You just wait Camz.

***

Ally groaned, sitting up straight on the couch and twisting her torso slowly. Pain radiated from the centre of her back, a dull throb turning into a slow burn at every movement. Standing up slowly, the girl made her way down the hall and into the bathroom, turning around and tugging her shirt off with a wince. Gathering her hair over one shoulder, Ally went up on her toes and peered into the round mirror at the damage.

The wound was ugly, turning a respectable portion of her tanned back into dark, angry open flesh. Rimmed red and still bleeding lightly, the injury looked to have no intention of healing soon.

"It's here."

Ally frowned, looking away from the mirror and down the empty hallway. A resounding thump of pain fired at the back of her head, causing the girl to lift a hand to her temple and briefly massage the area. "First a clown attack, now I'm hearing things." Ally migrated back to the couch and fell face first onto the worn cushions, resting her head in her hands.

"Are you ready?"

Jumping to her feet in shock, Ally staggered backwards towards the TV and let a series of thick roots emerge from the skin of her shoulder. Darker in colour and tougher than they'd been two years ago, the material coat the right half of her body like a layer of battle armor. "Who's there?" She demanded, another round of pain searing through her head and causing her to squeeze her eyes closed. The apartment was quiet, decorations hanging in the air and the sound of traffic on the streets below the only things keeping her aware. Her back began to throb, returning her to the couch in an attempt to catch her breath.

"We're ready."

"What's going on?" Ally looked around the empty room, furrowing her brow. "Hello?"

She was met with only an empty apartment, her head spinning and pain from the wound worsening further. Outside, the night sky was starting to darken even more, and a swirling layer of grey clouds were beginning to circle the city's horizon. Making her way out onto the balcony, Ally noticed a sharp drop in temperature and an uneven gusty wind that seemed to be coming from the ocean.

"Those three better not cause any trouble." She mumbled to herself, watching the sky twist and turn until a light shower of rain broke through the clouds. Turning around, Ally returned inside and found her way to the couch once again. Dropping her head against her arms again, the girl closed her eyes and let her mind wander off into a soundless sleep.

***

Dinah quickly became the immediate threat, advancing at a breakneck pace while a blazing orange light emerged in her pupils. The colour had developed steadily over the past year, turning her naturally dark eyes into a phenomenon from a science fiction novella. Watching as her body became cloaked in a thin layer of flame, I took a small step back and shifted all the weight I could to the balls of my feet.

The city at night was cooler than during the day; the vanishing sun taking with it a majority of Miami's raw heat and leaving behind empty humidity. Dinah's presence didn't help the situation as she drew near, the fire almost blinding as her hands closed around my arms. I felt a hot flash race down my back, stemming a burst of frustration and discomfort throughout my entire body.

"Shit." I wrenched myself away from her, staggering backwards only to feel a sharp, slicing pain fly up my spine and terminate at the base of my neck. Normani had snuck around me, and was crouched against the ice with her glossy weapons tacked against her arms. Whipping around, I applied a field of energy in her direction, sending the girl backwards while a vicious round of heat flew across my shoulder blades. Wincing, I stumbled forward, catching myself against the ice and spinning around to knock away Dinah's flying fists. Heat seared around me, the girl's internal body temperature rising to the point where getting too close to her skin resulting in an all too familiar burn. While the ice below began to melt, my legs suddenly stopped responding, and a freezing cold sensation begun to creep up the back of my calves.

"You got her Mani." Dinah stopped advancing, summoning the whip looped around her shoulder and lashing it against the ground. I looked down, grimacing at the ice that was crawling its way up my body.

"You're so fast Lauren." Normani's voice grew louder, and I glanced over my shoulder in time to see her stalk towards us. "It'd be a shame if that speed suddenly went away."

I lifted my hand, ready to send her flying away with a simple glare but was caught off guard when her own arm shot out and a sub-zero touch wrapped around my wrist. The same sensation that pained my lower legs was suddenly surging through me as Normani stepped closer, her body pressing close and arms winding around my motionless frame.

"So cold." I coughed, my breath visible in the warm air. "Mani..."

