The Rise of Dark Flame

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  The gunman gestured wildly at Blue Spekter and then the man with the rocket launcher popped up out of the sun roof again and took aim. Nope, not going to happen again.

  He accelerated toward the man and reached out with his hands. Zipping past the gunman, he tore the rocket launcher from the man’s arms, accidentally breaking one of them in the process.

  Oops.

  Blue Spekter looped backwards and flew towards the oncoming police officers. He landed, set the rocket launcher near the yellow line of the highway, opposite the pulled-over cars, then took off after the getaway car. Behind him, one of the cruisers pulled over to secure the lethal weapon.

  I don’t know how fast these assholes are going but they’re going to hurt themselves or someone else. Ahead, he saw the Hampton tollbooth. A number of state troopers had blocked the southbound lanes in hopes of stopping the car, but they had left an opening in case the criminals decided to crash through them. Okay, how the hell do you safely stop a car going eighty-eight plus miles per hour without killing anyone? If I use my water powers, the car will hydroplane. If I freeze their wheels, the car will flip over. If I get in front of the car and try to stop it, I’m…I know what I can do…

  Both gunman opened fired at him and their bullets bounced off his naked body. He shook his head and flew toward the getaway car.

  Suddenly, getaway car’s rear wheels lifted off the ground and the trunk collapsed in on itself. With the rear of the car five feet up in the air, the nose of the car lifted off the ground as well. Though it was off the ground, the car unexplainably continued moving forward. Then, the rest of the car crumpled like paper and the engine blew out. Blood, gasoline, and other automotive fluids sprayed everywhere as the occupants of the car met their demise.

  What the hell?

  Then, Blue Spekter grabbed the side of his head and winced. He frowned and looked up. On top of the southbound tollbooth bracing, he saw Blake standing with hands extended toward him, wearing only purple pants and sneakers.

  Oh no, what have you done?

  ❖

  Blake

  Mrs. White droned on about the merits of love and hate in Romeo and Juliet and the power of Shakespeare’s plays, regaling her class about how only her local playhouse captured the essence of the bard’s heart and creative intentions.

  “These violent delights have violent ends

  And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

  Which, as they kiss, consume.”

  She dramatically intoned the verse, quoting Friar Lawrence’s lines, then held aloft her often-touted original replica manuscript.

  To his left, Blake sensed Quinn walking out of the library. He sensed Quinn day in and day out at school and it served as an annoying, unstoppable reminder of their now-ended friendship.

  “Well, Mr. Hargreaves?” Mrs. White asked.

  “What?” he responded, pulled out of his thoughts. Students around him snickered and stared with amused expressions because his daydreaming faux-pas was the most interesting thing to happen that period.

  “Uh, sorry, I don’t know,” he responded, wondering why Quinn was at his locker.

  “If you’re not going to read the assigned text, the least you could do is pay attention in class and pretend to have an interest in the history of your language and its literature,” Mrs. White said with a reprimanding tone.

  Blake glared at her and reached out with his mind, knocking over the mug of coffee off her desk. Startled by the sound of shattering ceramic, she turned around and focused on the messy distraction. Blake smirked as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Who the hell is calling me during the day?

  He discreetly pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw an urgent text from Victor: Need you NOW.

  He shook his head and texted his response back with one hand: Dammit, Victor, I’m in school.

  A moment later, his phone vibrated in his hand with a triple pulse, indicating an incoming call…from Victor. Why do adults never understand the realities of school? They’ll confiscate my phone if I’m not careful…I’ve told Victor this several times.

  He answered the call, his hand and phone in his pocket, and made his way to the classroom door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Mrs. White asked.

  “Romeo has to take a piss,” Blake answered, enjoying the sight of his teacher’s disgust. He made his way into the hallway and raised his cellphone to his ear.

  “I’m in school, dammit,” he snapped. “If I get caught they’ll take my phone for the day.”

  “I’m sorry,” Victor responded, his voice slightly hoarse. “I wouldn’t have bothered you if it wasn’t important.

