Two days had passed since Angelo, Hale, and Ryan had driven through the terrified city. The farther they drove from civilization, the quieter the world became—but never safer. The creatures still followed them, steady and relentless.
Angelo's body had begun to knit itself back together. The constant pain dulled; the bone-deep aches faded; even the gash in his palm had almost closed. His powers, however, remained faint—barely a fifth of what they used to be. Every night he pushed himself anyway, experimenting, practicing, relearning everything from the ground up.
Under a canopy of stars one quiet night, Angelo trained alone in a clearing near the camp. A faint, unstable glow flickered in his palms—an uneven fireball struggling to hold its shape. He tried ice. Fire. Raising a small pillar from the ground. Nothing held. Everything came out fragile, unstable, a pale whisper of what he once commanded.
The fire sputtered out. Ice shattered instantly. The earth refused to rise. The most he could manage was a small fireball that burned for only a moment.
He kept trying, pushing, coaxing it to grow—
until a soft zip from behind broke his focus.
Ryan stepped out of the tent, rubbing his left eye.
"What are you doing?" he asked around a yawn.
Angelo turned slightly. "Training. Trying to figure out what still works in this state."
Ryan walked closer, squinting through the dim light.
"Mind if I watch?"
"Sure," Angelo said with a small nod. "Just… don't get too close. Things might explode unexpectedly."
Ryan snorted and took a seat on a nearby rock, watching with sleepy curiosity as Angelo cycled through elemental combinations.
After a minute, Ryan spoke up. "You ever try using fire and water together to make heavy mist? Could hide your position—maybe even mask your scent."
Angelo scratched his head. "I can't actually create water."
Ryan blinked. "But I saw you fill bottles with water."
Angelo gave an awkward smile. "Yeah, I can do that. But I can't create water outside a bottle."
His hand dropped to his side. "And the water in the bottle… it just fills itself on its own. I'm not really creating it."
Ryan let out a slow sigh. "You're like a paradox, you know that?"
Angelo kept the awkward smile. "Yeah. Grant said the same thing."
Ryan stood, thinking it over. "You can't create water… but you can create ice."
"Yeah," Angelo said, "but it keeps shattering before I can use it."
A spark lit in Ryan's eyes. "Then let it shatter. Make the ice in one hand and fire in the other. Keep the flame steady. Melt the ice as fast as you create it. That should give you water. Then—mist."
Intrigued, Angelo tried it.
Fire bloomed in one palm. Ice crystals formed in the other, breaking apart immediately. He created more, maintaining the rhythm—ice, shatter, ice—while the heat melted it all at once.
Steam hissed between his fingers, rising, thickening—
until a swirling mist rolled across the ground, veiling the clearing.
"Nice," Ryan said, genuinely impressed. "Tactical and dramatic."
Angelo smirked faintly. "Not bad. But mostly useless."
Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "Sure… but once you get your full strength back, you might find a real use for it. Am I wrong?"
Angelo watched the fog drifting around his feet.
"… You know what? There might actually be times when this comes in handy."
He turned to Ryan, a rare spark of excitement in his eyes.
"What else?"
Ryan's eyes lit up with the same spark of excitement Angelo had shown moments earlier. He thought for a beat, then asked, "Okay, I've got something… but first: can you create any element in the periodic table?"
Angelo shook his head. "No. Not all. Just a few. I can combine them, but it takes time and focus."
Ryan leaned forward. "What about… magnesium? Is that on the 'can do' list?"
"Yes," Angelo said. "In small amounts."
Ryan grinned. "Alright, imagine this. You toss a tiny fireball and ignite magnesium dust inside it. Boom. Flashbang-level brightness. Could blind a whole squad."
Angelo chuckled, then shook his head. "Wouldn't work. I can only generate materials close to my palms, not mid-air. Not in this state, anyway."
Ryan slumped in disappointment. "Bummer. Okay—what about your gun? Could you superheat the gunpowder inside the bullet and spike the output?"
Angelo raised an eyebrow. Intrigued. "That… might actually work."
He told Ryan to get to a safe distance and take cover.
Angelo pulled out his Desert Eagle, stepped into the clearing, and aimed at a tree some distance away. Tiny arcs of electricity flickered off the metal as he focused on the bullet's inner structure. Carefully, he manipulated the gunpowder, adding a volatile mix of elements that would erupt on impact. He reinforced the barrel with a thin lattice of hardened material.
Deep breath.
He pulled the trigger.
The shot cracked like thunder.
The bullet ripped through the trunk, splitting it clean in half.
The recoil nearly tore the gun from Angelo's grip, and the barrel glowed red-hot, hissing, a faint spiderweb of fractures creeping along its length.
Ryan scrambled out from behind cover. "WOW! Now that's what I was talking about!"
"What the hell was that?!" Hale shouted from the tent. She stormed out, half-armored, rifle in hand. "Are we under attack?!"
Angelo and Ryan could barely speak—they were laughing too hard from the adrenaline spike.
Hale's eyes narrowed, fury sparking. "You idiots! I thought we were getting ambushed!"
"Sorry!" Angelo wheezed. "Just—testing something new."
"If you two ever pull that again without warning me," she snapped, "I swear I will beat the living shit out of both of you."
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused, flinching like scolded schoolboys.
The next morning, as Nomad rumbled down the cracked highway, the three of them settled into a tense but quiet ride. Angelo and Ryan sat in the back while Hale kept her eyes locked on the road.
Angelo had his sidearm disassembled on his lap, examining the ruined barrel from the previous night's experiment.
Ryan winced. "Ahh, man… you loved this piece."
"Think you can patch it?" he asked, leaning closer.
Angelo smirked. "Watch."
He held the barrel, drew a slow breath. A faint red glow spread over the cracks, sealing them one by one until the metal smoothed out, flawless and cold once more.
"Boom," Angelo said with a satisfied nod. "Good as new."
Ryan's eyes widened. "That's awesome! You can just mod your weapons like it's nothing."
Angelo shook his head, tired. "Not exactly. That drained me more than I'd like. At my current strength, I need to pick my moments carefully."
From the driver's seat, Hale called back, her tone dry enough to sandpaper steel.
"Great. One Elias in the base wasn't enough—we brought a second one."
Ryan grinned smugly. Angelo chuckled.
Hale wasn't done. "And listen carefully," she warned, eyes flicking to them through the rearview mirror. "If either of you pull a stunt like last night without telling me first? Forget the monsters chasing us."
Her voice dropped into a threat.
"I'll kill you myself."
"Yes, ma'am," they said again in perfect unison—sheepish, but unable to hide their amusement.