Masked (Superheros Undercover Book 1)

by J. D. Wright

  “Yes, but that vision doesn’t matter anymore. She had another one. Another prediction. This time she saw Eden being taken. She was tied up and then—”

  “Then what?” Velocious thundered, taking a step toward her.

  Orion was quick to step between them. “What part of ‘we’re here to help you’ don’t you understand?”

  “You’re too late to help.”

  Velocious brushed past them and over to a wall. He shifted forward and lined his eye up with a hole that suddenly filled with light. Majestic recognized it as a retina scanner. It seemed that whoever owned this lab preferred the newer system rather than a keycode or handprint biometrics.

  The wall lowered, revealing a room behind it. The space lit as Velocious stormed inside. He took one look at the empty glass case at the far side of the room and shook his head.

  …Took his old suit too. This just keeps getting worse…

  Velocious began to open compartments with weapons of all shapes and sizes, removing several items. He attached the arsenal to himself one piece at a time, but he was quick about it, and had already added at least three pieces before Orion stepped inside the room.

  “Whoever this person is, you seem to know a lot about him.” Orion’s tone didn’t hide his intent. It was an accusation that drew a lethal glare from Velocious, but no reply. “Where do you think he would take her?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

  “Is there anywhere,” Majestic offered, “that you can think of? Somewhere this person might go to work? Or to be alone? Any place that has significant meaning to them or—”

  …The chemical plant…

  “Chemical plant?” Orion’s mouth fell slack. “The one that exploded?”

  “Stay the fuck out of my head!” Velocious held up a sword, but Orion blocked it with his fist.

  “Use your words like a big boy and I wouldn’t have to cheat, would I?” Orion returned.

  Before the men could start a fight they didn’t have time for, Majestic forced herself between them. “I am not here to watch two grown men have a pissing contest. I’m here to save Hen—” She caught herself, but not before Velocious’ eyes flickered. “I’m here to save Eden from becoming another dead super on the morning news.”

  Velocious stared at Majestic for a long moment. The super had almost said Henley’s name. He knew she must, somehow, know Eden’s true identity. But how or why didn’t matter now. There would be no Eden, no Henley, if they didn’t find her. And soon.

  “You want to help me find her?” Velocious said, breaking the silence. “You can start by getting out of my way.”

  “First, tell us about the megavillain project. Why does whoever this is need her?”

  “I don’t have time to explain—”

  “Give us the CliffsNotes version then,” Orion said. “What are we talking about here?”

  Velocious rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room but paused near the table he’d been looking at before. He held up a paper with a list of scribbles that neither Majestic nor Orion could read. But the title was bold and clear: Megavillain Formula.

  “He got this idea decades ago, but could never make it work.” Velocious dropped the paper and picked up another. “I don’t know what changed, but when the new formula he created started turning people into supers, I guess he finally broke the code.”

  Majestic’s eyes met Orion’s. The drug that had turned Orion into a super had been created by this person. Probably inside this very laboratory. It was exactly as they’d thought. However, the mad doctor wasn’t a doctor at all. He was some sort of scientist, from the looks of it. But that didn’t explain the need for further experimentation.

  “Why did he take Eden?” she asked. “If he turned her into a super, wouldn’t that be it? Wouldn’t his project be complete?”

  “Turning normals into supers isn’t the project. And how do you know Eden was one of them?”

  “I put two and two together,” she lied. “What else is there to do?”

  “The project was to create a super super. An all-being. A villain that no one could stop or control. I always assumed he’d try to turn himself into the megavillain but…”

  “Maybe that’s why he’s using the new supers. He’s testing the formula out on them.”

  “Those new supers have ended up dead,” Orion added. “Obviously, his magic formula isn’t working.”

  “So he keeps testing it.” Majestic looked around the room at all of the equipment, most of which was now broken thanks to Velocious’ angry outburst. “He takes another super to test, and if they die—”

  “He takes another,” Velocious finished. “I know. Eden is the fourth one he’s taken.”

