Everybody turned to look at Selena. She looked at us, confused. “What?”
“Well?” I said. “You learn anything on your latest outing that might shine some light on all of this?”
She took a moment to collect her thoughts. “Right now, it looks like they’re holed up in Boston. They’ve got a pretty constant patrol around their portion of the city, so I couldn’t get close enough to get an idea of their exact numbers. I mean, it’s an army; we know that much. They’re making their way through the city, searching for anyone who’s a Super to join their Legion. Anyone who’s not either joins as an Eximus soldier or is killed.”
Everybody took that in for a moment. Every day, the Legion’s numbers were growing. On the flip side, we were lucky to grow our numbers by one a week, and so far for this week we were net negative.
“As far as why they haven’t wiped us out yet, I don’t know. They definitely have the numbers. There could be something logistically that’s keeping them from getting down here,” Selena said.
“I have a theory,” Doug said, looking up from his laptop.
We all turned to him as he sat up in his chair.
“I don’t think they’re interested in killing us all, at least not right now. They’re just trying to keep us afraid.” Doug sat back in his chair.
I was beginning to put together the pieces. “I think I’m seeing what you’re saying,” I said.
“You do?” he asked, excited.
I nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been thinking about this all wrong. We thought that they were growing their numbers, or waiting until they’ve made their way south, but that’s not it at all.”
“They’re keeping us distracted,” Samantha said.
I nodded. “Exactly. They think if they can just send a couple Supers here and there to keep us in check and out of their hair, they won’t have to worry about us. At least, not until they’re ready.”
“Okay, but what does that mean?” Drew asked. “We have a solid theory on their motives. I know I don’t have to tell you that it’s working. We have no idea when they’re going to attack next, how big or small it’ll be, nothing.”
We all sat there in silence, each waiting for the person next to us to offer up a solution. It seemed that nobody had one, until finally, Doug spoke up. “I think I’ve got something,” he said.
“What is it?” Samantha asked.
“I’ve been talking with some of my contacts around the world, getting a sense of what’s happening outside of our borders. The problem here is that most of the Supers are joining Atlas, and those who aren’t, are too afraid to stand up to him and join us. So, they’re either fleeing the country or just lying low. Overseas, however, the Supers who can are leaving to come here and join Atlas. Things are nowhere near as bad over in places like Europe or Australia, where all the bad Supers are leaving to come here. That allows the good ones to rise up and protect their countries. The good outnumber the bad.” Doug paused.
“So, what are you saying? That we just abandon the States and flee to Australia?” Drew asked.
Doug shook his head. “No, of course not. What I’m saying is that if two people, say Kane and Selena, can go overseas and convince the Supers to join forces with us, we may be able to grow our numbers enough to be able to stand a fighting chance against Atlas and the Legion.”
Everybody let that sink in, each of us going over the idea in our heads. There were a lot of pros and cons, but it was nice to actually have a plan in mind.
“So, what you’re saying is that you want us to go on a recruiting mission?” I asked.
Doug nodded. “Yes, exactly. I have a list of countries that would be the most viable options.”
Sarah raised her hands in disbelief. “You want our two most powerful Supers to go all the way to the other side of the world, leaving us here defenseless? What if something happens? What if the Legion decides to attack? We’d be screwed!”
“We’re screwed if we sit here and do nothing,” Doug argued. “We can’t do this alone. We need all the help we can get. Besides, if something’s happening, you can just brain-message Kane or whatever.”
Samantha huffed in frustration. “It’s not that easy, and you know it, Doug. Sending a message when he’s on the other side of the country is hard enough. On the other side of the world? That’s going to take all the energy I have.”
“Well, just drink a Red Bull or something before you have to do it,” I said.
Everyone turned to look at me.
“You aren’t really considering this, are you?” Samantha asked.
“Of course I am. Doug’s right. We can’t do this on our own. We’re going to need help, and we aren’t going to find it here in the States. Selena and I are going to go as soon as we can.”
“I’ll get in touch with my contacts and see what they can tell me about the Supers in their countries. I’ll get you a list of the top three options,” Doug said. He began typing away on his keyboard.
“So, you’re just going to leave us here to die?” Samantha said, crossing her arms.
“You’re being dramatic, Samantha.”
“I’m being dramatic?” she said, tapping her index finger against her chest. “Forgive me for not loving the idea that our two most powerful Supers are about to leave us here, right after the most devastating attack we’ve had in a month. There’s an army of Supers, Eximus soldiers, and their psychotic leader right on our doorstep.”
“They aren’t on our doorstep!” I shot back. “You heard Selena—they’re all the way out in Massachusetts. The entire army isn’t going to come all the way to Dallas without you noticing. You’ll have plenty of time to get a message to us in time.”
Samantha stood up from her seat. “You need to think about this, Kane. Don’t make some emotional decision that’s going to affect all of us here. You had a long day. Just give it some time before you decide to go off globetrotting.”
With that, Samantha stormed out of the room, not letting me get another word in.
Nobody said a thing. The only sound to be heard was Doug typing away on his keyboard.
