Champion Idea Teaser (Story)

The storm crackled and boomed overhead as I raced through the filthy Zaun alleyways, hoping to lose my pursuers before the call of the power above me became too strong. The storm was already luring me in – I could feel the familiar pull towards the center, the heart of the fierce clouds, rain, lighting and thunder that I could only answer to. If these foolish men were still chasing me when I reached the height of the storm’s strength …

They would be defenseless.

I turned my head as I rounded a corner to check if the men were still chasing me, and nearly froze. There were more! Originally, I’d only had three men after me, but they must have called for help, since I was so fast inside the storm’s reach.

I shook my head to help clear my thoughts and kept running, picking up my pace. If my pursuers started to catch up to me …

No, they wouldn’t. I would make it to the center in time.

Urging my legs to run faster, I felt the finish line before I saw it. The clouds were circling around one particular spot above me – at the dead end of the alley I was currently racing down.

Sometimes I think the weather likes to taunt me, and this was no exception. Now I was definitely trapped, and would have to fight my way out if the men didn’t back off.

Not that I couldn’t.

I quickly positioned myself underneath the roiling cloud circle, turning to face the foolish mortals who dared chase me. My true form lurked just beneath my human skin, longing to show itself. I held that urge in check while I surveyed my would-be attackers. They had no weapons I could see, except for one man who had a gun hidden in his back pocket. I discerned that due to the way he stood with one hand behind him, as if holding the grip of his weapon calmed him.

Foolish men. They see a lone girl and think they can easily take advantage of her. Well, I would have to teach them a lesson about that.

“I’m only going to give you one warning.” My voice echoed loudly through the alley, startling two of the men. “Staying here will mean certain death. Leaving might guarantee your survival. So I suggest you leave. Now.”

One of the men – the first one to chase me, I believe – merely laughed.

“You new to our city, flower? Girls don’t walk alone here, and those who are stupid enough to do so … get what they deserve.”

He must have expected me to start cowering, but I stood straight and tall, almost hoping he’d start the fight. And he did, lumbering towards me with his intent burning within his eyes.

But he never got close. A lone bolt of lightning crashed down from the heavens, instantly vaporizing the fool. The rest of the men jumped back, now worried, but likely just thinking it a lucky strike. But one of my pursuers, a young man in the back of the group, regarded me in fear. He knew what I was.

And as that thought raced through my mind, he turned and ran, darting down the alleyway faster than I’d expected.

He was quick; I’ll give him that. But my second strike was within a split second, presenting no opportunity for him to react before a lightning bolt sheared him in half, instantly turning his body to ashes.

By now the men knew the lightning wasn’t a coincidence. All of them wore the same mask of fear now, and I knew my time was up. Kill or be killed – that was what my mother told me before she died.

“Lucky shot,” I shrugged, before revealing my true form. The human skin vanished, replaced by a translucent layer that currently was the color of the storm clouds. My green irises and black pupils were overcome by sparks of lightning, bringing full clarity along with my storm-sense, which told me the clouds above me were ready to rain down hellfire on the mortals cowering before me. A rogue bolt of lightning arced towards me, and when it struck, it conformed to my body, running the length of my arms and legs to finally settle at my wrists as sparking bracelets of death.

The lone man with the gun pulled out his weapon and fired directly at my chest. But the lightning condensed around my wrists wove together, blocking the would-have-been fatal attack – and shocking the fool for good measure. A third body crumbled to ashes.

The remaining pursuers, their only armed companion defeated, turned to run, but I was too fast for them. Two bolts struck the ground beyond them and wove together to form an impenetrable wall. The fastest man was the unluckiest – he was caught directly between the closing gap, instantly fried. The next man hit the wall running – also ashes.

“And then there were six,” I muttered under my breath before unleashing a blast of energy that struck the mortal farthest from me before splitting into two and forming a circle around three more men. Only one managed to dive out of the danger zone before it erupted, and the two men caught within it were instantly vaporized.

The last three men standing never had a chance before the clouds opened up and rained down a storm of lightning, obliterating the alley before me. All that was left when the storm ceased were measly piles of ashes.

I released my true form and shoved it back underneath my human guise, and thanked the storm above me for its assistance. I felt a question before I completely disconnected from my storm-sense, however.

Why?

“Because they killed my mother,” I replied, despite the fact that the storm could likely no longer understand me. “And as her only child, it is my duty to avenge her.”

Then I strode down the alleyway and vanished into the darkness, leaving the remnants of my slaughter behind me.

Thanks for reading!