by Kai Strand
“Wait, what’s the hurry?” Sarah said. “You don’t even know where she is.”
“I need an item that actually belonged to Mystic so the imprinter and his guide can track her,” Jeff explained. He tapped his foot and glanced longingly at the doorway across the room.
“Where did you find an imprinter?” Sarah asked.
“Mexicali,” Jeff said, staring at the door. “Where can I find your intern?”
“So you need to put together an extraction team?” Sarah asked Set.
“Yes, that’s exactly what we need.”
Sarah slapped her laser pointer into the palm of an unsuspecting man’s hand. “Take over, Giles.” She strode through the maze of chairs with the teenagers following in her wake. As she breezed through the doorway, she stabbed Don in the chest with a finger. “You’re coming with us.”
Sarah held her phone to her ear as she led the group through a maze of hallways. She slipped the phone into her pocket just as she stepped into a nest of cubicles set in the middle of a large open room. She stopped at the third cubicle. The girl sitting inside looked at her with surprise.
“Mrs. Mean, I didn’t expect you so soon. I haven’t finished yet.”
Jeff stopped beside Sarah and searched the girl’s desktop for an item that might have belonged to Mystic.
“My son needs the locket, Cordy.”
“Oh.” Cordy swung around in her chair and snatched something out of a drawer, then twirled toward Jeff and dropped the locket in his palm.
“I’ll be out of the office,” Sarah said briskly. “I’m not certain for how long, but I’ll check in as often as I can.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cordy said. “I’ll be sure to file the report today before I leave. Is there anything else you’d like me to concentrate on?”
“I’ll email a list of priorities.”
Cordy nodded.
Turning to Jeff, Sarah said, “Now, where is this imprinter of yours?”
Chapter 35
They picked up Gyro and Delfina from the lobby and piled into the two cars. Jeff tried to hand Gyro the locket immediately, but he refused to touch it while they were traveling. Jeff was surprised to find a small group gathered on the tarmac next to the jet.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at Mr. Hammond and Whisper.
“Your mother called me. She was saying something about an extraction team.” A pleased smile quirked Frank’s mouth as his gaze swept over the small group. “I love a good extraction.”
“And why are they here?” Jeff pointed between his companions.
Frank’s lip curled slightly. “Apparently, Edmond likes a good extraction too. We’d been discussing your grade when your mom’s call came in. He was quick to volunteer to help. Unfortunately, knowing we needed the help, I couldn’t refuse.”
Jeff wanted to steer clear of any discussion of his grades. He squinted at Whisper. “Why are you here?”
Edmond Hammond answered. “She heard me thinking about the extraction team and volunteered.”
Jeff shook his head. “But, Whisper, do you even know Oceanus?”
Blushing and staring at her hands, Whisper shook her head.
All the others were gathered around, listening. Sarah said, “The more the merrier. Let’s get this show, er, in the air.”
Jeff looked around at the group of supers and his stomach clenched. “I hope there will be an extraction. Gyro can point us to Mystic, but it won’t do us much good if Mystic isn’t with Oceanus.”
“They’ll be together,” Source said confidently.
“What makes you so sure?” Set asked.
“She’s got to know that Polar is close to a meltdown and will be desperate to get his source of balance back,” Source said. “She’ll be guarding Oceanus herself at this point.”
Jeff eyed Source. “Was that supposed to be a climate change joke?”
“You know me so well.” Source grinned.
Jeff climbed the stairs of the twelve-passenger jet behind Gyro and Delfina. She paused to mumble something to the pilot who started pressing buttons and flipping switches to prepare for takeoff. Jeff flopped into the chair opposite Gyro, surprised to find nerves worming their way into his stomach. Delfina perched on the loveseat next to Gyro and reached across the aisle for the locket.
