The Guardians Omnibus

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  So…does this make me Aquaman now?

  ❖

  “Remind me, you have track practice after school, today right?” Dad asked, pulling into the school parking lot.

  “Yup.” Quinn gestured to the gym bag in the back seat.

  “That’s right, sorry. My mind’s still freaked out about this past week. You’re super-sure you want to go to school today?”

  “Definitely,” Quinn said. “I don’t want to be cooped up any more.”

  “I hear ya.” Dad stopped the car and smiled at his son. “Give us a hug.”

  Quinn leaned over and hugged his father. “See you tonight, Dad.” Then he grabbed his backpack and gym bag from the back seat and shut the door, waving to his dad as he walked toward the school building.

  “Hey Quinn!” someone yelled out. “Welcome back.”

  Quinn looked up and waved. It was Joe, from the track team. “Thanks, man,” Quinn yelled back.

  “Quinn!” a familiar voice called out. It was Ravone. Quinn waved and jogged over to the bench she and Loren were sitting on. She stood up and extended her arms toward him. He dropped his gym bag on the ground and wrapped his arms around her.

  “What the hell kind of trouble have you been up to?” Ravone asked. “Wait, you’re okay, right? Oh, never mind. I’m just glad to have you back in one piece.”

  “Um, I can’t wait to tell you, yes, and yes,” Quinn said, smiling.

  They stopped hugging and Loren stood up to hug him as well. “Your dads called our parents and told us you were in the hospital.”

  “Oh boy,” Quinn said, hugging Loren. He let go and sat down in between Loren and Ravone.

  “So, are you an official lightning strike survivor?” Loren asked.

  “Wait,” Ravone said. “Blake’s back too, right? He’s just not here yet?”

  “Yeah, he’s back,” Quinn said, looking around. “He’s probably just late or something. And, uh, the honest answer is, we don’t know about the lightning strike. Something definitely happened, though.” I need to talk to Blake first about whether we talk about the tunnel and the cave thing or keep it quiet.

  “We did our homework,” Ravone said, briefly waving her phone. “There was a freak thunderstorm with a microburst that touched down not far from the campground you guys were staying at. That must have been so scary!”

  “On Saturday night? Yeah totally. We took shelter in my dad’s SUV until the storm passed. It was pretty quick, actually. The next morning, we saw a bunch of downed trees on the other side of the campground. No one got hurt, but it could have been a bad scene.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Loren exclaimed.

  “Yeah,” Quinn said, “I know, right? They could have fallen on us. Anyway, Blake and I decided to go exploring and we found some hiking trails. On the trail we took, we saw a whole row of pine trees knocked down and we followed them into the woods. When we came back, we never made it to the campground. Apparently, a family found us unconscious on the trail and that's how we ended up in the hospital for several days.”

  “Wow,” Ravone said shaking her head. “Is it true what your dad said? That you guys actually died and the doctors had to resuscitate you?”

  Quinn nodded. “That's what they told us.”

  “That’s so cool,” Loren said, smiling. Then, his face expressed sadness. “I mean, that’s terrible.”

  “I know what you mean,” Quinn said, laughing. “Out of curiosity, when you were checking up on the weather, did you see any weather reports for Sunday morning?”

  “Not really,” Ravone said. “It looked like it was mostly sunny with pockets of rain here in the northern parts of New Hampshire and Maine.”

  “Oh, okay, I just…” Quinn slapped the side of his head with his right hand as a loud noise echoed in his ears. “What the hell is that?”

  “What’s what?” Loren asked, looking at Ravone with confusion.

  “You don’t hear that loud noise?”

  “No…” Ravone said, looking around.

  Suddenly, Quinn was overwhelmed with a strong sense of proximity to Blake. Specifically, he saw in his mind that Blake was fifty-feet to his left and walking toward him. Except now, Blake had stopped walking and squatted, cradling his head in both hands. Quinn looked out and confirmed with his eyes what his mind told him.

  Holy shit, I can sense you.

