The Superhero's Son (Book 9): The Superhero's End Page 14

  “Makes sense,” I said. “There’s an active Resistance force in his world, but it isn’t very large, from what I could tell during my time over there. But if they had help from us, they might be able to free themselves.”

  “Precisely,” said Cadmus. “Now, do you finally understand why I have done everything I have done? Does any of it make sense to you now?”

  It did. All of it. I finally understood what Cadmus had been trying to do.

  But at the same time, I still didn’t like him. I still didn’t like what he’d done to me. Even if it was all for the greater good, I still didn’t trust Cadmus that much. And it was possible he was lying, but I doubted that myself, because he seemed very honest to me at the moment. Besides, his explanation for my lightning powers rang true for some reason; probably because it explained why Mastermind was after me and fit what I already knew.

  “It … does,” I said. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

  “Good,” said Cadmus. “Then you understand why we must keep you away from Mastermind.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to work with you,” I said. “I want to reunite with Blizzard and the others, not help you.”

  “It would be unwise for you to do so,” said Cadmus. “You would do better to stay down here. It is quite secure; after all, neither Mastermind nor White Lightning have managed to break into the Compound yet.”

  “Just because I understand why you did what you did doesn’t mean I have to do everything you tell me to do,” I said. “Nor does it means that we need to work together. The only way to get Mastermind and White Lightning to show themselves is to appear in public and lure them out.”

  “Lure them out?” said Cadmus. “That’s ridiculous and dangerous. You could be captured.”

  “So what?” I said. “Mastermind doesn’t even know where the Apocalypse Switch is located, anyway. Even if he somehow does get me, he won’t be able to do anything because he can’t get to the Apocalypse Switch.”

  “Yes, but you know where I am now,” said Cadmus. “If he gets you, he could get that information from your brain and he will definitely attack the Compound to get me.”

  “Then you guys can just beat him off,” I said. “The Compound is supposed to be the most secure government facility in the world anyway. I doubt Mastermind could break into it very easily.”

  “Given that you just teleported straight into the place without any trouble, I doubt Mastermind would find it difficult to break in here if he wanted,” said Cadmus. “Thus, I am going to ask you to stay here, where you and I will be safe, until our agents on the surface defeat Mastermind and White Lightning. It’s the only way to keep him from getting us.”

  “But you guys have had a pretty bad track record trying to capture him so far,” I said. “Maybe I could beat him if you’d just let me go and look for him myself.”

  “I have already explained why that is a bad idea,” said Cadmus. “Mastermind is smarter than you think. He likely already has a plan in place for defeating you. You must not walk into it.”

  “I won’t,” I said. “I will make him walk into it.”

  “Such foolish boasting,” said Cadmus. “Do you not realize just how delusional you sound?”

  “Mastermind is my dad,” I said. “I know him better than anyone. I can beat him. I know I can.”

  “Did you ever beat your father when he was alive?” Cadmus said. “If not, then how do you expect to beat an alternate universe version of him that is far less merciful and kind?”

  I opened my mouth to tell Cadmus to shut it, but before I could say anything, a sudden rumble caused the floor to shake. Cadmus and I looked at the floor, but it didn’t move again.

  “What was that?” I said, looking up at Cadmus again. “Was that an earthquake?”

  “No,” said Cadmus, though I didn’t like his tone of voice. “This area of the sea doesn’t have earthquakes. But what could it have—”

  A sudden ringing sound came from Cadmus’s pocket. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and, holding it up to his ear, said, “Renaissance, what is it?”

  I heard Renaissance’s voice, but he was speaking too low and quickly for me to understand what he was saying. But based on how grim Cadmus’s expression was—and it was getting grimmer with every passing second—I could only conclude that it wasn’t good news.

  “What?” said Cadmus. “No way. How—? Never mind. Just stop him with whatever you have, okay? Even if that means blowing up entire Levels of this place.”

  “What?” I said. “What are you talking about? Who does Renaissance have to stop?”

  Cadmus lowered his phone and looked at me with an expression of utmost seriousness. “White Lightning. He has somehow entered the Compound and is currently making his way down here even as we speak.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “White Lightning is here?” I said in shock. “That’s impossible.”

  “But it’s also the truth,” said Cadmus. “Renaissance says that White Lightning just appeared on Level One and has already caused extensive damage, though the number of casualties is not yet known. Still, they know that White Lightning is heading here because he’s already entered Level Two, though Renaissance has sent some men to intercept White Lightning and they’re holding him off as we speak.”

  “Damn it,” I said. “Mastermind somehow figured out you are here. How the hell did he do it?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t have any way of escaping and reaching the lower levels, given that you destroyed the submarine that provided the only way out of here,” said Cadmus. “So it appears that we can only stay here and wait until Renaissance and the guards stop White Lightning.”

  “No,” I said. “You can stay here if you want, but I’m leaving. I’m the only person in this place who can beat White Lightning. Renaissance and the guards will just be slaughtered if they try to take him on.”

  “How do you intend to get to him?” said Cadmus. “You can’t breathe underwater.”

  I patted the Teleportation Buckle on my belt. “I’m going to use Dad’s old Buckle to get there. I’ll drop in on White Lightning using the element of surprise.”

