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The others stop and listen for a moment. August says grimly, “Fire.”
“Fuck,” I say as I realize we need to get away from what might soon be an inferno.
August pushes us toward the edge as I see smoke and flames reaching this way, moving so quickly it’s like the fire is eating the field up. August doesn’t stop. He keeps moving toward the flames because wherever they originated is where Lex would be, but how the hell do we get past the fire eating through the field?
August keeps moving and I stay behind him with the others, using my powers to push against the flames whenever they get too close. When we break out onto the road on the other side, I find the flames are starting to weaken, leaving behind blackened ground and no Lex.
What have we done?
Fuck… we let Lex get separated from us.
My phone beeps as does everyone’s around me.
When I pull it out, expecting it to be Valerie preparing to murder us, I find that it’s from Lex instead.
The mask I wear keeps the facial recognition on my phone from opening immediately, so I quickly put in my code which causes me to screw it up in my haste, but I at least get it the second time.
The first thing I notice is a picture of Lex, bloody head hung down, tape over his mouth and hands.
Lex: If you don’t want him to die, you will do as I say. Tell anyone and I’ll shoot him in the head. Do you understand?
The look on everyone’s faces tells me that they got the exact same text that I did.
Ellison starts texting before any of us have even composed ourselves enough to say anything.
Ellison: Understood. Tell us what you want.
My hand is shaking as I pull out the paper that Nolan gave me and glance over it, hoping it has something I can use on it.
Works for: Referred to him as the Peacekeeper. Doesn’t seem to know a personal name or is refusing to think of it.
Why’d you do it: Keeps thinking about a woman. Annalee. Wife, maybe? Grieving. Likely dead.
Who else is working with you: Mostly thought of this Peacekeeper and the man he was arrested with.
How many: Thinking that it’s enough to stop them. Them seems to be superheroes.
I take a deep breath before returning to the group text.
Me: Are you the Peacekeeper?
Lex: I am. I see you’ve been busy.
Me: Lex is innocent. I don’t know what your endgame here is, but Lex doesn’t play a part in this.
Lex: I want you to stop Superheroes United from the inside. You can’t resign or walk away because they’ll just fill your spot with more. It needs to end.
Me: How do you propose we take down an entire organization? One that stretches across the world? We are just one small part of the overall group that is Superheroes United.
Lex: Leviathan, you are strong enough to destroy this world. I think you can figure it out.
Me: You want innocent men and women to die because of some fixation you have with stopping this? Or making a spectacle or whatever you’re doing?
Lex: You act as if innocent men and women don’t already die EVERY SINGLE DAY because of the actions of you HEROES. Do you not see this? Are you BLIND TO THIS?
I look over at the others, hoping someone else will have some wonderful wisdom to fix it all, but I just see August staring at that paper Nolan had written on.
He folds it up and slips it into his pocket before taking his phone back out and reading what’s been said.
