A Superhero Story Chapter 24 - Time to Say Goodbye

Amato grunted as he tried to push a heavy chunk of plaster aside. He had been struggling to free himself for the past fifteen minutes. In the chaos of the roof collapsing, his earpiece had fallen out and been buried somewhere in the rubble. Not knowing what was going on out in the street made him feel uneasy, and he redoubled his efforts. With one last push the plaster gave way, opening up a small gap in the rubble. A ray of sunlight broke through the gloom. Amato frantically pushed at the hole until it was big enough for him to wiggle through. Once he was out, he climbed up on top of the rubble pile to see what was going on.

The sight that greeted him wasn’t a pretty one. On the roof across from him, Azaria, Cael, and Ruaia were lying spread out, unmoving. On the rooftop next to him, hanging from a flagpole, was Kethri, her hand pressed to her side, face pale and sickly, blue liquid dripping from her hand to the ground. He followed the drips and saw Amari lying face up in a small crater, cracks radiating from her. That only left Antain. And Destro, but he didn’t have time for that nonsense right now. He looked around and found Antain stumbling across a rooftop a couple buildings away, on the same side as Azaria. They made eye contact and Amato pointed at the three on that roof. Antain nodded and started off in that direction.

Amato jumped onto what was still standing of the wall and used that to leap over to Kethri. “Are you okay?” He asked.

“Only if the definition of ‘okay’ has suddenly changed to ‘shot with an arrow and trapped with a freaking net,’ then yeah. I’m okay,” she responded. “Now get me out of here.”

He pulled out a knife and cut her free carefully, helping her climb out. “Hold still,” he said, setting her in a sitting position on the roof. He did a quick examination of her side. The arrow was still sticking out of it. He grabbed the end. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly, and broke the arrow, leaving the head in so that she wouldn’t bleed out. Then he tugged at the bottom of his shirt until a strip came off, which he wrapped around her waist and the wound. She cried out once, but didn’t say anything.

Antain made it to the roof that the others were on and slumped against the wall where Cael was lying. He wanted to stop, but couldn’t. Desperate times, desperate measures. He reached into one of his belt pockets and pulled out a needle. Taking off the cover and making sure the liquid would come out, he jammed it into his thigh. The adrenaline shot pulsed through his body, giving him that last push he needed. He crawled over to Cael. “Hey man, get up.” He shook Cael gently, not knowing exactly how injured he was.

Cael groaned. “Five more minutes.”

Antain shook him again. “Come on. We have to go. There’s cops around.”

Cael finally opened his eyes. “Ow, my head.”

“It’s probably just a concussion.” Antain pulled out another adrenaline shot and stuck it in Cael’s leg.

“Agh! At least buy me a drink first,” Cael protested.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. It’s just adrenaline. Now help me with Shady and Fire Phoenix.” The two boys moved over to where the girls were lying, getting them to wake up and giving them Azaria’s adrenaline shots. Antain scowled at how burnt up they both looked. Destro was going to pay for this, somehow.

Amato gave one of his adrenaline shots to Kethri. “Just a little longer,” he assured her. They moved over to the edge of the roof. Kethri moved to grab Amato and fly down but he held her back. “You are in no state to fly right now.”

Kethri grumbled a protest. “Like getting crushed makes you any better. I’m fine.” She took a step forward to prove her point but blood loss was making her dizzy and she stumbled, nearly knocking both of them off the roof.

“See?” Amato pushed a button on his belt, shooting a mini-grappling hook into the roof below them. He scooped Kethri up into his arms. “Hold on tight.”

He jumped off and they slid down to the ground. Amato released the hook and then set Kethri on the ground next to Amari. “Is she okay?” He asked.

“Just peachy…” Amari groaned, attempting to push herself up to a sitting position. A sharp pain shot up her back and she fell back to the ground. “Ow...”

“You both, stay put,” Amato ordered. He looked up and saw that the others were already climbing down the building. They ran over.

“How are they?” Azaria asked.

“As well as can be expected,” Amato said. “I think something’s wrong with Amari’s back.”

“I’m fine,” Amari said weakly. “I just need a moment to rest.”

“You need more than a moment,” Azaria said. “You probably broke your back when you fell.  A fall like that would kill a normal person. You’re lucky to be alive and should act like it, so don’t move.” She checked to make sure that the safety was on before putting her gun up to Amari’s head.

“You wouldn’t shoot me.”

