Tempestas confronts Riptide (Revised)

Sarah (POV)

The late-night conversation between Raven and me was shattered by a sound—a low, muffled thump that reverberated through the walls. And then, like a cold slap to the face, came the scream. It was raw, terrifying, and unmistakable. The kind of scream you hear in horror movies when everything has gone to hell. I didn't need to ask what that meant.

Raven's head snapped toward the noise, her eyes wide with something between concern and fear. She didn't speak, but her body language said everything. She moved closer, instinctively wrapping her arms around me in one swift, defensive motion. I could feel the tension in her muscles, the slight tremor in her fingers as she tightened her grip. It wasn't the usual Raven I knew—the calm, collected, confident one. This was something else entirely.

"Raven?" I asked, not sure if I should laugh or be genuinely concerned.

She didn't answer right away, her gaze still fixed on the door like she expected the walls to burst open any second. Her breath was shallow, quick. My own heart was starting to race, but I couldn't tell if it was from the adrenaline, or if it was because I could feel the cold sweat on her skin through her shirt.

"What's happening?" I asked, trying to keep my voice light, trying to ignore the electric hum that filled the room.

Her hold on me tightened, barely a fraction. She wasn't looking at me anymore, her focus fully on the chaos unfolding outside. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but when she spoke, her voice was a low whisper, almost to herself. "It's... too quiet. I don't like this."

Her unease was infectious. I didn't need to be a telepath to pick up on it. Something was wrong. We both knew it. The sudden stillness outside had shifted into something ominous, and that scream? It was the kind of sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I could feel the storm building in the air. No doubt about it, it was Shaw and his merry band of mutants, though way sooner than I expected. But I wasn't about to let that pull me down. 

"I can help," I muttered, voice sharp with frustration as I tried to pull away from her grip.

But Raven didn't let go. Instead, she pressed her cheek against my shoulder and tightened her arms around me. "No, Sarah. You don't even know what's out there."

I sighed, not sure whether to laugh or push her off. The protective streak in her was thick tonight, and I could tell she wasn't in the mood to let me do anything reckless.

"You're not a shield," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

She flinched, but before she could reply, the noise outside reached a whole new level—shouting, the unmistakable crackle of gunfire, and then the sound of a body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. 

With a glance that could melt ice, Raven spoke, loosening her grip just enough for me to slip free. "What the hell is that noise?"

"Azazel," I said flatly, my voice steady. The answer was obvious, the chaos outside a familiar backdrop. That muffled thump? Classic Azazel move. A teleporting asshole who used gravity as a murder weapon. Bungee jumping without the cord, I thought grimly. The CIA wouldn't know what hit them. I didn't know how many agents he'd already torn through, but from the noise, it seemed a lot. The CIA wouldn't know what hit them.

Raven's eyes flicked to me, still clouded with that mix of concern and something else—fear.

"Azazel?" she asked her tone tight. Her hands were still trembling, but she wasn't backing down.

A look outside the broken window confirmed my suspicions Azazel's teleporting was fast but messy. I could hear his characteristic thump just after seeing another body hitting the lawn at terminal velocity. Then he reappeared in a blur, his feet barely touching the floor before he was gone again.

"Yeah," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. "We've got a front-row seat to the madness. You should know by now, that chaos follows us everywhere."

The second I finished speaking, the storm outside hit with full force. The wind picked up, a whirling vortex that kicked up dirt and debris in the distance. There was no mistaking it—Riptide was on his way. I could practically feel the gusts of wind in my bones, the power radiating from it. This was his signature move. The wind spiraled faster, and the crackling tension in the air made my heart race faster.

The next shout cut through the growing roar of wind—Darwin's voice, full of urgency. "Azazel's on a rampage! We need to stop him, now!"

But it wasn't going to be that easy. CIA agents flooded the hallway, their guns raised, blocking the door with all the subtlety of a brick wall. Classic tactical disaster. They must've been expecting an attack from the outside, but not from... that.

I glanced over at Raven, who was clearly debating whether or not to run out there and try to save the world, but I knew her well enough to see the hesitation in her eyes. She wanted to protect me, as always. But this time, I wasn't the damsel in distress. Not tonight.

"Appreciate the concern, Raven," I said, my voice a little too dry for comfort. "But I'm fine. I'm not some helpless—"

Both Charles and she still thought I was fragile and inexperienced with my abilities so, I stopped myself before I could say damsel in distress—there was no point in finishing that sentence when we both knew what was coming next. With a swift, unexpected motion, I pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, just enough to leave my mark before I pulled away. She froze, but I didn't wait for her to argue.

I was already on the move when I heard her shout after me. "Sarah, wait! It's too dangerous out there!"

