Chapter 34

Michael

Hi, my name is Michael Stone and I'm addicted to flying.

I soared through the air, the autumn wind blowing through my hair. Gravity pulled at me continually, but I defied it subconsciously. My tingling power shot out my feet with the same force as a missile. I stretched my hands out in front of me and then quickly thrust them toward my feet, throwing more energy behind me, resulting in an extra boost of speed. I couldn’t get enough of it!

I looked to my left, spotting Angela not too far from me. She looked back at me and smiled. Man, I loved that smile. She’d tied her hair into a ponytail this time. Good idea. Without a ponytail, her hair took on a whole new style of afro after flying.

I grinned back at her and reached out my hand. She clasped it as we flew toward the descending sun. There were no clouds today, and the view of the city below us was awesome. Flying was awesome. Angela was awesome. Life was just awesome!

A day had gone by since we first learned how to fly, and now we were getting pretty good at it. I didn’t have to think about it as much, but if I got too lazy, I would start falling.

We soared above Tucson’s smog layer for a while, and then descended toward downtown. We landed with a thud on top of the largest skyscraper in the city: One South Church. I strode over to the building’s ledge and peered over it. It was a long ways down. I could see miniature cars moving along the street. Even though I could fly, I still felt a sense of vertigo.

Angela stood by me, but her chin was angled more upward than mine as she scanned the entire city. “He’s out there somewhere,” she said. “Where do you think we’ll find him?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. Ray robbed a bank yesterday, so he might be hiding now.”

“He doesn’t have any need to hide.” She walked along the ledge, her arms out to balance her, like a toddler walking on the edge of the sidewalk—except of course for the 500-foot fall to her right. “It’s not like anyone can hurt him.” She paused. “Well, besides us.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Well,” I said with a sigh. “I honestly don’t know where to start looking for Ray, so we may just need to wait until he shows his face.”

Angela nodded. “If that’s the case… then I’m going to find a place to take a shower.” She smelled her shirt and gagged. “Camping is great, but you can only go for so long without a bathroom.”

I readily agreed with her. “Where should we go?”

“We could try my house. See if the cops are still there. If they are, then we can check your house.”

“And if the police are there?”

“Then we will have to go to a public swimming pool. One way or another, I am getting clean!”

I chuckled under my breath. When Angela made up her mind about something she wanted, there was no stopping her.

She turned her back toward the edge of the building and spread out her hands as if she were about to do a backflip off of a diving board. She didn’t jump though, she just fell backwards right off the building with her eyes closed. I shook my head as I watched her plummet toward the street below. I can understand now, why her parents wanted to keep her stone away from her, I thought. It probably gave them a heart attack every time she flew, laughing in the face of danger. And she was only a toddler back then!

I shrugged and jumped off the ledge myself, embracing the thrill of the fall. I was pretty used to it now and trusted my powers to keep me alive. I glanced at the lump in my pocket as I fell. Okay. I thought. My stone is still there. Nothing to worry about.

Just before making an indent into the sidewalk, Angela surged her powers and pulled up. I did the same, relishing the feeling of flying, my powers pushing me forward like a rocket. I followed close behind her as she weaved between skyscrapers. I was sure people saw us, but that didn’t matter to me anymore. They already knew who we were. And after we defeat Ray, I thought. We will help them see that we are good Starlings, here to help and protect.

Angela was right. My plan was really idealistic. But, it was worth a shot.

A minute later, Angela and I were floating above her house.

“There’s a cop,” she said, pointing at a black car parked next to her house. “And there’s another one. And another. And another!”

“Four cop cars?” I said. “Gosh, Angela. You’re a big deal!”

She laughed briefly, but then turned serious. “I hope my dad is alright. He said that secret society that knew about Starlings was after him.”

“Then maybe it’s a good thing that the police are there. They might be protecting him from that society thingy. What was it called again? MARS?”

Angela nodded. “Well, let’s go check your house.”

Half a minute later, we stopped above my house, scanning its surroundings for police. “There’s one…” Angela said pointing at a black car. “And… that’s all I see. Just one cop. Gee, Michael, you should probably take some ‘most wanted’ lessons from me.”