Jeff had to wait for Set and Don to pass before handing it over. His breathing was so shallow that he was glad to be sitting, or else he might pass out. Instead of joining the others at the back of the jet, Sarah perched against the credenza next to Jeff to watch Gyro imprint the locket. Jeff exchanged nervous looks with Sandra and Source, who sat next to each other. He’d seen Set scoot into a seat across the table from them, but the overstuffed leather chairs hid Set from view. Gyro held so still with the locket clutched in his fist, Jeff wasn’t even sure he was breathing. Delfina had the same internally focused demeanor she had when Gyro imprinted Jeff’s pendent. Scrubbing his tired face with a palm, Jeff flinched against the sandpapery scraping noise, worried it might disturb Gyro.
It was the longest half an hour in Jeff’s life, but finally Gyro blinked and rubbed his temples. The locket slipped from his fist to the floor.
Delfina pulled the tin out of her skirt pocket and held it open under Gyro’s nose. He drew a much deeper draft than the last time he’d used them. When Delfina pulled away, Gyro grasped her wrist and drew the tin back under his nose again. Delfina’s mouth fell open and she cocked her head.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
Gyro didn’t answer at first. He simply continued to breathe in his licorice, his eyes closed, his brows knit together. At last, he looked across to Jeff. “Why didn’t you warn us?”
Jeff gulped at the ominous question. “About what?”
Gyro looked at Delfina warily. She placed a hand on his leg and leaned forward. “What is it, Gyro? I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“She’s… she’s bad,” Gyro’s whisper quavered.
“Well,” Jeff huffed and slapped his palms on his thighs. “We already knew she’s still a villain. She stole my girlfriend.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. She’s…” Gyro shook his head and leaned over to pick up the locket and study it. “Her thoughts are evil. Twisted.”
Sarah leaned forward. “How do you know that?”
Gyro squinted at the locket. “Imprinting an object is like a strange way of reading an aura. It goes deeper than that, but you get a full sense of the person when you imprint them. There is always a mix of good and bad in a person.”
His gaze flitted to Jeff and back to the locket so quickly, Jeff wondered if he’d imagined it.
“It isn’t colors I’m seeing, but it is almost like I’m feeling the colors of the aura. Mystic’s is as dark as it gets. It felt like wading through black ocean waters on a starless winter night.”
Source slid out of his seat and stood next to Sarah. “But I’ve worked with her a lot on her powers, and I’ve never noticed anything different about her.”
“She’s a psych,” Gyro said. His lip curled as he stared at the locket. “A really powerful one, I think.”
Gyro slid his thumbnail under the clasp of the locket and popped it open. His pallor turned a grayish-green before he handed the locket to Jeff.
Squinting down at the two tiny pictures set in each side of the locket, a lead ball of dread grew in Jeff’s core. Both pictures were of him. One was from their time at Super Villain Academy, but the other one was from fifth or sixth grade. “What does this mean?”
Sarah squeezed his shoulder and swallowed audibly. “It looks like she’s had her eye on you for a long time, Jeff.”
Delfina’s calm tone cut through the tension. “Gyro, were you able to find Mystic?”
Gyro sighed heavily and nodded. “If she is as powerful a psyche as I suspect, then either it is a bogus location, or she wants us to find her.”
Jeff’s head snapped up. “She knew that.”
> When everybody looked at him questioningly, he continued. “When we went to the academy the first time, she told me you’d be able to find us anywhere. So, she’d know to obscure her path if she didn’t want to be found.”
“Or drop bread crumbs if she did,” Sandra said, now tucked under Source’s arm in the aisle.
“Share with me where we are headed,” Delfina said.
Gyro shook his head, his face crumpled into a miserable expression. “I don’t want you to touch this evil, my love.”
Jeff frowned.
Delfina smiled in her serene way. “Evil has no place within me, Gyro. You know that.”
Sarah shifted. Jeff glanced at her and saw a confused expression on her face as she watched the exchange.
Gyro groaned quietly. His hands trembled as he reached for Delfina’s. Her contented smile deepened when Gyro’s fingers intertwined with her own, but not long after, her forehead wrinkled and her expression pinched in pain. She didn’t pull away though, just pursed her lips and straightened her spine.
