My answers: Like shit, yes, only a little, God yes!
I felt my strength return, and the next several moments were spent in question-and-answer, though Mom kept urging me to stop and wait for a better time if I started feeling pretty crappy. I could barely imagine how long the time stretched out. I didn’t care, though. After being locked away and living alone for so many weeks, I was desperate to talk to my family. I answered their questions as best as I could, and with Althea running out to the nurse’s station to ask for some water for me, I was able to share just about everything with them. The water soothed my throat, and I finished half a pitcher by the time I’d done with my story.
The only things I tried to keep from my family were details of my powers’ deterioration—that is, the effects they had on me. My nosebleed, the pain, the feeling of being ripped apart—I figured Mom wouldn’t be ready for those. Not that she ever would. The whole time I told my story, she held my hand and cried, with Liz calming her with a gentle rubbing of her back. My sister looked horrified and outraged. Once I told them my story, she exhaled loudly between her teeth and shook her head.
“I’m going to fucking kill that bastard,” she hissed.
Mom would’ve yelled at her, I was sure, had that been a normal moment. She was too distraught to care and just let Liz spew off threats and curses like I’d never heard before.
“Dude, you’re upsetting Mom,” I cut in after a while. I might be guilty of being foul-mouthed, too, but I had my limits.
“I know. I’m sorry. You can hardly blame me, though.”
I managed a weak little smile. “Yeah, I know. I wouldn’t worry, though. I think the Trill’s dead.” I glanced at Althea for confirmation, and she nodded. Bit by bit, Brenda’s account trickled back into my mind.
“He is, thank God,” Liz replied. “The news reports were pretty graphic about how he died, but the bastard deserved it.”
“Yeah. He—um—literally self-destructed,” Althea added. I realized then she hadn’t come out to my family yet and reminded myself to be careful when talking to her about the Trill and whatever was considered to be classified information to the heroes.
“Thanks, Althea,” Mom said after blowing her nose and wiping her eyes. Poor Mom looked like a wreck, and it was all my fault. “I don’t care to know how he destroyed himself. He’s gone, and my boy’s back, and that’s all that matters to me.”
Althea nodded and fell into a respectful silence again.
The awkwardness of that moment began to bug me.
Everyone seemed to be off in her own world, with me and my ordeal being the center of everything. I hated the feeling, hated being responsible for my mom’s grief—and my dad’s, too—hated not being able to set things right the way I wanted to. The only comfort I had in all that was the fact my family stayed safe the whole time.
A total nutcase he might have been, but the Trill at least honored his side of the bargain.
“Mom, will the doctors let me drink a soda? I kind of miss it.”
She laughed through her tears. “I don’t think they’ll let you, but maybe they’ll allow something like lemonade.”
“Oh—no, thanks. I’ll have water.”
Althea hung around for a while, and we talked mostly about school and how screwed over I was.
“I’m sure people in school know who the Cloak was,” I said, mortified. “Considering how long I’ve been gone…”
“Well, I’ve heard a few rumors, yeah, but no one I know believes them. Your dad talked to the principal and made arrangements about your classes, I think.” She glanced at Mom, who nodded. “Um—the mayor’s involved in this, too.”
I stared at her. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. He knew what was going on, Eric. He had to—like, it’s his city that’s getting blown up, right?”
“I’m glad that no one knows my identity.”
“Yeah. We made sure no one knew. Then again, your being underage helped.”
“So I guess it’s summer school for me, huh?”
Mom chuckled. “We’ll talk about that later. You’re not flunking out of school or anything, honey. Don’t worry about that happening. At the moment, we’re in the middle of negotiating with someone who can help you with your lessons.” She took a deep breath and looked around the room. “My lord, I look like Hell, I’m sure. I need to wash up and call your father, Eric.”
“Sure.”
Mom gave me another kiss on my forehead before excusing herself. Liz likewise offered to run and get them something to eat, so I was left with Althea for a while. I waited until we were definitely alone before beckoning to her to come close and tell me everything that happened.