“Hey,” I said with a smirk. “The police saw me at your house, so maybe I’m the reason so many police are at your place.”

She shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

“Well, let’s go check it out,” I said. “There’s only one cop car, and they may just be waiting in the car, not in the house. We should be able to sneak in, no problem.”

Angela began her descent. “Okay, let’s go.”

We flew swiftly into my backyard, hoping nobody saw us. We walked around the soccer goal that was still set up. That was where I’d first used my powers, I thought. That seemed like ages ago.

I softly opened the sliding glass door and led Angela inside. The smell of orange cinnamon put me at ease. I was home!

“Nice place,” she said, looking around. “Is anybody home?”

“My parents are probably still teaching at the university.” I grabbed myself a cup of water. “But—”

“MICHAEL!”

I jumped, spraying water all over myself. Before I knew it, I was tackled in a huge bear hug by none other than my little sister, Sarah. “Oh Michael, I’m so glad you’re safe! Where have you been? What have you been doing?”

“I’m okay, Sarah,” I said, finally hugging her back. “I’m okay. We’ve just been camping up at Red Knoll.”

“Camping?” she said breaking the hug and glancing at Angela. And then she glanced back at me and smirked. “Oh… camping…” she said with a wink.

I coughed. “Angela, this is my little sister Sarah. Sarah, this is my…my…”

“Your superhuman girlfriend,” Sarah said, extending her hand to Angela as if meeting her favorite celebrity. “I know who you are. The news has been going crazy about you guys!”

Angela blushed, shaking her hand. I blushed too, giving Angela an apologetic look.

“Sarah,” I said. “Can she use your shower? We want to clean up from camping.”

“Yeah!” Sarah said, turning to Angela. “You can use mine upstairs. I can try and find you some extra clothes too. I know you’re taller than me, but I’ve got some longer clothes you can try.”

“Oh, I would love that!”

They started to head upstairs. “Wait, Sarah,” I said.

She looked back at me, her blonde ponytail nearly whipping Angela as she turned. It was so funny to watch those two getting along so well, for some reason.

I pointed toward the front door. “Do we need to worry about the police outside our house?”

She shook her head. “As long as you leave through the back door, you should be fine. They’re just watching whoever enters the front.”

“Okay, thanks.” I stood there at the bottom of the stairs, watching the two girls round the corner. I couldn’t stop smiling. I was so happy to be back home. We couldn’t stay here long, though. I didn’t want to endanger the family if the police found out they were harboring us. And we needed to get back on our hunt for Ray Simmons.

I grabbed something quick to eat out of the fridge, found my phone charger and plugged my dead phone in, and then I jumped into the shower. It felt so good after—what—five days camping? That was a lot of school to miss. I would have so much homework to catch up on. But I wasn’t sure if I was ever going back to school again. Would they let me? I was still technically a criminal. Maybe that would change after they saw us take down Ray.

After I got out of the shower and put on some fresh clothes, I noticed that I got a ton of missed calls and messages on my phone. Most were from my family, but there were about six texts from Zack, each saying the same thing: Michael! We’ve got to talk. Where are you?

Looks like Zack had a change of heart, I thought. He probably wants to help me escape the police or something. And maybe he could help us find Ray.

I typed a message back to Zack: Been camping. Just got home. What’s up?

He didn’t respond.

A moment later, I sat in my living room holding my blue stone out in front of me. Star Stone is what Angela’s dad called it. I thought of the constellation, Orion, the Hunter. I chuckled to myself. I’m not so good at hunting, I thought. I have no idea where to find Ray.

“I told the cops and the news that you were the one who saved Mary Sanchez.” Sarah strolled into the room, watching me gaze at the meteorite. “They said that was great and all, but it doesn’t make them feel any safer.”

I nodded with a sigh, placing the Star Stone back in my pocket.

“People are scared, Michael.” Sarah sat down on the couch across from me. “You probably haven’t seen the news lately. People are talking about super humans in Los Angeles and Las Vegas who have done some terrible things. There’s talk of super humans who have done some good things too, but the people are still scared.”

