Ascension (The Ascension Series) (26 page)

John placed his head down and sobbed. He cried until he could cry no more. And from the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of light. He raised his head and standing before him was his mother, Josephine. She was glowing like a beautiful phantasm. Her aura was soft just like her features. Her beautiful long blonde hair was just as John remembered it. And she wore a beautiful blue gown. It was exactly what she was wearing when John last saw her. Of course
, this beautiful apparition existed only in John’s mind. But to John, she was the purest thought that he could ever imagine.

“Mother?” John said as he wiped away his tears.

“Yes, my son,” said his mother in a beautiful calming voice.

“Are you real?” he asked, still slumped over on his knees.

“I exist only to you, John. But I am real for you believe it so.”

“Please, mother,” he wailed. “Don’t ever leave me.”

“I will never leave you again, my son.”

“I miss you. I miss you so much.”

“And I miss you equally, John. My sweet Johnny.”

“I feel so weak,” John admitted.

“Yet you are so, so strong. You are capable of any feat on earth. Fore you are
the
prophet, John. You are the child that can make
everything
right. Your powers are there to guide you. You can counterbalance everything that has ever gone wrong. When you are ready, the unimaginable will become imaginable.”

“All I want is you,” John sobbed.

“And I am here for you.”

“But I don’t want you to leave. I need you so badly. I cannot live, I cannot function without you.”

“You are capable of anything, John.”

“I can bring you back?” John asked as he stood to his feet. He was awestruck by the very answer he knew he would hear.

“Yes,” his mother said. “Your gifts are sacrosanct and all-powerful.”

John reached his hands out and exalted himself. He shut his eyes tight and concentrated. Debris lifted off the ground. The tracks that lied in the train station uplifted. The seats that remained were uprooted from the cement floors.
Bricks ripped themselves from the wall. Then John slowly opened his eyes. Everything fell back down and his mother still glowed in front of him. She had not returned; she remained a figment of his imagination.

“It did not work,” John wept.

“Do not cry, John,” his mother said. “It will. Fore there is nothing you cannot accomplish.”

“What do I need to do it?” John asked, once again wiping away his tears.

“Power,” his mother said.

“Yes,” John agreed as he walked closer to his mother.

“As you told your friend,” his mother smiled. “You are not their equals. You are their divine superior.”

“Yes,” John nodded.

“Prove it,” his mother said softly. “I know you are worthy, John. Now prove it to the world─ through power.”

His mother pressed a glowing hand to his face. She smiled to him with a gentle and affectionate charm. John closed his eyes and her hand grew warmer. Then he opened his eyes and she was gone.

***

It was later
that evening at Franklin Pierce High. The sun lowered and a large crowd was outdoors. They gathered on the bleachers of the football field. It was Thursday evening and a big game was set to occur. The student body and parents that accompanied them were excited and proud of the football team’s accomplishments. Led by Clark, the team was on a winning streak like no other. The majority of the audience was dressed in blue to support the Franklin Pierce Panthers. Hotdogs, popcorn, and cotton candy was being served and sold across the bleachers by vendors.

Donny and Chloe were in the audience on the front row. Sitting several seats away from them was Charles. Charles
casually asked them about John and they said they had not seen him all day. Charles shrugged his shoulders and asked for a bucket of popcorn. He noticed the principal was sitting several seats down from him but he turned his attention to the pristine field when the cheerleaders ran into the center of field to face the crowd.

The cheerleaders waved their pompoms and did a synchronized cheer that excited the crowd.
Then they left the center of the field as the football players crossed a long paper banner and ran onto the grass. The large audience clapped but their applause reached a new height when Clark ran out last.

“That’s my boy!” his father yelled from the stands.

“Go Clark!” said his mother.

The opposing team entered the field to much less applause. The game began
minutes later after a referee flipped a coin that allowed the Frankin Pierce Panthers to go first. Coach Smith was standing on the sidelines cheering on his team.

“Go kick some butt, Clark!” he yelled as the game started.

The ball went back and forth from one team to the other until the Panthers scored the first touchdown. The crowd went wild and even began doing a dodgy rendition of the wave. For every one point the opposing team won, the Panthers scored three. Clark punted every ball perfectly and ran at a record pace.

