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“I don’t think it’s such a great idea,” Tony said.
“Neither do I,” Clint agreed.
Jake and Mark had told them they were leaving for California. That they refused to say why they were going didn’t make their case any better.
“We’ve gotta go,” said Jake. “It can’t wait.”
“I can go with you,” Clint offered.
Jake scrunched his face. “Not yet. It’s…I will take you. You should go. Just not right now.”
“Mark, why do you need to go,” Tony questioned.
“‘Cause Jake is going,” Mark replied. “He wants me there.”
Tony looked to Jake. Jake nodded his head.
“I don’t care for the secrets.”
“It’s not a secret.” There was frustration in his voice. “It’s just personal. I’ll tell you everything when we get back. I promise.”
“We’re not going to get into any trouble,” Mark added. “It’s a good thing. You’ll understand when we get back.”
“Do you not trust us,” Clint asked.
Jake looked to Mark, who nodded slightly. “There’s other stuff but that’s not important. Not immediately anyway.”
“Is this about your late night activities?”
A dark look crossed Jake’s face. Mark got up and pulled his friend to his feet.
“Time to go,” Mark said. “Don’t ruin his fucking good thing, okay? Can’t you guys ever give us a fucking break?”
The two teens walked out of the house. They didn’t go far. Mark looked at Jake and smiled. A real smile with happiness, something they rarely felt.
“Let’s get out of here. I can’t wait to get you home. I know this is going to change everything.”
The annoyance on Jake’s face was gone. He also looked happy. He was going home and bringing his best friend, the person he trusted with everything in his life. There was not a single secret between them. No one really understood just how deep that bond extended and probably never would. That was okay with them.
“Maybe we should say a couple of goodbyes,” Jake suggested.
“To a couple of girls? Sure.”
“Okay. Thirty minutes in the park where we stashed our stuff.”
“I got the car,” Mark said. “Convertible. Hopefully we don’t crash it since neither of us know how to drive.”
From the window, Clint and Tony watched how the tension drained away from them, and the smiles in their faces.
“Maybe they will be alright,” said Clint. “When was the last time we saw smiles like that on their faces?”
“Never,” Tony responded. “We’ve never seen that before. There’s been too much trauma and it seems like they’re trying to put some of their ghosts to rest. I wish we understood them better.”
“I think Jake is a werewolf.”
That took Tony completely off guard. “What? How is that possible?”
“I don’t know but I think whatever happened was before we met them and they’ve been keeping it a secret.”
“If that’s true it would explain their occasional disappearances at night.”
“Full moons?”
“Possibly, but if so those aren’t the only nights they went out.”
“Maybe to remove a pattern.”
“There is something else. I want to find out who the scum is that raped the boys. I want justice for them. Or vengeance. Whichever is most appropriate.”
“How can that happen without looking at the pictures?”
Tony shook his head. “I’m going to have to look. Maybe I can use software to blot out images of them. I really need to see the faces of those monsters.”
“Do you” Clint closed his eyes and took a deep breath “need me to help? God do I not want to see any of this, but if it ends with an arrow in their heads, maybe I can manage.”
Tony looked closely at Clint’s face to gauge his willingness. Tony would never have believed he would be this close to the archer but they had developed a strong bond when it came to Mark And Jake. Even that was strange because those boys had changed the way they behaved. Tony couldn’t be a womanizer and Clint couldn’t be the freewheeler he liked to be. Now Clint was married and Tony was developing a romance of his own with Janet Van Dyne.
“Let me sort out the image censors. Then we can take a closer look. It’s the video that concerns me more. It hasn’t been viewed by Jake, Mark or even Angel. I have no idea of what might be on it. I don’t want to know.”
Jake was smiling when he approached Stephanie. He looked so content that it surprised her.
“Me and Mark are going on a roadtrip. I have to do something in California.” Jake paused, trying to decide what he should say. “We’re going to the house where I grew up. I’m going to say my goodbyes to them and take the good times with me.”
“That’s…do you think it will help?”
“Yeah. So does Mark and I can’t do this without him, not this time. Later, when it’s done, I’ll bring others. Maybe you.”
