All American Rejects (Users #3)

by Stacy

  "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. There was only one dose, and now it's inside me," Heath said with a sickening grin.

  "Won't your bosses over at the government be pissed when they don't get their shipment for their super soldiers?" Carter asked thoroughly confused.

  Heath cackled with laughter. "And what if they are? It's not like they can stop me now, not with all these powers. I'm going to eradicate every User on the planet, and anyone else who stands in my way. Starting with you."

  "What?" Carter shook his head, thoroughly confused. "Why would you want to kill Users? You planning on draining the entire planet's worth of Users powers? Is this some nerdy, Highlander, there can be only one, shit? You really think you can handle that much power?"

  "No, not for that," Heath said, incredulously. "I want not for the glory of being the only and all powerful one, I'm going to kill them for sport."

  "Wow, your weirder than I thought," Carter said. "So tell me, what exactly did we ever do to you? Or are you just some serial killer with a hard-on for Users?"

  "Users are the scum of the earth. They are a plague on human kind," Heath said.

  He grabbed Carter with his telekinesis, lifted him up off his feet, and drug him across the room so he could look Carter right in the eyes.

  "When I was just a child, a User broke into our house in the middle of the night, and murdered my parents, right in front of me. He slaughtered them, without a second thought, and all he took was my mom's jewelry. He killed them. For a couple of handfuls of shiny metal. That's all their life was worth to him. And I find your kind to be worth even less to me. I will eradicate you for the pleasure."

  "So, killing thousands of innocent people is going to make that better? How is that going to bring them back?" Carter asked.

  "Don't call yourselves people," Heath spat the words out at him and continued with a low growl in his voice "You're not people. You're Users."

  Heath shoved both arms out, throwing Carter into the wall. Carter wasn't sure if it was his bones or the drywall that crunched as he impacted. Then, Heath lifted both arms to the sky, launching Carter into the air where he slammed into the ceiling. The ceiling tiles exploded into chunks that rained down from above.

  Carter screamed as Heath simply let go of him. Gravity did Heath's dirty work, dropping Carter from the ceiling to the floor. Feeling he had control of his body once more, Carter ignited the flames in his feet and palms, saving himself from doing a belly flop on the concrete floor from nearly ten feet up. He hovered just inches above the ground, the fire shooting from his palms and feet like rockets.

  "You are the resourceful one, aren't you?" Heath said. "Well, let's see how you handle this."

  Carter braced himself, expecting the worst, and Heath did not disappoint.

  The scientist may be new to his powers, but he had clearly done his research on the vast array of abilities he had equipped himself with. He unleashed a bloodcurdling scream that threw anything not tied down across the room. The scream was so powerful it ripped the doors off of the cabinets, peeled the tops off of the tables, and sent a field of debris soaring across the room at Carter. A table top hit Carter hard. He had his arms up defensively, but the table racked the bones in his forearms before it was knocked aside. A desk drawer slammed him in the stomach, and a stapler cracked him in the knee.

  The sound wave hit him last, bludgeoning his ear drums, and throwing him back against the wall.

  Carter slumped to the floor and laid there for a few moments, wishing he were dead. His forearms ached like they were broken. Blood soaked through his jeans on the knee that had taken the hit with the stapler. He gasped for air, unsure if either the drawer that hit him in the stomach, or his back slamming into the wall had knocked the wind out of him.

  He managed to get up on his good knee to stare down Heath. "Is that all you got? You pansy," Carter said before he spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. His hot blood sizzled against the cold concrete.

  "Resourceful and tough," Heath said. "Two traits I admire in an adversary."

  "Let's finish this," Carter said, but he was slow to get to his feet.

  Heath stood nonchalantly, one hand on his hip, as if Carter posed no danger too him whatsoever. And Carter found Heath's demeanor to be remarkably accurate. Nothing he had done so far had been even remotely detrimental to Heath. This posed a serious problem for Carter. Even if he sacrificed himself and his friends could find some way to escape, they would only end up being hunted down and killed with the rest of the world's Users later on. Carter needed to defeat Heath; here and now.

