Hunting Heroes: A Superhero Novel (13 page)

“You need help,” Valkyrie said.

Garrett frowned. “I don’t, Cannon does.”

“Let me guess, you like to work alone?” Valkyrie said.

“Very funny,” Garrett said.

Sirens blared in Garrett’s head when he saw the man bring his hands back for another strike. The large man’s fists pumped forward in a blur. The snow, which separated the two groups of Afflicted, blew asunder when multiple waves of energy flew forward. Garrett pivoted on his right foot and hurled his body in front of Valkyrie. For a moment, their eyes locked in the flurry of snow while it cascaded around them.

Large bangs and crashes filled the air. A sharp pain exploded in Garrett’s left shoulder, causing his knees to buckle. He turned his head to see a piece of jagged glass embedded in his shoulder.

“Damn it stings,” Garrett dropped to his right knee and clutched his shoulder. “Stay away from me or your powers won’t work.”

Valkyrie spun past Garrett and counter attacked with her golden lances. “I understand.”

A lance caught Dragonbreath in the chest and it sent him careening backwards in the snow.

“That hurt,” Dragonbreath tore off his coat to reveal his bare chest. “No more toying around with these guys.”

“You have unbelievable eyes,” Garrett clutched his shoulder and rose to his feet. “I had to tell you.”

“What?” Valkyrie said.

Garrett saw her pink cheeks flush with a deep shade of red.

“Is this the best time to be hitting on me?” Valkyrie said. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s only a little glass.” Garrett grit his teeth and gripped at the shard of glass and gave it a tug. It tore free from his skin and Garrett managed to stifle a groan.

“Why I am helping you?” Valkyrie said.

Garrett let the bloody piece of glass slip from his fingers. “You don’t have a choice. Get your friend out of here. You can tell Patriot nothing has changed. Now, please go.”

A loud roar filled the deserted intersection and Garrett turned his attention back to the villains at hand. Dragonbreath clawed at the snow beneath him, while two large objects rose from his back. Random pieces of his skin began to burn away to reveal silvery-green scales.

“There’s something you don’t see every day,” Garrett eyes met Dragonbreath’s black eyes across the field of snow.

Dragonbreath unfolded large reptilian wings, which matched the color of the scales that sporadically covered his body. Garrett heard Valkyrie gasp behind him. He glanced to Torrent who stood with his chest out, his bandaged arms folded across his barrel chest.

“Looks like I’m starting with you then,” Garrett ignored the pain and surged towards Torrent.

Garrett noticed Torrent fixated on his comrade’s transformation and he introduced the big man to a flying elbow. 

Garrett lost his balance from the force of the impact and spun around. With sheer luck he slid to a stop behind Torrent. He regained his footing and sent a backwards kick towards the big man. He caught Torrent in the chest and knocked him off his feet onto his back.

Garrett turned to see Dragonbreath flap his silvery-green wings and launch himself into the air. He ducked down when golden lances flashed over his head towards the now airborne Dragonbreath. He could not take his eyes off the spectacle of fire and golden light above his head. A growl erupted behind him and he groaned, his fight with Torrent was not over.

Garrett spun around and unleashed a fierce sideways kick into the side of Torrent’s right knee. The large man’s scream rang in Garrett’s ear when he folded to the ground, his hands grasped at his damaged knee.

Garrett stepped up to Torrent and began his flurry of savage kicks to his face and chest. He crouched down next to the giant and poked his chest.

“You thought you were better and you lost,” he said through his teeth when he grabbed Torrent’s bloody head and slammed it back into the street. Garrett placed a hand on Torrent’s chest and ripped his power from him with a loud roar.

“What’s yours, is now mine,” Garrett held his breath.

Garrett’s body tensed when he felt the foreign power surge through him. He heard Valkyrie’s gargled yell before fire surrounded his body.

A blast of smoke and steam filled the area around Garrett and Torrent. Garrett positioned his body at the last minute over the beaten Afflicted, protecting him from his own friend.

“Got you,” Dragonbreath said.

“No!” Valkyrie’s scream echoed through the night.

In the cloud of smoke, Garrett rose to his feet. He balled his hands into tight fists, his eyes focused on Dragonbreath through the haze of steam before him.

“You’re going to have to try harder,” Garrett strode forward out of the melted circle of snow around him.

Valkyrie’s eyes were wide open. “Unbelievable.”

“You bastard!” Dragonbreath’s voice trembled. “What the hell are you?”

“The enemy of the Afflicted,” Garrett watched Dragonbreath hover above the ground. His right hand burst into a soft red hued light and it spread along his arm.

Garrett looked to Valkyrie. “I told you, I got this.”

She nodded back at him and darted back to Cannon.

“You should run Dragonbreath,” he said. He pivoted on his left leg to face the car Cannon was behind. He saw the light from Valkyrie’s wings. His eyes met hers across the field of snow.

Garrett mouthed the words, “Goodbye.”

Valkyrie frowned and reached down to grab Cannon’s unconscious body. She hoisted him up into the air with her super strength. The ribbons of light wavered when she flew from the battlefield. He watched the trail of white light grow dim before he lost it in the field of snow.

