Quinn chuckled. I guess we’re going to be having that talk tomorrow, too.
❖
Keegan parked the car in the infamous Whale Lot and the boys got out.
“Can I pay for parking?” Quinn asked, watching Keegan walk to the pay-for-parking meter.
“Nope,” Keegan answered. “This is all my treat tonight.”
Quinn smiled and watched Keegan press buttons on the parking machine. He wore black loafers with no visible socks, cuffed-at-the-ankle navy blue khakis, a shiny black belt, and a red tie knotted around a white dress shirt that had small blue sailboats on it. Both boys carried light jackets in their arms, expecting the air to be cooler near the river.
The mere coincidence of wearing a matching red tie and bow tie made them giggle when they greeted one another at Quinn’s house. Keegan had leaned forward and planted a small kiss on Quinn’s lips, leaving him hungry for more—but his dads walked into the hallway and his desires took a back seat to greetings.
After he put the parking receipt on the dashboard of the car, Keegan locked it and turned to Quinn.
“Shall we?”
“Yeah, but, um, I think my dads interrupted something back there.”
Keegan smiled and stepped closer. He gently took Quinn’s face in his hands and they kissed the kiss Quinn had day-dreamed of many times, not caring about anyone who might be watching them.
When Quinn opened his eyes, he sighed as Keegan’s blue eyes pulled away, twinkling as he smiled. “Much better,” Keegan whispered.
“Yeah.” Quinn said.
“Ready to go?””
“Uh-huh,” Quinn intoned, covering his crotch with his jacket. Keegan laughed and did the same. The boys walked through Vaughn Mall hand-in-hand to Congress Street.
“Where are we going?” Quinn asked, curious to know, his stomach rumbling at the thought of food. He realized he hadn’t eaten anything since his banana at breakfast—another reason he probably looked terrible to his fathers earlier.
“Well, I was going to offer you a choice. We can enjoy a nice Italian meal at Cafe Mediterraneo or we can jump to the other side of the world and go to 5 Thai Bistro. Choose whichever you like because I’ve had both and it doesn’t matter to me.”
Quinn smiled. “Well, I haven’t had Thai food in ages…”
“So, is that your final answer?” Keegan asked, imitating a game show announcer.
“It is, but I already won the prize,” Quinn answered, squeezing Keegan’s hand.
Keegan laughed, and Quinn grinned as they made their way through the busy sidewalks to the restaurant for dinner.
Quinn felt a spark of courage rise up in his soul, despite the significant loss he still felt. “Keegan, are we dating, or are we, uh…going out or something?” Quinn asked.
“Do you mean, are we boyfriends?”
“Yeah,” Quinn responded, feeling his soul become wrecked with nervousness.
“I dunno, I mean, you just came out of the closet, it’s not like you really understand this whole being gay thing yet, do you?”
Quinn stopped walking in front of North Church and looked at Keegan with shock and disbelief. His heart dropped into his stomach. I cannot handle this right now.
Keegan burst into laughter and grabbed Quinn’s other hand. He brought both of Quinn’s hands up to his heart and pulled Quinn close. “Sorry, handsome, I was only teasing…I can see that was bad timing on my part. I would be happy to be your boyfriend, Quinn, if you’d like to be mine.”
Quinn smiled and pulled Keegan in for a kiss.
❖
Blake
Sick of tossing and turning in his bed, his mind locked in a sleepless, vodka-fueled battle of what he wanted versus what The Order wanted, Blake pulled on a pair of black and orange running tights, socks, a pair of running sneakers, and skipped a shirt, knowing he’d be warm enough without one. As he walked past the kitchen, he paused and stared at the unmoved vodka bottle on the counter. He looked behind him and checked on his passed out, snoring parents, and frowned.
Guess you won’t be needing this tonight.
