King of Superheroes, page 20
Hannah was silent for a moment, and I hoped that meant she was concentrating on finding the elderly woman.
“West side of the apartment,” Hannah eventually said. “She’s weak, you need to get her out like, right now. Sooner, even.”
“Yeah, same goes for us,” I muttered as I moved Rhiannon and I through the burning apartment.
It definitely had the elements of an old lady’s home, and the stench of burning plastic from the couch solidified that theory. I did as Hannah instructed and pushed through the raging flames toward the western side of the apartment, and I let out another groan when I found another closed door.
“Stay behind me,” I said to Rhiannon and then kicked the bedroom door down just as I’d done with the first one.
I didn’t get another almost uncontrollable wall of fire this time, though, and I was grateful for it.
Mrs. Hackney had apparently paid attention to when the firefighters visited her in school as a young girl, which admittedly was a good handful of decades ago probably, but the advice had still saved her life.
The frail old woman was curled up in a ball on the ground, as low as she could get away from the deadly cloud of ashy smoke that hung in the air like a bodiless reaper, and she was half-covered in a thick quilted blanket.
She was completely unconscious, which I wasn’t surprised about, and just as I was about to scoop her into my arms, Rhiannon let out a yell.
The apartment hallway behind us had suddenly caved in with a heavy sigh, and the smoke billowed as rubble and wood and furniture crumpled beneath the sudden weight of the fire.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, and I whirled around to inspect Mrs. Hackney’s bedroom for anything that might help us make it out.
“What do we do?” Rhiannon choked her question out.
“There’s a window,” I said thickly as I squinted through the smoke. “Can you carry her?”
“I’m sure I can, she doesn’t look like she weighs a lot at all, but… I can’t carry you, too.” Rhiannon’s voice had already given way to panic, and I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said to her, and I shook my head when she tried to speak back. “I’m serious. Get her out of here and get her to Danny as soon as possible.”
“But, Mark--”
“You need to go!” I yelled above the raging fires, and I pushed the slumped and still unconscious frame of old Mrs. Hackney into Rhiannon’s arms and then quickly steered the Tempest to the already blown out window.
The smoke and flames had already billowed out of the exit point in a steady stream, and I threw my hands up so that I could tear the pillar of fire away from where it was desperately clawing at the air in its quest to find more oxygen.
Once I’d cleared the window of fire, I just nodded to Rhiannon, who took one look at me, grimaced, and then launched herself out of the window with the thin frame of Mrs. Hackney in her arms.
I watched as long as I could, until I was mostly sure they’d made it to ground level, and then I focused on my own situation.
Which was pretty fucking dire.
The entire apartment was a blazing inferno, and I could no longer really discern walls and rooms and furniture. It was all one roiling mess of red-hot flames, and it was all I could do to just keep the fire off my body.
My suit was as flame retardant as a firefighter’s, and with my natural Conduit ability, I was confident I wasn’t going to get roasted alive. But the smoke was another matter entirely, and one I hadn’t factored in my life-saving mission.
I let out another painfully dry cough and held my arm up against my face, in a futile attempt to keep the oppressive furls of ashen air away from my respiratory system. But my eyes were already full of stinging tears, and my chest was so tight it felt like it was going to explode every time I took a short, tentative breath.
I suddenly found myself incredibly envious of Rhiannon’s ability to fly.
“Hannah?” My voice was croaky and painful.
Mark? Hannah asked desperately. Rhiannon made it back down here with Mrs. Hackney, where are you?
“Still up here,” I said with a groan. “Tell me there’s no one else up here.”
I don’t hear anyone at all, Hannah said quickly. You need to get out of this building, Mark, the windows in all of the lower apartments have blown, too. The entire building is on fire now, if you don’t get out, it’s gonna come down on top of you!
“Yep, it’s on my to-do list,” I said with a crazed chuckle that quickly turned into a hacking cough. “Shit. Okay. Yeah, I’m bailing.”
Just as I signed off, the ceiling of Mrs. Hackney’s bedroom caved in with a sleepy sigh, and I was pushed to the ground as I was buried beneath the burning remnants of the apartment above. I didn’t even have time to process that really, though, because the weight of the ceiling collapse caused the floor of Mrs. Hackney’s apartment to cave in, too, and I found myself tumbling through floors of fire and concrete columns and various pieces of unidentifiable burned furniture. I landed several seconds later in a pile of burning debris, but somehow I managed not to be crushed or pinned, so I shoved myself to my feet with a long groan.
I couldn’t catch a breath, I couldn’t tell what was up or down, and it was all I could do to keep my mind tethered to the tongues of flame that desperately wanted to devour me.
I just knew I needed out, but I didn’t know how to literally battle my way out of a burning building when I was several stories up. All I could focus on was the fire as it raged like an angered god, and it took up every little space within my consciousness.
The only thing I knew to be true at that moment was fire.
Until I suddenly remembered my makeshift Tempest lessons with Rhiannon, about how I’d used the negative space around her to zone in on my ability. Maybe I could apply this to my Conduit power, too.
If I found negative space in the inferno, that meant I’d find a place void of fire. Which meant freedom from the blaze.
