by Wesley King
Lana took off toward Sam and James, and she was about ten feet away when the elevator door opened behind them. Sinio stepped out, his plasma rifle aimed at Sam’s back. Lana leapt through the air and collided with the thin man. They landed in a heap, and Sinio slammed against the metal floor. She thought she heard something break.
“I wasn’t going to shoot,” he managed.
“Wasn’t about to take that chance,” Lana replied coldly.
The Flame had obviously accepted that the ambush had failed, and he was now huddled behind the circular projector as Sam and James returned fire. Lana spotted Jada slinking behind a large console on the other side of the room, trying to circle back in their direction. But the console was suddenly ripped from the floor, and it slammed into her, sending her flying. She hit the ground twenty feet away, and the machine landed on top of her.
Hayden appeared again, crouching low to the ground. The Flame knew he was being outflanked and sent a huge fireball in Hayden’s direction before running toward Gali, who was still shooting at them from the far side of the room.
“We’ll discuss the terms of your surrender now!” Hayden called after him, and then hurried to Lana’s side. “This is going well.”
“They almost killed Sam,” Lana said, gesturing at Sinio.
Hayden shook his head. “Once you mess with Sam, you’ve gone too far. James, Sam!” he shouted. “Cover us!” Then he glanced at Lana. “Shall we charge?”
“We shall,” she said. “Go!”
* * *
Sam popped back under cover as a flurry of bolts streaked over his head. He bit his lip and prepared to return fire. But just as he was lifting his rifle, he felt a familiar voice touch his mind. He frowned, straining to listen over the noisy battle.
James glanced at him. “What is it?”
“I’m not sure! It feels like . . .” He stopped. “How could that be?” he whispered.
James fired another volley of shots and then ducked down again. “What?”
Sam didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
An angular black ship descended outside the wall of windows. It hovered for a moment, facing the battle. Then it fired.
Two missiles exploded into the glass, shattering the entire glass wall that ran along that side of the floor. Sam hit the ground as the earsplitting explosion filled the room, and the barrel of his gun jammed painfully into his stomach. Spots swam in his vision as he tried to get up again.
“They’re coming in!” James screamed.
Sam planted his hands beside him and stood up. The black ship was floating right through the shattered window.
“It’s them!” Sam said, grabbing James’s arm. “Run!”
Sam quickly found Lana across the room and mentally told her to grab Hayden and escape. Feeling a sense of understanding, he spared a look at the ship. Just as it reached the edge of the floor, the Torturer bounded out, his boots hitting with a loud thump. Avaria and Leni jumped out behind him, and then the ship floated upward out of sight.
“Get to the elevator!” James snapped. He fired a quick volley at the three Villains, but they were redirected in midair. Leni turned toward them, smiling.
James and Sam bolted into the elevator. Sam punched the lowest button and the doors began to slide shut. Just as it was closing, one of the consoles ripped free from the ground and flew toward them. The doors closed right before it hit, denting the heavy metal inward. The elevator plunged down two more floors.
James glanced at him. “Why are we going down?”
“They’re covering the roof,” Sam replied. “Their ship went up.”
He quickly reached out to find Lana’s mind. Go down, he said, they’re on the roof. This time, he sensed only fear.
The doors opened into a wide, richly decorated hallway. Paintings hung on the wood-paneled walls and the spotless white carpet looked thick and soft.
“Living quarters,” James said. “There must be a way to get to the rest of the building. We need to get to the street. Where are Lana and Hayden?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said nervously. “They’re still okay, I think. I just can’t—”
The far elevator opened and Lana and Hayden emerged, both looking the worse for wear. They were covered in soot and dust, and Hayden was clutching his right arm. Placing his gun between the elevator doors, James hurried across the hallway with Sam close behind.
“You okay?” James asked.
“No problem,” Hayden wheezed. “Just a scratch.”
“He got hit by a blast of fire,” Lana explained, looking at his arm with concern.
Sam saw that Hayden’s shirt was blackened beneath his fingers. The exposed skin was just as charred.
“You can all fuss over me later,” Hayden said weakly. “We need to get out of here.”
“Leni almost killed us,” Lana added. “Collapsed some of the ceiling on us.”
James shook his head. “This is as far as the elevators go. We can’t get to the ship either. They’ve got it covered.”
“We need to get into the city and get lost in the crowd,” Lana said. “Sam, can you block your mind and make sure Sliver can’t find you?”
He nodded. “Yeah. But how are we going to get down?”
A massive boom sounded from above them, and they all jerked their heads back to look up.
“Leni’s coming through the floor,” Hayden said. “Stand back.”
“What are you gonna do?” Lana asked.
“Same thing. Sam, is there anyone directly below me?”
Sam extended his thoughts and found numerous people all over the floor beneath them. None seemed directly below, however.
“It’s hard to tell exactly, but I don’t think—”
“Good,” Hayden cut in. Taking his right hand off his charred arm, Hayden extended it toward the floor and closed his eyes.
The other three backed against the wall behind him.
“Shouldn’t you aim a little farther—” James said.
