Super Villain 9
Chapter 11
“You’re crazy.”
Bishop Philip Leaf laughs at though an uncontrollable heinous laugh will prove that he isn’t. His pearly white teeth are stretched so far apart that you would honestly think that I am Kevin Hart in Madison Square Garden. And I stare at him. I have two choices right now. I can attack Philip Leaf, attempt to break through that glass and kill Mind Meld, then somehow make a dash out of this place. Or I can just sit there and let him laugh at me, find out his evil plan and hope to God I find a way out of this place before it’s too late.
“I thought you liked the bad boys,” Leaf states before giving me a half smile, “I couldn’t get you to take your eyes off Vigor for a moment to even look at me.”
“It wasn't you I was looking at. It was Web Weaver. Where is the real Web Weaver?” I ask him.
“Dead. Now you see who I am. Now you see the real me and all you can say is I’m crazy.”
He really thinks this shit would impress me.
I can’t handle this, “You can’t be seriously thinking that the metahumans in this city would be able to kill billions of people…”
“I’m building an army of metahumans. Humanity doesn’t stand a chance. If pushed the right way do you have any idea how powerful metahumans are?” he asks me.
“And what happens. All those people die. What do you achieve?”
“I won’t kill them all. I’ll still need some to serve but it’s natural. It’s natural selection. The weak will serve the strong. It’s happened before. It happened to the Native Americans. It’s happened to the Africans. Now it’s going to happen to everyone else. We are going to be the gods.”
“We?”
That’s when I see him grab my hands and pull me in. I realize the look in his eyes. Web Weaver looked at me with those dark eyes a million times. Yes. They are the very same dark deep eyes. I wonder if that’s Bishop Leaf’s Limit. It has to be. He can change everything else but his eyes. You look in his eyes and they are the same.
He desperately clings to my hands almost giving me this confidence, “It gets lonely at the top. You ever hear that expression. It’s because it’s true. I plan on living like a God once all this is through. The population will be greatly decreased. The remaining humans will all band together looking for a leader. That leader is going to need a support system. He’s going to need a strong person by his side…”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Wait aren’t you married?” I ask pulling away.
“Ashley,” Bishop Leaf spits the name at that moment, “I’m assuming Vigor told you what happened.”
Ashley fell in love with Vigor. He cheated on Leaf. Leaf actually caught them but supposedly forgave him. However as I look in Leaf’s eyes right now I see everything but forgiveness. Leaf seems to have a anger even talking about Ashley that I can’t comprehend.
“Listen I’m not that guy. Not for you. Ashley seems like the maniacal ruthless type a lot more. You should stick with him.”
“That’s the thing. We aren’t the villains.”
“Because killing off 90% of humanity is some charitable work right?”I ask sarcastically once again pulling from Leaf’s attractive ass perfectly framed hands.
“We will go down as heroes. Heroes. Look at Christopher Columbus. This man killed, raped and enslaved the natives but he has a fucking holiday for godsakes. Look at the men who created the nuclear bomb. How often do we talk about how horrible it was that they killed so many people? Vicious Vigor is a terrorist. He’s going to go down in history as the Villain and I’m going to be the hero. And you want to be the on the right side of history, Materias. You want to be on my side.”
Everything has been so carefully laid out. Everything so carefully staged. I look at this man behind the glass. This skinny man is the soul of the operation and I can’t seem to figure out just who he is. If he knew the limits of so many metahumans already then Leaf’s plan makes so much more sense. He was playing like he was protecting the humans. He was getting the metahumans limit just so that he can protect them. Little do they know that their hero is their greatest threat.
“Vigor is still out there isn’t he…”
“How’d you know I didn’t catch him? How’d you know I didn’t kill him?” Leaf asks.
“You just said it. You need him. You need him to be your villain. A dead scapegoat isn’t really all that useful now is it?”
He smiles at me. He leans forward and rubs the side of my cheek, “You’re smart. That’s what I always liked about you. No Vigor’s not dead. Not yet but he can’t stop me. No one can. And you know what they say. If you can’t beat em. Join em.”
Smart ass.
“Is that what they say?”
“That’s what they say. So why don’t you go upstairs, get dressed and I’ll send someone for you. You can join us for dinner. You’ll see the other side. You’ll understand my love. You’ll get it.”
I shiver at the way Leaf calls me his love. I can’t stand him. I can’t take this. I had to figure a way to stop this madness.
