King of superheroes 2, p.2
King of Superheroes 2, page 2
“Right.” I nodded. “That’s definitely how they got me there, whether Dahlia was in on it or not.”
“The terrorist said he was killing two birds with one stone, too,” Hannah piped up again. “His main goal wasn’t to kill the doctors, or blow up the airport. It was to kill you, Mark.”
“I’ve been here all of five minutes, and there’s apparently already a bounty on my head,” I said with another short laugh. “My sister teased me about making a name for myself, but this is… Something else.”
“You’re an Omega,” Rhiannon said, and she fixed me with a green-eyed stare that felt like I was being x-rayed. “People are naturally going to be wary of that. But they’ll see the goodness in you. Just like we have.”
As she spoke, a soft pink flush stained her slightly freckled cheeks, and I smiled across the library table at her.
“So, the bad guy got himself a mole inside the Academy in order to get to you,” Frank recapped, and as he listed everything, he ticked them off on his fingers. “We know the mole is another Super, because he said so. It could potentially be our own mentor, which is great. The terrorist had also mentioned something about ‘us’ and a ‘cause,’ so we know for sure there’s maybe a group who just… Do not fucking like the fact we have another Omega.”
“He knew about my family, about you guys, about… Hannah.” I looked up at my blonde Dreamer girlfriend and sighed heavily. “He knew everything about me.”
“We’ll figure this out,” Hannah said and gave my hand another reassuring squeeze. “You aren’t alone.”
“I told you, buddy,” Frank added as he slapped me on the shoulder with a wide grin. “You’re stuck with me.”
“So, what do we do?” Rhiannon asked as she chewed nervously on her plump lower lip.
“We keep the information to ourselves, for now.” Danny’s calming voice made me finally smile, and I was thankful for how objective our healer friend was. “And maybe we try and do a little digging on Dahlia. I think she’s our best bet at getting some answers.”
“But we have to be kinda covert about it,” Frank said. “She can’t know we’re investigating her.”
“As if she needed another reason to hate us,” Hannah snickered.
“We’ll play it cool,” I assured them. “But I agree. Dahlia probably knows something we don’t.”
A silence fell over the library as the five of us mulled over the situation, and our coffee cups had all long gone cold since we’d started to try and decipher what was going on.
“It’s not just the map, though…” I suddenly said, and my fledgling gang all looked at me curiously as I broke the thoughtful silence. “Dahlia took the white card from me, almost as soon as I’d picked it up.”
“The white card you found at the airport?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah,” I said with an eager nod. “She pretty much ripped it out of my hands and told me not to worry about it, remember?”
“She gave it to Somnia,” Rhiannon said, and her green eyes grew a little wider. “I remember thinking that was weird.”
“So we should keep Somnia at an arm’s length, too,” Hannah reasoned as her face fell into another grim expression. “I wonder what the card was for…”
“Well, I have another one.” I reminded them, and I quickly pulled the shimmering white rectangle of card out of my pocket and put it on the table in front of me. “The guy at the airport gave it to me.”
The shimmering rectangle was a slightly thicker stock than a standard business card, but it had no engravings, no ink, no lettering, it was completely blank on both sides. It was made from a weird opalescent material that felt pretty solid in my hand, but the surface swirled and caught the light, and it seemed to give off some sort of very faint glow, particularly when I picked it up.
“And this was given to you by a guy none of us could see, apart from you?” Frank broke the silence and posed the question with a bushy eyebrow raised high on his face.
“Yeah, I still don’t understand that at all,” I said with a confused chuckle. “He was right there, real as anything, and he handed me this card. He said he… He represented an agency. For supers.”
“An agency?” Hannah asked with a confused look.
“Like a talent scout, or something?” Danny sounded equally dumbfounded.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “But Sim said he represented some sort of organization that specialized in extensive research on Omegas, so…”
“Sim?” Rhiannon asked.
“His name,” I said. “I’ve never heard of him, though.”
“Me, either,” Hannah said.
“Well, now I’m really intrigued,” Frank said and scooped the pearlescent rectangle of card up so he could inspect it further. “There’s nothing written on here at all, though.”
“And he said to call him, but there’s no number.” I shrugged and took the card back off my Conduit buddy. “So I’m as stumped as you are.”
The five of us continued to mull over the apparently never-ending possibilities the airport mission had presented us with, but by the time the sun was high enough in the sky to fill the library with a wash of afternoon light, we were no closer to coming to a conclusion.
And we were starving.
“Let’s head back to the common room,” Danny suddenly said with a heavy sigh. “I can fix us some lunch.”
“I’m surprised Dahlia hasn’t pulled us into another mission yet,” Hannah said, and then she smiled wryly.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m glad for the day off.” Frank stretched his arms above his head again and groaned. “My poor brain is tired, so god only knows how Mark is feeling.”
“Hence why I ended up falling asleep in the library at three o’clock in the morning.” I chuckled and shook my head.
But just as the five of us were about to head out of the library, we heard the heavy doors suddenly shut with a resounding clunk, and we heard footsteps approaching.