“Look, I know you don’t want to hear this, but she is a little bit right,” Drew said. “It’s been a long day. Maybe we shouldn’t make a decision right now. The Legion just attacked, which means we have a while before they do so again. Let’s at least sleep on it for one night before we make any major decisions, alright?”
I looked to Selena. She nodded.
“Alright, I can agree with that,” I said. I stood up from my chair, ready for this meeting to be over. “Keep working your contacts, Doug. We need to know as much as we can before we jump into anything.”
Doug nodded. “Already on it.”
“I guess we’ll meet back here tomorrow morning?”
Everybody nodded as they stood from their chairs, save for Doug.
“I should be ready by then,” Doug said.
“Alright then,” I said. “It’s settled. We’ll make our decision tomorrow.”
A New Assignment
“Hey, I need you for a sec,” Selena said from behind me.
I stopped in the hallway and turned. She walked out of our meeting room and made her way towards me. “What’s up?” I asked her.
“I brought someone back with me,” she said with a knowing smile.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, perking up. “Please tell me it’s a new Super.”
Her shoulders slumped a bit. “Well, not really. I mean, he is a Super, just not the good kind. I was able to grab one of the Legion’s Supers and bring him back with me. I’ve got him locked up in room 306—it’s one of the rooms we cleared out. I thought maybe we could pop down there and ask him a few questions. He’s pretty harmless, just has the ability to fly. Very slowly, I might add. I was able to chase him down easily.”
“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll take all the answers I can get. I’ll grab Drew and we’ll go see what this Super knows,” I said, sounding as definitive as I could.
&nbs
p; I began to turn around, ending the conversation.
“Why Drew? I figured you and I could do it,” she said.
I guessed I hadn’t sounded definitive enough. I’d known she’d get upset. “You’re just really tired, Selena. You need to get some rest, especially if this plan Doug has is going to happen. Don’t worry about it. Drew and I can handle it.”
“I’m not tired, Kane. If anybody needs rest, it should be you. I’m the one who brought him in. I’m the one who’s going to be asking the questions,” Selena said.
“Come on, Selene—”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Whatever. It’s going to be fine. He’s probably not going to answer our questions, anyway. It’ll only take two seconds. Go get some rest, please.”
Selena rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. I don’t have time for this. I’ll see you before dinner for training.”
I smiled. “See you then, Selene.”
She didn’t smile back.
I walked towards the elevators as Selena blew past me in full Holocene mode. I chuckled to myself and shook my head. If I were asked why I didn’t want Selena there, I wasn’t sure I could’ve given a definitive answer. I suspected it had something to do with my getting carried away. I was so angry at Atlas and the Legion, I was happy to take my feelings out on one of the Legion’s members, especially after the attack we’d experienced earlier that day.
So I really did know why; I just didn’t want to admit it. I didn’t want Selena to be there to see me if I got carried away. Which was exactly why Drew had to be there. He could use his Eximus energy to keep me in check. Just in case.
Or to keep up appearances, at least.
I rounded the corner and saw Drew and Samantha waiting by the elevator.
“I wonder how far you could run in the time it’s taking the elevator to get here,” Drew said.
“Ah, probably not as far as you think,” I said as I walked up to them.
“I swear Eddie is making this damn thing go so slow on purpose. He’s trying to mess with me,” Samantha said, frustrated.
“Oh, come on. He can’t control how fast the elevator is going,” Drew said, leaning back against the wall.
Samantha grumbled something under her breath.
I laughed at her annoyance. “You know he just messes with you because he likes you.”
“Oh, shut up, Kane Andrews,” Samantha snapped at me. “There’s nobody that I find more annoying than Eddie.”
“He didn’t ask how you felt, Samantha,” Drew said. “But thanks for the update.”
Samantha stood there fuming.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. “You know, you should be a little more grateful, Samantha,” I said as the three of us stepped in. I had a grin on my face. “If it wasn’t for Eddie and his electricity powers keeping this place up and running, we wouldn’t be able to use the elevators.”
“Oh, wow, you mean we wouldn’t be able to use the tiny metal boxes that take us up and down all day long without ever being serviced?” She pressed the button to take us to the ground floor. “Let me roll out a parade for him.”
Drew and I laughed as I pressed the 3 button. “He really gets under your skin, doesn’t he?” Drew asked, astonished.
Samantha groaned as she rubbed her temples. “He’s such a headache. As are the both of you.”
“I’d hate to see how you talk about us behind our backs,” Drew said.
I nodded in agreement.
“What’s with the third floor?” Drew asked as the elevator began to slow.
“Selena brought back someone that you and I need to ask a couple of questions,” I said.
“A Super?” Drew asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what she told me.”
“Nice. It’s been a while since I’ve used these things,” Drew said. He squeezed his fists and stretched his arms out. Purple electricity surged through his arms, popping away from his skin.
“Watch where you point those things,” Samantha said.
The doors opened, and Drew shut his electricity off.
“We’ll catch up with you later,” I said as I stepped off the elevator.
“Be safe,” Samantha said as Drew joined me.
“We will,” I said.
