Meta (Book 3): Rise of The Circle

by Reynolds, Tom

  "Mr. Connolly, I'm well aware that I cannot stop you from doing what you please, but if you intentionally break the law, I'm afraid there's nothing the school can do to protect you from the consequences, and that's not even mentioning how dangerous Enforcer is and how likely it is that you will get yourself killed if you decide to disobey and travel to Colbytown."

  "I know how dangerous he is. That's why I need to go. He'll kill her. He won't ask any questions or take her into custody. He'll murder her and he'll get away with it. I can't let that happen. How do I get out of here?" I ask one final time.

  Dr. Hawk sighs with the recognition that if he doesn't tell me, it may just make the situation worse at this point.

  "There are emergency tunnels every five hundred meters in the main hall. They're hidden behind the overhead lights. The ones that are blue have a false ceiling above them. Behind those false ceilings are escape tunnels. They're not ideally discrete and are only supposed to be used in cases of extreme emergency."

  "Good. That's what this is. Thanks, doc," I say, happy that if I'm going to die, I at least got to say, “Thanks, doc,” in an appropriate context once in my life. Probably won't be too many chances to cross any more items off the bucket list before I get to Colbytown. I rush out of the classroom, but not before embarrassing myself in what will likely be the last time these people see me by mistaking a pull door for a push.

  I run toward the main hallway, trying to remember in my mind's eye if I ever noticed that some of the overhead lights were a different color before. It doesn't matter now, though. I've just got to get to one, and when I see it, I'll know.

  Reaching the main hall, I turn left and then right quickly, trying to see which direction might have the closest emergency escape. From here I can't tell, so in a moment of panic, I just choose right and start running. Light after light passes above me, but they're all the same bright white. Could Dr. Hawk have lied to me? Are there actually no emergency escapes down here after all? Maybe he just told me this to get the dangerous-seeming kid out of the classroom long enough for security to have a chance to respond.

  But then I see it, way down the hall, off in the distance, one light that stands out amongst all the others. The hue of blue is subtle, but noticeable when compared to the others if you're looking for it.

  Five hundred meters. I'm panting from running full out, but I can make it without slowing down, I think. I'm not sure what's wrong with Iris, but I know that somewhere deep down, this isn't her. It can't be. This isn't the person who I met above the clouds on the night I found out I wasn't alone in this world as the sole metahuman any more.

  I'm so busy thinking about how I can't fail protecting her that it hasn't even occurred to me that I don't need to be running. It took a lot of work to get out of the habit of producing my metabands without a second's thought and now I've gotten so good at it that I forgot to even turn them on.

  My pace slows ever so slightly as I thrust out both of my arms. The metabands appear instantly, and I'm glad to see that my self-control hasn't disappeared. I bring them together in front of my chest and the Omni suit explodes out of each to wrap my body. My feet are no longer touching the ground as I begin to levitate and then fly down the hallway. I'm not sure how “fake” the fake ceiling is, but when in doubt, it's probably best to fly at full speed. If Dr. Hawk was lying and there's just more bunker and earth hiding above this light fixture, I'm going to have a hell of a headache tomorrow.

  The florescent light explodes into a thousand glass shards, followed by a layer of steel, concrete, and wood. Dr. Hawk was lying; there isn't an escape hatch, or at least, this isn't it, but then suddenly there's no resistance. I continue to fly up, faster and faster. It's dark, but I reach out my hand ever so slightly, and I can feel the wall of the tunnel I'm in. He wasn't lying after all.

  Even though there's no resistance, I bear down and push myself to fly faster. A mile underground might seem like a long way, but it's not when you're flying as fast as I am, and if the exit of this thing is anything like the entrance, then I'm going to need some speed to break through it cleanly.

  There's a pop, followed by a split second of silence, and then light. Not much, but the moon's providing enough to see what it was below me that caused the silence: a marble fountain in the middle of campus. There's a trail of water falling back to the earth below me and thankfully not a soul in sight. I might have succeeded in keeping both my and the facility's secret safe, even if that won't be enough for them to ever allow me back here again.

