“This room was used to torture people,” Captain Johnson said, eyeing the steel chair in the center of the room and the stainless-steel medical table. Stains of blood on the chair and floor confirmed his appraisal of the room.
Oh my gosh, did Blake torture people? Did he help torture people?
Blue Spekter stepped out of the room and away from the smell, hoping the revolting idea of Blake torturing people would leave his mind as well. The marines covered their faces and examined the room as fast as they could, then quickly exited the room as well.
Footsteps echoed in the stone hallway and Blue Spekter turned to face the corner at the end of the hallway, ready to defend or attack. Four marines marched around the corner, and he relaxed.
“The west wing is clear, sir,” one of the marines reported.
“Okay, I think we’re good,” Captain Johnson said. “Let’s make our way back to Agent Potter and check in.”
Several minutes later, Quinn and Captain Johnson walked into the mobile command center that was painted to look like a U-Haul moving truck.
“We did it,” Blue Spekter said, smiling at Agent Potter.
The man looked up and nodded. “Congratulations. You just accomplished your first major victory over The Order.”
Blue Spekter sensed the man didn’t share in his excitement. “But?”
Agent Potter gave him a knowing smile. “I’m concerned about retaliation. Dark Flame wasn’t here, so what happens when he returns? Also, Victor and Dr. Madison are not among the men and women we are detaining.”
“Right.”
“We also found authentic looking but invalid naval ID badges on every staff member, both technician and security. That explains how they were able to get onto the island in the first place, considering the whole island is off-limits to the public and nonessential staff. It also suggests they have someone infiltrating the Navy who can provide them with the ID badges.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all, The Order is everywhere,” Blue Spekter said.
“So, you keep telling me, and so I am learning. We have already set up check points to apprehend any staff members currently off-island as they arrive for new duty shifts. If Victor and Dr. Madison are unaware of our incursion, then we might capture them in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours as well. However, Dark Flame is an entirely different nightmare to consider.”
“Do you want me to stick around?” Blue Spekter asked.
Agent Potter shook his head. “No, we have a protocol in place to apprehend Dark Flame but be sure to take a radio with you. If we need you, we’ll call.” Potter grabbed a radio and a charging cable from an open pelican case and handed to him.
“Thanks. Would you mind telling me what this protocol is?”
“Certainly. We will be arming all our personnel with TaseBolts to contain Dark Flame when he arrives. Like I said, if we need you, we will call.”
“Okay,” Blue Spekter replied, his shoulders slumping a little.
Agent Potter noticed his disappointment and frowned. “Listen, Blue, Dark Flame may not return for several days. There’s no need to waste your time. We both know there’s no playbook for superhero operations, let alone capturing a super-powered human, but trust me, at first sign things are going south, I will be radioing for you.”
Then, he extended his hand. “You served your country and your city well today, son. Thank you. Without you, none of this would have been possible. You are a true superhero and charismatic leader who can rally people to your cause. You should be proud of your accomplishments thus far, despite our initial misgivings about who you are.”
Blue Spekter smiled and shook the agent’s hand. “Thanks, I am proud of who I am.” Then, he turned and walked out of the mobile command center. After a few of the marines cheered for him, he took off and flew across the river toward home.
12 | Lashing Out
Blake
Cold, angry, and now able to fly higher and a little faster thanks to hours of practice he put in flying to and from Chicago, Dark Flame flew across New Hampshire toward Portsmouth, using the low cloud cover to hide the orange blaze trailing behind him. The snowstorm had tracked south and pummeled Massachusetts, leaving only scattered flurries in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
If I’m going to push Victor out of the way and take over The Order, I have to rescue the prison from the government. If they get their hands on information about The Order’s other reactor cores, then everything I’ve been planning will be over before it starts.
Huh.
I never thought eliminating the Archimandrion Council because of their criminal ties would be the distraction that pulled me away from my true purpose. After all, given how easily I dispatched eight council members already, I can deal with surviving members whenever I want, or whenever they become a problem—which I doubt will be an issue anymore. With more than half of their leadership dead, I don’t think The Order will strike back at me any time soon. If anything, they’ll pull back and lick their wounds before ever becoming a threat to me.
Ugh, it’s so confusing sometimes.
I thought I was thwarting them and Victor, but I’m only working against myself. Maybe that’s the bigger picture I’ve been missing all along…that taking over The Order is really about stopping all the bad things I witnessed…and stopping Quinn, too. But as for you, buddy boy, well, I have a special surprise in store for you.
He approached Seavey Island and slowly circled it, dropping just below the clouds to get a clear view of the situation.
What in the hell happened down there?
The snow-covered baseball field and parking lots were covered with vehicles and trucks, all of which appeared to belong to someone other than The Order. The buildings didn’t look damaged, so he assumed no weapons fire had taken place during the assault.
Quinn must have been with them, which means he probably took out every guard and technician along the way. That’s the only way they could have bypassed all the security.
An alarm sounded, and the ground troops scurried about. Some soldiers took cover while others assumed formations of some sort, but Dark Flame wasn’t really sure what they were doing until he realized they were pointing up at him.
