Heroes (The Young Neos Book 5)

by Lucas Flint

  “Space, who is more important? Me and Treehugger or your robot friend?” said Blizzard. “Robots can be replaced, you know. People, on the other hand, can’t.”

  “Blizzard has a point,” said Treehugger, looking up and down the bridge at the two groups of Servants at either end. “Saving Sparky was never a guarantee anyway, but with these Servants surrounding us, I don’t think we have much of a choice but to leave, because we’ll probably die if we try to fight them.”

  “The girl has a point, Mr. Space,” said Omanx. “Fighting us is futile. If you surrender, your death will be a lot less painful than it otherwise would be.”

  Space looked deeply conflicted. It was clear to Treehugger that Space wanted to stay and save Sparky, but at the same time, the truth behind Blizzard’s words could not be denied, either. She felt sorry for him, knowing how important this decision to him was, but at the same time, she hoped that he would listen to Blizzard’s advice. Any minute now, the Servants would begin firing upon Treehugger and the others, and then they would all die. Treehugger didn’t know why the Servants had yet to start firing; perhaps they just wanted to increase the tension and attack when Treehugger and the others least expected it.

  “So?” said Omanx. “What will it be, Mr. Space? Will you do the smart thing and surrender or will you sacrifice these two girls in a futile attempt to save a soulless machine?”

  Space took a deep breath. He lowered his gun, but did not look at Omanx. “Omanx, I know you think we humans are inferior to you, that we all deserve to die, that I, in particular, deserve to die. I know you killed my family and that you’d like nothing better than to kill me, too, and thus end my family line once and for all.”

  “Yes, I know,” said Omanx. “Get to the point.”

  “My point, Omanx, is that I’m not going to let you win,” said Space. “I will save Sparky and get these two out of here, regardless of what you say, regardless of the odds.”

  Omanx laughed. “Ha! As if you, you bumbling and clumsy fool, will be able to get Sparky and these girls. You are nothing more and nothing less than a pathetic, average human who—”

  Omanx was interrupted when Space raised his sound blaster and fired. A large sound blast hurtled through the air and struck Omanx in the chest, sending Omanx stumbling backwards from the impact of the blow, knocking down a few of his fellow Servants in the process.

  The other Servants on both ends, however, raised their guns to fire, but Blizzard raised her hands and spun them in a circle. All of a sudden, a huge snowstorm came out of nowhere, so thick that Treehugger couldn’t see even her own hands. She heard the Servants fire their plasma rifles, even heard the plasma as it burned through the snow, but their aim must have been off terribly, because not even one of the plasma balls hit Treehugger, Blizzard, or Space. Treehugger, however, still didn’t move; she just hugged herself, trying to stay as warm as she could in the fierce wind and snow that surrounded her on every side.

  That was when Blizzard’s hand burst out of the snow and grabbed Treehugger’s wrist. Treehugger suddenly found herself being pulled along through the storm by Blizzard, with occasional glimpses of Space through the snow ahead, aiming and firing his sound blaster. The howling wind made it hard to hear anything else, but Treehugger thought she heard what sounded like bodies hitting the floor, as well as a shout from a Servant that rapidly died down, like the Servant had fallen down the bottomless hole underneath the bridge.

  All of a sudden, they burst out of the snowstorm and emerged onto the other end of the room, where Omanx and his men had been. Omanx still lay on the floor with a stunned look on his face, but the other Servants aimed their weapons at Treehugger and the others. But Blizzard thrust her hands forward and the guns froze in the hands of the Servants; in fact, they actually froze to the skin of their hands, causing the Servants to scream and shout in pain. They shook their hands, trying to get rid of the frozen guns, but it was an obviously futile effort.

  Space fired more sound blasts at them, knocking down each one as he shot. Treehugger, on the other hand, ripped open another packet of sharp leaves and sent them flying at the Servants. The leaves cut across their faces and hands, causing the few Servants still standing to try to cover their faces in a vain attempt to protect their eyes. Because their guns were frozen to their hands, however, they didn’t have much luck in protecting their faces.

