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  Only the Beginning

  I flew through the front door of our apartment building and up the stairwell, coming to a stop at the front door of the apartment. I frantically grabbed my keys from my pocket and after a couple of tries, finally got the key in the lock. I burst into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind me.

  Mom and Dad were standing in front of the TV, watching the news. They turned and saw me as I walked in. Mom rushed me and gave me a hug.

  “Everything’s going to be okay,” she said.

  I nodded and pulled away from her hug. “I know, but right now we need to get out of here. Pack your bags. They’re probably on their way here right now.”

  Dad nodded. “I’ll get all the cash from my safe. Zoe, you start packing.”

  The two of them rushed into their bedroom and I ran to mine. I grabbed a duffel bag from my closet and filled it with my clothes and toiletries in seconds. I grabbed another and ran to the closet that held my Tempest outfits. I shoved all of them into the bag and then put the two of them by the front door.

  I walked over to the TV, watching what was happening in disbelief.

  “We’re on location at Ebon High School, where it was just revealed that senior Kane Andrews is, in fact, the superhuman Tempest,” the blonde television reporter said. “This has been confirmed by Loren Westlake, director of a government division known as the Super Task Force. We are on location with Director Westlake now.”

  The camera zoomed out a bit and Loren stepped into the shot, that smug look of satisfaction still plastered on her face. “How are you, Melissa?”

  “I’m good, thank you,” the reporter said. “First of all, how did you learn the identity of Tempest?”

  “Well, we’ve been working for months on figuring out the science behind the Supers and what we can do to protect the American people from them. We never want to have something like the Richter crisis again, and we won’t. Part of the process was learning everything we could about Tempest. Then we just followed the clues until they led us here. Mr. Andrews demonstrated his abilities in his escape from the high school moments ago.”

  “Is that something you’d planned, his escape?”

  “Yes, of course. We had to prove he was Tempest, and he did so magnificently. It won’t be long before he’s in our custody,” Loren said, looking straight into the camera, knowing I would be watching.

  My heart beat so fast I thought it would explode. I was freaking out. I had no idea what I was going to do. My life was over. I could never be Kane Andrews again. Everybody would know my face. Everybody on the planet would know who I was. This is it. I’m through.

  “One of the questions I know is going to come up is why he should be taken into custody. I know this is going to spark major debate. Could you elaborate a little bit?”

  “Yes, of course. It’s clear that all Supers are a danger to society. Just look at Richter. He could’ve wiped us all out. Yes, Tempest—Kane—is the one who took him out. However, what people don’t know is that Kane actually came to us for help. We’re the ones who came up with the plan to stop Richter.”

  I almost threw my remote through the TV screen. It wasn’t their plan at all! It wasn’t my plan either, though; it was Samantha’s. But she was on my team. On my side. Besides, Loren hadn’t even answered the damn question! All she was trying to do was create some character assassination. She was trying to make me look weak.

  It took all the power within me not to fly back to Ebon and argue my case. I didn’t have time for that, though. I had to get my family to safety.

  “Come to Los Angeles as soon as you can, Kane. We need to talk in person,” Samantha said in my head.

  “Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll be there,” I said.

  “Kane, are you ready? We need to leave,” Dad said as he walked out of his bedroom.

  “Yeah, I’m good to go,” I said as I walked toward the door.

  Dad handed me his and Mom’s cell phones. “Destroy these.”

  I took the two phones in my hands and took out my anger and frustration on them. I crushed them as hard as I could; you couldn’t even tell what they’d once been when I was done. Then I took my own phone out of my pocket and clicked on the screen. It was filled with missed calls and texts. A few of them were even from Macy. I crushed the phone in my hand, even though I wanted to stop and read what people were saying.

  Having taken out some of my anger on the phones, I felt a bit better.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Dad said.

  The three of us walked out of our apartment, and I know we all felt the fear creeping in. I knew this was only the beginning.

