Chapter 23
Silence.
I imagined my death would come with a final spike of pain. A gunshot. A blade to the heart. I’d die knowing I tried… and failed. It wasn’t the glorious death I predicted for Hellion, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
THUMP.
Had she missed? I opened my eyes, ready for her descending fist. I caught the tail end of a blur. Turning my head, I watched as the streaks dragged Keyes toward the fountain. I recognized the color of his suit.
“Wyatt,” I whispered. The big guy had come to my rescue. I couldn’t help but smile. Mr. Supreme, Vanguard’s alien protector, had come to the aid of a vigilante. It could have been like this for the last year if I had been willing to share my secret. My team hadn’t abandoned me.
With a power-infused fist, she slammed into his back. They both fell, skidding along the plaza until they crashed into the broken fountain. He leapt to his feet, holding up a hand to block the bolt of energy.
“Drew. Drew? Are you okay?”
For a second, I thought I stood outside my body. Keyes had probably given me a concussion. My suit stood over me, but the worried face hovering above mine was cuter. Wyatt kept her occupied while I regained my wits. Booker didn’t waste twelve seconds as he patted my cheek.
“You need to get up.”
“Your eyes.” I coughed. “They’re the perfect shade of green.”
He paused, as if he had never received a compliment before. “If you want to see them again, you’ll get your ass off the ground.”
“I can’t stop her.”
Drew didn’t stand a chance. She tore through Tint’s powers. Even Hellion hadn’t been enough. I believed with the barrier between them gone, I’d somehow be able to beat Keyes. I had bested robbers and assassins, but on my own, I was no match for a supervillainess with unlimited power.
“Stop making it all about you,” he said. “You’re not in this alone.”
He draped himself across my body as a bolt of yellow shot overhead.
While a car flipped through the air, I focused on the warmth of his body against mine.
I spent the last year fearful that my chosen family would turn their backs if they knew the real me.
I locked away the parts that I thought were too dark for them.
Booker had a point.
Across the plaza, Mr. Supreme… Wyatt… traded blows with Keyes, not making any progress. If Vanguard’s third strongest hero couldn’t knock her down, we had to change tactics. It seemed as if months of feasting on the city’s chaos had made her invincible. Nobody seemed to be able to stop—
I stared into those beautiful green eyes. “I have an idea.” Or at least the start of one.
Trying to sit up, my body refused. Determination and stubbornness wouldn’t save me today. I needed to rely on those around me. First, I needed Booker to breathe some life into me.
“I need your help.”
“What?”
Booker liked the investigation and loved the chase, but I don’t think he had spent time confronting bad guys. I took his hand, pressing it against my chest. With eyes locked, he figured out what I meant. If he could read me like a book, he knew exactly what I was asking of him.
“You sure?”
“With you?” Having considered myself good as dead a few minutes ago, I couldn’t help but feel sentimental. Even if he felt the feelings surging through my heart, I wanted him to hear the words. “Always.”
The green vanished as he closed his eyes.
With a slight push against my sternum, I could feel the heat of his hand, the warmth flowing through my body.
I focused on the anger. This wasn’t the wild rage that filled my chest as I stalked the streets at night.
This was controlled anger created by a woman who threatened my friends.
Underneath came a current of determination, coated with a stubbornness to get the job done.
I’d save the day, but I wouldn’t do it alone.
The surge had my back arching. I shot upright, the ache almost gone.
“Holy hell,” I gasped. “That’s better than a shot of adrenaline.”
“Wyatt needs our help,” Booker said.
The big guy had lost ground. He tried blocking a swing, but she landed a clean shot to his kidney…
or whatever aliens had there. Something slammed into Keyes’ back, an explosion loud enough that it shook the ground.
Failsafe dropped from the sky, slamming an armored fist against her jaw.
He managed to duck one swipe. Yellow beams from her eyes struck him in the chest, sending him rocketing backward.
Roaring, Janet jumped over the broken fountain. Splashing through the water, she swung the baseball bat. Keyes caught as if it were nothing more than an annoyance.
“I tire of you.”
With a slap, she sent Janet flying. Wyatt jumped up, catching her. He snatched Orion’s hand and flew toward us. He landed next to my right, unsure of what to do next. I had an idea. Far-fetched, and who knew if it would work. It’s not like we had many options left.
“She’s too strong,” Wyatt said.
“I hate to admit it.” Janet rubbed the side of her face. “I agree with him.”
Keyes laughed, bordering on maniacal. Any chance of redemption had vanished as she embraced her role as a villain.
When she stopped, I caught the shift in her eyes.
A quick glimpse at Booker wiped the grin off her face.
In an interview, it would have been the tell he needed before baiting the interviewee into spilling their guts.
“You think you can stop me?”
“I will kick your ass!” Janet shouted.
Keyes took a deep breath. The glow turned brighter as her heels left the ground. “I could drink you in all day.”
“I’ll admit it,” Janet said, “I’m turned on.”
Booker had fallen to his knees. None of us had landed a finishing blow. She thought she’d skin the flesh from our bones, but Booker had stopped her in the office. If she could weaponize emotion—
I dropped to a knee, arm wrapped over his shoulder. “Can you do what she does?”
“Maybe? I think so.”