  “What do you want?”

  “A situation has developed and it needs your…special touch.”

  Blake sighed, checking the hallways for teachers or DHS agents. “What is it?”

  “The local news is broadcasting a false report about an armed robbery getaway car chase on Interstate 95 in the southbound lane. The car is real, but the crime is not. They’ve just crossed over into New Hampshire and have incurred a significant police escort.”

  “Uh-huh,” Blake answered.

  “I need them stopped, Blake. I need you to eliminate them out with extreme prejudice.”

  Blake raised an eyebrow with interest and confusion. “You want me to pull out the big guns in the middle of school, in broad daylight?”

  “If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have called.”

  “So, it wasn’t an armed robbery, then. Tell me what they did.”

  Victor sighed.

  “I’m not skipping out on school until you do.” He sensed Quinn take off and fly away, heading east. Then, he lost track of him. “By the way, Quinn just left the building; given his flight path I assume he’s heading to the car chase.”

  “You have to stop those traitors! Quinn cannot be allowed to stop them.” Victor shouted into the phone.

  “Seriously? More traitors?”

  “All from the Heart of Glory. Apparently a second group, a sleeper cell, if you will, were lying in wait until the right moment. The stunt on the Cerulean was the trigger point and they infiltrated the Seavey Island facility this morning and retrieved sensitive data regarding…ongoing projects with the orgone reactors. If that information gets into police hands, Blake, everything changes. I won’t be able to protect you.”

  Blake noted the hesitation in Victor’s voice. “Who says I need your protection?”

  “God dammit, Blake, do as you’re fucking told! It’s time for Dark Flame to reveal himself to the world and remind others in The Order that treachery will be met with swift retaliation!”

  Blake flinched, surprised by Victor’s sudden aggression. “I’m rather amused you think you can bark orders at me given some of our previous, less than pleasant conversations.

  “But I thought…”

  Blake cut him off. “Fine. I’ll deal with it.”

  “Thank you. They’re in a gray sedan, and they’re heavily armed.”

  “Yup.” He hung up his phone and ran to his locker to retrieve his gym bag. Alone in the hallway, he held up a pair of purple super tights in one hand and the purple sneakers in the other and stared at them. These will look ridiculous if anyone sees me.

  Double checking his surroundings, he quickly changed into his purple tights and a black, body hugging T-shirt that showed off his muscles. Closing his locker, he turned himself invisible and ran for the nearest exit, not giving a second thought to the surprised agent who watched the door mysteriously pop open.

  Dark Flame flew south, cautiously assessing the situation. In the distance, he saw Blue Spekter flying over the interstate, where a red helicopter seemed to fly with the action. I don’t want to reveal my power of flight to Quinn yet, so I need to do something else. I know; I’ll catch them before they hit the tollbooths.

  Though he couldn’t fly as fast as Blue Spekter, he could reach the tollbooths faster than the speeding getaway car. And so,
glowing bright orange and keeping his distance from Blue Spekter, he flew parallel to the interstate.

  An explosion behind him made him glance back, but he proceeded to the tollbooths until he landed on top of the southbound toll plaza structure. Ahead of him, police had set up a pathetic excuse for a roadblock, but they also spread out several tire-puncture devices.

  Blue Spekter was nowhere to be seen and Dark Flame searched for the gray car. The red helicopter seemed to increase its distance from the chase. Minutes later, Dark Flame spotted the gray car; a gunman was hanging out one of the windows, shooting at the ten or so police cruisers that chased them. Unsure of his telekinetic ability’s range, he reached out with his mind, but couldn’t connect with the car yet.

  A moment later, Blue Spekter flew in from the left and aligned himself with the cruisers. A moment later, he swooped in and ripped something from the gunman who had popped up from the sunroof.

  Weird.

  Blake reached out again and tried to connect.

  Still too far.

  Blue Spekter resumed his chase and flew toward the speeding sedan. Any minute now, Quinn’s gonna sense me… I need to connect with that car!