  Quinn watched Blake shake his head as the sensation faded for both boys. Blake stood, looked around, and continued walking toward the group, shooting Quinn a worried look.

  Ravone got up and jogged toward Blake, shouting something about him being okay.

  “They should just date,” Loren said.

  Quinn slapped his thigh and laughed. “Uh, I think poor Ravone is going to find herself in a tragic Shakespearean stage play of unrequited love.”

  “Oh, I know…she’s already there. It was worth a shot, though.”

  Blake and Ravone joined Quinn and Loren on the bench.

  “Hey Blake,” Quinn said, “I was just telling the gals here about our adventure.”

  “Oh?” Blake said, sounding concerned.

  “Yeah, I was telling them what Doctor Victor told our parents about the Sunday morning thunderstorms and how no one’s really sure if we got struck by lightning or not.”

  “Oh, right, that.” Blake said, looking relieved.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll have time to catch up, right?” Quinn asked, raising his eyebrows, hoping Blake caught the message.

  “Yes,” Blake answered, nodding slowly.

  “Hey, Quinn,” a sexy voice said.

  Whoa!

  Quinn turned and saw Keegan standing there, shirtless and holding his longboard in his left hand.

  “Hi,” Quinn said, his voice pitching much higher than he expected.

  “Hey, Blake. Heard you guys were in the hospital this week. Glad you're okay. Nothing serious I hope?”

  “Nothing serious if you don’t consider surviving a lightning strike serious,” Loren commented.

  Blake rolled his eyes and chuckled.

  “Really?” Keegan asked, eyes wide.

  “Well, we don’t really know, but it might have been that, yeah.”

  “Wow. I want to say that’s awesome but that seems really awkward to say at the moment.”

  “I get it,” Quinn said, smiling. Some confidence found its way into his mind. “I’ll tell you about it later if you want.”

  The three heads of Blake, Ravone and Loren snapped to attention and then turned to Keegan.

  Keegan slowly nodded. “Sure. Gotta go for now, though. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Quinn said, raising a hand to wave as the wheels of Keegan’s longboard clacked down onto the pavement. Seconds later, Keegan was gone.

  Quinn felt his eyes pop open as he turned his head to face his friends. He squealed with delight and clapped his hands. His friends laughed with him.

  Finally. My crush knows I exist.

  ❖

  Quinn approached the library doors. He stumbled when a sudden, loud ringing echoed in his ears, similar to the one he felt earlier that morning. He grabbed at his temples with the palms of both hands. Then, he sensed exactly where Blake sat in the library. A moment later, the sensation abated, and he walked into the library to look for Blake. Sure enough, Blake sat where he expected, lowering his hands from his head.

  They had agreed to meet during their free period to discuss the morning’s unexpected sensory event. The table Blake sat at was secluded and they could chat in private without other students overhearing them. He sat down and pulled out his biology text and note books to make it look like he was studying.

  “Hey,” Blake said, shaking his head. “That’s annoying.”

  “Hi,” Quinn answered. “No kidding, but we’ll get to that in a second. The first thing we need to be on the same page about is the story we tell people, right? So, are we good with the mystery lightning storm and not ever talking about the underground stuff?”

  Blake nodd
ed. “Totally. I realized last night we didn’t get a chance to sync up about our story. There’s already enough confusion around it, officially at least. Besides, I don’t want anyone knowing what we did.”

  “I know, right? Someone else might not survive that ordeal.”

  “I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

  “Oh, okay. All right, secondly, you felt or heard—not sure which—that thing in your head when you got near me this morning? And just now before I walked into the library?”

  Blake leaned forward. “Yes, how freaky was that? This morning, I knew exactly where you were and how far away you were from me. I even knew, for like a split second, that you were feeling the same pain I was. Just now, I knew you were walking in here.”

  “Ditto for me. I knew exactly where you were, too. We’re gonna have to test this one out. This is apparently our second super power.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “We have super powers now.”

  “Powers?” Blake said, emphasizing the plurality of the word.

