The Syndicate - 40. Chapter 40 - Taran

Taran collapsed onto the locker room bench with an exhausted sigh. A week since giving the team their mission, the days had turned into a grueling routine, and they were starting to take their toll. Every morning was spent in the training arena, where Lydia directed the five heroes through combat drills again and again until they became second nature. The first few sessions had been admittedly rough; Taran was a new addition to the group. All of the previously learned formations had to be tweaked to account for him. He also wasn't accustomed to giving orders in the field and was still learning how to keep them all working coherently.

By the fourth day, something clicked. Taran was reacting without thought, spinning into position and always finding a teammate at his side. He trusted each of them to follow the plan, and it allowed him to keep his focus on the bigger picture. Thankfully, the team had stepped up beautifully. Even Ronnie, who had the most to learn, became stronger and more precise with every passing day.

Of course, Lydia made sure they never got too comfortable. Up in the control booth, she piloted wave after wave of mechanical drones to attack the squad, all while monitoring everyone's power output and attack effectiveness. That morning, she surprised them all by changing the routine halfway through the session. After a couple of hard knocks, Taran managed to redirect the group to a hard-won victory.

If only everything could be going so smoothly. The research behind the disappearances had gotten nowhere, despite spending every afternoon pouring over the data. Taran's new powers were another issue. He was still having difficulty producing anything beyond the random spray of sparks, and those were useless in a fight. Hours were spent in the meditation room, visualizing his abilities just as he had taught the new trainees to do. It just wasn't working, and the room always left him feeling cramped and suffocating. There had been a pain in his temple for days now, which made it especially hard to focus.

What would his mother do? Taran had been desperate to keep her from his mind as he struggled through all of the changes, but it was impossible. She was the one person who would have known precisely how to help him. He thought of the last time they spoke. Out on the balcony, Avani was always most at ease with nothing but the sky around her. An idea sparking, Taran jumped to his feet. He caught Ronnie on his way into the locker room, munching on a protein bar.

"Hey, are you up for a little more work? I need some help," he asked.

Ronnie nodded and stuffed the rest of the bar in his mouth. "Lead the way!"

Taran took Ronnie to the roof of the Syndicate headquarters, near the Nighthawk landing pad. Their boots clunked on the concrete as they reached the middle of the wide-open space. Taran took a breath and lifted his face to the open sky. A knot of tension behind his eyes immediately began to release.

"I should have known," he said, bringing his arms to his side. Taran had always been able to feel air currents as they moved around him, pulling in sounds from far away. Now, with a little more focus, he could see them arcing through the air in nearly invisible shimmering ribbons. With a deep breath, he reached out with his mind towards the nearest current. The river of air responded to the nudge, altering its course to bend close to him. Taran reached toward the faint glimmer and felt a surge of energy. The wind spiraled securely around his arm. With a cautious tug, Taran pulled at the current. A cloud high above the rooftop began to churn, casting a shadow below as it expanded outward. Taran let go of the air current with a gasp and mentally pushed away from the ribbon of air. The dark cloud immediately stopped rolling, its edges already dissipating in the breeze.

"Everything okay?" Ronnie asked, flattening his hair as the breeze rushed past him. "It looked like you just solved part of the puzzle."

"Kind of…" Taran replied, falling into his thoughts once more. He focused his mind on the air currents around them, which once again redirected themselves closer to the building. The ribbons of air shimmered in a soft, unfocused way that reminded him of tv static. He reached his hand out again and concentrated on the static. "We know I'm able to generate some small charges on my own, which seem to go off when I'm near a conductor." Tiny sparks began to weave themselves around his fingers. It was a weird tickly feeling that threatened Taran's focus. He pinched his fingers together, and the sparks melded into a bright arc between his thumb and forefinger.

"Sure, that explains the kitchen counter and garden light," Ronnie nodded. "Also, all of the static when we went to bed last night..."

Taran felt heat rise to his ears. "How many times are you going to make me apologize for that?!" Another arc of electricity jumped from his arm.

"Hey, you're not the one who got zapped in a rather susceptible area! But go on." He smiled innocently.

"Right," Taran replied, flustered, which just made Ronnie cackle with glee. "So, small charges when I come into contact with things. However, now that I'm outside in the open…."

Taking another deep breath, Taran reached for the closest strand of air. As he pulled it close, a wisp of a cloud above them expanded into a stormy mass. The soft buzz within the ribbon of air intensified, growing from a gentle background noise into a sharp ringing in his ears. Taran focused his gaze on the Syndicate crest painted across the landing pad, ignoring the pressure behind his eyes. Throwing his arm out towards it, he released the pressure. A white-hot bolt of lightning fell from the sky, crashing into the insignia and shaking the roof. Taran coughed as the smoke cleared, revealing a burnt-out pock in the middle of the landing pad.

"See?"

"That is so awesome!"

The air smelled like ozone, and Taran could feel the hairs on his arms start to raise up from all the extra static in the air. A raindrop hit the roof with a plop, quickly followed by a shower of rain.

"Can you control the rain too?" Ronnie crossed his arms to shield against the chilly wind that picked up around them.

Taran wasn't sure. "I think it's more a byproduct of needing a storm to call up the lightning. But I suppose I could blow it around if I needed to."

