by Lucas Flint
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s a reason I asked Blizzard to meet us here.” I looked at her. “Blizzard, is the mansion still here?”
“Yes,” said Blizzard, nodding. “It seems like no one is living in it right now, so I don’t think anyone will stumble upon us accidentally.”
“Good,” I said.
“Mansion?” Mimic repeated, causing me to look at him. “What mansion? I didn’t know you owned a mansion.”
“I don’t,” I said. “But my grandparents did and it is probably the safest place for us in the world right now. We’ll stay there for the night and then figure out our next moves in the morning.”
-
It was too dark for me to see my grandparents’ old mansion or the huge garden in front of it, but with a couple of flashlights that Mimic had found in the van’s glove compartment, I caught glimpses of the old mansion and the garden. The mansion was still in serviceable shape, but I caught glimpses of broken or dirty windows, while the garden was incredibly overgrown, like it hadn’t been tended to in years. I didn’t even need to see the garden to know that it was overgrown, however; the path through the garden to the mansion was incredibly thick, but Firespirit burned through any plants that got in our way, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
Once we were inside the mansion, we turned on the lights, which miraculously still worked. But we made sure to cover the windows with whatever we could find first; while there probably were not any people wandering around this forest so late at night, we were not in the mood to take any unnecessary risks.
The interior of the mansion was much the same as it was when I first came here, except more rundown. A mouse ran across the floor, and it was a big one, too, and there was mold on the walls. Though the lights came on, they were dimmer than before and didn’t provide nearly as much illumination as they normally did. The chandelier still hung from the ceiling, but it was chipped and cracked in several places. There was also a thick layer of dust on practically everything, even in the carpeting.
We made our way to the living room, which was the only room in the place that was big enough for all of us. Before we entered, however, Blizzard went over and closed the curtains to the main window, just to make sure that we would not be seen.
Blizzard and I sat down on a couch, along with Rime, while Ivan stood behind us. Mimic, Firespirit, and Intellect took the couch opposite us, while Steel Skin and Jawtooth stood near the entrance. I know, there wasn’t anyone here but us, but I still appreciated the extra caution these guys practiced. It made me feel safer, even knowing how much most of these guys hated me.
“So what happened?” said Blizzard, looking at me in worry. Then she noticed my chest. “Oh, my god, what happened to your chest?”
She looked at Firespirit, an angry look crossing her features. “Are you responsible for that? Because if you are—”
“No, he’s not,” I said quickly, before Blizzard could finish her threat. “These guys actually helped me escape. I got this injury from someone else.”
So I explained to Blizzard all about our escape from prison, including Glass’s ambush, our fight with the guards, and Enor’s sacrifice. I also introduced Blizzard to Ivan and Rime, though despite their similar powers, Blizzard didn’t seem to care much for Rime, probably because he was still a supervillain, even though he had helped me escape.
Once I finished, Blizzard shook her head. “That’s quite the adventure you had. I’m glad you managed to escape Glass, though.”
“We almost didn’t,” said Ivan with a shudder. “Was only thanks to brave Enor that we escaped Glass’s powers. Otherwise, we would not be here right now.”
“I can’t believe that Enor sacrificed himself like that,” said Blizzard. “I remember him. He was one of the first villains we fought as a team. He almost beat us, too.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I guess that even the evilest supervillains have some redeeming features.”
“Personally, I believe that he did it just to get revenge on Glass,” said Mimic with a snide tone. “Glass was always hard on him in prison, so it wasn’t surprising that Enor would take advantage of his distraction to kill him.”
“Was Glass really killed, though?” said Rime. “He was shattered into pieces, true, but for an elemental superhuman, that’s easy enough to recover from.”
“I hope not,” said Intellect. “But even if he does recover, I bet he will have to stay in the hospital for months. Either way, I expect Enor to go down as a legend among the prisoners, since the one thing we all had in common was our shared hatred of Glass.”
“Right,” I said. “Well, we’re free now. That means we don’t have to travel together anymore.”
“Yes,” said Mimic with relish. “I am looking forward to being a free man once again. I hope to never see your stupid face ever again after this is all over.”
“But not now,” said Firespirit with a yawn. “Tonight, the Flame must rest. Does this place have beds?”
“Enough for all of us,” said Blizzard, nodding. “I checked before you all got here. It’s a big place.”
“Good,” said Mimic. “In the morning, I’m going to leave. And I will take the van with me, too, because I am going to need wheels.”
“I would not do that if I were you,” said Ivan. “The government will likely be keeping an eye out for a stolen prison van. You will be too easy to spot in that vehicle.”
“Ivan is correct,” said Intellect. His shoulders slumped. “Looks like we’ll just have to walk. I hate hiking.”
I felt Blizzard shift next to me and I looked at her. She was looking at me with a questioning gaze that said quite clearly Are you just going to let these guys go?
I shrugged. What was I supposed to do? Yeah, they were all supervillains, and yes, each and every one of them deserved to be in prison for the rest of their lives, but at the moment I couldn’t catch all of them. And if I tried to return them to prison, I’d be arrested with them. Right now, I wanted to focus on catching White Lightning and Mastermind, wherever they were, and clearing my name. Then I would go after these guys again.
