by Lucas Flint
But his chuckling turned to a growl when a ninja star flew into his chest. White Lightning staggered off me, clutching his chest as Emma said, “Take this, you monster!”
She threw several more ninja stars at White Lightning, each one hitting home. In fact, they came at him so fast that White Lighting actually slipped on a rug on the floor and fell on his back, blood leaking out of the spots where Emma’s stars had embedded themselves into his flesh. He looked as good as dead.
“Bolt, are you all right?” said Emma, bending down next to me, a concerned look on her face.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m fine, but White Lightning isn’t.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” said Mastermind in an amused voice. “I’d say he looks just fine, myself.”
All of a sudden, White Lightning sat up. Although the ninja stars were still stuck in his chest, he didn’t even seem to notice them. He just picked them out of his body like ticks, throwing away each star onto the floor without even looking to see where they landed.
But that wasn’t the freakiest part about this. The freakiest part was how his wounds rapidly and neatly closed up with each star removed, until soon his chest looked as uninjured as it did before. The only difference was that the holes in his costume were still there, but they were so tiny and unnoticeable that it didn’t detract from his overall frightening appearance.
“What the heck?” said Emma. “I didn’t know he could—”
Emma was cut off when White Lightning transformed into a literal lightning bolt and flew at her. And I mean literally transformed; one moment, he was a physical human being, but in the very next, he was a lightning bolt that struck Emma head on.
Emma, like Blizzard, was sent flying. She crashed into the wall and fell to the floor with a thunk, her chest smoking. She seemed to still be alive, but I had a feeling that she survived due to luck more than anything.
As for White Lightning, he transformed back into his human form and immediately stood between me and Mastermind. I scrambled to my feet, however, and took up a fighting stance, even though I wasn’t sure I could beat him in a fight, especially if Mastermind helped him.
White Lightning must have thought the same thing, because he just grinned like a mad man when he saw me take a fighting stance. He took a step forward, but then Mastermind said, “White Lightning, don’t attack him just yet. We’re still haveing a father to son talk, something I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing in years. But if he or his friends try to attack, you can rough him up a little if you want.”
White Lightning looked disappointed, but he didn’t question Mastermind’s orders. He just remained standing where he was, and, despite his crazy grin, it was impossible for me to figure out what he was thinking. That sent a chill down my spine.
“So White Lightning is working for you,” I said. I was panting, even though I hadn’t done much fighting so far. “I knew it.”
“It was a mystery?” said Mastermind incredulously. “Ah, well. It doesn’t matter if you know it or not, because there is little you can do about it.”
“Who is White Lightning?” I said. “You said … you said he was my brother?”
“Indeed,” said Mastermind. “And I am not talking metaphorically. I mean that he is your literal blood brother. He came from Ashley’s womb and has my blood flowing through his veins the same as you.”
“But …” I was temporarily at a loss for words. “That’s a lie. I’m an only child. I’ve never had siblings. I mean, I’ve wanted siblings, but I’ve never had any. This guy has to be a clone or me from another dimension or something.”
“He’s none of those things, but good try,” said Mastermind. “White Lightning is indeed your brother, the brother you never knew you had. But I knew, which is how I found him and put him into my employ. He’s very eager to serve his father. Right, White Lightning?”
White Lightning nodded eagerly. His silence was odd, though, which made me wonder if White Lighting could even speak.
“But my parents never told me I had a sibling,” I said. “They’ve never even implied I had another sibling.”
“Because they didn’t think you needed to know about the missing brother,” said Mastermind. “They thought you might try to search for him, which would have been a stupid—and fatal—mistake.”
“Fatal?” I said. “Why? Where has he been all this time?”
“In the Facility,” said Mastermind, “under the careful supervision of Cadmus Smith. As a result, he doesn’t have very good grasp on basic social cues, but he is extremely powerful, just like you, and easily controlled, too, unlike you.”
White Lighting suddenly snarled when Cadmus Smith’s name was mentioned. Granted, I shared the feeling, but seeing it on White Lightning’s face was just too surreal. It was like looking into a mirror, except the mirror was capable of forming independent facial expressions that didn’t always match your own. I almost wondered if I was losing my mind, but I decided that this was way too crazy to be a hallucination.
“What was he doing in the Facility?” I said. “How did he get there?”
“Allow me to tell you,” said Mastermind. “Nineteen years ago, your mother became pregnant with you, courtesy of this dimension’s version of myself. Nine months after that, Ashley Jason gave birth to identical twin boys. Both had a bright future ahead of them, with loving and supportive parents who would give their lives for them … until the government stepped in.”
Mastermind’s tone became harsher now, like he was reliving bad memories. “It was in the middle of the night, after Ashley gave birth to you two. I was staying in the hospital for the night because I wanted to be near her and the children. But then I heard something in the room where the babies were kept, so I awoke and got there just in time to see a G-Man agent flee through the window with one of the babies in his arms. After that night, I never saw my other son again and didn’t even know he was still alive until recently.”
