Blue Nexus #26--Boomer Sooner

                                 

          An uncomfortable silence fell into the courtyard. Patton looked back and forth between the two Nexuses, waiting for a response of some kind. Kyle was completely unsure of what to say.

          Two hundred fifty people just vanishing with nobody making a big deal out of it? That’s insane, almost impossible. Then again, how had he or anyone in the Zanderia not noticed? It was all from one city, so it would be concentrated, and since it was a major East Coast city, it would have sparked something on a scanner, wouldn’t it? Eclipse should have noticed y now for sure.

Kyle stole a glance up to Hood Nexus, who was in deep thought as well. Patton sighed, then placed her hands on her hips in impatience.

          “We don’t really have time right now for you to be thinking about how this all happened, what matters is that we find these people and get them back to their homes,” she said.

Hood Nexus nodded. “I agree, but we have to know who took them to know where they went. And I can’t think of anyone that’s able to just up and take two hundred fifty people. It’s just not possible.”

           “What’s just not possible is a couple of young men flying around with blue auras punching aliens,” Patton said. “You think five years ago we would have predicted this? The weirdest thing back then was just a rumor about a silver-hooded man in Pacific city, now we have aliens and magic and who knows what. It’s possible alright, it’s dangerously possible that this can happen and nobody notice it.”

            “Are you blaming us?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “Of course not. I’m just saying that weird things have been happening. Especially since the Tiger Trio attacked the school. Ever since then, stranger and stranger things have been going on in the area, be it here or in East City. Neither of you have been around much, have you?”
            Kyle and Hood Nexus shook their heads. Kyle was either out of commission, waiting for Brenda to come back, or off on a mission while Hood Nexus was just always sort of gone for prolonged periods of time.

            “People just randomly attacking each other. Each day the hospitals get filled to the brim with people hurt and saying that a voice in their head was trying to take control of them. Again, people are disappearing. A few who were thought to be gone have turned up dead or in some sort of coma. Even by your standards, you know this isn’t normal, that there is some sort of evil or something around here.”

            “Makes you wonder if all of this has been planned out ever since Fire Tiger,” Hood Nexus said. “Even this, our little meeting to get us away from East City after a fight with Gargador. That strange mage appeared and nearly killed the two of us, and she came right the hell out of nowhere.”

            “East City, what did you guys find there, anyway?” asked Kyle.

            “Nothing to smile about,” Hood Nexus said. “Phoenix was tricked into a trap planted by some guy, and a normal human was given super strength but wasn’t fully in control. He nearly had Phoenix before I showed up to help, but it shouldn’t have even escalated that far. Someone’s invaded East City, and they have a titanium hold on it.”

            Patton crossed her arms and nodded. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then bit down on them. She was getting nervous, Kyle noticed.

            “So it’s even worse than I thought,” she muttered.

            “It’s also something, right now, that is extremely difficult for us to handle on our own,” Hood Nexus said. “Both of us have been pretty beat up over the course of the last few days and we’ll need time to regain our strength and mount some sort of attack.”

            “How do you plan on doing that, how can we hold them off on our when even a superhero like Phoenix can barely handle one of these freaks?” Patton asked.

            A flash of red appeared in Kyle’s mind, and he looked up, seeing Brenda floating down toward them. She touched down lightly, and moved toward the group.

            “What’s going on?” she asked. “Why’d you leave the battle so quickly?”

            “We were forced to retreat,” Kyle said. “By another mage.”

            “I thought I noticed some magic, but it’s one I’m not too familiar with,” Brenda said. She shook her head. “Anyway, what’s the detective doing here?”
            Patton grimaced, then filled Brenda in on all she’d told the two other Nexuses. Kyle watched as Brenda managed to maintain her composure. Normally something like this would get her all riled up and she would be fitting to burst any second to find the perpetrator. Not only that, but if there were the possibility of magic involved, she would be all over it. Brenda didn’t necessarily have a dominating complex about magic, Kyle noticed, but she was always looking to sniff out any magic that may creep up.

