by H. L. Burke
Cromlech growled and barreled towards her.
“I’ve got this.” Wildfyre yanked away from Fade and tossed a fireball straight at Crushwave who was just rising from the floor. Crushwave shrieked. He threw up a shield of humming sound.
Prism tried to reach out with her mind reading but ... something numbed the powers. It was as if she were fighting through a fog when only moments before it had been so clear. She touched Fade’s hand which still rested on her arm.
His powers are muffling mine.
She pulled away from him. Almost immediately her abilities surged to full strength. Another thread of Brink’s thoughts penetrated Crushwave’s scrambled brain.
Keep them from following. This’ll all be over soon.
A quick moving image of the reception area outside of the committee offices followed. That was where Brink was, where he wanted his lackeys to keep Prism and her gang from going.
Prism stiffened. “This is just a distraction. We need to get to the committee offices. That’s where Brink is. Where he’s placing the bomb.”
Fade blinked at her. “How do you know?”
She hesitated.
“Let me guess.” He frowned. “Long story?”
“I’m sorry. I know a way out of here other than the elevator. I’ll explain on the way.” She glanced at Tanvi and Wildfyre, both locked in combat with Brink’s team. “Guys, we’re going to try and get around them another way. Do your best to take them down and then meet us at the committee offices.”
“Roger!” Tanvi grunted between aiming and dodging punches.
Prism beckoned to Fade and took off at a run back the way they’d come.
Please, God, Prism prayed. Don’t let us be too late.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Reaching the escape route, Prism stretched her arms, preparing for the climb. Going up was going to take way longer than going down.
“From what I can tell this extends through the whole building, including to the committee offices,” she explained. “We need to hurry. I think Brink’s endgame is drawing in as many DOSA sables in as possible then bringing the whole building down on top of them.”
Fade snorted. “Kind of uninspired and cliche for a so-called evil genius.”
She gripped the ladder and started to climb. As soon as she was a little way up, the sound of Fade’s footsteps on the rungs alerted her that he was following.
After a minute or so, he snickered. “Long climb, but you can’t beat the view.”
“Huh?” she looked down.
He eyed her rear end.
“Supervillains first, flirting later, dear,” she chided him.
“I can multitask.” They kept climbing. “Speaking of multitasking, you said you’d explain on the way. Seems like as good a time as any.”
No sense in putting it off. Time to come clean.
“Shepherd offered me an experimental treatment that can activate latent sable genes.”
There was a pause in Fade’s steady footfalls. Then they resumed. “But you already have active sable genes.”
“I have my mother’s sable genes. The idea was to activate the latent genes I inherited from my father—Aiden’s powers.” She tried to keep her tone light, as if it were no big deal, but anxiety prickled her.
I broke our deal. I hid it from him. If he’d done the same to me, I’d be angry. No, worse than that. I’d be hurt. She purposefully focused upward.
“I’m guessing it worked?” His voice didn’t give her any clues, which meant he was probably doing his stony-faced, inscrutable expression, the one he used when he was feeling things but didn’t want anyone to know it.
Man, I hate that look.
“It did. I’m not nearly as powerful as Aiden is, but I’m about even with what he was before this whole Brink mess.” Her shoulders slouched, and her pace climbing the ladder flagged.
“And she wouldn’t let you call me before you made the choice?” he pressed.
Her breath caught. She hadn’t thought of that. Shepherd had brought her in on a secret with the expressed condition that she couldn’t tell anyone, even Fade. It would be easy to throw her under the bus, put the blame for Prism not calling Fade on Shepherd, rather than her own cowardice. It wouldn’t be honest, though. Her throat tightened as they passed an exit. She checked the floor they were on. They had a ways to go.
“No. That was me. I was ... afraid you’d talk me out of it.”
“I would’ve tried. You’re your own person. I don’t make choices for you, but ... Luce, you have to realize how stupid and risky that was.”
