CHAPTER TWO
Prison Break
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Sam was falling, falling, falling—plunging through a cloudy morning sky while the wind buffeted his face and Thunder’s arms tightened around his waist.
Why am I always falling off great heights these days…?
With Thunder’s cheeks brushing against his, he was forced to drive back the scream that threatened to escape his lips. He hoped she didn’t notice how his arms shook while they wrapped around her shoulders either.
Three times in just this month… I still can’t shake off this godsdamn fear.
Sam wished he had the power to keep them both in the air. But even with Herculean’s help, he didn’t have the strength to defy gravity. At least not yet.
Gods I wish I could fly… that would be epic.
Despite Sam’s fear of possibly plunging to his death hovering in the forefront of his mind, a larger chunk of his brain wasn’t overly worried because he believed in Thunder. Sam had faith that she didn’t just throw them off a plane without a plan. He might have done that, but she was smarter and cooler than he was—and his faith would be rewarded.
“Hold on tight!” Thunder yelled over the wind. “We’re going for a ride!”
She began a chant that seemed like a lullaby to Sam’s ears—a song meant to serenade the sky. In a matter of seconds, the heavens answered her dulcet tones with a lightning bolt. One so large it looked to Sam like a dragon had descended from the clouds to light up the sky in a brilliant flash.
While forced to shut his eyes from the blinding light, Sam felt a tug in his gut similar to that feeling of a roller coaster ride just before the steep plunge down the tracks.
“What’s going—”
It was like he was being pulled forward in every direction so that his sense of being—that feeling of having a body—disappeared completely. Somehow, Sam had become the wind being carried off into a lightning storm raging across the clouds.
He wanted to scream but didn’t get the chance. Before he could, he felt his feet touch solid ground and gravity returned to him.
“I know riding the lightning can be jarring, but try not to puke,” Thunder suggested as she let him go.
Hers was a failed hope though. For no sooner had Thunder’s hands left his waist when Sam was forced to his knees by the most intense vertigo he’d ever experienced.
Thunder sighed. “There goes breakfast…”
Sam puked out some of the burger and fries Warden Salvatore had kindly offered him and Thunder back on the aircraft. Bits of meat and potatoes fell onto the polished obsidian floor that was so hot the discarded food sizzled as if they had been thrown into the fryer.
“Ugh,” Sam groaned. “Remind me never to let you drive…”
“Not to rush you, Herculean”—Thunder’s tone seemed urgent—“but you need to get your game face on. We’ve got company!”
“What…?” Sam’s gaze drifted forward. “Oh, Styx…”
About two to three feet from where Sam knelt was a hole in the floor, one wide enough to reveal the crowd gathered on the level below. They were mostly veiled in shadow so it was hard to make out any of their features…except for their eyes. These were easily noticeable as they were all glaring daggers up at Sam.
“Gods, can we go back to falling from the sky?” he asked.
Sam felt the sudden rise in temperature in front of him, and he instinctively raised his left arm to summon the round ethereal shield that had become Bulwark’s default mode. He’d summoned it in the nick of time too because a roiling purple flame shot out of the hole a second after Bulwark appeared to explode onto its ethereal surface.
“Holy—”
The force of the explosion rocked Sam, pushing him back a great deal.
Watch out, kid! It’s—Chiron began, to which Sam finished with, “Helfire!”
He’d already recalled the name of the villain he’d read about in a recent paper, the one Weather Witch and the LAPD caught before he could blow up Downtown Hollywood for a second time.
A second burst of purple flames rose to meet Sam.
“Styx!”
He recalled that the purple flames of ‘Hel’ had been responsible for burning half of Downtown Hollywood only two years ago. That kind of power was too great to stop with just Bulwark’s strength.
“Thunderstrike!” Thunder yelled.
In the same instance, Sam roared, “Herculean!” into the sky.
ALERT! Title [Champion of the Sun] is now active.
ALERT! Due to the effect of [Champion of the Sun], all your stats have increased by 5%. They will continue to increase in increments as [Dawn] gives way to [Noon] for a maximum increase of 10% and then begin to decline as [Dusk] approaches.
