Time Is On Your Side (Part One)

Fighting people when they can teleport is a bitch and a half. I can't get this point across enough. It's a wretched experience. You don't get close to them, unless they want you to be close, and they can turn up anywhere around you.

Skip was a terrible draw to fight, because not only could I not close the distance against him, he could teleport my blasts away from himself whenever I did manage to get a bead on him.

Eddie wasn't doing much better. He wasn't a one-dimensional, go-really-fast-in-one-direction type. Wing was the most versatile and controlled flier out of all of the student trainees, able to stop on a dime and turn at any angle like it was nothing, but he was finding it hard to get a decent shot at our opponent as well.

I took aim at Skip and tried to time it with Eddie's approach from another angle. It didn't do much to throw him off. I fired a blast and he created a portal with one hand to catch it, another to return fire with it in Eddie's direction. It was a trick he'd tried before, so Eddie was ready for it, but Skip was ready for Eddie's preparations.

He created a portal that Eddie flew through, dumping him out on the other side. He'd tried to get Eddie to crash through the fence of some poor family's backyard. A nice try, but it was enough space that Eddie could pull up, saving himself from taking a header into solid wood planks.

It took way too long to start coordinating our attacks, but my excuse was a combination of factors coming together. Eddie was still pissed about Hisako's power scare. He had also never fought a real person before outside of spars or drills.

I couldn't get the idea out of my head that I apparently destroyed the world years from then. That was a mistake, as there were more important things to deal with, like the guy trying to kill me.

Skip wasn't playing games. After dealing with enough blasts from me, he decided to take a few shots of his own, pulling out a handgun. I took cover behind a concrete barrier as he took potshots in my direction. I swiped my arms to signal Eddie to stay away, as if he needed me to tell him anything after hearing gunfire.

I couldn't even throw my arms up without hot lead flying my way, "You had a gun this whole time, you pink eye! Why didn't you start with that?" I yelled at Skip over the gunfire. At least I had cover for the time being. I could try and think of a way to attack, 'Come on, you're the idea guy! Think of something good!'

I'd come into this rescue half-cocked. We'd meant well, but Eddie and I had only been prepared for so much of a fight. Hisako couldn't help from where she was, and he could just shoo my blasts away. We couldn't get close either without him using his damn portals.

...Speaking of which, one opened up in front of me above my head, behind my cover, trying to aim down at me. I realized it just as it started firing inaccurately at me. In a panic, I launched a blast that exploded on the gun in his hand.

"Gah!" Skip pulled his burned hand back through the portal, and an opportunity arose.

He knew how my powers worked. He knew other things about me. He didn't know anything about Eddie though, and the fairly new little wrinkle Eddie had discovered about his powers – that they didn't just let him fly. He could control the gravity of other things by touch.

Eddie finally had the chance to get in and divebomb Skip. He hit him with a punch, but Skip's hands were up to block. That didn't matter though. The most important thing though, was that because Eddie had touched him and then willed it to be so, Skip's feet were off of the ground, and he had no control of himself.

That meant no portals to dive into for him.

He was a sitting duck, slowly drifting higher into the air like a balloon. He couldn't move. He couldn't do much of anything. And I had dynamite in my hands.

With great vengeance and anger, I popped up and blasted him from forty yards away with my un-casted hand. Center mass – a fantastic shot. In hindsight, I probably should have picked up the gun and tried my luck at shooting him with that instead.

I knocked him to the ground. The sound of breath being forced out of his lungs was sweet. I hope I broke a few ribs, the bastard. I jumped the barricade to push my advantage. Eddie swooped back around to try and get him again while he could. Neither of us could get to him before he opened a portal underneath himself and slipped away again.

Eddie and I met at the spot Skip had just vacated, "Oh, come on!" Eddie complained at a lack of defeated foe at our feet, "The only way that shot could have been better is if it was a head shot... or if you blew his stinking guts open. But I guess you can't kill people."

