“Blue Spekter to David, I just planted device 001 on Nightmare’s office machine.”
“Seriously?” Trinity replied. “That’s fantastic, bro.”
Blue Spekter smirked.
“So, we’re not going to destroy the place?” Helion asked, staring at the computer terminal with a confusion expression.
“We will, when my family and Keegan are safe and we’re finished. We need to give Trinity enough time to access the computer and infiltrate the local network here. Whatever they can get their hands on will have to do.”
“All right, boys, let’s go across the hall,” Catamount said.
“That’s the security room. I think we’ve seen all the guards, but there could be more in there,” Helion said.
When he forced the door open, they stared into an empty, ultramodern security station. The weapons lockers had been opened and most of the weapons had been removed from their holsters.
“There has to be more guards,” Helion said, shaking his head in frustration. He proceeded down the hall to the next door which was on the right, marked conference room. The door chimed and slid open when he approached it. Helion sighed and Blue Spekter peeked inside; except for the furniture, this room was also devoid of resistance.
Blue Spekter turned around and walked to the next door on the left, labeled Overnight Accommodations.
The unlocked door slid open and someone shouted, “Open fire!”
There they are.
In a flash, Blue Spekter projected a defensive field that snagged all the shock bullets in midair. He looked around and observed the room’s furnishings—mostly cubicle arrangements of beds and small bureaus—had been hastily shuffled around into barricades so the guards could take up defensive positions.
He looked around and counted six men with submachine guns. A seventh man stood with his arms crossed over his chest.
What?
Blue Spekter stepped back in surprise and dropped his defensive shield.
How did he get there without me sensing him?
The man erupted with orange light and charged across the room, pushing through Blue Spekter’s failing shield and grabbing him by the throat. The goon’s momentum carried Blue Spekter across the hall and smashed him through the locker room door. Blue Spekter immediately felt the coldness of death overcoming his body as the man leeched his life force from him. Desperate; he raked his fingers across the man’s face as the man pushed him through lockers and shower stalls.
“Stop fighting me, so I can bring you to Victor,” the orange man snarled.
Wait, that’s the trick…if we stop fighting, they’ll bring us to Nightmare, who’s gotta be with my dads and Keegan. This is gonna hurt, but it might be our only chance at saving them before Nightmare does whatever he’s planning on doing…
Blue Spekter found the strength to clock the goon on the side of the face with a right hook, a move that startled his opponent. The man howled in pain and then flung Blue Spekter across the room. Blue Spekter crashed into the white metal walls, denting them, and then fell to the floor, upside down.
Ouch.
The evil goon pounced on him and brutally beat his face and chest to a bloody pulp, tossing him around the locker room like the Incredible Hulk likes to toss Loki around.
Though most of his body hurt, Blue Spekter put on a mild attempt to defend himself until the goon smashed him over a metal locker and broke the hero’s right arm. Blue Spekter gasped at the pain and tried to stand, but the goon’s boot crashed into the side his leg, breaking it at the knee.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Blue Spekter cried out in pain as the goon grabbed him by the neck, shoved him against a wall, and leeched his life force again, holding him several inches off the ground.
“I’ve had my fun, kid. I’d much rather kill you myself and be done with this whole charade, but Victor gave us orders to bring you to him alive. So, here’s a little trick we learned that will ensure you won’t fight back.”
Blue Spekter winced when he saw the goon pull a twelve-inch dagger from his right leg sheath. That won’t…
The man electrified the blade and it through Blue Spekter’s chest with a barbarous howl.
Blue Spekter gasped in shock and pain as the blade ran through him and poked out his back. He questioned the veracity of the situation as his mind dimmed. How did the dagger penetrate the front and back of my super suit? It’s supposed to be bulletproof and laced with titanium. Shit, the sheer strength of the orange goon must have overwhelmed the suit’s integrity.
Then, his vision blurred and went dark.
❖
Ana Maria
Catamount barely saw the orange blur move past their position when she sensed the lewd brown villain appear out of nowhere at the far end of the hallway.
He screamed with rage and ran at her with amazing speed. She grimaced, then swatted her left hand toward the floor. The man’s trajectory abruptly shifted and he crashed headfirst into the floor, his head and neck snapping when he hit the ground.
So, you have been holding back your true powers and you figured out how to mask your presence from us.
“You bitch!” an angry voice snarled behind her. She whirled around and became momentarily disoriented when the amber villain’s presence appeared in her mind. Unfortunately, his fist connected with her face and the super punch knocked her down the hallway and broke her nose.
How could I have been so stupid? It’s an ambush in a tight space. Of course they were ready for us no matter which way we entered the facility…their facility.
“Helion, behind you!” she shouted as the charred purple guy emerged in her mind and behind Helion. The villain quickly extended his arms and wrapped Helion in a giant bear hug from behind and electrocuted him.
She watched Helion’s body convulse under the electrical impulses and then went limp.
Her broken nose popped back into place and she winced at the sharp pain. The brown villain’s bones also healed and he pushed himself up from the floor. “Stun her,” he shouted.