  Called Out

  “Drew’s family went into hiding just in case, too. I’ll fly him up when I’m done here,” I told Samantha and Doug as I paced inside their storage unit.

  “What are you going to do?” Samantha asked me again.

  And again, I had no answer. I stopped pacing and stared at the wall. I honestly didn’t have the slightest clue. What could I do? Everyone knew who I was. Everyone knew my face. I could never go out in public without my Tempest costume on again.

  Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but the point remained. For the second time in the past year, my life had changed forever. “I’m going to continue being Tempest,” I said. “With Atlas and his Legion of Richter hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike, now’s not the time to give up. It’s just going to be impossible to be Kane Andrews.”

  “What about your parents?” Doug asked.

  I sighed. I felt so guilty. Their lives were now ruined forever because of me. They would be less recognizable than I was, but Dad would never be able to practice law again, that was for sure. I had no idea what they were going to do. “I don’t know, Doug.”

  “I can’t get hold of Holocene. She was out all night trying to track down some info on Atlas,” Samantha said with a frustrated grunt.

  “She’s going to be in for a surprise once she wakes up,” I said.

  “That’s for sure,” Samantha said, followed quickly by, “Holy shit.”

  “Oh, no, what is it?” I said, walking around her desk. I glanced at her computer screen and things went from bad to worse.

  “We’ve just received this video from a superhuman named Atlas, leader of a gang known as the Legion of Richter. We’re receiving reports from local law enforcement that Atlas and his gang have taken out the Super Task Force soldiers in the area and have taken hostages inside Ebon High School. In the video, he appears to be calling out Tempest, recently identified as seventeen-year-old Kane Andrews. Watch,” the news reporter said.

  The screen shifted to a shot of Atlas pointing a camera at himself. “Hello, Tempest. Or Kane. I’ll have to find out which you prefer when I see you,” he said. I could hear chuckles in the background. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been in high school, but some things never change. Everybody has a group. A clique. Yours seems to have dwindled in the past few months. First your friend Michael is killed when you and Richter drop a roof on him—which, by the way, bravo. Then there was Drew, who I found out actually used to work for the STF. How crazy is that? Your own best friend, working for the enemy. Well, your clique is about to take another hit.” The camera panned to the right and the shot rested on one of the people he had taken hostage: Macy.

  She had been crying, but I had a feeling it wasn’t out of fear of Atlas. She looked at him with strong, fierce eyes. She wasn’t afraid. And I had a feeling it was because she knew that I’d save her, just like I had all those months ago when I’d first discovered my powers.

  “Look here, it’s the famous Macy Westling, the first person you saved. This is just too great. So poetic. Not only the first person you saved, but also your ex-girlfriend? I can’t make this up, people!” Atlas turned the camera back to himself. “So, Tempest. Kane. Whatever. You’d better get down here to good ol’ Ebon High, home of the fighting Eagles. I’d like to have that talk we were supposed to have in Oregon before you flew of
f on me. I really want to introduce myself, but I also really want to kill Little Miss Macy. So either you come say hi, or Macy’s going to take a fall from the top of the high school auditorium, the place our father Richter dropped her. The place where it all began. You may be cowering in some seedy hotel room right now, so you might not have the news on at this moment. So I’ll give you a little bit of time to see this. You have three hours. If you aren’t here by then, Macy goes skydiving without a parachute. Then it’s on to the next hostage...”

  The camera cut off and the screen turned back to the reporter. It took her a few moments to gather her thoughts, and by the time she had, I was already on my way to Ebon.

  Introductions

  I hovered over Ebon High School, watching as the many news vans, police vehicles, and helicopters circled the area.

  “Kane, you should wait for Holocene,” Samantha said.

  “I can’t, Samantha. I can do this. He just wants to talk. If anything goes bad, I can get Macy out of there and stay back until Holocene arrives,” I told her.

