Part One: Jay's Story- Chapter Seven: The I.I.E.M. (and the Darknight fiasco)

I fly towards the I.I.E.M. It’s my best bet, given that S.W.O.R.D probably has me listed under “known villains” by now. As I fly, I let myself think. About what my life was like before. About what it will be like now. I think about my old friends, Kyndra, Mandy, and Morgan. My sister, Skylee. My parents. What would they think of me now? Nothing good, I’m sure. As the sun shines overhead, getting closer and closer to the western horizon, I think of the future. And, most importantly, how I’m going to get Darknight to accept me into the I.I.E.M. I can’t go about it the same way I did at the S.O.S. I’d end up dead or in their prison.

The GPS in the corner of my Cyber-Lenses beeps softly, bringing me back to the present. A strong wind pushes me along so that I barely have to flap my wings to keep moving. Chittering birds fill the trees, their song-like twittering a calming background noise for the flight. I’m somewhat surprised to hear this many birds, given that it’s the afternoon. A meadow passes below, with two deer grazing on green grass. A hawk circles, watching for prey. It watches me as I fly past. After the meadow, more forest (most trees covered in red, yellow, or orange autumn leaves), stretching in all directions. Then...

The I.I.E.M. headquarters. My destination.

I land on the roof to bypass any doorway security. The roof access door isn’t guarded, but there’s a complicated-looking lock. That won’t be a problem. I survey the rest of the roof. Empty. On the other side of the building, I can see the outskirts of Coma City. It would seem like a stupid idea for villains to have their headquarters so close to the city where their hero rivals’ base is, but the treaty both organizations had signed after the battle between Strong Man and Hawk Guy, two of the first GMed people, prevents them from attacking each others’ bases. When Hawk Guy attacked Strong Man at the S.W.O.R.D base with his army of villains, both sides took massive casualties. S.W.O.R.D only barely won, and after that, the leader of S.W.O.R.D and the new leader of the I.I.E.M. created the treaty. While they were the only two to sign it, other hero and villain organizations usually uphold it as well.

The clicking of a key in a lock jolts me out of my thoughts. Someone is coming onto the roof! I dart around to the other side of the roof access shed so they won’t see me when they open the door. The lock clanks, and the door swings open. Heavy footsteps indicate someone with either a lot of muscle or a lot of fat. Given what I know about how Darknight runs the place, I’m guessing the former.

It takes me only a second to decide I don’t want to risk fighting whoever this is. I don’t know anything about them. They could be one of the best I.I.E.M. fighters who uses a battleax and wears too much cologne for all I know. Well... I can smell from here that the cologne part is true. Ugh... he must repel everyone. Is he doing that on purpose? Shaking the thoughts away, I slowly peek around the edge of the shed-like structure. A very muscular man is standing at the edge of the roof and-- Wow, I was right about the battleax too, I think, amused. He’s not looking. Now’s my chance... I quickly dart around to the door, slipping through and pulling it closed behind me. There’s a deadbolt, which I couldn’t have spotted from outside. I slide it closed. The battleax-dude still has the key, but as far as I can tell, the deadbolt is a separate lock that can’t be reached from the outside.

The stairwell is clear, so I creep downwards. There are no voices or footsteps in the hallway that the stairs empty into. The building’s floor plan, which I looked at briefly during my flight, is extremely similar to that of the S.O.S. base. Darkling had mentioned once that he’d modeled his organization’s headquarters after that of his brother’s, so he’d never get lost. I’d laughed at the time, but now I’m silently thanking him as I slink down the hall towards where Darknight’s office surely is.

There. Wow, even the office is the same. Darkling either stole floor plans from the I.I.E.M. database or has a really good memory. Given that he’s a technopath and probably still had access to the system, I’m leaning on the former. Darknight isn’t in the main lobby/office area. Is he in his quarters or elsewhere in the base? I’d forgotten to factor that into my quickly created plan. Shoot. Oh well. Everyone makes mistakes, I think sarcastically. Except this wasn’t a mistake with an easy solution. My plan had hinged on Darknight being away from the office, but close to entering it. For all I know, he could be out for hours, and there’s no way I’m waiting here that long.

