The Sacrificial Love of an Immortal Read online

  Now, it was Lexi’s turn to appear shocked. “Oh, okay. Well, after everything that happened this last summer, I was looking to move, and Freya was selling her house around the same time, so I decided to buy it. Plus, purchasing a house from someone you know makes the whole process a lot easier, especially since we didn’t have to deal with any agents.”

  “Right,” Nick agreed. “Well, that’s cool. I–”

  His voice cut off as a loud explosion filled his ears, causing the floor underneath them to vibrate. They both were startled by the unexpected event. Lexi recovered a lot faster than Nick though, running up to the wall, only to place her hand over an outlet. He assumed she must be using her specter.

  She spoke up right away. “Looks like someone bombed the airport or…” She paused. “No, I think someone actually flew a plane into the terminal!”

  Nick couldn’t believe it. How would a terrorist even do that with today’s security? Never mind the fact that the airport should have notified everyone to evacuate in advance. There was no way this had gone unnoticed. Yet even now, the intercom didn’t come on.

  Commotion in the hallway prompted Nick to turn toward the door, just as the security guy from earlier opened it up. He had a second man with him, this one dressed in a normal airport attendant uniform.

  His tone was urgent. “There was an accident at terminal D. Everyone needs to evacuate–”

  Lexi cut him off. “Is there anything I can do to help?” she wondered.

  The man shook his head. “I was just going to mention that.” He shifted his focus to Nick. “You have super-strength, right?” he asked.

  Nick nodded, lifting his hand absentmindedly to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose a little, surprised that this man knew.

  Had the security guy looked him up in the public super registry out of curiosity? Because otherwise, Nick wasn’t sure how this man would know the superpower of a stranger.

  The man continued. “If you don’t mind, please come with me. We do need your help rescuing some survivors.”

  Lexi spoke up again. “And what about me?”

  The other guy chimed in. “Ms. Stockton, I’ll be escorting you to safety. Unfortunately, we don’t believe there is much you can do in this type of situation.”

  Lexi nodded somberly, grabbing her one bag and following the second guy out of the room and down the hallway – in the opposite direction from where Nick had entered.

  “Mr. Parker,” the security guy repeated. “Please, follow me.”

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  Sam Archer

  January 15, 2735 – Current Day – Early Evening

  The Assistant Director was a man who appeared to be in his fifties, with dark curly hair, dark skin, and brown eyes so dark that they looked black. His slightly wrinkled forehead was the only true indication of his age, with his hair showing no signs of graying. Like myself and Jamison, this man was also well-built physically.

  He was sitting at a metal table, facing the doorway, with a manila envelope lying in the middle – it was obvious the chair across from him was for me to sit. He was already looking at me with a hard expression when I appeared in the doorway, his hands folded underneath his chin, his eyes unamused.

  I only glanced at him briefly though, as my attention shifted to the person behind him leaning against the wall with their arms crossed, knowing this was the Supreme Guardian creating this ridiculously powerful shield.

  She, likewise, did not appear amused. Far from it. She looked pissed as hell.

  It was a young woman, who appeared just as youthful as Heidi, if not more so. In fact, if I had met this girl on the street, I would have felt confident she wasn’t drinking age yet, even if she did look old enough to be an adult…and even if she felt much older than she looked.

  She had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, along with a pretty face that was partially masked by an expression of annoyance. Or maybe ‘cute’ was the right word?

  After all, the girl was short as hell too, barely five feet tall, and also super petite. Her arms were so thin that I could easily wrap my entire hand around even the widest part, though they were toned despite their size. And her waist was likewise ridiculously thin, along with her thighs, which would have had an obvious gap between them were it not for the fact that she had one boot against the wall with her knee sticking out.

  Unlike the Assistant Director’s charcoal suit, the Supreme Guardian was wearing black military clothing, minus any protective gear like a bulletproof vest. I supposed she wouldn’t need something like that when she had this unstoppable shield surrounding her, which reached out to the middle of the table, completely defending the Assistant Director within.

