Unidentified Phenomenon

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  Laughing, he rolled, soared, and executed various tricks in the air, always bringing himself back to level flight. His super vision provided clarity of sight and he saw the earth beneath him in exquisite detail.

  And then, far in the distance, he saw the faintest hint of a blue light.

  Quinn!

  Blake accelerated and tried to catch up, only to find himself pulled downward.

  No, I have to get to Quinn…

  “Quinn!” he shouted!

  He fell—no, he was pulled—to the ground.

  Come on, dammit, fly!

  He shut his eyes and screamed when the ground rushed up to meet him, expecting a painful end.

  ❖

  Blake screamed and sat up, his eyes blinking at the bright overhead lights. Nearby, people gasped and cried out in surprise.

  Out of breath and struggling to breathe, he clutched his chest, his hand slapping something plastic. He looked down and examined his body. He was shirtless on a medical bed. A white cotton sheet covered his legs and waist. Several electrodes and sensors—one of the plastic things—ran from his torso to various medical equipment next to the bed he sat on.

  “Where am I?” he asked, his eyes noticing motion nearby. He looked around and recognized the white walls of the workroom.

  Dr. Madison stood and walked over to the right side of the bed. “Hi, Blake, you’re still with us here at the Orgonon facility.”

  “What happened?”

  “What do you remember?”

  “I…I was…finishing running…no, I had just climbed out of”—he craned his neck and pointed at the titanium heating chamber—“that thing when…Mother Superior had her men jump me.”

  “Right,” Dr. Madison said, giving him a look that encouraged him to continue.

  “And then they tased me and I blacked out. How long ago was that?”

  “That was Saturday around lunch time. It’s Sunday afternoon.”

  “Wow. So, what happened after I blacked out?”

  “The electrical taser reacted with you in a manner similar to the defibrillator we used on you and Quinn in the hospital after your hearts stopped beating. Only this time, the reaction was much stronger—I assume that’s because your powers are much stronger now, but we can’t be sure.”

  Blake raised his right hand and willed it to ignite.

  It did.

  Thank goodness for that.

  He put out the flames with his mind and then flung the white sheet off him.

  “Oh, sorry,” he exclaimed, frantically pulling the sheet back over his nakedness.

  “I’m a doctor. I’ve seen all that before,” she said, chuckling. She reached over to a side table and handed him a set of folded boxer briefs, gray sweatpants and a matching gray T-shirt, white socks, and a new pair of running sneakers.”

  “Go ahead and get dressed, I’ll let Victor know…”

  “No, don’t,” Blake said, turning his back to Dr. Madison as he dressed, pulling on the boxer briefs and sweatpants.

  “I need to know what happened after I blacked out. I have to know what Mother Superior wants with me.”

  “There are cameras in here, Blake. If Victor is watching, he’ll know you’re awake.”

  The implant…

  The memory slammed into Blake’s mind and he glared at Dr. Madison. “I heard something about an implant.” He turned around to face her, holding his T-shirt out in front of him.

  Dr. Madison’s left eyebrow raised with surprise and curiosity. Blake felt the back of his head and neck with his hands for signs of stitches or a band aid. “Did you put an implant in me?”

  With her left hand, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she shook her head and sighed. “No, thankfully. You should know I disagreed with her mandate, but I’m sworn to follow her instructions. If I refused, they simply would have brought in someone else to try.”

  “So, you didn’t do it?” He pulled the T-shirt over his head and then put on his socks.

  “Oh, believe me, I tried. However, I couldn’t pierce your skin with a needle or scalpel. That brought the plan to a staggering halt. You’re lucky.”

  Blake nodded. “Tell me what else happened.”

  “Of course. The discharge that emanated from your body knocked us all off our feet. It took us a few minutes to process what happened—and to realize you didn’t get up. Needless to say, Mother Superior was not happy and she’s changing the plans.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked, standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Sorry, that’s more of an assumption than known fact on my part. What I do know is that Victor is in hot water, but none of us really know why. There are many layers of secrets in The Order, as you’ll come to find out.”

