The Ascension: A Super Human Clash

by Michael Carroll

  With his free hand James jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Take a look.”

  Brawn seemed to be accelerating away from them, streaking toward the ground. He was laughing. “Oh, I’m gonna do this again!”

  Brawn crashed straight through the treetops and hit the swamp hard in an explosion of bark, leaves, and turbid water.

  James touched down with Abby on a nearby patch of relatively dry ground. “He’s still laughing. I guess that means he’s OK.”

  Abby walked to the edge of the swamp where Brawn was climbing out. She grabbed his hand and pulled. “Ew! You’re covered in slime!”

  James searched the sky for the Carrier and found it—a dark dot against the clouds. “We can’t stay here. They might send someone after us—and if they do, it’s my guess they’ll have the power-damper with them. Brawn, you’re faster than any of us. You think you can run while carrying Abby? I can fly.”

  The giant nodded, spraying James with drops of muddy water. “Sure. But if they get close enough to us, we’re gonna lose our powers again. So better not fly too high. The real question is…where are we going to go? We can’t go near Krodin as long as he has the power-damper.”

  Abby said, “We don’t have a choice. We’ll just have to come up with something. Pity we couldn’t take Max with us.”

  “So what do we do now?” Brawn asked.

  James absently chewed on his lower lip as he looked around. “I’ll hear them coming, so we have the advantage there…. We have to get to Krodin’s base.”

  “Right. Get to Dalton, and get rid of the power-damper.”

  “No, our first priority is to destroy Krodin’s teleporter.” He pointed in the direction the Carrier had gone. “We can’t be too far out from the base. Let’s go.”

  Abby and Brawn trudged through the swamp after him.

  “It’ll be guarded,” Brawn said, ducking under an overhanging branch. “We need to find a way to disable the Praetorians first.”

  “Again, not our first priority.”

  Abby said, “Yeah, but if they’re between us and the teleporting machine, then…”

  He turned around and stared at her, looked up at Brawn. How can I ask them to do this? Even Brawn. Back home everyone thought he was a villain, but he’s not.

  Abby put her hand on his arm. “What are you saying?”

  “If we can’t disable Krodin before the attack by Unity, we’re looking at all-out war. Millions of people will die. And those men, Krodin’s guards…I’m saying that we will do whatever is necessary to destroy the teleporter. Do you understand me? If we have no other choice, we will kill those who get in our way.”

  The Raptor was halfway across New Jersey when Brandon called out, “Incoming! We’ve got sixteen marks on a pursuit vector, attack formation.”

  Roz jumped to her feet. “Full speed!”

  “Already pushing the red line. They’re coming in at almost twice our speed. We’ve got about three minutes.”

  “Raptors?” Cord asked.

  “No, too small and too fast.”

  Housten said, “I’m picking up four Jetmen—just launched themselves from the lead Raptor. They’re going to try to board us. And there’s another eight flying Skimmers—one-man craft. Not a lot of firepower or armor, but they’re fast and very maneuverable.” She called up a display on the screen: It showed a low, sleek craft not much bigger than a surfboard. The pilot lay horizontally on the inside and controlled the craft with his feet as well as his hands. “Takes a lot of skill to fly one—which means we’re up against the best pilots the Praetorians have.”

  “Getting a transmission,” Suzanne said.

  A voice crackled over the craft’s speaker system: “Un authorized Raptor, this is Agent Paquette, chief of the Manhattan Praetorian Division. You will disengage your forward thrust and prepare to be boarded. This will be your only warning. Respond.”

  Roz said, “How do I talk…?”

  Brandon hit one of the controls. “Go ahead.”

  “Agent Paquette, this is Roz Dalton.”

  A pause. “Roz, what are you doing? You do not take a Raptor without filing a flight plan. What’s your destination?”

  “Louisiana.”

  “I see. You don’t have permission. Bring your craft to a halt and prepare to be boarded.”

  “Sorry, can’t do that.”

  “That wasn’t a suggestion, Roz. If you do not comply, we will consider you a hostile and take appropriate action.”

