by Lucas Flint
“Yeah,” said Edge, nodding. “That’s another thing separating me from you. You lived a good family life, but I had to struggle every step of the way and see the world for what it was. The streets molded me into the man I am today, and I am going to clean up these streets whether you approve of my methods or not.”
“Uh huh,” I said, folding my arms in front of my chest. “Well, I guess we could work together if you want, although I’m not impressed by your edgy backstory.”
“I don’t need your kind,” said Edge, once again turning his back to me. “The streets of Showdown continue to run with the blood of innocents when they should be running with the blood of criminals instead. You wouldn’t understand that or why I am a lone wolf who will always be alone.”
I was about to make a comment about how I didn’t like how he was implying he was going to murder a bunch of people he deemed ‘criminals’ when my earcom crackled and I heard Brains’ voice say, “Bolt! Where are you? Did you manage to catch the getaway car?”
“Yeah, Brains, I did,” I said, glancing at the Iron Ringers. “Sort of. I had some help.”
“Help?” said Brains in confusion. “Who helped you?”
“Some guy named Edge—” I stopped speaking when I looked over at where Edge had been standing and saw that he was gone, with no trace of where he went.
CHAPTER SIX
About an hour later, Brains and I stood outside the parking garage where the Iron Ringers had tried to make their getaway, watching as Showdown police officers hauled the captured Iron Ringers into their squad cars. I also noticed a single hundred dollar bill fly down from the second floor and land on the ground below, which a greedy-looking police officer picked up, only for his fellow officer to slap it out of his hand and give him a disapproving look. I suppose he was trying to make sure that his fellow officers didn’t take any of the money, which was all supposed to go back to the Showdown City National Bank.
“Well, I’m glad this is over with,” said Brains, his hands on his hips as we watched the officers work. “Bank robberies are my least favorite crime to stop, even if they’re usually easy. Mostly, it’s because of the clean-up afterward, when you have to try and find all the money they stole. It’s going to take days to pick up all of that cash, and we’ll probably miss a good chunk of it.”
I nodded. “And we didn’t catch Mixer, either. He’s still at large.”
“He was the superhuman you said was working with the Iron Ring Gang, right?” said Brains. He shook his head. “This isn’t a good development. The Iron Ring Gang was hard enough to keep under control when they were just normal humans. With a bona fide supervillain on their side, things are definitely going to get worse before they get any better here.”
Then Brains looked at me curiously. “By the way, exactly how did you manage to catch all those robbers? I had a look at the crime scene earlier and it looked to me like they managed to get a head start on you thanks to Mixer’s distraction.”
“That’s the thing,” I said. “I didn’t take them down. A kid calling himself Edge Vigilante did it instead.”
Brains tilted his head to the side. “Edge Vigilante? Who is that?”
“Honestly? I have no idea,” I said with a shrug. “He just showed up wearing lots of leather and ranted to me about lone wolves and how the world is really fifty shades of gray or something like that. I didn’t understand most of it.”
“Was he a superhuman?” said Brains.
“I think so, but I’m not sure,” I said. “He didn’t use any powers and I didn’t see him do anything particularly superhuman, other than pulling off a pretty impressive disappearing act when I wasn’t looking.”
“Hmmm,” said Brains, stroking his chin. “This is very strange. I’ve never heard of this Edge character. Did he tell you anything else about himself and where’s he from or what he wants to do?”
“All I know is that he thinks us superheroes are a bunch of losers and that he’s going to save Showdown from crime all by himself,” I said. “I think he might be crazy, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Sounds like it,” said Brains. “Well, I’ll ask the police to keep an eye out for him and to report to me if anyone sees him. Last thing we need is having some kid running around Showdown trying to play superhero when he’s not even associated with the NHA or INJ.”
“Agreed,” I said, nodding again. “I wish I knew where he went, but like I said, he disappeared before I could talk to him.”
“Based on what you told me, I expect him to pop up again sometime soon,” said Brains. “In any case, I think our job here is done. The police are going to haul these guys off to jail and close off the crime scene until they’re done gathering all the evidence they can find. You and I need to head back to the Braindome and fill out a report on this for our records.”
“Sure,” I said, but then I hesitated. “Hey, Brains, can I ask you something?”
Brains, who had pulled out his phone and seemed to be texting someone, glanced up at me. “Yeah, Bolt, what is it?”
I hesitated again. I needed Brains to give me at least a week off so I could go and infiltrate Red Tide’s group, but I wasn’t sure he would allow me so much time off so soon after I just got back from seeing Blizzard. “I was wondering if I could have this week off.”
Brains looked up at me again, this time with more interest. “This week off? You mean the whole week?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
Brains frowned. “For what reason? You just got back from Hero Island seeing Blizzard, didn’t you? By the way, how is she doing? Is she well?”
I gulped. “No. Blizzard isn’t doing well at all. The disease that infected her has no known cure. Even Healing Touch can’t heal her.”
Brains’ typing fingers paused above the screen of his phone. “Wow. That’s awful. I am sorry to hear that. Are you sure they can’t cure her?”
“That’s what Touch told me,” I said. “He said her illness cannot be cured and he’s not sure if she will ever get better.”
