The Guardians Omnibus

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  Then, a woman screamed and a man cried out in pain, but his voice seemed muffled. Quinn ran at super speed to the edge of Goodwin Park, where he thought the noise had come from. He stopped and listened, pocketing his earbuds.

  Come on, make another noise already.

  He looked around and watched for signs of movement.

  Nothing.

  Dammit, they’re not here.

  Then, his super vision detected motion to the right side of the park where it was dark and isolated, surrounded by bushes and a copse of trees.

  “Please, stop! You’re hurting him!” a woman exclaimed.

  “Shut up!” a gruff voice yelled.

  Three individuals in dark clothing were standing around a woman. A fifth person was rolling on the ground in the fetal position, grunting in pain as two of the thugs kicked him.

  The tallest man lunged at the woman and grabbed at her, but she screamed and swatted at him with her hands raised in self-defense. His free hand came up hard and fast, and he slapped her across the face. She spun and fell to her knees. Then, the man grabbed her and pulled her back to her feet.

  Holy crap!

  Quinn tossed his gym bag under a bush and ran toward them. “Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The three thugs stopped and stared at Quinn with surprise. The tall one laughed. “Beat it, kid, or you’re next.”

  “It’s too late,” the second man argued, “he’s already seen us.”

  “Fine. Grab him.”

  “You need to leave them alone,” Quinn shouted back, louder than he anticipated.

  The tall man—clearly the ringleader—pulled a gun from his waist and cocked it. “And why should we?”

  “You brought a gun?” the third thug asked, clearly surprised.

  “Of course. One can’t be too careful these days, especially with the two super freaks running around the town. You never know when you might bump into them. Hey kid, get over here, now!”

  So, they know about Blake…interesting.

  Quinn smiled, but the thugs didn’t see it in the dark. He obeyed and walked forward confidently. “That’s right, jerk face, you never know when you might run into Blue Spekter.” Then, he powered on his eyes and their blue light illuminated the darkness.

  The man with the gun smiled and pointed it at the girl. The other two thugs swore and cried out with panic, their postures changing from intimidation to defense.

  Now’s when I wish I could use telekinesis like Blake…

  The gunman yelled at him. “If you think you’re going to save them, forget it. Leave us alone or I shoot her in five seconds.”

  “Really?” Blue Spekter asked. “You’re going to play that game with me?”

  “Three seconds.”

  Blue Spekter reached out with his mind and extended a force field between the man and the woman. He pulled moisture out of the cold air around the man and froze the man’s hand in place around his gun.

  “What the fuck?” the man said, letting the woman go. Blue Spekter sped toward her and then pulled her away from the ring leader.

  “Stay here and you’ll be safe.” Blue Spekter said, his body now glowing brightly.

  “My boyfriend…” the woman whispered.

  “Call 911 if you can,” Blue Spekter responded.

  “You two, take him down!” the leader said, yelling at his men. “Fuck, this is cold.” He smacked his iced-over hand on the ground, but he cried out in pain.

  One of the men charged at Blue Spekter, but he super-ran toward the thug and punched him hard in the stomach. The man fell to the ground and gasped, struggling to breathe.

  Blue Spekter pointed his hands at the man and blasted his wrists and ankles with ice, freezing them together by creating a set of ice handcuffs to immobilize the thug.

  The ringleader yelled angrily, distracting Blue Spekter. The gun in his hand fired into the ground, and the ice exploded from his hand. With rage in his dark eyes, he aimed at Blue Spekter and fired several shots. The bullets became stuck in Blue Spekter’s invisible defensive shield and hovered in the air. He eyed the bullets briefly.

  Those look funny.

  They were white and looked smashed, not pointed. A moment later, the gun clicked, indicating it was empty.

  “Nice try,” Blue Spekter said as the bullets felt the ground. Then, with super speed, he charged at the ringleader, stopping inches from the man’s face. “Boo.”

