Unidentified Phenomenon

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  A moment later, Quinn sensed Blake walking toward the library. Quinn smiled and walked toward him, knowing exactly where his best friend was. Blake rounded the corner and smiled, bouncing his eyebrows at his best friend.

  “Everything okay with lover boy?” Blake asked.

  “Yeah, totally.” Quinn explained the dual mix-up that transpired.

  “You’re super lucky, Quinn. That like, never happens. Wanna go to the cafeteria? I have something to ask you.”

  “Gentlemen,” Mr. St. Germain called out. “A word if you please?”

  “Sure thing,” Quinn said. He and Blake walked over to their mentor, double checking to make sure the hallway was empty.

  “That was you right?” Mr. St. Germain whispered. “I don’t even know why I’m asking, but…Blue Spekter?”

  Quinn nodded.

  Their teacher made a scrunched up smiley face and shook his fists in front of him with excitement. A moment later he composed himself and put his hands on the boys’ shoulders, making a small football huddle. Then, he looked at them intently as he spoke, his eyes shifting between those of Quinn and Blake. “Okay, whatever you do, don’t flaunt your…abilities. Blue Spekter should only show up when needed and offer to help. Otherwise, you’ll get obnoxious really fast and things will not go in your favor.”

  “Yeah, but…” Quinn responded, but his teacher interrupted him.

  “No buts, Quinn. Remember when Superman showed up in Man of Steel? Nobody knew what he stood for or whether he was good or bad. They assumed that if he was bad, they couldn’t stop him if they had to. Take it nice and slow, guys. Also, this is a small town, so think about the people you love. You don't want to put anyone in unnecessary danger.”

  Quinn and Blake nodded as a classroom door opened down the hall.

  “See you later in class,” Mr. St. Germain said. Then, he dropped his hands and walked away.

  “Okay,” Quinn said. He turned to Blake. “You had something to ask me?”

  “Yeah,” Blake answered, pointing to an empty classroom. Let’s go in there.”

  Quinn followed Blake into the classroom and shut the door behind him, immediately sensing something wasn’t right—not in the super powered way, but in the way a guy knows how his best friend thinks and feels. Blake seemed…nervous.

  Blake walked to a desk and turned around. “So, look, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out…”

  “Sweet Jesus, are you coming out to me?” Quinn asked, stunned and nearly falling over.

  “Uh, no. I’m not gay. But, I have been talking with Victor Kraze…”

  “You’ve been what?” Quinn yelled. He did not just say what I think he said…

  “Quinn, don’t you want to know what happened to us? Don’t you want to get to the bottom of what’s going on with our powers?”

  “Yeah, but we have no reason to trust him! Why would you do something like this? Why wouldn’t you tell me? We’re best friends, we’re not supposed to keep secrets from one another—especially when it concerns our superpowers!”

  “That’s why I’m telling you now, Quinn. I’ve been meeting with him since we cut school to go back to the Orgonon Reactor Core.”

  “The what?” Quinn exclaimed, dropping his backpack onto the nearest desk.

  Blake shifted. “It’s what his organization calls that cave we found and accidentally activated.” Then, he explained everything he had learned from Victor.

  ❖

  Blake

  Blake looked up when the coffee shop door opened; it was five forty-five. Victor stepped into the shop and shut the door behind him.

  “I don’t have to tell you we’re closed, right?” Blake asked.

  Victor smiled. “Of course not, I can read the sign. I simply came by to ask if you’ve mentioned my request to Quinn yet.”

  He nodded. “I did, and he was not happy.”

  “Understandable. There’s a lot both of you have yet to learn and I know how important first impressions are. Though I hope I’ve earned credibility with you, I understand I’m…starting from scratch with your best friend.”

  Blake nodded, suspecting Victor chose his words carefully. The jury’s still out on you, mister…

  “At any rate, I’ll get out of your hair. Perhaps we could meet tomorrow after school?”

  “We have track, and Quinn has a date.”

