He powered off and closed his eyes, then let his body’s glowing fade away. Someone slapped him across the face, but he didn’t respond.
“He’s out, let’s move him while Blue Spekter and the chick are distracted.”
❖
Quinn
Blue Spekter dashed through the air and spun around, raising his fists defensively at the sight of a massive wedge of ice flying toward him.
No!
At the same moment, his hands pushed away from his body and the block of ice abruptly shifted direction and moved to his left a moment before succumbing to gravity. It wasn’t telekinesis, but a push, or the reduced form of the explosive blast he initially could only trigger under extreme stress. Ana Maria helped him discover it during one of their training sessions.
The orange goon yelled and charged at him, but Blue Spekter coiled his arm and let it spring forward. He punched the man with a powerful jab that caught him off guard and sent him tumbling through the air.
The yellow goon tackled him from behind and wrapped a set of muscular arms around Blue Spekter’s torso and neck.
I might like this in another situation, but not today.
“Nice suit, kid,” the man growled, interrupting Blue Spekter’s thoughts as he flew them below the tree line and accelerated, using Blue Spekter’s body as a human battering ram. They flew faster and faster through the frozen trunks and branches of pine, maple, ash, and oak trees, each one explosively shattering from the forceful impact of Blue Spekter’s body.
Surprisingly, Blue Spekter remained unhurt, but didn’t know how to stop the man. Instead, Blue Spekter said the first thing that came to mind: “I could do this all day.”
“What?” the man grunted, “Fine, have it your way, kid.”
Blue Spekter felt the man accelerate and yell as he charged toward the lower trunk of a massive oak tree. As they approached, Blue Spekter braced himself and waited for the right moment. Beyond the massive, multi-trunked maple tree, he noticed a cluster of fallen oak trees with sharp, frozen branches sticking out at the right angle.
It’s now or never. If I zap him at just the right time, that will weaken him long enough for this to work…
He used his superior flight abilities and abruptly stopped in midair. At the same time, he unleashed a cascade of electricity across his body to stun his assailant and then half-somersaulted forward. Their forward momentum transferred to the unsuspecting yellow goon who continued flying forward until he slammed into the maple tree head first. The multi-trunk exploded into thousands of pieces. Seconds later, the doomed tree and its iced branches fell to the forest floor as Blue Spekter uncurled his body and looked beyond the falling maple for his attacker.
Eew, gross.
The man had crashed into the frozen branches of the fallen trees beyond the oak and impaled himself three times. His limp body hung from the gnarly branches and swayed as its momentum dissipated.
It worked.
Blue Spekter glanced up when he sensed the circling orange guy above him suddenly fly away.
Giving up already?
He glanced at the gory sight of the defeated yellow man once more and then launched himself into the air, pausing momentarily to look around and check on Helion and Catamount.
Hey, where’s Blake?
❖
Ana Maria
Catamount willed herself up despite the weight and oppressive force of the three men on top her.
“What the hell?” the brown guy exclaimed. “Keep her down.”
“I’m trying,” the amber guy said, his voice strained.
“You know, boys, if you’re going to ask a lady to dance, you should first make sure she’s in your league. Otherwise, you’ll be left sorely disappointed.”
“Why you little…”
The brown guy never finished his sentence because Ana Maria exploded with a pink shockwave of power that knocked them off her. Two of the men were thrown through the woods until they met tree trunks that proved stronger than their unplanned flights. The blast pushed the charred purple-glowing man up into the air toward the storm, but he masterfully regained control of his body and flew back to the ground.
“I’m not going back into that shit storm,” he snarled, diving at her.
As Catamount jumped to her feet, she telekinetically brushed off his attempt to shove his boots into her face. Knocked off balance, the purple guy tumbled to the ground and slid several feet before coming to a stop in a large bramble. He swore and cursed at the sudden pain, then ignited his body and burned away the nasty bush.
Behind Catamount, hurried and pounding footsteps signaled an immanent attack. The brown guy leapt through the air, his hands blackening with death as he reached for her neck. With a single thought, she brushed him aside and he harmlessly soared past her.
The amber man, who silently watched the ordeal, appeared to learn from his companion’s mistakes. Instead of charging at her, he reached out with clawed fingers and pulled.
Catamount didn’t feel any telekinetic power grabbing her. Instead, her ears alerted her to the cracking and popping of the trees around her. The man yelled as he exerted himself and ripped the largest trees down, starting with an oak, a maple, another oak, an ash… She dodged his attempts to crush her and when she was close enough, she roundhouse kicked him into an oak tree. His body sailed through it and shattered branches along his trajectory.
When the man recovered, he grimaced at her, then hesitated. He tilted his head as if listening to something.
They must have ear comms, too.
The amber man sneered at her and then took off. Then she sensed the brown and purple guy take off and abandon their assault against her as well.
Helion spoke into her ear. “Guys, I’m at the tunnel entrance. I’m heading into the reactor core.”
“I’m on my way,” Blue Spekter said.
“Me too,” Catamount added. Then, she lifted off and flew toward the dangerous storm that swirled over the reactor core.
“Catamount, follow me,” Blue Spekter said. “We’ll use that secret tunnel to bypass that storm.”
