yourself!"
Something sent the gatekeeper to the ground with a "thwap." She grunted with pain, but before she could get up, the figure behind her sent a series of kicks into her body. The attacker was silent and continued to pepper the gatekeeper with punches and kicks on the ground. Dhiraj took the opportunity to run over to Natalie's side.
"Are you alright?"
Dhiraj could barely detect Natalie's nod in the dark. "Is that Ted?"
He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it now had the gatekeeper above its head. The woman let out a primal yell as the figure tossed the gatekeeper, staff and all, into the blue portal on the wall. As the echo of screams stopped, the portal closed up completely.
Dhiraj fumbled for his cell phone to turn on the flashlight feature. He expected to see a big smile from his superhero best friend Ted Finley. Instead, he saw a person he didn't recognize in the slightest. A Japanese man in his early 40s walked over to help Erica to her feet. While the man looked straight out of an old samurai movie, he spoke perfect English.
"Hello, my old friend."
Her pained expression turned into one of recognition. "Yoshi?!"
PART TWO
Chapter 11
A wave of emotions hit Ted as he grew tired in the last half hour of flying. Between moving two-dozen people through the sky in a protective bubble and trying to get to Treasure in record time, his lack of endurance was beginning to get to him. Through his pounding heart, he wondered if he'd made a mistake choosing the government over a summer of training with Erica. He'd saved people's lives throughout the U.S., but that would mean nothing to him if his friends were lost in the process.
They attacked because I wasn't there. I let her down.
Ted knew that Erica had kept things from him and that she might never be completely honest, but he still wanted her approval. He hoped the summer away hadn't caused irreparable damage to their relationship.
From takeoff to landing, it took Ted exactly 32 minutes to plant his feet on the front steps of the Sheriff's Department. As his body readjusted to being on the ground, he could feel just how fast his heart was going. Part of him wondered if it would burst. Ted shook off the worry, clenched his fists and walked into the building.
The doors were marred, battered and lying on the ground. There were multiple cracks in the walls from bodily impact. Ted also spied a puddle of green blood before Dhiraj came running up to greet him.
"Ted! You just missed the party."
The others in the room – Sherriff Norris, Natalie, Erica and someone he didn't recognize – all perked up at the mention of his name. Ted felt the room begin to spin. He steadied himself on Dhiraj's shoulder.
"Thanks, I–"
The spinning grew faster and faster until Ted felt himself slip away from consciousness. A wave of darkness came over him. Images flashed before him from his last year as a hero. He saw himself in the Treasure High gym while the dark soul version of Sandra threatened him and Dhiraj. He watched as he and Natalie ran from the terror of former substitute teacher and brainwasher Mr. Redican. He saw the night of the prom and his slow dance with Erica LaPlante. Ted felt a mix of peace and anxiety as the images left him, replaced by what he saw when his eyelids fluttered open.
For the first time in three months, Erica's face was before him. There was no laptop or tablet screen distorting the image, nor were there thousands of miles between them. It was her, and despite everything that had happened, all Ted wanted to do in the world was kiss her.
"Hey."
Erica took his hand and smiled. "Hey. You sure know how to make an entrance."
Ted's eyes adjusted to the light in the room as he got his bearings. The dark, gray walls clued him in that they were inside a vacant cell in the Sheriff's Department building. Scratched into the walls were poorly thought out sentences and crude drawings. Erica's minty shampoo was almost overcome by the scent
Something sent the gatekeeper to the ground with a "thwap." She grunted with pain, but before she could get up, the figure behind her sent a series of kicks into her body. The attacker was silent and continued to pepper the gatekeeper with punches and kicks on the ground. Dhiraj took the opportunity to run over to Natalie's side.
"Are you alright?"
Dhiraj could barely detect Natalie's nod in the dark. "Is that Ted?"
He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it now had the gatekeeper above its head. The woman let out a primal yell as the figure tossed the gatekeeper, staff and all, into the blue portal on the wall. As the echo of screams stopped, the portal closed up completely.
Dhiraj fumbled for his cell phone to turn on the flashlight feature. He expected to see a big smile from his superhero best friend Ted Finley. Instead, he saw a person he didn't recognize in the slightest. A Japanese man in his early 40s walked over to help Erica to her feet. While the man looked straight out of an old samurai movie, he spoke perfect English.
"Hello, my old friend."
Her pained expression turned into one of recognition. "Yoshi?!"
PART TWO
Chapter 11
A wave of emotions hit Ted as he grew tired in the last half hour of flying. Between moving two-dozen people through the sky in a protective bubble and trying to get to Treasure in record time, his lack of endurance was beginning to get to him. Through his pounding heart, he wondered if he'd made a mistake choosing the government over a summer of training with Erica. He'd saved people's lives throughout the U.S., but that would mean nothing to him if his friends were lost in the process.
They attacked because I wasn't there. I let her down.
Ted knew that Erica had kept things from him and that she might never be completely honest, but he still wanted her approval. He hoped the summer away hadn't caused irreparable damage to their relationship.
From takeoff to landing, it took Ted exactly 32 minutes to plant his feet on the front steps of the Sheriff's Department. As his body readjusted to being on the ground, he could feel just how fast his heart was going. Part of him wondered if it would burst. Ted shook off the worry, clenched his fists and walked into the building.
The doors were marred, battered and lying on the ground. There were multiple cracks in the walls from bodily impact. Ted also spied a puddle of green blood before Dhiraj came running up to greet him.
"Ted! You just missed the party."
The others in the room – Sherriff Norris, Natalie, Erica and someone he didn't recognize – all perked up at the mention of his name. Ted felt the room begin to spin. He steadied himself on Dhiraj's shoulder.
"Thanks, I–"
The spinning grew faster and faster until Ted felt himself slip away from consciousness. A wave of darkness came over him. Images flashed before him from his last year as a hero. He saw himself in the Treasure High gym while the dark soul version of Sandra threatened him and Dhiraj. He watched as he and Natalie ran from the terror of former substitute teacher and brainwasher Mr. Redican. He saw the night of the prom and his slow dance with Erica LaPlante. Ted felt a mix of peace and anxiety as the images left him, replaced by what he saw when his eyelids fluttered open.
For the first time in three months, Erica's face was before him. There was no laptop or tablet screen distorting the image, nor were there thousands of miles between them. It was her, and despite everything that had happened, all Ted wanted to do in the world was kiss her.
"Hey."
Erica took his hand and smiled. "Hey. You sure know how to make an entrance."
Ted's eyes adjusted to the light in the room as he got his bearings. The dark, gray walls clued him in that they were inside a vacant cell in the Sheriff's Department building. Scratched into the walls were poorly thought out sentences and crude drawings. Erica's minty shampoo was almost overcome by the scent
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