Footsteps in the hall. Could it be... No way. That’s movie-level plot convenience. I grin at the thought. Shadows slip around the corner, moving ahead of the approaching villain. Definitely Darknight. Thinking fast, I dart around Darknight’s desk and slide into his chair. Leaning back, I prop my feet up on his desk. Why not? Sure, it’s a bit cliche, but it’s all I can think of, and I really want to see the look on Darknight’s face when he realizes someone broke into his headquarters.

One of the papers on the desk catches my eye. A newspaper report, cut out of the actual newspaper. The date is 2004. The year S.W.O.R.D’s prodigy superheroine the Eagle was killed by some sort of car bomb. For years, there have been theories about who set off the explosion. But why would Darknight have a clipping of the article S.W.O.R.D released on his desk?

Before I can ponder it further, Darknight rounds the corner. He’s in full villain uniform, as I suspected (everyone walked around in full uniform most of the time at the S.O.S. too), but minus his iconic mask. I have to hide a look of surprise. I’ve never seen Darknight up close before. I can see, though, that he and Darkling look similar enough. Which makes sense, they are brothers. As the world-renowned villain stops in his tracks at the sight of me at his desk, I see the scar that practically cuts his face in half diagonally.

“Who, exactly, are you?” Darknight asks, his voice low and dangerous. I’m starting to think this may have been a mistake. Of course, I don’t let him see that. I didn’t sit through an hour of emotion control classes five days a week to be shaken up in a situation I initiated.

“My name is Jay.” Well, my alias is, anyway... “Nice office, by the way,” I say casually, taking my feet off the desk and standing. “Darkling has a really good memory if this is what he based his office off of.” Darknight’s hands curl into fists when I mention his brother, but that’s the only indication he’s heard of Darkling’s condition.

“How is he?” Darknight asks cautiously as if he’s afraid of the answer.

“Oh, now you want to check up on him?” I let my anger creep into my voice. “Where have you been for two months?” Darknight flinches. Ha! I’ve got him. “He could’ve died for all you knew, but you didn’t even bother to stop by and say hello.”

“I had other matters to take care of.” His voice is colder than my ice. There’s a pause. “Why do you care so much, anyway?” It seems like an honest question, but there’s a hint of something I can’t place. A knot of uneasiness forms in my stomach. I try to brush it off, but I can’t shake the feeling that Darknight’s already planned something for me. Something I am not going to like. Suddenly the shadows in the room seem like they’re surrounding me. I take a step back, my calm and confident mask shattered by a dark cold that sweeps through the room. I know instantly that I’ve gone too far. Though Darknight’s expression hasn’t changed, I can almost feel the anger flowing off of him in waves. His fingers twitch. Now the shadows are moving, swirling around us, drawn into a whirlpool.

Umbrakinesis. Darknight’s signature power. I shiver. It isn’t just cold, the shadows are leeching whatever courage and confidence I’d had entering the base out of me. I take another step back, hitting the wall. I’m shaking now, as fear starts to sink into my bones. This is it. I’m dead. He’s going to kill me. The room tilts, and spots flicker across my vision.

“Oh, Jay.” Darknight shakes his head. “Did no one warn you? Trespassers aren’t welcome here. But I’m sure we’ll find some use for you. There’s something I’ve been wanting to test...”

The shadows close around me, and I fall. The last thing I remember thinking is that I’ve never truly been afraid of the dark... just the monsters that hide within it.

Reviews

[Jay_Bluefire]

Add Kyndra to her listing of friends in the first paragraph, and a comma after S.O.S. just before
In the third-to-last paragraph, replace 'I lost concentration' with 'I flinched, losing concentration'

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

Got it. Also, I edited a little in the first paragraph. Does it still flow the way you want it to?

[Jay_Bluefire]

It says 'back then' at the end of two consecutive sentences. Delete it from the second one.

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

got it 10 characters

[Jay_Bluefire]

thanks [ten characters]

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

i also changed her powers to cryokinesis instead of water, and added the word and to that list

[Jay_Bluefire]

ok ten characters

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

i edited the timeline a bit in this chapter and the last one, since this first book lasts from when Jay is thirteen to when she is nineteen, I think, so it needs to last six years, which you only had it lasting two years, max, before, so now it'll last about six