The carpeted floor suddenly crashed inward, as if an enormous weight had landed on it. The sounds of splintering wood, screeching metal, and cracking concrete filled the air as a twisted hole appeared. They heard screaming from below.
“Go!” Hayden said.
James immediately stepped forward and jumped down into the hole. Lana glanced at the other two. “We’ll catch you,” she said, and leapt down after James.
“After you,” Hayden said politely.
Sam frowned, peered over the opening, and saw Lana and James waiting ten feet down in the rubble, arms outstretched. Sam closed his eyes and jumped.
James caught him easily.
“I’m coming, Jamesy!” Hayden called from above.
He stepped over the edge, holding his injured arm close to his chest. James caught him and then scowled as Hayden stroked his cheek.
“My hero,” Hayden whispered.
They were surrounded by gray cubicles dotting the entire floor. Sam saw some people staring curiously over the tops of them, while everyone else was already scrambling for the exits, tripping over each other to get out first.
He turned to the others. “Let’s get to the—”
There was an enormous crash as the floor two stories up collapsed. They all scattered out of the way as debris rained through the hole, sending up more plumes of dust.
“Run!” Lana screamed.
An emergency exit sign was visible on the far wall, and they took off toward it, jostling their way through the narrow aisles. They scurried down the concrete steps of the emergency stairwell. Urgent voices echoed all around them as they ran.
The descent seemed endless. Sam just kept moving, sandwiched between Hayden and James, as they marched down staircase after staircase, each looking the same as the last. Finally, after Sam had lost count of the floors, they ran out into the main lobby.
A rapidly growing crowd had formed, and Lana pushed through it and led them toward the front entrance. Sam noticed that the people in f
ront of them were hastily backing out of their way.
“Let’s find somewhere to hide out for a while,” James said quietly. “Then we’ll go to the hospital.”
“No hospital,” Hayden replied. “I just need some aloe.”
“You got hit with a fireball!” James said.
“Uh-oh,” Sam muttered.
A police car was driving right up the sidewalk toward the building, its sirens blaring. Pedestrians scattered out of the way.
“Lose the rifle, Sam,” James muttered, and only then did Sam remember that he was still holding his large gun.
He quickly dropped it and kept walking. The police car pulled up to the main entrance and two officers jumped out, hands on their guns. They surveyed the scene for a moment, and Lana quickly led the group toward another set of doors on the side of the lobby.
They had just reached them when a shout cut through the noise. “Hey! Stop!”
Sam saw the officers hurrying toward them, their guns out of their holsters now. He prepared to extend his thoughts, wondering if he could convince both of them to drop their guns at once. But Hayden was faster.
“Sorry!” he called. “We really can’t!”
He waved his hand and the two cops went flying backward. They hit the tiled floor and slid into the crowd some thirty feet back.
“Move!” Lana snapped, and they ran out into the cool morning air.
They took a sharp right, rounding the building. Sam heard sirens wailing from every direction now. The streets were busy with traffic and businesspeople hurrying past, seemingly unfazed by the sirens. Sam tried to politely apologize to everyone as they pushed their way through the crowds to the road. Lana stopped at the curb, looking uncertain.
“We need a car,” James said, and he and Hayden marched right past Lana to a red sedan that was waiting for the light to change.
James went around the front of the car and swung open the driver’s door. A large, clean-shaven man wearing a suit looked up in shock.
“Can we borrow this?” Hayden asked sweetly from the passenger side window.
“What?” he said, looking confused. He scowled. “Get your hands off my door.”
“Sorry,” James said. “We’re gonna have to take it anyway.”
James reached into the car and lifted the man out like a small child. He planted him on his feet and then climbed into the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing?” the man shrieked, flushing a deep red.
“We’ll give it back,” James assured him. “Everyone in!”
Cars were honking all around them now, and people were pointing toward them from the sidewalks. Lana climbed into the passenger’s seat, while Hayden and Sam clambered into the backseat just before James hit the gas.
He turned left, almost losing control of the car immediately and skidding across the road, and then he made a few more quick turns before settling into the slow-moving traffic. Sam leaned back in the seat, overwhelmed.
“Well, that was exciting,” Hayden muttered, clutching his arm.
“Too exciting,” James said.
Lana shook her head. “Every cop in the city will be looking for us now.”
“How did the Vindico get out?” Sam asked. “That’s what I don’t understand. Junkit would have never let them out.”
“Not a chance,” James said. “Maybe the Flame made a deal with them?”
“I don’t think so,” Lana replied. “They seemed just as surprised to see them. Gali and the Flame were trapped under the ceiling too. I didn’t see them get out.”
“The Vindico aren’t going to stop until they find us,” Sam murmured.
“Nope,” Hayden agreed quietly. “We’ll just have to be ready when they do.”
20
“LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HERE,” LENI SAID MOCKINGLY.
The Flame stared up at Leni from under a heap of debris. Gali was unconscious beside him.
“Two more over here,” the Torturer called. “Both of them knocked out.”
“Looks like the children got the best of you,” Leni said. He gestured sharply with one hand and the Flame was yanked out of the pile and left to dangle limply in midair. His blue outfit was torn and streaks of blood glistened on his exposed skin. Sparks played along his fingertips, but he seemed unable to muster any fire.
