Order & Chaos

The two men appeared in a glimmer of light, like a bright blink. Nothing, then there they were. They lingered at the head of the train cart inspecting their surroundings then they marched. They were well dressed, as expected of Enforcement Agents. They brushed past passengers with their eyes leering ahead until they locked onto their target like missiles.

They halted a few feet away from the man and stared. The target was a tall lanky man with pale skin, acne ridden and with a balding scalp covered with a dandruff littered beanie. He scratched his patchy sideburns then tightened his hold on the black leather bag in his lap.

The Agent known as Order was amber skinned with long dark dreadlocks tied in a ponytail and in a navy blue suit.

“Henrik Taetel,” Order said and Henrik perked up alongside other passengers. “By Order of the Elemancer Enforcement Agency, you are under arrest. Comply and come with us without resistance. Order will remain,” he said.

Henrik looked to him, then to the man behind Order. The man was beefy with a muscular frame compacted under a jet black suit. He was ebony skinned with a dark trimmed beard. Chaos.

Chaos, raised an eyebrow.

Good, Order thought. Simple, effective. In and out with him, just as planned. The previous snatch and grabs always led to disaster, usually because of Chaos. The passengers around them awed at them. It's not often to see Enforcement Agents in person and when you do, it means one thing.

Order took a step forward and pulled out slim platinum cuffs. They glowed green to indicate the nullification effect was active. One snap around the wrists and Henrik would be powerless. Henrik eyed the cuffs, looked back to the two agents then grinned. Mismatched and grunge stained teeth stretched to his ears. Then his eyes glinted. Henrik was a level one Hypnos Elemancer, Order thought. Can control one mind at a time and within a certain distance. First indication his powers are active is the glinting of the irises, like bright antennas finding the signal to another brain. Which means…

Behind them, a passenger’s eyes glinted with energy. They became a drone and stormed towards the two agents, stopped and with a long windup sent a hard hook into the back of Chaos’ neck. The passenger bounced backwards and fell to the ground unconscious.

Chaos raised an eyebrow. He was unphased. He turned and inspected the fallen passenger as his body changed. A tiny ripple of crimson energy travelled from Chaos’ neck, across his body then disappeared.

Order and Chaos exchanged a glance. Order sighed.

“This is your last warning.”

Henrik jumped to his feet and alongside him three others stood. Two were twins in all yellow and another was a tall man with a dark beard and a gray suit. Order and the man locked eyes. His eyes…he has no irises.

Henrik backed away and the Twins stood in front of him. Them and the man in gray’s eyes were normal. No glinting, no control, Order thought. His heart sank at the realization.

“Scrapers,” Chaos said. Behind Order, the agent smiled. Hired Elemancers. Extremely illegal, Chaos thought. Means one thing…

Chaos brushed past Order and cracked his neck. He stared daggers into Henrik right as another passenger hopped out of their seat and stood up to face him. He was five feet tall and framed like a child. What distinguished him from a little delinquent however was when he took off the hood of his moss puffer jacket and looked up at Chaos with a grimace. He was bald with thick dark eyebrows and waxy tan skin.

Henrik’s grin grew. “Sorry gentleman. Best to be safe, never sorry. They’re all yours Giant,” he said. He saluted then he, alongside the other three left the cart alongside the passengers around them. Confusion turned to panic. People flocked in both directions out of the cart, tripping and stumbling over one another.

Behind The Giant, passengers struggled to slide the doors to the exit open. Order looked ahead at them. Henrik locked it. Through the window to the next cart, Henrik winked and his eyes glinted. Footsteps rushed behind Order. He turned just in time to duck a punch from a passenger, now a drone to Henrik’s control. The drone swung wildly at Order and he ducked the sluggish blows. He caught the drone by the arm, locked it, then took him to the ground in seconds. He had the drone in a headlock and out cold in a moment.

Order turned and faced his partner. Chaos and The Giant were in a staredown. The “Giant” took a step forward.

“Take another step and I’ll punt you,” Chaos said.

