by Lucas Flint
Table of Contents
Title Page
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CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
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About the Author
THE SUPERHERO'S CURE
Lightning Bolt Book #3
Lucas Flint
Published by Secret Identity Books. An imprint of Annulus Publishing.
Copyright © Lucas Flint 2018. All rights reserved.
Contact: [email protected]
Cover design by Damonza
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send an email to the above contact.
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CHAPTER ONE
I stood with my hands on the clear glass wall, staring at Blizzard—my girlfriend—sleeping on the other side. With her eyes closed and her hands folded on her stomach, she looked like she was just taking a nap … or would have, anyway, if it wasn’t for the IV drip attached to her hand. Or her skin, which was normally a dark brown, but was now a sickening gray. Even her snow white hair looked thinner and grayer than usual, especially at the tips. Her chest rose and fell in an irregular rhythm and my blood pressure would spike every time there was a gap for longer than a few seconds, but then I would calm down again when she resumed breathing. Her heart monitor showed steady, regular spikes, but it barely reassured me that she was going to be okay.
“Bolt,” said a man in a kind voice behind me. “I understand how much Blizzard means to you, but we need to talk. Staring at her won’t cure her.”
Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from Blizzard and turned to face the man who had spoken. He was a rail thin middle-aged man in a white costume, similar to mine in material and design, except his had a blue hand on the chest. He was sitting at a small table with a clipboard and a pen before him, which had notes written on it in a barely legible scrawl. “Are you sure there’s nothing that you can do for her, Touch?”
The man—real name Orson Karl, but better known as Healing Touch, the local healer and head doctor for the Neohero Alliance—nodded grimly. “I am sorry, but it’s true. I’ve been working hard to heal her, but she hasn’t gotten any better. In fact, I would say she’s only gotten worse under our care, despite giving her the best medical care available.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re Healing Touch. You can heal any disease with, well, a touch, can’t you? How can you not just touch her and will her sickness away?”
Healing Touch sighed and rubbed his forehead. “My powers are not magic, Bolt. In order to heal a disease, I first need to understand it. And I don’t understand this disease afflicting Blizzard at all. I have checked all of my medical books and even consulted with some of my doctor friends outside the NHA, but no one knows what it is or how to heal or even treat it.”
I bit my lower lip. “But you’re the greatest superhuman doctor in the world. If you can’t heal her …”
“Neomedicine is still a very new area of medicine,” said Healing Touch. He picked up the clipboard and scanned it, though I wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “Doctors and physicians are still struggling to understand how disease affects superhumans differently from normal humans. Some doctors have even predicted that, with the rise of superhumans, would also be the rise of superhuman diseases, though for a while there I wasn’t sure that would happen.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Blizzard’s prone form again. “Are you telling me that Blizzard has been infected with a disease only superhumans can get?”
“That’s my current theory,” said Healing Touch as he put the clipboard down again and folded his arms in front of his chest. “It explains why all of the usual methods have failed to cure her. I believe this same sickness has affected Vanish as well, although she seems to be taking it better than Blizzard, perhaps because she is older and has a more developed immune system.”
My hands balled into fists at my sides. “Is this why you called me out all the way back here to Hero Island? Just to tell me that Blizzard has come down with a disease exclusive to superhumans that has no cure?”
“I didn’t say it had no cure,” Healing Touch added hastily, “I just meant that it may be a while before we find a cure and—”
“Then why did you call me out here in the first place?” I said, throwing my hands into the air. “Just to tell me that my girlfriend is going to die?”
“I didn’t call you out here to tell you that,” said Healing Touch, holding up his hands as if to pacify me. “I just wanted to give you an update on her situation. I just thought it would be easier for you to understand the situation if you saw it for yourself in person, rather than hear it over the phone or via text or something like that.”
My hands shook, but I said, in a calm voice, “What about her parents and her sister?”
“They were here yesterday,” said Healing Touch, lowering his own hands onto his lap. “They’ve been calling me every day to find out how she is progressing. They are very concerned about her, which is only natural, although it is a little annoying sometimes because I don’t always have something new to tell them.”
“Did you tell them what you just told me?” I said. “That Blizzard’s illness is new and there might not be a cure for it?”
“I did,” said Healing Touch, nodding. “They were not happy to hear that, and it took me hours to convince them that the safest place for Blizzard right now was here. Her father seemed to think that they just needed to find another doctor to tell them something different, even though I told them that nearly every reputable doctor in the country would tell them exactly the same thing.”
