Summus Proelium

Prompt: What if Cassidy inherited her father's powers in addition to her own, and they manifested in a dramatic moment?

No one understood how they had done it. Under almost any circumstances, it shouldn't have been possible. The protective measures over the LEAT games were some of the best and most impressive anywhere. On top of that, the entire point of the event was that it was attended by a large number of the strongest and most capable Touched in existence. The ones who bothered to care about this sort of thing anyway. Regardless, the point was, there were so many security measures and incredibly powerful individuals that deliberately targeting this arena should have been an incredibly stupid idea. It absolutely should have been impossible.

And yet, some local gang actually managed to do just that. It all started during Paintball's first event, when the kid was out on that field with Liqueguy, Split, and Tumbleweed. The four of them had been right in the middle of the match when things went completely sideways.

The first sign of trouble was the arrival of dozens of new figures. A mix of obvious Touched in costumes and heavily armed Prevs suddenly appeared scattered throughout the field. They literally teleported in. And they would be the last ones who did so, thanks to the force field that appeared right after they arrived. A powerful, impenetrable dome of energy erected itself around the field, preventing anyone else from getting into it, and keeping the contestants right where they were.

And speaking of those contestants, the invaders were only interested in one of them in particular. The others were extra and unwanted. Which became clear almost immediately, as small pellets that had somehow been hidden on each of those three contestants exploded into clouds of thick gas. Within just a few seconds, all of them were on the ground, unconscious.

Just like that, three of the four contestants were down, the rest of the arena was full of armed and dangerous people, and there was a force field preventing anyone else from coming in. Not that they knew or accepted that immediately. There were immediately dozens of attempts to break through the shield using every power and tech they had available. But not only could they not get through that forcefield, the people in the stands couldn't be evacuated either. More energy shields had appeared around the exits to ensure everyone stayed right where they were. They were meant to see this.

"Welcome!" The woman who called out right then was one of the costume figures who had invaded the arena. One who was familiar both to Paintball and everyone who spent time in Phoenix. She appeared to be in her late teens, wearing a dark red bodysuit with swirling black accenting lines, and a gold sash around her waist. The cloth mask over her head and face left only her spiky black hair exposed. This was Hyperkey, one of the most important members of the local gang known as Vicearious (as in Vice and Vicarious). A group that absolutely shouldn't have had the ability to do something like this. They were a problem for Phoenix, of course. But they really shouldn't have been able to create a force field that stopped anyone and anything from getting through.

"We know you all came here to have fun and see what these brave and oh so wonderful contestants are capable of!" Hyperkey had her voice magnified so everyone in the arena could hear. Especially Paintball himself, who had stopped short on top of one of the obstacles in the middle of that place and was taking in the view around him as the woman continued. "But do these safe and structured events really show you how good someone is? Do they really show you how good someone like wonderful, exciting Paintball over there could be if he was in real danger? Of course not. It's all fake. The whole thing is fake. That's why we're here. That's why we're going to give you what you really want. We're going to see just how good the kid really is. And hey, even if the poor guy fails this little test, I promise they'll be talking about this event for years."

Obviously, that only prompted even more efforts to get through the shield, or at least get Paintball out of there. But still, nothing worked. Everyone was stuck right there watching as the entire gang turned to focus on the figure in question. Paintball, for his part, stood on that floating platform in silence for a moment before he called out, "If you really wanted to participate and challenge someone in these games, I'm pretty sure there are much easier ways than going through all of this! I mean, I probably would've been willing to come kick your butts if you just sent me a card with a time and date on it. You really didn't need all this extra work."

There was a dangerous smile behind Hyperkey's response. "Oh, but where would the fun in that be? The entire point here is for everyone to see that you're not as special as they think you are. We wouldn't want the world to go on believing you're anything more than a kid who got lucky a few times. And believe me, by the time this is over, no one's gonna think you're lucky."

More efforts to break through the shield followed, all of them failing. There was shouting going on in all of the control rooms, and even more help was being summoned. But it would take time for it to get here, time for anyone else to get the message, organize, and arrive. Even a short delay, five minutes, ten minutes, could be too long. In terms of a Touched fight, especially when it was every single one of these people against paintball all by himself, could be an eternity.

