Not Your Backup, page 27
Emma charges forward.
The air is heavy, and the fire outside seems distant, just background noise. But the fire is the least of their worries; P019 isn’t over, and there are more meteors to come. Emma looks up, and the night sky is unnaturally bright as the star that isn’t a star hurtles toward them. “Bells! Abby! Jess!” Emma yells.
“Em!” Bells sounds both relieved and terrified.
“How did you know we were here?” Jess coughs.
Emma waves the heavy smoke away and finally can see them all clearly; they’re all standing; a set of heavy chains is wrapped around the seven of them. “It’s a long story,” Emma says, grabbing the chain and yanking.
“We’ve tried that,” Bells says. “There’s tantalum in these chains, tantalum all over the building— I can’t shift—”
“Okay, okay, I’ll figure out a way.” Emma exhales, shaking her head at all of them. “I can’t believe you got caught!”
“It was Abby’s fault,” Ricky says.
“Not my fault,” Abby snaps. “Look, we had to go after you—”
“And then Vindication—”
“I told you not to follow,” Emma says, looking for something, anything to break the chains with.
“You told me not to follow,” Bells says smugly. His expression changes into worry. “Did you— are you okay?”
“Is she okay!” Ricky shrieks. “She’s not the one chained up in a burning building!”
Emma grabs the first thing she sees; a long, heavy hunk of metal that probably belonged to a sign or a pole. She drags it forward, being careful of the jagged edges of broken steel, and steps around the smoldering wooden beams.
She walks around her friends and the heavy chains binding them to the pole and picks out a wide swath of chain links between Jess and Bells. She heaves the jagged metal, silently thanking all the hours and hours she spent with Southard cutting logs.
Emma swings.
The sound of the steel hitting the links clanks, and beads of sweat drip down Emma’s forehead. She swings again, gritting her teeth at the jarring sound, and then there’s a satisfying clink and the sound of a link dropping to the ground. Emma grabs at the chains, pulling the first layer free.
Christine kicks the chain, forcing another layer down.
“What are you doing?” Sasha elbows her sister, pushing at the chain.
“Trying to teleport!”
Jess and Abby kick and push and finally all the chains are on the ground.
Ricky whoops just as another beam falls from the collapsing building.
Emma coughs. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”
The sky is now almost as bright as day, lit by blazing fire.
“We’re not gonna make it,” Abby mutters.
“We’re going to make it!” Jess affirms, pumping her fist. “Just run!”
Bells cracks his neck; his body extends as he grows, his arms and legs grow longer and longer. “I’ve got this,” he says. He picks them all up and strides through the falling beams and fire as Jess frantically shouts directions.
“Left! Now, right! And jump!”
Fresh air meets them just as the sky blazes with another meteor, which crashes into the building. The ground shakes and buckles, but they’re all safe, lying in the parched dirt. Even Kingston’s beautiful car survived. The paint is scratched, and the front is dented beyond belief, but it looks mostly intact even crashed into a wall.
Ricky coughs. “You can still use your powers? How come I can’t?”
“The tantalum,” Jess says. “We were in there for hours; it affects us differently, I guess.”
Sasha whistles. “Bells, you’re something else.”
“I know,” Bells says proudly, exhaling.
Emma doesn’t know who bursts into laughter first, but it’s infectious, and soon all seven of them are giggling and laughing.
Jess grabs Emma in a hug. “Thank you so much; we thought— I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”
“Yeah, it was a good plan. I mean, leaving us here chained up in tantalum,” Abby says, heaving. “We couldn’t get out and—”
Emma doesn’t know why, but she lets out a short burst of hysterical laughter. “No one with powers would be able to.”
She turns; Bells is lying in the dirt next to her, and now face-to-face with him, she’s overcome with emotion: affection, relief, hope, all bundled together in a tumultuous mix.
“Oh, Em—” Bells says, eyes brimming with tears. “Is a hug okay?”
“Yeah, of course,” Emma says, exhaling.
Bells wraps her up in his arms, and then it’s just her and Bells and how much she’s missed him.
Emma looks up and smiles at him. She has so much she wants to say, starting with how sorry she is for leaving but it all disappears with that smile. Everything she was afraid of, not being good enough for the Resistance, being worried about Bells— it all seems so small now.
Bells smiles at her, and Emma can see five-year-old Bells telling her, “friends forever no matter what,” and Bells telling her months ago that he would always love her, and it all will be okay.
Through the billowing smoke behind them, the trailing embers glowing against the dark, wasted landscape, a figure steps strides toward them— a masked man wearing a supersuit in red, a V emblazoned on his chest. His cape flaps majestically in the wind.
Vindication.
Emma sits up. Her friends do too, sharing a terrified look; Emma can only wonder about their last interaction.
Bells is shaking. Jess grips Abby’s hand. Ricky cowers behind Christine. Sasha and Tanya close their eyes, as if they’re trying to use their powers.
Emma’s mind spins. A plan. She needs a plan.
