Hero

Seventeen

I walk into the motel room and plop onto the bed. Mya lies down next to me. I put my arm around her.
"Why does being a hero have to be so damn complicated?" I ask. She shrugs and looks around the room.
"Xander?" she asks.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Do think Jacobson will control everyone in the city forever?" she asks.
"No. Just for now. I'm not even sure how he's doing it. He must have someone working for him somewhere," I say. I get up quickly.
"He's got someone working for him!"
"Xander, where are you going with this?" Mya asks.
"We have to find whoever is working with him," I state. "Stay here. I'll go looking for them."
"Xander," she says. I turn around and look at her. "You aren't going anywhere without me. We're going to a be team from now on." I nod and we get dressed in our hero costumes. I grab my bow and sling it over my back. Once we're ready, I grab her around the waist and fly back to the city. I set Mya down on a roof top.
"I'm going to look around the city for, well, anything. Just look around for a while, but don't go too far," I say. Mya nods and starts to walk away to climb down the building.
"Come get me if you find something," she says.
"Mya?" I ask. She looks at me. "Stay safe."
"You too," she says with a smile climbing down the building. I fly off.
I fly around just looking for suspicious activity. Maybe I should check the apartment building. I fly to the ground and walk to the apartment building. I walk inside and see no one sitting at the front desk. Odd. I walk into Jacobson's office. I sit in the chair and go through the desk. I don't find much. Pens. Paper. Envelopes. Typical things you'd find in a desk. I walk over to the book shelf. I start pulling out books hoping to find something. I pull one book and the bookshelf starts to move. How cliche. I walk down a narrow hall. I can't see much it's super dark. I keep walking though. I put my right hand on the wall to keep from tripping. I walk into a small room. A computer is the only thing lighting the room. I walk toward it.
Hello, Xander. It says. I look at it confused. He must have known I'd find this.
I sit at the desk. I try to get out of the program that just keeps typing Hello, Xander. over and over again.
"Quit typing hello Xander," I hiss at the screen getting frustrated. I bet you're wondering who I am... I nod once and continue trying to get out of the program. I am the one controlling the minds in the city...
"And?" I retort. "What's your name?"
Not important...
"Actually it is," I say.
Derek...
"Derek? How absurd. Derek what? Got a last name?
Just Derek...
I sigh in frustration. I get up from the computer and look at the table in the corner. I use an energy ball to light up the room. I see an envelope with my name on it. I stuff the envelope in my pocket. I crush the energy ball in my hand. The computer makes an irritating screeching noise. I cover my ears and walk over to the computer.
How rude, Xander. We were having a conversation and you walks away...
"You're a computer. You don't have feelings and shouldn't care," I say.
I do have feelings...
"But you're a robot," I protest.
I may or may not be a human...
"I knew it," I hiss. "Where are you?"
That's confidential... Guess.
"I'll find you," I growl.
I'll give you a hint. I'm in a warehouse...
I fly down the hall and back into Jacobson's office. I leave the apartment building and fly to the nearest warehouse. I walk up to the door and kick it down. I look inside. Nothing.
I've tried almost every warehouse except the one I saw Mya go into. I kick the door in and see Mya tied to a chair and someone standing behind her.
"Xander!" she shrieks. "Don't!" I step forward and fall through the floor. I scream and land feet first on a solid concrete floor. I hear a snapping sound and an indescribable pain shoots through my leg. I hiss in a pain and look at my leg. It's snapped completely to the left, the bone showing. I snap my leg back into its regular place with a cry of pain. I lie down on the cold floor hoping for everything to be over.