            “And we really have no idea who might be the one doing all of this?” asked Brenda.

            “Nobody we’ve come across deals with this sort of manipulative stuff,” Kyle said. “Everyone is science-y. Well, I mean, sort of.”

            “Sort of?” asked Patton.

            “I mean, there is one guy who might have the gall to do this,” Kyle said. “Problem is, I have no idea who he really is, or how he would have access to this stuff.”

            Patton shook her head. “That’s just as good as having nobody.”

            Boomer took his gaze off of the screens. The mage archer had vanished and Gargador was collecting himself after a near beat-down at the hands of the two Nexuses. Had that shadowy figure, or the archer, not interfered he would certainly be dead and Boomer would be facing a setback. Gargador was a prime distraction for the two of them since he was always dense enough to find himself at the crime scene. Demi-War God. Ha. Boomer was more of a demi-War God at this point, given how far ahead in intelligence he was.

            He swiveled in his chair, then stood up and moved toward the steel door in the back, leading to the winding stairs. He opened it with the usual shove, given how heavy it was. The door was a mix of both lead and steel, so no super with X-ray abilities would be able to see through it. He did his best, also, to keep the basement as grounded as possible to keep telepaths out, and so far, it’d worked. There were no voices in his head that he didn’t want and that was just fine with him.

            The bio-lab had a horrendous stench to it. The chemical lab upstairs was pretty bad as well, but it combined that with almost a burned-rubber smell. Boomer slipped on the mask over his face, in part to keep the stench away and in part so he didn’t have any liquid splash onto his face and kill him. He was already wearing his coat and gloves.

            Eight large pods lined the walls, housing the monstrosities that were the Aberrants. He was getting much better at creating them. Victor Frankenstein be damned, he always thought. It wasn’t that hard, not when he was replicating ideas and formulas from planets so far ahead in technology that by the time Earth caught up, the Sun would burn out.

            Between each pod was a table each with a different tablet keeping points on the Aberrants next to it. A few smaller tools rested on the tables as well, but they were relatively clean, seeing as how Boomer had little use of going in there to inspect the Aberrants. Each of them now were encased in a strong glass-polymer that would be impossible for the beasts to break out of, even at their strength level.

            Boomer swiped his smart device off the table closest to the door, unlocking it to check up on the beasts as well as the other variables in the room that needed to be optimal for containment. Being even further underground than his normal lab helped out significantly, as it allowed for a greater concentration of the variables and helped strengthen them up, keeping anything from interfering in there.

            He reached the middle of the room, looking toward the back where there was something with the drape over it. He was tempted to go over and look under it, to check its condition. There were even some moments where he forgot what was under there, that was how secretive and important it was. Luna had no idea what could possibly be under there.

            Water began to filter into the Aberrants, beginning their daily cleaning process. Boomer knew that the computers wouldn’t flub anything up here, but monitored the process anyway just to be on the safe side. He didn’t want too much, otherwise the Aberrants might absorb it and grow stronger. And he needed it to be at a constant level, not below, otherwise they would grow weaker, and what could were weak monsters like these to him?

            Chemicals soon sloshed into the pods, turning the water green and giving the room a slightly green tint as well. Boomer moved over to the left-side wall and rolled out a long table with a laptop, some papers, and test tubes sitting atop it. There was one unopened box, one labelled “Nexus.” Boomer eyed it enviously.

            A slightly pain emerged in his forehead. Boomer rubbed his temple, feeling it only grow worse and worse. Suddenly he forgot his own name, then recalled it and forgot where he was. He felt tons of information being randomly scattered about his mind. He clutched the metal table tightly, knowing what this was.

            “How are you in my mind, Eclipse?” Boomer seethed.

            I’ve been waiting for just the right moment, Boomer, Eclipse said. I’ve been wondering all this time who the creator of the Aberrants might be. I scoured the world, searching for you, but had no idea that it would be someone hiding so simply. It’s over, Professor Boomer. Leave the room and hand yourself over to the authorities.