  The thug shrieked as Blue Spekter ripped the gun from his hand. Then, he delivered a swift uppercut to the man’s face. As the man spun around in pain, Blue Spekter blasted him with freezing ice and shackled the man to the ground.

  He turned around and faced the third man. “What will you do?”

  “Absolutely nothing,” he answered, putting his hands up in surrender as he backed away.

  “Good, but I can’t let you go.”

  “Okay,” the man responded, his voice squeaking.

  “Put your hands together in front of you.”

  The man complied and Blue Spekter shackled the man in ice. “The police will be here in a moment and…”

  Something clicked.

  He spun around and stared at the woman, who pointed a weapon at him. What the heck?

  She fired.

  Too surprised to react, Blue Spekter felt set of electrodes stick into his chest, delivering fifty thousand volts of power through his body. His body involuntarily reacted, tensing and submitting to the painful charge. His fingers tightened into fists and his arms flailed out at his sides. He fought to remain standing, but fell to one knee.

  A moment later, the injured victim on the ground sprung to life, jumped to his feet, and fired a second taser at him. Blue Spekter cried out as an additional charge surged through him, causing his torso to twist and convulse.

  Come on, get over yourself, you overcame electrical attacks in the Rangeley facility…

  “Target acquired,” the woman said into her sleeve. “Move in, now.”

  Holy shit, is this another kidnapping attempt? Dammit, Applegate!

  Floodlights hidden in parked cars switched on and illuminated the area where Blue Spekter and the ice-bound thugs struggled. He heard car doors opening and closing as footsteps ran across the grass and the paved paths of Goodwin Park.

  These things are all actors and agents!

  “TaseBolts at the ready,” someone shouted. “Take aim!”

  Blue Spekter grunted, gritting his teeth. “Why…are…you…doing…this?” he shouted. The electrical pain surging through his body added a staccato effect to his speech.

  “Fire!” someone shouted.

  Blue Spekter tried to put his invisible shield in place, but he was in too much pain to concentrate. Multiple, focused blasts of white-hot energy slammed into his body, fired from weapons he had never seen before, carried by black-clad agents advancing on his position. Blue Spekter fell forward, but caught himself with his hands.

  Get up, Quinn, get up!

  “Keep him down!” someone yelled.

  Another round of searing hot energy blasted through him and arced across his back, causing his elbows to buckle. He face-planted in the dead grass.

  “Blue Spekter, you will stand down immediately and surrender to the Department of Homeland Security,” a man’s distorted, nasally voice shouted over a megaphone.

  “No!” Blue Spekter shouted, fighting the pain and pushing himself up. So, that’s who’s behind this.

  One of the ice-bound thugs rolled toward Blue Spekter and yelled as he brought his ice-bound hands up and swung at Blue Spekter’s head, probably hoping to knock him out. The ice shattered on the back of Blue Spekter’s head, but it did not have the desired effect the man intended. Blue Spekter glared at the man with blazing blue eyes and the man backed away, surprised Blue Spekter had shrugged off the attack.

  “Hit him again!” an agent shouted.

  Think back to Rangeley…think back to the micro bug…to how desperate you were…how you sto
pped Dr. Madison…

  Blue Spekter cried out in pain as agents fired their TaseBolts at him a third time. The white energy sparked and snapped across Blue Spekter’s body and his arms gave out. He collapsed to the ground, his face mashed in the grass, as his muscles surrendered to the neutralizing blast of electricity.

  I can’t…surrender to them…remember what you did at Rangeley and…

  “Move in and take the vigilante into custody,” someone ordered.

  “No!” Blue Spekter grunted, struggling to push himself up from the ground. His eyes blazed with blue fury as he grimaced at the approaching agents. All of a sudden, the electrical energy coursing through his body changed. Instead of oppressing him, it yielded to his mind and he could harness it.