Vindication laughs. “Well, Miss Robledo, how commendable. You’ve found my assets.” he says. His voice is familiar, the way he says Miss Robledo—
Bells squares his jaw, stepping forward. “If you wanted to kill us—”
“Just frighten,” he says coldly. “You weren’t in any real danger from the impact; I just wanted to show you what happens when you cross me.”
“We could have died!” Tanya snaps.
“Perhaps,” Vindication replies. “In any case, it wouldn’t have been a huge loss. There are plenty of other meta-humans I can work with.”
It’s the voice—the tone—the practiced way he’s shaping his words: camera ready, as if he’s leading a show.
“Lowell Kingston,” Emma says suddenly.
“What?’ Jess turns sharply to look at her. “You’re sure?”
Vindication doesn’t say anything, but Emma knows she’s right. Vindication is Kingston. Kingston is Vindication. The very same man who sits as one of the scions of leadership on the Council, the man the country trusts most, he’s been gallivanting around as a masked vigilante.
Abby whips her head toward him, and, behind her, Emma can hear her friends take the image in. The man and his fluttering cape, the way he’s hovering in the air, the glowing embers of the burnt hills behind him, the smoke slowly rising. He’s all coiled anger and power in front of them, the same man who’s graced the news with promises and comfort guiding the Collective toward a bright, shining future.
“That’s who you are,” Emma says. “Those experiments, you had Orion’s research, too. Except you had all of it, and you perfected it. That’s what you were offering. Powers. Activating the meta-gene. Except you can’t fully activate a gene that isn’t expressed in someone. But you can, literally, inject powers into someone, and it would take, if you had enough of their brain tissue.”
“Very astute, Miss Robledo.” Vindication—Kingston—laughs, pulling off the mask. “I clearly won’t be needing this anymore; this was all part of the plan, anyway.”
“And what plan is that?” Jess demands.
“You think I’ll tell you everything?”
He glances up, his eyes cold and triumphant, and then effortlessly floats into the air.
He’s flying. Lowell Kingston is flying. Emma knew Vindication could fly, had seen it recorded; but it’s something else, something utterly and terrifyingly real, seeing it happen before her.
Emma is frozen in shock, in fear.
Through the smoke, more figures are approaching: two, three, five, seven. Emma can’t count them, there are too many. Some of them are distinctly human, but many of them are the square, hovering robots that haunt her nightmares. They’re getting closer.
The first to join Kingston’s side is Dynamite.
Kingston paces, as if he’d timed this for extra drama. “You know, your little Resistance efforts are sad, really. I’ve come across your messages, trying to warn people. Oh, so easy to find, to erase.”
Abby’s hands ball into fists, and she tenses as if she’s going to charge forward, but Jess holds her back. Jess looks at Emma, her eyes questioning.
Emma’s thinking. If he has Orion’s powers—controlled lightning blasts and flight—he should also have her power level. Orion was a Class C, despite all the supplmenets and attempts to be stronger.
“We need to run,” Jess whispers. “I don’t know why my instinct says backward—”
“There’s too many of them, they’d surround us,” Emma says. “And the bots—”
“I’ve got an EMP in my pocket,” Abby whispers.
“Okay. Keep him talking,” Emma says; a plan is forming in her head. “Abby, wait until the right moment.”
“He just said he wasn’t going to monologue,” Ricky mutters.
“Oh, yeah?” Bells says, with exaggerated cheekiness. He gives Emma a sidelong glance and a wink; he knows what he’s doing.
Bells calls out to Vindication, challenging him. “What makes you think you could use those powers better than Orion? It’s all for show, anyhow.”
“Yeah,” Sasha taunts. “Like, flight? That cape?
Christine scoffs. “You look ridiculous. What cheap fabric! Couldn’t you have used something that isn’t polyester?”
Kingston’s eyebrows twitch.
“And what’s up with that color scheme?” Tanya adds. “So gaudy.”
“It’s dramatic,” Kingston says, testily. “I am power, I am influence, I am— VINDICATION!”
Emma yawns. “You’re quite boring as a hero. I’m actually disappointed.”
Kingston’s face turns red. “How dare you? I am the best meta-human this country has ever seen! Better than Orion, better than the original wave really. I’m going to revolutionize the way we use powers. No more of this silly farce.” He grins, every one of his gleaming white teeth sparkling with menace. “The only people who’ll have powers are the ones I decide are worthy. No more Heroes’ League of Heroes, no more Villain’s Guild. It’ll be a new era!”
Kingston laughs, stepping forward, holding his hands out and watching the lightning crackle between his fingertips. “You know, when I first started in Meta-Human Affairs, we talked about so much about meta-humans, especially the truly powerful ones. The idea of the League itself, a group of heroes founded to help people and inspire others, well, after the Disasters, they needed something to focus on. A villain.” He smiles. “Everyone needs a good villain, you know?”
Emma makes a gesture behind her back, encouraging her friends to follow her. How much longer will they need? She steps backward, a few steps at first, then faster. She hopes it seems they’re afraid. Yes, Jess is backing up with her, and Bells, and Abby.