The Giant smiled, then transformed. A mass of rose colored energy flooded out of his chest and enveloped him. A ball of light wrapped around The Giant, morphing around him until Order and Chaos looked up to the ceiling at a man wrapped in an armor of psionic energy. Large gauntlets and spiked pauldrons made from raw mental energy enveloped the Scraper.

“Why don’t I punt you?” The Giant said in a distorted voice. The Giant raised a hand and swung at the duo. Order grabbed Chaos’ shoulder then blinked away.

The duo reappeared back at the start of the cart.

“The little guy is a Psimancer,” Chaos said. Order nodded. One of the most diverse, he thought. Able to construct things out of pure mental energy.

Chaos took a step forward. The more focused they are, the stronger their constructs…

“Wait,” Order said, but Chaos kept walking.

The Giant and Chaos marched towards each other. Then a jog until it was a full on sprint. The Giant roared right as the two collided. The train cart exploded in a shockwave. Windows shattered and dust danced in the air as the two forces collided. The two were locked in place, hands locked into one another. Their feet sunk further into the metal floor, teeth gritted and eyes filled with rage.

Chaos chuckled then The Giant grew.

Order sighed. Especially when they’re angry.

The Giant’s armor shifted. Spikes and sharp blades ran down his arms and sparks shuddered off of him. He compressed Chaos to the floor until Chaos was on his knees. Sweat trickled down Chaos’ face and his bones cracked. A wave of energy rippled across Chaos’ body and sunk into him. The Giant’s hands grew, until they enveloped Chaos hands and he squeezed. Chaos let out a grunt. The Giant squeezed harder.

Chaos smiled. Waves of crimson energy rippled across his body, pounds of kinetic energy sucking into him. He called it a “charge.” The bigger the charge, the stronger he becomes, Order thought. Waves of kinetic energy swam in between his sinews, around his tendons and joints. He raised to a kneel, then a squat, then he stood and pressed his arms up. The Giant was a hydraulic press, sending more force down on him, more charge, more energy. Chaos stood and his eyes widened; his smile grew.

Finally.

Order jogged towards them. He slipped out of his coat pocket a long metallic cylinder. He clicked it and it extended to arms length and with a twist, it parted into two twin batons. The thing about Chaos’ charge, he thought.

Chaos’ smile dropped. His face twitched and tiny shards of crimson energy cascaded across his body like raindrops. He can only absorb so much before he glitches out.

His arm jolted and he was back on his knees, then a leg jolted and he was upwards towards the ceiling. Random body parts sprung and seized with kinetic energy. The Giant stumbled, then shifted. His hands morphed into morningstars, trapping Chaos’s hands. He flung Chaos to the ceiling then slammed him back down.

Order blinked then reappeared again beside the Giant with a flying kick and disappeared again. He appeared, over and over, a crack of his baton, then a leg sweep. Each successive attack on the Giant did nothing but annoy him. The Giant lifted Chaos and flung him around just as Order blinked in front of his flailing partner and the duo collided.

They stumbled down the cart and rolled to a stop. Chaos struggled to his feet, glitching until he grabbed a pole and it glowed. The pole melted and Chaos stood.

If he glitches, he would have to release the kinetic energy into something.

He struggled into his coat pocket and pulled out two twin black chains. He wrapped them around his fists and sent a charge of crimson energy into them.

The Kinetic Chains. They glowed red hot as he raised them. Order nodded.

“Psimancers need to focus,” Order said. “No focus, no powers.”

“So we divide,” Chaos said.

“Then conquer,” Order said.

The duo paced towards the Giant.

Chaos lunged forward, a charge of energy that catapulted him towards the Giant. The Giant opened a psionic hand and a long rod of energy morphed into a sword. Just before the two collided, Order blinked in front of Chaos, cracked the Giant with his batons, then disappeared. Chaos ducked under the Giant’s massive blade, then snared him with a kinetic chain. He tugged and the two struggled in a tug of war.

