Ascension (The Ascension Series) (22 page)

They flew to the top of the house and listened for noises. When Clark heard a young girl weeping, he quickly descended through the roof and landed in the upstairs bedroom. Standing in front of him was the disheveled Thomas Augusto. He was brandishing a gun and holding it to the head of a young girl.

“Thomas Augusto. Let her go,” Clark said.

“You’re not a cop,” Augusto said nervously.

“Final warning. Let her go,” Clark said.

“One step closer and I’ll shoot the both of you!”

Augusto pointed his gun at Clark. He attempted to shoot Clark but the trigger wouldn’t move. His gun wouldn’t click. Suddenly, Clark removed his goggles and squinted his eyes. Augusto began to slowly lower his gun to his foot. Augusto couldn’t control his own arm as Clark winked. While still in Augusto’s hand, the gun went off and shot Augusto in the foot. He screamed from pain as the young girl yelled and ran behind Clark.

Charles lowered through the hole in the roof that Clark had made and held the young girl.

Clark was fuming. He was furious. As Augusto fell over, wreathing in pain, Clark jumped on top of him and punched him in the face over and over. With rage in his eyes, Clark pummeled the bloodied man.

“This is what I do to
trash!
” Clark yelled with rage as he continued to beat the man.

“Jesus!” said John as he flew into the house through t
he same hole in the roof and watched as Clark continued to beat the man with his fists. John and Charles had to both grab Clark by the arm and pry him off the criminal.

“Come on
! Take it easy,” Charles said as he and John attempted to hold Clark back.

Clark was breathing heavily as he attempted to catch his breath. Charle
s and John continued to hold Clark back as his face grew red with anger. They had never seen him so furiously violent. Clark had lost it.

CHAPTER 10

That night, Channel Five news featured a report
about a new group of vigilantes who were cleaning up the city streets.

“T
he word ‘Ascension’ spray painted on the chest of a mugger,” said the newscaster. “No one quite knows what it means. Whether these masked vigilantes will do the city any good has yet to be seen.”

The sightings of superheroes in Cincinnati began to grow as the weeks went on. At first
, they were believed to be only a ragtag group of misfits with too much time on their hands. Then there surfaced reports of human beings who were flying through the air and levitating guns out of burglars’ hands. Some simply considered this the beginning of an urban legend throughout the city while others took it seriously.

After a few weeks, the police department had no choice but to issue a statement. They condemned the act of vigilantism and called for the so-called masked superheroes to turn themselves in. When that didn’
t happen, police authorities issued an arrest warrant for anyone fighting crime with no affiliation with law enforcement.

Then their names began to make the rounds. There were rumors that the vigilantes were calling themselves
‘Ascension’ while other reports listed them as ‘The Colony of Crime Fighters.’ Their individual names hit the internet and search engines were bombarded with names such as Night Wolf, Summer Saturn, Kyote, and Shadow Fly, among others.

The media attention reached an all-time high when the superheroes of Cincinnati, Ohio gained national media coverage. Sightings of fl
ying super-powered vigilantes made national headlines for all of two days until coverage shifted to other stories.

In Cincinnati there
had still yet to be verifiable proof of individuals who were more than human. Muggers who complained of superheroes punching them were the last people to be taken seriously. Due to the lack of actual proof, polls showed the majority of Cincinnati citizens didn’t take the superhero stories seriously. They considered it the stuff of legend and comic books.

The six teenagers of Franklin Pierce High continued to fight crime three nights a week. They stopped muggers, burglars, bank robbers, kidnappers, and drug dealers. Although the population at large did not take the superhero sightings seriously, the criminal world did.

From January to February, local reports showed a decrease in violent crimes. Fear of super powered beings were reported as the reason for this drop in criminal behavior while local authorities refused to comment.

In February, Clark official became MVP of the football team at Franklin Pierce High when gam
es were underway. His pregnant mother and hardworking father showed up to his every game. Each time he led his team to victory. During half-time, Sarah would lead the other cheerleaders to a stunning show of synchronized moves. Despite the clunky glasses─ which Clark continued to wear─ they became the most popular couple at Franklin Pierce.