  “Ah, interesting. How about after Quinn’s date?”

  “Dude, we have homework and shit. I don’t know. I’ll text you when we’re free. If it’s that important, you’ll make time for us.”

  Victor smiled, then nodded. “Very well, Blake. Please don’t forget about me.” He pivoted and left the shop, but before he shut the door, he stopped and turned around.

  “Oh, and Blake?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Your medical bills have been taken care of. It seems a generous donor heard about your plight and paid them in full.”

  Blake’s mouth fell open as Victor clicked the shop door shut behind him.

  Are you kidding me?

  ❖

  Later that night, Blake finished his homework around nine o’clock, moments before he heard his father come home and quickly spiral into another tirade with his mother. He decided to slip out of the house and go running before they got him involved.

  Wearing a running hoodie with reflective material sewn into it, he ran to the Newcastle Commons and then headed back, rounding his total run to nearly just under ten miles. On his way back, he stopped running as he passed Hislop Park, feeling hot. He was just about to pull his hoodie off when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and stared into the angry eyes of two men charging him. What the hell?

  Stunned, Blake’s hesitation allowed the larger man to tackle him to the ground, his weight and strength pinning Blake’s arms and legs. Blake’s head whacked the pavement hard, the soft fabric of his hoodie softening the blow only so much. He struggled to regain focus as stars appeared in his vision.

  Ouch!

  “Don’t scream or you die, kid. Try to run, and I’ll make you suffer.”

  Blake froze, partially in fear and partially in recognition. His voice seems familiar…but why?

  The man holding him down spoke to his partner. “Search him.”

  He felt a second set of hands groping him anywhere the man thought he had a pocket or something of value. Fortunately for Blake, the man didn’t think to check for the phone strapped to Blake’s left arm under his sweatshirt, tracking his run. Unfortunately, the man was not shy about copping a feel of his genitals as well.

  Pervert.

  “Dammit, he doesn’t have anything on him,” the man whined.

  “What do you want?” Blake said, his head throbbing.

  “Shut the fuck up, little bitch!” the larger man yelled, shaking him as he spoke.

  Little bitch…Blake looked at the man who had pinned him to the ground. I know exactly who you are…you’re the assholes who assaulted that woman here in this very park and now you’re mugging me.

  Blake frowned and looked into the man’s eyes. “I know you.”

  “I said shut up!” the man hissed loudly, his face inches from Blake’s face.

  Blake grinned as his eyes began to glow. Suddenly, the smaller man gasped and backed off in fear. “Oh shit, it’s him! Fuck!”

  The heavy man holding him down grinned. “Not so tough after all, are you?” he shifted and reached for his knife with his left hand.

  Blake didn’t flinch. He let the man pull his blade. With skill, the man flipped it in his hand and brought his arm downward, the blade stopping as it hit the impenetrable skin over Blake’s heart.

  Both Blake and the man stared at the knife, then back into each other’s eyes.

  “Oops,” Blake responded, smirking. “I guess you’re about to find out just how tough I am.”

  He brought his closed right fist in front of the man’s face and flicked his fingers, using telekinesis to push th
e man off him and send him staggering back several paces. Then, Blake took a deep breath and pounded the ground with both fists, willing himself to a standing position.

  “Run!” the shorter man said.

  “Not this time,” Blake sneered. Reaching out with his telekinetic powers, he grabbed his assailants and pulled them to him, a hand extended toward each man. He held them up, several inches above the ground. They were helpless, unable to run or break free from his invisible grasp.

  “We’re sorry, we’ll do anything you want, we’ll never…”

  “Shut up,” Blake snapped, silencing the babbling larger man. He looked around as an idea formed in his head. He started walking toward I-95. “The problem with scum like you is that you never learn. You can make all the promises you want, but you’ll never stop being scum.”

  “We can try, we promise, we can try to stop…”

  Blake pulled the sputtering men toward him and screamed at them. “I said shut up!” Then he blasted them upward into the night sky, hoping his trajectory was on point. If not, he could always pull them back on course.

