League of Super Heroes: Rise of the Villain (Book #1)
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CHAPTER SEVEN
The walls of the prison crumbled to the ground, the guard towers falling like autumn leaves. Justice man shielded his face from the blast, knowing that Vince had accomplished what they had set out to do. Explosion man ran towards J, his prison uniform was torn and tattered from the blast, but the smile on his face was anything but broken. “J! I knew you would come for me buddy. Listen, something’s going down in there. Are you ready to kick some evil ass?”
Justice slapped hands with his friend and got right to it. Guards and prisoners alike were going crazy in the yard; apparently Vince had let everyone out. The heroes fought hard, each punch and kick held every ounce of strength they could muster. The battle raged on for hours, sweat soaked faces meeting the fists of Justice. Muscle man had begun to toss people high in the air and kick them as far as he could, like wriggling soccer balls. As if called, the entire league of heroes had arrived, but things were looking dire.
Even with all this help, the heroes were outnumbered by the enemy. This was the worst possible scenario, as each of the prisoners hated them more than the last. Most of these people had been put away by one of the heroes, they weren’t about to give up the opportunity for revenge. The yard was piling up with bodies, villain and hero alike. Justice man was infuriated, he still couldn’t figure out who was behind all of this. His sharp eyes scanned the crowd looking for a sign, the sound of breaking bones filled his ears and echoed through the yard.
Muscle man grabbed Justice, shaking his friend out of his hazy state. “Justice, I just saw him! I know who is behind all of this and you and I are the only ones who can stop him.” His friends’ eyes were completely blank as if he hadn’t heard a single word. “J SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU’RE A LEAGUE HERO, START ACTING LIKE ONE!”
Justice knew exactly who he was talking about, the man who’d trained both of them to be super heroes all those years ago, the man who had been like a father to the orphaned J before he had disappeared. Justice had always assumed he had gone away on assignment and died, but Muscle man was sure that he had gone to the dark side. “How can you be so sure Mike?” He asked his friend, hoping that he was wrong.
“Lex told me J, he knows everything and he’s been waiting for this day a long time. They kept him in a water chamber all these years to keep him from exploding his way out to tell us. He’s back, he’s blood thirsty, and he’s caught us all off guard. That’s not a good mix J.”
Justice knew his friend was right, things were not looking good for the league of heroes and now he knew why. The man that had trained and mentored most of them, was the same man now trying to kill them. He knew their moves better than they did; he knew where they were going to strike before they did. He was inside each and every one of their heads, and he had passed this information down to a group of villains. He had caught the league off guard, he had made his move when they were weak and dismantled. This was not a man to be trifled with, this was a man to fear, the most famous and powerful super hero of them all.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Around the heroes, bodies fell, their spirits falling with each thud. A thick smoke filled the air, the heat of the fire warming the yard. The heroes stood side by side, united in both victory or defeat. The gang of villains surrounded them, forming a circle around the few brave fighters left, their batter faces leering at them. Justice stared right back, refusing to give them the satisfaction of being afraid. “HEROES, UNITED WE STAND. HOLD YOUR HEADS HIGH AND FEAR NOT THESE EVIL DOERS!” his voice filled the yard, letting the villains know how he felt. They laughed at him, heads rearing back in pleasure. In the distance Justice could hear a faint clap begin, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“Ah Justice my boy, you always were my bravest protégé. Don’t you all find it a little sad; you used to be so mighty. Now you’re nothing but a bunch of pathetic little rodents, my men will squash you. See, this is why I left, weakness makes me angry. In my day heroes were the strongest and bravest people in the world, now any sad excuse for a human can become a hero. That’s why I’ve decided to wipe the slate clean, get rid of all you pesky things and make room for real power.”
His voice was exactly as Justice remembered, smooth and velvety like he had just swallowed a cup of honey moments before. J held his head high, preparing himself to face the man who had made him into who he was today, and turned around. To his surprise, the man had changed so much in appearance that Justice barely recognized him. Gone was his thick black hair and well groomed beard, the man that stood before him had short dirty blonde hair, and a clean shaven face. A familiar clean shaven face, one that Justice had seen nearly every day for the past few years. “Mayor Masterson?” Justice was confused, this was not who he had been expecting.
