Masked (Superheros Undercover Book 1)

by J. D. Wright

  Chapter

  Twenty-Two

  Velocious instantly began to fight against the gorgs. But while he was distracted by the mutants, he didn’t notice his father sneaking up behind him until it was too late. Dr. Chem stabbed a needle into his son’s back and began to drain the liquid into his flesh. It was then that Vortex rounded the corner, and using a gust of air, knocked the syringe from Dr. Chem’s hand.

  Over half of the drug had been administered, causing Velocious to slump down to the floor but he was still awake enough to choke out, “Get Eden…out of here!”

  Orion and Vortex squared off against the mutants while Majestic and Gypsy ran around the back of the room until they reached Eden. Luckily, Dr. Chem was too occupied with the other intruders to notice them skulking in the shadows.

  “How are we supposed to unhook her?” Gypsy asked, looking over the multiple tubes going into Eden’s body. “Will it hurt her to pull these out?”

  Majestic shoved Gypsy out of the way and thrust her electrolaser into the back of a gorg that had been knocked toward them. “I don’t know, but it will kill her if we don’t.”

  “Right.”

  Gypsy nodded and cringed as she started to tug the tubes from Eden’s body. Yellow and green liquid began to squirt out of the lines once they were unattached. The goo pooled on the floor around them while Gypsy and Majestic took opposite sides and started to unlatch the straps holding Eden in place.

  Orion slammed his fist into the chest of a gorg and caused the beast to stumble backward. Before the super could land another punch, however, the gorg suddenly burst into dust. Standing behind where the gorg had just been was Dr. Chem, holding a gun of some sort in his hand. Orion had never seen one like it before, but judging from what it had just done to the gorg, he knew he didn’t want to be hit by it.

  Dr. Chem held the gun up and shot another burst of electricity from the barrel. Orion did the only thing he could think of to protect himself. He thrust his arms up and used the metal of his fists to block the hit. Thankfully, the titanium was a poor conductor of the electric blast. But the force from the hit sent Orion crashing across the room into the remains of the wall behind him.

  Vortex found himself the target of the next shot from Dr. Chem’s gun. Between dodging swings from giant gorg arms and ducking to avoid blasts from the gun, the super could barely get a breath in. He sent a gust of wind at the doctor. It knocked Dr. Chem back for a few brief seconds before he was lifting the gun again.

  Orion opened his mind and tried to channel the doctor’s thoughts. It took several seconds before Dr. Chem became distracted enough to let his guard down, but eventually, Orion heard exactly what he’d been hoping for.

  …Three shots left…need to detonate…

  Orion shouted as he jumped to his feet. “Hey! You missed me!”

  Dr. Chem smirked and fired another shot at Orion, who again used his arms to deflect the hit. And like before, the force sent him into the wall. With a groan, Orion pulled himself up and shouted, “Two more!”

  Vortex gave Orion a look of confusion, but after a second he understood. When the next burst of electricity came his way, he quickly used air to pull a gorg in front of him. The beast was hit by the shot from his own creator.

  “One!” Vortex shouted.

  Orion dove across the room and took the last blast as it knocked him off of his feet and into a metal cabinet. “Zero!”

  At that, Vortex soared toward Dr. Chem, ready to take the man out. But the doctor had anticipated running out of shots. The moment he dispensed his last blast, he’d pulled a bottle out and began to drop black goo onto the ground. Newly created gorgs started to form from the debris and surrounded the doctor. Vortex managed to kill one while forming, but the rest finished their transformation and fought to protect their creator.

  Majestic released the neck strap holding Eden up. Her lifeless body collapsed onto the waiting Gypsy, who stumbled trying to hold her up.

  “Ugh…why does she weigh so much?” Gypsy grunted under the weight.

  “Probably all of that makeup,” Majestic said, taking one of Eden’s arms.

  “Ha! Or her giant ego.”

  Majestic gave a snicker while struggling to keep her hold on the unconscious super. “Too bad she wasn’t awake to hear that.”