  Dark Flame focused and reached out with his right hand and mind. He smiled wickedly when he felt his mind connect with the car. Time to put on a show for the police, Quinn…sorry buddy…it’s time you get taken down a notch.

  He reached out with both hands and lifted the rear of the car off the ground and crushed it, but continued to pull it toward him. Then, the front wheels of the car rose up and Dark Flame considered his next move. If Victor wants them destroyed, there’s only one way to end this.

  He curled his fingers into claws and watched the hood of the car crumple like paper under his power. A moment later, the engine blew out. Grabbing the frame of the passenger compartment with his mind, he crushed it and its occupants. Blood and automotive liquids sprayed everywhere as the occupants of the car met their demise.

  Blake yelled as his mind screamed and alerted him to Blue Spekter’s presence. He released the car and dropped it to the ground. It bounced once and then scraped and screeched along the asphalt, sparks spraying behind the car as it struggled against the friction that pulled it to a stop.

  Knowing he caught Blue Spekter off guard, he jumped down from the tollbooth plaza and speed-ran toward the crushed car. He raised his hands and blasted it with hot flame, scorching the paint and superheating the vehicle’s interior. Seconds later, he backed off, the car now engulfed in flame and ready to explode. That will destroy whatever evidence Victor didn’t want leaking into the wrong hands.

  “What have you done?” Blue Spekter shouted, descending to ground level and flying straight at him.

  Dark Flame regarded him with curiosity. What is he doing?

  A second later, Blue Spekter slammed into him and delivered a strong uppercut to Dark Flame’s chin that knocked him up and backward through the air. Blue and orange sparks erupted from their violent contact. Before he could recover, Blue Spekter was on him again, delivering a second super-powered punch to his gut that sucked the wind out of him and rocketed him up into the sky.

  To the police and the innocent bystanders on the ground, brilliant blue light collided with a similarly brilliant orange light, accompanied by flashes of white light and two sharp, cracking sounds akin to thunder.

  Dark Flame tumbled upward until he felt Blue Spekter’s hands grab him from behind. Then he accelerated upward into the atmosphere.

  “What the hell did you just kill those people for?” Blue Spekter shouted.

  Dark Flame turned his head to the left and twisted his body around. “It’s none of your damn business!” His right fist swung around and slammed into Blue Spekter’s face, causing him to change course slightly. A shower of blue and orange sparks rained down from them and Dark Flame reared back and punched his ex-friend again.

  “Let go of me!” he shouted, grabbing for Blue Spekter’s clothes. Instead, his hands only met sweaty, slippery flesh. What the hell? Are you naked? Why does your chest look black and burnt? Whatever… Then, he superheated his body and allowed it to become consumed with deep purple and orange flames. The sudden discharge of power and heat pushed Blue Spekter away.

  Dark Flame smiled wickedly as he fell back toward earth. “Next time, stay out of The Order’s business.”

  Blue Spekter recovered and hovered in midair, watching him fall.

  Reaching an altitude he could fly at, and knowing Blue Spekter wouldn’t understand the limitations of his powers at the moment, Dark Flame saluted and then rocketed inland, making his way back to the high school.

  Behind him, Blue Spekter watched in disbelief as Dark Flame flew away.

  ❖

  Quinn

  The family’s hide-a-key allowed Quinn discreet entry into his house to clean up. Both his dads were at work, so he could easily hide the evidence of a late-morning shower.

  Quinn furiously scrubbed the soot stains off his body for a third time with his loofa. The dark gray water that had run into the drain finally turned clear.

  What the hell was Blake doing out there? Was this The Order’s business? I swear, this is becoming unnecessarily complicated and I need to sort this out fast. I need to get back to school and talk with Mr. St. Germain.

  Satisfied with the clean state of his skin and hair, he toweled off and picked out new clothes to wear. I hope the suit Ron’s brother makes will be more resistant to heat and fire than my clothes are.

  After dressing, he turned invisible and made his way out of the house, returning the hide-a-key to its location. He took a deep breath and launched himself into the air.

