Supers - Ex Heroes 5

by Jamie Hawke

  “I do, but Hadrian can make do without me. Especially for this.” Her eyes moved to Charm, to our hands, and she smiled. “His mind told me so.”

  It hit me that if she was coming along and seemed to have some sort of history with Charm, she might also be joining our team in other ways. An in-the-bedroom sort of way. This thought filled my head, sending a rush of blood to my groin. I couldn’t help but imagine the two of them nude, bodies pressed together, eyeing me seductively as they kissed… motioning me to join in.

  Laurel’s eyes went wide, her hand to her mouth. “Oh, by Oram. We…” She was staring at me, blushing.

  “Oh, no.” I remembered, too late, that her power either let her read thoughts or translate emotions, something like that. She apparently had at least some idea of where my mind had gone.

  Charm looked at her, then me, and laughed. “Did you just get caught with your hand in the cookie jar?”

  I chuckled, but looked at Laurel for help.

  She shook her head. “More like two cookie jars.”

  Charm winked. “More cookies, more yum.”

  Laurel turned to her with shock, but for me this wasn’t anything new from Charm. I wouldn’t have allowed my thoughts to go there if I didn’t think Charm would be going in this direction. She clearly had feelings for this woman. Since she was quite open with sharing in the bedroom and had told me that she loved me, it seemed a logical step that she’d want both of us. Maybe there was something wrong with a picture where I’d started to expect this, but hey, as long as she was the one instigating it all, I’d go along for the ride.

  “Well,” Laurel took a step back. “I…I’ll need a minute.”

  She turned and walked off, paused, looked left and right, and then went right, heading over to one of the metal tents before disappearing inside.

  “How do you think that went?” Charm asked. “On a scale of oatmeal cookie to gingersnaps?”

  “Oatmeal cookies are good.” I frowned. “You put them at the bottom of the scale?”

  “Pssh, compared to ginger anything, come on. Maybe non-butter cookies would be at the top, but… not quite.”

  “She didn’t say no…?”

  Charm nodded. “Chocolate chip with walnuts, then.”

  “And if she’d stripped right here and taken us both on, that would’ve been…?”

  “Ridiculous.” Charm grinned. “But that’s basically all the cookies, covered with cream cheese frosting.”

  My laugh was louder than I’d meant it to be. When I noticed Twitch glance over, I asked Charm, “Do you think the others would get jealous? I mean, I haven’t noticed anything like that from them.”

  “We’ve talked about it,” Charm said. “I think that, as long as everyone likes each other, and we’re this team of awesomeness, nobody minds. It’s not like Earth, or what I understand of it, anyway. You know this.”

  “Doesn’t mean I’m able to process it…”

  “Think of it this way.” Charm pursed her lips in thought, then continued. “On Earth, you all are needy. You need your significant other. You have to have them always being all about you… So, when you’re with someone, you’re too insecure to fathom them being with someone else, right? It’s selfish, and kinda pathetic.”

  “I don’t think it’s pathetic.”

  “You’re wrong. Pathetic and needy.”

  “You’re not needy?” I gave her my best doubtful stare.

  “Different ways.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “Like I need you right now.”

  I chuckled, but wasn’t sure if she was joking. I glanced back over at the tent where Laurel had gone, and had to ask. “What’s the deal?”

  “Laurel?” Charm took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “One of the first people I had feelings for. Her and… a woman named Harp.”

  “Whoa.” My mind naturally raced with images of her with two women, and I had to adjust myself and try to switch mindsets. “You didn’t mention this before.”

  “Didn’t I?” She scrunched up her face in a way that made her even cuter. “I think I must’ve back on the prison ship. But if not… might be related to this whole memory thing.”

  “Right, that…”

  She frowned, then stared into my eyes, and once again I was stricken by the blue where they had been green before. She took a breath, letting the various colors flow through her, and moved her hand in front of her face, watching the glow. The small, multi-colored bubbles floated up, and she grinned.