You had it easy with Quinn, but now it’s time you suffer the consequences.
Angered, he rapidly descended to the middle of the baseball field, ready to slaughter each and every soldier that got in his way. He landed hard on top of an SUV, causing most of its windows to explode and spray glass at the soldiers. Its roof, safety cage, and doors collapsed or bent under the power of his landing, and several of its airbags deployed. Nearby soldiers jumped back in surprise and shielded their faces with their hands, but they quickly recovered and aimed their weapons at him. He jumped and forward flipped onto the ground, igniting his hands as he landed on his feet.
“Open fire,” one of the soldiers yelled.
“Your bullets won’t hurt me!” Dark Flame yelled, aiming his burning hands at the closest group of soldiers. He pushed them with his mind and they tumbled and rolled back, overwhelmed by his inescapable, invisible force. He ran toward them, his hands hot with purple and orange flame, but just as he was about to incinerate them, searing hot energy tore through his sweatshirt and scalded the skin on his chest.
He grunted in pain as the unexpected and high-powered blast knocked him back through the air several feet until he crashed into the side of another SUV.
Holy ouch, Batman! What the hell was that?
Shaken, he pushed himself up and charged at the group of soldiers that aimed the horrible energy weapons at him. He ignited his hands again, forgetting about his sweatshirt. The sleeves of his sweatshirt burned away as he blasted the soldiers with fire. The men in uniform screamed in agony, but Dark Flame was once again knocked to the ground by another volley of direct energy beams that tore through his clothing.
Dark Flame yelped and fell to the ground, rolling several times in the snow and dirt before gaining co
ntrol of his momentum and scrambling back to his feet.
What the hell? Those things look like the guns they shot me with in Prescott Park, but they’re much stronger.
Dark Flame launched himself into the air and flew around the old castle and out of range of the nasty weapons until he lined up for an air-to-ground assault. Then, igniting his hands, he flew over the grounds and blasted the soldiers with fire from above, forcing the them to scurry and take cover. An SUV in his path caught fire and then exploded, rising several feet into the air before crashing back to the ground to burn.
That worked well.
Coming around again for another attack, he flew toward a group of soldiers hiding behind several military vehicles. Then, he aimed and soared over them, pummeling them with hot fire. Men and women screamed and ran, but he didn’t care; it was just punishment for what they had done to The Order in his absence.
He flew out over Fort McClary and then circled back, flying over the river toward Clark Island and the baseball field and forgetting about his low altitude. Soldiers scrambled around, searching for a way to defend themselves from his airborne attacks. He spotted a group of brave soldiers taking aim at him and he brought his hands in front of him, ready to incinerate them.
Idiots.
Multiple blasts of hot white energy connected with his chest and stomach, burned through his sweatshirt, and caused his abdominal muscles to involuntarily coil him into a ball. He shrieked in pain, lost control of his flight powers, then crashed and rolled to an abrupt stop on the snowy baseball green.
Ugh, those things need to go away.
Shaking his head and recovering quickly, Dark Flame jumped and soared over the group of soldiers, but more energy beams connected and brought him down twenty feet behind the soldiers. Managing to land on his feet, he charged at and telekinetically grabbed a group of soldiers aiming their weapons at him, but the soldiers who had been hiding behind nearby equipment fired their stun guns at him.
Multiple, focused blasts of white-hot energy slammed into his body, tearing through what was left of his sweatshirt and burning his skin. This time, they caught him from three sides and held their fire. He nearly fell over, struggling to fight against the incredible pain surging through his body. Around him, the air crackled with the dangerous hum of electrical energy.
Holy crap, this hurts.
“Put him down!” someone yelled. More searing hot energy blasted through him and arced across his body, causing his legs to buckle. He dropped to his knees in the snow and struggled to remain upright. He waved his arm through the air and telekinetically swiped the soldiers’ legs out from under them. A few of them fell to the ground but recovered faster than he expected.
Get up, Blake, get up!
“Dark Flame, you will stand down immediately and surrender to the Department of Homeland Security,” a man’s distorted, nasally voice shouted over a megaphone.
“Never!” Dark Flame shouted, fighting the pain and pushing himself up. So, that’s who’s behind this.
The assault on his body lessened and he pushed himself to his feet.
“Hit him again!” a soldier shouted.
Dark Flame cried out in pain as more soldiers fired their energy weapons at him. The white energy sparked and snapped across his body, burning away pieces of his clothing as it skipped across his body. Then, his legs gave out and saliva frothed at his mouth. He collapsed to the ground, his face mashed in the snow and dirt. His muscles surrendered to the neutralizing electricity.
Damn you!
“Move in and take him into custody,” someone ordered.
“No!” Dark Flame grunted, struggling to push himself up from the ground, but he couldn’t move. Darkness filled his vision as his eyes blazed with orange fury. He grimaced at the approaching soldiers. I’ve only got one more chance to stop them before I’m unconscious…so, take this, assholes.
As four soldiers approached with high-tech looking restraints, he super-heated his body without igniting into flame. The snow around him steamed into the air, and the approaching soldiers covered their faces and backed away. Then, summoning what little strength he had left, he launched himself into the air. He clumsily flew forward and crashing into the SUV he destroyed when he arrived earlier. Grunting and falling to the ground, he covered his face as glass rained down from one of windows that had’t exploded when he landed on the SUV.
