#nr 11

Curio fall back against the wall, gasping as he pressed his hands against his chest.  This was not something that he ever wanted to feel.  Slowly he lifted a hand to the black lightning knife that stuck out of his chest.

He could feel it running through his body, draining him for all of his power slowly being drained from him. 

As he looked up, three worried and shocked faces staring at him.  

“Shit...” Rai whispered, his eyes wide “I’m so... I didn’t”

Curio blinked a few times.  It was hard to understand what they were saying.  “Not... your fault” he gasped as his legs gave in under him.  

Shaun’s eyes went wide and he stepped forward, as if to catch Curio, but Rai grabbed his arm roughly pulling him back.  

“What are you doing?” he snapped “That’s electricity running through him.  You touch him and both of you will fry.  You’re friends with a lightning user and you don’t know that”

Shaun pulled his arm out of Rai’s grip.  “Well then you do something!” he snapped “You are the one that caused this”

Rai clenched his jaw.  “I know...” he growled “You shouldn’t have surprised me like that and this wouldn’t have happened”

Curio cough, a small trail of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Rai cussed loudly before quickly stepped forward, kneeling in front of Curio.  “Stupid kid” he muttered “What the hell were you think?”

For a moment he got no answer, then Curio just lifted his head slightly, giving Rai a slight smile.  “I can’t get you...” his body stiffened and like and electric shot went through him “...into trouble... again...”

“Dammit, Curio” Rai snapped as he took the lightning knife tightly in one hand “You don’t need to take care of me.  I can do that myself”

“This was...” Curio started, but Rai tore the knife out of his chest, effectively cutting him of from saying anything else.  

Curio screamed.

Small flashes of lightning appeared around him before they just vanished and he slumped forward.  

Blood dripped from his mouth as Rai caught his shoulders.  

“This is going to be a mess” he muttered.  

With a sigh he leaned forward and picked Curio up.  He narrowed his eyes at the other two before they could come closer to him.  

“If you wanna get shocked, you can come closer, otherwise, back off” 

Shaun clenched his jaw and Roland just caught his arm, pulling him back slightly.  He shook his head slightly.  

“Follow me” Rai said as he started walking.  Shaun and Roland trailed behind him without a word.  

Neither of them knew what to do about this.  It was the first tie they’ve heard about Curio knowing Rai, no BlackHound, one of the bad guys.  Why would Curio know this guy?

“Where are we going?” Roland asked after a moment.

Rai glanced back at them.  “My apartment” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world “Cause I’m not going to your little hero academy and my place is closer.  So if you want this moron to be taken care of...”

“We get it” Roland said, lifting his hands slightly “Alright.  There’s no need to be an asshole about it”

“Yeah, well your little school things it know how to take care of people, but they don’t know half of what they should about the student’s abilities” 

“You almost sound like you were one of the students” Shaun said.

Rai snorted.  “Maybe I was” 

***

They reached the apartment and Rai just kicked the door open.  “Close that behind you” he said as he kept on walking.  

Roland groaned and closed the door before he followed after them.

Rai placed Curio on the bed an stepped back, pulling his hands through his hair.  He had no idea what to do, but he wasn’t going to let the kid pay for him making a mistake.  

Curio groaned as his body stiffened again.  It almost looked like he was having some kind of seizure.  Which was not impossible for a electrical type power.  

Shaking his head he grabbed a town from the bathroom and wiped the blood from Curio’s face just as the other two came in.  He glanced at them and threw the red head the towel.  

An idea was forming in his mind.  

Since he sometimes had to much energy rushing through his body, energy that he couldn’t release as lightning, he made a little something to help with that.

And now, his back lightning, doesn’t go so well with the kid’s lightning, so they needed to get that out of his body.  That was where his little invention came in.  They were going to ground the black lightning.  

“What are you doing?” the red head asked.  

Rai glance at him as he carried in the small lightning rod.  “I’m not going to kill him” he said “I owe the kid.  So you can just chill”

The other guy just watching him in silence.  

Gently Rai took Curio’s hand and placed the rod in his palm.  He checked everything, making sure that the wires were all connected so it could ground the electricity.  

He turned to the other two.  “You might not like what I’m going to do now.  So if you’re not going to keep your mouths shut, get out of the room” he said, glancing at Curio’s chest.  

The lightning blade did not pierce the skin, It was like poking someone with an active wire in the chest.  

“Crash course on black lightning, kid” Rai said “You’ll have to learn how to use it or else you are screwed”

Without warning he took gripped the other side of the lightning rod and released a burst of black lightning.  

A scream sounded through the room.

Curio’s body seized.  

He screamed again.  

Rai clenched his own jaw against the pain that ran through his body.  

Black lightning surrounded the two.  

Curio screamed again as he started thrashing around.  

“COME ON!” Rai yelled as he pour more and more black lightning into the rod.  It flashed faster and faster around the two.  

Curio gave blood curdling scream, his eyes snapped open, slowly becoming darker than before, turning a midnight blue.  There was loud sound, like an explosion and Rai was flung through the air, slamming into the wall  

He slid down the wall, limply.  

“Curio!” Shaun called out as his friend just lay limply on the bed.  

Rai groaned, his eyes flickering open.  Slowly he sat up, looking around.  First he noticed the other two, who he now remembers are called Shaun and Roland.  

“Hold your horses” Rai groaned as he got to his feet.  

His chest hurt, and he was sure his heart might have stopped for a moment.  Shaking his head, he stumbled towards Curio.  

“Yo, wakey, wakey” he said, shaking Curio’s shoulders “Don’t be so dramatic.  You nearly killed me right now”

Curio groaned and his eyes flickered open.  They were tinted slightly darker than normal.  For a moment they darted over everyone before closing again.  His breathing deepened as he fell asleep.

Rai breathed out as he leaned on the bed.  He did not realize just how scared he was that the kid wasn’t going to wake up.  Slowly he looked over at the other two.  

“Do you two know just how bloody strong he is?” he asked “He nearly pulled me in”

“What do you mean?” Shaun asked, glancing at Curio.

“I shared my power with him so he can adapt to it.  That means our power were one for a moment” Rai paused before his legs just gave in beneath him and he sat down on the ground “I almost couldn’t get out of the fastness of his power.  It’s bloody terrifying”

“But he’s going to be alright?” Roland asked.

Rai nodded.  “Yeah, he’ll be fine with a little bit of rest” he said “Now what the hell were you three doing here.  I told him before not to just show up”

“We’re looking for someone” Shaun said, glancing at Curio “Three people to be exact”

“Why?”

“We need to help them.  They’ve been accused of something they didn’t do.  One of them are sick and shouldn’t be out here” Roland said.

“Describe them” Rai said “No names.  I don’t want to know their names”

Shaun and Roland glanced at each other.  

“All three of them are 18.  One uses blood magic, he’s about 1.8 with pitch black hair and grey eyes, very fit, but tends to be a bit pale.  He’s anemic.  The other one is shorter, 1.77.  He’s ash blond with blue eyes.  A scar hidden on his forehead, the left side.  He’s a water elemental, but can also use illusions”

Roland took a deep breath. 

“The last one has dark brown hair, it’s always messy and a bit to long with green eyes that sometimes look like crystals.  He’s about 1.84.  He’s also the most powerful...”