The doors began to close. “That elevator felt really wobbly,” Drew said, loud enough for Samantha to hear.
“Asshole!” she shouted as the doors shut.
Drew and I began walking down the hallway towards where the Super was being held. “How do you activate your Eximus energy like that?” I asked Drew.
Drew shrugged. “How do you fly?”
I thought about it for a moment. “I don’t really know. I just do.”
“Exactly,” Drew said. “Do you think Eddie is really as bad as Samantha makes him out to be?”
I shook my head and scoffed. “Of course not. Eddie’s fine. Samantha just got off on the wrong foot, and she’s too proud to admit she’s wrong about him.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I love the guy. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have air conditioning or Xbox.” Drew glanced at me. “You should come by and play with us some time. We usually play Fifa before bed.”
I laughed. “I’m a little too busy to play Xbox. But I’m glad you guys are having fun. It’s nice to take your mind off things.”
Drew sighed. “Yeah, it is.”
His mood changed fast, and I wanted to ask him if something was wrong. We had reached the room where the Super was being held, though, so any questions for Drew would have to wait.
“You know what to do,” I said to Drew before I opened the door. “If he gets carried away—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Drew activated the Eximus receptors embedded in his arms. His electricity buzzed through the air, sending unpleasant memories of my time as a captive of the STF to the forefront of my mind. I pushed them back down and locked eyes with Drew, then nodded and raised my eyebrows, asking whether or not he was ready.
Drew nodded, and I opened the door.
A Few Questions
“Well, if it isn’t Kane Andrews, in the flesh,” the Super said when I walked in.
The chair he was tied to was the only piece of furniture in the room. Florescent lights in the ceiling cast a harsh, cold light across the room. The Super had dark red hair and flashed a white smile. He looked to be eighteen or nineteen.
“Well, it seems you know my name,” I said as I stepped towards him. “What would yours be?”
“Rob,” he said, smiling wide.
“It’s a pleasure, Rob. This here,” I said, gesturing towards Drew behind me, “is my friend Drew. He had Eximus rods embedded into his skin by the STF. I take it you know what Eximus is?”
Rob nodded, his smile shrinking by just a bit.
“Well, good. Then you know what will happen if you aren’t cooperative and try to use your powers.”
“I know what would happen if your friend Drew was still a part of the STF. But you’re Tempest,” Rob said, leaning forward a bit. “You don’t have it in you.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked, crossing my arms.
“You’re supposed to be a hero. Hope for the people.”
I took a step towards Rob. I leaned forward and placed my hands on the armrests of his chair. “Do you see any people around?”
The look in Rob’s eyes changed, and his face dropped. I pushed back on his chair lightly—well, lightly for me. His chair slid across the room and slammed against the wall.
I stood confident with Drew behind me. Rob looked between the two of us, his guard coming back up. He sat back in his chair and smiled.
“So, is this supposed to be good cop, bad cop or something?” he asked.
“No,” I said, walking towards him. “This is going to be us asking questions, and you answering them.” I stopped in front of him and crossed my arms. “What was the reason for the attack on our camp this morning? It was the biggest and bo
ldest one yet.”
Rob smirked. “I heard they were planning something big. Looks like it really got you shaken up,” he said, looking me up and down.
“Answer the question, Rob,” I said, ignoring his comment. I leaned forward, showing him I was ready to make him regret not answering.
“Same as always. Just seeing if you guys have got any new Supers, what you’re capable of, stuff like that,” Rob said, his attitude slowly disappearing.
“Why did you join Atlas, Rob?” I asked, changing to a softer tone.
Rob looked up at me. He seemed unsure whether or not he should answer. Then the look in his eyes changed. It was as if he was rehearsing a speech in his head that he’d performed many times.
“I joined the Legion of Richter because Supers are the future.” He flashed a look filled with hatred at me, and I knew exactly why. “Richter was the future. He set forth the path that Atlas walks and leads us down. The laws, the society, the culture of the human race are irrelevant,” he spat. He’d said the word “human” as if it was a curse word. “You’ll see, Tempest, and you’ll pay. If it weren’t for you and your love for the humans, this would already be a world run by the Supers. We are a natural evolution of the human race. You can’t stop progress, Tempest. It’s like a bullet train, and it stops for no one. It barrels forward at breakneck pace, and anybody who doesn’t jump on for the ride will be flattened beneath it. Once the train of progress reaches its destination, we will have arrived in a world run by Supers. Run by Atlas, who acts as the right hand of Richter, doing his bidding.”
“I hate to tell you, buddy, but Richter is dead,” I said, getting right up in his face. “I killed him myself.”
Rob spat in my face. “How dare you speak his name!” he shouted, and jerked about in his chair.
I took a step back, wiping his saliva from my face. I fought the urge to hit him as hard as I could. It raged within me like a roaring lion, but I was able to keep it subdued. I didn’t want Drew to hit me with a jolt of Eximus.
“I’ll say his name all I want to,” I told Rob. “Because that’s all it is. Just the name of a teenage boy who thought that the world was supposed to bow at his feet and worship him like a god.”
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