He grabbed the bottled and chugged, disappointed he didn’t notice any effects from his first taste of vodka. When the burn became unbearable, he coughed up the clear liquid, spraying it all over the counter, cabinetry, and the floor. Annoyed, he set the nearly-empty bottle back on the counter. Then, he headed out the back door and ran into the night, using his super speed to run faster than normal, jumping over cars like they were shoe boxes on the sidewalk and confusing their half-awake drivers. Eventually, he found himself running down the centerline of Route 1 South. Several moments later, he felt the dizzying effects of alcohol consume his mind as he ran with his thoughts.
What the fuck are you doing, Blake? You’re going to be just like them if you grab that bottle again. You need your brain sharp if you’re going to outsmart Victor…it’s not like the world will be safe with him in control of the super army; you’ll need to control it and you’ll need your wits about you to stay one step ahead of him.
Blake shook his head as a strange euphoric sensation overcame him, making his movements seem effortless as his vision became slightly impaired. This must be what a buzz feels like.
Interesting. I like it.
I’ve already figured out that he works hard to stay one step ahead of me. His over-confidence in The Order and his plans are why he occasionally slips up and loses it in front of me. He doesn’t even realize he’s letting me see the unfocused side of his personality.
A loud truck horn shook him out of his thoughts as the truck’s brakes screeched, the truck swerving to avoid him. Buzzed, he misjudged his timing and leapt over a tractor trailer a second too late. His left foot caught on the air dam and he tumbled onto the semi-trailer’s roof, his momentum violently somersaulting and flipping him across its length. When he reached the rear of the trailer, he fell off and landed on the ground with a hard thud, the wind momentarily knocked out of him.
Dammit!
He sat up, and although he remained unscathed, the pain and nuisance of being tossed to the pavement irritated him. The world around him shifted a little and he felt dizzy when he stood up. That’s probably the booze…
The tractor trailer came to a hard stop and the driver jumped out of the cab, gawking at Blake, who was dusting his hands off. “How the hell are you still alive?” the driver asked.
In his intoxicated state, he mentally lashed out without thinking, blowing the tires of the tractor trailer with his mind. The driver swore at the unexpected blowout. A second later, police lights flashed as a cruiser stopped behind him.
Blake turned and watched two officers get out of the vehicle and approach, hands on their weapons. The officer on the driver’s side spoke to him while the other spoke codes into his radio. “What happened? Are you all right? How did you…?”
“I’m fine, just leave me alone,” Blake slurred.
“Leave you alone?” the officer asked, surprised. “I saw what just happened, so that’s not an option, son. How did you…how could you…um…where’s your shirt? It’s forty-two degrees out tonight.”
Blake frowned, belched, and waved him off. “I didn’t wear one,” he answered, shaking his head vigorously. The alcohol had hit him much harder than he expected.
“You should be a bloody mess, but you’re not. Are you Blue Spekter?”
“Fuck no,” Blake slurred.
“Then, I’m calling an ambulance. You must be hurt.” The officer removed his hand from his weapon.
No ambulances, no hospital expenses!
“No, I’m fine!” Blake shouted at the officer. The second officer stopped approaching and stared at him, his hand still on his radio.
“Are you drunk?” The first officer asked. “Do you have any ID on you, like a driver’s license or your high school ID?”
“I said, leave me alone!” Blake shouted, clenching his fists while setting his eyes ablaze with orange fury.
“Oh shit,
it’s him, it’s that other Blue Spekter guy,” the second officer said, taking cover behind the passenger door of his cruiser. The first officer backed away, his hands extended out to his sides in a non-threatening manner. “I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?”
Blake snarled and extended his hands. Using his Darth Vader- and Kylo Ren-inspired trick, he yanked the first officer toward him. When he was inches away from his face, he stopped, holding him immobilized in midair.
“I told you I’m not Blue Spekter,” he shouted, his mind racing with pseudo-clarity induced by his buzz. “I’m the real hero of this town. I’m here to do what he can’t do.”
“If you’re…not him, then, who…who are you?” the officer asked, stammering with fear as he spoke, struggling to grasp at the invisible force that held him aloft.
Blake smirked behind his brightly glowing eyes as two words slammed into his head…the code name Victor and the Order had given him; a name Chief Applegate would recognize and learn to fear if she interfered with him in any way. His smirk turned into an evil, teeth baring grin the officer could barely see behind the orange glow coming from his eyes.