The purple villain held on to Helion with his left arm and reached out with his right hand and touched the white metal wall of the hallway. Electricity zipped down the wall and cascaded over her body, momentarily pinning her to the metal floor. She focused her mind and absorbed the electrical charge. The air smelled of burning metal, flesh, plastic, and paint.
She looked up and thought about reversing the polarity but hesitated when she saw the orange villain step out of the locker room carrying an unconscious Blue Spekter slumped over his right shoulder.
Oh, no, how did they capture Quinn?
“Let them take you,” Blue Spekter whispered in her ear comm. “It’s the fastest way to my family.”
Clever.
She feigned a struggle to push herself up to her knees, but when the orange villain increased the voltage, she willingly collapsed onto her back and let her body convulse with the electrical current.
Another superhuman appeared in her mind and she felt his strong hands flip her over and pin her hands behind her back. A moment later, she felt a set of unusual handcuffs lock onto her wrists. Next, sharp pinpricks pierced her skin underneath the wide handcuffs as a mild electrical current passed through her body.
Interesting, they’ve been thinking about defensive measures as well. I’m not sure that…
Something blunt struck the back of her head and she gasped. Then, her world went dark.
❖
Blake
Helion would have cursed aloud, but the surging electrical current forced his jaw shut. As he gritted his teeth in agony and watched blue sparks dance across his field of vision, strong hands forced his arms behind his back and then handcuffs locked onto his wrist. A moment later, short pinpricks pierced the underside of his wrists and he felt an electrical current pass through him.
Dammit, this was Mother Superior’s trick. Victor was paying attention after all.
“Let the
m take you,” Blue Spekter whispered in his ear comm. “It’s the fastest way to my family.”
This sucks, but he’s right.
Then, he felt a telekinetic field around his body levitate him. Though his vision was blurred, he thought he saw someone fireman-carrying the limp body of his best friend. His arms and legs seemed bent at the wrong places and a gleam of shiny metal protruded from his back.
Shit, how did they get Quinn?
5-20 | Bamboozled
Quinn
BLUE SPEKTER AWOKE AND STARED at the black hilt of the dagger the unusually strong orange goon had rammed through his chest. Blood dripped from the surprisingly painful wound and pooled on the concrete floor beneath him. He tried to move his arms, but winced in pain instead. Chains had been wrapped around his chest and secured under his arms to suspend him from the ceiling because his limbs had been broken by the orange goon who caught him off guard. His arms were pinned behind his back with something that sent a mild shock through him.
The dagger that impaled him prevented him from healing which meant Nightmare and his goons fully understood their primary weakness. Although his healing factor would keep him alive, the blade also prevented him from regaining the use of most of his powers.
This is like reliving a night terror…if only my arms and legs would heal, I’ll be ready to fight again…
Still, he had hope. His eyes shifted up and though his vision was blurry, he looked around and recognized the room.
I’m back in the workroom where Mother Superior had me chained up. My dads…where are my dads?
He tried to look around, but the pain and restraints prevented him from seeing much. To his left, Catamount was in a similar predicament, except two of the super goons—the brown and amber guys—were leering at her.
Gross.
Helion was to his right, but he had not been impaled. Instead, the handcuffs that shocked him were suspended from chains that hung Helion from the ceiling.
❖
Ana Maria
Catamount awoke with a headache and stared at the ornate hilt of a dagger that stuck out of her chest.
Ouch.
She looked left and saw the brown and amber villains standing nearby, salaciously staring at her.
Ugh.
She glanced to her right and saw Blue Spekter was in the same predicament. Like him, blood dripped from the wound and pooled on the concrete floor beneath her. She tried to move her arms, but the chains someone had wrapped around her didn’t budge. Her arms were still pinned behind her back with the shock-inducing handcuffs, though they did not hurt her. Helion, on Blue Spekter’s right, seemed to have fared better.
It’s a good thing we didn’t teach Blake how to overcome electricity yet. Our survival may be in his hands. The electricity won’t stop Quinn or me, but these daggers will prevent us from healing and using most of our powers. I don’t think Quinn made the right call here…we have to get out before they hurt us, or worse, take our lives. I need to focus on my telekinesis and unlock Blake’s handcuffs…
The door slid open and Nightmare walked in with the purple and orange super goons.
Blue Spekter tried to speak, but what came out was a spurt of blood and a disgusting gurgling sound. He spat blood and cleared his throat.
“Ah, good to see you two are awake. I would have hated losing you so soon,” Nightmare said.
“What is it you want?” Blue Spekter managed to choke out.
“I’ve been forthcoming with what I want. Now, I have it.”
❖
Blake
“I hope you’re happy,” Helion said, his voice wavering from the electrical havoc the handcuffs wreaked on his body and nervous system. He lifted his head and stared across the workroom at Nightmare.
Nightmare looked back at him and smirked. “Whatever do you mean?”
“I brought you Blue Spekter, just like you wanted.”
Nightmare stopped in his tracks, mouth agape.
“What? Are you fucking kidding me?” Blue Spekter wheezed out.
A moment later, Nightmare folded his arms across his chest and regarded Helion with intense interest. “Go on.”