  But it didn’t matter to Treehugger, because her attention was now drawn to Sparky. The robot had finally started to move, reaching for a gun at his hip. Space immediately aimed his sound blaster at Sparky and fired, but Sparky dodged it and, drawing his own gun from his side, shot a laser blast at Space. But the blast was intercepted by a barrier of ice created by Blizzard that appeared between Sparky and Space. The laser, however, blew apart the barrier, but Space charged forward and slammed his shoulder into Sparky, sending the robot falling over onto the ground and dropping his laser gun, which slid off the floor into the bottomless pit below.

  “Blizzard, Treehugger, get over here!” Space shouted. “We’re leaving now!”

  Hurriedly, Treehugger and Blizzard ran over to Space, who had reached Sparky and was kneeling over him. With one hand on Sparky’s shoulder, Space raised his other hand and a dimensional portal opened before them. Space immediately began pulling Sparky toward the portal, while Treehugger and Blizzard did their best to help, though Sparky was much heavier than he looked.

  A loud shout, however, caused Treehugger to look up. Most of the Servants were still down; however, Omanx had risen back to his feet and was rushing toward them again. He had abandoned his gun, but he now carried a deadly-looking knife in his hands, a knife which looked sharp enough to cut through bone like paper.

  Desperately, Blizzard jerked a hand toward him, causing a patch of ice to appear on the floor, but Omanx merely jumped over the ice patch and kept running. By this time, Treehugger, Space, and Blizzard had just about passed through the portal entirely and, rather than falling into the void, they found themselves walking into the hallways of the Adventure.

  Yet even as they passed through the portal, Omanx perform a flying leap. He was screaming, screaming like a mad man, making all sorts of threats in that strange Servant language which always sent chills up Treehugger’s spine when she heard it. And, indeed, Omanx entered the portal, but only about halfway before the portal suddenly closed shut on his body.

  With a final cry of pain—which died rather abruptly—the upper half of Omanx’s bisected body fell onto the floor of the Adventure, where it lay with green blood leaking out of its end as still as a rock.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  When John Mann pressed the button on the Call, the air seemed to shiver in anticipation. The lights on the ceiling suddenly flickered, like a storm had suddenly appeared overhead, while cracks started appearing in the stone floor and the temperature in the room started to rise. To White Lightning, it was similar to when Mastermind activated the Apocalypse Switch, only somehow worse, because this time, they were about to come face to face with the Starborn themselves.

  Bolt, Stinger, and Talon were looking around in shock. Even the Venetians looked rather disturbed by the sudden change in atmosphere in the chamber; Della, in particular, looked like she wanted to hide under the covers of her bed. Only Mann appeared pleased by this turn of events. He was smiling, still holding out the Call, with his finger firmly on the button as if trying to make the Starborn come even faster. His expression didn’t change even when the ground began to shake.

  That was when White noticed that the gateway behind Mann and the Venetians was starting to open. Slowly but surely, a portal appeared in the gateway, one which reminded White of the portals Mastermind used to make. Only this time, the sight of the portal created a deep sense of dread and unease in White that no rational mind could explain, save for the fact that it signified the arrival of beings whose power was as high above them as their power was above ants.

  Mann and the Venetians seemed to have noticed the po
rtal opening, because they turned around to face it. While the Venetians all stepped out of the way of the portal, Mann stayed right where he was, spreading his arms widely as if to embrace whatever was about to come out of the portal.

  “Yes …” said Mann, his voice barely audible above the crackling energy from within the portal. “Yes … everything is going exactly as I envisioned … I can already taste the power of the Starborn … I can feel it in my bones …”

  White shook his head. He realized that if he didn’t destroy the gateway, the Starborn would arrive, and once they did, there would be no way to stop them. Therefore, White needed to destroy the gateway; after that, he would worry about Mann and the Venetians.

  “Brother, need to destroy the gate,” said White, looking at Bolt, who was still leaning on him for support. “Can you fly?”

