Summer of Spartan

[Swordmaster]

Summer of Spartan

This takes place between Spartan: Year One and Spartan: Reckoning, both of which can be found in my sig. In it, it shows how Kyle Wyatt and Briana Walker became friends again after the events of Year One, and shows the first signs of Kyle's choice at the end of Reckoning. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Swordmaster]

One
My name is Kyle Wyatt, and at the moment Superman is saving Lois Lane from falling out of a helicopter.
No, that isn’t really happening. Don’t be silly. Superman isn’t real. No, it’s just that me and my friends Leon Allain, Jackson Crichton, and Briana Walker watching the original Superman film at the movie theater two weeks after school let out. It’s great fun. Well, it would be, if I were sitting next to Briana. Instead, Leon and Jackson are sitting between us. You see, Briana is angry at me because she is under the impression that I skipped her martial arts demonstration for no apparent reason. What she is unaware of is that I did so to go fight a giant mechanical war machine.
You see, I’m also the superhero Spartan. Through a stroke of chance, I was given fantastic abilities, and after a little while of selfish use, I became a superhero. Ironically, Briana has a little crush on my heroic alter-ego, unaware that he and I are one and the same. Well, almost anyway.
Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. So, I fought the mech, only to see the love of my life die. So what do I do? I go back in time (long story) and save her. And that’s that. Briana now loves and hates me. Classic comic book love triangle.
***
After the movie, Jackson was shaking from the awesomeness, and Leon was trying to mend the uncomfortable silence between Briana and me.
“So, uh, great movie, eh?” he asked, a bit too forcedly. We stared at him.
“We’d already seen it before, Leon. Thousands of times,” Jackson said reproachfully. Leon shot him a look, and after a minute of an “eye dialogue”, Jackson finally realized what he was trying to do. His eyes shifted from me to Briana, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.
“It was good on the big screen, though, wasn’t it Briana?” I asked. Briana just shot me a look that plainly said, “BURN IN HELL YOU LITTLE *****.” Taking the hint, I sighed and walked to Leon and Jackson, and waited there for my Dad to come pick the three of us up. The whole time I watched Briana, trying to read her expressions. Save for her eyes, which looked slightly hurt, she maintained a cool indifference.
When her ride arrived, she hugged Leon and Jackson, but pointedly stared at me coldly before getting in her car and driving away. Leon and Jackson stared at me to gauge my reaction, but I gave them nothing.
My father, Dr. Thomas Wyatt, arrived five minutes later. Leon and Jackson got in, but I stayed outside. “I’m going patrolling,” I said quietly. “Don’t wait up.”
“Is everything all right, Kyle?” Dad asked, eyes narrowed in worry.
I walked towards a nearby alleyway, saying nothing.

 

[Swordmaster]

Edit

 

[Swordmaster]