“They say people will always fear what they can’t control.”

My sister nodded. “They plan on controlling them, though. I’ve heard on the news that they’re sending the National Guard here to Tucson. Out of all the other incidents across the nation, we have seen the most. And the worst.”

“Ray Simmons,” I said. “We’re going to stop him.”

“They’re not just after Ray. They’re coming to stop you and Angela too.”

I shook my head, disappointed. “I hope I can change that before we start a war against mankind.”

Sarah placed a hand on my arm. “Just… be safe, okay.”

I looked her in the eyes. “Okay.”

Angela strode down the stairs and paused when she saw Sarah and me. “Awe,” she said. “You two are so cute. Such good siblings…”

Sarah and I separated, suddenly feeling awkward. Angela smiled at us as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking much cleaner, and even more attractive. I didn’t know that was possible! Her brown hair looked darker when it was wet. She had used some of Sarah’s makeup and wore one of her T-shirts. Now that was just weird; seeing my sister’s shirt on my girlfriend.

I stood up. “Well, we’d better get going. Got a super villain to catch. You know how it goes.”

“And we don’t want to stay too long,” Angela added. “The police might be looking through the windows or something.”

Sarah nodded. “Well good luck, then. You might find Ray at his house or in the middle of robbing another bank.”

“Thanks,” I said. “We’ll be sure to check all the—”

I cut off as I heard a loud bang behind me. Angela gasped, and Sarah screamed. I ignited my powers, spun around, and saw that the front door had been broken open, knocked clean off its hinges, but nobody was there in the doorway.

I stepped toward the broken door. “What the…”

“Michael!” Angela screamed.

I turned to see Angela belly-first on the ground, one leg raised in the air, being drug out the door by… by a… by nothing! It looked like one of those horror movies where the ghost pulls people down the hallways and then you never see them again.

At first, I was paralyzed by what I was seeing—er, not seeing—but then I bolted. I reached for Angela’s hand. She looked just as confused and terrified as I felt. The moment before I grabbed her hand, something solid and powerful hit me in the face. The force was strong enough to send me sliding across the living room and thud against the wall on the other side.

I was dazed. Whatever hit me was strong. Starling strong.

I made my way to my feet as fast as I could and dashed toward the open door. Sarah still stood in the living room, her eyes wide, both hands over her mouth.

“You okay, Sarah?” I asked.

She nodded, frightened.

I ran out the door and scanned the street and the sky. What’s going on! I thought. Angela was just right beside me, and then next thing I knew, she was drug out of the house by something invisible?

The only thing I saw on the street were a couple of cops who got out of their car and pointed their guns at me, ordering me to drop to my knees. I ignored them as I searched the skies. There! I saw Angela’s force field wings appear, but oddly, I couldn’t see her at all. Just her wings. The wings were already several hundred feet in the air, whipping around, thrashing in every direction.

I bent my knees and shot my powers downward, out of my feet, which launched me upward toward Angela and whatever invisible thing she was fighting. I heard gunshots from the cops but didn’t pay any attention to them.

Suddenly, Angela reappeared midair. She clenched her teeth and looked frantically around her, trying to find whatever it was that’d kidnapped her.

I soared toward her as fast as I could, ready to help, but paused when I felt the air around me heat up.

I looked directly above me, just in time to see a man-sized fireball flying right at me. With my eyes wide in alarm, I redirected my powers—which was like repositioning an invisible rocket from under my feet to directly in front of me, with the tip pointed directly at my chest. The result was a push backwards instead of upwards, allowing me to dodge the fireball just in time.

It flew past me and continued downward until it exploded on top of my house, the roof immediately catching fire. I hovered there, in shock, watching my house burn. Fortunately, Sarah was already out of the house, watching us from below, along with the cops.

I felt the air heat up again.

I turned my eyes upward to see another massive fireball descending toward me and my house. I clenched my fists. This time my reflexes shifted from flight to fight. I didn’t really think it through at all. I just lowered my shoulder and flew directly into the fireball.