  "Whenever you're ready," Heath said.

  Carter scowled, and sent his arms pumping in and out, throwing a fireball from each hand as he extended his arm. Balls of fire, the size of a fist popped out from his palm with each pump. Carter used his ability to control the balls of fire to send them arching all over the room. Each ball of fire, turned back and hit Heath at a different angle. The fire itself may not hurt the super powered User, but each ball exploded as it hit Heath, knocking him around. Heath flung forward as a ball hit him in the back of the head. Then backward as another smacked him right in the face. Then two hit him in the back, another in the legs, and one in the stomach.

  Heath put his arms up defensively to cover his face, but Carter didn't relent. He kept the barrage coming, unleashing ball after ball of fire.

  "How do you like that shit!" Carter shouted as fires danced over Heath from head to toe.

  "Enough!" Heath swung his arms wide to his sides and the next round of fireballs bounced off a wave of telekinesis like an invisible shield.

  "Shit." Carter had seen Evan bring up a shield momentarily to block one or two objects, but never anything like this.

  Heath was discovering more of his powers capabilities by the second. He limped a few steps across the lab, trying to close the gap between Heath and himself before he pulled out the new move he had been practicing over the past few months. It was a Hail Mary play, but he didn't have any other tricks left in his bag.

  "I'm done toying with you," Heath said. "It's time for you to die."

  Heath's eyes flashed, and Carter felt a sudden compulsion to kill, not Heath, but his friends. Carter shook his head, physically trying to wipe away the thoughts. The push from Heath would have worked on a normal human, but this was not the first time someone had tried to push Carter. He had mental blocks prepared for just such an occasion. Still, Carter had no choice, but to look away from Heath. The scientist was trying to push him. To control his thoughts, and like Medusa in the Greek myths, the power was in the Pusher's eyes. Carter didn't dare lift his head.

  "Kill them!" Heath growled.

  "You think you're the first User to try and push me?" Carter asked. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that."

  "Well, if you won't look at me, you're going to be a lot easier to kill," Heath said.

  "We'll see about that." Carter puffed out his chest, dug deep into the fiery core that was his heart, and expanded the fires within him from head to toe. He growled with exertion, and a fiery replica of his own body stepped out from him like his soul was leaving his body. A ghostly red version of himself, made of dancing flames, stood between Carter and Heath.

  "He'll be my eyes," Carter said. He had made fire versions of himself before, but this time would be different. This time he could control its motions.

  The fire version of Carter blasted across the room, propelled by the jet like flames coming from its feet. It hovered a few inches above the ground, moving like a ghostly apparition.

  Heath laughed spread his arms wide again, no doubt throwing down another protective wall of telekinesis, but the phantom form of Carter just wafted right through it.

  Without lifting his head to look upon Heath, Carter punched out, and the fiery form of Carter did the same, hitting Heath right in the face. A small explosion went off as the fist connected.

  "Ouch!" Heath gasped. "How are you doing this?"

&nb
sp; Carter punched out again, and again, and each fist connected with an explosion on Heath's face. Heath grasped onto a nearby table to steady himself as he was knocked back by the assault, but Carter did not relent. He jump kicked Heath in the chest, sending sparks flying in all directions as Heath was thrown to the floor.

  Carter was seeing through the fiery form's eyes, staring down at the prone Heath. The scientist was lying on his back, his mouth agape. Carter had beaten him.

  Or, so he thought. The mental connection Carter had with the flaming ghost slowly slipped from his grasp as Heath simply grabbed a bottle of water from the table with his Mover powers, used his Changer powers to turn the trickle of water pouring from the bottle into a downpour; wiping Carter's fire doppelganger from existence. The water hit the floor with a splash, and Carter's connection with his ethereal form was gone.

  "Beaten by a bottle of water," Heath said as he lifted himself mentally from the floor. "You are formidable indeed," He chuckled. "Now how best to kill you? Maybe, I'll change your insides to acid and let it eat you from the inside out. Or maybe I'll use my Mover powers to grab a hold of your skeleton and snap every bone in your body."