A moment later his fingers sparked, and his hands erupted into a hot, purple and orange flame that travelled down his arms and covered his torso. He had enough sense about him not to burn off his running tights.
The officer winced and struggled against the heat radiating from Blake’s body. Blake dropped the officer to his feet and released him. The man staggered backward to his cruiser, regarding him with fear and awe.
“You can call me…Dark Flame.”
Then, he turned and ran away at super speed, leaving a burning wake of purple-orange flame that dissipated into the night air, confident the plan he set in motion would bear much fruit in his favor.
2-30 | Securing the Future
Victor
VICTOR WALKED THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION mess in the workroom, his cane clicking on the floor. He and the team of soldiers spent the past several days cleaning the fallout left behind from Quinn and Blake's super battle and now, cursory repairs were underway. It was the facility’s sensitive electronics and special-order equipment that had received the most damage and would take even longer to replace. The reactor core and the facility itself were shut down until further notice.
He stopped in front of the containment unit that held the micro bugs and stared at them. They appeared to be intact, but Victor couldn't figure out why; he recalled seeing Quinn zap them with electricity.
Dr. Madison walked into the room as repairmen tended to the damaged circuitry of the automatic security doors. She joined him at the containment unit and folded her arms across her chest.
“I thought these were lost, but they look undamaged to me.” Victor commented.
Dr. Madison nodded. “I watched him very carefully. He almost zapped them, but he became distracted when Mother Superior shot him with shock ammo. Although those bullets didn’t have the incapacitating effect Miguel and I hoped for, Quinn showed signs of distress until he could defend himself. We’ve been inspired to create a more powerful taser; Arek and Miguel are working up the prototype at the Portsmouth facility. Anyway, with this facility in its current state, we don't have the ability to build more of them at the moment. We're lucky, I think Quinn forgot to come back and destroy them.”
“Blake didn't give him a chance. The Portsmouth facility will have the equipment you need to build more of these, as well.”
“True.”
“Speaking of whom, you're sure the implant is secure?”
Dr. Madison nodded. “For now, at least. He doesn't even know it's there.”
“And you’re sure the boys won't be able to remove it?”
She shrugged and looked at her colleague. “I have no idea. Their super powers remain largely unpredictable and scientifically undefined. On top of that, the boys simultaneously display similar and unique abilities. I know I cannot penetrate their skin with needles, knives, bullets, and other tools, but I have no idea if they can hurt each other enough to remove an implant.
“Blake told me he hurt Quinn, but I didn’t press him for details.”
“Oh really?” Dr. Madison said, tilting her head. “That’s interesting. Even still, I wouldn't know how they would get to his brain stem to remove it. However, if you intended to continue what Mother Superior started, then we will succeed where she left off.”
Victor nodded and smiled a wicked smile. “Project Genesis was doomed to fail in the 1960s; the technology simply wasn’t ready. But, today, Project Genesis II will succeed beyond The Order’s wildest dreams.
“And…your other pet project?” Dr. Madison asked hesitantly.
Victor smirked. “We will proceed as planned with Project Artifice. I remain optimistic we will also succeed much sooner than I anticipated.”
❖
The End of this Book
Book 3 – The Rise of Dark Flame
3-1 | It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day, It's a New Life
Quinn
“LOOK AT THOSE PEOPLE OVER there!” Ravone exclaimed, looking up from her phone and excitedly pointing through the crowd of cheering onlookers at the Portsmouth Halloween Parade. “I wonder if one of them is really Blue Spekter?”
Quinn put his hands on Keegan’s shoulders to balance himself as he pushed up onto his tip-toes to look over the crowd. He thought about hovering but thought better of it because of the people behind them would probably notice—especially the family with the little kids in Marvel’s Avengers costumes. In front of them, people of all ages marching in the parade had dressed in costumes of various scale that resembled Blue Spekter, his superhero alter-ego.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Those costumes are wicked awesome!” Quinn said with wonder. Some of the costumes were simple and consisted of a blue bedsheet with the words Blue Spekter spray-painted on it, while others had wired blue LED lighting into reflective puffs of fabric that gave the appearance of a glowing person, complete with a homemade mask with blue-lit eyes. Another person wore a shoulder harness with a long black pole that suspended a flying, illuminated Blue Spekter costume several feet above the crowd.
