Stuart then moves his hands away from each other until they’re around three feet apart. Tongues of lightning jump from one hand to the other, then they begin to snake out and strike the air between his hands.
I check on Ryan and Devlin, and Devlin’s white fire is getting closer to Ryan’s hands.
I turn back to Stuart as a ball of energy forms in the air between his hands. It grows quickly from the size of a golf ball to the size of a soccer ball in seconds, as Stuart, closed mouth with eyes glowing white with energy, begins to step towards Devlin.
“I’m.....losing.....him.......can’t......hold....” Paul grunts as he sinks to his knees with sweat running down his drained face.
“Blaze, get out of there.” I shout as Stuart begins to glow brightly all over while holding the ball of plasma in the air. Ryan takes off into the air and double backs toward us.
Devlin begins to sit up, and he places his feet on to the grass.
“Aarrghh!” Stuart roars suddenly and steps back quickly before lunging forward with both arms. The energy bolt hits Devlin in the back as he stands up.
Devlin roars in pain as he doubles up and starts convulsing violently. As the light fades and the energy is absorbed into his body, I see Stuart bring his hands together and start another ball of energy. Before he can finish, Devlin, chuckling like a loon, turns towards us, eyes blazing white.
“Oh no you don’t.” Devlin growls and sends beams of pure white fire towards Stuart.
“Look out!” I scream.
Stuart glows bright white, then vanishes with a loud bang. He materializes near Devlin and grabs him from behind with glowing white hands. Devlin begins shaking again and he blinks, and the fire goes out.
I take the opportunity and fly in with my right arm pulled back. Stuart lets go just as I arrive, and jumps out of the way as I connect with Devlin’s right jaw. I send Devlin tumbling backwards across the grass.
Stuart and I converge on him in an instant. I punch his stomach and groin while Stuart attacks his head and chest.
With a roar, his sends us reeling with a blast of his heat-vision.
I back away with burned hands and a scalded shoulder, while Stuart rolls on the grass trying to put out the flames.
“Is that the best you can do?” Devlin says mockingly and laughs. “Not so cosmic, are you girl?” He says, then rushes forward and punches me in the face before I can shield myself with my arms.
I’m seeing stars as I fly backwards across the grass. I rub my jaw and shake away the blurred vision as I try to focus on staying alive.
He saunters towards me confidently with a swagger, eyes blazing white with a murderous grin on his face.
Oh my god. This is it.
Twenty Eight
“Do you have any last words, Forty-Two?” Devlin asks and begins to chuckle.
I’m too scared to think straight, I just close my eyes.
I hear a pop, then I feel arms around me and another pop.
I open my eyes and stare up at Pamela’s masked face.
“You okay?” She asks.
I can’t speak.
“Come on.” She says and get off me and holds out her hand to me. I take it gingerly and climb to my feet.
I look around and try to get my bearings. We’re still at Fort Knox, but we’re on top of the damaged roof that Devlin demolished with his explosives.
My heart is still thundering in my ears as I remember to breathe.
“Help’s here.” She says and points to the grass below.
I look as I hear a roaring sound followed by an explosion. Something roars overhead, and I track the sound, to see a fighter jet make a wide turn before heading back toward us.
It lets loose another missile, which rockets towards an enraged Devlin, whose entire head is now wreathed in red flames. The white fire of his eyes and mouth show through the red flames as he roars in defiance at this new attack.
As I take another breath and pinch myself to make sure that I really am alive, I begin to search the battlefield for my friends.
Stuart and Paul are running away toward our position, while Ryan hovers in the air firing his own blasts of heat towards Devlin.
Soldiers are running in our direction now, automatic rifles held at the ready. More jets arrive and unleash their weapons at Devlin, as he tries to fire his beams of white heat at the passing aircraft.
Where’s Mitchell?
I look at all of the trees in the area but don’t see him. As I begin to panic, I hear a groan from below. I look down through the hole in the roof and see him sprawled out on a slab of concrete.
“Oh, thank god.” I mutter to myself.
“Yeah, we could sure use his help, right about now.” Pamela says grimly.
Another rocket explodes at Devlin’s feet while the soldiers start to open fire at him. With one final roar, Devlin takes to the skies in a blaze of fire.
“No.” I scream and take off after him.
My hands and my arm are badly burned, and they throb as I fly after Devlin’s blazing red form.
The fighter jets join my pursuit, and soon I have four fighter planes following me as I chase Devlin through the air. I accelerate until I hear the first sonic boom, which makes Devlin turn his head and look over his shoulder. His blazing white eyes regard me for a second, but he doesn’t slow down. He looks ahead again and begins to accelerate.
I descend quickly so that I’m slightly below him and push myself to go faster. The rush of air over my hands and arms are welcoming. I blink away my tears, and swallow my fear as I picture this maniac paying my dad and sister a visit.
With the pills gone, I have no other choice open to me.
I have to kill him, somehow.