The morning after each game, they walked down the hallway of the school to cheers and rounds of applause.
Clark was certain that Coach Smith was the proudest high school coach on the planet. Clark’s performance on the field was so terrific that he was featured on the local news. Perhaps for the worse, Clark considered it the perfect time to try out his persona. He purposefully stumbled in front of the camera and even goofed up his own name. It didn’t matter; he was still one of the most beloved students at his school.

On the downside, Clark became more and more engrossed in crime fighting.
Although he did his best to maintain his composure when it came to pummeling evil-doers, in his own life he studied less and less for classes and desired to go out in costume for more than three days a week. He convinced his friends to do their crime fighting routine each night for one week and they were unsurprisingly exhausted when the week was up. He even spent Valentine’s Day engrossed with crime fighting and did little with Sarah.

In the week that followed, they were fighting crime on a Monday night when they came across a more unique problem to solve. There wasn’t someone to save from an armed burglar or a bank robbery to
foil. Instead they rushed to an apartment complex that was engulfed in flames. The six of them swooped in through different windows of the building and rescued the patrons of the apartment complex by flying them out of the building through the windows. Surely this was enough to made believers of the people.

“I can’t─ I can’t believe it,” one older woman sai
d as Charles flew her out of a window as the building burned. “You can fly!”

“Believe it, ma’am,” Charles smiled. “We’re the real deal. Don’t tell too many people though, they’ll swear you’re nuts.”

They continued to go in and out of the apartment until they had saved all of the people inside. During the last time Clark went in, he watched as the floor beneath Sarah collapsed. He rushed to save her when the floor beneath Donny collapsed as well. Chloe flew down several floors in order to save Donny. Charles was coughing and ready to go when they realized everyone was safe. The sirens of fire trucks blared through the streets when they decided to take off.

They all landed on
top of a nearby building in order to catch their breath.

“What the hell was that?” Clark yelled at them.

“What?” Donny said as he coughed.

“Two of you fell and almost risked your lives!” Clark yelled.

“Dammit, Clark,” John said. “We all risked our lives just by doing that. And that’s on top of the fact that we’re wanted by police! We’re trying to save a city that doesn’t want us!”

“It’s not about what they want,” Clark bellowed. “It’s about what they need!”

“Clark, you’re going mad with power,” Donny told him.

“No!” Clark said, “I just demand better work from a couple of super powered immortals. Is that too much to ask!?”

“We’re not immortal,” Sarah said. “We’re still normal human beings who can hurt and bleed and feel pain. Especially when my boyfriend treats me the way you’re doing.” Sarah angrily flew off.

“Sarah, please!” Clark yelled. They all watched as Sarah disappeared into the sky.

“We’re outta here too,” Donny said. He grabbed Chloe by the hand and they too flew off.

Clark looked to Charles and John.

“Just sleep on it, man,” Charles shrugged. “It’s been a tough night. Let’s all get some rest.”

Charles and John flew off and Clark was left alone on top of a building
. Just him and the moonlight that created his lonesome silhouette. Clark flew home without going back to the warehouse to change clothes. When he arrived in his neighborhood from the sky, he looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then he commanded a window in the back of his house to rise up before he entered through it. He crept into his room and tiredly took his outfit off.

“Why don’t they understand?” Clark said to himself as he crawled into bed.
“We have a duty.” He fell asleep thinking his friends were less than dedicated.

His head was pounding when he awoke the next morning. He got ready for school
─ and when he realized that Sarah was not coming to see him as she did most mornings─ he decided to take the school bus for the first time in ages. He sat on the bus alone feeling nonchalant until he made it to Franklin Pierce.

“I’m sorry about last night,” he told John and Charles when he saw them in the hallway.

“No problem, Clark,” Charles said. “No one’s perfect.”

“Yeah,” John agreed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks for understanding guys, now I’ve got to go find Sarah.”

Clark searched up and down
hallways until he found Sarah speaking with Chloe.

“Sarah!” he called out. She turned in his direction without waving. Clark ran up to her and apologized.

“You don’t understand how sorry I am!” Clark said. “I’ve made a huge mistake. I know I’ve been pushing all of you away. And I’m so sorry. I haven’t been treating you the way I should have.”

