Page 38 of The Not So Super Hero

The city faded into the distance, taking most of the noise with it.

Zane came upon the silence of abandoned buildings.

Open and barren lots, warehouses where most sound came from the crunching of broken glass or shattered asphalt beneath his shoes.

Wind whistled through rusted fences and caught grocery bags to tumble down the streets.

It wasn’t until Zane couldn’t sense anything other than himself and those following him that he came to a halt.

Removing his headphones, Zane wrapped the cord around his phone, although it didn’t matter what he did.

His phone and headphones were likely to be shattered at the end of this battle.

Snatching the hair tie from his wrist, Zane pulled his hair back into a tight ponytail. The cool air nipped at his ears.

“For claiming not to care about others, you sure picked a spot far from the city to fight,” came a familiar voice. Zane’s stomach twisted in the most sickening of ways. His teeth clenched. His eyes closed, his mind repeating over and over, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.

It took all of Zane’s courage to face the man that plagued his nightmares. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon, Law.”

Standing in the barren lot was one of the many people Zane wished to never see again; Law Raiffel.

A mad man in every sense of the word. His insanity was his genius, and he used that to his advantage, helping to create Rebirth with others who were thankfully only a fraction of immorally fucked as he was.

Even Law’s appearance gave off the feeling of madness, with nothing about it seeming quite right.

Wild black hair, bright hazel eyes, scars ranging from small to large littering his form from the experiments he did on himself.

There was a constant twitch in his hands and a permanent smile on his face that was anything but friendly.

“I couldn’t stay away from you for long. You’re my favorite, after all.” Law laughed like that was something to be proud of. “You sure have grown. Hopefully, your abilities have as well. I’d love to put them to the test.”

Zane growled. His shadow elongated, stretching across the barren lot. Law clapped excitedly, like a child on Christmas, even hopping from one foot to the other.

“That’s it, that’s it! Let me see, Zane. I have so much to do and so little time,” Law said, snickering.

He wasn’t alone though, because Law wasn’t a Mutant.

While one could argue his genius was a mutation, all tests pointed to nothing.

He created what he needed to protect himself, weapons, technology.

It was what he thrived at. So long as he had his mind, he was safe.

That didn’t stop him from bringing along those who could help him when needed.

To Zane’s right and left appeared some unfamiliar faces that he guessed to be new recruits.

One was dressed from head to toe in black.

His hair shielded his face save for his left eye, which locked on Zane.

The other was a girl dressed like a doll, her hair up in a ponytail, cheeks dusted pink and dress pure white.

Zane wondered how long the two would last with Law around, how long he would keep them alive before he got bored with them.

As much as Zane didn’t wish to play into Law’s plans, he had little choice.

Law outstretched his arms as if he were at the start of a play, backing away step by step with his gaze locked on Zane. “Oz, Khalia, let’s begin!"

Someone ripped the fence enclosing the bare lot from the ground, morphing into a caged shape. The cage hurdled towards Zane. It slammed into the ground with such force that it shattered the pavement. Dust and rocks cascaded into the air. Zane’s form disappeared among the mist.

When the wind blew the dust away, a dark void had formed.

Zane rested within, safe from the fence that rattled around outside.

It cracked under the pressure of his shadows that slipped around it, then propelled the fence forward.

Khalia dodged with the reflexes of a cat.

Oz lifted his hand, calling forth a chunk of cement to shield him.

The metal shards of the fence lodged themselves in the rock.

Then Oz broke the cement apart to fire like bullets at the shadows around Zane.

Oz clearly had some form of telekinesis, though Khalia’s mutation remained unknown.

Zane’s shadows formed spears to pierce the cement.

The spears crushed the debris into smaller pieces that were easier to deflect.

Before either Oz or Khalia could react, they both found their ankles grabbed from below.

The darkness had dug into the earth and came out at their feet, circling around the both of them until they were constricted up to their necks.

Khalia’s fingers twitched at her sides. Her confinements were torn to shreds in a blink.

Zane couldn’t see what was happening outside his shield of shadow. He wasn’t able to take notice of the fine threads wrapped around Khalia’s fingers. They were sharp and stronger than steel. The wire cut through Zane’s trap. The darkness faded into smoke, filtering heavenward.

Khalia released Oz next. Both were quick to correct their mistakes.

Khalia remained on the move, shifting through the terrain so the shadows could catch her.

Oz lifted himself into the sky. They circled Zane.

The darkness dissipated around him. He couldn’t remain there, unable to see.

Man, it was getting to be very troublesome.

All he wanted was to go home and take a nap, even more so now after having to put effort into this bullshit.

“I wouldn’t have brought these two along if they were so easy to defeat!

” Law called from a distance. Zane spotted the man out of the corner of his eye.

Law sat on the edge of a rooftop while munching on a doughnut and some coffee.

Typical Law, not showing any fear and for good reason.

Zane would prove he couldn’t be so relaxed.

Zane raised his arm to mirror what he had done with Sasha. A hand formed behind him large enough to block out the sun. A great shadow cast over them. Oz and Khalia froze, eyes widened. Then Zane brought his hand down in one fell swoop.

Law snatched something out of his pocket, an item resembling a flashlight. He pointed it at the shadow hand. One click and a searing light came out so forcefully that it cut through the mass. The darkness dispersed in wisps of smoke.

Zane wished he could say he was surprised, but Law always had something up his sleeve. Sometimes, literally, and with all the studying he had done on mutants and their abilities, he knew how to fight against mutants even without powers. It was a tremendous pain in the ass.

