“There’s someone there,” Keegan said.
What?
Helion strained to see what Keegan was talking about. Ahead of them, a silhouetted figure with teal-glowing eyes illuminated his body and laughed maniacally at them.
“Get down!” Helion shouted, and the dads and Keegan dropped to the ground.
Shit, he managed to push himself off the rebar that I impaled him with. I bet he’s pissed.
“I’ve got this,” Helion shouted. He climbed over Aren and squatted between Tim and Aren. “I’ll take care of that thug. When you get out of here, go east through the woods until you hit the road. Don’t stop at the blue or white houses because a lot of this place is underground and it’s going to blow up, volcano style. Go south on the road until you meet up with the military, got it?”
“Yes,” Tim said.
Then, Helion jumped up and lunged at the teal thug, wrapping his arms around the villain’s waist and flew out of the tunnel and into the skies above.
❖
Ana Maria
Catamount ran through the burning facility’s rooms and used super strength or telekinesis to force open the emergency hatches the remaining personnel were trying to open. She ordered the reluctant personnel to exit and helped move the unconscious ones to safety. Unfortunately, opening the exits created a downdraft that fueled and encouraged the fires to burn hotter. Time worked against her.
Only two more rooms to go…
❖
Quinn
Blue Spekter rocketed out of the reactor core chamber and transmuted to unbridled, shimmering power. He dashed through the air to Victor and landed several punches on the villain’s face and torso, then dashed to the green goon and did the same.
Time to take care of two birds with one storm.
The villain and his henchman were still spinning erratically from Blue Spekter’s super toss and attack. He dashed back to Nightmare and grabbed the man’s left ankle. With Nightmare in tow, he dashed over to the green goon and grabbed his right ankle. Striking them against one another, he accelerated and ascended into the storm above, carrying a man in each hand upside down by the ankles.
The green goon screamed in protest and panicked as they passed through the electrically charged storm clouds and tried to wrestle free, but Blue Spekter didn’t let go. Instead, he dragged them above the storm clouds and blinked in the bright sunlight on the other side.
“Let me go,” the green goon shouted, but Blue Spekter ignored him. At an arbitrary altitude, Blue Spekter looped around, yanked the two men closer, and then flew straight down to the earth, his eyes blazing and his body snapping with energy.
“You’ll never destroy us,” Nightmare hollered, struggling to wrestle free from the hero’s grasp as they reentered the maelstrom.
“So you keep saying,” Blue Spekter replied flatly.
Then, the dark clouds flashed and lightning struck Blue Spekter, who absorbed the intense jolt like it was a nine-volt battery on his tongue. The lightning strike severely burned both villains and cost Blue Spekter his grip on Nightmare, but it afforded him the opportunity to latch onto the green goon with both hands.
A spinning, tumbling, and injured Nightmare regained flight control and grimaced, then tried to tackle Blue Spekter as he rapidly descended to the forest below. The hero simply swung his legs around and kicked Nightmare in the nose. The impact sent the red villain reeling through the air.
Nightmare clutched his face and spat blood when he spoke. “You broke my damn nose!”
“Wait your turn, Nightmare, I’ll deal with you in a minute,” Blue Spekter shouted back.
Blue Spekter transmuted back to his physical form, accelerated, and turned the green goon into a surfboard and as they slid through the snow, a plume of snow and dirt sprayed into the air behind them. When they stopped, the man wheezed and coughed, momentarily stunned by the impact.
With the green goon’s mouth wide-open, Blue Spekter smothered the man’s face with his hand and flooded the man’s lungs with cold water that he flash-froze.
❖
Keegan
“Which way is east?” Keegan asked as he climbed out of the tunnel. Explosions echoed up the concrete tunnel and the ground shook beneath their feet. He was cold, and his hands shook as he spoke.
I’m relieved to be out of that hellhole.
“That way?” Aren asked, pointing in the opposite direction of the sun.
“Didn’t you guys learn the ways of the forest as kids?” Tim asked, dusting himself off. He walked around the concrete bunker and studied it. The heat venting from the chamber below had melted all the snow from the structure.
“Apparently not,” Aren replied sarcastically.
“Here, look.” He pointed to the greenest side of the bunker. “Moss always grows on the north side of things in the woods. That means east is this way.” He pointed to the east.
“Great, let’s go, I’m freezing,” Keegan said, pulling the tuxedo jacket around him for warmth as his teeth began to chatter. As they trudged through the deep snow, an explosion shook the ground. Behind them, a fireball exploded out of the tunnel they had exited moments ago.
“Holy shit,” Aren shouted, pausing to look behind them at the flaming tunnel.
“Keep moving,” Tim exclaimed, grabbing Aren and Keegan by the arms. “Blake said this whole place could blow at any minute.”
You don’t have to tell me that twice.
❖
Blake
Helion grunted and yelled as he spun out of control and crashed into the frozen snow near the Orgonon home. Enraged at being left for dead, the teal villain mercilessly bludgeoned Helion, overwhelming him with a barrage of martial arts attacks laced with elemental powers to weaken and force Helion into submission.
Helion’s body rolled on the snowy earth until he stopped in a prone position.
