Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 2): The Negative Man [Stormfall] (14 page)

Chapter 23 –

Wednesday Afternoon; gl-O-bal Innovations

**Kyle Wonderton**

I was watching in horror at what was unfolding for the whole city to see.  “Are you sure about this, Becky?”

She was standing beside me on the building next to gl-O-bal.  The Negative Man was issuing threats to the super inside and people were in a panic on the streets.  “These people need a real hero, Kyle.  You can give it to them.”  Her eyes said that she truly believed this.

Below the fire guy exited the building, but I got a bad feeling he wasn’t done.  He said something to The Negative Man and then launched a massive fireball back inside.  There was no more time for thinking, I had to do something.

I jumped down to the roof and hopped into an open window.  Explosions rocked the foundation below.  Screams could be heard everywhere as people were still trapped inside.  I didn’t have time to think, I just had to rely on my reflexes and critical thinking.

The first few people were trapped behind a wall of fire that had spread throughout the building.  I jumped high over the flames and grabbed them.  Strength wasn’t one of my super powers, so it was all up to my momentum to carry the weight.  I got started on the rescue before actually grabbing them, allowing the force of my leaps and strides to help with the weight.

I lost track of time as I continued moving from floor to floor, office to office, and gathering up any stragglers.  As I exited the building one last time, it blew up.  Debris and flames soared high into the air and a number of people were thrown back by the percussion of the explosion.  The super responsible for all this devastation was standing in the middle of it all, laughing.  “Grimes, anyone else listening!  You have no choice now but to bow to our demands!”

This guy was a loon.  From behind his protective eyewear, I couldn’t make out much of his face, but he struck me as oddly familiar.  No matter, he killed people today and destroyed an entire business.  His time was over.  “Stand down and deal with the consequences.”

He looked at me.  “A pretender?  Everyone knows the real Dark Lion is dead.”

A pretender?  Is that what he thought of me?  I rushed forward and leveled him with an attack before he could flick on his lighter.  He collapsed to the ground, a bruise forming from where my fist connected with his face.  Cheers went up all around me as those uninjured looked on happily.  A young boy not too far from me pointed and called, “The Dark Lion’s come back!”

A police officer walked up and placed the downed super in handcuffs.  “I don’t know how to thank you.  We all thought you were dead.”

“The Dark Lion is dead, but his legacy continues.”  Thanks for the words, Becky.  “I’ll do what I can to keep this city safe for as long as I’m here.”

The officer pulled the knocked out super to his feet.  “I don’t know who you are but this city needs you.”  Another came and took the prisoner.  “As you can see, we’re going to Hell in a handbasket.”

****

The rush of success had me pumped.  “I can’t believe I was able to do that!”  I hadn’t even taken off my new gear yet, similar to my dad’s body suit but augmented to fit my increased agility more than strength.  “And I defeated my first real challenge.”

Becky was drinking a soda and flipping through a pizza menu she found on the internet.  “Some of us actually believed and that’s why I pushed you from the start.”

I put my dad’s cloak back in its spot, little singe marks from the fire marked it up.  I thought it gave it character.  “In the heat of the moment, sorry for the pun, I just felt faster.”  It was true, in a panic to save those lives; my body reacted in ways I never imagined.  “I pushed myself to be greater.”

“You’re going to need a lot of calories.  How do you feel about meat lover’s pizza and a stromboli or two?”

At the mention of food, my stomach rumbled very loudly.  “I guess being a hero enhances your metabolism.”

She picked up the phone and got our order coming.  Fortunately, she had a lot of money due to her dad’s inheritance and picked up most of our tabs.  “Each time I use mine, I feel like I could eat a horse.”

“Is there a way to use your powers to a lesser degree?  I mean, I feel like yours could be so useful in so many situations.”

She turned away.  “I just don’t like using mine.  Besides the physical toll, I feel so bad afterwards.”  That was true, I felt that way when she blasted me with her truth ray.  “And unlike your dad, mine was a very bad man.  If this is my gift from him, the less I use it the better.”

Under the tough exterior was someone in pain.  She’d been here to help me and it was obvious it was time for me to return the favor.  “You’re nothing like your dad.  Just because of who he was doesn’t mean you’re destined to follow the same path.”

“How could it not?  I mean with my power comes so much temptation to use it for personal gain or worse.”  She grimaced at the thought.  “The less I use it, the less that temptation lures me.”

“You’re wrong.”

She gave me a dirty look.  “What do you mean?”

“I know you’d never use your powers for the wrong reasons.  This conversation proves it.”  I hopped off my cot and walked over to her.  “A person with bad intentions never questions themselves as much as you do.  If you could blast yourself with your power, you’d see what me, the Krummels, and anyone else who knows you see; a good person.”

She stood up and hugged me.  We hadn’t had much physical contact, yet I didn’t try to pull away.  It was almost nice to have a moment with someone who understood me.  Then without warning, she leaned in to kiss me.

