The War of the Supers (The First Superhero Book 3) (18 page)

There was a moment of silence between the two of us. Not one that was awkward, where the two of us were frantically searching for something to say to fill the silence. Just…quiet.

“So, what’s next?” Samantha asked finally.

“ I’m going to sleep for a bit. We only got a couple hours of sleep last night, and I’m really tired. Then, tonight, Selena is going to fly to Texas, and I’ll leave a little bit later with the
asthenés plásma.
It’ll probably take a while, since I won’t be able to fly as fast, but since there won’t be any other Supers around to increase its power, I should be fine.”

“How long will we be out of contact? What if something goes wrong?” Samantha asked, making no attempt to hide the worry in her voice.

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “It won’t be long until I’m back in Texas, and we’re kicking Atlas’ ass together.”

33

HOMEWARD BOUND

It took seventeen hours for me to fly from the coast of South Africa to the coast of Brazil. It was a long, tedious flight, and when I landed in Brazil, I felt tired and hungry. I opened up my backpack and dug around, careful to disturb the bottle of
asthenés plásma
as little as possible.

I pulled out and devoured a couple of granola bars. I then chugged an entire bottle of water before pulling the backpack on again. I waited for a few more moments, collecting my thoughts, before I took off, then slowly made my way back towards Texas, where Samantha and the rest of the gang were eagerly awaiting my arrival.

A little over thirty hours later, I reached the army base where the rest of the group was waiting for me. I landed outside the gymnasium feeling like my legs were going to collapse beneath me as soon as they touched the ground. I’d taken a couple breaks here and there, but for the most part I’d flown non-stop. I couldn’t take any more breaks now. I wanted to get back home as soon as possible and get to work on the
asthenés plásma
.

I stepped through the front doors of the gym, passing by the many pictures and trophies that were framed in the front entrance. Then I walked through the doors that led to the recreational basketball court, a cool blast of AC hitting my face.

At the edge of the court Doug and Samantha were sitting at desks side by side, typing away on their computers. There were a couple of soldiers playing basketball, while others who were off duty were hanging out with each other in the bleachers set up on my side of the gym.

I walked over to where Doug and Samantha were working, not announcing my arrival. I had a smile on my face as I waited to see how long it would take for them to notice me. Samantha went on typing, her eyebrows furrowed behind her glasses in concentration.

Doug looked up from his computer screen and saw me. He gave me a simple nod and a smile before returning to his work. I continued walking towards them as his movement caught Samantha’s eye. She looked up and saw me walking towards her, and practically jumped over her desk.

She collected herself and rushed towards me with a big smile on her face. “I’m so happy you’re back,” she said as she reached me.

I couldn’t help but grin as I gave her a hug. “Me too,” I said. It was so nice to have such a strong support system, with Samantha at the forefront. I didn’t know what I’d do without her friendship and counsel, and it was nice to finally hear her voice with my ears instead of inside my head.

“How was your flight over?” she asked as she pulled away.

“Oh, you know, it was fine. I just wish the in-flight entertainment options were a bit nicer,” I said.

Samantha chuckled. “So, is it in your backpack? The
asthenés plásma
? Wait, wait, don’t tell me.” She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Her expression grew more and more frustrated. She released the breath she’d been holding and opened her eyes. “Yep, nothing. Unless you were playing a trick on me and not responding to my question,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

I raised my hands in defense. “I didn’t hear anything, I swear. It’s right here in my backpack.”

Samantha’s eyes glowed, but from excitement and curiosity, not because of her powers. “Wow, this feels so weird.” She looked down at her hands as if they had somehow changed with the removal of her powers. “I’m…
normal
.”

I wanted to say, “Trust me, you’re still special to me,”
as a cheesy joke, but stopped myself as I didn’t want her to take it the wrong way. “Yeah, it does feel strange. I’m feeling weaker and weaker with you and the rest of the Supers around. Speaking of which, where’s Selena?” I asked, looking around.