  “I don’t know, Kane. I don’t like this. You haven’t even had time to think or process any of this.”

  “I don’t have time, Samantha! Atlas is going to kill Macy. I don’t have time to wait around and process my feelings.” And the truth was, this was a welcome distraction. I wasn’t sure how to be Kane Andrews anymore, but being Tempest was easy. “Stick around. I might need you,” I said.

  I flew down toward the auditorium. I landed at the front doors, then paused for a moment to make sure the cameras were on me. I wanted them to see that I was standing up to Atlas. I wasn’t cowering away. I was going to save Macy and the rest of the hostages.

  I was a hero.

  I opened the door and walked in. I could only imagine how badly all the reporters were freaking out at that moment. I entered the large gym, the room that held so many memories.

  In the center sat about thirty hostages, a mixture of faculty and students. They were all sitting on the floor except for Macy, who was sitting tied to a chair. Atlas was standing behind her, watching me as I walked in.

  Four Supers were flying around the room, doing nothing but trying to look intimidating. There were six men in black uniforms holding Eximus blasters.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s worse than I thought. Are those non-Super human soldiers?” Samantha said.

  I didn’t respond, but I held the same suspicion.

  “Ah, Kane Andrews. It’s a pleasure,” Atlas said as I got close. He extended his hand, but I didn’t shake it.

  “I’m here. Let her go,” I said, looking at Macy. She looked up at me, fighting back a smile. She knew I’d save her, like I had what seemed like years ago, back in July.

  “I’m a man of my word and will do so when we’re through. We have some things to discuss first,” Atlas said.

  “I’m not discussing anything unless the hostages are free,” I told him, my voice firm and confident. I wasn’t going to budge.

  Atlas made a gesture and the Supers who had been flying around the gym landed behind me. “You’re in no position to negotiate, Kane.”

  “Call me Tempest,” I said.

  “I don’t see you wearing your Tempest attire,” Atlas said, looking me up and down. “All I see is some high schooler here to save his girlfriend.”

  I gritted my teeth, but said nothing in return. He was right. I couldn’t negotiate and I couldn’t fight without putting Macy and the other hostages in danger. I started to realize that rushing in here might’ve been a mistake.

  “I would like to tell you about the Legion of Richter,” Atlas said as he clasped his hands together, his long fingers intertwining. “See if you’d be interested in joining.”

  “Why the hell would I join something called ‘the Legion of Richter’? I killed Richter, in case you forgot,” I said, trying to appear as tough as possible.

  “Yes, of course. And for that I thank you. You see, when you killed Richter, he was no longer restrained by his human form. He was able to evolve to a higher plane of existence and he’s chosen me as his messenger,” Atlas said. He stood tall and proud, as if he were the most important person in the world. As if what he was saying were actually true.

  “You really believe that?” I said. “I don’t know if I’d be taking orders from someone who was so easy to kill.”

  Atlas laughed. “Richter isn’t dead, Kane. I’ve already explained that. He has a plan for the world, a plan the two of us came up with together. A plan that can either include you, or exclude you. The choice is yours.”

  I stood there for a moment, waiting for more, but there was none. Atlas simply stood there, waiting for my answer. “Really? That’s all you’ve got? You aren’t going to give me any sort of idea what this plan is?”

  One of the Supers behind me chuckled, but I ignored her.

  “Kane—”

  “Tempest.”

  “I’m not going to tell you. Not unless you join me. I will say that if you don’t, I’ll kill you. Very easily, too. While you were out gallivanting, I was studying. Learning. Richter taught me many things about my powers. I’m more powerful than you and him combined. I will kill you. I’ll kill everyone you care about. I swear to you.”

  I shook my head and chuckled. “Do you know how I know you’re crazy?”

  Atlas smirked. “Please, enlighten me.”

  “If you really believed what you’re saying about Richter, there’s no way you’d be asking me to join you. I killed him.”

