Chapter 5.3: Darkness Displaced

Darkness and shadow dominated the entire cafeteria, enshrouding even the light that came in from outside through the windows. The only thing anybody could see now was the occasional fire breathing from one of the mutants in the other side of the hall, and the bioluminescent bodily fluids of Nathan Rossi, which seemed to be shine despite the application Jeremiah Powell's powerful umbrakinesis. The man and his psychic girlfriend then walked across the darkened room, ignoring the vain attempts of their younger adversaries in trying to attack them in the middle of the shadows.

At this point, there wasn't much anybody could do anymore; Jeremiah had all but blocked their vision; there was just no way to shoot anything at him, or Andrea without risking hitting or killing the unpowered individuals that were still frozen in place by her psychic control. And knocking her her out would only cause the people to panic in the darkness, and even more chaos will ensue... but it was not like teenagers think logically. Muffled cries could be heard as new batches of shadow creatures crawled out of every nook, cranny, and crevice, with some appearing under the tables. They formed from the void itself, as if they were made of pure shadow. And yet, if someone were to strike them down, they would seem to be flesh and blood anyway. First, they took the boy that could breath fire, shutting his mouth shut with what seemed to be a bunch of tape, which would be a crudely effective tool in making sure he won't be able to use his ability. He could be heard trashing on the floor as he was dragged away into the light by the creatures of shadow, who now seemed to be unaffected by the lights outside. Whether it was because Jeremiah Powell was incredibly powerful and thus was able to sustain them, or if they were more like summons out of a other dimension, that was yet to be determined...

Ray couldn't see anything. Nor could Nikolai, just like everyone else. However... not all was lost.

Ray was a telekinetic. He had the ability to move objects with his mind... but that was not all. He was also capable of sensing objects and entities within a certain radius around himself, which is how he is able to use his telekinesis. So far, he has usually just used it on things he could see... but if only...

"Get off me, damn it!" Nikolai blasted several shadow creatures off his himself with a wave of dimensional energy, turning them into ashes as the energies of the fabric of space permeated through their entire forms in a destructive cascade of degradation. However, just as he had removed the pack of the creatures with his blast, a pair of the things surprised him from behind; obviously, he did not see them coming, as Jeremiah's umbrakinesis had made sure to tie that loose end. "Chyort-" was all he managed to say as the pair tied up restrained his hands with their own. With his hands restrained, he was going to be unable to channel his powers... no blasts, no portals, no nothing. Just a regular kid...

"Damn it." Caitlin was faring a little better, as in an ironic twist of fate, some of Nathan's blood was still on the table that he had collapsed on; she had covered his wound with ice, but it was still transparent and his bleeding was still visible from the outside, affording her a bit of eyesight, even if it was in a short range. He was knocked out cold, and probably wasn't going to wake up... which meant it fell to Caitlin to keep him from getting dragged off like the telepathic triplet sisters from earlier.

A shadow creature screeched as it charged towards her, only to be impaled by an ice pillar that she summoned. Another tried to stalk her from the back, but a blast of cold wind and ice turned it into a popsicle, ready for consumption by giants. A third lunged at Caitlin with mouth open wide. It was also screeching like a bat, and she quickly killed it with an ice sword that she conjured. With a moment of respite presenting itself, she looked down towards the still unconscious Rossi, and began shaking him up in attempt to rouse Nathan from his ill timed sleep. "Hey, sleeping beauty, get up!"

No response.

She shook him even harder, though she was still as careful as she could, as the kid had a bad gash on his arm. Finally, this time, he woke up with a gasp. "What the hell?" Nathan grunted as he got up rather painfully. "Didn't I shine so hard a while ago?"

"Yes, and the dude that did this made it darker." Caitlin then froze a charging shadow creature into the ground, encasing it in a block of ice. "It's Jeremiah and Andrea Powell. I should have realized it sooner."

"That... crazy couple that did the Ishimura Cruise Ship hostage crisis?" Nathan got off the table, a sphere of light shining on either of his hands as he got ready to fight again. "Weren't they arrested by the FBI?"

"Well they're out now, and we gotta save our friends... can you shine me a light toward there?" Caitlin pointed towards the door, which still had the faint outline of the light outside the cafeteria. "That's where they're dragging the captives."

Nathan nodded. "I can do that..."

He then shined a beam akin to that of a rather large flashlight, pointing it towards the faint outline of light. There was a darkened blind spot, which was were their attackers were hiding in. And... there was Ray, seemingly concentrating. Nikolai, meanwhile, was getting dragged away despite struggling very, very hard.

"Oh, you pricks." Caitlin grumbled as she gathered every ounce of strength she had, forming several slabs of ice. She then threw them full force towards the blind spot... and nothing happened. The ice slabs simply tumbled down to the ground, sliding rather unceremoniously.

That was a miss. Her friends were still in trouble-

"Ray, help!"

Ray's eyes did not open. Rather, he stayed where he was, standing defiant in front of the mad couple. He struck his hand forward, and squeezed.

Immediately, the darkness dissipated. The shadow creatures cried out as they all turned to ashes, and then into nothing.  The void was quickly overtaken by the lights of the overhead bulbs, which would then reveal what had just happened. There was Jeremiah Powell, his hands on his neck as Ray's own hand was shaking and tightening an invisible noose.

Andrea immediately sprung into action, turning towards Ray in an effort to overturn his telekinetic hold over her husband.

Nothing. Her psychic control was rebuffed, as if there was a wall around his mind. Ray remained motionless, unemotional, with only his hand doing any movement.

Jeremiah went limp. Ray then let him go, his body dropping unto the floor with a loud thud. He was still breathing, but the deed was done. Their operation had been compromised... but not everything was a failure.

As the choking ended, Ray felt a headache, wincing in pain as he touched his forehead for a moment before dropping to the floor as well. Fortunately, Nikolai, who was now free from the shadow creatures' restraint, caught him from falling headfirst.

"Well..." Andrea Powell scoffed. "That was fun, kids. See you in hell."

A bright flash of blue light erupted near her as another person came in; a teleporter. It was an adult white man, with neatly combed hair and a light brown coat. He wore black framed glasses, and seemed to forget to shave. There wasn't much to see, though, as he just grabbed the Powells and left in a flash.

As soon as they had left, everyone else, who was frozen due to Andrea Powell's psychic control, went back to their senses. They would all feel a bad headache, but their expressions at what they saw right after was nothing short of shocked. There was damage on the floor and some of the tables, though thankfully, no one was hurt.

Something else was wrong, though. A quick check would soon reveal what it was; six of the school's ten Neu-Volke kids were missing, gone it was seemed to be an instant.

To the remaining four, though, it was not an instant. There was a fight... and this was just the beginning.