  “People better level with me if they want my help.”

  “It’s not your help they want, Blake, it’s your abilities. That said, they’ll take your help for now.”

  “What does that mean?” he asked, echoing his previous question. I think it’s time I got out of here for a couple of days. I need to figure out how.

  The door to the workroom slid open and Victor stepped inside the large room. “Blake! Glad to see you’re awake.”

  “You’ve got some explaining to do,” he snapped, gritting his teeth.

  Victor took a deep breath and nodded. “Indeed, I do.”

  “Is Mother Superior going to make an appearance?”

  “No, she’s not here today. She um…do you know what happened?” he walked in and approached where Blake and Dr. Madison were speaking. The doctor returned to her desk so they could speak.

  “Yeah, she ordered her goons to tase me and it backfired, knocking all of you on your ass.”

  Victor chuckled. “Indeed, well, she’s got a nice bruise on her backside that’s going to be sore for a few days. I’m sure she’ll have kind thoughts for you whenever she sits down.” Then, he gestured with his hand that Blake should follow him. “Come to my office, bud, we have lots to discuss.”

  “I think that needs to wait, Victor.”

  “Oh?”

  “For starters, your people turned on me and tased me. If that’s not enough, it’s Sunday afternoon and I need to get home. People are going to wonder where the hell I am.”

  “By people, you mean…?”

  Blake looked at him with annoyance. “I’m in high school, Victor, so people means my parents and my boss, for starters. Eventually the school will take notice, too; I can’t keep taking days away from school and work, even though I really want to.”

  “What about Quinn?” Victor asked, regarding Blake with intense curiosity.

  “Sure, he’s people, too, but we both know he’s already figured out where I am.”

  “You could have a much better life within The Order, Blake. Let's face it, it's not like your mother and father are not doing the best to parent you.”

  Blake became irritated. “It's one thing for me to talk about my dysfunctional parents, but it’s another for you to speak ill of them.”

  Victor raised his hands in surrender. “Fair enough, I apologize for crossing the line. I only want what's best for you and I think you could do so much for us.”

  “Victor, I have to finish school. Even you shouldn’t want a high school dropout with super powers running around.”

  The man nodded. “You have a point, Blake. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself; I haven’t been in school for some time and I forget what it’s like.”

  “Besides,” Dr. Madison interjected, not looking up from her workstation, “He's a smart kid. Don't you dare let that mind go to waste, Victor. Educate him.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Victor said, smirking. “Okay then, I suppose we could get you back home soon.”

  “I’ll run,” Blake said. “I’m probably faster than a car these days.”

  “It’s about one-hundred and eighty miles from here to Portsmouth,” Victor said, turning to Dr. Madison. “How fast did he run?”

  “Two
-minute miles.” She punched numbers into the calculator on her desk. “Unless you can go faster, it will take you almost six hours to run home, I hope you’re up for that.”

  “Nope,” Blake said. “I’ll take the car, but, I can spare an hour to talk.”

  “Great,” Victor said, smiling. “Let’s go, it’s time I told you everything. I want you to understand what’s at stake.”

  18 | Shifting Priorities

  Quinn

  DO I TELL THEM? CAN I trust them with my secret? Do I want to put them in that kind of danger? I’ve read enough comics to know how this goes—the more people who know a superhero’s identity, the more they become involved and their lives become unnecessarily complicated and dangerous.

  “Earth to Quinn, come back,” Ravone said, snapping her fingers.

  “Oh, sorry, I’m just distracted today.”

  “Worried about Blake? It’s okay, I am, too.”

  “Yeah, we haven’t talked since Thursday night and it’s like he’s off-the-grid,” Quinn lied, making up an excuse for Blake’s absence.

  “It would have been nice to see him at Homecoming,” she commented, sighing.

  “He wouldn’t have asked you, Ravone. Sorry,” Quinn said softly.

  “A girl can dream, right? That’s not going to stop me from trying.”

  Oh boy. This isn't going to end well. Quinn smiled. “Of course.”

