Read Second Class Supers – Page 55
Kya’s jaw fell, her mouth hung wide open. The words felt like a saw ripping through her brain. She turned her body slowly and looked directly at Sam. His face had a look of surprise as well, but when his eyes turned to her own, his expression changed.
“What’s wrong?” Sam said.
“What happened to Myles?” Kya’s mouth went dry. “He’s dead?”
“Yeah, pretty unbelievable isn’t it?” Sam’s attention drifted back to his screens and his eyes scanned quickly as he spoke. “They’ve been playing it on the news all afternoon. They have had a little more information during each of the news reports, and apparently the Chief of Police is going to speak on this broadcast.”
Kya shifted her whole body back towards the display. The muscles in her neck were so tight her head was unable to swivel. Her jaw started to shake uncontrollably as she watched the news report.
An older woman, with silver hair, stood behind a podium, a dozen microphones were aimed at her. Her face was stern, and the deep lines on it only emphasized her scowl. “Myles Redwood was an exceptional case. He broke the law on several occasions, and although his entertainment value was great, he became a risk to others and to himself. As you all know, actions were taken early on, including an extraction process, in an attempt to keep the young man safely in line.” The woman paused, taking a deep breath. “These tactics, however, were unsuccessful in controlling the larger problem: Myles Redwood was a rogue Super. Several attempts were made to settle the matter peacefully, but he was too far gone. He was completely out of control and a risk both to himself and others. It was with a heavy heart that I gave the order to have him neutralized.” The woman’s hard eyes stared into the camera and seemed to pierce right into Kya, turning her stomach.
“Doesn’t sound much like she has a heavy heart.” Kya commented on the cold, robotic tone of the silver haired woman. In her mind, Kya pictured this woman giving the order to have her neutralized. A chill ran down Kya’s back.
On the screen, a younger man stepped up onto the stage, and stood directly beside the older woman.
“Thankfully,” the woman continued, “in combination with the police, special forces from Enhance were able to find Myles and after a risky engagement, they were able to bring him to justice.”
A loud chattering could be heard as she finished her statement. Hands shot up everywhere, covering portions of the video feed.
“We owe a huge debt of gratitude to organizations like Enhance that help keep our society safe.” A graphic faded in at the bottom of the screen, identifying the woman as the Chief of Police, Margaret Hall. She turned and shook the hand of the young man, presumably from Enhance.
The young man then leaned forward towards the wall of microphones attached to the podium, and Margaret moved back. “I want to thank the Police for allowing us to assist them in this matter. We at Enhance never want to see society at risk as a result of Supers. I also want to assure the public that we have made enhancements to our security and safety procedures so that an event like this never happens again. You can be sure, however, that we are always prepared to help the Police with whatever issue they might be having.”
The lower half of the screen helped to identify the young man as well with a graphic that showed his name to be Pietro Peters.
With her neck still feeling locked in place, her jaw still trembling, and her heart racing, Kya felt like the walls were caving in on her. The thought that she could be their next target made her anxious. She thought back to what Callidus had said about being safe because the Police couldn’t catch Myles, and now she saw the lower third filled with text, slowly scrolling by were the words that she had first seen when sitting down: Myles Redwood is dead.
“Kya?” Sam asked with concern, but Kya ignored him.
Rushing from the living room, and almost tripping over her own feet, she moved awkwardly towards her bedroom. She slapped the door in a hurry, and it slowly creaked closed. Her vision blurred, but unlike going invisible, she could still see, though everything was heavily distorted and swimming. She also started to feel like her stomach was filled with acid. Placing her hand on her forehead, she felt both sweaty and cold. She had a strong feeling regarding what was going to come next and rushed into her bathroom. The lid of the toilet was tipped up only seconds before she emptied her stomach into it.
Immediately afterwards Kya felt physically better, but the worry still nagged at her. She felt angry, as if she knew she was going to be cheated out of the life she deserved. She thought for a moment about the job she wanted at Classic Communication and how she might not get to live to enjoy it, and then her thoughts focused in on Don Georgetown. The fact that Myles had been caught only increased her drive to confront him. If it was the last thing she could do before being neutralized she needed to stop Don from ruining the lives of others.
Having Supers was one thing, but Kya knew that knowing how to effectively use them wasn’t going to be easy. She also knew that Don was well versed in his own Supers, and that she would need to practice before confronting him.
“Are you okay in there?” Sam yelled.
“Yes. I’m fine. Thanks.” As she responded, her voice was more sweet and high pitched than normal. She knew Sam would know she was not fine.
As she returned to her room and sat on her bed, she focused on trying to become invisible. Kya held her breath and the tendrils of darkness that she had become so used to crawled along her vision. The blackness they caused blinded her, but she was fairly certain she was completely invisible. Still holding her breath, she focused on trying to only make her head visible. At first, nothing changed, but upon releasing her breath, the tendrils faded away. Kya looked down at herself, only to realize she was completely visible once again. She gritted her teeth, growled in frustration and tried once more.
Time passed quickly as Kya tried to master her powers. She tried testing the limits and accuracy of her telekinesis. When she became frustrated and threw her lamp against the wall, she bent down and with a shaking hand picked up a piece of the glass. She closed her eyes and groaned as she squeezed the glass, forcing it to puncture her skin. She opened her palm and looked at the beads of blood blossoming there. With her other hand she touched the wound and waited for the cold sensation of healing. It didn’t come. Kya kicked open the washroom door and grabbed a bandage.
“They’ll work right when I need them.” She said as an affirmation before repeating it to herself so many times the words lost all meaning.
Malcolm's Ramblings 