Being squished together inside of a closet with Andre the Giant was not high on Oscar's list of things to do that day.

It wasn't on his list at all.

Before the soldiers returned to the room, everyone frantically searched for cover. Chase and Stella dove underneath a table, Emily somehow managed to climb back up into the ventilation shaft, and Theo zipped across the room and slinked behind a wall.

They had taken all the good hiding spots, so he and Andre were forced inside a cramped supply closet. He peered through the tiny slits in the door. Four guards entered the room, their harsh glares scanning the room for any sign of life.

''You said you heard voices?''

''Yeah, it sounded like there was someone in here.''

Oscar seized up as a guard started to approach the closet. Beside him, Andre clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. The metal from the closet covered his skin, allowing to slightly blend in with his surroundings. Oscar, on the other hand, would've been spotted as soon as the door opened.

Right as the man reached for the handle, the ventilation shaft above the room creaked with movement. The mercenary aimed his gun at the opened grate in the ceiling. Squinting, his hand tightened around his weapon. ''Someone's up there.''

Moments later, Apex and Frost burst into the room wearing annoyed expressions.

''What are you doing?'' Frost asked, glaring at a guard. He pointed at the ceiling.

Oscar hoped Emily wasn't still there.

The vents creaked again.

Either a very large animal managed to sneak into the shaft or Emily was screwed. He had a feeling it was the second option.

One of the guard's radios went off. A warbled voice revealed that they were still battling the Atlas agents outside. They also spoke of how six teenagers infiltrated the lab.

Apex growled and gripped his weapon. He searched around the room, his red irises burning. ''They're in here somewhere.''

Oscar peaked at Andre. The two of shared a glance. He diverted his attention to exit door, which happened to just be across from the closet they stood inside of.

If they could manage to sprint past the Kismet soldiers and out of the room....

He turned back to Andre. The other boy nodded, seemingly knowing what Oscar was planning. Taking a breath, he held up his hand and began a countdown.

5.

''Find them,'' Apex barked at his men. ''Follow the vents. Kill whoever is inside.''

4.

''Yes, sir!"

3.

He dismissed them and they began making their way out the room.

2.

Nodding at his companion one last time, Oscar closed his hand into a fist.

1.

Leading with his shoulder, Andre ripped the double doors of their hinges and sprung from the closet. Oscar swallowed the lump of fear and anxiety that formed in his throat and followed closely after Andre, his head ducked low.

The remaining Kismet guards, Apex, and Frost turned around, enraged looks on their faces as they watched the two teenagers bolt out of the room.

''After them!'' Frost commanded.

Oscar cursed in both Spanish and English after hearing gunshots. Skidding around the corner of the hall, he held one of his hands out and summoned a weak-looking fireball. It wasn't much but it would have to do. Stealing a glance over his shoulder, he chucked at the nearest person.

He missed.

Bullets whizzed past him as he nearly slipped on the slick ground. His ears rung and his muscles screamed in agony, but he continued running down the hallway.

Dying in a Nexxus Industries lab was not high on his of things to do that day either.

Andre was well ahead of him. For a big guy, he sure could move. His steel-covered feet thundered against the ground, occasionally leaving dents and cracks in the tiles. Bullets bounced off him, redirecting into the walls and lights on the ceiling.

''This was such a bad idea!'' Oscar yelled as he turned around another corner.

''Shut up and run!'' Andre shouted over the deafening gunfire behind them. The smell of sulfur and gunpowder filled Oscar's nostrils.

The guards were gaining on them.

Oscar had no idea if his friends even made it out of the room, but he was too worried about staying alive to dwell on it. He couldn't help them if he was dead.

Ahead of him, Andre slipped and toppled to the ground. Not being able to stop fast enough, Oscar went crashing down like a hit plane. Groaning in pain while clutching at his throbbing wrist, he shot the guy a dirty look.

''What the hell happened?'' he asked. The two of them rose from the ground and looked at the ground. It was covered in ice. ''What the— '' He spun on his heel after hearing a high-pitched laugh behind him.