Eighty minutes later, the Panthers held a strong lead as the game went to half-time.
The players sat on opposite benches and rested. Meanwhile the cheerleaders began another round of charmed dancing to music that blared through the outdoor speakers.

Then the school marching band walked onto the field. They did an instrumentation that mixed classical and contemporary.
Then the leader of the band pointed to Sarah and yelled, “This one is for you!”

Sarah smiled as the band performed a lovely piece
that had everyone on their feet clapping. The band moved about and formed the symbol of a heart. Then Sarah looked into the crowd as various signs were held up. In the mid-section of the bleachers, over a dozen people held signs above their head. When all of the signs were raised, in large bold red letters, it created a banner that read:

C L A R K
♥
　
S A R A H !!!

When Sarah saw the sign she clasped her hands to her mouth in excitement. Clark took his helmet off and ran onto the field to greet her. Grinning from ear to ear, Sarah leapt into his
arms and wrapped her legs around him. The audience laughed and burst into applause. When Clark put her down, they kissed on the field and the audience’s applause grew even louder.

“What a night!” the Coach shouted.

“It sure is!” Clark yelled back to him.

“I love you, Clark,” Sara
h told him. “This is the greatest day ever. I don’t care that my parents are in the crowd watching. I’m going to do it again.”

“I love you too,” Clark told her. “But what are you going to do agai…”

Before Clark could finish the question, Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on her toes, and kissed him for the second time. The audience cheered once more for the school’s most popular couple. With everyone pumped and excited for game night, the players returned to the field moments later. The game started back and the opposing team didn’t stand a chance at winning against a team that included Clark. He dashed and darted and led his team to a stunning victory. His role was solidified after regaining the trust of his girlfriend and bringing the football team to a tremendous win, all in the same night.

When the game was over, many students in the crowd rushed to the field
.

“Good job, O’Sullivan,” the Coach said. “You really are the best!”

The other teammates grabbed a large ice cooler filled with Gatorade and poured it on top of Clark’s head. He was soaking wet but that didn’t stop them from lifting him onto their shoulders.

“I’m so proud of you son!” his dad shouted.

“Thanks dad!” Clark shouted back while he was hoisted onto his teammates’ shoulders.

When the hoopla on the field was over, Clark returned to Sarah. He took her by the hand and promised to never leave her.

“I’ll do anything for you,” Clark told her. “I envisioned a world without you and I know I’d be lost if it were real.”

“You’re perfect in every way,” Sarah said to Clark as she jumped into his arms again.

“Guys!” Charles ran over to Clark and Sarah.

“Yeah?” Clark said.

“It’s John,” Charles said.

“I haven’t seen him since he was called to the front office this morning,” Clark said.

“I know,” Charles told them. “I just spoke to the principal. John was called to the office because his dad died this morning. The principal said everything in the room started whirling around like a cyclone and then John just ran away.”

“No,” Clark placed his head down, heartbroken.

“Oh my god,” Sarah responded. “Is he okay?”

“I do
n’t know,” Charles told them. “All I can do is hope so.”

While a
football game was concluding at the outdoor area of Franklin Pierce High, John was across town the same night. He was wearing his trench coat and his father’s Major General military beret. Anger filled him as he soared through the night sky. He landed in front of a downtown bank.

John turned his head to the side and his mother appeared before him. She smiled to him and nodded. He walked up to the bank and took a deep breath. John raised his right hand up and the glass door of the bank flew off
its hinges as if it had been snapped like a twig. He moved forward into the bank and pulled out two folded up duffel bags from his trench coat. He laid the duffel bag onto the floor and looked toward the bank vault.

This time John placed both of his hands into the air. He focused as hard as he could and the vault door began to wobble.
He squinted his eyes and grinded his teeth. Moments later the thousand pound vault door ripped off its hinges. John was in awe of his own power as the vault door separated from the rest of the security locked vault. Suddenly a loud ringer went off. John was certain the police had been alerted so he rushed into the vault as the door fell down with a shattering thud. John stretched his arms out and the various compartments of the vault opened.

