The Endless Torment of an Admin (MCSM Fanfiction)

Chapter 2 - Devastated

It felt like a heavy weight was lifted off of Lukas's shoulders when the sky cleared above him, the bedrock that had trapped him in breaking away. A large grin formed on his face. They won.

Not even waiting to see if he could find Radar or any of the other new ocelots, Lukas bolted up the stairs to the roof. Urging on his legs to carry him faster as he sprinted in the direction of where he knew the portal had to be.

Digging in his boots as he reached the top of the large tower, Lukas skidded to a stop. His grin grew, a large breath of relief leaving his lungs when he spotted the three people standing outside the portal. They were talking among each other, backs facing him. Jack's rough voice stood out above the others, and Lukas couldn't miss Petra's bright, fiery hair. He could just about make out the shorter figure of Jesse, shielded from view by Petra and Jack.

"Saved the world again, huh?" Lukas asked, walking closer. "Doesn't that ever get old?"

He expected some sarcastic response, or a laugh. But as Petra and Jack turned to face him, Jesse remaining slightly behind them, Lukas's grin was replaced by a frown on concern. Worried, almost horrified looks rested on their faces. Even more frighteningly, Petra out of all of them, looked like she had been crying.

"What happened in there?" Lukas asked, increasing his pace slightly.

Petra and Jack exchanged glances, Jack shrugging lightly. As Lukas reached them, both stepped slightly aside so that Jesse was in clear view. She had her head titled down, looking away so she wouldn't have to meet Lukas's eyes. He almost took a step back in shock, startled by the sight of a rosy pink colour tainting her skin.

"What happened?" Lukas repeated, his voice quivering in uncertainty.

"You might want to sit down for this one, friend." Jack said to Lukas, promptly shoving his hands into his pockets and scuffing his boot against the ground.

"I don't see the availability of seats anywhere, just give it to me straight." Lukas responded, concern warping into impatience and annoyance.

"Jesse..." Petra began, clearly uncertain of how to word her sentence. She broke off when Jesse silenced her by resting a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Jesse raised her head, finally making eye contact with Lukas. He felt almost taken aback by the unnaturally pink colour in her face, looking like somebody who spent more than a few hours too long out in the sun.

"Jesse?" He asked uncertainly when she walked a few steps closer to him. The longer they were silent, the more worry was knotting together in his gut. "What happened?"

"I took Romeo's powers." Jesse said softly, confirming Lukas's earlier suspicions. "And he died because of it. But it turns out..."

She trailed off, gulping slightly. Lukas gave her an encouraging nod to go on, not showing how crazily his heart was hammering about inside of him. Jesse took a deep breath, looking down again.

"The one who takes an admin's powers, earns them." Jesse's voice was merely a whisper.

For a second, Lukas's voice wouldn't work. His mouth opened, no words coming out as his brain jumbled about inside his head, struggling to take in exactly what Jesse had just told him. And when he did, he could feel the blood draining from his face.

"And that's why I said sit down first." Jack mumbled as Lukas staggered back a step, Petra grabbing his arm just in time to keep him on his feet.

"You..." Lukas began, his gaze locked on Jesse.

She took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. "I nearly died in there. In fact..." She turned to Petra, half expecting her to finish.

"She was dead." Petra went of softly. "Heartbeat gone, I had held her limp body in my arms. But then the gauntlet just kind lit up and 'boom', powers." Petra made a vague gesture with her hand as she explained, her tone of voice not matching the slight hint of humour in her words.