The Guardians Omnibus

by Damien Benoit-Ledoux

  Four marines jogged through the hallway, each one holding a stun gun while their free arms were extended, swinging through the empty hallway near them as they passed through.

  Dammit.

  Dark Flame realized he wouldn’t be able to hide. With only seconds to react, he flattened himself against the wall, but one of the soldier’s hands smacked into his shoulder. The surprised soldier spun around and fired his stun gun at point-blank range into Dark Flame’s invisible chest. Dark Flame involuntarily shifted to the visible spectrum again and screamed in agony at the searing, white-hot energy burning his chest and arcing over his shirtless torso. The three accompanying guards trained their weapons on him and fired. One of them radioed for backup.

  Pinned against the wall in excruciating agony, Dark Flame’s face twisted with anger and he did the only thing he could think of in the moment: play possum. He let himself collapse face-first to the floor, and the four guards stopped firing. His body and limbs twitched in the residual electrical current.

  “Did we get him?”

  “I think so.”

  “Keep your TaseBolts trained on him. If he moves, hit him again.”

  TaseBolts. So, that’s what they’re called.

  Footsteps reverberating through the floor alerted Dark Flame to the impending arrival of more soldiers.

  Strike now!

  Focusing on the soldiers in his proximity, he telekinetically swept their legs out from under them. The soldiers yelled in surprise and crashed to the floor. He grabbed the TaseBolts with his mind, snapped them in half, and tossed them to the other side of the hallway.

  Then, he jumped to his feet and raced through the building to the northwest corner of the building, crashing through closed doors like they were cardboard and telekinetically incapacitating soldiers before they could react.

  Dark Flame found the inside corner the contractors had built and started punching through it, ripping large pieces of sheetrock and metal bracing from the wall and tossing them aside. When he had made a sufficiently large hole, he looked inside and saw the familiar metal conduit piping.

  Too easy.

  He reached inside and pulled with considerable force. The conduit piping broke free from the metal wall mounts and the entire inside corner gave way and crumbled to the floor around him, spraying white plaster dust into the air. Dark Flame squeezed and ripped the conduit piping apart. This time the wiring tore under the force he exerted on it. Superheating his hands, he fused the two ends of the piping. Satisfied the job was done, he turned around and stared at the stern faces of soldiers pointing TaseBolts at him.

  “Fire!” one of them yelled.

  Shit.

  Six angry streams of white-hot energy lanced through the air and crashed into his bare chest, scalding his skin and spraying arcs of electricity into the air around him that reconnected and careened over his body. He grunted and tried to sidestep and evade the nasty beams, but the soldiers shifted their aim with him.

  Horrified at the unyielding and intense pain he felt, Dark Flame felt his body seizing up as he lost control of his muscles. His entire body quaked and trembled as incredible amounts of throbbing voltage coursed through him, scalding his chest, abs, and wherever the energy connected with his body. More soldiers appeared and fired their TaseBolts at him.

  Shit, I’m trapped. When the hell am I going to learn?

  Succumbing to the pain and anguish that quickly overloaded his mind, Dark Flame dropped to his knees for a few seconds, then fell to the floor, his body convulsing under the strain of the strong electrical charges passing through him.

  Darkness encroached upon his mind until all but one of the stun beams stopped firing. He felt soldiers slap metal shackles on his wrists and ankles.

  They’ve learned, they know they’ve got me as long as one of those TaseBolts is holding me down.

  Too weak to fight back without a moment to recoup his strength, he surrendered his mind to the darkness.

  4-15 | Fallout

  Quinn

  QUINN, RAVONE, AND LOREN WALKED through the emptying hallways looking for Keegan, but he was nowhere to be found. Many of the students left school once the principal announced an emergency early-dismissal due to Quinn and Blake’s epic fight, but Quinn hoped Keegan had stuck around so they could talk.

  Students regarded him with mixed reactions. Most were positive, some were terrified, and others found ways to be mean and ostracize him as a freak of nature.

  “Do you think he left already?” Quinn asked, his heart tormented by trepidation. I just want to know he’s all right with me being Blue Spekter.

