1.21

Hunter was taken to The Fortress. It was a large compound fitted on an island in the middle of Green Bay.

It functioned as a headquarters for many heroes. It wasn’t owned by any one person or team but was a place they could stay, live, research, watch movies.

Hunter lay on a bed, hooked up to machinery that was far more advanced than anything seen in a regular hospital.

Stick, Silas, Jimena and Gauzelle stood around his bed. The others had met Jimena and Hunter at The Fortress.

“We should’ve woken you two up,” said Jimena. She felt personally responsible for what happened to Hunter.

“By the sounds of it, even if we were there, we wouldn’t have helped much. This was beyond us,” said Silas. His mother had popped in to visit briefly to check all the equipment was working.

“Where is he?” the voice screamed down the hallway. Silas tensed, knowing who it was.

“Who’s that?” Gauzelle asked.

“His mother,” dread filled Silas’s voice. Clara crashed into the room, nurses had tried to stop her, but their efforts were pointless.

“Hello Clara,” said Stick.

“Jadell…” the two locked eyes for a moment, the negative energy between the two was red hot.

Clara pushed past the other teens and stood by Hunter’s side. She ran her hand through his hair and shot a baleful glare at Hunter’s team.

“Whose fault is this?” Ferocity oozed through her very words.

“Mine. We thought we could take Rampage on by ourselves and I went along with it. I couldn’t protect him.” Jimena spoke up, avoiding her gaze.

“Get out.”

“Sorry?” Jimena asked.

“Get out. None of you will ever see him again. And you.” Clara whirled on Stick and pointed her finger. “Why would you allow him to go against someone so dangerous?”

“He’s more capable than you think Clara. He’s not a child. He ca-”

“I am his mother. I know what’s best for him and what he’s capable of. All of you get out now.” Her voice reached a fever pitch before it cut at the end of her final word.

Stick and the others walked out of the room, their heads hung in defeat.

Clara stayed by her son’s side for three days and nights. She only allowed the nurses to see Hunter. His friends tried multiple times, but she shouted them down until they retreated.

On the fourth day, Hunter stirred awake and found his mother passed out in the corner. He couldn’t see any empty bottles and she didn’t reek of alcohol. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey mom,” his voice was croaky. She snapped awake. She wiped her mouth as she had been drooling in a heavy sleep.

“How are you honey?” Clara rushed over and hugged her son. Hunter’s ribs hurt and he felt bruised all over.

“Sore and tired.” He slowly raised an arm and wrapped it around her.

“Don’t ever do something like that again.” Clara’s voice had switched into her harsh, motherly tone. She frowned at Hunter.

“Mom, I made a bad call, and I’m the leader.”

“That doesn’t matter now. You’re quitting this superhero business and you’re going back to a normal life.”

“Mom. I’m a hero in training, this is what I want.”

“Your father was a hero and look what happened to him. I’m not going to lose you as well.” Tears rolled down Clara’s cheeks.

“I’m a hero because of dad. The things he did, the people he helped. I want to be able to do that as well.” Tears welled up in Hunter’s eyes too, but he wiped them away.

“You can help people without being a hero. You don’t need to put yourself in danger.”

“Mom, they’re my friends out there. I’m not doing this alone; we’ve got each other’s backs. Please. I’m being trained by Stick and mentored by Michael. I can do this.”

Clara looked at her son, and he looked so much like his father. He had his kind heart. Clara didn’t want to let her son go.

“You know, your friends never left the hallway.” Clara smiled.

“Those are my teammates. I’d do the same for them.” Clara went over to the doorway and motioned for his friends, including Stick, to come into the room.

The four of them came into the room, full of smiles. They stood around Hunter’s bed and talked loudly enough that Clara was able to sneak out of the room.

When Clara got home, she emptied all the bottles of liquor that she could find in the house.

Sitting in front of the t.v. Clara spoke a few words and pressed a sequence of buttons on the remote control. A delightful ditty played out and a hatch opened beneath her feet. The hatch revealed the top of a slide. Clara jumped onto the slide and rode the tube down into the earth.

Clara was flicked into the air and landed on her feet. White lights flickered on, revealing a high-tech room filled with gadgets, screens, vehicles, and a kitchenette.

Clara walked through the room. On a wall were two glass cylinders. In each was a mannequin. Each mannequin wore the outfits she and her husband wore in their crime fighting days. She felt a pang of sorrow when she gazed upon her husband’s costume.

Clara sat down at a giant computer and brought up a 3-D model of Hunter. His arms were outstretched, and he turned around on the spot.

“Excelsior, I’m back.”

“Good evening, Sentinel. Glad to have you back. So you approve of Hunter’s choices to become a hero?” Michael’s face popped up in a square in the corner of her monitor.

“Yes. But as his mother, I’ll always be watching. First, I want to make some upgrades to his suit.”

“But of course. May I suggest you make tweaks for young Jimena as well. Its only fair the whole team has a mother like you watching over them. Keegan would be proud, Clara."

"One other thing Michael, call me Mama Bear."