When the soldiers stopped firing so they could re-aim their weapons at him, he took a deep breath and willed himself up and away from the island, soaring up into the clouds to hide from the swarm of soldiers that stung him like bees.
As his body healed and his power levels normalized, his mind cleared and he formulated a new plan of attack.
If I can’t take back the prison alone, then I know what I have to do…
13 | December Disaster
Quinn
“That was funny as hell,” Keegan said, laughing and applauding with the student body. Quinn nodded and applauded with him. The high school’s theater troupe had just finished a hilarious, ten-minute comedy sketch loosely based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It was the middle of December, a week before Christmas break, and the high school’s holiday assembly was in full swing.
“Who knew literature could be this fun?” Mrs. White, their English Lit teacher, said into the microphone as the applause settled down and turned into brief groans at her question. Then, she addressed the student body on behalf of the faculty in Shakespearean rhyme and verse until Blake sauntered into the middle of the gymnasium, his face twisted with anger.
Quinn had sensed him approaching but assumed he would take his seat with the student body—which was not the case. His mouth fell open at the sight of his unkempt ex-best friend. His hair was a mess and his sweatshirt—what was left of it—was ripped and charred, hanging from his muscular frame like it had been shredded by tiger claws.
Oh no, what the heck happened to him? Better yet, what is he going to do? He looks…crazy. He looks like he just came from a fight…but with who?
Mrs. White abruptly stopped delivering the the annual holiday message and fell silent, staring at Blake with disdain. “Mister Hargreaves, unless you plan on regaling us with a song of holiday cheer, I suggest you…”
“Shut up,” Blake snarled loudly, surprising the student body. Students gasped in the bleachers and wondered at the disheveled spectacle.
This not going to go well…
“Mister Hargreaves!” Mrs. White snapped, and the principal stepped forward.
“Darien James, where are you?” Blake yelled, searching the bleachers. Students giggled nervously with surprise and light chatter echoed in the gym.
Quinn had already spotted Darien earlier in the assembly. The bully was seated on the opposite side of the gym with his usual cronies, Kyle and Tony. All three turned ghostly white when Blake called Darien out.
Shit, Darien must have told Kyle and Tony about us…
“What is he doing?” Keegan asked.
“I have no idea,” Quinn said, lying to his boyfriend, but itching to jump out of his seat. He started to stand, but immediately sat down. Don’t do anything yet…
“Mister Hargreaves, have you been drinking?” the principal asked.
Oh no. Has he?
Blake appeared drunk and Quinn briefly wondered if alcohol could affect them because he assumed their healing factor would burn it away too quickly.
Darien didn’t move, but the nearby students stared at him with wonder. Blake pointed at the bully. “Darien has a little secret he thinks he can hold over my head, but I’m here to show him that secrets only get you…burned.” Then, Blake ignited his body and his jeans and sweatshirt burned away, leaving him shirtless except for his purple tights and sneakers.
Students and teachers screamed and the gymnasium filled with panic and bubbled up with fear. Although the frightened students didn’t move from the bleachers yet, Quinn felt the tension rising in the gym as sheer panic swept through the
room and overtook his peers. Any second now, the right spark would push the student body into lethal chaos.
“Holy shit, Blake is Dark Flame!” Loren exclaimed.
“Blue Spekter! Where are you?” he yelled, searching the bleachers until his gaze rested on Quinn.
“Oh…my…gawd,” Ravone said, her eyes wide with shock. She immediately looked at Quinn, but he ignored her.
This is not how I wanted to tell Keegan I was Blue Spekter…
Quinn swallowed nervously, and the high school’s police officer slowly stepped forward, his hand on his taser.
Don’t do it.
“Why does he think Blue Spekter is here?” Loren asked.
“I know you’re in here, Quinn!” Blake yelled.
The whimpering students in the bleachers near Quinn turned as one and stared at him, along with the flabbergasted faces of Keegan, Loren, and Ravone.
“Why does he think you’re Blue Spekter?” Keegan asked nervously, but Quinn ignored him and glared at his ex-best friend. Blake scowled at him and raised his hands.
What is he going to do?
Quinn stood.
Blake hurled fire at him, but Quinn projected a defensive shield that protected the students and harmlessly dissipated the flames. Thanks to Ana Maria’s training, he didn’t have to raise his hands and give away his identity…yet.
“Quinn, what you doing?” Keegan asked, tugging at Quinn’s shirt sleeve.
“I’m the only one who can stop him,” Quinn replied, a forlorn look on his face as he looked at Keegan for the last time before his secret was out.
“What are you talking about? Sit down!” Keegan said, his voice trembling.
“I’m sorry, Keegan. I just hope you’ll understand.” Quinn answered. Then, his eyes and body flared with bright blue light. He jumped in a smooth arc over the students in the bleachers in front of him and charged at Blake, determined to overpower him and get him away from the high school as quickly and safely as possible.
Blake smirked, then pulled his hand back to punch him.
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