The collision was intense, like slamming into an armored tank made of fire, but I pushed upward through the fireball. The flames wrapped around me, engulfing me entirely. It stung terribly, but not nearly as bad as expected. It felt like I’d stepped into a scalding hot shower that I could eventually get used to. My powers never ceased to amaze me.

The main problem was breathing. The oxygen seemed to get sucked right out of me as the flames swam around my entire body. I kept my mouth shut and my eyes closed as I continued to rocket upward. After a few seconds of flying, I opened my eyes, the fire beginning to extinguish off my face.

There he was, hovering in the air above me, with blue jeans and bare chest. Brown skin and spiky hair, his eyes glowing red. The high school bully and my lifelong nemesis, Ray Simmons. He smirked at me while summoning another man-sized fireball between his hands.

I guess we’re going to start our fight a little early, I thought. This is what we wanted, but we were looking for him; instead he found us. How did he do that?

I was still partially on fire. My hair and clothes were especially stubborn; they wanted to keep burning. I twirled in the air, trying to fling the flames off of me.

Stop! Drop! And Roll! I thought, recalling instructions I’d learned as a kid. That only works when I’m on the ground. I need to get the fire off another way.

I surged my tingling power below me, putting all of my energy into a powerful, sideward thrust, forming a large circle around Ray. I spun through the air, hoping to outfly the fire. I patted at my hair; the fire there had stopped burning. My shirt and pants still had a few flames on them.

Ray hurled the huge fireball at me like he would a discus. I saw it coming and dodged it easily. I watched the fireball drop toward the city. That would cause a lot of damage. Should I stop it?

Before I made a decision, I turned back toward Ray, just in time to see his burning fist fly at my face. I raised my arm, blocking his right cross, but wasn’t fast enough to stop his left jab. The punch stung more than it had when we last fought at the school. Probably because his fist was on fire. Or was there something more to Ray now?

The blow knocked me backwards. I completely lost balance off of my invisible pedestal, my powers returning inside my body as I lost focus, and I dropped toward the ground. I didn’t fall far before Ray appeared next to me.

I tried to raise my hands to block another blow, but before I could, he kicked me right in the gut.

It hurt. A lot. I cringed in pain, my ribs still not completely healed. His kick was powerful enough to launch me upward. I reached an arc and started to fall again.

This wasn’t going very well.

I surged my powers, pushing them out of my body, and flew into an upright position. As soon as I looked back toward Ray, he was already in my face again, throwing punches. He wasn’t playing any games in this fight. He was in a hurry to get rid of me.

I raised my arms to block his fists, trying to anticipate his moves. I blocked a left cross and ducked under a right jab. I counterpunched, but he saw it coming. He leaned to the left, dodging my swing, and kneed me in the gut.

I recoiled, hunching over and starting to fall again. It was like he knew my midsection was where I was in the most pain. And there was something about how powerful Ray was. He seemed stronger and faster along with his burning hands and red-glowing eyes.

Ray charged after me, flying downward toward me, his flaming fist drawn back to deliver a deadly blow. As I fell back-to-earth, I quickly got an idea.

I redirected my powers to push me at an angle causing me to perform a front-flip. Ray swung his red-hot fist forward but missed me entirely as I barely flipped out of the way. I continued to push my energy at an angle, finishing my flip with my right leg extended. The result was my right heel connected with Ray’s back, launching him downward. He grunted from the blow and fell far below me.

I didn’t charge after Ray, I had to catch my breath. He was fighting far better than he had before. His powers seemed to have received an extra boost since the last time we fought.

Things weren’t going as planned. We were supposed to find Ray and beat him easily! We were supposed to fight him together, team up on him! We meaning Angela and me. But, there was something wrong. Something we hadn’t expected.

I looked to my left and saw Angela in the air a couple hundred yards away, trying to fight something invisible. She didn’t seem to be doing so well; she kept getting hit unexpectedly. It had to be another Starling, one who could turn invisible.

Fear gripped my chest. Ray and this invisible Starling could beat us. Maybe even kill us, if that was what they were planning. We were fighting for our lives! Angela and I could die from this if we weren’t careful! I hadn’t noticed the severity of the situation until now, and it was horrifying!

