Unidentified Phenomenon

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

Blake entered the destroyed workroom and made his way through the debris to the spot Dr. Madison tried to insert the micro bug into his ex-best friend’s ear. He looked around the mess with his enhanced vision until he spotted the fried micro bug on the floor. He picked it up and studied it. Two of its six legs were missing.

  He scowled at Dr. Madison, who was still sitting on the floor, and walked over to her. She swallowed nervously and looked at up at him.

  “Do I have one of these things in me?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  Reaching out like Darth Vader or Kylo Ren, he grabbed her with his mind and pulled her up from the floor. She clutched at her throat.

  “Do I have one of these things in me?” he repeated, his voice angry and threatening.

  She vehemently shook her head. “No, you don’t have one of those in your head. We didn’t have time to perfect that technology until today. I swear.”

  He lowered her back to the floor and let her go. Then, he walked over to Victor, who was seated in a chair, nursing a bruise to his head with a damp towel.

  Having seen what Blake just did, he shook his head. “You don’t have one of those in you, Blake.”

  “Would you have let Mother Superior put one in me?”

  Victor looked into Blake’s eyes and then looked down. He took a deep breath, scratched his head, and looked at Blake again. “Truthfully, if things hadn’t gone as planned, I might not have had a choice. I wish I had a better answer for you.”

  “Have you ever lied to me?” Blake asked, crushing the micro bug in his fingers.

  “Yes, of course; I’ve had to. In this line of work, the truth is an ambiguous, ever-moving target. It is the nature of The Order to keep its priorities obfuscated so they cannot be discovered by our enemies. That being said, the plans I shared with you have been true and remain in place. It’s only a matter of time before we achieve what we set out to do.”

  “All right.”

  “Where’s your shirt?”

  “Burned it off while fighting Quinn.”

  “Ah, where is he?” Victor asked.

  “I let him go, but I hurt him good.”

  “You what?” Victor exclaimed, trying to stand but succumbing to pain in his left leg.

  Blake saw a shard of silver and black metal sticking out of his thigh. Blake turned to Dr. Madison. “He’s got metal stuck in his leg that you need to look at.”

  Dr. Madison waved. “Okay, I just need a few minutes to clear my head. Is it bleeding?”

  Blake looked back at Victor’s wet, black pant leg. “There’s blood, but I don’t think it’s gushing.”

  “Okay. Leave the metal there, it’s probably keeping him alive. I’ll get to him as soon as I can.”

  “Why did you let him go?” Victor asked, wincing again.

  “Because he’s my friend, Victor. You told me only willing test subjects would undergo the implant process. You told me Mother Superior ordered you to chip Quinn. Did you lie?”

  Victor didn’t flinch; he only shook his head. “No, you’re right. Maybe the guards will…”

  “Come on, your men won’t take him down.”

  “So, we’re letting him go?”

  Blake nodded. “This time, yes.”

  Victor looked around. “You guys really wrecked this place.”

  Blake chuckled. “If you think this is bad, you should see the master control room.”

  Victor’s mouth fell open, the disappointment obvious on his face. “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish I was. Sorry.”

  “Dammit.” He shifted, then he leaned back and looked at Blake. “This isn’t going to go the way you think, back home, you know.”

  Blake frowned, unsure of what Victor meant.

  “It’s going to be awkward at school, it’s going to be awkward on the track team, and your parents aren’t going to understand what’s going on with you, not to mention your job—which by the way, you can quit if you want. We’ll start paying you from here on out and we’ll get you a new place to live immediately. I’ve already got a high-end condo in Kittery picked out for you that I think you’ll love.”

  “Seriously?” Blake asked, intrigued.

  “The world’s first true superhero? Absolutely. We’d be honored to have you on our payroll. If you think about it, you just defeated the world’s first super villain. Not having to work at the coffee shop allows you more time for training and true superhero work.”

  “Cool,” Blake answered, smiling and pushing away curious thoughts regarding Victor’s super villain comment about Quinn.

