I couldn’t see the source at all, even though I should be able to – in fact, using my second-sight, I could barely even detect the Agent waiting on me, whereas my physical eyes could see him just fine. He was speaking on a radio now, obviously having noticed that I reacted to their defenses.
Which wasn’t good. I was giving away information without even intending to.
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, slowly reaching out with an invisible limb to touch the barrier.
A part of me didn’t want to enter the space at all, instinctually fearing the unknown, but I knew I had to. Because Lily was somewhere in there. Still, this ability freaked me out. I had no idea what it did, but the last time I’d seen someone use a superpower I could actually see, it was when that female super with black eyes had kidnapped Lily by kissing her in order to control her body. I had seen an invisible thread running from her mouth to Lily’s.
But would I have been able to resist such an ability myself?
And would I be able to defend myself against this unknown person’s ability?
I honestly wasn’t sure. But I had to take that chance. I had already wasted too much time.
I sucked in a sharp breath, beads of sweat appearing on my forehead, just as my astral limb came in contact with the edge.
Instantly, the moment I touched it, I immediately sensed the source, becoming hyperaware of a presence directly at the epicenter even though I couldn’t see it. A very ancient presence. Like, whoever was creating this invisible barrier was way older than I was, which was saying something considering I was immortal and all.
It was unnerving.
Extremely, extremely unnerving.
Who in the hell was this super?
I had only ever noticed a sensation of age from touching Freya, somehow detecting that her astral form had been around for a while, but that was just barely. But this? This was on a whole different level.
Was it because of their ability? Did that make a difference? Or were they really just that old?
Too many questions, and not enough answers.
Realizing that my astral form could pass through unhindered, and not sensing any indication from the source that they had noticed me, I went ahead and stepped on the gas again, easing my car through the nothingness towards the agent still patiently waiting.
With my physical eyes, there was still absolutely nothing there, although my second-sight immediately became blurry. It was sort of like what happened with Camila’s illusion ability, with the previous time being more foggy. Instead, this was like opening my eyes under water, and the closer I drew toward the agent, the harder it became to see, forcing me to rely entirely on my physical capacity for sight.
I didn’t like the sensation at all.
I took a deep breath as I parked in front of the sidewalk, refocusing my thoughts on Lily and this meeting. I had to look normal, which meant I just needed to try to ignore the odd sensations that being inside this bubble gave me…
Well, so much for that.
The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, I was immediately stunned by the sharp contrast in temperature.
It was warm.
No wonder the agent didn’t look uncomfortable. There was snow on the ground, in the middle of winter, along with wind chill advisories in effect, and yet it was like I was suddenly standing in the middle of spring on a nice cool day.
And there was no wind. Not even a breeze.
Time to start asking questions.
“What in the hell is this?” I demanded, slamming my car door shut.
Jamison smiled at me, his expression becoming almost giddy. “Ah, that’s our primary security measure. We are currently inside the domain of the Supreme Guardian. Completely invisible to the naked eye, but the effects are quite real. No hostility is allowed within a few hundred feet without the explicit approval of the one responsible.”
My brow furrowed, a little surprised he was being so forward with that information. But then again, what could I do about it? Nothing really.
I also realized that his comment indicated he might not know that the true reason I had slammed on my brakes was from seeing this ‘domain,’ like I had assumed. But then again, if he couldn’t see it himself, then he might not know exactly where it began and ended. For all he knew, the domain might end on the other side of the street, which meant I would have been well inside of it by the time I stopped.
I focused back on his comment.
“No hostility?” I repeated.
He nodded with a grin, like he was a kid in a candy store. “Correct. Would you like a demonstration?”
My furrowed brow only grew more tense. “Sure…” I offered hesitantly.
Without further warning, he drew his arm back like a professional boxer and thrust at me with his fist. I reflexively took a step back while preparing to block it, only for the motion of his arm to stop in mid-strike. As if something had caught him.
Just barely, I could see in my second-sight that the distortions in the air had suddenly grown incredibly dense, wrapping around his arm to pull it to an instant stop. However, the moment he tried to pull away and stand up straight, he was able to without a problem.
I just stared in bewilderment.
I’d never seen or heard of anything like this in my entire life.
“Pretty neat, huh? It will even stop bullets, and renders explosives useless,” Jamison said with a grin, still looking like that kid in a candy store. “This is only my second time getting to experience it.”
Well that explained a lot.
No wonder he was so excited to show this person’s ability off. And it was like a friendly reminder to not try anything with them, since this person would inevitably stop all physical aggression.
But what about non-physical aggression?
I reached out a little with a couple of my astral limbs to discover I could move them just fine, but it made me wonder what would happen if I actually attempted to attack someone – would the barrier stop my astral form like it had his physical arm?
Part of me wanted to try it out, but I also didn’t want to risk Lily’s safety in the event this supposed Supreme Guardian was able to sense my hostility. So, for now, I could only just wonder.
