The Negative Man_Legends Can Die

by Jeremy Croston

  He said six of them, but by my count there were only two. “It seems you’re missing about four people.”

  “No one is missing. We are the scions sent to teach you a lesson. I hope you are ready to defend yourselves.”

  Oh hell, Jenkins and Becky were still here. Turning around, “Leave, this doesn’t involve you.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she said, startled.

  “I’ve never been more serious than I am before a fight.” Pointing at the door leading to the kitchen, “Leave and get as far away as possible.”

  Deep down, she knew she’d only be in my way. Scooping up the laptop, she took my advice and skipped out. Blade, as he was calling himself, found this funny. “What kind of moron sends away his back up?”

  Back up… Hahaha, like I needed back up. Even without my Negative Man suit on, the training exercises I’d done at Dungeon Bay the other day were about to come in very handy. Becky Walker was not my back up; the Stormfall living inside me was everything I needed. Channeling it forward, “I hope you two wore some rubber soled shoes today. I think our forecast is calling for a lot of lightning.”

  Chapter 23 –

  Monday Night; Oceanside Café

  Blade pulled a katana from his sheathe on his back and used it as a lightning rod. All my energy poured into the mysterious metal shape that he was holding. I eventually stopped, mystified as to how he was able to do that. Like any good villain, he decided to tell me. “MP and I, we had something good going in North Terrace until you showed up.”

  MP Ness, aka The Crimson Mask. He got involved in something he had no business sticking his nose in. “Your nephew was an idiot. I can see it is a family thing.”

  “No, he was ambitious. A little too ambitious, but either way, I get a chance to right that wrong.” He twirled the katana like a pro. “When the one true power pulled me aside, he told me that I needed to harness a latent gift inside me. Turns out, I’m a super.”

  “You’re super at running your mouth.”

  “Funny, Jericho.” His katana shimmered in the darkness. That was weird. “You see, I recently learned that I can manipulate metal at a sub-atomic level, giving them unique properties. This sword for instance,” he held it like it was some sort of magical weapon, “is in tuned to capture and contain all negative energy. This effectively makes you helpless.”

  Well that wasn’t exactly good news. Seeing as how I was affected before birth by an electron generator explosion, harnessing protons was out of the question. Still, I had options. “This is all new to you isn’t it? Your power, it was barely a thing before you met this one true power?”

  “I didn’t even know I was a super.”

  “I’ve known about my powers from a very young ago, five to be precise. I’ve spent years harnessing what it means to be The Negative Man. I’ve forgotten more about my powers than you’ll ever know about your own.” The city hadn’t cut off the power to Darla’s café yet. “One cool parlor trick isn’t going to stop me.”

  With both of them standing around, I called upon the electric waiting to be released from the shackles of the wires. This power, it was full of both positive and negative energy. His katana went crazy, pulling energy from everywhere. The poor fool; he had no idea what he was up against.

  I made my move, going in while old Blade was distracted. Right before I could get close enough to punch that smug face, Kim stepped in front of him and blocked my path. I couldn’t help but to notice spikes sticking out of the gloves on his hand. Those weren’t ordinary spikes, they looked organic. Kim was a super, too.

  He raised his fist high and brought it down in a sweeping arcing motion. I was at least agile enough to dodge it, but the indent the fist made in the floor was telling. There was quite a bit of strength behind the strike. Spikes with enhanced strength, that was no Bueno.

  To make matters worse, Blade was getting the situation with all the electricity under control. I was unprepared for such a task, going against two supers, even as novice as they were. Taking a chance that an attack would get through, I formed a ball of electricity in my hand and rammed it forward towards Kim’s knee. It lost some of its juice as it traveled towards the target, thanks to Blade’s blade. Still, there was enough to send the man down to the ground in pain. He grabbed his knee as it was twitching out of control, as well as suffering from a second degree contact burn.

  As I looked down in pity, it was hard to imagine this was the same guy I’d come across in my hunt for the original Titan. There was never a sign that he’d been a super, too. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He’d gone out of his way to prove he was a regular Joe who could live side by side with the supers of the world. What a difference being stuck in a coma made.

  The last of the renegade energy was collected. “Hmm, I didn’t expect that. I should stop underestimating you.”

  “Please continue to do so. It’ll just help expedite your death.”

  Blade lowered his katana at me. “The one that MP never took me up on was my ninja arts training. You see, when I was stationed in Japan, going to the local dojos was one of the perks.”

  Oh great, he was slowly drifting into a monologue about his time in the military. Didn’t people understand that this wasn’t a way to spend an evening? “I’m sure this is all very exciting-”

  “You don’t get to interrupt me, I’m in control here!”

  His idea of control was quite striking. His partner was on the ground, writhing in pain and I had already demonstrated a way that I could disrupt his greatest advantage over me. “The only reason you’re still alive right now is I’m curious about this one true power nonsense and who else is working with you two schmucks.”

  “That’s the best part. I can’t wait for you to find out, if you live through tonight.”

