Forum Thread

Two teenagers slowly walked down the road, shivering against the cold winter air. The road was dimly lit by the flickering lampposts, and it was eerily quiet. One of the teenagers stopped abruptly, and her companion turned to look at her.

"Kinzie, you know we can't stay here in the dark," Her companion reminded her.

"It's s-s-so cold. We've been running for days. Can't we rest even for a little bit, Mike? I'm tired," Kinzie whimpered.

Mike took her by the arm, and gently pulled her. "We're all tired. But if we stop, they'll find us."

"C-can't I just make some fire at least?" Kinzie pulled one of her gloves off, and a flame sputtered to life in her hand.

"Kinzie, no!"

Alarms began to blare all around them, and black cars zoomed out of nowhere, surrounding the two. Mike took hold of Kinzie's hand again, squeezing it. She knew what that squeeze meant. A tear fell from her eye, dropping to the ground.

And as the Fist of the Scientific's cronies approached them, Kinzie removed the glove from her free hand. With a defiant scream, Kinzie manipulated her body heat, making flames circle her and Mike. Mike had thrown off one of his gloves, and he raised the hand that wasn't holding on to Kinzie's. The ground began to tremble, and walls of stone rose out of the road, pushing the men back. The flames rose even higher, and the previously cold winter air had grown uncomfortably warm.

"We'll go down fighting!" Mike shouted over all the noise, letting go of Kinzie and throwing off his winter jacket and hat.

"Second that!" Kinzie shouted, throwing her hat and jacket to the fire. Their belongings no longer mattered. Death had come to claim them. Both teenagers turned to each other, their eyes locking.

"You better marry me, dead or alive, heaven or hell," Kinzie stated matter-of-factly.

A smile found its way onto Mike's face. "No arguments there," He said, leaning in.

Their lips touched, and a shield of stone and fire completely shrouded the entire road. Cars exploded, screams were heard, and their pursuers died one by one in the explosion. A lone black car managed to escape, and it watched the chaos from afar.

"May God have mercy on your cursed souls," A man murmured, raising the car window.

Name: Kinzie McCallahan
Age: 17
Savvy: Manipulating heat energy

Name: Michael Coldstone
Age: 17
Savvy: Manipulating any form of rock

The man mentally crossed off their names in his list. The hunt had only begun.

5 years after the events of "Scumble"....

The news was buzzing with reports of a tremendous explosion in the middle of New York City. Hundreds dead, and thousands injured. The government claims it is a terrorist attack, but there has been no evidence found to confirm this.

18-year-old Ledger Kale scowled as his not-so-little sister Fedora snatched his coffee mug. "I was drinking that!" He protested.

The twelve year old mischievous girl leaped away before her brother could grab hold of the mug. With a irritated sigh, Ledger splayed his hand, snatching the mug from her.

"Nooooo fair! Mom, Ledger's using his savvy again for personal gain!" Fe wailed. Fe's sixth grade teacher was a firm believer in not using your talents for personal gain.

Dinah Kale looked at her two children from across the room, shaking her head. "Fe, stop bothering your brother. He's only here one day a week," She gave Fedora her savvy smile.

Struggling to resist her mother's puppeteer powers, Fedora slumped down on the couch, pouting. Ledger suppressed a triumphant grin. His savvy was quite useful; being able to break things apart and build them again. Especially metal. He glanced down at his mug, which had a metal hold. He shrugged and was taking a sip when his phone rang. He set down his coffee before answering.

"Ledge!" It was Sarah Jane Cabot, Ledge's current girlfriend.

"SJ? What happened?" Ledge immediately asked, concerned. When SJ used that tone, something serious had happened.

"You've seen the news right? Explosion right in the heart of New York City?" SJ inquired rapidly, her voice lacking her usual enthusiasm when discussing the news.

"Yeah. It interrupted Fe's cartoons," Ledge replied.

"Ooooh, is that SJ? Can I talk to her?" The aforementioned girl said excitedly.

Ledge shushed her and continued to listen. "Bad news. It wasn't the terrorists. It was one of us."

Ledge froze, his heart seemingly stopping for a moment. When he finally regained some control over his vocal chords, he croaked out, "What?"

"Eleven year old boy named Isaiah Smith. Savvy father, lives with his mother. Parents out of wedlock. His savvy was unlocked too early," SJ frantically explained.

"Oh God. If the other reporters get a hold of this-" Ledge didn't finish the thought. It was way too sudden and frightening.

"You don't need to worry about them. I wrote an article on it. What we need to be worry about is that private organization that's been tracking and attacking savvy people," SJ assured him.

SJ's savvy was that she could write anything - be it about aliens making pies or the end of the world - and anyone who read it would believe it. She didn't just pursue a career in journalism for her own interests - it helped the savvy population to stay hidden. Ledge was relieved only for a moment, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Have they caught anyone?"

SJ hesitated only for a moment before speaking. "Whole family brutally murdered. Their house was burned, and their other relatives were hunted down as well, savvy or not. Their daughter might have been taken. Chinese family in England, dead. Missing daughter as well. And a little too convenient car crash in Japan. Missing son. A somewhat suspicious fire killed another family. Two teenagers unaccounted for."

"My God," was all Ledger could manage.

"We do have a lead though. Kinzie McCallahan and Michael Coldstone. Remember those two?" SJ continued.

"Yeah. Fire and earth manipulation. Girlfriend and boyfriend, lived somewhere in Kansas. Why? Has anything happened to them too?"

"What was left of their bodies was found in the middle of a road in Nebraska. We found other bodies. Men wearing black clothing. Black cars. The two killed themselves in the process of getting rid of them," SJ's voice was muffled, as if she was holding back tears.

Fedora let out a shriek as the coffee mug shot across the room, smashing into pieces against the wall. Ledger exhaled before speaking again. "The government is involved?"

"No. I managed to get some info. It's a private heath organization working on various cures for different kinds of diseases. It seems like they have a secret agenda," SJ said, anger washing over her words.

"Any more bad news?" Ledger asked shakily.

"There is some good news, actually. Remember the Aaronsons from Wisconsin? The ones who manage the portal network?"

"Yeah."

"They've managed to track down some of the missing kids. They're currently residing in a hidden location only accessible by the portals."

"Damn. Didn't know Agatha and Garrett were that good," Ledger whistled. "Anything else?"

"Yes. We're going on a date. That restaurant in front of our flat," SJ said simply, hanging up.

Ledger flushed bright pink at their secret code. Fe saw his face and squealed. "MOM! LEDGER'S THINKING NAUGHTY THOUGHTS!"