Delfina opened her cloudy eyes and disengaged her fingers from Gyro. “I’ll be right back,” she said.
As she stood, Jeff noticed sweat glistening on her brow. “What’s that all about?” he asked waving his hand to where theirs used to be.
Gyro watched Delfina with concern etched across his forehead. “She’s my guide. When I imprint, I get the location, but I can’t interpret it. She is able to convert it into coordinates, or a general location, or a specific place, depending upon what I pinpointed during imprint.”
When Delfina sat down next to him, Gyro clutched her hand in both of his. “Are you alright, my love?”
Delfina’s tranquil smile seemed to settle his nerves a little. “Yes, dear. The evil in the imprint has nothing to do with me.”
Jeff reached up and rubbed his hand over his head. The way these two villains talked about Mystic’s evil, like it was on a whole other level, made him grow more and more uncomfortable knowing his defenses were built by her. Were his defenses like a cancer slowly eating away at him? Could she have set them to self-destruct and take him out too? And what about Oceanus?
The pilot’s voice came over the loudspeaker, telling them to buckle up in preparation for take-off. Jeff followed Source and Sandra to the table and slid into the chair next to Set. Sarah took the seat Jeff abandoned while Gyro and Delfina buckled the belts in the loveseat they shared. Don, Frank and Edmond were deep in conversation at the back of the plane, while Whisper stared at their knees, not participating in what appeared to be a heated debate.
“Where are we going, anyway?” Jeff said loud enough to be heard over the whine of the engine.
“Arizona,” Delfina answered.
Chapter 36
During the two and a half hour flight to Kingman, Arizona, Jeff overheard Mother ask Delfina how she could not have any evil in her if she had been a villain, which touched off a long, philosophical conversation about good versus evil. Then he eavesdropped on Edmond, Don and Frank, only to discover that they were talking about trucks, which surprised Jeff completely.
“They have been this whole time,” Sandra informed him. “It started when they somehow tripped over the fact that both Don and Dad had a 1973 Chevy Blazer when they first started driving.”
Jeff looked around the plane to see if there was a mobile seat of any sort. He felt bad that Whisper was stuck sitting with a group of middle aged men, but there was nowhere for her to sit except for on his lap.
Whisper smiled at him. “No thanks.”
He blushed and tried to pull his thoughts in tighter, not that he understood how.
“So what are your specialties?” Set asked Sandra.
“What do you mean?” She scrunched her brow, but a blush bloomed as Set’s eyes scanned what he could see of her. Thankfully, most of her was hidden under the table between them.
“If this turns into an extraction, it’s best to know what our team’s strengths are,” Set said.
Source glared across the table, dark red blotches colored his cheeks. “She slices and dices and julienne fries with her lasers. Great defensive moves in flight.”
“That’s right, you fly,” Set said with a half-smile.
Sandra jutted her chin in his direction. “What’s your thing?”
“Weather,” Jeff and Source said in unison.
“Whether what?” Sandra asked, looking between her brother and her boyfriend.
“My namesake, Set, was the God of Storms,” Set drawled.
“Oh, that kind of weather,” Sandra said. Pointing between Jeff and Source, she asked, “Why don’t you ask these guys what their strengths are?”
Set chuckled. “I went to school with them. I know their… um… strengths.”
Jeff shifted in his seat, stuffing his hands under his legs before they combusted or wrapped around Set’s throat. He saw another smile touch Whisper’s lips, and knew she was dialed in on their conversation, or at least his portion of it.
“I’ve discovered quite a few new powers since converting to hero,” Source said with wounded pride.
“You converted?” Set asked.
“Well, she stole me out of SVA before the balancing, so I had to choose it or chance losing her.” Source wrapped his hand around Sandra’s and bumped her shoulder with his. “Turns out I can tap far more abilities when fighting on the side of good.”
Set narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t realize supers could convert.”
“Well, it stands to reason,” Source said. “Really, all our abilities are either mental, physical, or elemental. They don’t know if we are bad or good, do they? It is our environment that leads us down a specific path. I have a theory…”
“Source,” Sandra interrupted.