            “If I’m not here, these things go wild, and you won’t be able to control them then,” Boomer said. The pain in his head began to fade, but he knew Eclipse was lodged into his mind, taking firm hold of his memories and thoughts.

            You’re wise enough to know that we have the ability to prevent their outbreak like such, Eclipse said. Give up.

            Boomer laughed. “Eclipse you damn fool you can’t stop me, not now, not when I’m so close!”

            Close to nothing. Your advancements are ideas taken from a being far stronger than you can comprehend.

            “Cata, my War God, is a force comprehendible only by her subjects. I comprehend it. It’s you who can’t. You’re afraid of the War Gods, I know.”

            You should be, too. You don’t understand what forces at work with you, or around you. Unless…

            “I’ve allied myself with the suspended darkness over East City? Why would I do that? My business is my own, I only take advantage of a third party when absolutely necessary, and in this case, I have all that I need. Gargador is my subject just as he is Cata’s and my army expanding. And my main ally is one you can’t hope to contend with. I doubt even I can.”

            Contention is not the issue here, the issue here is compliance and your lack thereof. I have already contacted the local authorities to begin headed your direction.

            “Because they’ll listen to the voices in their heads, I’m sure.”

            They will arrive, and you will be brought before justice. Now, leave.

            No, Eclipse, you are the one who will leave, a deep, somewhat raspy voice said inside Boomer’s mind.

            The room’s temperature plummeted as a shadow formed in the green light emanating off of the pods. It took a humanoid form, with red eyes, pointed toward Boomer.

            “You needn’t worry anymore about Eclipse,” it said.

            What? No! How is this possible, who are you?

            An ally you can’t hope to contend with, Eclipse.

            Boomer felt Eclipse’s presence in his mind fade slowly, then it dropped completely away. He nearly forgot Eclipse was even in his mind. But now there was this shadow to deal with. It appeared to be the same one that made itself known in the battle against the two Nexuses, but it didn’t come off as too imposing.

            “I believe a thank you is in order,” the shadow said.            

            “Thank you, but, who are you?” asked Boomer. “How did you get in here, I have walls to ward off any intruders.”

            The shadow laughed. “Regular intruders, yes. You have little defenses against magic, particularly the strongest kind of magic that there is. No human barrier can stop me. As for my name, it is Alucard.”

            “You’re just a shadow? A magical being?”

            “As in a being made of pure magic? No, and this is not my true form. Merely a shadow of it. So, you could say, then, I'm not at full power.”

            And yet his magical energy has dramatically changed the environment of the room? Boomer looked over to the pods, noticing that bits of frost were forming around the pod edges. He was shivering madly himself, trying to maintain it, not come off as afraid but simply cold. It was proving difficult. Not even at full power and Alucard was able to ward off Eclipse?

            Granted, Eclipse’s connection was more than likely weakened by the barriers from the walls, but, still. Impressive.

            “Well besides saving my ass, what’re you doing here?” asked Boomer.      

            “I’ve come to request something on behalf of another ally of yours, the Benefactor,” Alucard said. “Give me your Aberrants. All of them.”

            Boomer felt his heart plummet. This was it. This was the big price. He’d been getting favors from the Benefactor for months. Hell, the Benefactor had supplied him a few tricks in improving Aberrants and keeping the heroes off his tail, keep him unsuspecting. Now he wanted the results.

            “What for?” asked Boomer.

            “The Benefactor never asked questions of you, did he?” asked Alucard. “Release them from their pods, and I will take them to him for his own use.”

            Boomer grimaced. He really didn’t have much of a choice. Even though he had every intention of using the Aberrants for himself, the little inkling telling him to hand them over to Alucard was growing. Was Alucard manipulating him?

            He shook his head. This eight Aberrants only took so long because he had to work them over from a lesser developed stage. He had the research and tech to get instantly to this level. Let Alucard and the Benefactor take them, he could make some more of them easily.