Frost walked up to the two other Primes with three Kismet soldiers in tow. Her fingertips were tinged blue and tiny crystal-like specks danced up her pale digits. Ice particles the color of her pale blue irises swirled around her hands.

Oscar mumbled something under his breath. He almost laughed at the irony. Fire and ice; who would've thought?

''Listen, Frosty,'' Oscar said, rubbing his hurt arm. ''I don't wanna fight you—''

She hurled a shard of ice at him. Yelping, he barely dodged it. He watched it shatter on the floor. He frowned as he refocused his attention on Frost.

''So that's what we do now? We throw ice knives at people?''

Frost chuckled and walked towards him, more ice knives appearing in between her fingers. ''Can't handle the cold?''

Oscar fought the urge to roll his eyes. He thought a supervillain would have a better catchphrase.

He shook his head at her and held his palms out. ''Fine. Be that way.'' He willed the flames coming from his hands to swirl around his arms in the form of fiery, coiling tendrils. He'd never attempted anything like that before, but he remembered seeing something similar in a comic book.

Somehow, it worked. Within seconds his arms were covered in blistering flames. He wanted to admire the use of his abilities, but there wasn't any time for that. Though, he did have time to kick this woman's frosty ass.

He directed the stream of fire towards her and the guards supporting her. They ran around it and fired off a few rounds from their assault rifles.

His instincts taking over, he dove to the side, popped up on his knee, and threw a fireball in return. He felt like he was being controlled like a character in a video game.

Andre went barreling past him and started swinging his heavy hands around. The mercenaries redirected their gunfire towards the shiny giant, allowing Oscar to get a little one-on-one action with the ice-conjuring Prime.

His threw a punch at her. She ducked underneath it and stuck her long leg out, catching Oscar's shin. He dropped to the ground, a slew of curses leaving his mouth. He quickly got back to his feet and ignored the pain flaring in his tibia.

He was glad Andre wasn't looking. He didn't want anyone to witness him getting beat up by a girl.

''I never thought Atlas would have been stupid enough to send kids to come after us,'' Frost said with a condescending smirk.

''Joke's on you, lady. We weren't even supposed to be here.''

She arched an eyebrow at him.

Taking advantage of her confusion, he charged at her.

He moved out of the way of her ice-covered hand and punched her in the face. His own flaming fist connected sweetly with her cheek and she staggered backward, smoke rolling off her cold skin. He grinned after seeing the anger in her cold eyes.

Normally, Oscar wouldn't have been that happy to hit anyone, especially a woman, but this one deserved it.

''Nobody messes with Oscar Mario Guadardo-Jimenez and gets away with it,'' Oscar quipped. He cringed. Maybe he needed to work on his catchphrases too.

Frost seethed at him and he shot another fireball at her. The flames crept up her armor and she cried out, pain and frustration both present in her voice. Oscar's eyes widened at the noise. He flicked her off and took his opportunity to get the hell out of there.

Andre had already disposed of one of the guards, the man's unconscious body lodged into the wall. The other two were keeping their distance. They shot at him, but their bullets didn't seem to be helping. Though, the guy's skin was dented in multiple places. He staggered backward, unable to advance on them.

As Oscar ran over to help him, Andre grabbed the guards by an arm and smacked them together. The dropped to the floor like sandbags.

''You keep surprising me, man,'' Oscar said. Andre grinned. The pair then took off running towards the exit of the lab.

#

The others were already outside when Oscar and Andre burst through the exit doors.

Theo darted from one spot to another. His body blurred as he ran at inhuman speeds. The Kismet mercenaries tried shooting at him, but their bullets couldn't keep up. Occasionally, he'd run up to one of them yank their rifle away and run off.

Even though the speedster couldn't fight to save his life, he was doing a good job of dealing with the soldiers.

To Oscar's left, Emily and Stella both hid behind a car. The former let off rings of sonic energy from her mouth while the latter fired bolts of light from her palms. They worked in tandem, determination on their faces. Seeing as how they never got along, it was interesting seeing them work together so well.