TWO


I swung around the city as Spartan, listening for any disturbances. After about an hour, I heard a bank robbery. Smirking slightly, I released the web and flew towards the bank.
Interestingly enough, it was the same bank where I’d made my first appearance as Spartan. I wondered if it was the same group of thieves as that time. I’d heard they’d recently gotten out of jail on good behavior. Well, if it was them, they were going right back.
Since I’d built up the thought of fighting my first enemies again, I was slightly disappointed when it wasn’t them, just some thugs looking to make a quick buck. The group, consisting of about seven men, was loading the money onto a helicopter. No security was chasing after them though. Come to think of it, there never was any security in the bank when I first appeared. I made a mental note to talk to them about that.
I landed silently, and to make my presence known, coughed loudly. The group turned sharply, and upon seeing me, one of their own yelled wildly, “It’s Spartan, son!” Ignoring that remark, I leaped to their helicopter, ripped off the propeller, and threw it aside. That would keep them grounded.
The robbers looked from me to the propeller dumbfounded, and then opened fire on me with machine guns. I let their bullets bounce harmlessly off of me, and once their clips were empty I attacked.
I dashed in front of one of the thugs, elbowed him in the nose, then head butted him, knocking him out. One of his friends leaped onto my back and started strangling me, so I let myself fall onto the ground. After a moment, his arms went limp. I shot up off of the ground and fired a webline at another one, threw him up in the air, then slammed him back down to cold, hard earth. As another rushed at me, I webbed one of the unconscious bodies at him, knocking him to the ground.
At that point, I was half way done. My Battle Sense went off, and I flipped over another of the group, punching him in the back of the head hard enough to make him fall unconscious.
I looked around. The last two of my playmates had disappeared. I stood confused until I saw the door to the bank wide closed. When I’d arrived, it was wide open. Shaking my head, I flew into the building. I kept my ears open for heartbeat or heavy breathing, either of which would be a clear indicator of where the duo was.
Finally, I heard labored breathing from behind the clerk’s desk from one of the two, with the other whispering for his brother from another mother to shut up. Thinking I’d earned a bit of fun, I walked to the desk, pretended I hadn’t found anything, pretended to walk away, then Leaped to the ceiling and suspended myself there using a web.
After a few minutes of supposed “freedom”, the two stuck their heads out and, satisfied I wasn’t there, walked out. As they passed me, I landed behind them, silent as a cat and tapped them on their shoulders. They turned around, eyes widened with fear. “Boo,” I said before punching both in the face.
***
A while later, my police connection Sarge arrived with other cops. He walked right past me and surveyed all seven of the group, wrapped in the broken propeller from their escape copter. I walked to him.
“Good job today,” he said without staring at me. “These guys, despite their appearance, did a good job. You see, the leader was an inside man.” Sarge kicked a brown haired man. “At closing, he knocked out the alarm system, in preparation for tonight.”
One eyebrow raised, I sarcastically said, “Genius.”
Sarge looks at me closely for a second, then looks back at the still unconscious group. “You alright, friend? All these guys are pretty beat, considering your usual standard. Something troubling you in your non-masked life? Family member dead? Girl you like not speaking to you?”
I grunted a non-descript reply and leaped off the roof, swinging away.

 

[Swordmaster]

THREE

As I swung through the night, I heard Briana say my name., asking me to go to her place. Curious, I double-timed my swinging and turned towards Briana’s house.
When I arrived, I found her on her balcony, staring into space. I landed behind her gently and squeezed her sides, something I instantly regretted as only her good friends know about that spot.
She squeaked and turned around. “How’d you know about my tickle spot?” she asked suspiciously. Thinking fast, I said, “Superhero’s intuition.” Surprisingly, she accepted that. I scratched the back of my head, asking, “So, uh…what’d you need?”
She looked at me directly in the eyes. Erm, sunglasses. “I just wanted to thank you again. For saving me, I mean.” I nodded. I didn’t know what to say to that.
After that, the two of us talked about meaningless stuff. It felt great to be able to talk to her again, but it sucked to have to do it through a mask. During the whole talk, she stared at me with great admiration, and it was obvious she was attracted to me. The Spartan side of me.
Knowing this couldn’t go on, I said, “Listen…Ms. Walker…Briana…we can’t be together.” At this, her eyes widened, and she blushed slightly. “You know? How I feel, I mean.”
I nodded. “No offense, but it was kinda obvious.” She nodded slowly. “Can you at least tell me why?”
I breathed. “Well, it wouldn’t be fair to you. Being a hero is my thing, and helping people comes before my happiness. Your happiness, even, as much as it pains me to say.”
The girl looked like she was gonna cry. Ah damn, what’d I do?
I tucked my thumb under her chin and said, “Listen, we can still be friends, you know. And I’m sure that out there there’s some guy perfect for you, one who can be fair to you, and love you as much as you think you love me.”
Briana looked up at me and smiled weakly. “You know something, I think I know a guy like that.”
Beneath the mask, I smiled. I hoped she was talking about me. Now, before you go bashing me, you have to realize that me and Spartan are two different personalities, with Spartan being the act and Kyle Wyatt being the real me.
“Good,” I said. I turned to leave, but she stopped me. I turned, my eyebrows raised questioningly. She stared at me for a minute, and then proceeded to hug me. I hugged her back before leaping off of her railing and flying home, feeling somewhat happy.

