Oh, no. What’s he up to?
I accelerate and hear the first sonic boom.
Devlin descends rapidly towards the 9/11 memorial, and lands within a huge crowd of people. I swoop down towards him and shout to the people. “Run. Get out of here!”
Devlin grabs the nearest person, a young man in green shorts and a white ‘I Love New York’ t-shirt, and hurls him right at me. The warning goes off in my head, but I’m already dropping the streetlight. I catch the young man, twist in the air and then drop to the ground, and set him down.
“Run!” I urge people. I hear a high-pitched scream coming from the crowd.
I race forward through the crowd, and as people get out of my way and run, I see…..Oh, my god!
“Devlin, stop this madness.” I scream as Devlin sets another person ablaze with his heat-blast.
A woman rolls around on the ground. Her hair and clothes are on fire. Devlin stops long enough to kick the woman in the back. I hear the crack, then her lifeless burning body is slamming into me. I pat the flames out, then turn as another burning body is sent flying my way. Tears run down my cheeks as I set the body down and run at Devlin. He grabs an old man with a walking stick and throws him at my face.
I twist, catch the old man, set him down, continue with my turn and backhand Devlin as hard as I can in the face, just as his eyes glow red. He spins across the memorial and I take off after him.
“Run. Get away.” I scream at the top of my lungs as I hurtle at Devlin.
He’s stopped spinning now, and has taken to the air again. I accelerate and make a grab for his leg. But he suddenly turns in midair, and I am greeted by his other foot.
I see sky, then concrete as my face slams into something very hard.
Ouch. I roll on to my back and rub my jaw.
I crane my neck up and look for Devlin. I see two Devlins floating a hundred yards away, and they have my streetlight now in their hands. They grin and raise the streetlight above their heads. I hear a whoosh, then something dark slams into them and they vanish from sight.
“Whoa. You look like crap.” I hear Paul’s voice call out from somewhere. Then his upside down Zorroish face appears above me.
“Nice of you to drop by.” I say and reach up with my right hand. He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet. I feel a little nauseous, and take a few quick breaths.
“Where are the others?” I ask as my head begins to clear.
“Well, your boyfriend is taking on the red dick. Volt and Blaze are tackling some dude who can control water. I-Spy and Ghost Girl are taking on some dude who is causing earth tremors,” He says breathlessly. “and I’m taking care of you, princess.” Paul adds with a smile.
I hear a sound like an incoming missile, then a dark form flies by on our left and slams into a CNN news van. I look up as Devlin rockets toward me. Paul catches my look and turns around. He raises his white gloved-hands.
“Back off, dip-shit.” Paul growls.
Devlin slams into something invisible in the air a couple of hundred yards away, then falls to the street, landing on an overturned police car.
Devlin groans and rises to his feet. I see Mitchell climb to his knees, before disappearing with a bang. Devlin’s angry face turns, but Mitchell slams into Devlin and launches both of them into the air through a building.
Rubble rains down from where they enter the building. I cough and look around me. My head feels a little better now. I feel the ground shake beneath my feet, and cars nearby rock on their suspension.
“Let’s help the others.” I suggest, and rise up from the sidewalk. Paul uses his powers to raise himself, and he follows me across the memorial and up and over the tall steel and glass skyscraper.
I hope Mitchell can handle himself. Bullet proof is one thing, but is he fireproof?
I swallow my fears and continue east. I soon see a white form up ahead in the street zipping around a shirtless skinny bald guy. I accelerate until I’m right above the guy, and try and bop him on the head, but he ducks just-in-time and twists like a snake. I stop and turn around to face him.
“Watch out. He’s tricky.” Georgia calls out as she appears out of the blue, twenty yards to my left.
Whoa! The bald guy’s torso elongates as he rises up to my level, like a piece of gum.
“You want to play with Walter?” The stretchy weirdo says. He grins a big rictus smile, showing some black teeth. His bare arms and torso are covered in tattoos depicting horrendous images of dragons and demons.
“You wanna play with Cosmic Girl?” I reply mockingly.
As I watch, his left hand changes shape and becomes a metal hammer, while his right arm becomes a long serrated cutlass.
Oh, boy.
His body stretches more as he lunges at me with his sword arm. I fly to the side, then shoot forwards and backhand him to the face as I fly past. He growls and swings with his hammer-hand, but he’s too slow.
I super-speed right at him and slap him hard in the face with my right hand. There’s a thunderous clap when I make contact. His neck stretches as his head is thrown back. I see Beth zoom in and kick him in the groin. He growls and swipes at me with his sword-arm, and kicks out with his legs.
“Need some help, ladies?” Paul says as he arrives on the scene.
Damn, he’s slow in the air.
Paul arranges his white gloved-hands palm to palm, then moves his arms away from each other in a smooth vertical movement, like a crocodile. The bald guy’s torso begins to stretch more. He lets out a groan.