  “But there have only been two bodies discovered.”

  “They just haven’t found the third one yet.”

  Orion felt his chest tense in anger and he dove at Velocious. Majestic’s quick thinking and use of her power sent a table flying between them. Orion’s fist met the metal tabletop instead of Velocious’ skull. The villain never flinched the entire time.

  “There’s another body out there!” Orion shouted, tossing the table to the side. “Where is it? Who is it?”

  “I don’t know where it is—”

  Majestic started for the door and drew both of the men’s attention. “We don’t have time to worry about supers that have already been killed. We have to save the one who hasn’t yet. Are you two girls coming or not?”

  Velocious gave Orion one last glare before following Majestic to the elevator. Once all three were aboard, the lift rose toward the ceiling and soon they were stepping into the alley.

  “We’ve alerted the others,” Jewel said to Orion. “They’ll meet you at the chemical plant ASAP.”

  Orion and Majestic jumped back onto his bike and Velocious pulled up next to them.

  “Good luck keeping up,” Velocious said with a smirk. Then he took off at lightning speed down the road.

  “He has superspeed,” Majestic said in a warning tone. “Don’t even think of trying to keep up with him.”

  “Don’t worry,” Orion replied with a frown. “It won’t do either of us good if we die before we get there. But just so you know, I’ve raced bikes, so I’m used to the speed. If you think you can handle it—”

  “I’ve skydived, Orion. Twice. I can handle anything. Now, get a move on!”

  Orion leaned forward, felt Majestic’s arms tighten around him, and without another word he launched the bike. The squeal that his passenger made was music to his ears.

  Chapter

  Twenty-One

  When Orion and Majestic drove up to the chemical plant, the scene was nothing like they’d anticipated. Velocious was already there, as they’d suspected, but he wasn’t alone, and the abandoned plant wasn’t empty. The entire parking lot was covered with large figures, that upon closer inspection looked to be monsters like you’d find in a horror movie. And Velocious was fighting them with his array of swords.

  Each beast was at least seven-feet-tall and dark gray in color. They almost blended into the pavement in the dimly lit lot. Their skin looked coarse, like they had been roughly chiseled straight from stone. Long arms seemed unproportionate to their short, thick legs. The black beady eyes and mouths complete with jagged, razor-sharp teeth were practically carved into their boulder-looking heads.

  Orion moved to block Majestic when one of the creatures darted toward them. Unlike before, Majestic wasn’t about to let him attempt to guard her. She took several quick steps backward, then took off on a run followed by a tumbling flip. Using Orion’s body as leverage, she launched herself into the air over his shoulders.

  Before he knew what had happened, Majestic landed in front of him, crouched with her electrolaser in hand. One fast jab upward was all that it took to cut the beast in half from the center of his torso up through his head. The body split and turned to dust and gravel at her feet.

  She glanced over her shoulder
to see Orion’s awestruck stare.

  “Keep up, Starboy. These things aren’t going to kill themselves.”

  “But…what are they?” he called out.

  “Gorgs,” Velocious replied, zooming over to stop next to them. “Rock mutants. My father’s creations. He must be expecting company or he wouldn’t have bothered setting them loose.”

  “But at least we know we’re in the right place. Wait, did you just say he’s your father?”

  “Shit,” Velocious grunted and sliced his sword across the neck of another beast, decapitating the mutant.

  Just then, Vortex swooped down with Gypsy. Without asking any questions, they both joined in the fight. Vortex hit the gorgs with sharp blasts of air, knocking chunks of mutant rock off in every direction. Gypsy used her sonic bells on the creatures, which caused them to roar in protest of the devastating noise. While Gypsy helped to incapacitate the beasts, the others, in turn, used their powers and weapons to sever the gorgs’ heads and limbs.

