Blue Nexus #29 - Out of the Shadows

            Brenda speedily floated up in Earth’s atmosphere, Kyle’s body lying limply on the red construct floor. Brenda held it together physically easily, but internally she was screaming, questions shooting out of her mind about as fast as they were moving.

            All she knew was that Kyle’s Earth body was still alive, but his soul was more than likely lost. After sensing a heap of dark—Demon—magic, she blasted toward East City, where it’d been slowly building but then all of a sudden vanished. She reached the epicenter of that burst, and found Kyle, where he still had some of that magical residue on him in the alley below. The healing magic from the cube construct wiped him clean of it, but it wasn’t doing anything for him. He wasn’t breathing, yet Brenda knew he wasn’t dead.

            Or, at least, she couldn’t come to grips with that.

            She shook her head, bursting into the thermosphere. Can’t think like that in a moment like this. As much as she cared for Kyle, she had to put him in the safest place right now, and that was as far away from East City and Adelita as possible. She knew the Zanderia was in disarray but it was the best place to leave him for now. Alucard was on the move and Gargador was still unaccounted for. Not to mention the odd magic she was sensing from that lab. Why was that there?

            The Moon continued to grow larger overhead. If there was any silver lining, it was that Brenda found her speed increased dramatically if she used one of her constructs as a glider of sorts. Instead of propelling herself from just her internal magic, she moved much quicker using external magic from around her as well as her internal force to move.

            There was even far less of a tug from Earth’s gravity using this method. No reason not to go back to it more often, she figured, plus she had the construct up to protect her from the coldness of space. Her magic allowed her to breathe just fine out in space, but like this she wasn’t in immediate danger from the vacuum.

            Brenda stole a look down to Kyle as they exited the thermosphere. His Nexus bracelet wasn’t even glowing. Damn, why did she have to keep checking on him? Putting more stress on wouldn’t help the situation and certainly wouldn’t heal him any quicker. Wondering what happened to him would have to wait. Too many things were happening now.

            She bowed her head, trying to keep the real voices in her mind out. Even though Eclipse was down, her communicator was still pinging constantly. She’d been on it all afternoon trying to figure out what was going on all over the world. Super beings around the globe were being called in to fight against whatever was happening.

            The Moon was immense over her. She pulled up, making sure she found just the right crater. Brenda nodded when she spotted it. And shot in a red line straight for it, keeping her arms back as the magic flowed from her core and through her arms.

            At the gate, Brenda made a red shield, initiating the opening sequence. No air escaped from it, and she merged through it, holding onto Kyle’s body so he would meld through it as well. Once she was through, she lowered all of her constructs and the gate closed instantly. Brenda kept Kyle’s body on a red platform as she rushed down the stairs, Kyle’s body following with him.

            Phoenix was shouting orders both into a headpiece as well as into various microphones. All of the screens around him were busy, cameras shaking like mad. Two of them were complete static.

            He slammed his hands onto the table, denting it. Brenda noticed a few other spots where they were dented as well. Phoenix was wearing his black hoodie and gloves, though not completely out of costume as his lower half was in his gear.

            “What the hell is that idiot Morpho thinking?” Phoenix exclaimed. “Riko, head to where he is now. I don’t even know…Hey! Get back up! Lalay, hey, sorry, I don’t mean…Damn it!”

            Phoenix ripped the headpiece off and cast it at the ground, stepping on it. Brenda noticed the several other scattered pieces around.

            “Ah!” Phoenix roared. “Damn you, Benefactor, come out and fight us!”

            He punched the desk repeatedly, muffling the sound of Brenda’s footsteps. Sparks began to fly from it and one of the static screens completely cut out. Brenda nimbly let Kyle’s body move over to the flat metal desk before moving over toward Phoenix.

            “Cut it out!” she shouted. “Phoenix!”

            Phoenix gave the desk one final, hard punch before turning around. He exhaled. Even though Brenda couldn’t entirely see his face, she knew he was glaring right at her, teeth gritted behind a shut mouth. Brenda clutched her fists. He wouldn’t attack her not matter how mad he was, that much she knew, but to have him this riled up….

            “We’re going to handle this,” Brenda said.

            “What happened to him?” Phoenix asked.

            Brenda gulped. “Alucard g—”

            “You’re joking.”

            “I’m afraid I’m not. And I’m not leaving him here for you to babysit. Whatever’s happened to him is permanent until I find a way to heal him, so I’m just keeping his body safe. I’m going back down to Earth now. Where am I needed?”