  I remember this feeling…

  Suddenly, a deafening sound and a powerful blue shockwave exploded away from Blue Spekter, knocking the agents to the ground. Tree branches swayed in the wake of the blast that stripped leaves and pine needles from the lower limbs of the oak and evergreen trees in the park. The onslaught of taser voltage stopped and Blue Spekter collapsed, his body and mind surrendering to exhaustion and darkness.

  ❖

  Quinn stirred into brief consciousness and felt a set of strong arms slide under his back and knees, gently lifting him from the cool ground.

  “It’s okay, Blue, I’ve got you. You’re safe,” a man’s soothing voice said.

  Then, he faded back into unconsciousness.

  ❖

  Ron

  Ron squatted and picked Blue Spekter up by sliding an arm under his back and his knees.

  Blue Spekter moaned.

  Ron hesitated for a moment, fearful he would react with a defensive super power. “It’s okay, Blue, I’ve got you. You’re safe,” he said in a soothing voice.

  Blue Spekter’s head flopped back and he was unconscious again.

  Using his legs, Ron pushed himself up from the ground and turned around. He took a few steps forward and stopped abruptly when he saw the silhouette of a woman with her hands on her hips standing ten feet in front of him. She seemed calm and the scene around him didn’t upset her.

  “Uh, can I help you?” he asked nervously.

  “No, Ron. I’m here to help you. You could say I’m…a friend of Blue Spekter.”

  Um, just how do you know my name? Ron studied the silhouetted figure. “What do you mean by, ‘a friend of Blue Spekter?’” he asked.

  The woman’s eyes glowed pink for a brief instant. “The kind of friend we both know about; the kind no one else should know about.”

  Holy shit, there are more of you?

  “We need to get inside. It’s not safe to speak out here.” She gestured to the fallen agents around them. “It won’t be long before they regain consciousness.”

  Ron shifted his stance as Quinn’s weight started to tax his arms and back. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  Her hands dropped to her sides and she stepped forward and shrugged. “If I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “You have a point. Follow me.” Ron walked across the park with the strange woman following him and led her to his home across the street. Since you know my name, you probably know where I live. How the heck am I going to explain this to my wife?

  Quinn moaned again.

  “I’ve got you, Quinn, don’t worry. You’re safe now,” Ron responded.

  ❖

  Quinn

  Quinn felt the darkness around his mind lift briefly and he perceived his body was suspended in a set of human arms, footsteps vibrating through his body as the person walked.

  The DHS…

  He moaned, but couldn’t move.

  The same voice from before consoled him and the man gently squeezed where his hands and arms supported him. “I’ve got you, Quinn, don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

  They know my name…

  Quinn faded back into unconsciousness.

  ❖

  Ron

  “And you are?” Stephanie asked, her voice dripping with displeasure.

  Ron smirked.

  The woman smiled pleasantly and extended a hand to his wife. “My name is Ana Maria Garcia. I’m here to help our young friend.”

  Stephanie folded her arms and blocked the door. “I’m sorry, I’m not accustomed to my husband bringing strange women into our home,” she said, glaring at Ron.

  “We just met,” he replied. “Shove over, he’s getting heavy.”

  Ana Maria’s eyes briefly glowed pink. “I hope you’ll make an exception for this strange woman.”

  Stephanie’s eyes popped open with surprise and she stepped back. “Oh, wow, okay. There’s another one. You didn’t tell me there was more of them, Ron,” she said excitedly.

  “I didn’t know,” Ron said, pushing his way into the house with Quinn in his arms.

  “He really didn’t know,” Ana Maria echoed, following Ron through the doorway. “I’d love to explain everything to both of you, though. That will clear things up.”

  Stephanie nodded as she shut the front door behind them.

  Ron made his way through the house and gently set Quinn down on the living room couch.

  ❖

  Quinn

  Quinn heard voices talking; a man and a woman were discussing something. Darkness descended once more.

  ❖

  Quinn opened his eyes and blinked. He did not recognize the ceiling or the painted walls he saw. He tilted his head to the right and saw a woman sitting in an armchair, sleepily reading a paperback book. He looked down and saw he was laying on a blue couch in someone’s living room. A pillow had been tucked under his head.