            “Take them,” Boomer said. “And send the Benefactor my regards.”

            Alucard nodded, though it was tough to tell. “Thank you, professor, your help is most appreciated and will not go unforgotten.”

            Alucard raised his hand. Eight black spheres floated out, permeating through the pods and into the chests of the Aberrants. Alucard brought his arm down, and nine plumes of smoke replaced the nine other beings that had been in the room with Boomer.

            “Great, back to work. And where the hell is Luna?”

            The little committee split up, with Kyle headed back home to try and get some rest while Hood Nexus went off into East City. Patton had to get back to work anyway.

            Kyle had difficulty thinking of little else other than two hundred fifty people just up and vanishing for the rest of the night. He went to bed pretty early compared to normal, and wasn’t sure if his grandparents made it home from wherever they were before. He had a dreamless sleep but woke up feeling slightly sore and in a bit of a sweat.

            He rolled out of bed groggily and began his normal morning routine, though this time throwing in checking on his grandparents. They were indeed sound asleep in their rooms. Kyle smiled at the sight of them, then took his skateboard and headed for the front door.

            Cool morning air met him outside. He took it in for just a moment before locking the door and beginning his boarding down the slope, accelerating rapidly. He wasn’t sure what Luke and Kip were up to, probably not yet awake. Kyle just wanted a little moment to himself. With so much action yesterday, just getting up and going right into battle basically, he needed for there to be a little quiet time. School would provide an ample amount of noise.

            Masterfully, and well-practiced, Kyle lowered his body and hung a right to get onto the first crosswalk, still going at a pretty decent speed. More people were out on the sidewalk, now, and most of them walked alone with their headphones jacked in and staring down at their phones as they moved routinely toward the school.

            Often Kyle wondered how much people paid attention to the goings on around them. He remember the time before the super heroes, a time where the Sentinel was just a fable and when aliens were still thought to just be a joke. When Mars was a planet that could never sustain life. Now, though? Now he was part of those supers, part of a super team only dreamt of in the pages of a comic book.

            Did anyone ever notice it, nowadays? The news took it in stride. Supers were just another faction, almost like a military. Mass media only ever focused up on Phoenix because he was one of the few supers willing to talk, while tabloids liked to paint false depictions of the others. The big heroes, the aliens, paid no attention to those, though. They just didn’t care.

            But what about the rising generations? Kyle was slowly beginning to realize that any child younger than five, or even just two, would never know a life completely devoid of real super heroes. They could tell their kids about the Black Nexus or about the Fire Tiger. How they were around for that. This current one, the teenagers? Social media was changing the game for everyone, and super heroes were all over the place, but not willingly. Yet nobody really ever spoke about it around town. Even when there two homegrown supers!

            Kyle weaved through a few people on his board, startling a few, forcing them to stumble back. He waved in apology.

            The sight of the school was partly a relief. He felt odd about that. Normally school was something he was not at all game for. Now, though? He saw school as something of a break. Especially in the early days of the semester, where work wasn’t too bad. People were stressing about college, but, Kyle knew that if he absolutely had to, he could easily apply to Adelita Community College and just get in there while he fought crime as the Blue Nexus. He smirked at the thought.

            Luke, though, felt otherwise, as Kyle would discover.

            Kyle headed straight to his locker once he arrived at school, even bringing his longboard with him. Luke found him and tailed him. Kyle, choosing his words carefully, was able to bring Luke up to speed with what’d been going down the last few days.

            “You just went straight to sleep last night, you didn’t even manage to get your homework done?” asked Luke.    

            “Relax, dude, I’ll do it during lunch, that’s when it’s all due anyway,” Kyle said.

            “You were out for three days, I doubt you’ll be able to do that much homework in half an hour,” Luke said.

            Kyle shook his head and started to head out. Luke stayed with him. They left the hallway, taking a right to move toward the stairs and then to the locker room, where Kyle could set down his longboard and get it before conditioning.

