Shrieker’s eyes went wide in disbelief.Oh, that’s why they do it. A little slow-motion confidence.I didn’t need Griffin to give me his expertise. I was learning the tricks of the trade.
“You? Again?” The wide eyes faded as they rolled back in his head. Apparently, my amazing dismount and posing with my shoulders as wide as I could muster didn’t strike fear into the teen.
“Yeah.” I smiled as the flames wrapped around my body. “I’ve got a few more?—”
The fast screech hit like a ton of bricks, forcing me to dig my heels into the cement. With a sudden burst, he diminished the flame, knocking the flare out of my entrance. At least being the focus of his tantrum was giving the cheerleaders a chance to scramble down the street.
Flying didn’t require pushing off the cement. It wasn’t willing myself off the ground. I wanted to be up, so suddenly, I was where I needed to be. A split second later, I was as high as the three-story building, outrunning Shrieker’s sonic death cry.
Bricks exploded as he attempted to send me sailing into the building. I only needed to be on the receiving end once to learn my lesson. As I kicked off the wall, the surrounding windows erupted, sending shards of glass in every direction.
Okay, maybe I was showing off.
“Payback…” Fire erupted around the boy in a circle. He spun about, using his scream to extinguish the flame. “…is a bitch.” Just as he finished, I fired a bolt of fire, nailing him in the back. The tiny explosion sent him rolling until he stopped on his stomach.
“Oh, did you just get your butt handed to you?”
“I’m not done, old man?—”
Propelled by a burst of speed, I grabbed the kid by the back of the shirt. I spun him about as we levitated inchesabove the asphalt. The boy sucked in air, preparing to unleash a blood-curdling scream.
“I wouldn’t.” My finger jabbed at his chest, a flicker of flame jumping to his body. His shirt burned, exposing a bit of skin. “Right between three and four,” I said as I jabbed at his skin. “Only skin and ligaments to burn through before I hit your heart.”
The kid stopped inhaling. He held his breath as he contemplated if I was a hero or villain. Part of me wanted him to struggle so I could school him. I probably shouldn’t take this much pleasure in beating a teenager at a game of ‘Who was stronger.’ I shouldn’t, but I was, and I nearly laughed at how smoothly the victory had gone.
“Let me go,” he said as he exhaled.
“I just caught you red-handed chasing a bunch of girls. I’m pretty sure you’re going to finish growing your short hairs in prison.” Not my best dialogue, but I thought it came off as witty.
He gave a slight shrug, testing my strength. When I didn’t let go, he kicked his legs, trying to touch the ground. “Let me go.”
“What makes you think?—”
“I know how the heroes lost their powers.”
I froze, trying to determine if he was lying. Narrowing my eyes, I could feel the fire pouring from the corners. I almost believed I could burn a literal hole through him if Iwanted. But he held up his hands, the universal sign for defeat.
“How would you know?” I’m not sure I trusted a villain trying to save his own hide. I did, however, trust a teenager to roll over at the first sign of turbulence.
“Notice not all the villains got their powers? We had to strike a bargain to keep them.” I’m sure I could recall Griffin making a statement about how some of the bigger villains hadn’t shown their faces since the depowering. Nobody had time to question it with all the criminals running amok.
“Let’s say I did. What of it?”
He panicked, eyeing the finger poking through the hole in his shirt. Shrieker believed I’d make good on my promise. This villain, no, thisteenager, thought I’d kill him. While throwing around super abilities, I was content to beat up the kid, to be the better-powered individual. But him thinking I’d kill him in cold blood, that was a blow that’d no super suit could protect me against.
“Are you—” He focused on my fingertip. “Are you going to kill me?”
I couldn’t shake him down andnotbe threatening. I could compare the fine line that heroes walked to a tightrope. Right now, I could barely walk on the ground, and yet I had been promoted to the high-wire act. There was no turning back.
“Depends.”
“Smoke.”
I growled, causing the kid to flinch. “What does he have to do with this?”
“He gets his powers from a magical amulet.” There were hundreds of powered people who harnessed the arcane arts. Vanguard had almost been pulled into a Hell dimension once, because somebody checked out the wrong book from the library. This didn’t surprise me in the least.
“What’s that have to do with the heroes?”