Kingston is still talking. Behind him, other meta-humans approach, and the MR-D4Rs rise up behind them, flanking them like a small army. “Gravitus was an easy scapegoat for the early stages of the League, but it’s really only in the last decade that we really came across a great system. Meta-Human Training, to find the perfect people to cast as villains. Interesting powers, of course, low enough level that they weren’t a danger, and of course finding the right leverage.” Kingston looks to his side, where Dynamite is grinning maniacally. “And of course, sometimes we happen upon individuals that have just the right temperament.”
“Is that why you kidnapped us? Locked us up in tantalum— you were going to take our powers too?” Bells glares at Kingston, and then makes a gesture behind his back. A thumbs up. It’s simple, clear. He trusts her. He trusts Emma’s plan. He has no idea what it is, but he’s going with it. Bells glances at Emma and mouths the words, I got you.
Emma wants to smile back, to repeat it to him, and the tension, the fear, the worry she’s carrying eases. Oh, yes, they could all very well die in the next moment. But right now, she feels invincible.
Emma reaches in her pocket and presses a button on the car keys and behind them she can hear its engine purr.
Kingston shrugs. “Take your powers,” he scoffs. “Nothing so dramatic. It’s quite a lot of work, the power-transfer process. And you’re all quite useless, aside from the shapeshifter.”
Bells tenses.
“Don’t you dare touch him. Stay away from my friends. All of them,” Emma says, her voice hardening with anger. “You think this makes you stronger? It doesn’t.”
Kingston holds up a finger and wags it at her. “You know, despite all her incredible powers, Orion was weak. Gave in to monologuing, which is how I know you children recorded all that incriminating footage in the first place. Unlike her, I am quite aware of the power of image. And I am above monologuing.”
“You killed Orion,” Emma says. There’s a part of her that’s shocked, angry, even sad; she didn’t deserve that.
Kingston gives them a smug grin. “You’re right. And you know, we were right, to rein her in. All she ever wanted was fame and fortune and to be the face of the North American Collective. We gave her all that and more. Why, with her powers, she could have easily been the most dangerous and lethal…”
How long has he been talking? How strong had Orion been? Bells said she’d clocked in at four hours, and that was with supplements. Kingston had another mission this morning, and if he flew here, he must be almost tapped out. They’re so close. They just need the right moment to make a break for it.
“When I say now,” Emma whispers to Abby.
She probably dared too much. She shouldn’t have risked the movement; it’s drawn Kingston’s attention. But Emma had to take that chance.
Kingston’s eyes narrow. “You’re fools, all of you. And don’t you—” he laughs suddenly. “Why, you almost had me. I almost started telling you everything, but I can see right what you’re doing; you think you’re so smart.”
He laughs again. “All this time I’ve been working with the League I thought it was about control. But this? This is unparalleled.” He flies in the air, zooming directly at them. “It turns out that all I needed was some perspective.”
Oh, no. Oh, no. The monologue is over. “NOW!” Emma screams. “Run!”
She whirls around and dashes for the car; behind her, Abby activates the EMP and throws it at Kingston’s supporters and the bots. It goes off in a silent thump, and then the first row of MR-D4Rs powers down.
It’s a mad scramble. Emma’s heart pounds, and she makes sure her friends are right behind her as they rush into the car.
Emma presses on the gas and doesn’t look back.
Ch. 19…
Emma just drives, not even looking for the road. She needs to gain as much speed as she can. Her friends are shouting something, encouragement or fear or both, and then Bells’ hands come to rest on her shoulders, squeezing her in affirmation. The meteors are still incoming, and huge pieces of debris crash about them, all fire and flame and destruction raining down around them. The ground is quaking; every bit of flaming shard thunders as it crunches into the earth.
Emma swerves to avoid a huge piece, and everything turns to hyperfocus. There’s nothing but her beating heart and her hands on the wheel and concentration on getting them out of here. She jerks the wheel to avoid another flaming piece of debris, but she keeps going, keeps pushing forward into the night.
They’ve got to get out of the blast zone. Emma looks at her options: the bare fields ahead of her and the road and the gentle slope.
She turns sharp right toward the hill and lets gravity pull them forward, and then momentum takes the lead and they’re still going, going.
Finally, the car rolls to a stop, and Emma blinks and the world comes back to focus.
“It’s stopped,” Jess says. “The worst is over.”
There are still a few small bits raining down, floating embers falling behind them, but the sky is dark again and the stars shine, glimmering billions of miles away in their distant homes.
Emma turns around and, in the distance, where the building once stood is nothing but a crater reaching out to just a few feet behind them, pocked with huge pieces of a satellite. Shards of metal, twisted and burned beyond recognition, lie scattered across the ground, but everything seems unnaturally cool now. Kingston and the other meta-humans are gone; they must have fled to avoid the impact.
She takes a deep breath, taking in the scent of ozone, and thinks of the dream she had as a child of going to see the stars. The stars had come down to them tonight, but they lived.
Emma’s tempted to keep the car and drive right to Christine’s, but she admits Abby’s paranoia is right; it probably is bugged. It wouldn’t be worth it to escape from Kingston’s clutches only to lead him right to their hideout. They drive to the city and hide the car in one of the ramps leading to the Underbright for future debugging. From there, it’s just a matter of walking through the network of tunnels until they reach the other side of the city.