A high pitch shriek brought Garrett back to the battle. “I told you to run, or fly or whatever it is you do.”

Dragonbreath hissed at Garrett with his forked tongue.

“Now it’s too late and you’re going to lose like your friend,” Garrett aimed his right fist at Dragonbreath.

“Boom,” Garrett whispered and let a beam of energy burst from his fist directly at Dragonbreath. The blast of energy hit Dragonbreath in the stomach and sent him reeling backwards through the air in twisted somersaults. He cringed when he heard Dragonbreath slam into a building from his attack.

He shook his head when Dragonbreath rose to feet and flapped his wings. “I told you this would get ugly.”

Dragonbreath released a blood-curdling scream and darted forward.

“Looks like someone is a little mad,” Garrett lowered his body to steady himself. Wisps of white breath streamed from his mouth through the mask when he exhaled. He waited to the last second, until he could smell the sulfur on Dragonbreath’s breath. He dodged the black sharp talons aimed at his throat.

Garrett grabbed Dragonbreath’s arm when he swiped at him. He used Dragonbreath’s momentum to flip him over his head and slammed him into the ground. Snow blasted into the air around them. When the snow cleared, Dragonbreath was in human form again.

He heard Dragonbreath’s raspy breath when it escaped his now human lips. He saw the glazed over look in his semiconscious eyes and knew how it felt. With his right hand aglow from Torrent’s power, he punched Dragonbreath one more time for good measure.

“I didn’t even punch you that hard,” Garrett plopped down in the snow next to the unconscious Afflicted.

He poked Dragonbreath in the ribs. “You should have run away when you had the chance. I warned you.”

Garrett reached out, placed his hand on Dragonbreath chest, and hesitated.

“I don’t know if I can handle two powers at the same time,” he said with a scowl on his face.

“You’re a lucky bastard.” Garrett pushed himself off his icy seat in the street.

Red and blue lights flashed through the empty space between the thick snowflakes. The surge of adrenaline had begun to wear off. The deep wound in his left shoulder began to throb with pain. He was cold, tired and needed to get away before the police and the Assembly arrived. His attention drifted down the street in the direction Valkyrie had flown. He shivered away the thought of seeing the beautiful superhero again. He turned around and walked the opposite way, back to his life, back to being the enemy of the Assembly.

Chapter Fifteen

The gray uniform clouds over the city continued to unleash their endless supply of white fury along the city. Garrett stopped to lean against the side of his apartment building. He rested his damp head against the cold brick to catch his breath. He clutched his shoulder and saw his sweatshirt soaked through with his blood. His mind raced to think of a way to explain another injury to Denise. He drew a blank and decided to let it ride it out and see what happens. The only thing he could think of was his warm bed and the image of a superhero with gray eyes.

He shook his head to bring himself back to reality and pushed himself off the wall. He kept his head down when he turned down the alley. He scanned the shadows of the alley and remembered what used to lurk there, until he put an end to it. It was quiet, somber and he needed the calm now more than ever. Silence in this city was a rare commodity.

The adrenaline, which fueled him, had all but melted away. The rush of victory carried his heavy feet forward. The tug of Torrent’s power coursed through him, he did his best to ignore it. For once he would go home without a doubt in his mind. He thought even Ethan would be proud of him.

Garrett broke from his revelry when he spotted another lost soul in his dark little world. “Something I can do for you?” Garrett sized up the big man leaning against the wall.

“Nope, waiting for a friend,” a deep voice answered.

Garrett noticed the shadowy figure look him up and down

“You’re bleeding,” the man said.

“Damn it,” Garrett lowered his head, a groan escaped from his lips.

“I think our friend is here,” the man sprung off the wall to face Garrett.

Garrett’s powers tickled up his spine to warn him. He swallowed hard when he watched the man transform into a towering jet-black golem before his eyes.

“Looks like my nights not over yet,” Garrett said through his teeth. “What is with you guys and the rock armor? Are the original superpowers running out?”

In seconds Obsidian’s entire body was covered in shiny pieces of translucent black rock. The obsidian armor sprouted into razor sharp spikes all over his body.

“You’re funny little man aren’t you?” Obsidian flexed his arms, causing the black glossy stone to crack and splinter. He cracked his knuckles and a loud pop echoed throughout the alley.

“Ethan,” Garrett spun his head to the back door of his building. His eyes climbed up the wall to his floor. It finally registered in his head.

“Shit,” Garrett whispered. “Denise,” his heart pounded in his chest. “I broke another promise.”

“Let’s see how you do in a fair fight,” Obsidian said.

“This is going to be anything but fair,” Garrett tilted his head back. “You should never have come here, hero.”

Garrett’s body heaved and he began to glow with a blood red color. His breath came from his throat in raspy grunts. “I will end you, if you hurt them.”

“Come quietly,” Obsidian stopped in his tracks.

Garrett lowered his brow. “Not a chance.”

Garrett fired off a beam of red energy and blasted Obsidian backwards into the alley.

“Too easy,” Garrett lowered his right hand and never took his eyes off the towering black mass on the ground in the alley.

