by Lucas Flint
He wasn’t even in his costume anymore; instead, he was wearing a patient gown, which hung loosely over his gangly body. His wings no longer felt burnt; actually, they felt about as good as ever, if a bit stiff from a lack of use. His body in general felt stiff, but it was much preferable to the intense pain he had experienced before. His skin still smelled vaguely of smoke, but mostly it was overpowered by the sterile scent of the hospital room. Though the room’s light was on, Stinger could tell that it was still night by glancing out the window and seeing how dark it was.
Rubbing his forehead, Stinger looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. Based on the white walls and brown tiled floor, he realized that he was in the Hero Island Hospital. That was confirmed by the pictures of the Atlantic Ocean on the wall opposite him, but Stinger didn’t know how he had gotten here. He vaguely recalled being caught in midair by someone when he was falling, but he didn’t remember who had saved him or how he had gotten from there to here.
“Ah, you’re finally awake,” said a familiar voice to his right. “How do you feel, Stinger?”
Stinger suddenly looked over to his right. Talon was lying in a hospital bed next to his. Like him, she was in a patient’s gown, not her usual costume, and she was lying underneath a soft blue blanket. She did not look as good as she usually did, although her hair was as long and blonde as ever.
“Talon?” said Stinger, staring at her in confusion. “What happened? How did we get here?”
Talon frowned. “Don’t you remember? After White caught you, Bolt used his Teleportation Buckle to take us back to Hero Island. You and I were rushed to the Hero Island Hospital, where Healing Touch healed both of us.”
“Oh,” said Stinger, rubbing the back of his head. “I didn’t know that. I must have been unconscious.”
“No, you were conscious for most of it,” Talon said. “The trauma from the explosion must have sent you into shock, which caused you to not remember anything. I imagine that’s why you don’t remember any of it.”
Stinger nodded, deciding that Talon’s explanation made sense. “So … how long have I been out?”
“Oh, I’d say about half an hour or so,” said Talon. “Healing Touch was in here just a few minutes ago, but he said that we’re not supposed to get up yet. Even though he healed the worst of our wounds, he insists that both of us need a lot of rest before we go anywhere or do anything.”
“What about Bolt and White?” said Stinger. “Where are they?”
“At the House,” said Talon, gesturing toward the room’s window. “Those two and Mecha Knight went to speak with that Eli Corey fellow about John Mann and the Venetians. Apparently, Eli is Mann’s grandson and knows what his evil plan is.”
“Really?” said Stinger. “That’s awfully convenient, isn’t it?”
“It is, but one should never question one’s luck, in my opinion,” said Talon. “And I’m sure they will be able to tell if he is lying or not. I trust them.”
“I hope so,” said Stinger. He suddenly started. “Wait, what about Electrica? Did we capture her? Or did she get away again?”
“She’s in custody,” said Talon. “Healing Touch had to heal her as well, but she’s currently held in the cells underneath the Tower of Heroes, where she won’t be able to get away. She’s been sprayed with powerless gas, too, so you don’t have to worry about her using her powers to escape.”
Stinger sighed in relief and sank against the soft white pillow behind him. “Whew. I was worried that she might have gotten away in the chaos.”
“No, she was in no condition to go anywhere or do anything,” said Talon, shaking her head. “She looked almost dead the last I saw her. Unfortunately, she has been healed, apparently because she’s going to be shipped off to Ultimate Max and it would be cruel or something to let her die of her wounds, even though she absolutely deserves it.”
Stinger bit his lower lip somewhat awkwardly. “Uh, yeah. Right.”
“Oh, that’s right,” said Talon. “I forgot that she’s your mother. I don’t know how I forgot that. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” said Stinger. He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I know why you hate her so much. I’m not offended that you think she should be dead. It’s just that … well, she is still my mother, even if she’s a supervillain. It isn’t like I can really join you in wanting her dead or anything like that.”
“Are you sure?” said Talon. “I don’t want to say anything that might make you uncomfortable. I mean, just because I hate your mother doesn’t mean I hate you, necessarily.”
