Mind's Shadow

### Prologue

I sat on the hill that overlooked the city, fidgeting with you hem of my shirt. It had been two weeks since Leia's defeat. I was still broken inside, completely torn that my friend, turned against us. I wanted her to celebrate defeating Nightflame. I thought she did as well. But I guess I was wrong. She was truly evil on the inside and didn't care about what we said. No matter how hard we tried to make her see what she was doing was wrong, my former friend was too stubborn.

And it hurts to call your friend, a foe.

It was quite peaceful until I heard Cowgirl calling, “Thespia! Thespia!” “What?” I asked, hearing the urgency in her voice. “There’s - something - you - need - to - see!” She panted.

Together we ran to HQ. “Nyah, Claire, what is it?” I asked them as soon as I entered the room. My teammates were sitting at the main desk, looking at the computer screen. “We dunno,” my sister replied, looking at me over her shoulder with big eyes.

“Where’s Jill when you need her?” Claire asked aloud, trying to locate the problem. “There seems to be a robbery or something…” Lily muttered. Nodding, I stood up from my crouching position.

“Where’s Jill, and Brynn?” I asked. Everyone looked at me. Claire shrugged, “I don't know, last I saw them was about 4 hours ago…” That was enough. I ran out of the room and to the garage.

If Brynn and Jillian were in danger, then this person will have to learn he’s messin’ with the wrong heroes.

Chapter 1.

I walked down the hall, Nyah at my right side and Cowgirl on my left. We swung open the door to the garage, I hopped onto my motorbike, while Nyah went in her flying suit. Cowgirl climbed into her car, and the garage door slowly opened, revealing the city.

~\*~ ~\*~ ~\*~

Cowgirl and Me jumped roof to roof, hoping to spot something suspicious. But, nothing they saw looked suspicious. "What would Jill do? What would Jill do?" I heard Cowgirl mumble. Soon, I had a plan. "CG, I have an idea," I smiled.

(Nyah POV)

I flew over the large city, in search of Jill and Brynn. I knew they were perfectly fine on their own, and they could handle it themselves, but them disappearing without telling anyone was completely out of character. Suddenly, my suit started beeping, picking up radioactive activity. I asked Trisha, my A.I, "Trish, what's causing the radioactive signals?" "I'm not sure, Miss Amberland. You need to get closer so I can scan the area where the signals are clearest."

Nodding, I flew toward the large Clock tower in the middle of the city. Softly and quietly, I landed on the minute hand. "CG, 'Spia, where the heck are you?!" I hissed into my com. All I got in response was static. I narrowed my eyes, wondering why they weren't responding. Then it clicked. Thespia has one of her crazy plans again. And I think I know what it is...

Disabling my suit, I slid through an opening in the clock, the vibrations of the machine throwing me off. "Trisha, enable Effect #12." "Turning on My Jam, aka The Wonder Women theme song," The A1 replied.

(3rd Person POV)

Cowgirl leaped into an Alleyway, making no noise. Looking up, she nodded. On top of the building she was previously on, was the Lead of the Team, Thespia. The brunette smirked, jumping onto a building and rolling with style. "'Lily- eh Cowgirl, I'm on spot," she whispered into her com, army crawling into position. Back against the wall, crouched down, Thespia eagerly waited. Mmmk, the cowgirl replied.

Looking over the wall, Thespia threw her Min-teo, a small sphere-like device that attached to any surface, exploding a radioactive gas that disables sy-gloves within 12 miles range, hitting the old abandoned warehouse. The old shack was run-down and old, and just where Nyah picked up the most radioactive activity. Thespia knew Nyah would figure out her plan, and soon enough the younger girl apparated right in front of her. "Don't - do - that!" Thespia gasped playfully, punching her sister in the shoulder. Guys, don't mean to be rude, but this isn't the time! Cowgirl seethed.

Silently agreeing, the pair watched as the Min-Teo exploded, the gas gracefully flowing in the air. They observed as the gas revealed a black figure. Nyah took off, despite her sister's calls. "Nyah! Oh - it's hopeless. Kids," Thespia muttered, hopping down into Cowgirl's alley and running toward the warehouse.

Chapter 2.

Nyah landed softly, her footstep's echoing around the warehouse. "Brynn! Jillian!" She hissed through clenched teeth. The door behind her shut with a creek, the girl eying it suspiciously. She heard an overly familiar voice from behind her,

"You're too late..." Nyah whipped around, and the sight made her eyes fill with tears.