  “Those were different times, when I thought my life was going to take a very different turn. When I thought I might actually be able to be a real student at Supralines. She was there for me, and when it all turned sour, she stuck with me.”

  “And all of that somehow led to you being sent off to a prison ship for five years?”

  Her glow faded, her eyes turning slightly green before going blue again. “As I said, complicated. A story for another time.”

  “She’s right.” Gale came up alongside us with Shimmer. “If we’re going to find this Shadow Mystic character and then head to Earth, we need to get moving.”

  “You’re all coming?” I asked.

  Shimmer frowned. “I don’t understand how that could even be a question.”

  “We’re a team,” Gale confirmed. “And hey, who better to go off with you than a bunch of outcasts, huh?”

  Charm perked up at that word and smiled. “I’ll grab Laurel, tell her it’s time.”

  She jogged off to the tent, while Twitch and my brother came over. “This is really happening, huh?” Twitch asked.

  “All this, and you’re going back home,” Drew chuckled. “Kind of unbelievable.”

  “You’d rather we stayed and let Earth fend for itself?”

  Drew shook his head. “Not what I meant. Hell, if I had my way, I’d go with you. But I have a duty here now. I’m an Elder. Speaking of which…” He glanced over to see Hadrian and Andromida approaching. “Are we going to be doing the ceremony before he leaves?”

  Before Hadrian could say anything, I answered, “No.”

  “No?” Hadrian asked.

  “I want this, but feel like it would—I don’t know… distract me?” I looked at my ladies, at Aegriss glancing over unsure, apparently feeling very out of place. I knew that feeling. “When I become an Elder, I want that to be the moment my team and I are devoted one hundred percent to the future of the Citadel. Not a ceremony right before I run back to Earth, and to who knows what afterward.”

  “But…” Gale started, then stopped at my look. She nodded. “I have to respect that.”

  “Me too,” Hadrian agreed.

  Charm returned then with Laurel, and my parents—apparently sensing it was almost time—made their way over, too.

  “And what about his status?” my mother asked, apparently having overheard some of the discussion.

  “He won’t be Tier One yet,” Hadrian replied. “Though… I wouldn’t be surprised if he could take down a couple of Tier Ones now, actually.”

  I felt my chest swell with pride at that, but had to wonder why not. “What determines such a thing?”

  “It’s less about who could win in a fight and more about how much of one’s inner self a super has unleashed,” Hadrian explained. “Some supers get it right away, barely having to work to find themselves. Many can never achieve it.”

  “Like the stuff Lamb used to teach,” Charm said, glancing around for her. She was with the other group, but waved, then jogged over.

  “Someone say something mean about me?” Lamb asked.

  Hadrian chuckled. “We were wondering… about the brothers and how close they are to Tier One status.”

  “Ah.” Lamb looked me over, and then Drew. “Both surprisingly close. It’s interesting, looking over your powers and how you’ve adapted… unlike many of the others we run across. But I’d say the next time we see Chad—”

  “Er, Breaker,” I corrected her.

  “Right. Breaker. The next ti
me we see you, I’d be surprised if both of you aren’t at the Tier One level.”

  “Then it will be an Elder naming ceremony and celebration on multiple levels.” My father beamed with pride in spite of the fact that he wasn’t so keen on me going the Elder route. I saw a similar hesitant pride in my mother’s eyes, but something more there, like she wasn’t as against going that route as my father.

  I looked forward to discussing it more with them when I returned, along with everything else, but for now we needed to be on our way.

  “If that’s it then,” I said to Hadrian. “I suppose you’re going to point us in the right direction?”

  He laughed but nodded. “If there is a right direction.”

  “Actually…” Ezra spoke up, and I turned to see him with Trunk, Letha and their teams. “We’ve been talking. Maybe we can’t face the Nihilists so well, but they’ve got others coming with them, and not only for Earth.”