“Being able to track you down online helped in letting everyone know that you’re okay,” she said. “All the help we needed came from Freddie and the Sentries, though.”
“Let me guess—Freddie showed up as Lucy again?”
Althea laughed. “No, dummy. He showed up as is, with a couple of people who called themselves the Sentries.”
“How many are there in the group? I didn’t think there were more than, like, two. Oh, and Freddie’s adoptive parents. And their friends. And others.”
“Oh, there are at least a dozen of them, from what we were told, but they’re a covert group, and even if they align themselves with the good guys, they pretty much work on their own.”
I frowned. “What else did they say about their group? Were they genetic scientists or something?”
Althea nodded. “Most of them were, yeah, though I think a few used to work as lab assistants. They’re—I don’t know if you call them mavericks or vigilantes or whatever—they admit to doing wrong, but they’re sort of back to monitor the Eugenics children’s progress. You know, see how far the experiments have taken them. But for the most part they’re back to make sure that shit like that doesn’t happen again.”
My eyes widened as possibilities came alive in my mind. “You mean, if anyone decided to be stupid enough to screw around with genetics the way they did before, they’d sabotage the labs and stuff?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
“That’s like one of those radical animal rights groups, right?”
Althea shrugged as she rested on one of my bed’s side rails, idly scanning the machines above my head. “You can say that, for sure. It’s pretty scary. I really don’t know how to handle that. I mean, they’re here to do good. Like, they’re trying to make up for what they did in the past. But their methods might be pretty extreme, and I’m afraid of people getting hurt when they carry out their threats.”
“If they carry them out, you mean,” I corrected her with a firm voice. “Do you really think people will be stupid enough to try to pull something like that again? I think the mayor wouldn’t allow genetics labs anywhere around here after what happened before.” I reached out and covered one of her hands with mine and patted it. “I mean, we’re seeing the effects of all those now, aren’t we?”
She leveled me with a rueful sort of look. “I know. The glamour’s worn itself out—a little, anyway.”
“What, are you starting to get all emo about your powers now?” I grinned. “You were all gung-ho before.”
“I am, yeah—gung-ho, I mean—but I guess I’m a little more grown up now. I’ve seen the crap side of being a superhero. For the rest of my life, I won’t be able to avoid it.”
“I think you kick major ass as a superhero. I love your new outfit, by the way. Very chic.”
Althea finally burst out laughing, and it was so infectious that I laughed along even though my body nearly twisted itself in pain from all the hiccupping and snorting I did.
“Shut up!” she sputtered, wiping her eyes. “I’m not done talking serious stuff yet!”
“Okay, go ahead. I’m listening.”
“What I was saying was that we’ve only met a couple of the Sentries, and we’re pretty much forbidden from snooping around. Man, you should’ve seen the look on Trent’s face.
He was all, ‘We can’t guarantee that,’ in his superhero voice—all low and threatening and stuff. It was crazy. But we all pretty much knew the situation. The Sentries seem to understand what was at stake, now that they’re marked as a possible terrorist threat.”
“Terrorist?” I echoed, shocked. “But they’re only doing what’s right!”
“Yeah, but like I said, Eric, their methods are questionable.”
I sagged against my pillow, scowling at her. “Freddie’s with them. He was taken in by one of the Sentries and raised good.”
“I know, and I’ll bet you he’ll be the buffer that’ll keep the cops from busting the Sentries if they get out of hand.” Althea smiled grimly. “I’m not saying the Sentries are using him like a shield against the law, since he’s obviously one of the good guys, but it’s inevitable the cops won’t be able to flex a lot of muscle against the Sentries because they know Freddie’s aligned with them, and he’s a superhero.”
“Funny. That kind of reminds me of my situation with the Trill.” I paused and looked down at my ravaged arms. “He tried to turn me into a sidekick, and at the same time, he knew about my relationship with Peter. He pretty much used me as a shield because there wasn’t any way you guys would come after me, knowing who I am.”