  22

  Any fear that I have of being able to find Colbytown quickly disappears once I'm able to get high enough into the air. It's a clear night, which is extremely lucky, because I don't think I'd be able to find the downtown area of Colbytown if it wasn't. Miles in the distance, I can see part of the town where the buildings are taller and brighter. That has to be it.

  Just before I take off in the direction of Iris's last sighting, I hear a strange noise in the distance, almost like a soft rumbling. It grows louder and louder until, without warning, I'm tumbling end over end in mid-air. I regain my balance and tilt myself upright again, turning back toward the city to see what the hell just happened.

  In the air above the city, I see it, or rather, him. It's a bright yellow streak across the otherwise empty night sky, the same shade of yellow as Enforcer's suit. If he's already here, then I don't have much time.

  I'm a streak of color across the night sky too, heading straight for Downtown Colbytown. As I approach, the buildings become clearer, and I can see massive traffic jams backing up cars for miles as everyone tries to flee the area and avoid whatever's coming next. Behind one of the taller buildings, I see the debris from an explosion flying into the air. Looks like I've found my destination.

  I fly over the building, hoping to gain some idea of what I'm heading into before I'm neck deep in it. Perching on top of the building's antenna, I see her below, standing in the middle of an intersection: Iris. There's something off about her, besides the fact that she's using an electrical pole as a baseball bat, sending parked cars and sparks sailing all around her. The area seems to be clear of any pedestrians, which must mean that she's been here for a while, long enough for anyone nearby to flee.

  Her eyes look vacant and distant, and she's moving in a way that looks strange. She's moving slowly, but not necessarily deliberately. I may very well be looking at a shape shifter who is simply mimicking Iris. Why someone would bring that kind of attention to themselves seems very odd to me, but there are plenty of metahumans who have done weirder things. And if someone wanted to be on TV, looking like one of the country's most wanted metahumans while wreaking terror across a city is a pretty good way to do it.

  The notion that this isn't the real Iris and instead merely a fake brings up another question that I don't want to think about: If this isn't Iris, then where is she? It's a question I've been asking myself constantly these past couple of weeks, but for all the horror I felt when I heard this newscast, there was a huge part of me that was relieved she was still alive, at least for now anyway.

  Out of the corner of my eye, something new catches my attention. It's a yellow blur, Enforcer, streaking down the road Iris is standing on. Cars are being thrown left and right out of his path, bouncing off of buildings and overpasses as he gains speed. Without having come up with a plan yet, I push off of the antenna, diving at a forty-five degree angle toward the street.

  The part of my impromptu plan that involves putting myself in between Enforcer and Iris works. Unfortunately, the remaining tenth of a second that I have to figure out my next move proves to not be enough time. Enforcer barrels into me at almost full speed. The world becomes a blur as we both tumble down the street, out of control. The small glimpse I catch of his face tells me that he’s been caught off guard and wasn’t expecting something or someone to appear in the road in front of him. A streetlight overhead catches something shiny, and now I remember who Enforcer is.

  Besides
strength and speed, Enforcer has the fairly unique ability to control the composition of the molecules that make up his arms. He can't transform them into very complex objects, but that doesn't really matter when you can turn them into razor-shaped blades. Those must be what I'm hearing. His blades are scratching and scrapping the asphalt as he tries to find a hold somewhere in the road to slow down his tumble.

  Beneath my feet, I feel the ground for an instant and react immediately, pushing myself into the air. I turn back as my momentum finally slows, and I'm hovering ten feet above the street. There's dust and debris in the air from our collision. Through it I can see the silhouette of Enforcer as he marches toward me.

  "You've got to be freakin' kidding me," he announces in my direction. "I came here thinking I was just taking the girl in, but now I've got her little boyfriend too? That's gotta be worth some kind of bonus on top of her bounty."