  A minute later, he hovered over the school, searching for agents who would be entering one of the entrances. He sensed Blake already inside the building, sitting in class.

  Shit, I missed my U.S. History quiz…

  When he saw two guards walk toward the entrance he had exited from, he swooped down and flew through the doorway, not caring about the slight breeze the guards noticed as he passed by them.

  He flew down through the empty hallways and extended his arms out to his sides, pretending to be an airplane. This is kinda cool.

  When he reached his locker and landed, he confirmed the coast was clear, became visible, and unlocked his locker.

  When he opened the door, a folded note fell to the ground. He picked it up and opened it, immediately recognizing Blake’s handwriting: Do that again and I’ll be sure to make you suffer.

  Quinn lowered the note, his heart dropping to his stomach. How could you even say that to me?

  He took a deep breath and sighed. He looked down the hall and the boy’s bathroom sign jumped out at him. Ron’s right, we can’t do this alone. We—whatever that is—need help. I guess I need to put my suspicions aside and trust Ana Maria is here to help us. I think it’s also time I make that other call…

  He grabbed what he needed from his locker and then walked to the bathroom, cellphone in hand. After checking the stalls to make sure he was alone, he looked up the number for Captain David Prett and pressed dial. It rang a few times until the call connected.

  “Captain Prett speaking,” a familiar voice answered.

  “Hi, we’ve met before,” Quinn said, using the code phrase David had given him.

  “I’ll be in town in two days. Can it wait until then? Otherwise, I need to call you back on a secure line.”

  “Yes, but not beyond that.” This sounds so James Bond, I love it!

  “How about we meet at noon in two days where I handed you my business card?”

  “All right, I’ll pick you up.”

  “Um, okay…see you then.”

  Quinn pocketed his phone and took another deep breath. All right, now all I have to do is meet with Ana Maria.

  14 | These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends

  Blake

  Slouched on his couch, Blake absentmindedly bounced a rubber ball against the opposite wall of his liv
ing room. Earlier, he showered and dressed for school, but he hadn’t left his condo yet. Several hours into the morning, his mind reeled with distraction and he felt exhausted from wrestling with the nightmares that plagued his sleep again. Despite the bizarre incident of the Cerulean mission, the women and children from the power plant in Boston still bothered him. Also, he kicked himself for not interrogating Victor about his whereabouts when he spoke with him on the phone after the man angrily ordered him to destroy the fleeing thieves on Interstate 95.

  I know what I have to do in Boston; I just have to do it. I guess now is as good a time as any.

  He went up to his room and changed into a pair of his purple super tights and sneakers. Even though he felt silly wearing them without a shirt, the Cerulean mission had cemented it as his Dark Flame uniform.

  He reached into his closet and pulled out a black, zip-up hoodie and put it on. Then, he sat on his bed and grabbed his laptop from the nightstand. He opened the map application and studied Boston Harbor, noting the location of the power plant in relation to the Tobin Bridge. He grabbed his cell phone and called Radoslav.

  “Dark Flame,” the man answered with surprise. “Why you no in school?”

  Blake smirked at Radoslav’s broken English. “Can you be in the, uh, interrogation room in about ninety minutes?”

  “For you, sixty or less.”

  “Good. Have your tools ready to go. I have a job for you…if you catch my drift.”

  “Did Victor approve this?” the man asked, his thick accent coming through the phone.

  “I don’t answer to Victor anymore,” he brazenly answered. Besides, Victor’s gone missing.

  “I see.”

  “I’ll call you when I’m on my way back.”

  “Okay.”

  He shut his laptop and tucked his phone into the waistband of his tights. Then, he made his way through his condo to the balcony and shut the doors behind him. He looked up, then willed himself to fly. His body responded by glowing bright orange and he accelerated, zipping downriver to the open ocean so he could follow the coastline down to Boston Harbor. It wouldn’t be hard to find the power plant from the air once he spotted the Tobin Bridge.