First Superhero 1: The Second Super (16 page)

Macy’s hand tightened around mine, breaking me from my train of thought. I looked to my right where she was sitting, and her sad eyes looked up at me. She said nothing, but her face said what was not spoken. It was filled with sorrow, but she tried to force a smile in order to cheer me up.

That made me fall in love with her that much more, but at the same time, it made me feel even more guilty. I’d resolved that I wouldn’t let Michael’s death be in vain; that it would mean something. That helped with the guilt factor a lot. But seeing all the sorrow and sadness in the packed funeral home was suffocating. I felt like I’d go crazy if I had to see one more sad face, or hear one more person try to hide their sobbing.

I looked to my left at Drew, who was sitting directly next to me. He was staring straight forward, and of all things, he looked angry. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but knew it’d be inappropriate.

The funeral lasted another twenty minutes, and once it was over with, everybody began to pile into their cars to drive to the graveside. Drew, Macy, and myself decided to all ride together in my car, even though Drew and I had ridden to the funeral with our parents, and Macy with her sister.

We sat in the car in silence, following the endless parade of cars as I drove us to the cemetery.

Finally, Drew said something. “Does this feel real to you guys?”

Macy shook her head. “Not at all.”

I said nothing. This all was
too
real for me.

“So many people dead,” Macy said. “All thanks to Richter. I never thought Michael would be one of them.”

Drew fumed with anger in the backseat. “Not just thanks to him, thanks to Tempest, too.”

“Tempest was only trying to help. You can’t blame him,” Macy said.

She was half right, half wrong. I was only trying to help, but I did deserve the blame.

“Oh shut up, Macy. You’re just blinded because Tempest made his big debut saving your ass. He may have saved you, but he also killed Michael. Just because the scales are balanced doesn’t mean we have to just let him off.”

Macy scoffed. “He didn’t go out of his way to kill Michael, it was Richter. He’s the one you should blame. He’s the one you should get mad at, not me.”

Drew let out a condescending chuckle. “You don’t get it. But I don’t expect you to. You don’t understand. You only knew Michael for a couple of months. Kane and I have known him our whole lives.
Don’t
act like you were his best friend.”

Macy said nothing in response. She just turned her head to look out the window, trying to hide the tears that were now flowing. Drew’s words cut her deep. I looked in the rearview mirror, and prepared to shoot Drew a look that said
what the hell?!,
but he, too, had his attention on the trees that passed us by as we drove out of Ebon.

I sighed and turned my attention back to the road. I didn’t have the mental stamina to try and even begin to process the fight Drew and Macy had just gotten into. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I just wanted to forget it and pretend like it never happened. But I couldn’t. The words exchanged between the two of them would haunt me for a good long while.

I
SAT
on the living room couch, staring at the ceiling. Mom, Dad, and I had just gotten back from the funeral, so we were all still processing everything. Mom and Dad tried to talk to me about what had happened a few times, but I just wasn’t ready to talk about it, and they understood. They didn’t push me, and for that I was thankful.

I was trying to think about Michael, to remember some of the good times the two of us had in order to cheer me up. But no matter how hard I tried not to, all I could think about was the argument between Drew and Macy. And, in particular, one thing that Drew said. He’d spoken about all the lives lost thanks to Richter. My mind couldn’t help but linger on that thought.

There were so many Michaels in the world, dead because of Richter. So many Drews and Macys, torn apart inside because of the death of a loved one. Not only that, but friendships ripping at the seams as well. I couldn’t imagine how his parents and other family members felt.

So much pain and suffering, all because of Richter. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how many people had to go through what we were going through because of Richter. Because of his grief and madness.

That’s when it came to me. I felt passion for this new resolve burn inside of me. I realized that I had to defeat Richter, not just to protect my family, not to save myself from the government, and not because I was the only one who actually had a chance to. No, I had to stop Richter for the sake of all the Michaels, Macys, Drews, and Kanes of the world. I had to stop all the pain and suffering he was causing, and I didn’t realize it until I felt the pain and suffering myself.