 

[Swordmaster]

FIVE


Two weeks had passed since Briana and I (as Spartan) had talked, and she was still not talking to me (Kyle). I was confused as hell, so to find out what was going on I called Leon and had him gather everyone at Mac’s, the best hangout/burger joint in Xavier City. I explained my intentions, and he agreed.
A half hour later, the four of us sat at a booth with burgers, sodas, and fries. I sat next to Jackson, and Leon sat next to Briana. The girl in question was talking animatedly to Leon and Jackson, and she seemed happier than I’d seen her in a while. Yet she still wouldn’t talk to me.
Her cell phone rang, a polyphonic version of a Green Day song. She checked the I.D., and smiled upon seeing who it was. At this, my Battle Sense went off. Worried, I looked around, and listened for any sounds of trouble. There were none.
Briana excused herself, and went outside to answer her phone. On a whim, I decided to listen in on the conversation (Gimme a break, I was fifteen). I was only able to listen to her end of the conversation, though.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll be there at eight,” she said, wearing a big grin on her face. “I don’t know, I’ll leave what we watch up to you. Yeah, that sounds great. Okay.”
The next words out of her mouth made me feel like I was gonna keel over and die.
“Love you, too.”
I involuntarily took a sharp inward breath. A while after that, Jackson said I went pale. Leon asked, “What’s wrong?”
I was about to respond, but at that moment Briana walked in. I made a subtle cutting gesture with my left hand, signaling for my friend to drop it. She walked in and sat down, slightly in a daze. A minute later, she noticed my less than spectacular condition. “What’s with him?” she asked coldly.
I stared at her, fighting back the glowing eyes that were threatening to come up. “I’m swell,” I growled. “Thanks for asking.
Desiring to change the topic, Jackson asked, “So, who was that?” Briana said it was her father, but her heart skipped a beat when she did so, and she looked at me out of the corner of her eye. Leon and Jackson shared significant looks.
In order to get to the bottom of the mystery of Briana’s mystery boyfriend, in a flash of inspiration I asked, “Hey, Briana, can I borrow your phone? Mine’s dead.”
She winced at me and wordlessly slammed her phone into my hand. I feigned being hurt and went outside. I moved outside of the window’s view, so that Briana couldn’t see me. I checked her phone’s recent call history. Her last call was to one Samuel Brant (she has a knack for putting in the full names in her phone. Normally I found it somewhat annoying, but today it was incredibly useful).
That was when my Battle Sense did something odd. It “pushed” me to add Samuel’s phone number to my own phone. I quickly added it to my own phone, which I’d actually had.
I walked back into Mac’s, and taking a page from Jackson’s book, theatrically gave Briana back her phone. She gave me a cold look and put it back inside her purse. I smirked slightly.
***
At home that night, I resolved to follow her so Samuel’s, to see who exactly he was. Maybe he was her cousin. I assured myself of it, though I didn’t exactly believe it.
At 8:00 that night, I, as Spartan, sat crouched upon my listening post, listening for Briana’s voice. I immediately picked it up, and flew towards it. I got there in record time.
I hid in the shadows across the street, looking in Brant’s living room, where I saw a young white man with spiked red hair, much like my own, kissing Briana. She was kissing him back.
Sighing dejectedly, I flew off into the night, praying for the souls of any villain I ran into that night.