  The men screamed as they soared over one hundred feet into the air, arcing over the six-lane highway ramp of the Piscataqua River Bridge.

  I wish I could fly right about now…

  Blake ran—using super speed—under the bridge and stopped when he was on the other side, standing in front of the oil storage tanks. Using his super hearing and vision, he spotted the men falling toward him. He reached out and grabbed them, abruptly stopping their rapid descent a mere inch from the ground. Their screaming stopped when they didn’t splatter.

  Blake released them, letting them fall the last few inches to the pavement. When they realized they weren’t dead, they cried, begged, and pleaded for their lives. His eyes blazed with orange power, full of resentment, anger, and vengeance. The taller man threw up on himself, yellow and brown vomit cascading down the front of his flannel shirt and jeans. His vomit reeked of soured alcohol and it reminded him of when his dad violently threw up after Elizabeth had moved out on the night he drowned his emotions with fast food, a handle of cheap whiskey, and copious amounts beer.

  Elizabeth…that traitor.

  He thought about how she abandoned him to fend for himself with his alcoholic parents. He resented his father and mother, but understood he needed them for two more years. He cursed himself for not having the balls to be as independent as Elizabeth and take care of himself, but he couldn’t get out. His only solace was Quinn and his dads, but Quinn had different goals that Blake didn’t want to pursue. Superman, Batman, the other heroes, they never took it far enough. Lex Luther, the Joker, and all the comic book evil villains kept coming back because the heroes were too afraid to do what needed to be done.

  Victor understood that, and now, Blake started to understand this as well. He thought about his conversations with Victor and the kind of justice he wanted to impart; he would never be the superhero Quinn wanted to be. He knew he couldn’t stand by and let criminals like these guys fly under the police radar and continue to hurt people. Victor was right, they needed to be dealt with differently, and Blake realized he had the power to do something.

  “People like you can’t be punished enough,” he said. “I’ve decided that’s the problem with criminals these days; you don’t fear the cops. Instead, maybe, you’ll fear the guy who can hurt you, the one you can’t stop…the one with his own brand of…injustice.”

  The men fearfully looked at each other, scrambled to their feet, and tried to run away. Blake pulled their legs out from under them and dragged the men behind him with his mind as he walked toward the river.

  “Unfortunately for you, I’ve decided it’s up to me to make scum like you pay when the justice system fails.”

  He threw the men in front of him, sending them rolling down the embankment. Whenever they tried to get back on their feet, he swiped their legs out from under them. Again and again, the men tried to escape his will, but when they reached the river’s edge, their fight had run out.

  The smaller man, Blake noticed, had wet himself. “Are you going to kill us?” he asked.

  Blake froze. What exactly am I going to do with them? Am I going to become a killer? Is that what I want to be? The super villain judge and jury of the ones the system doesn’t deal with? Am I ready to do whatever I must to exact this unique justice Victor keeps talking about? Am I supposed to…kill people?

  If I let these two go, they’ll only go after someone else. I can’t let them hurt any more people…but maybe I don’t have to play executioner today…or at least until I’m ready for that.

  “No,” Blake said. He walked forward, toward the men. They backed up in fear. “Rumor has it that it only takes three minutes to be swept out to sea when the tide is running out of the harbor…which it looks like it’s doing now. So, I leave your fate to the same twisted, cruel misfortune you bring upon others.”

  Blake grabbed them with his power and held them in the air, holding them for a moment. They sniveled and whimpered, terrified of what was to come.

  He smirked. “I hope you can swim. If you survive, I never want to see you again.” Then, he flicked his fingers and flung the men high into the air. Once more they flew in an arc and splashed into the middle of the chaotic, fast-running river. The turbulent outgoing tidal churn caught the men in its mighty power and swept them out to sea—assuming the riptide didn’t drag them under to their death first.