  They started to drag Eden away from the machines, but had to stop when a pair of gorgs landed in front of them. Majestic shifted Eden over to Gypsy, who cursed now that she had to hold the body up all by herself. But Majestic needed to clear the path or they’d never get Eden out of there.

  Dr. Chem’s mutants were being taken out one after another. No matter how quickly he created a new batch of gorgs, the supers effectively destroyed each and every one of them. He’d lost his test subject, as he’d just now noticed her gurney was empty. He knew he would soon run out of potion to make new gorgs and his options were quickly becoming slim to none. He had no choice.

  …Need to detonate…now!

  Detonate? Orion straightened in an instant and watched as Dr. Chem lifted his arm into view. There, in the doctor’s hand, was a remote that Orion was sure hadn’t been there before now. The villain’s finger was already on the button, and before Orion could shout a warning, Dr. Chem pressed the detonator and set off a series of explosions in every corner of the room.

  The force knocked every person, man or beast, off of their feet as the ground shook like an earthquake had just been unleashed on the building. Walls that were already half rubble came crashing down into heaps of rock and brick. The machines crumbled underneath falling debris, and the few beams left after the original explosion long ago tumbled to the floor.

  Vortex found himself stuck under part of Dr. Chem’s equipment and used what was left of his dwindling energy to push the heavy piece of metal off of him. He tried to stand, but there was a giant section of the ceiling hovering a few feet above him. He wasn’t sure what was holding it up but he hoped it would hold until he was able to dig his way out.

  Velocious had gained consciousness just before the explosions but he too, was hit and sent spiraling into a corner. A steel table had been his saving grace. When the blast hit him, the table flew into the wall and trapped him between the wall and the floor. The table took the brunt of the load of rubble that collapsed on top of him. Grunting, he slid out from under the table and shouted Eden’s name.

  The air was thick with dust, dirt, and ash from the burning fires scattered around the building. Majestic couldn’t see past a few feet in front of her when her head finally stopped spinning long enough for her to focus on her surroundings. She wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment she and Gypsy were about to drag Eden out of the room and the next she was lying on the ground.

  Majestic pulled herself upright and looked for someone, anyone, that looked familiar. In her haze and confusion, she couldn’t seem to recall where she was and what was happening. Then she heard someone calling for Eden. Eden? Right, that’s why they were there. To save Eden. Where was she?

  Gypsy used a metal bar beside her to drag herself out from under the gurney that had somehow landed on her legs. She wasn’t sure if her leg was broken, but it definitely hurt. She blinked her eyes over and over, trying to see in the dust-filled air. The moonlight above was the only light filtering into the room now that the explosions had taken out whatever Dr. Chem had been using for electricity.

  “Majestic!” Gypsy choked out, searching for the super’s familiar red fabric with yellow stars.

  “I’m here!” Majestic returned, then spun her head around, because she wasn’t sure just where Gypsy’s voice had come from.

  Then Majestic caught a glimpse of someone beginning to stand. The long hair was covered in dust, but the boots were silver with green at the top.

  “Eden!” Majestic shouted. She drug herself up and toward the super.

  Velocious also spotted Eden from across the room. The dust was slowly beginning to settle and it was still hard to see, but the silver of Ed
en’s suit was reflective in the moonlight. He jumped over a pile of debris and stumbled toward her. He was forced to halt when he came to a giant crater in the floor. It must have been created when one of the bombs detonated.

  The hole was at least twice as deep as he was tall. Climbing in and out of it would take time—time he didn’t have. He had to get Eden before his father did and get them the hell out of there. Seeing no other choice, Velocious summoned a large portion of his power and shot himself across the space. His strength faltered at the end, and he crashed into the floor, but at least he was on the other side. When he rose, groaning from the pain he felt all over, he saw Eden standing in the swirling dust.

  “Eden!” he shouted, stumbling toward her.

  “No, Eden!” Majestic yelled from several yards away as she tried to force her legs to work so she could get to Eden first. “Don’t go with him! Come with me!”

