Blaze of Glory

by Sheryl Nantus

  I paused, the charge holding steady on my palms. May stood there, David’s hand clamped on her forearm. I knew how fast I could fry the man under me. But I didn’t know how fast she could fry my mind.

  “Fuck!” I slammed my hands onto the floor on each side of his head, discharging them as best I could. Rolling off Hunter, I stayed on my knees, closed my eyes and wished I had the ability to travel in time. To just go back a few days and talk to Mike, to figure out what was going on…

  I heard Limox roar from the bottom of the stairs. “Anyone got an aspirin? I’ve got a splitting headache…” His gaze darted across the scene as he entered the room. “Am I late for the orgy?”

  May glared at him.

  “Just kidding, kidding.” He scurried over to an empty chair, hands in front of him. “I’ll be over here if anyone wants me. Don’t worry about the aspirin.”

  I pressed my face to the cool hardwood floor, wondering if any of the classic comic-book heroes had ever had such troubles.

  A few minutes later I was back on the sofa, holding a huge cup of tea in one hand and a blueberry scone in the other, courtesy of David. He sat next to me on the couch, Hunter sat on the other side, May next to him in the cramped space. Limox cowered in the chair at the far end of the room. Jessie sat on the floor at the coffee table, eagerly digging into the chocolate chip cookies and scones next to the silver tea service. Whatever David’s hobbies were away from work, the man had a sense of flair when it came to conducting a meeting.

  “So…” David pointed into the air, glancing around to make sure he had our attention. “We need to get you guys to the Agency base to take out this master command computer.”

  “Right.” Hunter nodded, his own mug of tea in hand. “The good news is that it won’t be that hard to get in—if they haven’t revoked my security codes yet. We can only hope they’re too busy trying to figure out who’s alive and who’s not.” He looked at May. “Everyone’s still in shock. I’m willing to bet they haven’t established communications with most of their operatives. If they can find them, that is.”

  An image popped into my mind’s eye, of Mike’s body trapped under tons of concrete, his lifeless eyes staring up into the darkness. Alone in the cold and the dark. Alone…

  “Jo? You okay?” Jessie moved towards me, tapping me on the shin. “Jo?”

  “I’m fine.” A cough covered up the trembling in my voice. “So where’s the bunker? If I recall correctly there’s plenty of training facilities all over the continent—where’s this pre-cog stationed?”

  “That’s where we get lucky.” Hunter leaned over the table, moving the tea set aside and drawing his finger over the glass surface. “The Agency established only a few training bases for supers across North America. They’re all identically designed and the staff rotates around from one to the other, keeping the new supers off-kilter in case there’s some attempt at escape or revolt.” He smeared a drop of tea across the transparent surface.

  “Jenny goes along as well, from one base to the other. She never goes anywhere that’s not under Agency control.” He looked at me. “You trained out on the East Coast, not far from Washington, D.C.” His attention went to Limox. “You were out West, San Francisco if I recall correctly. And believe it or not, there’s one just across the border in Buffalo.” He grinned, seeing the astonished looks on our faces. “No, not in a major city. Not in a secret base out in the Atlantic. A small farmhouse sitting just off the highway.” The index finger tapped hard on the glass. “And right now Jenny’s there. Oracle. And the master code to shut down the plugs.”

  Limox emerged from his self-imposed silence. “So you want us to walk right back into an Agency base and do what? As soon as they see us coming they’ll blow our heads off. And what’s to stop them from just reactivating the plugs?”

  “I can help Jessie come up with something to totally frag the system. Deactivate the sequence.” Hunter’s voice was low and soft as if he were instructing a wayward student on safety procedures. “It’ll crash the entire plug system until it gets reset—which is going to take a team of programmers weeks to do. If they can do it at all, that is.”

  “What’s this detonation code there for anyway?” The furrows on my forehead must have been deep enough to hide a car. In the back of my mind I could hear Mike advising caution.