  “Max has worked your mind over pretty good, hasn’t he? You used to be one of the good guys.”

  “Last warning: Stand down!”

  “Agent Paquette, we have civilians on board. Trust me, you don’t want to fire on us. I have my brother Joshua here.”

  A sigh of exasperation, then, “You were warned.”

  The connection died.

  Roz said, “Keep going, Brandon. Take whatever evasive action you need. Suzanne—I know you can fly, and you’re extremely strong and fast. Get out there and get them off our tail. If you can, disable one of the Jetmen and bring him inside. Paragon, you think you could fly one of their jetpacks?”

  Cord nodded. “I’ll give it a go.”

  “Everyone else, strap in and hold tight.”

  “You don’t get to give me orders, Dalton,” Suzanne said, getting out of her seat.

  “Yes I do. You’re our best hope of stopping them. Move!” She followed Suzanne to the hatchway and looked toward her brother. “It’ll be OK.”

  Lance said, “What are you going to do?”

  “I won’t know until I’m out there.”

  Suzanne opened the hatch and the cold air instantly blasted through the Raptor. “Someone close this after us: The open door will slow us down. And be prepared to open it when we come back.” She launched herself out.

  Roz leaned out through the hatch and spotted a handrail to the left. She grabbed it and climbed, hand over hand, onto the top of the hull.

  A moment later she saw them: a cluster of bright points directly behind the Raptor, coming in like oversized heat-seeking missiles. On her right Suzanne was streaking toward them.

  Gripping the handrail as tightly as she could, she reached out with her telekinesis toward the Skimmers. The distance was much farther than she’d ever attempted, but that wouldn’t be for long.

  First one that gets in range…, Roz thought.

  She saw Suzanne crash straight into the lead Skimmer, and the others scattered, spreading out in all directions before resuming their approach.

  Roz felt a slight resistance against her telekinetic probe. “Gotcha!” She focused on the closest Skimmer, pushed against its thrust. The craft wavered for a moment, but kept coming. Not close enough yet.

  Suzanne zoomed back toward the Raptor and caught up with a second Skimmer. She landed on its fuselage, smashed open the canopy, and tore off the pilot’s helmet. A quick punch to the back of his head and the man was unconscious. As Roz watched, Suzanne leaped from the craft and it began to drift off to the right.

  Roz focused again on the closest Skimmer, and this time she was able to grab hold of it. She flipped it onto its back and let go. Upside down, the pilot suddenly found himself hurtling in the wrong direction. His Skimmer crashed head-on into one of his colleagues, and the two craft tumbled slowly toward the ground, a tangled mess of ruined armor plating and sputtering engines.

  Slaughter got two, I got two…Should be twelve left.

  On the right, two of the Skimmers broke away from the pack, then two Jetmen peeled off to the left.

  That leaves eight, Roz thought. We might just…There’s only seven! Where’s—

  She sensed something behind her and whirled about: A Jetman was zooming toward her from the front of the Raptor. Sneaky—came up from beneath.

  She threw a telekinetic shield in front of her, a curve passing from the front of the craft over her head. The Jetman smashed into the invisible shield and bounced away in a shower of metal and plastic debri
s. One of his colleagues zoomed after him.

  Roz sagged, almost lost her grip. Using her telekinesis so much always weakened her for a moment, but on the ground that was much less of a problem.

  Another Skimmer zoomed up over the side of the hull. Roz struck at it, knocked it away. The craft tumbled for a moment, then righted itself and fell back.

  It was then that the two Jetmen who had peeled off to the left chose to come back, shooting. A bullet sparked off the hull inches away from Roz’s hand.

  Roz lashed out at them. She struck one, but the other arced up, passed over the hull, and disappeared beneath it. He’s going full circle!

  The Raptor juddered again as the Jetman came back around for another attack. Roz lashed out with her shield but missed: He had abruptly altered his course and zoomed straight for the side of the Raptor.

  The hatch—it’s open!

  The armored man slowed a little, reached the hatch—and was suddenly knocked back.

