The Last Superhero (38 page)

“
This
benefactor
must owe Steven big time.”

“
Let's
say he does. The thing is, we can't do anything without Steven's
consent. That is the only requirement this person asks for. And given
how Steven has reacted to his imprisonment...”

A shiver travels down my
spine. She witnesses it without commenting on it.

“
What
if we can't convince him of the contrary?” I wish my voice
didn't sound like a plea.

“
Then
we go on with the original plan.”

40

I've never been one of those
people who can tell the future or at least have a vague idea of
what's about to happen. What I can tell is, most of the time, when a
good disappointment is lurking around the corner.

That shiver down my spine
was all I needed to prepare myself for what came after that
interview: Steven saying 'no' after Dr. Morgan explained to him what
we wanted to do to help with his nightmares.

His 'no' was so rotund it
took everyone aback, except me. I knew it would come. I knew he would
say he didn't want to put anyone in danger.

When she was at her doctor-y
wit's end, she left me alone with him in his cell.

“
Steven...”

“
No.”
He's sitting on the edge of his bunk, the arm sporting the IVs
stretched out, the other holding his weight behind him. “I
won't put anyone else in harm's way, much less you.”

Me. The one standing in the
middle of that cold, lifeless place trying to keep my head straight.

“
This
is their way of thanking you. Didn't you tell me how awful it felt
when people didn't thank you for what you did for them?”

“
This
is different.” His speech is slow, tired. “I could kill
every one of you in my nightmares and not even know about it. And
what for, Giana? What good would that do?”

“
It
would save your life.”

“
By
potentially taking someone else's? No.” He reaches out to me
and all I do is step closer so he can half-hug me. “I love you
and I can't bear the thought of harming you again.”

“
You
haven't harmed me.”

“
I
have. And you will end up dead in the end, like Genevieve.”

“
We're
stronger...”

“
I
said no. That's my final answer.”

I breathe when all I want to
do is cry. Throw myself on the floor and wail until he has to say
yes.

But I'm not a five-year-old,
so I collect my shaken self.

“
I
love you.”

“
I
love you too,” he kisses his way up my arm. “That is why
I can't do this to you, Giana. Why I shouldn't have let any of this
happen.” He looks up, I'm still standing. “Why we should
leave it here.”

“
What...?”

“
Giana.
I can't drag you down with me. You're too young.”

“
No,
please, don't...” Okay, now I
need
to wail. Maybe I should.

“
If
it's true I'm dying then I prefer to die alone. You have a life to
live. I have nothing left.”

Drop to my knees and see his
moistened eyes through my tears. Feel his gentle finger on my cheek,
wiping them away.

“
I
don't care, Steven. I'm here because I love you and I know we can get
through this together.”

His hand curls behind my
head and pulls me in to receive a kiss on my forehead.

Feel how your body quivers
in desperation.

How your muscles tighten in
anticipation.

“
Tell
Dr. Morgan my decision has been made.”

“
Steven...”

“
Please.”

And I push myself up slowly,
walk on wobbly feet, breathe to stop myself from fainting, try to
talk and not screech.

It doesn't mean he doesn't
love me; it means he loves me enough not to endanger me.

Even then, it enrages me.

All eyes are on me as Dr.
Morgan tells her team what will go down.

Hands are on me once I get
to where Dad, Daph, and Wyatt are waiting.

I'm an adult. I can take it.

That doesn't stop it from
hurting, though.

It does nothing to stop me
from letting the claustrophobia take me prisoner.

It does nothing to stop me
from trying to run away from the pain through the maze of dark
tunnels and, once I reach the light, turn left into an empty hangar.

It does nothing to stop me
from bawling once I'm out of earshot because I know there's nothing I
can do to make him change his decision.

And worst of all is that,
deep inside, I feel he's made the right one.

It sucks to be a grown-up
sometimes. It sucks even more when you must make decisions with your
head and not your heart.

Daph's the bravest of the
lot and the only one to approach the whimpering blob I've become.

I don't remember sliding to
the floor but apparently I did.

“
Giana...”
She's bent over me.

“
He
wants to die.”

“
We'll
find a way to help him.”

“
He
says we should leave it here.”

“
What?”

“
Politest
break up ever, D. That's what just happened in there.”

“
How...?
Why...”

“
Some
shit about not dragging me down with him because he's dying, and I
love him, Daph, but he says he wants to die alone.”

