“On three.” I agree.
I reach over with my free hand and grab hold of Stuart next to me. Everyone grabs hold of the person next to them with their free hand as well.
“One...two...three.” Paul counts solemnly.
On three, I hear the ripping sound, then everything goes black and I feel myself being sucked forward.
I maintain my grip on Stuart and Pamela, and force myself to remain as upright as I can. My kitchen disappears and the surroundings become blurry, while light streaks by at incredible speeds.
There’s a pop! then the surroundings change.
We’re standing on grass near a security checkpoint, which looks more like a large toll-booth. Solar panels on the roof catch the first rays of light and glint darkly.
I hear the sound of a jeep driving by somewhere. I shake my head and rub my eyes.
“It sounds quiet.” Stuart says as he lets go of me and walks around the corner.
“That means he’s not here yet, then.” Paul says as he follows Stuart.
I follow them and find four lanes with barriers. There’s a light coming from a small window in the checkpoint. I saunter over and knock on the door gently. I hear booted feet, then the white door is opened from within. A police officer in a navy blue uniform stares at us, before reaching for his gun.
“Whoa!” I say quickly and raise my hands. “We’re friendly. I’m Cosmic Girl, and these are my friends. I was told someone had called ahead, to let you guys know that we were coming.” I say as I remain perfectly still, and manage a small smile.
“You’re Cosmic Girl?” He asks, then removes his hand from his side-arm, and I breathe a sigh of relief. He steps forward and looks at us all with a big grin. Then his expression goes dark. “If you’re here, then trouble’s brewing, right?”
“Have you heard about Devlin De Marco, and what he did in New York?” Mitchell asks calmly.
“Yeah, I saw it on the news. That was horrific. You got hurt, right?” He says to me with a gentle look in his baby blues.
“He’s coming here. Today.” Stuart says and steps forward. “Whatever you do, do not use helicopters on this guy.” Stuart adds.
“Use only small fire-arms, and keep them concentrated on Devlin. He wears red. You can’t miss him.” I say.
“The gunfire should distract them long enough for us to get into position. We’ll take it from there.” Mitchell says.
“Don’t risk your men. He has explosives, so make sure no one gets too close to the main vault building. In fact, it would be better to pull them out of there right now.” Paul says.
The police officer looks at us for a second, then heads back inside his booth. As I look up at the lightening sky, I can hear him on the phone relaying what we told him to his superior.
“So, now we wait, huh?” Paul says as he stands next to me, gazing up at the clouds.
“I hope we don’t have to wait too long.” Ryan grumbles behind us.
“What’s the matter Blaze? Bored?” Paul asks over his shoulder.
“No. Hungry.” Ryan says, which gets a small chuckle from me.
Yeah, I’m starting to get a little hungry myself.
I pull the zip down and pull out the small metal container, and pop it open.
“Three left.” I say as I stare at the blue pills.
“One for the other dude, and one for Dickweed. One left over.” Paul says.
“Or get two down Devlin’s throat.” I muse.
“You think that might kill him, though?” Paul says and turns to me.
“I sure hope so.” I mutter.
“Whoa. No one said anything about killing him.” Mitchell says as he strides over to us.
“How else do we deal with him?” I say and turn to him. “He knows who we are, and he has our home address.”
“I know that. But you can’t just take a man’s life.” Mitchell says heatedly.
“He took Beth’s!” Paul shouts back at Mitchell.
“Killing him won’t bring her back. Come on. You can’t do this.” Mitchell says calmly.
“He’s right. If you do this, then you’re no better than Devlin.” Georgia says as she stands by me and takes my hand. “Please. Don’t do this.”
I give the container to Mitchell. “Here. You decide. I can’t trust myself.” I admit, then turn and walk over to the grass and lean against one of the sycamore trees.
I can’t let Devlin get away again. Not this time. We have to stop him, by any means necessary.
I hear footsteps on the grass behind me, and I turn and look over my shoulder. Mitchell stops just behind me. His face is a mixture of sadness and guilt as he looks at me.
“I’m sorry.” He says and places his warm hands on my shoulders. I turn away and look up at the sky. “I’m not saying you can’t beat the crap out of him. Just don’t kill him. Alright?”
“Can I break his legs?” I ask, a small smile appearing on my face, despite my pout.
“Go nuts.” Mitchell says with a slight chuckle.
“How about his arms?” I ask and look over my shoulder at him.
“All yours.”
I reach up and place my hands on top of his. “You do know how to make a girl happy.” I say as the tears come.
He leans down and kisses my cheek tenderly. “I’m really sorry about what happened to Beth, Britney. I really am.” He whispers in my ear.
“It’s all my fault.” I say. “If I hadn’t gone after Devlin like I did. Maybe she’d still be here.” I say bitterly, through my crying.
“Hey. You’ve done nothing wrong. You did the right thing. Don’t regret doing what’s right.” He says and wraps his arms around me. “Devlin was a monster long before we came along.”
“Does her relatives know yet?” I ask.
“The Feds were contacting their next of kin. They should know by now.”
