Susceptible

Chapter twenty three

My back slammed against concrete knocking the wind out of me. I tried to breathe again but my throat was closing up and I couldn't get any air.

"How are you alive! Where's the real Phantasm?" Sam glared at me from across the rooftop. My hands scratched at my throat, I needed him to release his hold on me. He let go and I gasped for air. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, what the hell was wrong with him?

"I'm going to ask you one more time. How are you alive?" My body was jolted up and suddenly I was dangling in the air beside the rooftop. I looked down and was met with the view of the alleyway street about a hundred feet below. "You have about 30 seconds to answer me before you become a splat on that street."

My mind was racing, I had no idea what he was talking about, why he was so upset. I took off my mask and threw it onto the rooftop towards him.

"What the hell Sam?!" I asked looking at him like he had lost his mind.

"Courtney?" I could see the shock on his face as he processed it and then he floated me back over the rooftop and gently sat me down. "You're Phantasm?" he asked softly with surprise ever present in his voice.

"Yes. It's me you idiot." I said still rubbing my throat and my legs trembling from the fear of falling.

"How long have you known who I was?" he asked still softly but with a hint of accusation. 

"I didn't really know until I was floating awaiting my death." I narrowed my eyes at him and he mumbled out an apology.  "I've had my theories recently. I mean The Midnight Hour gets in a showdown with The Machiavellian, the same day Adriana disappears. A few witness on the bus claimed they saw a girl involved yet The Midnight Hour mentions no claim of a girl on his police report. Suddenly The Midnight Hour becomes more distant, no one can get a hold of Sam to see how he's doing without Adriana, then Gabe..." I trailed off as Sam turned slightly away from me to look out off the building. I ignored the gleam of tears his eyes held and continued.

"So The Midnight Hour goes all rouge, Adriana returns home with a very poor story of her kidnapping, rescued by The Midnight Hour, and now all of the sudden The Midnight Hour is a good guy again? Really Sam how did you not expect me to know?" He scoffed at my statement but pulled off his mask.

"Sorry I freaked out." He apologized, "But the last time someone figured out my identity... it didn't end well for me."

"Who did you think I was?" I asked and he shook his head refusing to reply. "You thought I was him right? The Machiavellian?"

He ran a hand over his face seeming tired just from hearing my statement.

"Yeah. Yeah, I thought you were him."

"So he had figured out your identity, he's the one who took Adriana right? I thought you killed him though. Had you really not killed him?" I was confused by how he thought I could be him.

"No I definitely killed that son of a bitch." Sam spoke with disgust in his tone. "But he was strong, I don't know. I don't know what I was thinking. He gets in your head in ways you can't understand. And I don't know with your powers being able to manipulate your image, I thought maybe he was pulling your powers, pretending to be you. But he's dead. I killed him. Don't have to deal with him ever again." Sam peered off over the edge of the building again. Whatever The Machiavellian had done to him really got in his head. He seemed distraught. I couldn't blame him though. He lost his brother, took his girlfriend, I would have killed him too. 

It was strange to see Sam's face in The Midnight Hour suit. Two different people in my life suddenly became one. I wasn't close to Sam, he wasn't around much, didn't really hang out with Adriana's friends. I mean I liked him well enough, we were friendly, always thought he should spend more time with Adriana though but now it all made sense. He was too busy fighting crime as The Midnight Hour and that's why Adriana was always so defensive of him. I felt somehow a lot closer to both parties now, both Sam and The Midnight Hour. His actions in both forms now made sense. We both had Adriana too, someone we loved in common.