“Me,” Stephanie questioned.
“I’d like to spend more time with you when I get back. If that’s okay with you.”
Stephanie stared at Jake, thinking about all of the trauma he’d been through. She wondered if he would really be able to connect with her. “I think we can spend some time together. Just don’t take too long. Lots of guys are banging on my door day and night.”
Jake laughed. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Bye.”
Raven looked pleased to see Mark. The concern she’d often felt for him seemed to have lessened. He’d put up an act of being happy in the past but she could always sense the truth. This was something different, something real.
“Jake and I need to go to California. He needs to go home and say goodbye to his family. He wants me to go with him and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“This is a good thing,” Raven queried.
“It’s going to be. I know it’s weird to that a thing that makes him happy does the same to me. He’s my best friend and I love him. It’s just a…I don’t know. I’ve never had a friendship this deep. I haven’t had any relationship like this. Him feeling better will take a lot off of my shoulders.”
“That’s nice. Why didn’t you get the team together in one place to talk about to this?”
“Because you’re the one I want to know. You’re the one I don’t want to worry. We’re going to be okay.”
“I have worried about you.”
“I know. When I get back” Mark paused “I’d like to see you some more. I don’t know what it’ll mean, if you even want to do anything. I do know my dreams were telling me to meet you. Then you showed up.”
“That would be nice.”
Mark smiled. “Good. We won’t be gone for too long. Maybe a couple of weeks, depending on how long it takes us to drive there and back.”
“Do you even know how to drive?”
“I’ll learn. My reflexes are fast enough so that there won’t be any disasters”
Mark leaned in and kissed Raven. “See you soon.”
Jake was already at their stash when Mark arrived. He quickly moved their belongings to their 1965 Ford Mustang. It was a convertible. Having the top down while driving felt like freedom.
“I’ll drive first,” said Mark. “Pretty sure I can get us out of the city without crashing into anything.”
“Guess we’re learning as we go. Should be fun.”
Mark was especially slow heading out of the City. There was enough rebuilding in progress, even after a couple of years, that causing more damage was something to be avoided.
The bigger problem was the due to the age of the vehicle it didn’t have an automatic transmission. He couldn’t just put it in Drive and go. There were gears and working them out was difficult.
“My Dad drove a manual,” said Jake. “He sometimes put me in his lap, put my hand on the gearshift, put his overtop of it and then shifted. It’s been a while but I might have a better shot at it than you.”
Mark grunted but switched places with Jake. “I’m gonna watch you and see if I can learn.”
“I did say we’d be learning as we went. Let’s hope we catch on quick.”
They didn’t catch on quickly. There were grinding of gears. It took listening closely to the sounds so they could figure out when to shift gears.
Once in the highway it was easier. They didn’t have to shift so much. They could stay in fifth gear much of the time. They didn’t have any realistic fear of cops. Outside of cities the law became sketchy. Who wanted to take on a potential Dire Wraith or one of their allies? Sure, they were told the Wraiths were gone but it had also been learned that they had been on Earth, secretly, for a very long time.
The drive was quiet for a while. They were comfortable not speaking. There was no need to fill the empty space.
Jake got better at driving. With light traffic, he could learn how to shift gears to slow down or speed up. Then Mark took over and went through the same learning process. He had an edge because he’d been watching Jake and because, when he focused, he could learn fast.
They pulled into a diner along the way. These were the kinds of places least from the destruction. With the obvious threat over, inexpensive food was the way to go.
An middle aged woman in a pink outfit and white apron – the kind that was straight out of the movies – came to take their order.
“We don’t take credit cards,” she said.
Mark pulled out his wallet and showed her a few bills. She nodded, satisfied.
“What’ll it be?”
“A Greek Salad and a coke,” said Jake.
“Grilled cheese with waffle fries and a sprite.”
The waitress nodded her head and walked off.
“They’re gonna worry about us,” said Jake.
“It’s fine,” Mark responded. “We can call when we reach a motel.”
“I almost feel guilty not telling them. Like maybe Clint’s feelings will get hurt ‘cause I didn’t take him. I mean, he even met my Dad.”