Order blinked again, a kick this time, disappeared, then appeared behind The Giant. Another kick, a crack of his baton, then a rib shot, over and over. He blinked all across the Giant as Chaos kept the massive Psimancer in place. The Giant let one arm go off the chain and another sword appeared in his hand. He swung wildly at the air, his blade whistling past Order’s face.

Order blinked mid-air, and reappeared towards the ceiling. With a thought, the gravity shifted around him. His speed slowed to a stop, and like pressing rewind on a remote, he reversed direction. He flipped midair then his feet clung to the ceiling like magnets, He was upside down, swinging at the Giant from above. Like a chamber, he trapped the gravity around him in a field of his manipulation.

With a final tug, The Giant yanked Chaos towards him and his sword shifted into a large fist that slammed Chaos to the ground.

“I’ll squash you like a-” he said, before Chaos suddenly shot upwards with a charged uppercut into his psionic jaw.

The Giant stumbled backwards and the psionic armor around him shifted, like a ripple in water.

Loss of focus means loss of structural integrity, Order thought. Divide.

Order blinked again, back and forth around the Giant. A baton here, a dropkick there, each attack only annoying the Giant, but left him open from a hard elbow, a heavy blow, a hook and a kinetic charged fist from Chaos. Chaos sent him back into Order’s direction and Order ping-ponged the Giant back to him. Chaos snared the Giant with a kinetic chain around the neck and pulled. The Giant’s armor rippled and cracks appeared.

Order blinked again, chambered himself on the ceiling and launched himself towards the Giant head first. Just before contact, he blinked again, blinked in front of the Giant and slammed into him.

The Giant’s armor cracked open wide at the head. Chaos sent another fist into the Giant and started pummeling him. Each hit dented the psionic armor further until it shattered, like candied glass. The psionic energy faded and “The Giant” fell to the ground. Blood streamed out of his nose as the two agents stood over him. He raised a hand, but before he could speak, Order tapped him.

A chamber of gravity cocooned around the Giant and he fell face flat on the ground. The gravity around him betrayed him, pressing down on him.

“Conquer,” Chaos said.

***

The Twins were olive skinned, with blonde highlights that matched their outfits. They sat across from each other, one scrolling through her phone, while the other fiddled with a metallic yoyo.

Order and Chaos inspected the two in the vacant subway cart. They shared a look. The scroller wore bright blue Chuck Taylors and when she looked up, she raised an eyebrow. She spoke to her sister, in pink shoes, in Spanish. Order glanced at Chaos.

“Do you…?” Order said.

“They think we’re handsome,” Chaos said. He grinned. “They think we’re handsome.”

Order rolled his eyes. The duo took a step towards the Twins. The duo took another step. Blue Shoes scrolled through her phone while Pink Shoes’ yoyo lit up with light.

Order and Chaos took another step. Then another. Nothing. They were a few feet from the Twins when Pink Shoes spoke.

“Ahora?”

Blue Shoes looked up from her phone. “El grande es lindo. Me lo llevo.”

Pink Shoes sighed. “Fine.”

They were a blur. Blue Shoes pounced on Chaos. Pink Shoes flung her Yoyo and snared Order’s neck. With a snap of her fingers, electricity travelled from her hand and up to the Yoyo. Order seized as sharp pain lashed across his body. He jetted out his hand and gravity shifted.

Order chambered Pink Shoes and the air around her quivered. A wave of force flung her to the ceiling. Order flung his hand down and with double the force sent Pink Shoes to the ground.

Pink Shoes landed on all fours. She hissed at him. Raiju Elemancer, Order thought.

Order yanked off the yoyo and readied his batons.

Can manipulate electricity through a conductive surface. Like wire…or yoyos.

He blinked behind her and without turning, she kicked him in the face. The taste of copper ran in his mouth. She whipped around and like magic, another yoyo arced towards him.

She swung at him with arcs of lightning. Order parried and ducked, blinking around her like a dance, but like a dance partner, she knew the next step. Order blinked above her, chambered himself to the ceiling, then catapulted himself down towards her with his batons. Pink Shoes chucked her yoyo and in a flash of energy, the two collided.