  He was unseeable in my second-sight, as was she.

  I noticed that underneath the table, there was also a bulge in the extremely dense shield, mirroring her jutted knee, as if the forcefield always maintained a certain distance from her body – putting her knee up, meant the shield changed its shape accordingly.

  The only accessory the girl had was a solitary pistol strapped to her belt.

  She met my gaze only briefly, giving me a hard glare that was somehow more intimidating than the man’s, before averting her gaze again. I got the distinct impression that she’d rather be anyplace else other than here right now, as if this entire meeting was the biggest waste of her time ever.

  Honestly, between the two of them, it looked like they had just recently had an argument, although I had no way of knowing for sure. Her head was angled away though, like she was specifically annoyed at him, in addition to being frustrated to be here.

  The Assistant Director clearing his throat was what drew my attention to him again, causing me to focus on his gaze with my physical eyes.

  “Sampson Archer,” he began in a firm tone. “I’m Assistant Director Carnegie with the Superpowers Federal Bureau of Investigation. Have a seat.” He sat up straight and gestured towards the empty chair as he finished.

  I nodded and sat down, finding myself only a few inches away from the impenetrable barrier. Seeing movement on my left from my own reflection, I noticed for the first time that there was a one-way mirror in the wall, with a room on the other side. I could barely make out the shape of another person watching us, but had no idea who it might be. Probably another personnel of the S-FBI.

  I focused on Carnegie again.

  Finding myself more curious about this shield than anything else at the moment, I interlaced my fingers on the table, setting them just far enough forward to confirm that my physical body wasn’t hindered by the barrier – it was as if it wasn’t even there. However, when I tried to gently push out an astral limb through my hands, I discovered I couldn’t at all – the barrier forced my astral form to remain within my body.

  The girl also didn’t react at all, prompting me to wonder if she was unaware of what I was doing so long as I wasn’t being hostile.

  I automatically reached out with a limb coming out of my shoulder to gently probe at the barrier, seeing if I could push into it, while Carnegie continued speaking. My physical eyes had continued to remain locked with his, so he wasn’t the wiser.

  “We’ve brought you in today,” he continued, “to discuss having your superpower reevaluated, as well as to–”

  Unexpectedly, the girl glared at me with a murderous gaze, and, in a flash, she had her gun out, taking a step towards me while aiming straight at my head with both hands. Her second barrier swallowed me up at the same time due to her movement, and my astral limb was forced back into my body, leaving me nothing more than the normal regenerator I had always been.

  Carnegie flinched from suddenly having a pistol right next to his head, the barrel pointed at me, although she spoke up long before he could manage a response. Her voice was very young sounding, yet her harsh tone didn’t fail to communicate her seriousness.

  “Try that again, asshole, and I’ll put a bullet in your head! Right through your eye socket!”

  The Assistant Direct
or immediately stiffened in his seat, and it instantly felt like all the roles had shifted.

  She was in control now, I was the enemy, and this experienced high-ranking employee of the S-FBI was just a bystander with no authority. In that moment, he might as well have not even existed, like an insect watching two lions having a standoff – or maybe a lion and a mouse.

  Just to be clear, I was the mouse.

  I held up my hands automatically, discovering myself feeling cautious even though I knew that gun wouldn’t hurt me. The general impression of her true age really sunk in as well, and I found myself speaking to her as such.

  “Yes ma’am,” I replied, sincerely apologetic. Shit, I’d messed up. I had no doubt that Lily’s safety rested in her hands, not Carnegie’s. I couldn’t afford to get on her bad side, as if I wasn’t already.

  Her glare was still hard. “I don’t care if you can regenerate,” she emphasized. “I’ll still empty this clip in you. And then I’ll grab his gun and do the same, just for the fun of it.”

  “Not a clip,” Carnegie mumbled under his breath.