The duffel bags flew into the vault and landed on the floor. Then stacks and stacks of money poured out of the vault compartments and flew into the duffel bags. Security deposit boxes ripped from their stations, flew through the air, and emptied their various contents of jewels into the duffel bags. When the two duffel bags were filled with jewels and wads of hundred dollar bills, the bags zipped themselves up. John turned around and the bags shot into his hands.

He walked out of the vault as he heard police sirens. He exited the bank only to find a dozen squad cars surrounding him in the street. Each of the officers had their guns drawn.

“They’ll never learn,” John said to himself.

“Put down the black bags!” an officer yelled through a megaphone.

Despite being surrounded by a squadron of law enforcement officers, John re
mained calm. He said nothing. He didn’t move a muscle.

“Put down the bags and get on your knees,” the officer spoke once more. “We have you surrounded.”

The officers kept their guns steady. Then rifts were felt over the concrete ground. With the bags in his hand, John shot into the air at the speed of a bullet. The officers watched as a teenage boy single handedly robbed a bank and flew off into the sky. They looked up, left only in awe.

CHAPTER 12

It was a foggy Friday morning in London, England and Big Dan was in his personal locker room located in the arena where he was set to showcase his monumental prowess as a Formula One speedster. He
sat silently all alone as he focused on the racing match ahead. He zipped up his red uniform, clad in advertising logos, and placed on a pair of matching gloves. Moments later there was a knock at the door. Big Dan got up from his chair, opened the door, and to his chagrin, discovered Plainfield the reporter on the other side.

“Daniel LaRent. Why hello! Fancy seeing you around here,” Plainfield
snorted. “I was in the neighborhood so I just thought I’d drop in.”

“What do you want from me?” Dan angrily asked him.

“Haven’t we already been over this, Mr. LaRent?” The callous reporter bumped into Dan as he entered his lockerroom. Dan shut the door and Plainfield spoke again. “I want that sweet little endorsement deal of yours.”

“Or what?” Dan asked him.

“Or everyone will find out your little secret,” Plainfield scoffed. “You wouldn’t want that now, would you? You’ll never again be allowed to race on these tracks. Your records will be expunged. You’ll be forced to give back all of your endorsement money. And mostly, you’ll become a pariah. You’ll be an outcast and no one will want anything to do with you.”

“No,” Dan told him. “I wouldn’t want that.”

“Exactly,” Plainfield laughed. “That’s why you’re going to give me exactly what I ask for.”

“But I wouldn’t want that either.”

“I don’t think you have much of a choice, Daniel. You’re not making the rules at the moment.”

“And the fact that you think
you
are making the rules is what makes your delusions so pathetic.”

“That’s no way to talk to me, Daniel.”

Dan gave Plainfield the reporter a scolding look and walked closer to him. Suddenly Plainfield dropped to his knees.

“What are you doing to me?” Plainfield asked nervously.

“It’s not only car engines I can control, Mr. Plainfield.”

“Please,” the reporter pleaded. “Don’t hurt me.”

“You mean like you were going to hurt me?”

“I… I… Please,” Plainfield begged as he attempted and failed to stand up. It was as if his knees were pinned to the floor.

“Listen closely,” Dan told him. “You will never see me again. Do you understand that, you repulsive smear of scum? You are an insect and I could squash you in the blink of an eye. I’m not a bad guy but you can bet I have a bad side. And I like to think even if you were to tell everyone I have these extraordinary abilities, they wouldn’t believe you.

“
A racer car driver who lives in London has super powers? No one will buy it. So here’s your last chance. Get out of my sight and if you ever think of telling a single soul about this I will personally rip off each of your limbs.”

Dan turned his back to the man and let up. Plainfield was finally able to move his legs. The reporter jumped up and hurried out of the room. Dan sighed as he grabbed his racing helmet and held it under his arm. With his other hand he picked up his cell phone and dialed a number.

“Hello,” Dan said as he placed the phone up to his ear.

“
Hi. Is that you, Big Dan?” asked Andrew on the other end.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Dan told him. “I saw you on one of the sports channels recently. Are you still in Florida?”