I backed up.  “Whoa, hey there!”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”  Her face went red.  “Kyle, I don’t know what came over me!”

I’d been caught off guard.  I honestly didn’t know she thought of me as any more than a friend.  “No, it’s okay.  I just didn’t quite expect that.”

An awkward cloud formed between us, only interrupted by the knock on the garage door.  “Pizza guy.”

I opened it and grabbed the food.  I was starving which wasn’t helping anything.  Becky signed the bill and we went back inside, not really sure what to say to each other.  There was only one thing to do, stuff my face with food to keep occupied.

“Am I not pretty?”

Shit.  Oh man, it was situations like these I really wish I’d talked more to my mom about girls.  I was lost in a sea full of sharks.  “No, it’s quite the opposite.”  She was a very pretty girl.  I was certain a lot of guys at her school probably went out of their way to gain her attention.  “It’s just I’m eighteen and trying to figure out this whole hero thing.  I can barely do that right without worrying about feelings and such.”

She put her slice down on her plate.  “So it’s an age thing?”

It didn’t seem like this conversation was going anywhere.  “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”  Which if my plan was successful for defeating The Negative Man, I didn’t.  “You can do a lot better than me, trust me.  A lot of guys have a lot less damage than I do.”

Whatever I said brought the frown off her face.  “I’m not giving up on us, Kyle.  In a few years you’ll see.”  She went back to happily munching away.

I was tempted to tell her the truth right then and there.  My future didn’t exist.  It was fun to play the hero for a bit, but when it came down to everything, my goal was the same.  To kill The Negative Man, no matter the consequences to my own life.  Yet she looked so happy.  So I kept my mouth shut and ate in silence.  One day I’d be honest, just not on this one.

Chapter 24 –

Thursday Morning; Station Public Library

Hammerspace was tasked with finding Nick Parson and Heather was working with Legal to recoup the damages that had been done.  The only way to keep my mind from collapsing into a fit of rage was to look for the book Wilson told me about.  It wasn’t listed in the electronic card catalogue, so the librarian’s assistant directed me to the old school index.  “Some books just never make it into the newer databases.”

This is why I probably never heard of this book.  Cooper probably did all he could to keep it hidden, even using a spin-off of his own name as the listed author.  I was like a dog with an itch and I wasn’t going to stop scratching until I found it.  It took some time, but I was able to get the shelf location.

It was an old, weathered, unremarkable leather book with faded gold letters pressed into it.  ‘Conspiracies that Shaped Our Country’ by D.S. Cooper, and it was in my hands.  I took the book down gingerly and opened it.  The table of contents was tattered though the chapter I was interested in stuck out like a sore thumb.  Chapter twenty-one, it was entitled ‘The Great Electron Generator Failure.’  I flipped to the page just to see what he had to say.

The first few paragraphs were an introduction to the power craze that hit our country.  Every scientist worth his grain was trying to come up with a better way to harness electricity, especially after the great nuclear fiasco.  It wasn’t until the third paragraph that we got into some good details.  A gentleman by the name of Ted Hightower was the lead on the project with an army general named Bulger listed as the government liaison.  The operating theory was that if electron energy could be harnessed, there might be a way through fusion to run a cleaner electrical grid.

Details of this project had been scarce, almost as difficult to find as anything related to Project Jericho.  It amused me how it was all here in this book, a book that seemed to be hidden in libraries that no one even bothered with.  Cooper talked a little more about Ted Hightower before a name was mentioned that meant the world to me.  His assistant and wife was none of than my mother, Miranda Ryan.  I dropped to a knee – Ted Hightower must’ve been my father.

I closed the book and my eyes.  After the electron generator fiasco, my mother was kept in a government controlled hospital until I was born.  Immediately after my birth, I’d been taken from her and put in that horrible hellhole of a facility.  Only through Dr. Staley had my mom even been allowed to come see me.  And after we escaped, I saw her a few more times here and there, always fearful someone would be after her.  She died shortly before I came to Pacific Station.

My mother, she hadn’t even been given a chance to name me.  It was moments like this that I was glad I killed Cooper all those years ago.  I slammed the book down on the closest desk hoping where ever he was, he felt my wrath.  Had it not been for him, I may have had more quality time with that amazing woman.

I refocused and opened the book again.  Wilson said the details of the project might give me some insight into reversing electrons and protons.  I read on a little bit more, cringing each time I read Ted’s name.  About halfway through the chapter we got to the good stuff.  Ted, using an equation he and Miranda came up with, was able to charge neutrons and syphon the energy off of them.  In fact, by giving the neutrons an artificial negative charge, they effectively doubled the amount of negative energy the generator could put off.