“Ow.”
Dammit, this guy is relentless.
Helion lifted his head up, shook it to clear the stars in his vision, then looked around for something to throw at the villain. The only thing he saw were the exposed filling tubes for the house’s propane tanks.
I can work with that.
“Come on, you little bitch. I’m not done with you yet,” the teal thug yelled at him.
Oh, I'm coming.
Helion rolled onto his back and looked up at the angry villain. Above them, lightning flashed through the clouds. “Can you even think for yourself or are you compelled to do everything Victor wants?”
Discreetly, Helion reached into the ground with his mind and took hold of the two-hundred gallon tank. It was heavy, but the resulting devastation would ensure the teal guy’s demise.
“I serve The Order, and you are an enemy of The Order. Enemies of…
“Yeah, yeah, I know the math. Enemies of The Order must die. I bought into that rhetoric myself for a time. There’s a better version that I wrote myself.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” the man sneered, sufficiently distracted.
“The version where you end up dead.” Helion launched himself into the air and rocketed toward the man, transmuting into living flame and firing a distracting volley of fire bursts at him. The man brought his hands up to deflect Blake’s attack.
Perfect.
Helion ripped the propane tank from the ground and pulled it up fast, using his powers to launch the tank like a rocket at the man. Its damaged piping hissed as propane gas escaped the tank.
“What the hell?” The man shouted as the propane tank collided with him and knocked him higher into the air. Helion ascended with them, using his telekinesis to keep the tank and the man together as he pushed them toward the chaos above.
“No, don’t,” the man yelled.
“Sayonara,” Helion shouted, then dropped back toward the earth.
The clouds flashed and lightning connected with the tank. Thunder cracked and a massive incendiary explosion vaporized the villain. The shockwave and shrapnel from the destroyed tank
flew in all directions, but Helion deflected the pieces and turned his attention to the other buried propane tanks that provided fuel for the underground facility.
That gives me an idea…
❖
Victor
Nightmare steadied himself in midair and wiped his face after his nose popped back into place and healed. When he pulled his hand away from his face and saw the blood on his fingers, rage and vengeance filled his veins.
I’m going to enjoy killing him.
Movement on the forest floor beneath him distracted him.
Those aren’t my guards…wait…that’s Quinn’s family! I know how to end this.
Leaving his green super soldier to deal with Blue Spekter or die at his hands, Nightmare sliced through the air until he could telekinetically yank Keegan from the ground. Then, he latched onto the panicked and thrashing boy and pulled him through the air toward the fight. When Keegan drew near, Nightmare spun him around and then wrapped the fingers of his hand around Keegan’s throat.
“Let me go!” Keegan yelled.
“Poor choice of words, kid, considering you’re several hundred feet above the forest.” Nightmare snarled. Then, his face twisted and he used his life drain power against the boy. Keegan gasped as blackness seeped out from Nightmare’s hand into Keegan’s veins and the boy’s eyes widened with horror.
“Enough, or he dies!” Nightmare shouted, fixing his gaze on Blue Spekter.
❖
Blake
Helion flew toward the buried propane tank repository and hovered over it, reaching into the ground with his mind. Then, he unearthed two of the three tanks from the ground and flew over the field between the blue Orgonon home and the exposed reactor core. He sensed Catamount moving through one of the underground rooms beneath him.
“Catamount, I need you to go to the antique elevator shaft and blow its roof off, so I can see it from the air.
“I’m a little busy, Helion.”
“Yeah, we all are, but if you could hurry that would be great. I’m coming in hot.”
“I need ten seconds.”
“You’ve got it. Go.”
Helion swung around and aimed for the blue home that sat on top of the elevator shaft that led to the reception area. He reached out with his mind and ripped apart the roof of the home-turned-museum until he found the library and its secret elevator. Then, he shoved one of the propane tanks down the elevator shaft until it lodged at the bottom, crushing the car beneath it.
A moment later, Catamount, who had moved to the antique elevator shaft, encouraged the ground to erupt into the air like a volcano blast.
“Thank you. Now step back—way back—please,” he said, circling around with the second tank in tow.
“All right, I’m clear.”
Helion shoved the second propane tank through the hole Catamount created. Like the other tank, it wedged itself at the bottom of the shaft near the control room level. Helion circled around to study his handiwork.
“Um, did you just drop two makeshift bombs on either side of me when I’m still in the facility?”
Oh shit,
“Uh, maybe?” Helion sheepishly answered.
“Brilliant idea, but next time please talk with your teammates before you almost kill them.”
“Sorry,” Helion replied.
“Enough, or he dies!” Nightmare shouted in the skies above.
Helion rotated toward the sound of Nightmare’s angry voice and his heart sank when he saw Nightmare dangling Keegan by the neck. His super vision allowed him to see Nightmare killing Keegan with the life drain power.
Oh, crap. This isn’t good.
❖
Quinn
Blue Spekter watched the green goon asphyxiate, but the man had the wherewithal to heat his body and hinder the ice power Blue Spekter used against him, but it wasn’t enough. Realizing his death was near, the green goon struggled to swat at Blue Spekter, desperately trying to knock him off so he could draw breath.
