Age of Heroes: A Superhero Adventure (The Pantheon Saga Book 1)

by C. C. Ekeke

  Titan was dead. The Central Coast Saint, the world’s most recognizable superhero…dead. Part of Greyson still thought this was some sick prank. Yet every local, national, international and online source Greyson checked confirmed Titan’s death. He’d have researched more if Lauren hadn’t dragged him away from his obsessive search.

  Then today’s emotional rollercoaster added another twist.

  Titan’s death had been declared a murder by San Miguel PD, the FBI and OSA.

  “Popcorn’s ready!” Sara announced from her small kitchen. Still in her Hello Kitty pajamas, Greyson’s younger sister scurried toward the living room with a bowl of popcorn and a Cheshire-like grin. “Did I miss anything?”

  Greyson gave Sara a scolding look. “This is an OSA operation, not some superhero film.” He turned back to the TV, shaking his head. “They’ve evacuated the surrounding houses.”

  “Goody.” Sara parked herself beside Greyson. Her TV was on National News Network, displaying a sunlit neighborhood in San Miguel with stucco-roofed houses.

  OSA’s Superhuman Response Squadron agents wore non-metal riot gear and held plastic assault rifles, flanking one house. Out of context, this resembled a boring procedural cop show. Except this takedown was real and happening live.

  The SRS’ backup arrived in the form of a massive, heavily-tattooed superhero on a Harley and a flying, leggy superhero. Justice Jones and Lady Liberty looked ready to do damage.

  Greyson, heart in his throat, understood why. That home's owner was Lord Borealis; reformed supervillain, overlord of electromagnetism. And according to news reports, Titan’s murderer. Lord Borealis aka Carmine Bernini’s claims to have repented were a sham. News media unanimously condemned him based on leaked evidence from the crime scene where Titan’s body was found. Now Borealis was the most hated man in the world.

  Some people never change, Greyson mused as one OSA agent raised a bullhorn.

  “Carmine Bernini!” he boomed. “Step out with your hands raised and surrender.” No response.

  OSA had the house surrounded. Lady Liberty hovered, eyes burning red. Justice Jones dismounted his bike with fists clenched. Lauren grabbed Greyson’s hand. He eagerly squeezed back.

  The agent raised his bullhorn again. “Lord Borealis, this is your final—”

  A blinding flash mushroomed out from the house, throwing Lady Liberty, Justice Jones and the OSA agents off their feet.

  Greyson jerked back. Sara nearly upended the popcorn bowl. Lauren clapped a hand over her mouth.

  A lone figure exploded through the home’s roofing, sprinkling the streets with chunks of stucco.

  The man wore silk blue pajama pants and matching robe, and had curly greyish brown hair. He wasn’t wearing the imperious obsidian armor and helmet from his past vocation. But the man called Lord Borealis evoked terror for anyone raised during the 90s and 00s. Greyson sat transfixed, watching Borealis float magnetically toward his fallen foes.

  “My final warning? For what crimes? I have obeyed the boundaries of my probation.” His resonant voice needed no megaphone. “I have played along to show your ilk I am capable of change.”

  His eyes gleamed white with unfathomable power. “Now you approach my home to arrest me without cause or charge? Not a chance, insects.” He raised a hand with half curled fingers to unleash another EM wave on those who opposed him. “Feel the wrath of Lord Borealis! AHHH!!!” He raised an EM shield at the last second as twin crimson heat blasts buffeted him from off-screen. The camera shifted to reveal Lady Liberty recovering before anyone else.

  Twin fiery beams erupted from her eyes toward Borealis. “No one else dies because of you, Borealis. NO ONE!” she cried, intensifying her optic blast. “I should’ve known you never change—UGH!”

  A Nissan Ultima plowed into Lady Liberty from behind and pinned her to the ground. Lord Borealis magnetically shifted a row of parked cars, blocking OSA agents as he touched down. Lady Liberty squirmed and writhed, but remained trapped.

  “How is he doing that?” Sara pondered, wolfing down popcorn.

  Greyson frowned at her. “His magnetic powers?”

  Sara gave him a nasty look. “I know, loser. But using his powers at that level, Borealis’s ankle monitor should automatically dampen them. Which hasn’t happened yet.”

  Greyson and Lauren gaped at each other, then the TV. “She’s right,” he muttered.

  Borealis landed gracefully, looking confused.