“You couldn’t do that last time I saw you,” Law commented, bringing out a notebook that he scribbled in with his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. “Interesting. Tell me, what else can you do? I wish to see more.”

Law snapped his fingers, seeming to remind Oz and Khalia that they had a job to do.

Oz raised his arms, and in doing so moved several objects around the lot; an old abandoned car, a dumpster, even some wood and metal left around from who knows where.

All were thrown at Zane. He dodged a majority of it.

However, a board slammed into his shoulder.

He heard and felt his shoulder dislocate.

With a pained hiss, Zane stumbled away, clutching his shoulder before having to back up again when Khalia attacked.

Those strange wires of hers were nearly invisible.

Zane barely caught the sun shimmering off their lines.

Though he prevented capture, the wires tore at him.

Soon, minor scratches covered him. Blood slowly trickled from the open wounds.

By then, Zane had composed himself, his shield returning to dance around him like waves.

Though Khalia cut through the darkness, it was never enough to stop the assault.

She narrowly evaded getting trapped by the shadows chasing her feet.

Oz attacked from above. He threw posts, fence, rock, whatever he could.

Zane’s shield deflected most. Sadly, they were not the only ones Zane had to worry about.

It wasn’t as if he forgot about Law, but more that he didn’t expect him to interfere anymore. He was wrong.

Zane barely dodged the same light that Law brought out earlier.

While he wasn’t sure if it would harm him, it was better to be safe than sorry.

The light shattered Zane’s shield, and his concentration.

Pieces of his shield evaporated. Zane looked to Law to find the man smirking devilishly, his eyes sparkling with delight.

It seemed he was there to do more than just observe. He planned to take Zane back...

That would not happen. Zane was never going back. He wouldn’t go through that again. He couldn’t. He would rather die. Every fiber of Zane’s body screamed in defiance, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Never again.

Zane’s breathing became ragged, his body stiff. The world moved in slow motion. Something in Zane was on the verge of snapping, tipping over the edge bit by bit and all it was going to take was a single push, which Law gave. “Don’t you want to come home with me, Zane?”

Zane screamed, his voice piercing the air like a high-pitched bell, “No!”

Shadows formed around Zane with such intensity that they appeared physically heavy, twisting faster and faster.

The wind swirled into a typhoon. Shadows burst heavenward, forming a tower that continued to grow until it branched out like a tree.

It's dark limbs danced through the sky before dripping towards the ground.

Then it all came crashing down with a weight that forced Khalia and Oz to the ground.

Neither could breathe when their bodies were crushed into the cement.

Law was safe, standing within a ball of glowing light created by a woman who had appeared at his side in the blink of an eye.

She must have been hiding for this exact moment for Zane to lose it.

Yet again, Law had something up his sleeve to protect himself from harm.

While Khalia and Oz were tossed about like rag dolls through the heavy dark mist, Law’s shield was being ruthlessly attacked.

Darkness engulfed the shield. The light of Law’s sphere barely kept itself intact.

Small cracks formed. Law smiled, practically ripping his cheeks open from the intensity. He scribbled in his notebook.

“The test may have gone a little overboard,” Law commented, looking at the young girl at his side. “Shall we leave, Luna? It appears Zane is not allowing us to return him home today.”

Luna nodded. Her body gave off a soft glow that then intensified into blinding light. It was enough to disperse the attack long enough for the two to retreat, disappearing into the sky.

If Zane were in his right mind, he would have gone after them, but he definitely was not.

Nowhere near, in fact. Zane stood at the center of the darkness, eyes nothing more than black voids.

His skin paled, veins deep gray slithering beneath his skin.

His breathing was inconsistent, hands twitching, while his mind couldn’t focus on anything other than attack.

All Zane knew was that he wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t going back.

Though Khalia and Oz had long since stopped fighting, the shadows continued to throw them. Then a familiar voice cut through the darkness, “Zane!”

Zane, whether he was conscious of it, felt his mind note the voice and concentrate on it.

“I need you to stop now,” the voice called louder. “You need to calm down. No one is going to hurt you. Why don’t you let me cover over to you? Let me in, Zane. I promise everything is fine.”

Zane could feel his thoughts return, finally recognizing the voice as Chris.

There was a moment where everything froze mid air, like time itself had forgotten how to work.

Zane wasn’t relaxed nor was he comfortable, but when the darkness faded and he saw Chris walking towards him, his eyes returned to their natural state.

“Come here, bud,” Chris said, stepping forward with a hand outstretched.

Zane hesitantly stepped towards Chris. Though he knew deep down what was about to happen, the calm part of him knew it needed to be done.

When he got like that, it was hard to tell when he would come back, when he would be himself again.

It was safer for everyone, even himself, to listen to Chris.

Once the two reached each other, Chris wrapped his arms around Zane’s shoulders.

He rested his forehead against Chris’ shoulder, his breathing still ragged and his body incapable of taking a breather.

Zane wasn’t all that surprised when he felt a pinch in the back of his neck before a soothing hand rubbed at his back. His body went limp almost instantly, putting his full weight against Chris, who dropped to his knees.

The darkness faded. Khalia didn’t move. Oz heaved a heavy breath and groaned.

“Shh, it’s all right, bud. It’s ok, everything is ok. You’re safe,” Chris spoke softly. He sat with Zane leaning against his chest. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, conscience fading.

“You’re safe now. I’ve got you, you’re safe.” Chris clutched the needle in his hand that he had used to knock Zane out.

“You’re safe, kiddo,” Chris repeated, pressing his lips to Zane’s temple. His soft breathing signaling he had fallen asleep.