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Dark Skies - Chapter 10
Dark Skies - Chapter 10
The Calm
Myself, the Headmaster and Angela stood behind him in the Syracuse Hero Academy,
colloquially known as the Den, parking lot. We’d come along to see his transition to the dormitory, but
the boy’s infectious enthusiasm was draining. His twitchiness rivalled Blacklight’s, and that wasn’t a
comparison made lightly. I was craving a nap, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
"I agree," I replied, glancing over his shoulder to see faculty push through the front doors. "And
"The basketball nets." He frowned, looking almost confused. "It doesn't have one here?"
"There are basketball nets," Angela interjected, nodding to the west side of the complex. "But the
"All your questions," Angela sighed tiredly, herding him toward the school staff attending to his
bags, "will be handled by the teachers. We promise. But first, you have to promise something to us."
Jasper nodded. "Okay."
"Like we said earlier, your parents and brother depend on you. Without Sarah, you're the big boy
of the house. That means you have to work hard, listen to the teachers and not make trouble. That's the
most important thing. Some kids here might be rude. Don’t let it get to your head. Learn everything you
have to, so you're strong and ready to help protect your family when the time comes. Okay?"
I offered him what I hoped looked like a commanding nod of approval. "Now get in there and
"It's an expression.” Angela rubbed her forehead wearily. “It means do a good job."
"Oh." Jasper gave us a look. "Why does 'knock them dead' mean do a good job?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," she replied as the Headmaster finally had an instructor take hold
"Practice or theory?"
"That better be rhetorical. We have similar powers and were in a similar situation. He's not ready."
"Yeah, but this time being unprepared will lead to a difficult semester instead of a gruesome
assassination."
"Exactly." I glanced down at my watch, then frowned. "That's Lucas. Let's take it in the car."
I dismissed the call and faced the Headmaster, five feet to my left. "Keep me updated."
He glanced between us, as if to judge our spat. "Mhm. You sure you two don't want a room? Our
"Good day, Headmaster," snorted Angela, striding back for the Mercedes.
Initially, my eyes were downcast, occupied by my phone. I turned them up to regard him.
"Angela? Agreed."
"I work hard and hate pointless… waste. Do not waste her, Skies.” He made to leave. “Good luck,
Director."
I frowned at his tone. "Something you need to get off your chest?"
"Some may sugarcoat the truth, Director," he explained haughtily. A ripple of energy rolled up his
jugular. "I will not. Your accomplishments are notable. For a blank, you've shown ability and grit I
cannot say I've witnessed before. But you are still blank. Which makes you a target."
I didn't flinch. "Believe it or not, Headmaster, you’re not actually the first to bring this to my
attention.”
"Of course not. But I'm the one who's seen lives lost." He narrowed his eyes. "You think you're the
first young talent blinded by ambition? I don't mean to undermine your efforts, Skies. Really. You are an
impressive specimen. But that means nothing when a Knight-Class barrels through your office and pulls
you apart. Or worse, pulls her apart protecting you."
He smiled tiredly. "If that were true, she’d be on assignment somewhere far from here." Gordon
turned back to face the school. "Do not misconstrue this as ill will. I wish you the best. Naturally, of
course, as we depend on your funding. But neither of us suffers from stupidity, nor can we entertain
ignorance. Your position isn't sustainable. One way or another, you'll die. I just hope for minimal
collateral."
I watched Gordon saunter back to the complex with a tight jaw. While I hated to admit it, he was
right. What if I’d been sent quality at the Underwoods? My gun and gadgets could make for useful
I purged emotion from my spirit before breaking into a power walk. Our new driver, Paul,
I returned it and settled beside Angela. She didn't look pleased. "What did he say?"
"The usual. Youth are the future of society, and budgeting the future is smothering potential."
"Bull." Her eyebrows furrowed. "I know him better than you. If he wanted to beg for money, he'd
send a lackey."
She rolled her eyes. "Tell him he can shove it. He's an elitist like the rest of them."