And yet, no one could do anything. No one could break through the shield or pull the kid out of there. Even Silversmith, leader of the Conservators in Detroit where Paintball was from, had appeared and was trying to break the shield to no avail. He, the others who were doing their best to find a way through, those in the stands, and everyone watching the broadcasts, were all forced to stay right where they were and watch helplessly as Hyperkey and the rest of her gang went from taunting to attacking.

And yet, none of them, no one watching, no one trying to help, no one involved with the gang, not even Paintball himself, could ever possibly have predicted what was about to happen. Not one person anywhere in the world could have guessed where this situation was going to go.

*******

They really should've figured something like this would happen. Maybe not this exactly, but that bad things would come from agreeing to participate in this tournament. The moment they were asked to, Cassidy should have found a way to decline. They should've known that jumping into this whole thing would just be an open invitation for something to end up going horribly wrong.

But no, they had accepted, and now they were stuck in the middle of this arena surrounded by at least five actual Fell-Touched with powers, and maybe twenty Prevs loaded down with guns.

They had spent the time while Hyperkey was floating and playing up to the crowd covering themself with as much useful paint as possible. They didn't have to beat all these people, they just needed to survive and keep moving long enough for enough help to arrive. Someone had to be able to get through that shield, no matter how strong it was. They just had to hold out.

So, the first thing they did, as soon as everyone turned to face them, was drop into their puddle form. There was a hole in the long floating tube they were standing on, leading down to an interior area. They poured themselves down into that hole even as gunfire started up. Bullets and lasers alike went sailing through the space they had been standing in a second earlier.

The second they were inside the tube, Cassidy shifted back into their humanoid form, crouched right there near the entrance. A quick flick of their wrist sent a shot of rainbow paint as far as possible, to the base of a platform the two of the Prevs were standing on. And just like that, Cassidy teleported there, reforming out of the rainbow paint while becoming solid once more. They had already activated the purple paint on their arms, and quickly shoved the two men from behind to knock them off the platform. They screamed as they fell, but the safety measures inside the field stopped them from dying as they hit the ground. The men were, at least, pretty shaken up and not exactly eager to start shooting again for a few seconds or so.

Unfortunately, Cassidy didn't have time to congratulate themself before they were suddenly struck in the back by six bullets in rapid succession. At least they had thought to activate orange paint along with the purple, so the bullets simply made them stumble while the audience screamed. But even if the bullets didn't hurt that much, it still distracted them long enough for one of the Fells to arrive. He was a tall figure with bright orange skin and an assortment of tentacles rather than legs. Like some sort of humanoid octopus. One of those tentacles lashed out to grab Cassidy by the arm and flung them off the platform. Before they could orient themself, a blast of cold wind from another of the tentacles slammed into them. It wasn't normal wind either. It dazed them, made them feel like they had been through several rides on a roller coaster set to turbo speed. If they hadn't enjoyed roller coasters so much, that might've been the end of it. Still, even with their experience, it took a second to start to recover.

It was a second too long, as another handful of bullets and a some sort of concussive blast slammed into them. The orange paint was still there, so it just stunned a bit, adding to the damage. Not to mention the screams of panic from all the people stuck in those stands.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

The shots might not have cut through Cassidy's protection yet, but they were hitting them from all sides, giving the young Touched no time to orient themself, let alone counterattack. One of the other Fells on a higher platform sent a ball of electricity that clipped their shoulder just as the orange paint had run out. They would have activated a new set, but the shock came first and made them spasm in the air, unable to focus on anything other than stopping the pain.

They were tumbling through the air toward the ground. The safety measures would stop that from being too fatal, but it also made them a sitting duck. They were falling while every enemy around them took careful aim and savored what was about to happen, what they were going to force this massive audience to witness. They were all about to open fire one last time to end it.

Cassidy knew that. Some distant part of their brain was screaming warnings, but the electric shock was still working its way through them. They were falling, unable to focus, unable to right themself, unable to do anything other than wrap their arms around themself and tuck their knees, wishing for help, for protection, for something or someone that could shield them now.

