Being a Hero

Chapter 37

The song for this chapter is "Superhuman"by Juventa feat. Kelly Sweet. There's a place to start listening.

"I accept the great adventure, to be me." –Simone de Beauvoir

*Caitlyn's POV*

I couldn't help but admire the mountains as the convoy climbed the dirt road. I caught numerous glimpses of creatures ducking out of sight as we sped by, even the spiraling horns of a kudu when we passed a thicket. If I were here under any other circumstances, I'd be having the biggest nerd out right now, I admitted to myself. But huddled in the back of a Humvee between Auxiliary and a Special Forces officer I forced myself to contain my excitement.

Visiting Africa had always been on my bucket list, but this mission didn't count. This was all business. I frowned as I remembered my friends were in danger right now. I tightened my grip on one baton as we bumped over the uneven road. I may not have powers, but I'll do what I can... An image of Patrick yelling popped into my head. Without getting hurt needlessly. I'd had a lot of time to think on the flight over, and I'd cooled off enough to recognize that Patrick was right. I did tend to disregard my own health as a super, knowing I'd recover from even life-threatening injuries. I'd abused my healing power and taken it for granted. I didn't deserve it with the way I'd thrown self-preservation out the window.

I snorted at the poetic justice of it all. I misused my power, and it was stripped from me. When my friends rescued Aurora—I had no doubt that they would—she would give my powers back. This was something I needed to do before then, something I needed to prove to myself. I didn't deserve to be a superhero with my gifted powers if I couldn't be a hero without them. Another memory rose unbidden: Crow bringing me his injured calico and the helplessness I'd felt not being able to communicate with the feline and reassure her that I was helping. Powers or no I had done my job. Powers didn't change who I was; they shouldn't.

The radio came alive with barked orders as the first Humvee crested the rise and the villain's lair came into view. Something must have gone wrong; the fighting was supposed to be over by the time we got here. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I'm a hero, and my friends need me.

The lawn between the compound's outer wall and the lair itself was an upturned mess. Black smoke billowed from one end of the makeshift battlefield, and the whole space was peppered with pitfalls and boulders. Streaks and spikes of ice made the terrain even more hazardous. Ornamental acacia trees had been toppled, and it looked like one tree had been melted. My stomach turned uneasily at the sight. The "research" facility itself was relatively untouched aside from a cascade of ice at the northwest corner and a distinct lack of glass in all the visible windows. As we drew nearer, the air temperature dropped dramatically, and an explosion lit up one end of the courtyard and blew out part of the perimeter wall.

The image of an intact facility overlaid the mess for a moment. The jungle behind it matched. The smell of the breeze coming off the Red Sea and the sound of it blowing through the trees and grass matched. More of Garm's memories made sense now. He'd spent a lot of time here recently.

Soldiers leaped from Humvees as they stopped 100 feet out from an intact section of wall. The Eritrean brigade we'd picked up in Asmara and the US Special Forces unit took command, ushering medical personnel, Agents Campell and De Soto, and a few Interpol representatives to a more defensible position on the far side of the vehicles. Technically Auxiliary and I belonged in that group, but neither military was going to complain if we helped.

We rushed to where Wizard and Trapper were waiting for us at the hacked security terminal beside the gate. She grinned and waved at Auxiliary, but she froze when her eyes caught mine. "Whisper! You're not supposed to be here; you're still recu—"