“It’s you and me ‘til the end.”
“Yeah. Glad that end is a lot further out than we thought.”
“Doc told me something.” Mark looked through the window at the dusty parking lot. “He said that I shouldn’t honor the old pact if you, y’know. He said I should keep living to honor you.”
Jake gave a little laugh. “So that’s why you changed the terms of the pact. You didn’t want to go on without me.”
“No. I don’t know how that could even work. I mean, if something happened, like in a fight…but if you…no, I don’t know I’d manage.”
“Well. Here we are.” Jake gave Mark a small smile. “This is it, right?”
“It is.”
After the meal, and two slices of homemade blueberry pie, the boys were on their way. The drove for hours, stopping only for a roadside piss here and there. It was dark before they found a motel for the night.
“This looks like a shit hole,” Mark said.
Jake looked at the dirty siding, the rusted railing and the parking lot that could have used a sweep to clean out the litter.
“Better than some of the places we spent our time.”
“True. But not by much.”
They headed to the desk to check in. There was a greasy looking guy there. He looked them over.
“20 an hour,” he grumbled at them.
“We were actually looking to stay the night,” said Mark.
“You faggots or something’?”
“Or something,” Jake responded. “Do you have a room or not? Preferably with two beds.”
“Fags stay here all the time. I don’t tell no one.”
Mark’s eyes flashed. “Room. Now.”
“I didn’t mean nothin’!”
Jake pulled out a knife and jabbed the point down into the desk. “Shut the fuck up and give us a room.”
Tony was nervous putting the tape in the VCR. Even having an idea of what was on it he still didn’t want to do. He thought it might be the only way to get a real sense of his enemies.
“I’m as ready as I’m gonna get,” Clint said. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Tony nodded and hit play.
What they saw was bad. It wasn’t just Mark and Jake but also other children, some considerably younger. There was revulsion on the faces of the two men watching. Then it got worse. It went beyond sex with children. It became violent and drugs were used to control them. The things that were done to them were things that no human being should ever have had to endure.
When it was over, Tony and Clint sat in silence, but the rage they were feeling was barely being contained.
“I’m going to kill them,” Tony said. “Every last one of them.”
“Not without me. I’m going to look them right in the eyes when I end them.”
“It’s no wonder they keep things to themselves. How could they possibly want to tell anyone, or even bring it to the surface of their thoughts?”
“They survived it somehow.”
“Mark is resilient. He heals quickly.”
“So does Jake. Sometimes.”
“Lycanthropy needs to sit on the back burner for now. This is more important. And I don’t want the boys involved.”
“No. They’ve had so much pain that just keeps rolling in. They don’t need to rehash it. This is Avengers business.”
“Agreed but they don’t need any details.”
“There, that’s it,” said Kyle.
Angel looked up at the screen to see what what her teammate was talking about. “Um, so…”
Kyle realized she wouldn’t be able to read the code. “It’s a lead on Lara Sellers. It looks like she might still be alive.”
“That would be amazing if it’s true. Is there a place where we can start looking?”
Kyle hadn’t planned to include the rest of the team in his search but he realized turning down help would be stupid. “Yes, but just us. Steph and Raven might slip and I don’t want to cause issues.”
“Steph and Raven,” Angel questioned.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t noticed the glances between Raven and Mark and Steph and Jake?”
Angel looked down. “I don’t have much experience with dating.”
Kyle smiled. “That’s okay. We’re still teenagers. I only dated once and it didn’t work out. I was trained to notice things so maybe that’s the difference.”
“When can we go?”
“Go get your costume. I’m going to get some supplies ready. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone or what shape we’ll be in when we find her. She may need food or drinks.”
“You think of everything.”
Jake dialed up the phone number for home. Bobbi answered it on the third ring.
“Hello,” she said.
“You have a collect call from Jake,” the operator said . “Do you accept the charge?”
“Yes,” Bobbi responded. “Jake, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. This motel we’re staying in gives a whole new meaning to ‘seedy’. I just hope we don’t end up catching anything.”
“Let me get Clint.”