  “Yeah…you know, this morning in the shower, did you…”

  “Well, yeah, but I do that all the time,”

  “What?” Quinn asked, staring blankly at Blake.

  “You know,” Blake answered, gesturing with his hand.

  “Oh!” Quinn said. “Right, but that’s not at all what I’m talking about.”

  “Uh…you’ve lost me then.”

  “The water. The thing with the water. Did you have the water super power?”

  Blake slowly shook his head.

  Quinn leaned in. “The water didn’t float in the shower?”

  Blake shook his head again, his face awash with confusion. He leaned forward and whispered, “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh man, you will, I know you will. Unless…our powers were different. Whoa, that would really make us a dynamic duo.”

  “Stop, just stop. I am not the Robin to your Batman, no matter what’s going on. Take a deep breath and explain to me what this water power is.”

  “Okay…” Quinn took a deep breath and explained the water phenomenon he experienced in the shower. Blake’s eyes widened with surprise and then disappointment as Quinn finished his story. “And then I could control it. I don’t know why or how…but I could.”

  “I didn’t do anything magical in the shower.”

  “Huh, that’s weird.”

  “If you get powers and I don’t, I’ll be pissed.”

  “Well, you can sense me. So, that’s good sign.”

  “You can sense me, that’s a good sign,” Darien jeered, glaring at them as he walked by their table. Blake glared back at him and they watched him go, but not before Darien flipped them the bird and called out “Losers” at a level much too loud for the library.

  “What a jerk,” Quinn said. “I want to punch him out so bad.”

  Blake smiled and whispered to Quinn. “Wait, can you get him all wet or something?”

  “I would need water, and I don’t know. I don’t fully understand how to control it yet.”

  ❖

  Two periods later, Quinn sat in the fourth row of physics class. A few seats over, Keegan Miller took notes as Mr. St. Germain, one of Quinn’s favorite teachers, explained the principles of fluid mechanics, a startlingly on-point topic Quinn took no interest in. Instead, he gazed at the back of Keegan’s head and daydreamed of an imaginary first date in Prescott Park with Keegan.

  “Did you want to kiss me tonight?” Keegan asked.

  Quinn felt the blood rush to his cheeks. “Yes,” he answered sheepishly. “Of course.”

  “Good, because I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time now.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really,” Keegan said, shifting closer to Quinn on the lawn blanket they had brought to the park. “I’ve always thought you were cute. I didn’t think you liked me, though. I’m glad I was wrong.”

  Their thighs touched and Quinn could barely contain his excitement—and nervousness.

  “Me too,” Quinn said. Then he stared into the piercing blue eyes that looked back at him and smiled.

  “So,” Keegan said, blushing a little and running his hand through his hair.

  “Yeah?” Quinn said.

  Keegan chuckled and shuffled closer again. Now, their shoulders were touching.

  Quinn leaned forward and met Keegan’s lips.

  Crash!

  The sound of shattering glass snapped Quinn back to reality. At the same time, Mr. St. Germain stopped talking and looked at the back of the science room where the chemistry equipment was stored. The entire class, and Quinn, turned around to see what had happened. They all gasped softly when they saw several of the large 1000 mL beakers on the top shelf had shattered. Pieces of glass were still falling between the shelves and the locked glass cabinets that prevented students from accessing the equipment them without teacher supervision.

  Oh crap, did I do that?

  “Huh,” Mr. St. Germain said. “Didn’t expect that today.”

  “What just happened?” a girl asked at the back of the room.

  Quinn sat back down and shrank into his chair.

  I just happened, that’s what.

  1-9 | Testing the Waters

  Blake

  BLAKE’S TIRED LEGS BURNED AND begged him to stop running, but he couldn’t give in. Less than a mile away, the school track field signaled the end of another grueling run Coach had sent the team on around Portsmouth. Several days away from running, while laid up in the hospital, had softened up his endurance, but he was determined to get it back. He felt aggravated by his not-so-thrilling performance because he didn’t like finishing with the last group. Despite his fatigue, he thought he sensed a newfound strength bubbling up inside him that encouraged him to finish strong. He had never felt this before…or maybe his muscles weren’t as soft as he thought.