  7 | It's a Different World Now

  Quinn

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE I RESCHEDULED my date with Keegan again to talk to Victor,” Quinn mumbled, pulling his shirt on. The boys had just finished track practice and were dressing after showering. True to his word, Keegan had attended track practice before their date, but Quinn had to disappoint him with an excuse to reschedule in order to meet with Victor Kraze.

  “I’ll make sure you get your date with him tomorrow, and don’t worry, I’ll tell him it was all my fault,” Blake responded, stepping into his pants.

  Quinn rolled his eyes, knowing their powers were infinitely more important than his love life, but his heart felt otherwise. He appreciated Blake’s willingness to take the blame, but he couldn’t help feeling like his best friend was only appeasing him to get at something else. On top of that, Quinn sensed something was different about Blake today; he had a new confidence—or arrogance—Quinn had never experienced before.

  They finished dressing, packed up their gym bags, and headed out to the parking lot where Quinn’s dads’ SUV was parked.

  “Good thing you got the car today.”

  “Yeah, whatever.” Although the car was convenient when he had a lot to carry, today it offered them discreet transportation to meet Victor. Quinn drove them across town and parked at the Button Factory, a renovated mill building that housed over thirty studios for the area’s artists, craftsmen, and sculptors.

  “We’re meeting him here?”

  “That’s what he said. Apparently, he was able to arrange some private space inside. I don’t really know the details.”

  The boys made their way into the building. Just inside, Quinn saw two men in suits, presumably armed, standing near the stairwell. They nodded at Blake. “Gentlemen, third floor to your left please,” one of them said, pointing up the stairs.

  They ascended the stairs as instructed. On the third floor, they found Victor sitting in an art studio with far-out paintings of space and other futuristic imagery.

  “Hello, Blake. Hello, Quinn,” Victor said, standing and offering his hand. He wore the same or a similar black suit, white shirt, and black tie that he wore back in the hospital.

  Quinn shook Victor’s hand and accepted a seat when Victor gestured toward the chairs he had arranged in the small studio.

  “Blake, would you shut the door please?” Victor asked.

  Blake smiled and glanced at the door. A moment later it swung shut and latched.

  Quinn looked at Blake, surprised. I guess we’re not
being shy with our powers anymore, huh?

  Blake shrugged, as if he could read Quinn’s mind.

  “All right, Victor, I’m here. Out with it. I want to know what happened and why you won’t leave us alone.”

  Victor smiled narrowly. “Very well. And while we’re at it, let’s be clear, I know you returned to the facility and explored it again.”

  “Yeah, I know. Blake told me.” Quinn nodded and listened as Victor explained—with a certain element of vagueness—the history of Orgonon and the work Wilhelm Reich started.

  “Everything we’ve done at the Rangeley facility has been to continue developing Wilhelm’s work while effectively downplaying its importance to the rest of the world.”

  “Is that why we can’t find anything about it on the Internet?” Quinn asked.

  “Exactly. We have people who ensure certain information never reaches the public forum or the international intelligence communities.”

  “You keep talking about the Rangeley facility; are there others?” Quinn asked.

  Victor nodded. “Yes, spread throughout New England. There’s one right here in Portsmouth, right under everyone’s nose.”

  “Where?” Blake asked.

  Victor shook his head. “I’m not trying to dangle a carrot; I really can’t tell you right now.”

  Quinn frowned and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “So, what happened to us in the cave?”

  “We’re honestly not sure. We know you triggered a full orgone energy transfer. It took a solid year to build that stockpile up, and you drained it in seconds. As I told Blake, there’s no reason you guys should have been able to survive that level of exposure. And, since Blake brought it up during one of our previous conversations, yes, previous experimentation was conducted on organic tissue, though not with the intent of infusing super human powers.”

  “Are you talking about animal or human organic tissue?” Quinn asked, frowning.

  “Both. Neither survived.”

  “The intent being?” Quinn pressed.

  “Psychological pursuits to open or enhance the power of the mind, but what they theorized about is pebbles when compared to what you’re developing. The animals were used to verify the biological safety of the orgone energy infusion.”