After several seconds, he dropped to the rooftop Cotton sat waiting on. Chrome rolled and popped back to his feet without a hitch in his step before taking a seat beside our friend.
Like with Cotton, we all clapped, although no one was surprised by Chrome’s accomplishment in the slightest.
“Okay, Slate. Your turn!” Onyx called, a grin beaming wide and bright.
Hazel nudged me with her elbow, and Peri offered a grin, holding her phone up, facing me as she filmed the entire thing.
I rolled my eyes and tossed up the middle finger toward the camera with an exaggerated smile before I spun around, making my way to the starting point. Like Chrome, I didn’t get into a runner’s lunge. I pulled in a few deep breaths to get oxygen flowing through my bloodstream and popped my neck from side to side.
I zeroed my focus on the ledge and then the rooftop beyond it. I exhaled slowly, absorbing any light emitted from the streetlights surrounding us. They flickered and dimmed as I topped off my magic and took off at a sprint like Chrome had.
Obviously, I wasn’t nearly as fast as him, but I pushed myself to a high enough speed to leap onto the ledge. Pushing off in a single move, I used my magic to increase my inhuman strengths to help me clear the space with ease.
I soared over the alleyway below, and once the flat rooftop came into view below me, I dropped down, bending my knee, ready to land in a body roll to prevent a painful landing.
The impact was harsh, as always, but I rolled through it to my feet.
“You lacked the air you usually do, Slate,” Chrome said with a bemused grin.
Cotton furrowed his brows and shook his head as he began to pick at the small pebbles on the ground at his feet.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, fuck off, over-achiever,” I grumbled as I moved to sit beside him.
Chrome chuckled and bumped me with his shoulder. “So, do you think Onyx is gonna make it?”
I snorted, and the grin on Cotton’s face told me he shared the same thoughts. “I think he’ll be lucky to make the first one.”
“I don’t think he’ll make even that. What the hell was he thinking challenging us to this?” Chrome asked, genuinely confused. “He has literally no training for this.”
“Why does Onyx ever do any of the shit he does?” I questioned dryly, although my fondness for Onyx shone in my tone. Everyone needed a friend like Onyx Valor in their lives.
“Shall we go watch the carnage?” Chrome mused with a smirk and a raised brow.
“Obviously,” I retorted, rising to my feet. “One of us will need to save his ass at some point tonight. You know that, right?”
Cotton was the one who answered with a firm shake of his head and a grin.
“No?”
Cotton’s face soured playfully into a look that said “Are you crazy?”
“Ah,” Chrome realized, nodding in agreement. “Onyx brought this shit on himself.”
We laughed as we made our way to the rooftop ledge, tilting our heads upward at the roof we’d just vacated, waiting to either see or hear Onyx’s jump.
“I can’t wait to see the footage from Peri after this is over,” I muttered to Chrome.
We waited for several moments while nothing happened. I grew impatient, assuming Onyx finally came to his senses and backed out. I honestly hoped he would for his own well-being.
“Fuck it. Let’s jump back. I don’t think he’s…” I started but stopped as I heard a fearful battle cry reverberating off the surrounding buildings. I searched the darkened skies through my heightened vision for a body. And, sure enough, a shadow kicked and flailed as a panicked yell seemed to propel him forward.
“Shit! Fuck! Shit! Oh, my gods! Fuck me!”
The three of us stood by with open mouths as Onyx dropped from the sky, right on the ledge, his midsection catching him. My drunkenly overconfident friend hugged the building tight against his body. “Fuck…” he wheezed at last, his torso folded over it like a taco. “Help,” he squeaked, his amber eyes bulging from his head helplessly.
Chrome, Cotton, and I looked at each other, trying to determine whether we should or make him suffer for a bit. With a sigh, Chrome rolled his eyes. “Fuck it. Let’s help him over.”
When we reached Onyx, he grunted. “I almost died. You guys almost let me die! Why did you let me do that?”
