Page 51 of Infamous Heart

By the time I reached the bottom, my lungs struggled. My pulse thumped through my veins as I hit the door and spilled into the hallway. I nearly tripped over a wrinkle in the old carpet.

“How rude,” came a shrill voice.

“Sorry, Ms. McNamara,” I panted. I gave her a slight salute before continuing to speed down the hallway. There was no point in telling her I was on my way to make sure a superhero crushed a villain.

Once I hit the street, I raised the phone, ensuring the fight hadn’t changed location. A quick glance at the bottom corner ensured that Sebastian hadn’t already been knocked out of the fight. I started to jog, leaning forward, forcing my legs to pump.

I don’t know why I was in a hurry. It wasn’t like I was going to show up and save the day. If two of the Ward’s heroes were already dispatched, Wraith would most likely kill me on sight. But part of me needed to be there, to witness Sebastian transforming into a hero.

But what if he wasn’t? What if Rebecca had gotten to him and this was his first outing at becoming something dark and twisted like her? My legs burned as I pushed harder. No, that little voice of doubt needed to sit down and shut up. Sebastian might have taken the long way around, but I believed in him.

My pacing slowed as people fled the next block. Men and women dragged their children away from the fight. In a city where something like this happened every other day, we had grown numb to the constant attacks. To see a man holding a little girl as he dragged his wife away from the origin meant it was bad.

“You’re going the wrong way,” yelled a woman.

“She’s killing everybody,” screamed her partner.

I ignored their warnings. Was he attempting to save the city? And after our fight? I had to be by his side. After the tongue lashing I delivered, I would have thought he’d cement his desire to hide amongst the mundane citizens. It was like the comic books.

I had faith that Sebastian was making a stand.

I sidestepped a car door as it swung open. A man popped his head out, confused by the rush of people fleeing the danger zone. I turned slightly, pointing in the direction of safety. “Supervillain, go that way.”

“But you’re—“

I couldn’t hear him as he argued my logic. I rounded the corner onto the block with the Beacon. Leaning against a lamppost, I huffed and puffed, trying to catch my breath. I hadn’t run that far in years. If I dropped dead now, I wouldn’t be able to perform my sidekick duties.

If Sebastian was attempting to be a hero, I owed it to him to be present. But if I was wrong, and he was in league with Rebecca, I might be the only person able to sway the tide. With this many people screaming bloody murder, it might be the first villain alert to catch the attention of the Centurions.

The building that housed the Beacon stood halfway down this block, or at least it should. A wall of black ten stories tall had radiated outward, swallowing the middle of the block. It extended across the street, consuming nearby buildings. I could see why people were running. This wasn’t a supervillain stealing money from an ATM. Wraith had laid claim to a piece of the city and who knew what she was doing inside the gloom.

With a steadying breath, I started a light trot toward the wall of black. I had no idea what to expect inside, but the knot in my stomach told me things would never be the same again.

I slowed as I caught the sight of a cape flapping in the breeze. The blue and silver clad man laid on his back, unmoving. What would a hero do? Charge into the unknown or make sure the victims were safe? I never thought comic books would be the backbone of my morality.

I dropped next to Cobalt, leaning close to his nose. He was barely breathing.

I tapped Cobalt’s face, trying to wake him. His leg was bent in an unnatural position. Blood coated his uniform and had torn away from one of his shoulders. The man had taken a beating, and despite that, he refused to die.

I crawled on my hands and knees to Zipper. “This is going to hurt,” I prepared the man. He groaned loudly as I rolled him onto his back, looking for any broken limbs. His nose was broken and one of his eyes had swollen shut.

“You’re alive,” I said. “You’ll make it.” The words were more for me than for him. Two of the Ward’s bravest were down for the count, and now everything depended on a rookie hero and his mundane sidekick.

I pulled out my phone and stared at the giant blinking alert telling me to flee. I swiped past and scrolled through my contacts. With a click, the phone started ringing.

“Griffin, what’s—“

“Wraith has taken out Zipper and Cobalt,” I told Bernard.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“I need a Centurion.”

“Most of them are in another dimension right now.”

“I didn’t saytheCenturions. I need one.”

After our last conversation, he might think I suspected him of being one of the premiere superheroes on Earth. The Centurions were the protectors of the planet and rarely dealt with street level crime, but I needed to call in a favor. It wasn’t time to be coy. Sorry Bernard, but I couldn’t avoid your secret any longer.

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