7. Fight Flight (Patreon)

Levi fled down the alley. Last thing I want is for Jet Engine to recognize me and start associating me with Fira. Especially if she decides to join up with Them.

A blast of fire lit the alleyway behind him. Fira burst after him, bright as the sun.

“You—stop it! Turn off the fire! Stop!” Levi snapped, frustrated.

Flying on her flames, Fira caught up with him and lowered her legs, then landed. The fire all around her cut off as she ran alongside him. “Where are we going?”

“We? We? I’m just trying to live my life, and you came barging into it with all your trouble. Go bother someone else!”

“I don’t know anyone else,” Fira said.

“We were strangers this morning. Go meet someone else!” Levi insisted.

Fira pouted. A moment later, her eyes lit up. “What are you going to do about it? I know where you live.”

Levi sighed. “Impeccable logic yet again. Alright, fine. Follow me.”

“You don’t actually want to be rid of me, do you,” Fira asked, grinning.

“I do kind of, actually, yeah. But not bad enough to get you killed for it,” Levi said, shrugging.

Fira rolled her eyes.

Up ahead, the alley came to an end. Bright streetlights and crowds of people wandered by. The noise filtered back, the hubbub of conversation and the roar of engines growing to a crescendo as they approached. Music played from a nearby shop, rattling off the street and down the alley.

Levi glanced around, then dusted down his clothes and stood upright. “Remember. Be cool.”

Fira nodded. She adjusted the brim of her cap.

Out onto the street again. Levi glanced over his shoulder.

A tall lady with six arms and dragonfly wings hovered uselessly outside the kebab shop. Ice supported the front of the shop where the glass and supports had been blown out. Jet Engine was nowhere to be seen.

Levi nodded. Good.

The music grew louder. Live singing echoed toward them, slightly distorted from distance. Levi frowned. “Is there some kind of outdoor concert going on the next street over?”

“I don’t know. I just got here today,” Fira said, crossing her arms.

“Wanna go blend in?” Levi offered.

“Shouldn’t we—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Levi lifted his finger to silence her. “What’s the first rule of hiding?”

“To… to not act like we’re hiding?”

“Precisely! Besides, if we immediately run back home after getting almost-caught, they might follow us home. Way better to go mingle with a crowd for a while, then use the chaos of the crowd dispersing to throw off any potential pursuers.”

Fira raised her hand.

“What is it, student?” Levi asked.

“What if they also come to the concert?”

Levi nodded. “Easy! Then we use the concert-goers as human shields! It’s been decades since Alpha’s been willing to overlook casual mass homicide. If your men-in-black or Alpha’s dogs show up there and start causing a ruckus, then one way or another, someone will show up to put a stop to it, and that, in of itself, gives us yet another opportunity to get away.”

Fira gave him a look. “Human shields…?”

“We can call them innocent bystanders if it makes you feel better.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Human shields it is!”

Fira gave him a look. “Are you some kind of supervillain in disguise?”

Levi snorted. “According to Alpha, we’re all supervillains in disguise.”

Taken aback, she squinted at him. “What does that mean?”

“Ah, to be young and innocent.”

The closer they walked to the music, the more packed the sidewalks became. Finally, in a concession to the press of humanity, the entire street was cordoned off. Vendors offered snacks and drinks, bootleg t-shirts and, from one particularly inspired individual, street paintings featuring a planetary theme strategically painted over the background of posters of the starlet currently singing. Throngs of people lined up by merch booths, winding back and forth across the street to buy overpriced t-shirts and bracelets. A driving bass line, a guitar, and a woman’s voice sounded, booming loud over even the noise of the crowd.

“Hey! Get down!” A policeman pointed a taser at a froglike individual clinging to the side of a building for a better view.

The froggy fellow stuck out his tongue. “You’ll never take me alive, pig!”

“I’m telling you to get down for your own safety!” the policeman replied, exasperated.

Fira tugged at her cap again, tilting her head away from the policeman.

“What are you afraid of the police for?” Levi asked, strolling by.

“They’re Alpha’s,” Fira explained.

Levi shrugged. “Well, sure, but you aren’t on fire, and even if you were, there’s no such thing as a policeman with strong powers. If they had powers, they’d be on Alpha’s team directly, and not taking a paycheck that tops out at fifty k.”

She looked at him. “Strong words from someone with a healing factor and nothing.”

“Strong words are my strong suit.”

Fira paused. “That guy who came out of the barrel. That was you, right?”

“That who whatsit?” Levi asked, looking away.

“Back in the alley. That was you, wasn’t it? You recognized me. Commented on the cuffs. That’s a pretty powerful healing factor, if so.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Why’d you tell me to put you out of your misery? More damage should’ve made that worse for you.”

“Unless you’re wrong, and talking bullshit. Hey, look, it’s that famous singer! The one Alpha’s into,” Levi spun, pointing toward the concert.

Fira sighed. She turned, giving in and taking a look. “What, Rainer Drift? I’m not really a fan.”

“Really? I thought all the girls were into her,” Levi muttered.

“You a fan?”

Levi shrugged. “I’m neutral. More of an alt rock guy.”

Fira raised her brows and looked him up and down. “Huh. I had you pegged as a punk guy. Maybe heavy metal.”

“Love me some punk, but I can’t forget my first love.”

The two of them wandered closer, weaving through the crowds. The people chattered, bopping along to the music, eating their snacks, comparing their fresh merch. Rainer Drift said something, but it was swallowed up by the roar of the crowd.