  “Hey, you two,” Loren said, walking to their spot. “It’s getting too cold in the mornings; we have to find a spot in the cafeteria to meet up.”

  In the distance, Quinn spotted Keegan stepping out of his dad’s car. He smiled as his heart became filled with warm fuzzies.

  “Hopefully our usual table is free,” Ravone commented. “At this point, we might have to take what’s left.

  “Maybe we should go scope out the situation in a few minutes to see what’s available,” Loren suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  Tracing Quinn’s gaze to Keegan, Ravone smirked. “Your man didn’t ride his longboard today?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Apparently not.”

  Appearing behind Keegan, Darien, Kyle, and Tony trudged to school, but they didn’t appear threatening. A moment later, Quinn winced at the sensation of Blake’s proximity.

  Finally.

  “There he is,” Ravone said, crossing her legs and resting her elbow on her knee and her head on her hand. She longingly gazed at Blake as he pedaled to the bike stand to lock up his bike. “Gosh, he’s so handsome.”

  Quinn ignored her as Keegan approached, a wide grin on his face as he and Keegan stared into each other’s eyes. Quinn couldn’t hold back a broad smile as Keegan stepped in front of him.

  “Good morning, handsome,” Keegan said.

  Oh, he’s going to kiss me.

  Keegan bent down and placed a small kiss on Quinn’s lip, then stood upright. Quinn noted the beaming smiles on Ravone and Loren’s faces.

  “Hey, faggots, I brought you coffee,” Darien yelled. Then, he wound his arm back and threw his paper coffee cup at Quinn and Keegan. Ravone and Loren screamed and covered their faces.

  I’ve got this. Quinn stood, focused on the flying cup, and reached out for it. He caught it and spun around, carefully redirecting the cup’s inertia around him, so it didn’t explode and make a mess when it hit his hand.

  “Thanks, Darien, it’s my favorite flavor,” Quinn called out, smiling and triumphantly holding the coffee cup.

  “What the hell, Darien?” Keegan exclaimed, stunned. Darien look at him, dumbfounded. Then, he turned to Quinn and asked, “How did you do that?”

  “Talent or athleticism, take your pick.” Quinn quipped.

  Blake stormed toward Darien, who fumbled an apology when he saw the rage in Blake’s eyes.

  “Why are you always such a dick to him?” Blake roared, dropping his backpack on the ground and pulling up the sleeves of his jacket.

  “Blake, stop!” Quinn called out. “Look, I’m okay, there’s no mess. We’re good.” The last thing we need is a super-powered beat down before school.

  Blake stopped short as Darien raised his fists in defense. Kyle and Tony raised their fists but backed away. They seemed too stunned and not awake enough to muster the courage to fight an angry Blake.

  Blake reached out and grabbed Darien by the front of his letterman jacket, moving a little faster than he should have in public. “You pull another stunt like that and I will make you suffer, do you hear me, Darien?”

  “Fuck off, Blake,” Darien screamed, trying to wrestle free from Blake’s strong grasp.

  “Leave him alone!” Blake snarled, pushing Darien backward, knocking him to the ground. Then he said to Kyle and Tony, “Get him out of here.”

  Students gawked, but no teacher saw what happened.

  Quinn ran over to Blake. “You need to stop, buddy. Thanks for defending my honor, but please stop right now.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Blake snapped, glaring at him for a moment. Then, he turned and walked back to his backpack.

  Quinn followed him and lowered his voice. “Everyone’s staring at you. Stop before something happens.”

  “What are you all looking at?” Blake yelled, spreading his arms out, palms up, while looking around at his curious schoolmates. They looked away and continued about their business.

  “We need to talk,” Blake said, picking up his backpack. “I’ll meet you in the library at our usual table during our free period.”

  “Um, okay,” Quinn said, pleasantly surprised at Blake’s invitation to talk. “I’m all for that. I miss you.”

  “Yup,” Blake said, turning away from Quinn and walking into the school building.

  Quinn shook his head and walked back to his friends.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Ravone asked.