“It turned out okay,” she quickly said.
“You didn’t know that it would!” His voice went up a pitch. “What about that talk we just had? About taking turns?”
“You couldn’t take this from me, Fade.” She frowned. “You don’t have the same genetics I do.”
“Maybe not, but I could’ve at least been there in case—” His voice trailed off. “Never mind.”
They passed another exit, and she read the number beside the control panel. “Two more floors. We’re almost there.” She picked up her pace and reached their intended exit. Pausing, she extended her thought pattern into the space on the other side of the door. Nothing.
With a quick prayer, she placed her hand on the control panel, and the door swished open. A quiet hallway lay beyond.
“Looks clear.” She hauled herself out of the shaft.
Fade scrambled up beside her and grabbed her arm. Turning to look at him, she felt her breath escape. His face was so grim, so serious.
“Luce, I’m not going to say you shouldn’t have made the choice you did, and I’m glad nothing went wrong but if it had—” The wrinkles around his eyes deepened. “Do you know what it would’ve done to me to lose you? How it would’ve affected Ruby?”
Her gaze dropped to her feet. “I’m ... I’m sorry.”
“We’ll talk about it later. When we’re home, safe.” He peered down the hall. “I don’t see any sign of Brink.”
“Let me try.” She closed her eyes and reached out. There, up ahead, another confused, scrambled thought pattern, but this one with a familiar energy. Without knowing how Brink’s control over Aiden worked, she couldn’t risk contacting him. Not just yet. She pulled herself away from Aiden’s mind and found Brink.
“They’re up ahead. In the lobby outside the committee offices. Looks like they’ve set up the bomb and Brink’s just ... waiting.”
“Let’s go through here.” Fade pointed at the wall. He ghosted them through the wall into an empty boardroom.
Prism scanned the hallway outside with her powers. “Brink and Aiden don’t seem to be leaving the area they’re in, and there’s no one else out there.”
She risked opening the door the old fashioned way, and fear cut through her. Talon and Shepherd lay against the wall only a few feet away, in the hallway between the reception desk and the main offices.
Fade followed her, his eyes widening. “They okay? Can we wake them up?”
“They’re just unconscious, but even before his power up, only time could wake up someone once Aiden slept them,” she whispered. “We need to be careful. They’re close.”
“Don’t leave my fade.” He took her hand. “If you get knocked out, we’re screwed.”
“Let me project us. It won’t help against Aiden, but it will provide another layer of protection from whatever else Brink has in store.” She tried to call up her light-based powers. An uncomfortable sensation like the feeling she got when her foot was asleep rose in her muscles. Her powers stayed dormant.
Oh, crap. Did Aiden’s powers somehow remove my original powers? Shepherd didn’t say that could happen.
Prism tried harder, focusing on the familiar sparkling energy of the light in her veins. Shocks raced through her body. She gave a cry of pain and rocked back into Fade.
“What is it?” He gripped her against his chest.
She gritted her teeth. “Nothing. Just�
�an unexpected side-effect of the new powers. I got this.” Using all her willpower to keep her face expressionless, she called on her light powers once more. Her hands shook. It felt like someone were trying to run a thread pulled by a red-hot needle through her arms. She clenched her jaw further and powered through. Her and Fade’s projections popped up a few feet in front of them. The pain died to a low simmer. Still present, but manageable.
This isn’t good. Please let it just be growing pains.
“Let’s move forward.” Her voice came out tighter than she’d like, and Fade gave her a side-eye glance.
Dang it. Why does he have to be so perceptive?
The projection leading the way, Prism and Fade hurried down the hallway. A loud bang echoed through the halls. A split second later, a metal barb slammed through Prism and Fade’s projections and hit the wall beyond. Sheetrock rained down on the couple but sank through their bodies.