“Understood.” She slowed and let Blue Spekter pass her. His attackers had also abandoned their fight against him.
That’s odd. They must be getting ready to spring another trap.
❖
Blake
Helion squinted as the green, blue, and teal superhumans flew just above the trees and pulled him beyond the proximity range of the battle raging over the lake. He sensed they were drawing closer to the storm’s twisting center and the reactor core, which meant he would soon be able to rescue Tim, Aren, and Keegan. But first, there was something else he had to do.
Now that we’re out of range…there’s no one to stop me from doing this.
He took a deep breath and focused. The air around his body warped and shimmered into a transparent, glowing orange sphere.
When he was ready, he willed himself to reverse their flight direction, increasing the drag on the three thugs who turned with surprise.
“Shit, he’s waking up.”
“I was never unconscious, you idiots.” Then, Helion grabbed the three men with his telekinesis and yanked them toward him. He yelled loudly as power left his body and the sphere of energy burst into fire and fury as it popped like a giant soap bubble and exploded away from his body. The resulting incendiary shockwave traveled outward from Helion’s person and engulfed the three assailants.
The green villain’s body charred as it fell from the air. The blue villain tried to defend himself with a defensive shield, but he was too slow and his body incinerated on the spot. Only the teal villain remained, countering Helion’s surprise firestorm by telekinetically deflecting the flames away from his body.
“So, you’re not all inexperienced, are you?” Helion asked, impressed with the man’s defense. The two superhumans hovered and faced one another, slowly rotating through the air together. He spotted a familiar sight on the snowy ground below them.
The teal villain shook his head. “I’ve been around longer than those two nitwits. We’ve studied your attacks and I’m ready for you, Dark Flame.”
“I’m not Dark Flame anymore,” Helion said.
“Aww, did your government friends convince you that forgiveness was real? Pathetic. Once the public finds out who you really are, they’ll demand justice and you’ll have no choice but to come crawling back to Nightmare for mercy. That’s all you have to do, you know. Stop fighting with your stupid, loser friends and come home where you belong.”
It’s that easy?
“Help me take down Blue Spekter and you’ll have all the forgiveness and amnesty you want.”
Helion executed a calculated hesitation and stared at the teal thug. “Seriously? That’s all I have to do?”
The villain’s arms dropped slightly. “The offer is genuine. Change sides now and all will be truly forgiven. Tempting, yes?”
Helion smirked. “Not really. I’m never turning my back on my best friend again for anyone.” He superheated his right hand and lunged at the teal villain, closing the distance between them in a half-second. As the man’s face reacted with surprise, Helion plunged the scorching hot, knife-like fingers of his right hand into the man’s chest and flew forward, pushing the man down toward the ground.
“You heroes aren’t supposed to kill people…” the teal villain croaked out with shock, spurting hot blood from his mouth as Helion’s sizzling, burning hand and arm cauterized whatever organs and blood vessels they touched.
Helion grimaced. “The problem with scum like you and Nightmare is that you never learn. You can make all the promises you want, but you’ll never stop being scum.”
A moment later, several sharp, twisted pieces of rebar from the broken tunnel fence that pointed upward impaled the teal villain’s torso in several places. His wide eyes blazed with pain and he grunted once. The man’s breath hitched as his body translated the intense pain to his brain.
“Sorry, but you’re going to die here today. I can’t have you screwing up the mission any more than you already have.”
“I was right, kid,” the man whispered, chuckling. Blood trickled from his open mouth.
“About what?” Helion said, eyeing the tunnel entrance.
The man licked his bloody lips and winced at the taste. “You’re still Dark Flame.” Then, his head dropped and his body fell limp.
Helion glared at the man, took a deep breath, then tapped his ear comm. “Guys, I’m at the tunnel entrance. I’m heading into the reactor core.”
“Hang on, I’m on my way,” Blue Spekter said.
“Me too,” Catamount added.
5-19 | Changing the Plan
Quinn
WHEN BLUE SPEKTER SPOTTED HELION’S orange glow near the tunnel entrance, he shifted his flight path and then landed next to him. A moment later, Catamount softly landed in the snow next to them.
“Eww,” Blue Spekter said, pointing at the rebar-impaled man.
Helion shrugged. “He didn’t make it.”
“You did what you had to do. Two of my three didn’t make it either,” Blue Spekter replied. I’m glad I fared better with my rebar encounter.
“My three enemies survived but they stopped attacking me and fled,” Catamount said. They both looked at Helion.
“None of mine made it,” he said flatly with a shrug.
“Then that’s three less to deal with when we find your dads and Keegan, Quinn,” Catamount said. “That leaves five villains and Victor.”
“Unless he’s hiding more,” Blue Spekter said. “I can sense the ones we fought nearby in the facility. I think they’re down there,” Blue Spekter said, pointing down the dark tunnel.
“You guys realize Victor expects us to come in through the tunnel, right?” Helion said. “It’s the perfect trap.”
“Good point,” Ana Maria said. “So, is there another way in besides this tunnel?”
Helion nodded. “Yeah, I know this place quite well. The Orgonon house has a secret elevator that descends to the main underground level. It’s on the other side of the facility and reactor core, though.”