Stinger looked at her in confusion. “You don’t hate me? Weird. You’ve been acting so coldly toward me since you found out that my mother was the woman who killed your dad that I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me ever again.”
Talon looked at her hands, perhaps embarrassed. “I’m sorry about that. I was angry at you at first because I thought you were intentionally keeping secrets from me. And I must admit that I still am rather annoyed at how you kept that particular piece of information from me for so long, but I’ve started to realize that it isn’t fair of me to treat you that way. I mean, if my mom was a supervillain, I probably wouldn’t go around bragging about it, either.”
“That is … rather kind of you, Talon,” said Stinger. “I didn’t expect you to apologize to me like this.”
“Well, why wouldn’t I?” said Talon, looking at Stinger again. “I know that I’m not always the kindest person around, but since we’re friends, I think I do owe you an apology for behaving that way toward you. Will you accept it?”
Stinger hesitated, but only for a moment; in the next instant, he nodded and said, “Okay. I accept your apology. Not that I think you need to apologize anyway, but—”
“Thanks,” said Talon. “I was a little worried there that you might not forgive me, but I should have known better than to worry about that. Glad we’ve got that out of the way.”
Stinger nodded. “Me, too.”
That was when another question suddenly occurred to Stinger, who said to Talon, “Wait, what about Shell, Blizzard, and Treehugger? Have they returned yet?”
“I don’t think so,” said Talon, “but—”
Talon was interrupted by the door to their room bursting open, causing both Stinger and Talon to look at it. Bolt strode into the room, looking as confident and leader-like as he always did, while Healing Touch trailed behind him, as if he could barely keep up with Bolt.
“Hey, guys,” said Bolt, coming to a stop and waving at them. “How do you two feel? Better?”
“Much,” Talon replied. “A little stiff, but—”
“But they both need to rest,” said Healing Touch. He sounded slightly out of breath, like he had been running to keep up with Bolt.
Bolt looked at Healing Touch in annoyance. “But I need both of them if we’re going to stop John Mann.”
“I don’t care,” said Healing Touch flatly. “As long as they are my patients, they are under my authority, and I don’t think they should jump back into battle after less than half an hour’s worth of rest. Especially Stinger; he almost lost his wings entirely, and if he uses them too much too soon, he could end up losing use of them forever.”
“But you healed them of all of their injuries,” said Bolt, gesturing at Stinger and Talon. “They look perfectly fine to me.”
“My powers aren’t magic,” Healing Touch snapped. “I can speed up a body’s natural healing process, true, and most of my patients are usually released much sooner than patients from normal doctors, but the fact is that they both took a lot of damage and I don’t want them overexerting themselves. Their bodies need time to heal on their own, especially Stinger’s wings, which require a lot of downtime.”
“Whoa, what are you guys talking about?” said Stinger in alarm. “Are we going somewhere?”
“Yes,” said Bolt.
“No,” said Healing Touch.
The two of them glared at each other.
Even though Healing Touch was much thinner than Bolt, he showed no fear or hesitation whatsoever to the younger superhero, like he was ready to take Bolt in a fight if he tried to take Stinger and Talon with him.
“Can you please explain what is going on?” said Talon. She gestured at her head. “Because, you know, Stinger and I can’t really read minds at the moment like we usually can.”
Bolt looked at Stinger and Talon and said, “Eli Corey has come up with a plan to take down John Mann once and for all. But to pull it off, I’m going to need as many Young Neos as I can gather, because the remaining Venetians will most likely be in Mann’s mansion with him and will try to protect him from us.”
“And I say tough luck,” Healing Touch said. “There’s no way these two are in any shape to fight the Venetians again, especially so soon. Give them a few days to rest and—”
“We don’t have a few days to spare,” Bolt replied. “Eli made it sound like Mann is closer than ever to achieving his plans. He says that tonight or tomorrow would be the best time to strike, because the longer we wait, the more time Mann has to come up with some sort of counterattack.”