“Wait! I need to talk to you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry I got so upset. You didn’t deserve it. You were just concerned about me and I was being a jerk. You didn’t even do anything wrong. It was just me.”
“That’s okay, Jake,” Bobbi responded. “Sometimes stress can cause us to act less than our best.”
“Thank you. You guys took me in and I haven’t been very grateful.”
“Your life has been hard, Jake. Give yourself some leeway and try to do better. You’re so much better than you were in the past.”
“Yeah.”
“Let me get Clint.”
“Hey, buddy,” Clint said when he got on the phone. “Are you doing okay?”
“Except for the desk clerk calling us fags, yeah. But we put in in his place. Not because he was saying we were gay but because he was making it sound so horrible. We didn’t hurt him or anything. We just scared him.”
“Good. Listen, Jake, I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean for it to come off like an accusation. I’m just worried about you.”
“I know. We can talk about it more when I get back.” Jake paused. “I—“ He again stopped. “We’re going to my old house, where I grew up. The stuff in my head — I just can’t let go of it. Then Bobbi said that nothing could take away the good memories of my family unless I let it. So I want to go to that place where I was happy. Let those memories come back to me.”
“That’s great, Jake. I would have loved to be there with you.”
“I know. There’s just stuff I’ve been afraid to talk about. Mark knows everything. He’s never judged me for anything. The closest he came was when he was pushing for me to come clean with my real name and even that was because he didn’t want to lose me to some other identity. He knew why I had been Derek Patterson, knew why I was Eric Marvel and even why I wanted to be Michael Fletcher. But he knew Jake and wanted everyone to know me. Especially Tony.”
“Jake, I’ve never judged you.”
Jake sighed. “Yeah, you have. You don’t mean to but whenever you question where I was and what I’m doing you jump to conclusion I did something wrong.”
“Jake, I—“
“No, it’s okay. I gave you reason to be suspicious. Suicide pact, going off to look for Devastator and, like you said, me and Mark disappointing some nights. There’s a story but I’m not ready to talk about it.” Jake went quiet.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I really don’t. I can only tell you that Mark helps me and I don’t think anyone else can.”
“Okay, Jake. I guess you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”
“I want to but I’m afraid of what will happen once I do.”
“The other night was a full moon.”
Jake didn’t say anything but he also didn’t hang up the phone. The silence stretched on.
“Don’t stay away too long.”
“Not my plan. I’ll call you, um, probably Friday. There’s someone special I need to talk to tomorrow night.”
“Oh, really? A girl or…?”
“A girl. You know her. Good night, Clint.”
“Good night.”
Mark had been in the room for the whole conversation. He looked at his friend after he hung up the phone.
“You gonna tell him,” he asked Jake.
“I guess. I’m just worried they’re going to lock me up or shoot me with a silver bullet.”
Mark laughed. “Shoot you with a silver bullet? Even if they wanted to they’d never get close enough, not with me around. They wouldn’t try, though, and you know it. As for the other, you’re right, they might try to lock you up. I won’t let them. The last thing the wolf needs to know is that it gets no freedom at all. The it’ll just pissed all the time, probably at me.”
“All about you.”
“When it comes to that werewolf, yeah, it is. Okay, maybe it’s a tiny bit about you but mostly it’s about me.”
“Except when…”
“Yeah, let’s forget about that. And Nexus. I won’t let that happen again. It worked out but I shouldn’t have let it do that, not after the other time.”
“You gonna call Tony?”
Mark dialed Tony. He placed a collect call but there was no answer. Then he tried his office. Same result. He did get through to Avengers Mansion but Tony wasn’t there.
“Guess he’s not waiting up for my call.”
Jake got off of his bed and went over to Mark, putting an arm around his shoulders.
“I’m sure it’s not that. Want me to call Clint back? Maybe he knows something.”
“Nah. I’m good.”
Jake snorted. “Don’t lie to me. You’re not good at it.”
“I know. I just want to sleep. I’ll try again in the morning.”
Nighthawk floated a ways from the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. His telescopic night vision goggles showed him what he had thought. By all accounts, the buildings were in such poor shape that they had largely been abandoned. That’s not what he was seeing. There was a beautiful park and several well-maintained buildings.