I screwed my eyes shut and held the fire inside of my mind, but I pushed and pulled at the burning energy until it felt tangible inside my head. I prodded at it, focused on where it was and where it came from and where it would eventually end up, until finally I found a gap in the flames.
I moved blindly, because I had to use a good majority of my already wavering focus to keep the flames from engulfing me. I zoned in on the negative space and pushed my way toward it, until I suddenly found myself back in a stairwell.
The metal was white hot, but as I squinted ahead of me, I could just about make out the number two stamped to the wall. Two stories up, that wasn’t so bad.
I could survive that.
I shoved myself forward, down, stumbled across warped twists of metal and broken furniture, fell into a pit of fire that almost broke my focus, until finally, finally, I could taste the first breath of semi-fresh air.
I let out a choked gasp and pushed my way toward it, not knowing whether I was up or down or if I was still in the stairwell or back inside the apartment building, but after what felt like an eternity, I felt a sudden breeze wash over my face like a lover’s kiss.
I stumbled out onto the street, just as the building behind me yawned, creaked, and then slammed fully into the ground as the rest of the structure gave way to the fire. I figured it had only been me that had held the remainder of the building up, and now that I was free of it and could release my grip on the flames, they took the apartments as their grand prize.
Everything was silent for a moment, and my eyes were still blinded by ash and smoke. Then I heard the wail of sirens and a gaggle of voices shouting as one.
“Get him outta here!” I heard one gruff voice shout.
I felt a shove to my shoulder, and I stumbled and fell to my knees.
“Get those hydrants working, I want every single one!” I heard another faint voice call out.
I blinked as my eyes were met with flashing lights, and then a familiar face swam in front of me.
“Mark?”
I groaned and blinked at the fog again.
“Mark!” Hannah gripped me by the shoulders. “Mark, hey, are you okay?”
“I’m here!” I heard Danny’s voice from behind the blonde Dreamer.
“I can’t breathe…” My words were choked and painful, and I swallowed thickly as I stumbled to my knees.
“Hey, hey, I got you.” I heard Danny’s voice again as a new pair of hands grabbed at me, and I groaned as I forced my eyes open.
My Corps buddy had a look of steely, professional determination on his face, but his eyes showed the worry he was trying to hide. I could see Frank, Rhiannon, and Hannah all hovering over me with sheer panic on their faces, and I just blinked wearily as Danny pressed both of his hands to my chest.
I felt a sudden rush of comfort swell through my lungs, and I gasped as clean air filtered through my respiratory system. The ache in my muscles disappeared, the intense scratch in my throat softened almost immediately, and I let out a grateful moan as Danny’s healing ability did its job.
After a moment, I hauled myself around into a sitting position and let out a disgustingly wet cough.
“That might take a little while to sort itself out,” Danny said with a wry smile, and he slapped me on the shoulder. “You doing okay, buddy?”
“Thanks to you,” I rasped and flashed him a wry smile. “Remind me to contact Amanda and ask for a respirator for when I have to go into burning buildings.”
“Good idea,” Frank said with a nervous smirk. “But everyone’s okay, right? We did the thing, we saved everyone, another success?”
“So it would seem.” Dahlia’s voice sounded above us, and we all looked up at our mentor. “Danny fixed everyone up pretty good. Including Mrs. Hackney.”
I glanced across the street to where several ambulances and a crowd of EMTs were checking everyone over, including a still unconscious but apparently stable Mrs. Hackney. I let out a long breath of relief, and then I grimaced after I ran a hand through my hair and was greeted with a fistful of ash and soot.
“I need a shower,” I said. “Dahlia, are we good to go back?”
“Yep,” our dark-haired mentor said, and she even extended a hand to help me up. “Good work today.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I couldn’t mask my surprise as I looked back at my team.
The ride back to the Academy was pretty quiet, since all of us were still in a slight state of shock, or exhaustion, after the chaos of the day.
But like Frank had said, a job well done. I might’ve almost fucked my lungs up for it, but still, we saved everyone that needed saving.
Another successful fledgling mission to tick off the roster.
Though I hadn’t exactly banked on how chaotic the fledgling missions were going to be. Despite Miami being a huge city, the number of situations we’d already been called upon, especially as fledglings, was actually quite surprising. Regardless, I was always keen to flex my so-called Omega powers, so the more I did out in the real world, the more I could hone my multiple skills and abilities and achieve greatness.
Or so Mori, and my friends, kept telling me.
I desperately wanted to speak to Mori again, to talk about the research I’d done on the last Omega and my admittedly strong fears of impending insanity at being the world’s next.
But after the fire, I didn’t have the energy to dwell too deeply on my future. All I wanted to do was wash away the grime, dust, sweat, and ash from every inch of my skin, so when we finally made it back to the Academy, I spent a good thirty minutes just standing under the comforting warmth of my en-suite shower.
When the water finally began to run clean, I quickly scrubbed every inch of myself before I got dressed in a pair of gray sweats and a baggy t-shirt, and then I met my super team at our usual table in the common area.
“I made coffee,” Hannah said, and she ran her hand absently through the still half-wet mess of hair on my head as I took a seat.
