by Riley Tune
Fire surrounded me on all sides and smoke filled the air so much that most of the inside was either flames, or a dark cloud. Even though I couldn’t feel the heat inside my force field, it was still hard to see. Still hovering in the air, I stretched out, and lowered myself to the ground. With my oversized force field around me, I looked almost like a submarine moving through an ocean of smoke.
“I can’t see shit,” I said as I quickly moved out of the way as some of the ceiling fell down. “He or she is directly in front of you. You lucked up and blew a hole in the wall of the same unit. The kid should be two rooms over.” Zeva said. I could hear it in her voice. She was straining. I just hoped she could hold out a little longer, and that my plan worked. “Hurry up, Hunter.” She came back again.
“It’s harder to form as it gets larger.” I thought to myself what sense does that make, but I kept my mouth shut. Like a rocket, I increased my flight speed and hovered through the first door. It was an office of some sort. A couch, desk, and bookshelves all burned around me as a stream of water came through a window. The firemen were still trying, but had no luck. I stretched my force field some to push the burning desk out of the way as I kept moving.
“Next room you should see the kid.” Zeva said slowly. She was breathing heavily in my ear now. She sounded like she had been running or something. I moved quickly into the next room, and there, on the ground stretched out was a little girl. She couldn’t have been more than five years old, and her blond hair was in pigtails and ash colored. I hovered over her body and created a hole inside my force field as I descended on her.
As I reached for her, more of the room began to crash down. Chunks of the floor around us fell apart, beams from the roof above us fell down, and despite their efforts outside, the fire raged on. I closed my force field some, and instantly felt myself shiver as the space got smaller. Smoke quickly began to filter inside the force field as I opened a hole to pull her inside with me. My arms wrapped around her body, and I couldn’t tell if she was alive or not.
As I held her close, I closed the force field again. Instantly the heat faded. “The building is empty? You’re sure?” I asked. “Yes,” Zeva’s faint voice came back. Wasting no time, I exploded from the right side of the building like a pale blue bullet. Holding the child in my arms as I lowered us to the ground.
The crowd around us erupted in cheers. Cheering yet they didn’t even see the child I was holding yet. Honestly, they didn’t even know why I was in the building, but people love to be around when an Icon is doing something good or bad. A larger fireman ran to me quickly, as two more firemen appeared. The first man had olive colored skin, that was covered in sweat and ash.
I handed the child to him and he quickly placed her on the ground and began CPR. Not too far away, I could hear a woman scream. I was willing to bet that she was the mother to the child I had just handed off, and even among the cheering crowd, her sobs were easily heard. I wanted to see if she was okay, but I wasn’t done yet.
I flew into the sky again, quickly leaving the crowd of people below. When I made it to Zeva on the neighboring building she was kneeling on one knee but still forming the chunk of ice.
My eyes widen as before me, in the air was a damn iceberg. Zeva had created a chunk of ice almost as large as a public bus. I flew under it and placed my hands firm. Last thing I needed was for her to lose control and this plummet down to the crowd below. “I got it,” I screamed as she dropped her hands and fell on her back. She oddly closed her eyes, and started laughing. Like a creepy laugh, and I wasn’t sure why.
I was no Flex, but I could hold this up a little bit with my enhanced strength. To give me a little more of an edge, I created a massive force field to surround myself and the chunk of ice. With my gravity control inside my force field, the iceberg was easier to move.
Back into the building I flew but this time on the top floor. “Zeva.” Nothing came back from her in response. “Zeva, get up.” I heard her grumble through our ear piece. “You got your breath, now focus on this ice and hold it here. Just like you did a few seconds ago.”
“Okay,” she said. This time she sounded a little better. “Ready?” I asked. “Ready,” she responded. I removed my force field and instantly felt the weight of the ice in my hands. The gravity boost was missed already.
I held my breath, and flew from under the floating ice, and as I did so, I could see my plan coming to life. I flew back out through a hole in the wall of the apartment building, and could see the ice had already melted down to half its size from the intense heat.
Not only that, but the water from it had created damn near an indoor waterfall that flowed through every hole, crack, and floor of the blazing building. Still hovering in the air, I summoned a force field large enough to encase the entire building.
I couldn’t recall ever making a force field this big, and it was no easy feat that required maximum effort. I couldn’t let the building come crashing down on the people below. As the massive amount of water served its purpose, the building became more and more unstable, and in minutes it was nothing more than a mountain of ash, brick, and metal.
I removed the force field slowly, allowing for the water to exit in more of a focused stream to avoid the people standing nearby watching.
“I think we are all good,” I said as I landed beside Zeva and coughed a little. “Thank Atlas,” she said as she slumped over. She looked at the spot of the former building and smiled as she wiped sweat from her brow. I stretched my hand to her, and she grabbed it quickly.
With my force field, I took her in my power, and we stepped of the building to the ground below. As we fell, I could see cars had halted in the streets. More fire trucks had come and even police were on the scene now.
