Hunting Heroes: A Superhero Novel (23 page)

“My name’s Morgan,” she said and stopped a few feet away from Garrett.

“Are you here to take me in,” Garrett said, his eyes never left hers.

Morgan placed a hand on her hip. “No, I wanted to thank you in person for what you did to help me and Cannon that night.”

Garrett shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry about what I did to Granite.”

Morgan lifted a foot off the ground to take a step forward and stopped. “I don’t know what to say to you right now.”

“Say you hate me, because I deserve everything you throw at me,” Garrett could not meet her glare, which he knew was there.

“I don’t,” Morgan’s voice turned into a soft whisper. “I can’t hate you for some reason. I try to so hard, but I can’t.” Her voice wavered. “He wasn’t good to me, but he did the right thing and helped so many people.”

Garrett raised his head and stretched a hand towards her. “Stop, I know I pushed him over the edge when I took his powers. I made him into something he’s not. I know he is not a murderer. I made him into one.”

Morgan and Garrett stood in complete silence. The birds sang songs in the trees around them and the sweet scent of spring-filled air. Morgan wrestled her hair behind her ears and watched Garrett. He stole tiny glances at the beautiful superhero and wondered what could have been if he was not the enemy of the Assembly.

“So, now what?” Morgan said.

“This ends,” Garrett raised his head to look at the clouds.

“He’s waiting for you,” Morgan said. “If I found you, then the others have too.”

“I felt a few Afflicted on the way over here,” Garrett turned his attention back to Morgan. “How did you find me?”

“Walter told me,” Morgan said with a snicker. “That still amazes me. He’s been through so much and he helps the man who took his gifts.”

Garrett raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Technically, he asked me to take away his curse. He is a good man, a true hero.”

“He really is,” Morgan said. “I have to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Garrett said.

Morgan licked her full pink lips. “Is it true, what you told Zoe?”

Garrett closed his eyes, flattened his lips and nodded.

“You attacked members of the Assembly for her?” Morgan said.

“She was my first love, my first kiss and my best friend,” Garrett said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

“Either you are a romantic or just an idiot,” Morgan said.

Garrett let out a soft chuckle. “I’m a little of both I guess. She died in the fight Patriot had with Coldfire.”

“How?” Morgan moved closer to Garrett.

Garrett’s body went stiff. “I let her hand go to watch Patriot. I told her to wait for me on the corner. She got caught in the crossfire.”

Morgan gasped and covered her mouth. “Did you see it happen?”

A lump formed in Garrett’s throat. “Yes, I saw the accident and I found her hand sticking up through the rubble.” Garrett held up his right hand to show his scars. “I tried to dig her out.”

“I don’t know what to even say,” Morgan crinkled her nose. “It’s unbelievable.”

“There is nothing to say. What’s done is done,” Garrett’s tone softened. “How is she doing?”

“She called me crying and she doesn’t know what to make of it,” Morgan said.

“I turned her world upside down,” Garrett said. “My friend Ethan, who I was talking to a bit ago is her brother.”

Morgan’s eyes opened wide and her lips parted. “Does she know about him?”

“I told her and I just told him about her,” Garrett closed his eyes.

“Looks like someone’s been busy today,” Morgan said.

“Might be my last one, thought I’d make it a good one,” Garrett’s eyes turned to the damp grass below.

“It won’t be,” Morgan reached out to place a hand on Garrett’s shoulder but pulled back when he flinched.

“Please, be careful around me,” Garrett refused to look at her.

Morgan dropped her hands to her side. “Maybe you can work this out with Patriot?”

“We both know that’s not going to happen.” Garrett looked into Morgan’s gray eyes.

“I thought I’d try. You kind of seem like the stubborn type,” Morgan said.

Garrett flashed a crooked smile. “If only you really knew.”

“Can I ask you something else?” Morgan moved closer to Garrett.

“Go ahead,” Garrett leaned back away from Morgan.

“Did you enjoy it?” She cocked her head to the side. “Taking our powers.”

Garrett lowered his brow. “No, but the power was always tempting. It was a means to an end. Sorry if that sounds cold, but it’s the truth.”

“I understand,” Morgan said.

“Now it’s my turn to ask you something,” Garrett said.

“Sure,” she said with a smirk.

“Why did you visit me in the hospital?” he said.

“You saved my life and Cannon’s,” Morgan straightened her back. “I wanted to thank you and I wanted to look you in the eyes. I needed to see if there was a killer in there.” Morgan narrowed her eyes and truly looked into Garrett’s dark blue eyes. “There isn’t.”