  "Sorry, I don't think anyone's put up a bounty for me," I respond.

  "No? You don't think they'll want to see what the little turd who's aiding and abetting a wanted metahuman has to say for himself? Because I'm guessing if the United States government isn't interested in you, which I sincerely doubt, then at least the Alphas would be willing to toss a few coins my way for your head."

  Coming from anyone else that would be a figure of speech, but coming from a guy with three-foot long daggers for arms, I take it a little more literally.

  "Look," I say, trying to reason with him, "I know what it looks like, but there's more to it than this."

  "Indulge me then. What more to it is there? She helped bust a bunch of criminals out of jail, and now she's trying to destroy a city. Seems pretty cut and dried to me."

  "Well, I mean, when you put it that way, yeah, it does sound kinda bad. But this isn't her. There's something wrong. I know that's hard to believe. I wouldn't believe it myself, but I know her. Just give me two minutes to talk to her. Maybe I can figure this out, and we can end this in a calmer way."

  Enforcer doesn't wear a mask. I'm not sure if it's because he's able to change his facial features to make himself unrecognizable when his metabands are on, or if he just doesn't care about people finding out who he is. Regardless of the reason, his entire face is exposed. For a second, I see a look that might indicate a chink in his armor, and for that second, I think maybe he's considering my offer. Maybe he's thinking about giving me a few minutes to talk to Iris and solve this without any further violence. This thought only happens for a second, though, because in the next one, a bus flying through the air smashes into the back of my head.

  When I stand back up, a full block away from where I was standing before I was hit, my first concern is making sure the bus isn't full of passengers. A wave of relief washes over me when I see the sign in front is set to “Not In Service.” It'd be a lot harder to argue that Iris isn't a killer if she'd just thrown a busload of people at my head.

  I turn my attention back down the street, scanning for any kind of movement. The street is empty, aside from the settling concrete dust all around. There's an explosive sound three blocks to my right, and I'm off running in that direction. I round the corner and spot Enforcer embedded into the side of a building but still breathing. Iris is on the other side of the street, her arm still outstretched, and her hand balled up into the fist that just sent Enforcer through a foot of concrete.

  "Iris!" I yell toward her.

  Her head slowly turns in my direction. She looks the same as she did the last time I saw her, which is the same as the first: purple and black uniform; blond, almost white hair; and glowing, pupil-less white eyes. It's difficult to put my finger on exactly what's “not right” with Iris when her eyes are pretty expressionless to begin with. She doesn't speak or respond to her name.

  "Please, you've got to stop this. I don't know what's going on with you, or why you're doing this, but I know this isn't you," I plead.

  "What do you know about me?" she asks in an otherworldly, flat monotone that throws me off for a minute and only reaffirms my suspicion that something outside of her control is seriously wrong with her.

  "I know you. I know where you come from. Midnight told me everything. I know how you must feel, but it doesn't have to come to this. There's still a chance to get help."

  Iris stares at me for what feels like an eternity, and I stare back, keeping my ground, hoping that there's something in her that will listen and take my offer. I'm so focused on her that I don't even hear the sound of concrete crumbling behind me before it's too late and I'm laid out on the other side of the block.

  I guess Enforcer just woke back up.

  "That was a warning, Omni. Your first and last. I don't want to kill you, but I will if you get in my way. Turn around and leave here if you want to keep your life," he yells down the street at me as he wills his hands back into flat, sharp edges. He then turns his gaze back to his primary target.

  She's already taken advantage of his divided attention and punches him in the back so hard that I actually have to duck as he flies past before skidding to a stop farther down the desolate street.

  I look down the street toward Iris, and she seems confused about where she is and what she's doing. It's another opportunity to try to get through to her, and it might be my last. When Enforcer regains his senses, I don't think he'll be playing with the gloves on any more. There's a serious danger to the city with her on the loose like this, and he's not going to risk any of that with a fight between the three of us. He'll be looking to take both of us out of the fight as quickly as possible, no matter what that means.