  Cadmus put his hands in his pockets, a look of disapproval on his face. “This is not a wise idea. If White Lightning defeats you—”

  “It’s either I go and face him now, where I want to, or I wait and let him fight me down here and possibly break the dome that keeps the water from falling on us as a result,” I said. “So, unless you’re up for an impromptu underwater diving expedition, my plan is better than your plan.”

  I could tell that Cadmus didn’t agree with anything I just said, but then he shrugged and said, “Fine. Go and fight him, if you must. I’m staying here. At least that way, he will not be able to get us both right away.”

  I nodded and, putting in the coordinates to Level Two in the Buckle, turned the Buckle. My surroundings instantly vanished, including Cadmus, who seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye.

  In the next instant, I was out of the dome and standing in the middle of a long hallway that looked more like a war zone than a hallway. The walls were torn and burnt in many places, with blasted off panels showing the Compound’s wiring. The place had a scent of smoke and ozone, but I didn’t see any bodies, oddly enough. Maybe White Lightning hadn’t killed anyone here yet … or maybe he just vaporized them already.

  But then I heard a shout of terror and looked over my shoulder to see White Lightning—my brother—standing above a fallen guard. The guard’s leg was twisted and his chest was smoking, like he’d been hit with a lightning bolt, but the guard himself was still alive. But not for long, because White Lightning was chuckling darkly, his hands crackling with blue electricity as he raised them above his head.

  Acting quickly, I zoomed over to White Lightning and body-slammed him with enough force to send him flying. White Lightning screamed before he crashed into the floor and rolled across it until he slammed into a
wall, which he lay up against with a very stunned and confused look on his face.

  “Are you okay?” I said to the guard lying on the floor. “Did White Lightning hurt you?”

  “Yes,” the guard said with a gasp. “But … who …”

  “Bolt,” I said. “Listen, you stay out of this fight. I’m going to take him down, so you don’t—”

  I was interrupted by a blast of lightning that stuck me in the chest. The impact of the blow sent me flying, but I managed to recover in time to land on the floor in a three point landing. Still, the blast had hit hard, making me cough for a moment before I looked up and saw White Lightning running toward me.

  White Lightning came to a stop about ten feet away from me. His eyes were glowing and crackling with electricity, which made it difficult to tell what he was thinking, but given how angry he looked, I could guess that he wasn’t entirely happy to see me.

  “You,” said White Lightning in broken English. “Brother. Remember … you.”

  “Yeah, you do?” I said. “Well, I’m going to beat you so hard that you won’t remember me or anything else for a long time.”

  “No,” said White Lightning, shaking his head. He pointed at his chest and then at me. “Dad … give me mission. Catch you.”

  “Fat chance,” I said. “How did you even get in here, anyway? Do you also have a Teleportation Buckle?”

  “No,” said White Lightning again. “You come with me. Come with me … now.”

  I shook my head. “How many times do I have to tell you no? I’m not coming with you. Tell Mastermind he can take a hike.”

  “But … Dad,” said White Lightning. “Mission …”

  “Mastermind is lying to you,” I said. “I don’t know what he told you, exactly, but you can’t trust him. He only wants to use you and me to destroy the world. He sees us as nothing more than tools to use to further his own agenda.”

  “Stop insulting Dad,” said White Lightning. He put his hands on his head. “Stop … insulting … Dad.”

  “You understand what I’m saying,” I said. I held out a hand. “Listen, we’re brothers. We shouldn’t be fighting. If you give up now, I will make sure you don’t go to jail for all of the crimes you’ve committed, okay?”

  “Lies,” said White Lightning, taking his hands off his head. “Dad … said you lie. Not to listen.”

  “Mastermind is a liar,” I said. “I’m not the one lying to you. Mastermind is the one lying to you.”

  “No,” said White Lightning. His voice trembled. “No! You lie. No talk. Fight!”

  White Lightning dashed toward me and swung his fists at me. But I dodged his attacks and, grabbing his arm, threw him over my shoulder as hard as I could. White Lightning crashed into the wall with enough force to kill a normal human, but he leaped back toward me like I’d barely slowed him down.

  He threw more punches at me, but I dodged each one. I tried to return the blows, but White Lightning, like myself, was quick, able to dodge the attacks with startling ease.

  But then I missed once, leaving a wide opening that White Lightning took advantage of by punching me in the gut. The blow was like getting hit with a ten ton truck, causing me to gasp in pain before White Lightning brought his fists down on my back and slammed me into the floor.

  I recovered quickly, however, and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid his foot, which came smashing down on the spot where my head had been moments ago. Rolling back to my feet, I blasted White Lightning with a burst of red lightning, which sent him flying again. He crashed into the floor and rolled again until he hit another wall, at which point he just lay there again like he’d been knocked silly.

  I was about to go after him again before a voice shouted, “Bolt!” and I looked down the hall in the direction that the voice had come from to see Renaissance and several guards running toward me. Renaissance barked an order to the guards to go help the guard who I had rescued from White Lightning, while Renaissance himself ran up to me and I noticed that he had a powerless pellet gun in his hand.