“Try me.”

“Is that really necessary?” Antain frowned.

“Do you have a better idea to keep her still?” Azaria asked.

At this point, Cael had moved over to them. “Hey, Amari,” he said, pulling a cloth out of a pants pocket. “Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?” He put it up to her face and before she could even really struggle much, she was out.

Azaria sighed, putting the gun away. “Good. Now let’s get her and all the rest of us out of here. Now.” She could just feel the cops closing in on them now that Destro was gone.

Right as she said that, a truck she recognized pulled up across from them. The window rolled down to reveal Adamar. “Someone order an exit?” He called.

“Took you long enough,” Azaria said. She pointed to Amari. “We need to get her on a stretcher. Back’s probably broken.”

Adamar walked around the back and pulled a stretcher out of the truck bed. “I heard, so I brought reinforcements.”

They loaded Amari into the backseat, across Antain, Kethri, Ruaia, and Amato’s laps so that they could keep her as still as possible. Cael and Azaria squeezed into the front seat and Adamar sped off. He pulled out his phone to call Sasha, who was waiting at the door for them when they got back.

Antain and Cael carried Amari in. Azaria and Ruaia followed behind. Amato reached in to help Kethri. “I’m fine,” she said, batting his hand away. She wobbled a little bit but managed to walk forward. Amato followed behind, cautiously, ready to catch her at any moment, mumbling something about stubbornness.

Sasha was waiting for them at the door. She took one look at Amari and started ordering everyone around, getting her downstairs. She had to practically drag Cael and Antain down to get checked out when they tried to sneak off to bed. “Oh no you don’t. Everyone underground. Now. I don’t know what you guys are getting into, and I don’t want to. But I’m not going to have anyone injure themselves more by being stupid.”

Everyone except Kethri and Amari got out from under Sasha pretty quickly. A few bumps and bruises, completely exhausted, but pretty okay. Amari was completely immobilized and still unconcious. Kethri was getting some of her saved blood transfused and then Sasha wanted her to stay in the med area overnight. The others went upstairs and sat around the kitchen island in complete silence.

“Well...crap,” Antain said. There was nothing else to say. They had just been brutally beat by a guy they knew nothing about who could come back to wreak havoc at any moment. So they just sat there, unsure what to say to each other.Was this what being a part of a superhero team was going to be like? To get beaten down by the first actual villain that crossed their path.? To have themselves pushed to the brink, not knowing if they could push back? To have friends horribly injured? Was all this worth it? More importantly, could they handle the weight of the world’s safety on their shoulders? Only time could tell.
The silence remained curled around the table like a thick scarf  until they eventually filtered off to bed, tired and confused, wondering what lay waiting for them in days to come.

. . . . .

The room was dark except a small light that glowed happily from a lamp nearby. A silent figure walked in, wearing a plain black tshirt and khakis. He looked around the room with a smile. It was the best he had managed to acquire since they had arrived in this city. He had to admit, of all the places around Earth, it was not his most preferred place to be. There were plenty of places with far more beautiful scenery and better advantages, but this was where the action was. This was where he needed to be if he wanted to accomplish his goals.

He looked around the room again. At least he had managed to find this place. He could have set up his base, but she deserved the best. It also made it easier to go unsuspected.
On the far side of the room, a girl only two years his junior slept soundly on the couch. One hand hung off the edge, submerged in a bucket of water. She still wore her blue dress though he had bought other clothes for her. She had claimed all of them were uncomfortable and unnecessary. He had managed to find a few things she had liked, most of them dresses as well. The thought made him smile more as he crossed over to where she was sleeping. She did not adapt nearly as well as he had.

Carefully, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. She stirred, moving into a more comfortable position before she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.

He smiled. “You fell asleep on the couch again,” he said softly.

A slow sleepy smile appeared on her face as she adjusted so that she was resting on her back. “You were out late again,” she answered. She met his eyes. “Was it a newscast or another debate?”

“A newscast,” he said, scooping her up into his arms. “But we can talk about that tomorrow. You should be getting to bed.”

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his shoulder. “You should too.” She closed her eyes, feeling sleep ready to take her again.

“I will, once you are in bed,” he answered. He carried her into her room and gently set her down on the bed. He looked at her. It had been four years and somehow, in all that time, she had become even more beautiful than when they had left. “Good night, Naida,” he said softly.

She closed her eyes, settling into her bed with a smile. “Good night, Destro.”