ALERT! Title [Champion of the Sun] has a 10% chance of activating at [Dawn]. It is recommended that the hero not rely too much on this random power-up.
A bolt of jagged lightning descended from the cloudy sky and cut the column of purple flames in two. A half-second later, Sam’s punch—fueled by Herculean’s triple boost in strength—dispersed the two halves of the purple flames with just the wind pressure. The heroes’ combined display of power did nothing to deter the prisoners who’d climbed up to the platform they were on though, which meant Sam and Thunder were suddenly surrounded.
“I don’t know who this costumed clown is,” said the lanky man in a white jumpsuit who’d grabbed at Sam’s outstretched fist with arms that stretched and wrapped around Sam’s arm like twin snakes.
“You should read the papers more, Constrictor,” suggested the bronze-skinned, muscular woman who’d grabbed onto Sam’s neck from behind. She wore the same white jumpsuit as the Constrictor. “This is a new guy. Calls himself Herculean. I hear he’s super strong!”
As if to show off that she wouldn’t lose in a contest of strength, the bronze-skinned villain whom Sam knew was called ‘Barbelle’ tightened her hold on his neck, forcing his breath from his lungs.
“Does it matter?” Constrictor’s arms squeezed on Sam’s shoulder, causing the hero to wince in pain. “He’s just going to be one dead hero in a minute.”
“I like the way you think, Constrictor!” yelled the third villain to cross Sam’s path. This one had a cat-like face and a lean body that possessed the beast-like qualities of a cheetah. “Hold him still while I rip his heart out with my bare hands!”
“Get away from him, Cheetor!” Thunder growled.
She’d extracted herself from the villains who’d attempted to pin her down with a cloak of elemental energy wrapped around her body. This ‘Lightning Raiment,’ which Sam had once borrowed to pierce a giant’s shadow, kept incoming villains at bay long enough for Thunder to whip her ‘Lash’ at Cheetor’s exposed back. The resulting elemental explosion that shocked the polymorph spread outward, zapping both Constrictor and Barbelle while avoiding Sam entirely.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
‘Shock’ spread across the villains’ bodies, slackening their grips on Sam and allowing him to extricate himself from their holds by twisting himself around and roughly slamming them both into the obsidian floor.
“I didn’t know…you could…chain your lightning…like that,” he huffed.
Thunder, who’d move to stand back-to-back with him, replied, “I’ve got a title that allows me to chain my abilities sometimes… Are you okay?”
“I’m healing…”
More inmates were beginning to climb up from the hole, which meant Sam and Thunder would soon be surrounded again. All of these new arrivals wore matching white outfits and had power-dampening collars around their necks. For obvious reasons, Sam didn’t think their dampeners were functioning properly.
“Oh, boy — it’s about to get busy.”
A glance at his surroundings told Sam that escaping their current predicament was next to impossible. The polished obsidian platform they were on was surrounded by a thick, thirty-foot circular wall whose only exit was the titanium double doors inconveniently located directly behind him and Thunder. Sam had also noticed the fiery orange glow coming from beyond the walls. Coupled with the intense heat in the air that reminded him of a hot spring and the craggy slopes about two hundred yards past the prison’s walls, and he realized that the ‘Crucible’ really was an apt name for this prison hidden inside the crater of an active volcano.
“It’s official… we are the unluckiest people in the cosmos…” Sam pulled out his hammer from its holster clipped to the side of his poor man’s utility belt. “Only we would arrive at a volcanic prison during the middle of a prison break while all the guards have either run away or…”
He didn’t like to think about it but the platform was littered with uniformed bodies that he hoped belonged to unconscious guards and not...the other kind.
“They’re going to have to get through us to get to the exit,” Thunder said.
Sam glanced briefly back at the doors behind them and belatedly noticed its state-of-the-art security system; kinetic barriers, DNA scanners, gift suppression glyphs, magical shielding, and what looked like voice verification software.