  Bolt nodded slightly. “Yeah. I think I’ve got enough power to destroy that gate, at least if I work with you.”

  “Good,” said White. “Let’s do it, before the Starborn get here.”

  Bolt nodded once again and let go of White. The two brothers prepared to launch into the air, but at that moment, the Starborn emerged from the portal.

  At least, White assumed they were the Starborn; having never actually seen them before, he had no idea what they looked like. But beings emerged from the portal, beings who were clearly not of this Earth. They were tall and thin, wearing long robes which hid their bodies, but not their hands. The Starborn’s hands were long and their fingers were thin, almost more like claws than fingers, extending out like long knives in the air. They floated, their feet not visible under their robes, though it was possible they didn’t even have feet. They moved silently and their entrance was rather mundane, yet White could sense their power even from a distance, like heat from the sun.

  The Venetians all took a collective step backwards, while Mann—who was now laughing like a mad man—said, “Yes! I greet you, O mighty Starborn! I am the man who summoned you. I, John Mann, descendant of the original owner of the Call, have summoned you to this planet!”

  The Starborn did not speak. Their faces were hidden underneath their hoods, but White thought he caught a glimpse of snout-like noses in the shadows. Even their eyes could not be seen, which made it impossible to tell what they were thinking, though White had the feeling that even if he could have seen their faces, their minds would have been too alien for him to even begin to comprehend.

  “Silent, eh?” said Mann. He held up the Call toward them. “This, I believe, is one of your objects. I have recently retrieved it for you, safe and sound.”

  Again, the Starborn said nothing, yet White could tell that they were now scanning the chamber, like they were trying to determine the threat level of everyone assembled. White wished that he knew the extent of the powers of the Starborn, because he did not know what to expect from them should they choose to attack. All he could do was stand there in a battle-ready pose, along with Bolt, Talon, and Stinger, although White was beginning to doubt that the four of them would stand a chance against the six Starborn that had emerged from the portal.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, one of the Starborn—the one at the head of the group—spoke. Its voice was musical and ancient, yet at the same time, emotionless in an alien manner that White could not describe with words. It sounded like what the chamber itself might sound like if it could talk, if such a description made any sense.

  “We are the Starborn,” said the lead Starborn, a slight echo to its voice. “Born of the stars, birthed from the supernova, we have returned to destroy our creations.”

  Mann nodded. “Yes, I know. That is why I summoned you in the first place, because I wish to aid you in the destruction of the superhumans.”

  The lead Starborn’s body language did not change, but when it spoke again, it sounded slightly confused. “You are a human, yet you wish to aid us in the destruction of your people?”

  “The superhumans are not my people,” said Mann in a harsh voice. He coughed suddenly before continuing. “They are a cancer on the face of the Earth. They must be eliminated if humanity is to achieve true peace.”

  “We did not think you humans capable of saying such words,” said the lead Starborn. “The last time we saw humans, they were a weak, scrawny species incapable of anything but the most basic of grunts, living in caves like animals. You have indeed advanced quite a bit since then, though your power is still nowhere near ours.”

  “Quite true, Starborn,” said Mann as he lowered the Call to his side. “We humans are indeed but insects in comparison to your immense powers and abilities. But even ants can bite.”

  “True, but we do not need your aid,” said the lead Starborn. It raised its hand toward him, palm outwards. “We came to destroy all humans, because we do not see any purpose in allowing your people a chance to become advanced enough to challenge us. We believe in preemptively destroying threats to our group, because we know from experience that even the most backwards species often can, with time, become a force to be reckoned with if left alone.”

  Despite the obvious power difference between them, Mann did not show even the slightest bit of fear before the outstretched hand of the lead Starborn. Instead, he put his right index finger on the side on his head and said, “How right you are, mighty Starborn, for today is the day you will fall.”

  All of a sudden, red lights began to glare from inside the hoods of the Starborn. At first, White didn’t understand what he was looking at; he thought that maybe the Starborn were actually robots and that the lights were their ‘eyes’ flashing for some unknown reason.