I had to help Angela. I rocketed toward her as she summoned her long, glass-looking wings and surrounded herself in a force field.

She noticed me through her transparent wings as I approached. “Michael! Watch out!”

A split second later, I was seeing stars after something clocked me good right in the jaw. As I finally came to consciousness, I realized I was falling, my back to the earth. I could see Angela high above me, still protecting herself inside her force field created by her wings. It was probably the only way to survive against an invisible Starling.

I blinked, regaining focus, and surged my tingling powers, shooting them downward. I stopped my descent before landing on a tree and launched back up into the sky. I was sure people below were watching this fight unfold. I had wanted people to witness us defeating Ray, but I wasn’t sure that was going to happen anymore.

Ray had recovered and had beat me to Angela. He hovered just outside the reach of her wings. I couldn’t see Angela’s face from this distance, but I was sure she was worried. Two Starlings surrounded her, one was invisible and one could shoot fire out of his hands. Who wouldn’t be worried?

I flew toward Angela as fast as I could.

“Invisiguy!” I heard Ray shout above me. “Switch it up! You take Stoner! I’ll take New Girl!”

“It’s Scorpio!” The male voice came from somewhere near Ray. It had to be the invisible Starling.

Ray clasped his red-hot hands together, fire burning around them, and then he slowly spread them apart, a massive fireball forming between them. I flew toward Ray, anxious to stop him. I heard something to my left.

As fast as I could, I curled up into a ball—a flying fetal position. An invisible fist made contact with my arm, pushing me downward. I peeked over my arms, grateful I’d heard Scorpio flying toward me.

I didn’t see him of course, but what I could see made my heart sink. Ray tossed the fireball at Angela. Her wings protected her, but the power of the blast knocked her backwards in the sky. I could see her face this time. She looked focused, concentrating carefully on keeping her wings in place. Ray summoned another fireball and prepared to throw it.

I stopped watching because Scorpio slammed into me from the side, breaking me out of my defensive stance. I turned toward the direction where he had hit me, and I put my arms up to my head like a boxer. Suddenly, I was kicked in the back.

I groaned in pain and spun out of control through the sky. How do I fight this guy? I thought. I gained control of my flight and stopped moving, just hovering in the air. I kept my arms up and listened carefully for the sound of him flying toward me.

All I could hear were the explosions of Ray’s fireballs above me as they crashed into Angela’s force field. My stomach churned. I yearned to help her, but Scorpio was keeping me busy.

I thought I heard something to my right, the sound of clothes rustling in the wind. I zipped toward the sound and swung my fist. I hit nothing but air.

Suddenly, I felt two hands grab my arm, but I couldn’t see them—in fact, I couldn’t see my arm either. It had completely disappeared! Before I had time to freak out about that, the two hands, Scorpio’s hands, spun me around in a circle. It was the most bizarre, disorienting experience of my life!

He let go, flinging me horizontally through the air. The world spun around me. I tried to surge my powers but couldn’t focus. I closed my eyes and replayed the memory of a rollercoaster in my mind. The tingling re-sparked and I immediately pushed my powers against my rotation, bringing myself to a stop.

Just as I got my bearings, I heard something flying toward me. I pushed upward just as I heard Scorpio whoosh below me. I redirected my energy and launched toward Ray, hoping to outfly the invisible Starling.

Fighting him was crazy. I didn’t stand a chance. I’d have to find some way to follow his movements. Outsmart him somehow. For now, I just wanted to save Angela and get out of here. It was our safest bet.

Ray threw another fireball at Angela. Instead of blocking it from inside her protective bubble, she opened up her wings and swiped one wing sideways at the fireball. Half of the ball stuck to the wing, but the other half was sent backward, flying directly at Ray—just like a baseball.

It was very impressive. I didn’t know Angela could do that with her wings, but Ray reacted quickly.

He flew right through the fireball, his hands extended forward as if he were diving into a pool of fire. And then he burst out the other side, untouched by the flames, and flew toward Angela while her defenses were down. He swung an uppercut, hitting her right under the chin. The blow was massive, sending her upward in a blur of backflips.