“Yeah,” Andrew told him. “Big golf tournament coming up soon. So what’s up?”

“Blackmail,” Dan told him bluntly.

“What? You’re being blackmailed?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah, but I think it’s over. I was wondering, Andrew
─ can I pay you a visit in Florida soon?”

“Sure,” Andrew said. “Are you going to fly in?”

“The only way I know how,” Dan answered.

***

Back in Cincinnati it was Friday afternoon and various people were casually driving or walking downtown. Some were headed back to work following their lunch break while others were just leisurely strolling through the city. Nothing was out of the ordinary until a figure dressed in black sped through the air. It was John carrying the two black duffel bags he used while robbing the Bank of Cincinnati. The people walking down the street looked and pointed into the air.

“What’s that!” some
shouted as John flew above them.

Seconds later John opened the black duffel bags and dropped all o
f the contents down below. Dollar bills of every value were flowing through the air and the people on the street scrambled to grab as much as they could. But money wasn’t the only thing that rained upon them. There were diamonds, rubies, and jewelry made of gold. Many people parked their cars and ran out into the street to pick up either the cash or jewels that fell from above. The people quickly stashed the money and expensive items into their pockets as John flew off.

Across town at Franklin Pierce High, it was lunch period and Clark was sitting with Sarah. Every few minute a student would go up to their table and congratulate Clark on winning the Thursday night football game. Their conversation, however, kept returning to John.

“I hope he’s okay,” Clark said.

“Clark, were you watching the local news last night?” Sarah asked him.

“No,” he responded.

“A bank was robbed last night. They said it was a boy with long blonde hair wearing a military beret. He broke into a bank vault.”

“John?” Clark asked.

“It was definitely him. Who else is capable of single handedly breaking into a bank vault?” Sarah asked rhetorically.

“Everything always went wrong for him. I wish I could have done more to help him,” Clark said.

Sarah grabbed his hand. “I don’t think there’s anything else you could have done. John is gone.”

“Jesus,” Clark said. “They continue to drop off. I’m really starting to think these powers aren’t as incredible as I first thought.”

“I know,” Sarah said solemnly. “I’m beginning to think the same thing.”

“And now the cops are after us in full force,” Clark s
aid. “I think tonight may be our last night.”

Sarah nodded her head in silent agreement.

After lunch, Clark headed to the gym locker room to change out. He was joined by Charles who was far from his usual stellar self.

“I really wish I could find him,” Charles said. Clark knew immediately that he was talking about John.

“Yeah, I know, man,” Clark told him.

“It’
s just not the same without him, Clark. I think I’m going to go look for him later.”

“Yeah, I think we should all do that,” Clark said.

“By the way, are we going out tonight?” Charles asked.

“Yeah,” Clark answered. “But I don’t know, man. I was just talking to Sarah and we think that maybe this should be our last hurrah. We’ve saved a lot of people but look at what it’s done to us. Look at what these
powers
have done to us.”

“Not gonna disagree,” Charles said. “
This hasn’t exactly been what we expected. But Clark, if this is gonna be our last night, we gotta make it a good one.”

“Most definitely,” Clark gave him a high five
. “We’ll go out with a bang.”

In accordance with what would be his final night as a superhero, Clark decided to spend the rest of the school day wearing his horn-rimmed eye glasses. Despite bringing his team to victory during the prior night’s football game, when he stepped into the gymnasium for P.E. class, he fell and fumbled
the ball at every turn. They did endurance tests and Clark screwed up each time.

“Come on, Clark! What’s wrong with you?” Coach Smith said. “Last night you were on top of the football game but now you’re fumbling over your own feet!”

“Guess I’m just tired, sir,” Clark said as he pushed his glasses up to his face.

The coach shook his head and said, “I really just don’t know what to think of you
, kid. As long as you’re good on the field, I guess that’s all that matters.”

“Is this like a ritual for you?” Charles
laughingly asked when they sat on the bleachers to take a break. “If this is your last day as a superhero you’re really going to milk the Clark Kent thing, aren’t you?”

“I like to think of it as my atonement,” Clark winked.