            “You’re needed in East City, now,” Phoenix said. He took a step toward Brenda, pointing a finger right at her. “Get back there, find Alucard, and bring him back here. I wanna make him feel the pain of everyone he’s hurt.”

            Brenda hesitated, then nodded. Phoenix nodded back. He turned back to the screens, adjusting a microphone. He opened his mouth to speak, then sucked in a breath, and paused.

            “Shindari,” he said, quietly.

            Brenda moved toward him slightly. Despite his voice going down, she couldn’t help but feel the tension rise a little.

            “The attacks are focused,” he said. “I don’t need you in East City just for finding Alucard. I need you there because that’s where it’s all going to end.”

            He turned back toward her. “They’re aiming more and more right at East City. We’ve got until maybe midnight before the entire city is under siege.”

            “What am I supposed to do by myself?” asked Brenda.

            “Find Hood Nexus, find whoever else you can, and start evacuating the city,” Phoenix said. “If we can’t win, we have to at least not lose. Understand?”

            Brenda nodded. Phoenix, though unstable, had his priority of protecting the civilians straight. He had to, it was what he fought for above all else. Brenda managed to save one life now, now she had to save all of East City. With Hood Nexus at her side, too, it would be much easier to do. She only hoped he would actually be around for this.

            “I’m on my way now,” Brenda said.

            Phoenix nodded, then turned toward the microphone.

            “Sorry guys. I had a meltdown. Everything’s getting difficult to manage up here. Alright, just so we’re aware, Blue Nexus is down but Shindari’s making her way toward East City now. And if anyone has an update on Eclipse, let us know yesterday.”

            Brenda sprinted up the stairs, throwing up a red shield and diving through it before rolling out of it, constructing a red glider, and shooting away from the Moon, dust flying up around her.

            She curved around the Moon, headed right back toward the Earth. She created a red shield to brace herself for the re-entry before a blue dot grew in her peripheral vision. The Moon’s minimal gravitational pull still served for a slight slingshot as she advanced toward the Earth, and that blue dot was getting larger, but only just barely.

            Finally, in the light coming off the Earth, it began to take shape. Brenda stopped, feeling torn between the vacuum of space and the pull of the Earth. Hood Nexus broke his flight mere yards from her, his aura protecting him.

            “Where’s the Blue Nexus?” he asked, panting.

            “I left him at the Zanderia moon base, why have you been looking for him?” asked Brenda.

            “Have you not noticed the tons of dark magical monsters popping up around the globe?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “They’re making their way toward East City, apparently,” Brenda said. “They’ll be there by midnight, maybe sooner if we can’t slow them down or stop Alucard.”

            “Well at least you’re up to speed,” Hood Nexus said.

            “Any signs of Gargador?” asked Brenda.

            “He is incredibly irrelevant at this point. Alucard is the priority. Well, him and that Benefactor that probably gave all these creatures that insane power.”

            “Benefactor? Oh, right! I wasn’t really around much to hear about him, but, he also sounds like a big problem.”

            “And from what I know, only one guy has been working closely with him, named Doctor Boomer. Apparently he’s from Adelita.”

            Brenda snapped her head up. “Adelita? I was just in a lab of sorts that had some residual magic about it.”

            Hood Nexus nodded. “Let’s got there first, see what we can find. Maybe that archer will be there and we can take her down too.”

            Brenda grimaced. “She’s something of a friend.”

            “Something of a friend?”

            “Kyle knew her. They were friends. I have no idea how she got this power and what she intends to fully do with it.”

            Hood Nexus turned toward the Earth. “She’s a threat regardless. We have to neutralize it. Come on, let’s go, and stop wasting time up here.”

            He blasted down at the planet, Brenda following. He was moving insanely fast, and she found herself struggling to keep up, even with the boost from the re-entry. Hood Nexus moved with a definite sense of urgency, one she’d never really seen about him.

            Then again, their interactions were incredibly limited in the past. She wondered how much he really knew of her. She knew nothing of him, only what Kyle told him. Right off the bat she could tell he was a superior Nexus wielder to Kyle, almost as if it were a natural part of him. She furrowed her brow. So mysterious.

            They headed west, toward Adelita, flying in the path of an incoming plane. The plane veered to the side slightly, but they were long gone at that point. Brenda’s head pounded, sweating beading down her head. Her constructs were cracking from the sheer force. She loosened them up, as her body could take the speed at this point.

