“Okay,” I said as I pushed myself off the step. “I’m ready.” I reached down to help Selena up. She grabbed my hand, and the next thing I knew, we were making our way to the fifty-fifth floor.
Finally, we reached the door. After waiting a split second to make sure Selena was ready, I swung it open and pulled my gun up to my shoulder, ready for a fight.
31
THE 55TH FLOOR
A wall of men was standing in front of Raven and the altar that held the asthenés plásma. They raised their guns as we entered, but they didn’t fire.
“You know what I like about the asthenés plásma?” Raven asked as he turned to face us. “Ah, I didn’t realize you’d bring a visitor, Kane. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Selena. I’m glad you could join us.”
The two of us didn’t respond. Our guns were trained on the line of soldiers in front of him, and their guns were pointing right back at us.
“It’s like the period at the end of a sentence,” Raven said, poking the air with an imaginary pen. “It has the ability to end a sentence. The words of said sentence being a life. The life of a Super.” His sneer grew, and his gaze bored into mine. “The life of a Super who is otherwise immortal.” He sneered. “Just a little asthenés plásma in a wound and voilà! No more healing for that Super.” He added a tsk-tsk sound to punctuate the end of his sentence.
“Quit talking,” I said to Raven. “Or I’ll put a bullet through you.” I aimed my gun at him.
“Oh, my,” he said in faux shock. “Now, Tempest, that’s not very heroic. It’s foolish. Very foolish. You don’t have any of your powers. You’re just two teenagers against a dozen of my men.” Raven’s smile grew. “I’m really going to enjoy this,” he said as he ran his hand along the side of the bottle of asthenés plásma.
Selena and I exchanged glances. I raised my eyebrows, trying to let her know I had a plan without tipping off Raven.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m going to bring down my gun.” I slowly brought it down to my side, bringing my hand next to the clip on my vest that held a grenade. As fast as I could, I pulled the grenade off and threw it at the line of men. They dove out of the way, and Raven grabbed the bottle of asthenés plásma, shielding it behind the altar. I jumped towards Selena, brining her to the floor behind a tall stack of supplies.
The grenade exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Windows shattered, and men screamed in pain.
Selena pulled the pin from her grenade and tossed it out towards the altar, setting off another explosion. I peeked around, my gun at the ready. The men were regrouping, finding cover behind the various supplies, couches, and desks that had been shoved to the edges of the room. Two men were lying on the floor, not moving. Selena and I began firing wildly at the others.
They started firing back, and we retreated behind some cover. The bullets tore into the wall and boxes around us. I pulled Selena down with me to the floor, getting as low as possible.
We let them shoot for a couple more seconds before I rolled onto my stomach. I inched to the edge of our cover and took aim at the first guy to my left. I was barely peeking out, and I was lying on the floor, to boot. They had no idea I was taking aim.
I fired at him, and he fell to the floor.
I felt the slightest bit of power returning to me.
I fired at my next target, a soldier who was taking cover behind a couch near the window. I missed, but the shot scared him enough to make him go back into cover. In fact, most of them had stopped firing, and were presumably waiting for me to have to reload before they started back up again.
“Ka—” Selena tried calling out my name, but was silenced.
I turned and saw one of the men had snuck around and kicked Selena in the face. He pulled his gun up and aimed it at her, but I jumped up and kicked him square in the chest before he had the chance. He flew backwards into the window, and it bowed under his force and weight. I aimed my gun and shot the window behind him without hesitation. He fell backwards out of the tower, and a few seconds later, I felt my powers grow a bit stronger.
“You okay?” I asked Selena, kneeling down next to her as she held her bloody nose.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she said as she sat up.
I fired blindly, keeping Raven’s men down. “Got any more grenades?” I asked.
Selena nodded.
“Okay. Throw one behind their cover on your side. I’ll get mine.”
I returned to my side of the cover and pulled a grenade off my vest. I tossed it behind the couch that I’d been firing at just moments ago. Selena’s went off a split second before mine, and my powers increased two-fold. It was still a small fraction of my normal powers, but every little bit helped. I was sure that if I were to be shot, I would be able to heal. At least, I hoped so.
“That’s enough!” Raven yelled, fear filling his voice. “Men, take care of this! Squash them!”
The half-dozen or so of Raven’s men who were left jumped from their cover, obeying the orders of their master. They charged the place where Selena and I were hiding. I raised my gun, firing into the crowd, but I only got two shots off before my gun clicked.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I cursed under my breath as I frantically tried to reload my gun. Screw it; I didn’t have time. I pulled the handgun from my holster, but I could only take out one guy before another one was on top of me. His gun was aimed directly at my face, and I moved out of its way an instant before he fired. I moved so fast I could almost see the bullet.
I grabbed the barrel of the gun and ripped it from his hands. I slammed it across his head, and he fell to the floor. I flipped the gun around and turned to Selena, firing at the guy behind the one she’d just stabbed with her knife.
A searing pain erupted from my back. I turned and saw that one of the men had slid a knife between my ribs. I elbowed him, sending him stumbling backwards, and grabbed him by his vest.
“Selena, duck!” I screamed.