  “I don’t know. The only places we haven’t checked are the library and the boy’s locker room, which you’re doing on your own,” Ravone said.

  They rounded the corner and saw Keegan walking toward them. Quinn smiled and waved, but Keegan’s face dropped with hurt and disappointment when he saw Quinn. Then, he spun on his heels and walked away from them.

  What the heck?

  Quinn jogged after him.

  “Quinn, wait,” Ravone said, but he ignored her.

  “Keegan, wait up,” Quinn said, but his boyfriend picked up the pace and then Quinn all but ran after him.

  “Get away from me,” Keegan shouted over his shoulder.

  Quinn froze in his tracks, his sneakers squeaking on the laminate tile floor. Students in the hallway stopped their conversations and gawked at the couple.

  “Keegan, please believe me, I wanted to tell you, but…”

  Keegan spun around, and Quinn spotted tears flowing down his cheeks. “You lied to me. You’re not the guy I thought I was dating…like at all.” His hand swiped the air in front of him. “You’re a completely different…person.”

  “I’m not!” Quinn said, his heart pounding and his stomach lurching when he realized Keegan was probably breaking up with him. “I’m still me, but just a little more than you knew. I was going to tell you, but…

  “A little more?” Keegan asked, his voice shaking with anger. He shook his head. “No, I can’t. Relationships are built on trust, not lies. I’m sorry.”

  “Keegan please!” Quinn shouted, reaching out with his right hand, but his words were choked with emotion and anguish. Keegan looked at Quinn’s hand and stepped back.

  “Please don’t go,” Quinn whispered as the lights above him flickered wildly.

  Keegan looked up and pointed at the lights. “I always wondered why the lights flashed when I was around you, and now I know it’s because you are a super-powered…freak. I’m sorry, but we’re done. Goodbye, Quinn.”

  “No, please…don’t go…” Quinn whimpered, dropping to his knees as his stomach churned and his heart filled with an intense ache he had never experienced before.

  Behind him, Ravone and Loren rushed up to support him. Quinn watched Keegan’s body bounce with his footsteps, his jovial stride being one of the many adorable things Quinn loved about Keegan. And then, his ex-boyfriend walked around a corner and out of his life.

  “No,” Quinn whispered, the thunderous silence of the shocked students in the hallway overpowering his ears. Then, his emotions took over and he cried, unknowingly pulled into Ravone’s arms, where he sobbed through the pain and hurt of being dumped. When his tears eventually subsided, the ache in his heart remained as painful as ever.

  Shit, Keegan is gone.

  In the hallways, passing students regarded the trio with wonder.

  “Come on,” Ravone said. “Let’s get you home.”

  Quinn stood with Loren and Ravone, his mind barely able to function.

  “Give me your keys,” Ravone said, “and I’ll drive you home. Loren will follow us so she can bring me back to my car.”

  “Okay,” Quinn said, reaching into his pocket to hand her his keys.

  ❖

  Quinn was sobbing in Loren’s arms in the living room when Daddio came home, but Quinn wasn’t aware of his arrival. He didn’t hear Ravone explain to his father what happened at sc
hool, how Quinn saved them, or when she shared the sad news of the boys’ breakup.

  When Quinn came up for air, he realized the hand rubbing his back belonged to Daddio. He looked up at his father, who wiped the tears from his cheeks with his left hand.

  “Hey kiddo, heard you had a rough day,” Daddio said, feigning a smile.

  Quinn nodded and wiped his eyes. “It sucked, I don’t want this anymore. I don’t want to b-b-be Blue Spekter,” Quinn said, sputtering into another round of sobs. Loren and Ravone wiped their eyes, and Daddio pulled his son toward him.

  “I know it hurts a lot Quinn. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world.”

  “I hate it,” Quinn cried out. “I just want Keegan back.”

  “Maybe he’ll change his mind,” Ravone said. “You have to admit, you and Blake revealing yourselves to the high school is a really big deal.”

  “Not everyone thinks that, though,” Quinn protested.

  Daddio nodded. “I know, to be rejected by the one person that mattered most is…”

  Quinn’s shoulders heaved at his dad’s words.