Angela crossed her arms as Paul took us out of the parking lot. I ignored her and waited for Lucas
to pick up.
"Two big things, boss," were Lucas' first words. "We finally pulled the full autopsy on Andre's
body. Four whole departments and over a week, but we have answers."
I sighed. "We locked Opake in the Chasm to avoid obscurity, Lucas. Cough."
"The wounds were a mix of burns and drainage. But a weird cyclic version. The burning is from
thermal energy, but the absorption of nutrients made it look weird. Though the drain specifically
targeted powers, the heat weakened cells. Unable to stay bonded to the greater body, they’d get sucked
up in the vortex. In Andre’s case, his entire body counterweighed his projections as a pivot, which is how
he was cooked everywhere. Sarah’s skin was the primary conduit of her shapeshifting powers, so there was
"I know what they looked like, Lucas. I await the actual point."
"Theoretically, a person can be saved. If we could find someone whose powers weren't infallibly
I rolled my eyes. I didn't like roundabout explanations, but Lucas’ scientific jargon as an
"To a complete meltdown. If you stress a processing unit enough, it can turn to jello in under a
"And just like that," Lucas said, "your motherboard isn’t bacon."
I glanced at Angela. "Are you saying we could... fan away the heat?"
"Never something so simple," Lucas sighed. "Cold air isn't going to cut it. No, if we had an
absorber, we could potentially save a victim mid-drain, but no one so far has the dexterity to pull it off.
Lucas seemed to realize where his thoughts were going and quieted down.
I sighed. "Crimson Nova, I know. She's already stateside. We can run the idea by her."
Lucas’ excitement picked back up. "Maybe even run some tests for parallel tech?"
I could feel his eagerness. "Baby steps, Lucas. She's not the most forthcoming with her abilities,
The cadence of Lucas' pause suggested he'd shrugged, then realized we couldn't see him through a
call. "Dunno. Something about scientists understanding each other and corpos' heads being stuck too
"Good. Great." I tapped my knee thoughtfully. "Have The Nordic escort. I won’t chance
anything."
"Nah." I heard the squeak of his chair spring as he rose. "See y'all later."
After Lucas hung up, Angela and I sat silently as I pondered the new information. So long, in fact,
that we made the half-hour drive to a private airfield and were walking to our SC-33 Dragonfly aircraft
when she finally piped up.
"Bernard..."
"I'm serious. She can feel however she likes, but we have responsibilities irrespective of personal
Angela eyed me warily as we accepted noise-cancelling headsets and climbed into the chopper. I
shut off my phone so as not to interfere with console electronics, then strapped on my belt.
We rode for an hour, most of which was spent mulling over how I'd broach a conversation with
my mother. I could count on one hand the number of people I knew could hold grudges longer, and
Rampant internal debate distracted me to such an extent I missed our arrival at the Sheath. In
fact, I was too preoccupied to react when Angela tapped my arm. She didn’t get the chance to try again
before a Hero rocketed past our craft fast enough to send a shudder through the seats.
That snapped me from my reverie. I was upright in a flash, peering down to see what the hell
Even without super-sight, I could make out the ant-like figures of SWORD personnel scrambling
across the island. And they moved fast. Fast enough for me to see, even hundreds of feet up.
"What the hell?" I hissed, jumping out and booting back up my cell.
Immediately, a flurry of messages, notifications and alerts poured across my screen with such
My jaw dropped.
Military-grade hardware. One of the most powerful processing units for any device ever made.
And it froze.
With a hissing whine, the phone fizzed back to function and resumed the hail of information. It
moved too quickly for me to make anything other than attack out. My messenger app alone had just
What the fuck? I spun around to the nearest employee. His dress gave me the impression of a
He didn't even hear me. He kept running across to one of the server farms located near the far side
of our island.
What the hell could've happened in the relatively short time I was gone? Lucas sounded relaxed
and... normal when he'd hung up. This looked like an apocalypse.