“Whatever the heck that means!” Charles laughed. “But you know, Clark. I’ve been sneaking off lately.”

“Really?” Clark asked.

“Yeah, my dad grounded me a few nights ago. Because of bad grades and that sort of stuff. I can’t have any more girls over until my GPA increases. But it’s pretty easy to sneak out. Our place is huge and my dad is rarely there.”

“That still kinda sucks though,” Clark said.

“Yeah,” Charles told him. “I feel like I let my dad down. I feel like he’s not very proud of me and this is the first time I’ve ever really felt bad about it. Then my best friend loses his dad and then disappears. Rough freakin’ week.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find John. And tonight we’ll make up for everything else.
Sounds good?”

“Yeah,” Charles said. “We’re one team member down but I’
m ready.”

Later that evening, when everyone was back at home after school was over, Clark hugged both of his parents.
Knowing that John had no one left made Clark think of his own family. He had a mother, a father, and a sibling on the way. He was proud to know they loved him and had no intentions of ever leaving one another. Then Clark waved as he exited the front door of the house. He told his parents he was going to hang out with a few friends on Friday night. So, technically, he wasn’t telling a lie. He merely kept from them the fact that he was going out to fight crime as a costumed vigilante with super powers.

Clark arrived at the warehouse at the same time that Charles did. Sarah followed soon after and then Donny showed up with Chloe.

“So does anyone know anything about John?” Donny asked.

“We’re pretty sure he robbed a bank last night,” Clark said. “But that’s about it.”

“He was sort of unhinged,” Chloe said.

“He’s gonna be fine,” Charles said as he pointed a finger at her. “That’s my brother you’re talking about.”

“Hey, back off,” Donny told Charles.

“Everything’s gonna be alright,” Charles said. “John is just a little upset. Who wouldn’t be if their dad just died? He’ll come back and then we’ll get him the help he needs.”

Clark knew that was a stretch. Even if John did return, things could hardly go back to normal after he robbed a bank. But Clark didn’t verbalize this. He simply gave Charles a smile and told him he was right. “Everything is going to be alright.”

Then they got dressed as superheroes for what they agreed would be the last time. Clark’s blue suit, cape, and goggles made him Night Wolf.
Sarah’s silver costume turned her into Summer Saturn. Donny’s red outfit sans cape transformed him into Tracks. Chloe’s pink cape and matching skirt made her Surefire. And Charles’s green outfit and cape turned him into Shadow Fly.

They each stacked their gloved hands on top of one another in a circle. They cheered and raised their hands up for their last big hurrah.
The five of them flew off into the night with a frequency signal that was meant to dispatch law enforcement officers.

“Where to?” Sarah yelled out.

Clark placed his hand up to his ear in order to listen to the police radio as they all flew through the air. Then he told them, “Let’s head West.”

They swooped to the left and glided through the air.
Then Clark heard an interesting static from his earpiece and listened in.

“Wait!” he shouted
to his crime fighting friends. “Not west. Back east. I’m getting a report on another maniac with a flamethrower.”

They all turned in midair and headed back from the direction they had just traveled.

“Another guy with a flamethrower?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah,” Clark said. “That’s what I just heard.”

“You think it’s the same maniacs from last time?” Charles asked.

“Well John did kill one of them with their own rocket
launcher,” Donny said as they sped up and reached the downtown area.

Minutes later they reached a downtown street that seemed to have been evacuated. In the middle of the street was large man wearing a black Kevlar suit. He had a flamethrower backpack on
and yelled for the superheroes to show themselves.

They all lowered to the ground near him. Clark look at the handle of his flamethrower and it twisted downward.

“How the hell did you do that?” the man asked.

“What do you want with us?” Clark asked him. “We’re tired of your tricks. We have streets to patrol.”

“We want you dead,” the man spat.

Another man dressed in similar clothing jumped from around a corner and pointed an automatic rifle at the five
teens. He fired the gun off. He unloaded several rounds and bullet after bullet stopped in midair. Clark, Charles, and Chloe each had their arms lifted. They were preventing the bullets from reaching any of them. Donny turned around and punched the man who held the flamethrower. The man fell to the ground as he held his bloodied nose.