  Blade came forward, twirling his katana again. I got the impression this was some sort of intimidation move meant to force the opponent to rethink their strategy. I wasn’t easily rattled; it would take a lot more than fancy swordsmanship to make me back down. As he swiped to my left, I ducked to the side and kicked at his exposed flank. My boot hit something hard, probably a flak jacket.

  He knocked my foot away. “Kevlar, never leave home without it.”

  My issues were growing. Kim, or Abaddon if we were using ridiculous code names, was getting back to his feet. Damn, he was one tough son of a bitch. Even with his leg looking like crap, he was up again and ready to fight. Blade signaled over, “C’mon, we have a job to finish.”

  Abaddon cracked his knuckles and those spiked protrusions came out once again. Seeing as this wasn’t looking like an advantageous situation, I made the strategic call to fight another day. With so many exposed wires, I could easily make them jump into one and be gone before they even realized what happened. With a quick wave, I transferred myself into pure energy and made the leap…

  …only to find myself falling back down to the floor, landing hard on the wood.

  Blade’s katana was pointing at me. It was a lot more potent than I gave it credit for. “Tsk, tsk, Jericho. No one gets to leave until we say they can.”

  Getting back up, I was stumped on how to neutralize the sword long enough to make the jump. There were only sparks of energy from the live wires that were left dancing on the ground – not enough to create a barrier against the sword. And with the two of them starting to circle me, I needed a better plan sooner rather than later.

  Abaddon wasn’t willing to give me any leeway to think. In a much quicker movement than someone of his size should’ve been able to do, he crashed into the floor again with those deadly fists. At first, I thought it was a direct one-two combo aimed at me. It wasn’t. It was a set up move to get my closer to Blade. With his sword in motion, he nearly took my head off. Only an ungraceful fall backwards saved that from happening.

  I rolled away as a knee just missed my forehead. These two may have been infants in terms of having their powers, but they were a fine team. Working together – that was so
mething I knew very little about. At the very least, I’d been able to get myself out between the two of them, my back facing the exit to the café.

  As cowardly as it sounded, my choice was clear; make a run for the door and try to make the jump as soon as I got out of range of that infernal sword. So without any grace in the world, I turned and high-tailed it as fast as I could go.

  No one would ever confuse me for a speedster, let alone a casual jogger, but in a pinch I could move pretty quick. I barged through the door and out into the street. There was a powerline running right over top of the building, a junction box sitting so nicely on the pole holding it up. I had maybe five seconds. I sent a charge to the box to blow it open and expose the workings inside. As I made the jump, I felt something pulling me back. Blade was coming out the door with his sword pointed at me.

  The closer he got, the stronger the pull became. No, I wasn’t going to let him overpower me again. With a primal push, I completed the jump and transferred myself into the line. As I raced away, the thoughts of a battle that was tougher than I dreamed possible, lingered with me.

  Chapter 24 –

  Tuesday Morning; Wonderton Estate

  **Kyle Wonderton**

  There was no point in arguing; it’d only end up being that I was wrong (even though I clearly was not) and she was right. Even as she stood there, with her arms crossed and a challenging look staring back at me, I didn’t take the bait. Instead, “Do you know how Jericho fared against these two assailants?”

  Becky wasn’t expecting that. She had to stammer back a planned response, which brought a small smile to my face. Hiding her fluster, “No, I took his advice and left. However, not before getting a picture of them before leaving.” She opened her lap top and pulled up a file. “I couldn’t believe my eyes at first – one of them is Kim Krummel.”

  There had been dark rumors swirling about Kim after Diana’s death. Suspicion was he had killed crime lord Jim Reno and possibly even his former employee, a guy named Al. He’d vanished from the grid sometime last year, never having the opportunity to either be convicted or have his name cleared. Looking at the photo, “It sure is him.”

  “Look at his hands.”

  Her finger was lying on the screen, right at the spot where his knuckles were. “Is he wearing some sort of brass knuckle?”

  “I didn’t get a good look at it while I was still inside. I just noticed that when I was running facial recognitions this morning.”

  Becky went on to give me a quick rundown on the other man in the picture, a Christopher Pappas. He used to run a Greek restaurant in North Terrace, Athena’s, but he was also blacklisted due to his relation to The Crimson Mask. He was the uncle to the guy, a Mr. MP Ness. Much like Kim, he disappeared from the playing field, though his disappearance was a few years before.

  Could all these return sightings of people long gone be a coincidence? I highly doubted it. The fact that Balefire was directly connected to Ronald Victory, that had to be the link. The hard part was proving it, especially when I was on his security detail. And that was another thing. “He’s been playing us.”

  “Who?”

  “Victory,” I said boldly. “Getting extra security from V.I.U., Morales’ husband being kidnapped, and now this?” I began to pace around the room. “How could we all be so stupid not to see it?”

  “It’s only going to get worse, Kyle.”

  Phil had appeared on the screen. Beside his head was a video file, and Becky being the closest, clicked on it. It was a scene from last night.

  The clip picked up in the middle of the reporter’s coverage. “Besides the disturbance residents called the police about at the Oceanside Café, there was this attack as well. Be warned viewers, there is graphic language and terrorist implications.”