The hall of Heroes is nothing like the Division of Disaster. When I am led to the dining room to meet Leaf’s team I am blown away honestly. I immediately want to run back out of the room and do some pushups. I mean I was used to the middle aged suburban couple, the old drama queen, the feisty slut, the pale eavesdropper and the cold guy with a bad attitude. The people I was in the room with now weren’t anything like that. They were perfect.
Perfect is the only way to describe them.
Leaf puts his hand on my shoulders, “Everyone I’d like you to meet Materias. He’s…a friend.”
The introduction is something that I don’t really remember Vigor ever doing. Vigor kind of just threw me to the wolves when I got to the Division of Disaster. Leaf’s welcoming arm over my shoulders is so different. He holds me there in front of everyone. The way he holds me is almost like he’s comfortable showing me affection. He doesn’t mind that they notice him standing so close to me. He doesn’t care if it makes him look weak.
Then the strangest thing happens. The strangest thing I could imagine in this world. The Heroes…they start to smile at me. These motherfuckers, I-SHIT-YOU-NOT, are smiling at me.
“Welcome,” a woman says, “Here you can take my seat. You should be right next to the Bishop.”
The woman stands up. She is white but has a dark tan almost like one of the Kardashian girls. She has straight black hair that goes past her shoulders with a part. Her body is illuminated in Golden armor. I know who she is almost immediately.
“Lady Liberty,” Leaf introduces me to her and then starts to call down the row, “I’m sure you already know the Mayor of our little city. Mayor Morals.”
The Mayor salutes me. He salutes me as though he hadn’t killed a bunch of my friends before. He salutes me as though we are old Army friends or some shit.
Leaf continues down the table, “Then there is Cleanse, he’s the local healer. Bulldozer, the Muscle. Phoenix Fire who summon the mythical Phoenix bird, Hurricane Sandy who can control winds and last but not least I’m sure you remember Kid Lightning.”
Kid Lightning smiles at me. You would think I hadn’t tried cracked a whip at him not too long ago. He’s completely in perfect condition which makes me wonder what happened to his busted lip. I couldn’t have been out that long but then again I take a look at the guy Cleanse. If they had a local healer then it would be nothing for someone to get right back to normal.
“Drink?” Hurricane Sandy asks me.
She is pretty, bested only by Lady Liberty who sits with legs crossed across the room. These women are classy. They are nothing like Fem Fatale. I don’t trust her smile. I don’t trust any of their smiles. She walks over and hands me a glass. I look at it. I look at the glass. I’m tempted to turn it into water before I drink it.
“He doesn’t trust us, Sandy,” Bulldozer says.
She nods as though a lightbulb turns on. She drinks from the glass first and smiles, “Not dead yet.”
“If we wanted to hurt you, we would have done it while you were sleeping,” Mayor Morale says at that moment, “Eat. Drink. Talk with us. We always want more friends.”
I look over at Bishop Leaf. He’s sitting next to me at the table. I’m completely taken back by how welcoming these people are. To my other side I see Kid Lightning. He’s just as sexy as the first day I saw him. All of these fucking people are sexy. Imagine a room of fucking supermodels with banging bodies and ideal personalities. That’s what they were. The only one I wasn’t incredibly intimidated by was the guy Cleanse. He seemed like the only one who didn’t have some athlete’s body. He was slim, probably slimmer than even I was. His face was handsome by everyday standards but he still wasn’t the bombshell that someone like Bulldozer, Kid Lightning or fuck even Philip Leaf was.
Talk seems to spread over the table and I’m watching not understanding what the fuck this is that’s happening. They are having random conversation as if they’d known each other forever. I awkwardly look down at the homemade meal underneath me.
“Then I see it. I swear I developed more metahuman powers guys,” Phoenix Fire is telling everyone.
The table erupts with laughter as Lady Liberty shakes her head, “Every day you think you’ve developed new powers.”
“No seriously…I can see the future. See so McDonald's breakfast is now 24/7. This is it. This is how I die. Face first in a pile of hashbrowns.”
More Laughter.
Just at that moment a Ministry officer walks into the room. He leans over to the Bishop. I don’t get what he says but I swear I heard the name “Ashley” as he speaks. My heart pounds in my chest. Bishop looks concerned.
“I’ll be right back.”
“You know what that means,” Cleanse says, “The hubby is back.”
