Super Heroes (The New Super Humans #4)

by T. M. Franklin

  Beck’s jaw tightened. “We can't let Gina near Ethan,” he said. “I know you all think we can control her, but if that thing gets inside her, she'll get her power back. And nothing will stop her from picking up where things left off.”

  “We'll intercept it.” They'd gone over this before, but Beck, apparently wasn't having it.

  “You hope we can intercept it,” he spat. “You think we can get around her, but I'm not willing to risk it. We have to take her out of the equation.” His hand glowed brighter until she could no longer see flesh and bone, only a ball of brilliant light.

  “Meaning what, exactly?” Wren asked, shaking his other arm. “Are you going to beat her up? Knock her out?” She tugged him closer until she was inches away from his face, looking straight into his dark eyes.

  “Are you going to kill her?” she asked.

  Beck started to respond, then he clenched his teeth and looked away. “I'll do what I have to do,” he said quietly.

  “You can't do this.” Wren took his other hand in hers, the light enveloping both of their arms. She could feel the power pulsing through him, the raw strength pulsing beneath the surface.

  But she wasn't afraid.

  “This isn't you,” she said. You're not a killer.”

  “But—”

  “We know what we're doing. We have a plan,” Wren said firmly. “We knew Gina could show up and we're ready to deal with her. All of us together. You have to trust me—trust all of us. We will make this work. But you can't go off on your own.”

  Beck looked toward Gina, and Wren could see the war inside him.

  “Trust us,” she pleaded.

  He met her gaze, then nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said, as the light around his hand faded, then vanished.

  “Come on,” she said, tugging him toward the portal. “Let's go get Ethan.”

  They stepped through and Wren let her power loose. Around them, the portal whirled slowly, then faster and faster, until once again they rejoined normal time and stepped into the Void.

  Maia felt a brush of something along her arm, then suddenly Wren and Beck were through the portal, backlit by the tendrils of light encompassing Ethan. She rushed to the opening, alongside Chloe, Tru and Dylan—their own jobs forgotten at the prospect of finally getting to Ethan.

  “What happened?” Chloe asked, fingers flexing around the containment unit. “How did they—”

  “Wren must have frozen time,” Dylan shouted over the rumble of equipment and the rush of the vortex. “Look!”

  They watched as Gina approached Ethan, arms extended to her side. “Come to me!” she shouted, over and over again.

  “It's not working,” Maia said. “Tru, you have to unbind it!”

  Tru flexed her fingers. “I’ve only wrapped things up. I’m not sure I can—”

  “You have to try. Come on!” Dylan led them past Dr. Barrett and through the portal.

  The trip through was strange, they only took one step, but it was like that step stretched out over an immeasurable distance, their own bodies distorted as they passed through. Landing on the other side with a thump, Maia immediately felt tense and anxious . . . the darkness seemed to press against them from all sides, heavy and oppressive. Looking back, she could see Dr. Barrett, still standing, arms outspread, holding the portal open for them. But he was down a long, twisting tunnel that seemed to flex and stretch, the distance between them constantly in flux.

  She felt like they were in a cave, or maybe a building of some kind. There was a solid surface beneath her feet, although she couldn't see it, and she could almost sense the presence of walls of some kind around them. Whether they were part of this strange limbo between dimensions, or the borders of other dimensions, she had no idea. All she could see clearly was the bright light emanating from Ethan's bonds, the reflected glow illuminating the others’ faces.

  It was quieter, now. She could still hear the rumble of the Crosswalk, the roar of the vortex, but it was muted somehow—distant.

  “You!” Gina grabbed Tru and shoved her toward Ethan. “Release It! You must let It out!”

  Tru stumbled, and Beck grabbed her arm to steady her.

  “Don't touch her!” he shouted at Gina. His hand glowed. “Don't you ever touch her!”

  Wren slid her fingers into his silently, and he took a deep breath to steady himself. Tru stepped forward.