I could hear the panic in her voice, and damn, it was hard to ignore. "Since when did she become such a momma bear?" I thought to myself.

But I didn't slow down. I couldn't afford to.

"They need us, Raven!" I shouted back, my tone sharper than I intended. "We can't just sit here!"

But the wind was picking up too fast, and I could already feel the electricity humming beneath my skin, my lightning swelling and crackling, I was a storm ready to break. 

I shot her one last glance before I turned my back to her and bolted through the broken window, my feet barely touching the ground as I sprinted into the chaos. The wind roared around me, making everything feel as if it was alive. The hum of my own electricity sparked and buzzed along my skin as the air filled with static.

The storm was only beginning. And I would meet it head-on. As the first signs of Riptide's tornado reached the corner, I called back, "Stay put," though my words were swallowed by the wind. "I'll handle this."

But by the time her voice reached me, full of desperation and warning, I was already gone, blending into the chaos as if I had always belonged there.

"Riptide, you're gonna be ripped and tied," I muttered darkly, my words barely audible over the roar of his tornado.

The storm he conjured was massive, a whirling frenzy of wind and debris, aiming straight for me. But I wasn't about to let this puffed-up weather wizard steal the show. Oh no. If he wanted a storm, he was about to get one. Electromagnetism, baby—my favorite flavor of destruction—was coming out to play.

I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing, feeling the pull of the magnetic fields around us, grounding myself in the Earth's energy. Beneath the surface, I could sense the veins of iron waiting for me to claim them. The power was there—raw, untapped—and I grinned as the ground trembled beneath my feet. The wind screamed as it slammed into my back, but I was already one step ahead.

An iron-rich cloud burst from the ground around me, swelling like a dark thunderhead at my command. I twisted my focus, pulling the metallic storm higher, shaping it into a dense, swirling vortex. It was beautiful—the wind fighting against the weight of the iron, the air crackling with energy. Riptide's tornado came barreling toward it, but I wasn't about to play defense. I was about to end this.

I pushed harder, bending the magnetic field with all my might, forcing the iron to spin tighter. The two storms collided, a crash of wind and metal that made the air howl. Sparks flew from the impact, the force of the collision sending shockwaves that rattled the walls and cracked the floor beneath my feet. My vortex ground against his winds, forcing them back, the iron pressing closer, eating away at his power like a hungry black hole.

Riptide struggled, fighting to keep control, but he was losing. His tornado faltered, the winds stuttering, trying desperately to hold shape, but the iron was already consuming it.

I could feel the moment when it was time to finish this. My nanites, silent and deadly, surged forward from the storm, slithering through the chaos moving fast, and precise, sinking into Riptide's defenses with ease. The metallic vortex pressed tighter, and his resistance became a distant memory as the nanites infiltrated his bloodstream, latching onto his nervous system with a cold, unrelenting grip.

He staggered, eyes wide with panic. His smug confidence was gone in an instant, replaced with nothing but pain and confusion as the nanites did their work.

"Game over, wind boy," I muttered, my voice low but laced with triumph. My storm bore down on him, pushing him to his knees, his strength drained by the press of iron and the relentless pull of my power. The tornado collapsed, the winds unraveling into nothing as the metallic storm consumed it whole.

And as I was about to finish him, a scream cut through the air—a voice I didn't recognize, shrill and full of rage. The sound hit me like a sonic wave, rattling my bones, and before I could react, a flash of white-hot pain exploded in my head. My entire body jolted, the force of it sending my magnetic cloud spinning out of control, spiraling into a chaotic frenzy.

"Thanks, Banshee," I bit out, sarcasm laced with genuine frustration. "A heads-up next time would be great."

From the corner of my eye, I caught Sean—Banshee—flushing crimson. His sonic blast had shattered my carefully crafted storm, scattering the iron sand and disrupting the flow of my attack.

"Sorry!" he muttered, his voice sheepish as he hovered in the air, clearly not realizing the magnitude of the damage he'd caused. "Your attack was impressive, though. Tempestas, you nailed it."

"Yeah, well, I was nailing Riptide," I grumbled, eyes narrowing at the mess I had to clean up. I didn't have time to babysit his mistakes. My gaze flicked back to Riptide, still trapped in the disarray of black iron sand and crackling energy. He wasn't dead, but he sure as hell wasn't in any condition to fight. 

With my attention back on Riptide, ready to finish him off, squeeze the life out of him for real, when I felt something worse.

And I paused."What now can't I kill this guy in peace."

It wasn't Riptide that made me pause. It was my senses, they picked up....Shaw.