They return to the group conversation as soon as Leaf walks out of the room. I play with my fork completely confused as to why I’m here and wondering how the fuck I can leave.
“You look so out of place,” Kid Lightning whispers over to me at the table.
The others are so busy in group discussion. They are laughing and joking around. It’s nothing dirty. Fem Fatale isn’t talking about the times she dabbled in prostitution. Icebox isn’t threatening anyone. The Thinkers aren’t trying to break through someone’s mental wall. This is plain straightforward friendliness and it makes me uncomfortable. I can’t stand it.
“Are you guys always like this?” I ask him.
He raises an eyebrow, “Always like what?
“Like…fake…” I respond.
Kid crosses his arms like that, “There’s nothing fake about us.”
“You guys have been laughing and smiling since I walked in this room,” I respond at that moment, “Ain’t shit funny to me. Not a goddam thing.”
“You should try it…you have a nice smile,” he responds.
Kid Lightning stares at me. You would think I would be turned on by this. I mean he’s an attractive guy and he’s complimenting me. He smiles as though trying to pull a smile out of me. It doesn’t work. I return his smile with a grimace.
“Prisoners don’t smile.”
“You’re not a prisoner. You’re safe here. You’re among friends,” he responds.
“We were just fighting.”
He laughs, “You’re pretty good with that power of yours. You’re going to have your own fan page in no time now that you’re in the Hall of Heroes.”
“Whoa there buddy. I’m not in the hall of nothing,” I respond, “I’m not part of this shit.”
He seems so confused, “Why not? You could be great. Do you know that in Japan they have a restaurant chain named after me. Kid Curry Cuisine. All different kinds of curry. Man…once the wall goes down…that’s where I’m headed. Right to Japan. You should come with me…”
“If there’s any Japan left.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks.
That’s when it hits me. Kid Lightning has this blank stare on his face. He’s just staring at me with a completely blank stare as though really not understanding what I’m saying. He’s not faking it. He honestly doesn’t seem to understand what I’m saying.
“Wait you don’t know about Leaf’s plan do you?” I ask him.
His forehead wrinkles up. He’s completely clueless what I’m talking about. At that moment I’m actually tempted to open my mouth and tell him what the leader of the Mandate Ministry has up his sleeve.
I’m interrupted by Mayor Morals though, “What are you guys talking about down there?”
The heroes are staring at Kid and me. I push the food away from me at that moment and look at them. I wonder who knows what. Maybe all of them are clueless. Maybe it’s just Kid. I don’t know if I can risk spilling to everyone right now. I’m on enemy territory. The last thing I want to do is piss people off. So at that moment I just smile.
“Nothing we’re just. You know. Getting to know each other,” I say.
“Oooh. Kid’s been talking about you ever since your fight,” Lady Liberty notices.
“Liberty!” Kid says at that moment and blushes red.
“Relax. We’re all adults here,” Lady Liberty responds, “Kid we all know that you are the only one here who doesn’t date and with all the ladies throwing themselves at you…we all figured.”
Kid Lightning is blushing red at that moment.
Mayor Morals adds at that moment, “Not that there is anything wrong with being different. We are ina different world now. Being different is what makes us unique. Being different is what makes us special. Isn’t that right Materias? “
I shrug, “I suppose.”
Lady Liberty looks over at me and gives me a warm smile, “Kid is very attractive. Don’t you think Materias?”
Kid Lightning was very attractive. They all were. They are all looking at me with smiles on their faces. They are waiting for me to give in. They are waiting for me to get comfortable at the table so that we can all be friends. Fuck that.
Half my mouth goes up into a villainous smile, “For now. We’ll see how he looks when Vigor’s done with him.”
The words just come out of my mouth. They spill out. I might as well be shooting venom across the table. Mayor Moral’s smile fades and it’s as though it was never there in the first place. For some reason it brings me joy to break up their little Kumbaya moment. Man, fuck these people. I just kept thinking it to myself over and over. Heroes. They called themselves heroes. Fuck these people.
The glass of perfection continues to crack when we are interrupted by arguing. The arguing is coming from the hallway. Just at that moment I see Ashley Keeper storm in the room. It isn't hard to tell he's pissed.
“He's here? He's fucking here!”
Ashley's voice is deep and he's being followed closely by his husband. Leaf seems like he's trying to calm Ashley down but that's not working at all. I watch as a smirk comes over my face. The smirk doesn't last long because Ashley Keeper walks right up to me and he smacks the fuck out of me.