I didn’t tell him about Touch’s estimation of how much time she had left, mostly because I didn’t want to make Brains even more worried than he already was. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it.
“That is even worse than I thought,” said Brains. “Vanish is suffering from the same illness as Blizzard, but she’s been getting better and better all the time. She’s still not well enough to go out into the field again, but I think she’s going to be okay. Wonder why.”
“Touch told me it was because Vanish is older than Blizzard and has a better immune system than her,” I said with a shrug. “Different people respond to illnesses differently, I guess.”
“No doubt,” said Brains. “But I still don’t understand why you want to take a week off. Is there something you need to do or somewhere you need to go that requires that much time off?”
I almost blurted out ‘yes,’ but instead, I said, in a much more measured tone, “I want to go see my Mom in Texas again. It’s been a while since I last saw her and I want to see how she’s doing. Plus, her birthday is coming up pretty soon and I have a gift I want to give her.”
That was a lie. Although it had been a few months since I last saw Mom, her birthday definitely wasn’t coming up and I didn’t have any gifts to give her. I just needed some way to convince Brains to give me a week off so I could go and save Blizzard and this was the best lie I could come up with. It seemed odd to lie to a telepath, but I knew from experience that Brains did not intrude on peoples’ privacy and read their thoughts without his permission. Therefore, I wasn’t afraid of him finding out about my lie, at least not that way.
To my relief, Brains seemed to agree with me, because he said, “I understand about wanting to see family. I like going out to see my parents up in Norfolk as often as I can. If you want to spend the week with your mom, that’s fine by me.”
“What? Really?” I said. I gestured at the parking garage and the police cars surroun
ding it. “You don’t need my help with the criminals around the city?”
“I think I can handle it by myself for now,” said Brains. “After Earth King’s death, organized crime really has fallen through the floor here. Even the Iron Ring Gang still aren’t on the same level as Earth King yet. Heck, even the presence of Mixer doesn’t bother me that much. And if something does happen here, I can always call in back up from the rest of the organization.”
“Wow,” I said. “Thanks, Brains. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” said Brains, looking back down at his phone. “Sorry about Blizzard, by the way. I hope that they can find a way to cure her anyway.”
I nodded once more. “Yeah, me too, Brains. Me too.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
At midnight that night, I stood on the rooftop of the Braindome by myself, my arms folded in front of my chest as I patiently waited for Shade to show up and take me to wherever Red Tide was. The night air was cold, although thankfully it hadn’t started snowing here yet. Even so, I shivered slightly when a cold breeze blew through, although my costume’s cold resistance kept me from freezing.
I had told Brains earlier that I planned to leave as early tomorrow morning as possible, but in truth, I was going to leave tonight at midnight. This mission was extremely time sensitive, mostly because of my personal deadline. If I didn’t get the weapon back in a week, then Blizzard was going to die, whereas if I managed to pull this off, then I could get Miracle and potentially save Blizzard. A part of me was worried about what would happen if I failed, but I pushed such thoughts out of my head. I couldn’t doubt myself, not yet, not when Blizzard’s life was riding on the success of my actions.
“Bolt,” said Valerie in my ear suddenly. “You aren’t seriously going through with this mission, are you?”
“Valerie?” I said. “I thought you were asleep.”
“As an AI, I don’t need sleep the way humans like yourself do,” said Valerie. “I simply noticed you were awake well past your bedtime and I wanted to find out why.”
“Well, yeah, I’m going to do this mission,” I said. “I don’t trust the G-Men any more than you do, but if they have the cure to Blizzard’s disease, then I have no choice but to help them.”
“It seems too risky to me,” said Valerie. “I do not like the idea of letting the G-Men use you to run their own errands. It seems like it could easily blow up in your face.”
“Honestly, Val, I can’t really argue with you on that,” I said. My hands balled into fists. “But I’m not doing this because I want to. I’m doing this for Blizzard. I’m doing this to get the cure for her condition. If that means risking my own life, then so be it.”
“Aw, you really are a good boyfriend, aren’t you?” said Shade’s voice behind me. “That is so adorable.”
I started and looked over my shoulder. Shade was leaning against the entrance to the Braindome, her usual amused smile on her lips. She wasn’t alone, though. Standing next to her was a man in a suit I didn’t recognize. He was a black guy with skin so dark it practically melted into the shadows, which stood out in stark contrast to his brilliant white suit. If I had to put an age on him, I would say he was somewhere in his early thirties, although his incredibly dark hair made him look younger. He stood with his hands in his pockets and looked pretty harmless, but I knew from experience that G-Men agents were rarely harmless.
“When did you get here?” I said, turning to face Shade and the strange newcomer, whoever he was. “I didn’t hear you show up.”
Shade pushed herself off the door and strode over to me with her hands behind her back. “Just a few minutes ago, but I overheard you talking about saving your girlfriend’s life. That’s really romantic. Right, Al?”
“Quite,” said the man with a nod. “Reminds me of how I felt about my ex-wife before my divorce.” He shook his head. “Ah, to be young and stupid again.”
“Um, Shade?” I said as Shade walked around me, looking me over as if to make sure I was unarmed. “Who is this guy?”
