The Strike Trilogy (18 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

“M
an, these Hillside kids are such
losers
,” Chad said. He, Tobin, and Jennifer were sitting in a different, foreign cafeteria. “I still can’t believe we have to spend the rest of our senior year with…with…Hillside kids. Ugh. I wanna puke.”

“I know,” Jennifer said. She looked over the lunchroom full of students, most of whom she didn’t recognize. “There’s like forty kids crammed into my art class alone—it’s crazy. Right, Tobin?”

Tobin realized someone had said his name. “Huh? Oh, yeah. My Computer Education class is packed, too. It sucks.”

Jennifer looked at him, concerned. “Are you all right, Tobin? You seem out of it today.”

“I do? No, I’m just tired, I guess. I don’t know.”

Chad leaned across the table. “You get any word from them, yet?”

Tobin laughed at Chad’s demeanor. “No, I don’t think I will, either. They would have contacted me by now, somehow.” He shrugged and took a sip from his milk.

“It’s only been three weeks,” Jennifer said. “Maybe they can’t contact you. Maybe they’re—I don’t know—unable to for some reason. You never know. I think they’ll find you soon.”

Tobin shrugged again. “I guess. I’m just glad you guys don’t think I’m completely nuts.”

Chad shook his head. “Dude, after everything we saw that day, and everything that happened in this town, I’ll believe anything you say. You could tell me you’re actually some kind of half-lizard creature from Mars, and I’d still believe you. You aren’t, are you?”

Tobin laughed. “No. Not that I know of, anyway.”

“Hey, look at this.” Jennifer pulled a scrapbook from her tote, placing it on the table. “Do you know
Time
magazine called ‘The Cloud’ one of the most important events of our lifetime? Right here, in little Bridgton. Can you believe it?”

She flipped to a page; there was a magazine cover on it, and it showed the outside of the Dark Nebula. Its headline read:

CONTACT FROM ANOTHER WORLD? SECRET GOVERNMENT COVER-UP? OR BOTH?

“In our own hometown,” she added. “It’s crazy.”

“I know,” Chad said, flipping through the book. It was filled with photos, magazines, and news stories about the Dark Nebula. “But you’re seriously obsessed with this.”

Chad stopped on another magazine cover; this one showed the demolished Middle Street, with a headline reading:

DISASTER IN BRIDGTON.

There was also a blurry photograph of Vincent on the cover. The caption read:

MONSTER OF BRIDGTON CALLED A HOAX.

“I saw another guy on TV this morning saying the whole thing was fake,” Jennifer said. “That it was just some kind of weird weather event, and we’re all freaking out about nothing.”

Chad sneered. “I’d like to punch that guy in the face. No one knows what happened that day except the people who were there. And…Mr. Hero-Man!”

“Chad!” Jennifer said. “Be quiet!”

“What? I said it softly!”

Tobin laughed. “I can see I picked the worst person in the world to reveal my secret identity to.”

Chad shook his head. “No, dude, I just think that was the most awesome thing in the world. To do what you did that day, that kicked so much butt.”

“All right,” Tobin said uncomfortably. “Thanks.”

Jennifer put her scrapbook away. “We’re gonna go down after school and check out Middle Street, see how the clean-up is going. You wanna come?”

Tobin thought it over. “Um…nah. I think I’m gonna head home. I’m pretty tired.”

The bell rang and Tobin stood up.

“I better get to class. Talk to you guys later.”

“Later, dude.”

“Bye, Tobin.”

Jennifer and Chad watched Tobin walk out of the cafeteria.

“You think I could be his sidekick?” Chad asked.

“No!” Jennifer replied. “You’d be the worst sidekick ever.”

They brought their trays to a trash barrel.

“Why?”

“’Cuz you don’t have any superpowers.”

“So? Batman doesn’t have any superpowers, and he’s awesome.”

“Does Batman still collect Pokemon cards?”

“Hey!” Chad said, looking around the cafeteria. “Don’t say that so loud. I only do that as part of my secret identity.”

They laughed and walked out of the cafeteria.