 

[Swordmaster]

FIVE

The next day, I sat in my room with Leon and Jackson and discussed this recent development with them. Contrary to my beliefs, they weren’t nearly as surprised as I thought they’d be.
“Oh, we’ve known this for a week,” Jackson said. Leon nodded, albeit reluctantly.
Taken aback, I said (yelled), “And you didn’t tell me…why?!” I yelled that with such intensity that Leon and Jackson backed away with terrified looks on their faces. I stared at them, eyes glowing, before regaining my control. “Sorry,” I whispered. “It’s just…with everything going on…I hate being left out of the loop.”
Leon walked to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I sympathize, man. Really. I’ll fill in the blanks if you want. Jackson, too. Right?”
Jackson opened his mouth to object, but Leon gave him a look, and so he merely nodded.
“When did this happen?” I asked, a bit too quickly.
“Two days after Superman,” Jackson said.
“And why wasn’t I told?”
“Do you need to ask? She’s pissed at you for missing her show.”
I nodded, then exploded in a rant. “FOR ****’S SAKE, I HAD TO LEAVE BECAUSE I THOGUHT SOME PSYCHOPATH WAS HOLDING MY FATHER HOSTAGE! THEN I FOUGHT A GIANT MECHANICAL KILLING MACHINE. OH, DID I MENTION I SAVED HER LIFE FROM THAT ASSHAT ******?”
“KYLE!” Leon yelled, now red in the face. “ENOUGH! Yes, you did all these things, but she doesn’t know it was you. All she knows is that Spartan saved her life. Oh, and need I remind you it was Spartan who encouraged her to get a new boyfriend and move on?”
I looked at my friend, and was about to punch him in the face when I realized I was being selfish. Not everything’s about me. Well, not the things I want to, at any rate. Breathing deeply, I nodded and said calmly, “Sometimes I hate this duality.”
Jackson nodded, and said, “As an actor, I can appreciate the difficulties there are in acting like two different people. You have my respect for that.”
I looked at Jackson, bewildered. “What?” he asked. “I can have deep moments, too.”
We all laughed. At what, none of us could tell. We just did. When we were done, I said, “One more question: How’d they meet?”
Leon chimed in with that one. “Her cousin Aileen. She introduced the two at her mother’s wedding.”
“Ugh,” I said disgustedly. “I knew I didn’t like her.” I put my hands in my face. “I don’t trust Samuel, either.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “There’s a surprise,” he muttered.
I webbed his mouth shut.

 

[Swordmaster]

SIX

That night, I went to the library to read their comics section. I needed to get my mind off of Briana. I read the whole section in three hours, and after ensuring there was nothing else of interest to me, I walked outside to head home.
I was halfway there when I saw Sarge and other officers keeping civilians from photographing a crime scene. I sped behind the library, ripped open my shirt to reveal my silver-on-black Superman ‘S’, and flew to the scene as Spartan. I landed beside Spartan and said, “Good evening.”
Sarge jerked in shock and turned to me. “Do you always have to appear like that?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I said simply. “Now, what happened here?”
Rubbing his temple, Sarge said, “An undercover agent was killed trying to bust this huge dealer. This guy’s been selling drugs for months, and it was only three weeks back that we got a lead. The agent was gonna bust him as soon as he paid for the drugs, but the dealer saw his wire and shot him immediately in the heart.”
“Fun”, I said. “Do you have a recording of the conversation up till your agent’s time of death?”
Sarge appraised me. “As a matter of fact, yeah. If you’d follow me?”
He led me to a van parked a few blocks away. We went inside, and he played the recording. I listened closely to the recording, and when it was done said, “The voice sounds like that of a teenagers, no more than sixteen years old. I’ll do what I can to find these guys.”
Sarge looked at me, shocked. “How can you tell it’s a teenage voice?”
Flying away, I said, “I can tell.”
***
I flew over the city, listening for the killer’s voice. After perhaps a forty five minutes of searching, I heard a voice bragging about killing a cop. Realizing this was my prey, I flew to the source.
The source turned out to be an abandoned Quick Stop, located on the outskirts of the city. I listened in to make sure I had the right place. Sure enough, I heard a group of teens saying how awesome the kill was.
I shot a webline onto a broken lamp post and used it to swing myself into the building. I kicked the door down and landed in front of the teens. Four of them were sitting Indian style around another, who was sitting in a ratty looking armchair. Since the place was abandoned, the electricity was out, and the leaders face was obscured in the dark.
Surveying my surroundings, I saw crates containing cocaine, heroin, needles, and alcohol. Everything you’d need for a black market drug operation.
The four subordinates stood up and glared at me. They almost attacked me, but their leader stopped them. He arose from the chair and walked to me, his previously hidden face revealed.
It was Samuel Brant, Briana’s boyfriend.
It was a good thing I had on a mask and glasses, because if I didn’t, Brant would have seen my shocked expression.
“Greetings, Spartan,” the bastard said, smiling slightly. “I understand why you are here. I also know that you cannot do anything to us.”
“And why’s that?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.
“Because, my good hero, in the eyes of the law we, that being my friends and I, are children, and you being an adult can do nothing to us.”
Despite myself, I chuckled. He thought I was an adult. Cute. After that, I turned around and caught a crowbar that was thrown at me by one of the lackeys. I turned to hit Brant with it, but he was gone.
I cursed silently and tossed the crowbar aside. I was about to go after Brant, but his henchman were on top of me.
In hindsight, after all of this, Brant was the only teenaged criminal mastermind I’d ever meet. Every other creep I would come to face was middle aged or above. But not Brant. He represented all that was wrong with the kids of my day. I think that’s why, after dispatching all of his men, I spent the time until sunrise looking for him, to no avail.
As golden rays began to enter into the windows of the people, I did the same to my own window. I flew in silently, changed back into my true self, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