  “What on Earth are you referring to?” he demanded, having the nerve to sound offended by her outrage. “I have done no harm to anyone.”

  “YOU KILLED HIM, BACKSTABBING MOTHERFUCKER!” Lady Liberty shrieked. Greyson had watched this fearless woman for years. Rarely did she lose composure. Seeing Lady Liberty sob on TV for the man she once loved knifed through Greyson's heart. Both Sara and Lauren were teary-eyed.

  “Titan vouched for you, trusted you!” Lady Liberty yelled, still struggling. “And you murdered him!”

  “Wha—?” An odd look fluttered across Borealis's face. He was about to speak until Justice Jones tackled him. They rolled around on the pavement before Jones got the upper hand.

  “I got him, Libby!” he bellowed, his massive tattooed arms holding a dazed Borealis. “NOW!”

  Lady Liberty flung the car off herself. She rocketed forward and nearly decapitated Borealis with a backhand. The punch cracked him across the jaw, echoing across the block. The supervillain tumbled down the street like a crash-test dummy.

  “JESUS!” Lauren squealed.

  For a moment, Greyson thought Lady Liberty had killed Lord Borealis. Then the bathrobed supervillain struggled to a knee. Greyson relaxed. Borealis’s EM forcefields clearly protected him.

  Lady Liberty soared ahead before he could recover, hoisting him up by the throat one-handed. Lord Borealis no longer looked powerful. He was just some middle-aged man in a bathrobe, getting pounded by the Glorious Glamazon. She body-slammed him down, leaving a cracked depression in the street.

  “Feel powerful now, Carmine?” Lady Liberty demanded. “Think you’d escape justice?!” She lifted his ragdoll body up again, slamming him harder.

  “She’s killing him,” Sara remarked, forgetting her popcorn.

  Greyson shrugged. “Good.” His feelings about Titan remained conflicted. But unlike Dad, Greyson respected Titan for using his powers for good. Unlike Lord Borealis.

  Lady Liberty lifted a bloodied Borealis. He was defeated. She no longer cared. Then Justice Jones finally wrenched Borealis from her grasp. “Enough, Libby.” The “Outlaw Superhero” stood between Lady Liberty and her unconscious target, holding her shoulders. OSA swarmed Lord Borealis to secure him.

  Lady Liberty jerked away from Jones, hands on her head. “I’m fine,” she growled. Footage switched to the N3 anchor.

  Then Greyson remembered to breathe. “That was intense.” He slumped onto the couch.

  “Right?” Sara brushed back her dark curls, looking to Lauren and Greyson for answers. “Now what?”

  Lauren sniffled and slipped an arm around Greyson’s waist. “I guess we mourn.” Her eyes were red-rimmed. She’d cried a bunch this morning. “Can’t believe he’s dead….”

  Sara nodded, watching Greyson. “How are you, big brother?”

  Greyson shrugged. “Still…in shock.” He felt empty, like something had been taken from him. Yet the tears didn’t come. Greyson felt awful for that, especially given how much Titan’s presence affected his life. “I just thought he couldn’t die.”

  “Me too.” Lauren's warmth as she buried her face in his neck was a welcome distraction. “With how invulnerable Titan is…” she cringed. “I mean, was.”

  The doorbell rang, startling the three occupants. “Ah,” Sara popped to her feet and scurried to the door. “Mom and Dad are here.”

  Greyson stiffened and stood up. Lauren held his arm, knowing he’d need the emotional support.

  Greyson hadn’t wanted Sara to invite their parents. I don’t want
to know how Dad’s handling Titan’s death.

  Mom greeted her children and Lauren with sad eyes. She’d brought some kind of cake undoubtedly baked this morning. That was Mom’s way.

  As Greyson expected, Dad entered the apartment with a strut in his limp as if he’d won the lottery. Surprising Greyson more was his cheery handshake.

  Sara looked bewildered. “Dad, what are we celebrating?”

  Dad kissed his daughter's forehead. “What do you think, sweetie?”

  Greyson exchanged a grim look with Lauren. He already knew that answer but hoped he was wrong.

  When Sara had no reply, Dad eyed her like she was dumb. “Titan’s dead!”

  Greyson closed his eyes for one pained moment. Knew it. Lauren looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon.

  “Jesus, Dad,” Sara recoiled from her father in disgust. “Not today…”

  Mom grabbed Dad by the arm. “Aaron, we talked about this.”

