The Pantheon Saga | Book 4 | Gods of Wrath

by Ekeke, C. C.

  Simon no longer seemed repulsed, just confused. “Yeah but…her?”

  Hugo nodded, utterly euphoric. “Spencer’s body is like drugs to me. Like sexual napalm or whatever.”

  Simon’s lip curled in disgust. “Her?”

  “Don’t judge me,” Hugo griped. “You dated Blandy McBland Lia Kim for three weeks. On purpose!”

  Simon cringed from that blunder. “Fair enough.” His expression softened. “I thought Spencer was low-key dating J-Tom.”

  “They are,” Hugo said, feeling a stitch of guilt. The smell of rain intensified. He quickened his pace. “But Spencer’s very Hugo-sexual.”

  Simon burst out laughing, scurrying to match Hugo’s long strides. “And, how’s this different from Briseis minus getting friend-zoned?”

  “Spencer isn’t ashamed of us,” Hugo answered immediately. “If not for me, we’d be public.”

  Simon looked perplexed. “You’re playing with fire. Boinking Jodie’s close friend and arch-nemesis.”

  Hugo pointed to himself “If they all want it!” He and Simon laughed together. The Samoan should’ve avoided these risks. But the pleasure and attention was…intoxicating.

  “Seriously,” Hugo continued. “Jodie doesn’t care as long as she doesn’t know who, but won’t do sexy times anymore. Abby’s down for whatever. Spence’s cool now, too.”

  Simon balked at the nickname. “Spence?” He frowned suddenly. “Wait, there was drama before?”

  Hugo nodded, grimacing. “After hearing about me and Jodie, Spencer gave Brie the idea to spread that STD rumor. Even though she’d ended things in December.”

  Simon’s eyes bulged. “And you took her back?”

  Hugo shrugged off his outrage. “She apologized. Plus, she and Jodie were only friends because of Brie, whom they both despise now.”

  The pair discussed girls the rest of the walk home, including Hugo’s female pen pal from New Mexico, and Grace. She had Simon smitten.

  Simon watched Hugo in awe. “You like sexy sullen femme fatales and angel-faced mean girls.”

  Hugo bristled. “No, I…” He ran through his rotation of girls and gulped, seeing the pattern. "Yeah...” This was so far removed from Hugo’s life a year ago, which had been miserable. “These girls wouldn’t be interested if I was still a short, skinny-fat nobody.”

  Simon softened. “You don’t know that.”

  Hugo shook his head bitterly. “Where were Jordana, Abby, and Spencer before sophomore year?” He’d been invisible or dog shit to girls before manifesting his powers.

  Simon wrinkled his nose. “You were stuck in Brie-landia.”

  Hugo rolled his eyes. “Ugh.” The few times Hugo had seen Briseis around school the last few months, she’d looked pale and scary thin, a walking corpse.

  Not my problem, he dismissed. Hugo and Simon reached his rambling Paso Robles neighborhood as thunder boomed in the distance. The Samoan teen spotted rainclouds a few miles away over Arroyo Grande.

  Mom was already home when Hugo entered. The thickset woman had Hugo’s broad nose and swarthy complexion, her wavy hair in a stylish ponytail. She dolled up today in a fancy sundress.

  “Bogota!” Mom kissed his cheek before hugging Simon. “Hello, Simon!”

  “Hi, Mom,” Hugo greeted, eyes on the fair-skinned man behind her.

  Greg, Mom’s boyfriend, was generically handsome with fluffy black hair and laughing grey eyes. He approached, somewhat shorter than Hugo with a dad bod beneath his slacks and button-down.

  “Hey.” Hugo held out his hand.

  Greg accepted the handshake and clapped the teen’s shoulder. He liked doing that. “Hello, young’n.” Hugo found Greg blander than boiled cauliflower, but fully supported Mom’s happiness.

  Hugo turned to the occupant of the couch. “What’s up, AJ?”

  His younger brother ignored him, focused on the TV showing Extreme Dreams. Onscreen, Blur and L.U.N.A were having 'relationship drama.'

  AJ had bulked up the last few months, his arms and legs thick with muscle. He’d also gained a sullen attitude, giving off hostile vibrations.

  Mom shook her head as Hugo opened his mouth irritably. For her, he stayed quiet.

  “We’re going to dinner,” she announced. “Spare lasagna’s in the fridge. If you need anything…”

  “We’re fine, Mom,” Hugo assured. “Have fun.”

  Mom smiled gratefully before leaving with Greg.