I sighed and looked back at her with a wry grin. “Not that it helped him any. I still got my butt kicked by Peter and Wade.”
“Sort of—Peter only tried to hold you down and keep you from going all out. When that didn’t work, Wade tried to up the ante and really attack you, so she could take you back with her.” Althea stopped, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping low. “Ohmigawd, Eric, you should’ve seen her after that attack. She was alone that day, right?”
“Yeah, I noticed. Why was she alone? Wasn’t she supposed to be in school or something? Like you guys?”
“It was minimum day at her school.”
“Figures.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, she did what she felt she needed to do, and after the Trill threw gas bombs at the cops and took you away, she was all freaking out when we met her later. She was like, ‘Oh, God, I’m so stupid! I shouldn’t have attacked him like that! I’m so sorry!’ No, really! She was almost crying the whole time. It took a while for me and Peter to calm her down. She seriously thought she killed you or something.”
I laughed. “I tried to self-destruct that time. I guess if the Trill hadn’t stepped in, I’d have made her think that she was responsible for me getting blown up by my own powers. I hope she’s okay now. If I were in her place, I’d have done the same thing.”
“Yeah, she’s fine now.”
“By the way, how are the Debutantes?”
Althea smirked. “Still around, unfortunately. Out of commission for the moment, given what the Trill did to them, but they’ll be back.”
I snickered. “I’ll betcha the Puppet’s totally wetting himself from sheer joy.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he is.”
“And, um, what about the Trill?”
“Oh. He’s—he’s dead.”
“You mentioned that, yeah. And Brenda’s already told me. How? I mean—how’d everything happen with you guys leading up to the Trill going nuclear on himself?”
Althea thought for a moment. “Well, we found out about the hideout from one of the Trill’s men, whom the Sentries dumped into our laps. Trent managed to wring the truth out of him, and we headed out. As far as why the Sentries decided to keep him for as long as they did, we didn’t know. Then again, they wouldn’t tell us why, anyway.”
I figured that it was because Freddie was using the guy—Mr. Bowles, I was sure—for his mimicking powers, and it took him a while to really, fully “absorb” Bowles’ personality and mannerisms and stuff. That was my guess, anyway, and I figured in time I’d learn the truth if the Sentries would allow it. All in all, though, it wasn’t very important to me.
“So we went straight to his hideout after we figured out a plan of attack. I was supposed to protect you guys, while Peter, Trent, and Wade went in and destroyed the place. The fight was really between Trent and the Trill, and Peter and Wade took care of the Trill’s men and their toys. Those bastards put up a hell of a fight, but Peter managed to get them all out—those who were still alive, anyway—before the warehouse completely blew up. He dumped them on the police headquarters’ rooftop. Wade made sure nothing was left standing while I went for the Trill’s main computer and destroyed the Noxious Nocturne’s program and everything else that he might be working on for future use.”
I sighed. “Those poor Ficus trees…”
Althea grimaced. “I know. Sorry. I feel so un-environmental that I’m tempted to plant trees at the park to make up for it.”
“There’s always room for more trees, you know.”
“The Trill was…nuts.”
I made a face. “That’s putting things lightly.”
“No, it was like—it was pretty scary. He was developing the way we’ve been developing. Naturally, I mean. Then he apparently used the Noxious Nocturne on himself, which blew things way out of proportion. He was like a caricature of himself, Eric.” Althea looked at me and visibly shivered. A shadow darkened her face for a moment. “Everything about him was exaggerated, and I guess his system just couldn’t handle the over-the-top enhancement he tried to pull.”
I swallowed, half-afraid of hearing what was coming next. “So, he literally blew up or something?” Brenda’s words came back, and my gut felt hollow.
She nodded. “He flew off with you, but Trent was close behind, and Wade kept shooting her fire balls at him. He wouldn’t stop. It was freaky. Then you blew yourself up, sort of. Dude, I don’t know what you did, but you just kind of turned supernova, in a way, all light and energy and whatever came out of you.”