Normani chuckled, stepping backwards and cupping her hand against my cheek. The temperature was breathtaking, my body stiff and hands turning a ghostly white. "You know..." She mused. "One kiss and I can bring your body temperature down so low that your heart may stop."

"Hey, that'll give Camila two reasons to kick your ass." Dinah joked.

"Thanks Dinah."

I clenched my fists, turning my head away with a grimace and fighting to remain conscious. I placed my focus on the way the wind moved through Miami's palm trees, slow and gentle yet crisp from travelling for days over the ocean. Letting the soft current guide my mind, the clouds above us began to move.

"Mani, she's playing with the air currents again." Dinah had her eyes on the sky, which was turning a depressing shade of grey. "Be careful."

A light shower of glittering white electricity started to scatter through the clouds, small sparks jumping from one mass to the other. The wind picked up around us, and Normani took a small step backwards.

"Afraid?" I managed to murmur, looking the girl directly in the eye. Her own dark irises had turned an electric blue, and within them I could barely make out my own pitiful reflection. Face a drained grey and lips turning blue, the temperature was taking it's toll.

"Lightning Lauren?" Normani planted her feet shoulder width apart while Dinah readied her snake-like weapon. "Really?"

"It comes with the storm." I grinned, blasting away the ice that coated my legs and jumping backwards. Summoning the wind, energy began to funnel around the school while light raindrops dampened the cement roof. As my body slowly began to warm once again, I lurched forward and took off towards them. Dinah's whip snapped towards me, narrowly missing my shoulder then quickly recoiling back to graze my upper arm. I slid against the wet pavement, using a burst of air to propel me forward before flipping up and connecting my heel with her stomach as hard as I could. With a strangled grunt, Dinah went flying towards the edge of the roof, crashing into a metal railing.

Normani appeared in front of me, her impossibly sharp weapons sailing down towards my face as a cold gust of wind flew between us. Landing on my back, I grabbed her wrists before the ice could touch my skin and used the surrounding storm to send her careening backwards. Jumping to my feet, I then surrounded my body with a swirling sphere of cold air, building the pressure around me before sending it on the offensive in all directions. Dinah had her whip ready as the field approached her, using its brute force to cut through the wind before rushing forward and hurling herself between Normani and the current. The force knocked her backwards, both girls ending up in a pile at the rooftop's edge.

"Come on you two." I smirked, approaching them while guiding the wind around me. "Don't tell me that's all you've got?"

With a grimace, Normani got to her feet and turned her palms up. I watched as the raindrops that fell around her suddenly stopped moving freezing in mid-air before flying at me as tiny projectiles. Forced to bring my arms up and shield my face, I tensed as the sub-zero needles burrowed their way into my skin. On the other side of the roof, Normani had already prepped another cloud of frozen drops ready to fly.

I brought up a pocket of wind to deflect the projectiles, using it as cover to bolt towards her and throw a punch to her gut. Reflexes at the ready, Normani blocked my fist with the palm of her hand and yanked me forward, using her absurd flexibility to connect the heel of her foot with the centre of my back. I hit the ground, the air yanked from my lungs on contact with the wet pavement. Scrambling to my feet, I then jumped forward to avoid getting a frozen arm-scythe plunged into my spine and spun back around to block her fist. Deflecting a series of fast strikes from the girl, I focused on avoiding the blades on her arms while keeping the ice cold contact to a minimum.

"Now Dinah!" Normani shouted through the storm. I whipped around just in time to see a stream of bright red flame come flying towards us, fed by the wind and covered by clouds. Bringing my arms up at the last second, I glanced over my shoulder to see Normani's body encased in a layer of ice, a triumphant smile on her face while her fist connected with my ribcage and sent me directly into the line of fire. Body suddenly alive with raw heat, I fell to the rooftop and braced myself through the pain before the downpour dulled it away to ashes.

"Bet you wish you chose love triangle style now, huh Lauren?" Dinah walked over, her arms folded and whip coiled back around her shoulder. Collapsing on the cement, I turned onto my back and splayed my arms out, completely spent.