“Thanks,” I said gratefully as I poured myself a cup from the French press and relaxed in my chair. “How are you all doing?”
“We’re all fine,” Frank said quickly. “How are you doing, more importantly?”
“I’m also totally fine,” I replied with a tired smile. “Just exhausted, but I figure that’s sort of fair. I promise, though, I’m okay.”
“Well, we were worried about you.” Rhiannon’s voice was quiet and still a little hoarse.
“I’m sorry I put you through that,” I told the green-eyed Tempest.
“None of that was your fault, Mark.” Rhiannon shook her head. “I’d have done that, and more, as part of any team. We work together, that’s what we do.”
“You’re right,” I sighed, but then I sat up a little straighter when I remembered her trying to open the apartment door. “Wait, is your hand okay?”
Rhiannon held up her right hand, which was covered in tightly wound bandages.
“Danny did his thing,” she said with a smile. “I’m really fine, I promise.”
“Just don’t go getting yourself trapped inside a collapsed, burning apartment building, okay?” Frank shoved me in the shoulder with a wry smile. “Not all of us are multi-talented like you.”
“Okay, okay,” I chuckled.
“Fledglings!”
We all looked around at the sudden commanding voice that rang out through the common area, and we spotted our icy-haired principal standing by the elevators.
Somnia had appeared in the fledgling common room, and as she raised her arms to command attention, the large living space outside of the dorm rooms fell into a reverent silence.
“Good evening,” Somnia said with a warm smile, and she eventually lowered her hands so she could hold them in front of her. “I would like to extend our thanks and gratitude for your unwavering help this last week.”
A slight mutter rose throughout the crowd of trainee superheroes, but it died down almost as quickly as it started when Somnia continued to speak.
“I know you’ve been really put through your paces, and the Federation would like me to extend its thanks to each and every one of you. We have seen a surprisingly large number of incidents that require our attention, and you’ve really helped to pick up the slack. So, please, give yourselves a round of applause, because you deserve it!”
Somnia immediately put her hands together, and after a beat, the rest of the common room followed suit. It seemed as though no one was really sure how to take her commendations, because we were all pretty exhausted from suddenly being thrust out into the chaos of the real world, but we were also equally fueled with adrenaline and excitement at the prospect of turning our training into a full-time superhero career.
Although, both Somnia and Dahlia had made comments about how the world suddenly needed looking after a hell of a lot more than usual, and I couldn’t help but attribute the sudden influx of disasters with my unusual Super activation.
If I truly was the first Omega in almost a hundred years, then the surprising number of incidents that seemed to be rife at the moment was actually quite concerning.
I wondered if the two were correlated, whether the world was descending into steady chaos thanks to my very existence, but I pulled myself out of dire thoughts as the applause began to turn thunderous. Then Somnia laughed loudly as she continued to lead the clapping. She let it continue for a long while, but eventually she held her arms up again to signal for quiet, and the fledglings fell into a silence that still buzzed with anticipation.
“With this in mind!” the icy-haired Dreamer said loudly, and another smile formed on her pixie-like face. “We have a tournament fast approaching. I appreciate that this has been put on the back-burner, considering the number of missions you’ve all successfully completed, but it is still an integral experience during your time training at the Academy.”
“A tournament?” I whispered to my team.
“Don’t worry.” Danny smirked from where he was sitting beside me. “No doubt you’ll get first place, wonder boy.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I’ll still have to go up against everyone, fair and square,” I said with a snort of derisive laughter. “But a tournament sounds like the perfect way to exercise all this pent-up energy I’ve somehow always got.”
“I can think of other ways to exercise it out,” Hannah said as she innocently checked her nails.
I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to stop the loud burst of laughter that bubbled its way up my throat, and when Rhiannon looked over at me with a raised eyebrow, I steered my gaze to my lap.
“The tournament is meant to be a lot of fun,” Rhiannon said, and I could tell she was trying to keep her voice as level as possible.
“It’s held every year,” Danny added. “Everyone battles within their pillar, until a fledgling comes out victorious. Then it’s pillar versus pillar.”
“I wonder where I fall into that, then…” I muttered and chewed thoughtfully on my bottom lip as I turned my attention back to Somnia.
“-- and once that pillar has a champion fledgling, they will do battle with each other until just the one victor remains!” Somnia said as she rattled off the rules Danny had just as quickly explained to me, and the room quickly filled with applause again.
“One victor to rule them all?” Rhiannon muttered beside me, and I smiled at her nerdy Lord Of The Rings reference because Hannah had already referenced the same thing not long ago.
“Well, that’s what the last Omega did,” Frank said eagerly. “Remember? The last Omega ended up ruling over every super, though he went sort’ve mad with power.”
“We won’t let that happen to Mark.” Hannah’s voice was firm but still had a teasing edge to it, which was solidified by the smirk she threw me from across the table.
“Whoa, whoa.” I held my hands up with a chuckle. “Who says I wanna be the one to rule them all?”
“I mean, it must come with a fair amount of status,” Danny reasoned.
“Which automatically means fame and fortune,” Frank added with a suggestive waggle of his bushy red eyebrows.
