Superheroes, Super Problems

*14* Beginning

Upon hearing Kimber mention a Daylon Carlson yesterday, I had kept my promise to Sutter in staying at school and letting him (and Boon) deal with the possible ties to Dagger. That didn't stop me from looking through the school's database for him though.

Daylon Carlson was a sophomoric boy with dark crafted hair, full lips and uneven eyes. Something about him was daringly attractive, but no one would admit that given who he was in school. Looking up a yearbook picture wasn't the only reason I recognized him. I had seen him before; the first day of school when Sutter tackled him into the lockers trying to catch Declan's pass. He overlooked Sutter's aggression in order to insult Declan instead, who then apologized to me and Leighton. That day it was just a jock jostling around a random wallflower. No one knew it was a superhero causing a powerful menace to be provoked even more. That was also the day his hatred of Declan was overlooked as well. Maybe it was part of the problem.

With a throbbing in my forehead, my eyes finally opened and then slowly my nerves connected to register that my head was hanging down in my chest while I was sitting and tied to a chair. Immediately I tried ringing my hands, but of course it only caused pain as if I was being stabbed by a thousand tiny pins. But from this position, I could see a black hole in my pants from where I had been injured and probably poisoned. Only, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I looked up and my eyes met Daylon's, now clothed in a black costume mimicking a ninja who took over a medieval armory considering all the weapons and holsters he wore athletically. Once he saw my consciousness, he walked over to me.

"Well," he said and then crouched down in front of me. I was able to see cuts and scrapes from his fight with Boon, "there's good news and bad news."

"Where am I?"

"Not buried in the ground, I'm afraid," he answered. "That toxin I coated my knife in should've killed you, but it didn't."

"What did I ever do to you?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he shrugged and then stood up. "No one's ever done anything to me and though people will try to turn this into some 'loner wanting revenge on the student body who ignored him', this isn't that."

"Then what is it?" I wondered. I was just like him. I had been ignored too. Only I wasn't wrecking havoc because of it.

"You did do something to someone," he accused. "Cavalier."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied.

"Oh really?" he narrowed his eyes. "Because I'm pretty sure everyone saw your scene at school. And I've witnessed Emma and Declan fighting behind the scenes for months in a way that made me believe there must have been someone else for that long. So yes, you did something. You made him fall for you and I, for one, am thankful for that because you make this ten times more interesting than if I had to kill Emma in your place."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, back to the good and bad news," he clapped. "Bad news first: you're either allergic to death or you metabolically regenerate cells quicker than most humans—as for why toxins depleted so quickly from your bloodstream, I assume. Oh, and considering that aspect, the good news is that it'll be much more entertaining to torture you until your boyfriend gets here."

"I'm assuming the good and bad news was for you then," I expressed. He smiled.

"You are smart," he complimented and I only rolled my eyes. I noticed where we were. Though I had only been on this platform a few times, this was a destroyed and condemned space of the Hydrogen Project's lab. The building was structurally sound considering the building was reconstructed in order not to topple over and create a series of consequences for the neighboring businesses and residencies, but as for the inner equipment or anything other than walls and plastic-covered glass, there might as well be nothing in here but carved out sources for future electrical outlets and a few pieces of furniture for the construction that Dagger put an end to. "Ironic, isn't it? The room that created so much for the city will be its own source of destruction."

I watched him walk around and run his fingers along the wall that was slightly discolored from the new drywall until it turned into just wooden columns.

"You wanted this building destroyed," I spoke. "Why?"

"I didn't want the building destroyed; I just didn't want someone to renovate and think they could redo the same project," he corrected.

"Why?" I asked. "Sure, the Explosion happened, but innovations drive society. Are you just going to blow up any place promoting that or is it personal?"

"Of course it's personal," he scoffed. "This lab—the Explosion created metahumans, and while I can appreciate the advancement in science, I'm not a fan of idiots like Declan Thorne gaining powers to do whatever he wants whenever he wants—"

I had to laugh at that.

"Whatever he wants? Like kidnapping and killing people?" I referred to him. "Unlike you, Declan wants to do some good in the world with his powers."

"Well he's not doing a good job at it."

"Is that why you're so bitter? Because you want to challenge him to get better or something?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and wondering what his agenda was. "Because I know about Diana—"

"So then you know just how rudimentary Cavalier really is!" he yelled. "Saving people left and right but he couldn't save Diana from water as if he hadn't saved a dozen others!? But he still wants to think he can be in the spotlight any chance he gets. That's bullshit."

"So you want revenge..."

"Yes I want revenge!" he admitted.

"He feels bad, you know," I said and he had to try hard not to look over at me as I spoke in a soft voice. "For months I've known Declan and he always says the one thing he regrets is losing the girl on the ride...That's why he tries so hard to help people; because he wants to make up for it. He wasn't planning to be a hero that day. He just saw people in trouble, knew he developed powers, and tried to help. He didn't intentionally—"

"I don't care," Daylon muttered and his brown eyes met mine.

"But—"

"Shut up," he ordered and then turned his shoulders to me to walk into the hallway separated by wooden columns and partially finished drywall.

***

Hours later, I was tired of sitting in this damn chair and losing feeling in my limbs every few minutes, even though I tried wringing my wrists free of whatever painful rope he had tied me up with. Part of me hoped his theory of cell regeneration was true because I already knew I had torn some skin off. But he had been wrong before; he said he would torture me to test the limits of my "abilities," but ever since I mentioned Diana, he stayed aloof and out of sight.

"Stay quiet," I heard a voice whisper before my wrists stung and were being tampered with. I looked over my shoulder to see Declan dressed as Cavalier, crouching down behind me along with Boon. Declan's eyes locked to mine but tore away quickly in order for him to look back at Boon who was beginning to stand. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"I want to make this asshole pay," Boon returned, about to step in front of me and go after Dagger whose location I didn't even know after this long period of in and out of consciousness.

"Well last time you attempted that, he got away," Declan chastised. "And I need help with this," he added, causing Boon to roll his eyes. He began retreating back towards us, but was then grabbed by Declan and thrown into a somersault behind him in order for Declan to play barrier between him and an unexpected three-pronged dagger flying in the air. The knife clattered to the ground, unable to penetrate Declan (but it did rip part of his costume on his torso) and then Boon stood up in the same defensive stance.

"It begins here, it ends here," Daylon spoke, revealing himself now with the black mask he failed to wear around me.

"No," Boon denied. "I rather you end up in theground."