by Riley Tune
“Kevin knows I have his back,” Sasha replied. She, unlike the rest of the group, only called Power Prince by his birth name. She felt the bouncing around from one name to another was confusing so she picked one, and stuck to it.
As Hunter and Flex continued to gather altitude, the remaining members of the team, along with Sasha went back inside the base. “I still think we should have told them the truth,” Hunter said to Flex as they moved through the air, and cut through the dome that surrounded the Diamond district part of the city. “You know it’s bad when I’m the voice of reason right?” Hunter asked.
Flex didn’t speak at first. Instead, he just continued to propel himself through the sky. “It’s for their own good. If they knew the truth, they would ask more questions than we have answers. Trust me. I’m doing it for all their sakes.” “Then why in Atlas did you tell me? I would have been fine with being oblivious.”
Flex laughed. “Of that, I have no doubt. Despite that, you’re the one who caught her. I love Zeva, she’s my sister and nothing will change that, but she has demons inside of her.” Hunter didn’t speak but he did agree.
He thought back to the look he saw on Zeva’s face almost a year ago when she used her ice powers to murder a member of the Imperial Lords. She had a blank slate of a face. No remorse. No hesitation. And most of all no regrets. “How close had she come?” Hunter asked. “This time? Too close,” Flex replied. “This time?” Hunter said as he slowed down flying. “How many times has she tried to escape?” “Seven.” Flex replied. “Seven, and that’s including the most recent one.
“The Commander didn’t go into details, but something about this time was different. He said I needed to come, and that you had been requested.” Hunter took in a deep breath but decided to say nothing. Instead, he looked at the world around him as the continued to move through the sky.
From where they were, if he looked behind him, he could see the opposing domes of light and darkness covering the city. Those same domes grew smaller and smaller as they both moved away from it. In seconds they would be in an area where they would only be able to see water in all directions. “This entire thing is giving me the creeps.” Hunter began before Flex cut him off.
“Creeps? Not you, Paragon,” Flex said in return. “Mock me all you want, but something isn’t right, and placing ourselves in a trap, which this feels like, doesn't help our situation anymore.” “I can agree with you there, unfortunately, we’re here,” Flex said as he stopped flying and hovered over the open water.
“Really?” Hunter said as he looked around. He had never been to Vincula before. All they knew were legends, but so far, they seemed true. At any rate, they had made it to the prison in record time, but time often went by fast when supreme flight was added to the mix.
“Pretty sure,” Flex said as he pulled out his phone and made a single call. “I’ve been coming here a few times now, and this looks like the spot.” A grunt came from Hunter’s mouth. From where he hovered it all looked the same.
Just miles and miles of water on all sides. Flex continued on his phone. Hunter could only see him. He couldn’t understand what he was saying on the phone, but moments later a large lift exploded from the surface of the water. “Looks like I was right,” Flex said as he put his phone up.
Hunter watched with a gaped mouth as the platform slowly emerged from under the water’s surface. That was a secret entrance if he ever saw one. “Welp, here we go,” Flex said as he descended on to the platform.
CHAPTER 4:
VINCULA
O h, for Atlas’ sake, get your ass down here, please,” Flex said as he looked up. Flex had already landed on the once-submerged platform, but Hunter hadn’t as yet. He was still hovering in the air several feet above.
He didn’t know why but the sudden appearance of the platform was off-putting to him. Where had it come from? Who controlled it? How many more were around them? All questions that had floated to the top of Hunter’s mind as easily as the platform to the top of the water.
While Flex waited, he tried to control himself in front of Hunter, but deep down he was nervous. He always was nervous when he came here. Not because of the villains, some of which he had helped put here, but because now his sister was one of them. He hated seeing her like that and hated that he couldn’t do anything to help her. To save her. No, that time had passed.
“Fine,” Hunter said as he slowly descended to the platform and landed in a small puddle. “I know I’m new and all, but,” Hunter said as he looked around the platform. “Where do we go from here?” He looked around once more and still didn’t see anything.