After the last bell of the school day, Tobin walked across the student parking lot of Hillside High and toward his car. His mind, however, was elsewhere; he saw the world so differently now, as if he suddenly had new eyes from the ones he had only a month before: the people, the places, the things he saw on the news at night—it was all different, and he was having a tough time dealing with it. He only wished that there were others with whom he could talk about it.

Tobin’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pushed his thoughts away for a moment and checked it.

It was a text message, from an unknown number:

I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Tobin was startled. He looked around. Another text:

I KNOW YOUR SECRET.

The boy couldn’t believe it. He stared at the phone. Another buzz:

LOOK BEHIND YOU.

Nervous, but prepared for a fight, Tobin turned around.

“Orion!” he shouted.

The old man was standing in front of Tobin, smiling.

“Hi, Tobin. How are you?”

Tobin wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Orion laughed. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long.”

“Whatever,” Tobin replied. “Where have you been?”

Orion laughed again. “Come on, I have about twenty minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later, Tobin and Orion were sitting at a booth in a diner near Hillside High. The old man was drinking from a coffee cup, but Tobin’s soda was sitting in front of him, untouched, as he had been too eager to talk to even think about drinking from it.

“So that’s the last thing you remember?” Orion asked.

“Yeah—being with you on the roof across from the school, and then all of the sudden…I was in my car. It was very weird.”

Orion nodded. “I thought that might happen. You pushed your body too far, too soon, and that last lightning jump pushed you over the edge. Your body couldn’t take it and shut down. Luckily, we were able to bring you to your house and get you to your car during all the commotion.”

“I figured it was something like that.”

Orion placed his coffee cup on the table. His next words came with a slight hesitation.

“I saw in the papers that you’ve gone out some. As Strike, I mean.”

Tobin nodded. “A couple times.” He shifted in his seat. “Up in Boston. Nothing too intense. I’m still trying to figure out if all this is for me or not.”

“You’ve already done all you need to do,” Orion said. “I mean that. If you feel like you never want to put the costume on ever again, no one would ever begrudge you of that. Honestly.”

Tobin nodded, looking at the table.

“I—I wanted to thank you, Tobin,” the old man said.

“For what?” Tobin asked with a laugh.

“For doing what you did. I asked too much of you, when you barely had any idea about what was happening. And I want to thank you for being able to handle it the way that you did.”

The boy shook his head. “Orion, without you asking that much of me, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Nobody would.”

“I know. And that’s why I’m thanking you.”

Tobin smiled. The old man checked his watch.

“Well, we better get going,” he said. “There are some people who want to say hi before we go.”

A few miles down the road, Tobin and Orion walked onto the roof of a shuttered Hillside warehouse. The boy saw what he never thought would be a welcoming sight: the Sky-Blade, with its brilliant silver sides gleaming. Two friends were standing next to it.

“Hey!” Tobin said, walking toward them. “Funny seeing you guys here!”

Keplar smiled. “Hey, how ya doing, kid?”

Scatterbolt ran to the boy’s side. “Hi, Tobin!”

Tobin laughed, putting an arm around the robot. “Thanks for the alibi with my car, by the way, Keplar. That was really great, thanks.”

Keplar grinned. “Anytime, bro. My pleasure.”

“How about you, SB?” Tobin asked, looking down at the robot. “How’re you feeling? Last time I saw you, you weren’t looking too good.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Scatterbolt said, waving away the concern. “I got all fixed up, no problem. Are you coming to the party with us tomorrow night?”

“The party?”

Orion laughed. “Aykrada asked me if she could throw a dinner for you tomorrow night in Gallymoora. I told her I’d see if you were up for it.”

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Tobin said. “Definitely.”

Keplar opened the sky-ship door. “And her daughter’s gonna be there, too. Don’t forget about that.”

Tobin laughed.

“Okay, guys,” Orion said, shaking his head, “let’s get going.” He turned to Tobin. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow night? Seems like a good spot.”

“Yeah, that’d be awesome. Totally.”

“Okay.” The old man smiled. “I’m very proud of you, Tobin. I want you to know that.”

The boy and the old man shook hands.