            “Look, a friendly little tip is that Evart is holding a little bit of extra credit after school if you show up to watch some seminar or something,” Luke said. “You should probably go, since your grade is more than likely just gonna take a nice dive.”

            “It won’t take a dive,” Kyle said. “Just, you know, a dip.”

            “Yeah, a dip, sure,” Luke said. “What about college apps? I’ve already got two done, and I’m behind the game.”

            “I’m just going to apply for the community college,” Kyle said. “And perform my extracurricular activities outside that.”

            “What about afterward?”

            “After what?”

            “After this!”

            Luke raised Kyle’s arm to point out the Nexus bracelet. Kyle looked at it, then confusingly over to Luke.

            “What happens when you don’t need this anymore?” asked Luke.

            A pit of pain strung throughout Kyle. Not need to be Blue Nexus anymore, when would that happen?

            “I mean, look at you now! You’re taking beatings like no other, and you’re hardly eighteen. You’ve gotta give yourself a break sometime, and when you do, what’re you gonna fall back on?”

            Kyle opened the door to the gym. Luke stopped at the rug. Kyle shrugged.

            “I’ll figure it out when I have to, I guess,” Kyle said. “For now, I have to do this, Luke, college or not.”

            Luke shook his head. “It’s looking more and more like not, pal.”

            Kyle grimaced, nodded, and headed into the gym. Damn it, Luke. He just didn’t get it. The mystery in East City was one that put everyone in immediate danger. He couldn’t just leave Brenda, Hood Nexus, and Patton to figuring it out. He had to help, too. The Zanderia put him in charge of watching over this little region and he would carry out his duty no matter what.

            Just before fifth period, after a grueling lunch where he barely ate and went through loads of homework—by he wasn’t sure if he was writing gibberish or not—Kyle headed over to Mr. Evart’s class room to sign up for the extra credit. There was an odd tension between him and Luke but he mostly ignored it.

            Mira tagged along with him, though not for the extra credit, but to turn in an assignment early.

            “Hey, have you seen Sandy lately?” asked Mira. “She texted me a couple days ago, but it was one of those ‘hey what’s up’ conversations, nothing normal.”

            Kyle shrugged. He actually wasn’t sure if he had. Was she the mage archer from the battle yesterday? The evidence was rather incriminating, yet he refused to believe that Sandy of all people could become a super villain.

            “No, can’t say I have,” Kyle said. “And she hasn’t tried texting me lately, either, which is also quite weird.”

            “You haven’t texted me in a while either. Actually, I barely see you around. You do know there’s an attendance policy at school, right?”

            Again, Kyle shrugged. “I’ve had this on-and-off sickness lately.”

            “You seem perfectly fine to me.”

            “Well you should’ve seen me yesterday.”

            Mira sighed as the two went under the overhang, headed for inside hallway across campus. Scattered groups of students were about, eating their lunch and babbling about random subjects. Kyle and Mira kept their view straight.

            “Oh, hey, I got a job at that ice cream place,” Mira said out of the blue.

            Kyle, startled, smiled. “Oh, no way, that’s awesome, when do you start?”

            “Hopefully soon, I need to keep saving up for a car so I can get outta here in June,” Mira said. “Graduation’s so far away, but…I don’t feel ready for it at all.”

            Oh, crap. Graduation.

            “Yeah, I know what you mean,” Kyle lied. “School’s…almost over.”

            “So weird.”

            Kyle nearly stopped in his tracks. School, the one constant in his life, was going to be over soon. Mira had a job, Luke was applying for college, Brian was off being an assistant coach. And Kyle had…nothing. Nothing in the real world. He wasn’t an intern anywhere, he wasn’t in retail, he wasn’t doing anything. He spent his days fighting super beings. Could he put that on a resume?

            If he wanted to endanger everyone he knew, sure.