“Now that I eliminated Archimandrion Council for you, there’s nothing stopping your ascension to Master Presider of The Order. I hope I’ve proved myself loyal to you once and for all.”
“What?” Blue Spekter said, his voice strained yet somber. Blood and saliva dripped from his mouth.
Helion’s face twisted into an evil grin.
“What?” Nightmare echoed, his mouth dropping in surprise.
“You little shit,” Catamount spat out. She coughed up blood and shook her head in disgust.
The brown villain reached out and wrapped his thick fingers around Catamount’s throat. “Don’t speak until you’re spoken to, bitch,” he snarled.
Helion ignored their exchange and continued. “Just because I don’t have a control chip in my head doesn’t mean my ideals have changed, Victor. With the malfunctioning micro bug gone, I can finally think for myself and strategize more effectively without being forced to do whatever impulsive thing enters my mind. Do you like what I’ve done for The Order? For you, Victor? For us?”
Nightmare glanced at Blue Spekter, who glared at him with anger and rage in his eyes. He returned his stunned gaze to Helion. “Do you mean to tell me you still work for The Order? And me?”
Helion nodded.
“So, you’re still…”
“Dark Flame? Of course. I had to gain their trust so they’d lower their guard and I could avoid imprisonment. It was only a matter of time before I could deliver Blue Spekter to you. Of course, kidnapping his dad and boyfriend was genius on your part, but that was all you, Victor, not me. Quinn is as impulsive as he is reckless. When I learned of the kidnapping on New Year’s Eve, I patiently waited for this opportunity. Besides, if you hadn’t kidnapped them, it was only a matter of time until the military found you.”
“I hope you can appreciate that I’m having trouble believing you,” Nightmare said.
“Then I’ll prove my loyalty to you. Look in Quinn’s inner front-left pants pocket. He has a kills-switch device Dr. Madison designed to shut you down based on your control chip’s configuration or something like that.”
Nightmare sighed. “Will her treachery ever be truly known?” He walked to where Blue Spekter hung from the ceiling and glanced at the hero’s trousers. “It’s nothing personal, Quinn.” Then, he reached into Blue Spekter’s waistband and pulled out the two broken halves of the device. “Do you mean this…thing?”
Dark Flame nodded. “Oh, I guess it got broken during one of his fights with your henchmen.”
“I don’t believe this,” Blue Spekter sputtered.
Nightmare made a fist, crushing the two pieces in his hand, and glared at Blue Spekter. “Nice try, kid.” Then, he walked over to Dark Flame and waved his hand above Dark Flame’s head. The overhead shackles unlocked and Dark Flame fell free, landing on his feet.
Nightmare continued speaking. “I realized the military had gained access to our systems after they captured Seavey Island. I didn’t realize the extent of the data breach until several of our hidden facilities were laid siege and suddenly lost all connectivity to the outside world.”
Dark Flame nodded at Nightmare and wrung out his sore wrists. “Thank you, Hegumen. Like it or not, that’s the military’s initial response against superhuman enemies. Although they have TaseBolts and some of the same technology you have, they are afraid they can’t stop you.”
“They should be,” Nightmare said with a menacing cackle. “They should be very afraid, because the reckoning of humanity is at hand with our genesis.”
“Blake, why?” Blue Spekter shouted.
Dark Flame turned to face Blue Spekter. “Did you really think it would be that easy to snuff out a dark flame? Besides, how many times do I have to tell you, ‘I don’t want to be your fucking sidekick,’ before it sinks into your thick skull?”
<
br /> “But you’re not Dark Flame anymore, you are Helion,” Blue Spekter protested.
“Helion? That’s cute,” Nightmare said, snickering.
Blake snickered with him. “I lied, as I have since the night you thought you rescued me. All that’s left in me is darkness, Quinn. I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be, old friend.”
Blue Spekter stared at him, speechless.
“What about his dads?” Dark Flame asked, staring into the angry eyes of his former best friend.
“I am a man of my word,” Nightmare said, also glaring at Blue Spekter and folding his arms across his chest. “He took from me, so I will take from him. However, I will leave their fate to the entropy of orgone energy.”
“You intend to dose them in the reactor core?” Dark Flame asked.
Nightmare grinned and nodded. “It’s poetic justice, don’t you think? The very thing that created and saved you will be the instrument of his family’s demise. The dose will be more powerful than anything we’ve ever generated. Frankly, I’d be surprised if any of them survived.”
“No!” Blue Spekter shouted, struggling against his restraints. “Don’t do it, please.”
Dark Flame turned to Blue Spekter and grimaced. “Why shouldn’t you have everything taken away from you? I lost everything because of you, because you wouldn’t play along in the beginning and join us. So now, you have to suffer.”
“Blake, listen to yourself. Please, don’t do this…please!”
“I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it has to be,” Dark Flame replied, shaking his head.
Blue Spekter began crying and spoke through sobs and bloody tears. “No, don’t kill my parents! They’re innocent. Kill me instead, let them go. Victor, you can have me if you want. I don’t care, I just want my family and Keegan safe.”
“You would trade your pathetic life for theirs?” Nightmare asked, adopting a stance of arrogant superiority.
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