  “We have to be careful, though. Chief Applegate is extremely loyal to The Order—Mother Superior, specifically. When she finds out the Hegumenia is dead, we’ll frame Quinn, which will lead her to conduct an all-out pursuit. It’s only a matter of time before she gains access to records like your real-world identities and physical addresses.”

  “She doesn’t know who we are?”

  “Not yet. She simply knew that you were a person of interest to Mother Superior and then the world. Then she unexpectedly found herself caught between the competing directives of The Order and that of the DHS.”

  “Why don’t you just bring her up here until things cool off?” Blake asked.

  “It’s too hot right now in Portsmouth; that would be more reactionary than responsive to the situation.”

  Dr. Madison walked over to them and knelt beside Victor. She sucked air between her teeth, suggesting she didn’t like what she saw. “Considering you’re still conscious and talking, I assume the metal shard missed the femoral artery. You’re lucky. I’ll get the supplies I need and we’ll get this taken care of.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  Blake turned and walked toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Somewhere quiet to think.”

  28 | Fallout

  Quinn

  QUINN SULKED AS HE CHANGED course, soaring through the early afternoon sun toward Portsmouth about two miles over the coastline of Maine. In his absentminded sorrow, he had flown east from Rangeley and found himself hovering over Bangor, Maine. Frustrated, he flew southeast until he found the coastline and followed it home. At ten thousand feet, he would be too small to be noticed by the average human eye.

  He wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and cry the day away at his abysmal failure and the apparent loss of his friendship with Blake, but his boss texted as he flew over Portland and begged him to help them out of a dire staff shortage if he felt better. Since his clothing had nearly dried during the flight and it wasn’t ripped or burnt, he decided to head straight for work. He kept an extra T-shirt stashed there so he’d be all set with a clean uniform shirt.

  Ahead of him, a Cessna Skyhawk airplane toured the coastline, so he flew higher and passed over it, remembering how he took Blake on his first flight less than ten hours ago. He took a deep breath and wiped tears from his eyes.

  I thought my whole world had changed several weeks ago, but today, it’s completely changed again—but for the worse. If we had never stumbled into that damn cave, none of this would be going on and we’d be enjoying our normal teenage lives. This is going to be a mess at school and when my dads figure out we’ve stopped hanging out…at least they already know we’re fighting…still…

  ❖

  Quinn sighed and served the next customer, a thirty-something Hispanic woman with straight brown hair and striking, brown-mahogany eyes that lingered on his person long enough for him to notice her stare.

  “Can I get your name for the order?” Quinn asked, pen in hand. He smiled at her.

  She appeared stunned by his question for a moment, but quickly composed herself. She answered him, her spoken English flavored with a Spanish accent. “My name is Ana María.” It rolled off her tongue with grace and elegance.

  Quinn wrote her name down on the slip. “Okay, meet you at the cash register and I’ll get your order in.” She nodded at him and they walked to the registers,
each on their own side of the counter. He could sense something around him with his mind, but it wasn’t Blake. It was like Blake’s presence in his mind when they were close, but different…subdued…refined...hidden.

  He glanced up at the front of the store and sighed as he waited for the machine to authorize her credit card and print out the receipt. A long line of customers extended out the door. Three people had called in sick and Quinn felt guilty about having lied, especially since his mission had failed. The register finished printing and Quinn handed Ana María her receipt.

  “I’ll be seeing you soon,” she answered, winking at him.

  “What?” Quinn asked, frowning with confusion.

  She smiled at him. “I just moved back to town and this was my favorite coffee shop. It still is, so I will be back.”

  “Oh, okay, cool. Welcome back to Portsmouth.”

  She winked at him again and made her way to the beverage pickup station.

  Quinn made his way to the next customer with Cassie on his heels. He looked over and saw the most beautiful face smiling back at him. Quinn blushed, the corner of his mouth curling upward. He tapped Cassie on the shoulder. “I'm taking the cute guy this time,” he said softly.