“Ah yes, that’s what you all call me now isn’t it. All part of the MASTER plan my boy!” He laughed and turned to address the entire yard. “You see, I knew defeating you would be easy if I went about it the right way. So I changed my appearance, disguised myself as a blue blood politician with a firm hand. I cleaned up the streets, storing all my men in this prison and simply waited for you. It took some time for you to get here didn’t it Justice, how could you leave your friend in here to rot so long?” Justice glanced over at Lex who was looking at the ground; a frown covered his masculine face.
“I seem to have struck a chord have I? Justice, Lex here is thinking about what I’ve just said. See he’s wondering the same thing…I can hear the disappointment in that hot head of his. In fact I can hear what you’re all thinking. Let’s see, you think I’m crazy and that Justice will defeat me. NOT LIKELY! At least not without that idiot leader of yours…Freeze. Isn’t that right Justice, you are worthless without him here.” The air was thick with tension, the heroes afraid that this was it, the villains excited for what was to come. The man spoke once more, his voice light and bubbly as if he were enjoying himself. “Don’t worry young heroes; he is just as afraid as all of you!”
CHAPTER NINE
Justice Man stood tall, he was terrified that this was the end of super heroes and it was all his fault. He needed to let his mind go blank, he couldn’t have the villain inside his head hearing his every thought. He tried to remember everything his mentor had ever told him, trying to find a weakness trapped inside all of that power. Mastermind, now hidden in disguise as mayor Materson, had always been the strongest hero around, not only could he read minds but he could manipulate your thoughts as well. He was in complete control at all times, something he had tried to teach all of his students-including Justice. This was going to take some serious luck to get out of, as of right now they were surrounded with no hope for escape. He couldn’t let the villains win, he couldn’t let them loose onto the streets, they would no doubt shed innocent blood and wreck havoc.
Mastermind appeared to be contacting his villains, their eyes completely glued to him; Justice knew this was his only chance to catch him off guard. He looked at Muscle man, pointing at Lex and motioning for him to throw. Lex caught on first, jumping into Mikes arms and curling into a ball. Mike pulled his arm back and prepared to toss his explosive friend toward Mastermind and his band of minions, but before he even got the chance to let go the Mastermind was already in control. Mike dropped Lex and gripped his head, his eyes rolling as he grunted in pain. He was on his knees now, everyone around him backed away afraid to touch him. All eyes were on Mike as he writhed in pain, the villains were guaranteed a win now, the heroes had just lost their most valuable player.
The battle had been long and bloody; the heroes were exhausted and knew that without Muscle man they were a group of goners. Masterminds new gang sensed the defeat, dancing around and chanting as Mike lost consciousness. Justice felt a wave of relief knowing that his friend was out of pain, even if he was dead. He knew that whatever Mastermind had planned was a fate far worse than death. His eyes scanned the villains, looking for a familiar face, a trace of hope. But nothing appeared, he was sure that this was going to be the end of the heroes
and there was not a damn thing he could do to stop it. All he could do was go down hard, fighting for justice till the bitter end.
Mastermind stared down into the crowd at the defeated super heroes, his beady eyes landing on Mikes` lifeless body. He hadn’t even touched him, and he had reduced him to an unconscious pile of useless muscle and bone. The heroes fear began to build, feeding the villains hunger and edging them on. The league of super heroes felt no matter what they did they were screwed; there was no way for the good guys to win this fight, not this time.
Suddenly the air went cold, and a stream of ice hit Mastermind square in the face. His head was frozen solid, now contained a manufactured prison of slowly thawing ice. The heroes looked around searching for the person responsible, knowing full well who it was.
“FREEZE SUCKAH!” shouted a voice in the distance. Maybe there was hope after all.
The tides had now turned, the League was assembling and ready to strike back. But little did they know, something dark was lurking on the horizon, something the world had never seen before…
THE END
Coming Soon!
The Saga Continues with:
The League of Super Heroes: Enter the FREEZE
More from Celeste Ayers:
League of Super Heroes (The Hit Party Games):
Rise of the Villain
Enter the FREEZE
Royal Rumble