Even as Zack moved through the campus, guilt hung around him like a rusted anchor hung around his neck. The tremors had largely subsided, but Innshadow remained in chaos. All around him, teachers and students raced around him, with cries and screams still echoing throughout the day.

The acrid smell of smoke stung into Zack’s eyes. At least it hid the tears building up inside.

All of this was his fault.

He had Icer steal the Magnometer for Kaine.

And Kaine used it.

Kaine’s intentions remained a mystery. But the impact of his actions remained clear.

Innshadow was in ruin.

Zack’s brooding was interrupted by his phone buzzing within his pants pocket. He picked it up slowly, hoping it wasn’t Rachel. Her look of anger filled Zack with more shame than he had ever felt. He could still hear her words as they cut into him.

What did you do, Zack?

Zack breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Perry instead. He held the phone to his ear.

“Perry…?” he said. “Slow down!”

“I can’t find Blake!” Perry’s voice raised from the phone. “She’s not answering her phone and the entire library just collapsed!”

“Hang out,” Zack said. “I’ll get my suit.”

“It’s on its way,” Perry said.

“I thought you didn’t know how to send it?” Zack said into the phone.

“It’s not that hard. I figured it out,” he heard Perry say impatiently. “Now hurry!”

Zack drew back into a nearby alley. With all the chaos around him, it was rather easy to disappear as the Knightbrand armor fell from the sky and wrapped around him.

With the Knightbrand armor activated, he rose into the sky to survey the damage. Unfortunately, the view from the sky wasn’t much better than the one from the ground. The smoke blocked much of his view, and Zack could now see a few of the buildings were actively on fire. Nearly every building on campus was damaged, and the current library looked to have it the worst.

The entire front facade had collapsed in on itself, barring anyone from exiting. There were several students outside digging through the rubble, but even with super-strength and super-speed it would take them a while to break through the facade. Zack scanned the buildings for weak points. He thought about breaking through a wall to gain entrance but decided against it. If he applied too much pressure, the rest of the building may collapse.

If anything happened to Blake, Perry would never forgive me.

As it stood, Zack wasn’t sure Rachel would ever forgive him, but he couldn’t think about that right now.

Think about the present, and who you can save. Everything else comes after.

Zack spied a skylight window along the top of the library. He positioned himself just above the armor and then cut his propulsion boots. He dropped like a rock, but Zack was used to the sensation of freefall. He smashed through the window, landing on the third floor of the library. His legs bent as his posture surged forward, absorbing the impact in a classic superhero landing.

Too bad no one was around to see it.

His immediate view of the library was blocked by a series of fires. Zack really hoped Blake had made it out, but if she had, why wasn’t she answering her phone? Maybe she had accidentally fried her phone in all the excitement? That was certainly a possibility given her powers.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Still, Zack couldn’t discard the possibility she was still somewhere trapped in the library. He tried scanning the library for heat signatures, but the active fires popped up in his HUD, disrupting his readings.

He searched the room for a fire extinguisher. If he could get rid of the fires, he could pinpoint any survivors. Unfortunately, he saw no sign of a fire extinguisher, and Zack realized it was probably the first thing any survivors would use to clear their way.

One of the fires suddenly shrank down in a white burst. Zack scanned the room for movement but saw done. Another fire to his right also disappeared. He rounded the corner in time just to see the biggest fire blocking a nearby stairwell choke in a fury of bluish energy. Zack leaned down to examine what had taken out the fire. His armor registered a series of dripping, translucent chunks where the fire had once been.

Ice.

Does that mean…

Knightbrand stood up and quickly scanned the room for heat signatures, but he found none. He didn’t see any movement. With no other options, he raised the volume on his mic.

“Hello?” he asked. “Is anyone here?”

He received a response - just not the one he was expecting.

“Over here!” a feminine voice cried.

His view no longer obscured by smoke or fire, he spotted a figure crouched along the floor. As he came closer, Zack soon realized it was two figures.

Blake sat over an older gentleman wearing a sport jacket and light green shirt. Her hand was on his chest. Zack noticed the man’s pale coloring and labored breathing.

“He’s hurt,” Blake said as Knightbrand approached.

“We need to move him,” Zack said. He moved towards the man but Blake’s free hand raised while her other hand remained on his chest.

“He has a pacemaker,” she said. “My powers…they’re keeping it going.”

“You can do that?” Zack said, but he immediately regretted adding that part. He was Knightbrand, after all, not Zack.

“If I concentrate,” she said.

Zack nodded. “They’re EMTs outside. They can help. We just need to get to them.”

“And how are we going to get to them?” Blake’s eyes never left the man.

“The same way I came in,” Zack said. He scooped up the man in his arms, while careful not to disrupt Blake’s touch.

“Just concentrate,” Zack said. “You can do this.”

He really hoped Blake’s powers wouldn’t interfere with his own onboard electronics, but it was a risk that he’d have to take. He reasoned so long as Blake kept her focus on the man and didn’t touch his armor, he should be fine.

Theoretically.

Zack lifted into the air, with Blake’s attention on the injured man as Zack tightly clung to them both. He felt the armor pull them both through the broken, frayed building as Zack blasted through the now-broken skyline and into the sky.

He landed amid a crowd of people a short distance outside. Several EMTs rushed forward the moment he landed. Zack did his best to ignore the onlookers.

“We’ve got him, miss,” one of the EMTs, a burly man in his twenties, said as he struggled to pry Blake’s hands off the man.

Blake reluctantly did so. She stood by Zack, watching as the man was carted away.

“My boss,” Blake said. “He had a heart condition.”

“You saved his life,” Zack said. “You did good today.”

Zack didn’t need his onboard sensors to know Blake was blushing fiercely. She turned to him.

“Hold up - how did you even know I was here?” she said. “The library was the first to get evacuated.”

“Perr-your boyfriend,” Zack said, struggling to correct himself. “He told me where I could find out.”

“Shit,” Blake said. “I need to call him. I fried my phone. Again.”

Zack turned to her. “You should go see him. I’ll let him know you’re okay.”

She nodded, and before she could turn to him again, Zack was already soaring back into the sky.

He used his on-board com system to contact Perry.

“Blake’s okay. She was at the library, helping a coworker,” Zack said. “She’s on her way to you.”

“Thank God,” Perry said. “Are you on your way back?”

“Not yet,” Zack said. “There’s still a couple more things I need to do.”

Over the course of the day, Zack pulled dozens of people from the rubble. He made sure every fire was extinguished. He spent hours patrolling the campus for any signs of trouble. He thought it would make him feel better.

It didn’t.

By nightfall, Zack knew what would make him feel better. He soared towards the Alpha House at full speed.

It was long past time his father and Max Mann had a nice long talk.