The illustration is by the talented Lo,my good friend and Cohort.
Sky let himself free fall through the air. The wind whispering in his ears and blowing through his clothes usually had a calming effect. But not today. He could see the chaos in the distance,he could almost smell the death. The air around 'The Evil',as the menace had come to be known;was blackened and almost like the night. Purple lightning licked the sky and swatted any flying supers or threats to The Evil. Thunder boomed as the purple flashes crackled in the ether,tarnishing the hopes of many. The military's largest tanks and biggest baddest guns had been brought out to neutralise the threat,but only seemed to annoy The Evil even more.
Sky gulped and then nose dived into the forest below him,being careful to avoid the branches. He set his feet on the ground softly and looked around. The battle raged on kilometres away from where he was. The green leaves whispered when the wind blew,telling the rest of the forest about the despair that lay ahead. Sky went into a fighting stance when he heard something crashing through the trees. He thought he was being attacked but couldn't tell where the attacker was coming from.
"Uuum,dude....HEY! Could you get me down from here?" a voice said from somewhere in the trees. Sky looked up and darted his eyes from tree to tree. "Over here!" the voice yelled. The owner of the voice had his parachute tangled in the branches between two trees. Sky was surprised at how he could still be suspended up there,considering his weight. This guy had the belly the size of a giant watermelon.
"Okay,hold on." Sky floated toward this large young man held captive by his own parachute.
"I would free myself,but not even my weight could break THIS fall."
Sky wrapped his arms under the larger man's own arms. "Alright,un-fasten the strap now"
It was like catching a falling sack of heavy sand,this guy had Sky wishing he had superhuman strength as well as the ability to fly.
"Thanks man! Would have sucked eggs if I missed the fight coz I was stuck in a tree! Sucked ostrich eggs if I got KILLED while I was stuck in a tree!" he said.
"My name's Freddy the flame,but my friends call me Tubby,Fatso or Freddy the fat. But I prefer Freddy the flame. See,I'm a Pyro." Freddy conjured up a flame from his palm to show Sky his pyrokinetic powers.
"My name is Sean," Sky said,"but my friends call me Sky. I prefer Sky".
They walked through the large forest in the direction of the battle. Freddy talked most of the way,sharing his experiences and tales of bravado. Most of which were part fiction. He told Sky that he'd had a hard time controlling his powers. He said once, when he was younger,he had almost burnt his room and the house down when he burped. "My step dad almost left us soon after that. But he stayed when we got a huge insurance settlement. Had me involved in a couple more insurance scams after that. Got some neat stuff from them though." He said,"But now I generally stay away from fizzy drinks. And spicy food. You never know what might come out my other end."
Sky laughed. He told Freddy about how he'd been fighting crime in his neighbourhood. "I like to help. And knowing Ma' is safe just makes me happy. Plus being a superhero is cool too," he said smiling.
They met a number of supers from the plane on their way. All of whom had been recruited by The Suit. Until recently,people with special abilities hadn't been many. And if they were,they had kept to themselves. But every once in a while videos of people performing miraculous feats would pop up on the internet. The suits had probably kept things under wraps like all secret organisations do. Some of the recruits said they had received training and had worked with the suits for some time.
Tanks and all sorts of hi-tech military weapons and vehicles lined the edge of the forest as Sky and the recruits approached an adhoc camp. Freddy held up his arm sideways to stop Sky and let the other recruits pass. One recruit ran past them at super speed,leaving a trail of dust behind him.
"What's the matter?" asked Sky.
"Dude,are you nervous as I am?"
"Yeah,I have a lump in my throat and my heart is racing like speedy over there." Sky replied pointing in the direction of the dust.
"Well,I have something to calm the nerves" said Freddy the flame as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small joint and held it up to Sky's face.
"....I don't know man...I--"
"C'mon! I can't do it alone! Plus we'll be a lot calmer"
Sky thought about it and then shrugged. Freddy put the joint to his mouth and flicked his thumb to light it. He took two puffs and passed it to Sky. Sky took two puffs as well and passed it back to his new friend.