Quinn smiled, feeling proud at what he had accomplished so far. Most of the citizens of Portsmouth, New Hampshire appreciated his efforts as the vigilante superhero Blue Spekter and the protection he provided the city. But, that glory came with its stark downside, too. Chief Applegate of the local police department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) repeatedly tried to apprehend him over the past months, an annoyance he hoped would soon be a thing of the past.
Quinn leaned his head against the left side of Keegan’s Batman mask and watched as his diehard fans passed them by. Maybe I’ll give them a little flyby tonight.
“That flying one looks cool,” Keegan said, pointing to the illuminated Blue Spekter costume that hovered over the crowd.
“It’s not as cool as you,” Quinn responded softly. Keegan chuckled and turned his head; the two boys briefly kissed.
“Glad you guys finally gay-shipped Batman and Superman,” Loren said, smirking at their kiss. The four friends had agreed upon a superhero theme for the Halloween Parade and dressed up as costumed heroes from the DC Comics universe; Quinn as Superman, Keegan as Batman, Ravone as Wonder Woman, and Loren as Black Canary because she wanted to avoid a gender-identified superhero name.
“Loren! There are children around!” Quinn teased, winking at her.
“It would be so cool if he showed up, wouldn’t it? Even if he just flew over the parade? People would go nuts.” Ravone said as the Blue Spekter fan club passed by.
“I guess so,” Keegan said, shrugging.
Quinn frowned. Although Keegan seemed okay with the superhero at first, he had come to disapprove of Blue Spekter over the passing weeks, siding instead with the police and the DHS. Keegan repeatedly argued that anyone with that much power needed to be kept in check, believing that Tony Stark in Marvel’s Civil War movie had the right idea by coo
perating with the Superhuman Registration Act known as the Sokovia Accords. Quinn ignored it, but it bothered him whenever Keegan spoke against his alter-ego.
This is not going to go well when I decide to tell him I’m Blue Spekter.
Moments later, an elaborate, one hundred-foot long replica of the sand worm from the movie Beetlejuice snaked along the wide parade route. It was followed by a larger group of Star Wars characters, led by a red lightsaber-wielding Darth Vader and a handful of various stormtroopers. Behind them, a group of Jedi and other characters mimicked lightsaber battles and Force powers.
In the mix of Jedi, Quinn saw his costumed dads, Aren and Timothy, wielding blue and green light sabers. “Daddio, Dad!” He waved frantically to get their attention and they waved back.
“I’m surprised Daddio got Dad to dress up as a Star Wars character and walk in the parade this year,” Ravone said, looking up from her phone again, smiling.
“Yeah, Dad secretly loves Star Wars, but he’ll deny it if you ask him,” Quinn answered, laughing.
“Why aren’t you walking with them?” Loren asked.
Quinn looked at her and shrugged. “When the four of us talked about going as a superhero group, Keegan and I sorted out our superhero costumes and…”
Loren raised her hand. “Enough said. You chose the boyfriend over the parents, I get it.”
Quinn laughed and winked at Keegan. “Of course I did. Hey, I need to pee, so I’m gonna run over to BNG and use the bathroom there.”
“Okay,” Keegan answered, winking at him. “We’ll be right here. I’ll text you if we make our way up Daniel Street to Market Square to watch the Thriller group dance again.” They kissed, and Quinn made his way through the crowd toward the coffee shop.
As he ran past Kaffee Vonsolln, where Blake once worked, he peeked inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend. Unfortunately, the shop was closed and the only place he had sensed Blake’s proximity since their fight at the Rangeley facility a month ago was at school. He had even made a point of running through Atlantic Heights, Blake’s neighborhood, but he didn’t sense Blake’s presence at all.
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