"Hey, go easy on her." Normani appeared on my other side. "If the two of you ganged up on me like that you'd probably kill me."

Barely able to hear them, I kept my eyes trained up on the sky, letting the rain pound down on my wounds and soothe the residual burn. A small bolt of lightning jumped from one sinister cloud to another, the sky flashing bright for only a second before returning to normal.

"I wonder if Camila knows?" Dinah had her eyes on the clouds as well, a small grin on her face.

I lifted my right arm up, tensing my fingers in a feeble attempt to reach out and grab the electricity. I wanted to pull it down and keep it grounded but it was too far away. It always seemed just a little too far away.

"She's not dead." Normani shook her head, placing her hand in mine and giving me a little tug. "C'mon, let's go back and dry off. I'm getting hungry."

The sudden sound of nails grinding down a chalkboard had me shooting up into a sitting position, a chill travelling down my spine and head swivelling around to find the source. A hint of movement on the edge of the roof caught my attention, only a few feet behind Dinah.

"Dinah, come here." I stood up, placing my hand on Normani's shoulder. "Mani, I need a weapon."

"What for?"

"There's something on the edge of the roof." I replied, the wind around us dying down as the storm began to subside. Dinah hurried around and stood on my right, uncurling her whip again. "We better get ready to run if it's a person."

"Here." Normani held out two rods of a familiar size and shape. "Be careful."

Accepting the weapons with thanks, I took a few small steps towards the roof's edge and squinted through the lack of light. Over the side of the roof, a long and bony hand appeared, grasping the ledge and digging a set of unpleasant fingernails into the concrete. I swore, spinning one of the icy weapons and blowing the girls behind me backwards even further.

Whatever monstrosity the hand belonged to began to emerge over the side, a hooded figure that looked to be only somewhat human. On it's body was a black hoodie and standard blue jeans that gave the creature just enough of a human touch to be highly unsettling. The hood shadowed any features of it's face, while in one hand was a dark stained butcher's knife.

"One of you get your phones out and take a picture of this thing!" I called behind me, backing up while the assailant started to lumber forward.

"Can it talk? Do you think it's friendly?" Dinah questioned back, fumbling with her phone.

"You know, I really don't think it's worth waiting around to find out!" I shouted, spinning one of my weapons and sending a sharp slice of air to stagger it backwards. The figure lifted it's head and released an inhuman screech, taking off towards me. I narrowed my eyes and sent one of Normani's ice constructs directly through it's chest and the other through the right shoulder while behind me, she summoned an uprising of ice from the wet pavement to render it motionless. I approached, using a short burst of air to blow it's hood back and get a look at its face.

Curiosity quickly turned to regret at the sight, a once-man, now imperfect blend of the supernatural and pure nightmare fuel. Skin a cracked ashen grey and eyes sunken deep into his head, he looked somewhat like a zombie that hadn't quite reached full maturity. There remained some defining features, dark hair, high cheekbones and eyes that seemed to glitter a milky brown.

"Can it talk?" Normani stepped forward to stand next to me, and I inadvertently lifted my arm to keep her from getting any closer. As if on cue, the man opened his mouth, unleashing into the air the sound of nails grinding against a chalkboard.

"Get the picture Dinah." I demanded, watching the blonde lift the device and snap a number of quick photos and give me a thumbs up. Accepting a razor sharp blade from Normani, I reeled back and sent it flying directly at the man's face. It lodged itself up the roof of his mouth, spearing through to the back of his head and appearing stained with a sickening black fluid. The man shuddered, his head tilting backward and body vanishing into a glittering white light. The ice crumbled, doing the same.

"So." Normani starting wringing out her hair. "That was a little gross. Can we maybe get back to the apartment before we get jumped again?"

"I wonder if it was the fighting that drew him here..." I pondered, glancing up at the sky again to see that the storm had come to a stop. A dull sting throbbed in my arms, the wounds from Normani's new rain bullet technique had a thin trickle of blood dripping down onto the rooftop pavement.

"Wonder all you want." Normani placed her hand on my shoulder. "You're still bleeding on top of an elementary school. Let's go home."

