Quinn winced when he sensed Blake drive into the parking lot, but he and his friends were in hysterics over Loren’s Thanksgiving Day story, where the family turkey preparations turned into a disaster.
“It was terrible and funny at the same time,” Loren said. “Everyone was so focused on the turkey grandma dropped and the hot, greasy mess that followed, that they completely forgot about the bread, potatoes, and vegetables in the oven. No one noticed the stove was smoking until the fire alarm went off, but it was too late because the bread had charred, and the potatoes had burnt. The only thing we had left to eat was overcooked carrots and dried-out butternut squash with marshmallow ash.”
“I still can’t believe your uncle thought it would be funny to surprise your grandma when she had just pulled the turkey out of the oven,” Ravone said, shaking her head.
Loren laughed. “Let me tell you, he paid for it, literally. He forked over the cash for Chinese takeout for eighteen people because there was nothing left to eat. Grandma was so pissed she wouldn’t talk to him for the rest of the day. So, it was definitely the most memorable Thanksgiving I can remember. What about you guys?”
Quinn chuckled. “Compared to that story, it was pretty normal and boring.”
“Yeah, same here,” Keegan added.
“I can’t wait for what comes next,” Quinn said, bouncing his eyebrows at Keegan.
“And what is that?” Keegan asked, smiling at his boyfriend.
“Oh boy,” Ravone said, rolling her eyes and chuckling.
Loren gently slapped her on the shoulder. “Stop it!” she whispered.
“Christmas! I get to buy you Christmas presents!” Quinn exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.
Keegan tilted his head to the side with curiosity. “Um…”
Both Ravone and Loren immediately looked at Quinn with urgent expressions that suggested he made a mistake.
“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked, confused. What the hell did I miss out on?”
“Quinn, I don’t celebrate Christmas,” Keegan answered.
Quinn’s face fell with shock. “What? Why not?”
“I’m Jewish.”
Oh my gosh. “Oh wow, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
Keegan smiled. “You don’t have to apologize, Quinn. Besides, I can tell by your reaction that you were clueless.”
Quinn slumped. “So…does that mean I can’t buy you Christmas presents?”
“No, but you can buy me Hanukkah presents instead.”
Quinn smiled, and his face lit up. “Okay!”
“This year, Hanukkah overlaps Christmas, so it will be easy for both of us.”
Loren piped up next and pointed at Keegan. “So, do you buy him a Christmas present or a Hanukkah present?”
Keegan chuckled. “I will buy him a Christmas present because that’s what he celebrates, but I will also buy him a Hanukkah gift because he’s too adorable not to splurge on.”
Ravone pretended to gag and throw up, sending the group into a fit of laughter. The bell rang, and the laughter changed to sad groans, suggesting their unwillingness to take on the day and start school.
As Quinn pulled his backpack over his shoulders, he noticed Darien glaring at him. Now what?
His casted, broken arm was still suspended in an arm sling, so Quinn didn’t fear a physical altercation—not that Darien could hurt him nowadays anyway.
Darien raised his good hand and pointed his middle and index fingers at his eyes. Then, he flipped his hand around and pointed at Quinn. “I’m watching you,” he mouthed.
Quinn rolled his eyes and shook his head. Ignoring him, he walked down the hallway with Keegan and gave him a quick kiss goodbye before they parted ways for their first class.
❖
“Holy crap! What did you do to the suit?” Ron St. Germain, his science teacher and superhero mentor asked, staring at the gaping hole in the superhero shirt Quinn held in his hands.
Quinn smirked. “Apparently you didn’t make it rebar proof.”
“Rebar proof?” his mentor asked, looking at him incredulously. “How come these holes go through the front and the back? You’re supposed to be invincible!”
“Um, so about that. I’m not as invincible as we thought. At least, it seems Blake and I can really hurt each other. Well, he can hurt me. The Prescott Park attack was the second time he’s managed to incapacitate me.”
“How exactly did he do it?”