  Roz had a brief glimpse of the Jetman tumbling away from the Raptor. He wasn’t alone—Solomon Cord had leaped out and was tackling him in midair. They dropped out of view. Please let him survive that!

  Then she spotted a dark shape approaching from the left, much bigger than a Skimmer. Another Raptor was bearing down on them.

  To Roz’s left a line of small pits suddenly appeared in the hull. They’re firing at us!

  Roz felt her weight shift suddenly and tightened her grip on the rail: The Raptor had tilted back and was now climbing almost vertically, spinning as it did so. She realized that Brandon was trying to shield her from the second Raptor’s attack.

  Three more Skimmers came at them from below, angling their ascent to bring them onto the top of the hull.

  Then the Raptor stopped almost instantly and the Skimmers shot past. But the Praetorians’ Raptor fired again, a powerful volley that sparked off the hull and tore through the far end of the handrail.

  No!

  The rail came away from the hull and Roz was suddenly falling.

  She didn’t know how high up she was, but the fall seemed to take forever. She had plenty of time to watch Slaughter attack the other Skimmers, and to see the Praetorians’ Raptor slamming into the side of her own craft.

  Then strong arms were around her, slowing her fall, lifting her up. Dazed, Roz saw Solomon Cord’s face only inches from hers.

  “Easy now,” Cord said. “You’re OK. I’ve got you.”

  CHAPTER 28

  ABBY KEPT CLOSE to Brawn as they waded knee-deep through the swamp. Not only did his massive size provide good protection from the sun but she’d noticed earlier that something about him kept the mosquitoes away.

  They were approaching Krodin’s complex from the north. By listening to the voices and footsteps of the workers, James had figured out that the northern part of the structure was the least visited.

  James, taking the lead, stopped and briskly shook his head. “Sound’s fading. We’re on the edge of the power-damper’s range.” He took a few steps backward, and Abby and Brawn stepped aside to let him pass. “Yeah, we’re not going to get any closer and still be able to use our powers.”

  “We need to get Max out of that place,” Abby said. “Without killing anyone,” she added, glaring at James.

  Brawn said, “Krodin’s not going to let him out of his sight now.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “Hold on,” James said. “I can hear Krodin talking to one of the Praetorian commanders…. Listen.”

  Then Abby could hear it too: “We’re not sure exactly who’s on board,” the commander was saying. “They’ve got at least one unknown superhuman with them. Female, strong, fast, flight capability. Rosalyn Dalton and Solomon Cord are present. Cord managed to get the jetpack and armor from one of the Jetmen.”

  “How many people have you lost?”

  “Eight Skimmers, four Jetmen, one Raptor—it attempted to ram the stolen craft, but it looks like Dalton shielded it with her telekinesis. Our Raptor was forced to make an emergency landing. No hands lost.”

  “Take them down, Agent Paquette,” Krodin ordered. “Whatever it takes. Destroy their Raptor if you have to.”

  Abby gasped. “No!”

  James said, “Quiet, Abby…. I’ve got it.”

  Then they heard Krodin’s voice say, “No, forget that. Pull back. There’s nothing they can do to stop me.”

  “Sir?”

  “You heard me. Return to base. Refuel and reload. Dalton and her people are a distraction, that’s all. If they reach Louisiana, I’ll deal with them personally; otherwise your resources are better employed elsewhere. We don’t know what Unity are planning and we need to be on full alert, understood?”

  “Sir, I—”

  “I’ll remind you of the penalties for contradiction, Agent Paquette.”

  “Yes, sir. Paquette out.”

  James opened his eyes and grinned. “That’ll do it.”

  “You did that?” Brawn said. He slapped James on the shoulder and almost knocked him over. “That was way cool! But what did Krodin hear?”

  “He heard her saying that they’re forcing the Raptor to land and she’d contact him when she knew more. Should buy Roz and the others some time.”

  Abby stood up. “Good work. Can you contact Roz from here?”

  “No, they’re way too far.”

  “Then fly up and see if you can see the base yet.”

