by Simon Archer
The bot fired at me again before either of us could retaliate. Once again, I felt power surge within me to compensate, desperate to protect me from death. One moment, I was dying, and the next, a shimmering white energy field erupted from within me to protect us. Everything became a bright, hot light. The robot fired again and again and again into the field, and I tanked every single blow. My whole body twisted in pain, but I kept right on feeding the field, desperate to protect Matt.
I don’t know who said it, but someone begged me to stop. I didn’t. I maintained the field until I couldn’t see straight until there was one terrifying moment when I’m pretty sure my heart gave out. Pain in my chest, pain in every pore of my body. I embraced it and kept the field going. Someone screamed, and I couldn’t tell if it was me or him or her.
After what felt like years, no... decades of endurance, the robot seemed to run out of energy finally. It stumbled to the ground and fell on one knee, glaring at me in defeat. I didn’t glare back. At some point, I’d fallen too.
I felt someone pawing at my body, demanding that I breathe. After a moment of confusion, I did so. The air pulled back into my lungs with a gasp of relief, and then I coughed hard enough that blood dotted my lips.
Matt had fully transformed, and it took me a moment to realize that I was looking at an actual werewolf. Teeth, fur, glowing golden eyes, and claws that could slice clean through steel. He was three times his normal size, and his clothes were tatters where they’d ripped at the seams.
He nudged me with his muzzle until I was resting against a nearby tree. The whole world was curled in black, and I wanted to sink into it. I fought the urge to slip unconscious, blinking wide at Matt, then up at the bot.
It tried to fire again, but Matt darted away before it could.
Aylin, Andie, Eric, and Kara were all screaming in my ear. “M’ok,” I slurred to them. I didn’t feel okay. My hand was slippery, and when I looked down at it, it was very, very red. “Oh. Uh... ouch.”
I don’t know what happened after that. I heard an explosion, and then Matt screaming with absolute fury. He and the robot knocked a few more trees over in some kind of struggle that I could barely keep track of. Time seemed to slur, and then suddenly, I was looking up at glowing white eyes and pretty violet skin. I reached up and traced to trace a bloody finger along the patterns on Aylin’s cheek.
“Starlight is hurt,” she frowned.
“Am not.” I giggled. “M’fine.”
“Sounds like shock,” Kara muttered. “Shit. Okay, I contacted another ambulance. Keep him still.”
Aylin’s hands settled on my shoulders, and a worried little line settled between her brows.
“M’fine,” I repeated. “Really. Jus’ a little scratch.”
Aylin bent down to inspect my abdomen, and the noise she made was an unhappy disagreement. With a wobbly, bloody hand, I patted her on the shoulder.
“S’ok,” I said. “Love you.”
Aylin lifted a brow at that. Before she could say anything in response, Kara cheered in my ear.
“Aha! Finally!! Tell Matt that he can stop throwing a tantrum, I shut the bot down.”
True to form, the bot stopped moving seconds later, but Matt didn't seem to care. He ripped and tore at the metal like a savage beast, and I watched him go at it with an impressed whistle.
“I wanna be a wolf,” I said, utterly delirious. “They’re cooler than vamps. Look at ‘im go. Grrr.”
“So that’s the reason you keep telling me Judgment isn’t a vampire,” Eric cut in through the comms.
I tried to tell him that vampires didn’t exist, but all that came out was gibberish. Time wobbled a bit in and out of focus, and then suddenly, I wasn’t in the woods but on a stretcher in the Valcav parking lot. The girls were all looking down at me, and I could hear Eric nearby reciting the entire event to some other students with bombastic noises and gestures.
I blinked in confusion, then tried to jerk up off the stretcher. Andie’s hand pressed against my chest to shove me back down again.
“Leslie’s here,” Kara gestured somewhere off behind her. “She worked you over, but you’re still pretty weak. Don’t move. You’re headed to the hospital soon.”
I rattled off questions, confused as hell. “The bot?”