“Cool. Just like Play-Doh.” Paul chuckles, then presses his hands slowly down towards each other.
The bald guy, Walter, begins to shrink in size. His hammer and sword change back into hands, and he tries to press up. It’s like those mime artists, pretending that they’re stuck inside a box. His torso shrinks back to human size and then he begins to crouch down on the ground while trying to push up with both hands.
“Someone knock him out please?” Paul asks.
Beth, in her I-Spy white catsuit and matching eye mask, saunters over to the bald guy. The guy slams his fists into the asphalt. The ground shakes and some windows shatter nearby. Beth staggers on her feet and holds on to a car to steady herself. Beth stumbles towards Walter as he glares at her.
“Don’t you dare touch me, you filth.” Walter spits at Beth. She picks up pace, and as he brings his arms up again, Beth super-speeds towards him. I hear a crack, and his body slumps to the ground. Beth stands over his inert form, and then waves up at me.
“Thanks.” Beth says and grins.
Georgia blurs, then appears near the edge of a building and cocks her head to one side. “Sounds like trouble.” Georgia says and points up the street. I can hear the crackle of electricity and a swishing sound.
I turn and gesture for Paul to follow me. I lead him over the now deserted streets, where crushed cars and bloody bodies lie strewn about like a war movie, and try to shake the images from my mind. I need to focus, or more people are gonna die.
I hear static pops nearby, then see Ryan, covered in flames, fly across an intersection in front of us. I fly to the intersection and look down the street that Ryan is flying down. His blazing body is flying toward something.
I can’t quite see what it is from here, but it is shimmering like water.
A maddened scream breaks my concentration, and a red form flies overhead with Mitchell holding on to one of his legs.
“Kick his ass, Crash!” Paul shouts out.
I turn my attention back to the weirdness happening down this street. I see balls of flame shoot from Ryan’s blazing form as he circles the thing. I fly down the wet street. I pass a side street, where a handful of pedestrians are huddled near a building. I signal with my hand for them to move further south, then continue on towards what I can only describe as a water octopus.
There’s a large dome of water covering someone. I can only see a vague shadow through the thick water.
Water tentacles are sna
king out from the watery dome and lashing out at Stuart and Ryan as they circle it. Ryan’s fireballs fizzle out when they hit the water, and Stuart’s blasts of electricity can’t seem to penetrate the wall of water.
I descend to street level, and aim myself at the center of the water dome. I accelerate and launch myself at it at super-speed. I hear the sonic boom, then I hit the wall of water.
It’s like being in white water. My speed is reduced drastically and I find myself upside down and tumbling. I see sky, then asphalt, over and over inside the water, then I’m through and collapse on to the wet ground. I cough and spit water, and look up at the guy who’s controlling the water, while my head spins. The brownish water is circling us both like a tornado.
He doesn’t look like much. Average height, short spiky blond hair, and he’s decked out in a blue business suit, with a white plain shirt and red tie. His arms are stretched out on either side, palms out, fingers up.
He looks down at me, then winks. I feel something wet wrap around my throat, then I’m being pulled back towards the wall of water. I spin and lash out with my feet, catching one of his legs. He curses as he loses balance, and drops to one knee. His hands come down to steady himself, and the wall of water crashes down around us like a huge wave. I see Stuart from the corner of my eyes hurl a lightning strike at the guy.
I use my free hand to throw some water at the guy, as he tries to stand up, and raise myself up from the wet ground.
I’m a few inches off the ground when his hands begin to come up again, then the white bolt of lightning slams into his wet chest. He falls to the ground, convulsing like an electric eel.
“Good job,” Stuart says, hair on end and eyes glowing bright white.
I turn to Stuart as I brush myself off, then I get the warning in my head.
I turn around and check the water guy. He’s lying still, but breathing. Then something hard slams into my back, followed by another one.
“Damn!” I blurt out as white hot pain shoots through my back. I spin around, then look up.
I see Devlin floating in the sky about a mile away. Something in his hands catches the sunlight, and glints.
I growl as I take to the skies and race toward him. Devlin turns tail and flies away.
Damn, my back hurts. My chest feels wrong too.
I’m struggling for breath. I try and breathe, but as soon as I try I get stabbing pain in my chest. I cry out and clutch my chest as I fall from the sky. I hit the sidewalk hard and roll along the street.
I hear raised voices, then a white blur as I try and push myself up into a sitting position.
Pain.
Pain like I have never experienced before. I can barely breathe. I take shallow breaths. It hurts like hell, but at least I’m getting oxygen.
“Cosmic Girl? You okay, girl?” I hear Beth’s worried voice.
My hand feels wet as I clutch my chest. I raise my purple gloved-hand, and I see blood.
“No. I don’t think I am.” I murmur in shock. I look around me and notice that a crowd is forming nearby.
“I can’t let them see me like this.” I tell Beth.
