When I wake up, I'm in the middle of nowhere. The landscape has no significant features and there is blue-tinted foggy hazy haze in the area.
"Hello?" I call out.
Suddenly I hear the patter of bare footsteps rushing towards me from behind. I whip around readily, but nothing is there. I turn back to where I was, and Ray is standing right there. She is in full makeup like when we left for the night. Her face is unharmed, but her shoes are gone.
"Ray, you're okay!" I take half a step towards her. "I…"
"I needed you Evan," she says dreamily. Even though she spoke softly her voice boomed in my head.
"I know. I… I'm sorry…"
"You were supposed to protect me Blue." Rachels mouth moved to form the words just now, but the sound echoed from somewhere else.
Suddenly a memory comes rushing back. We were back in the lab, right before I went home to change. I see myself and Ray, as if I'm watching the event in third person.
"If things get dire, I'm gonna need you to protect me, 'kay?" she says, in a sing-song manner.
Then she and myself from the memory both turn to face me. The image of my past self… My face is missing! I stare at the two visions in front of me.
"'Kay??" the vision of Ray says, this time in an angry tone.
The vision of me then lifts his arm, he's holding a gun. Before I can react, it squeezes the trigger. There is a loud crack as the gun goes off, and I clench my eyes shut. When I open them, I'm on the rooftop again, the helicopter is taking off.
"What going on…" I say. Suddenly my body jolts into a run, just as I had before. Except instead of jumping, I run right off the edge of the building. As I fall, I look down, there is a black abyss beneath me.
I can feel my power surging, as if I have no control over it anymore. It's rising fast, burning under my skin. It hurts… a lot. It feels like I'm about to explode. My veins are glowing purple with all the Rush in my system. I let out a yell of anguish as I continue my descent.
I wake up with a start. This scene is familiar too. I'm back at the police station… in the interrogation chair. No interrogation light though. Commander Valice is standing across the table from me, with 2 officers each wielding a large blaster.
The commander and I lock eyes, neither of us say a word.
After a moment, I decide to break the silence.
"We really have to stop meeting like this," I quip.
"Where is she," Valice inquires in a cold tone.
"What…"
Valice aggressively marches toward me. "The intern. Where. Is. She."
I look down at my knees. "We got ambushed. She got kidnapped."
"Likely story," the Commander says. "Who took her?"
"…the Allure."
"So that's who you're working for?"
My jaw drops. "Why do you suspect ME of all people?"
The commander gets up in my face. I catch a faint whiff of cinnamon.
"You break out of prison, firstly. You're running around playing hero with one of my agents, and you're interfering with a situation you have no business being a part of."
"I have every right to be a part of this!" I say, frustrated. "Rachel and I made more progress in the Rush case than you and your team have made since it became an issue." I lower my tone and look the Commander square in the eyes. "Face it, I do it better."
The Commander roars and shoves me backwards in my chair. The chair tips and I smash against the floor. I groan. I had hit my head really hard.
"Put him in a cell. I want 3 men on his surveillance at all times," Valice orders.
Two soldiers set me right-side up start beginning to unto the cuffs.
I can't go to prison. Rachel needs my help, and I can't waste time!
"Sorry, gents…" I mutter. The cuffs click open, and I power up. I throw my hands up, cracking the men on either side of me in the nose. I flip over the chair and get behind him.
"Stop him!" Valice yells. "We have a hostile inmate in I-4. Send backup immediately!"
I have to get out of here.
"Permission to fire, Commander?" an officer with a blaster asks.
"Fire at will!" she asks, drawing her own weapon.
"Shit, shit, shit… I don't have time for this!"
I give myself a boost and get ready to move. Energy is flowing through my whole body, from my scalp to the soles of my feet. Let's… GO!
The blaster rays start flying, but I stay low and get out of the room before anybody can react.
"Find him!!" I hear Valence yell behind me. I race down the halls, toward the front door.