The platform they landed on was a large black square, composed of what seemed to be a dark blue metal, and not black as Hunter had thought moments ago. What it was missing, however, was a door. There was nothing. No door, no hatch, no anything. Hunter would have even settled for a window, but as far as he could see, there was no way into the prison from here.
“Oh, I got it,” Hunter said as he laughed and snapped his fingers. “They pick us up from here?” Flex shook his head. “Nope. This is it,” he said as he pointed ahead of them. Hunter followed his finger with his eyes and saw that seemingly from out of nowhere, a door appeared. A single, heavy-duty door, with a massive frame, was now standing where there was previously nothing but open space.
“Invisibility?” Hunter asked. “Cloaking of some sort, from what I can tell.” Flex replied. “They aren’t overly giving with the way their security works around here.” Hunter grimaced. “Why not? You likely put some of their guests here.” Hunter gave an exaggerated wink when he said the word guest.
“True. But that was before the Imperial Lords became taboo, and my sister joined their ranks.” Hunter didn’t respond, he simply just nodded in agreement. He knew Flex was right, and that even after all this time, Flex was still hurting about it. Hunter looked for words to say to fill the void of silence that danced around them, but before he could, the door in front of them opened.
Flex took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Just act natural. Like it’s your first time being here,” he said to Hunter. Hunter eyed him but didn’t turn his head and under his breath responded. “This is my first time being here.” “Right. Forgot.” Flex said quickly. Hunter turned up his face slightly as he continued looking forward.
He felt like being in this place was cracking that invulnerable shell that Flex always wore. Like being here to see Zeva was making him act almost, normal. For at least now, Hunter felt, his supremely strong, invulnerable leader, was now simply an older brother, waiting to see the sister who was never going to be coming home.
As the door finally opened, a white light beamed through as a figure stepped out. Hunter couldn’t make the person out at first. All he could see was a silhouette standing before them. As the figure moved closer, he came into being.
“Commander Lopez, nice to see you again,” Flex said as the man walked closer. As the silhouette became a man, Hunter was surprised at his appearance. When he heard Commander, he naturally assumed the man would look like the Commanders of jails he had seen on television. Old men, out of shape and wore suits that were off the rack. This wasn’t the case for Commander Lopez.
The first thing that made Hunter’s brow raise was how the Commander was dressed. He had on a suit, but it was definitely not off the rack. Instead, the dark black suit fit him only the way a tailored one could. His large hat tilted down some, but it didn’t block his chiseled jaw or stubbled face hair. Lastly, and this is what really surprised Hunter, the man had a revolver in a holster around his waist.
The same holster had several silver bullets that lined the belt. Hunter tried to find a different word for it, but there was no way around it. For lack of a better word, Commander Lopez looked like a very well dressed, cowboy.
The Commander made it into touching distance and removed his hat before shaking Flex’s hand. “A pleasure as always,” he said. He had a gentle voice, one that didn’t overly match hi
s cowboy appearance.
His hand shifted from Flex to Hunter. “Hunter Monroe in the flesh, I presume. Or should I call you Paragon?” Hunter shook the man’s hand in return. “Either works, I’m not picky.” Commander Lopez smiled and flashed what appeared to be nearly perfect teeth, as he placed his hat back on.
“If I’m being honest son, I thought we’d always meet under different circumstances.” Flex cleared his throat. “I know, I said I wouldn’t mention it,” Commander Lopez said to Flex. “But it’s my duty as a man to admit when I was wrong.” The Commander turned back to Hunter. “I had written you off.”
“Say what?” Hunter asked. “Written you off. Like many, I considered you a stain on Icon history. Villain dad, hero mom. I also heard of how you had a temper. Hell, even you two went at it a couple times,” The Commander said as he looked at them both.
“All in the past now.” Flex replied quickly. “He just got tired of me kicking his ass,” Hunter added in. “Figured it’s easier. You know how the saying goes.” Commander Lopez laughed some as he nodded. “If you can’t beat em, join em.”