“Now!” Prism yanked Fade into a run. They burst into the lobby area. Prism flung her hands in front of her and channeled everything into a great blast of light. It exploded out of her, but simultaneously a burst of pain threw her to her knees. She cried out in agony. Stars flitted in her vision and blackness closed in around her.
Brink cursed and held his arm in front of his face.
Fade pulled Prism to her feet, his power increasing around her. With her no longer holding the projection, the agony in Prism’s muscles diminished to an uncomfortable pins and needles sensation. Unwilling to leave the safety of Fade’s powers to detect Aiden, she scanned the room for him. He was nowhere to be seen.
Brink straightened and aimed a device that resembled a high-tech harpoon gun at Fade.
“Don’t bother.” Fade passed his hand through the reception desk.
She glared at Brink. “Where’s my brother?”
Brink smirked at Prism then snapped his fingers. Aiden stepped out of the side hall on the opposite end of the room. He crossed to the black box in the center of the floor and stood protectively over it.
“You know, I’m glad the Adjudicator failed in his assignment of offing you.” Brink sneered. “It’s much better this way, having you here to watch as your brother and your entire way of life are vaporized.”
“Killing us won’t stop DOSA.” Prism tried not to look at her brother, at his awkward shuffling movements and his empty expression. “There’s too many of us.”
“Oh, you cut off the head to a snake and the rest might twitch about for a while, but eventually it dies.” Brink leaned against the back of one of the lobby chairs. “It’s a simple plan, really. Kill the committee and a few key sables—including yourself—in this explosion, then slowly use my technology to create mindslaves out of lifeless sable corpses to raise an army to pick off the rest of you. Every time I kill a DOSA sable, I gain another agent.”
Prism’s heart hammered. She needed to get out from the fade, to try and communicate with Aiden, but the moment she did, she’d be vulnerable both to Aiden’s attacks and Brink’s massive gun.
Brink walked up to the bomb and keyed in a code while using his body to block the panel. Immediately a series of flashing red numbers appeared on the readout.
Aiden stood with unnaturally rigid posture. The glow from his eyes seemed to burn up his humanity. Prism couldn’t see past it. It cast an eerie light over his once familiar features.
Even knowing the fade would stop her, she tried again, searching for his thought patterns. Aiden, I’m here.
Fade’s hold on her arm tightened. The buzzing of his energy beneath her skin protected her from Aiden’s sleep, but it was also making it impossible for her to reach him.
Brink strutted around the bomb to face Aiden. “Isn’t he remarkable? My most spectacular creation. The ability to kill with his mind, to put a room to sleep with a thought. I hate to lose him, but I need him here to keep you from trying to disarm this bomb while I make my getaway.” Brink glared at Aiden. “You know your orders. Don’t let anyone disable this device. If anyone approaches you, kill them. If they try to go after me, kill them. Nod if you understand.”
Aiden’s head jerked up and down as if someone had yanked him by the hair.
Prism’s soul shattered into a million pieces.
Aiden, please.
“The whole building is surrounded, Brink,” Fade snarled. “You’re never getting out of here alive. Release Aiden, and I’ll help you escape, fade you right through the floor and out of DOSA’s reach.”
Brink’s lips curled. “You underestimate me. I’ve already ensured my escape.”
“Pris, Fade-o, we’re on the floor below the committee offices,” Tanvi’s voice crackled in Prism’s ear comm. Prism flinched. She’d forgotten she had that in. “What’s it look like where you are?” Tanvi asked.
Before Prism could answer, Brink reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a remote control. The wall behind him exploded in a shower of sheetrock and dust. Fade pulled Prism closer against him as chunks of wall rocketed through their faded forms.
Prism squinted through the debris. One of Brink’s transport drones zipped in, the rotors buzzing. Brink jumped on it, and the drone immediately flew outside again.
Fade cursed under his breath.
Prism hit her comm. “Tanvi, we’re above you. Brink just escaped on a drone through the side of the building. Stop him if you can. There’s a bomb. We’re going to try to defuse it.”
