“When Victor first alerted me to your presence in the reactor over Labor Day weekend, I dismissed it since I expected you to die like everyone else who underwent the experimental procedure of direct orgone infusion. When I found out you had survived, and Dr. Madison told me your prognosis looked good, I quickly formulated and implemented a reconnaissance plan to monitor both of you.”
“Why?” Quinn asked, noticing his clothes and grabbing them.
“Because you two are the Prime, both of you. You are the first to survive and the first to demonstrate positive results. Do you have any idea of how important you are to science?”
Blake frowned. That contradicts your previous statement about the Prime. It's a good thing Victor wants me to take you out, cuz you're batshit crazy.
“And to your agenda?” Quinn asked sarcastically.
“I take it our super powers are these positive results?” Blake asked.
“Exactly. Everything that has happened to you, I allowed to happen. If it were not for me, you would not have made it out of the hospital alive.”
“You would have killed us?” Quinn asked, surprised, pulling on his pants.
“Don't be so dramatic. Dr. Madison simply would have allowed nature to take its course.”
“But you took an oath to save people!” Quinn protested, addressing his remark to Dr. Madison. She looked down at the floor and said nothing. Quinn quickly pulled his shirt over his head.
“Saving people is exactly what Dr. Madison does. Sometimes, the benefit to greater good demands small sacrifices along the way. Before you think me a monster, you should know I am very pleased with your progress.”
“How have you been monitoring us?” Quinn asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Mother Superior smirked. “With Blake, it was easier. Victor met with him and discussed how he could help The Order. There's still so much you don't know Blake, and I hope this little glitch of difficulty has not dissuaded you from continuing with us.”
Blake stared at her and did not respond. He mimicked Quinn and folded his arms across his bare chest. I know more than you think, you crazy bitch.
“As for you Quinn, you needed more encouragement. Though you are best friends, you do not think alike because your home life situations have nurtured you in different ways. Once we discovered your aspiration to become a true superhero, all I had to do was foster that in your mind. Everything, from the graffiti art near the Memorial Bridge, the popular name Blue Spekter, and the carefully engineered downtown bomber and the hostage situation at the Sheraton in Portsmouth was my doing.”
“You put all those people at risk just to…study me?”
Blake looked over at Victor, who winked at him.
“Would you have worked with Victor?” Mother Superior asked.
“Absolutely not.”
“What about the plane? Did you sabotage a U.S. Air Force…”
Mother Superior raised her hand. “That was a brilliant rescue, but I cannot claim it. Chief Applegate, the police force, and the DHS team—an added element we didn’t plan on, I might add—have done an exceptional job of making sure you had plenty of opportunity to become the hero you wanted to become while facing enough adversity to keep you distracted from our true purpose.”
“Which is?” Quinn asked, slipping into his shoes and socks.
“Studying and understanding the resulting effects from a concentrated dose of orgone energy in the human body so we may replicate it.”
“Wait, does Chief Applegate work for you?” Quinn asked, holding himself up on his right leg as he tied his left shoe.
“Yes, of course. And now that you have helped us learn about orgone’s true potential, I’m anxious to replicate the accident that made you, but in a controlled environment so we may create special, dedicated troopers—with implants for control—to execute and further The Order’s agenda.”
“Did you know any of this?” Quinn asked.
Blake realized Quinn directed the question at him. He blinked nervously. Shit, what do I tell him?
“You did, didn’t you?” Quinn said, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t believe this. You're my best friend and you're choosing them over me?”
“Quinn, I…” he stopped, unsure of what to say.
“How much did you know?” Quinn roared.
Blake shrugged and reached for his shirt. “You didn’t want to work with me and Victor. You left me all alone to figure this shit out.”
“Bullshit! I didn’t leave you alone! We’ve been working through this together since day one! You left me!”
Blake grimaced and pointed at Quinn, his shirt hanging from his hand. “Yeah, doing it your way based on your cool powers. I had no safe way to figure out what I can do, so I did things my way for a change. Then Victor showed up. The more he and I talked, the more things made sense to me. I realized I have a place with The Order, and you can too.”
“What about everything they're doing? Zapping you, electrocuting you?”
“I knew they’d do some of that. Victor and I talked. He promised me…”
“He promised you? And you believed him?”
Blake pulled on his shirt and narrowed his eyes. “Yes, because she won’t be the Hegumenia much longer.” He raised and extended his open hand toward her.
“Preposterous, you stupid boy!” Mother Superior snapped.
“Blake, don’t!” Quinn shouted, but he was too late. Blake’s hand closed to a fist and Mother Superior’s bones cracked. She clutched at her torso, gasping for air, pain and anguish contorting her face. She tried to speak, but only air and blood escaped her mouth. A moment later, she dropped to her knees, her angry eyes focused on Blake.
“Did you really think you would be able to stop me?” Blake asked, echoing the Mother Superior’s words from moments ago. Then, the life disappeared from her eyes and she fell forward, her face smacking the floor with a sickening, fleshy thud.
2-26 | Twist the Knife
Quinn
“BLAKE!” QUINN SHOUTED, RUNNING TO his friend in disbelief. “What did you do?”