  Hunter leaned back with a weary shrug. “A safety procedure, just in case. Can’t afford to lose all the supers to some whack job running amuck in the Agency, or foreign sabotage.” He looked at each of us in turn. “Look, I know you’re not prone to believing anything I’m telling you. But you’ve got to trust me on this. Why would I lie?”

  “To hand us back to the Agency,” Limox growled from his chair, his hands gripping the arms so tight I saw his knuckles whiten. “I’m not going to hand my life back to those bastards.” He glanced at May, his expression changing to a softer, less aggressive look. “Apologies for the language.”

  She nodded, saying nothing.

  “Look, I’m not here to help you. I’m here to help her.” Hunter put his hand on May’s forearm, squeezing lightly through the thin light blue blouse. “She’s suffered enough, hasn’t she?”

  “How the fuck did you ever get to be a Guardian?” Limox snorted, obviously forgetting his previous apology. “Aren’t you supposed to be kicking our asses?”

  Hunter laughed, a sudden break of tension in the room. “Dude, whoever worked with you must have been quite the asshole.”

  “He was. He was a good guy. He’s dead.” Meltdown crossed his arms in front of him, his face turning stoic again. “And now you’re asking us to get ourselves killed on your word.”

  “I trust him.” The words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to think. “We’re going to go see Oracle and shut down these plugs before they go nuclear.” I ran my right hand along the back of my neck. “We owe it to all the others out there who are in hiding. We can’t just let them all die, and I sure as hell can’t supply them all with jammers.” My eyes locked with Hunter’s. “And we’re going to ask Jenny what the hell is going to happen with this invasion crap. I’m as eager as the next guy to throw them the hell off our planet, but if she’s calling it for the avocado crew, then we’ll have to reevaluate the situation.”

  “So you’re in charge?” Limox exhaled the words under his breath. “Thought this was a democracy.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “We’re not playing that game. I set this place up, I sent out the call and you came here. You can leave anytime, Limox.” I gave a sharp nod towards the window. “You want to be a villain for real? Get out there and find a good place to lie down and die because if we don’t shut down the plugs, we’ll all have our heads pop off. And if we don’t stop those aliens, we’re all going to die—super and human alike. This détente isn’t going to last.”

  The pudgy face went scarlet as his mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out for a few minutes. His eyes went across the different faces in the room, finally landing on the floor. “Your call, Surf.”

  “Yeah. It is.” I turned my attention to Hunter. “Starting problem is that we’ve got to get across the border. I’ve got no identification and I’m pretty sure that they’re tightening up on traffic racing back and forth right now.”

  “You can fly.” Hunter smiled. “No problem.”

  I blinked wildly, wondering if I had heard him correctly. “Well, yes…but I’ve never carried more than one person.”

  “But you can.” He gave me an encouraging glance. “I’ve seen your records. You can do it.”

  “And you all jump on my back? No thanks.” Putting up my hand, I smiled. “No offense, but that’s a little too kinky, even for me.”

  “Well, it’ll save time.” Hunter beamed. “Better and faster than driving. Less chance of being seen as well.”

  David tilted his head to one side, giving me a wistful smile. “You have to go as quickly as possible, Jo. This is not something you can wait on.”

  Whi
ch explains why, three hours later, I was standing on the roof of the bookstore looking down on the bright lights of Queen Street West and wondering if I had, finally, lost my mind.

  “This is insane,” Meltdown mumbled behind me.

  “Shut. Up.” I spoke through clenched teeth, trying to focus on the waves around us.

  It’s one of the stranger things about our world—everything has an electromagnetic field. Everything. From humans to rocks to grass to streetlights to water. And it had become my trick to be able to manipulate them.

  Except I was now trying to not only surf myself, but three fully grown adults. One of whom, May informed me at the last minute, couldn’t swim.

  The cold night air drifted over me, carrying a bit of the spray from Niagara Falls with it. I looked down, enjoying the light show along with the rest of the tourists.