“The G-Men kidnapped my brother?” I said. “Why?”
“I don’t know why,” said Mastermind. “All I know is that when I tried to report that to the police, they did not believe me. I was told that my son hadn’t been kidnapped, that medical records showed that my wife had only given birth to one baby boy, and that I was making a big deal out of nothing. I thought they were lying until I checked the medical records and saw that the hospital recorded Ashley only giving birth to one healthy baby boy, rather than two.”
Mastermind put a hand on his head. “But I remembered—and Ashley remembered—that we’d had two boys. I spent years searching for that other son, but it wasn’t until your death in my universe that I discovered that he was being kept in the Facility. But when I got there … he had been dead for a long time, his body turned into a gruesome science experiment for the government’s scientists.”
I put a hand over my mouth in shock, while White Lightning just growled some more, except this time his growl had more pain in it.
“I killed every last person I found in that building,” said Mastermind. “You have no idea what it was like, discovering the location of your long-lost son, only to discover that he was dead. I had lost two sons in a row. It was … unbearable. It hardened my resolve to take over the world so that no one else would lose their sons to the monsters that ruled this place.”
“What about this White Lightning?” I said, gesturing at him. “Where did he come from?”
“He’s the White Lightning of this universe,” said Mastermind. “When I came here, I thought I would see if he was still alive. I didn’t expect him to be, so when I broke into the Facility and found him breathing, I was shocked, to say the least. But I quickly freed him and recruited him onto my side. He likes me better than the scientists, mostly because I don’t treat him like a curious science experiment.”
White Lightning nodded again. He then said, in a halting voice that showed he was clearly not used to speaking, “Dad … is … good …”
“So are y
ou telling me that the government was planning to kidnap me or my brother for a while?” I said. “To the point where they even made fake medical records to trick people into believing Mom had only had me?”
“It appears that way,” said Mastermind. “But I didn’t inquire too deeply about it, because, like I said, I killed everyone involved. I suppose they wanted a specimen to study for Project Neo, but they clearly had no idea what was coming to them.”
“How come I haven’t heard any news of White Lightning’s escape from the Facility, then?” I said.
“Because the government doesn’t want people to know that it kidnaps babies from their parents and keeps them locked up in top secret facilities separated from human contact, of course,” said Mastermind. “You act like it’s some grand mystery, but it’s nothing more and nothing less than the human ego’s attempt to defend itself from the uncomfortable truth.”
“And that’s why the government tried to kill Triplet,” I said, “and confiscated White Lighting’s DNA sample from Professor Hernandez. They didn’t want anyone to know that he’s my brother or that he was under the government’s control.”
“Correct,” said Mastermind. “But to be fair, this world’s government did keep him alive, unlike the government of the world I am from. So your universe’s government is slightly … slightly … more humane than mine was.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but when I looked at White Lightning, I had an even harder time not believing it. We really did look alike. And Mastermind didn’t seem to be lying. Just something about the way he spoke made me think that he was telling the truth. It certainly fit with my own preconceptions about Cadmus Smith and the G-Men, anyway; I could see them doing something like that, given how they’d messed up my life enough already.
“So my brother has powers?” I said. “Does he have a name, too?”
“Yes to both,” said Mastermind. “His real name is Ronald, named after my own grandfather, so his name is Ronald Jason. As for his powers, his are similar to yours, except he also has a healing factor that allows him to heal from most wounds instantly. His electricity powers are also far stronger than yours.”
“And you’ve been having him cause chaos and destruction … why?” I said.
“Partially to draw you out, but also to set the stage for my conquest of this world,” said Mastermind. “I wanted to test the defenses of your universe’s government versus the defenses I had to face back in my own universe. They seem more or less the same, so it won’t be very difficult for me to conquer this world, I think. In fact, it should be quicker, since I’ve already done it once before and know better than to repeat the mistakes I made the first time I took over the world.”
“Not unless I stop you,” I said. “And my brother, too.”
Mastermind made an incredulous grunt. “Are you sure about that? You may have the power to stop us, but would it really be wise to do so?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I said. “I’m a superhero. We fight supervillains like you all the time. It’s what we do.”
“But who is the real villain around here?” said Mastermind. “Me or the government that made it so that you would never know your own flesh and blood brother? The same government that threw you into prison for no reason? The same government that is currently hunting you and your friends down like common crooks?”
I hesitated. As much as I hated to admit it, Mastermind had a point, but I said, “I’m not fighting for the US government or any other government. I fight because it’s the right thing to do.”
“So, rather than fight the corrupt government that has torn apart your family before you were even born, you choose to fight your own father and brother?” said Mastermind. “Kevin, I always knew you could be impulsive and fail to think things through logically, but this just makes you look like an idiot of the highest order.”
“But you’ve killed people,” I said. “And you’re planning to take over the world. I can’t allow that.”