“Taken care of,” she smiled.
“Brad?”
“He’s been in custody for hours now.”
“What about our final?”
That made Kara roll her eyes. “That’s hardly a concern right now, but yes, we passed, Nick.”
“An’... An’ Matt?”
I didn’t realize that Matt was actually half hidden behind Aylin until he shoved passed her to glare down at me.
“What do you want, fuckface?” he growled.
“Hi,” I said, blinking up at him.
“You’re not gonna die,” he muttered, looking irritated at the very notion. “You fucking idiot. What were you thinking?”
I tried to jolt back up at that, but again, Andie’s hand came down to stop me. “Wait, I’m the idiot? You’re the one who...” I couldn’t believe his gall.
Matt rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with an arrogant huff. “Yeah, thanks for saving my life, dumbass.”
“Maybe next time I’ll let you take a beating first,” I shot back. “Might knock some manners into your big stupid face.”
Matt glanced off behind him, and his lips quirked into a slight smile. “Later, loser.”
“Bye, asshole.”
He flipped me off as he no doubt headed to reunite with Kristen. I flicked my gaze up at the girls, my girls, and let my head fall back on the stretcher with a sigh. They all looked down at me with mixtures of amusement and irritation. Kara’s sigh was incredulous when her fingers combed through my hair.
“I love you,” she muttered. Her tone was almost grudging. “Matt’s right about you being an idiot, but I still love you.”
“Same,” Andie nodded.
Aylin confirmed with a quiet little smile.
“Not an idiot,” I pouted. I was still a bit delirious.
“We’ve all discussed things,” Andie continued, ignoring me. “The three of us have decided that you’re going to bunk with us for the time being. Until you’re healed, of course. You’ve got to recover, right?”
My eyes slipped closed at the soothing sensation of Kara’s fingers massaging patterns along my scalp. I blinked them open again at the question, then had to rewind my brain to catch up with its context. When I realized what she’d said, I tried to sit up again, my brows climbing up into my hairline.
She stopped me with a sigh. “Stop trying to get up, Nick.”
“I feel fine,” I said. “This is silly.”
“We can’t leave you alone to your own devices,” Kara cut in, shaking her head. “Look at you. You can’t even sit still for two minutes. You’ll probably try to do push-ups or something.”
“Will not,” I argued.
“Will too,” Kara shot back.
“I am greatly looking forward to more time with my Starlight.” Aylin nodded. “This will be fun indeed.”
“Your Starlight, huh?” Kara asked with a quirked eyebrow.
“Eh, we take turns.” Andie shrugged, grinning down at me. “I figure she deserves a shot, though. Right, Aylin?”
“Correct.” The violet girl nodded again. She was so utterly confident about this that it was almost comical.
I rolled my eyes and then shut them with a sigh. To be honest, it was good to be taken care of for once. I suppose there were much worse fates.
“My girls,” I muttered sleepily. “I love my girls. Mine. Mine, mine, mine...”
Two of them snorted above me, but the purple one giggled in amusement. I felt the stretcher move as I was carted off toward the ambulance.
“We love you too, Nick.”
Chapter 31
A few days after the attack, we traveled through the town square towards the community center at the heart o
f Alexandria. Kara and Andie hugged close to me from either side, hovering like two mother hens who were mutually worried I’d stumble over some invisible crack and die. Eric, who kept darting worried glances of his own, was busy explaining every last little detail of the square to Aylin. She was flanked by Matt and Kristen, who hadn’t said a word since leaving Valcav. Whatever beef Matt had with me vanished with the robot’s demise, and he’d become as quiet as his sister.
It was a little unnerving, to be honest.
The square before the center was finely tiled with complex patterns that swirled around a series of statues. There was five total, though the extra one was an empty pedestal where my father’s statue used to rest. His presence and name were long removed, but his pedestal was still marked by angry graffiti. Across the blank stone, someone had scrawled ‘murderer.’