Standing before her, was Leia, with a bloody knife. On the floor was Brynn holding Jill. Jill was... dead. Nyah slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from letting out a whimper. Brynn looked at her with wide eyes. Jill's raven hair swept into her face as her teammate clung to her tighter.

"Y-you killed her! It's your fault!" She screamed raspily. "You should've saved her! It's your fault!" The terrified girl shook her head, making the bloody brunette scream louder, "It should've been you! You should've died!" Nyah collapsed altogether, her hands shaking in fear and sadness. But Brynn's last words drove her mad with fear and grief.

"You, killed, us."

Brynn's tears dropped to the floor but quickly morphed into blood. The red metallic liquid soaked the girl's clothes, and their tears became red blood. Nyah was traumatized, stuck on the spot.

She watched in horror as Leia screamed, blood seeping out of her chest, a blade impaling her.

"Nyah! NYAH!"

Nyah looked over her shoulder, seeing her sister and Lily rushing past her. Lily cast her a look of concern, before following after Thespia. When Nyah returned her gaze forward, Leia, Brynn, and Jill were

Gone.

They were replaced with a black hooded figure, who backflipped out a broken window, and into the city below.

Thespia stopped at the window, looked out. The villain was nowhere in sight. She inhaled heavily, turning toward her sister with a killer glare.

"Why'd you let him get away?" She demanded, venom dripping from her voice. Lily grasped her arm in an attempt to calm her, but no avail. Nyah's face remained pale, her eyes wide with fear. "Thespia, let it go..." Lily said quietly, her tone drowned in disappointment but force. "Fine," the leader growled, giving her younger sister one final glare.

Lily sighed, heading to the car. She grasped Nyah's hand, helping the younger girl to her feet.

(Thespia POV)

I wasn't mad at my sister. I wasn't mad at Lily. I was mad at him. I noticed his sly, cunning ways. He has outsmarted Jill, tricked Nyah, and captured Brynn. I knew he attacking our best abilities and defenses. Jill was never outwitted. Nyah tricked, and Brynn captured. He was a first-time-for-everything villain, making us weak in our fortes. For example:

You're left-handed. If someone keeps injuring your left hand, you can't punch them back, because it's your more dominant hand. You'll be forced to use your right hand, which will get injured quicker.

I didn't know where Jill or Brynn were, but they were somewhere out there. Maybe very close, or far... far away.

Chapter 3.

I felt the blood trickling down my neck. Brynn gave me a look of concern, she is my only company. "Brynn, I-I can't do this!" I cried, looking over at the battle playing before us. Leia has turned against us, as much as I hate to say it. Cowgirl kicked at Leia, which she blocked with ease. "Brynn-" "Look at me." The brunette demanded. "You'll be fine." She rose, holding out her hand, which I took. I unsheathed my sword, advancing on Leia, taking her by surprise. She whipped around and-

"JILL!" Brynn yelled, shaking me. "W-what!?" I questioned, my blue orbs sparkling. "It was a dream!" she said quietly, and I noticed the faint scar on her neck Leia gave her. She grabbed my abandoned jumper, applying pressure to my stinking abdomen. "I wouldn't do that Brynn..." a voice drawled from behind her. "And why is that." she retorted, more a statement than a question. "It means you have blood on your hands, and you wouldn't want to be called Bloody Brynn, would you?" I glared at him, "Was that supposed to be funny?" No... something told be inside my head. It's true.

Chapter 4.

I turned when the doors of the control room burst open. Ultraviolet, Waterfrost, and Burnout flooded in, Cowgirl in toe. "We," "We think we found them!" Nyah interrupted, rushing in. My eyes widened. "What?" The five gestured for me to follow. I ran with them, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

We entered the lab/computer room. I looked over my shoulder, seeing a fizzing substance. "What's that?" I asked UV. She shrugged, "Jill was working on it." I took one last look at the liquid, before focusing on the digital map.

Nyah took a liquid from her science storage. "Okay. So you know when Leia cut Brynn's throat?" I nodded, not seeing where this was going. "Well, when I stitched it up, I put a chemical on the stitches, called ostendamlite. When I did, I knew it would go into her blood. So, ostendamlite has a kind of - twin. The chemical is called unumparestlite. Unumparestlite and ostendamlite work like magnets. But, unumparestlite connects through mapping. Because it's-" "Enchanted," I interrupted. Nyah nodded. Lily pressed a button on the lab table, which instantly transformed into a digital map. Nyah held up a bottle of oozing liquid. "This is unumparestlite. And you know how the twin chemicals work like magnets through maps? Well..."

