Hero Least Likely Series (Book 2): Van Houten Rising

by Michelinie, Jessica

  “You look like a retired Uncle.” I tell her as we head down the street towards the subway stop. Luckily we avoid attention from the public as we take the hour long train ride back to Brooklyn. When we arrive on my block I make sure to keep my head low and my cap covering my face. With Alex’s hand in mine, I pull her into an alley about five hundred feet away from my apartment building.

  “Climb on,” I motion for her to jump onto my back. Once she’s secure, I use magnetic blasts to take us up the side the of the building, swinging back and forth between opposite fire escapes until we reach the roof. I keep carrying her as I vault us across the space between each roof. I can hear Alex yelping with each jump I take. I think she really doesn’t like heights.

  We reach the roof of my building and let her climb off of my back.

  “Whew,” She whoops, “I don’t ever really want to do that again.”

  Laughing, I open the door and lead us down the staircase to the fourth floor. When we reach my apartment and I unlock the door, I feel an overwhelming sense of comfort and nostalgia hit me. It’s only been a week since the last time I was home, but honestly it feels like a lifetime.

  “Hey, it’s us.” I call, shutting the door and locking it behind me.

  Casey pops her head out from my bedroom. In a rare show of affection, she runs over to me and embraces me in a bone-crushing hug. “I didn’t miss you or anything,” She assures me. “I’ve just been sleeping in your bed because it’s more comfortable than the couch.”

  “Right, right.” I tease her, returning her embrace. I begin removing my disguise, folding up Rob’s clothes and sticking them in a pile on the couch. I nod down at my Metalia outfit and Casey looks it up and down, examining it closely.

  “Cool,” She finally decides. “So, when do I get one?”

  I ignore Casey and pull the hood up on my costume. My mask is missing, but since I’ve already been revealed to the world, I’m going to leave it behind for today. “Where’s Shia?”

  “Outside with your fan club giving me the details.” Casey nods to the living room window. I jog over and take a look down. What I see brings is a wide, uncontrollable smile to my face. Shia is in the center of a crowd of at least fifty people, some with signs like she described yesterday. I can’t hear her, but it looks like she’s yelling as she twirls around trying to communicate with everyone. “Good. Okay. Um, well, this is it. I’m heading out now. Comms are on, and... I’ll keep in touch.”

  I lean over and give Alex a long kiss. But, not too long. Not like ‘last kiss’ long. “Feel free to borrow some of my clothes, Ave Ventura.” I murmur into her lips. I can hear Casey gagging behind me.

  As I end the kiss and head towards my bedroom, I give Casey a passing pat on the shoulder. “Alright, folks. See you soon.” With that, I throw open my bedroom window and climb out onto the fire escape. It feels strange being in costume without my mask, but it’s getting easier by the second. I’m Marie Carter and Metalia. And now that the world knows, what’s the point in hiding?

  I dive downward from the fire escape and blast to a parked eighteen-wheeler sticking out of the alleyway beneath my window. From the truck, I zip over to a bus shelter, use it as a jumping-off point, and fly up to the top of the streetlight above 3rd Ave. Now all I’ve got to do is draw out Van Houten.

  I jump down to the street directly in front of the entrance to Prospect Park, the biggest park in Brooklyn. I’ve got to make sure I’m seen. I levitate up to the top of a gated archway and look down at the city below. People are quickly starting to take notice of the costumed woman looking down at them, and many are starting to recognize me. I hear the name ‘Metalia’ a few times by passers-by, also ‘that crazy lady’, and ‘the failed superhero.’ All valid.

  Like I hoped, phones start coming out, and before I knot it, my own busted-up phone is suddenly chirping at me letting me know I have a slew of oncoming Twitter mentions. Good. I’m sure Van Houten is surveilling me somehow and it should be anytime now that he notices I’m out and about. And I’m definitely not hiding anymore.

  A crowd has started to gather, not super close to me but hanging around the perimeter and around the park edge. Finally, that nasally, unpleasant voice fills my ears.