“
That
he wants you to leave him doesn't mean you will.”

I have to give it to her,
she at least made me snort, “I'm old enough to know stalking
people isn't the right way to go.”

“
Who
said anything about stalking? He can't make you stop loving him, can
he?”

“
You're
really bad at this, Daph. You should be telling me how much of an
asshole he is for breaking up with me.”

“
Well,
that too.”

“
I
can't let him die.”

“
We
all know you won't.”

A hand proffered is all I
need to shake some of it off and face the men who have gathered some
feet away, watching us approach as if ready to pull out their chairs
and whips against the untamed beast a crying woman can be.

Daphne waves a hand as we
walk past them, telling me to clean the snot off my face and go back
in there and make sure I do my part in this.

Which can be summarized as
overseeing that he's allowed some sleep before they start the fake
execution protocol.

So he's settled on a
stretcher inside the glass enclosure and the machines are set to stop
the adrenaline shots and let him fall asleep once we're out of reach.

For my part, I'm allowed a
moment alone with him for a kiss and the least effusive goodbye we've
shared.

I drag my feet, feeling
heavy inside and out.

When Daphne and Wyatt give
me a look I can read too well.

Accomplices. What would
anyone do without them?

Glance at Suárez
standing in a corner and he's getting the message.

Ross sends me a defying
stare as he makes sure only Powell stays behind, letting the rest get
away.

Countdown. Make sure it's
only us. Make sure they're far enough away.

Daphne and Wyatt pull the
plugs and the machines are turned off. The drips stop.

We wait. Hope we aren't
missed yet.

Then the room temperature
starts to drop.

41

Concentrate, come on.

Soft, slow ripples on the
ground, on the walls.

Everyone's started to morph.

I want to think about that,
but the ripples are getting stronger, making me lose my footing.

Face the glass enclosure and
see Steven sleeping peacefully on the stretcher.

The ripples stop.

Look around and I'm
surrounded by a wizard, a ninja, a soldier, a werewolf, and... an
elf?!

No time to think as another
ripple travels through the air and the glass enclosure explodes, a
million pieces of shattered glass traveling through the air.

Bend down. Cover your face.

Wait for the dust to settle,
to feel something nudging you.

A big-ass machine gun with a
flashlight on the end. Powell. His uniform transformed into a
full-body futuristic armor.

Stand and see we're not in
the bunker anymore but in a city.

The streets are empty and
we're in the middle of what I see now is a roundabout.

There's an unsettling
stillness around us that, from the looks of everyone, I can tell I'm
not making up.

“
Where
are we?”

I'm trying to identify some
of the cars parked on the streets around us and they're pretty old,
like fifties old. If only I could tell their make, model, and year
like Dad used to do.

“
Mexico,”
Wyatt says as I feel another nudge, this one from werewolf Daphne's
cold nose.

She's pointing up and when I
look I can see the statue of El Ángel towering above us.

Yep. México City.

And nothing is happening.

Until we hear a child's
laughter.

As if in sync, we all turn
to the column in the center of the roundabout and see the statue of
the child and the lion shedding off the stone as if it were scales.

Last time I saw something
similar happening it was Michelangelo and he almost got me.

Look up and see Nike's still
made of gold. I sure hope that's not Michelangelo in disguise,
though.

Look down and the child's
staring at me. Try and recognize his features and it must be a young
version of Steven. I can't really tell; his little face almost a blur
as he comes forward, smiling.

Everyone's paused, even the
lion that is watching the boy inch his way to me and reach out a
small hand for me to take.

It feels weird, the way he
looks at me, the happiness he exudes, those eyes I know so well.

Then his sight switches
focus, past me, past us.

Because there's a giant
ripple coming towards us, lifting the street and everything on it
like it's water. We can only try to run, but the force of the ripple
is too strong and has reached us quicker than we thought.

I try to jump, to somehow
elevate myself, and as it passes underneath me, I am left suspended
in the air for enough time to see wizard Ross reach out a hand and
command the now completely real lion to stop. The animal roars back,
as if speaking, an act that throws me out of my concentration and I
fall flat-faced on the ground.

Hands help me up in time to
dodge Nike's descent from atop the column, shattering to pieces once
she's hit the ground.

“
You
okay?” It is elf Wyatt still holding onto my arm as if for dear
life.