Element rolled her eyes. "You should be fine, your healing pretty fast, so thats good." she said, then faced Dylan. "Your the only one left that hasn't been shot, or smacked in the head. Its coming for you." she said, wiggling her eyebrows. She let the water dissolve above Vaughn's leg, and sat back in the right position. ( Since @SorceressWriter is gone, I'll just say that she drives us back to the place and we're there now. ) Element hopped out of the car, and walked right up to her "room." She wanted to get back to searching Jared's computer.
Vaughn was in a guest room laying back on the bed. He still had a bruise on his cheekbone from when his face hit the concrete floor in the backroom. He dug a flask out from his suit coat pocket that layed on the floor and took a sip of it, then put it on the nightstand. He dug out a necklace from under his button up. The pendant was a small, daisy like flower, which was strangely against his style.
As Element clicked away on the keyboard, she accessed a file that made her sit up more.
Study of the Stones: Vol. Time.
The Time Stone is the most current stone to find; we believe it is the most important piece in this complicated puzzle. The most recent location it might reside in, is Kumakwane Botswana. The Time Stone is figured to be hiding in sight, and it only reveals itself when someone who's powers are surely light-wielded comes across it. We may have a way to manipulate X's powers, but we shall see.
=From the documents of Jared Mann: Flame Engineer=
Vaughn got up from the bed, taking the necklace off and setting it next to his flask on the nightstand. He walked into a joint bathroom, looking at the bruise in the mirror. He then checked his leg, pleased that all that was left was a faint scar. ‘Just as effective as devil magic,’ he thought. He shut the bathroom door and turned the water on in the tub. He unbuttoned his blood stained shirt, deciding to wash it.
It was mid-afternoon, and Element was already extremely tired. She needed to get out, get some free air. She had changed out of her suit, wearing tennis-shoes, sweatpants, a very large blue sweatshirt and her glasses. Hiding the lap-top under her pillow, she opened the window and jumped out. She watched as the ground drew near, and she veered upwards, flying through the abandoned alleyways of the city. She quickly left the noisy cars behind, and landed by a stream in some woods a good many miles away. She smiled, closed her eyes, and breathed in the beautiful air.
Dylan paced in his room.
Element's warning echoed in his head, and not for the first time he wondered what he had gotten himself into. Would he be in any of this if he hadn't touched the stone? Or better yet, if he hadn't walked into the study?
This is me, isn't it? This is all my doing.
He shook his head in defeat, still pacing. Now, he had an even bigger problem to contend with. The Flame, and his own father with it, had picked him out as it's next target.
Wait, is that really what she meant?
She was right about one thing: he had gone largely unscathed throughout the past day and a half. Maybe it wasn't that the Flame wanted him dead. Maybe, instead, the Flame wanted him home.
Xelnarin wanted him home.
He cursed. That couldn't have been what she had meant. She didn't know of Dylan's memories, his ties to the Flame. The warning had been simple. Watch your back.
Element sat down at the edge of the stream. Life had gone from simple to psychotic in a little over twenty-four hours. The Flame, Vaughn, Avery, and Dylan were all the people she had to trust most, and she hardly knew them. Avery had been a friend before, they knew each others powers and kept them secret, but that was it. Suddenly, something broke through her thoughts.
Pain.
She felt more pain then she'd every felt in her entire life. Her head throbbed, her chest seared. She screamed, and went limp, rolling into the water. The last thing she saw, was that man in grey from her dream, holding some sort of knife, and what seemed to be power dampening cuffs.
She was being kidnapped.
Dylan huffed. There wasn't much he could do sitting here. He had the sudden urge to go hurt something. It wasn't typical of him to feel that way, but that's how it was.
So he went outside. Tip-toeing past Avery was easy enough aided by his invisibility, though he could've swore he saw her flinch as he passed. He went outside and reappeared, walking past Oscar, who's engine was off. Taking a second to reorient himself, Dylan headed west, towards his apartment. When he arrived, he immeadietly took to his parking space and mounted his motorbike, then turned and headed towards the first alley he found.
(He's trying to find the Flame, or get them to come to him, just so he could "practice")
Vaughn left his room about an hour later, clothes seeming cleaner and the necklace tucked back under his shirt. ‘Where is everyone?’ He thought. He considered slipping out for a moment.
Element awoke in the back of a car, her head on fire. She couldn't move. She could barely breath. Her powers weren't working, she felt special cuffs on her wrists. She groaned, and tried to move. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, it'll only make the pain worse." said a voice beside her. She turned her head slightly, and saw a boy about her age, with the same cuffs on.
Vaughn had no idea where Avery was, and Dylan and Element seemed to be out. He sighed sharply and walked into the kitchen area, pouring himself a little bit of coffee.
"Who are you?" Element asked, her mouth extremely dry. The boy let out a weak smile.
"I'm nobody. At least not anymore." he said sadly. "But you can just call me Dev." Element sat up, feeling her pain begin to ebb away.