  James silently rose until he’d cleared the treetops, and then his voice appeared next to Abby. “Yeah, I see it. It’s smaller than I thought it’d be. It’s about the size of your school, Abby. Two floors, walls slope in a little. Looks like there’s a garden covering the entire roof.”

  “Camouflage, probably,” Brawn said. “From overhead it’ll blend in with the rest of the swamp. Makes it very hard to spot.”

  James descended. “Maybe, but having the Carrier right next to it is a bit of a giveaway. There’s no easy path between here and there.” He pointed to the right. “So we’ll go this way. We can’t get within eight hundred yards of the base, but as long as Max isn’t in the very center, we should be able to get closer than this.”

  A few minutes later they found themselves on the far side of the shallow lake, crouched among the reeds, facing the northern side of the building. Krodin’s massive Carrier was between them and the base, providing them with some additional cover. On top of both the Carrier and the base, armored Praetorian guards stood watch.

  “Yeah, the whole exterior is alarmed,” James said. “Motion sensors—they have a very distinctive hum.”

  Brawn was too tall to crouch down with the others: He was lying almost flat, half submerged in the muck. “So if we can figure out a way to get in and still have our powers, then what? Krodin’s just gonna come after us. We split up?”

  “No other way, really,” Abby said. “You and James, me on my own. Whichever team finds Krodin first keeps him busy—the other one destroys the teleporter.”

  Brawn nodded. “All right. Except you two stick together. I’ll do it alone—come in from the roof. James, they don’t know we’re here, do they?”

  “If they do, they’re not talking about us,” James said. “I’m thinking there might be another way to do this. Instead of breaking in and all that…Why don’t I just destroy the whole building from here? I’m pretty sure I can do it. The fact that I can hear them inside the base means the power-damper only affects us directly; it doesn’t cancel out the effects of our powers, if you know what I mean. One massive shock wave right in the heart of the foundations and the whole thing will collapse and sink into the swamp.”

  “You can’t. There are civilians in there,” Abby said.

  “So we warn them. Give them five minutes to get out.”

  “Won’t work,” Brawn said. “Think about it: Nothing we do will hurt Krodin.”

  “That’s not the purpose of the mission.”

  “Oh, we’re on a mission now, are we? But that’s not what I’m
saying. The point is that Krodin won’t let the civilians leave. Not even if we ask him nicely. He knows we wouldn’t hurt innocent people. So we stick to the original plan…. Which brings us back to how we get inside the building with our powers still working and without the alarm going off.”

  “I can muffle the sirens, no problem there,” James said, “but that won’t be much use if they have flashing lights or doors that seal automatically.”

  Abby sighed. “Wish I still had my bow. I could—”

  Brawn interrupted her. “Heck with all this talking! This is how we get in!” He grabbed hold of the nearest tree and wrapped his massive arms around it, ripped it free from the ground.

  The others dodged a shower of dirt, leaves, and flakes of bark as Brawn hoisted the tree over his head.

  With a yell of exertion, Brawn threw the tree as easily as an ordinary man would throw a football. It arced through the air, sailed over the base, and crashed into the swamp on the south side.

  “You missed,” Abby said.

  “Depends on what I was aiming at. Thunder?”

  “I can hear Max. He’s moving with most of the others to see what the noise was…. They’re going outside….” James’s voice shifted in tone. “Max, this is Thunder. I’m aiming this sound directly at you. If you’ve still got the power-damping thing with you, get out of the base now! Head south, fast as you can.”

  “Did he hear you?” Abby asked.

  “I think so…. Yes! He’s left the building!” James grinned. “Keep going, Max.” He looked at the others. “Get ready. A few more seconds and he’ll have taken the power-damper out of range of the building…. Now!”

  Abby raced forward, wading through the lake, but had barely gone ten steps before she felt herself rising out of the water.

  “Better to fly than run,” James said, appearing beside her. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’t read anything into this. It’s just easier.”

  She heard Brawn splashing through the water behind them. “Finally! Time for some needless property damage and wanton destruction!”

  They were halfway across the lake when the building’s alarms sounded and then instantly cut out.