Chaos yanked and heaved, but Blue Shoes’ grip was like a vice. A barrage of elbows shot down on him, each blow sending charge into him. Her legs enveloped him like an anaconda. Chaos grasped for air. He looked into her dark eyes. They lit up; she chuckled.

Blue Shoes slipped under him, in between his legs then yanked him to the floor. A yoyo wrapped around his ankle then an arc of electricity shocked him. Kinetic energy was good, punches, kicks, even bullets, but actual electricity was different. Not on the list of things to absorb.

Chaos gritted through the pain. In an outburst, he sent a wave of energy from his fist into the ground. The shockwave launched him and Blue Shoes into the air and away from each other down the train cart.

As if on cue, Pink Shoes flipped Order into the air and right into the path of Chaos. The duo collided and stumbled down the train cart. They laid on the ground. Down the cart, the Twins giggled.

“Ahh! Again?” Chaos said.

“Me equivoqué. Tú te quedas con el grande, yo me quedo con el otro,” Blue Shoes said.

“What’d she say?” Order said as he stood.

“They want to switch partners,” Chaos said in a groan.

“...I don’t want to do that.”

“Mhm…Why not just take both together?” Pink Shoes said. The Twins giggled then rushed them.

With a charge Chaos shot up and Order blinked. The duo ducked and whoosed under the Twins blows but each duck sent one into the fist of another. When they ducked a yoyo, behind them was the kick of another. The Twins battled them in a Merry-Go-Round, a crack and a kick that forced a block from Chaos but left him open for another Twin. A close duck from Order left him wide open for a Twin to send a knee into his gut.

In unison, the Twins whirled around the pair, whipped their yoyos around the duo’s necks and snapped their fingers. Hot bright electricity sunk into Order and Chaos.

With a thought, Chaos’ hand glowed red hot with heat. The metallic chord of the yoyo melted. He snipped the cord around Order, grabbed him and the two blinked away.

The duo reappeared at the end of the cart and slumped into seats. Across from each other, the duo cursed. Chaos put up his hands. Time out.

The Twins raised an eyebrow, eyed each other then Blue Shoes put up three fingers.

“Treinta segundos.”

“Gracias,” Chaos replied.

Order groaned. “I think one of them hit my liver. Shit!”

His stomach grumbled.

“Shit.”

“Protein grumblies?” Chaos said.

“Yeah. Ideas?”

“I mean do you have some Pepto Bismol?”

“I mean for them!” Order said.

Chaos eyed the Twins. They were circling each other, with a flirtatious glance. They broke out into a fit of hushed giggles.

“I’m still down for that double date. I think the one in blue is your type,” Chaos said.

Order flipped him off. “They’re setting us up for failure.”

Chaos nodded. “They work too well with each other,” Chaos said.

“So we isolate,”

“Divide,” Chaos said.

“And conquer,” Order said with a blood stained grin. The two took a deep breath, stood then faced the Twins. Pink Shoes whistled.

“¿Listo para la segunda ronda?” she said.

Chaos cracked his neck and pulled out his chains. Order readied his batons.

“Siempre. ¿Estas?” Chaos replied.

Order blinked behind Blue Shoes and that’s when Chaos came. He lunged forward, sent a charge into his chains then flung one towards Pink Shoes.

Like a molten hot blade, the chain whirled through the air towards her. She took one step to the side and the chain hissed past her. She smirked then turned to see Chaos coming towards her. On cue. The two ducked and parried each other’s blows, a yoyo here, a chain sparking the ground. Electrified yoyo and kinetic charged chains collided in a lightshow of energy, fireworks going off at each point of contact.

The two whipped their weapons forward; they collided then tangled. The two paused. Pink Shoes yanked but her Yoyo was stuck. She cursed; Chaos smiled. He sent a charge through his chain, travelling to the yoyo. The yoyo exploded in a burst of fire and colorful light.

Pink Shoes stumbled backwards and screamed.