I nodded. I wasn’t surprised. Blizzard’s parents were hugely supportive and protective of her, especially her dad. I wished I could have seen them before I got here, but I suppose it was for the best. I didn’t want them to blame me for Blizzard’s condition, not when
I wasn’t responsible for it. “I see.”
“But I just don’t understand how she got sick,” said Healing Touch, glancing at the clipboard again. “You told me she inhaled a huge amount of powerless gas in an enclosed environment over a long period of time, yes?”
I nodded again. “Yeah. And the gas was mixed with poison, too, to make it even deadlier. I guess it must have somehow created a disease with no cure or something.”
Healing Touch shook his head. “What kind of madman would do such a thing? I cannot imagine why someone with enough chemical knowhow to combine powerless gas with poison and unleash that on someone. Why not put that knowledge to more constructive use?”
I looked at Blizzard again, thinking about how she looked when the EMS people pulled her out of that office in Showdown full of powerless gas. “Some people just like to kill, Touch. They want people to suffer, even if those people did nothing wrong.”
I was thinking about the Neo-Killer. He had been a serial killer who targeted superhumans, though he had a special hatred for me due to his belief that I was responsible for the destruction of San Francisco. He had gone out of his way to make my life a living hell, up to and including poisoning Blizzard. The last I saw, the Neo-Killer had been caught in an explosion of one of Dad’s underground Vaults, but when I went to look for it later, his body was missing, so I wasn’t sure where he was or if he was even still alive.
All I knew was the mere thought of the Neo-Killer was enough to make my blood boil. Wherever he was and whatever he was doing now, I just hoped he was suffering even worse than me. He deserved it.
“Very true,” said Healing Touch. “I should know that, given how much experience I’ve had as a superhero. Still, I guess I’ve always been someone who believed in helping people, rather than hurting, so I have a hard time imagining why someone would want to do the opposite.”
“Same here,” I said. I ran a hand through my hair. “How much longer do you think Blizzard has before … well …”
Healing Touch hesitated. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Touch?” I said. “Did you hear my question? How much longer does Blizzard have before she dies?”
Healing Touch gulped. “Well, it’s hard to say, given the unknown nature of this disease, and it’s possible she might survive because even a doctor like me could be wrong, but—”
“Touch,” I said flatly. “Get to the point.”
Healing Touch took a deep breath. “In my professional opinion, if Blizzard does not recover soon, she will be dead in a week.”
CHAPTER TWO
I didn’t even hesitate. As soon as Healing Touch said that, I turned on my heel and marched straight out of the room. I heard Healing Touch calling at me to come back, but I didn’t bother to look over my shoulder or go back. I just walked—almost ran—through the hallways of Hero Island Hospital, passing nurses, patients, and visitors on my way toward the front door. A few people looked at me funny as I passed and a handful even called my name. But I just ignored them and walked faster and faster, until I reached the front door and emerged outside into the crisp October air, the smell of saltwater entering my nostrils as the rays of the sun rained down overhead.
Instead of running off, however, I flew straight up into the air and landed on the roof of the Hospital. I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest, staring out at the excellent view of Hero Island that the Hospital afforded me. I could see the Tower of Heroes, the Justice Statue, the Hero Island Museum, and pretty much every other major building of note, but I wasn’t really focused on the beautiful sight before me. I was thinking about what Healing Touch just told me about Blizzard and how much time she had left before she died.
One week … Why did he have to tell me that? And why did he say it so abruptly? I wasn’t normally one to get highly emotional, but that news was just a punch to the gut. Prior to hearing this news, I had had hope that Blizzard would make it through, that soon she would be back on her feet again, and we could go out on dates again like we used to. I had even planned on taking Blizzard on a ‘sky date,’ which was basically where I held her and flew her around Showdown. I did that once in another city and she really liked it, so I had hoped to do it again.
But if Healing Touch was right, then I would never be able to take Blizzard out on another date ever again. It seemed like the Neo-Killer was going to get one last kill even after he died. I wished I could punch that monster in the face again, but even if I could, that wouldn’t make Blizzard feel better and I knew it.
“Bolt?” said Valerie’s cool monotone voice in my ear all of a sudden. “Your vitals suggest you are feeling severe emotional distress at the moment. Did something happen?”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I said, “You mean you weren’t listening to what Healing Touch said?”
“My apologies,” said Valerie. “I was in the process of figuring out which Vault we should visit next. I did not think you needed me for this checkup with Healing Touch. Did he say something important?”