“Well, Blizzard?” I said. “What about the rest of the team? Will we be heading for Hero Island tomorrow morning?”
Blizzard suddenly frowned. “Oh, no, we shouldn’t. Or you shouldn’t, at least.”
“What?” I said. “I thought the plan was for me to go to Hero Island, where the NHA would keep me safe from the government.”
“Hero Island isn’t safe anymore,” said Blizzard. “Yesterday, Cadmus Smith came to Hero Island and spoke with the Leadership Council for about an hour. After that, Omega Man did a press conference where he announced that the NHA was going to be working with the G-Men now.”
“What?” I said, almost shouted. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” said Blizzard, wincing slightly at my shouting. She brushed back some of her white hair. “But Mecha Knight told me and the others that the NHA was going to build a new building on Hero Island that will be an office for the Department of Extraterrestrial and Superpowered Beings, with a dozen G-Men agents stationed there at all times. They were already sending agents to scout out a location for the base when I left.”
“Are you saying that if I return to Hero Island, the NHA will just hand me back over to the G-Men?” I said.
“Probably,” said Blizzard. “It was hard for me to leave. I had to sneak out of Hero Island without anyone noticing. And I made sure that no one from the G-Men followed me; but still, this is bad.”
“Bad? This is a disaster,” I said. “Why did the Leadership Council agree to this? It doesn’t make any sense. The Neohero Alliance has always been separate from the government. It has a history of defending its members whenever they get into conflicts with the government. Why would they do this? What did Cadmus Smith say to Omega Man and the others to make them think this was a great idea?”
“Again, I don’t know,” said Blizzard. “There are rumors that Ca
dmus used his mind powers to control the minds of the Leadership Council and make them do his bidding, but there’s nothing to prove that. All I know is that Hero Island is the last place you want to be right now.”
“Damn it,” I said. I stopped and thought about it. “Cadmus knew. Somehow, he knew that I was going to try to escape Ultimate Max and go back to Hero Island. So he acted three steps ahead of me and turned the only safe place for me on Earth into a trap just waiting to be sprung.”
“For what it’s worth, the decision isn’t very popular among the general NHA membership,” said Blizzard. “Lots of people have resigned in protest and are either going solo or going to the Independent Neoheroes for Justice instead.”
“What about Mecha Knight?” I said. “Did he tell you what’s going on?”
“That’s the thing,” said Blizzard. “He’s been very distant ever since you were arrested. He didn’t tell us what Cadmus said. He just told us about the decision before Omega Man announced it to the public. I would like to think that he’s got a plan, but he can be so hard to read sometimes.”
Mimic chuckled. “I’m not surprised about this at all. I worked for Cadmus Smith for years, you know, and this is exactly how he works. Once he’s set his mind to something, he will get it no matter what. It’s kind of scary, but hilarious.”
“Hilarious?” I said. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m just enjoying your pain,” said Mimic. “Your only hope has now been extinguished like a flower. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s comedy gold.”
Mimic laughed, but my temper had grown pretty short over the last few hours, so I stood up from the couch and jumped over the coffee table to him. I punched him in the face, causing him to gasp in pain, before I grabbed him and threw him off the couch and onto the floor. He skidded across the floor until he slammed into the legs of a desk, where he lay with a dazed look on his face.
I stalked toward Mimic, ready to give him the beat down of a lifetime, but then Ivan grabbed my shoulder and said, “Kevin, no. There is no reason to beat up Mimic.”
I glared at Ivan, but Ivan didn’t even hesitate under my look. “But he mocked me.”
“So?” said Ivan, his voice calm and firm. “I understand your frustration. And yes, I understand wanting to punch Mimic in the face, but we should not waste time fighting each other. We’re all wanted criminals now. No ship can sail if its crew is fighting each other.”
“Ivan is right, Bolt,” said Blizzard. “Mimic’s a jerk, but you need to remain calm. It’s the only way we can figure out what to do next.”
I was tempted to just ignore both Ivan and Blizzard’s counsel, but then I realized they were right, so I calmed down and said, “Fine.”
I wrenched my shoulder out of Ivan’s hand and sat down on the couch with Blizzard again. Mimic, meanwhile, was moaning in pain, sitting up and rubbing his cheek. A trickle of blood was leaking out of the corner of his mouth, but aside from that he didn’t seem to be suffering from any serious injuries, much to my disappointment.
“B-But, if we can’t go to Hero Island, then where can we go?” said Rime.
“We?” Mimic said. I noticed he had a broken tooth, which made him sound like he had a lisp. “Where did any of this ‘we’ business come from? You guys can do what you want. I’m out of here first thing in the morning.”
“Even though it would be more logical for us to stick together?” said Ivan. “Every police officer and government agent in the country will be on the look out for all of us soon. We might be safer if we stick together.”
“Hey, I can change my face to look however I want,” said Mimic. “I could walk around in broad daylight and no one would ever suspect who I really am. The rest of you, though, are screwed.”
“Thanks for the encouragement,” said Intellect sarcastically.