  Hugo motioned Simon to head upstairs, then turned to AJ. “We’re superhero sleuthing. Wanna come?”

  Occasionally, AJ emerged from his rage hole to be civil.

  “Nope,” he growled. On TV, L.U.N.A pasted Blur’s face off with a hard slap. Ha!

  Hugo hesitated before going upstairs. “You sure, uso?”

  AJ rolled his eyes. “Did I stutter, asshole?”

  Hugo crossed the room in a half-second. AJ leaped back with a squeal.

  Hugo stood before him, glaring down. “Try again.” His tone left no room for insolence.

  AJ stared back, rage shivering through him. But he knew better than to push further. “I’m not interested. Thanks for asking.”

  Hugo lingered a few moments longer until AJ’s eyes fell. An assertion of dominance. Then Hugo zoomed upstairs in a heartbeat.

  Simon sat on Hugo's bed near the desk. “Still pissed about Sione?” he asked as Hugo entered.

  “Yeah,” Hugo confirmed hastily. “Mom’s fed up with his attitude. And crappy grades.” Despite his dismissiveness, guilt lingered. He had driven away their shady uncle. But Hugo held zero regrets. Sione was a crook who would’ve gotten Mom in trouble. But AJ didn’t know this, since Mom wanted to protect him and Sione.

  “Anyway, let’s start.” Hugo sat, connecting his laptop to the encrypted cloud where Quinn had supplied info on those Paxton-Brandt clinics. He and his other friends used to joke about Paxton-Brandt being 'Evil Incorporated'. Then Quinn had shown Hugo the truth, leaving him sick to his stomach. Not all supervillains need superpowers.

  Hugo and Simon studied two long lists of unregistered supers. One featured people who’d gone missing over the last several months. The other list had those who weren’t missing. The common thread was how everyone had visited one of Paxton-Brandt’s free San Miguel clinics for medical services.

  “I’m unregistered,” Hugo realized, ice running down his spine. “I could’ve been on this list.”

  Simon’s breath hiked in response. “Glad you’re not."

  Quinn had detailed how these kidnappings were happening across America. She needed footage of one in progress and for Hugo to prevent it.

  “Every kidnapped super,” he pointed at his screen, “went to clinics in Southside Atascadero, the Junction, Arroyo Grande.” Not bad neighborhoods, but not great.

  Simon rubbed his chin. “The supers live where?”

  Hugo skimmed down the list of missing and non-missing superhumans’ addresses. Quinn had been thorough. “All over SLO County, except San Miguel’s fancy-pants suburbs.”

  Simon clapped. “No one cares about unregistered supers kidnapped from poor neighborhoods. But grab someone from El Marquez or Baywood-Osos?”

  “And it’s national news,” Hugo finished for him, studying names who hadn’t gotten snatched. “Guess I got a mission tonight.”

  Chapter 9

  “Casing one more name in El Marquez,” Hugo muttered to the earpiece under his hood. Half past eleven at night. He crouched in a bushy tree wearing his Aegis costume casing an El Marquez gated community called Brindlewood. The name alone sounded expensive.

  Within Brindlewood’s gates was a stretch of palatial mansions a quarter-mile from the beach, lavish as hell. Each home teemed with security, forcing Hugo to stay hidden. 140/20 vision, superhearing, and night vision made up for that.

  A quick scan of Martine Darin’s three-story home revealed her inside watching Real Housewives of Miami, safe, sound, and sloshed. Just like five other El Marquez-based patients.

  “N
o one’s missing.” Hugo wasn’t mad these residents were safe. But this confirmed what he’d told Simon. “Told ya.”

  Simon laughed on the comm channel. By the background noise, he was in his room playing Japanese rap. “The rich and insufferable need loving, besides Spence!”

  Hugo would’ve smacked Simon if he was nearby. “Those people need something.” If Quinn saw a story here, Hugo would pursue every lead. “Two more patients in Nipomo, then I’m heading home. Talk tomorrow?”

  “Definitely.” Simon yawned. “Gotta cram for the Bio final.”

  Once the call ended, Hugo vaulted off a branch over sparkling cul-de sacs. He landed on lush grass a mile away, then raced toward Nipomo.

  Minutes later, he crouched atop a financial building near downtown Nipomo. He didn’t frequent this suburb, dialing his senses up to absorb the glittering rivers of crisscrossing traffic and buildings. Honks, screams, cries for help, and cheering. And the smells; the stink of car exhaust, the cornucopia of restaurants and street vendors buffeted his hypersensitivity. Months of training helped Hugo dive into Nipomo’s rhythm and flow. Downtown San Miguel was a jagged lake of lights a few miles away.