“Roger. Going after him now,” Tanvi responded.
Fade took a step towards the bomb, but the glow around Aiden increased. Prism whimpered as a wave of pain arched through her body. Fade grunted, and the fade intensified, chasing away Aiden’s attack.
“He’s getting too strong, and that bomb could go off any minute!” Fade pulled her towards the nearest door. “We need to get out of here.”
“Not without him.” She gripped her husband’s hand. “Fade, I can reach him, but I won’t be able to while you’re protecting me. The fade is stopping my powers.”
His jaw clenched. “If I let you go, he’ll attack you. He’s not himself anymore, Lucia. It’s too late. We’ve lost him. We need to save ourselves. To get home to Ruby, understand?”
Prism stared from her husband to her brother. Her bottom lip shook.
No. I can’t give up.
“Fade, please,” she begged.
He shuddered. “All right. One more try, but if he attacks, I’m grabbing you and taking us both through the floor. No arguments.”
“Deal.”
His hand brushed down her cheek before he released her and stepped back.
His energy disappeared from her body as she faced Aiden again.
Emergency sirens blared in the distance. Hopefully someone would be able to intercept Brink.
Prism stepped closer to her brother. The read out on the bomb display read less than five minutes now. She had to work fast or it would be too late.
She held out her hands and tried with all her might to find him. Her thoughts penetrated the outer limits of his brain. A sea of confusion, fear, and anger swelled up to meet her, and her eyes watered. She couldn’t break through this with strength. No, all she had left to use was love.
Closing her eyes, Prism grasped at memories. The day her mother had died and she’d sat, holding Aiden, on their living room couch, trying to soothe him when he didn’t understand what was going on.
You just wanted your mother back. So did I but at least I understood. You didn’t. You were so little.
The barrier around him flared up, sending a ripple of fear through her. She tried again.
Your thirteenth birthday, when you wanted to learn to surf. You were a natural, and I kept falling in the water. You laughed so hard. I tried to be mad, but you were smiling so broadly. You have the best smile, Aiden. Please. Please.
Something trembled. The cloud of negative emotions thinned ever so slightly.
Tell me how to help you. Please.
A pinching feeling radiated through t
he back of Prism’s neck, but it wasn’t real. It was a memory. She could feel someone pushing something beneath her skin, it locking onto her spine, the shock of strange power surging through her, cutting off her control, her free will. She cried out in horror.
“Fade, I know what to do. I need you.” She focused on her husband, and he dropped his fade for just long enough for her to transfer the memory.
He threw his power up and darted towards Aiden. The link between Aiden and Prism broke. He growled and threw out his hands. His skin radiated an intense blue light. Fade blanched, his shoulders hunching towards his ears, but he pushed forward. Aiden screamed as Fade stepped straight through him. Fade spun around and reached beneath Aiden’s skin towards the base of his skull. Aiden went stiff. Prism’s adrenaline spiked as an explosion of fear radiated outward from her brother.
Fade yanked his hand back. A piece of metal glinted in his hand.
The light radiating from Aiden went out revealing clear gray eyes, bloodshot but blessedly human. For a heartbeat, he stared at Prism. Recognition flooded his face. Her chest opened, and she took a step towards him. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the floor.
Chapter Thirty
Fire rushed through Wildfyre’s veins. His whole being crackled, alive with a heat that invigorated rather than burned. He drew it into his core then with a flourish of his hands sent a blast of it forward.
Crushwave growled and ducked below the flames. He punched the air. Sound waves vibrated through Wildfyre. Wildfyre braced himself against the floor then pushed a gust of hot air downward, rocketing towards the ceiling.
Tanvi tossed Cromlech into the wall. The massive supervillain bounced right back up, growling like a madman.
“We’re not getting anywhere,” Tanvi shouted over the vibrations of another of Crushwave’s attacks. “We need to get past them and help Prism.”