“So, uh, you’re looking for someone?” Levi guessed.

Fira hesitated, then laughed dryly. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Yes. I’m looking for my younger brother. He ran away from home a few weeks ago.”

“And you’re only coming to get him now?”

She shook her head. “Home is… it’s complicated.”

“I gathered that, yeah.”

“If E… if he wanted to escape, then I wasn’t going to keep him from choosing his own path. As long as he was happy and healthy, then, even if I couldn’t see him, it was still okay. I was worried about Central City, but his powers aren’t that unique, so there was no reason for Alpha to ability-hunt him, and he’s strong enough to take care of himself. But then he stopped responding.”

Fira looked down. She bit her lip. “He usually messages me every day. This time, he went three days without responding. And then, out of the blue…”

She lifted her cell phone and scrolled, then showed him a message, carefully using her finger to hide the sender’s name. Help. I don’t know

“And that was it?” Levi asked skeptically.

“It’s very out of character for him, and he didn’t reply after that. No matter what I said, no response. I took off to save him, and…” She wrinkled her nose. “Father didn’t agree.”

“Father?”

Fira sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah.”

Levi nodded. “Daddy issues, got it.”

Fira went to protest, then sighed and shook her head. “You have no idea.”

“So those guys in black are the ‘welcome home’ force? And Alpha’s after you because you have a rad fire power. And your take on Alpha is…?” he prompted.

Fira took a slow breath. “My best guess is that Alpha took my brother, but I won’t know until I see his apartment. I was trying to get there when some assholes waylaid me, and just when I was about to show them their place, that asshole Jet Engine swooped in.”

“So. Your brother’s apartment. Is it nearby?”

Fira paused. She shut her mouth.

The throb of pop pounded down on them, mixed with the rabid screams of the audience. Multicolored lights played over them, even from this distance. With another few steps, they passed under the shadow of the stadium seats, and the drum of feet on metal beat along with the music.

“Still can’t trust me?” Levi asked.

Fira gave him a look.

“Hey, I got you dinner, I took you to a show—” Levi’s eyes widened.

“What?” Fira whirled, searching for danger.

“Dinner!” Levi pulled the folded over plate out of his pocket and opened it up, revealing a few slightly-battered, but still warm, kabobs. “Want one?”

Fira drew back. She eyed his pants, then looked at the kabobs again. “Where were those?”

“In my pocket. You’ve never heard of pocket kabobs?”

“Now that I have, I’m finding myself desperately wishing I hadn’t.”

Levi shrugged. He took a bite. Warm, savory meat melted on his tongue, full of spices and charred up right, just as good as usual. A bit of fluff tangled on his teeth, and he grimaced and spat, fishing it out, then gave Fira a grin. “Your loss.”

“I feel it deeply,” Fira deadpanned.

Munching on pocket kebobs, Levi hummed to himself. Quietly, so it couldn’t be heard over the music, he muttered, “Ah well. Not my problem, after tomorrow.”

Following the flow of people moving around under the stands, they came to a point where all the fans stood still, craning their necks. Fira stood on tiptoes, her eyes lighting up. “You can almost see the stage from here!”

“I thought you weren’t a fan,” Levi said, taking another bite of kabob.

“I’m not, but hey, we’re right here. Who wouldn’t be excited?” She leaned left and right, trying to get a better look.

Levi leaned a little as well, her attitude infectious. She’s right. We’re here. Why not get into it? “You know, they say Alpha sometimes attends Rainer Drift’s concerts.”

“He’s a fan? Really? I thought you were joking earlier,” Fira asked disbelievingly.

“Some say more than a fan,” Levi said, waggling his brows.

Fira retched. “Don’t make me picture that.”

“What? Alpha’s a strapping young lad, in the midst of his youth,” Levi said, slapping his chest.

“And he has been, for the last fifty years,” Fira muttered under her breath. “You’d think the dude’s immortal, for all he’s aged.”

“Unageing isn’t immortal,” Levi interjected.

Fira laughed. “Right, that’s the rule in Central City, isn’t it? No matter what power you have, what healing factor, what ageless might, you still die at the end of the day. No one’s immortal.”

She paused. Her brows furrowed. “But wait, why is that a thing people say about Central City? No matter what, skills don’t allow you to become immortal. That’s just not a thing that exists.”

“Dunno. Maybe it’s people coping. Helps them sleep at night to think that one day, maybe, Alpha might die,” Levi sighed. He finished off the kabobs and tossed the plate in the trash, then put his hands behind his head. “Sure helps me get some z’s in.”

“If only he didn’t ability hunt, then maybe he’d be beloved. He’s so powerful. Central City has an Outbreak, and I didn’t even know about it because of Alpha. If I had that kind of power, I’d…” She bit her lip.

“Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Levi intoned gravely.

“Maybe that’s it.”

“Is it?”

“Because Alpha is so powerful, because he’s absorbed so many skills, that’s why…” She trailed off. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.

“What? Nip slip?” Levi stood on his tiptoes, stretching his utmost to see the stage.

A dark-haired boy, about fifteen years old, ran across the stage, eyes locked on the microphone. Smudges on his face and legs and oily clothes suggested he’d been living rough, but otherwise he remained in perfect health. Two men in suits chased after him, but a strange blue goo coated them, slowing their movement.

“Edwin,” Fira murmured.

Levi looked from the boy to her, then back again. “Holy shit, that’s your brother?”