“They didn’t tell us about that,” Obsidian pushed himself upright and rose to his feet. He brushed off the loose shards of obsidian that vanished into the cold snow.

Garrett made a tight fist with his right hand and aimed once again. “You made a mistake by coming here. Leave, or this will get much worse for you.”

“Not a chance,” Obsidian planted his feet and waved Garrett on. “Let’s see what else you got.”

Garrett’s body stiffened. “Idiot, like all the rest,” Garrett opened his right hand, his palm facing Obsidian. A beam of light roared from his hand, the power it carried was greater than anything he ever released.

The beam crossed the distance between the two men in less than a blink of an eye. It smashed into Obsidian with such ferocity the nearby windows shattered from the impact.

The attack knocked Obsidian from his feet, his body twisted in the air from the attack. He slammed into the brick wall of the building across the alley with a deafening crunch and a puff of black dust permeated the air around him.

Garrett’s body heaved. “Stay down,” he said when he saw Obsidian face down in the snow in human form.

“I told you,” Garrett said and sprinted to the backdoor and threw it open. He bounded up the back steps, his heart pounded in his chest while his shoulder throbbed in pain. None of it mattered anymore, because the heroes have invaded his home.

The sound of smashing glass, coupled with Denise’s scream caused Garrett to ram himself through his front door. His eyes searched for the unknown assailant. He skidded to a stop in the living room and saw no one, except Denise. He soaked in what happened in his home. He caught a glimpse of red cloth trailing out a broken window in his living room. The same window Ethan spent the better part of the night pressed against when he waited for Denise.

“Where is Ethan?” Garrett said and spotted him on the couch.

Denise continued to scream and turned to Garrett. “Garrett, you need to get out of here.” Her fragile hands clutched the wound in Ethan’s chest below his shoulder.

He stormed over to Ethan and Denise. When his eyes met Ethan still form, his heart broke. Ethan’s head slumped down, his eyes sealed tight. Blood dripped from his nose and his sweater was thick with sticky blood.

“This is my fault,” Garrett said.

Denise glanced over her shoulder, tears streaked down her rosy cheeks. “The guy in the red scarf appeared in front of us out of thin air. Ethan wouldn’t tell him where you were and that guy stabbed him. He punched Ethan when he tried to fight back. When he heard that explosion a minute ago, he blew out the window and jumped out of it.”

“Oh, my God,” Garrett’s mouth fell open.

“What the hell is going on?” Denise said.

“Is he going to be ok?” Garrett dropped to the floor. He placed his hands on his knees, watching Denise’s hands attempt to stem the flow of blood from Ethan’s chest.

Garrett lowered his head. “Is he going to be ok?”

“I’m not sure. There’s so much blood,” Denise said. “I need to call an ambulance and get him to a hospital. I don’t know how deep the wound is. I need a towel for all the blood.”

Garrett sat on his heels, his eyes glued to Ethan. Denise’s voice was static in his ears. His body jerked forward when Denise grabbed his sweatshirt and pulled him closer.

His eyes refocused to his surroundings. “Wha…”

“Garrett, I need towels,” Denise slapped him across the face. “Do you hear me?”

Garrett jumped to his feet. He ran to the linen closet and rushed back with a stack of towels. “I let this happen to him.” He froze in place and watched the scene before him.

“Garrett, towels now!” Denise said.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in this,” Garrett handed over the towels. “This happened because of me.”

“Is it true?” Denise wiped away the blood from Ethan’s face and pressed another towel against the wound. “Garrett, is it true what you did to the Assembly?”

Garrett looked back to the broken window. “Yes, it’s true. I pulled Ethan into this. I know he wanted to help me and I let him.”

“Help?” Denise said.

Garrett covered his face with his scarred hands. “Helping me, hurt him.”

Denise pressed the once white towel against the wound and peeked back over her shoulder. “Ok, this should be good until the ambulance arrives. You need to go.”

Garrett rose to his feet and glanced at the window. “I know. It’s not over yet, they’re outside waiting for me. I can feel them.” Garrett stared at Ethan’s face. He turned away and closed his eyes. “He made me promise I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. I broke my promise.”

“I don’t understand,” Denise’s voice cracked.

Garrett buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Garrett, you need to run away. Go. I’ll take care of him,” Denise said.

“He loves you,” Garrett said. “You’re the only person I’ve seen him go crazy over. Don’t hold any of this against him. This is my fault. So hate me, because he is innocent. He’s a good man, I dragged him down. Give him the life he deserves.”

The floodgates opened and tears cascaded down Denise’s cheeks. “I know he loves me and I love him.” Denise caressed the side of Ethan’s face. “I’ll stand by his side because I love him, not because you asked me.”

“Thank you,” Garrett said. “Tell Ethan I’ll miss him and I’m sorry. Tell him to forget about me and deny everything.” Garrett peered down the hallway to the door. His feet told him it was time to move.

“Make sure he tells my parents I’m sorry for letting them down,” Garrett said.

“I will,” Denise said. “Now go, run. Get away for the both of us. It’s what he would want.”

“It’s too late to run away from this,” Garrett said while he sprinted for the door. His eyes caught the pictures in the hallway when he barreled past them, then the tears came.