“NO!” I shouted as I flew toward them as fast as I could. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something small fall from her and plummet to the distant city below.

Ray flew after her and formed a small fireball in his right hand. He threw it at her, but just before it hit her, she righted herself and summoned her wings again. The force field blocked the fireball easily.

Ray shouted in anger as he continued his flight toward Angela, frustrated that she went back to shielding herself. He punched her wings with everything he had. They held strong, but the momentum caused her to bounce away from him like a soccer ball.

Angela flew dozens of yards before finally coming to a stop. Ray charged after her, and I was on his heels.

And then Angela’s wings disappeared. Her body went limp and she started to fall. I gasped, realizing what’d happened. That small thing I saw falling from her was her Star Stone. We were in serious trouble!

Ray kept flying toward her, his hands still aflame. I reached out my hands to grab him, but something grabbed a hold of me first.

It was Scorpio. He grappled me around the torso and pushed me downward, away from Ray and Angela. I pried at Scorpio’s grip and pushed against him with all might, trying to get away from him and go help Angela, but he held firm. My torso had turned invisible, and so had my hands as I tried to break his grip. His invisibility must extend beyond his own body, I realized.

I stole a glance up at Angela. Ray flopped her limp body over his shoulder and flew away, leaving the fight. What? Where is he going with her? I realized that this wasn’t a fight to kill me and Angela, it was a kidnapping. That’s why Scorpio had pulled her out of my house at first. But why would they want to kidnap Angela? What were they going to do to her?

I wouldn’t have it.

I surged my powers, the tingling coursing through my veins, and reached back at Scorpio with both hands. I found his face and started pounding it with everything I had, over and over again. He grunted and let go of me.

As soon as I broke free, I redirected my powers and launched toward Ray. It was difficult to see him. Even though there weren’t any clouds in the sky and the sun was about to set, the main thing that obscured my view was the city smog. But I could barely spot Ray as he soared toward the southern part of Tucson. He was too far away.

Wait, I thought. I stopped flying and turned my attention toward the city below. I need to find Angela’s stone. I can’t fight Ray and Scorpio on my own. I need her help. I tried to remember where it’d fallen. I wasn’t quite sure, but I flew to where I thought her stone was. I thought it’d fallen toward Broadway Boulevard, a busy highway lined with restaurants, gas stations, and Park Place Mall.

I didn’t get far before Scorpio grabbed me again from behind, pushing me downward. I redirected my powers below me, trying to push back against him, but with gravity on his side, he won out.

My back slammed into something hard. It was Broadway. Scorpio grinded me along the street, asphalt breaking apart by the force. I was still pushing against him, trying to soften the blow. It helped; not hurting as much as when Ray drilled me into the ground, but it still wasn’t like falling into a pool of flowers.

We finally slid to a stop. I tucked my feet in, getting them between me and Scorpio. It was strange because half of my body was invisible along with the Starling, but this was no time to get distracted. I pushed my feet upward, kicking him off of me

An oncoming semi-truck suddenly crashed to a halt, its grille and hood caved in around the form of a person. I stood up, dazed. Cars swerved around the truck, bumping into other cars, and going out of control. Fortunately, no cars flipped over, but there was a massive pile up that stopped the traffic completely.

I hoped I hadn’t killed anyone, but I kept my focus on Scorpio. I had to stall him, so I could search for Angela’s stone. I flew toward the semi-truck and reached inside the grille’s man-made cave. My hands disappeared as I grabbed the Starling’s shirt. Good, I thought. I’ve got a hold of him. That’s my best chance of beating him; wrestling him into submission by touch.

I yanked him toward me. He must’ve been dazed because he didn’t push against me. I suddenly understood how his invisibility worked. It was like an invisibility bubble that surrounded him, and everything within that bubble would be invisible from the outside. I knew that because as I pulled him toward me, my face passed through the bubble, and Scorpio suddenly became visible to me for the first time.

I gasped at what I saw.

Looking back at me, with furious, glowing eyes, was my cousin, Zack Larson.