            He swallowed the thought roughly and continued walking with Mira. He didn’t have feelings for her, but just being around someone in that little crisis was a boost like none other.

            They both slipped through the door of the hallway then went to the second classroom down on the right and went into Mr. Evart’s room. He was standing in front of his whiteboard, writing down the daily goal of the class. Kyle had already had this glass, and saw that one other student forgot their textbook.

            Mr. Evart looked over to the doorway.

            “Ah, Mira, Kyle, what can I do for you?” asked Mr. Evart, turning to face them.

            “Oh, uh, I’m here to sign up for the extra credit,” Kyle said.

            “Awesome!” exclaimed Mr. Evart. “Sheet’s over there, on the podium. And you, Mira?”

            Mira moved over to Mr. Evart to hand in her assignment as Kyle walked over to the podium. He signed his name on the third-to-last line. Oh, cool, sheet says he’d only be there until three thirty. Ample time to…

            A chill ran down Kyle’s back, and some odd sixth sense told him to look toward the door.

            “Oh, hello, Sandy,” Mr. Evart said.

            “Sandy, hey, what’s up?” asked Mira. “Where’ve you been?”

            Kyle approached Sandy slowly, very lightly walking toward her. Part of her hair was hanging in front of her face and her shoulder slouched slightly. She had a blank expression to top it all off.

            “Sandy?” Kyle asked.

            “It’s time,” Sandy said. Her voice was deeper. “I’m ready.”

            The three of them looked to each other curiously. When Kyle returned his gaze to Sandy, she was gone, replaced by rapid footsteps in the hallway.

            “Oh hell no,” Kyle said, and instantly charged after her, slamming the door to the side as he did.

            Sandy stole one glance back, her eyes alight in purple, then burst through the door, knocking it off its hinges. Kyle followed, squeezing through. Mira called out for him. Sandy was sprinting across the small courtyard, toward the school’s auxiliary gym. Kyle followed after her, but was cut short by a familiar blood-curtling roar.

            Just as familiar, a lance nearly drove into his leg. He dove out of the way. The lance shattered the concrete it landed in completely. The Aberrant roared again, this time jumping over the courtyard and landing right in front of Kyle. This one, though, was much larger than the ones he’d fought normally. It was also less hair, bald all over its body. Kyle nearly swiped his fingers over his bracelet when he saw all of the citizens around focusing on them.

            “Nope, crap,” the muttered.

            Luckily for him, the Aberrants were still just as stupid. It swung a broad arm at him which he managed to roll away from. Kyle instantly broke out of the roll and started to sprint away from everyone, toward the back of the school. One thing he knew about Aberrants were that they zeroed in on their target. In this instance, their target was the first thing they could find, which was Kyle.

            The Aberrant released another loud scream, and leapt high into the air. It was joined by another scream, and Kyle had only enough time to see another Aberrant climbing over the building.

            Kyle jumped as far as he could away from the Aberrant landing spot. It landed, crushing the ground and pushing Kyle back. He tumbled. Mira called out for him. Damn it. They would know if he were to become Blue Nexus. His hand hovered over the bracelet. Not much choice, though.

            Unless he didn’t have to, he thought, as an arrow lodged into the shoulder of the closest Aberrant. It cried out and swung its head around to maybe-Sandy, the mage archer, who stood atop the building, notching another purple magic arrow, and releasing it into the Aberrant again.

            “Oh, good,” Kyle thought, and moved around toward the gym. Everyone was distracted by the new battle, giving him enough time to escape.

            The second Aberrant jumped up, was hit in the chest with such forced that it flipped slightly, but otherwise hit the ground and rolled forward to be in front of Kyle. It swung its arms out, breaking the brick of the building.

            Kyle, with his fine-tuned instincts, managed to catch one of the bricks. The Aberrant advanced, towering over him. Kyle ducked under the fist, feeling its super power that could have cleaved his head straight off. He charged forward, throwing his shoulder into the Aberrant, trying to knock it back.