Matt stared at it with a frown, then studied the one to its right. It was a huge statue honoring Ice Bringer, who was posed with a raised hand, his face hidden by a helmet. Sharp spikes of ice rose around him, bending to the will of his extended palm. Eric pointed at it excitedly.
“This one was made after the Battle of the Bay a while back,” he explained to Aylin. “The first time Inferno sent forces to take the city, Ice Bringer fought him over the course of several weeks. Mindbender later won us the victory, but it was Ice Bringer’s persistence that helped us survive in the first place.”
“‘The winter frost endures,’” Aylin read. “‘Our hearts will remember your sacrifice.’” She glanced at Matt and Kristen, who both looked uncomfortable under the weighty gaze of their father’s statue. To Eric, she asked, “What does it mean? What sacrifice?”
“His wife.” Eric hesitated, glancing to Matt and Kristen as well. “Even after her death, he fought bravely for a long time, but after Otevale, he—”
“He made sure that we were taken care of,” Matt cut in. Though his tone was slightly annoyed, his eyes avoided his father with no small amount of shame. “He didn’t just abandon us. It was complicated.”
Kristen said nothing in response to that, though her arm curled around Matt’s shoulders in a silent display of comfort.
“Of course.” Eric nodded back, looking uncomfortable. “Anyway, he went to the Arctic. No one’s seen him for years now.”
“And the others?”
Eric gestured each and turn, naming them. “Mindbender, Triton, Amazoness, and Doctor Delacruz.”
“Delacruz?” Aylin perked up at the name, smiling a little. “I know that name! We have a statue for her at home. She was the first human to greet our people.”
“She invented space travel, helped with world hunger, fought some of the worst diseases to plague humanity, and invented several clean energy alternatives.” Eric beamed. “She’s pretty freaking awesome. Definitely my favorite hero.”
I didn’t tell him that he’d once explained that Inferno was his favorite hero because I suspected Eric had a lot of favorites. While they continued to chatter back and forth about the city’s history, I joined Matt and Kristen who lingered by my father’s blank pedestal. They were looking at the graffiti with a frown. Matt had been civil ever since I’d saved his life, even visiting me in the hospital once for an awkward five seconds. He glanced at me when I approached but didn’t tell me to shove off like I was expecting.
After some hesitation, I gestured up at Ice Bringer’s statue. “Wherever he is, he’s probably proud of you.”
Matt snorted, eyes fixed to the ground. “Doubt it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Can’t blame Brad for everything, can I?” When he looked back up at me, there was shame in his eyes again. “Besides, you were the one to save the city, not me. All I did was get in the way.”
“You helped,” I insisted, glancing to Kristen as well. “You both did. That matters.”
“Sure.” Matt shrugged. With the way he glanced back down at the ground, he clearly wasn’t convinced. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
I walked with Kara and Andie towards to the community center, and the twins followed quietly behind us like ghosts. Eric continued to explain the statues and why each of them was there.
“Mindbender’s a bit underrated, but his illusions are legendary. It’s pretty powerful, to be honest. He can affect the minds of others to convince them of nearly anything, even something completely ridiculous.”
Andie nodded, gesturing vaguely with her hand. “He’s the counselor, right? At Valcav?”
“Hiro, yeah. I have regular appointments.” Eric nodded furiously. I’d never asked him what those appointments were for, but he attended them every week like clockwork. “He’s super nice.”
“He’s worked closely with me in the past,” Kara added. “Triton’s my official mentor now, but Hiro’s mentioned several times that he wants to keep in contact. I think he really likes my inventions.”
“Who wouldn’t?” I pulled her closer with a careful hug and then kissed her on the temple. I didn’t want to jostle my injuries too much. My chest still hurt like hell, to be honest.
Kara blushed in response, but then kissed me back with a secret little smile.