  “Renaissance?” I said, looking at him in surprise. “When did you get here?”

  “Just a few seconds ago,” said Renaissance. He looked over at White Lightning, who was getting back to his feet and shaking his head already. “I wish I could have been faster, but I suppose it’s better late than never.”

  “You and the others should stay out of this,” I said. “White Lightning is incredibly dangerous and won’t hesitate to kill everyone here if necessary.”

  “I am the Commander of the Compound, Bolt,” said Renaissance, sounding slightly offended. “It’s my duty to protect the Compound from any and all threats. Besides, with these powerless pellets, I should be able to de-power White Lightning easily.”

  “Assuming you can hit him,” I said, “because he’s very—”

  A sudden yell caused me to look at White Lightning, who was now charging an electrical energy ball in his hands. The ball was growing rapidly, until soon it was twice as big as my head, and he hurled it at us.

  I immediately jumped between Renaissance and the energy ball and shot a blast of red lightning at it. My red lightning collided with the energy ball in midair, creating an explosion that briefly blinded me, but I heard White Lightning moving again and my vision cleared just in time for me to see White Lightning barreling toward me.

  White Lightning’s fists came at me again, but I managed to dodge them and grabbed his wrists. White Lightning hissed, more like an animal than a human, but I wasn’t going to let him get away.

  I looked over my shoulder at Renaissance and shouted, “Renaissance! Shoot him now, while I have—”

  White Lightning headbutted me in the face, sending me staggering backwards and letting go of his wrists. At the same time, I heard Renaissance fire some powerless pellets at us, but White Lightning transformed into a lightning bolt and zapped away just as the pellets hit the floor where he’d been standing, creating small clouds of gas that rose into the air.

  Shaking my head, I looked around, trying to find White Lightning, but he seemed to have disappeared. A part of me felt annoyed at how White Lightning could transform into a lightning bolt and I couldn’t; maybe it was a skill I still needed to learn.

  But then I heard the crackling of electricity in the air and, instinctively understanding what was about to happen, leaped forward just as a powerful lightning bolt fell from the ceiling and exploded on the floor where I’d been standing mere moments before. I rolled back to my feet and looked over to see White Lightning standing in the middle of the blackened floor, slowly rising to his feet as he shook his head. He was scowling, probably due to the fact that he’d failed to hit me.

  He didn’t get a chance to do much else, however, because Renaissance aimed and fired his powerless pellets at him. But White Lightning was quick; he ran toward Renaissance, moving so fast that he was practically a blur even to me, and punched Renaissance in the face.

  Renaissance staggered backwards from the blow, but he tried to aim his gun again anyway. But then White Lightning knocked his gun out of his hands and, with an earsplitting scream, punched straight through Renaissance’s stomach, his hand bursting out from Renaissance’s back.

  Renaissance let out a scream of pain before White Lightning ripped his hand out of Renaissance’s stomach and kicked him back. Renaissance fell flat on his back, where he lay in a gradually widening pool of his own blood.

  “Renaissance!” I shouted. “No!”

  I activated my super speed and ran over to White Lightning. I swung my fist at him, but he dodged it, using his own super speed to make him impossible to hit, and then responded by throwing another punch at me.

  His blow struck me in the face, the impact sending me staggering backwards. But I recovered quickly, raising my arms just in time to block another attack from White Lightning, which came out of nowhere before I even had time to see it. He drove his fist against my arms, however, forcing me back, but I stood my ground and the two of u
s struggled briefly before I shoved him backwards.

  But before I could take advantage of that moment, White Lightning vanished, which I realized was just him using his super speed to make him impossible to see. So I activated my own super speed and immediately saw White Lightning running away from me, perhaps to regroup and rethink his strategy.

  Not that I was going to let him do that, however. I ran after him and, catching up with him, tried to punch him again. But White Lightning dodged my fist and responded with a punch of his own, which I just barely managed to dodge.

  We ran alongside each other, simultaneously trying to punch each other while at the same time avoiding tripping over anything on the floor. We were so engrossed with each other that we didn’t pay attention to anything else; we just focused on trying to take each other down, but so far we were about equal.

  At least until White Lightning growled and aimed his hands at me. A huge, blinding electrical blast exploded from his hands, which I tried to block with my own hands, but I was too slow and the blast sent me flying.

  I went spinning through the air, spinning so fast that I couldn’t make sense of anything, until I crashed into another wall and fell onto the floor. This time, the impact was enough to make my head spin, but I shook my head and looked up in time to see White Lightning coming at me again.

  I got up to my feet just as White Lightning’s fist came flying at me. I ducked, causing his fist to smash into the wall behind me; in fact, he punched the wall so hard that his fist actually got stuck in it.

  I took advantage of his momentary stuck-ness to punch him in the gut, causing him to pull his hand out of the wall and stagger backwards. I followed up that punch with several more, hitting him as hard as I could with every punch. I didn’t give him a chance to react; I just kept hitting him and hitting him, putting all of my strength into each blow.

  Until finally, with one last shout, I punched White Lightning across the jaw and he just collapsed onto the floor. He didn’t get up again, either. He just lay there on the floor, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, clearly unconscious.