“Thank you. From what I hear you saved my life that night too,” Garrett slid his hands into his coat pockets.

“It’s my job,” she said with a wink.

“You’re good at it,” Garrett said. “You help others and you don’t do it for the fame like some of your friends.”

Morgan glanced around and unleashed her ethereal wings bathing the area in a soft white light. Garrett’s body reacted to the afflicted power and he ignored it. He didn’t care an Afflicted stood before him, he didn’t yearn to take her powers. He blushed when she extended her hand towards him.

“I want to see what all this immunity stuff is about,” Morgan said. “If that’s ok with you.”

Garrett inhaled through his nose. “Are you sure? You know I can steal powers right?”

“I’m sure,” she said and let the wings flare out and straighten. “I know you can’t steal them with a touch. I am curious. I want to see if I feel different.”

Garrett slid his right hand forward. He held his hand above hers and lowered it ever so slightly. When their skin touched, her wings dissipated in the blink of an eye. There was electricity in that touch and it was not from their powers, it was deeper and more powerful. Neither said a word, they did not have too.

“Amazing,” she said with her eyes focused on Garrett’s blue eyes.

“Yeah,” Garrett said and pressed his hand down deeper into hers. “How does it feel?”

“I know my powers are still there, but I can’t turn them on,” she scrunched up her face. “Nothing, I’m trying to get my wings back and it’s like they won’t listen to me.”

Garrett pulled his hand away and her wings sprung to life once again. Morgan looked over her shoulder and blushed.

“You really do have a gift,” Morgan let her wings fade away and lowered her head.

Garrett shrugged. “I think it’s a curse. It’s caused me and a whole lot of people pain because of what I can do.”

Morgan reached out and placed a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. Their eyes met once again. “It’s not a curse.”

Garrett turned away and bit his lip. “It is.” He shrunk away from her touch. “I would love nothing more than to talk to you. But, I have to go, duty calls.”

Morgan stepped back and crossed her arms. “I know.”

Garrett exhaled through his lips. “Thank you, for saving me and for forgiving me.” Garrett bowed his head and turned to walk away.

“You’re welcome,” she said. “Stay safe, Garrett.”

Garrett took a step, stopped in his tracks and looked up to the clouds through the trees. “I meant what I said that night during the blizzard.”

Morgan’s lips parted with a sly smirk. “What was that?”

“I meant what I said,” Garrett whispered. “You’re even more beautiful in person, especially without the mask and wings.”

Morgan’s mouth fell open, her skin flushed with color.

“Maybe in a different world and a different time,” Garrett said over his shoulder to hide his own flushed face. “Goodbye, Morgan.”

“Goodbye, Garrett,” she whispered.

Garrett forced himself to walk away and not look back at the gorgeous superhero standing behind him with her hair swaying in the breeze. He glanced up at the sky and for the first time in over a decade, he wished for something other than revenge. Garrett shook away his daydream and focused on the path ahead. A hero had to answer for his crimes and so did he for what he had done.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The white clouds hugged the eastern horizon over Lake Michigan. A slight breeze filled the air, even 108 stories up the Willis Building. Patriot sat along the edge and kept his eyes glued shut and let the spring sun bath him in warmth. He breathed in the crisp air through his nose and held it in his lungs. Dark circles hugged his eyes, sleep only came in small doses for the aging hero nowadays.

Patriot’s wrist vibrated, glancing down he saw Zoe’s picture on the watch display. He exhaled through his mouth, puffing out his cheeks in the process. “Time to face the consequences.”

Patriot touched the watch face and his earpiece answered the call. “Hey, hon. How are you?” Patriot leaned back on his hands and peered off into the distance.

“Dad, what haven’t you told me?” she said over the phone.

“What are you talking about?” Patriot sat up. “Did Walter call you?”

“No, why would Uncle Walter call me?” Zoe said. “He came to see me last night.”

“Who came to see you?” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Garrett did. He came by our apartment and told me things. Are they true?” Zoe said.

Patriot heard the anger in her voice and the streets below began to spin.

He loosened his red and blue spotted necktie. “Crimson let him speak to you? You can’t believe him, he’s a criminal.”

“Dad, he showed me pictures of me from when I was a kid,” Zoe’s voice was firm on the other end of the line. “He showed me pictures of my family.”

“No, they’re not real,” Patriot buried his face into his hands.

“Is what he told me true? Is it!” Zoe said.