“She’s out doing some weapons training. But I still want to see the
plásma
,” she said, her eyes wandering to the top of my backpack, which stuck up above my shoulders.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to see it,” I said. “But first, I really, really,
really
want some sleep. I’ve been flying for over thirty hours.” I stifled a yawn.

“I can hold it while you rest. We can start trying to figure it out,” she said, her eyes still on my backpack.

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Samantha.”

Her eyes looked into mine, her disappointment growing. “Why is that?”

I hesitated. I didn’t want her to take my next words the wrong way. “This stuff made Raven go insane. It’s dangerous stuff. I need to be there when we start experimenting with it—whatever that means.” I shrugged, forcing a laugh. “I’ve spent the last thirty hours with it on my back, and I’ve learned nothing,” I said, trying to soften the blow.

“In that case, if we just spend a few hours with it, it should be fine,” Samantha shot back, crossing her arms.

“No, Samantha. I have to be there in case anything goes wrong. If it does, I can grab it and get it out of here before anybody gets hurt.”

Samantha looked away, unable to argue my point.

“We know nothing about this stuff,” I reminded her. “I don’t want to start messing around with it unless everybody is there and we’re ready for any possibility.”

Samantha nodded, but I could tell she was still frustrated and disappointed. “Fine,” she said. “Have a nice nap.” With that, she turned around and walked back to her desk.

I stood there for a few seconds, watching her walk away. Then I sighed and shook my head, turning to walk out of the gym. I wasn’t trying to make her mad—I was trying to keep her safe.

The backpack felt heavy on my shoulders, and my eyelids felt even heavier. I made my way to the barracks, ready to collapse onto the first empty bed I could find.

III

ASTHENÉS PLÁSMA

34

THE BOARD

A jolt of Eximus energy through the device attached to her bicep kept Director Loren’s manifestations at bay. Now that that had been taken care of, she was able to turn her attention back to the meeting at hand.

“I just don’t think that continuing the production of Eximus weapons should be our main concern.”

Loren did her best to keep from rolling her eyes. “Nichols, sit,” she said, and the man who’d been blabbering on took his seat at the long table. At each end sat her best scientists, agents, and advisors. “We’re not deviating from the plan. Not when we’re this far in.”

“But the probability of success is slim,” another person said. He had red hair and a scruffy beard. It took Loren a second, as her mind was still foggy from the Eximus, but she eventually remembered that his name was Dr. O’Donnell. “We’ve seen the Legion and the progress they’re making,” he continued, speaking clearly and confidently. “Every time we set up Eximus weapons for them to steal, there are always casualties. We can’t afford to lose many more lives.”

“Then it’s a good thing we have plenty of people to choose from, should we need more agents,” Loren said, relaxing into her chair.

“You aren’t suggesting a draft, are you?” Agent Cassidy piped up.

Director Loren tried her best to hide her disappointment. She always hated it when Cassidy questioned her. She wouldn’t even have Cassidy be a part of this meeting, but she hated to have Cassidy out of sight for too long. She was, after all, the only person who knew Loren’s secret.

“This is a war, Cassidy,” Loren responded. “We have the authority to draft.” She placed her hands on the table in front of her and pushed herself up. “We need to be patient. Everything we’re doing here is deliberate. The preparations are almost complete. Our plan is coming along right on schedule.” She scanned the faces of those at the table, being sure to make eye contact with each and every one of them. “Just be patient.”

35

SEVEN DAYS

One week later

I stepped out into the night, frustration growing within me over another failed experiment. I wanted to punch something really hard, but refrained so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the slow and painful healing process.

After seven days, we still knew nothing more about the
asthenés plásma.
We’d tried pretty much everything. We’d tried meditating around the bottle, tried staring at it for a while, even tried talking to it. Nothing. I had no idea even what I’d expected to happen, though. Was it supposed to
talk
to us? Was it supposed to give us some sort of visions? I had no idea. But it had sure seemed to give Raven some knowledge he couldn’t have had otherwise.

Then again, Raven was crazy. Was I really following in the footsteps of a madman? Was that what it had come down to?