She poured the unumparestlite on the digital map, right in the center. "Since the ostendamlite is in Brynn's blood..."

Slowly, without anyone moving the table at all, the unumparestlite started to slide all over the map. Suddenly, it stopped right on a specific spot, forming a tower out of itself. It began to glow, illuminating the room with a blue light. "There," Lily confirmed. "But..." I breathed.

"That's the Ixion House..."

Chapter 5.

(Jill's POV)

My blood went cold as the atmosphere chilled, the air getting thinner. I gagged, falling on my side. I clutched my throat, desperate for air. My head felt like it would explode, and my lungs burned craving oxygen. My heartbeat quickened and slowed as the world went hazy. My vision blurred and I faintly remember Brynn screaming my name until it all went silent. Deadly silent. I supposed it was the silence of being dead. But oddly, the silence was peaceful and calming.

As the darkness turned into light, my thoughts returned and I felt the pumping of my heart. Its rhythm filled me with joy. My instinct told me to open my eyes, so I slowly peeled them open...

"Jill, stay with me, it's a dream. He's tricking you!" Brynn's soothing telepathic voice rang in my ears.

As I regained focus, I noticed a misty fog hovering over me, it’s deathly whisper ringing in my ears. It seemed to be trying to get to me, but my telepathic companion made that impossible.

I sprung up, letting a low growl escape my mouth. The smokey mist cleared, recoiling into the figure’s hand.

It glowed in his palm, before evaporating and disappearing completely. “You can’t win,” I said softly, my body suddenly weak from using all my energy. “They’ll find us. And when they do, you’ll be done…

Shadow Child.”

==

Lily looked wearily at me. We had been up all night, roaming the city. Somehow, our feet took us away from the Ixion House.

"Where are you guys?" Waterfrost asked through the mic. "I'm - not sure..." I responded.

There was silence in the air, as static blared through our walkie-talkies.

"It's too quiet," Lily muttered. UltraViolet nodded slowly in agreement. It was just us three.

No wait, us two.

Nope, just me?

Lily and UV had vanished!

"Guys?" I called worriedly and uncertainly. The air began to chill, and an eery silence followed. I began to run west, where the Ixion house was, but I ended up going backward.

Looking down at my feet, I noticed I was running in a forward motion, yet going the opposite way? I crouched down, my veins pumping with adrenaline. I had spotted something shiny on the rough concrete floor. A necklace.

Lily's necklace.

My heartbeat quickened, as I began to unsheath my sword, Jill had made for me. Then, suddenly, I felt something cold and empty on my shoulder. My breath hitched in my throat, as my eyes narrowed.

"Let go... Shadow."

I sprung up, turning on the villainous person. They stood, staring into my soul, their black mask's eyes cloudy and empty. "Leave," I murmured threateningly, "And return my friends." Shadow seemed emotionless, smoke emitting from his palms. "Did you really think I'd give up that easily? Come and take me then."

With a burst of courage, I lunged forward. The mist parted where Shadow once stood, leaving nothing but a fog. I heard him taunting me in my mind, but blocked him out. A cold shiver ran down my spine, as a gust of wind blew dust and smoke on my back.

"Shadow," I seethed, facing them. They disintegrated once again, leaving me shivering in fear. "I'm here, in your mind," they taunted. I grew frustrated, as smoke and dust would swirl up in a tornado, before dissolving to reveal nothing. I clutched my sword tightly, my palms sweating and my heart racing. My ears perked at the slightest sound, as my mind played tricks on me. "Come get me, or forget your friends," Shadow whispered. "Come out!" I shouted. There was an eery silence before I got an answer. "I already did."
I whirled around, facing my enemy. Without thinking, I thrust my sword forward. In less than a second, I was enveloped in smoke and mist. There was a grunt, and I felt my sword pierce flesh. Only, the grunt didn't sound like Shadow. It sounded like... Neox.

Chapter 7.

"T-Thespia drop the sword!" Neox grunted, and I did so. Tears threatening to spill out stung my eyes, as my mind processed the trap Shadow had set up. He was trying to make me think I'm a horrible leader, and I was starting to think I was. "Neox, I'm so sorry! I-I I did this to you!" I began to panic.

"No, Thespia it's fine. I'm fine, see-?" Just as he finished his sentence, the boy fell over. "Neox!" Grasping the blade handle, I tore my katana out of him, as greenish-red blood seeped out of him. "Neox?"

With tears spilling out of Thespia's eyes, she shakily lifted up her hands. Using telekinesis, she lifted the injured boy off the floor.