  “Oops, sorry,” Daddio said, but it was too late. The dam burst, and Quinn’s emotions spilled over once more as he leaned into his momentarily tactless father’s arms.

  Several minutes later, when Quinn’s tear ducts ran dry, he sat back and looked at the coffee table.

  “I um…I think I want to be alone.”

  “Okay,” Daddio said. “If you need anything, I’m home for the rest of the day.”

  “Thanks,” Quinn said.

  Daddio stood. “Thanks for bringing him home, Ravone, and Loren. It’s good to see you, though I wish…” he trailed off, then looked at Quinn for a moment and walked out of the living room.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Ravone said, taking Quinn’s hand and gently squeezing it.

  “Thanks, guys. I don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t…” Emotions rose and choked his sentence, but his friends smiled and nodded at him.

  “Call us if you need anything, okay?” Loren said. Then, they grabbed their coats from the couch near the door and left.

  Quinn curled up in a ball on the couch and pulled a blanket over him to darken the room. Moments later, he fell asleep.

  ❖

  Quinn toyed with his spaghetti at the dinner table. Like him, his dads were also less talkative than normal. They’re probably respecting my space by not being too goofy or happy.

  He sighed.

  Dad cleared his throat “Look, I know this sucks, but…”

  “Please, don’t,” Quinn said, stabbing a meatball with his fork.

  “I was going to ask you to stop hogging the parmesan cheese and pass it over.”

  What? Quinn looked at the table around him and saw the bowl of freshly grated parmesan cheese was to his left. “Oh,” he responded, feeling a small smile tickle his face. He grabbed the bowl and handed it across the table to Dad. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be, breakups are terrible, painful events. You have a right to work through your pain.”

  “Yeah, we both know what it’s like, but don’t worry, we won’t bore you with those stories, will we, hun?” Daddio said. Quinn noted the not-so-subtle hint lingering in the tone of his father’s voice.

  “Right, definitely not tonight. Wasn’t thinking about doing that at all.”

  “Uh-huh,” Daddio said, smirking.

  “I don’t think I have any tears left today,” Quinn said, twirling spaghetti around his fork.

  “Or an appetite. I hoped your favorite comfort food would entice you to eat, but…I get it,” Daddio said.

  “Thanks for trying. This superhero thing is too much. I’ve lost Blake, I’ve lost Keegan…it’s a wonder I didn’t lose you guys or Ravone and Loren in the process.”

  “You’d never lose us, you hear me?” Dad said, pointing sternly at Quinn. “You are our son, Quinn. Being gay or being a superhero doesn’t change that in our eyes. It just means learning more about you and having one hell of a story to tell our grandkids one day.”

  Quinn smiled. Like his dads, he wanted a family of his own, something he hadn’t thought about since Labor Day. “Thanks.”

  “Maybe Keegan will change his mind,” Daddio said.

  Quinn sighed. “I dunno. You heard him, he’s always been against Blue Spekter.”

  “Yeah, but now he’s realized he’s in love with Blue Spekter, and love makes people do funny things they don’t expect to do.”

  “I just don’t understand why he broke up with me so fast.”

  “Some people take longer to process unbelievable things. Put yourself in his shoes. The guy you’re dating is the very world-changing thing you’re struggling to accept. That doesn’t make it any easier to find out the truth. In fact, to me, it would make it seem like you were deliberately lying to me. And, if you think about it, you have been lying to us since Labor Day.”

  “How did you guys take it so well?”

  “Cuz we’re older and wiser,” Dad said, chuckling.

  “You’re older,” Daddio said, teasing his husband.

  “How very dare you,” Dad exclaimed, mimicking Derek, one of comedian Catherine Tate’s characters.

  Daddio turned to Quinn. “And, we saw our son turn blue and fly away to save people. Well, a bridge and a ship, if you think about it. But that’s not the point. It’s not like you turned orange…dammit. Sorry, didn’t mean to bring Blake up.”

  It was Quinn’s turn to chuckle. “It’s okay. I’m working out a plan to get him back. My team…”

  “The Guardians?” Daddio said.