  “Let me try,” she said, holding out her hands. The others stepped back into a loose half-circle as she extended her arms before her. Light appeared at the tips of her fingers, twisting over her skin as it flowed out in filmy ribbons. Tru's brow creased as she concentrated, sending the ribbons out toward Ethan.

  “We have a problem!” Dr. Barrett shouted through the portal. Maia looked up to see him calling out over his shoulder. “Someone's in the building and headed this way!”

  “I'll take care of it,” Dylan said, already heading toward the portal. “Maia, I might need your help.”

  She nodded and started to follow him, but she couldn't take her eyes off Tru as she sent her gift to Ethan, tendrils of light wrapping around him, layering over the bonds holding him tightly.

  “Try to pull it back,” Wren suggested, and Tru nodded, ever so slightly, beads of sweat appearing on her upper lip and hairline, glistening in the light rippling from her hands.

  Maia backed toward the portal, watching as the ribbons began to loosen around Ethan, the light flowing back toward Tru.

  “It's working!” Gina stood poised on her toes, ready to move in at a moment's notice.

  “Maia!” Dylan called out.

  She turned and ran through the tunnel, emerging back into the Crosswalk room. “What's happening?” she asked.

  “WARDEN is on to us,” Dr. Barrett said, breathing heavily with exertion. “Look!” He tipped his chin toward a bank of security cameras, and Maia saw a group of black-clad men waiting for the elevator; Gavin James one of them.

  “We don't have much time,” Dylan said. “I'll throw up a shield if we need it, but do you think you can just make all of us disappear?”

  Maia's eyes widened. “All of us? I don't know. We're so far apart.”

  “And the portal,” Dylan added. “If they look in, it might be enough to at least slow them down.”

  Maia had never targeted her gift so specifically before. Not only did she have to make Dylan, Dr. Barrett, and herself vanish, but the portal and everyone on the other side of it, too? To pick and choose all of that, and keep the entire lab visible? She didn't even know if it was possible.

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I'll give it a shot.”

  Chloe wasn't sure if she wanted to run, scream, or throw herself at Ethan and try to drag him back to their dimension herself. But she stood there, fingers tapping nervously against her thighs as Tru struggled to pull back the last of the bindings holding him prisoner. Tru stumbled and fell to a knee, but kept her focus, snarling at Beck to stay back when he moved to catch her.

  The light ribbons unraveled slowly, sliding off Ethan and flowing back into the tips of Tru's fingers. She breathed heavily under the exertion, then gave one last moaning grunt and the tendrils snapped back toward her and vanished.

  Ethan collapsed, slumping to the floor, and Tru did the same.

  Beck dropped to a knee beside Tru, pressing two fingers to her neck. “She's alive,” he said on a relieved sigh. But all Chloe saw was Ethan. She stepped around Beck, Wren, and Tru, only to be met by Gina's gun, pointed right between her eyes.

  “Not yet,” Gina said, eyes wild, the gun shaking in her trembling hand. “Let me do my thing, then he's all yours.”

  Chloe nodded slowly and stepped back, even though every fiber of her being fought against it. She needed to get to him.

  Beck got to his feet, although he maneuvered himself between Gina and Tru, blocking Wren as well, behind his left shoulder.

  “It's okay,” he told Chloe. “We've got this.”

  Chloe drew a shaky breath. Sh
e heard some kind of commotion coming through the portal, but couldn't tear her eyes away from Ethan laying on the floor, like a discarded broken doll, Gina bent over him, her hands hovering over his skin.

  “Come on,” Gina murmured. “Come to me.”

  Nothing happened for a moment, then, slowly, black smoke filtered out from between Ethan's parted lips in a weak, twisting stream.

  “Yes, yes . . .” Gina reached for the smoke, her fingers drifting through it as she tried to draw it toward her own mouth.

  “We can't let her have it,” Beck said into Chloe's ear. “Tru's out of commission. She can't bind Gina now.”

  “I know.” Chloe clenched the containment unit tightly between her hands. “But we have to let it leave Ethan first. We can't move too soon.”

  Beck nodded and held his ground.

  “I'll help,” Wren said from behind her. “As soon as Ethan's clear, I'll freeze time so you can get to it.”