  After the last gorg was put down, Orion spun to Velocious with fire in his eyes. “Your father has been creating an army of fucking rock mutants? Who the hell is this guy?”

  Gypsy straightened up. “Dr. Chem. Velocious’ father is Dr. Chem.”

  “How did you know that?” Velocious snapped, his tone harsh.

  “She’s the one who had the vision,” Majestic interjected. “She’s the reason we’re here to save Eden.”

  Vortex shook his head in confusion. “Wait, I thought Dr. Chem died in the explosion.”

  “No, he didn’t,” Orion said, sighing. He knew well that they never found the supervillain’s body in the wreckage. The district attorney still spoke about his theories as to how Dr. Chem escaped the explosion.

  The quiet was short-lived because a new throng of gorgs came hurtling toward them. Before the first hit could be made from either side, Velocious took off through the horde and disappeared through an opening in the ruins of the chemical plant walls.

  Vortex couldn’t believe his eyes. “Did he just leave us out here to fight these things all by ourselves?”

  Orion wasn’t at all surprised, however. “Looks that way.”

  “Let him go,” Majestic said, dodging a swipe from a gorg’s giant fist. “We need to get to Eden.”

  “This is unfortunate.” Vortex found himself surrounded by gorgs at every side and he tried to reason with the beasts. “Come on, guys. We’re all elementals here, right? I’m a child of the air and you’re…mutated from boulders or something. Can’t we just put aside our differences and―”

  A gorg attacked with a meaty roar, aiming for the super’s head. Clearly, the mutants were not in the mood to listen to reason or ridiculous banter.

  Vortex felt a gorg swiping at his cape. With rock arms clawing at him from every angle, he had no choice but to go into a whirlwind spin. He usually tried to avoid it because it was a power drainer, but this time he saw no other option. There were just too many of them to take out one or two at a time.

  The whirlwind started at Vortex’s feet. A rapid wind spun around his boots and quickly spread upward, expanding to cover his entire body and several feet above him. When he pushed outward, the powerful gusts slammed into the gorgs, knocking them backward and through the air. Most of them hit the broken pavement and disintegrated immediately into dust, while one beast managed to hit another gorg and take it out too.

  “Holy shit!” Orion called. “That was awesome, dude!”

  Vortex gave an elaborate bow that made Gypsy laugh. Then they were back in the fight, each surrounded by no less than two beasts, though none could get too close to Gypsy, due to her sonic bells. Orion’s fists were a good match against the rock-solid mitts of the gorgs. But after a while, the super began to tire and wished he had a power like Vortex did. One that could take out a dozen of them at a time.

  Majestic ducked and dodged several blows from a rather boisterous gorg, who kept trying to knock her off of her feet. Luckily, she was much too quick for the mutant. When it made another swipe at her, she caught its arm and swung her body up and over, kicking the beast in the face with her boots.

  This proved to anger the gorg even more, and he sprung toward her in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. Just before the creature could make contact with her, Gypsy crashed her sonic bells at the beast. It roared in agony and dropped to the ground, where Majestic was ready. The super sliced her electrolaser down and plunged it right into the gorg’s head. The stone skull exploded, sending chunks of rock everywhere.

  “Thanks,” Majestic said, rolling to her feet.

  Vortex blasted the last of the gorgs and the four of them met in the middle of the piles of mutant debris. The air was filled with gorg dust, and Vortex made a quick breeze to clear the area and make it easier to breathe.

  “That was…fun,” Orion said with a hint of sarcasm.

  “Let’s go before he sends even more—” Majestic started.

  Vortex pointed behind them and the other three turned their heads to see more gorgs racing toward them. “Too late.”

  Velocious sped around crumbling walls and had to backtrack once before he finally found where his father was hiding. The moment he flew around the corner, he was met with a sight that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. His heart nearly stopped and he wondered if it was too late.