And the best way to end the pain and suffering I felt, and to keep anyone else from feeling the same, was by providing closure. And the only way that would happen is by me defeating Richter.

But I knew that I couldn’t do it alone. I could have all the motivation in the world, but that didn’t change the fact that Richter was better at using his powers. But if I had the right people on my side, helping me, I knew I could do it.

I took a deep breath, and did my best to calm myself. I was brimming with excitement, because for the first time, I felt that defeating Richter was a real possibility.

But that was only
if
I could get Agent Loren and the rest of the U.S. government on my side.

30

THE LION’S DEN

M
OM SQUEEZED ME TIGHT
, not wanting to let me go. “Please, Kane, please be safe,” she whispered into my ear.

I squeezed her back. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m pretty tough.”

She chuckled and then let me go from her hug.

I turned to Dad, and his face was filled with pride for me. I smiled at him and gave him a hug. I don’t know why it felt as if we were saying goodbye. I had every intention of returning home to them. I guess it was just after being surrounded by death for so long, it made me just a little bit more thankful, made me cherish every moment.

I pushed away from Dad. “Alright,” I began. “I gotta go. Keep an eye on the news,” I said with a smile. “You just might see me.”

Mom and Dad both chuckled and smiled at me.

“Your father and I are so proud of you,” Mom said, her face glowing.

I don’t know why, but I wanted to cry. I held back the tears, though. This wasn’t the time for tears. It was time for me to be Tempest, not Kane.

“Thanks,” I said. I smiled at them. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”

They chuckled again. “See you later,” Dad said.

I turned and walked out the door. I pulled the head piece of my Tempest suit over my face, and made my eyes glow. I fought the urge to turn around and take one last glance at Mom and Dad.

You can see them when you come home,
I told myself.

I rocketed in the air and began flying to Ebon Middle School. It was time for me to pay Agent Loren and Homeland Security a visit.

I
HOVERED
above the middle school. I looked down upon it, and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. There was no time to stand—or
float
—around, though, so I descended to the ground. It was now or never.

My feet touched the ground, and began walking to the gym. I focused my glowing eyes on the twin gymnasium doors.

The five soldiers guarding the doors noticed me approaching, and scrambled to get their guns ready and aimed at me.

“Freeze!” one of them shouted.

I ignored his orders, and continued walking toward the door. I was thirty feet away, and my heart beat fast.

“Don’t you move!” they shouted again.

One of the others began whispering something into their radio.

Suddenly, when I was only fifteen feet away, the doors burst open, and out came Agent York, the guy who’d interrogated me in the classroom.

I stopped when I saw him.

“Tempest,” he said. “What brings you around here?” His charm and charisma was distracting. I could tell why he was the one they chose to be the fake leader of this operation.

“I’m here to speak to the one in charge,” I said. I altered my voice by vibrating my vocal chords, a trick I’d learned after the situation in Texas.

York raised his arms and smiled. “You’re looking at him.”

I scoffed. “I’m sorry, I should say that I would like to speak to the
woman
in charge. Agent Loren, I believe?”

Shock crossed all of the soldiers faces, but none looked more shocked then Agent York. After all, his job was to keep Agent Loren a secret.

“I-uh-I,” he stammered, unable to find the words.

“Just go get her for me, please,” I said, interrupting him.

Agent York shut his mouth and walked back inside, clearly embarrassed.

Nobody said a word while we waited for Agent York to return, with Agent Loren hopefully in tow. I just watched the door while the soldiers watched me, guns aimed and ready to fire.

After a few more moments, the door opened, and out walked Agent Loren, with York following close behind. He looked as if he was a puppy that had just been kicked. Agent Loren had her long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, and she was very upset. She looked to be somewhere in her thirties.

“Hello, Agent Loren,” I said whenever she walked out.

“Tempest,” she said. “How do you know who I am?”

“Agent York is a good actor, but he comes off a little green. It was a bit obvious.”

“That still doesn’t explain how you know my name, or Agent York’s for that matter,” she said, insistent.

“That is not relevant,” I said. “I’ve come to have a discussion with you.”