Meanwhile, Azazel, the black-suited demon wannabe, had just finished his rampage through the courtyard, but now his murderous eyes locked onto Riptide's sorry state. In the blink of an eye, Azazel disappeared, reappearing next to his comrade, and with another flash, they were both gone. I barely had time to process the escape before I noticed the faint pulse of nanites inside Riptide's body, picking up a new directive.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath, biting my lip in frustration. As if dealing with Azazel wasn't annoying enough, Sebastian Shaw was about to enter the picture. And that was a fight I didn't want to engage in just yet—not directly, anyway. I didn't want to kill him yet, that would unravel my plans. But I needed to prevent Darwin's death.

I quickly reined in the remaining iron sand, twisting it into a circle of jagged arrows, sharp and deadly. My nanites wove seamlessly through the iron. Using my shadows, I reemerged back into the compound with my iron sand arrows hovering behind me and ready. Shaw could enter, sure, but his energy-absorbing schtick is gonna be known to all.

Meanwhile, Banshee's keen sense of timing had everyone on edge. Darwin's body rippled as it shifted into living rock, the scent of electricity heavy in the air as Banshee took a deep breath, his body poised for another sonic assault. Alex stood just a little too still, muscles coiled and fists clenched as if waiting for the right moment to pounce.

And then, the door creaked.

Sebastian Shaw's sharp entrance wasn't as dramatic as the others, but it was chilling in its own way. He strolled in, dressed in that meticulously tailored suit, looking every bit the villain who knew he was going to win. He didn't even flinch when my iron sand arrows erupted toward him, crackling with electricity, simultaneously delivering my first payload of nanobots.

"Impressive," Shaw mused, his eyes glinting with amusement. He didn't even break a sweat. As the arrows hit him, he absorbed the kinetic energy and the electrical charge, his body glowing with an eerie, otherworldly light. My arrows crumbled into dust, harmlessly falling around him like a rain of ashes. However, my nanocritters' payload was delivered.

Now, time to sell the surprise.

"What…" I couldn't hide my fake surprise. My voice wavered only the slightest bit before I masked it quickly with a forced gasp. I leaned into the act, making it look like I was thrown off balance. "Did you really... absorb my lightning?"

"Quite the display," Shaw said smoothly, that infuriating smirk never leaving his face. "Precise control. Remarkable power." He took a few more steps toward me, his gaze never leaving mine, the smile widening as if he was savoring the moment. I almost puked in my mouth at his compliment, but I didn't let it show. Instead, I maintained my composure, keeping my expression in check.

Then, I grinned back at him—slow, deliberate, and slightly manic. If it weren't for my teammates behind me, I might have broken into an outright maniacal laugh. But I held it in check, locking my gaze with his. I said softly, my voice thick with intent,

"Stop!"

And then, his world came to a full stop.

Shaw froze mid-step, his features locked in a calm, almost mocking expression. His breathing stopped. His heartbeat? Gone. Even the cellular processes that kept him alive went still. I could see the faint, glowing crimson hue around him—time, suspended.

I had him right where I wanted him.

To the others, he was just a statue. An immobile figure locked in an eternal pause.

But for me? I was watching a battle unfold on a microscopic level.

From my palm, a swarm of supercharged vibranium nanites shot out, a cloud of malicious intent, ready to deliver another payload of my lethal critters. They moved fast, precise, and deadly. I watched as they infiltrated Shaw's body, slipping past every natural defense he might have had.

The nanites were merciless. One group was busy dismantling his cellular structure, causing cells to self-destruct in a chaotic process. Another set of nanites dove straight into Shaw's circulatory system, creating blockages, cutting off blood flow to critical organs. Another batch scrambled his central nervous system, sending rogue signals that scrambled his thoughts and senses.

But I wasn't done. Oh, no. Another set of nanites targeted Shaw's immune system, manipulating his body's own defenses against him, turning his immune response into a self-destructive force.

And just when Shaw's body seemed to be on the verge of complete failure, I had one last trick up my sleeve. The remaining nanites detonated within Shaw, sending shockwaves of localized energy throughout his body, compounding the damage in an explosion of molecular chaos.

On the outside? Shaw was still a statue, frozen in time. But on the inside? His body was being torn apart by invisible forces.

I smirked. "Let's see how well you absorb when your body's literally falling apart from the inside out."

For a long moment, nothing moved. Shaw remained an immobile statue, and I felt a sudden headache pulse at the back of my skull, the migraine a telltale sign that maintaining this level of control was draining me. Blood began to trickle from my nose, my body protesting against the effort, but I held the lock steady.

Finally, the time lock snapped. The world returned to motion. The nanites had done their job. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Shaw to feel the consequences.