Return of the Legion

The Destroyer's POV
I watch in horror as Ava is struck with two bullets, and as she falls I quickly grab onto her, breaking her fall.

"No, Ava!" I cry out, looking down at her wounds, gasping, "Ava, stay with me. Stay with me...Please. Focus on me."

She looks up at me, but her eyes are distant, as if she isn't quiet hearing me.

"No!" Ivy shrieks, crawling over to her sister and me. She looks at the wounds carefully, not seeming to care about the bullets flying around us. Her gaze meets mine and she demands, "Take her in that room. I'll take care of these guys, then send in The Mystic to heal her."

I nod, but I know Jinxx's abilities have limits and lodged bullets are one of them. It'll take a miracle for us to save Ava's life, at this point.

Carefully I pick up Ava, taking her into one of the small offices and lay her across a desk. I sit in the white desk chair beside her, taking hold of her hand and praying for a miracle, as tears threaten to fall from my eyes.

I don't even understand what's gotten into me. I've sadly watched thousands of Wild Ones die, but this is different. Ava's different.

"Please, God, don't take her from me. Not yet. Not like this," I quietly beg, my grip on her hand tightening.

I look up to admire her soft, pained features, gently brushing her damp hair off her cheeks as the gunfire outside stops. A few seconds later, everyone else is barging into the office.

Ivy stands beside me, as she barks out, "Heal her!"

"I can't," Jinxx whispers, looking down in shame.

"What do you mean you can't?" Ivy growls, glaring a hole through him, "You can. You've healed me before."

"The bullets are still inside her! Even if I healed her, she'd die!" Jinxx snaps, returning her glare and causing the young woman to flinch back.

Ava looks up at me, offering me a weak smile, oblivious to the world around her. I jump back when Ivy suddenly reaches out and rests her hands along the wounds. Ava cries out loudly, her hand clamping down on mine, as pain lances through her.

I watch in awe as Ivy's fists clamp down, then she pulls her hands away and reveals two very bloody lead beads. She...removed the...how the...?

"Now you can heal her, so do it!" Ivy growls, looking up at Jinxx, who stares at the bullets with a mixture of shock, awe and bewilderment for a moment before setting to work.

I can't comprehend what I just witnessed, other than to whisper, "What the...?"

Was this a fluke or is this the miracle I asked for? Either way, if it saves Ava, I'm cool with it.

Two men kick in the door, with a loud crash, but before they can even get their finger to the trigger, Ivy throws out her hands and the two bullets in her hands go flying at them. I see them lodge into the men's skulls, just as they drop to the floor, motionless.

"Ivy?" Ashley softly asks as the young woman looks down at her blood stained hands, breathing heavily, on the verge of panic now.

"Ivy," Andy says, placing a hand gently on her shoulder, leading her to jump half out of her skin. If the situation at hand weren't so dire, I'm sure I would have laughed my ass off at her. Andy's eyes are full of concern though, as are Ashley's, as Andy softly inquires, "What just happened?"

"I...I don't...God...He..." Ivy struggles to explain, but by the look in Andy's eyes now, he gets it.

Slowly, with a shaky hand, Ivy reaches out and focused on a glass jar of coins on top of the filing cabinets. The jar first shakes, then explodes, sending glass and coins in every direction. Five coins fly out into her hand and she throws them in the air, where they hang for a moment.

Ava moves beside me, trying to sit up, so I quickly help her. Once up, she remains perched on the edge of the desk and looks over at her sister.

Following her gaze, I see the coins have been replaced with a metallic cross. Ivy reaches out for it, taking hold of the shiny cross.

"Umm...neat party trick," Ava states, as Ivy continues to examine the small cross between her fingers.

"That's not a party trick," Jinxx softly retorts, watching Ivy carefully, "So this is The Priestess's ability, huh?"

"Must be," Andy replies, pulling the cross from her hands and examining it for a long moment. Ashley looks perplexed beyond belief and Jake seems more curious than anything else, as Andy passes the cross back to her and calls out, "Let's move! Quickly!"