  "If you knew how to do any of that, you'd have done it already."

  "Maybe you're right. I guess I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way!" Heath used his telekinesis to lift Carter from the floor.

  Carter felt like he was being sucked across the room, right into the waiting hands of Heath. Heath's fingers wrapped around Carter's throat, and with the strength of an Enforcer, the scientist squeezed.

  Carter's windpipe was closed off immediately. His chest heaved, but no air flowed in or out.

  "You feel that?" Heath asked.

  And Carter could feel it. His lungs burned more than usual, and he was light headed. Black splotches muddled his vision. He was about to die.

  Then he was dropped.

  "What the fuck?" Heath asked.

  "You feel that?" Ryker asked as Heath wiped away the snow and ice from the side of his head. Carter hit the floor, gasping for air.

  Arriving just in the nick of time, Evan, along with the liberated Ryker and Barber faced off against Heath.

  "You're just in time to die with your friend here," Heath said.

  "I don't think so," Ryker said.

  "I've seen a glimpse of the future," Heath said. "I've got the power of a Viewer inside me now too. I've seen your death. You and your friends will never leave this room alive."

  "Funny thing about the future, the slightest change can send it spiraling in a completely different direction," a voice from behind Heath said.

  Startled, Heath spun around to see who was behind him, but Carter knew the voice well. It was the voice of Alaric, and behind the muscled Enforcer trailed the rest of the All Americans.

  "Well," Carter said. "This just got interesting."

  Chapter 15

  "What are you doing here?" Heath asked. The confidence in the scientist's tone wavered.

  "Let's just say, that I've had a change of heart," Alaric said. "The real question is what are you doing?"

  "He injected himself with the powers of all the Users he has drained," Carter blurted out before Heath could answer. "And he's planning to wipe Users off the map."

  "Is that so?" Alaric asked.

  "It is," Heath said. "And I wanted to thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

  Alaric scowled.

  "And as a thank you, I will be sparing you and the rest of the All Americans," Heath said. "Now get out."

  "He used you. You're nothing but a pawn-" Carter said, but Alaric raised a hand to silence him.

  "I need no further convincing, Carter," Alaric said. "The All Americans are with you."

  "You just made the worst decision of your life," Heath said.

  "No, I've made plenty of bad decisions, but this isn't one of them," Alaric said.

  "You really think you're little band of heroes is going to stop me? It will make no difference," Heath said. "It would take a hundred Users to stop me."

  "I'm willing to bet it'll take a lot less," Alaric said.

  "Let's find out," Heath hissed.

  There was a split second where no one moved. It was the calm before the storm. A second later the room turned into a bar room brawl from hell. Shit was flying everywhere, and Carter had to duck to avoid being hit by debris being thrown by his own allies.

  Alaric, as always, was the first to charge the danger head on. His face flush with rage, he stomped across the room, knocking aside any and everything in his way. Tables were launched into opposing walls with a single swat of his large, meaty fist. Nothing stood in his way. Nothing, except the protective shield that Heath threw down between them as Alaric neared. It was as if Alaric had hit an invisible brick wall. Charging straight ahead, Alaric had collided with barrier face first, and it knocked him senseless. Alaric bounced back, stumbled, and collapsed onto the floor, out cold.

  "We need to join up with the All Americans," Carter said to his companions.

  The two groups were on opposite sides of the lab, and keeping them separated was one pissed off scientist with the powers of dozens of Users. While Heath was indeed in the center of the room, he seemed to have no problem defending on both fronts.

  "Let me give it a try," Evan said using his telekinesis to rip one of the glass cylinders from the floor. "Let's see how unbreakable these things really are." Evan hurled it across the room at Heath. Carter thought that Heath would for sure throw down another protective wall, but Heath merely waved his hand, and as the cylinder closed in on him, the glass turned to grains of sand.

  "He's using his Changer powers without even touching the object," Evan said.

  "This guys not a super villain, he's a god damn wizard," Barber said.