Well, I could have, if I'd been thinking about it. I could have done it and called it an accident. I had to stop myself from saying that out loud. That was a slippery slope to start going down. The more pressing issue was where our quarry went.

"Where the fuck did he go? Hisako?" I asked, looking over at our bound teammate. She just shrugged her shoulders, "Alright. I'm coming to get you loose. Eddie, keep an eye out from above," It wouldn't do to let our guard down and get ambushed.

"Aye-aye, captain," Eddie saluted me before taking off for recon.

I looked both ways like I was crossing the road before taking off in a sprint for Hisako, jumping up to where she was held in the elevated bulldozer shovel in a single bound. I complained out loud while I ripped her restraints apart and checked her over for injuries or any other nasty surprises.

"Complete bullshit," I muttered like a grumpy old man, "I'm enacting a goddamn Paladin buddy system. Nobody goes anywhere alone anymore! You take Wolf with you to classes if you have to! I don't even care if he complains! I'll make that metal S.O.B. go!"

I didn't mean to bitch in front of her like she'd done something wrong. She hadn't. I was just worried. Anger means I care, otherwise I'm sarcastic and apathetic about the things that go on around me.

Once Hisako's hands were free and I'd shut up, she threw her arms around my neck in a hug – one I readily returned. She was still powerless, so I had to scoop her up and jump down. Eddie flew down and was the next to receive Hisako's grateful embrace, "What took you two idiots so long?" She said.

"Jesus, Armor," Eddie said with a chuckle, patting Hisako on the back as she buried her face into his chest, "You let a dude named Skip knock you out and drag you off? For shame," He got her to laugh and give him a punch, which was a victory for him, "Bel, I haven't seen the guy since he teleported again."

"I'm not going to dignify that guy by calling his powers something as cool as teleporting," I said, waving my hand to dismiss our enemy, "From now on, we call what he does 'skipping', because fuck Skip."

That we could agree on. Besides, I didn't have all of the facts, but for as strong as his power could be, it had some weaknesses that I could pick out. It wasn't really teleporting. What Mister Wagner did was teleporting.

"I don't think he's coming back," Hisako said, once she finally got away from Eddie, "Bel, you got him good. If he couldn't telep-, skip," She corrected herself, full of resentment for the person who took her away, "-You guys would have got him. I'd put money on it that he's on his last legs right now."

Eddie punched into his palm, "So let's go find him and regulate his ass!"

As much as I wanted to make sure the shot I landed on Skip counted, I was also in my right mind, "We're not getting that guy," I was aware of the situation. If Eddie didn't see him when he swept the area, he was gone, "If he ran, he's miles away by now. We could never catch him ourselves. You know I'm right," I said, seeing the look of displeasure on Eddie's face. I changed the focus to the girl we had come out there for in the first place, "...Besides, we really should have Dr. McCoy look at Hisako and make sure she's alright."

Hisako scowled at me. I gave her a look back. What, was I not supposed to show concern over her well-being, "I'm fine. And he said I'll get my powers back in a few hours."

Reminding Eddie of the reality that Hisako could have, or still could, lose her powers put him firmly on my side, "I don't trust that guy! He says Bel's gonna destroy the planet," He reached out and grabbed my head to present to Hisako, "This guy. This is the guy that's gonna cause Armageddon. This is the guy that's gonna screw over the Earth."

I went out of my way to give her the dullest, driest stare I could to back up his point. I was far from impressive-looking enough to convince anyone that I was going to destroy anything.

"Okay... you've got me there," Hisako conceded, "But I still feel fine. Seriously, I don't feel any different."

"But you still can't armor up," Eddie said, "Please go see the doctor? It would make me feel a whole lot better," He begged her.

Eddie pleading for Hisako's health was her breaking point, "Fine. But you two better be ready," She put on a smug grin, "You're gonna be in so much trouble when we get back."

I knew she was right, but Eddie scoffed, not believing her, "Yeah right. We kicked a bad guy's butt and rescued a damsel in distress," Hisako pinched him at being referred to as a damsel in distress, "What are we gonna get in trouble for? Being heroes?"