“What the fuck!”
My face stings as I feel Ashley's hand long after he's done smacking me. He is looking down at me and it's clear that he wants to do it again. Hell he probably wants to do worse.
“You brought your whore here?” Ashley asks him.
I look at Leaf and then at Ashley. I knew they were married but I wonder what Leaf has been telling Ashley.
Leaf's answer seems to be a mild mannered, “Calm down.”
He isn't even trying. He isn't even fucking trying to calm his husband down.
“You fucked him!” Ashley tells me.
I correct Ashley almost immediately, “Wait hold up. I had no idea the man I slept with was Philip Leaf. I thought it was Web Weaver. No one wants your husband.”
Ashley believes what he wants to believe. The anger that he should have for his husband turning into someone else and cheating on him is aimed at me. What part of the game was Bishop Philip Leaf trying to get at? I had no real pull with the villains. I was the bottom of the barrel. Leaf sleeping with me wasn't going undercover. Leaf sleeping with me was personal. I wonder if Ashley is smart enough to realize that. I'm not sure. Love seems to blind even the smartest men. Right now all I see is rage.
“Why him?” Ashley is saying to me and looking me up and down before adding a petty, “He's not even all that cute.”
I roll my eyes at his idea of an insult. How old were we? He's talking low blows all of a sudden.
“Really?” I ask at that moment, “Because not only does your man seem to like me a whole lot...I'm pretty sure that your ex, Vigor, remember the one who broke your heart? Well he's feeling me too.”
I'm not so sure about the Vigor part but honestly right now I don't care. I'm saying anything to get Ashley back for hitting me. That's when I realize it. I see the rage in Ashley's eyes. Love does blind people but it's not Ashley's love for his husband. He's upset because of Vigor. The look in his eyes is undeniable.
“You motherfuckin---”
He leans forward. His body perched to smack me again. I don't give him a chance. This time I grab a butter knife from the table. Within seconds of holding it I begin to transmute the knife. In just a few seconds I'm holding a sharp chef's knife and it's pointed directly at Ashley Keeper. He stops in his tracks and stares at the knife.
“Go ahead motherfucker. Make my day,” I warn him. My knife still pointed directly at him.
He grunts. There is a long pause and the only thing that stops him is Philip Leaf walking over and grabbing me. He grabs me so hard that I drop the knife. He manhandles me and pulls me into the next room which is a small private breakfast bar area away from everyone else. The way he manhandles me makes me think about Vigor. Hell. That isn't saying a lot these days. Everything makes me think about Vigor.
“You're upset,” he tells me. It's not a question.
My tone is laced with sarcasm, “I'm sitting around a bunch of fake ass people and your boyfriend, excuse me, HUSBAND walks in to smack the fuck out of me because you switched into someone and was about to have sex with me. Which I stopped. I'm pissed man...”
“You're a guest here,” he tells me, “Your not a prisoner.”
“Then I want to leave.”
He looks at me for a moment, “I'd like you to stay.”
The look in Leaf's eyes is something desperate. I wonder when his desires began. I wonder what he sees me in that maybe I don't see in myself. Why me? Regardless of what I felt about Ashley Keeper, he was perfect. Ashley Keeper was one beautiful fucking man. I didn't look like that. I was basic. I was normal.
“Why?”
“I told you. When the world needs a king...that king is going to need someone by his side,” Leaf explains.
“That's why you have your husband.”
“He's not us. He's not metahuman. Ashley Keeper is the face of the Mandate Ministry. I need him. But once I don't need him anymore...”
“Shit...”
That's all I can say. The scary thing is I feel bad for Ashley Keeper. First he was being used by Vigor and now he was being used by Leaf. These powerful men find people and they use seduction to get them to do what they want. It's at that moment that I'm afraid. What if Leaf has only been showing affection to me because he needs me.
Matter of fact. What if Vigor has been using me?
Leaf's desperation is clear when he leans forward and tells me, “I can be anyone you want. Anyone in the world. I can make you happy. In the new world order...you can be a king. No more petty robberies. No more hiding with rebels. I can make you a living god.”
As though trying to prove his point Leaf begins to change write in front of me. His body morphs first into Web Weaver with his wild hair and Maxwell vibe. Then he morphs into Vicious Vigor with his full lips, dark eyebrows and chiseled jawline. Then he changes back into himself. After all is said and done I feel more sick standing next to Philip Leaf than I ever have. One thing is sure. The promise of power isn't enough to make me love this shapeshifter...especially if he can do something like that to Ashley.