  “Wow. You really are stupider than I thought. That, or just very masochistic.” Van Houten is behind me somehow, probably having flown with the jetpack. I turn around where I stand and hop off of the gate to stand before him.

  “I’m not afraid of you, Tate.” I tell him forcefully. And for the first time since I met this slimeball, it’s true.

  “No? Not even a little?!” His hands suddenly shoot towards me and a blast of concussive energy flies in my direction. Unfortunately for him, my response time is faster. I throw my own magnetic blast towards him and the two energy collide into each other without hitting either of us.

  “Perhaps you should be, little girl.” He’s meandering slowly towards me. I was under the impression you had learned your lesson, learned to stay in your place like a good dog, but I suppose I was wrong!” He stands still for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest and I hear him muttering something to himself. Then, on cue, a wave of his statue-like cronies start to come out of the woodwork. They come out from behind trees, from around the fence, from across the street, from inside the park. They must have all been cops with Van Houten gear on duty. I see how he controls them now: with just a verbal command. Well that’ll make things far too easy.

  I shoot a blast downwards at the ground to push me up into the air and grab on to the top of a stoplight. I pull myself up and perch on the thick metal beam. “Last chance, Tate. Let them go.”

  “I think... not!” He declares, sounding very much as if he should be twirling his mustache about now.

  “Alright, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I push my comms earpiece further into my ear. “Guys? C’mon down.” I can hear them approaching from around the block behind me, marching all together. Now that’s the sound of an army. I look over my shoulder and I gotta admit it’s an emotional sight.

  With Alex, Shia, and Casey in front leading the charge, a crowd of almost a hundred people come around the corner. Behind them is even my super-hero squad fanclub. I spot The Masked Avenger and his pals all marching into view. I push the ‘talk’ button on my comms earpiece again. “Alright, Winter Warrior, Nitehawk, Firestarter, you’re up. Remember, distract him and he loses control of his soldiers. Get the helmets off and pull out the interior controls.”

  “You got it, boss.” I hear Shia confirm. I turn back around to face Van Houten and though his helmet covers his face, I’m pretty sure he’s totally dumbfounded. He’s got maybe fifty officers behind him while I’ve got an army of citizens.

  As soon as the crowd sees their target, they charge forward in a run. Shia, Casey, Alex, and I all focus on the ringleader. From my perch, I send a relentless stream of magnetic blasts down at Tate, trying desperately to keep his attention on me. The less focused he is on his army, the less control he’s got over them.

  I watch Shia and Casey dart over to an alleyway and start to throw whatever they can at our target. I see cans, bottles, even a chair flying through the air towards him. I use my powers to lift up a pothole lid from the ground next to him and swing it mercilessly into his side. That damn suit is near impenetrable, though. His in particular might be stronger than the rest.

  He dodges my last hit and jetpacks up into the air. Now it’s my job to keep him grounded. He’s flying towards me, careening, almost at impact–

  I grab onto his boots and we both go tumbling down to the ground from about thirty feet up. It staggers both of us for a moment, but I manage to wrestle with him for a few moments. Out of the corner of my eye I see the suited cops suddenly stop in their attack, looking around at each other in confusion.

  Then, one of our guys is tugging at one of the helmets, yanking it off and tossing it away. Just like I’d hoped, it works! The officer looks confused for a moment, looking down at her
hands, and then at the crowd and the park all around her. A conversion to our team. Score!

  Okay, gotta focus on Tate whose fists keep flying at my face and only missing by centimeters. “You... can’t... control... everything!” I say to him, punctuating each word with a kick to his chest, side, and neck.

  Dazed, he lands on the ground on his stomach and I hear him muttering something again. The officer closest to us is suddenly charging at me, his suited hands connecting around my neck and pushing me into the trunk of a tree. Ow. He holds me there as I kick and struggle in his grasp. Shit–need–air–

  The officer’s helmet is lifted away and he looks horrified with himself. He lets me go and turns away, looking down at his hands. Behind him my savior, Casey, smirks up at me. “So, seriously, when can I join the family business?”