How appropriate was it that my mom and dad were the ones to help me!  The formula wasn’t listed but the fact they were able to artificially charge the neutrons was the leap of faith I needed.  Walker’s technology in the elemental gun was only half the equation.  If I could put together how my parents did it, the polarity accelerator would be complete.

My watch alarm went off letting me know it was time to get back to the office.  By this time, my order of Mercury Fives should’ve been there so at least Heather, Hammerspace and myself would have a way to stay in touch.  With the Predator network down, I felt dirty using old technology, especially Owen Walker’s.

Wonder-Tech Tower was quiet upon my arrival.  I’d given most of the employees the rest of the week off due to the tragic nature of what happened.  It also gave me time to be alone and think.  Heather was in my office as I walked in, an open box of Mercury Fives sitting there.  “It could be worse.  At least these phones operate at similar speed.”

The phone wasn’t the problem, the delay to our plan was.  “Parson is going to regret the day he sent Firefight to gl-O-bal.  Even an unknowing mistake is still a mistake; this one will cost him so much.”

“I take it you’re going to personally oversee the reconstruction of the servers?”

“Of course.  I have no patience for being slowed down.  I want those servers fully operational within the month.”

There was a report on my desk.  Heather looked at it but didn’t seem anxious to give it to me.  “You’ve had enough bad news.  Don’t even read that.”

“Let me guess, it tells how many thousands of people are buying our competitors’ wares.”

Her sigh was all I needed.  I sat down and started rubbing my head.  “I found out who my father was this morning.”

“What?”

I was slightly amused by dropping the unexpected on her.  “There’s an old book in the library that talks about the project that created me.  It mentioned a man named Ted Hightower who was married to a Miranda Ryan.”

Heather knew the name Miranda straight away.  “That’s your mom…”

“Yep.  So that makes it very likely this Ted was my dad.”  It was so cool having a name to attach.  Dr. Ellison Staley would always be my real dad, but Ted Hightower, even though I never met him, would have a special place.  “Not only did I discover my dad, but it seems he and my mom were doing something very similar to what I’m trying to do.”

She sat down and crossed her long, tan legs.  “I really try to understand what it is you do down in our basement, but most of the time it’s all German to me.”

“You’re extra cute though and that’s most important.”  I got a wry smile as I tried to think of how to put this in Lehman’s terms.  “Basically I’m trying to alter my natural charge.  Titan is an opposite force of me, capable of unleashing attacks that hurt me due to our natures.  If I can alter my own makeup and then supercharge it, I should be able to defeat that monster once and for all.”

“How close are you to succeeding?”

“I’m getting there.”  Enough about this I thought.  I had a handle on it.  “The sooner we can get the insurance money the better.  I’ll scrounge up resources to start the server project, but with our stock prices falling…”

She stopped me right there.  “We’ll rebuild, bigger and stronger.  Have faith.”

Faith, ironic that was something I could use.  I thought about visiting Father Reigart for another one of our sparring sessions, though my time could be used better elsewhere.  I should go home and finish working on the polarity accelerator, except there was this nagging feeling to go to gl-O-bal.  I knew Russell Jackson was dead, yet I wanted to see if the gear was still there.  Someone else might be able to work on it, only if I could recover it.

Heather was staring at me as I was putting together a game plan for the rest of my day.  “I’m heading over to gl-O-bal to see what we can salvage.  I’ll forward my calls to my new phone.  If Hammerspace reaches out, let me know.”

“What could you possibly want to salvage over there?  The fire department said next to nothing was left.”

If I hadn’t been able to make a dent in Titan’s armor, I’m sure a little fire did nothing to that gear.  “That piece from Titan I found, it’s probably still there.  Russell knew it was valuable, so I imagine he went to great lengths to protect it.”

She got up.  “Let me know if you’re successful.”

It didn’t take long to get over there.  By now, the area was closed off and I had to make the last part of the journey on foot.  When I got there, no police presence was on the ground, just tape and hazard signs.  I stepped through the front door, or what was left of it and carefully made my way to Russell’s office.  Most of the building had fallen on itself, but if you were observant, you could find ways to certain destinations.

Russell’s office was still fairly intact, which said more about how well the structure of gl-O-bal was.  I used the flashlight on my phone to look around, seeing if the Titan gear was someplace accessible.  After a few moments, I spotted nothing.

I pulled out his chair as far as it would go and then the keyboard tray.  The metal snapped off in my hands and fell to the ground.  I cursed silently at my own lack of safety, but that turned to smiles when I saw something taped to the bottom of it.  There was an USB drive with a scrap piece of paper looking at me.  I pulled it off and I saw my name was at the top.

‘Jericho,

Someone is attacking this building,

possibly for what I’ve discovered.

Everything I know is on this drive.  Be careful.

-Russell’

This drive in my hand – what had been on it to make Russell go to these lengths to hide it and then issue me a warning?  I needed to get this back to my lab as soon as possible.  The mystery of Titan was running deeper.