“I understand the urgency of the situation, Bolt, but I also think you are looking at things too short-term,” said Healing Touch. “What good would it do to have them help you fight Mann only for them to collapse during the battle thanks to not healing properly? You aren’t thinking this through.”
“I’m thinking this through very well,” said Bolt. He looked at Stinger and Talon again. “What do you two think? Do you feel up to going to attack Mann’s mansion? It won’t be until tomorrow morning at the very least, but I need to know if you feel up to it.”
Stinger scratched his forehead. “Um, couldn’t you get some members of the Neohero Alliance to come in our place? Not that I don’t want to help, but you have, like, the entire NHA membership behind you. Given the seriousness of this situation, don’t you think you could just ask the Leadership Council for a few veteran members who might be willing to help?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t,” said Bolt. “Most of the NHA is currently out on the field on various other missions and the few who aren’t are either healing up from previous missions or are stationed here at Hero Island permanently. Plus, quite a few members are already on high alert for any Starborn appearances, which means they can’t afford to go with me on this mission. Even the Leadership Council can’t spare a member or two to help.”
“Oh,” said Stinger. “Damn. Well, are you sure we can’t wait?”
“We can’t,” said Bolt. “The Starborn could arrive any day now, and once they do, Mann will probably act. His plan involves taking control of them to conquer the world, and if Mann gets control of the Starborn, it is game over for every superhuman on the planet, whether hero or villain. We really don’t have the time to wait.”
Stinger nodded. He really did want to help Bolt and the others, especially now that he knew how urgent it was that they stopped Mann, but at the same time, he could not forget his experiences on top of the warehouse. Even though the explosion had been half an hour ago and on the other side of New York City, Stinger thought he could still hear the ringing in his ears. In his mind’s eye, he still saw the flames tearing through the warehouse roof, felt the impact of the explosion send him flying, felt the flames eating away at his wings. That last memory, in particular, made Stinger freeze up, because his wings were one of the more vulnerable parts of his body and he couldn’t stand the idea that he might lose them if he used them too much.
On the other hand, this situation was clearly much graver than Stinger first imagined. The survival of humanity was at stake; at the very least, humanity’s freedom was at stake, because if Mann succeeded in gaining control of the Starborn, he would indeed have a weapon that no nation or empire on the planet could hope to fight,. Even the NHA and INJ might not be strong enough to defeat the Starborn.
Stinger looked at Talon. “Talon, what do you think? Do you feel up to going?”
Talon did not answer at first. She seemed to be thinking about her response; perhaps she was weighing her options just like him.
Then Talon raised a hand and her claws suddenly sprouted from her wrists. She looked over at Bolt and said, “I’m ready to leave when you are, boss. If we’re going to save the world, we might as well do it now.”
Bolt smiled and looked at Stinger. “Stinger, what about you? What’s your choice?”
Stinger bit his lower lip again. He didn’t want to lose his wings; on the other hand, he also did not want to lose the Earth, so he finally said, “All right, Bolt. You’ve convinced me. I’ll go with you guys to Mann’s place as soon as possible.”
Bolt looked at Healing Touch. “You heard them. They feel ready to go. What do you say about that?”
Healing Touch looked like he did not approve at all of the way things were going, but he finally said, in a resigned tone of voice, “Very well. In the morning, they can go with you and White to Mann’s mansion. I would prefer it if they didn’t, but being a hero, I understand that sometimes you need to act even when you need rest. I still don’t approve of this whatsoever, but I trust that you will do the right thing.”
“All right,” said Bolt. He looked at Stinger and Talon again. “Rest well tonight, because in the morning, we’ll be heading out to Mann’s mansion. Tomorrow, one way or another, this will all be over, however it ends.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
At about six o’clock in the morning, Kevin crouched low in the bushes outside of Mann’s mansion, remaining as quiet as he could. Beside him crouched White, who was also being very quiet, while Stinger and Talon were crouching behind both of them. The four Young Neos were all absolutely silent, even though there did not appear to be anyone nearby who might notice them. Still, knowing how rich Mann was, it would be foolish to let their guard down, in Kevin’s opinion, hence why they were waiting.