  “Survive today and then we’ll talk promotions.” I assure her, sending a blast at Van Houten as I see him getting away from a group of six or seven people chasing him.

  He’s pretty thoroughly distracted now having to worry about not getting hit in the head with a barrage of rocks from our army. I have a feeling the suit’s power is located in the chest plate. If only I can get his off of him and disable the strength augments...

  I sprint towards him, elbowing a Van Houten soldier in the face on my way. No, no, he’s firing up that stupid jetpack. Instead of tiring myself out by continuing to run after him, I hold both of my hands out and aim for his receding back. I fire a stream of magnetic energy and hope my aim is true.

  Success! My stream hits him square in the back and keeps him from flying any further. “Hey, where ya going, buddy?! We’re not finished, yet!” I’m straining hard to keep him from moving. I hunker down, widening my stance and kicking one leg out against a nearby tree. I pull harder and harder, my muscles shaking with tension.

  “Ngghhh,” I grunt, gritting my teeth so hard it feels like they might shatter. Suddenly Alex is on my left and Shia on my right. They hold me in place as I keep pulling the stream closer... and... closer.

  I give it my all, my absolute strength, and yank him down, hard. He tumbles down about twenty feet to the ground, knocking into a massive tree on his way down. He lands about ten feet away, and despite how goddamn tired my arms are, I sprint towards him. Before he can get up, I sent another magnetic blast down at him, keeping him attached to the ground.

  We did it. Holy fucking shit, I can’t believe we did it. I’m almost laughing as I approach him, using one hand to ensure that my energy blankets him. I bend down next to him and pull the front chestplate off. The rest of the suit flickers slightly and its shininess is suddenly gone. I grab at Van Houten’s helmet and toss it aside.

  Beneath it, he’s sweaty and pale, his wild green eyes roaming around energetically.

  Man, how can someone who cleans up in a tux so well look so homicidal. It’s like he can turn it on and off.

  “You. You ruined everything, Marie. If you had just stayed put, just stayed in your corner like I told you to the first time we met!”

  First time? The first time we met he had no idea who I was. He was just trying to flirt with me at the bar. Hold on a second. I suddenly have a very strange and uncomfortable feeling. That’s not Tate Van Houten beneath me.

  “You’re not Tate.” I mutter.

  “Very good, hero! Brains AND brawn, huh?”

  “You’re his twin. You’re Tate’s brother. But, why? Are you... you’re working together, aren’t you?”

  “Jackson Van Houten. My name is Jackson!” He snaps at me like a dog. I push the energy down harder on him, just in case. “Our parents left me nothing, nothing! Bullied genius Tate received everything... And what do I get? Second fiddle to the most successful man on the planet! I saved him, I protected him! After all these years–”

  “You’re trying to sabotage his business. After you saved him in high school. Jesus, you’re a crappy sibling to have. Why are you like this, dude?”

  “He NEEDS me!” Van Houten hisses at me. I’m losing patience.

  “Needs you? He’s like the richest guy on the planet right now. He doesn’t need you for anything. Ah, I see. So that’s why you are how you are. Yeah, yeah I get it. You’re the bad twin. Alright, show’s over.”

  When the cops arrive, Jackson is hauled away like any other common criminal, and that, for some reason, gives me more pleasure than it should. Reporters and spectators start swarming the area, but this time... I stick around.

  “Marie! Marie! Will you continue your crime fighting career now that the world knows your secret identity?!”

  “Do you have any plans to retire soon?”

  “Are you working in an official capacity with the NYPD, Marie?”

  With a facefull of microphones, my mouth opens and closes a number of times. I don’t really know what to say. Before I can make a fool of myself, Alex steps in front of me and shields me from their endless questions. “Marie will be taking questions at a press conference later this evening. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  “Press conference?” I murmur to her out of the side of my mouth.

  “Oh yeah. You want to fix your tarnished reputation? Press conference is the way to go.”

  Shia and Casey run up to us a few moments later, both looking a little battered and bruised, but otherwise safe. I feel almost silly now thinking that they would hurt themselves if they were ever involved in crime fighting. Clearly, they can take care of themselves as well as I can.