  “Not only that,” Erupa said from his side, “but the super back there was talking with Hadrian before our arrival, and they agreed there’s a need to have someone infiltrate Ranger’s networks. Find out who was working with him, for him… all of that.”

  Ezra beamed. “I’m going to infiltrate my old bounty hunter system, try to find out who they’re putting marks on, and work backwards. In the process, we can try to track the others down. Begin to eradicate their forces, as much as we’re able.”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” Lamb said.

  Hadrian nodded, and glanced over at Drew. “What do you say, Elder?”

  Drew blinked, apparently still not used to being addressed like this, but nodded. “I believe that’s smart. You all can help avoid slaughter from all sides, where possible.”

  “It’s agreed, then.” Hadrian recapped it to ensure we all knew who was doing what. “Breaker and his team will go in search of the Shadow Mystic, find her as expediently as possible, and return to Earth to cut off the snake at the head. Meanwhile, the other teams will help lead the assault against the Nihilists here and elsewhere in the Oram system and beyond, exiling them once again from our galaxy.”

  “Except for me and mine,” Letha chimed in. “I have my own mission.”

  Hadrian turned to her, head cocked. “Is that so?”

  “We just learned my sister betrayed me and took over one of the most militarized families in the Earth Elites system.” Letha stood tall, glaring as if daring him to try to stop her. It was something, considering she was a human without any powers and he was, well, Hadrian.

  “So you’d take her out, and then what?” he asked.

  “Considering what I now know,” she replied, “form an alliance with the Citadel, help repel Muerta and this invasion if that’s still an issue, and use my new influence to get the Earthers smarter about all this.”

  He considered, then nodded. “Very well.”

  “We’re all basically going our separate ways?” Shimmer asked.

  “Looks that way,” I answered, but with a look at my brother, added, “Hopefully to meet up again before too long.”

  “I’ll count on it,” he replied, taking me in the handshake he’d so often used to show his strength. Only, this time I gave it back to him in equal measure. He nodded, impressed, and pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t take too long or I’ll think you don’t want to see me.”

  “Hey, hurry up and save the supers’ worlds, and then you can come help,” I countered with a wink.

  “It’s a race, then.”

  Even Hadrian laughed at that.

  “The rest of you, say your goodbyes and wish each other luck.” Hadrian turned, heading back for the tent we’d traveled through earlier. “When you’re ready, I’ll escort the teams back to the Citadel to be on your separate ways.”

  It was fun getting to speak with my brother’s team again, though once again it was much too brief.

  “What happened back there,” I said to Threed when it was time to chat with her, knowing it was supposed to be over but unable to stop myself from saying more on the matter, “it sucks.”

  She winked with her red eye. “Sucking isn’t always all bad. Ask your brother to tell you all about it sometime.”

  Laughing, she clapped me on the shoulder then moved on to tell Twitch it was a shame they didn’t get to work together more. Meanwhile, Ezra came over.

  “Guess we’ll be seeing you down there then, huh?” He gave me a tough-guy nod.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t have to wait long.”

  “Think so? If Hadrian knows how to find this lady, why hasn’t he done so before? Ever think of that?”

  I frowned, glancing back to the tent Hadrian had disappeared within. That was actually a good question.

  “Something I’ll have to ask very soon.” I gave him the nod back. It was really Letha I needed to talk to before we all went our ways. She was speaking with Trunk, their teams mingling. It wasn’t until then that I realized I didn’t know which way Trunk was headed.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “I’m going with her, after all,” Trunk said. “I was going to head down with Ezra, but… She needs me.”

  “Yeah?”

  Letha shrugged. “He... He’s been missed. And if we can retake my family and their military, we stand to be quite a large help in this whole endeavor.”

  “It’s all still so unbelievable,” I started, but saw his team approaching. I’d never really gotten to know them, with all the action and chaos along the road, so simply nodded and went on my way. It was time to head back to the Citadel.