Blake glanced at him and shook his head, raising his hand to stop him telekinetically, his eyes glowing orange. “I did what needed be done, that’s all.”
“You just…killed her!” Quinn felt Blake’s powers slowing him down. The air around him seemed to turn into a thick, invisible jelly that he struggled to push through.
Blake sneered. “How many people get away with murder, or worse, every damn day, Quinn?” he shouted.
“Let me go!” Quinn yelled back, fighting the invisible force that enveloped him. They had never used their powers against one another until now and Quinn had never thought about defending himself from Blake. Several of the guards near the door regained consciousness and climbed to their feet. They looked pissed, but they held back from attacking again, unsure of what was going on.
“How many people go unpunished for the horrible, terrible things they do, like my parents?”
“But you killed her!”
“That was justice,” Blake said. “She was only the means to an end.”
“Means to an end? Murder is a crime, Blake!” Quinn shouted. “Can’t you see that? You just did the very thing you want to stop!”
“Some people need to be taken out for the greater good.”
Quinn’s mouth fell open in surprise at his best friend’s words. Behind Blake, Victor stepped forward with a smug expression, like he had just won a strategic game in a chess tournament. You’re the real mastermind behind this whole thing, aren’t you? You’ve been setting us up and playing us since the hospital incident…I don’t even know what, if any of this crazy story, is true anymore. You can’t be trusted…none of you…and now you’ve got my best friend.
“Blake, Quinn, please stop,” Victor pleaded, an expression of satisfaction on his face. Then, he raised his hands in surrender. “You don’t need to fight each other right now. We can all be on the same side of justice.”
&nb
sp; Quinn stumbled forward when he felt Blake’s telekinetic powers withdraw from his body as Blake obeyed Victor’s command. Blake’s eyes faded back to normal as he turned to face Quinn, standing next to Victor and declaring his allegiance with his body language.
“What have you done to my friend?” Quinn shouted, anger filling his veins as his body heated up. “You used Blake to get to me for that…crazy lady…and now you’ve turned him into a killer?”
Victor stepped forward, nodding and extending his hands out to Quinn in an open gesture. “Quinn, please hear what I have to say. It’s true that I worked with Blake to lure you here. I need both of you to move things forward. I need you to become part of The Order, one way or another.”
“I thought you were trying to stop Mother Superior’s plans for super-powered global domination?” Quinn asked.
Victor laughed. “It's never been about global domination, Quinn. That’s such an overused movie plot. Can you imagine the logistics of trying to run the whole planet?”
“Then what do you want?”
Victor smiled. “Justice.”
“You can’t be judge and jury, Victor. We’ve learned from history how dangerous that is. When one man has all the power, it only leads to bad things.”
Victor shook his head and rubbed his temples with frustration. “If only you’d listen, Quinn.”
“No, you’re not going to poison me like you did my friend. I’m gonna finish what I came here to do—what you asked me to do, Blake.”
Blake shook his head.
“Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t destroy this facility or the reactor core,” Victor scoffed. “You don’t have the destructive powers that Blake has.”
“Maybe not, but I sure as hell can set you back several decades.” Quinn stepped forward.
“Don't,” Blake said, his voice firm yet nervous.
Quinn stopped. “Now you're siding with him?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“I don't want to hurt you,” Blake exclaimed, his eyes pleading for Quinn not to continue their plan.
Hurt me?
“Think of what we could do together, Quinn,” Victor implored.
“I don't even know what it is you want to do! Blake, what did he promise you?”
Blake swallowed but ignored Quinn’s question. “It’s everything you always wanted, Quinn. We could be superheroes together, a dynamic duo, saving the world from criminals by eliminating them when others fail.”
Grief struck at Quinn’s heart as a harsh reality settled over him. This is it, isn’t it? I'm losing my best friend forever.
Quinn walked to his best friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I can’t do that, I can’t kill people. You have to know that’s wrong, Blake. Come home with me and forget about Victor,” Quinn begged, tears streaming down his face.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I belong here. I have nothing back home except alcoholic and abusive parents who don’t give two shits if I succeed or not.”
“Blake, you have me! Move in with us! We have the room and you know my dads will let you do that,” Quinn pleaded.
Victor folded his arms. “Choose wisely, Quinn. You have nothing but opportunity ahead of you with The Order. But if you choose to leave us, I promise you a life of pain and agony. Everyone will hunt you down no matter where you live. You’ll spend your entire life running.”
“Blake, you have me,” Quinn repeated, ignoring Victor’s threatening words.
“I know. And I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For what I have to do. You will not take this from me!” Blake’s eyes blazed orange as his hand flew out in front of him.
“But…” Quinn gasped as he flew backward across the room and slammed into the wall, smacking his head on the metal paneling. He slumped to the floor, stunned. He tried to get up, but he was too dizzy.
“Dr. Madison, the control chip if you please, on the double. Time is short.” Victor said. “Blake, you’ll need to hold him down.”
No! Is that how they’re controlling Blake?
His head throbbed, and his vision blurred as the sounds in the room became muffled. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He struggled to push himself up from the floor, but he lost his balance and fell, succumbing to the disorientation and darkness overcoming his mind.