  “What?”

  “Your team,” Daddio said. “The Protectors just doesn’t roll off the tongue. Besides, if the name sticks, I want full credit.”

  “The Guardians,” Quinn thoughtfully repeated, then shrugged. “I dunno. We’ll see. Anyway, we’re gonna get him back, I just know it. I can’t lose my best friend and the love of my life in the same year.”

  His dads glanced at each other and smiled. Dad spoke next. “You’re right, that’s not fair, so you have a good chance at getting one, if not both, back.”

  Quinn smiled and nodded, knowing his fathers’ encouragement was meant to be supportive, not mockery. “How long will it hurt?”

  His fathers regarded one another again, this time with confused expression. “Uh, what do you mean?” Dad asked.

  “The weird, horrible pain in my chest. It’s like…pressure that wants to escape but it’s nothing like a burp or heartburn. It just hurts, right here.” He pressed his hand against his sternum. “Being impaled by rebar didn’t hurt this much. And like, the emotions. I feel like I could cry at any moment for any reason right now, but I’m so tired of crying.”

  “Ah,” Daddio replied. “Unfortunately, that can last for several days.”

  “But it gets easier. This isn’t going to be comforting to you right now, but I hope it’s obvious you aren’t the first person to be dumped,” Dad said.

  Daddio frowned at Dad and Quinn shook his head. “Uh, yeah, not comforting at all.”

  “All I meant was, you will be okay. I’m sure Keegan is feeling pretty terrible, too. There’s no easy fix except time,” Dad said.

  “And there’s one other horrible thing coming at you,” Daddio said.

  “Yay me. And that would be what?”

  “When you see Keegan in school, it’s going to feel like someone ripped off a very sticky Band Aid.”

  “Great.”

  “Sorry, bud. There’s no easy fix to a broken heart.”

  Fix…I have to fix…I have to fix what happened today.

  “I need to go out tonight.”

  “Um, where exactly?”

  “To where Camilla Brenhurst will be…as Blue Spekter.”

  The news is predictable. I need to find out where Camilla Brenhurst will broadcast from tonight and interrupt her newscast to get on television and reassure people I’m the good guy. I know Chief Applegate
will shit a brick, but it’s what I need to do.

  ❖

  Wearing his Blue Spekter suit, Quinn flew through the cold night air toward North Church in Market Square where Camilla would be broadcasting live for the eleven o’clock news. Assuming the story would be broadcast within the first ten minutes, he stood on top of the Portsmouth Athenaeum, a historic library, gallery, and museum, set on the other side of Market Square. The bright spotlights on the roof that illuminated the iconic white steeple of North Church masked his presence from onlookers below and in the neighboring apartments and condos.

  Several minutes passed and then Phil—Camilla’s cameraman—stepped back from his conversation with Camilla and moved behind the news camera mounted on a tripod. He pressed a hand against his ear and then looked into the viewer, adjusting it before raising a few fingers and counting her down. With his super hearing he listened in.

  “Good evening. That’s right, Paula, when super villain Dark Flame threatened the Portsmouth High School holiday assembly, superhero Blue Spekter was there to save the day and protect the student body from getting hurt.”

  It’s now or never, before she spills the beans for me.

  Quinn jumped and quietly soared across Market Square, twisting around so he would land behind Camilla in the camera’s field of vision. Illuminating his body and his eyes, he descended, surprising Phil who silently pointed up at him.

  Camilla stopped speaking and looked over her shoulder at him, her face momentarily alarmed at the sight of the approaching superhero.

  A moment later Quinn landed gently and nodded to the news reporter. “Hello, Camilla. I have something to say to your viewers, if that’s all right with you.”

  Camilla turned and looked at Phil who pressed a finger to his ear for instructions, but Camilla didn’t wait for clearance.

  “By all means, Blue Spekter,” she said.

  He powered down his body, leaving his eyes glowing a little bit—enough to obscure what the suit’s cowl didn’t hide from the camera. He stepped forward and stood tall, folding his hands behind his back. Camilla held the microphone for him as he spoke.