            Hood Nexus pointed forward, then down, signaling them to slow up. Brenda sped up just so she could level with him before they began their descent. They moved over the hill where Kyle’s house was, then made a hard turn down the road for the school. Brenda couldn’t see but knew that several people were looking up in marvel at them. No doubt they heard what was going on. She only hoped they could make it in time for everyone to be safe in the area.

            Brenda broke free of her constructs, hitting the ground before she tucked and rolled. Hood Nexus made a small crater, blowing dust everywhere in a ring. Brenda looked back at him, coughing. He shrugged.

            “What? We were coming in fast.”

            “You could’ve slowed down before.”

            He waved her off, then followed her toward main buildings. Brenda felt a twinge in her head. That wasn’t from the strain, she knew.

            “There’s a second source of magic,” Brenda said. “It’s probably Sandy.”
            “Where’s it coming from?” asked Hood Nexus, stepping up next to her.

            “Same place as the lab,” Brenda said. “We’ll have to move quickly so she doesn’t pick up on my scent, too.”

            “Can a mage really learn something like that so quick?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “If the Benefactor has enough power to awaken so many monsters around the world, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

            Brenda had little regard for stealth on this operation. Now that she had Hood Nexus at her side she could just bust in with brute force. Sandy may have given the two a run before but they were off-guard and fighting Gargador. This time they had the upper hand.

            They approached the building. A pair of students strode past them, then turned back around instantly. Brenda created a construct on the door, grasped Hood Nexus’s shoulder, and breezed through the construct. The two students rushed up to it but couldn’t get in. Hood Nexus cast a look their way, then looked back.

            Brenda approached the wall, then gave it a solid punch and dented the door. Hood Nexus kicked it in, revealing the spiral staircase. The mage created a construct in front of them.

            “Don’t want to be pierced by any arrows today, right?” asked Brenda.

            They quickly made their way down the stairs. The magical residue was growing, the odd sensation in Brenda’s gut returning. The weird smell was back too, which Brenda wished she could do without.

            The duo turned the corner, only to have an arrow pierce right in the center of the construct. Brenda reinforced it.

            Sandy stood with another arrow at the ready, and a man standing next to her by one of the tables. The magical residue was, actually, in greater quantity than before, and it seemed to be leeching toward Sandy.

            “Shindari and the second Nexus,” Boomer said. “I would say ‘how unexpected’ but my archer friend here sort of sniffed you out before hand.”

            “What’re you doing here, Boomer?” asked Hood Nexus. “What’s with all the magic you’ve got kept up in here?”

            “That’s none of your business,” Boomer said. “Now explain to me why you thought it was a good idea to just come bursting into my lab. And break several laws doing so, no doubt.”

            “I don’t see the issue with it,” Brenda said. “The doors were unlocked.”

            Boomer looked up and to the side over to the screens, locked onto the hallway and office room. Brenda grimaced.

            “You’re still tampering with very dangerous things here,” Brenda said. “For one, that archer. She’s way stronger than you can handle, Boomer. You have to let us handle her, then come with us. You’ve got a lot to answer for.”

            “Why, to try and find the location of the Benefactor?” asked Boomer. “I can’t tell you that. I don’t even know where he is. Nobody does. I’ve only ever spoken with Alucard in East City.”

            “Alucard is still in East City?” asked Hood Nexus.

            “Indeed.”

            “Brenda, I’m headed there now,” Hood Nexus said.

            Brenda turned to nod to him, but three men in light security garb emerged from the stairs, a black aura surrounding them. Boomer chuckled.

            “Perhaps the Benefactor is far closer than we may have thought,” Boomer said. “Good, this gives me more time to leave. I leave them to you, archer.”

            Brenda nimbly created a construct in front of Boomer. Sandy, though, reached into her quiver and stabbed the construct fiercely, shattering it. Boomer nodded to her, and headed for the back, by the object with the sheet over it.

            “No way!” shouted Hood Nexus, and burst toward him.

            Sandy’s eyes flicked in the direction. She slid in front of him, shouldering him so he veered off course. Brenda sighed. Great.

            She leapt across the room, blocking one of Sandy’s arrows before elbowing her in the chest. The three guards dashed her way, but two fell to Hood Nexus’s blasts. Sandy rolled, blood streaming from her nose, and ran across the room, her hands glowing a light purple. Brenda noticed her fists weren’t entirely closed, almost as if she were making an “e” with her hands.