  “Shut up,” she snapped at him, still glaring at me. “Do you understand?” she demanded.

  “Yes ma’am,” I repeated.

  She seemed to evaluate my expression for an infinitely long minute, no one speaking, before finally taking a step back. She then crossed her arms, her gun still in hand, resting against her ribs. She didn’t return to leaning against the wall, instead all of her five-foot stature standing up straight, fully attentive now.

  Which meant I was still in her secondary barrier, and I couldn’t see shit with my second-sight.

  “Good,” she finally replied. She then glanced at the back of Carnegie’s head, speaking to him in the same tone she had used with me. “Metaphysical as theorized. You may proceed.”

  The man angled his head to the side and nodded while swallowing loudly. “Right.” He then directed his attention towards me, seeming to collect himself. His tone was hard and even. “Need I remind you, Mr. Archer, that we won’t hesitate to charge you with aggravated assault, which can range from one to fifteen years in prison, in addition to–”

  I cut him off, realizing at this point that my cover was blown – they knew about my other ability prior to just now, though I wasn’t sure how. “I wasn’t trying to do anything!” I exclaimed.

  He raised his voice. “I think it’s pretty clear that–”

  The girl cut him off again, her tone sharp. “He wasn’t being hostile,” she conceded. “Just testing his own power against mine. But I’ve had enough dealing with little shitheads today.”

  That drew him up short. He twisted in his seat to look at her briefly, but she didn’t return his gaze, still staring me down with a piercing glare as if she was going to pull her unholstered gun on me the moment I even shifted my weight wrong. After a second, he gave me his attention again.

  I tried to do the same.

  “Anyway,” he continued, “we’re going to reevaluate your repertoire of skills, as well as discuss your current position in regard to any unauthorized activities in the last year.”

  Shit! Did they know about Blaze?

  “Unauthorized activities?” I repeated.

  Unexpectedly, he jabbed his finger in the air at me. “Silence!” he snapped. “I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen! You may speak when I tell you to. Understand?!”

  I interlaced my fingers again on the table, tightly, trying to keep my mouth shut. I knew this was just all about control again – he had lost all of it just a moment ago, so he was attempting to reassert himself as being the one in charge. However, in reality, without this girl’s god-tier defense superpower, I would be the one in control.

  At least, if they didn’t have Lily.

  Not to mention, this was the S-FBI I was dealing with. Sure, I could threaten this one guy if I had to, but then I’d have every superhero in the country after me – including Lexi. Which meant, it was important I tread carefully and stay on the right side of the moral fence.

  “Yes,” I replied simply to his statement.

  “Good,” he huffed, opening the manila folder.

  He pulled out a photo of a familiar scene, prompting me to tighten my fingers just slightly.

  So…that’s how they knew.

  “Despite the fact that the person in this image can’t be seen clearly,” he began, gesturing to the picture taken at a massive interstate pileup that happened last summer. “It wasn’t difficult to figure out who these two supers were based on the female’s description alone.” He grinned then. “Certainly, people wear colored contacts all the time, but if we assume for a moment that the reportedly red eyes of the woman in this picture are real, then that narrows it down to only about seventy-three people in the entire country. Add above average super-strength to the equation, and suddenly that’s just two people. Two people,” he repeated. “Add either naturally black hair or even just geographic proximity to the incident, and it’s just one person.”

  With a smug expression, he pulled out another photo – one of my old Lambo. “Cross referencing the people in Freya Rosetti’s life with the description of the male, we come up with you, Sampson Archer, whose vehicle just happened to be one of the couple-hundred taken to the junk yard.”

  I sighed, not responding since he hadn’t given me ‘permission’ to speak yet.

  How annoying.

  It was almost like he was testing me too, since he fell silent for a few long seconds before continuing. I just silently held his gaze in response.

  He pulled out a document then, tossing it in the middle of the table just to establish its existence. “Whenever we discover someone with a powerful ability who wasn’t previously known about, the Supers Central Intelligence Agency often does a thorough investigation before the S-FBI makes contact. However, a peculiar thing happened during the investigation. Do you know what that is?”