I threw the soldier over my head, launching him behind me and into one of the men attacking on Selena’s side. The two of them flew out the window I’d broken earlier, plummeting towards the ground.
Six down, just one to go. I looked around and saw that the last man had surrendered. He was on his knees, hands over his head. “Please,” he whimpered. “I give up.”
I stepped out from cover, my gun aimed at him in case he tried anything. “Keep your aim on him, Selena,” I said. “I’ll put him in the stairwell.”
“I do not accept your surrender,” Raven said.
I looked up and saw him aiming a gun at the back of his former bodyguard.
“No!” I shouted. I sprinted behind the man, covering his body with mine.
Raven’s bullet pierced me, and I slumped over in pain. Selena fired at Raven, but her bullets missed.
I turned and rose back to my feet, the pain of the bullet intense and roaring inside me. My adrenaline did its best to take care of it.
Raven jumped back and grabbed the bottle of asthenés plásma. The next thing I knew, he was dangling it out the window. “You two drop your guns, or I will drop the asthenés plásma.”
“You wouldn’t,” I said, aiming my gun, the pain in my back decreasing with each passing second. “You practically worship that thing.”
Raven grinned. “Yes, but you underestimate how much I worship myself. I love living, Kane Andrews. Much more than the asthenés plásma.”
I looked at Selena, who I could tell was conflicted. “Selena,” I said. Her eyes met mine, and she knew what we had to do. We couldn’t let him destroy the asthenés plásma. It was our only hope for defeating Atlas. “Okay,” I said, turning back to Raven. “We’ll drop our—”
A gunshot interrupted me. I turned and saw that the bodyguard I’d spared had used his sidearm.
But I wasn’t bleeding.
I looked up and saw Raven reach with his free hand to the bullet wound in his stomach. His eyes met the bodyguard’s.
“I’ve always hated you, Hugh,”
Raven said. Then he stumbled backwards out the window, taking the asthenés plásma with him.
32
HIGH DIVE
I didn’t hesitate. I threw my gun aside, ran towards the window, and dove out head-first, flying down as fast as I could towards Raven. He looked up at me with a sneer on his face, blood leaking from his wound. I flew as fast as my powers would let me, the wind deafening in my ears.
I reached Raven in just a couple of seconds and ripped the bottle from his hands. It was surprisingly warm to the touch.
I came to a hard stop, having not even reached the halfway point of the building before the asthenés plásma was safe in my arms. I looked below me and watched as Raven plummeted towards the ground. Right before he reached it, he turned in mid-air. He stopped his rapid descent and flew away from the Carlton Centre, his powers having returned to him now that he was farther away from the asthenés plásma. At first he only flew as fast as he would have been able to run, but after only a few seconds of that, he picked up the pace. He reached the edge of the radius of the plásma’s effects, and then took off as fast as he could. The whole ordeal had lasted just a few seconds.
I turned and flew back up to the top floor. Selena was waiting by the window when I entered, with her gun still trained on the bodyguard.
“You got it!” she said, excited.
I nodded. “I’m sorry,” the bodyguard said, whimpering. Tears leaked from his eyes, and his whole body was shaking in fear. “He had my family. He made me work for him.”
“Well,” I said, taking a step towards him, “he got away, thanks to you.” I made no attempt to hide my anger and frustration as I turned back towards the window. “I’m going to end this fight,” I said. Then I jumped out the window, plásma in hand.
* * *
“So, you just flew down and caught it?” Samantha asked.
I was pacing around the room I’d been staying in at Clarissa’s apartment, giving Samantha the low-down on how everything had gone. “Yeah,” I said.
“I thought you said it takes away your powers.”
“It takes away all of everybody else’s powers, but mine are so strong it only takes most of them.”
“But I mean—no offense, but you don’t seem that much stronger than Selena,” Samantha said.
“I was thinking the same thing. I’m not going to pretend I understand any of this, but I feel like the asthenés plásma is a step in that direction.” I sat down on my bed. “Anyway, after that, I flew towards Clarissa’s battle. When they saw I had the asthenés plásma, they knew exactly what that meant, and they surrendered. Most of them were being forced to work for Raven, so they were actually happy when they saw that he was no longer a problem.”
“Except you don’t know that for sure,” Samantha said.
I sighed and lay back on my bed. “I mean, yeah, he’s not dead or anything. But I don’t think we’re going to have to worry about him. He’s going to lick his wounds, but I doubt he’ll return to Johannesburg. If anything, he’s going to come after the plásma, but I wouldn’t be too worried about him. It won’t be anything we can’t handle.”
There was a moment of silence between the two of us. Not one that was awkward, where the two of us were frantically searching for something to say to fill the silence. Just…quiet.
“So, what’s next?” Samantha asked finally.
“ I’m going to sleep for a bit. We only got a couple hours of sleep last night, and I’m really tired. Then, tonight, Selena is going to fly to Texas, and I’ll leave a little bit later with the asthenés plásma. It’ll probably take a while, since I won’t be able to fly as fast, but since there won’t be any other Supers around to increase its power, I should be fine.”