Quinn retold the painful memory of how Blake used a vulnerable moment to trap and shatter his wrists with rebar and how when he was in pain, Blake impaled him with a piece of rebar through his gut. “It hurt like hell.”
“Huh, interesting. The police can shoot bullets at you that bounce off your skin, but Blake can shove rebar through your body when you’re in pain.”
“Right, but he had to get me to that point. If I was ready, he would not have taken me down so easily.”
“What did he do to weaken you?”
“Well, we were falling through the air and I chased him, but before I could reach him, he blasted me with some kind of energy beam. I wasn’t ready for it so it knocked me out. I must have hit the ground hard, but I don’t remember it. I awoke when he pinned my arms down with rebar.
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Everything hurt, but it was worse because my body was trying to heal itself but couldn’t. Oh, and I totally forgot about the weird life sucking thing he did.”
Ron’s eyebrows went up. “Explain that?”
“He grabbed my neck and I felt my life…moving…shifting…like he was sucking it out of me.”
“Like Rogue in the X-Men movies?”
Quinn nodded. “Exactly. I don’t know if it would have killed me, but…”
Ron leaned forward and looked directly into his eyes. “This is why you need to meet with Ana Maria. I can’t teach you how to defend against an energy blast or a life-draining assault.”
Quinn smiled. “I know. I’m meeting with her after school.”
“Very good.” Ron held out his hand and Quinn passed him the ruined shirt. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to bring this to my brother, so he can study the damaged areas of the fabric. Maybe he can tweak his formula and make it…rebar proof.”
They chuckled.
Ron opened his briefcase and pulled out a vacuum-sealed Tyvek bag. “Here you go. Put this in your backpack. Two more complete suits. I’ll get a shirt to replace this one later.”
“Oh wow, Quinn responded. “Thank you so much.”
“No problem. If you wreck more of these, bring them back to me so he can study the damage your suit takes. Who knows, maybe he will figure out how to make the material resistant to lethal rebar impaling.”
They laughed as Quinn shoved the bag into his book bag. “Thanks. See you later.”
“Ciao. Good luck with Ana Maria. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.” He folded and placed the busted shirt into his briefcase.
Quinn smiled and made his way to the cafeteria for lunch.
❖
Later in the library, Quinn was in the middle of writing a book report for his English Literature class when Darien James dropped his book bag on the table with his free hand and surprised him.
Quinn jumped in his chair and looked up at him, annoyed. “What the hell, Darien?”
The bully smirked, then pulled out and sat on a chair on the opposite side of the square table.
Quinn sighed. “What do you want?”
“I want to know how much your secret is worth to you.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow. “What secret? I’m already out of the closet. Everyone knows Keegan is my boyfriend.”
“That’s right, Queer-boy, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“What then?” Quinn asked. “Enough with the riddles and name calling.”
“Everyone also knows that your boyfriend, fancy pants Keegan Miller, has less than enthusiastically supported you.”
“What are you tal
king about?” Quinn asked, aggravated by Darien’s game.
Darien smiled wickedly. “Let me tell you a story. You see, a couple weekends back, on the day I broke my arm, I was at Prescott Park and I ran into Blake. He was on his way to meet Ravone for a date.”
Quinn winced. “Yeah, so?”
“We had a little…conversation that didn’t go so well and when we were about to fight, I saw his eyes glow orange.”
Quinn’s face fell and he stared into Darien’s knowing eyes.
“Imagine my surprise when I saw the news a few days later, when Chief Applegate outed the super villain and warned us to stay away, just like she had done with Blue Spekter.”
“You think Blake is a super villain?” Quinn asked, trying to play it cool. “I mean, you both have anger issues but, come on.”
Darien didn’t flinch at the insult. “Oh, just wait, Quinnypoo, it gets better. Fate must be on my side these days, because I was also in Prescott Park the day Dark Flame and Blue Spekter decided to have their mega fight over the river.”
Quinn’s stomach dropped to the floor and his palms became sweaty.
