Chapter 21
“What’s your next move, Mr. Superhero?”
While the streets below were a bustle of activity, high above the city provided a space to think.
It was wonderful being able to remove myself from the noise of the city.
When the other heroes regained their abilities, would this become a congested interstate of people flying about?
It was almost comical to think of heroic collisions at this height.
“I can’t be the first one to know about Smoke, can I?”
Had nobody thought to ask the villains how they kept their abilities? There must have been a detective or a vigilante who already thought of this? With the ongoing panic of the super community, it wouldn’t shock me if they overlooked an obvious avenue.
I thought about finding a rooftop and sitting idly until Hellcat stepped out of the shadows. With this information, she could… What could she do against a villain with Smoke’s abilities? There were certain threats that required powers. But without her, how would I find the creep?
Bernard worked with the Centurions and their global network.
As the head of public relations, he must have some sort of clout, but was it enough to casually control their satellites and hunt down a single man?
I suspected it’d be a tall order, even after I revealed my identity.
No, I couldn’t jeopardize him or his job.
“Aiden,” I whispered. We might not be in a good place, but if he cared about the truth, this would matter. Maybe he could get it out to the public. Once everybody knew the depowering boiled down a single man… The thought died as I imagined him trying to have that conversation with William.
“Such an arrogant jerk.” People like him and Damien were probably getting off on the lack of heroes. They were reveling in the fall of the mighty. I might have once agreed with them, but it was time to admit I was wrong. Heroes, at least some of them, were part of the solution.
“First, I beat up Smoke, then I give William a piece of—”
Oh no. It couldn’t be that obvious. Shrieker spoke about an amulet Smoke wore that gave him abilities. Could it be the same tawdry necklace that William had at the gala? The two men revolved around Aiden, both using him to get to me.
“Dammit.” It was that obvious.
Smoke had promised to get back at me, to use Aiden to make me suffer.
I had assumed he meant killing him, but the plan had been more diabolical.
Instead of kidnapping him, William turned him against the only hero in the city.
Only Smoke knew my identity at that point.
He had used Aiden as a tool to get to me, and it took a scared teenager to show me what had been right under my nose this entire time.
The suit shifted as I reached for my phone. With a quick punch, I tried Aiden’s cell. I might not be able to prove their link, but I had to assume his reporter skills would help him connect the dots. If only he would pick up his— He answered.
“Aiden, don’t hang up. I need to talk to you.”
He didn't say he was ready to talk to me, but I could hear his breathing. He was mad and I couldn't blame him. I had seen the same fear on Shrieker’s face. There were some issues I needed to work on. But that was a discussion for another time.
“I think you’re in danger. William is Smoke. Don’t ask me how I know. You need to believe me.”
The laughter on the other end of the line wasn’t Aiden. I could swear the wind died, leaving nothing but the maniacal laughter a thousand feet above the city. My mind raced, fearful that Smoke had already done something horrible to Aiden.
“If you touch him…” What? Was I going to reach through the phone and attack him? I wasn’t Diode or Transceiver, with the ability to teleport through electrical signals. All I could do was make idle threats.
“You had no idea, did you?” The arrogant jerk laughed, believing he had won. As anger coursed through my veins, so did the fire. The flames surrounding my body threatened to consume the phone if I didn’t concentrate. Anger hadn’t done me any favors. I needed a plan.
“What do you want, William?”
“The difference between you and me…” Oh great, another villain monologue. By the time this ended, I could have already beaten him unconscious. “You play at being a hero. I, on the other hand, haven’t been William for a very long time.”
“Great, your alter ego is a douche bag. What do you want?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said without the humor. I had ruined his speech. Good, every victory counted.
“Are you going to tell me how to find you, or are we doing this all over a video call?”
“To the point. I appreciate a man willing to march to his own grave and then climb inside. You can still turn around and hide. It’d be the coward’s way out, but nobody would blame you. Hell, most of the city thinks you’re more evil than me. If they only knew.”