I sighed. No point in getting angry at Valerie for doing her job, so I said, “He said Blizzard has a new disease that can’t be cured, and she’s going to die in a week.”
“I thought so,” said Valerie without hesitation. “Healing Touch normally doesn’t take this long to release patients from his care. According to the Hero Island Hospital’s website, most patients are released within a day or two of being admitted. That Blizzard has been here for a month and her condition has only gotten worse confirms what I was thinking about her likelihood of survival.”
“Glad you’re happy,” I said bitterly, watching as a boy and his mom—probably a couple of tourists—entered the Hospital below me, without looking up at me. “Guess someone has to be.”
“My apologies, Bolt,” said Valerie. “I did not mean to be insensitive to your obvious emotional distress. I was merely offering the observation that—”
“I know what you were doing, Val,” I said. I sighed. “And I’m not angry at you, but this is the worst news I’ve heard in a while and it’s going to take some time before I accept it, if I ever do.”
“I understand,” said Valerie. “Although I lack emotions like you, I’ve observed humans long enough to understand that it can take a while before your emotions settle after hearing such terrible news. I remember how long it took you to get over your father’s death not too long ago.”
I scowled. “Another happy memory. You’re just on a roll today, aren’t you, Val?”
“My apologies again,” said Valerie, “I was simply—”
“Could you just shut up for a minute?” I said. “I want to be alone. Go and alphabetize Dad’s Vaults or something stupid like that.”
“Alphabetizing Genius’s Vaults will not take me more than—”
I tapped my earcom twice and Valerie’s voice went quiet. A part of me felt bad for abruptly hanging up on her like that, but right now I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her or anyone else. At some point, I would need to get down from her and go back into the Hospital, but I was too upset to do that right now. I knew I would probably have to apologize to Touch for storming out like that, but that would be later. Right now, I just wanted to stew in my misery, even if that meant I looked like a kid while doing it.
“Well, well, well,” said a familiar female voice behind me, “if it isn’t Mr. Maturity himself.”
Startled, I almost fell off the edge of the Hospital’s roof, but then a shadow tendril emerged from a nearby window and caught me. Surprised, I didn’t do anything as the tendril raised me up and deposited me back on the roof gently, though this time further away from the edge, probably so I wouldn’t fall again. The tendril then dissipated into nothing, allowing me to stand up and turn around to see who had spoken.
A young woman with short dark hair stood not far from me. She wore a dark leather uniform, with a patch with the word ‘G-MEN’ emblazoned on it in gold lettering. She was slightly shorter than me and nowhere near as muscular, but she regarded me with an
amused smirk on her lips and her hands on her hips.
“Shade?” I said, staring at the G-Man agent in disbelief. “When did you get here? And how long have you been following me?”
“Oh, I got here about an hour after you did,” said Shade, her smirk never leaving her lips. She held up a cotton candy stick out of nowhere and licked her lips. “I got a bit distracted by this cotton candy that one of the vendors here was selling. It’s strawberry, my favorite.”
She took a bit out of the cotton candy and swallowed it. “Ah. Delicious.”
My eyes narrowed. Shade was a G-Man agent, which meant she worked for the Department of Superpowered & Extraterrestrial Beings. Although the G-Men allegedly existed to protect the United States from superhuman and alien threats, in my experience, they were rarely up to any good and usually used ‘for the greater good’ as an excuse to do the worst stuff. I’d had quite a few, mostly negative encounters with them, especially with Shade, who I still wasn’t sure if she genuinely liked me or if she simply liked to troll me. In any case, I had to be careful around her, because if Shade was here, then that meant she probably wanted something.
“Got bored spying on innocent people for Camus and decided to come down and pay me a visit?” I said.
Shade finished eating her cotton candy and tossed the stick away. “Actually, this trip is for work rather than pleasure. We heard that your girlfriend, Snowflake—”
“Blizzard,” I corrected.
“—whatever her name is,” Shade continued without missing a beat, “is very sick. Deathly sick, based on what I overheard Healing Touch tell you.”
“Were you eavesdropping on us?” I said indignantly.
“Sure,” said Shade without a hint of shame. “What’s the point in being able to blend in with the shadows if you can’t eavesdrop on people? Seriously, for being such a fast superhuman, you sure are slow sometimes.”
I sighed in exasperation, but said, “You’re right. Blizzard is sick. And she is going to die in a week if we can’t cure her.”