The only person missing was Chase.

Before he could question where the guy was, Andre stepped in front of him just as a round of bullets raced towards his face. He quickly thanked the metal giant and the two of them darted for a parked car nearby. The number of mercenaries was significantly smaller than before. Though, that was probably due to the fact the Atlas agents dispatched most of them.

One of them moved from their cover and over to the two boys. It was Victoria.

''What are you all doing here?'' she demanded, firing rounds from her handgun.

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck. ''About that.... It's a funny story. You see— ''

''Save it,'' she said. ''Just get back to the jet. If any of you get killed out here, it's going to be all our asses.''

He had no issue with that order. While he and Andre prepared to head into the tall grass just a couple of yards away, a loud crash sounded at the front of the Nexxus Industries lab. Cutting his eyes to the entrance, he watched as Chase's body toppled down the stairs—along with the doors that had been ripped from their hinges.

A few cuts and nicks decorated his black bio-suit. The skin underneath the mesh was perfectly fine.

Apex emerged from the doorway, his sword scratching the ground behind him. Sparks flared from the blade's tip and danced along the stone floor. Oscar watched the scene unfold.

Thankfully, Chase picked himself up. Rolling his shoulders, he raised his fists and bounced on the balls of his feet. He reminded Oscar of the boxer's his father used to watch on TV.

''That all you got?'' the blond asked, a hint of snark in his voice.

''Bold words from someone who just got their ass kicked,'' Apex growled. In an instant, he appeared behind the boy, puffs of black and red smoke surrounding his body. He swung his sword at Chase, but he was ready. Spinning around, he delivered a swift punch straight to Apex's jaw.

He skidded across the ground, his sword flying from his hand.

''Woah,'' Oscar said.

Panting, Chase advanced on the fallen Prime. As he did so, he turned to Oscar and pointed at something behind him. ''Stop that truck!''

Wheeling around, he spotted the vehicle in question. A few Nexxus workers were loading clear crates of Primonium and metal boxes full of equipment into a large moving van. Kismet guards urged them to move faster while keeping the encroaching Atlas agents at bay. Frost layered the ground between the two groups with ice, preventing anyone from interfering.

They were going to get away if he didn't step in.

Andre nodded at Oscar.

With his lips pursed, he charged up as much fire as he could muster. His gaze was focused on the truck, which was almost fully loaded. Cocking his arm back, he prepared to launch his massive fireball.

His eyes met the frightened face of a Nexxus worker.

They were being shoved into the back of the truck, tears streaming down their face. Oscar lowered his hand. His mind traveled back to the car explosion that granted him and the others with their powers. He'd been trapped in that hellfire, certain he was going to die. The fire had swallowed him.

He almost welcomed it then. As selfish as it was, he looked forward to joining his parents—wherever they ended up. But his death never came. Instead, he was given the worst gift he could ever ask for.

If he hit the truck with his fire, there was no doubt it'd explode. The innocent worker inside would die. The mercenaries would die. Could he really take their lives?

He needed to do something, though. If he didn't, they would escape, and this entire mission would've been a failure

Clenching his jaw, he lit his fist again and aimed it at the truck.

The vehicle's engine cut on. Before he could react, tt pulled out of its impromptu parking spot. The driver snarled at the boy and stepped on the gas. The van barreled straight for him. He wanted to move but something kept him glued to the floor. Turning his head slightly, he braced for impact.

It never came.

Andre had tackled him out of the way in the nick of time. Oscar raised his arm to guard his face from the exhaust smoke and gravel flying at him. From the ground, he watched as the van careened out of the parking lot and down the back road that led away from the lab.

The two boys returned to their feet and helplessly stared on as the van faded from their view.

''Dammit.''

Oscar ran his hands down his face, sighing. Beside him, Andre patted his shoulder reassuringly. His body deflated like a balloon. Hanging his head, he cursed in Spanish under his breath.

''Dammit.''