It was probably just another fledgling looking to do some research, but even so, my gang remained apprehensively silent as we waited. Given everything we’d been discussing, our nerves were still on high alert, and I quickly slid the shimmering white card back into my pocket as we listened to the approaching footsteps.
We let out a collective breath, however, when Somnia rounded the huge wooden bookshelf and fixed us all with a light smile.
She was the acting principal of the fledgling academy and a member of the Dreamer pillar. Somnia could quite literally control people’s unconscious thoughts, which was an incredibly impressive ability, and I was always surprised she’d chosen to lead the fledglings when she could’ve been out causing literal nightmares for the bad guys.
Her skin was as pale as moonlight, and she had equally white-blonde hair cut aggressively short so it framed her slightly pointed face, but her eyes were huge and dark in comparison to the fairness of her other features. It made her look like an anime character, and her lips were wide and thin and constantly coated in a shimmery pink gloss that glimmered as she smiled.
“I thought I’d find the five of you here,” she said in a soft, feathery voice.
“We just wanted a little… Peace,” I said with a smile.
“I can imagine you did, after last night’s events.” Somnia nodded, and I saw a flash of understanding pass over her dark eyes. “How are you all?”
We all made offhanded shrugs and lightly spoken comments about how we were fine, and Somnia nodded slowly again before she fixed me with another wide smile.
“I hate to break the party up, but…” Her teeth flashed as she blinked down at me. “Mark, Mori has requested your presence in his penthouse.”
Chapter Two
My friends immediately fell into a reverent silence at the mention of Mori, and I just nodded slowly as Somnia continued to smile down at me with her hands clasped in front of her.
“Sure.” I cleared my throat and pushed myself away from the library table so I could stand. “I’ll go now.”
“Thank you,” Somnia said graciously. “Come, I’ll walk you to the elevators.”
I shot a glance at my gang as I walked away, but I followed the acting principal back toward the long row of burnished chrome elevators on the back wall.
“Did he…” I cleared my throat again as Somnia hit one of the buttons with a flourish. “Did Mori say what it was about?”
“I imagine it’s to discuss how well you dealt with yesterday’s emergency,” Somnia said with a warm smile. “You really did very well, Mark, we were all incredibly impressed.”
“Thank you,” I muttered as the elevator doors eventually slid open with a soft whooshing sound.
Somnia just chuckled lightly as we stepped inside, and she pressed the button marked with a ‘P’ for me.
“We had no intention of sending any fledglings into anything quite so life-threatening,” she assured me as we zoomed upward. “So I can only thank you again for your services.”
“And they’re free,” I said and had to fight to keep my voice empty of accusation.
Somnia just nodded without looking up at me.
“Yes,” she said after a little while. “But we train you for free, too.”
“I guess that’s fair,” I said and couldn’t help but share her smile. “Worth mentioning, though.”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm for the job,” Somnia said, still with her teeth sparkling behind her smile.
The elevator slowed, and then the doors slid open to reveal Mori’s living quarters. Somnia gestured for me to cross the threshold, but the fledgling principal remained in the elevator.
“Thank you, again, Mark.” She nodded at me as the chrome doors eventually slid shut and hid her from view before I could reply.
The penthouse apartment remained silent as I stood beside the elevator doors, and I looked around with the same level of admiration I’d felt when I’d first come to Mori’s living space.
He had the entire upper floor to himself, and it was far more luxurious than any hotel I’d ever stayed in. The floors were stained and highly polished hardwood, with the main space covered in a huge red velvet rug with gold thread in a delicate filigree that splayed out into tassels at the sides. The two massive couches in the center of the apartment were made of a deep brown leather, and the coffee table between them was a gigantic hunk of oak wood with a huge golden vase full of fresh flowers that filled the air with a light but still pleasant scent.
There was also an armchair in the same brown leather I knew Mori favored, so I slowly crossed the space to take a seat on the closest couch. The diamond sconces on the walls made the soft light sparkle with delicate rainbows, and the gold-framed oil paintings full of portraits stared down at me as I waited.
I assumed they were either past benefactors or alumni of the academy, because I noticed a portrait of Pyro, the snooty movie star who’d taken the Conduits out on their first expedition, hanging on the wall directly opposite me.
He sneered down at me, and I avoided the painted eyes and looked around as I waited for Mori to make an appearance.
He did eventually, and I smiled courteously as the owner of the fledgling academy finally came to greet me.
“Mr. Maddock!” he said with a flourish as he crossed his plush apartment with long purposeful steps.
I immediately stood and shook the hand he extended toward me.
Mori was a slight man, but sharply dressed. He wore a dark gray, almost black, three-piece suit with silver cufflinks on his wrists and a silver chain dangling from the watch pocket, and the silver-colored silk tie tucked into his vest glimmered slightly as though it were sewn from fish scales. His eyes were black and beady and sparkled with something unknown, like he was in on a joke no one else could hear, and his hair was thick but slicked back like an old fifties gangster.
“Hello, sir.” I nodded respectfully.
“I believe congratulations are in order,” Mori said and slapped me on the shoulder as he finally released my hand.
“What for?” I asked.