I slide to a halt; there are numerous guards by the window. They all turn to look at me. One yells something and they all charge. I turn around and make my way back the way I came. Valice and her men fill the narrow hall. I don't slow down. Just as I'm about to collide with the commander, I take a hard left and run up the wall, onto the ceiling, and back down the other side. I hear the footsteps thundering behind me, blasts whizzing by me on either side. I barely make it into Ray's office. I push a desk up against the door and exit the building through the back.
I race back towards my house. I have to suit up. As I arrive at my destination, I realize the door is ajar. My body runs cold, no time to power down. I cautiously enter through the front door.
"Hello?" I yell. "Mom?"
I walk inside, and sitting at my dinner table is Lucius Ark himself.
"Your mother isn't here right now," he says. "Do come in, make yourself at home."
"What do you want?" I ask. "Where did you take, Ray?"
"She's having a lovely audience with my superiors. Maybe even a cup of tea, as we speak."
I walk over and slam my fists on the table; I had no patience to spare.
"I'm not screwing with you!!" I scream in his face. "Where is Rachel?!"
Suddenly, Lucius slaps my face, faster than I can react! How? My power is active isn't it?
I stagger back, stunned.
"Control your temper, boy," Lucius spits. "You don't know who you're dealing with."
"You'd better tell me where she is," I growl.
"Or what?" Lucius taunts, smirking.
I yell and leap across the room with all my might. I'm going to kill him… Just as I should have collided with the man, there is a blue flash, and I continue moving. I smash into the wall behind the table and crumble to the ground. I feel my power rush out of my body. There is another flash, and Lucius reappears where I had leapt from. He… teleported?
I struggle to my feet.
"Excellent attempt lad," Lucius chuckles. "But you're never going to be able to touch me moving that slow."
"You bastard," I pant.
"No need for name calling. In fact…" Lucius takes out a slip of paper and writes something on it. "Come see us when you're fast enough. My superior has been dying to meet our great hero."
Lucius laughs and, in a flash, he's gone, leaving the slip of paper to fall to the floor. I walk over and pick it up. There are coordinates written on it. I walk upstairs. My suit is still in a pile where I had left it. I pick up the help and put it on. The blue display flashes to life. I hold the slip of paper up to my face. The helmet scans the paper and brings up the location on a map. Wait… that's my old school… I crumple up the piece of paper, throw it aside and take the helmet off. I look in my mirror.
There's blood running down the corner of my mouth, and I have a huge bruise on the right side of my forehead. Some hero I turned out to be. I could save a spot on the bus.
I fall back and lay on the floor. I shouldn't have this power. Anyone could use it better than me. Maybe Commander Valice was right. I'm no different than any other mutant.
Suddenly, I hear front door open then close downstairs. Those footsteps… it's mom! I sit up as she comes upstairs and knocks on my door.
"Come in," I say.
"Oh, my word, Evan," my mom says. "What happened to your face?"
"… fell down the stairs?" I reply. I can't let her know I crashed into the wall at 20mph.
"And what's that?" she gestures to my suit behind me. Oops.
"Uhhhh… Halloween costume?"
"Just make sure you pick up," she replies. "Is something the matter?"
I open my mouth, prepared to tell her every detail of what happened with Ray. I opt against that.
"I just feel like I keep letting people down. No matter how hard I try I always lose."
"I'm sorry, Evan," my mom replies, leaning against the doorframe. "But you know… if you want to improve and be able to reach what people need of you, you can't keep doubting yourself. Your worst enemy is the phrase "I can't." Once you lost the "can't," run after your goals with all of your might, just like that Blue Blur person on the news." I suck in a shocked breath and my mom chuckles. "Anyways, you should probably get some sleep, you look like you took quite a beating."
She shuts the door, leaving me with my thoughts once again.
"My own worst enemy is 'I can't," I mutter to myself in the mirror. "And run after my goals with all my might."
I stand up. My mom is right. I'm not going to fix anything sitting on my butt here. I have the power to run, might as well chase something great with it. I pick up my suit off the floor and start putting it on. Once I have it on, I look at my reflection. My bruise has already healed.
"I'm done losing. I'm going to catch you, Lucius. Hang in there, Ray."
I open my window and vault out. Of course, I hit the ground running. Time to be a hero.