As he continued speaking, I only nodded in response, feeling a little confused by how friendly he was being. Was he just trying to lower my guard by establishing rapport? Or did this barrier and Lily being in their custody just give him enough confidence to speak casually with me even though I might be a criminal?
His voice was still quite cheerful. “As you noticed, the Supreme Guardian can also affect a lot of other things within the domain, even the temperature to an extent.” He sighed. “But anyway, let’s head inside. We’ve kept the Assistant Director waiting long enough.”
“The Assistant Director?” I repeated as I followed him into the building.
It was actually larger within than I had anticipated, with this end of the post office being where they would have had semitrucks unload packages. The majority of the massive room beyond the door was full of old sorting equipment similar to a warehouse production line.
Jamison led me through the small maze while answering my question. “Correct. Given the current situation, we wouldn’t risk having the Assistant Director deviate more than a few feet from the Supreme Guardian – can’t take any risks.”
Without needing to ask, I understood the reason why. The closer we walked, the more dense the invisible barrier became. I assumed this person’s superpower must be more effective up close, based on what I was experiencing in my second-sight. It was truly like diving underwater, with the pressure building up as I went deeper. Except, I didn’t feel any physical pressure on my body, and deeper meant closer to the epicenter of this massive bubble.
I tried to focus back on the task at hand.
“You know,” I began. “Obviously, I’m not a criminal and I have no idea why I’m here, but if I were an evil guy, you guys kidnapping Lily would hav
e been a great way to get on my bad side. You should have just called me up or sent me a letter.”
Jamison waved a hand in the air, dismissing the idea. “And what? Have you disappear off the face of the Earth? We can’t take chances in this line of work. Without your fiancé in our custody, you could just run away, making it difficult for us to keep you in the Supreme Guardian’s domain. But this way, you come to us, and have an incentive to meet on our terms – where we want, when we want, how we want. The more of the situation we control, the better.”
“You sure are speaking openly,” I finally commented, feeling like he really was trying to get me to drop my guard.
He glanced back at me as he opened a door on the other side of the room, leading to a hallway. “You haven’t asked anything unreasonable, and I think you’re a smart guy. No one your age would be foolish enough to not take this situation seriously.”
I came to a full stop in the hall, causing him to pause as well to grin at me.
“You’re dealing with the S-FBI, Sampson Archer. We know everything about you.”
Suddenly, it was like I was speaking to an entirely different person. His expression was no longer calm, friendly, and inviting. Now, I felt like I was staring at a predator who truly enjoyed being in complete control. And he was in control. They were in control. That’s what he had been trying to tell me since I got here.
Shit, this whole time, he’d been flaunting it in my face!
His calm demeanor, joking attitude, and carefree divulging of information, was all to make a clear statement that even though they considered me to be a serious threat, their preparations were so well thought-out that the risk I posed might as well have been perfectly neutralized.
And everything about him was radiating it.
He wasn’t being friendly; he was showing me how arrogant he was!
After a moment, Jamison continued a few more feet, before stopping at a door and opening it. Then, with a large conceited grin on his face, he gestured for me to enter.
I knew this was it – the room where this ancient superhero called the Supreme Guardian was waiting, along with the Assistant Director – because even despite how blurry my second-sight was, I could see it now.
Within this massive sphere of flowing distorted energy, was a much smaller and infinitely more dense bubble surrounding the Supreme Guardian, like an impenetrable shield.
Or was it an oval?
It seemed to be roughly ten feet wide, but around fifteen feet tall, with the bottom part of the oval going into the ground just like the rest of the much larger bubble – kind of like the opposite of an iceberg. And really, now that I had seen this smaller shield, I began to wonder if the whole thing was oval shaped too, or if the larger bubble had lost some of its elliptical form due to its sheer size.
Either way, unlike the blurriness I saw elsewhere, I couldn’t see past this secondary bubble at all, which meant entering into this room would truly mean I had to rely solely on my physical eyes.
I took a deep breath as I began walking again.
This was it.
Time to find out what they knew and why they had gone to such lengths to speak with me.
I ignored the agent’s annoying grin as I made it to the doorway and turned to enter the room, only to stop dead in my tracks as I laid eyes on who was within.
The physical appearance of the Assistant Director was about what I had expected. The Supreme Guardian…was not…
5: New Introductions
Nick Parker
January 15, 2735 – Current Day – Early Evening
Nick parked his old beige car in the airport’s parking garage and made his way to the skywalk that connected to the terminals. He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked, only having one carry-on bag slung across his shoulder, his mind elsewhere.
No one paid him any attention as he passed by, since no one knew who he was, unlike what had been the case for the former Blaze Maddox – and that was just the way he liked it. He didn’t want to be famous…or rather, he didn’t want to be ridiculed for his size.
He knew there were a few male actors even smaller than him who were well-liked, but that was because they were funny. On the contrary, no one seemed to think Nick was very funny, and while it might be possible that he would have some fans as a superhero, he also sincerely believed he would have a large group of haters who cracked jokes at his expense incessantly.