To say I feel unequal to the task is a gross understatement. I just witnessed this lunatic take everything we had to throw at him, and he shrugged it off. Even rockets couldn’t hurt him.
What the hell was I supposed to do now?
I hear the roar of machine gun fire from behind, and descend slightly to make sure that I don’t get hit. The bullets slam into Devlin’s legs and back. I hear him roar before turning and aiming his blazing eyes at the incoming fighters.
I continue accelerating and aim myself at him, and use my body as a weapon. I connect just as he notices me. I hit him in the stomach with both fists. The fires goes out of his eyes briefly as I send him tumbling through the air.
He stops and faces me and sends a blast of heat my way. I dodge to the side, then a rocket roars overhead and slams into his chest.
He’s hidden from view behind the ball of fire which envelopes him.
I aim upwards and climb a few hundred feet and scan the air around me. I see a red dot in the distance and curse.
I take off after him like a rocket. I hear the first sonic boom within a few seconds, followed shortly by the second, then a third boom.
The dot soon becomes a red figure again after a few more seconds. I push myself faster and climb higher so that I’m above him, but he’s still a few miles ahead of me.
As I close the distance, I see him look over his shoulder a few times. I bring both of my fists up over my shoulders and climb again. I breathe in through my nose and exhale slowly, preparing myself.
I pitch forward and aim at the back of Devlin’s flaming head.
I maintain my current speed, and as I’m about to hit him, I bring both of my elbows down as hard as I can with a grunt. With a bellow of pain, Devlin falls from the sky like a rock, while I spin head over heels.
When I eventually stop and right myself, I shake off the nausea and fly after Devlin as he plummets to the ground. As I pass through a cloud, the ground below comes into focus. Mostly green below from all of the trees.
We must be over a forest. Wait, no. There are some buildings below. I see some smoke pouring from two structures.
Devlin is still in free fall, when a thousand feet up, his eyes open. He looks at me with white hot balls of flame for eyes. He tilts his head b
ack and looks down as he falls headfirst toward the trees. I accelerate, but he thrusts his arms down and begins to accelerate toward the ground.
Damn it.
I thrust my arms forward and follow him toward the trees. He arches his back and swerves to the right, then levels off and makes a B-line towards the buildings. I hear the faint roar of the fighters as they start to catch up to us. Devlin look over his shoulder at me, before laughing and launching himself at one of the buildings.
I see a wire fence, various buildings, a parking lot, then I’m flying over a huge smoking chimney stack that Devlin has just flown through.
He emerges from the other side, then looks around wildly. I drop on him like an anvil, elbow first into his left shoulder.
The cement cracks under his feet, then he grabs me and throws me over his head. I try and stop myself while still in the air, and manage it just before I hit another chimney stack.
With a roar, Devlin launches himself at me, this time his heat vision hits me on my shoulder. I scream in pain before sidestepping his attack. He hits the chimney stack over my shoulder and there’s a mighty boom.
I notice steam hissing from the other chimney stack across from me, as I rub my burned shoulder. Then a disturbing sound cuts through my thoughts. A long siren begins to wail all around me.
What the hell?
Devlin appears in the air above me, blazing head, and laughing.
People in white lab coats come pouring out of one building, while people in blue overalls along with men in shirts and pants come pouring forth from other buildings.
What have we done?
“Good luck clearing up this mess.” Devlin shouts at me, before turning around and taking off with a bang.
“Help us.” A man’s desperate voice shouts out to my left, as I gaze after Devlin’s fleeing figure. I turn and find the source.
“What just happened?” I ask, confused, alarmed and really frustrated right now.
“The cooling towers are ruptured.” The man says as he points towards the chimney stacks. “The reactor is starting to overheat.”
“Whoa. Reactor?” I ask, now very alarmed.
I turn and look up at the chimney stacks as they both vent steam.
“We need to get out of here. There’s going to be radiation leaking out of these, and that’s not the worst thing.” The man says and tugs on my burned hand.
“Ow. Okay, okay.” I say and let him lead me away. “Can’t you shut down the reactor?” I ask as he pulls me towards the parking lot.
“We tried. It’s not responding. Come on, hurry up.” He says desperately as he pulls me along after him.
“Wait. What happens if we don’t shut the reactor down?” I ask.
“Come on, open up.” The man yells as he tries to insert his key into his car door with a shaking hand.
I grab him by the shoulders and turn him around. “Answer me. What happens?”
His eyes look terrified as he stares at me, his mouth hangs slack, and he tries to speak, but it just comes out as garbled stuttering.
“Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you. I need to know how I can stop this.” I say calmly as people run past us and climb into their cars.
“There’s no stopping it. It’s in meltdown.” He says hysterically and claws at my hands. I let him go, and he climbs into his car and races out of here.
A meltdown?
Shit.
The fighter jets roar overhead as they pursue Devlin. I have an idea, so I launch up and take off after the last fighter. I catch up to it and knock gently on the cockpit canopy.