“Can’t they just climb the walls?” he asked worriedly. “The lava might get some of them, but I bet more than a few of these guys can fly…”
It wasn’t like he wanted to fight a hundred powered inmates, but letting even one of these hardened criminals escape the Crucible would be the worst-case scenario. Sam’s conscience couldn’t allow that to happen.
Thunder shook her head. “The power might be out but the magical enchantment around the prison still seems to be working… It’ll take a lot of power to break an Aegis Barrier.”
Sam hadn’t noticed it before Thunder pointed them out, but now he could see the tell-tale signs of a magical barrier—these ghostly lines of golden sparks spreading around the platform like a dome—that were already beginning to stitch itself back together from a hole that Sam assumed had been created by the red pillar they’d seen while on the aircraft.
“That’s how we slipped into the prison?” Sam guessed.
“Yes,” Thunder admitted. “I used the hole that red pillar made to break us into the Crucible.”
“If the only way out of an ‘Aegis Barrier’ is through the entrance”—Sam’s brow creased—“then what in Hades was powerful enough to break out of one…?”
“That’s tomorrow’s problem.” Thunder cocked her arm and summoned a jagged bolt of lightning to appear in her right hand. “We’ve got enough on our plate to worry about anything else.”
The second wave of villains charged at the duo while they did their best not to get overwhelmed by the alarming number of energy blasts, sharp objects, and mental attacks thrown at them. It was a war of attrition; one Sam and Thunder would eventually lose despite the number of unconscious inmates they dropped repeatedly. Infamous names like Gorgon’s Son, Madam Pain, and Bad Apple fell to the combined might of a level forty Herculean and a revitalized Thunder, who, now that she was completely healed from the Blight, was showing off just how much of a badass she truly was.
To Sam, it looked like Thunder was even enjoying herself. The excited expression that flashed on her sweat-streaked face kind of gave that away.
Despite them getting surrounded again and again like characters in a tower defense game, Thunder was fearless in her defiance and imaginative in the use of her gifts. She hurled lightning bolts at foes out of the reach of her Lash while deftly keeping the melee fighters at bay with a combination of Lightning Raiment and timely dodges. She waded around villains like a ballerina on a stage, keeping their aggro glued to her so effectively that many of those who faced her had forgotten about the titanium double doors that Sam was forced to defend alone.
If she’d accepted Odin’s offer to relocate to California and join the Asgardian pantheon, Thunder would have made an excellent Valkyrie… She certainly looks the part, Chiron chuckled. Instead, she chose to stick to Olympus and believe in your promise… And yeah, sure, you healed her, but godsdamn, kid, this sorry display you’re showing right now tells me I’m going to have to up your training regimen… Sheesh.
Sam had heard from Thunder that she’d gotten a lot of sponsorship offers after she’d been inflicted with the Blight. Even ones from other pantheons. Promises of healing her came with a lot of strings attached to them though. It’s why she eventually decided to decline the offers, choosing instead to believe in the failed healer who promised he’d become strong enough to cure her of the same ancient disease that had consumed the life of the world’s first hero. Sam didn’t know until Chiron’s slip of the tongue that she’d seriously considered a move to California though. It upset him slightly, something he guessed was Chiron’s intention.
“It’s seriously—”
He ducked away from the swipe of a ‘Spiritual Weapon’ shaped to look like a giant baseball bat.
The villain who’d swung it at him was a pretty famous one too. He was called Slugger, a former SMLB star who’d gotten violent after he’d struck out one too many times. It was later revealed in an expose about athletes-turned-villains—a surprisingly common trend for many athletes with failed professional careers—that Slugger was overusing Gifted Growth Hormone—a designer drug that temporarily boosted one’s gift—and it had permanently unhinged his mind, turning him into the murderous villain he was now.
“—not the time—”
Sam parried Slugger’s ghostly baseball bat with Onus’ cylindrical head.
“—to distract me!”
He then drove his hammer down on Slugger’s chest, knocking the villain into the ground so hard that the obsidian floor cracked against his back.
Lesson number fifty-two, kid; Distraction comes in any form and every direction. The task isn’t to ignore them but to ensure they affect you as little as possible. Or, if you’re capable enough, somehow use these little annoyances to fuel your growth, Chiron instructed.