  “No, you talked,” Dad dismissed her. "I’ve wanted this for over twenty-five years.” His smile broadened. "The “All-Mighty” false prophet is gone.”

  Greyson would’ve kept quiet for Dad’s gross victory lap. But seeing the horror from the women around him curdled his stomach. “Enough, Dad,” Greyson warned angrily.

  As usual, Dad had no smile for his son. “It’s enough when I say so, boy. Even though Lord Borealis is another super, I hope he made that piece of garbage suffer.” He stared at the ceiling as if a higher power had answered his prayers. “I hope Titan was screaming in agony when the end came.”

  Again, it was too much. This time, Greyson advanced and swung. “SHUT UP!”

  The right cross snapped Dad’s head back and dropped him. God almighty, that felt great, even though Greyson’s knuckles smarted like hell.

  Suddenly all three women were screaming, scrambling. Sara and Lauren pushed Greyson backward while Mom dashed to her husband’s side.

  “Omigod, Greyson!” Mom shrieked, cradling her dazed partner’s head.

  Sara looked from father to brother in bald shock.

  Lauren dragged Greyson away, trying not to smile. “Grey, stop!”

  Greyson’s glare never left Dad. He couldn’t believe he’d punched him. Or how much he despised this pathetic, wrinkled man. Strange power unrelated with his abilities shattered through years of guilt.

  Dad shoved Mom off, struggling upright on shaky legs and his cane. “Your true colors emerge.” His face contorted with that smoldering hatred Greyson had known since he was nine. “Even after how that monster’s birth ravaged me, you worshipped him.” In the past, those insults would've gutted him. After Dad’s repulsive behavior, Greyson felt bulletproof like Titan once was.

  “I respected Titan,” Greyson declared, shaking off Sara’s grasp. “He put others before himself, not blaming the world for his problems.” He got in Dad’s face again, despite Mom and Sara’s protests. “I’d take one Titan over ten of you.”

  His father recoiled. Sara and Lauren gasped. The room hushed.

  Mom turned bone-white as her men warred. “Greyson. Apologize.” Her tone left no room for negotiation. Greyson glanced at her and almost caved. Almost. Then his eyes flitted back to this frail shell of a man who never apologized to the son he’d emotionally abandoned.

  He made his heart go dead. “No.”

  Dad sneered and wiped the blood from his lip, impressed by Greyson’s defiance. “If not for your mother, I’d have beaten more respect into you. I shouldn’t have listened.” He lunged forward and raised his cane.

  The three women screamed again, dashing to intercept.

  Greyson moved faster, grabbing Dad’s throat. The elder Hirsch gagged. With a sharp hip toss, Greyson flipped Dad onto the coffee table. His father cried out and struggled to rise.

  But Greyson held his throat tight with subtle added gravity to keep Dad pinioned. It was impossible for Sara, Lauren and Mom to pry them apart. No longer was he helpless or scared of this bastard. Greyson leaned close, whispering words only Dad would hear. “The wrong man died last night.”

  Aaron Hirsch froze. Seeing his father’s fear filled Greyson with twisted joy.

  Joy that quickly became horror.

  Greyson released Dad and stumbled back, finally hearing Sara and Mom’s scream at him to leave. He also noticed Lauren pulling the back of his shirt to draw him away. Greyson couldn’t look away from Dad’s unbridled fear. Mom and Sara watched him the same way, like a stranger. Not to mention the buckled legs of Sara’s coffee table. How close had he come to crushing Dad with his gravity powers?

  Icy terror rushed through Greyson’s veins. What did I do? A familiar pressure sat on his chest, building and begging for release.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” Greyson mumbled, dragging Lauren toward the door. “I’ll buy you a new coffee table, Sara.” He opened the front door, pulled Lauren outside and slammed it shut.

  Neither spoke during the drive to the abandoned farmland. Only after Greyson discharged another gravitational outburst, did Lauren say anything. “This has to stop, Grey.” She stood before him, arms folded. The glare of orange sunlight silhouetted her hour-glass figure to perfection. But Greyson knew it wasn’t appropriate to mention now while on his knees. His release wasn’t as massive as usual, but enough to attract attention in the muggy Midwestern afternoon. Thankfully, no one was around for miles. Greyson felt emptied out, content.