Flex exhaled. “Alright. Alright. Well, jokes aside. I was wrong. I get so used to seeing the worst our kind has to offer, that I assumed you were no better.” “Water under the bridge,” Hunter replied. Then he thought about what the Commander has said. Worst of our kind. It was safe to assume that he was an Icon too.
Hunter realized that did make sense. In his head, he felt having a normal human in charge would make things difficult. “Enough of the small talk,” Commander Lopez said, as he turned around and motioned for them to follow him. Flex immediately began to walk, but it took Hunter half a second to follow.
“C’mon now.” Commander Lopez shouted from inside the door. Once they all were inside, the door slammed closed so fast that it made Hunter jump a little. He didn’t jump because of the door, he jumped because once the door closed, it cut them off from outside, and as a result, left the three of them in a very small space.
Hunter hated small areas. It was one of the reasons he always made his personal force field so large. He swallowed as he tried to remain calm before his claustrophobia could set in. He had been working on this issue over the last year. Purposefully putting himself in small spaces just to see how long he could keep his cool. The results weren’t great.
His heart seemed to be pounding in his chest now, as he wiped sweat from his brow. A keypad appeared and then the Commander went to press his finger against a number but paused. “You boys mind?” He asked them. Hunter looked at Flex who had already turned around to face away from the keypad.
Clearly, his time before had made him aware of the protocol. “Sure, just get us out of here,” Hunter said. “He’s not a fan of tight spaces,” Flex said from a mouth that Hunter couldn’t even see now. He followed Flex’s lead and turned away from Commander Lopez as he felt a tremor run across his body. As soon as he turned, he heard several beeps, as Commander Lopez touched no less than ten keys.
Instantly a door appeared in front of Hunter and Flex where, only seconds ago, a blank wall had stood. Hunter darted out and took in a deep breath. Once he had himself together, he turned and looked at Commander Lopez and Flex only to see that the door they had just entered through was no longer there. Only a slab of the wall remained. “Excuse me,” Commander Lopez said as he moved, followed by Flex and exited into the hall, and began walking. “Commander, what was so different about this time? You mentioned that Z, I mean Zeva, tried to escape again, but this time was different.” Flex took off at a little sprint as he tried to catch up.
Hunter glanced back at the lift, door, closet, type thing and shivered. He hadn’t seen anything like it before, and coming from a base as well- funded as theirs, that was saying a lot. As he followed Flex and the Commander, his surroundings were not what he expected. He was expecting lasers, security guards, and holding rooms. Instead, it looked like he was inside of a high-end hotel. Paintings were on the walls, the floor was soft cream- colored carpet, elegant lights hung from above, and it even smelled like somewhere, somebody was baking.
It took him a few seconds to catch up to Flex and Commander Lopez. “Well,” Commander Lopez replied as he came to another door. “She killed somebody. She then used the body as a way to divert security to one part of the prison, so she and her colleagues could try to escape from another part.” “Colleagues?” Hunter asked.
“Oh, trust me, I’ll get to that part,” Commander Lopez said as he finally came to another door. This door had a keypad as well. Several beeps later, it opened and all three of them went inside. This hallway was more what Hunter had been expecting. Inside several guards stood, dressed in white and purple body armor. Each nodded to the Commander as he walked by, and led Flex and Hunter around a corner. “She killed again?” Flex said faintly. Hunter looked at him and was surprised at how weak his voice sounded.
He decided it may have been better for him to take the lead for the moment. Commander Lopez arrived at another door, one that looked more like a garage door than anything else. This time, the guard at the door entered a key sequence and placed his hand on the pad. The large door opened, and the Commander walked inside. “Almost there now,” he said as the door shut behind them and the floor began to drop.
On the door in front of them, Hunter saw large numbers ticking until it stopped on the number fifteen. “Fifteen floors down!” Commander Lopez said as the doors opened to reveal a golf cart and a long passageway. It seemed like more of a tunnel than a hall.
Hunter was becoming more and more impressed with how large this place was. He was also confused on just how Zeva had had the nerve to assume she could even escape. That thought brought a question to the surface for him. Since Flex seemed to be trapped in his own thoughts, Hunter went with it.