  “That... was awesome.” Casey says, looking really keyed up. She turns to Shia and high fives her with a whoop of excitement. “And I feel like I could eat a whole pizza to myself right about now.”

  “Oh man, don’t say pizza. Now I really, really want pizza.” I sigh.

  “Ah ah ah. Press conference first.” Alex reminds me. An unfortunately short hour and a half later, we’re standing on the side of a small makeshift stage right outside of City Hall.

  Press conference. Yikes. I had a really hard time with public speaking class in high school and I haven’t had much practice since then. I let out a long shaky breath and try to swipe off any remaining dust and grime from my outfit.

  The Mayor of NYC is on stage with a few other lieutenants from NYPD, including Alex. Man, they set this thing up quick. I guess there’s been a lot of tension with the bridge attack and my identity being revealed and all that. They probably just want to get this over and done with as soon as possible. And there’s my cue. No going back now.

  I step slowly onto the stage, moving closer and closer to the mayor, trying not to throw up or pass out. Or both. The mayor shakes my hand, smiling from ear to ear one of those corny politician smiles.

  “Metalia, we want to offer you our apologies and our gratefulness to you. You have performed on multiple occasions now the thankless work of keeping our city safe.”

  Suddenly everyone is looking at me. I look back and forth between the cameras the mayor. Guess it’s my turn.

  “Um... I was going to give this whole spiel about...a lot of stuff, but I think instead...” Okay, there’s REALLY no going back now. I push my hood downwards. There’s a small ripple of murmurs from the crowd, even a few gasps I think.“...I’d rather do this on my own terms. My name is Marie Carter, and... I’m twenty-eight years old. I was born in Queens, and I’m just like everyone else here. I’m not perfect. I’m not even remotely sure why or how I got to be here, but... I am Metalia.” I know they already know this, but it feels good to say it in my own words.

  Flashbulbs are going off like crazy. I can see the reporters almost getting to their feet from their chairs, wanting desperately to be the first to ask me a question. “And I want to work with you, not for you. What happened to me, getting powers, it could have been anyone. It can be anyone. What happened to those people on the bridge... that’s a mistake that I’ll never forget. I want to offer my condolences to the families of those who died that night.” My eyes are getting hot and welling with unspilled tears. Between everything that’s happened,
I’ve had absolutely zero time to process their deaths. “As long as I have these gifts, I want to put them to good use. For you, for us. For our city.”

  There’s a smattering of applause that grows and grows until it’s overwhelming. I remember to breathe then, shaking the Mayor’s hand once more.

  I spend the next thirty minutes answering the crowd’s questions as best I can. I explain to them how I got my powers. How I took down Diana Gershwin earlier in the year. What my day job was. I let out all of the things I was keeping hidden, and honestly? It feels really, really good. I don’t have to be some made up character to use my powers for good. I may not look or act like the stereotypical hero, but it’s what I am and for better or worse, my city seems to accept that.

  I’m swept off stage by Alex after an exhausting half hour of questioning. With her arm around my shoulder, we hightail it away from City Hall and finally towards sweet, delicious pizza.

  “Hey, Marie!” I stop and turn as I hear my name. I almost let out a blast of magnetic energy as I see who is calling after me. Oh, Jesus. It’s not Jackson. It’s actually Tate.

  “Van Houten...” I murmur, looking him up and down with suspicion. I can tell it’s actually Tate but his similarities with his brother are admittedly startling.

  “I just... I was at the press conference. I wanted to say... thank you.” I narrow my eyes at him. Is he being serious?

  “Really, thank you for what you’ve done. I had no idea what Jackson was going through. I didn’t realize how much help he needed until...”

  “Until I beat the crap out of him?”

  “Yeah.” He chuckles dryly. “I guess so. I’m re-considering the entire line of new police gear. If the past few months have taught me anything, it’s that the world might not be ready for my equipment.”

  I nod, unsure of what else there is to say. Sorry about your psycho brother?