“Want to save the day?”
He scoffed. “I’m not that powerful.”
I took his hand, fingers lacing together. With a tight squeeze, I helped him to his feet. “Take my rage.” He might not be powerful enough to stop the Queen of Chaos, but he reminded me this wasn’t about me. None of us was alone.
Booker’s face turned blank. I almost repeated myself when my chest tightened.
The heat flowed through my body, but the anger didn’t rise to the surface.
He siphoned something calmer. I would follow this man to the ends of the earth.
I imagined a backpack filled with books and travel journals as we searched for new adventures.
On the nights I needed to escape down the fire escape, he’d give me a kiss and make me promise to come home.
I glanced from his hand to his eyes. Booker understood me before I understood myself.
Booker found my trust, my affection… my love.
Holding up his free hand, I could see the glimmer of azure and cobalt. There was no hiding as he manifested my desires in his hand.
“Isn’t that beautiful?” Keyes didn’t seem impressed with the tiny mustering of power. “At least you won’t die alone.”
She thrust her palms forward with a flash of yellow. I flinched as Booker threw up his hand. The yellow exploded into a shower of cerulean sparks. I didn’t understand what happened, but the angled brows on Keyes said it was something in our favor.
“Feel Vanguard’s chaos.”
She hovered in the air as she hissed, sucking in air. Her entire body flared as she converted the chaos into power. Screaming, the blast was bright enough that my eyes narrowed. Booker’s hand thrust forward. For a second, he pushed it back, her scream growing louder.
“She’s too strong,” he growled.
An oversized mitt clasped my free hand. I turned to see Wyatt’s stoic face.
He didn’t speak, but I could almost hear his voice in my head.
It had taken Wyatt longer than most to discover bravery, but I could almost taste his desire to be a hero.
His insecurities held a sour note, drowning under the copper of loyalty.
I almost laughed as I experienced his unyielding love for chocolate.
I wanted to ask Booker if this is what he experienced every day.
The blue grew brighter.
A surge of confidence pushed through my limbs as Orion joined our chain of heroes. I always believed him to be a skeptic. It didn’t come from distrust. When he shook my hand, it was him saying he trusted me without reservation. I had gone from the conspiracy board to confidant.
When Janet joined, I feared her chaotic nature would be a detriment.
Booker’s hands had turned a rich blue, and the energy pushed back against Keyes.
Janet’s fierce loyalty to the people she cared about pulsed through my muscles.
Each of them would do everything in their power to protect the city…
no, I had to admit it. They wanted to protect Booker and me.
The city was the byproduct of their friendship.
Booker’s growl grew into a roar. Keyes screeched as she lost the tug-of-war. The blue beam smashed against her chest, enveloping her. She collapsed to her knees, staring at her hands. She thrust them out, screaming. Unable to summon her power, we had emerged victorious.
“Try inner peace for a change,” Booker said, body slumping. “Oh… and you’re fired.”
“Victory, friends. Victory!” Wyatt started to dance.
Janet’s hand shot up to Wyatt’s shoulder, stopping his jig. “We talked about the dancing.”
“I think we saved the city?” Orion said.
“The power of friendship saved the day?” Janet let go of Orion’s hand before tapping the baseball bat in her palm. “Can we lie and say we slugged it out?”
As everybody took inventory of the damage, Booker didn’t let go of my hand.
There was no doubt, he knew exactly how I felt about him.
Words could deceive, but with a man who could read my emotions, he’d never doubt the place I held for him in my heart.
It was no different than the rest of the team.
For the first time in my life, I had confirmation.
They loved me for me, no matter which messy version I embraced.
“We’re not dead,” Arthur huffed into the earpiece. “Connor dismantled Apex. Nobody piss him off.”
“That’s my boy,” Janet said.
“We’re not done,” he said. “The HeroApp? is still lighting up.”
Orion tapped his watch. The mechanical suit spread along his skin until all but his jawline showed. “Who’s in?” He put his fist out. Wyatt wasted no time putting a hand on his. Janet rolled her eyes but put hers on top of the pile. All eyes turned on me.
“One moment.”
I grabbed Booker by the neck of his suit. My lips pressed against his. As they parted, I finally had a reason to fight. This was no longer Hellion looking for a fight. I had something to protect, a purpose.
“I love you, too.”
Booker’s eyebrow went up. “Too?”
I smiled. There was no point in hiding it. For a moment, I had felt everything he did. He smirked as his cheeks turned three shades of red.
“This better not become a thing,” Janet said, pointing at us.
While biting his lower lip, I held out my hand.
The magnets ignited, and a second later, I felt the remaining baton smack against my palm.
I slid it on my hip and put a hand on Janet’s.
This was my family, and I’d go to the ends of the Earth to ensure their safety.
Tonight that meant cleaning up the streets; tomorrow it’d be brownies.
Booker’s hand rested on my chest. “Make sure you come back.”
“Always.”
Wyatt’s arm wrapped around my waist. A second later, we were soaring through the sky, but I couldn’t stop staring at Booker.
Together, we had finished our job for Ricardo.
The police had arrived, and he ushered them toward Keyes.
She had been apprehended. We might have stood against Keyes, but it was Booker and his empathy that saved the day.
“My hero,” I whispered.