(XXVI) Breaking In

Kyle crossed his arms across his chest and stared sternly, "There's nothing you can do to change my mind." 

"You know what it's like to lose a child, Kyle." Sarah replied solemnly before turning around and staring at his sickly wife lying in the cot, "You might also know what it's like to lose your spouse as well..." 

"Don't you dare bring my family into this!" The mayor exclaimed, stepping forward as he glared at her, pointing his finger at her, "They made it in here safely, it's not my fault your son did not!" 

"You are right about that..." She answered, turning as she returned the fierce gaze, "But would they have if it were not for my son?" 

"I will not play what-if games with you." Kyle scoffed, waving her off, "You should return to your spot and stop wasting everyone's time..." 

"I am sorry to hear about your son..." Sarah said, "It was a tragic accident, but ya know what they say..." 

"You're treading on real thin ice here, Ms. Sanada..." He snarled, stepping closer to her, "You better choose the words that come out of your mouth carefully..." 

"They say that losing a child is the ultimate failure for a parent..." She continued, ignoring his threat as she stepped toward him, pressing her chest against his defiantly, "Outliving a child is the ultimate failure because it's the one failure you cannot overcome." 

The mayor was taken aback by her words, and before he could even retort, she had turned around and started walking away. His face grew red as he turned around, reaching toward the officer who relinquished his gun previously. 

He quickly seized the gun and pointed it at her back, panting heavily as the officers exclaimed, shouting his name as the crowd screamed and ducked, covering their heads. 

"Go on and do it, Kyle." She said, stopping, tears streaming down her face as she faced the fearful crowd, "If I lose him too, there's nothing left for me on this planet. You'd be doing me a favor." 

The military police lunged at the mayor, wrapping their arms around his shoulders.

*BANG!*

***

"What a colossal waste of time!" Serenity huffed as she approached Camille beside Ichiko. 

"Find anything?" Cami asked, hearing the voice and rushing over. 

"No." Ichiko replied, shaking her head as the disappointment of the news appeared on the blonde's face. 

"We haven't seen or heard anything..." She said, turning to look at teenagers laughing and joking amongst themselves. 

*BANG!*

The gunshot could be heard through the doors, startling the kids as they scrambled over one another, running away and hiding behind the older girl's legs. 

"Fuck this!" Serenity yelled, stomping angrily toward the blast doors as intense fireballs formed in the palms of her hands, bright red energy spiraling around them. 

"Well!?" She exclaimed as she turned to face the twins, "Are you just going to stand there or come over and help?!?" 

"M-m-me..?" Nathan asked, pointing at his chest. 

"Of course, you!" She shouted, "Who else here can control fire?? I watched you catch my attack earlier!" 

"O-okay!" He yelped, running over as he mimicked her, orange, red, and yellow energies swirling in the center of his palms as two fireballs slowly formed. 

The four stood at the top of the ramp as they watched the four fireballs continued to grow in size before Serenity's spheres overtook Nathan's, creating two massive blazing stars. 

Nathan took a step back, the intensity of the heat too much for him to bear as Serenity rolled her eyes. She raised her hands above her head as the two fireballs formed a singular sphere. 

The young boy ran back to the group as everyone stepped away, the blazing inferno being too much for any of them to withstand. 

She spread her hands out as the fireball grew larger than the surrounding buildings were when they stood tall before she quickly pulled her hands together, rapidly compressing the blazing sphere. 

She gritted her teeth as she continued to shrink the sphere, forcing it into the size of a basketball, the flames changing into a brilliant hue of blues. She took a step forward, extending her hand toward the blast doors. 

"I'd stand back if I were you..." She smirked as she turned to see the group running around the ramp to the entrance and unleashed the blast. 

The supernova pressed against the blast doors, melting them as an explosion destroyed the concrete barrier of the ramp, and a massive pillar of flames shot out behind her. 

The blue flames shot through the air, piercing the heavens as they engulfed the redhead, but Serenity stood firmly pressing harder against the blast doors, forcing her way inside. 

Ichiko turned, grabbing Jijo and wrapping her in her arms as she ducked behind the rubble of the building nearby, the flames destroying everything in its path into the early morning skies. 

"Holy shit!" Kaitlyn exclaimed behind Camille's legs next to her brother as a massive magical barrier surrounded the three on the other side of the ramp. 

"Language!" Cami exclaimed, glaring down at the tomboy as she held her hands outward, maintaining the barrier. 

"Is she going to be alright..?" Nathan gasped, staring at the powerful demonstration before him, his eyes sparkling at the thought of achieving his own power. 

"She'll be fine." Camille answered, her gaze fixated on the blazing pillar before the three of them, obscuring the entire entrance of the underground shelter. 

"I think I'm almost through!" Serenity shouted through gritted teeth; her muscles ached, and her arms and legs felt like jelly as she fought through the pain and continued to press against the blast doors. 

The metallic doors creaked and groaned as the intense heat continued to melt them; pieces of semi-cooled molten metal cracked as they fell down to the ground, unable to withstand gravity any longer. 

Puddles of molten metal pooled around the ground as she continued to break through the doors. With a final push, she unleashed the power of the supernova in her hands, creating a massive explosion. 

The doors buckled under the force of the blast, bending inward in a gnarled fashion, the jagged edges from the center hissing as they came into contact with the cold air from the bunker. 

Ichiko and Camille tried to rush forward after the pillar of flames vanished, but due to the heat from the smoldering ground, their path was temporarily blocked. 

Serenity panted heavily as she turned around, seeing the heads of the five girls peeking out from the charred barrier above her, and she forced a smile, giving them a thumbs up. 

She stepped forward, smoke billowing off her sweaty and ashen skin as her body strained to remain upright, slowly entering the underground shelter when she heard the sound of two guns being primed. 

She looked down, noticing two red dots aimed directly at her chest, anger flashing across her face as her eyes slowly adjusted to the interior lighting of the bunker. 

"Halt!" One of the military police officers shouted, rushing forward with his partner beside him. 

"State your name and intentions!" The other soldier chimed in as the two stopped before her with weapons aimed at her. 

"Well, I tried knocking, but no one decided to answer!" Serenity yelled back, "Don't you guys know to not leave a woman waiting?!?"