  “Eyes here. You see that show most every night,” Mike called. “You can do this, Jo. I know you can.” He stood next to me on the roof of our building, the speakers amplifying his voice. “Just spread it out over me. Stretch it like you’re making a pizza.”

  “I don’t cook.” My fingers flexed outwards, grabbing the almost-invisible bubble I had created around me.

  “Look, you create an opposing charge to the fields around you. That’s how you surf.” Mike knelt beside me, the metal suit sparkling in the moonlight. “Just extend it over me.”

  The shimmering circle moved outwards, touching the cool metal and expanding over the surface.

  “There ya go.” His voice was calm and confident. That made one of us. “Now when you’re ready, lift us up.”

  As soon as the aura covered us both I pushed off from the rough gravel, holding my breath as we rose one foot, two feet…

  And crashed back down, so hard I swear I heard rivets pop from Mike’s suit.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay.” His mellow chuckles calmed me as I lay flat on my back, staring up into a romantic full moon. “We’ll work on it.”

  Except we never had.

  The full moon rose over me again, but I was hundreds of miles from Niagara Falls and without Mike’s comforting words. I swallowed hard, pushing down the ball of fear rolling around in my stomach. “I just don’t want to kill anyone.”

  “Understood.” Hunter appeared at my right side. He had changed out of his white dress shirt into a dark blue turtleneck which, combined with his jeans and leather trench coat, made him almost invisible. His light blond hair was gone, covered with a cheap black hair dye. May had demanded that David take her on a brief shopping trip before the mission. She seemed enthusiastic enough, but I had no idea how much until she returned with a bag filled with the cosmetics, prattling about increasing our camouflage by removing anything light-colored. Including Hunter’s blondness. Limox had chortled himself silly, watching as the Guardian had handed himself over to his super’s tender ministrations in silence. I just prayed that she didn’t think of camo paint and start coating our faces. As it was, I’d barely dodged the woman’s attack on my own blonde locks, claiming that I was allergic to hair dye.

  “You’ll be fine.” Hunter took hold of my right hand, nodding as May clutched my left so tightly I began to worry about circulation. She wasn’t going to hold onto anything but me.

  Behind me Limox let out a harrumph of annoyance as he grabbed a nylon loop on the special harness we had rigged up for me to wear. It was nothing more than a nylon cord coiled around me and tied off in spots, but it was better than having him clutching my sweater and belt. I just hoped it worked.

  “Damned silly,” he grumbled under his breath.

  “Shut. Up.” I ground my teeth together, concentrating on building the field around me. Slowly it began to move outwards like a large transparent bubble, swallowing us all up in a light blue aura.

  “Looking good.” The whisper wasn’t meant for anyone else to hear, but I saw Hunter’s nod. I raised my voice, forcing out the shakiness. “Okay, everyone, hold on. Hunter, as soon as we get out over the water you can start briefing us—I’ll need the distraction.”

  “Right.” The Guardian let out a low huff of air as we began to rise off the black asphalt shingles, his running shoes dangling in the air.

  May’s fingers tightened around mine. I sped up a bit, letting Limox move out to the full extent of the loop, away from literally riding my back.

  As we rose into the air over Queen Street West I looked out over the city, spotting the Tower to our left and a faint light on the far horizon signaling the approach of dawn.

  “This is…nice.” May grinned, activating her internal mike.

  “Yeah, I’m loving this,” Limox growled with a bit of fear in his voice. I couldn’t help smiling at his discomfort.

  “Jo? Can you hear me?”

  “Jessie?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you. Everything okay?”

  “Sure, sure. We’re good.” Turning slowly onto my stomach, I leveled off at what I saw was a good altitude and headed out over Lake Ontario. May’s grip tightened, if that were possible.

  “We’re getting news about the aliens, David thought you should hear it. We’re patching you in. We don’t know how long we’ll be able to communicate with you.”