  Chloe swallowed, hoping against hope that it would work.

  “Yes!” Gina stood, arms outstretched, the gun dangling from her finger. The smoke poured out of Ethan now, swirls of darkness swooping toward Gina, sliding around her arms and into her open mouth, seeping through her skin.

  “Wren,” Beck warned.

  “Not yet,” Chloe snapped.

  They watched in awe and terror as the Chaos took up its new home . . . until the last inky tendrils slipped out of Ethan's body and wrapped around Gina.

  “Now!” Chloe shouted.

  “Shut it down!” Dr. Barrett shouted. “I can keep the portal open on my own, but if they hear the machinery, they're going to know something's up!”

  Dylan scrambled to obey, flipping switches and turning knobs as the scientist called out orders. Maia stood close to Dr. Barrett with her eyes closed, focused on making them all disappear. It seemed to be working.

  Well, sort of. Dylan could no longer see Maia, Dr. Barrett, or the portal behind him, but there was a weird bending of the light over the center of the platform. Not obvious, but if they looked too closely, they'd definitely notice.

  “Maia, I can still see something,” he said, taking up a position in front of them. He heard footsteps and voices drawing closer.

  “I know,” Maia's disembodied voice replied. “But it's the best I can do.”

  Dylan nodded and held up his hands, jolting a little when he realized they were invisible too. He reached for his gift and threw up a shield—just in case.

  “Everyone be quiet,” Dr. Barrett warned, and the room fell into silence, except for the subtle whooshing of the portal. Dylan could hear the others—distant voices from far away, and he could only hope that his shield muted them enough to hide them from the WARDEN troops coming their way.

  The footsteps stopped outside the laboratory door, then Dylan heard the beep of a keypad, and the click of a lock.

  “Here we go,” he thought, focusing on his shield and praying it would be strong enough.

  Wren was having trouble with her gift. “Something's wrong,” she said, confused and more than a little concerned. She'd stopped time as the last of the Chaos left Ethan, taking Chloe and Beck with her, but she felt off . . . like her control was slipping.

  “What is it?” Chloe asked as they hurried over to Ethan.

  “I'm not sure how long I can hold it,” Wren replied. “I don't know—maybe it's this place. I feel like my power is being sucked out or restricted somehow.” She shook her head. “I don't know what it is, but you better move fast. And I should hold on to both of you, just to make sure.”

  Beck held up his hand, the light glowed for a moment, then flickered out. “Looks like I'm having the same problem,” he said. “Let's get this done and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

  They moved together, and Beck carefully took the gun off Gina's finger and flung it back toward the portal. Chloe bent down and set the containment unit at Gina's feet, careful to keep her hand on it, to keep it in their time. She set the dials as Dr. Barrett had instructed. Around them, the black smoke began to slowly swirl, slogging through the air at first, but definitely gaining speed.

  “Guys, I'm losing it,” Wren said through gritted teeth. She could feel time slipping away, like grains of sand between her fingers.

  Chloe flipped a switch and the machine hummed to life.

  “Okay, that's it. Get back!” she shouted.

  Wren let go, and the world came to life in a dizzying blur.

  Dylan held his breath as the door opened and Gavin James walked through, flanked by a group of burly men in black. He felt Maia's hand on his shoulder and watched as they scanned the room, checking computer screens and fiddling with switches. He almost gasped when Gavin looked right at him, but the man's gaze continued on, as though he'd seen nothing out of place.

  Dylan let out a quiet breath in relief, but then Gavin turned, and walked toward the platform, brow furrowed.

  This wasn't good.

  “Sir?” One of the goons drew his attention. “Should we search the rest of the floor?”

  “No,” Gavin said, distracted as he turned back to the platform. “Do you . . . do you see something strange right here?” He pointed directly at Dr. Barrett.

  Then, behind him, Dylan heard Gina shout “No!” The sound echoed down the portal, drawn out and furious.

  The goons drew their weapons, and Dylan knew the jig was up.