As for Mann’s mansion, it was a huge building, two stories tall, with dozens and dozens of rooms. A high steel fence stood around the perimeter of the mansion, while two pewter water fountains stood in the front, spraying sparkling pure water into the air. A car that probably cost about as much as Kevin’s mom’s house stood in the driveway, while tall gates kept anyone from simply waltzing onto the property. There was a huge outdoor swimming pool in the back, while beautiful flowers of a variety of different species stood at the base of the mansion itself, making it look nicer than it normally did. The mansion looked almost inviting, but if what Eli said was true, then that was merely a deception. Mann himself was nowhere to be seen, but Kevin knew that he was somewhere inside the mansion awaiting the arrival of his grandson. The Venetians were probably in there as well, though if they weren’t, that would make things a lot easier.
It would also be really stupid to assume that Mann hasn’t taken every precaution to keep himself safe, Kevin thought. The old bastard is smart. I’m surprised he even agreed to this at all, but maybe he doesn’t realize that Eli doesn’t just want to give him the Call.
Kevin looked over his shoulder. Eli and Chip stood together in the nearby trees, with Chip helping Eli attach wires and a microphone to his body. Eli looked slightly displeased at having to wear this, but he did not object as Chip securely attached the wire and microphone to his person.
“Ready, Eli?” Kevin asked in a low voice.
Eli nodded. “Almost. This wire is uncomfortable.”
“But necessary,” said Kevin. “Once you’re ready, head out to the mansion’s gates. We’ll teleport in as soon as you meet Mann face to face.”
Eli nodded again, while Kevin looked back toward the mansion. To pass the time, Kevin reflected on the plan they had come up with last night. He needed to make sure that he was not forgetting any important steps, because the precariousness of this situation meant that they could afford no mistakes if they were going to beat Mann and the Venetians once and for all, especially given how crafty Mann had already shown himself to be.
The
plan went like this: Eli, on the pretense of deciding to ‘give up’ the Call to Mann, would enter the mansion, where he would meet his grandfather face to face. Once Eli was inside the mansion and talking with Mann, he would send the coordinates to the mansion’s interior to Kevin, who would then teleport himself and the other three Young Neos directly into the mansion, thereby bypassing whatever security measures that Mann may have set up. Then they would apprehend Mann, as well as find and destroy any Starborn artifacts he had.
The hardest part of the plan had been getting Mann to agree to a meeting with Eli, but because Eli had gotten his grandfather’s phone number, he had been able to call him and get him to agree to meeting Eli. That was both convenient and yet surprising; convenient, because it was the most uncertain part of the plan; surprising, because Kevin thought that Mann would never allow his grandson to come into his mansion again. Perhaps it was because Eli had offered to finally give Mann the Call; given how much Mann wanted it, that may have been enough to convince Mann to risk letting Eli into his mansion.
Regardless, it was too late to back out of the plan now. If it turned out that Mann had laid a trap of his own—a not entirely unreasonable possibility—then Kevin and the others would just have to deal with it.
One of the things that made this mission more uncertain than it should have been was the fact that the Young Neos were only half as strong as they normally were. No one had heard even one word from Blizzard, Shell, or Treehugger since they left with Sparky to save Space and Galaxy. That didn’t bother Kevin initially, because he had been so busy with capturing Electrica that he had pushed most other things out of his mind, but going so long without hearing from anyone made Kevin deeply worried. He was especially worried about Blizzard; she was one of the stronger members of the team, true, but she was also his girlfriend and he felt deeply protective of her. If she was in danger, then there was no way that Kevin could save her, because he did not have access to the kind of dimension-hopping tech that would allow him to go to wherever she was. It made him regret never finding out how Mastermind had managed to dimension-hop; if Kevin had recovered some of Mastermind’s technology from his universe, perhaps Kevin would not need to worry about Blizzard as much as he was.