F³ Waterspout v. Hurricane

             I wasn’t too sure about how it worked in the water, but I knew if I had attempted to create a cyclone in the air with Nat, it couldn’t happen. Or at least, not without a lot more build up. Moving air took time and distance. Maybe working from Nebraska with a good tailwind I could get enough mass moving to create a cyclone from scratch. I suspected the same was true for the water. Probably even longer because of how much mass water already had.

            But me and Maddy, using the Frost power, it seemed like nothing. Somehow the combination of our powers led to something almost exponential, and it was hard not to like that kind of power.

            Maybe that’s why Jack and Nat are so opposed to it. Power corrupts, etc.

            Maddy swung us up, corkscrewing our way to the surface inside the waterspout. The spout surged sending millions of gallons into the eyewall of the giant hurricane. I had heard of hurricanes creating waterspouts, but nothing on this scale. The eyewall was too massive to be completely engulfed by the waterspout, but it swallowed a big chunk of it, disrupting the wind. And before we reached the top, I felt a chill coming from Maddy. The spout began crystallizing.

We burst out of the top of the spout, where I quickly formed a cloudboard for both of us. I swung us around to watch as the entire spout froze, like a movie special effect. It wouldn’t last, not with tropic temperatures, but with the eyewall disrupted and the convection current completely wrecked, the hurricane should begin to dissolve.

“We can fly without the board, you know,” Maddy said wryly.

“Oh, right. Habit.”

F³ Supercavitation

             The Frost powers gave me a lot of abilities, and Maddy, too, but none of them were really helpful for increasing speed underwater. Maddy had us going at her top speed, but that was nothing compared to what a storm rider could do. I tugged on her to drop back, letting me take the lead. From an outstretched hand, I let out a thin stream of air.

            Immediately, bubbles formed until I got the balance right, and then one large bubble enveloped us. The water slipped around the bubble, frictionless, and our speed increased. Russian torpedoes used the same principle. My wind supply, even compressed, was limited, but I had plenty of lightning, so I sent arcs between my fingers, almost as thick as my fingers, to boil the water, creating the same effect.

            We shot forward through the water, and just like when I cloudsurfed, created a wake behind us, one that Maddy really expanded until I could see the beginnings of the circular current, and even felt ourselves rising with the water.

            Holy shit, it’s going to work.

 

F³ Into The Drink

             By the time Maddy and I got to Florida, she was the one riding the lightning. She had a pretty good knack for it, once I explained the basics to her, leaving me to figure out the water stuff without a concrete example to operate on. So, by the time we arrived at ground zero, I still really had no clue as to how to figure out the water stuff.

            Without enhanced vision, we could see not just the air currents, but body heat of the other storm riders, even flitting around the massive storms.

            “So, I don’t think that more storm riding is going to do much, even with the Frost powers,” I yelled to Maddy.

            “Agreed! I think we need a more subtle approach?”

            “Lightning is about as subtle as I’ve got. What are you thinking?”

            For answer, she released the lightning bolt, and aimed us at the ocean in the world’s highest high dive. As we closed, I prepared to send a blast of air to break the water’s surface before we pancaked against it. Even though it churned from the storm, I knew we would hit it like concrete. But Maddy was already on it. I could feel it, though not really see what she did.

            The water swirled into a tight vortex, and we plunged into the dark waters, speeding down like a torpedo. We descended through the warm Gulf waters in a flash, finally slowing in much colder waters.

            “Now, we can work,” Maddy said, though how she modulated her voice to work underwater was beyond me. She also didn’t use air, but water from her lungs.

            It was then I realized I had been reflexively holding my breath. I pulled the air inside myself, storing it with the rest of my wind. I opened my mouth and sucked in the water. Of course, I began to panic, but Maddy squeezed my hand in a death grip, nearly breaking the bones.

            “Slow. It’s okay. Breathe the water. Your lungs will handle it.”

            Really? I mean abilities are one thing, but changing biology is something else.

            I had no choice, though, so I breathed in the water, concentrating on the mechanical process. Open the mouth, suck in the water, marvel at the saltiness, fill the lungs. Empty the lungs, expel water from mouth. Repeat. Broken down like that, I kept from panicking, and my lungs somehow stripped the oxygen out of the water, as if I had gills.

            “Good. Now, we have a lot of work to do. Pay attention.”