Blue turned around and in that moment, Order struck. He headbutted her and a long rivulet of red ran down her face. The Twin kicked him away and sent a flurry of attacks towards him. Order blinked,  tapped her and a chamber of gravity enveloped Pink Shoes. She jolted upwards midair. Order flicked his wrist and she spun. He flicked his wrist faster and with each flick Blue Shoes spun faster midair. He shot out his palm, and she stopped, suspended in space. He flicked his hand up and she followed. She slapped the ceiling, came down and Order flicked her back up.

Pink Shoes grappled onto Chaos. Her fingers crackled with lightning and she sunk them into him. Through his screams, Pink Shoes perked up.

Order opened his palm then slapped his hand onto the ground and Blue Shoes followed. She crashed into it in a dented crater of sparks.

Chaos shot his hands up and smeared them across Pink Shoes’ face. He sunk his hot hands into her cheeks and she howled. She fell to the floor. She muttered something in Spanish between sobs. She struggled to stand, but when she did, she turned and looked at Chaos. His eyes glowed and a grimace stained his face. Two handprints left twin red hand marks on her face.

Chaos raised his fist then paused. Then he reeled his palm back and smacked her unconscious. He muttered something in Spanish. Order wasn’t sure what it meant, but he had a feeling that he was better off not knowing.

***

Henrik sat beside Mr. Gray. The Scraper never told him his real name, only a color and to call him that. Henrik decided to call him Mr. Gray. Whoever he was, he was told to be one of the best Scrapers Henrik could afford. All together, Mr. Gray was more expensive than the Twins and the Giant combined.

He clenched the black leather bag as Mr. Gray stood. It was just them now, he thought. It wouldn’t be long before the train would stop and Elemancer Enforcement would have him in cuffs. Unless…

The train cart opened and the Agents entered. Their fresh suits were worn down, and bloodstained. They locked eyes with Henrik, two panthers eyeing their prey. A Psimancer and two Raiju were sent their way and still they gave him that look. The look that told him that there was only two ways out of here: with them or…

Henrik gripped the bag. Not unless I-

“Henrik Taetal,” Order said, “By order of the Elemancer Enforcement Agency, you are under arrest. Resist and force will be authorized.”

“He resisted,” Chaos said, stomping towards them. “Force is authorized.”

Henrik eyed Mr. Gray, who stood in front of him. He smirked and took a step forward. Chaos stopped.

The train shifted, slightly, then harder until it thrashed. Order and Chaos grabbed a pole or anything for balance, but they were flung around the train with an invisible force, into the air and into seats. Order chambered himself against the wall, pockets of gravity clinging him to a surface. Chaos flew backwards into a seat but took the charge with a grin. The wild thrashing stopped. Mr. Gray stood in the center of the cart. He adjusted his cufflinks.

Money well spent, Henrik thought. He grinned. He stood beside Mr. Gray and waved to Order and Chaos.

“Better safe than sorry right fellas?” Henrik said. The duo stood and readied themselves. Order clenched his batons while Chaos spun his kinetic chain.

“Last warning,” Order said.

“Not working,” Chaos said.

“Remember Mr. Gray, do not derail the train. We still need to get paid,” Henrik said. He turned and walked away.

The duo and Mr. Gray exchanged looks. Did he cause the train to do that? Order thought. A Physimancer could but it's rare for one such as Class S to be a Scraper and not a Nuclear Physicist. An Aeromancer could, but they always have a tell…

Gray eyed the duo’s weapons. A low hum vibrated through Order’s batons and he raised an eyebrow. Then his gut tightened. He stared at Mr. Gray and the Scraper smiled.

“He’s a-”

Mr. Gray shot out his hands and the train shook. Hard metal vibrated around them and the floor beneath Order and Chaos shifted. Their legs gave out and before they could correct themselves, an invisible force yanked. Chaos’s last kinetic chain unfurled from his arms and went towards Gray alongside Order’s batons.

Their weapons hovered in the air. Gray inspected the weapons.

Order went to blink but stopped. Chaos went to take a step but an invisible wall appeared. Translucent light shifted in front of them and the light formed into a wall, curving into them.

“He’s a Magnamancer,” Order said. As long as he’s manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum, I can’t blink.