“Hey, lover boy. Make yourself useful.” Beth calls to Paul as he floats over to us, and gestures to the crowd of people approaching.
“A little privacy, please, folks.” Paul says as he raises his white gloved-hands towards the oncoming crowd.
“Did we stop them?” I ask.
“Kind of. They didn’t get away with much gold, at least.” Paul answers over his shoulder.
I hear a thud behind me, then Mitchell is kneeling in front of me, still wearing his new bandanna to cover the top half of his face. His eyes look panicked now as he looks at me.
“I’ve been shot.” I mumble in shock.
How did he shoot me? Other bullets have bounced off before.
What the hell?
“Aaagghhh!” I scream as my body starts to register the gaping holes in me. The pain is unbearable. I bite my lip as Mitchell looks at my wounds.
“How the hell did this happen?” Mitchell shouts.
“Devlin.” I mumble.
“Where’s Hustle?” Mitchell asks Beth.
“She was helping the Feds near the bank.”
“I need her.” Mitchell says in a weird deep voice.
“I’ll call her.” Beth replies really slowly.
What is happening?
I struggle for breath again, before passing out.
Twenty One
I hear voices above me, faint and garbled. I can’t make any sense of them. I go back to sleep.
“Get it out of her.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Use your damn powers.”
“Hold her down.”
I feel something hot moving inside of my chest. I can’t see anything, all is darkness, but I can’t help but scream.
“Damn.”
“What is it?”
“Her right lung has collapsed. There’s a hole…” Then I pass out.
I hear some voices again. They’re faint, like I’m down a deep well.
“How is she?”
“No change.”
I try to talk, but all I can muster is a groan, then I drift off to sleep again.
I try to open my eyes. For a moment, I think that I haven’t opened them. Then I realize the room is dark. I raise my head and look around. I’m lying on our kitchen table. I’m home.
My back and chest still hurt like hell, but at least I’m home. I relax back down and drift off to an uneasy sleep.
I wake to the smell of fresh coffee. I open my eyes and blink a few times, then sit up slowly. My right arm is in a makeshift sling.
“Ooh, yes, please. Three sugars.” I say.
Dad almost drops his cup. He then rushes over to hug me. He kisses the top of my head at least five times before releasing me. “How are you, Pumpkin?”
“Thirsty, hungry, in pain, and pretty pissed off, actually.” I say and rub my shoulder.
“One coffee, coming right up. I’ll make you something to eat in a second.”
“Where’s Mitchell?” I ask as I accept the hot cup of coffee.
Dad points at the ground, before going to the cupboards and rooting around. I look over the edge of the kitchen table. Mitchell is sound asleep on the kitchen floor, snoring away quietly. He’s still in his costume, minus the bandanna.
“How long was I out?” I ask Dad.
“Five days.” He answers after a few seconds. He turns and gives me a look that breaks my heart. “I can’t believe he tried to take you from me again.” Dad says, and breaks down.
I put the cup of coffee down and reach for him with my good arm.
“Daddy.” I say quietly, and he stumbles forward and embraces me. He cries into my shoulder while I rub his back.
“This will be the last time he does this. I swear.” I say.
“Why can’t you just stop, and let him be? He’s done enough.” Dad says. I can’t bear to hear the pain in his voice. I pull away and press my forehead to his.
“Could you stop running into burning buildings?” I ask him. His shoulders drop, and he lets out a groan. He doesn’t reply, he simply raises his head and kisses my forehead.
“Oh, you’re awake. Great.” I hear Mitchell’s tired voice say from below.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” I smile down at him, as he climbs unsteadily to his feet.
“How’s your chest?” Mitchell asks as he yawns.
“A dull throbbing pain now. Not great, but not as bad as it was.” I say and rotate my right arm. “How the hell did he shoot me?”
“With these.” Mitchell replies and shows me a cereal bowl.
I look at Dad and Mitchell, then look inside the bowl. Two large bullets with black triangular bullet-tips lie in the bowl.
Wow, they’re huge. Each one is the size of my thumb.
How did I survive this?
I look at Mitchell and Dad with a look of wonder and shock.
�
��I know. They’re huge, aren’t they?” Mitchell says and points at one of the bullets. “This one tore through your right lung.”
Then he points at the other one. “And this one missed your heart by an inch.”
“They’re armor piercing rounds. Fired from a high powered rifle.” Dad says solemnly.
“He meant to kill you.” Mitchell says angrily.
“No shit.” I grumble and pick up my cup of coffee again.
“This is serious, Britney. I don’t want you going up against him again.” Mitchell says.
“I agree. This nonsense stops. Let the authorities take care of him.” Dad says.
“He killed over twenty police officers, Dad. They’re no match for him.” I say, my voice breaking.
“Neither are you.” Dad fires back.
I sip my coffee and glare at them both.
“Stupid bullets.” I grumble.
“At least now we know how to stop him, though, right?” Dad says and lifts my chin with his finger.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 16
