The Negative Man: Act 1

by Jeremy Croston

  From street level, “Negative Man, this is Chief Grimes with the Pacific Station Police Department. You are surrounded. We have no intention of capturing you.”

  I stepped up to the edge and looked down. There must’ve been over a hundred riot officers with assault rifles around Wonder-Tech. Beside Grimes was Titan, looking ready for its return match.

  There was no way for me to project my voice down to their level, so I strapped in the polarity accelerator and unleashed a torrent of white lightning into the sky. If it was a fight they wanted, I’d happily oblige.

  Titan took my display as an invitation to come up, so the rockets kicked on and it flew up to meet me. It landed with a thud and it had its gun out. “Lethal force has been okay’d by Chief Grimes. Executing Omega Protocol.”

  That meant nothing to me. With all the positive energy reverberating inside, I was ready for whatever the thing using Diana Krummel’s body had instore. We attacked at the same time, our energies colliding in midair and lighting up the darkened sky over the city. As the two of us began our final fight, the riot officers broke down the front doors to Wonder-Tech and started storming the building.

  Chapter 31 –

  Saturday Night; Wonder-Tech Tower

  I pushed back, keeping Titan’s attack at bay. Then it stopped out of the blue. “Energy signature does not match. Positive identification cannot be made.”

  The fool! I blasted it in the chest with a round of energy. Titan stumbled backwards, towards the edge of the building. I ran forward and jump kicked it in the face, sending the armored super back down to the street. Doors behind me blew open, depriving me of the chance to watch my foe crash. Bullets began raining down on me and I needed to put up the energy shield.

  Seven or so riot officers circled me, not letting up on the bullet storm. The sheer amount of projectiles coming towards me meant I couldn’t focus any other blasts of them, as I needed to focus on the shield. What I could do is run, so I took off towards the open door. As soon as I entered the stairwell, the bullets stopped hitting me and I went down a level to set a trap.

  Two more officers were surprised by my sudden appearance and paid the price. I kicked their sizzled bodies to the side and went into my office. I ripped off a power socket cover and tapped into the buildings electrical. By adding my own juice to the wiring, soon every socket in the place was ready to go. As the riot police showed up, I turned it up one more notch, blowing out every single one in the building.

  I laughed as they all took the full brunt of the attack. Not even their vests could save them from being overcharged. My hope was that latest scheme took out quite a few of them, making it easier for me to get to the street level and check on Titan.

  Turns out I didn’t have to. Titan crashed through my window and tackled me to the ground. “Threat level assessed – suspect is The Negative Man.”

  I ducked out from another blow and pushed it off of me. The thing weighed so much. “That was a new window!”

  A gun appeared pointed at my head. “Termination is imminent, prepare for death.”

  There was no way I was going to let Titan kill me in my own office, thank you very much. I ducked behind the desk as it fired and my computer was blown away. I rolled out into the reception area and back into the stairwell. I heard the heavy feet following behind so I ducked out three floors down.

  There were three dead officers greeting me on the floor along with two more who were very much alive. When I came through, they turned their guns on me and fired. I put my shield up and continued to run. Titan followed me in, pursuing me.

  I had one choice, to jump out the window. We were still on the twenty-seventh floor, but I had no other options. I needed to create some space. With my shield still up, I crashed through the window.

  As my descent started, I let the polarity accelerator leach some more power and convert it. With a full charge, I created an energy blast to slow my fall, allowing me to land on my feet. Titan, with rocket boosters on, landed beside Chief Grimes at the front of the building.

  I was directly across from them on the other side of the plaza. Two officers were flanking Grimes and they drew their weapons. The grizzled police chief looked on, not scared or even intimidated by me. “You finally show yourself you piss ant. I hope the people of this city remember this day for a very long time.”

  “You’re gloating and I’m still very much alive. Too bad the same can’t be said for most of your force you sent to their dooms.”

  He pointed at me and barked at Titan. “Kill him.”