  He cleared his throat and the woman lowered the book.

  “Who are you? Where am I?” he asked.

  She smiled at him. “I’m Stephanie St. Germain and I’m married to your science teacher. You’re safe in our living room. Ron saved you.” She turned her head toward a doorway and spoke loudly. “Ron, honey? He’s awake.”

  Quinn brought his hands to his head and rubbed his temples, desperate to soothe the pounding headache he had. A moment later, the smiling face of Ron walked around the corner and into the room. “Hey, buddy how are you feeling?” A woman he didn’t recognize followed him into the living room and his face expressed alarm.

  What the hell?”

  Ron pointed at her and introduced them. “Quinn, this is Ana Maria Garcia.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Quinn,” Ana Maria said, smiling.

  Great, now more people know my secret identity. What the hell are you doing, Ron?

  “Do you work for Victor? For The Order?” Quinn asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Ana Maria replied.

  Well, that’s good. But you seem to know who they are…but first…

  “How did you find me?” he asked as he tried to sit up, but his head throbbed. “Ouch, my head hurts.”

  Ron nodded. “I bet it does, that was a lot of electricity to take. Want some Tylenol?”

  Quinn nodded, “Yes, please.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Stephanie leaned forward. “Before this conversation gets serious, I have to ask…how do you do the glowing eyes thing?”

  Quinn chuckled. “It just happens. I learned to control it with Ron, uh, your husband’s help, but it’s part of the super power deal, I guess.” He made his eyes glow briefly.

  “That’s amazing,” Stephanie responded. “You can do so much good, but at the same time, I can see why you scare people.”

  Ana Maria didn’t take her eyes off him as she sat in a chair.

  Quinn looked at the two women. “So, I guess you both know who I am now.”

  They smiled at him and Stephanie spoke again. “I admit, I didn’t understand what Ron was talking about when he was pointing at the commotion in the park earlier, but he sat me down and told me the story.”

  “Earlier? How long have I been here?”

  Stephan
ie looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s one o’clock in the morning. Ron brought you in around eleven o’clock.”

  Quinn sighed. Crap, my dads are gonna kill me. Except, they’re not…they’re up in Portland for one of Dad’s benefit galas or something.

  “Do you know who attacked you?” Ana Maria asked.

  “No, do you?”

  “We think it was the Department of Homeland Security,” Ron answered, re-entering the room with a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol. “I heard some commotion outside and checked it out. When I saw the hidden floodlights pop on, I became concerned. When I saw you fall to one knee I realized you were in trouble.” He handed the glass of water and the bottle to Quinn.

  “What? How? Where do you live? How did you see me?”

  Ron chuckled. “It’s a good thing we live right across from the park. Otherwise, you might be their prisoner right now.”

  “What happened?” Quinn set the glass of water down on the coffee table and opened the bottle of Tylenol, shaking two pills into his hand.

  “Before or after the explosion?” Stephanie asked.

  “After.” Quinn swallowed the pills and chased them down with water.

  Ron sat down and answered his question. “You basically exploded with blue energy at the last second and knocked everyone out, including yourself. I waited a few minutes, but when no one got up, I put on a hoodie and went out to see what was going on with you. I checked a couple of the agents and they were alive, but unconscious. I picked you up and brought you back here.”

  “I remember someone picking me up. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. It took the rest of them about thirty minutes to get up, but they cleared out. I’m guessing they think you ran off or flew away.”

  “So, they don’t know their tasers hurt me?”

  Ron shook his head. “Not permanently, at least. I’d venture they know they can stun you. However, those weren’t regular tasers. They were pretty cool looking, futuristic, and high-tech energy weapons. I wanted to take one, but I figured it had a tracking device on it.”

  Quinn nodded. “Yeah, one of the agents called it a TaseBolt. Those cool looking things hurt like a motherfucker.” He looked at Stephanie. “Sorry.”