  Eden stood there, partly in shock because she didn’t know where she was, and also confused by who she should listen to. One voice sounded like Victor, but he other almost reminded her of…“Vay?” she whispered, looking around. “Where are you?”

  “Here, Eden! Come here!” Majestic pulled herself up, hoping Eden would be able to see her. At the same time, Velocious finally reached Eden.

  “We have to go,” he said, taking Eden’s arm.

  “Wait.” Eden tried to pull her arm back, but his grasp was too tight. “I thought I heard—”

  “Baby,” he dropped his head down and grabbed both sides of her face in his hands. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

  Eden gave one last glance in the direction she’d thought Vada’s voice had come from, then took Velocious’ hand and followed him into the darkness.

  Majestic watched until both figures disappeared before collapsing back down with a sob. Eden had recognized her voice. She was sure of it. Part of Henley was still in Eden. If only she’d been able to get to her friend before Velocious had, she might have been able to get her back. But now she was gone and the sky was filled with Gypsy’s calls for the rest of the team.

  Vortex blew some of the dust away as he slowly limped over to where he’d spotted Orion’s suit. The super looked to be unconscious at first, but moved when Vortex got closer.

  “Hey, man. You alive over there?”

  Orion coughed and moaned when he tried to sit up. “What does alive feel like?”

  “Like that.”

  “Then I’m pretty sure I’d rather be dead right now. Everything hurts.”

  Vortex helped move bricks out of the way so Orion could stand. He offered his hand and pulled the super up.

  “Thanks. Where are the girls?”

  “We’re over here,” Gypsy called.

  Vortex and Orion made their way over, pushing pieces of debris aside to make a path. Vortex collapsed onto a pile of rocks next to Gypsy and pulled her over onto his lap. She came without argument and leaned her back against him.

  “Where’s Eden?” Orion asked, looking around at everyone. “Don’t tell me after all of this that she didn’t survive.”

  “She’s alive.” Majestic pointed to where she’d last seen her. “She left with Velocious. He must have come to after the drug wore off. They’re gone.”

  “And Dr. Chem?”

  “Umm…”

  “I think he slipped away somehow,” Vortex offered. “He had an escape plan in place, it seems. If things went awry he’d blow the place and everything in it.”

  “Like us.” Orion picked a jagged piece of glass out of his wrist-cuff. His suit would need some serious patching before he’d be able to use it again.

  A spotlight beamed down on them from above. Ropes dropped out of the sky and men in black gear began to slide down them, landing all around the room.

  “And that would be the S.U.C.,” Orion said with a frown. “Second time in twenty-four hours. Has to be some sort of record.”

  Gypsy held her hands up in the air. “I didn’t call them this time.”

  “The explosion,” Majestic said, shaking her head. She inhaled sharply when trying to stretch her arm. It felt like something might be out of joint. “Someone probably reported it. Ah…it hurts.”

  A man in a dark gray suit walked toward them. He stopped beside Majestic and looked each of them over. “Come with me.”

  Chapter

  Twenty-Three

  After Jewel confirmed that she had arranged for someone to come pick up Orion’s bike, the four were led to an empty black van with seats in the back. The S.U.C. agent opened the door and gestured inside. They exchanged looks, but all got into the van as instructed.

  “Stay here,” the man ordered, slamming the van door closed.

  “Yeah,” Orion grumbled. “Like we’re going anywhere now. Assholes.”

  “Don’t get on their bad side,” Majestic warned.

  “Might be too late for that once they learn what happened here tonight.”

  “They’ll take us into headquarters for debriefing,” Majestic said, repeating what Whiskey had just told her. “We’ll be released after they get our statements.”

  “Just how much power does the S.U.C. have when this stuff happens?”

  “Enough that I can kiss my freedom goodbye when my mother finds out, that’s for sure. She’ll never trust me again. And if this makes the morning news…” She looked down at the floor and wished she could go back in time. She would have found some way to stop Dr. Chem before he’d blown up the building and allowed Eden to escape with Velocious. Everything had been going good until that point.