Explosions in the facility beneath them shook the ground as the green goon’s glowing eyes and body powered down. For the first time, Blue Spekter looked into the man’s terrified blue eyes.
We’re not killers of defenseless people. His recent words to Blake echoed in his mind. Unlike the rest of the mercenaries and ex-military superhumans he fought that day, this guy appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Pangs of remorse tormented Blue Spekter’s soul. He shook his head and remembered how dangerous these villains were.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t be allowed to live. You are far too dangerous and the safety of the world is at stake.” The words stung in Blue Spekter’s heart, but he knew this was the only choice he had. This super goon was no different from the others he had dispatched.
Do I really want do to this? This feels more like murder…
“Enough, or he dies!” Nightmare shouted from above.
Blue Spekter looked up into the sky and saw Keegan dangling from Nightmare’s lethal grasp. Nightmare slowly ascended, drawing dangerously near to the lightning-laden storm clouds above them.
No!
He abruptly stopped ending the green goon’s life and powered himself down, afraid for Keegan’s life. The green goon began coughing up the melting water from his lungs.
❖
Blake
Helion’s ear comm crackled to life and Agent Hartman’s voice addressed them. “The dads are safe. They’re with the military along the road and moving south. Where’s the boyfriend?”
“Um, there’s been a complication with the boyfriend, stand by.” Helion replied. Then, he spoke to his best friend, using the ear comm to communicate with his team. “Quinn, if you can attack Victor, I’ll catch Keegan when he drops him. I promise.”
“Drops him? What is going on up there?” Catamount asked. “I thought the family was safely away from here!”
“Long story,” Helion replied.
“I can’t, I don’t want to risk Keegan’s life,” Blue Spekter whispered.
There’s a good chance Nightmare will kill him regardless of what we do.
“Quinn, do you trust me?”
“Y-yes. Do I have a choice?”
“If you want Keegan to live, keep Victor distracted.”
Helion crouched and waited. If I can time this just right…
❖
Quinn
Blue Spekter felt Nightmare grab him with a powerful telekinetic pincher-like grasp and he allowed the villain to haul him up to his dangerous altitude. Blue Spekter kept his hands outstretched to his sides to signal his surrender. When they were at the same level, Blue Spekter spoke to him. “You don’t have to do this, Nightmare.”
“Oh, but I do. The only weakness you have is him,” Nightmare said, shaking Keegan. The boy grunted and clawed at Nightmare’s arm.
Blue Spekter winced when he saw how pale and gray Keegan’s face had become. The veins in his neck and face had turned black.
“Please, don’t hurt him,” Blue Spekter begged, tears running down his cowl.
“It’s not him I want to hurt, it’s you. But since this seems to be the only way to accomplish the latter, say goodbye to your precious boyfriend. I guess the hero doesn’t save the day after all.”
“I’ll surrender to you, Nightmare. Just let him go.”
“I’ll let him go when you’re good and dead, Quinn.”
Blue Spekter sensed the green goon blast off from the ground. He glanced down at the man and realized the goon was coming right for him.
Let him do whatever he wants…Blake needs time.
❖
Blake
The green henchmen rocketed up from the ground and flew toward Blue Spekter.
Now!
Helion dashed underneath the green henchmen and then leapt into the air, drawing directly behind the green-glowing man. Lightning in the storm clouds above flashed several times, reminding Helion of how dangerous it was for Keegan to be this close to the storm.
Even t
hough I’m gambling with his life, I hope he can survive going a little higher.
Nightmare reached out with his free hand and blasted Blue Spekter with a volley of fire and electricity. “He’s all yours,” Victor shouted. “Destroy him!”
“With pleasure, boss!”
When the green man tackled Blue Spekter, Helion swung out from beneath the green guy and reached out with his mind, feeling Nightmare’s fingers around Keegan’s neck. With brute force, he forcibly opened Victor’s hand, breaking the man’s fingers. Victor shrieked with pain as Helion pulled the hand away from Keegan’s neck. At the same time, he pushed Keegan up higher and accelerated, intending to catch him when he fell back to earth after giving Nightmare a good clobbering as he passed by.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Nightmare shouted, glaring down at him. With his other hand, he punched the air between them and Helion grunted when he slammed into an invisible wall. Rather, the invisible wall slammed into him and hammered him downward with such force that he momentarily blacked out.
Catamount’s voice in his ear comm jarred Helion back into consciousness. “Guys, this place is gonna blow any…” A massive explosion replaced her voice.
When he opened his eyes, he realized he had fallen too far to do anything about his new problem. A fireball erupted from one of the emergency hatches. It was immediately followed by a massive secondary explosion that took the entire roof and grounds off the workroom.
The blast spewed chunks of concrete, computer equipment, dirt, trees, and anything else caught in the shockwave into the air. Any personnel near the blast were instantly killed.
Oh shit! Keegan!
The shockwave slammed into Helion and tossed him back up, but it also knocked him out and left him tumbling down to the inferno below. A chain reaction of explosions followed as each room of the facility erupted, spraying fire and debris into the sky like a volcano.
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