The pilot may have to change his shorts when he gets back to base, but he recovered quickly enough.
“I need you to contact the base at Fort Knox. Tell them to send my friends here. Got it?” I shout through the canopy.
The pilot gives me the thumbs up, and I leave him and head back to the nuclear power plant.
I hover overhead and check the complex, searching for the reactor building. I hear a faint pop below, and a flash of black light. I drop to the ground as Pamela appears.
“We got a real problem here.” I tell her. “Bring Paul and Stuart. Please, be quick.” I say quickly.
She nods and vanishes in a burst of dark light and a pop. She returns after a few seconds with Stuart.
“Stuart, I need to know which one of these buildings holds the reactor.” I say and give him a hug. “I really screwed up.” I add as I tear up.
“I’m glad you’re okay. Take me up.” Stuart says.
We both wince as I wrap my burned arms around him. Pamela vanishes again as I ascend into the air. I stop and hover a couple of hundred feet up, as Stuart looks down at the buildings.
“It’s that one, I think.” Stuart says and points to a large white domed building. “Whoa. This is the Wilson Station.” He adds.
“Okay.” I say as I fly us towards the domed building.
“We’re in Virginia, Britney. If this thing goes nuclear, Washington D.C. could get hit by the fall out.” Stuart says.
“Oh, shit.” I grumble.
I hear a faint pop, then I hear Paul’s voice calling out to us from our left. “Yo, guys?”
I descend towards the ground. “Over here.” I call out as I touch down. Paul appears in a blur, looking very tired and confused.
“What’s up? Where the hell is Devlin?” Paul asks.
“No time for that. I need you to raise this building.” I say and point to the domed reactor building.
“What? Are you taking the piss?” Paul says with wide eyes as he stares at the building.
“The reactor is in meltdown. This thing is going to go nuclear, just like Chernobyl, if we don’t do something.” I say urgently.
“Oh, shit!” Paul blurts out and aims his white gloved-hands down at the ground. “You do realize, that I have never moved anything this big before.” He says over his shoulder, then begins to raise his arms slowly. “Bloody hell!” Paul grunts, grits his teeth and bends his knees.
“Come on, buddy. I believe in you. You can do it.” Stuart says and claps his hands.
Paul grunts as he raises his hands a few more inches. I hear the sound of cracking, and a jagged line appears in the ground at the base of the building.
“Go, go, go, go.” Stuart and I say together, urging Paul on.
Cement and dirt begins to break and come up as the building slowly rises. I watch in awe as more of the building rises gradually into the air.
The sirens are still wailing their mournful cry as the reactor building rises up from the ground. The concrete shell covering the reactor goes deep underground, and as we watch, more of the foundations is revealed as Paul raises it. Sweat begins breaking out all over Paul’s face, and his arms are beginning to shake. His nose is beginning to bleed now.
“You’re doing great. A little more, just a little more.” I say as Paul closes his eyes and his legs begin to shake.
As more of the building rises into the morning sky, I notice pipes and cables attached to the bottom of the building.
I crawl underneath and rip them away. I scramble to the middle of the building and press up with my hands.
“Okay. Dig deep, Britney. Time to see how strong you are.” I tell myself.
I take a deep breath and push up and start to stand up. The weight of the building is unlike anything I have ever lifted. My knees buckle, but I grit my teeth and push upwards.
The building starts to move, and with this boost in my confidence, I begin the next step. I will myself upwards, spreading my arms a little wider and pressing my face to the dirt encrusted foundations of the building.
My feet come off the ground as I will myself upwards. The weight is staggering. Now I know how Atlas felt.
“It’s all yours.” I hear Paul’s exhausted voice shout out from below once I have gained a hundred feet. The weight shifts slightly, and I raise my legs and use my entire body to balance the building.
“Arrgh!” I growl as I feel like I’m
being crushed between a hammer and an anvil. I will myself up.
Come on, Britney, faster. Climb, climb, climb.
Dirt, insects and some worms rain down as I continue to climb. I look down over my shoulder at the hole where this building once was, and close my eyes when Paul and Stuart wave at me.
Focus, Britney. Come on.
Oh, god, my back.
I make a thousand feet when I open my eyes and look down. I push up with all of my might, try to push faster, harder. I begin to accelerate slowly, but I feel like I’m dying.
Ten thousand feet, twenty thousand feet.
I feel numb all over. I can’t feel my hands and legs.
I blink the tears away and growl in pain. I don’t care how much it hurts. I don’t feel pain. Pain does not exist right now. I tell myself. Push, harder, faster, keep going. Don’t stop, don’t stop.
“Aargh!” I scream as I start to feel some metal pipes digging into my ribs harder and harder.
I gasp for breath as sweat drips down my face. I keep my legs up and my arms spread wide as I continue to force myself up and up. I push through the pain and the exhaustion.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 22