Page 84 of The Not So Super Hero
Antoine leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees.“When I met Zane’s mother, I knew she could give me a child of extraordinary abilities, but imagine if we had control.Imagine if we could amplify the mutation to the point of God-like power.The bitch had no idea what my true intentions were.By the time she discovered the truth, she was already pregnant.She served her purpose before her death and I had myself a son whose powers continue to grow to this day, so I’d say the experiment was a success, don’t you?”
Vile tickled the back of Bailey’s throat.The restraints twisted against his shaking limbs, cutting the circulation.
Did Zane know about his mother?Was that why he took her last name?If Bailey made it out alive, he wasn’t certain he had the courage to ask.
“And that damn kid,” Antoine continued on, sitting straight and waving a dismissive hand.“I worked tirelessly to make him strong, and he wastes that talent.This is what happens with kids.They’re so ungrateful towards their parents.”
“You’re no parent,” Bailey spat, meeting Antoine’s narrowed gaze.“You’re some sick fuck who treated his own child like a lab rat.Any dumbass can have a child, but it takes a good person to be a parent, and you sure as hell aren’t a good person.You’re scum.”
“You’re right, I am not a good person,” Antoine said, sickly sweet.Bailey’s fingers curled, aching against the armrest.Antoine stood and, without hesitation or remorse, kicked Bailey’s right knee in.
Bailey shrieked.Law’s laughter grew loud once more.He hopped next to Bailey’s chair, overjoyed by the tears building in Bailey’s eyes.His leg twitched, bent at a wrong angle.The world spun from an immeasurable pain that almost made his vision blacken.He wished he would pass out.
“We were going to talk more, but I think it’s better if we jump right to it.”Antoine snapped his fingers towards the door.The door opened for Leona to walk in, carrying a video camera.Her eyes shimmered as merrily as Law.She pointed the camera at a whimpering Bailey, said whimpers grew when Antoine placed a careful hand on his shoulder.
“We can’t have Zane plotting anything with those annoying hero friends of his, so be useful, Bailey, and scream as loud as you can.”
CHAPTER 25
Antoinestoodbehindabloodied Bailey with a crooked smile.His hand rested beneath Bailey’s chin, pushing the boy's head up so his tearful gaze met the camera.His eyes rolled into the back of his head, lips set apart to gasp shaking breaths.A gruesome bruise consumed the left side of his face, swelling his eyes shut.Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.His right leg had its knee pushed in, bent terribly.His bloodied and bruised fingers twitched, the restraints so tight that his skin blared red.Law came in and out of the shot in the back of the room, laughter echoing.
“If you watched through all this, I’m sure you picked up on the clues to our location,” Antoine spoke calmly.His fingers curled into Bailey’s hair.He yanked, so that Bailey released a whimpered groan that made Zane’s teeth grind.“I expect to see you here within the hour.If not, we will send a piece of Bailey every hour.You can put him back together like a puzzle if it makes you feel better.Send any other officers or heroes and I will send Bailey’s head as the first piece.I expect to see you soon, my son.”
The recording ended.
The darkened room shimmered with shadows.An icy chill bit at Zane’s cheeks.Beside him, Natalia stared at the floor, having looked away the moment Bailey came on screen.Her arm held tight to Nate’s shoulder, whose eyes flickered with rage.Chris kept a straight face, though his arms were crossed, fingers gripping tight enough to bruise.
Zane was stone cold, but that was far more terrifying than any scowl or glare.His eyes went black long ago, skin pale and fingers twitching impatiently at his sides.He was pissed.He was scared.He was frustrated.He was so much all at once that he couldn’t pinpoint one feeling.
Zane expected the video even if he had hoped it wouldn’t be so bad.He knew Rebirth.He knew his father, what they were capable of, and what they will do.It was why he panicked; it was why he never wanted Bailey involved, and it was why his heart pounded so ferociously.
What if, by the time they arrived, there wouldn’t be anything left of Bailey to save?After this ordeal, would he be himself?
The others in the room were the dumb asses who ran the facility, the guards that were meant to help stop this from happening.Part of Zane wanted to break every one of them, to blame someone even if the truth of the matter was; Rebirth always got what they wanted.
“It will take us almost an hour to get them,” Nate finally spoke.Natalia raised her head, nodding.
“He did it on purpose.He doesn’t want to give us the time to come up with a plan,” she said, voice slightly hoarse.
“If he wanted you there so quickly, why bother taking Bailey in the first place?They broke in.They could have fought you here,” one officer muttered from the back of the room.
“Because this is our turf,” Chris answered.“This is our facility with our people and our equipment.There are heroes all throughout the city and nearby.By making us go to them it says they have prepared for this.They are confident enough that they’ll win this fight because they’re ready for it.”
“I hate to say it, but you can’t go,” a man called David said.Zane saw him from time to time, speaking with Nate or Natalia.David approached the front of the room to stand in front of them.David was in charge, the commanding officer.When a villain attacked the city, he was the one who picked the heroes to respond.He gave out the orders, and he was saying they couldn’t leave.If that were the case, they likely wouldn’t get any help from anyone either, none wanting to risk losing their job.
“What do you mean we can’t go?”Natalia hissed, clenching her fists that smoked.“Regardless of Bailey being our friend, they have a civilian hostage.We can’t sit back and let him die!”
“And I can’t allow them to get their hands on the one person they obviously want so badly.”David pointed accusingly at Zane.“I’m no fool.I saw his medical records, and I am well aware why you lied about it, Chris.”
Chris averted his attention to the floor.
“You don’t have control over Zane.He isn’t some object that you own.You can tell us we can’t ask for your help, but there is no way you can stop us from leaving!”Nate hollered, walking right up into David’s face before shoving the man.
“My job is to protect everyone from people like Rebirth.If that means detaining one mutant who could wipe out the whole damn city, then I will!”David shouted.He looked between the twins and Chris like he was shocked they didn’t understand his reasoning.Upon seeing the three of them still looking just as reluctant to listen, he pointed accusingly at Zane.“Level 10?He’s nowhere near it.He’s off the charts.We can’t even pinpoint his powers.I bet he doesn’t know what he’s capable of.I cannot allow him to go running into the hands of the one organization that could use that to their advantage.No way in hell, if you three want to risk your lives, go ahead, but Zane is staying.”
David never finished his sentence because he plummeted to the floor, releasing a horrifying scream that could shatter glass.
“Stop!”David clutched his head.His eyes fluttered closed, breath labored and body trembling.