Chloe looked at Sarah and
told her, “I think he means it.”

“Chloe,” Clark said. “If you could give us a moment alone.”

Chloe told Sarah to be easy on him and walked away.

“Yeah, you’ve been a jerk for over a week now. What did we do for Valentine’s Day? That’s right─ nothing. And what have you been doing for the past few days? Just yelling at me and everyone else because we’re not the perfect little masked superheroes you want us to be.”

“Please, please forgive me,” he said. “I realize I’ve been acting really terrible. I won’t do it again. And if you continue to date me I promise I’ll make up for everything wrong I’ve done.”

“Alright,” Sarah sighed. “But your words aren’t enough. You can, however, earn your way back into my heart.”

“Great!” Clark smiled affectionately. “I can do that.”

He asked Sarah to come over to his place
after school and she agreed. He also told her that he wanted all of his best friends to come over. While in history class, Clark asked John if he’d like to come over but John told him that Charles had scored dates for the two of them.

“Okay,” Clark told him. “That sounds good. You guys have fun.”

Next Clark headed to computer class where he asked Donny and Chloe if they’d like to stop by his place. They both said sure and Clark was more than pleased that his friends were giving him a second chance. Just as Clark was getting ready to boot his computer up, the intercom in the classroom came on.

“Mr. Kelsey,” the intercom called to the teacher.

“Yeah,” Mr. Kelsey slurred.

“Principal Hayes would like Clark O’Sullivan to report to
his office,” said the voice over the intercom.

“
Yeah, sure!” Mr. Kelsey croaked as he sipped his from coffee mug.

The other students looked at Clark as he got up from his seat, grabbed his backpack, and exited the classroom.

“Why does the principal want to speak to me?” he curiously thought as he walked to the front office. Maybe someone found out his crime fighting alter-ego. Maybe he was being kicked off the football team. Maybe he was being kicked out of the entire school.

He pushed his glasses up to his face with one finger, gulped, and stepped
into the main office. The school secretary greeted him and told him to walk back to the principal’s office. After doing so, he knocked on the principal’s door.

“Come in,” said the principal.

Clark walked into the room followed by, “Good morning, Principal Hayes.”

“Clark O’Sullivan, thanks for dropping by.”

“You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, I did, young man.”

“Okay.”

“Have a seat.”

Clark nervously sat down. His hands were shaking as he dropped his backpack on the floor.

“Are you okay, son?”

“Yes, sir,” Clark said as he pushed his glasses up again.

“I’ve called you here, Mr. Sullivan, because you are a star pupil at this school. Or rather, you were. Football MVP with
great grades one week. The next week you don’t show up for practice and you fail two tests. What’s going on, Clark?”

“I failed two tests?” Clark asked.

“Yes, and I see you have a number of absences over the past few weeks.”

It was true. Sometimes Clark was so tired from fighting crime, particularly the wee
k they went out every night, that he lied to his parents and skipped school.

“I’m so sorry, sir. I’
ve just been going through a rough time these past few weeks. Think of it as, like, having an identity crisis.”

“I understand,” the principal said. “Growing up in this digital age. Generation Z, that’s what you kids are. I know it must be difficult in the process of really discovering who you are.”

“You have no idea,” Clark smirked.

“You’re not allowed anymore absences, young man.”

“Yes, sir,” Clark said. “I promise there won’t be anymore. I feel like I’ve had an epiphany recently and I’ve seen the wrong of my ways.”

“Good,” the principal said, not realizing Clark was talking about something else entirely.
“I want you to show up to class… on time. And pull those grades up so you can stay on the football team.”

“Yes
, sir.”

“If those grades don’t get higher, you’ll be kicked off the football team. And no one wants that,” Principal Hayes told him sternly. “You’re the best thing to happen to this football team in quite some time. We all want to see you succeed, Clark.”

“Thank you, sir. Thank you for giving me a second chance. I’ve certainly needed one lately.”

“That’s all, young man. You may head back to class now.”

Clark left the room. His nerves were no longer ridden with anxiety. He had been given a second chance by his girlfriend, his friends, and now his school. He was ready to make up for pushing aside everyone important in his life.