William might work as an editor, but he could poke at open wounds. This was why I avoided therapy. I didn’t need to be analyzed and walk out angrier than I started. And he wasn’t wrong. One victory over Neon wouldn’t change the opinions of an entire city.
“This is the price they pay,” I whispered.
Hellcat had warned me about sharing my identity and putting those I loved in harm's way.
A few mistakes as I learned the ropes and suddenly I had become the enemy.
This burden pressing down on my shoulders, threatening to crush me.
This was the motivation every hero grappled with.
Being a hero came at a price. How many would suffer before the cost was too steep?
Simply by existing, I risked Aiden’s life. Neither of us signed up for this life, but at least it had given me a choice. I never wanted to be a superhero. The image of Aiden opening the door for the first time cut through the doubt and left a smile on my face. This wasn’t about me.
Who is the hero Aiden needs?”
He deserved the man who stood in the shower, willing to put himself second.
The anger faded, washed away by a sensation I never thought I’d experience.
I wasn’t prepared to give up on Aiden or us.
I wasn’t willing to admit what the motivation might be, to give it that frightening four-letter word.
But it was motivation. Aiden needed a hero.
I’d pat myself on the back for a growth moment when this was over.
“Where are we doing this?”
“Where it all started, Blaze.”
I didn’t need to ask. This journey with Aiden, with Prometheus, and with Smoke had all started at the bridge. It had remained roped off, cutting off the city from the rest of the world. That’s where it all began. Only fitting it would be where it finally came to an end.
“I hope he lives long enough to see you perish.”
It was my turn to laugh. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Where are you?” asked Lei.
“I don’t have time to explain.”
“Wait, are you doing superhero stuff? Oh, tell me you’re having drinks with Sentinel. That beefcake can save me any day of the week.”
Leave it to Lei to steamroll the conversation.
“No. Look up above the city.”
I could hear a car door slam. She had been working a double, and I had to assume she was working in an ambulance. I could hear Gretchen’s voice, her temporary partner in the background.
“What am I—”
The fire flared, creating a ball of fire that filled the sky. I needed her attention. She gasped loud enough to be dramatic. At that rate, I was going to melt my phone showing off.
“When are you taking me flying?”
“Fire, remember?”
“Not fair.”
I didn’t have a way to call Hellcat, and I didn’t have time to sit on a roof brooding until she showed up. There weren’t many people in my life I could rely on, but I knew without a doubt that Lei, despite her joking, stood in my corner.
“I need a favor.”
“Superhero asking me—”
“Lei.” The one word stopped her from launching into another tirade. Aiden’s life was on the line, and I didn’t have time to start our typical banter.
“Anything. You’re taking this hero thing seriously.”
“I’m trying.”
I wanted nothing more than to arrive at the bridge and trade blows with Smoke.
That was the anger speaking, and with Aiden’s life on the line, I needed to be smart.
He had made a statement the morning after our first sleepover.
It would either solve this standoff, or it’d be putting a lot of people in danger.
“Are you still friendly with the dispatcher?”
“Yvonne? Of course I am. Do you know she just divorced her husband and is dating a stripper from CockWalk?”
Lei. I loved her, but sometimes she made me wonder why we were friends. “Yeah, I need you to get her to do a call.”
“Is somebody in trouble?”
“Aiden.”
“Oh.” For the first time in our friendship, she didn’t have a quip to give. “I like him. He’s given you some heart.”
Heart, it wasn’t a word I ever used to describe myself. But the more I thought about it, I agreed. Aiden had pulled down my walls and worked his way where few had tread.
“Me too.”
“What do you need?”
“I need you to get a call out over dispatch.”
“To who?”
I closed my eyes, debating if this was the right decision. If this was the old Xander, I’d charge in without a plan. It had always been me against the world. But now, with Lei, Aiden, and even Hellcat, I was discovering I couldn’t be an army of one.
“Everyone.”
There was a pause. “Did you just give me a dramatic end of scene pause? Damn, you really have been studying up on your superhero one-liners.”
“Lei!” I barked.
She relented. “Tell me the plan.”
“Okay.”