“You said she and her colleagues killed another inmate?” “Prisoner,” Commander Lopez responded. “We don’t call them inmates. We call them prisoners. We want them all to know they have nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. They belong to us. They are prisoners.” Hunter shook his head.
“Okay Prisoners. They killed one. How did it happen? I mean surely you have some sort of security measures in a place like this.” “Indeed, we do,” Commander Lopez said as he undid his suit jacket and sat behind the wheel of the golf cart. He gave Hunter and Flex a look and jerked his head some to signal them inside. They followed his directions and both sat side by side on the seat behind him.
“All of this you’re seeing is just the outer levels.” Commander Lopez said as he started driving the cart. The long tunnel lights began to zoom by them as the cart moved at speeds that it shouldn’t have been able too. “The upper levels are where we have rooms for the guards and other workers that live on site. You see the first fifteen floors are mainly a compound for staff. Homes, medical facilities, gyms, restaurants, even a movie theater. All a perk of working with the worst the Icon community has to offer. So, we like to keep our staff happy.” Hunter nodded as the Commander kept speaking.
He couldn’t help but notice that Flex seemed to be in his own world as he watched the tunnel pass them by. Hunter assumed it was because he had heard all this before. He had been here enough to know how things worked.
“Majority of our staff are Icons that, while having powers that are impressive, didn’t have what it took to make the cut in the big time. No fancy sponsors, toy lines, movie deals, or legendary accolades.” “But,” Hunter said, but before he could finish, Commander Lopez took a sharp turn on the cart that almost made him fall out. As Hunter regained control he continued with his question.
“That’s cool and all, but that doesn’t answer the security question.” He said to Commander Lopez. The Commander adjusted his hat. “It plays into it, though. Beyond the first fourteen floors, is where the prisoners are held. Floors ten through fourteen are constructed to be a maze. The path changes daily, and guards are given the new path on an as needed basis.” “And the rest of the floors?” Hunter asked.
> “Each floor thereafter is monitored by a state- of- the- art security system, the walls are reinforced with ten inches of steel, which itself is diamond plated. Even our dear Flex couldn’t punch through it, in theory.” The Commander meant for this to be a joke. He glanced back towards Flex with a slight smile but was met with a saddened face and distant eyes.
The Commander cleared his throat. “Lastly, we have four powerful Icons on staff at all time. I’m talking battle- tested, heavy hitters. Two always have a powerset around reducing powers.” Hearing this made Hunter think about a thug named Eric he had a fight with last year. Eric was able to render an Icon powerless for three minutes. To this day, those were the longest three minutes Hunter had ever experienced. “And the other two are usually bad asses in some form or fashion.
They are on break right now, seeing as how you two are on site. We haven’t had any issues before this in three years, so I trust your services will not be needed. That combined with the bracelets, pretty much keeps everybody in line.” The Commander continued.
“Bracelets?” Hunter asked.
The Commander nodded his head as he allowed the cart to slow. “Yes, sir. The bracelets keep all of our prisoners completely powered down. Which is why when prisoner Greene used an ice shard eight inches long to kill another prisoner, we were confused.” For the first time since he learned she killed, Flex finally seemed like he was listening.
The Commander stepped out of the cart and motioned for Flex and Hunter to follow. They walked by several guards that were roaming the halls before they followed Commander Lopez through a stained wooden door. Before walking in, Hunter realized that this was the only door made of wood that he had seen since he had been in the prison. It was actually the only wooden anything among the metal and steel that was Vincula.
Then, he saw the inside of the Commander’s office. It had a rustic feel to it. Flex walked in and sat down, ignoring everything that had caused Hunter to stop in his tracks. He had seen all of this before. It was old news to him, but to Hunter, he was just realizing how wrong he was about Commander Lopez. He had assumed, because of the hat, revolver, and bullet- lined belt, that Commander Lopez wanted to be a cowboy. Now, seeing the office, he realized that Commander Lopez wanted to be, and considered himself, a sheriff of the wild west.