  Titan fired again at me but my shields nullified its attack. It let up once again. “Energy anomaly detected. Reverse charge is nullifying my attacks.”

  Grimes kicked the ground in anger. “How is this possible? I was told using positive energy would destroy you!”

  “It’s a true shame you don’t understand science or I’d explain it to you.” Tired of Grimes and all his skullduggery, I used the fusion gauntlet once more to great success. A concentrated beam of energy entered his forehead and went out the other side. I was amused by the look on his face as he died.

  I quickly took out the two police officers who were beside them, leaving only Titan and myself. With the chief dead, I wasn’t sure what would happen.

  Well Titan must’ve been still loyal to the cause or Diana’s mind inside still worried about her husband. Either way, it went on a rampage, blasting everything on the block. Deciding it was best to lure this thing away from the city, I kept my physical form and started running down the street. Not disappointing me, it took chase.

  Titan created a path of devastation as it tracked me. Each turn I made led it to a new area to unleash its wrath. Energy blasts and wild attacks happened at almost every step. A few times I had to put up my shields to protect myself from the mad giant’s tirade. I tried to fight back, but it had too many options to either evade my counters or just power through them. I couldn’t get close enough to attack like I needed.

  That gave me an idea. Docked in the harbor was the Cruising Warship Poseidon. It had been decommissioned about five months ago and was a popular tourist spot. Its narrow corridors and tight confines would be the perfect place to ambush Titan.

  So I kept going, running in the streets leading it to the harbor. The very few people we encountered fled in fear, but there were a few deaths along the way. Mind you, it wasn’t from me, but the one who’d been tasked to protect the city from me.

  After a long trek, we made it to the harbor. I stopped to face my attacker before going on to the ship. “If there’s any part of your humanity left, you need to stop this. Your husband’s safe with Grimes dead.”

  It fired another shot at me, one that barely missed. “Omega Protocol is in place. I cannot deviate from my orders.”

  My God, just what did Grimes do to this lady? It seemed that the moment for reasonable negotiations were over. “I’m sorry Kim, I did try.”

  I hopped the railing and ducked into the battleship. It was cold, dark, and empty. Due to it being completely metal, I could hear everything. Titan’s loud footsteps echoed with each thud on the metal. My first chance came not long after we boarded. With the accelerator at full throttle, I jumped out of the shadows with my hands charged. Titan turned in time and smacked me away like a fly with its gun. I landed hard and had to duck into another corridor to avoid the follow up blast from its gun.

  Safely with my back against the wall, I watched it stalk to where I was hiding. It was too big for most of the areas on the ship, so it had to push through, bending the metal with each lumbered step.

  I ducked away right before it put its hand in to grab me. I circled back in the maze of darkened corridors trying to find a way to sneak up on it. I knew I’d gone too far when I no longer could hear it pounding around. I had two options, to either go back and search for it or wait until it found me. I picked to be the aggressor.

  I did my best to retrace my steps, but no luck. I came to a staircase that led up so I took it.
At the top was a hatch that led out to the open deck. Needing some fresh air, I went.

  No sooner did I exit than did Titan grab me. “Omega Protocol complete.”

  Instead of attacking me with another pulse, it crashed its right hand into my face, destroying my mask. The impact of the blow sent me skidding across the deck and crashing into a pole set up for crowd control. Titan took to the air with its rocket boosters and tried to land on me. I got clipped by one of its heavy feet and felt my arm get crushed. The fusion gauntlet was destroyed in the process.

  A kick to my ribs flung me back to the middle of the desk. It now knew that energy attacks were pointless and it was concentrating all of its skill on physical. It rushed at me again, trying to use its shoulder to inflict more harm.

  With my good arm, I wrapped my hand around it as it passed and began channeling everything I had into one last attack. On my chest, I could feel the accelerator working overtime, converting more and more of the negative energy into positive. Titan started bucking like a bull, trying to get me off of it and away from my attack.