With its intimidating stone columns lining the front entrance, the community center was a large dome building that mimicked Roman architecture. The stonework along the columns was very intricate, with carved vines crawling around each one. Aylin admired them with wide eyes as we climbed the steps into the main hall.
Gemma was there to greet us. She was dressed in a pretty blue gown and wore diamond earrings. She smiled at our arrival and bowed slightly.
We’d all brought our best outfits. Eric, Matt and I all wore suits, and the girls wore different dresses for the occasion. Andie’s was a bright rainbow splash that spilled along her body in wonderful patterns. Kristen and Kara both wore black, the latter with ruby jewelry to bring out her hair. Aylin had gone for a pretty violet gown that flowed around her like water. It was dark and matched the general tone of her skin.
I bowed back to Gemma and then gently took her hand in mine. I kissed it with a grin.
“You look beautiful,” I said.
“Thank you, Nick.” She smiled at me. “It’s been a crazy year, but I’m proud of you.”
That made me blush a little. I shrugged in modesty, but it pulled at my wounds in a reminder of what had occurred just a few days ago.
“Now is not the time for modesty, young man,” she admonished playfully. “You’re a hero today.”
“Being a hero hurts,” I said with a chuckle, and it was true. Despite the pain meds and Leslie’s work at the hospital, I still had a lot of recovering to do. Even the short walk from the car to the center had me tired.
Gemma gave me another lingering glance before leading us toward the auditorium. We were fashionably late, and the halls were empty as we skipped the main entrance and took a side door into the backstage. Triton’s muffled voice was audible beyond a heavy curtain, regaling the audience with the tale of our feats from yesterday, as well as for most of the year.
I was nervous, to say the least. I’d spent a good portion of my life being ashamed of my own name, and here I was, getting a medal with it inscribed for all to see. Not that I was ashamed anymore. I hadn’t been for a long time, in fact. That was strange, too, but I knew exactly who to blame for the strange confidence now beaming within me.
I met Andie’s eyes and pulled her aside with a smile. Ducking my head a little, I started, “If I hadn’t impressed you back in the trials...”
“You would have done just fine without me, Nick,” she countered as if she had read my mind.
I shook my head. “I’m not so sure. I was a kind of a mess back there.”
“Yeah, you were.” Andie chuckled. She gently fisted my shoulder. “Don’t you dare thank me, though. You helped me too.”
I shook my head, uncertain. I believed her, but she’d done so much for me and loved so easily despite everything. I learned a lot from her company.
Andie’s eyes glistened with emotion, and she shook her head at me. “It’s nothing, Nick—”
“It’s not nothing,” I interrupted. I took her hands in mine and held them for a moment. There were too many things to say and all the time in the world to say them. Some, I’d said already. Instead of continuing, I gave in to temptation and kissed her gently. She kissed back just as sweet and then wiped the emotion from her eyes with careful fingers.
“I swear to God if you ruined my makeup...”
I laughed. “You’re beautiful.”
“Hey, I know you’re having a moment, Nick, but we’ve got a medal to get.” Eric slid in and carefully dragged me away from Andie. He looped an arm around my shoulder and led me toward the curtains. “You ready for this?”
There was some small part of me that wanted to protest, to run away and avoid the spotlight as I’d always done. There was a much greater part of me, largely built by Andie and Eric’s support, that knew better.
Nodding slowly, I confessed, “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”
“Good. Because if you said no, I didn’t have a backup plan.”
I chuckled at that. “You’re a doofus, Eric.”
“I know.” He laughed.
Without giving me much choice, he led me around the curtain and out into the main stage. The bright lights overhead caused me to squint, but then there was a roar of applause that rocked the whole auditorium. A city’s worth of approving smiles cheered for us. For me. I faltered, unprepared for that.
Behind me, Aylin, Andie, Kara, Kristen, and Matt were each greeted with cheers of their own. Eric held on to me until we met Triton, and then he slid away to take his place by the twins. I bowed slightly to Triton, who nodded back with a proud smile of his own.