“Quinn and I can mask our presence from Victor’s men. If you can tell us where it is, we’ll break in and enter that way.”
“If we fly away and then circle around the place, we might confuse them. I don’t think they have a well-developed proximity sense,” Blue Spekter said.
“I agree,” Catamount said. “I noticed Victor didn’t sense Helion until we arrived and faced off.”
“All right, Helion,” Blue Spekter said with a grin. “Lead the way.”
The trio took off and Helion led them in a wide circle just above the tree line that circled around the fierce storm column.
When they approached the edge of the tree line, Catamount spoke up. “Turn yourselves invisible so the ground troops don’t see us coming.”
Blue Spekter and Helion did as she suggested, and seconds later the invisible trio landed at the front door of the blue house.
“I’ll get us in,” Helion said, reaching out and forcing the door open with his mind. Once inside, they shifted back to visibility, Catamount and Blue Spekter followed Helion through the stone house-turned-museum to a room with wall-to-wall bookshelves.
“You’re kidding me; this is just like the movies,” Blue Spekter exclaimed, scanning the room quickly. There were no other points of egress. “One of these bookshelves hides a secret door, right?”
Helion laughed. “You guessed it.” He reached out with his hand and pulled on an inconspicuous brown, leather-bound book and an entire section of bookshelf rumbled as it slid back and to the right, allowing access to the hidden elevator. The door slid open and the trio stepped inside.
When the elevator car stopped its descent and the doors opened into the reception area, a handful of armed guards in full combat gear reeled in surprise.
“I’ve got this,” Helion said. He raised his hand and flicked his fingers. All six guards slammed against the walls of the room and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
“Ouch,” Blue Spekter said.
Helion chuckled. “They’ll be okay. If I didn’t stop them, one of them would’ve radioed in or sounded an alarm.”
“You’re right,” Blue Spekter said.
“By the way, I hope you still have that kill-switch device Dr. Madison worked up,” Helion said.
“Yup, right here.” Blue Spekter reached into his front waistband pocket and pulled out the two broken halves of the device. “Dammit, it must have gotten damaged when I was fighting the bad guys.”
“Don’t worry,” Catamount said. “We’ll find another way.”
Blue Spekter sighed. “All right, let’s check every room for my dads and Keegan.”
Crossing to the opposite side of the room, Helion placed his hand on the door control but the lock ring flashed red and did not open. “Looks like my access has been revoked,” he said with a grin. “As if that would stop me.”
He stepped back and swiped his hand through the air in front of his chest. “Open sesame!”
The locked metal door groaned and screeched open as he forced it open, breaking the mechanisms that held it shut. The magnetic locks in the door frame sparked as its metal twisted, exposing the wiring.
The armored guards on the other side of the door open fired at them with submachine guns. Helion grunted and staggered back as bullets struck him and exploded with small flashes of blue light.
Blue Spekter raised his hand and projected a defensive shield across the doorway that ensnared the bullets.
“They’re using shock bullets,” Helion said, collapsing to one knee as electricity arced over his body.
“I’ve got this,” Catamount said. She raised her right hand and flicked her fingers, repeating Helion’s move from moments ago. This time however, she held and immobilized the guards against the walls of the hallway. Their submachine guns clattered to the floor.
Catamount walked through the
doorway and Blue Spekter’s defensive shield and placed her hands on her hips. “I have an important question, and I suggest you answer it on the first try. Where is Victor holding the prisoners?”
Blue Spekter grinned and helped his best friend back to his feet.
“Thanks,” Helion whispered. “Those bullets hurt like hell.”
The guards grunted and strained as they struggled against the invisible restraints that held them in place.
“Last chance, boys. Where are the prisoners?”
“Lady, you can suck my…”
The guard never finished his sentence because Catamount knocked their heads against the white hallway walls. Their bodies dropped to the floor, unconscious. “Why must these guys be so rude?”
“I dunno, but let’s start here,” Blue Spekter said, pointing at a door labeled Hegumen.
“That’s Victor’s office,” Helion said. As he had done with the previous door, he forced the door open, damaging the frame and its mechanisms beyond repair.
“Thank you.” Blue Spekter stepped inside and looked around. It was a modern, minimalist, and windowless office. He gave the spacious, rectangular room a quick glance and shrugged. “Not much in here, is there?”
Helion gestured around the room. “Victor told me he chose this sparse style because it served as reminder of The Order’s principles; there is evil and there is good; black and white. There is no room for shades of gray in his mind.”
“Typical,” Catamount said as she surveyed his desk. “The computer is probably the most important piece of information in here. Too bad it won’t make it out of here. I bet David and his team would love to get their hands on it.”
“Oh, but they shall,” Blue Spekter said, bouncing his eyebrows as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniaturized version of the listening devices he planted in the prison base before the military had captured it.
Trinity’s gonna love this.
He stepped closer to the desk and observed the desktop unit and its monitor were an integrated system. He checked the listening device’s serial number and then attached it to an inconspicuous spot on the backside of the monitor near the network cable, then tapped his ear comm.
The Guardians Omnibus Page 117