“Well, this is relevant,” Source said.
“She’s right, dude,” Jeff said. “No one would understand your theory even if we let you share it. Shouldn’t we come up with some sort of battle plan?”
“But…” Source said.
Not seeming to hear him, Set talked right over Source’s protests. “It’s hard to have a battle plan when you don’t know where you’ll be fighting, or who you’ll be fighting.”
“Or if you’ll be fighting,’ Jeff finished.
Set nodded. “That’s why it’s important to at least know each other’s strengths. Hey! Superman!”
Jeff grinned when he realized Set was talking to Don.
“What are your main abilities? Do you smile everyone blind?” Set asked.
For the rest of the flight, everyone, except Gyro and Delfina, shared their strengths. Jeff and Source talked about Mystic’s abilities so the group would have a better idea of what to defend against. Yet, even with the discussion and Jeff’s personal experience training with Mystic, he felt apprehensive as the jet approached the small airport in Kingman.
“We’ve got a new problem,” Gyro said, gazing out the window at the barren landscape.
“What?” Jeff and Sarah asked together.
“No transportation,” Gyro said.
Jeff’s gaze swept the small offering of control towers, outbuildings and a parking lot at the airport, and realized Gyro was right. It appeared to be a self-serve airport.
“I’ll take care of it,” Frank said, sliding into the vacant seat next to his wife.
“We’ll need two cars for all of us,” Sarah said. “I’ll go with you.”
“You can’t fly,” Frank said. “I’ll take Sandra.”
“She can’t drive, Frank,” Sarah said.
“Oh that’s right.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I’ll just run. It isn’t as if we haven’t traveled that way before.”
“Very well,” Frank agreed reluctantly. “But I need you to agree that I’m the one in charge of securing the vehicles.”
Sarah squinted. “Why?”
“Just… please, Sarah,” Frank asked. He ran a hand through his shaggy gray-blond hair.
Sarah’s expression softene
d. “Fine, Frank. You’re in charge of operation transportation.”
Frank relaxed into his chair and patted her knee. “Thanks, dear.”
Chapter 37
A nondescript sedan squealed to a stop in front of the waiting group. Frank climbed out of the driver’s side. A few minutes later, an SUV pulled up next to the sedan, and a red faced Sarah scrambled out, slammed the door, and stalked over to her husband. “That was stealing!”
“No, dear. I left cash in the drawers to cover the time we will have them. They’ll get them back,” Frank patted Sarah’s shoulder. “It isn’t my fault the small town operation has banker’s hours.”
“I’ll drive the car,” Delfina said. “Jeff, er, Polar, you need to be in our car. We’ll probably need Set, too. I don’t care how the rest of you travel.”
Jeff stared at her with his mouth hanging open. “You’re kidding right?”
Gyro patted Jeff on the back as he walked toward the car. “She rarely kids, kid.”
“You’re blind, Señora,” Jeff said.
“I’m aware of that.” Delfina slid into the driver’s seat of the sedan and patted the steering wheel and dashboard as if she were reading by Braille.
Gyro paused in the door of the car and looked across the roof at Jeff, who hadn’t yet moved toward the vehicle. “It’s a guide thing. She can ‘see’ well enough to get us there.”
Jeff’s stomach dropped as if he’d just plunged bodily over a cliff. He watched Don and Set get into the backseat of the car as though it were normal to be driven around by a blind lady. An unexpected surge of panic threatened to derail Jeff’s good senses.
Source paused before getting into the back of the SUV. “Polar, you okay?”
Jeff looked at him with wild eyes, feeling like a horse wanting to run from an advancing fire.
“Polar, she’s a super. Her husband is in the car with you. She wouldn’t drive if she couldn’t,” Source said.
“You’re right,” Jeff agreed. “The sooner I’m reunited with Oci, the better it will be for all of us.” I hope.
He scrubbed his hand on the back of his head. “I feel like I’m losing it, Source.”