Sure, Nick could just ignore them, but that kind of thing was easier said than done.
He also didn’t want to have to deal with all the people who would try becoming friends with him just because he was famous.
As a kid, he had always struggled to make friends since he always received one of those two reactions: either people made fun of him, not knowing he could literally kill them with the flick of a finger, or else they only wanted him around because he was so strong, not because they actually wanted to be friends.
Nick admitted that he had a difficult time interacting with others, being a little socially awkward even at the age of thirty, but he had no problem spotting those who just wanted to use him.
Which was why he liked Sam so much, because the guy didn’t give a damn how strong he was or how it might personally benefit him from having Nick as a friend. And in fact, Sam had only asked him for a single big favor in the three and a half years they had known each other, which was just to stall Blaze long enough for Sam to arrive.
Other than that, Nick’s friend hadn’t treated him as anything other than a normal person. It was quite the opposite of Nick’s situation, since he had been bugging Sam for favors repeatedly until he finally decided to stop working with the shadow organization. Yet Sam didn’t seem to hold it against him, even treating him the same as before.
So, overall, Nick felt content with how his life was now. He had a handful of friends online, some good coworkers, an amazing girlfriend, as well as one friend he actually saw in person. That, and he had peace, which wouldn’t be the case if he officially became a superhero and had his name plastered all over the internet along with every publicized incident he got involved in. Then, everyone he ever knew would be trying to reconnect with him, so they could claim to know the famous Nick Parker.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure how someone like Lexi Stockton managed it. He knew they had strict paparazzi laws, but that didn’t stop old acquaintances from trying to show up on a person’s doorstep, nor did it stop the media from spinning it as ‘New Superhero Cuts Off Old Friends’ or something like that.
Such a headline might not be detrimental for someone attractive and charming like Lexi or the former Blaze. But for someone like him, who people automatically seemed to have a negative opinion of just because of his average appearance and below-average height, that kind of news would never go away.
Or at least, that’s how he felt.
Nick finally pulled his hands out of his pockets in order to operate one of the airport kiosks to get his ticket. First-class of course. The Central Department of Superheroes wasn’t stingy on flight arrangements, especially not when many of their supers were famous. However, unlike others, Nick wouldn’t be expecting an escort to take him to the VIP waiting room.
Nope, he’d have to find his way there himself, but at least he knew where to go now. The first time he had gone on a trip like this, years ago, it took him over half an hour to figure out where the VIP rooms were – a trip that should only take about five minutes of walking.
When he arrived at the right place, he handed his ticket to the man standing at the desk outside the series of VIP rooms. The setup was much like boarding the actual plane, except this guy was armed with a handgun, having the dual role of security.
The man handed Nick back his ticket, and then scanned his badge over a sensor to unlock the door. “Room three,” he said simply, holding the door open for Nick.
“Thanks,” Nick replied, walking into the hallway towards the appropriate door on his right. As he opened it up, he was a littl
e surprised to find an occupant inside sitting in a comfy chair – not because people didn’t share rooms, but because he assumed the famous Lexi Stockton would be flying out of the city where she lived, not here.
She was wearing a red leather jacket coupled with a black cashmere sweater, along with dark blue skinny jeans and black suede boots with furry trim along the top. She was also wearing several gold bracelets and a matching necklace.
Nick wasn’t sure why, but the colors made her purple eyes really pop.
“Oh hey,” he said awkwardly, suddenly feeling nervous.
Lexi pulled her attention away from a magazine she had been focused on, which ironically featured her on the cover. She initially appeared unhappy, but her expression brightened when she registered who was coming in through the door.
“Oh! Nicholas Parker!” she exclaimed, getting out of her seat to shake his hand. “It’s nice to officially meet you!”
Nick laughed uncomfortably as he let go of her hand to scratch the back of his head. “Oh, umm, it’s nice to officially meet you too,” he agreed. “I knew you were going to be on this mission, but I didn’t realize you’d be using this airport.”
Lexi cocked her head to the side slightly. “Why wouldn’t I use this one?” she wondered.
“Well, since you live…” His voice trailed off. Would it be creepy that he knew where she lived? She was famous, so surely everyone knew…right?
She seemed to understand the confusion. “Oh, I moved. I’ve officially lived here for a few months now.”
Nick’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! I didn’t know that. What was the reason for the relocation?”
Lexi’s brow furrowed slightly. “Aren’t you and Sam friends?” she wondered, seeming to sidestep the question.
Now Nick was really confused. Was she just saying that Sam knew the reason why? Or that she moved specifically because of him? After all, Sam had seemed kind of defensive when he was joking with him earlier.
“Umm, yeah, we’re friends, but Sam doesn’t really share other people’s business. It’s one of the reasons we get along so well.”
The Sacrificial Love of an Immortal Page 6