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Running Out of Hero
Chapter 4

The sky turned lavender as the sun rose. Neither Helena nor Maxwell noticed. They stared at each other, long and hard. Turned around in her seat, she had been about to blast him out of her car, but she didn't want to tear the vehicle apart. He didn't know that, though.

“Get out or else,” she threatened.

“Or else what?” He asked. “Are you admitting you're Brio?”

She didn't respond.

His smile was sad. “These,” he took off his sunglasses, “were specially made so that I could live with some peace. When I wear them I can't see into anyone or read thoughts. But when they're off...”

Helena's body stiffened as she remembered Maxwell's shocked reaction when she walked into his office while he wasn't wearing glasses.

He nodded. “That's when I figured it out. Not that I didn't have suspicions beforehand. Despite Lorie's foolproof amnesia and plastic surgery explanation, her mind never matched her story.”

“Who are you?”

“Aron called me Monere#8. Monere is a mind enhancing machine. I didn't even have my own name. They hooked those of us with mind abilities to Monere. We were used to search for information and access to persons, governments, companies... whatever they wanted.”

“You're with Aron?” She was prepared to blast again.

“Was.”

“You're lying. No one leaves Aron.”

“You did.”

“That's different. It was an accident.”

“Flying away from the compound isn't--”

“I didn't know I could fly! I wasn't even supposed to have powers. They had already declared me useless. I figured if I were about to die then I may as well make the most of it. So I ran. When they started shooting... I just flew... ”

'Useless' was Aron code for 'without powers and needing to be deposed of' aka killed off.

His green eyes softened. “A group of us got out while they were fixing the ventilation system.” He said. “You were our inspiration.”

“If that's true then why leave me to do all the fighting alone?”

He looked down at the floor. “We tried to forget, to live normal lives, to carry on as if nothing really matters. But the truth is everything does. We endured horrible evils, but we have knowledge and skills no one else does. Aron is prepared to wipe Delkarta off the map completely. We need--”

“No.” She cut in. “I'm not going to be Brio again.”

“But just now at the warehouse you--”

“That was a one time thing to buy some time. Tomorrow I'm packing my bags and going to a warm beach where there's no crap in the water and you'll never see me again.”

“You'd leave an entire city to die?”

Wasn't she the one dying while Aron grew stronger? “[B]I don't know who made the rules, but they're wrong.[/B] Good doesn't conquer evil. Good is punished and evil is rewarded, so what's the point?”

He shook his head. “What happened to the girl who wasn't afraid of bringing justice wherever it was needed?”

“That's the beauty of being naïve. You don't know how stupid you are.”

He started to say something, but she cut him off again. “Leave me alone,” she growled.

Sighing, he opened the door and left.

All she needed was sleep to get over the tiredness using energy cost her. Small doses didn't take nearly as much effort as flying did. She was in a deep sleep when a nagging sound slowly woke her. It was her phone ringing. A blurry-eyed check showed 23 missed calls, all from Sarah. She answered.

“Where are you?” Sarah shouted. Helena was bewildered by the panic in the usually calm doctor. “Did you see the photo I sent you?”

Helena put the speakerphone on as she looked. Her stomach roiled with queasiness when she found it. It was a picture of a dance floor. Centered was River leaning a woman into a dip.

“Where are you?” Helena asked. “Sarah? Sarah!”

She could hear faint voices. Sarah's and a man's, her boyfriend, Rupert. She jumped off her bed and scrambled for some clothes to throw on.

“We're at a city fundraiser at the Hall,” Sarah came in suddenly. “We tried to warn everyone, but they wouldn't listen. After security made us leave the doors and windows were froze solid. Water's pouring down from the vents. Halfway full now. We're trying to find a way to get them out, but the ice is too thick.”

“Get as far away as possible. I'm on my way.”

At 10:23pm, Helena was speeding the 20 minute drive to the Hall. River had done this before, but on a smaller scale. Both times she'd gotten to the place early enough to put several holes in the walls large enough to drain the water out without dragging anyone out with the suction. Of course, she had flown then--much faster and direct.

Four blocks away, she slammed on her brakes. Traffic was completely jammed. She parked her car behind a bunch of others and climbed up to the roof. The streets were barricaded by police one block from the site. Beyond the honking vehicles was a curious crowd and a line of officers. She'd never make it past.

She called Sarah. “I'm behind the barricade. You'll see me on my car.”

“They're drowning, Helena!” She'd never heard Sarah cry before. “These people are dying in front of us.”

“The ice is completely melted,” Rupert's deep voice said nearby.

She felt like she'd been slapped. She had assumed the two were behind the dozens of emergency vehicles in front of the barricade, but it sounded like they were still looking in. With the ice melted, the pressure against the windows from the water would be so great it would break them. Everyone around the building would be swept away in the current, including Sarah.

She crouched down putting her head between her knees. Taking in several deep breaths she calmed her nerves. It was only four blocks... a short distance. She could do this.

Stepping to the rear of the car, she ran and leaped into the air. Then she thrust herself up and pushed forward.

She came in fast, stumbling onto the Hall's lawn. Her head spun like it was churning in a blender. She pressed her fists against her pounding temples. She couldn't fall apart. Not now with Sarah's life on the line.

She was seeing double as she looked around. She saw Sarah standing inches away from a window and Rupert squatting next to her. They were maybe 40 yards away, but it may as well have been a million.

From the building's windows came multiplied cracklings. Crack! Sharp and loud. Then groaning long and low.

Helena stood to her shaky feet. “Sarah!”

Sarah looked back at her. She gave a small wave. Then Rupert was pulling her toward the wall away from the window. Helena didn't see if she made it or not. The glass shattered and tons of water burst through.

There is a reason why water is considered one of the most deadly forces on earth and a huge wall of it was charging toward all the people in the streets. Normally, she absorbed energy from man-made devices. Taking energy from nature took a level of concentration and training she had never fully gotten. But it was much more powerful and longer lasting.

She'd only done it twice. Closing her eyes, she pushed everything out of her mind: the rumbling ground, the screams, her fear, and Sarah. Water hit her seconds later like a bus. She let it toss her for a moment allowing its power to wrap around her. She focused on absorbing the energy.

Then she pushed back. The water slammed and sloshed like it'd hit a wall—a wall that was only a few feet outside of her in either direction. Everyone beyond that reach was being smashed and swept away. She was too weak to extend it any wider.

It felt like she had held the water back forever, but it was likely only seconds. Yet in that short time much of it had found other avenues to pour into. What was left washed over her as her body gave out.

Helena awoke to find herself wedged under a cart. The area was a disaster. Mangled cars, debris, and bodies strewn everywhere, screaming, weeping, chaos. She couldn't find Sarah and hospitals she called were too overwhelmed to know if she'd been admitted.

She walked the streets of Delkarta with no destination in mind. In the end, she found herself standing before the house that was Maxwell's Center. She sat down on the walkway to wait. Aron was always taking things away from her. Now it was time to take something from them.

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