraction for Todd, River, Walt or Ben to do whatever they might've pleased.

Satisfied with her work, Lorraine let herself land lightly near her newly formed team. "So, how are we doing so far?" She asked lightly, clasping her hands together expectantly.

Watching Lorraine was amazing. Todd watched her move with grace and felt envy; if only he possessed those kinds of skills. He snapped out of his awestruck daze when the blonde took her place next to him and River. Truthfully, the young magician had been expecting something a little more dangerous for their first mission, but it seemed as if the three of them could take down these thugs on their own without any problems. He was sure so far that they’d been impressive.

When she used her abilities to distract the mobsters a second time, the boys took advantage of the stolen precious seconds. River moved forward, cartwheeling carelessly, bringing his leg down on one of his enemy's wrist. The pressure of the attack knocked weapon right out of his hands and, once standing upright, River, swept his foot under the thug's ankles, bringing him crashing to the ground. One of the men behind him took aim and put pressure on the trigger of his gun. Before he could fire, Walt sped forward, yanking the weapon out of his hand. The young man continued bolting at super speed around the pier, snagging the rest of the guns. Once he held the weapons in his hands, Walt took the air, hovering several yards in the air over the pier.

"River!" he called out, gaining the younger boy's attention. River nodded, knowing exactly what to do. He narrowed his eyes, focusing his vision on the weapons in Walt's hands. His eyes shifted to a reddish orange color and two beams shot from his pupils. The thin, red beams of energy made contact with the guns and the heat from the concentrated energy disintegrated the weapons. This caught the mobsters off guard; their jaws dropped and they took hesitant steps backwards.

Walt and River took their spots back next to Todd and Lorraine. Without guns, this would be a synch. Walt folded his arms over his chest and smirked, finding some amusement in the thugs' frightened faces. He turned his head to face Lorraine when she spoke and rose an eyebrow. “So far so good, but don’t get cocky," Walt answered. He wasn't lying; these kids seemed like they really had the chops for crime fighting; he was just secretly hoping Ben thought the same way. This first assignment was more to convince the team's leader of their competence, more than anything else.

The mob boss looked more enraged than frightened. His tire was flat, his cronies were helpless against this pack of runts; the plan was falling apart. "If we fail, heads are gonna roll!" the mob boss yelled. His face was red with anger. "Who you more scared of? Oswald? Or these bastards?" The thugs seemed to scramble at their boss's words. Those that were still standing seemed to form together and charged at the young team together.

"They never learn..." Walt sarcastically shook his head. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the three younger adolescents "Take 'em down."

Todd, Lorraine and River sprang into action. River met one head on; as the thug took a sloppy swing aimed at the teenager's face, the acrobat bent backwards and slid on his knees, between the thug's legs. He rose to his feet behind his enemy and brought his knee to the center of his back. The mobster let out a cry of pain and River took hold of his wrist, painfully twisting it and then putting all his strength into flipping the mobster and dropping him onto the ground.

As two ran at Todd, the young magician shut his eyes and cleared his mind. "Ezeerf rieht teef! " he chanted. Before the thugs could take another step, they felt their feet stiffen and, right before their eyes, ice spontaneously formed on the ground and spread, climbing up to the thugs' ankles, gluing them to the ground. This set Walt up who, with a smirk, sped forward and tackled one of the thugs before circling around to tackle the second one from behind. The momentum of the collisions broke both thugs from their icy restraints and knocked them unconscious.

Watching his cronies fall one by one terrified the mob boss. Realizing the battle was lost, he narrowed his eyes before turning to retreat. "I ain't going down for this," he muttered under his breath. The team was preoccupied taking down the underlings, it seemed the boss would slip away unnoticed.

From atop a cargo container, Ben had been watching the team's battle, deciding only to interfere to render the truck immobile. Walt had begged him to expand the team again and this was their first mission. He and Walt wouldn't be around often to help them out of tight spots; they needed to do this themselves. So far, the redhead was impressed with their performance. They worked well as a team, creating openings for each other and they made good use of their powers. Ben still had his concerns about recruiting such young kids, but they got the job done.

The element manipulator's green eyes narrowed as he focused in on the retreating mob boss. His gaze went over to the team, focused on taking down the rest of the thugs; even Walt didn't seem to notice the boss's escape. Ben sighed, waiting, hopefully to see one of the newbies notice and take action. After a few moments, the leader decided he needed to step in. If the boss was working for Oswald, they couldn't risk him escaping just for some test mission.

Ben jumped from the container and brought his limbs close to his torso. As he fell, he kicked the air, manipulating the wind to gain some speed and momentum. As he neared the ground, he spread his arms out and used the wind to glide, steadily declining as he approached the mob boss from behind. Just as he'd calculated, Ben landed right on the mob boss, bringing him to the ground with a painful crash.

Immediately, the redhead was on his feet, looking over the mob boss as he groaned and sloppily scrambled to stand. He glared at Ben and started to snarl. "This ain't happening!" he exclaimed. "I ain't talking!"

Smirking, Ben shook his head. "I haven't asked you to yet." And, with that, the redhead rose both his fists and struggled as he focused on bending the earth. Several thin pillars of rock rose from the ground around the boss and came together to form a dome a few inches above his head. With the boss in custody, Ben turned to watch his teammates wrap up their portion of the mission.

"I merely wanted a status update, Walter." Lorraine grinned. Oh, she wasn't cocky. Nope. She'd been in battles before with her dad and knew what it was like to lose. Even so, she knew that Walt knew what he was talking about, so decided against arguing with him. The trouble she stirred was always childish, most usually harmless… she wasn't an argumentative sort of person. Not pressing any further into the matter, she sprang forward alongside Todd and River.

She was delighted at seeing them fighting in the corner of her eyes. She already loved Todd and River. They were fantastic and she was sure they would learn to be amazing friends and teammates in due time. Instead of focusing on that, though, she focused her full attention on the battle. She had to do Walter and Ben proud if she wanted to stay on this team. And she certainly would. She was amazing. The blonde decided against using anymore gigantically strong gusts, as unintentionally catching her friends in a tornado seemed like an easy way to make this simple mission turn into an absolute disaster.

She focused on a cowering batch of men who were trying their bests to regain their composure. Lorraine inwardly thought of some death metal song she'd been listening to earlier, swinging her head side to side with the rhythm, long blonde locks following the movement obediently. She vivaciously kicked at the ground, sending a light blast of wind at one of the men approaching her and knocked him backwards. She swung around swiftly and jumped up, flying a few circles around them and making a confusing array of sounds fill the windy circle she'd composed. Now the men were disoriented. She grabbed one of them by the shoulders and sent a kick to his spine, digging the heel of her sparkly jelly shoe into his back. He collapsed and she smiled. The song in her head was getting to the chorus, lifting her spirits considerably.

There was one man trying to sneak up behind Todd. And another thinking he was going to sneak up on her. Silly mistakes! Lorraine picked up the one after Todd with a small gust of air, and then the other, and sent them barreling towards each other at full speed. She grinned mischievously. It was as simple as making two puppets kill one another. They smashed into each other with enough force that knocked the both of them out on impact. And then there was one standing. Lorraine hummed, flicking her fingers and sending him back with a gentle push. That wasn't enough to knock him out, though, so she made a distracting sound from behind him and caught him off guard with a skillfully practiced kick to the gut. He fell face first on the ground, a pool of blood coming from his nose. Perhaps it was broken. Part of her hoped it was. All of these men were down, simple enough.

Lorraine sauntered over to Ben, casting a look at the captured boss. She snickered behind her hand. "Oh, how sweet. Just like a puppy in a cage."