 

[Swordmaster]

SEVEN


Not three hours later, I awoke with a start. My cell phone was ringing. Swearing for not turning it off, I checked the caller ID. Surprisingly, it was Briana. Instantly awake, I answered. “Hello?”
“Kyle?” Briana chirped. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
I sat up groggily. “No, no, I’ve been up for an hour. What’s up?”
“Nothing really,” she said doggedly. “Just wondering if you wanted to go to Mac’s with Jackson, Leon, and me, at around twelve?”
My eyes widened, my shock overwhelming the suspicion I should have felt at her sudden…nice-ness. “Sure,” I said slowly, so as not to reveal my shock.
“Good,” she replied, with a happiness that sounded somewhat forced. “See you then.”
She hung up, and sat on my bed in wonder. That’s when I realize I hadn’t warned her about her boyfriend, the drug dealer/murderer. And that led to me wondering where he could have gotten the drugs. Shaking my head, I told myself I’d find the answers later.
***
I got to Mac’s fashionably late. To be honest, I had to catch a purse snatcher. It off set my getting there by about ten minutes, because I had to tell the incredibly thankful woman that I wasn’t in need of a reward.
Not that kind of reward, you pervert’s. A monetary reward.
When I walked in, I immediately noticed my four friends, along with a fifth individual. Brant. Hiding my displeasure, I walked to them.
“Howdy,” I said stiffly. All of them looked at me; Leon and Jackson looked from me to Brant with fear. They thought I would explode again. Briana looked at me with a form of twisted pleasure, and it was there I saw what she was doing: she invited me here to gloat and meet her new boyfriend. I must have REALLY pissed her off.
Brant, however, looked at me with mild interest and curiosity. “Have we met?” he inquired.
“No,” I said after fighting the urge to punch his face in. “No, I believe I would remember a fellow red head.”
Brant’s brow wrinkled in confusion, but only for the briefest moment. “Of course. As would I.” He stood, and I saw that we were within an inch of each others heights. He held out his hand. “Samuel Brant.”
I shook it, acting happy for Briana’s sake. “Kyle Wyatt. Nice to meet you.”
Jackson snorted, and we all looked at him; me especially, eyes glowing red. “Sorry…,” he muttered.
After that awkward “introduction”, I pulled a chair over and sat with them. Everyone but Briana and myself ate; the two of us stared at Brant, however differently; where she stared at him directly and lovingly, I stared at him discreetly and coldly, watching his every move, listening to his every word.
Everything about Brant was so obviously fake, I wondered how Briana was unable to see through it. Then I remembered she’d yet to realize that Spartan and I were one in the same, and forgave her for her error of judgment.
After everyone had finished eating, the five of us hung out on the side. The couple was cuddling; Jackson and Leon were talking about “Jackass”; I watched the couple with envy. After an hour of this, I said to my dynamic duo, “We’re leaving. Come on.”
The two started to object, but I shot them a knowing look. They nodded, realizing I had something to say.
Before we left, I went to Briana. “Bree…could I have a quick word?”
She looked at Brant, as if asking for his permission. He thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile.
The two of us went to the front, to be alone. “Listen, I only say this because I care. You may not think I do, but I do. I...just…be careful around Samuel. He’s not what he seems.”