“The airport, of course.” Mori waved his hand and then crossed the living area toward the bar by the windows.
It was carved from black marble mottled with pale gray and white stripes, and he pulled two large crystal tumblers that were already frosted from inside a small refrigerator beneath.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked.
“Isn’t it a little early for that?” I chuckled.
“It’s never too early for a properly prepared drink,” Mori said with a casual wave of the hand. “Don’t let me drink alone.”
“You’ve twisted my arm.” I grinned. “Whiskey again?”
“I don’t see why not,” Mori said and returned my smile with an impish smirk. “You deserve it. But maybe a cocktail this time, so we can celebrate properly.”
Instead of the incredibly expensive Macallan twenty-five he’d given me before, Mori got to work behind the bar. He presented a large crystal bottle of bourbon with an enigmatic flourish and then started to pull things out of the bar with ease. He put a crystallized brown sugar cube in the bottom of each glass, dashed them both with a tiny bottle of angostura bitters, and then muddled the sugar with a tiny wooden mallet until it dissolved.
“There is something to be said for a classic old fashioned,” Mori said while he worked on our cocktails. “It’s a favorite of mine.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever had one,” I said as I watched him with interest. “I’m not really a cocktail guy.”
“You must learn to be,” Mori chuckled as he placed a completely clear hunk of ice into each tumbler.
“I’m sure I can be swayed,” I said. “Especially if it involves whiskey.”
“You sound like me.” Mori flashed me an easy smile. “The trick is to keep the orange as fresh as you can. People tend to peel it before they pour the whiskey, but…”
Mori shrugged and popped the cork out of the crystal bottle of bourbon with an exaggerated movement.
“I think it’s far better to do it at the very last moment.” He poured a healthy glug of bourbon on top of each large ice cube, and the bittered sugar at the bottom of the glasses immediately swirled within the amber liquid.
I watched as the well-dressed man grabbed a huge orange from beneath the bar and expertly cut two slices of its peel away from the fruit. He twisted each strand so the citrus oils sprayed against the whiskey and ice, popped the peel into the drink, and then used a metal cocktail stick to stab a syrup-coated maraschino cherry, which he placed against the rim.
“There,” he said proudly and held my cocktail out. “A proper old fashioned, to celebrate.”
I clinked the rim of my drink against his and took a long sip. The fusion of fiery whiskey with bitters, sweet sugar, and tangy citrus oil splashed against my tongue, and I immediately understood why Mori liked them.
“Oh, wow, that’s actually really good,” I muttered.
“I consider you a convert,” Mori said and then chuckled as he motioned to the couches.
He made a beeline for his armchair, and I took a seat on the closest leather couch, still with my drink in hand.
“So,” Mori said after he’d taken a healthy swig of his own drink and set it down on the wooden coffee table, on top of a leather coaster. “Tell me everything that happened.”
“Well, I’m sure Dahlia has already given Somnia a debrief,” I said with a slightly forced smile. “I saw her at the airport, after… Everything.”
I covered my unease at the mention of the bomb threat by taking another sip of my old fashioned. Mori just studied me for a moment while twiddling the metal cocktail stick that still held the sweetened cherry, and then he shrugged and nodded in understanding.
“I told Somnia to go,” Mori said slowly, and his black eyes suddenly bored into me with a heightened curiosity. “Once we realized the airport was in fact the true threat of the evening.”
“She made sure we were all okay, after.” I nodded. “Dahlia was the one to put me forward, though. General Navi didn’t want me to go in, but…”
I very nearly let the torrent of words tumble out of my mouth like a tidal wave, but I clamped my lips closed and then smiled up at Mori instead.
“But you did anyway,” Mori said. “I’m very impressed, Mark.”
“I was just doing my duty.” I shrugged. “Any other fledgling would’ve done the same.”
“I’m not sure the outcome would have been the same,” Mori said, and his words sounded calculated.
I searched for their secondary meaning but came up with nothing, so I took another sip of my cocktail.
“It was mostly instinct, anyway,” I said. “I mean, I’d never… Well, I never really thought I’d be going toe to toe with a suicidal terrorist, at least not this soon, but…”
“You had a great deal of responsibility put on your shoulders last night, Mark,” Mori said, and he sounded almost apologetic as he continued to stare at me with his jet-black eyes. “I’d like you to tell me about it.”
He must’ve sensed I was holding out on him, and I let out a heavy sigh as I absentmindedly pushed the cherry around the half-melted ice cube in my drink. I watched the now diluted amber liquid swirl of its own accord, even after I’d stopped moving the cocktail stick around, and the orange peel floated on the one side.
“It was a lot,” I finally admitted. “I… We’d actually been out drinking, before.”
“More cocktails?” Mori asked with a knowing grin.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve definitely enjoyed Miami’s mojitos since moving here.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. “And don’t worry, we weren’t under the influence by the time we got to the airport. My friend, Danny, he’s a healer, so he… He actually used his power to give us an instant hangover cure.”
“He’s a member of the Corps pillar?” Mori asked with a raised eyebrow. “He was able to dispel the alcohol in your bloodstream?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I told him it was pretty damn useful.”