The Mystic's POV
That's some ability she's got. I'd dare to say, with some practice, she might become more powerful than Andy, CC or me. Hell, she might even be stronger than the three of us combined.

To have control over metal, the way Ivy does...It almost reminds me of Eve and Ari. Eve had the gift of illusion. Ari the power of bending water to her will...Ivy must have took after Ari, which means Ava probably takes after Eve. If that's the case, it's only a matter of time before we find out what her ability is. I have to say, it should be interesting to see whether or not they can blend their abilities, as Eve and Ari could.

We finally get to the 20th floor, taking out a few more sympathizers along the way, and once inside the large room that once belonged to President Harris, Ava sets to work. She types away on the keyboard, working her magic, then looks up at us and says, "You're on. You have 10 minutes before they try to shut it down."

Andy nods, popping in the disk and music floods the room. I keep my eyes trained on the door, waiting for someone to come in, as Wake Up plays, followed by Devil's Choir.

I'm distracted when I hear the girls whimper out one word, "Mom..."

Turning around to look at them, I find them on their knees, hugging each other tightly as they sob uncontrollably.

Mom? Do they mean Bethany? Did...Did Beth sing that to them at some point?

"I miss them so much!" Ava balls, clinging tight to her sister.

"I do too," Ivy whispers, trying to hide her tears from her sister, brushing Ava's hair back.

I look up to see Ashley and CC watching the girls with a strong sympathy in their eyes. Andy nods to Jake, who walks over to them, resting a hand on each of their upper backs, just below their necks.

Slowly the girls calm down and look up at him with wide, confused eyes.

"You two really loved them, didn't you?" He softly asks, smiling sadly at them. They nod, fighting back tears, "Would you like for me to ease that pain?"

They think about it for a moment, Ivy looking back to Ashley. He gives her a sad look and nods slightly. She then looks to Andy, who nods as well. Sighing, she turns back to her sister and whispers, "Let's do it."

"But-" Ava starts to argue.

"They wouldn't want us living in the past. He didn't say he was going to take it all away, he just wants to ease it for us," Ivy interrupts, taking hold of Ava's hands, a pleading look in her eyes.

Ava thinks about it, long and hard, then finally nods. Jake closes his eyes, focusing on the memory building up inside of them, then pulls the pain from it. Once done, they slump into his waiting arms, then Ash and CC pick up the girls.

Ashley watches Ivy with such love as she weakly gazes up at him, somewhat in a daze from the altered memory. CC holds Ava close, gently brushing back her hair and gazing down at the exhausted young woman in his arms. It drains everyone who experiences having their memories altered by Jake and Ava's already been through so much today.

"I'll be damned," Andy murmurs, from beside me, "Looks like CC finally made the connection too."

"You mean...?" I trail off, glancing up at him.

"Yeah. Things are about to get more lively around here," he replies, still watching the small group that sit together. He suddenly tenses up, turning towards the door, then ejects the disk and says, "We have to go. Now."

Ash and CC look up, surprised by Andy's sudden shift, then pick up their girls. Ivy leans against Ashley for support, while Ava has to be carried by CC.

Jake and I check the hallway, then motion for the others to follow. Andy brings up the rear, taking hold of Ivy's gun, in case we have to fight our way out. It's obvious to everyone that Ivy's in no condition to fight now, so we all have to be ready for anything.

"It's no use going down," Andy whispers to us.

"Then where should we go?" Jake demands in a hiss.

"The roof," Ivy chimes, "You all have wings, right?"

"All we have to do then, is fly down and meet up with the Wild Ones who came running," Ashley adds, as if he could read her mind. He pulls her tightly to him and whispers, "You're a genius, Ivy."

She giggles and replies, "Thank you, but I wouldn't have thought of it, had it not been for what you did last night."

"Maybe we should start calling her The Deviant," I murmur, smirking at them.

Notes