            Sandy jabbed at Brenda, who dodged, but felt the force of the impact.

            “Strength magic?” Brenda muttered.

            Hood Nexus leapt up, his fists glowing blue. Sandy faded away quickly, then reappeared behind him and punched him to the ground. Brenda captured her in a construct, but her concentration was broken by the guard elbowing her in the back. She stumbled forward, only for Sandy to punch her across the face.

            Brenda slammed against an open pod, getting up weakly before finding her healing magic restore her strength. Hood Nexus got up easily, too.

            “Thought this was going to be much easier,” he muttered.

            “She’s just stalling so Boomer can get some distance on us,” Brenda said. “We have to beat them quick so we can catch up to them.”

            “Right,” Hood Nexus said, his hands glowing.

            He punched at the guard, who dodged. Sandy bounded toward them, but Brenda intercepted her with another construct. Sandy bounced against it before pulling back an elbow, and with a fierce grunt she shattered the construct, and kicked at Brenda. Brenda ducked. Sandy swooped her arm around, snatching her bow off her back and readying an arrow. Hood Nexus’s blast knocked it out of the way.

            Brenda created a construct and pushed the guard against the wall, knocking him out. The two heroes turned their attention to Sandy, who was otherwise unfazed. She cracked her bow over his legs, and held both sticks now, though the magic sharpened them up.

            “Combat magic?” Brenda muttered.

            Sandy charged the two of them first. Hood Nexus was quick enough to dodge and get around her. Sandy, though, seemed to anticipate this, slashing at him. The purple cut got him across the chest, forcing him back a step. Nimbly, she advanced on Brenda, who was slow to keep up with her, but finally found Sandy’s rhythm.

            Brenda was in no way used to this type of combat. Sandy moved incredibly fast, as if she weren’t even in control of her movements. She just moved with elegance. Brenda was partially jealous, until she was able to dodge and maneuver her way out of Sandy’s near devastating attacks.

            Sandy brought her heel down, cracking the concrete. Brenda wrapped up her leg, driving her back right into Hood Nexus’s headlock. Sandy responded with a swift kick to Brenda’s gut before flipping over and slamming Hood Nexus to the ground. She rolled atop him, holding back an arm of purple magic, and was about to bring down swift vengeance before Brenda caught her arm in a construct.

            Brenda shouldered Sandy through the wall, breaking the construct. They fell into a spare, dusty room, full of old boxes. Sandy kicked one at Brenda, whose reflexes forced her to move, though this was just as Sandy wanted. After ducking beneath another anticipated Hood Nexus attack, Sandy struck at Brenda, breaking through a thin construct and punching her square in the chest with seemingly little effort. Brenda blasted back against the solid concrete wall.

            Hood Nexus leapt through the hole, punching around at Sandy, who was now on the defensive. Whatever restraint he exhibited before was gone. Unlike Sandy, who tried to dance around his moves with elegance, there was absolutely zero grace in how Hood Nexus attacked. Brenda pushed herself up, waiting for just the right moment to stun Sandy with a construct…

            Hood Nexus blasted right through the wall, cleaving off and singeing part of Sandy’s hair. She responded with a fierce uppercut to his chin. Hood Nexus spun around, attempting a punch. Sandy caught it, arm glowing a fierce light purple, then head-butted Hood Nexus and shoved him back.

            Brenda moved behind a tall stack of boxes. The room fell silent. Hood Nexus’s feet shuffled. Brenda slowed her breathing immensely. She could sense Sandy, as the other mage was emitting insane amounts of magic. Brenda worried she might actually kill herself like this.

            A wave of light purple magic appeared before Brenda could barely save herself from the blast. She slid on her knees away from the boxes, as well as Sandy, who took advantage of the weakened construct and kicked Brenda back into the lab.

            Brenda rolled back, knowing now was as good a time as any. She propelled toward Sandy, who did the same, holding her two sharp sticks at the ready. Just as they were about to make contact, Brenda surged red construct magic from her body to create a cube, trapping Sandy. Brenda melded right through it as Sand smacked against it.

            Instantly, Brenda turned back around, keeping her arms up and the magic pouring out. Sandy punched and kicked powerfully at the construct. Brenda smirked.     

            “Getting tired, aren’t you?” she asked.