3rd Person POV
“Neox, wake up! Please!”
The boy wearily opened his eyes, and gave Thespia a weak smile

Thespia sucked in a breath, knowing she wasn't the best at using telepathy. She liked to use powers she was comfortable with, and there was Brynn to take care of the Telepathy.
“Team, this is Pheonix. Man down. Abort mission!”
A wave of pain came over the powerful girl. She usually got migraines when she strained herself. That was why she only used one power at a time.
“Okay Neox, stay with me,” Thespia muttered under her breath. She pushed off the ground, landing on top of a tall building.
Neox was floating in front of her, his body dangling limply under the control of Thespia’s telekinesis. Biting her lip, Thespia teleported back to the HQ.
Nyah, Lily, and Claire were already there, impatiently pacing or drumming their fingers. When Thespia’s body suddenly popped in front of them, they were startled.
Everyone was wide eyed when Thespia collapsed. Neox rolled on the floor, groaning. Thespia was obviously in pain, and Nyah helped her to her feet.
Claire immediately flew to Neox’s side, tempted to grasp him. “Neox? Neox!”
Suddenly, Quench, Burnout, and Molly stormed into the room. Burnout instantly rushed over towards Claire, while Quench and Molly assisted Nyah. Lily meanwhile was preparing the medical table, grabbing bandages and alcohol.
Thespia weakly opened her eyes, wheezing. “N-no! Lily, Neox… You can't… Touch… Neox.”
Lily now realized this, frantically trying to think of a solution. She turned her back to the team, staring at the wall.
“...Hyper Sleep.” She faced the team once again, worriedly scanning the heroes. “Hyper Sleep is our only option if we want to save him. Maybe Jill will be able to do something when we get her back-” “Hyper Sleep? No! No, not… that. She was put into HyperSleep. I don't want Neox to be put to Hyper Sleep!” Burnout laid a hand on Claire’s shoulder, looking down at his shoes.
“Claire, it's the only way to keep him alive.”

Chapter 8.

Shadow came into the room, panting. “What did you do?” Jill asked worriedly. Brynn stood defensively in front of the Raven-haired girl, who growled in response. “Better yet, what do you want?” Bynn asked, ignoring her companion.
“You were right. They did come for you. I suppose your friends are… As loyal as you said they were. But they won't be getting to you anytime soon.”
“Why? What happened!” Jill demanded.
“Oh, I didn't do anything. Your leader… Thespia. She stabbed the untouchable one.”
“That’s a lie!” Brynn yelled angrily, thrusting herself at Shadow.
Suddenly, the black figure held out his hand, clutching Brynn’s neck.
“You also have telepathy. But your loyalty will get you into trouble.”
“Let her go,” Jill ordered gruffly, hiding the fear that was welling inside her. Bynn’s actions were rash and stupid.
Shadow looked over at Jill. They stared at her for a few seconds before releasing Brynn.
The brunette hit the floor with a thud, gasping for air. Jill crouched next to Brynn, looking her over for any injuries. “I - I couldn't - use my powers.” Jill cast the girl a confused look.
“It was like, when she touched me my powers were disabled.” Jill raised her brows, curious of Shadow’s powers.
“Well, it seems you don't know your leader very well. She stabbed him. And now he’ll die.”
These words troubled the girls, making them question whether the team would search for them, or try to cure Neox.

“Neox, please don't struggle too much!”
Thespia skimmed through the pages of an old book on Hyper Sleep.
The Ixion house has an anti-radiation barrier. This makes the Hyper Sleep less painful to shift into. In a clinical study led by Doctors who have devoted their lives to researching Hyper Sleep, people who were near radiation experienced more pain than the patients in the Ixion house.
“Well, we’re sure close to a lot of radiation,” Thespia murmured.
Neox struggled in the bonds that bound him to the table. His screams were muffled by the gauze that covered his mouth.
Thespia winced at the sight and tried to remind herself it was an accident. Though, this didn't do her much good.
Suddenly, Neox stopped, he looked like he was in pain, but his body went limp. His eyelids shut, and his breathing evened. Neox was in Hyper Sleep.
“He will wake up… Right?” Claire asked aloud. Lily turned to her soberly. “We can only hope so,” she replied.
Thespia rose, walking toward Lily. She placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders, looking her straight in the eye.
“How fast can you and Nyah make design 34.0?” The leader asked with a smile. “About an hour… Why?”
“Good. I only need an hour to form a plan.”

Tbc