“That’s where we’re going,” Nighthawk said to Flare. “I would ordinarily have wanted to go in silently but I don’t think that’s an option.”
“Then what do we do,” Flare asked.
“I’m going to get close. I’ll send you a signal through the comms and then we’re going in hard. No pulling back.”
“Is this going to be another Omega Man?”
Nighthawk continued to stare, his jet-powered wings allowing him to hover in place. He still hated them. “Let’s hope not.”
Nighthawk moved forward. He was very close when he spotted a being of pure, purplish energy. It was no one who’d ever seen or heard about. He considered turning around but then it saw him, but Nighthawk thought strange given that it was night and his entire costume was dark.
Even before he could give the signal, Flare was on her way. The being was moving toward them but Flare fired a blast of her cosmic fire. It didn’t quite stop the thing but did give it pause.
Nighthawk considered the weapons he had at his disposal. The daggers were likely useless and he wasn’t strong enough to do any damage. That left just one option and he wasn’t sure he had the time to make it happen.
Spreading out his hands, Nighthawk began to weave magical threads. They spun out of his hands toward the energy being. The threads began to wrap around the being. It gave the other pause, though it did not entirely stop it.
Flare took advantage and got close to the being. Flames began to cover her entire body. She grabbed hold of the being and shot out massive amounts of bright white flame. The threads were destroyed but is also threw the being for a loop. It fell out of the sky and into Lake Parsippany.
Nighthawk flew down to see their enemy. It was now in the form of a man. He thought it might have been Wonder Man. Given that the Avenger had been missing and assumed dead, this wasn’t so far-fetched.
Taking a chance, Nighthawk fished him out of the water and dropped him on the shore. Then he sent a comm message to Flare to follow him to the hospital.
Not knowing where to go, Nighthawk landed near what looked to be the entrance to the main building. When Flare landed he nodded his head and then grab hold of the door handle. It was locked, but that shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Flare shot off a blast of fire that melted the hinges on the doors. She then pushed the door, which fell onto the floor with a loud bang.
That didn’t bring an immediate response but they suspected they’d need to move fast. There was a computer at the desk. Nighthawk turned it on. After it booted, he drew out a small device that he attached to the machine. It ran through numbers, letters and other characters until it got a username and password.
Lara being committed to the hospital wasn’t precisely on record but the information had to be present. It was. She wasn’t in the current building but couldn’t be far. It was the third floor of one of the buildings.
“We’ll have to look in all of the buildings,” Nighthawk said. “Are you okay with splitting up?”
“Yes,” Flare responded. “The sooner we find her the sooner we can get out of here. I just hope that guy we fought doesn’t show up again.”
“I can agree with that.”
The two heroes flew around the buildings. It was Flare who saw a light inside. It was just barely visible because the windows were covered with a grate and something inside of that.
She went to the grate. There was no guarantee that Lara Sellers was in that room but it seemed like an extreme measure to keep out an ordinary person. By all accounts, Lara also had lightning-based powers.
Flare ignited her hands and grasped the grate. It melted away. Then she set fire to the panel that mostly covered the window.
When Flare stepped inside she saw a blonde woman about her own age. She looked fit, more than might be expected of someone who had been locked up for years. That immediately made her suspicious.
“I’ve found her, Nighthawk,” Flare said into her comm. “First building I checked.”
Lara Sellers gave Flare a once over. Then electricity began to spark from her eyes. In moments she was a being of electricity. She didn’t make a move to attack but Flare nevertheless assumed she might be hostile.
Nighthawk reached the window and peered inside. With the wings he couldn’t go inside. “Got to get rid of these fucking wings,” he muttered. “Everyone okay in here?”
“Mark’s sister doesn’t seem happy to see us.”
The door to the room opened and a man walked in. “Tsk,” he said. Mumbling some words led to Lara returning to normal. Then he looked at Flare and Nighthawk.
“Let me go, you asshole,” Lara screamed at the man.
“That’s no way to speak to your doctor. There will be repercussions. As for you,” he said turning to look at Flare, “I recognize Tyrus’s work when I see it. I wonder if he’d like to retrieve you.”