"Wait. Thats Tajik for demon. Are you… Are you one of the demonic species?" she asked. Dev nodded.
"The Flame has been tracking down anybody with demonic origins. That includes Shadow Manipulators, fire wielders, and a lot of others. I'm guessing your a fire wielder?" he questioned. Element nodded.
"That and other things." She said. But then with sudden realization, her heart twisted. Dylan was a shadow manipulator.
Vaughn almost choked on his coffee as he remembered that he left Sam alone. He wrote a note that said he went to go check on him, and also listed his phone number. He went outside and began walking, as he didn’t have to car with him anymore.
(I'll probably not be on until tomorrow evening, CST…) :(
Avery woke up around 3 o'clock after a quick power nap. She had heard Dylan sneak past her–using different ears–sp she knew he was gone, but when she went to check on Element and Vaughn, neither of them were around.
Great, she thought, annoyed because she was still a little tired. Now I have to go search for people by myself.
"Oscar! Can you find Dylan, Lenny, and Vaughn?" she asked, speaking into the hidden microphone in her suit.
Vaughn walked for around 10 more minutes before arriving back. He was pleased to see Sam up and ready, and he offered to take Sam out to get food. “We’re going to walk, though, okay? I need some exercise,” Vaughn said, chuckling. He picked Sam up, placing him on his shoulders. He began walking down the sidewalk, not completely sure where he was going.
"Yes, of course, Avery," the car spoke right in her ear. "I have their locations now."
"Wow, that was fast. Ok, who's closest?"
"That would be Dylan. He is just a few blocks away. Would you like me to pick him up?"
"Yes, please. And show me where you are so that I can speak to him through you when you get to him."
"Of, course."
Oscar drove away, sending his and Dylan's locations to Avery's phone so that she would know when he arrived. The car drove right up next to Dylan, and Avery's voice boomed out of the speakers, "Dylan, get in the car! We have to find Element and Vaughn."
Dylan swung around, suddenly hot when he saw Oscar. If Avery knew what he was about to do, she would probably boot him right there.
But instead, Avery's voice was projected from the car. She was elsewhere
"Dylan, get in the car! We have to find Element and Vaughn." She said through the car.
Dylan, in response, gestured to the motorbike next to him, "I have a ride. Lead on, I'll follow."
Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and then an arm slid around his neck, dragging him into the shadows.
( Dylan and Element need to get kidnapped together and find each other! )
The car came to a stop in front of an apartment building. Element peeked up out the window, and gasped. "OSCAR!" she cried. "Dev," she said. "Whats going on?" Dev shook his head sadly.
"Another one is about to join us."
Dylan roared, putting an autonomous shadow-blade through the man behind him. In a fit of rage, he took control and through the agrressor out into the open street with his powers. He was about to cloak, but from behind another assailant kicked him in the back of the knee, forcing him down and taking his arms behind him. Dylan struggled, fighting as he felt metal slide around his wrists. Opening his palms out behind him, he tried to force a blast of light.
Nothing came. Panic set in.
His attacker kicked him unconcious, and shoved his limp body into the trunk of the car.
"DYLAN!" Element screamed when they threw him in the car. He was a bloody mess, and she tried to shake him awake.
(Ok. I guess Dylan's in the back seat.)
Dylan's mind rebooted. Well, at least, it tried.
The swift kick to the head hadn't helped much. Everything in his head was scrambled, and his vision was blurred to hell. So when he finally opened his eyes, it was Avery he saw looking down on him.
"Avery?" He whispered, voice gone, "how are you… what?"
He blinked a few times, and his vision slowly corrected. Element looked down, a smirk on her face, yet an underlay of concern in her eyes. Dylan pulled the corners of his mouth down, but didn't speak further. He sat up, trying to sort out the rest of his thoughts. Anger boiled within.
"Calm down." Element snapped when Dylan began to get antsy. "You were just knocked out." Dev walked over and kneeled beside him. ( Its a very large truck! )
"Hey." he said.
Dylan stared as the other guy came closer. As his vision continued to straighten at length, he noticed sandy brown hair, forest green eyes, and freckles on the new face staring back at him. He squinted a bit more, and then recognition dawned in his eyes.
"Devrin Fair? For real? I thought you were out of the country, man!" Dylan offered his best brotherly hug for being in cuffs, "I thought you'd gone to study phaze systems in Britain. What brought you back here?"
(Where is here, exactly?)
(They're in a truck, I guess.)
"Avery, Dylan seems to have been captured," an Australian voice sounded in Avery's ears.
"Crap," she muttered. "Well, where are Vaughn and Element?"
"Vaughn appears to be with the young boy from yesterday, and Element seems to be with Dylan, moving quickly."
"Great. Just great. Now, can you get me to Vaughn?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good," Avery said, running to the back of the warehouse. "Then come get me."
The silver Mustang quickly appeared at her side, and the driver's door opened for her. She jumped in, and Oscar drove to Vaughn's location.