  “Didn’t know you could.” Hunter’s chuckle brought a smile to my face.

  Jessie’s soft laugh echoed in my ear. “We’re just full of surprises.” A small burst of static snapped through the air, dissolving into a calm announcer’s tones.

  “…alien announcement was broadcast on all major networks just a few minutes ago in English, French and Spanish simultaneously. There was no visual image supplied. Let me repeat the exact words.” He cleared his throat. “We demand the resumption of hostilities with the best fighters your planet has—the superpowered humans we have come to fight. Not your military or civilian forces. As an incentive for you to send your people out we shall attack one of your cities to encourage this reaction. The city you call Pittsburgh shall be destroyed tomorrow morning, starting at what you would designate as six o’clock, unless we meet and fight the best you have at the area where the rivers meet. This is not…”

  The transmission faded as we zipped along the surface of Lake Ontario, twenty feet above the cold water.

  “What the fuck?” Limox’s growled response startled me. “What’s going on?”

  “Sounds like they came to fight only the supers,” Hunter mused as we turned in a slow arc. I had spotted some silhouettes not too far in front of us and didn’t feel like buzzing some pleasure boats in the dark.

  “What’s the Agency going to do?” I pulled us up to a higher altitude, feeling a shiver run over my bare skin as the temperature dropped. Thank goodness it was only September and not January.

  “I have no idea.” Hunter’s hand twitched around mine. “Jenny didn’t see this. They might not activate the plugs. They might want to wait and see what happens. Who turns up to the fight, who stays in hiding. But whatever happens we can’t leave it up to them to turn your lives on and off.”

  “Obviously,” Limox barked. “They didn’t see much else other than how to fuck things up, it seems.”

  “True,” the Guardian admitted. “But maybe it’s better that we look forward instead of back right now.”

  A low hum began in my head, a sort of mental static.

  “May…” Hunter spoke slowly and calmly. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

  I turned my head to one side, seeing the panicky expression on her face. “May, it’s good. We’re just fine.”

  The elderly woman swallowed so loudly it sounded like a gunshot. “I know. It’s just awfully dark out here.”

  “It’s night,” Limox whispered, almost apologetic.

  “We’re just fine,” I repeated, pushing us up to a higher altitude. “I’ve got you and we’re going to be over land pretty soon.”

  The static in my head diminished just a tad, the edge rubbing off.

  “It’s sort of nice up here, really,�
�� Limox mumbled.

  “Sort of.” May’s voice was soft but edging towards cheerful. “Lovely night.”

  “See the lights to our right?” Hunter interjected. “That’s pretty.”

  The mundane conversation went on for the better part of the trip, keeping May calm and collected. Even Limox did a good job with a few colorful jokes that skirted the edge of decency.

  My stomach gave an angry growl, sending us down a few feet as I adjusted to the sudden ache. I ended up leveling us out a good thirty feet above the lake water. May’s grip, which had lessened slightly as the flight went on, tightened even more.

  “Hungry?” Hunter responded in my ear.

  “I guess so.” The empty feeling continued to chew at the edges of my focus. “Thought I’d eaten enough before we left. Those omelets David made were plenty stuffed.”

  “Burning up too much energy.” His hand twitched in mine. “I thought you might have something like this happen.”

  Hunter started twisting, maneuvering around and under me, his right hand digging in one pocket.

  “What’s going on?” Limox shifted back and forth. “I can’t see anything. What’s going on?”

  “Just a little midair refueling.” Hunter winked at me as he withdrew a nutrition bar from a pocket in his jacket. He ripped it open with his teeth, then reached up and put the chewy granola slab to my lips.

  I took a bite, savoring the taste as my stomach gave another lurch. Chewing the delicious nuts and oat mouthful, I felt the aura around us grow stronger and more intense.

  “There you go.” Hunter looked to the side, catching May’s attention. “See, nothing to worry about.”