  "Iris!" I yell down the street as I stumble toward her.

  Through the glowing whites of her eyes there's something that looks a lot like a hint of recognition.

  "Omni?" she says in an unsure whisper.

  "Yes, it's me. It's Omni. You need to stop this, Iris. You need to surrender. If you don't, he's going to kill both of us. I can't protect you."

  The look of recognition fades back out of her face and is replaced by a steely mask again. Enforcer won't stop until she's down, and I can't fight him while being attacked by her at the same time, not on my own at least.

  Iris comes at me swinging, and I duck to avoid her punch from making contact. There's a temporary hesitation where I think I can see her coming to her senses again, but before I can say anything, she's hit with a huge piece of concrete debris. I turn to meet a charging Enforcer head-on, only to find myself slammed in the back by Iris's feet. I fall to my knees and Enforcer hurtles over me to attack Iris. She catches him and then throws him into a nearby building, his body smashing through layer after layer of concrete and glass.

  Iris turns back to me when she suddenly stumbles and falls. There's a look of panic back in her eyes.

  "Omni, help me," she says to me.

  I run to her and try to help her back onto her feet, but she's weak and barely able to stand.

  "What's happening to you?" I ask her.

  "It's him. He's doing this to me," she says.

  "Who? Who's doing this to you?"

  Suddenly, there's an explosive pop to my right. Hurtling through the air is a sewer cap, which lands in the road, swiveling in a circle until it settles. A shadowy figure slowly emerges from the open sewer grate.

  "Keane did this to her," the figure says before stepping into a pool of light created by one of the streetlights.

  It's Midnight. And being dragged behind him is a bloodied, unconscious Keane.

  "You're alive!" I exclaim, not realizing until that moment that part of me had actually wondered if it were true. I never should have doubted it.

  "There isn't time. I have to get Iris out of here before Enforcer comes back for round two. Omni, you need to transport Keane to a secure detention facility quickly before he regains consciousness. The closest one is in Albuquerque. If you leave now and fly close to your top speed, you should make it there before he wakes up. We've only got one shot at this."

  "But-" I begin.

&nbs
p; "Now!" Midnight shouts at me.

  I take Keane's limp body under my right arm and take one last look back. Midnight is helping Iris move down the street as the sound of Enforcer beginning to stir in the building above echoes through the empty streets.

  "I can handle him, just go!"

  * * *

  The night air is cool. It makes it much easier to fly when the air is like this, especially when I've got to tow along a passenger and worry about making sure he doesn’t get hit in the face by a goose or something.

  I can't help but look at Keane’s unconscious face and wonder what kind of monster could do what he’s done. He must have had Iris under his control for weeks, forcing her to do what he wanted. At least that's what I have to assume for now until I get the entire story, if I ever get the entire story. It's possible that Midnight will just return to wherever he's been lying low this entire time and bring Iris with him. There are plenty of people who want Iris dead for what they think she’s done, and I'm not sure they're going to listen if someone like Midnight tries to explain that it wasn't her fault.

  I think I feel a twitch from Keane, and my heart skips a beat. If he was able to take control over Iris, then he would have no problem doing the same to me. In the distance, I can see the facility: a nondescript building out in the middle of the New Mexico desert. There aren't fences or barbed wire surrounding it like you see with a regular prison. No need for that kinda stuff when half the people you're keeping locked up can fly. I get close, and suddenly, a blindingly bright spotlight is in my face.

  "Attention! You are approaching a secure metahuman detention center. State your name and purpose or we will open fire," an amplified voice announces in a message that I'm going to have to assume is targeted at me. I'm flying so fast and the spotlight comes so unexpectedly that I nearly drop Keane from the surprise.

  "I'm Omni. I have Keane with me," I say into the light, using the hand that isn't keeping Keane from falling to his death to try to shield my eyes.