  Six patients who were unregistered supers lived in Nipomo. “Let’s do this.” Hugo touched a gloved hand on the gravel, ready to leap…and his muscles seized. Before he could ponder why, everything got tingly from head to heel.

  “Sorry I made you late, Bogota.”

  AJ’s voice spun Hugo around.

  The rooftop wavered and vanished before a dark sidewalk with bystanders spilling from Cambria Rec Center.

  Hugo choked back surprise seeing his younger, shorter self with longer hair walking with AJ. He’d looked like an actual teenager. And AJ looked so skinny.

  Usually by touching an object, Hugo could trigger immersive visions of its past locations and owners—psychometry. A strange side effect had been random old memories resurfacing, like this vision from over a year and a half ago. The Fab Phenoms’ dance competition that he’d almost missed to grab AJ from school after Dad no-showed.

  “This is Dad’s fault.” Younger Hugo shook out his hair. “He’s not even answering his phone!”

  That night, Dad had leaped off a bridge into freeway traffic… Hugo’s heart ached anew.

  “What’s wrong with him?” AJ sounded concerned.

  Younger Hugo shrugged. “I’m over it. I’m telling Mom tomorrow.”

  “Bogie! Wait up!” Briseis El-Saden came skipping down the sidewalk in Paso High Tennis warmups, ponytail swinging side to side. This had been Briseis the dream girl that Hugo’s world once orbited, not the vindictive bitch she’d become.

  “Bri-Brie,” younger Hugo stammered, “and Ramses.” Another teen approached, tall and slim with a dark curly mop. Ramses El-Saden, Brie’s older brother.

  Brie threw her arms around younger Hugo, standing slightly taller. “Hi!” She then hugged AJ. “I was trying to flag you down after the show.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Brie side-eyed younger Hugo. “Watching you and the Phenoms, dumbass. Jesus, you guys were amazing!” She slapped younger Hugo’s chest, making him flinch. “Especially you!”

  “You’ve never come when I invited you.”

  “I’m here now.” Brie’s eyes gleamed seductively. “Where are you boys going?”

  “Taking the SMAT home,” AJ explained.

  “Uh-uh,” Ramses said. “You’re riding with us.”

  Aegis…

  The vision rippled as younger Hugo begged off like a nice guy wuss. “No that’s…OW!”

  AJ kicked his shin.

  Brie linked arms with both Malalous. “We’ll get Beach Bum Burger on the way to your place.”

  “Aegis!” Hugo’s daydream dissolved like mist, returning him to the muggy rooftop.

  A hand seized Hugo’s shoulder. A threat? He instinctively whirled from the stranger’s grip, slamming a palm-thrust into their chest. The figure went flying with a grunt, tumbling across the roof and nearly off the edge. When the shadow slowly rose to a crouch, Hugo’s jaw dropped. “WHOA.”

  Geist glared at him with narrowed red eyes, wearing his light armored costume, trench coat, and featureless black mask.

  “Unclench your asshole, kid,” Geist growled.

  “Sorry!” Hugo reached his side in a half-second, but couldn’t outrun the guilt. Thank God he’d used a small fraction of his strength or Geist would’ve been a messy pulp. “Sorry!” Hugo repeated, reaching to help the vigilante. “Are you—?”

  Geist’s dismissive hand swipe had Hugo backpedaling. “I’m fine.” He climbed up his full height, a few inches shorter than Hugo. “What was that?”

  Hugo winced. “I zoned out,” he explained, which was true. This weird power surge had occurred a few weeks ago, also involving a Brie-related memory. Ugh. He changed the subject. “Why are you…?” Hugo paused, sensing three more presences. He glanced over his shoulder. “Why are you guys out here?”

  Several feet away, Geist’s team stood on the roof. Blackjack, big and burly, wearing all-black, was a chiseled statue at the farthest end. His wife, Domino, was a few feet away, in her red tactical costume with matching goggles. Her blonde hair was pulled in a series of knots. Longshadow stood closest, a hooded blue-and-black suit fitting her slender build, eyes covered by a dark mask. She carried a bow in one hand, a quiver of arrows strapped across her back.

  Hugo nodded at them. Longshadow smiled faintly.

  “Patrolling with Domino,” Geist explained. “My street network says Dread Doctor is up to something.” He studied his team. “Blackjack and Longshadow are casing a Paxton-Brandt facility we’re infiltrating tomorrow night.”