  Gina threw out a hand and a pulse of power flew out of her palm, smacking Beck, Chloe, and Wren to the floor. She kicked the containment unit away and the last of the smoke sucked into her body with an almost audible pop. She could feel It pumping through her, so much stronger than ever before. She'd had a taste, but this was the whole banquet.

  “We've got to get Tru,” Wren said. “She's the only one who can stop this.”

  Gina turned toward her daughter, lying unconscious on the floor. “I don't think she's going to be stopping anything.”

  She laughed at the rush of strength and power surging through her. It was so much. So big. So . . .

  Gina winced, a headache building at the base of her skull.

  “What's wrong with her?” Chloe asked.

  Gina's attention snapped to her and she snarled, “Nothing. I'm getting everything. I'm becoming—” The headache surged up and out, a wave of pain flooding her senses.

  “Worthless,” a voice hissed inside her. “Worthless and weak.”

  “What?” Gina clutched at her head. Why did it hurt so much? “No, I'm not weak. I'm strong!” She ran her palms over her face, shocked to see blood on her fingers when she pulled them away. The pain built, wave upon wave, until it was no longer a series of surges, but one, long, agonizing—

  “No!” she screamed. It tore at her insides, blood and guts and bone lighting up in excruciating torment. She didn't understand what was happening, why It was fighting her.

  “Foolish child,” It said. “You are nothing. You cannot hope to contain me!”

  Gina fell to the floor, blood streaming from her nose and mouth. She choked on it, curling into a ball in a fruitless attempt to escape the pain.

  “Don't leave me,” she sobbed, the words garbled in the blood now flowing freely over her lips. Her surroundings took on a red tinge, and she realized her eyes were bleeding as well, tears of red streaming down her cheeks. The pain throbbed, pulsed, a living thing consuming her.

  “Please,” Gina begged, but even she could tell it was too late.

  The last thing Gina Talbot ever knew was a flash of searing agony as blood vessels burst throughout her body, her heart squeezed in the fist of an otherworldly power, her brain seizing like an overloaded circuit.

  Gina's mouth fell open on a silent scream as her misery was ended forever.

  “Show yourselves!” Gavin ordered, as the WARDEN troops pointed weapons toward the platform. “I know you're there. There's no point in hiding.”

  Dylan tried not to make a sound, tried not to breathe. Gavin may have known they were ther
e, but they still couldn't see them. They didn't have a target.

  “Aim for the middle of the platform,” Gavin told the men. “Right where it looks like the light is bending.”

  Dylan reached for his power and poured it into his shield. He was the last defense. The last chance to do what they came here to do.

  “Fire,” Gavin said in a normal voice. It was strange, he didn't yell, like in the movies.

  It was odd the things you noticed when you're in a fight for your life.

  Bullets and electrical pulses stopped short as they met Dylan's shield. He could feel it, like a shiver running down his spine. The bullets were nothing. Dylan could hold them off all day. But the tasers or whatever they were? They pulled at his gift, drawing away his power.

  “Something's happening,” Dylan finally shouted back to Maia. “Their weapon is draining my power. I'm not sure how long I can keep the shield up.”

  “Not long,” Gavin said, standing with his arms folded. “A few minutes at most.”

  Chloe stood, stunned at the sight of Gina, covered in blood, lying on the floor. The black smoke flowed out of her, slowly at first, and gathered into a cloud over her head.

  “Chloe, we have to get it!” Wren shouted. She closed her eyes, then shook her head, frustrated. “I can't stop time, not for more than a second. We need to move!”

  Beck ran for the containment unit and tossed it to Chloe. She examined it closely.

  “Is it broken?” he asked.

  The machine still hummed, an opening near the top glowing brightly. “I don't think so,” she said.

  “You have to get out of there!” Dr. Barrett shouted through the portal. “We can't hold them off for long!”

  Chloe rushed over to Gina, flinching at the swirling, black mass growing in size above her. She set the containment unit beneath it, right next to Gina's head, and quickly retreated to the other side of the space. A tendril of the Chaos drifted down toward the unit.