Then I saw what I had been looking for. The girl from the building, sitting in her mother's arms. Wrapped so tightly that she could barely move, but she was alive. “That’s her,” I said to Zeva as I pointed slightly. She looked at me, and then, she hugged me. A hug that I didn’t expect, but didn’t shy from either. I breathed in deeply, and smelled her sweetness again, then instantly felt like a creep for doing so.
“We did it!” she said. “Maybe I’m not such a bad influence.” I said with a grin. “Perhaps the mighty Flex was wrong about you after all,” she replied. At that time, several news vans arrived on the scene. This I hadn’t expected, but wasn’t surprised by either. “Well, time to shine,” I said as I prepared to tell Atlas City viewers of our victory and bravery.
“I’m pretty sure that we can’t talk to the press.” Zeva said as she looked at the woman dressed in red approaching us as she pulled out a microphone. “Why not? We’re Imperial Lord members.” I said as I nudged her with my elbow. “Now, act casual and smile.”
“Don’t you say a damn word to that reporter.” I heard a voice go off in my ear. A voice that didn’t belong to Zeva. “Mr. Reid?” I asked with a twisted look on my face. “Who else would it be?” he replied. “You didn’t think Prism was the only one who was in on the feed did you? I’m watching over your first mission. I can see and hear everything. Now, smile, wave, and get out of there.”
“But,” Mr. Reid cut me off. “But nothing. You haven’t been trained on how to handle public relation stuff like speaking to the press.” Zeva, hearing everything Mr. Reid said, grabbed my hand. She seemed as ready to fly out of here and back to our carrier as Mr. Reid was.
I looked at her, as she raised her brow to give me the signal to leave. The woman was about five feet from us, now and a red- haired cameraman was only seconds behind her. I decided to do the right thing. I called my force field to life again, and was greeted with hollers and clapping from the crowd.
I was about three feet off the ground when she screamed at me. “You’re Hunter Monroe, aren’t you?” the news lady said. “I’m Misty Gettings, channel five news. You and your friend really saved the day.”
Her microphone was pointed at me as if she was a witch an
d the device was her wand. “Back to the base. Now!” I heard Mr. Reid go off in my ear. “I take it you’ve heard of me.” I said as I slowly dropped back to the ground and canceled my force field, while looking at Misty.
Zeva groaned. “No. Just your story. Everybody knows about the half- villain, half- hero Icon. The world is going to be on the edge of its seat to see the legacy you create. Care to give a statement about today’s rescue.? You saved that little girl's life.”
Misty licked her lips and then turned to the crowd. “Following in mom’s footsteps I see.” As she said the words, the group around her began to clap again. I knew she just wanted a story but it was a good feeling to be in the spotlight for a good reason, instead of just because of my parents, for once.
“I. I,” the rest of the words wouldn’t come out. I wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. “No comment,” Zeva said as she leaned over and grabbed the microphone from Misty and turned it into ice.
She then dropped the microphone on the ground, causing it to shatter. “Oops.” she said in a tone that was a clear indicator that it was done on purpose. “We really must get going,” Zeva said loudly as she looked at me. I nodded, and then with my force field back, flew up into the carrier.
As soon as we landed inside the carrier began to move again. “Thank you, Zeva,” Mr. Reid said through our ear pieces. “Had you not been there he surely would still be on the ground, ignoring rules and talking to the media.” Zeva glared at me and then found a seat.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but before I could Mr. Reid spoke again. “As for you, Hunter, see Impervious when you return. He wants a word.”
CHAPTER 21
THE FAMILY TREE
O
ur flight back to base was much more different that when we went to the mission. Between our success, saving a life, and our albeit brief encounter with the local news, we were feeling like full- fledged Imperial Lords. “Imagine feeling like this all the time,” Zeva said. “It’s a little bit of a rush. Like a high or something.”
I nodded. I couldn’t recall seeing Zeva this happy before. While I was fond of her normally, I could see how seeing her smile, and being this happy on a regular basis would make me crazy about her. Then, I blurted out words that I didn’t even truly mean to say. “I bet it’s even more intense for villains.” The words had left my mouth before I realized what was being said. The mood in the carrier shifted instantly as Zeva blankly looked at me. Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing. It’s just. Villains must get this feeling too. The rush from a completed job. The high from the infamy. Not to mention the paydays from their line of work.” If what my father left me was any indicator of potential income for some upper level villains, then good paydays were plentiful. I glanced at her and swallowed some. Perhaps I should have toned down the appeal to the villainous side.
She looked at me for a long time, and then she eagerly nodded her head and smiled from ear to ear. “I suppose you could be right. I never thought about it that way.” I could feel my head jerk and face turn as I looked at her. I wasn’t expecting this reaction. When I expressed my feelings of how the bad side is appealing, people usually turn away from me. Zeva, however, seemed to see the point. Not only did she see the point, she embraced it. I could see her thinking as she bit her lip and continued to smile to herself. I didn’t expect the thought of being a villain would have excited her so. Or her agreeing with me to make me feel so good inside. She was perfect.
She glanced at me, and casually sat down a little closer to me in the carrier than she did on the way there. For the first time in ages, I was in a small space, and didn’t feel uncomfortable about it at all.