The shots came from all sides, too many to avoid, too many to defend against, too many to… Wait, nothing hit them. The shots had come, but there was no pain, and they weren't falling anymore. Opening their eyes, Cassidy found themself lying inside some strange metal egg. It was surrounding them, this metallic ball. It glowed faintly, just enough to reveal the colorful, prismatic patterns running through it. The base of the metal was silver, but it had a fairly faint, constantly shifting rainbow tint running through it, like taking a prism and rotating it around slowly.

Three more shots struck the outside of the strange egg, doing no damage. But Cassidy was suddenly afraid that the gang might take their anger out on those stuck in the audience. They can't just sit here and be trapped. Just like that, they went from being afraid for their own life to desperately wanting to find a way to help those people before the gang turned their attention that way.

And that was when the egg shifted. It shrank, its walls seeming to collapse in on them. But before Cassidy could panic, they realized they weren't being crushed. The egg formed itself around them. Not as a prison, and not to kill them. The egg wasn't an egg anymore. It had reformed itself around them, sitting close to their body while keeping them in the air. They stood inside the thing while two small holes appeared right whether eyes were, allowing them to see. No, not holes. The metal was still there, still protecting even those tiny spots, but it turned clear where their eyes were so they could see everyone staring at them.

From the audience to the gang, Fell and Prev alike, everyone in the arena was staring in confused silence as Cassidy, Paintball to them, floated there in that colorful metallic egg.

No, not an egg. The thing had shrunk down and formed itself tightly around them, right up against their costume. It was a suit, an armored metal suit that left them standing in midair. When they moved their arms and head to look down, the suit obligingly moved with them. It moved when they thought about it. They weren't trapped within it. They were controlling it as easily as they controlled their own limbs. The metal had appeared in that egg form to protect them, then reshaped itself into this suit when they wanted to see what was happening and turn that protection to the people in the audience.

At that moment, as they were distracted by looking down at the armor that was covering them, a figure launched herself at them from the side. While every other person was paralyzed by surprise, Hyperkey wanted her revenge for Paintball and Pack's little interference the night before too much to let a little thing like that distract her. She rebounded off a floating cube near the corner of the arena and flew right at the hovering figure.

Cassidy saw her coming, pivoting in the air with a gasp as they reflexively brought their hand up. They intended to send a shot of red paint that could yank the incoming figure down, or maybe yellow to slow them. But neither happened. Neither was necessary. Because as soon as they turned like that and brought their hand up, something else appeared. For a second, they thought it was their rainbow paint that allowed them to teleport. But no, it was… it was that metal, the same metal that had formed itself into their suit, yet in liquid form like their paint. It was solidifying even as it moved, becoming solid while changing shape. The stuff wasn't a simple stream of liquid anymore, it had adjusted, changed into… a hand. A hand almost identical to Cassidy's own, aside from the fact that it was made of gleaming, prismatic metal, and large enough to grab hold of Hyperkey. The hand snatched that incoming figure out of midair before swinging itself around to hurl her across the field to crash into the ground at the opposite end.

That was when the rest of the gang snapped out of their surprise and went on the offensive once more. Seven or eight bullets and a single laser rebounded off the back of the armor. Without conscious thought, that giant hand Cassidy had made flew sideways through the air and curved around to swat at several of those Prevs. The outstretched fingers caught one of them on a platform and knocked him clear, before the palm slammed into a couple more and swept them along with it. About halfway through that move, the fingers opened as the flying hand gave a little flicking motion that sent the two men it had grabbed flying over to crash into three more in a collision that left all five in a tangled heap of twisted limbs, bruises, and a lot of frantic cursing.

The octopus-like Fell with all those orange tentacles was violently flung off his platform as the hand changed into some sort of giant bow and arrow, the ten foot long shaft slamming into the man before he could fling himself clear.

One of the Fells, a man with a simple set of flying brick powers, launched himself into the air to come at Paintball from above and slightly behind. At the same time, the Fell who had sent that first ball of electricity had jumped over to one of the other platforms hovering a bit to Cassidy's left. She pointed both hands at the small, newly-armored figure and sent another shocking orb that way. And, as though those two weren't enough, seven or eight more Prevs had already spread out to shoot at Paintball from every possible angle.