  From across the lab, the All Americans were giving it everything they had. Bobby grabbed anything that wasn't bolted to the floor, and even some things that were, and hurled them across the room at Heath. Stella released a steady stream of screams that should have made Heath's head pop like a champagne bottle that had been shaken. Luke followed suit, unleashing fireball after fireball on Heath, but all their attempts to put down the scientist were to no avail. Heath blocked, dodged, or overpowered every attack that came his way. Nothing they did came even close to hurting him.

  "Is this it?" Heath laughed. "Is this all you can muster? The greatest superhero team of all time, and you can't even so much as scratch me. What chance does the rest of your race stand if you are the best they have to offer?"

  Unbeknownst to Heath, Alaric was finally beginning to stir at his feet. Alaric shook his head from side to side. Carter caught a glimpse of Alaric's glazed over eyes as he did, and Alaric had a look on his face like he didn't know where he was for a second. A brief moment later, Alaric's stare fell on Heath, and he bared his teeth like a wild animal.

  "We need to distract him," Carter said to his companions.

  Ryker nodded and stepped out from behind a counter.

  "You may be able to defeat us, but you'll never be the ultimate User," Ryker said. "Not without mine and Barber's powers."

  Heath's head snapped around so fast, Carter thought me may break his own neck.

  "Don't speak so soon." Heath's eyes bore into Ryker. "I may still get them yet."

  And Ryker's distraction was exactly what Alaric needed. The leader of the All Americans wrapped a massive hand around Heath's leg and using his supernatural strength, Alaric leapt up to a standing position, taking Heath's feet out from under him, and leaving Heath dangling upside down in Alaric's mighty grip. Alaric spun, taking Heath with him. Around and around, Alaric spun until Heath was completely horizontal. Then he let go.

  Heath slammed into a concrete wall, pulverizing the stone to rubble and dust. Alaric had thrown Heath straight through the wall and out into the hallway. The crash alone would have killed a normal man, but Heath had the strength and durability of an Enforcer in him. The dust cleared, leaving a gaping bla
ck hole where the concrete wall had been. Every eye in the room was peeled on that hole.

  "Ready yourselves," Alaric said.

  "He's gotta be dead," Barber said, but Alaric threw him a look that Barber should know better by now.

  Just speaking the words aloud around this crowd almost guaranteed that he wasn't dead.

  From the darkness came a chunk of busted up concrete the size of a beach ball. Pieces of re-bar jutting out from its sides, the makeshift missile was heading right for Alaric.

  "Get down!" Carter shouted, but it hit Alaric before he had even finished speaking the first word. A chunk of re-bar penetrated Alaric's leg, and he was thrown back into a row of cabinets. Alaric, the chunk of concrete, and the shattered wood cabinets fell to the floor.

  "Alaric!" Stella cried and rushed to his side, but she should have been watching the hole in the wall. Heath stepped out from the darkness and unleashed a torrent of fire from the hole like an erupting volcano, and Stella was right in its path. The flames engulfed her, sending her rolling and thrashing on the floor in a vain attempt to put out the fire. Carter doubted that she was even conscious of the act, and that she was probably running on pure survival instinct at that moment.

  "Ryker," Carter said, but Ryker already had his hands out.

  A stream of ice fell over Stella, dousing out the flames.

  Heath leapt back into the room with both arms blazing. Fireballs exploded from his palms in a steady stream. Those resistant to the flames, Carter, Luke, and to some extent Ryker, stepped up to defend the others.

  "Get behind me," Carter said to Barber and Evan. He willingly accepted the blows, as did Luke and Ryker. Carter let each ball hit him in the chest and burst into flames.

  "You finished?" Carter asked and put a hand to his mouth as if he were stifling a yawn.

  "Argh!" Heath roared and waved both arms across his chest, sending a surge of mental energy rushing across the room. Carter was raised up from the ground by the wave, as were the others, and was thrown across the room. Anything not tied or bolted down, was lifted from its place and launched through the air as well. Carter couldn't tell up from down as he spun end over end. His shins banged off something solid during one of his tumbles, but he didn't even have time to howl in pain, before he slammed against the far wall at the end of the lab.