“I—I guess it was that last bit of power in me that came out,” I stammered, my heart pounding as I tried to wrap my mind around what happened. “Residuals, maybe? I think I must’ve tapped into all that while being choked to death. Like fight or flight? Or something?”
Althea fell silent as she waited for me to finish, but I could only shake my head in helpless confusion. She nodded and patted my hand reassuringly.
“It’s okay, Eric. You’re safe now, and you’re with us. That’s all that matters. The Trill dropped you when you sort of self-destructed, and Trent took him down while Wade continued to fire at him. Peter caught you and brought you to the Sentries and then joined Trent.” She took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on my hand. “It was horrible, Eric.” She patted my hand again, this time distractedly as she forced herself to look back. “He was laughing the whole time. Taunting us, throwing punches at Trent, while he was slowly being burned alive by Wade’s fire bombs. It was like he wasn’t there anymore, you know?”
She tapped the side of her head, and I knew what she meant. “Peter tried to wrestle him down and stop the fire, but the Trill was too strong. When Peter kicked the Trill away from Trent, it was sort of—the Trill just gorged on his own powers. He was so far out there that he kept powering up to be stronger than everyone, and all that time he was on fire. I swear he grew bigger whenever he powered up, and then he literally blew himself up, laughing the whole time.”
I finally remembered to breathe. “Like…like if you were to blow too much air into a balloon, right?”
Althea nodded, her look haunted. “Yeah. That’s exactly it. He just—”
“Didn’t know when to stop,” I finished, meeting her gaze numbly. “But he still got what he wished for in the end, didn’t he? To be better than everyone. He told me once that being mediocre is pathetic.”
“It was awful. It’s like a lifetime’s worth of nightmare material for me.”
“Yeah. I know.” I looked back at my arms. “Have you ever felt like you’re living out a cartoon?”
“Every day, Eric. Every day.”
We both fell silent. A few minutes later, Mom returned, looking a hundred times more cheerful and
fresh, and she asked Althea to stay to have dinner with them despite the hospital scene.
Chapter 21
I was back home in a few more days. Althea was the only one who visited me in the hospital, and she was there just once, but that was because the others continued to be caught up with all sorts of supervillain shit.
She also had to get back to “work.”
“Peter, Wade, and even Trent came by to see you when you were unconscious, like, when you were first brought to the hospital,” she’d said. “But they couldn’t stay. You should’ve seen Peter try to argue his way into a mental health break from crime-fighting.”
I snickered. “I’ll bet it was a great moment.”
Peter sent me flowers, with Trent actually signing his name after Peter’s on the card. I nearly hurt myself laughing. How long ago was it when I couldn’t get Trent—Magnifiman—out of my head? All those filthy dreams, too…
We talked on the phone a lot, though. It was kind of weird even though I wanted to communicate with him so badly for so long. I’d heard of people saying stuff like, “I had so many things I wanted to say to so-and-so, but when the moment came, I forgot or chickened out or freaked out or passed out.” I used to roll my eyes at that, thinking how lame that someone would totally mess up a chance when it finally came.
How many times did I have to call myself a real dumbass? That was rhetorical, by the way.
“How’re you feeling?” Peter asked.
“I’ve seen better days. How’re you doing?”
“Okay, I guess. Same old, same old.” His voice, lowered to a conspiratorial volume, broke into quiet chuckles.
“I’m sure you’re doing a kickass job looking after Vintage City.”
“I guess.”
The longish and rather awkward pause that followed Peter’s two-word, self-conscious response would’ve been the perfect moment for me to grab life by the balls, in a manner of speaking, and come out and say what I’d been rehearsing in my head for a while now. But did it happen? Nope. Why would it? It was hard forming words when my tongue somehow twisted itself into a square knot, and all I could manage was a series of quiet coughs and a lot of cuticle-gnawing, while Peter waited at the other end of the line with infinite patience.
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