  “I have no idea, but he’s pissed off at the world today. I wonder if something happened at home.” Or at Rangeley, if he was with Victor.

  “I don’t know what you see in him,” Loren said to Ravone. “The boy has a ton of unresolved anger issues, and that rarely plays out well in a relationship. He’s only going to hurt you, one way or the other.”

  “But he’s so dreamy,” Ravone protested. “Those eyes, that hair…”

  “That violent temper,” Loren said flatly.

  “Blake certainly has his moments,” Quinn said. “He wants to talk later, so I’ll find out what’s going on, I hope.”

  “Do you want company?” Keegan asked.

  Quinn looked up at him and smiled. “I think I better do this one-on-one, but believe me, I’d love to spend more time with you.”

  “Maybe later, then,” Keegan said, smiling. “I’m gonna go in and get ready for my first class. I gotta swap some books at my locker.”

  Kiss him.

  “Okay, I’ll see you later.” Quinn stepped forward, locking eyes with Keegan, who smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

  “Get a room,” Ravone said.

  They laughed together as Keegan walked into the school.

  ❖

  Blake

  Blake walked into the library and made his way around the stacks to the table he usually studied at with Quinn. His best friend was already there, pulling books out of his backpack to make it look like they were studying together.

  “Thanks for agreeing to talk with me,” Blake said.

  “No problem,” Quinn said flatly. “What did you want to talk about? Will you tell me where you’ve been? We missed you at Homecoming.”

  “You know where I’ve been,” Blake answered, his voice a bit terser then he intended.

  “With Victor?”

  “Yeah, I went back to Rangeley this weekend to help them out.”

  “Help them out? Uh, okay…” Quinn’s brow wrinkled with suspicion, and Blake knew he wanted more details. “Basically, I did running tests, some heat and fire stuff, and then it all went to shit.” He explained how Mother Superior showed up and ordered her guards to stun hi
m when she felt Victor wasn’t moving fast enough.

  “Wait, a taser can take us out?”

  “Apparently so.” Blake explained how the electrical shock was similar to the defibrillator experience in the hospital that Dr. Madison had told them about. “And by the way, Dr. Madison works for Victor.”

  Quinn rubbed his eyes. “Wow, this keeps getting more complicated. What happened next?”

  “I don’t really know. I was unconscious for about a day before I woke up and got some questions answered. At one point, I think I regained consciousness for a few seconds, though. I remember hearing them talk about trying to put some kind of control chip in me, but Dr. Madison said she couldn’t cut into my skin.”

  “This is scary stuff, Blake. Are you sure you want to work for these people?”

  “They couldn’t do it, Quinn, so it’s not a big deal.”

  “But what if they could have? What if there’s a chip in you right now and you don’t know it? You have no idea what it does. You called it a control chip, but does that mean it can control you, neutralize your powers, or track you like a GPS?”

  “It’s not in me and I don’t know. It doesn’t matter right now.”

  “Wait, why did they make a control chip in the first place?”

  “They want to create others like us, but they want to be able to control them should they get out of hand.”

  Quinn’s eyes widened with horror. “They want to make more super-powered people? Are you kidding me Blake? That cannot happen!”

  “Would you just shut up and listen? There’s more.”

  Quinn frowned. “Fine.”

  “Before I came home last night, Victor pulled me into his office and told me about Mother Superior’s real plan. Well, I mean, The Order’s plan. Our accidental awakening set them back significantly. Their Archimandrate is pissed and the investors or whoever else is forcing Mother Superior to accelerate their plans.

  “Their Archi-what?

  “It’s the title of the person over Mother Superior. It’s like a regional director.”

  “Uh, okay. Plans for what?”

  “They’re going to do some kind of mega-fusion reaction—don’t ask me to explain it—but it will supercharge the reactor in a fraction of the time. It’s experimental, though; if it backfires, it will leave a crater where the facility sits today. They don’t want to test the procedure on one of their newer, more expensive and state-of-the-art facilities. If it’s successful, it gives them the practical knowledge they need to adapt the tech at the other facilities, so they can speed up the orgone collection process.”