After calming himself down, James took out his phone and called Jeremiah. Although the two rarely ever spoke, being a part of the same department meant that they both had a way to contact one another. The call rang for a few minutes, as James watched what was happening at the Warehouse.
Justice slowly walked over, with his hands spread arrogantly. A group of men walked over. James had his ability running and could see that each one was getting ready to use them. But he didn't worry. If he was right and it was Chase standing down there, he knew he would be fine.
"James." Jeremiah's smooth voice spoke, "You finally had enough playing on your own." There was a mocking in it. James could only smile, remembering the type of person Jeremiah was.
"You see the building behind you," James said and hearing Jeremiah turn around, he stood up and waved at the car.
"That's where you're hiding. So, what do you want me to deal with everything whilst you stay away?" His teasing attitude didn't drop.
"Things are about to kick up at the warehouse. Don't intervene yet; the main threat hasn't arrived." James seriously said. On the other side, he could hear Jeremiah chuckle in disbelief at being ordered.
"Twenty minutes. If he doesn't come after that, I'm not getting involved. Orders are-" A gunshot cut off his words. James snapped back to the warehouse and saw Justice had pulled out a pistol and shot one of the men in the legs.
A second worker reacted, pushing his hand forward, from it a ball of flame. Justice was calm, James could tell from such a distance. Lifting his left hand, the flame slowly vanished, being absorbed by his touch. James saw with his ability that the aura in Justice's body that looked like a mirror had become orange.
Justice dove out of the way of a second attack that came from a distance, lifting his gun and firing two shots at a man who had yet to get into cover. They struck through his chest and stomach—justice dove for a nearby truck that had been abandoned when the firefight started. Circling, he stayed low, avoiding abilities that flew towards him. All stuck the truck but lacked the power to topple it. Justice peeked out, firing two shots at the guards before climbing on the back of the truck, crawling along its bed and shooting out the back window.
The truck turned one, and Jame heard another gunshot. As it moved forward towards Otto's warehouse, James saw Justice climb out the back window once more, the orange glow of an ability he stole gone. Something flew towards Justice, an invisible projectile. James saw the flash of aura and knew it was a silent attack.
His heart stopped for a second as Justice flew backwards, crashing and sliding acorss the ground. One of the guards lifted their weapon as another ran for the truck to stop it. Jame focused on it and frowned, seeing a thin red streak running through it. Realising it was the power Justice stole, he could predict what was coming.
"Cover your ears," James warned Jeremiah and stared ahead. The truck stopped before it could crash into the warehouse. Justice had risen to his feet and quickly backed off, running into the distance, holding the side of his head. Everyone realised the strangeness in his actions, and looking at the truck, they all felt their stomach.
All James saw was a bright flash. Debry and truck parts flew into the sky as the fireball fell into itself, before propelling out once more. Black smoke rose into the sky. Those closest died on the spot, with the rest blown away by the force. The downpour over Newport was helpless in the face of the blazing inferno.
James held his hands over his ears and waited. A few seconds later, he heard the muffled explosion. Putting the phone back to his ear, he smiled. "Did you listen to me?" Jeremiah burst into laughter.
"Who did you call to make such a fuss? I might have to arrest them." Looking at Justice, he saw the man running away. James didn't blame him. He had a 95% certainty it was Chase by now, and knew that the man of three years ago was never a real fighter, instead having to rely on tricks like the one he pulled whenever a fight broke out.
Although he was lucky to get hit with fire right off the bat, James didn't find it too strange that he got exactly what he needed. Even among abilities, some were more common than others. Those related to fire, water, air and the earth, likely making up 70% of all abilities. Of course, some people were more skilled than others at using them, and the range of freedom they had with them differed from person to person.
"Believe it or not, it's Chase." James siad with certainty. Jeremiah froze up and chuckled. Despite it, James could tell he found his words highly offensive.
"That's not funny, James." For the first time, Jeremiah seriously spoke.
"You know what my ability is. If you trust my eyes, then I am telling you the aura in the guy down there is the same. Even the way he moves is the same." Jeremiah wanted to counter but knew better than to question James' vision. He, after all, had seen many times how James saw clues and tracked people in ways no one else could.
"You knew he was alive?" There was anger in his voice as he asked.
James sighed, "I just saw it now. Don't worry, I'm going to have a conversation with the person I called to bring the lure." James had many questions for Xavier, not just about Chase.
Jeremiah took a deep breath, "Sure. Twelve minutes."
"He will come now. Chase made sure of it." The two stopped talking. James watched the scene as the guards who awoke from the explosion desperately tried to put out the inferno. Checking his watch every few seconds, he counted down the time he had.
"A call went through about the explosion. Backup is coming." Jeremiah said. James checked his phone after feeling it vibrate and saw a message asking for support in the Warehouse district. Putting it away, he saw a black SUV charge down the road, breaking every rule of the road. From it, he saw Cain step out.
"He's here—black man, wearing a blue tracksuit," Jeremiah grunted in response and hung up. Turning to Jeremiah's car, James saw the man step out and casually walk over with his hands in his pockets. The rain fell around him, but seemed never to touch him, leaving his blond hair dry. The aura inside of him was a grey static.
James watched as Cain went towards the burning truck. A massive tornado formed around him, merging with the flames, slowly surrounding him. Pulling his hand back, he crouched down and held it in place for a second. A light green light formed around his fist, getting denser and once it looked about to explode inside his body, he punched up into the sky, sending the tornado into the sky, letting it spread acorss the sky and put out by the rain.
Cain spun around and saw Jeremiah approach. Jeremiah pulled out a badge, holding it up to Cain. James saw Cain put his guard up. At the same time, Jeremiah put his badge back and approached. The guards around Cain threw attacks, fire, and water—some invisible, some streams of green liquid. Everything flew towards him, but Jeremiah paid it no mind.
All crashed into an invisible field around him, getting locked in place and violently vibrating before dispersing or falling to the ground. Cain stepped forward, lifting his hands to the people behind him. His gaze turned to the warehouse before turning back to the man before him.
James wanted a fight to understand a fraction of how the man fought, but was disappointed when Cain's guard dropped. Nodding to Jeremiah, he held his hands out and said something. Jeremiah reached behind his back and pulled out a pair of cuffs, slammed them on Cain's wrists and took him back to his car.
James waited. Once the two were gone, the workers acted quickly. Going into the warehouse, they hastily moved multiple crates. James took out a camera and snapped pictures of it all. 'He is buying time to get rid of evidence.'
Shaking his head, he sighed and took what he could before leaving the building. 'He won't stay in for long.' There was nothing that Cain could be tried with other than unauthorised use of his ability. But it was a flimsy law that could hardly be used, especially as he was the one to quell the fire.
As for the rest, James took a passing glance at the people who attacked Jeremiah. He could only sigh. Maybe one or two would get arrested for attacking a police officer, but the rest would get away.