Three ankh daggers slammed into the man’s chest. He pulled them out, blue blood flowing from the wounds. “These belong to Richard Sterling and you are not he. Perhaps they’d respond to blood.”
The man placed the ankhs into Lara’s hands but there was no reaction. Nighthawk spun a small thread to yank them back to him.
“Weaver magic,” he said. “How quaint. And what Weaver taught you that useless magic? You have little talent for it.”
Nighthawk offered a malicious grin. “Come find out. We’ll use your corpse as a message for Tyrus. Mail the pieces back to Titan for his father.”
The man appraised Nighthawk. “You don’t sound like a native of Titan but you’ve been there.”
“Been there, joined the Academy and learned.”
“Assassin.”
Nighthawk pulled a dagger from behind his back. “Yours.”
“You have no idea who I am.”
“Let’s find out.”
Nighthawk shed his wing and jumped inside. The dagger began to glow but he made no further move forward.
The man held out an arm and it began to transform, growing hairy. Some of his fingers fused together to make two fingers and a thumb, each with a talon at the end of them. “So sure of yourself.”
Lara started screaming. “No! Keep it away.”
“Get her out of here, Flare,” Nighthawk said, not taking his eyes off of his opponent.
“You should have kept her here,” the enemy said. “She’s quite powerful.”
“Doesn’t sound like she was going to be useful.”
The man began to move forward. His other arm transformed to match the first. Nighthawk still didn’t flinch.
The skin around his head peeled away. Underneath was a hairy, fanged, six-eyed being. Soon the rest of his body transformed so that he was very obviously a spider. There was little to describe him as human, especially with the hunched back and eight legs.
Nighthawk took a fighting stance. The creature jumped forward but Nighthawk wasn’t there. He had leaped over top, landing on its back and stabbed it with the dagger. In response, the spider creature flung him off. Nighthawk hit the wall hard but was quickly back on his feet.
The thing turned and stabbed at him with a talon. Nighthawk managed to evade it but was pinned down. He stabbed a leg, but it was more enraged than harmed. Once more a talon struck and ran him through the gut. It hadn’t killed him but there was no chance he could win or even escape without help.
The wall itself was rammed through and Wonder Man was on the monster. He flung it against an interior wall. The creature was stunned, but only for a moment. The other hero grabbed Nighthawk and flew him outside.
“Your friend needs help,” Wonder Man said. “I’m sure there are hospital supplies but we don’t have a lot of time. That thing is powerful sorcerer, incredibly strong in his monster form and almost nothing keeps him down. He can also control minds if he can get you alone for a few minutes.”
“I’ll look—“ Flare began.
“I’ve got this,” Lara said. “I know where to go.”
She transformed into living lightning and was gone. Several minutes later she returned with bandages and a sterile normal saline. She dropped to the ground and peeled off Nighthawk’s shirt.
By this time the spider creature had come through the hole in the wall and jumped down toward them. Flare immediately raised a hand and fired off a blast of fire. It caused the spider to screech and back off.
Lara had used the saline to sterilize the wound and was wrapping bandages around his abdomen. When it looked secured she stood up.
“He’s still bleeding but he’ll be okay if we get him somewhere safe.”
“Avengers Mansion,” said Flare. Then she looked at Wonder Man. “You’re not going to try to hurt us again are you?”
Wonder Man walked over to where the human spider was lying on the ground. He kicked him, sending the other flying through the air.
“Let’s go.”
In the morning, Mark again tired to call Tony. He didn’t get through. Only this time Clint also wasn’t available and the Avengers were unreachable.
“What the hell is going on,” Mark asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s eat and hit the road.”
They were more somber than they’d been when they set out. They knew the Avengers were still active, which meant they’d be gone at times.
In times past, communication had been easy. The Wraiths changed that by destroying a lot of telephone lines and things of that nature. Materials weren’t easily available and people with expertise were hard to come by. Lots of places had gone dark and no one knew if the people in those places were dead or alive. In a lot of ways they were lucky the phones in the previous town had worked at all.