“Your brute force won’t work if you can’t move,” Gray said to Chaos. Mr. Gray raised his hands and pushed. The wall in front of the duo molded into half of a sphere and the duo took a step back. The forcefield grew. Mr. Gray pushed again and the forcefield had them against the wall, pressed against the entrance to the cart.

Magnetism and gravity have no direct correlation to one another. They’re separate. My Chambering is useless, Order thought.

Mr. Gray took a step forward and his forcefield persisted. Hard electromagnetic energy pressed against Order’s cheek, smearing the sweat and blood on his face. Little ripples of energy ran across Chaos’ figure, but he was immobile. Mr. Gray nudged his arm forward and Chaos was clung to the wall of the train like a magnet. He yanked and struggled but only his head could move.

“Magnamancers,” Chaos said through gritted teeth. Mr. Gray smiled. He turned to Order and pressed his other hand forward. The forcefield around Order slowly pressed towards him and Order’s fingertips pressed against the invisible force. He’s a hydraulic press! Magnetism and gravity have no direct correlation to one another. They’re separate…

Order lit up.

But…

He flicked his hand.

But gravity can affect the curvature of a magnet. All I have to do is…

Order sent a chamber into the forcefield. The field shuddered then slowly peeled backwards towards Gray. Gray raised an eyebrow. He pushed and the forcefield fought back. Order chambered a wave of gravity again but stronger. Gravity jolted the forcefield farther away from him. Order took a step forward. A ripple of energy cascaded across the forcefield next to him. Order turned around and behind him, Chaos punched the forcefield again.

He stepped forward and pressed his hands against Gray’s forcefield. Chaos thrusted a charge into the forcefield. The force field budged.

Order took another step forward. Chaos sent another fist into the forcefield. Order’s body shifted, molecules in flux between one space and the other.

They pushed. Order chambered a large field of gravity then molded it into the shape of a spear. It pierced through Gray’s forcefield as Chaos’ charge made Gray's forcefield shudder and curved back to Gray. Blood ran down Order’s nose; his head flushed with heat.

“Keep it open,” Chaos said. “I’ll take the front door. And you…”

Order focused and his chambered spear aimed at Mr. Gray. Chaos stood right in front of it and his legs glowed with a kinetic charge. He kneeled, ready to spring and that’s when Order blinked away.

He blinked behind Mr. Gray. He chambered the air around him and like a slingshot, shot himself towards the Magnamancer, just as Chaos lunged through the chambered tunnel towards Gray. The Scraper barely had time to push a forcefield around himself just as the duo impacted.

The train car exploded in power. Air rushed into the cart, the roar of the train thrumming inside. The duo caught themselves then charged towards Mr. Gray. The Scraper flicked his wrists and the poles around them shifted and yanked out of the ground. In succession, Mr. Gray flung poles towards them as they closed in. Order blinked past poles while Chaos raised a hand and a field of heat melted them away.

Like a boomerang, poles rebounded back and forth between the two agents. Order would blink and miss a pole by inches while Chaos took the full brunt of one but brushed it off before the next one would crack him. Mr. Gray pushed and a wave of electromagnetism shot down the cart towards Order, dragging metal with it like a titanium tsunami.

Order clapped his hands together and chambered a wall of gravity that struck down the wave of metal. He blinked away and behind Mr. Gray right as Chaos lunged towards the Scraper.

In unison, the agents cracked the Scraper in the face that sent him stumbling down the train cart. His eyes widened. He stood then fell back to the ground.

“There’s your force,” Chaos said.

Mr. Gray sprung back up and right in front of him, Order appeared. He cracked him in the face and Mr. Gray stumbled back to feel a massive figure behind him. Chaos grabbed him, bear hugged him from behind, then slammed him into the ceiling. Mr. Gray slumped to the ground right as the click of the nullifier cuffs wrapped around his wrists.

***

Henrik Taetel had the train conductor’s mind under molding like clay. The inner machinations that drove the man to walk, speak, even urinate connected his mind like a switch to a main circuit. Just one thought, and the Conductor’s fate was his. Instead, he took his drone and motioned for him to speed up the train. The drone’s glinting eyes stared lifelessly ahead as the magnetic levitation train blurred past buildings and stops. Simple, Henrik thought.