“Kill him and let’s go,” Avaria hissed. She glanced at Rono, who was busy uploading all the data he could retrieve off the heavily damaged equipment. “Rono’s almost done.”
Leni smiled. “Not so fast. I want some answers from these fools.”
The Flame’s arms squeezed against his body and his face flushed red.
“Why were you attacking our former protégés?” Leni asked.
The Flame managed to shake his head, his lips pressed in a firm line. “I don’t need to tell you anything,” he wheezed. “You’ll kill me either way.”
“The manner of your death is always a factor,” Leni reasoned. “But in fact, your fate has not yet been decided. It strikes me that your little band might be of some use to us.”
Avaria glared at him. “How so?”
“They are irreparably against Thunderbolt and our protégés now,” Leni replied. “They may give the old man one more thing to consider.”
“And us,” Avaria said coolly.
“True,” Leni conceded. “But at this stage, the most dangerous thing for us would be the reunion of our protégés with Thunderbolt and the other loyal members. Combined, they would be powerful enough to defeat us.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“First things first,” Leni said, turning back to the Flame. “Answer my question. And remember now, the lives of your three companions rest on my satisfaction with your answers.”
The Flame frowned, looking uncertain. “We were trying to stop them from finding Thunderbolt too. For our own reasons.”
“I know of your treachery,” Leni told him, “and I support it. You are correct to think that Thunderbolt is weak. He should have killed us when he had the chance. So, you were trying to kill them?”
“No. We were just trying to detain them.”
“What’s the holdup?” the Torturer shouted from the other side of demolished control room. “Rono’s done here. Sliver says he’s picking up approaching fighter jets on the radar.”
“We’ll only be a moment,” Leni replied. “What is your goal?” he continued, turning back to the Flame. “To supplant Thunderbolt? You must know you were doomed to failure. You were outnumbered.”
The Flame scowled. “To create a new League. And we weren’t alone.”
“That’s what I thought,” Leni said. “You would never be ambitious enough to do this alone. Do you have any idea where Thunderbolt is?”
The Flame shook his head and then grimaced as the invisible grip tightened. “I don’t,” he said, almost in a whimper. “He didn’t tell any of us where he was going.”
“Very well,” Leni said. “Here’s what’s going to happen. We will leave you your ship. For now, we have the same goals. Find the kids before they reach Thunderbolt. If you succeed, we will allow you to live after we’ve wiped out the rest of the loyal members. If you attempt to rejoin Thunderbolt and fight against us, I assure you I will personally find you and kill you myself. You’ve been warned.”
Leni released the Flame, and he crashed into the pile of debris.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Avaria muttered.
“Those kids need to be dealt with,” Leni replied, starting for the staircase. “They are becoming too powerful. If they rejoin Thunderbolt, they may best us again. I refuse to let that happen.”
They climbed the stairs and emerged onto the windy landing pad. Their black ship was hovering next to the entrance, piloted by Sliver, while the Mediator was powered up as well, with the Baron at the helm. The second League ship remained on the pad.
“Where to now?” Rono shouted over the wind.
“You go with the Baron and see what you can ge
t out of those discs,” Leni said. “We’re going to find the children.”
* * *
“About time,” Sliver muttered as Leni, Avaria and the Torturer climbed aboard the black ship. “Those jets are getting close.”
Leni leaned forward and hit the comm unit. “Rono, find the codes for—”
“Already done,” Rono said. “The air force thinks this is official League business and that everything is now under control. The jets have been recalled.”
“Can you sense Sam?” Leni asked Sliver.
Sliver shook his head as he steered them into the forest of towers. “He must be blocking himself off. He hasn’t perfected it yet, though. He’ll slip up eventually.”
“They can’t have gone too far,” the Torturer reasoned. He stared down at the bustling cityscape. “But it will still be hard to track them down.”
“We’ll find them,” Leni said. “And when they’re gone, we’ll crush Thunderbolt and the others with ease.”
“And who is this other shadowy figure?” Avaria asked. “Who you seem so reluctant to name? What’s his goal in all this?”
“His name is Dolus,” Leni said. “I’ve known him for many years. He has a whole organization of superpowered men like the one who released us from the Perch.”
Avaria frowned. “Why didn’t you mention him before?”
“He’s been hiding away somewhere for years, and until now he’s shown no interest in our affairs. I’d hoped he was dead. As far as his end goal, I have no idea. We’ll have to wait until he plays his hand. But we’re doing exactly what he wants, that I’m sure of.”
“Maybe he doesn’t mean us any harm,” the Torturer suggested.
Leni turned to him. “I wouldn’t count on that.”
* * *
“Hello, Emily.”
Emily jerked awake on the cot. Blue was asleep beside her, curled in a tiny ball. Dolus stepped inside their cell, his yellow eye blazing through the shadows. Emily looked for similarities with his beautiful sister. She saw the same proud chin and high cheekbones, but other than that, he was too discolored to look much like her. A high-powered plasma handgun was slung on his belt.