  Several hundred feet behind him, Quinn was being dramatic about dying and losing the will to live. Blake chuckled.

  Five minutes, later, Blake turned onto Andrew Jarvis Drive, the street that would take him to the high school campus and its athletic fields. Someone leaving the campus shouted, “Go Clippers” and beeped their car horn at him. He absentmindedly waved as he ran through the nearby parking lot between him and the track field.

  That’s when he noticed someone running toward him. “What’s up, champ?” Darien called out. He started jogging alongside Blake. “You’re all super-sweaty today.”

  Oh come on, I don’t need your shit today.

  “Hey,” Blake said, breathing heavy as his eyes focused on the gates to Clippers Field. He glanced down and saw the sweat glistening on his torso and arms. He could feel beads of sweat rolling down the shirtless skin of his back, chest, and sides. His running shorts were soaked, and the sweat dripped to the ground from his elbows. Good grief, why am I such a sweaty mess today?

  “Glad to see you were still able to run after your little siesta in the woods. I wish my daddies would take me out of school to go on a vacation.”

  Blake rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Darien,” he said through huffs. If we weren’t on school grounds I’d clock you good right now.

  “Aww, what’s the matter? Are you out of breath?”

  Blake shrugged. “So what? The sun’s hot today. Also, I haven’t run for a week.” It was a hot day, probably one of the last few until the spring, but it wasn’t like running in the middle of the summer.

  “I guess when you take almost a full week off from school to go camping with your boyfriend you can’t…”

  Blake snarled and abruptly stopped running in the middle of the parking lot and grabbed Darien’s right arm at the biceps, jerking him to a standstill. “He’s not my—”

  “Ouch! Jesus Christ!” Darien yelled. He wrenched his arm free from Blake’s grip. “Don’t squeeze so hard, that fucking burned!” Surprised, Blake looked at Darien’s arm and noted a red imprint where his hand had grabbed Darien’s bicep.


  “You deserve it, you little shit,” Blake said angrily.

  Darien winced and backed up. “Wow, you’re hot.”

  “What is your problem now?” Blake exclaimed, confused. You’re not gay, or are you?

  “You’re hot, like you’re on fire or something. I can feel the heat coming off your body.” Darien lightly tapped at his arm where Blake’s hand had grabbed him.

  What are you talking about?

  “You're such a freak, Hargreaves,” Darien said, backing away toward the field where the rest of the team was stretching and cooling down. “You and your little boyfriend Quinn the Queer.”

  Blake’s hands balled into fists and tightened. He took a step forward and then grabbed the side of his head with his hands as an overwhelming sense of proximity to Quinn echoed in his mind. Blake turned around to confirm what his mind told him, that Quinn was jogging toward him on the other side of the parking lot. Quinn’s hands moved toward his head and he slowed to a stop, doubling over for a moment before jumping up and walking over to Blake.

  “Freaks,” Darien yelled. Blake turned his head and watched him run across the field.

  “Hey,” Quinn called out, clutching his side. Blake turned to look at his friend.

  Quinn’s mouth fell open when he met Blake’s gaze. “Oh my gosh!”

  “What?” Blake asked.

  Quinn looked around and grabbed Blake’s arm. “Walk with me. Wow, you’re hot.” Quinn pulled him toward the edge of the parking lot where no one would see them.

  “What’s wrong?” Blake asked.

  “Your eyes are glowing yellow-orange,” Quinn said softly.

  “What?” Blake said, blinking.

  “Your eyes are glowing,” Quinn repeated in a loud whisper.

  Blake took a moment to sense his body. “I can feel something different behind my eyes.”

  “Turn them off, now!”

  “I don’t know how!”

  “Okay, okay” Quinn said. “Just take a minute to breathe. Close your eyes and try to forget about Darien.”

  Blake felt power surge behind his eyes at the bully’s name.