I sighed as I looked up into the night sky. Only a few stars were visible, since the lights around the gymnasium had been turned on.

“Hey, you okay?” Samantha asked as she walked up behind me.

“Yeah,” I said, not looking away from the stars. “Just trying to think.”

“Oh. Sorry. I’ll leave you to it,” she said.

“No, wait,” I said, turning to her. She stopped mid-step. “I didn’t mean it like that. You can stay.”

She moved back to my side. “You’re frustrated, aren’t you?”

I chuckled under my breath. “Yeah. What gave it away?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Samantha said.

I wanted to believe that. “It’s just so annoying to me that Raven apparently could unlock its secrets, and yet none of us can. There’s something we’re missing.”

“When have things ever been easy for us?” Samantha said with a laugh.

“That’s true,” I sighed. “I’m sure we’ll figure things out. I just wish it was sooner rather than la—”

The barracks across the way exploded. The force of the explosion blew Samantha and me backwards, and I slammed to the ground, the air rushing out of my lungs, my ears ringing.

Dazed, I looked over at Samantha, who was sprawled next to me, blood leaking from a wound in her head. “Samantha!” I yelled, my voice muffled in my ears.

Her head turned and she looked at me, wincing in pain. I stood up, scooped her up into my arms and ran towards the doors of the gymnasium. Through the windows, I could see Selena and Drew running towards the doors from the inside. They pushed the doors open, letting me in.

“What the hell is going on?” Selena demanded.

“Somebody’s attacking!” I told her as I ran towards the doors that led to the gymnasium, Selena and Drew close behind.

The whole gym was lit up by the
asthenés plásma
,
which was glowing brighter than it had been just a few minutes earlier. Doug covered it with a blanket, shrouding the room in darkness.

“Get me something to prop up her head,” I said as I laid Samantha down on the floor.

Doug ran to my side, took off the hoodie he wore and handed it to me. “Samantha,” he said, kneeling next to her. “Samantha, are you okay?”

Samantha winced, trying to sit up. My hearing was coming back, I noticed—I could hear the sound perfectly. I pushed her back down. “Stay here. You have a head injury.”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“I don’t have time for arguing, Samantha,” I said as I stood up.

“You gotta get that stuff out of here,
now,
” Selena insisted.

I pulled the blanket off the glowing liquid and grabbed the handles of its container—but when I tried to run out, I couldn’t pick up speed. I ran across the gym only as fast as I would as a normal human. I turned and locked eyes with my worried friends.

“My powers are gone,” I said.

We could hear gunfire and explosions outside as those who weren’t in the barracks fought back against our attackers.

“This isn’t good,” Samantha said with a moan.

I looked around, trying to come up with a plan. Over in the corner, a rack of guns sat next to the door. I ran to it, set down the
plásma
and grabbed an assault rifle and a couple of magazines.

“Come on guys,” I said when I saw that everybody was standing there watching me. “Grab a gun. We have to fight back.”

Selena and Doug shook themselves from their daze and ran to join me. Samantha tried to get up too, but I stopped her.

“You’re in no shape to go anywhere,” I said, and handed her a pistol from the pile. “Can you stand?”

“I think so,” she said. She grabbed my hand, and I pulled her up. She was wobbly on her feet at first, but after a few moments she was able to get her bearings.

“Alright, find somewhere to hide. Don’t come out for anything.” I retrieved the
asthenés plásma
and then went back to Samantha. “Take this with you,” I said, handing her the bottle. “Keep it safe.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“Come on guys, let’s go,” I said as I walked towards the exit, purpose and determination in my step.

36

SHOTS IN THE DARK

I pressed my back against the wall next to the door. Drew was standing beside me, Selena and Doug on the other side. I peeked out, looking through the glass front doors of the gym.

People were running about outside. A couple dozen of our soldiers dressed in their camp fatigues were hiding behind vehicles and buildings, firing into the darkness at an unseen enemy.

“Who is this? Legion?” Drew asked.

“That’d be my guess. There’s obviously Supers out there, or else our powers wouldn’t be drained,” I said.