Cassidy thought about moving, and the armored suit moved them. As the electrical orb flew through the area they had just been in, they pivoted in the air so it missed, sailing right through to hit another obstacle. At the same time, their left arm rose, more of that liquid metal appearing before shaping itself into a medieval knight's shield that caught and deflected most of those incoming shots in the course of that pivot. The remaining two were deflected by a second shield that simply appeared in the air right behind them.

By that point, the man flying down at them from above reached that spot and collided with the smaller figure, but it wasn't enough to instantly knock Cassidy to the ground. They had flipped over in the air and took the dive head on. The flying Fell crashed into them and the two struggled together. Cassidy could feel the man's strength attempting to break through the mysterious, strange armor that had encompassed them.

The armor did its best to hold out, and was clearly enhancing their strength a fair bit. They were stronger in this armor. It resisted, but this Fell was too strong and gradually managed to gain the upper hand, grabbing their shoulders before flying forward in an attempt to slam them into one of the floating obstacles.

Except while the suit might have been too weak to hold out against the Fell in its base form, it didn't stay that way. Just before they could collide with the cube they were being flown at, the prismatic rainbow pattern drifting through the gleaming metal shifted to only a single color. The armor was now metallic purple.

It was purple for strength, for Paintball's strength paint. And as soon as the armor had shifted to that color, their motion suddenly stopped. They halted in midair, completely against the Fell's best efforts. He couldn't move them at all. With a quick jerking motion, Cassidy ripped their arms free of the man's grasp. Before he could recover, they slammed their fists into the sides of his head hard enough to rattle him, then twisted around, caught his outstretched arm and shoulder, and flung him the remaining distance to slam face first into the same cube he had been trying to drive them into.

The electricity-shooting girl had leapt from obstacle to obstacle and took aim again. But Cassidy was already reacting, flying straight up in the air before flipping around to go that way. They could fly. They could fly! The suit just moved with them, keeping their body in the air. In the heat of the moment, they didn't have time to process any of this properly, but that one single thing stood out, they could fly.

As half a dozen of those electrical orbs came sailing at them in rapid succession, they knew they needed extra protection beyond just what the armor already provided. So, it changed from purple to orange, and the electricity washed over them to absolutely no effect.

Before that woman could recover, Cassidy was there. The armor shifted to a green color, and they were suddenly much faster. The woman never knew what hit her before she was hurled from the platform and sent crashing down to the grass.

Everyone who was left, including Hyperkey as she shook off her daze, did their level best to adjust to this development and finish what they had set out to do. But they had come anticipating a fight with the Paintball they knew. Not the one with these liquid metal powers. Not the one with this armor. One by one or in scattered groups, they went down and stayed there.

Soon, only Paintball remained. The armor shifted back to its prismatic form, gleaming silver with the rainbow pattern drifting through it while they hovered there in the middle of the arena, twenty feet off the ground. Only then did Cassidy stop to think. Only then did they have the spare second to realize the ramifications of what had just happened. Power. Their father's power. They… they didn't only have their own gift, the one the orb had given them. They had their dad's power as well, and it had just manifested itself right here in front of this audience.

An audience that suddenly wasn't trapped anymore, as the shield that had been keeping everyone else from interfering faded away. Still, they all stayed right where they were, staring in stunned silence.

Well, almost all of them. One figure descended from the stands drawing Cassidy's attention. It was Silversmith. It was their dad. He was there, floating in his own metallic armor just a few feet away. The audience, both in the stands and watching through the live broadcast, looked on as the two figures in such similar armor hovered there and stared at one another. The entire arena was silent, hardly anyone even daring to breathe right then.

It was a silence that was broken not by Paintball or Silversmith, but by a small girl in the audience who happened to be seated near Nqobile and her still-open microphone. That girl's voice was magnified, coming through every speaker. "But his papa is Lucent.

"Does this mean Silversmith is Paintball's Mommy?"