“How long will we be out of contact? What if something goes wrong?” Samantha asked, making no attempt to hide the worry in her voice.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “It won’t be long until I’m back in Texas, and we’re kicking Atlas’ ass together.”
33
HOMEWARD BOUND
It took seventeen hours for me to fly from the coast of South Africa to the coast of Brazil. It was a long, tedious flight, and when I landed in Brazil, I felt tired and hungry. I opened up my backpack and dug around, careful to disturb the bottle of asthenés plásma as little as possible.
I pulled out and devoured a couple of granola bars. I then chugged an entire bottle of water before pulling the backpack on again. I waited for a few more moments, collecting my thoughts, before I took off, then slowly made my way back towards Texas, where Samantha and the rest of the gang were eagerly awaiting my arrival.
* * *
A little over thirty hours later, I reached the army base where the rest of the group was waiting for me. I landed outside the gymnasium feeling like my legs were going to collapse beneath me as soon as they touched the ground. I’d taken a couple breaks here and there, but for the most part I’d flown non-stop. I couldn’t take any more breaks now. I wanted to get back home as soon as possible and get to work on the asthenés plásma.
I stepped through the front doors of the gym, passing by the many pictures and trophies that were framed in the front entrance. Then I walked through the doors that led to the recreational basketball court, a cool blast of AC hitting my face.
At the edge of the court Doug and Samantha were sitting at desks side by side, typing away on their computers. There were a couple of soldiers playing basketball, while others who were off duty were hanging out with each other in the bleachers set up on my side of the gym.
I walked over to where Doug and Samantha were working, not announcing my arrival. I had a smile on my face as I waited to see how long it would take for them to notice me. Samantha went on typing, her eyebrows furrowed behind her glasses in concentration.
Doug looked up from his computer screen and saw me. He gave me a simple nod and a smile before returning to his work. I continued walking towards them as his movement caught Samantha’s eye. She looked up and saw me walking towards her, and practically jumped over her desk.
She collected herself and rushed towards me with a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re back,” she said as she reached me.
I couldn’t help but grin as I gave her a hug. “Me too,” I said. It was so nice to have such a strong support system, with Samantha at the forefront. I didn’t know what I’d do without her friendship and counsel, and it was nice to finally hear her voice with my ears instead of inside my head.
“How was your flight over?” she asked as she pulled away.
“Oh, you know, it was fine. I just wish the in-flight entertainment options were a bit nicer,” I said.
Samantha chuckled. “So, is it in your backpack? The asthenés plásma? Wait, wait, don’t tell me.” She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Her expression grew more and more frustrated. She released the breath she’d been holding and opened her eyes. “Yep, nothing. Unless you were playing a trick on me and not responding to my question,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
I raised my hands in defense. “I didn’t hear anything, I swear. It’s right here in my backpack.”
Samantha’s eyes glowed, but from excitement and curiosity, not because of her powers. “Wow, this feels so weird.” She looked down at her hands as if they had somehow changed with the removal of her powers. “I’m…normal.”
I wanted to say, “Trust me, you’re still special to me,” as a cheesy joke, but stopped myself as I didn’t want her to take it the wrong way. “Yeah, it does feel strange. I’m feeling weaker and weaker with you and the rest of the Supers around. Speaking of which, where’s Selena?” I asked, looking around.
“She’s out doing some weapons training. But I still want to see the plásma,” she said, her eyes wandering to the top of my backpack, which stuck up above my shoulders.
“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to see it,” I said. “But first, I really, really, really want some sleep. I’ve been flying for over thirty
hours.” I stifled a yawn.
“I can hold it while you rest. We can start trying to figure it out,” she said, her eyes still on my backpack.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Samantha.”
Her eyes looked into mine, her disappointment growing. “Why is that?”
I hesitated. I didn’t want her to take my next words the wrong way. “This stuff made Raven go insane. It’s dangerous stuff. I need to be there when we start experimenting with it—whatever that means.” I shrugged, forcing a laugh. “I’ve spent the last thirty hours with it on my back, and I’ve learned nothing,” I said, trying to soften the blow.
“In that case, if we just spend a few hours with it, it should be fine,” Samantha shot back, crossing her arms.
“No, Samantha. I have to be there in case anything goes wrong. If it does, I can grab it and get it out of here before anybody gets hurt.”
Samantha looked away, unable to argue my point.
“We know nothing about this stuff,” I reminded her. “I don’t want to start messing around with it unless everybody is there and we’re ready for any possibility.”
Samantha nodded, but I could tell she was still frustrated and disappointed. “Fine,” she said. “Have a nice nap.” With that, she turned around and walked back to her desk.
I stood there for a few seconds, watching her walk away. Then I sighed and shook my head, turning to walk out of the gym. I wasn’t trying to make her mad—I was trying to keep her safe.
The backpack felt heavy on my shoulders, and my eyelids felt even heavier. I made my way to the barracks, ready to collapse onto the first empty bed I could find.
III
ASTHENÉS PLÁSMA
34
THE BOARD
A jolt of Eximus energy through the device attached to her bicep kept Director Loren’s manifestations at bay. Now that that had been taken care of, she was able to turn her attention back to the meeting at hand.
The War of the Supers (The First Superhero Book 3) Page 13