  “I will not stand for your blasphemy!” Atlas shouted. “You did Richter a favor! You released him!”

  “No, I killed him!” I shouted back. I took a step forward. “Do you know what I think? You want me to join you, because you know that if I don’t, I’ll do everything in my power to stop you. You’re afraid of me. Afraid I might beat you. That I might win. Well, let me tell you something, you piece of shit. I’m gonna kill you just like I killed your god.”

  Atlas slammed his fist into my chest, hitting harder than I’d even been hit before. I went flying backwards, right through the walls of the gymnasium. I heard Macy scream, but it sounded faint as I rocketed through the parking lot of the school.

  I slammed into a line of parked cars, sending all five of them up in a fiery explosion. People screamed as they fled and camera crews zoomed in, ready to catch the action.

  I stood up, my body already beginning to heal itself. I walked out of the flames and pulled the burning clothes off me, revealing the Tempest outfit I had been secretly wearing underneath. I pulled the hood up and my eyes began to glow. I rocketed back through the parking lot and flew through the hole I’d made in the wall on the way out.

  I landed, sliding across the wooden gym floor. The hostages began cheering, but Atlas’ crew shushed them.

  Atlas cocked his head to the side as he examined me. “All right, then. Let’s see what Tempest is made of.”

  Full Circle

  Atlas’ crew charged at me all at once. I jumped over their heads quickly and kicked the guy in the middle hard in the back. He rocketed into the wall, but didn’t go through. He slammed into it, groaning in pain. These guys weren’t as strong as I was, it seemed.

  The girl who had laughed at me earlier was faster than the others. She turned around and reached me in seconds. She swung once, but I ducked beneath her punch. She was ready for that, though, and her next punch was low. Her fist slammed into my face and I stumbled sideways.

  She came at me swinging, but I dodged her and she missed. She stumbled forward and I used her momentum to grab her wrist and swing her around. I threw her through the backboard of one of the basketball nets. Glass exploded everywhere and she hung tangled in the twisted metal of the net.

  One of the other guys charged at me again, but I went on the offensive. I leaped at him, slamming him backwards, then grabbed his shirt and flew upwards. I slammed him into the ceiling and then swung him in the air, slamming him into the wall again. I threw him into the lightin
g system of the gym, causing the lights to explode and electricity to course through him. The lights flickered and the man fell thirty feet to the ground in a smoking crater.

  A bolt of Eximus exploded next to me. Atlas’ soldiers had begun shooting at me. Atlas was getting worried.

  I flew down to the soldiers and extended my arm. I flew past their feet, hitting them with my arm. They were knocked in the air and fell to the ground in a heap. I picked up the gun from the last guy in the line, turned around and shot all of them. They seized as the electricity flowed through them, knocking them unconscious.

  One of Atlas’ guys wrapped his arms around me from behind, sending me tumbling into the wall next to me. I tried to get him off me, but he was holding on too tight. He tried to take the gun from my hands, but I kept a firm grip. Almost too firm, as I felt the handle of the gun begin to bend beneath my hands.

  The struggling caused me to hit the trigger, sending bolts of Eximus all over the room. People screamed as they dodged the blasts. I was able to get my elbow loose enough that I could slam it into my attacker’s stomach. He went flying backwards off me, and I turned around in mid-air. I fired two bolts into him as he tumbled backwards. He fell to the ground in an electrified heap.

  I turned to face Atlas, who was fuming with anger at the failures of his goons. I aimed the Eximus gun at him and fired a handful of bolts at him, but he saw them coming. He dodged them with ease.

  He leaped through the air and before I knew it, he slammed me into the ground, his foot on top of me holding me down. I grabbed his ankle to throw him off me, but when I pushed against it he didn’t budge.

  That’s impossible, I thought. I struggled against him, pushing his leg, wiggling beneath his grasp, doing everything I could to escape. Nothing worked.

  He was too strong. Way stronger than I was.