"You guys were right." I turned around and leaned on her shoulder as the three of us returned to the ground and headed home through the soggy neighbourhood. "This is starting to get real, I don't think denying it is going to do us any good."

"Denying what?" Dinah looked at me quizzically.

I sighed. "It's time to bring Camila back."

***

"It's time to bring Camila back!"

Dinah bounded through the door of the apartment, her whip sliding into the drawer by the front so it was out of sight. "Ally, did you hear me? It's time!"

"What?" Ally was still on the couch the way we had left her, the ice pack now on the floor next to her and open wound as angry as ever. "That was quite a storm you three whipped up. Was it fun?"

"It was, until we got all soggy and saw a monster." Normani muttered, ripping her jacket off and tossing it to the back of the couch. "Apparently this city is notorious for going from fun to crazy in a matter of minutes."

"What happened?" Ally frowned. "Are you all okay?"

My heart rate began to increase, anxiety setting in as I fumbled through the clutter on the coffee table for my phone. "We saw another one of them." I informed her quickly. "Something that looked somewhat like the thing you and I saw on the street that night. It was more human this time around though, I don't know if that's better or worse."

"Wait, really?" Ally was sitting straight up now, her eyes wide. "Did it hurt you guys? Did it attack?"

"Of course it didn't hurt us." Normani placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, forcing her to relax back against the couch and feign any strain to the wounds on her back. "We had Lauren with us. She can literally control the world."

"I can't control the world." I muttered, finally finding the device and unlocking it. "Dinah, I need you to send Mike the picture of that thing right now. Show Ally as well."

"On it." Dinah had removed her jacket as well, her own device emerging from her pocket. "And by the way, you can shift air currents and create storms. Explain to me how that's not controlling the world."

"I may be able to create a storm." I turned to her, dipping my chin down with a smirk. "But I can't control it. That's more Camila's neck of the woods."

"Dang, imagine how strong the two of you could get once you start to work together again." Normani seated herself on the edge of the couch. "One half of the ship can create storms, and the other half can control them. You'd make the best super villains in the world."

"Camila can make storms as well." I muttered, scrolling through my contacts until I landed on the familiar name. "I'll be right back, talk amongst yourselves."

Once in the bedroom, I dialled the number and held the device up, holding my breath.

"Hello? Lauren?"

"Mike." I breathed in relief. "I'm so sorry for having to bother you at this hour."

"It's no trouble at all, don't worry. We actually just got back from a lovely dinner, turns out the restaurants in Seattle are a lot better than advertised on Yelp."

I smiled. "That's good to hear. How is everything going with the move?"

"It's tiring." The man chuckled. "The boy's got a lot more junk than I thought he did. If there's anything I've learnt, it's that five years of teenagehood really lets you jam an unnatural amount of crap under your bed. Clothes, books, lots of treasures."

"He must be enjoying it."

"He's excited." Mike sounded satisfied. "It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but he's promised frequent visits for holidays and lots of laundry. I'm glad to see he's eager to be independent." There was a small pause, before the man continued. "On that note, the boy may need a stern call or two from you once and a while to make sure he doesn't step too far out of line."

I nodded to myself. "Oh trust me, he's going to get more than an earful." I bit my lip nervously. "But unfortunately, this call is about something else."

"Yes of course." Mike chuckled. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes and no." I headed over to the window and looked out to the glittering city below. "I think... it's time to bring Camila back."

"Camila..." The man's voice trailed off. "My goodness, it's been about two years now hasn't it?"

"Yes, and also..." I hesitated. "The girls and I have been... seeing things around the city. Unnatural things. Dangerous things."

"You have?" Mike's voice turned from intrigued to concerned. "Like what? When?"

"The first time was a day or two ago, Ally and I were heading home, it was getting into the late evening. There was something wedged between two shops, in a small alley that was blocked off by a iron gate."

"What did it look like?"

"It looked..." I furrowed my brow. "Withered. Dead. It may have been moving, but it wasn't alive. We were at a soccer game this morning, and something emerged from a storm drain and attacked Ally. She didn't get a good look at it,