Sam’s only response was to pummel another villain who’d tried to run past him to get to the doors.
“Do you think now is the right time for a new lesson?” Sam reasoned.
Are you kidding me? Chiron scoffed. Now is the perfect time for training. When else will you get the chance to be surrounded by dozens of villains who are all trying to kill you?
Sam sighed. “You’re enjoying this… aren’t you?”
Honestly, watching you triumph over insurmountable odds over and over again has become my guilty pleasure, Chiron admitted in his usual teasing fashion. You’re Asclepius’ Anatomy, Game of Gods, and The Walking Undead all rolled into one mortal package.
“Glad—”
Sam dodged the Constrictor’s right limb as it whipped toward him. Yes, the villains they’d put down earlier were already beginning to get back up for round two.
“—you’re so—”
He ducked underneath the Constrictor’s left limb with a forward roll that sent him rising back to his feet at exactly the point where he could clock the annoying villain in the jaw with his hammer.
“—entertained!” Sam grumbled.
Don’t get mad, lame-brain. I’m complimenting you here, Chiron teased some more. Oi, you missed one!
While Sam was dealing with the Constrictor, Barbelle had slipped past him and was now face to face with the exit’s titanium double doors.
Didn’t I just tell you not to get distracted?
“Says the guy”—Sam ran back toward the exit—“who keeps trying to distract me!”
Barbelle swung her fist against the doors, but the enchantment placed on them repelled and then dispersed the kinetic energy created by the impact of her attack. This gave Sam enough time to reach her, which was when he realized he’d made a terrible mistake.
The bronze of Barbelle’s cheeks was marred with black spots. They helped to amplify the look of absolute horror on her face.
“Help… me…” she begged.
Sam noticed that these strange bruises had also cropped up around her neck as well as the exposed flesh of her arms.
“Help… me…” she repeated.
Barbelle’s fists jerked backward like a doll whose strings had just been pulled. The rest of her body twitched like she wasn’t in full control of them too. She slammed her fists against the doors again like she didn’t care that her attacks were instantly repelled. She resisted Sam’s attempts to stop her too. As if the act of attacking mattered more than actually breaking down those sturdy titanium doors.
“Oh, gods,” Sam gasped. “I know what’s happening…”
A few years ago, there had been a slew of serial killings in lower Manhattan that had confounded the NYPD, FBI, and Wardens because none of the murders seemed to share any relation apart from their shared brutality. Particularly because there wasn’t much left of the victims to explain how they’d died. The well-known billionaire philanthropist responsible for the murders might have gotten away with his wickedness too if Crow-Man and his sidekick hadn’t caught him in the act. That villain gave himself the name Mr. Crimson because of his gift. The parasites in his saliva traveled through his victims’ bloodstreams and turned them into his temporary puppets whom he would later force into violent deaths by exploding the parasites stored inside of them using the very energy they’d leeched off these victims. These infected victims were marked by the same dark bruises Sam now saw on Barbelle’s skin.
“She’s not in control…he is.”
Now that he knew what to look for, Sam caught the bite mark on Barbelle’s neck. Blood was leaking out of it, leading him to believe he’d guessed right. Chiron would confirm his suspicions a second later when he screamed for Sam to back away.
It’s too late, kid. Barbelle’s reached her limit! Chiron warned. Get out of there!
Too late. Cracks had already begun to form around the bruises on Barbelle’s bronze skin. A strange reddish glow leaked out of these cracks which Sam assumed were the telltale signs of an imminent kinetic explosion.
“Not like this!” Barbelle shook her head over and over. “Not like this…”
Sam wasn’t sure if a human bomb would be enough to destroy the titanium doors, but he couldn’t just run away and hope for the best.
“Gods, please let this work,” he pleaded.
With a warning for Thunder to get away from the blast radius, and with a second cry of, “Herculean!” Sam raised his foot high and then stomped at the ground with quintuple strength. The already weakened platform broke beneath his feet, plunging Sam, Thunder, and the other villains down to the next sub-level just in time for Barbelle’s body to explode.