John
made sure everything was packed before waking Damien. The boy needed all the
rest he could get, but they needed to leave quickly. Damien slowly dressed as
he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and then the pair gathered their bags and
made to leave. However walking down the hallways, Damien stopped.
“Something
doesn’t feel right,” he said looking back over his shoulder.
“You’re
just tired, Damien. Come on let’s hurry.” John didn’t want to unnerve the boy
any more than he already was, but John could feel it too. The building was too
quiet.
Suddenly
the lights started flickering and then turned off altogether. John pulled
Damien closer to him and turned on a flashlight he fished from his bag. The
hallway was empty both ways; or was it? Ahead of them the beam from the
flashlight seemed to shorten, as if the shadows themselves were walking
forward.
“Go
back to your room, Damien,” John said in the calmest voice he could muster.
There was a balcony, and they could climb down to safety. Damien started
backing up and John held his ground, wanting to make sure Damien made it first.
John stared at the slowly approaching shadows, however Damien’s scream made him
turn around with a jolt. Standing behind them was a shadowy figure with no
discernable features besides for a horrific smile on what passed as a head.
“The
fool’s joker and his spawn! Exactly who I was looking for!” The creature’s
voice was distorted, but understandable. John leapt at the form, yelling for
Damien to run. Instead of colliding with a physical body however, John flew
through the form and landed on the ground behind it. The shadow laughed and
what was its back formed into its front.
“Why
even bother trying, fool? If your special Eagle couldn’t beat me, what hope do
you have?”
John
turned the flashlight up as high as it would go, trying to expel the shadows
using light. The shadow grunted, but followed that up with a laugh. “Really?
You try using light to fight me? Smart thought, but shadow energy is much more
than anyone ever knew!”
The
shadow seemed to darken and the next thing John knew, he was flying backwards
after being kicked hard by the creature. He quickly got back to his feet, only
to be knocked down again. The entire time, the shadow was laughing and Damien
was huddled in corner, watching in fear. The shadow continued attacking John,
and despite the man’s best efforts, he couldn’t hit this foe.
“Come
now, how about you just lie down and let me kill you? That would make it easier
on both of us!”
“You
won’t get that chance, Muahitl!” A blast of electricity scorched the shadow and
it screamed out. Alex was running down the hallway and stopped in between the
villain and Damien.
Abyss
formed back together and roared, “I am called Abyss! And I will devour your
life!”
“You
can try, monster.” Alex ran to meet Abyss, and the two traded punches. Each
time Alex hit the shadow, more of the shadow energy dissipated, but there was
still enough for Abyss to keep himself solid. John staggered to his feet, bloody
and bruised, but he charged to help Alex.
The two men had Abyss surrounded
and were hammering on the shadow when Abyss screeched out. His body blew up
into a radial wave of shadow energy, knocking both men to the ground. John
seemed down for the count, but Alex looked around to find where Abyss went. His
eyes went wide when he saw Abyss standing behind Damien, his hand raised and
shaped into a deadly knife that was poised to kill.
“Damien!” Alex bellowed and
raised a hand to blast Abyss.
Damien turned quickly and saw
the monster behind him. He let out a cry and threw up his hands. Suddenly the
whole building was charged with static, and Alex watched as a burst of
electricity exploded from Damien’s body.
When the wave washed over Alex
he felt completely recharged. More than that, he felt like he was at his upmost
peak. Even John sprang back to consciousness and came up on his elbows. However
the super charge of energy did not help Abyss. The villain screamed in pain and
his body was annihilated, turning into nothing more than a fading shadow in the
dim light.
Damien started to collapse, but
Alex caught him and held him close. Damien was still alive, just weakened from
the attack. John stumbled over, the energy from Damien’s attack already fading
in both men.
“Did you know about his?” Alex
asked, not looking away from his son.
“The doctor’s figured it out
while he was in the hospital. I never had a chance to tell you, but Alex I
think…” John stopped, seeing the smile on Alex’s face. “We need to get him to a
hospital. Again, the poor boy.”
Alex stood up and carried his
son out to the hovercraft. John followed after using the intercom system to
make sure everyone else was alright. Nobody was more than a little hurt, and
John breathed a sigh of relief.
Outside, Alex had buckled Damien
in and started up the hovercraft when John climbed in. “Do you think he’s
gone?”
Alex looked over at his friend
and nodded. “And if not, I think it’ll be some time before he can pull himself
back together after what Damien did to him.”
John looked back at the now
sleeping boy. “He already seems so strong, Alex. He’s definitely going to
become a formidable metahuman one day. Just like his father.”
Alex smiled, “Not like just his
father, John. Like his mother as well.”
As the new day’s sun rose over
the main engine, the Eagle Squad stood on guard, waiting for some news. Alex
had given the command to guard this engine, but that was last night and they
hadn’t heard any news about the shadow monster that attacked the research
facility. Coupled with the faint wave of heat they all experienced, the men
were restless for some information. While the squadron leader left the engine
room and radioed for an update, the sound of breaking glass grabbed everyone
else’s attention. They raised their weapons and looked around for the source. When
the main room was deemed secure after a quick check, they went for the single
closed door in the room. As one of the guards went to open it, the door swung
open. Their guns went up, but their fingers never made it to the trigger, and
the trained soldiers were stunned at what stood before them.
In a gentle but commanding voice
that was soft from not being used in years, the woman spoke. “Stand down,
soldiers.” When they obeyed, she smiled. “Now, will someone please take me to
my husband?”
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