“Thanks, O. It was nothing, really.”

Minutes later, when all of its passengers were aboard, the Sky-Blade’s engines revved up. As it began to hover off the ground, Scatterbolt opened the passenger window.

“Bye, Tobin!” he said with a wave. “See you tomorrow! I’m bringing the guacamole!”

Tobin laughed and waved back. “Okay, SB! See you then! Can’t wait!”

Soon, the Sky-Blade zoomed up into the sky, and away into the clouds. When it was nearly out of sight, it disappeared with a
CRACK!
of thunder and a bright silver flash, leaving a streak of white smoke behind it.

Tobin watched the sky. To see his friends again, and to know he would see them tomorrow, filled him with happiness.

But then he heard a commotion on the street.

“Help! Somebody help me!”

Startled, Tobin walked to the edge of the building. He knew he was in one of the rougher parts of Hillside.

“Somebody help me!” the person shouted again.

Tobin looked down to the street; a thief in a ski mask was running away from a liquor store, and an older man was standing in front of it.

“Somebody stop him!” the older man shouted. “He just robbed me! Help! Help!”

Tobin stepped back onto the rooftop. He remembered the photo that Orion had showed him that night at the supermarket—the one of Orion and his father, dressed in costume. Then he looked at the streak of smoke still left in the sky by the Sky-Blade.

Tobin smiled. He opened his shirt, revealing the white ‘S’ underneath, and stepped to the edge of the building.

BOOK TWO:
DAWN OF THE DAYBREAKER

CHAPTER ONE

T
he night air was hot and still as Rigel trudged through the jungle. The seven-and-a-half-foot, red-skinned giant had been walking for hours now, and even his feet—strong, tough, elephant-like—were beginning to ache with each step. But, the pain did not matter, because he was almost there now. Almost home.

Rigel turned to check on his two companions. Luckily, they were still there, but they looked even more tired than him. One of them was a young woman named Adrianna; she was in her early twenties and impossibly beautiful, with long, pin-straight dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, and fine skin nearly the color of snow. She also had an incredibly fit body, which was covered by a tight-fitting purple costume complete with a black cape on her back, black gloves, and tall, black boots on her feet. The other companion, the man in his mid-thirties named Nova, was more difficult for outsiders to figure out: he spoke rarely, and when he did it was always in a calm, collected manner. He was tall, and on his body he wore a green costume with white gloves, white boots, a long, white cape, and a large, multi-pointed white star on his chest. Other than that, his appearance was a total mystery—no one alive had ever seen his face, for his entire head was always covered by a featureless, grey mask made out of thin, metal wires, which crisscrossed over each other so tightly that it was impossible to see past them. From a distance, he looked like a medieval fencer—stoic and composed, but also standing up straight and ready for action.

The strange trio—Rigel, Adrianna, and Nova—continued their trek through the dark jungle until finally Adrianna turned to Nova.

“Are we almost there?” she asked. It was the first time anyone had spoke in nearly an hour.

But Nova said nothing.

“Um, hello?” Adrianna asked. “Nova? Are you awake? Are we almost there or what?”

“Yes,” Nova replied. “Be patient, Adrianna.”

She shook her head. “‘Be patient.’ That’s what you’ve been telling me for the past two hours, and all it’s gotten me is half a ton of mud in my boots, probably a few bacterial infections from that river we had to cross, and who-knows-how many poisonous bug bites from bugs I’ve never seen before and hope to never see again. What makes you think we’re almost there?”

“Because he showed me the map before we left.”

“He showed you the—there’s a map?” Adrianna asked. “What the hell? Why didn’t I see a map?”

“Because he doesn’t trust you.”

Adrianna glanced at Rigel in front of them. “Oh, great. I’m trudging through the damn jungle for ten hours and he doesn’t—”

“Quiet,” Rigel grunted, turning his head. “We need quiet now. Nearly there. Quiet.”

The trio walked a few more steps, and eventually came to the trunk of a massive, downed tree. After climbing over it, Adrianna looked ahead, hoping to see some sign of life, but instead saw only more unending green jungle and darkness.