“Unless you’ve come to turn yourself in, I’m not interested in a discussion,” she said.

“I think you’ll want to hear my proposition. That is, unless you want to continue to allow Richter to terrorize the world.”

Loren’s expression turned to that of intrigue. She crossed her arms and nodded. “I’m listening.”

I smiled. It was going better than expected so far. “I’ve tried on a few occasions to defeat Richter myself.”

“I’m aware,” Loren said, interrupting. She gestured her head toward the high school across the street. “I’ve seen the results myself.”

I pushed down the anger and frustration that rose up inside of me. To this woman, I was still the enemy. I needed to remind myself of that, and do what I could to show her I was not. “Yes, my attempts have been less than successful. However, I’m the only one who’s ever been able to do any kind of damage to Richter.” I paused a moment, to let that fact sink in. “You want Richter gone, as do I. We share those goals. But you cannot take him on your own, and neither can I. However, if we work together, I believe we can take him down. And hopefully, eventually, things will return to normal.”

Agent Loren mulled over what I said for a moment, before speaking. “How can I trust you, Tempest? How do I know you’re not trying to spy on us? Taking us down from the inside?”

I chuckled. “Agent Loren, if I wanted to take you down, I would’ve done so the minute your trucks pulled up here. And I wouldn’t have to do it from the inside. I could kill all of you here in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. But I don’t, and I’m not. All I want to do is see Richter end. Eventually, I’ll probably be able to do that on my own, without you. But that will take a while, and many lives will be lost in the meantime. I’m giving you the chance to end this, and end this
now
, before anyone else has to die.” I let her process what I was saying. “With or without you,” I said after a few moments. “I will take Richter down. I can just do it a lot sooner if I have you and your people on my side.”

Agent Loren sighed. “What other choice do we have?” she asked rhetorically. “It’s clear we were wrong about possibly being able to take you into custody ourselves.”

I chuckled. “You’re right about that. But hey, I understand. You were desperate. But now you don’t have to be.” I walked over to her, the soldier tensing up as I did so, but she waved her hand and they relaxed. I extended my hand. “Truce?”

She looked at my hand for a moment, thinking about it. Finally, she grabbed it with a firm grasp and shook. “Truce.”

31

A PLAN

“
G
IVEN
the information provided to us by Tempest regarding his regeneration powers, we think we may have a way to stop Richter,” Dr. Reynolds, the lead scientist of the mission, said.

Agent Loren, Agent York, Dr. Reynolds, and myself were packed into one of the small administrative offices.

“Well then, please continue,” Agent Loren said.

Dr. Reynolds cleared his throat. “From what Tempest has said, whenever he is injured, he still feels the pain. His bones still break, his skin still melts, his flesh is still torn, etc. His body then very, very quickly then begins to heal itself. Regrowing skin, reattaching bones, you get the idea.” Reynolds paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. “So, I’ve figured out that if we can somehow hit Richter with a large amount of heat and energy, we can cause his body to be totally destroyed before it has the chance to heal itself.”

“You mean like hitting him with an explosive, like a missile?” Agent York asked.

Dr. Reynolds snapped his finger in excitement. “Yes! Exactly.”

York laughed and shook his head. “Have you done any research at all? We’ve tried hitting him with a missile. He either catches it, or it hits him and he walks it off.”

Dr. Reynolds smirked. “Yes, of course. But that’s before we had Tempest,” he said, giving a look of approval to me.

“What’s your plan
exactly
?” Agent Loren asked, beginning to get perturbed with Reynolds.

“My plan,” Reynolds began. “Is that Tempest draws Richter out. The two of them fight, and Tempest leads Richter to a location far off into the desert. Tempest will keep Richter distracted and hopefully weaken him a bit. Then we launch a nuke at him. Tempest gets out of there right before it hits; Richter won’t know what’s coming so he won’t have time to deflect, and,” Dr. Reynolds made an explosion sound, and a large gesture with his hands, “boom. No more Richter. He’s disintegrated, and his body has no chance of healing.”