“How about I tell your husband what you really think of him?” I ask.
I turn before he has the chance to stop me. I feel a rage for Ashley Keeper. I don't know why. The guy just smacked me a minute ago. I feel rage because when I look at Ashley Keeper I think of myself. He's involved with the two men that I've been involved with. I have to warn him because I'd want someone to warn me.
By the time we are out into the main banquet hall I realize things have completely changed. The entire landscape is shook.
Mayor Morals is giving us a stare letting us know something has gone wrong. Hurricane Sandy is looking like she's about to bring in a storm. Kid Lightning looks like he's ready to pounce. Lady Liberty has her sword drawn. Bulldozer is circling around the room, ready for a fight. Then there is Phoenix Fire who has taken several feet above the air looking like he's ready to attack.
The cause of what's going on is clear. It's Vigor. He's bleeding from his temple. He looks beaten up but he's alive. He's well. Somehow he's found his way in here. He's found his way into this place and he's wrapped Ashley Keeper in a choke hold.
“Anyone make a step and I'll snap his neck,” Vigor says.
For a minute I can't help but smile. There is something so sexy about this man. He's alone. I mean he's alone surrounded by a hall full of heroes. He looks like he's been through hell and back but goddam—he's still sexy. Vigor has that intense look in his eyes. His jawline is flexing. There's always something about that jawline of his. It's like his face is has extra dimensions to it. The deep shadows cast this sexy strong sunken look.
Bishop Philip Leaf steps forward with a smile on his face, “You don't look so good Vigor. Is that a gunshot wound? You've been sloppy.”
That's when I see it. I look down at Vigor and notice he's bleeding. There's a gunshot wound there. I hate to admit it but Leaf is right. Why the fuck did Vigor come here? Why the fuck would he come into the midst of the people that wanted to kill him. The blood is gushing out of his abdomen. He's losing blood and it's clear. I don't know how he's staying conscious or how he's even alive right now as he's losing all this blood.
“You should see what's left of the guys who were shooting at me. You may have to recruit some more guards. Now. Give me back Materias,” he instructs in a threatening way.
“Vigor...” I whimper.
I want to tell him to stop his blood. I want to tell him that Leaf never threatened me or said he was going to hurt me here. Him breaking in to save me was completely unnecessary. I want to say all of these things but I don't want him to look weak. Right now Vigor's strength is all he has.
“Materias come over here,” Vigor instructs me, but his eyes are locked on Mayor Morals and I think I know why. In this condition he must know that he's not strong enough to take on Morals let alone the other heroes surrounding him.
“You've come here for Materias? This area is secured by 50 guards...” Mayor Morals states.
“Like I said...you should see the trail of bodies,” Vigor says and somehow he manages to spread out a bloody smile that sends blood rushing into my crotch. Vigor adds again more forcefully then before, “Give me Materias.”
Mayor Morals looks at Philip Leaf, “Out of everyone to kidnap you had to kidnap this madman's favorite toy.”
The fact that he calls me a toy doesn't matter. Vigor wouldn't have broken through this fortress for a toy. There is something else in his eyes. There's something real. He's not leaving here without me. My heart is pounding as I look at him. In a backwards ass way Vigor breaking into this fortress and killing everyone who tried to stop him has to be the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me. I'm sitting here like a fucking princess in a tower holding my hands close to my heart ready to be swept away by my prince.
The heroes are just as complexed as I am. How did Vigor think this would end? He's already bleeding to death. He could fall down and die any moment. If the bullet doesn't kill him one of these heroes definitely would. I mean this motherfucker had the balls to march right into a room with Mayor Morals and act like he was going to walk out of this alive. I can see why they call him a madman. He's crazy and I am loving EVERY moment of it.
“This is a suicide mission,” Lady Liberty tells him, “You won't get out of here alive.”
She smirks. A couple of them are smirking too. They think they have my Vigor figured out. He had a plan. He had to have a plan. Right?
“I won't be the only one dead,” Vigor responds, “Materias come here.”
I take a step forward but I see Philip Leaf cut me off aggressively and damn near spit at Vigor, “He's not going anywhere.”
“I'll snap his fuckin' neck,” Vigor is saying in regards to Ashley.