Anybody on this train would be a hostage, even two Elemancy Enforcement Agents. No other teleporters could appear on this train, not at this speed, and if they had any ideas to send Pyromancers to melt away the track, then Mr. Gray would take care of that. And if not, there were still hundreds of other train passengers.

Henrik gripped the leather bag. And if all else failed, then it would come in handy. It being the product he was supposed to sell. It being the one thing he went to so much trouble to smuggle across the city, until the Benefactor told him to take this train at this time. It being the reason he knew the Benefactor set him up and left him to the wolves for.

He found out, somehow. Found out about my side hustle. They set me up. To them.

He put a hand on his drone’s shoulder. The old train conductor was flat faced and pale. From the fear seeping out of him or was it just how he looked? Henrik cast the thought aside. Doesn’t matter. What matters is the train full of hostages and how he was going to convince the Agency to let him go and still find a way to sell the Benefactor’s precious substance.

A cold sting ran down his back, like an icicle running down his spine. His stomach sank and his intestines strangled him like a lynch. Hypnomancers couldn’t control other Elemancers. Different brain waves but he could scan the presence, feel the static neural activity in the air. Static seared the air when he hired The Giant, the Twins and Mr. Gray, and the air around them, the psionic buzz of their enhanced minds went silent when they were defeated.

All was quiet. Even Mr. Gray’s.

Henrik yanked open the leather bag and brought out the ampules of transparent liquid. It was just one vial, enough to produce in dozens of strains but more diluted each time. This was pure. Pure amplifier.

He never took it himself, but heard the stories. One vial being strong enough to turn a level one Pyromancer into an arsonist that could burn down the Chrysler building or turn a level one Physimancer into the next atomic bomb. Exaggeration of course, but it was the thought of it. To go from this, to that, Henrik thought. Why didn’t he think of taking this sooner?

He turned around and in the window, looking back at him was Chaos. The hulk of a man’s eyes glowed red and the knob to the conductor cart melted away. Henrik had the vial in his mouth and the acidic liquid down his throat right as Chaos had him by the throat and into the air.

Next to him, Order looked up at Henrik. “Safety first,” he said.

Henrik sucked air through Chaos steel fingers. His feet dangled in the air as his stomach gurgled and his nervous system was on fire. It’s working. The amplifier’s mysterious compounds sent fireworks into his brain, lighting his gray matter up in an aurora borealis of power. Power…more…power!

The air around him shifted. Waves of psionic energy rippled off of Henrik like a pond. Order and Chaos lurched backwards. Henrik fell to the ground. His body tensed and seized until he spasmed on the cold metal floor.

I remember why. Because of the side effects.

Loud whispers cave dived into his mind. Thoughts, images, emotions like thick paint smeared onto his psyche like it was a fresh canvas.

All of these minds…all of this control…all of this power!

The thoughts of dozens, no, hundreds of people flooded into his mind at once. The thick paint turned into acid and burned away at his canvas of a mind.

No…no, not power…this is wrong…this is…the Benefactor…this isn’t. This is wrooooooong!

This wasn’t power. This wasn’t amplifier.

Order and Chaos looked down at the Elemancer. Foam seeped out of his mouth and his body twisted in on itself like a burnt out candle wick. The glinting in Henrik’s eyes shined bright like headlights before blinking off, then on, and finally off.

Henrik’s cold eyes bubbled like stew then engulfed in flames. In a moment, his fiery eyes disappeared and smoke rose out of them. Order turned his nose up and looked away.

“That’s…that’s just,” Order said.

“Karma,” Chaos said.

The duo looked at each other. The train conductor snapped back into consciousness and without batting them an eye, got the train back to normal. Outside, the blur of buildings slowed until the train stopped at a station and then the conductor fainted.

Order and Chaos exchanged a glance.

“So who’s buying lunch?” Chaos said. Order rolled his eyes.