It was another full day of driving. They were much better at it this time. The drive wasn’t bad and they had reason to believe they’d be in California in the next day or two.
This was the first time they were really on their own since before the Avengers found them. There was no one to look out for them. There was no one to call on if they needed help. But they were different people than in the past. Healthy, clean and sober, and no longer on the run. And they knew, with certainty, that they would once more see the people they loved and who loved them.
“I was hoping we would hear from them,” Raven said to Stephanie. “They made sure we knew they were coming back, to us, but it sounds like maybe they’re out of reach.”
“We know things are a mess,” Stephanie responded. “Especially in middle America. They weren’t hit the hardest but getting up and running is more difficult. I just hope they’re okay.”
“It would have been nice if we’d been able to tell them that Lara had been rescued. I just wish Kyle and Angel hadn’t gone off on their own. Kyle is lucky he made it back alive so I could heal him.”
Stephanie appraised Raven. “You two have a history?”
“We trained in an Academy on Titan.” She paused. “Yes, we briefly dated but that was no easy thing to do since fraternization amongst students was frowned upon. We’re good friends now that we’re both here but that’s it.”
Stephanie nodded. “I figured as much.”
“I hope the boys hurry back.”
“They will. You saw some of what they went through but you don’t know about the past two years. They’ve changed so much. It’s almost like they’re different people.”
“They suffered constant abuse. No longer. I knew from my dreams that I was going to find Mark. I couldn’t say precisely what would happen but I knew we’d become close.”
“So did Mark. He talked about you for months before you showed up.”
“I don’t know what force has brought us together but I believe there is a future for us. Though Jake was not in those dreams I know there’s a link between them. If Mark is okay so is Jake. Believe it.”
Iron Man looked at his scanner. “Some of them were last reported as being here.”
“They will die,” Thor said. “I don’t know exactly why we’re going after them, but I can guess. Those young men weren’t in such a terrible state just from running.”
“It’s much worse than you think,” offered Captain Marvel. Iron Man turned to look at her. “I’m sorry, IM, but I accidentally saw the video. I was trying to network and…”
“At least you kept quiet about it,” Hawkeye mumbled.
“I didn’t think it would be fair. I wish I didn’t know.”
“So do I,” said Iron Man. “But these monsters will never do anything like this again. I will build the technology to prevent others from doing anything like it.”
“Good,” said the Wasp. “They took advantage of the war. They are traitors to humanity and traitors don’t get a trial.”
“Keep it together, people,” Captain America said. “We need level heads here. Let’s be grateful Wonder Man showed up when he did so he can protect those kids while we’re gone. I’m just glad he managed to reconstitute his body, something we never knew was possible.”
“I’ve got a lock,” Iron Man informed them. “Let’s go.”
The Avengers swooped down, busting through the side of the building. Hawkeye spotted one them, nocked an arrow and fire an arrow right through his neck. The rest was simply chaos. They made quick work of the perpetrators. Except one. This one survived for information.
Thor hoisted him up into the air. “You will tell us what we need to know. Where can we find your fellow scum? Names and locations.”
The man coughed and Thor eased up. “There’s a… set of files… it will tell you what I know.”
Thor nodded and then crushed his throat, severing the head. In days past that might have sickened them but the war had changed everything.
The Avengers and Fantastic Four appeared where they’d gone from in Central Park. The devastation was beyond anything they could have imagined. Much of the city had been destroyed and it was overrun by Dire Wraiths and other superhumans. The sky held spacecraft.
“What happened,” Captain America said in shock. “How is this possible? We were only gone for a few months.”
“I would look to the sky,” Thor said. “Those ships must be dealt with before we can do can be of help here.”
“I will destroy them,” Captain Marvel said. She converted herself to energy and flew up toward one of the ships. She shot right through it, severing it in half.
Thor swung his hammer, creating winds so strong that most of the debris was pushed out into space. Earth would be avenged and they would be true Avengers.
When Jake and Mark pulled up to what had been Jake’s home, they got quiet. Exiting the car, Jake headed for the door.
Mark moved faster and grabbed hold of his friend. “I don’t think so.”