Not again…
Quinn blinked and gasped, feeling the crushing power of Blake’s telekinesis holding him in place. “We don’t have much time,” Dr. Madison said, her voice reverberating like she was in a metal tube.
Victor’s echoed next. “Blake, you know this is really important, right? The world won’t be safe with an uncontrolled, super-powered being running around, even if he’s your friend. Everything will be better this way, and you’ll be able to stay friends for a very long time. It’s everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“Just get it done,” Blake said.
I have to get up, I have to destroy this place and get away from here. How the hell do I defeat Blake’s power? Think, Quinn, think…
“Can you put him on a work table?” Dr. Madison asked.
“Probably not the best time to move him,” Blake answered.
Footsteps echoed in his ears as Dr. Madison walked around the workroom, preparing to stick the micro bug thing in his ear.
Keegan. Every time I think about Keegan, something explodes. Maybe I can blow something up like I did to the beakers in Mr. St. Germain’s classroom. Think about what it’s like to be around Keegan, to hold his hand, to dance with him, to kiss him…
❖
Blake
Blake sensed his hold on Quinn’s body weakening. “You’re running out of time, Doctor. It’s like he’s absorbing my power or something.”
Dr. Madison hastened to Quinn’s side with one of the micro bugs. She squatted beside him and opened her left hand. Then, using a pair of forceps, she picked up the micro bug from the palm of her left hand and carefully maneuvered it into position over Quinn’s ear. She lowered it onto his auricle, just outside of his ear canal.
“Keep him still,” Dr. Madison said. She reached into her lab coat and pulled out a device. She tapped a few buttons and activated the micro bug. It beeped and activated, six tiny legs unfolding from the metal housing of its tiny body.
“You’re doing great, Blake,” Victor said. “Remember how important this.”
Quinn groaned and struggled under Blake’s invisible grasp as the micro bug began its journey into his ear canal.
“Blake, please!” Quinn begged. He started yelling in pain, his hands desperately trying to swat his ear.
Dr. Madison suddenly backed away, fanning herself. “Oh wow, he got really hot all of a sudden.”
“What?” Blake said, flinching when he saw Quinn’s eyes blazing with power. Since when does Quinn make heat like I do?
A powerful blue shockwave exploded away from Quinn, knocking everyone to the floor as it surged through the room. Anything loose on the workstations’ surfaces fell to the floor as monitors and other fragile equipment cracked and shattered into pieces, cascading to the floor like waterfalls of debris. The lights above flickered and exploded, leaving the room bathed in dim emergency lighting that survived the blast.
The ringing in Blake’s ears overpowered him, and he pressed the palms of his hands against his ears, desperate for the excruciating sound to stop. He could sense Quinn moving away, even though his eyes and ears were temporarily stunned.
“Victor!” Blake called out. “Ugh!” He shook his head in anger, desperate to silence the disorienting ringing in his head. He blinked his eyes a few times and his vision returned. It was as if his body was quickly healing itself, but not fast enough for him to chase after Quinn.
“Victor!” Blake yelled again as the ringing in his ear slowly faded. Summoning his strength, he struggled to push himself to his knees, his sense of balance momentarily absent. He looked around and saw Dr. Madison’s and Victor’s dead or
unconscious bodies on the floor. Miguel and Arik were also down, and the guards were in a pile near the door again. Sparks exploded from damaged computer systems and the busted overhead lighting.
Focus and pull yourself together!
He pushed himself to a standing position and leaned on the closest workstation that hadn't been knocked over because it was bolted to the floor.
Okay, so they’re not getting up for a while…I have to stop Quinn before he brings this entire place down.
Blake stumbled through the room and knelt beside Victor. Blake picked up the man’s head. He was conscious, but in shock. Victor opened his mouth and tried to speak. “Enemy…”
“What?” Blake said, bringing his face closer to Victor, tilting his head so his ear lined up with Victor’s mouth.
“Quinn is the…enemy now. You…have to…stop him.”
Blake frowned and nodded. He set Victor’s head down and made his way through the debris in the workroom to the hallway, where he depended on the walls to keep him upright. The locked security door to the control room had been forced open and Blake stumbled inside, his equilibrium still disrupted from the shockwave.
Blake spotted Quinn sitting at one of the consoles, staring at all the knobs and buttons. Thankfully, there was no big red button he could push to destroy the reactor. The three technicians who worked inside the room were slumped over their consoles, unconscious.
“You asshole!” Blake yelled.
Quinn stood and glared at him. “You were going to let them put one of those micro bug things in me! You’re my best friend, you’re supposed to have my back, Blake! What the hell?”
“I was your best friend,” Blake spat back.
“What do you mean?” Quinn said, his voice filled with emotion as tears streamed down his face. “We grew up together. Do you really want to throw that all away for Victor?”
“Victor doesn’t treat me like you do.”
Quinn looked exasperated. “This again? What do I do different from Victor?”
“He doesn’t put me down and treat me like his second, like you do. You’re always telling me what to do and what not to do.”
The Guardians Omnibus Page 40