That set her off immediately. “You’re just jealous because I’m with him and not you! Listen, you had your chance, but you blew it! Damn it, Kyle…”
She began to storm off, but I used my speed to grab her arm. She gasped a little. I hadn’t used my strength on her, so I was concerned. “What is it?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she snarled, breaking free of my grasp and holding her arm where I’d grabbed her. She succeeded in storming off this time, mostly because I let her. I thought for a minute about what happened, then, upon coming across a startling realization, followed her.
Leon and Jackson stood, ready to leave. We were about to, but Brant halted us. “Kyle? Could I have a quick moment alone with you, please?”
I looked from Leon to Jackson, who both shrugged. I looked at Briana, who turned away. Weighing my options, and knowing I was safe, I nodded.
Brant led me to the back, where he shoved me and reverted to his true self. “What the hell was that for?” I yelled.
“That’s beside the point,” the asshat said, throwing a punch at me, which, to keep up my mild-mannered civilian act, I let hit me. I faked a pained grunt and looked back at my enemy with hatred in my eyes. “The point, Kyle, is for you to stay away from my girl.”
“She’s not your girl, anymore than she is mine,” I sneered.
Brant laughed humorlessly. “Oh?” he asked. “Well, I disagree. And so does my friend here.” With that, he pulled out a butterfly knife and twirled it. I did my best to look scared, but as I’ve had invincibility for over a year, I don’t think I pulled it off.
“If you hurt her, you’ll regret it,” I promised him, fighting the heat vision that was begging to come out.
“What’s a scrawny little man like you gonna do, Wyatt? If I ever did hurt her, she’d deserve it. You needn’t worry about her though, so long as she remembers her place. She’s my girlfriend, but I’m not her boyfriend.”
Ignoring the obvious contradiction there, I just stared coldly at him and flipped him off. He went to cut my face, but Briana called his name. He yelled, “Coming!” and turned back to me, mouthing that I was lucky.
***
At my house, I sat on my bed, deep in thought, with Leon and Jackson surrounding me. I had just told them everything that had happened involving Brant, and they were shocked.
“He seemed like such a nice guy,” Leon said in wonder. “How could we have missed that he was really a dick?”
“Easy,” Jackson said. “We weren’t looking. If Kyle wasn’t naturally jealous, I doubt he would have picked up on it too, and then Briana would be abused while we stood idly by, metaphorically speaking.”
I said nothing. Rather, I walked into the door that connected my room to the bathroom.
“What I want to know is, why is she still with him, if he’s hitting her?” Leon asked. It was a valid question, one which I was about to answer, had Jackson not gotten there first.
“She’s afraid if she leaves him, he’ll hurt her, possibly kill her. She may have awesome tae-jitsu skills, but he’s got size on his side.”
Jackson was smarter than he looked and acted half the time. I’d arrived at the same conclusion.
“Maybe there’s more,” Leon said darkly. “Maybe…she’s just afraid of being alone.”
“Possible,” Jackson said. “Unlikely, but possible. And if it were true, how would we prove it to her? That she’s not alone, I mean.”
I finally spoke up. “I’ll talk to her.”
To that, Leon replied, “Nothing against you, dude, but she hates you at the moment. She won’t even talk to you.”
“You’re right,” I said. “She won’t talk to Kyle Wyatt.” I opened the door, and Leon and Jackson smirked at each other while nodding their approval.
“But she’ll talk to Spartan.”