“Mark, get out of my way.”
“Not until I look inside first. I just have to make sure…”
“You can’t—“
“I can.” Mark picked up Jake and placed him at the edge of the driveway. Then he zoomed inside.
The living room was a wreck but there were no bodies, or parts, like bone, that could have been left behind. The kitchen was mostly untouched, as was the rest of the home. The family must have been gathered in the one room when Devastator attacked. Insects and animals had take over much of the house but they could be dealt with. Easily, but just charging the air with electricity. Whatever was there would either flee or die but Jake was going to reclaim his home.
By the time Mark finished his mission, Jake stepped inside. He went pale as he looked around but didn’t freak out. He didn’t see anything he thought he might see but that didn’t necessarily make it better. There was an inordinate number of dead creatures present.
“Did you—?”
“I killed the wildlife living in here but that’s it. Promise.”
“I should smack you for keeping me out.”
Mark shrugged his shoulders. “Do it if you have to but I’m not going to apologize for it. Besides, I couldn’t have zapped everything if you were here.”
Jake nodded his head. He began to pick through the rubble. There wasn’t much to see, not at first. He went into his parents room. He saw little of interest most thing having been ruined over the years.
It wasn’t until he reached the family room that he saw some things that mattered. Photos on the wall that were protected by the glass frames, showed his family, mostly as it was not long before the massacre but one that really struck home. It was his father helping him hold a bow for the first time. He kneeled down behind Jake, holding him steady as the boy took aim. He pulled it from the wall and held it closely.
Other pictures were also there of the entire family. It had been a house full of love and Jake now had images of the past he could cherish. It had often been hard to fully remember it all, with images of his old life combined with their deaths. With this he could bask in that love.
After a long time looking through the house he found a few other things he wanted. One was a baseball bat. It wasn’t in the best of shape. The other was a baseball glove. It had also suffered over the years. Finally, a baseball that he’d used to play catch with his father and that he had started to use with Eric and Michael. All of them were in need of repair but he felt that all of them could be restored.
“You want to play catch,” Jake asked.
Mark hadn’t ever had these kinds of memories. His father had loved him, or at least he seemed to, but he had never done these type of activities.
“Okay,” Mark answered. “Just don’t hit me in the face. You’re so out of practice.”
Jake laughed. His aim was better than ever and Mark could dodge anything.
The teens went outside and threw the old ball back and forth without benefit of gloves but it was okay. It was just something simple, like you’d do with friends. No drama, just two guys playing with a ball in the backyard.
After a while, Jake stopped. “I want to stay here tonight.”
“I don’t think those beds will hold anyone.”
“We’ve got sleeping bags. There’s a fire pit. I know how to build a fire. We can lay out here. There’s not a lot of light around here so we can see the stars before we fall asleep. Too bad we don’t have marshmallows to toast.”
“Maybe we can get that stuff sometime after we leave.”
When night fell, they arranged themselves near the fire Jake had created. They had been lying there, but neither slept.
“Mark,” Jake called out.
“Yeah?”
“Would you pray with me.”
Mark got out of his sleeping bag. “Do you even have to ask?”
They both kneeled down before the fire and held hands.
“Dear Lord, please take care of my family and let them find peace and rest. They deserve, I don’t know—“
“They deserve, one day, to be reunited with the son and brother who has mourned them so deeply. Please look out for my best friend and him with his afflictions, both those that harm his mind and his body. Make him whole or show us the way.”
“And Lord help Mark find the peace he deserves, and help us to better understand who he is and what will make trust other people besides me.”
“Amen.”
“Amen.”
They didn’t have to say more, not in prayer or to one another. They each went to their sleeping bags. With only the sounds of the wind rustling the leaves, they both drifted off to sleep.
Go south,” a voice said. “The road to peace lies there. The only way to be free of the darkness in your souls is to confront the past.”
They knew the voice. It was Tracy Samson. They’d thought he was an angel and, just maybe, God was working through him to save them.
When the boys awoke in the morning they didn’t have to question their experience. The dream was one they shared.
“I guess we’re headed to Los Angeles,” Mark said.
“Guess so.”
END