Darien smiled in a patronizing way. “You know which fight I’m talking about, right? It’s the one where Dark Flame impaled Blue Spekter and almost killed him. Or should I say, Blake almost killed you.
Quinn stared at him, unable to speak. No, that’s impossible…of all the twisted shit in the universe…this is what has to happen?
Darien leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. “That’s right, Quinn, I know your dirty little secret. You and Blake are the two super freaks running around this town.”
“What is it you want, Darien?”Quinn snapped.
Darien smiled and leaned back in his chair, then put his feet up on the tabletop. “What do I want, you piece of shit? I want you two freaks to know that I know all about you. I want you to know I can destroy your perfect little gay boyfriend bullshit anytime I want by telling Keegan who you really are.” He pulled his feet off the table and leaned forward again, twisting his face with anger. “Then, you little puke, we’ll see how fun it is to have everything.”
“What makes you think I won’t hurt you,” Quinn asked, his tone flat and angry.
Darien nodded. “That’s a great question, Quinn, one that I’ve already thought of an answer for. The answer is: because you’re the good guy. You don’t hurt people. You save them.”
Quinn looked down at the page number on his textbook. He’s right.
Darien stood and saluted. “See you around, Blue.” Chuckling, he turned and walked out of the library.
He’s right, I won’t hurt him. But Blake will if he’s not careful.
“Darien!” Quinn called after him. Heads turned in the library at the loud sound and the librarian shushed him. Darien glanced at him over his shoulder but didn’t stop. Quinn got up and chased after him. In the hallway, Quinn caught up with him and grabbed his arm.
Darien jerked his arm away. “Don’t touch me, freak!”
“Shut up and listen to me,” Quinn said, the assertion in his voice surprising both him and Darien. “You’re right, I won’t hurt you, but right now, Blake isn’t himself. He has a malfunctioning microchip in his head that makes him extremely violent. If you piss him off, he’ll…hurt you…or kill you.”
“You’re such a nerd, Quinn. How much shitty science fiction do you watch? A microchip? Blake and I are friends…”
“No, you just think you’re friends. I know how you broke your arm.”
Darien paused and looked at him, his face blank. Now, it was his turn to be caught off guard.
“Blake also had a seizure of some kind when you were in the park. That was his microchip malfunctioning. When you were waiting for the dump truck to pass in front of you on Marcy Street, you were pushed…you didn’t jump in front of it, right?”
Darien nodded. “How do you know that?”
“Ravone told me her side of the story; I just pieced it together. Blake pushed you with his mind. He has telekinetic powers.”
Darien’s right eyebrow went up, signaling either interest or confusion. Quinn wasn’t sure which.
Quinn relaxed a little. “Yeah, he can do that. If you pull this little stunt with him…well, you may not walk away.”
Darien started laughing. “You are such a freak, McAlester.” Then he turned and walked away.
Why hell did I bother to warn him? He’s been my nightmare all through high school.
He sighed and walked back to his table.
Sacrifice. Responsibility. I guess Ron was right; being a superhero can really suck balls at times.
❖
Quinn arrived at the address Ana Maria had texted him on Thanksgiving Day and looked around the empty parking lots of the businesses and warehouses of Piscataqua Drive. Presuming the coast was clear, he crossed the empty parking lot and approached a single, weathered metal door on the side of a seemingly abandoned warehouse building.
When he was about to knock, Ana Maria pushed the door open from the inside and greeted him. “Hello, Quinn.”
“Hi,” he replied, awkwardly waving with his left hand.
“Are you ready to get started?”
“Yup.” Stay focused here, don’t let Darien’s bullshit interfere your time together.
Ana Maria smiled and scanned the empty lot behind him. “Great. Come on in.” She stepped aside and he squeezed past her. When he stepped inside the building, she pulled the door shut and made sure it was locked.
“This way,” she said, waving with her hand as she turned and walked through an old office area that was in a state of neglect. She pushed through a set of double doors on the other side of the space and pointed to a chair he assumed she rolled in from the office area. “You can put your coat with mine.”