As the carrier reached the base my phone went off with a text alert. I opened it to see that Danielle had sent me a message asking if I was still going to the end of year dance at Purgatory. Originally, I had invited her, just to make people feel awkward, plus at the time she was my girlfriend.
She also added in that she felt like we should talk face to face to clear the air, and that she promises everything wasn’t as it seemed. Finally, she sent a third text saying that E-Rase was just being a dick, and that she hadn’t talked to him since, after he told the lie about him and her. She event sent me his phone number to call or text him, so I could hear it from his mouth.
I thought about replying to her. She really did seem to be trying, and I did miss her. Terribly so. I missed our talks, our times at her home late at night, even the casual dates of just looking at something on tv as we had pizza. I missed it all. My anger had faded some, and I didn’t know how to handle my feelings now. On top of it all, I couldn’t help how I felt around Zeva either.
Against my better judgement, I sent her a text back, saying that we can talk later, but I had a lot of Imperial Lord stuff going on. She replied back quickly. Her reply made me laugh. She said she wasn’t sure I would even text back, seeing as how I was saving kids from burning buildings and stuff now.
Our heroics of the day must have made it to the news fast. “Hunter,” I heard my name called out as Zeva snapped her fingers. I looked up out of my daze She was standing outside of the carrier on the ground already. “You getting out?” she asked as she held her hands up.
“Oh. yeah. Just thinking about something,” I replied back as I made my way out of the carrier. “Scared?” she asked. “Of what?” “Your meeting with Impervious.” I snorted. “Hell no.’ I replied as I dropped to one knee to tighten my boot. “Flex had his talk with you about what happen to Young Pyro. Jen had her talk with Life-Line,” I said as I made air quotes when I said Mr. Reid’s true name. “And now our fearless leader wants to have the same talk with me. No big deal.”
“If you say so,” Zeva added as she pulled out her pills and looked at them. At some point she must had gotten a refill. She looked at the bottle and then, to my surprise, she put the pills up. She didn’t take any. Instead she just continued talking.
“Flex made our talk seem like it was a big deal. He went on and on, about how we represent the rest of the family, as much as the Imperial Lords, and yada- yada- yada.” I was two seconds from saying that’s because Flex is a dick. Instead I just shook my head and said, “well you know how Flex can be.”
With my boots secure, I began to hover in the air. “what are you doing?” Zeva asked. “I’m flying to Impervious’ floor.” You sure you don’t want to, like go the traditional way? Knock on the door and stuff.”
I shook my head. “I’m ready to get this over with. I’ll catch up with you later.” Then I looked up and shot into the air.
While everybody else in the Imperial Lords had a room, or suite to themselves, Impervious, as the leader, had an entire damn floor dedicated to him. Inside this floor he had everything he could need. Bedrooms, yeah- more than one. A private kitchen, several bathrooms, a library on Icon history that would make several schools jealous, and even a tailor for his suits. Now, this was all guess work on my part. I knew where his floor was, everybody did, but only certain members were allowed inside, or so I had heard.
Everything I just listed was a combination of rumors, and hearsay. None of it had actually been proven. As far as I knew, none of the current Imperial Lords even went inside of his room. That’s why randomly showing up on his luxury patio appealed to me so much. I wanted him to know that I wasn’t impressed by any of it. Not to mention all the secrets about his floor were uncalled for and creepy.
In seconds I was several stories up in the air. This floor was one of the highest of the facility. I landed on the patio and was greeted by a massive grill, several comfy looking chairs and a wall tv. It was nice, and this was only the patio portion. The wall separating the patio from the rest of the floor was solid glass inside of a cherry wood frame.
Just standing from here, I could see inside pretty well, and was surprised to see that the living area was mostly hues of whites, grays, and olive green. Eve
rything from the furniture, to light fixtures, were ultra- modern and sleek. To be honest, it looked like it belonged on a magazine cover. Seems some of the funding provided to the Lords was spent to good decor.
As I walked to the door to knock, I was surprised to find Detach. So apparently at least one other person was allowed on his floor. She was wearing a casual dress now instead of her usual pantsuit. She was talking to Impervious, who was yet again in a navy suit, and they both looked stressed. Detach was moving her hands around wildly, and Impervious was shaking his head but letting her talk. I couldn’t hear what all the fuss was about but I was curious.
Lover’s quarrel was the first thing to come to mind. Did I know if they were seeing each other? Not at all, but I could see them being an item. They were so close, and spent a lot of time together anyway.
I knocked on the door several times loudly. Detach jumped, but Impervious reacted. In a blur, he was standing in front of me with his hands around my throat, and had me lifted off the ground. When he realized it was me, his eyes grew wide and he placed me back on the ground.
“What the hell?” I said as I coughed. “Sorry.” Impervious said as he looked at me. “I don’t usually get random people arriving here on the patio without warning.” Judging from his tone he was telling me, so don’t do it again.
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Detach said. She said in a hiss, and somewhat glared at Impervious before she turned and left. “She okay?” I asked. “As much as Detach could be,” Impervious said. “She’s my closest friend. We both grew up here. Myself as a Lord, but a young one, and her as the daughter of a member. Being the same age helped as we didn’t have much in the way of friends.”