“Him?” said Shade, stopping beside me and looking over at the man she called ‘Al’ a second ago. “Oh, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce Alphonse Prince, a fellow G-Man agent and one of our top spies.”
Alphonse walked up to me and held out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bolt.”
Although I generally distrusted G-Men agents, I nonetheless took his hand and shook it just to be polite.
As soon as the skin of my hand came into contact with his, however, my palm burned and I yanked my hand back. “Ouch! What was that?”
But Alphonse did not appear to be listening to me. His eyes had gone distant for a moment as if he was looking at something I couldn’t see. “Hmm, interesting. You’ve been through even more than your case file suggests.”
“What do you mean?” I said. I looked at Shade. “What did Alphonse just do?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you Alphonse’s powers,” said Shade, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “When he shakes your hand, he can see your memories. All your memories. It’s why his code name is Fingerprints.”
Alarmed, I looked at Fingerprints and said, “That’s a huge invasion of my privacy. Would have been nice to warn me before you did that.”
Fingerprints shook his head and his eyes became clear once again. “Apologies for not warning you ahead of time. I assumed Shade had already told you about me.”
“Actually, Shade didn’t even mention you to me,” I said. “I had no idea you were going to be here.”
Fingerprints sighed. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Shade does have a tendency toward sloppiness in her work. Her reports are atrocious.”
“I’m not sloppy,” Shade insisted. “I just don’t sweat the details. Big difference.”
“You say tomato, I say tomahto,” said Fingerprints. “But if it makes you feel better, Bolt, I only see the memories you remember. Those you’ve forgotten are locked to me unless someone reminds you about them.”
“Uh uh,” I said, not sure whether to believe Fingerprints’ statement about his powers. I looked at Shade again. “Why is he here? Did Cadmus send him to steal my memories?”
“Nope,” said Shade. She reached up and patted Fingerprints on the shoulder. “He’s going to be your partner for this mission. As I said, Fingerprints is our top spy and knows a thing or two about infiltrating hostile groups to gather intelligence and information.”
“I was a CIA agent before I was transferred to the G-Men after my powers manifested,” Fingerprints explained. “So I have a lot of experience with spying.”
“Your last spy who tried to ‘help’ me ended up trying to kill me,” I said. “Isn’t he still on the run somewhere?”
“I am nothing like Mimic,” Fingerprints insisted. “I never liked him even when he was part of the G-Men. Always did think he was a bit of a snake, more so than most spies, I mean.”
I folded my arms in front of my chest. “So what is Fingerprints here going to do? Help me infiltrate Red Tide’s crew?”
“Pretty much,” said Shade. “We know how clumsy and awkward you are, so we figured you could use some help, and Fingerprints here is the best help you can get without paying for a private spy out of pocket.”
“There are private spies?” I said.
“Sure,” said Shade. “But they’re too pricey for you to afford, so you get stuck with Fingerprints instead.”
Fingerprints pursed his lips, clearly not pleased with the implication behind the word ‘stuck,’ but before he could say anything, I said, “If we’re all here, then let’s go. I’m ready to get started.”
Shade held up a finger. “Wait a second. You can’t just go run off and join Red Tide’s crew in your normal costume.”
I put my hands on my chest. “I can’t?”
“No,” said Shade, shaking her head. “It’s too distinctive and recognizable. We’ll need to get you dressed up in something different. Same with you, Fingerprints.”
“As long as they’re not embarrassing, I’m fine with whatever you guys have for me,” I said. “I only care about saving Blizzard. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
Shade suddenly smiled evilly. “Of course. I would never think of embarrassing you, not ever. So let me show you what I got for you and you can put it on. And then we can finally get this mission started.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
If there was one thing I should have understood about Shade, it was that she was a liar, plain and simple. I mean, it sort of goes without saying—she is a G-Man agent, after all—but I think she would be a liar even if she didn’t work for the federal government. Being a G-Man just gave her an excuse to lie her butt off about everything and anything as long as she could justify it as a matter of national security, although I didn’t see how you could call dressing me up in the tackiest, most embarrassing clothes ever could be described as a matter of national security.
Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a bit, but not really. The clothes Shade provided for me fit well enough, but they looked weird. I had to wear an over-sized lime green pea coat on top of a puffy white shirt and brown leggings that made me feel like I had walked straight out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The leather boots I wore were comfortable enough, but I was so used to walking around without shoes on my feet that it was kind of awkward to walk around in. Oh, and then there was the bright red bandanna she tied around my head so tightly it felt like my skull was about to pop. She even tried to get me to wear an eye patch, but I shot that down on the basis that it would be incredibly impractical.
As Fingerprints and I walked down a boardwalk, I couldn’t help but fidget with my clothing, tugging at the collar of my shirt or pulling at the sleeves of my coat, which seemed slightly too short for my body. I felt a little envious of Fingerprints, who wore similar clothes to mine, but they looked a lot better on him and seemed to fit him better than mine did. In particular, his pea coat was a deep navy blue, which made me wonder why Shade chose such a tacky color for mine. Probably just to troll me, which seemed to be her main goal in life.