  “Silver lining,” Vortex said, forcing a smile. “We did save Eden. That was the goal, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about you?” Vortex turned to Gypsy. “What will your folks say when they find out?”

  Gypsy squirmed in her seat. “When they find out we went against Dr. Chem? One of the most notorious supervillains of all time? I might be chained to my parents until graduation.”

  Orion felt the eyes turn to him but his reply wasn’t an easy answer. His father would never find out because his father didn’t know his son was a super to begin with. “Mine will get over it,” he lied.

  The van began to slowly pull out of the parking lot and onto the highway. They stayed quiet for most of the ride, each trying to stay awake, when all they wanted to do was go home and sleep. When the van slowed to a stop and the doors opened, a sliver of the sun could be seen on the horizon.

  The four were led inside an unmarked black building and down a long hallway with doors on each side. Finally, the man leading them stopped and opened one of the doors. There was a table and four chairs in the room and little else. Once everyone was inside, the man stopped by the door.

  “Someone will be in shortly to take your statements. Wait here.”

  Vortex gave an unenthusiastic thumbs-up then dropped his head onto the table with a thump.

  “Twice in one day,” the man said with a smirk. “Might be a record.”

  Orion pumped his fist into the air but it lacked his usual energy. It still earned a snicker from Vortex and a snort from Majestic. The door closed with a snap and silence settled over the room. Majestic stretched out on the floor and laid her head on her arms, hoping to get a short nap in. Gypsy dropped into a chair and began to inspect her dirty, ripped skirt.

  Orion took a seat and propped his feet up on the extra chair that Majestic wasn’t using. He leaned back and crossed his arms, trying to get comfortable since they didn’t know how long it would take for someone to come and get them.

  After a while, Orion sat up and blurted, “I say we don’t tell them. Not everything.”

  Majestic lifted her head. “Are you insane? Why wouldn’t we tell them?”

  “Because we’re the only ones who really know about the drug and what it does. And no one else knows who is behind it.”

  “Maybe we should call him something…secret,” Gypsy said, looking around the room. “In case someone is listening.”
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  “Okay. Most don’t even know that You-know-who is still out there. But we can find him and bring him in.”

  “You-know-who? Like Voldemort?” Majestic said with a chuckle. “Back from the dead?”

  Orion grinned. “Something like that.”

  “We found him once already.” Vortex perked up. “Without help from anyone.”

  No one spoke for several seconds.

  “What are you saying, exactly?” Gypsy leaned forward and dropped her voice. “You want to lie?”

  “Omit parts of the truth, perhaps.” Orion looked down at Majestic. “You want to keep your freedom? I want to finish what we started. We can do both, but not if half of this team is grounded until graduation. That’s too much time for Dr. You-know-who to build another mutant army and kidnap more supers to kill.”

  Majestic got up from the floor. She used her power to shove Orion’s feet from her chair and reclaimed it, ignoring his grunts of protest. “What are we supposed to say when they ask why we were there? We have to have a good explanation as to why the chemical plant exploded. Again…”

  “Tell them that I had a premonition that a mutant army was going to attack the city,” Gypsy said, looking around the table. “We can say that my vision led us to the plant. They can’t prove I didn’t have a vision.”

  “And technically, it isn’t a lie,” Vortex added with a smile. “Her vision did lead us to the plant in the end and there was a mutant gorg army. It’s like taking the truth and just…twisting it a bit.”

  “This is crazy,” Majestic said, shaking her head. “My parents work for the S.U.C. Lying to the S.U.C. is the same as lying to them.”

  Orion leaned closer. “How are your parents going to feel when they find out that you went to the power plant without telling them? I saw how your mother reacted to our little fight at prom.”

  “Prom?” Vortex’s brow shot up. “You two went to prom together?”

  “No!” Majestic barked at the same time that Orion said, “Yes.”

  “I mean we didn’t go together,” Orion corrected. “We just ended up there…together. You know what I mean,” he said, seeing Vortex’s teasing expression.