"Could be good for limiting an enemy's visibility, at least."

Taran grinned. Ronnie was genuinely getting good at this. "Look who's thinking like a squad leader now?"

Ronnie shrugged the compliment away with a sheepish smile. "Ready to get serious?"

Taran nodded and took a few steps back to prepare. Ronnie raised both hands up as they began to softly glow. He flicked his wrist and sent a bolt of energy spinning ahead.

Taran held his palm outwards, and a crackling web of static fanned out between his fingers. The sparks arced outwards to make contact with the spinning disk, flinging it away. Ronnie threw two more in quick succession. Taran reached out again, successfully blocking a construct, only to be clocked by the second. It crashed against his shoulder pad like a cannonball and set him spinning.

"Gah!" Taran hit the ground with a hard thud.

"Oh shit!" Taran heard Ronnie gasp and rush towards him.

He snapped his gaze up. "Gotcha!"

A gust of wind hit Ronnie at the back of the knees and scooped his legs out from under him. The air around them adjusted with every movement Taran made; every use of his powers was more responsive than ever before. He was performing on a whole different level. Taran shouted with alarm as Ronnie was thrown ten feet into the air, limbs flailing. It was a much harder hit than he had anticipated.

Ronnie managed to wrap a bubble around himself as he fell back towards the roof. The force field broke upon impact but successfully cushioned his landing. Pushing himself up with one arm, he reached out for Taran. A sparkling green dome sprang up around him, trapping him in place.

Taran held out a finger to tap the dome and was rewarded with searing pain. Sparks scattered across the surface with a harsh buzz. He pulled his hand back with a wince.

Ronnie was on one knee now and reaching out with both hands. "Say, 'Uncle'!" He cried with a laugh, his voice muffled from Taran's side of the dome.

"Never!"

Through the dome, Taran saw Ronnie cock his head to the side and slowly bring his hands together. The force field around Taran began to constrict, its circumference on the ground shrinking towards him. He gasped and tried to push back against the walls but was stung again.

The rain beat down upon the roof and sizzled into steam as it hit the surface of the forcefield. Taran mentally reached for the nearest air current and sent the wind whipping towards Ronnie, sending it along with harsh blasts of water. Ronnie shifted his hands, casting another shield to protect himself from the rain. The dome stopped shrinking.

Knowing he only had a moment before Ronnie regained his focus, Taran called down a bolt of lighting. It landed near Ronnie with a blinding flash, and as he jumped away from the impact, the construct trapping Taran wavered.

With a deep breath, Taran focused on the energy buzzing around him before throwing his shoulder against the forcefield's wall. Static crackled as he burst through on a gust of wind. He hurtled towards a still-dazed Ronnie and scooped him up under his arms before rocketing high into the air.

The wind and rain beat against them as Taran flew higher. He felt the energy of the air surrounding him from all sides and pulled it closer. It sparked on contact and gave him another burst of speed. Thunder crashed in ear-splitting booms.

Ronnie clung tightly to Taran's shoulders. "Ahhhhh!" He screamed before choking on a mouthful of water. "I give up! You win!"

"What was that?" Taran yelled against the storm.

"I said, you win!"

Taran slowed their ascent and tried to hide his ragged breaths. He was exhausted. The storm continued to rage around them, and he felt the tug of dozens of air currents, each pulling him in a different direction. With a shaky breath, he focused on the tendrils and released them one by one. The storm had tapered away by the time the last strand was cut.

He gave Ronnie a squeeze. "You okay?"

"NO! That was terrifying and way too fast!" The misty air around them shimmered with emerald light as Ronnie pushed away on his light platform. He peered over the edge with a gasp and fought to keep balanced. The last remnants of fog parted to reveal the city far below. "Taran, how high up are we?!"

Taran studied the streets and shrugged. "I'd say at least five thousand feet."

Ronnie responded with a choking noise and reached out for Taran's arm.

"Hey, relax. You're doing great."

"That's good, considering the alternative is falling for a mile..."

A gust of wind came up behind them and buffeted roughly against Ronnie's light construct. Taran reached for his other hand before the force could knock them apart.

"Ugh, the surfboard isn't working as well as I'd hoped…." Ronnie chewed on his lip nervously.

"Alright, I'll bring us down --"

"Wait!" Ronnie exclaimed and gripped Taran's hands even tighter. "Don't let go, okay?" His face scrunched with worry as the long construct split in two, each side shrinking beneath his feet. Taran watched as the green light sank into Ronnie's heavy boots and faded away.

Ronnie pushed away from Taran and gave a few cautious kicks at the open air. With a sharp inhale, he unlinked his hands and hovered in place. His skin was pulsing with a pale green light that emanated outward in gentle waves.

Taran was shocked. "How are you doing that?"

"Energy is easier to control with direct contact, and I'm holding it just beneath the surface," Ronnie replied, spinning around in the air with a smile.

"Please tell me you tried this before!"

Ronnie held his hand out to a passing cloud, trails of green light illuminated in the mist. "Erm, probably best if I don't answer that. Luckily, my hunch was correct! This is way easier than holding a construct." To prove his point, he did a flip in the air. "See?"

"Alright, glow bug, enough showing off," Taran laughed. "Come fly with me." He spun in the air and took off towards the west.