The telltale gust of strong wind preceding a dull, tremor-inducing thud announced the arrival of
Jason Nova. I swatted dust from around me as he performed a tight, scanning spin.
"What happened?" he demanded. "There are too many conversations to hear what--"
"We need to get up to my office!" I barked. "Keep trying to cut through the noise!"
Angela, Jason and I ran as fast as we could. At this point, I was almost unsurprised to see the
reception booth empty. Security was in shambles. Guards and soldiers stomped back and forth. Guns I'd
never thought would leave the armoury were tossed between squads. Every soldier I passed wore a look
of clear unease.
Naturally, I was the only one out of breath when we burst into my office. Jason didn't even run
the final few feet. He just glided across the room and shoved open my doors.
I made it two steps before my desk's shadow unfurled to spit Blacklight into the room.
Micah Rush. Without costume. Without mask. In the casual business suit he'd wear on TV when
out as a well-to-do actor and celebrity. His black hair and fair skin were out in the open. Rush's eyes were
dark and bottomless with the influence of his umbrakinetic attributes, but he was in civilian clothes.
Jason strode forward and seized his shoulder with a steadying hand. "Easy, Rush. You're alright.
"It's LA!" he coughed, shoving upright. "I heard while interviewing for Hardwood Love."
I, on the other hand, was preoccupied with another troubling thought. Blacklight had never once
shown signs of fatigue after leaving his spectre form, but just now, he'd appeared out of breath.
Hardwood Love, coincidentally, had been touring Europe for their promotional tour.
"How long did it take you to get here?" I asked, mouth dry.
Rush was at my desk, working the keyboard to bring up costuming records. He glanced down at
"The ocean has shadows too," was Rush's only explanation. Then, in an act so brazen even I
startled with shock, he seized the collar of Jason's costume and brought him in close. "Get to LA. Now.
Bring her. People are already dying. I'll meet you there as soon as I can."
He dropped into my bookshelf's shadow, leaving us with more questions than anything else.
We got our answer a second later from the monitor he’d spun to face us.
On the screen was a headline hanging beneath a live feed of Long Beach. I only knew that because
of the location tag in the top right, since the actual image was just a carpet of water. If what I
remembered of that area was accurate, Signal Hill, in its entirety, was gone. Lakewood and Stanton
And out of the wall of aquatic death walked three figures. Two I immediately recognized.
Floodgates, for someone who’d entertained such a close brush with dismemberment, looked
absolutely peachy. Sporting a new, glowing, kiss-shaped tattoo on his forehead, he dramatically
At his side was Plague. The same Plague I’d assigned my mother and younger brother weeks ago to
apprehend. Outfitted in new armour and a matching mark, he raised his hand and down fell a cloud of
locusts. I couldn't see how many died. I didn't want to know. A single of his bugs could kill a grown
man.
The third dragged a choked gasp from Angela. I didn't blame her. He stood over a full foot taller
than Floodgates, who was easily over six feet himself. His bald head, sheeny, metal-textured skin and
I almost agreed. Almost. But something was wrong. The figure was too bulky. Too wide. He also
I found my answer right as the ensuing wind wall connected and cut the feed to black.
His eyes. Ergo's eyes weren't platinum. They were a darker, richer bronze. And he couldn't clap
helicopters out of the sky that casually. Even Jason would struggle to create a blast of such astounding
Jason spun on me. "I thought they locked him down in Canada!"
I shook my head as I rewinded the recording. Right up to the point where the silvery energy rolled
I turned back to Angela and Jason. "Look at his arms. The energy. It's wrong."
"That was a kinetic discharge, not a projected one. He needed impact for propulsion. They're
different powers."
Jason flung his arms over his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Oh God." That was Angela. She'd gone whiter and had to stagger to one of the chairs.
"Different powers, different attack style, different walking pattern, different body shape and
different eye colour." I zoomed in to the cruel, evil smile. "Different person."