 

[Swordmaster]

EIGHT



Using a pay phone, I called Briana and told her to meet me at the park in the city at six p.m. She agreed instantly. And soon enough, we met.
“Thanks for coming,” I said.
Briana smiled. “No problem. But tell me, why’d you ask to meet me? Unless this is purely a social meeting?”
I looked at the sky. “Word has it you have a boyfriend.”
She took a step back from me and looked at me skeptically. “How’d you know?”
“Superhero information hotline,” I said. “But the why isn’t important. What’s important is that I know what happened to your arm.”
“N-nothing,” she said indifferently.
“Don’t lie to me. Your heart skipped a beat.”
Briana looked away, biting her lower lip. I dashed to where she was looking, and said, in a more gentle voice, “Briana, please. I want to help you.”
She looked down. “It was Samuel,” she whispered.
My eyes glowed behind my shades. “Why?”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. “I turned down a date with him, to hang out with my cousins. He didn’t like that.”
I grabbed her shoulders and went down on one knee. “Why do you stay with him, then? Are you afraid he’ll hurt you? Because if you are, I can protect you. Promise.”
“It’s not that,” she sighed. “Not entirely. I’m afraid that if I leave him, he’ll hurt me by hurting my family and friends.”
“I know how you feel,” I said. “But I can protect your parents, your brother, and Leon and Jackson.”
“What about Kyle?”
That question stopped me cold. “I thought you were mad at him for missing your show.”
She shook her head. “Well, I was, and I kinda still am, but something he said to me today made me realize I shouldn’t give up on him yet.”
I nodded while inwardly dancing around in joy. My happiness was short lived when I heard the bushes around us rustle, followed by the tapping of a cell phone and a hurried whisper.
Homing in on the source, I fired a web into the bushes and yanked out a teenager. I recognized him as one of Brant’s lackeys. The bastard’s parents must have bailed him out of jail, and he went right back to his old ways, it seemed.
When the flunky saw me standing over him, arms folded, he yelped and tried to get up, but a foot on his shoulder from myself kept him down on the ground.
“I see you remember me. And I remember you,” I said coldly. “I know you work for Samuel Brant, and I know he sent you hear to watch over Ms. Walker here. What I don’t know…” I lifted him up by his collar so he was staring directly into my glasses, “is what you just told him on the phone. Kindly tell me, and I won’t hurt you the way I plan on hurting him.”
Eyes widened, the thug managed to gasp, “What’re you gonna do?”
I bent down to his ear and whispered a plan so painful I almost felt the damage it would leave. The thug looked at me, scared ****less, and said, “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you everything! You’re right, I was sent to tail the girl, and report to him where she was, who she was with, that sorta stuff. I told him that she’d told you everything. He wasn’t too happy.”
“I’d expect not.” I growled. After ensuring that was all he knew, I let him run home. He wasn’t any trouble without his leader, and I was about to deal with that problem. I turned to Briana. “Get out of here. Go home, lock your doors, your windows, anything Brant can use to get in. Tell your parents everything, so they’ll understand.”
She just stood, staring at me. “I’ll take care of Brant. I promise. Now go!”
Briana went into the bushes and hopped on the bike she’d hidden there. As for me, I flew into the air and raced for Leon and Jackson’s respective houses. Briana had said she was afraid that Brant would attack her through her friends. I knew that Kyle Wyatt would be safe, but I needed to ensure the safety of my two friends. I wasn’t prepared to lose them.
Jackson’s house was closest to the park, so I checked there first. He was fine, and after listening for any phone conversations, it would seem to stay that way. The same with Leon, but just to make sure, I flew there. As I’d suspected, he was fine.
I flew to Briana’s, to make sure he forsook all of her friends and decided to go after her. She too was in perfect physical condition. As Kyle Wyatt, I’d talk to her tomorrow.
I flew home, where none of Brant’s men, nor Brant himself, was. I changed back to Kyle Wyatt and fell on my bed, thinking what a mess my life was at the moment.
***
The next morning, I got another call from Briana, telling me to meet her at Mac’s again at twelve. This saved me a phone call later.
Thinking it would be fine exercise for Kyle Wyatt, I walked there, a twenty five minute long walk. I walked into Mac’s and approached the owner, Mac. I asked if he’d seen Briana. A big, friendly guy, he nodded and said that she’d been taken somewhat forcefully to the side by her boyfriend.
“And you didn’t stop it?” I asked indignantly.
“I’d seen you kids together in here yesterday, I thought it was all right. I saw no reason to interfere.”
There was nothing wrong with his logic; he couldn’t have known the whole short, though convoluted, history between us all. Thanking him, I tore out of the eatery at top human speed and ran to the side, where I saw Brant hitting Briana, though she was trying to fight back.
“BRANT!” I yelled. He turned to me, and it was here I saw Briana on her knees, bruised and bloody. I restrained myself from lunging at him, though it wasn’t easy, nor fun.
Brant took out a snub nosed pistol and fired a shot at me. It hit me and bounced off. Apparently believing he missed, he fired another two at me, both of which bounced off of me harmlessly.
Realizing that he couldn’t hit me, he turned his gun on Briana. Without hesitation, I fired heat vision at his hand, causing him to drop gun and scream in agony. He grabbed his burned hand and ran away.
I had every desire to go after him, but Briana was my immediate priority. I ran to her and fell to my knees. Instantly, she fell into my arms, embracing me and openly sobbing.
Cradling her in my arms, I said, “It…it will be all right, Briana.”
“Everything will be all right.”