As soon as the euphoria began to set in,a large muscular man stood in front of Sky and Freddy. They hadn't noticed him until he was almost literally in their faces. Freddy threw the joint to the ground and stepped on it to put it out. But it was too late.
The man towered above them and had his arms behind his back. He inhaled and exhaled deeply in quick breaths,as if to sniff them. His eyes moved from Sky to Freddy and from Freddy to Sky. Neither of the boys could meet his gaze.
"Why did you put that out?"
"Well....uum...b-because...",stuttered Freddy.
"What if I wanted a hit?" said the man.
The two boys raised their eyebrows.
"Well,I have anoth--"
"Come," the man said,"I want to show you something."
What they saw as they walked through the small camp was nothing less than gruesome. One man was struggling with consciousness and had only one wing.
"That monstrosity grabbed this guy and ripped off his wing with his teeth. Now no super with flight abilities will go near that thing,they're afraid they aren't fast enough."
The casualties seemed to get worse as they walked on. Many had been dismembered,some twisted into pretzels and others electrocuted. Some equipment and weapons had been destroyed and discarded in a kind of scrap metal grave. The faint hearted had left to go back home. And so had the deceased.
"This is probably all over the news as we speak. There should be panic and unrest spreading through the town." said the man," Good people have died here over the last few days including Wonderman. So we have no time for cigarette breaks and trips to lala land."
And with that he walked off,leaving Sky and Freddy feeling guilty and afraid.
"Don't let him shake you boys,Harry is a little hard on everyone,but he's a good guy." a voice said from behind them. A man in uniform came and put his arms around the back of their necks.
"What's HIS story?" asked Sky.
"Well,way I heard it,Harry Hardman has always been a tough guy. But he became even tougher when he came back from the dead."
"From the dead? You mean he's a ghost?" Freddy said.
"No,apparently he made a deal with the devil. Its not certain if that's how he got his monstrous strength,but he's really strong. He blames himself for that thing we are facing now. He thinks the devil sent it." ,said the man.
"I'm General Mwansa by the way. I have no abilities. This sexy lady here is The Siren, she has banshee-like powers." Said the General as a woman walked up to them.
"We have new information General. Someone from the front line made it back and says they found a weakness."
"What? That's excellent! Hardman! Hardman!" ,shouted the general. Harry Hardman came jogging.
"What is it General?"
"Brief him Siren."
"Well Boomerang came back and said he may have found a weakness in that thing. Said he noticed it cringed and was in pain when he flew and hit it in it's chest.",she said,"But unfortunately he didn't hit it hard enough and is injured now."
"We need to focus all our fire power on his chest then.",the General said.
"Yeah,but that thing is swatting all we have or striking it with lightning!",said Harry.
The two went on arguing about which strategy would be best,Siren also giving her opinion here and there. Sky and Freddy kept silent. Sky's mind was racing and he was really uneasy. Would they survive this? If they couldn't stop this threat,who would? He thought about his mother and whether she was watching all that was happening. He hated it when his Ma' panicked. He hated it when she was afraid. This thing had to be stopped. And it had to be stopped now.
"Focus all remaining fire power on the target's chest area!" General Mwansa blasted through a Walkie-talkie.
Sky suddenly jetted up to the clouds with no word and flew in the direction away from the fight.
"Where is he going?" Siren asked
"Probably home to his mummy," said Harry,"I knew that kid had no heart."
Before they could continue talking,Sky soared through the air above them,zooming toward The Evil. The air screamed as he cut through it as fast as he could.
"Is he going to do what I think he is?" Said Freddy.
"Oh my God! He's going to try and shoot through its chest!" screamed Siren.
They all looked at Sky as he flew at a blinding speed. Even he didn't know how fast he could go until then. Faster and faster he went slicing through the blue yonder. Until *BANG*,Sky had broken through the sound barrier and caused a sonic boom. The Evil did not notice Sky torpedo toward it until it was too late. Sky pierced through its colossal body like a hot machete through butter. The monstrosity fell to the ground. Sky crashed through some trees and everything went black.
When the others got to where Sky had fallen,he was covered in a mixture of blood and black goop.
"See Mr.Hardman," Freddy said,"you said he had no heart. Now he's covered in nothing but heart."