  I shook my head, not about to start guessing and give them information they didn’t already have.

  “Our country’s top superhero, Blaze King Maddox, suddenly took an interest in the arrest and subsequent probation of Lily Dodson. Your fiancé.”

  Shit. They knew.

  He was silent for a moment as he evaluated my almost nonexistent reaction.

  I finally spoke up. “Okay?” I hedged. “And what does that have to do with me? The case was thrown out before it went to trial, and last I heard he went on vacation or something. Or are you still getting to the point?”

  Carnegie’s eyes narrowed. “That’s an interesting choice of words,” he commented. “So let me just continue with the facts. Blaze Maddox goes missing at an unknown date, with his girlfriend at the time, Lexi Stockton, reporting his disappearance on Tuesday, July 31st, 2734. According to her, she had last seen him on Saturday, July 28th. During that particular evening, our transport-recognition software detected the vehicles of Mr. Maddox and Ms. Rosetti making multiple trips on the interstate, along with one trip made by Ms. Stockton. Furthermore, the elevated speed of the last two trips makes it appear, quite clearly, as if Ms. Rosetti, or rather the person driving her vehicle, was attempting to chase Mr. Maddox.”

  He paused for a few seconds, again evaluating my nonexistent response, before continuing. “We discovered his vehicle off an abandoned downtown street, with no indication as to how it got there. However, one thing is clear – Blaze Maddox was in this city when he disappeared…” His voice trailed off.

  Once he was quiet for a few seconds, I suspected he wanted a response now.

  “I’m still waiting for you to get to the point,” I replied, not about to admit to anything.

  His eyes narrowed, but he ignored that comment as he proceeded. “Furthermore, Lexi Stockton began making regular trips to this city, whereas she did not previously, only to purchase Freya Rosetti’s house a couple of months later. In addition to that, her younger sister, Heidi Stockton, who previously was presumed deceased, unexpectedly made an appearance a few mon
ths later – alive and perfectly fine.”

  Shit, they had truly put it all together. Had we really been that careless? I supposed our actions wouldn’t be so obvious if the S-CIA hadn’t been monitoring us without our knowledge – and this all started because of that interstate pileup!

  We would have never been on their radar had I refused to help during the accident.

  That was the one mistake I made.

  But then again, it was difficult to imagine a reality where I wouldn’t have helped, even if I had known this outcome was possible. I could still see the face of that little boy crying, largely because it had been the focal point of a pivotal moment in my life.

  The moment when I decided I could do something about the situation – and did so.

  Carnegie continued. “There are other little pieces that fit together, such as the fact that the witness to Ms. Dodson’s case was thrown out, only for the witness to be later convicted of perjury by the state. That, of course, hints at a motive if we assume the false witness had a connection to Blaze Maddox.” He took a deep breath, his mouth set in a flat line, his eyes still hard. “This is all obviously circumstantial evidence, but the fact that no one has seen our top superhero since before he was reported missing makes it pretty clear that either you, Ms. Rosetti, or both of you, are responsible for his death. The reason we pursued contact with you first is because we aren’t confident that Freya Rosetti has someone in her life we can use as leverage, not to mention that our assessment of her personality indicates she might not respond favorably to any form of blackmail.”

  I scoffed internally.

  Yeah, like not at all.

  That would have been a quick way to get themselves killed, especially considering how impulsive she could be. And if she couldn’t harm them due to this Guardian’s ability, then she would have just found the person they kidnapped and escape. After all, while this shield hindered my nonphysical abilities, most of what Freya could do wouldn’t be hindered.

  Doubtful this shield could prevent her from tracking down the scent of whoever she needed to find, nor would it stop her from running away with them, which was why they hadn’t tried talking with me without leverage – because I could possibly run away. All I had to do was outrun this girl, and her short legs.