“This is stupid,” she whispered to Nova. “You can waste your time with Big Fat Fatty here, but I’m going back. There is absolutely nothing here that will—”

Nova stopped and held a hand in front of her.

“Shh,” he said, with a finger against his mask.

Adrianna looked to Rigel—the red giant had stopped, and was now looking down at the dirt. His body was swaying back and forth, and he was singing softly in a strange language.

“Cosino,” he whispered. “Makino, slingdownbach, basino, cosino...”

Adrianna felt a low grumbling in the ground beneath her feet. She stepped back, cautious, and looked to Nova. But the grey-masked man didn’t move—he was simply looking ahead and watching Rigel, as if he knew what was about to happen.

The red giant dropped to his knees. Adrianna couldn’t see much of the giant’s yellow eyes behind the hood he was wearing, but it looked like he was crying. She watched his hands—one of them reached down and grabbed a handful of loose dirt, letting it run through his fingers, while the other hand reached into his robe and retrieved a silver control panel with dozens of buttons on it. Without looking, the red giant pushed a series of buttons on the control panel, all while continuing to sing his bizarre song.

Adrianna was startled—the grumbling underneath her feet erupted into an earthquake, and she had to reach out and grab Nova’s shoulder for support. As she watched in awe, a giant stone statue of a bizarre beast rose from the ground, tearing up the dirt and knocking over the trees and ripping through the dense vegetation all around it. The stone beast was as big as a house, and had the head of an ape, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. It was lying flat on its stomach, with its head facing the trio, and when Adrianna looked closer, she realized that it wasn’t a statue—it was the entrance to an underground building, with the beast’s open, roaring mouth acting as the doorway.

“We’re here,” Nova said.

Adrianna stared at the stone beast. “You know...I think you might be on to something.”

Rigel walked toward the doorway. “Thank you for your patience. He will allow us to enter now.”

Adrianna and Nova followed Rigel under the beast’s giant, hanging fangs, and walked into the darkness of its insides. Adrianna was careful and intrigued, but Nova and Rigel were unfazed. This was especially true of Rigel, who was walking with a quick conviction, as if he could not wait any longer for what they were about to find inside this mysterious stone beast in the middle of Capricious’ most dangerous and unexplored jungle.

At first, Nova and Adrianna could see nothing inside the beast, until Rigel lit three torches. After he handed one to each of them, the red giant led the group through a long, dark corridor, which sloped downward, leading them deeper underground. The corridor’s walls were made out of thousands of rectangular grey stones, and although they were spotted with a few cobwebs and the floors were dusty from not being used in years, the trio could still appreciate the elaborate decorations inside the underground hallway—beautiful paintings of green, tiger-like beasts ran along the walls, and stunning candelabras burst with illuminating flames as Rigel passed them with his torch.

After following the twisting, turning, stone-walled corridor further underground, the trio finally reached its end: it lead to a ten-foot tall, gold-trimmed entryway, and beyond the entryway there was a dark room filled with odd shapes and shadows. Before Adrianna and Nova could walk into the room, however, Rigel stopped and stood in front of them.

“Do you believe?” Rigel asked Adrianna.

“What?”

“Do you believe in the Rantamede and pledge your life to him and his quest for universal peace?”

She shot him a smirk.

“Do you pledge your loyalty to him?” Rigel asked again, more forcefully this time.

“Just do as he says,” Nova told her.

“Sure,” Adrianna said, with a smile and a shrug. “Okay.”

“Do you give him your life?”

“Yes.”

“Until the very end?”

“Why not.”

Rigel reached out with his tree-trunk arms and embraced Adrianna, pulling her close. She was surprised, not to mention in a bit of pain from the overzealous squeeze.

“He will be very pleased to meet you,” Rigel said.

“Can’t wait,” Adrianna replied, wriggling out of the hug before her ribcage was crushed.