“We work as a team this time.” I say. “We stay together, and we overpower them.”
“Well, there’s seven of us, plus the army and the Mint Police. I think the odds are in our favor today.” Mitchell says, breathing in my ear, making me quiver.
“I know. Just, don’t underestimate him. He’s capable of anything, and watch out for his heat-vision. You may be bulletproof, but you may not be invulnerable to his eye-blast.” I say and pat his hand.
“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry about us, just focus on catching him. You’re the only one who can fly. So if he takes off, you have to grab him, and bring him back.”
“That’ll be fun.” I say and roll my eyes. “Listen, just take care of...” Sirens break the silence. Long wailing sirens are blaring out all over the area. “Oh, crap. Here we go.” I say and break free from Mitchell’s embrace and search the skies.
I hear the staccato of gunfire in the distance. It sounds like it’s coming from our left, so I turn and gaze out over some old warehouses at the skies above. Nothing yet, but the gunfire continues.
I feel a strong gust of wind blowing against my face. It’s coming from the same direction as the gunfire. The sky looks normal, blue skies, with the occasional puff of white cloud sailing gently by.
I glance up at Mitchell quickly. “I love you.” I say as I gaze into his anxious eyes, as he shakes his hands and takes a deep breath.
He looks down at me briefly, then lunges forward and kisses me full on the lips. The kiss is passionate, but short. He grips my arms firmly and presses his forehead to mine.
“Please, be careful.” He whispers.
“Make sure you get the other one. You better give me a pill in case I get to Devlin first.” I respond quietly. He opens the container and gives me one of the blue pills. “Good luck.” I say and kiss him on the cheek.
What I really mean is, goodbye.
The others rush over as a tank goes sailing through the air half a mile away from us.
“This is it, guys. Be careful. Hit as hard as you can, if you get the chance.” I say before rising up from the grass.
I s
top and hover at around a hundred feet, just as something red streaks overhead. He’s followed shortly by a hundred feet tall tornado, as it spins across the grass heading towards the vault building itself.
The building looks more like a prison than a bank, with its turrets, security wall and razor wire perimeter fence. I see Devlin stop and hover above the roof. He’s dropping something. There’s a brief flash and an explosion which shakes the branches of the trees nearby.
“Wait until he’s used all of his bombs, first.” I call down. I see Mitchell look up and give me the thumbs up.
The tornado has now reached the perimeter fence, and the fence is shredded in seconds.
The tornado starts to slow down, then the dirt cloud surrounding it begins to dissipate and fall back to the ground. A man emerges from the dust dressed in a black leather jacket and matching pants.
He leaps into the air and lands on top of the wall. The turrets blare to life with rapid fire towards the two intruders. Devlin throws a bomb at one turret, while the leather clad figure leaps at the other turret.
“Hustle? Get those men out of there!” I shout.
There’s a flash of black light below, then she reappears with one soldier. She disappears again quickly in a burst of black light. I see one turret explode, then look at the other turret that the leather clad figure is tearing apart with his hands.
Pamela reappears below with the other soldier, just as the man rips the roof off of the turret. I see him turn and look around him wildly, then he looks in Devlin’s direction and shouts something.
Devlin shouts something back, then continues dropping more bombs.
They drop to the roof and explode, one after the other with a two second gap between each one.
The leather clad figure leaps into the air and lands in front of the main gate, then raises his arms and begins to spin. Dust is kicked up from the ground and begins to swirl around him. Soon, he’s lost from view in a funnel of brown dirt, as a huge tornado begins to form around him.
This one is bigger than the first. It just keeps growing until it fills the sky. Devlin is lost from view behind the dark twister.
I can’t hear anymore explosions now, just the almighty roar of the twister. I try and shout down, but even I can’t hear myself.
Game on.
I rise up higher as I fly towards the fort. I gaze down as I fly and see the others blur as they race into battle. I push my arms forward and clench my fists as I fight the strong winds being kicked up by the tornado-dude. I try and fly around the giant twister, but as I circle the beast, it becomes clear that it’s covering the entire building, shielding Devlin from view.
I fly directly at the twister, but when I get within a hundred yards of the debris cloud, the winds knock me sideways and push me away each time.
I see the others are faring no better. Mitchell races right at it, and even at top speed, he gets flung like a rag doll.
I look up and race towards the clouds. At three thousand feet, I stop and look down at the swirling dark vortex. The debris cloud is a hundred feet thick, after that there’s the rapid rotation of the funnel. The funnel is around fifty feet thick, and inside of that there’s a small opening, like the eye of a hurricane.
I fly over the debris cloud and the funnel. I look down the small opening and try and judge the distance. It looks like a tight squeeze. The gap is only around four feet in diameter. I pitch forward and fly down carefully, raising my legs so that I am as vertical as I can be.
As I enter the column of air, I’m buffeted by the winds, but in a different way. The winds make me spin, but I remain dead-center as I continue to fly down the funnel. The winds being sucked in keep me locked in position like a magnet. I still can’t see the ground yet, and the roar of the wind is deafening. It’s like I’m standing near a jet as they hit the afterburners. I try and accelerate, and soon I see a dark spot below me.