  Lauren looked worried in that decisive way when Greyson knew she'd reached her breaking point. He climbed to his feet and shook his head defiantly. “I’m not sorry, other than Mom and Sara having to see me kick Dad’s ass.” He paced in circles, filled with restless energy. Dad’s words wound him up once more. “I couldn’t listen to that crippled bastard anymore.”

  Lauren closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. “Not what I meant, Grey.”

  “I was fine,” he said, somewhat truthful. “I am fine.” He stopped pacing and reached for Lauren. “Punching the old man helped.”

  She flinched from his touch, which hurt more than expected. “You used your powers on Aaron.” she threw back, anguish cracking her voice. “What if you’d lost control? Killed him?”

  Greyson stared at her, struggling to hide the fear he’d felt back at Sara’s. “That wouldn’t have happened.” Another half-truth, no matter how much he lied to himself.

  Lauren’s anger slipped away, revealing panic. “I heard what you told Aaron,” she whispered.

  Greyson stumbled back, horrified. “That was…” he stammered, searching for some excuse. “…in the heat of the moment…” Was she afraid of him now? On second thought, Greyson would rather not know.

  Lauren looked unmoved by his excuse. “Seemed more truthful than heated.” She knew him well.

  Moments later, Lauren cupped Greyson’s face in her hands. She looked as tired as he felt. “Please see someone about this.” Lauren gestured her head at the wave of crumbled debris he’d caused.

  Greyson gaped at her. “And risk exposing myself?” Stories of what some undocumented supers endured jumbled his thoughts. “Not happening.”

  Lauren seemed to expect the response, holding his face when he tried pulling away. “What if you and Aaron clash again and I’m not there?”

  Greyson had no answer. What if Lauren, Sara and Mom hadn’t been there? He shuddered. “I don’t know.”

  Lauren graced him with a sad smile, pulling him into an embrace. Her warmth and fragrance erased his worries. “This isn’t about you being a super, Grey,” she murmured. “Find someone to talk to before this hatred for your dad consumes you both.” She held him tighter, as if afraid to let go.

  “I’ve tried, Laurie. I’ve bent over backward to please him. Apologized even when I’m not at fault!” Greyson protested, choking on years of bitterness and anger. “Never again!”

  Lauren backpedaled. Her expression, identical to Mom and Sara’s from earlier, cracked Greyson’s resistance. “I see your point.” As little as he cared for Dad, Greyson couldn't let that ruin h
is relationship with Lauren. Glancing at the heavens, he let go of his pride. You need help, he admitted. I need help.

  The admission didn’t feel as scary as he’d expected. “Later tonight I’ll look for a therapist. I promise.”

  Lauren smiled that wonderful smile he adored. “That’s all I ask, sweetie.”

  Chapter 10

  Hugo admired his new body with a mixture of awe, disbelief, and excitement for an hour. After finally accepting this wasn't a dream, Hugo worked up the nerve to confront Mom and AJ. They were watching TV downstairs, upset over Titan’s death. The newscast replayed snippets from the Vanguard’s tear-jerking press conference.

  Hugo loitered on the stairwell in a too-tight grey t-shirt and formerly baggy shorts riding up past his knees. None of his other clothes fit this muscular, taller body. Clothing issues aside, Hugo noticed how nimble and powerful he felt. Just flexing his arm, the teen felt the power to fuel a spaceship. Standing on the stairwell helped him adjust to his hypersensitive eyesight. Every smudge of dirt stood out on what he thought were clean walls. His hearing lowered when focusing on his other heightened senses. Mom’s sobs floated up to his ears, familiar and painful.

  Sooner or later, she’d check on Hugo and notice his huge transformation.

  Screw it. “Mom?” he called out.

  The living room couch downstairs creaked as she shot up in surprise, sounding right by Hugo's side. “Bogie, you’re awake.” Mom sniffled. Her hand wiping the tears away from her face sound like fingers running over bedsheets. Weird. “You heard about last night?”

  “Simon told me.” With this hypersensitivity overload, Hugo’s brain hadn’t digested Titan's death even with every TV around the block broadcasting this nonstop. Now, Lord Borealis had graduated to prime suspect. Hugo felt…bewildered.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you when I came home,” she said. The newscaster reported worldwide shock over Titan’s death. AJ sucked in a shivery breath as Mom continued. “Are you hungry? I have leftover oatmeal and eggs.”

  Do it. Hugo exhaled, brushing waves of black hair back. “I need to show you something.”