  That sounded familiar. Beneath his mask and hood, Hugo arched an eyebrow. “For Quinn?”

  “Correct.”

  Hugo smirked. “Searching for missing superhumans.”

  “Little Miss Bauer’s got us all working for her,” Geist remarked, arms folded.

  Longshadow made a rude noise. That surprised Hugo, since the archer had been crushing on Quinn for months.

  “If it helps defeat Paxton-Brandt, I’m game.” He turned to leave, then stopped, thinking of Lady Liberty. “Is Lady Liberty okay?”

  Geist’s eyes narrowed again. “Should be. Why?”

  “I…” Hugo almost discussed the incident of his mentor's near-collapse. But it had happened once…that he knew of. “She seems off. And I’ve been training alone the last few days.” And the Rainmaker search had stalled.

  Geist studied him a long moment. “I’ll look into it.”

  Hugo’s shoulders relaxed. Geist would find the issue, if one existed. “Cool.” He turned to go again.

  “Careful out there, Aegis,” Geist growled behind him. “If you find anything, don’t run in half-cocked.”

  Hugo seethed. Despite all his progress, Geist still lectured him like some unproven rookie. “Excuse me. I’m fully cocked.” He cringed. “That sounded wrong—”

  Hugo found himself alone on the roof. “Huh.” He somehow missed Team Geist’s exit, which might’ve bothered him if it wasn’t so flattering. “So that’s what that feels like.”

  The bustling city below called to his senses, pregnant with secrets. Hugo leaped from the rooftop straight into its belly.

  Later, he zoomed to each Nipomo address. The first person, Louisa Vega, was in her apartment. Hugo kept watch while she and her family viewed a news program about The Vanguard’s relevance amid a new generation of heroes. Footage of Sentinel, Vulcan and Wyldcat rushing into battle while Seraph and Robbie Rocket soared overhead looked so epic. Perched on the fire escape, a smile gushed out of Hugo's face.

  Louisa’s kids thought The Vanguard sucked.

  Hugo stopped smiling. “Dumb brats,” he muttered before departing.

  The next four names were safe, also. Marco Whelan lived at the last address, a third-story condo. Hugo watched from an alleyway, crouched like a panther. Inside the window was pitch-black wi
th five occupants, one on the floor.

  Whelan lived alone. A closer listen caught a hissing noise, like gas. The strange black van waiting below had no plates. Hugo’s heart leaped. Paxton-Brandt? He heard chatter in the apartment, then the van. Hugo’s grin stretched wide. “Pay dirt.”

  He rocketed off his perch in a downward angle, a controlled leap, bursting through the condo window in showers of broken glass. Hugo somersaulted up to his feet. The cloudy air tasted syrupy and sweet. Tranquilizer gas. At a glance he counted four intruders, flanking Whelan’s body. Three were heavily muscled and carried assault rifles. The fourth, smaller and slim, was unarmed. A super perhaps? All were masked and wearing black. The four reacted in surprise to Hugo’s arrival. The gunmen succinctly raised their rifles.

  Thanks to repetitive training drills, Hugo didn’t freeze at guns pointed his way. He moved like a whirlwind, the world slowing to a crawl around him.

  Hugo raced to each gunman before they could squeeze the triggers, elbowing them lightly in the chest while snatching their rifles.

  Half a second later, Hugo zoomed back in place, twisting those firearms into pretzels. And the disarmed gunmen went sailing into opposing walls. They slid to the ground, unconscious.

  Their unarmed companion raised both hands in surrender. Hugo tossed the twisted rifles aside. He’d run forward, knock this attacker out, then get Whelan to safety. Hugo rushed forward—

  Right as crisscrossing forks of black lightning erupted from the assailant, lancing into Hugo’s belly. The agony was so blinding he couldn’t even scream.

  Another lightning strike slammed into his throat. Then five to the chest.

  Hugo was stunned by the savagery, suddenly feeling powerless. Each white-hot strike penetrated his costume, his flesh and bones, impaling his very soul. It had been ages since he’d known such raw pain, his mind retreating from this crippling sensation.

  Hugo realized then he was falling out the window he’d entered.

  Concrete rushed up and cracked beneath him, leaving an indent.

  Hugo lay still. Smoke rose in curls from his costume. Everything spasmed and hurt. The pain receded little by little. His brain was scrambled, vision blurring. He heard a jumble of voices inside the complex.