Page 79 of The Not So Super Hero

Zane was growing tired. Two months without seeing or hearing from Bailey made him want to rip his heart out.

Not to mention all the battles. He was physically and mentally exhausted.

Then there was the paparazzi. After a battle, reporters arrived.

Though his identity hadn’t been revealed, he continued hiding his face in front of cameras.

Reporters and influencers giggled over him and called him shy.

In reality, he wanted to be left alone. Simple as that.

“You’ll get used to it,” Nate teased once, earning himself a kick to the shin. The boy yelped and never said it again, but he always gave Zane a look, like he was bragging because he had no issue in the spotlight.

“The eyepatch? Turns out people dig it,” he would say.

Zane never complained, since he was happy that Nate wasn’t too down about it. It was better to hear Nate joking over the matter.

Still, Zane wondered how long it would be until the chase ended.

He had been on the road for so long that he was forgetting what it felt like to be home.

Then again, his apartment had long since belonged to someone else.

Even after all this ended, he’d have to find a new place.

Maybe a bigger one in case Bailey wanted to move in.

He wanted to laugh about how those were the thoughts that got him through the day.

It was so much easier to be unattached. Why couldn’t he be his usual lazy self and not care?

Caring involved so much work and daydreaming.

Oh, the daydreaming got bad sometimes. So unbearably cute, cuddly, and maybe a little spicy.

“Zane!” Nate shouted. His fist beat against the hotel room door. Before Zane got out of bed, Nate said, “It’s Antoine. He was spotted nearby. Get changed and hurry the hell up!”

Zane dressed himself faster than he thought possible. He hated he was getting used to the tights.

He rushed out of the hotel to meet Nate and Natalia outside. A car waited for them. Paul sat on the passenger’s side. Damien drove while explaining what the hell was going on. “We had some reliable tips that Law was coming to visit with Henry Kent.”

“As in the piece of shit senator that supports M.R.S. Henry Kent?” Natalia asked.

“The very same. We planned to have eyes and ears on them, hoping to get a clue to Antoine’s whereabouts. Turns out, Antoine visited the senator personally.”

“And what exactly are the chances of that?” Nate asked. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?”

“We don’t, but are you willing to let this opportunity pass you by?” Paul had a point, even if they all hated to admit it.

Antoine always escaped when they got wind of him. However, the senator’s home wasn’t too far out of the city. Even if received a warning of their approach, he shouldn’t be capable of getting far. It was a risk they were going to have to take.

There wasn’t much time to even think about what was to come.

They arrived on the far outskirts of Senator Kent’s property, where there were already SWAT teams waiting to go in.

Other heroes had been summoned, though they wouldn’t arrive for another hour.

Paul didn’t wait. He gave the order that lurched Zane’s stomach.

It was too late to ask questions, like if they even had a warrant to be on Kent’s property or if they needed one. It was simply happening. Not even a minute after Paul gave the orders to move in, everything turned to chaos.

First, there were explosions. Senator Kent seemed a bit more fond of mutants than he claimed since he had a good many guarding his own home.

Nate and Natalia were quick to handle them, telling Zane to go on ahead.

They’d catch up. Zane wasn’t sure if he’d still be around in time for them to “catch up.” He needed to stop thinking so negatively, especially considering the situation.

The house remained relatively quiet. Zane hesitated to enter.

The silence raised red flags. Those flags soared when he discovered Antoine wasn’t hiding.

He appeared rather comfortable sitting in the living room.

A trap. Why else would Antoine get caught?

He had to know they were coming. That only meant something bad was going to happen, not that it wasn’t happening already.

“I’m so happy to see you,” said Antoine.

Zane didn’t respond. He was taking in his surroundings, wondering what foul trick Antoine had up his sleeve.

“How’s Bailey doing?”

Fire raged in Zane’s eyes. All it did was make Antoine chuckle.

“I must admit, Chris did a much better job hiding him this time around. It took us so long to find him.”

Zane couldn’t breathe. Antoine was an excellent liar. He couldn’t determine if he was spewing bullshit.

“Don’t try messing with me,” he spat. “I’m here to end this.”

Antoine pursed his lips before letting out a heavy sigh. He didn’t move for a moment, simply sat there with a furrowed brow. Zane contemplated making a move, but he still felt hesitant, like he had to wait for something else to happen. Antoine naturally put people on edge.

“It’s such a pity things have turned out this way,” Antoine said, pushing himself to stand.

He dusted off his clothes like he felt the senator’s home had dirtied him.

“If I knew you’d be such a hassle to deal with, I would have kept your mother alive, maybe try to give you a sibling or two.

They might have been easier to deal with. ”

Fuck waiting.

Zane threw a dark wave at Antoine. He dodged with lightning speed.

The blast broke through the walls. The wood splintered.

The house creaked and shook. In a blink, Antoine’s fist bruised Zane’s gut.

The pressure sent him straight out the front door.

He tumbled down the porch steps onto the ground.

He would have said Antoine stole a mutation earlier, but when the earth crumbled, he got a sneaking suspicion something had changed.

Zane narrowly avoided what would have been a painful kick to the face. Antoine’s foot cracked into the ground. The dirt rose around Antoine’s food like a connected limb. Zane formed a shield that protected him from another kick.

“What do you think?” Antoine asked from outside. “Notice anything different about me?”

“You’re more annoying than usual.”

Antoine snorted, though Zane noticed something different.

Antoine had never stolen two mutations at once.

Considering the work Law had been delving into, it wasn’t all that surprising.

Zane was given a mutation. Others had it taken away.

Why couldn’t Law morph Antoine’s mutation to handle more, or even keep it?

Antoine laughed. “The next time I get my hands on you, it’ll be all I need.”