  The shot faded out and a new video took over. It was on the north side of the city, near what most residents considered the projects. On the street level, there were three people tied up. Not just tied up, but gagged, too. Standing over them were two figures who were a bit obscured by the shadows. It was plain to see that this was being shot on a mobile device. The way the camera was shaking, this person was recording it against their will.

  “My name was once Zed Wilson. I was the leader of The Fatal Five, until my brothers were killed.” He stepped into the light. He was a tall, bald man, powerfully built. “Today I stand here in Pacific Station as part of a new family. One with one mission – to make those in power pay. First we took Adam Morales and next we will bring Ronald Victory to his knees.”

  He pushed the camera person back, giving us more of a view of what was happening. “These three people are on trial for making comments that supported Victory and his anti-super proposals. And as such, they are guilty.” He turned to the other person, still out of view. “Light them up, Detonate.”

  The screen went black as the two of them walked away and multiple explosions went off, killing all of those around. Thankfully none of it was actually captured directly on film, but there was no other conclusion to come to.

  At the name Detonate, Becky gripped my arm hard. “That’s Heather Adams, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Jericho’s long lost love was alive and well it seemed. And there was this Zed guy, too. Six unknown supers making an appearance all within a twenty four hour timeframe? “They have to be working together, under Victory’s orders.”

  “You heard what that Zed guy said, Victory is their next target. While it’s completely obvious that he’s behind the assassination attempts on Jericho, you really think he’d order his own attack?”

  My interactions had been more with that pompous asshole Miguel Cintron, but the few times I’d been in the same room as Ronald Victory, I got the feeling he was a lot more than what he led on to be. “He’s a shrewd politician who knows what buttons to push, especially in a town that’s been hit harder than most. He wins Pacific Station, that goes a long way in securing the entire west coast for the election.”

  Becky was unsure. “I don’t know, Kyle. Even this seems a little farfetched for me.”

  There was one way to prove it. Later that day, Victory was being hosted at a benefactor’s luncheon at the Saltwater Resort. “Becky, if I get you close enough to him, you think you can get the truth from him?”

  “You want me to go up and grab the secretary of defense and use my powers on him? Are you mad?”

  She was forgetting one important thing. “We aren’t going as supers. As the chairman of Wonder-Tech, I have an open invite to these matters. Don’t you think Victory would want to shake the hands of the two youngest CEO’s on the west coast?”

  ****

  Even for a luncheon, this was a pretty fancy place. Becky insisted that I went out and got a proper suit to wear to the event so I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. It was during one of the trips to the fitting room that Parker Lattimore reached out to me to see if I’d be providing support to this event. “After all the crap that happened last night, we’re tripling security, ML.”

  I had to keep my voice low. “I’ll be there, in the shadows. You can tell Woods not to worry.”

  In this case shadows meant plain sight. To make things even more interesting, Becky was wearing a black dress that was sure to be an eye catcher. As a young, rich, beautiful executive, the amount of leering eyes from the old men in attendance would be off the charts. It was also that hope that would lure Victory into giving us the information I wanted.

  The moment we stepped inside, the energy in the room turned. I was known as being reclusive and brass to these sorts of people. The nickname they gave me was John Jr., as my father hadn’t been an easy man to deal with. That was nothing though compared to the whispers about Becky. Not only was she a young woman in a cutthroat world, the dark cloud of her father hung over her. Multiple times some of the people we were sharing a room with had tried to have her indicted over her father’s crimes. And even worse, they swore up and down she was a super.

  They were right of cours
e.

  However, the one man we had come to see eagerly sought us out from the very start. Miguel Cintron was at his side and he parted the crowd and grabbed my hand. Ronald Victory, the Secretary of Defense, was just as looming a presence in real life as he was on the television screen.

  When he let go of my hand, “Kyle Wonderton, now this is a surprise! Your father always rejected my phone calls, so imagine my shock when I saw you and the lovely Miss Walker enter my luncheon.”

  “You know what they say about fathers and sons…”

  He winked and then reached out for Becky’s hand. She gave it willingly and Victory gave it a kiss. “Now your father Miss Walker, I couldn’t keep him off the phone! It is a shame he turned out to be a powered terrorist, as he was a brilliant man.”

  “He was certainly a special case.” She made eye contact with me. “If it is okay with you Secretary Victory, I’d like to use the ladies’ room and introduce Kyle to a few more old associates before the festivities get started.”

  “Of course, of course,” he waved us on. “The three of us will talk more in-depth later.”

  Becky put her arm around me and we weaved through the hotel lobby until we found the restrooms on the far side. With everyone trying to schmooze Victory, it was a quiet area where we could talk freely. Becky’s smile faded. “You were right, he’s in on it. Those six supers, yeah they are working under his command.”

  It was hard not to put a triumphant smile on my face. “Did you learn anything else? Where Adam Morales is or what Victory’s endgame might be?”

  “No,” she said sadly. “I only had time to glean one more very important piece of information.” There was fear in her expression. “Victory, he’s… he’s a super.”

  “What?” I couldn’t believe what I heard. The guy advocating for super registration was also a super?