  I whipped my broken arm on to its armor as well, using the limp limb as another conduit for energy to be released. The more I poured into it, the more Titan stopped fighting back and began falling. Like before, the armor began receding, so I kept it up. Grunting, I finished the job with one large blast.

  At that very moment, as I was putting all my effort into putting Titan down once and for all, a figure burst out of the water and on to the deck. It rushed towards me and when the loud pop of a sonic boom carried across the water, I knew what was coming.

  **Kyle Wonderton**

  I should’ve been dead, but I’d been able to catch on to the building beside us. I took my time to recover while Jericho dealt with the police and Titan. I’d stalked them out here and with my final chance here, I timed my strike accordingly. He was operating at full capacity and with Jenkins’ calculations; I lined up the perfect attack.

  As I burst out of the water, I saw his mask was gone and I could see the look of fear in his eyes. He knew this was the one attack that would end him. I felt my body accelerate past the speed barrier, each step doing what Jenkins told me it would – bringing me to the breaking point. The pain was hard to overcome, but I formed a fist and looked my father’s murderer in the eye.

  With victory in hand, with my father’s death about to be avenged, I saw Becky’s face, the faces of all those I saved from the burning gl-O-bal building, and then my mom’s. Was I really about to die for something like revenge? As I looked into the eyes of my father’s murderer, I made a split second decision that would change everything…

  **Jericho Staley**

  As the blur lined up his attack, at the very last moment he veered off to the side. I was still hit by something, maybe his elbow or a grazing knee, but not the full blast. Titan, or I should say Diana, fell to the deck. Her lifeless body no longer attached to that awful power or Chief Grimes machinations.

  I landed a few feet to her left, my body physically numb from Wonderton’s attack. Above us, flashes of lightning began to appear in the sky just like in the warehouse. Even though it wasn’t a direct hit, whatever energy I had in me entered the atmosphere and was supercharging into a localized version of The Stormfall.

  Kyle approached me, conflicted emotion evident. “I see you survived.” A miracle considering I flung his body off Wonder-Tech Tower. Helpless and broken, “Why didn’t you do it?”

  A strike from The Stormfall struck the water beside the ship, sending a wave of cold saltwater over us. “I’m not like you. You’re still alive because I’m a better person than you.”

  I tried to get up, but I had nothing left. I looked down and the polarity accelerator was cracked in the middle. “You need to get out of here. One strike from that lightning will kill you.”

  He tried to pick me up. “Not without you. Death would be too easy.”

  He wasn’t strong enough to pick me up and another bolt hit the top of the ship, sending sparks everywhere. “Listen you dumbass, get out of here before you die. Take Diana’s body back to her husband.”

  “Why do you want me to leave? I figured you’d be happy if I died.”

  A smile appeared on my face. “This city needs a strong leader and you proved tonight you’re the man for the job. You bested me.” Just like his father had once before, Kyle showed me he wasn’t about to let a thing like death hold him down. I respected that above all else.

  I don’t think he was ready for that admission. “I don’t get you.”

  There was no time to explain as more and more of The Stormfall fell around the harbor and the warship. I pushed myself up, barely, but at that moment, I felt the energy on the storm zeroing in on the unsuspecting Son of the Lion.

  In a moment of weakness, I pushed him out of the way and took the full blast of the storm.

  Epilogue –

  Sunday Morning; Wonderton Estate

  **Kyle Wonderton**

  “Today’s top story is obviously the capture and revelation of The Negative Man’s identity. Jericho Staley, CEO of Wonder-Tech was captured early this morning by a vigilante folks are now calling The Morning Lynx. From all the tragedy that happened last night, knowing the most wanted man in Pacific Station is behind bars is a small victory.”

  The news report was still going on, but I turned it off. “Little do they know Jericho’s in a coma. The chief doctor at Black Lagoon has no idea if he’ll ever wake up.”