  Cassie, who also went to Portsmouth High, glanced at the cute guy then looked at Quinn with amusement in her eyes and asked, “He was your Homecoming date right?”

  Quinn nodded. “Yup.”

  “He’s all yours.”

  When Quinn approached Keegan, his growing smile threatened to split his face in two. “Hi,” he managed to say, his heart pounding in his chest. The lights in the shop flicked a little. He is just so cute!

  “Hi, handsome,” Keegan said, checking out the flickering lights and then winking at him. “Could I please get a mocha latte and a mocha-couple-hours for later?”

  “A what?” Quinn asked, taken aback.

  “I'm asking you out on a date, silly.”

  “Do it,” the elderly woman behind Keegan said, smiling at them both.

  Quinn nodded. “Yeah, definitely.”

  “Great! How about I pick you up around seven? Does that work?”

  “Yeah, I should be done here by 5:30. That should give me enough time to get home and shower.”

  Keegan smiled at him. “Excellent.”

  “Be right back with your latte,” Quinn said, his feelings raised at Keegan’s invitation.

  “You boys are so lucky. Back in my day…” the woman explained to Keegan, but her voice became lost to Quinn in the busyness of the coffee shop as he walked to the coffee machines.

  When Quinn finished preparing Keegan’s latte, he met him at the register and said, “Here, this one’s on me.”

  Keegan winked at him and smiled. “Thanks, handsome. Can you handle a surprise?”

  “Yeah,” Quinn said, butterflies jumping in his stomach as he drank in Keegan’s smile. As long as your surprise has nothing to do with a maniacal secret order.

  “I’m taking you out to dinner tonight, but the surprise is where, so bring your appetite. Also, if you picked out a cute and adorable outfit for our date, that would be most appreciated.”

  “Okay,” Quinn said, the words making his sad heart happy.

  “Okay, gotta run. Pick you up at seven, handsome.”

  “Bye, Keegan,” Quinn said, waving awkwardly with his hand.

  He watched Keegan leave, then noticed someone on his left side watching him with great interest. He turned to see his boss, Matt, staring at him. He stepped forward and softly asked, “Am I to understand that you’ve come out of the closet?”

  Quinn blushed and smiled. “Yeah, I did.”

  “Great! Congratulations!” Matt said, offering his right hand, which Quinn accepted and shook. “We’ll celebrate later because right now there’s still a huge line of thirsty customers. Thanks so much for coming in. I owe you one.”

  Quinn chuckled and pointed knowingly at his boss. “I’ll hold you to that.” He turned and walked over to the next customer, hoping the smile on his face lasted until the end of his shift.

  ❖

  When the rush died, Matt let the extra staff, including Quinn, leave early. Quinn headed home and absentmindedly walked into the living room. He sat alone in the center of one of the couches, suddenly consumed by thoughts and emotions of grief bubbling up over the loss of his best friend. In his chest, somewhere deep in his being, he felt a pain and agony he had never experienced before, and it hurt—a lot.

  “Whoa, are you okay, Quinn?” Dad asked, standing in the doorway, holding a file folder full of paperwork.

  Quinn glanced at Dad, who had a very concerned look about him. “I…” Quinn looked up and tried to speak, but his voice cracked and caught in his throat as sorrowful tears streamed down his face.

  “Oh my gosh, Quinn,” Dad said, tossing the file folder onto the coffee table. He rushed to his son’s side and sat next to him on the couch.

  There was nothing Quinn could do to stop the flood of tears and emotions that erupted from his heart and soul. Quinn leaned into his father’s embrace and sobbed inconsolably. Angst, anxiety, stress, and loss poured out of him as he trembled and cried in his dad’s arms.

  Fifteen minutes later, Quinn’s body relaxed and his breathing returned to normal. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, allowing his mind to compose itself. His dad’s hand gently stroked his back.

  “Do you feel better?” Dad asked.

  Quinn nodded and wiped his eyes dry.