“The government has also killed lots of people and seems to want to take over the world as well,” said Mastermind. “I’ve seen the politics of your universe. It isn’t much different from what my universe was like, at least before I took over. And even if you do beat me, the government won’t let you off the hook. They’ll just throw you back into jail and treat you no better than a common thief, perhaps even worse, since you led the second jailbreak in Ultimate Max’s history and made the government look foolish and incompetent in the process.”
I honestly couldn’t disagree with anything Mastermind had said. Looking at it from his point of view, looking at it from the facts, there wasn’t too much difference between Mastermind and the federal government. And he had a point; even if I defeated him, the government wouldn’t pardon me. They’d just lock me up again, too, and probably wouldn’t even acknowledge my help in defeating him.
“I can see that my logic is getting to you,” said Mastermind. “Don’t try to deny it. Being your father, I know you far better than you know yourself. You know I speak the truth, but you’re just too prideful to admit it.”
I bit my lower lip. I hated how right he was, but I wouldn’t say that aloud, perhaps because of my ‘pride,’ as he put it.
Mastermind held out a hand. “Now we’re back to the whole reason I did any of this: I want you to join me. I want you to rule the world by my side. I want a successor, one who will be able to rule as justly and rightly as me, and I want that successor to be you.”
“Me?” I said. “Why not White Lightning?”
“Because he lacks the mental fortitude necessary to be the next ruler of the world,” said Mastermind. “The years of experimentation on him by the government has left him with a severely underdeveloped mind that will take too long to grow into something useful. But you, Kevin … with just a little effort, you could be great.”
“What about my friends?” I said. I glanced at Blizzard and Emma. “What about them? Will you spare their lives if I join you?”
“Of course,” said Mastermind. “What you don’t seem to grasp, Kevin, is that I don’t take lives except when necessary. So I will spare all your friends if you would just join me.”
“And what about Mom?” I said. “Does she know you’re here?”
“No,” said Mastermind. “I haven’t had a chance to see her, but I will, once you and I are together. I know how much she misses me. And if she sees that you and I are a team, she will no doubt accept me without question. Back in my universe, she was always a devoted wife, so I don’t think it will be very difficult to make her devoted to me here.”
This was honestly very tempting, more tempting than I expected it to be. Mastermind didn’t seem nearly as crazy as I thought he was going to be. I may not have agreed with every little thing he did and said, but at the same time, it was hard to dispute with his logic. And he was Dad; sure, he was Dad from an alternate universe, but that didn’t change the fact that we were technically biologically related (I think? I dunno. I’m not an expert on multiversal biology or how any of this works).
And if he was going to spare my friends and Mom, plus maybe some other people I would ask him to spare … maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I joined him. If Dad was still alive today, I was certain that he’d be a better leader of America and the world in general than our government. Maybe, by siding with Mastermind, I really could make the world a better place. Maybe we could even wipe out crime entirely, which was the goal of every superhero.
“Kevin, I know you want to join me,” said Mastermind. “I can tell. I can’t read your mind, but as your father, I don’t need to in order to know what you are thinking, what you want. I can even see it in your body language; your fighting stance is relaxing.”
It was, and I hadn’t even realized it. I had lowered my fists slightly and brought my legs closer together. A part of me still resisted, but now I didn’t see any reason to keep doing that. I had no reason to say no to Mastermind’s offer. None at all.
&nbs
p; Just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard the click of a gun behind me, but before I could look, a familiar voice shouted, “Bolt! Get out of the way!”
Instinctively, I jumped to the side just as a gun shot went off, which was deafening in this small room. But I didn’t pay attention to that because a bullet shot by me and White Lightning and struck Mastermind in the chest.
Mastermind let out a gasp of pain before collapsing face first onto the desk. White Lightning let out a weird strangled yell and ran over to Mastermind, shouting, “Dad, Dad, no!”
But I didn’t go over to join him. I just looked over my shoulder to see who had shot Mastermind.
It was Triplet. He was still bandaged, still tired, but he was standing on his own. He was holding a gun in his hands, a gun that was smoking, though he’d lowered the gun to his side after firing. Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, making him look like he was about to pass out any second.
“Trip?” I said in shock. “What … how … what are you doing up here? Where are Ivan and Rime?”
Triplet coughed. “Downstairs making sure no one surprises us. I came up here to give you back up. When I saw that Mastermind was distracted, I went in for the kill.”
“But didn’t you hear?” I said. “That was Dad. You were friends with Dad.”
Triplet frowned. “That wasn’t Ted. The Ted I knew wasn’t a plotting conqueror. He was a father … and a friend.”
A sudden shriek caused us both to look back over at the desk where Mastermind was sitting. The shriek had come from White Lightning, who whirled around to look at us. He was now breathing in and out heavily, the electricity in his eyes crackling so much that it was almost impossible to look at him directly without harming your eyes.
“You … hurt … Dad,” said White Lightning, each word laced with hatred. “I … kill … you!”
White Lightning transformed into a lightning bolt and shot toward Triplet. But I stepped into the way and, summoning my own lightning powers, punched the lightning bolt just as it came within my reach.