            The Aberrant, with its large hand, grabbed Kyle’s head. Kyle summoned all of his strength and crashed the brick down on the Aberrant’s wrist. He heard the slightest crack, but it was enough to let him drop. He tumbled backward as the Aberrant flicked his wrist, disregarding it.

            I’m going to die, Kyle thought. No. He knew it.

            A purple arrow shot straight through the Aberrant’s wrist, then through its mouth. The Aberrant turned before another arrow hit it straight in the chest. A black circle appeared and the arrow began to light up. The Aberrant let out a whimper before falling back, its skin slowly turning grey. Kyle braced himself against the wall, his heart pounding in his chest.

            The archer dragged other Aberrant’s body over to the other, laying it next to it. She stood between them, then, with glowing purple hands, reached down and extracted the arrows. Then, she stabbed them into her legs. Some blood trickled down her thighs and calves and she bit her lip down hard to absolve the pain. When the arrows finished glowing a dark purple, and her veins flashed that dark purple, she pulled the arrows out.

            “It’s done,” she muttered.

            Three plumes of smoke replaced the two Aberrants and Sandy, leaving Kyle all alone to stare at the air in front of him, shivering in fear still while he could swear that someone, in the distance, was laughing.

            Boomer heard one knock on the door before the entrant, the mage archer, came into the room, two blood stains running down either leg. Boomer eyed her curiously, as did Luna, who was standing next to Boomer in his chemical lab. They were standing around a few test tubes, making preparations for the new batch of Aberrants.

            The archer stepped into the doorway and bowed slightly.

            “Good afternoon,” she said.  

            “I’ve already had one person in the Benefactor’s crew come see me, what’re you here for?” asked Boomer.

            “I’ve come at the request of my master to inform you of my new abilities,” the archer said. “As of now, having made two proper sacrifices, I have absorbed more of my master’s magical energy than before and will be able to sustain this level of strength at all times and not just at his behest. Should you need anything of me, please do not hesistate to inform me.”

            She nodded, then in a cloud of darkness, vanished. So, she could do that little magic trick as well, too. Great.

            Luna tugged on Boomer’s sleeve. “This Benefactor is making way more moves than we are. It seems much less like he’s helping us and that—”

            “We’re helping him,” Boomer concluded. “I know, that’s why these Aberrants are of vital importance. I’m assuming that the archer was able to take out some of the Aberrants to absorb some of the dark magical power.”

            Luna coughed, then nodded. “Which means he has an ally possibly as strong as Shindari, which is something we cannot afford to fight against.”

            “Who said we’re fighting against them?”
            “Should it come to that.”

            “So what do you propose we do?”

            “Confront him. We need to set our own plans in motion now before he can enact his. Gargador is still loyal to us, we can use him. And, it.”

            Boomer looked slightly down to the basement, then back up to Luna. She was looking a little paler, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her too much. He cupped her face with one hand.

            “Right,” he said. “Come on, we’ll head to East City and see what the Benefactor has planned now.”

            Luna smiled lightly, and followed Boomer out the lab doors. Boomer locked them behind him and moved into the elevator. As they slowly moved up and the light humming filled the void of silence, Boomer felt some nerves rising. Their plans for the city weren’t entirely complete, yet they were in prime position to execute them.

            All the while, though, he couldn’t help but think of the Benefactor. Not only that he made all of this possible, but that he has more energy to spare for this. What was this guy made of? Who was this guy? And how could he control such a dark force to suddenly make hundreds of people disappear?

            Boomer swallowed, but Luna gripped his shoulder tightly to try and reassure him. He nodded, then folded his arms across his chest. Things would work out.

            Or he, and even the heroes, were all doomed. 


Next time: The fallout of the small battle has Patton paranoid, and the heroes separate to cover all of the bases. Meanwhile, Boomer and Luna head into East City, and Luna seems to be a little off her game. And to top it all off, the fated meeting of Blue Nexus and Boomer in "Blue Nexus #27--Conference"!