  “What have you been carrying around, son?” Dad asked. Quinn saw Daddio had entered the living room and sat on the edge of the coffee table.

  “Hey, kiddo,” Daddio said, smiling at him.

  Quinn wiped his wet face with his hands. “Blake and I had a pretty serious fight. I think…” His voice wavered, but he held onto his emotions. “I don’t think we’re friends anymore.” He felt the emotions twist his face with sadness as a few more tears rolled down his cheeks.

  “Oh, Quinn, I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

  Quinn shook his head. “I can’t really get into it right now.”

  “Why not?”

  Quinn laughed through tears. “Well, Keegan asked me out on a date tonight and I have to get ready. Can I talk to you guys about it tomorrow?” This will give me more time to think about what and how I explain what’s been going on with us.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Daddio said, relieved. Quinn and Dad looked at him with interest.

  Daddio noticed their awkward glances. “I mean, I’m sorry about Blake but I honestly thought Keegan had done something stupid and broke your heart. Not that, uh, well, I guess Blake did that, didn’t he?”

  Quinn feigned a smile. “Yeah, he did.”

  “I know it feels horrible right now, but if your friendship is strong enough, you’ll be hanging out soon enough,” Dad said, giving his shoulders a gentle squeeze.

  “Yeah, I hope you’re right.”

  “You good for now? I mean, are you sure you want to go on a date tonight feeling crappy about Blake?”

  Quinn nodded. “I need the distraction. What else am I going to do, hang around here all night and sulk?”

  “Well,” Daddio said, waving his hand dramatically. “I guess we’ve been told we’re boring.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Uh-huh,” Daddio responded, winking.

  “I hope you plan on showering before you go out with your boy; you smell like sad teenager and burnt coffee,” Dad said.

  Quinn burst into laughter with his dads and shook his head, realizing that no matter what would happen in the future, they would have his back.

  ❖

  Blake

  A tiny amount of invisible energy in the reactor core swirled around him, the main process of collection and conversion halted for the time being. The fight he had with Quinn in the master control room that tripped the sprinkler system short-circuited and damaged several consoles, key systems, and electrical wiring that op
erated the energy conversion process. At the moment, no energy flowed through the eight conduits.

  Blake sat in the center of the metal disk that had elevated and infused him and Quinn with orgone, forever changing and complicating their lives. He knew Quinn would never see justice for the world the way he did, but he couldn’t figure out why his best-friend had to be such a pain in the ass about it. On the other hand, he never felt more himself than when he stood up for the cause he believed in.

  The door to the vintage control room creaked open, and Victor peeked inside. “Mind if I join you?”

  “Sure,” Blake said, looking up.

  Victor hobbled in, sporting a cane to help him walk. “Dr. Madison expects I’ll make a full recovery in a few weeks, so that’s good.”

  “What do you really want, Victor?” Blake asked, cutting through the awkwardness.

  Victor chuckled and leaned against one of the walls. “Straight to the point, I like it. I came to check on you, to make sure you’re okay. A lot happened today.”

  “I’ll be fine. It’s just gonna take a day or two for me to get through it.”

  “And at school? At track practice?”

  “Everyone will think we had a big fight, that’s all. I’m not about to explain any of this and I know Quinn isn’t going to either.”

  “I’d expect him not to.”

  “How are you going to train me? It’s not like I can come up here every week.”

  Victor looked around the old chamber. “I’ve put some thought into that. I admire your willingness to finish high school and I want you to know I’m committed to securing your education and your training for The Order. The Rangeley facility is toast right now; your fight with Quinn took out a large number of relays and other sensitive electronics that will take months to repair or replace.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Hey, it could have been worse.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  “Not really. I actually estimated Rangeley would be a complete loss if you two got in a fight. The fact that the reactor is intact and the facility can be repaired is a bonus.”

  Blake nodded. “That’s good, I guess.”

  “It is! But for now, to accommodate repairs and ongoing work, I’m transferring myself, operations, and the entire staff to the Portsmouth facility.”