“I don’t know,” said Rime. “I would like to go visit my wife and daughter, but that is exactly the place where the G-Men will expect me to go. So I think I will stick with you for now, Bolt.”
“Same here,” said Ivan. “I have nowhere else to go, either. And I have a feeling that if I returned to Ultimate Max, I would be shot on sight no questions asked.”
“What about the rest of you?” I said. “Where will you guys go?”
“Jawtooth and I are going to Japan,” said Intellect. “I have family over there among the yakuza who will likely keep us safe. Right, Jawtooth?”
Jawtooth nodded. “Yes. I love ramen noodles.”
“Steel Skin and I will also have to leave the country,” said Firespirit. “We will travel to the land of maple syrup, Canada. Steel Skin, you have cousins up there who will help, right?”
“Yeah,” said Steel Skin. “But I’d really like to go after Plutarch. That bastard deserves to have his head on a pole for betraying us.”
“That would also be a good way to get arrested again,” said Firespirit. “So we won’t do it, at least for now.”
Steel Skin sulked in disappointment, but he didn’t challenge Firespirit’s decision, probably because he realized that Firespirit had a point about the impossibility of assassinating the current President of the United States.
“All right,” I said. “I know what all of you plan to do now, but that still doesn’t help me figure out what I need to do.”
“We should find people who will harbor us,” said Ivan. “Do you have any friends outside of the NHA who might be willing to do that?”
“We could go to my mom’s house,” I said. “She’s in Texas, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to help us.”
“Won’t the G-Men expect you to go to your mother, though?” said Blizzard. “I bet they have agents watching her house. And if they don’t, they soon will.”
“Good point,” I said. I scratched my chin. “I doubt Tara or Malcolm could help, either. Especially Malcolm, since his older brother is a G-Man agent.”
“Yeah,” said Blizzard. Then she brightened. “What about the INJ? They like us. Not only that, but they’re also against the government, so they probably won’t hand us over to the G-Men even if Cadmus tells them to.”
“Are they not currently aiding in the reconstruction of San Francisco, though?” said Ivan. “They may not have the manpower or resources to protect us.”
“P-Plus, they might protect you two, but what about Ivan and I?” said Rime, gesturing at himself and Ivan. “We’re still criminals. The INJ doesn’t like the government, but that doesn’t mean they like criminals any better. They might just hand us both back to the government while keeping you two safe.”
“Maybe, but going to them is still our best bet,” I said. “They’re the only people I know of with the resources and manpower to keep us safe from the G-Men. They might also be able to help us defeat White Lightning. So unless you two have any better ideas, we’re going to them.”
I looked at Rime and then at Ivan. The two them exchanged awkward looks, but it was pretty clear that neither of them had any better ideas.
“All right,” I said. “First thing tomorrow morning, we’re going to start our trip to California. We’ll do it at the crack of dawn, because the longer we stay in one place, the easier we make it for the G-Men to find us.”
Chapter Twelve
That night, I slept like a baby. I hadn’t realized it, but I had been so exhausted from the prison escape that I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. Blizzard shared my bed with me, while the others got their own rooms in other parts of the mansion. Before I went to sleep, though, I did worry that some of the other escapees might try to kill me in my sleep, but Ivan slept in the room next to ours and I knew that the others were still afraid of him, so I felt pretty safe.
In the morning, our weird alliance of heroes and criminals finally broke up. The first to leave was Mimic; in fact, he must have left very early, because we didn’t even know he was gone until we went to his room and found that it was empty. Then Jawtooth and Intellect left, followed by Steel Skin and Firespirit, thus leav
ing Blizzard, Ivan, Rime, and I alone in the house.
That left us with the problem of figuring out how to get to California. We discussed it over breakfast … well, I called it ‘breakfast,’ but it was really just a very sparse meal. Due to the fact that no one had lived in this mansion for a few months, there was practically no food in it whatsoever. And what little food was here was old and moldy; about the only food that was any good was an unopened jar of peanut butter we found in one of the kitchen pantries, which was supposed to expire a month from now, but a jar of peanut butter wasn’t very filling for four people. But it was pretty much all we had, so we just made do with it.
“Okay,” I said, licking peanut butter off my knife. “How are we going to get to California?”
Rime—who sat across the kitchen table from me with a large spoonful of peanut butter—said, “Y-You can fly, right? Why don’t you just f-fly us to California?”
“True, I can fly, and the powerless gas wore off in the night, so my powers have completely returned by now,” I said. “But even with my super strength, I’d have a hard time carrying all of you for long periods of time. And, of course, that would make it easier for the G-Men to see us.”
“What about your dad’s teleportation technology?” said Blizzard. “I remember that your dad had a belt that could teleport him almost anywhere.”
“He did, but I don’t have access to it right now,” I said. “It’s back in our home in Texas.” I patted my jumpsuit. “Also, I don’t even have my costume. The government still has it.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Blizzard.
She stuck a hand in one of the pockets of her costume and withdrew something, which she then held out for me to take. “I got this for you before I left Hero Island.”
It was another suit-up watch, much to my surprise. I took it from her hands and turned it over, looking it over in astonishment. “This is a suit-up watch.”