Patriot bit his lip and growled. “You can’t believe him. You’ve seen what he’s done to us, to the Assembly. He turned Walter against us. You can’t believe a word out of that monsters mouth.”

“I do believe him and so does Greg,” Zoe said. “He told me my name was Emma and he lost me to you. What happened to me? Please, you have to tell me. I have the right to know.”

Patriot shook his head and clenched his fists. “Zoe…” he found the words caught in his throat.

“What is it, what can’t you tell me,” Zoe said. “Why do I have to find this out from someone like him?”

Patriot cleared his throat. “I love you, you’re my daughter. You’ve been my daughter since you were thirteen years old,” he shivered when he spoke.

“I am Emma, aren’t I?” Zoe said.

Patriot exhaled and looked to the sky.

“Dad, are you there?” she said.

“Yes, I’m still here. It’s true,” Patriot’s voice quivered when he uttered the words. “It’s true you were Emma and now you are my Zoe. You are the new life I found in the hospital.”

He heard her sobs and his eyes swelled with tears.

“How could you?” Zoe said.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Patriot said while tears streamed down his cheeks in rivers.

“Why did you take me away? Why!” Zoe said.

“Because,” Patriot’s voice faded into the spring air. “I was a weak man who found an Afflicted girl with no memory. I needed something to ground me to the people I protected. I needed someone to look after me for once. I was alone and then you came back to life right before my eyes.”

“What do you mean I came back to life?” Zoe’s voice cracked.

Patriot slammed his fist into the black stone face of the building. It cracked under his super strength. “You’re one of us. You’re an Afflicted.”

“What are you talking about? I did die? I died?” Zoe said. “I can’t, I can’t.”

“Zoe, honey please breathe, slow down,” Patriot said and listened to her ragged breath on the other line. He stood from his seat atop the tallest building in Chicago. “I’ll be there in two minutes.”             

“No, I need time. This is too much,” Zoe said. “I can’t believe you lied to me all these years?”

“I had to,” he said. “I was scared I was going to lose you. I needed to take care of you after what happened.” Patriot began to pace along the edge of the building. He looked down and saw the hard concrete of Jackson Boulevard.

“It was the fight with Coldfire wasn’t it? It’s the only fight you don’t talk about,” Zoe said.

“Yes,” Patriot swallowed hard. “Turns out, Garrett was the one who stopped him, not me.”

“Why didn’t you take me back to my family? I have a brother, a mother and a father,” she said. Patriot heard the coldness in her voice.

“I am an Afflicted,” Patriot said, “but I’m still human and I made a mistake I cannot undo. When I saw you jump awake it scared me. I made a vow to protect you, because my actions hurt you. You were a second chance to make amends for the lives that were taken. I watched over you, I raised you like you were my own flesh and blood.”

“You kept me from my real family,” Zoe said.

“I know what I did was wrong,” Patriot said. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat. You are my daughter. Maybe not by blood, but I love you as if you were a part of me. In a way you are, we are both Afflicted.”

“It’s not the same,” Zoe said. “I don’t even know who I am anymore. Am I Zoe or Emma?”

“I gave you the name Zoe because it means life,” Patriot said. “You had a new life and so did I, because I found you.”

“I understand,” Zoe said. “I want to see my real family. I want to find out who I am. Maybe, my memory will come back.”

“Maybe,” Patriot’s shoulders slumped and he curled his fingers into tight fists.

“I lost you because of him,” Patriot said.

“He lost me too,” Zoe answered. “He went after the Assembly because of me.”

“He was drawn to you when he was a boy because of your powers,” Patriot inhaled and narrowed his eyes. “I won’t forgive him for what he did to my family. Don’t forget, he hurt our people and he killed one of ours. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Of course it does,” Zoe said. “Both of you need to stop this. It has gone on long enough already. Too many people have already been hurt, because of me. Please, dad, for me.”

Her plea caused a shudder to run through Patriot’s body. His lips curved downward into a frown and he snorted through his nose. “It will end. Good-bye my little Zoe. Always remember, I love you.”

He touched the ear piece and hung up on Zoe. Patriot took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped off the roof. He hung in the air for a second before gravity took a hold of him. The Earth pulled him down to meet her. The air rushed around him, cradling him while he fell. His smart watch vibrated once again. The message he waited for flashed across the screen. It read, target sighted and on the move to estimated location.

“This does have to end,” Patriot said and stopped midair, 20 feet above the street. He glanced around at the gawking people and darted upward back along the way he came. A heartbroken boy had cut his tether to the humans below and he would have to pay.