After a few more seconds of careful flying, the spot grows, and becomes a dark rotating blur. With only a few hundred feet to go, a lightning bolt appears through the darkness below and strikes the dark blur. The vortex collapses and the wind throws me a hundred feet to my right.
When I stop spinning, I see Mitchell rush forward towards the fallen leather clad tornado-dude.
Okay, that’s one down.
“Aargh!” I scream as something hot hits me on my left hip.
I turn as I fly backwards and see Devlin with blazing eyes hovering above the demolished roof. Then he sees his fallen comrade and becomes a red blur. He hits Mitchell full force, and they roll across the grass in a mass of arms and legs. I fly down towards the other guy; from memory, I think his name is Kurt Kaplan.
I drop to the rubble strewn ground next to him. He groans and clutches his chest with his black leather fingerless gloved-hands.
I pop the blue pill in his mouth and clamp my hand over his mouth and nose. He struggles and thrashes wildly for a few seconds.
I use my right knee and press down on his stomach, making him choke. I grab his head and force it back to the ground and slam my fist down on his chest. His eyes go wide for a few seconds, then he relaxes. His eyes close, and I climb off him and turn my attention to the fight raging on behind me.
Devlin kicks Mitchell viciously in his left leg, forcing him to drop to one knee. As Devlin raises his elbow, Mitchell brings his right fist up in an uppercut as he stands up.
Devlin jerks his head back and dodges out of the way, then rushes in, rises up from the grass and kicks Mitchell in the face.
I scream when I see blood explode from Mitchell’s mouth before he’s sent sliding across the grass towards a tree. Devlin turns at my scream, eyes red, and a face full of rage.
Ryan, blazing on fire, rockets towards Devlin at full speed and knocks him sideways. As Devlin climbs back up, patting the flames out on his long red leather overcoat and pants, Stuart attacks with a huge bolt of lightning.
It zaps Devlin full in the face, rocking his head back and sending him tumbling backwards across the grass. He hits a tree, uprooting it and slides down on to the grass upside down.
I rush to Mitchell’s side. The right side of his face is black and swollen, his lips are cut and blood is trickling out of the corner of his mouth as he lies unconscious. I check the front pocket of his black and red motorcycle pants. I find the container and pop it open. Two blue pills left.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper, as I take out both pills.
I turn to Paul as he rushes over. I point at Devlin as he begins to groan. “Hold him where he is.” I tell Paul.
He nods his head and reaches out with his white gloved-hands towards Devlin.
I race over to Devlin with both pills in my hand. Devlin’s shoulder length black hair is all frizzy and standing on end as he lies on the grass with his legs resting against the roots of the toppled tree.
As I get closer, his eyes blaze red and searing heat shoots from his eyes. I step back as the ray of heat sets the tree branches above me on fire. I turn to Paul as Devlin starts to growl and claw at the ground.
“Hold him!” I shout desperately.
“I’m trying, I’m trying.” Paul shouts back as he grimaces in concentration.
I can’t let him go. I can’t let him live.
I roll on to the grass near Devlin, just below his current field of vision. I ready the pills in my cupped hand and crawl up carefully towards Devlin’s shoulder. He turns his head and sends his heat blast right at me. I slide down just in time, but he sears my arm. I cry out in pain for a second, and bite my lip.
Okay, on three.
One. I clench my fist around the pills.
Two. I look up at his neck and jaw and judge the distance.
Three. I grab his jaw with one hand and with my other, I slam it over his raging mouth.
Take them, damn you!
“Aargghhh!” I scream as fire erupts from his open mouth, instantly scorching my gloved hand.
As I yank my hand back, I watch as if in slow mot
ion, the two blue pills, the last pills we have, disintegrate before my horrified eyes.
“No!” I scream, then climb on top of him and start punching him in the ribs and chest.
“I....can’t....hold....him....” I hear Paul shout in warning as I pummel Devlin with all of my might.
A smile creeps on to Devlin’s face as he turns his head back towards me. I see his head begin to tilt upwards.
Oh, crap.
As the searing heat begins to come down towards my head, I roll sideways off of him and then fly across the grass, back to Paul and Stuart. Georgia and Pamela are hiding behind a tree as they watch the unthinkable happen.
We can’t stop him.
Ryan’s blazing form rockets towards Devlin. Landing on his chest, Ryan’s raging arms point down towards Devlin’s face, and red fire erupts from his fists right at Devlin.
As Devlin brings his own fire to his defense, I hear him laugh. Not a pleasant ‘Oh, that was funny,’ kind of laugh. No, this was a dark laugh. The kind of laughter you expect to hear from a psycho right before he slits your throat.
The heat ray from Devlin’s mouth and eyes turn orange, then white.
I see his white fire pushing at Ryan’s red fire, and winning.
I turn to Stuart with an exasperated look. Stuart’s eyes are already glowing white as electricity courses through his body. He brings his hands together, causing static pops and crackling.
Cosmic Girl: Looking For Trouble: superhero series for young adults - Book Two Page 21