  Eden was strapped to a gurney that was tilted vertically and surrounded by machines. Her eyes were closed and she had IVs in both arms, at least three in each that he could see at first glance. The tubes looked to be pumping drugs of some sort into her. One side had yellow liquid and the other green. Velocious recognized the yellow, but wasn’t entirely sure what the green concoction was. On some level, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

  Before he realized that he’d been spotted, his father called out to him.

  “Ah, you’ve made it. Right on time.”

  “I would have been here sooner had you not sent your pets to toy with me in the parking lot,” Velocious barked. “What are you doing to her? How did you find her?”

  Dr. Chem gave his son an appraising look. “Don’t be so daft. You knew I kept tabs on you. I’ve had you watched since you were born. There is nothing you do that I don’t know about.”

  Velocious didn’t let his face deceive him but inside he was reeling. His father might be a resourceful man, but there were lots of things the doctor didn’t know about. He was thankful, for once, that his father was so single-minded. Velocious had known all along that Eden would eventually be found out, and that’s why he’d been preparing for an escape.

  He’d just hoped the last super he’d brought his father would have kept Dr. Chem busy for a while longer. The plan to flee and hide was already in place. All Velocious had to do was find a way to free Eden and they’d disappear. And he wasn’t above taking his father out if it became necessary. No one would come between him and Eden.

  “You shouldn’t have kept her from me, son,” Dr. Chem said smoothly. “My projects—”

  “She is not one of your projects!”

  Dr. Chem ruffled his frizzy hair in frustration, then forced a smile on his face. “You’ve developed feelings for the girl, then? You know what love is?”

  “I know. Chemical reaction and all of that shit. I don’t care. Let her go. I’ll find the others.”

  “Yes, you will. But there is no reason to waste a perfectly good test subject. You did good, Velocious. You trained her and helped to strengthen her power. I think she has a better chance of surviving because of it.”

  “And if she doesn’t survive? What then? You dump her in an alley too? All for your precious project?”

  Dr. Chem’s face fell flat. “I will do what I must to achieve success. You, above all, should know that. In just a few hours, Eden will either succumb to the power or be killed by it. If she dies…well, I’m sure you’ll find another girl to occupy your time.”

  Velocious stepped closer to his father and looked down at the man. “Unp
lug her from the machine and let her go. She and I will go far from here and never interfere with your work again. But if you don’t, I will kill you. And if she dies, I will make it a very painful death.”

  “My, my, my. You’ve gone off the deep end this time, haven’t you? Don’t forget your place, Velocious.”

  “My place,” he growled, “is between her and whatever tries to harm her. Right now, that person is you.”

  Dr. Chem spun away and began to tinker with his machines. “You’ll forget about her in time.”

  “Take me instead!” Velocious shouted. It was a last-ditch effort to avoid the inevitable. “I’m stronger than she is, by far. You want a megavillain?” He held his arms up wide. “Use me.”

  But the doctor let out a delirious laugh. When he turned back around, his eyes were filled with a fury that Velocious wasn’t sure he’d ever seen before.

  “If I could drain every bit of power from you, son, believe me, I would. But I made a vow with your mother,” he spat. “She made me swear that I would never use you for my work. And oh, how I’ve been tempted.”

  Velocious wasn’t sure which surprised him more…that his mother had made his father promise her this, or that his father had actually abided by it. But neither mattered right now. He wasn’t sure how much longer Eden could survive being strapped to that machine, and he wasn’t about to tempt fate and find out. He drew his swords and his eyes hardened.

  “I’m giving you one last chance, Father. Let her go.”

  Dr. Chem held his arms up as if to surrender. But with a simple flick of his wrist, he sent droplets of black goo onto the ground below. Velocious knew what would happen next, and within the span of a second, the goo began to morph the rock below it into newly created gorgs.

  “Your usefulness is all that saves you this time,” Dr. Chem said with a sigh. Then he ordered his mutants, “Take him back to the laboratory. Keep him inside until I return. And if he tries to escape…kill him.”