“Okay.” He pulled off his pea coat, folded it, and placed it on the chair with her belongings. Then, he followed her to the middle of the room.
“How is it you know all about our abilities if you never use your powers?”
She glanced at him and smiled. “Who said I never use my powers? I simply stay under the radar and make sure no one catches me using my powers.”
Quinn smirked, and the two super-powered beings stood and chatted for a few moments. “I’m not sure that’s exactly what I meant, but…”
Ana Maria waved her hand dismissively. “If you think I wasn’t going to fly to Paris on my own power, you’ve got another thing coming. Paris is beautiful, but especially more so when you can fly over it at your own discretion.”
Quinn nodded. “You have a point. I never thought of flying to Paris.”
She laughed. “Bring a map or you might end up in Africa by accident. The ocean is a confusing thing to cross if you can’t navigate by the stars—which unfortunately is not one of our powers.”
“How long does it take you to cross the ocean?” Quinn asked.
“Right now, maybe fifteen minutes.”
“Wow, that’s fast.” Quinn said.
“I’ve noticed your power of flight; it’s quite evolved. I suspect you could do the same, but you simply don’t know it yet. My powers of flight took shape like Blake’s seem to be evolving; frustratingly slow and steady.”
“You’re right, he can’t seem to fly as fast as I can,” Quinn replied.
She nodded in agreement. “That’s how it works with some of our powers. You start with a general ability, but as it evolves, it becomes stronger and more easily controlled. Flight starts as basic hovering, then what Blake can do, until it reaches what we can do. Who knows, I might fly across the Atlantic in ten minutes next year?”
“How did you see Blake’s flying power?”
“I witnessed your fight in Prescott Park—the one where you created the tower of ice to trap him. That was a brilliant use of your powers, by the way.”
Quinn smiled and puffed out his chest. “Yeah, I thought it was pretty darn awesome myself,” he quipped, dusting off his left shoulder.
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She smiled and said, “I also saw him blast you with orgone energy.”
Quinn’s chest deflated, and he looked at her with surprise. Way to suck the wind out of my sails, sheesh! He nodded. “Yeah, that hurt like hell and it knocked me out. Is that what you meant by channeling your energy?”
She nodded. “I believe that specific power is one of our most dangerous offensive abilities because it has no constructive use except to hurt or destroy. You must only use it in times of desperation, when nothing else will work.”
“I’m not sure Blake did it intentionally,” Quinn said softly. “When he gets angry, he loses his temper and his ability to control his powers becomes erratic. I think he blasted me and doesn’t even know how he did it.”
Ana Maria nodded. “That’s how our powers manifest. They arise after some emotional response until we learn how to control them with our minds.”
“Except, our powers are different in some ways,” Quinn said. “For example, I can manipulate and create water and ice, he can manipulate heat and fire.”
She nodded “Did you assume heat and fire were his powers and not practice them yourself?”
Quinn regarded her with confusion. “Do you think we have the same powers?”
“Why not? I have all of your powers, plus ones you don’t know about yet, I suspect.”
“You can make fire and ice?” Quinn asked, astonished.
“Yes, I can.” She raised her hands and smiled. The left hand ignited with flame while the right became covered in ice.
“Oh, wow,” Quinn said.
“You told me your powers were created at the same time, did you not?”
“Yes, we were in the reactor together when it fired.”
Ana Maria extinguished her left hand and evaporated the ice on her right hand. “I can only guess that’s why you don’t think you have the same powers, but I would be willing to guess you do. It makes sense to me that certain powers manifest more predominantly in you over Blake, and vice versa, of course.
“You mean I might be able to get telekinesis?” Quinn asked, suddenly excited at the prospect of a powerful new power to fight with.
“Can you not now?”
Quinn shook his head. “No! I mean, I just assumed that was his power. I never really tried to learn it.”
Ultimate Sacrifice Page 4