  Drew’s other teammates were around him now, chatting with mine, and I couldn’t help but look at all of us, thinking what a force we made. The enemy had better bring their A-game, because they were damn sure going to need it.

  7

  Back at the Citadel, the other teams took off first. I paused to watch Ezra’s ship go, especially curious about his mission. The whole bounty hunter thing had always intrigued me. When they were out of sight, Hadrian led us to a large room that had been set up for my arrival.

  “We weren’t sure if you’d be staying or not,” he admitted. “When Lamb saw that you were level thirty before, she reached out at the earliest opportunity, but was out on a mission at the time. I would say you can still change your mind, but no, you have the right idea here.”

  “Which brings me to a question.” I didn’t want it to sound like a challenge. “Why haven’t you been able to go after the Shadow Mystic yourself?”

  “For one, I had a duty of my own that kept me occupied. There was also the fact that she made her sacrifice, and it was working. We made ours too, in time, but apparently none of it was enough to truly keep them from returning.”

  “I have a feeling there’s a lot I need to catch up on.” I glanced back toward where we’d left my brother and his team. I was looking forward to the day he and I could really sit down and shoot the shit about all of our adventures. Maybe we could write some of them down—nah, fuck that. My brother, the jarhead writing a journal? The idea was laughable.

  “Right then,” I said. “What’s the plan?”

  “You’ll take one of these. One of the best, naturally.” Hadrian motioned toward the ships, the crystals of the dais, and the floating golden pyramid—one of these things that were apparently called Per-Neters. “From here, we use the Per-Neters to plot your course, but the journey itself is instantaneous, like we just traveled up there, although you’ll be travelling much farther this time.”

  “They’re… amazing.” Andromida looked at the glowing pyramid with curiosity.

  “You remember the stories, I see.” Hadrian nodded. “We all thought they were just a myth for so long, but now we know where they were for all that time.”

  “With the Nihilists.” She shook her head. “How?”

  “We’re still looking into that.”

  “And their limitations?” Twitch asked.

  Hadrian looked amused at that, folding his hands behind his back. The w
ay he looked at us was like a grandfather sharing how a favorite toy from his youth worked. “Practically none. As far as we know, they can go anywhere, but like the powers Andromida and I have, they rely on having the destination. Unlike our powers, they don’t just rely on our having been there. No, these seem to be able to take you to a place if you can plot the course within them, but…”

  “If you’re wrong, it could take you into the middle of a sun, a black hole—”

  “The Dark Ages,” he interjected.

  “Time and space?” She balked, then scoffed. Then smiled. “You’re shitting me.”

  “It’s all theoretical,” he admitted, but then shrugged. “Or, not all of it. Let’s say… its limits haven’t truly been tested.”

  “That sounds terrifying,” I said.

  He gave me a nod. “That it does. Come, your journey will take you to a spot not so far from where your brother found me, actually. There you will have the coordinates programmed in, to a spot where you will find a rift in space, a planet with a jump point. One the Shadow Mystic used early in her role, and again in her final moments. If you trace her there as you did Ranger, you should be able to find where she is now.”

  “A jump point?” I asked.

  Hadrian glanced over at some of the supers starting to gather nearby and shook his head. “Not that you need to know, but… one that has been referred to as the ‘Devil’s Butthole.’”

  I smirked, and Charm cracked up.

  “Classic,” she said. “So we’re going to travel through the Devil’s Asshole—Butthole, sorry—to end up on some random alien world in a place where we’ll hopefully find this Shadow Mystic?”

  He nodded. “The portal can let you out in different places, if you know how to travel through it. Only with the tracing power and with Andromida’s help will it work.” He turned to her. “Make a portal back, too, in case there are complications and no other way.”

  Andromida nodded.

  “Are you ready?” Hadrian asked, although it was apparently rhetorical as he turned and walked off toward the ship.