  But a gasp from Talon made him look at her. Talon was staring up at Mann and the Starborn with deep dread, like she had seen something like this happen before. She had even taken a step back, like she was going to run away, though to her credit she stood her ground anyway.

  “Oh no,” said Talon in a small voice. “He can’t be doing that …”

  “Doing what?” said Stinger, looking at Talon with surprise. “Have you seen Mann do something like this before?”

  “Not Mann, no, but one of his Venetians,” said Talon, her voice as small as ever. “Colombina, I think her name was. When she controlled a person’s mind, their eyes became red … the exact same shade of red that the eyes of the Starborn currently are now.”

  “What the hell?” said Bolt in shock. “Are you telling me that Mann is somehow mind-controlling the Starborn? But how?”

  Talon opened her mouth to respond, but whatever she had to say, she didn’t get a chance to say it, because Mann’s mad laughter came from the platform again. White looked up at Mann and noticed that Mann had turned around to face them again. The Starborn still floated in front of the portal, but with their eyes glowing red, a sign that they were now under Mann’s control.

  As for Mann himself, he was grinning like a madman, although he was now sweating profusely, so profusely that his suit was starting to get soaked, like he had just finished an intense workout session in the gym.

  “Impressed?” said Mann, his voice slightly strained, like he was carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders. He gestured at the floating Starborn behind him. “It isn’t every day that you see beings of such power as the Starborn under my … under my command.”

  “How … how did you do that?” said Talon. “Another Starborn artifact?”

  Mann’s grin grew wider and crazier. He just tapped his forehead. “No. More like … surgery.”

  “Surgery?” said Stinger. “Uh, dude, I know money can buy pretty much anything, but I’m pretty sure you can’t get surgery for mind control powers.”

  “Unless you have a source from which to mine such powers,” said Mann. “Like, say, the corpse of a superhuman who could use such powers.”

  “What are you talking about?” said Bolt. “You have to be using some kind of technology. Maybe not Starborn, but—”

  “No, he’s right,” said Talon, drawing the attention of the other three to her.
She stared at Mann like she couldn’t take her eyes off him. “He’s telling the truth. He genuinely has superpowers now, and I know how he got them.”

  “Really?” said Stinger. “How?”

  Talon gulped. “Remember Colombina, the Venetian who kidnapped Rime’s family and nearly killed them? And do you remember how she died?”

  “Well, I wasn’t there when it happened, but I remember you told us that Rime froze her blood or something like that,” said Stinger. “Right?”

  “Right,” said Talon. “But Colombina’s body went missing after she died. We didn’t know where her body went, but now … now I think I know.”

  “Allow me to explain what your friend is trying to tell you,” said Mann. He held up the Five Fingers, which reflected the light from the ceiling. “Colombina had mind control powers, mind control powers which I stole from her brain and had surgically added to my brain.”

  “Impossible,” said Bolt. “You can’t just take powers from a superhuman and put them inside a normal human. I mean, sure, superpowers are genetic, but that kind of genetic engineering isn’t possible.”

  “Anything is possible when you are rich,” said Mann. “That was, after all, the original purpose of the Genesis Institute: To study superhumans and experiment in genetic engineering to make this sort of thing possible. Of course, the Institute was destroyed, but its secrets still reside within the minds of the brilliant scientists who work for my corporation. They used their knowledge of the human brain to transfer Colombina’s frozen but well preserved neogenes into my own brain, thus giving me control over her powers.”

  “Are you the only one of your kind?” said Bolt. “Or are there more empowered humans like you?”

  “I am the only successful one,” Mann replied. “As you can guess, there were dozens and dozens of test subjects experimented upon over the years, both superhumans and normal humans alike, in my quest to make this possible. All of them died or else lived for only a short while before they killed themselves, usually accidentally. As my scientists discovered, normal humans cannot simply start using powers immediately; their bodies need time to adapt, in addition to getting the necessary training in order to use their powers without harming themselves or others.”