  Becky was reading all the stories on her phone. The fact that both Diana and Jericho had somehow passed her lie detection skill really bothered her. “If I was better with my powers, we would’ve known a long time ago. Today, half the police force wouldn’t be dead and a good portion of the city in disarray.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up.” I tried to smile at her, but it wasn’t my thing. “We have plenty of time to hone our skills. Just because Jericho is locked up doesn’t mean this city doesn’t need its heroes.”

  “Correction – vigilantes. But unlike the past two, we’re going to do things the right way.”

  The stuff Jericho said about my dad hurt me. The worst part is I believed him. Through everything, I never felt like he lied to me during any of our confrontations. “That’s a guarantee.” There was one more thing bothering me. “Is it wrong to feel dirty that he saved my life at the end? I mean, he pushed me out of the way and took the blast from The Stormfall. Why did he do that?”

  “I believe he meant his final words. You’re the future for the city and the one to do things that both he and your father couldn’t. You’re going to keep Pacific Station safe.”

  **Heather Adams**

  The rumors were Jericho was either in a coma or dead. That brat took away the one thing most precious to me. All the hate that Jericho kept at bay was no longer hidden. “I will destroy this city for you my love.”

  Wonder-Tech was closed, the police were investigating us all, and so I went to ground. Heather Adams was dead; all that was left was Detonate. And when I was finished with this city, I was going to prove to each and every one of them, with this Lynx’s dead body in my clutches, that Legends Can Die.

  The Cast:

  Jericho Staley – The Negative Man

  Heather Adams – Detonate

  Kyle Wonderton – The Morning Lynx

  Becky Walker – Student; West Pacific

  Shawn Jordan – Hammerspace

  Michael Reigart – Father; St. James

  MP Ness – The Crimson Mask

  Dr. Leonard Cooper – Former Government Contractor

  Dr. Ellison Staley – Guardian of Jericho Staley

  Wayne Motts – SmartLogic Employee

  Russel Jackson – gl-O-bal Innovations

  Harvey Grimes – Police Chief

  Titan – Police Enforcer

  Diana Krummel – Owner; Krum’s Comics

  Kim Krummel – Owner; Krum’s Comics

  Ernie Masters – Elephant

  Nick Parson �
� Rhino

  Barbra Constance – Antelope

  Wendy Chalmers – Crocodile

  Hijack – Owner, Bull’s Gym

  Wilson Fetts – Student; West Pacific

  Brandon Howard – News Reporter

  Geri Paisley – Field Reporter

  Craig Sanders – Doctor; Black Lagoon Penitentiary

  StabbtyBnny – Mysterious Hacker

  Three Years Later –

  Black Lagoon Penitentiary

  **Father Reigart**

  Dr. Craig Sanders was leaving the ward that Jericho was being kept in. “Father, I don’t know why you bother coming. That guy’s not waking up.”

  It mattered not. “Even the most evil person in the world can use redemption, Dr. Sanders.” I walked by him and entered the room. “I’ll be just five minutes.”

  He locked the door after me and I sat down beside my friend. “Not much has changed since last week. The flowers are beginning to bloom, but the weatherman is saying we might get hit with one last cold front before winter is officially behind us.”

  For a second I thought I saw the light flicker in the room. I watched it closely for another moment, but nothing happened. “Thought maybe you were going to join us today.” It was a foolish thought as Dr. Sanders said, Jericho was showing no improvements. “Ah Jericho, I wish you’d come back so maybe you could find your redemption.”

  I sat there for a few more moments before getting up to go. “Same time next week. I’ll have an update about the start of baseball season for you.”

  When I reached the door and knocked on it for the nurse to unlock the door, this time I knew I wasn’t seeing things. The lights flickered again, going out for almost a minute before popping back on. The machines hooked up to Jericho began to make all sorts of noises. That was just the beginning. As soon as the bulbs in the lights began breaking and bursts of electricity fired from the sockets, I knew it was trouble.