Finally, with a smile that neither Nova nor Adrianna had ever seen, Rigel walked through the golden entryway and into the shadowed room at the end of the corridor. Adrianna and Nova followed him and inspected the underground cavern: it was a large, circular room, with dozens of candelabras burning brightly, a domed ceiling, and more artwork of half-human, half-animal creatures along the walls. There were also rows of statues of animals made out of black marble, and in the center of the room there was a beautiful green pillar made out of pure emerald, which stood about eight feet high. As stunning as the room and its contents were, however, it was clear that no one had been inside it for years, maybe even decades: there were spider-webs in the corners and on the statues, and the floor was littered with tattered nests and animal bones. In the silence, every few seconds, the trio could hear the sounds of scurrying rodents and insects.

“Wait here,” Rigel said to the others. “He may look...strange to you.”

Nova and Adrianna watched as the red giant walked toward the emerald pillar in the center of the room.

“Is he talking about…?” Adrianna asked.

“Just watch,” Nova replied.

Rigel knelt in front of the green pillar and bowed his head. After he whispered and mumbled in the strange language, a burst of black fire erupted atop the pillar. When Rigel looked up at it, the fire swirled and snapped, until it began to take the shape of a pair of eyes, a nose, a goatee, and a mouth. Soon, there was a green face of a man in the middle of the black flames, and it was a face Rigel knew very well—it was the face of his mentor and leader, Vincent Harris.

Rigel watched the face for a few moments, before looking to the ground, overcome with emotion.

“Hello, Vincent,” the red giant said. “It is a great honor to finally see you again.”

“How long have I been gone, Rigel?” the image of Vincent asked.

“Seven months, sir. It has taken me seven months to heal from my injuries and arrive at this place.”

Near the entryway, Adrianna and Nova were watching Rigel have his conversation. However, Adrianna was confused—to her, it appeared Rigel was having this conversation with thin air. She did not see either Vincent’s face, or the black flame atop the pillar.

“Um, am I crazy,” she asked, “or is he talking to nobody?”

“He’s talking to Vincent,” Nova replied.

“He is? I don’t see anything. Do you?”

“No. But Rigel does. And that’s all that matters.”

Near the pillar, Rigel was staring at the ground and grimacing, shaking his head.

“I am sorry, sir. I have no excuses for why it has taken me so long to find you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Rigel,” Vincent said. “Without your determination, Rytonia and the entire universe would be lost. You are the reason our people, and our dreams for Capricious, still live.”

“Thank you, sir. I just wish...I wish you could be with us again.”

Adrianna watched Rigel from a distance, with a skeptical frown.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “Does he really see something, or does he just
think
he’s seeing something?”

Nova shook his head. “I don’t know. But as long as he’s convinced he’s talking with Vincent, and as long as it leads us to what we want, that’s all we need to be worried about.”

“I wish I was there, too,” the image of Vincent said to Rigel, “but you know that can’t be. I am gone forever, and it is up to you now to look over our people. It is time for you to fulfill your destiny. That is why it is so important for you to find the others.”

“Yes,” Rigel replied, motioning to Nova and Adrianna, “these two heroes have joined me. They have pledged their lives to you, and to helping us achieve universal peace.”

Adrianna leaned over to Nova. “Gee, I hope non-existent man approves of us,” she whispered.

“Shh,” Nova told her.

“You have done well to find them, Rigel,” Vincent continued, “but there is still one more member that needs to join you. You know there needs to be another.”

“Yes,” Rigel said. “He is not here yet, sir. But we are working on finding him, and have come here to carry out our plan.”

“Good,” Vincent replied. “Because without the Daybreaker, you have nothing. He is the one to bring peace to Capricious. Without him, you cannot succeed.

“He is the one who was always meant to lead us, Rigel. Even if I had survived. This has all been about him. He is the only one who can lead us home.”

Rigel nodded. “But...there are still people who will try and stop us, sir.”

“Yes, I know. Is Orion aware that you are still alive?”

“No. But he is with the others constantly, working with them and fighting alongside them. On Earth and on Capricious.”

“So Tobin is still alive then,” Vincent said. “And has he been learning more about his powers with Orion?”

“Yes.”

“Has he become more powerful?”

“Yes.”

“Has he become a hero?” Vincent asked.

Rigel waited a moment before answering.

“Yes,” he finally said.