            Sandy panted before renewing her assault. Brenda heard the shifting off feet, coming closer to her. Sandy punched once more at the construct. As she pulled back a kick, Brenda disconnected the magic. Sandy burst through the construct, and was immediately blasted harshly in the side by Hood Nexus. Sandy soared across the room, unconscious, before destroying one of the pods entirely.

            Brenda and Hood Nexus moved across the lab over to her, the dust still filtering into the lab, thinning the already dimmed lights.

            “Gotta say, I’m glad Kyle and I retreated when the two of us fought her and Gargador,” Hood Nexus said. “She was something else.”

            “She managed to take down two Aberrants pretty easily,” Brenda said. “She’s surprisingly strong for someone who seems to be lacking in muscle.”

            “It seemed like she wasn’t too shabby with magic.”

            “Explaining her strength. I’m just not entirely not sure what kind of magic it is. I don’t think it’s the typical Demon magic that Alucard, er, the Benefactor has been using on everyone else. It’s almost like she’s had this magic within her, and they helped bring it out.”

            “Did you sense it in her beforehand?”

            “No.”

            They strode up to her body. Brenda kicked away the two sticks and removed the quiver from Sandy’s person. She sighed, then created another construct around Sandy, containing her.

            “Where’re you going to bring her?” asked Hood Nexus.

            Brenda shrugged. “I would say the Zanderia Cube, but I don’t want anyone or anything following me. I might just move her far away from the area, keep her away for now. She won’t be awake for a long time, and even then, I doubt she’ll be at full strength.”

            Hood Nexus nodded. “I’ll stay here, see what else I can find. Boomer just up and left so I doubt he had the time to grab anything important.”

            Brenda dashed up the stairs, Sandy’s construct following right behind her.

            Hood Nexus watched as she walked up the stairs, then turned back around to the lab. It was essentially trashed. The tables were overturned, there were three more unconscious bodies, and half the pods were broken. Not to mention the mess they made in the other room.

            He picked up the three bodies with ease and cast them into the second room, where papers, cardboard, and boxes littered the floor. Most of the dust was done filtering out from it. Hood Nexus noticed the door in the back, partially opened, as well as the door right near it, leading from the lab.

            “I see you, Boomer,” Hood Nexus muttered.

            Something slithered past his leg. Hood Nexus jolted, then looked around, seeing nothing. Some of the dust continued to swirl about, and that was it. He shrugged it off, trying to relax.

            “You know, it’s incredible how useless the extra senses of the Nexus really are,” a deep, chilling voice said behind him.

            Hood Nexus turned slowly. A shadow, humanoid figure stood in the middle of the room. Hood Nexus noticed that it wasn’t even dust that was swirling around, but a concentration of dark magic, all of it headed toward the figure.

            Alucard.

            “You’re just good at surprises,” Hood Nexus said. “I’m actually surprised that Shindari isn’t racing back here, I can’t imagine you’re suppressing this easily.”

            Alucard laughed. “I’m not. But, you see, that’s the thing about your red mage and myself. I’m on a completely separate level from her.”

            A shiver ran down Hood Nexus’s spine. “What?”

            “Can you sense the presence of a War God?” asked Alucard asked. “A Demi-War God, yes, of course. Or what about when a Sentient from the Nexus summons you? They are on an entirely different plane of power. Just as it is now. I am on a whole other level from all of you. Blue Nexus, that Raiden boy? Effortless to end his life.”

            Hood Nexus stared him down, then laughed. Alucard grunted.

            “Find something funny, thinking I’m bluffing?” Alucard asked.

            Hood Nexus’s eyes glowed blue. “You have no idea about power. You really think you’ve got a read on me? I wouldn’t risk the civilians above if I were to really go all out on you right now.”

            Alucard raised a hand, keeping it balled up. “I see. Well, I am definitely picking up something else within you, but I can’t tell if it’s power or if it’s something else. Something I might be rather familiar with. Regardless, my visit has stayed a little too long. I can’t give you the option to escape now, Nexus wielder.”

            “I was about to say the same to you, demon.”

            “Cute. But, tell me, what happens to anything when you put too much pressure into it?”

            Hood Nexus raised his eyebrow, then realized what he meant. He swung a blue energy fist at Alucard.

            Alucard opened his palm.

            “Boom.”

            From several blocks down, Boomer felt the explosion. He whirled around. Screams filled the streets. Pitch-black smoke filled the air coming from the school. Boomer stumbled back.

            “Sweet Christ,” he muttered. “That couldn’t have been them. That much power?”