Ashley doesn't seem as amused as everyone else. He's sweating. He looks like he's on the verge of tears. At that moment I'm seeing just how human Ashley Keeper really is and I'm not sure if Philip Leaf is calling Vigor's bluff, but I know Vigor will do it. I'm sure of it.
Then it becomes clear just how uninterested Philip Leaf is when he mutters a quick and instant, “Fine. Kill him. I don't care.”
“Philip...” Ashley wines.
Those tears that Ashley begins to cry. Those are real tears. He's a monster. I know he is. He is a monster because he's attempting to spread a virus to kill all metahumans. I shouldn't feel pity for him. I shouldn't care but right now that's the only thing I do. I feel horrible for him. I feel horrible when Vigor is going to snap his neck.
“No. Vigor don't,” I call out to him.
Vigor looks over at me, “Materias...”
His voice is giving up. He's bleeding out. He's risked everything for this moment and I guess he must have thought Philip Leaf would have giving a fuck. Maybe that's why he made a mad dash for Ashley. I don't know.
Regardless I have to act. I need to act now. I make a mad dash towards the table. I can feel Kid Lightning zooming towards me. He knows what I'm trying to do and before I get to the table he's holding me back. My fist hurls into his stomach making him let out a gasp of air. Within a few seconds I reach for an object---any object....
I manage to grab onto a cup. It's a glass cup.
“Materias!”
I don't know who screams my name. I don't give a fuck. I transmute it just as I see Lady Liberty coming towards me her sword raised in hand ready to hack me to little pieces. Luckily the thing that comes to mind as I transmute the glass just so happens to be a smoke bomb. As the fumes ignite in the room I'm making a mad dash towards Vigor, retracing the steps that I memorized.
Before I know it we are out in the hallway. He's dropped Ashley and didn't kill him. He's limping along with me and I shut the door behind us turning the lock into wax with my transmutation powers. The thump behind the door two seconds later shakes the hinges and lets me know that door won't last. We have to get out of here.
“Please tell me you had a plan.”
Vigor is bleeding out. The only thing separating us from the heroes is a thin fucking door and whatever smoke is still in the banquet hall. Vigor is hardly able to walk. He is limping beside me as we try to rush down the hallway.
Vigor still manages to reply to me with a smile, “I told you that you are bad for me. You make me do stupid shit.”
“So I'm taking that as you saying, 'No Materias, I didn't have a plan. I just ran in this bitch without a plan'?”
His smile widens and his eyes roll up in the back of his head as though he's fighting off the urge to faint. I look at the wound on his abdomen. It's bad. It's really bad. If Vigor was a regular human he'd be dead now. I have to close off the wound or he'll bleed out. I have no doubt about that.
“No Materias,” he answers, “I didn't have a plan. Just a stupid boy...a stupid boy...”
“Vigor stay with me! VIGOR!”
He's losing consciousness. I smack him as hard as I can for him to snap out of it. He snaps back awake and as though he doesn't realize he was gone finishes his thought, “A stupid boy in love...”
My heart is racing. Did Vigor just tell me he was in love with me?
I don't have time to confirm if I heard it right. I don't have time to confirm anything because there is an alarm that goes off. I can feel we are being followed but I don't know by who. I don't know how long that smoke bomb lasted. I don't think it can hold the heroes back any longer. And if there was any other defenses they would know right now that Vigor and I were trying to escape.
“Stay with me,” I tell him.
His arm is heavy as it's over my shoulder. He puts a lot of of his weight on me but is still trying his best to keep moving. We aren't going anywhere fast. I'm looking around for objects I can transmute. I'm pushing myself with so much transmutation but I have no choice. I have to get Vigor out of here. Philip may or may not stop be able to stop the heroes from killing me, but he won't do the same for Vigor.
Like Liberty said. This was a suicide mission.
Maybe Vigor knew that.
“Be careful.”
“What?” I ask.
I am not sure I hear him right. Vigor can hardly speak but he managers to raise his hand and point down the hallway. I don't see it at first but then I do after a minute. I see the person walking down the hallway.
My mouth drops open when I see who it is.
“Sunbeam...oh my god...”
My friend is alive. My old friend is fucking alive and looking at me and right now I watch in shock as my old friend lifts up his hands and readies himself to cast his photogenic light blasts at Vigor and I. It was clear at that moment that he didn't recognize me. It was clear that he was ready to kill me.
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