 

[Swordmaster]

NINE



Briana later told me the history of Samuel John Brant. He was fifteen, like the rest of us, born to a loving mother and father. But when he was nine, his father died in a plane crash. After this, his mother turned to drinking, drugs, and one night stands, none of which had a positive effect on young Samuel. One day, while walking through the less family friendly part of Xavier City, he met a drug dealer, one who saw potential in the youth. He took him under his wing, and once Brant had learned everything he could from the man, he killed him and took over his operation. He’d stolen all the drugs and alcohol he was selling from his mother, who bought so much from various dealers she could have set up her own operation.
Brant did that instead.
I now realize that Brant was a dark reflection of me, what I could have been if I had never been given my powers and met my friends. I still hated him for what he did to Briana, but now that hate was mixed with a small drop of pity.
But that wouldn’t stop me from giving him what was coming to him.
***
A month after he’d assaulted Briana, Samuel Brant was walking along the streets, walking with a cockiness and self-assurance that reeked of self-importance. Then, out of nowhere, his cell phone rang. The caller I.D. read “RESTRICTED NUMBER.”
“Hello?” he answered.
“Samuel Brant?” the voice from the other end said.
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard from a dear friend that you sell the best weed in the city. I was wondering if you would consider making a deal with me? I would pay you ten thousand dollars in exchange for a small sample.”
This deal sounded too good to be true, but it was obvious Samuel’s greed got the better of him. “Where do we meet?” he asked eagerly.
“The alley on Loeb Street. One hour.”
And like that, the caller hung up.
***
One hour later, Brant walked down the alley, holding a small bag in his right hand. He checked his watch. He was right on time, and his customer wasn’t, so he began to lose patience.
“Where are you?” he yelled into nowhere.
“Here,” a voice answered from nowhere.
Brant turned around wildly, wondering where the voice was coming from. The voice started to say: “You’ve done bad things, Brant. You killed an undercover cop, sold drugs to minors and adults alike, beat up a girl who has never even harmed an ant, and for what?”
Brant was frantic now. “Who’s doing this? WHO ARE YOU?!”
At that, a webline attached itself to Brant’s leg, and he was lifted up to face me, dressed as Spartan save for my usual facial garb. I smirked slightly, yet my eyes conveyed nothing by hatred for the young man.
“Oh, I think you know my name.”

 

[Snipershot]

dude....really good