            Boomer looked around. There wasn’t anyone near him, but all of the people on the blocks surrounding him were shouting, and there was a definite halting of all cars in the town as everyone probably looked toward the pillar of rising smoke.

            He quickly got to his feet. He nearly dropped back to the ground when he bumped into someone. But, he could’ve sworn that nobody was…ah, whatever.

            Boomer looked up, and couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief wash over him.

            “Oh, thank God, it’s you,” he said.

            Mr. Evart looked down to Boomer curiously, shaking Boomer’s hand. “You have any idea what just happened? That came from the college!”

            Boomer shook his head. “Look, Peter, I really need your help right now.”

            “This doesn’t have anything to do with that explosion, does it?” asked Evart. “You seem incredibly rattled.”

            “Well when that could have been my office, yeah, I might be!” exclaimed Boomer. “Listen, I need a place to just…sit down, just take a minute.”

            “Oh, Boom, yeah, come on, I’ll bring you to my place, we can have a drink,” Evart said. “Come on, let’s go, man.”

            Boomer nodded. Thank goodness. Anything to get away from reporters prying at him and the heroes to really put a witch hunt on him. An explosion of that size would have everyone coming after him. Evart would be the last person they want to look for. Who would look for a high school English teacher to house a now-wanted criminal?

            Evart’s house was, to Boomer’s slight demise, not too far away. They walked briskly back to it, Boomer doing his best not to suspiciously look over his shoulder every couple of minutes. People were mostly trying to do the same, as if it would go away if they didn’t look at it. Others were blaming the town’s supers, saying that this was just like the incident at the high school’s baseball stadium. Boomer winced. Again, technically his fault.

            They reached the house, Evart immediately going to the fridge to fish out a few drinks. Boomer took a seat a small table in the dining room. Evart returned as Boomer managed to put his hand down, noticing it’s quaking. Why was he this agitated? This was unprecedented.

            “Man, this is insane,” Evart said. “First the high school, now the college. When’s it going to be the supermarket?”

            “Well, when that alien first showed up,” Boomer said, nodding.

            “Oh, you’re right! Man, there’s just no telling where these guys are going to go next,” Evart said. He took a sip of his beer. “I’m tempted to turn on the news, see if there is anyone already on the scene.”

            “I don’t want to get depressed about it,” Boomer said. “Maybe in a few minutes, when we know people are there.”

            “Good point,” Evart said. He sighed. “Well, I guess for now, how’ve you been, Boom? We haven’t hung out like this in a while. Not for, what, a couple of semesters? You’re always busy, man, loosen up.”

            “Well, I thought bringing on Luna a couple years ago would help that out. I’m actually much closer to having my work become really easy. I had a breakthrough a little while ago that helped out, too. So we may be able to have more times like this, too.”

            “Oh, that’s great, I’m sure Cata really did help you out a lot,” Evart said, standing up, moving toward the cabinets.

            Boomer tried not to seem bothered. “Sure what?”

            “Oh, Boom, come on, you don’t think it wasn’t obvious you had a little divine intervention?” asked Evart. “After Cata gifted you Gargador, she pretty much had to give you most of her knowledge. Same she didn’t give you a shred of her power.”

            “Evart, what the hell are you talking about?” asked Boomer.

            “I’m talking about how you think you can serve so much of a purpose Boomer, when really, you’ve played your part in the game,” Evart said, going into a drawer. “You drew out the two Nexuses, helped me create a new mage, and even managed to misplace one for the time being. Really, hardly any of this is possible without you.”

            Boomer stood up, slowly. “I think what’s going on might be getting to you.”

            Evart spun around lightning fast. Boomer was still comprehending his movement until he felt the sharp pain in his upper shoulder, then another in his lower torso. Boomer slouched back against the chairs, then fell straight to the ground. Evart moved away from him.

            “I think I’m just going to check up on my progress. Can’t leave my creations alone, can I? Oh, and one more thing, Boom…”

            Evart turned to face him one last time, his pupils pitch black as a thin black aura appeared around him.

            “You’re not calling the shots anymore.”

            He flicked his hand toward the oven, which instantly ignited. The fire spread to the counter. Boomer tried to move, but found his movement stunned by the pain, by his injuries. Smoke began to fill the room, as did Evart’s laugh.

Next time: The world will know who the Benefactor is, but is it too late for anyone to stop him? Plus, an unlikely alliance is brokered in a last-ditch effort against Alucard in "Blue Nexus #30--Identity"!