XVI: Into Darkness, Part 1
Oliver senses from the start that things are about to go wrong. On the island, when the bionic trio told him and Kaz that they had to go to Las Vegas with them because they received a distress signal regarding the Eiffel Tower, andif you don't want to let Chase out of your sight, then you have to come with us!, his brain had flashed red.
But that was because he was thinking as a doctor. It made sense: an unwell, very radioactive patient loose equals calamity.
It should probably be monitored and prevented from getting worse.
When they were in Vegas and they realized that the fight was actually at Paris, and that the tips had described sighting of who could only be The Incapacitator, the warning light flashed again – only stronger, more persistent this time.
But that didn't last long either because as soon as Bree begged him not to call the League, with those pretty eyes of hers, he forced the alarm off.
He was thinking like a boy who had never had a beautiful girl have a crush on him before.
But now? Now that the danger is very much real and dark and consuming? He's thinking as any normal, non-Gifted person would.
And his normal, non-Gifted instincts tell him that no good can come from this situation.
They're at the base of the Eiffel Tower, right by the now vacated fountains, and Chase is currently intercepting the reports being tossed back and forth between the emergency personnel.
When he and Adam went up to case the area earlier, they see that the streets are flooded with police cars, firetrucks, and ambulances.
Oddly enough, all of them had been powered off. They sat on the pavement, in the dark, like life-sized Hot Wheels toys.
Oliver looks up at the Eiffel Tower, dead and lifeless like the vehicles. The neon green light reported earlier is nowhere in sight. All that's left now are the architecture's bones and the whispers of what it once used to be.
"We should call Skylar," Oliver quietly tells Kaz. He clandestinely glances back at the siblings, making sure they were out of earshot, before adding, "This isn't looking good."
"Oh, relax," Kaz says, an easy grin on his face as he surveys the Eiffel Tower. "The Davenports gave us blasters to use to protect ourselves. We should be more than good."
"We're literally in the dark, Kaz," Oliver points out, irritated. "What if Incapacitator is waiting for us up there? You know these things won't do us any good. Plus, if I remember correctly, the first time the three of them went up against him, they lost – big time."
"No, they didn't."
"Chase has plutonium building up in his chip. What do you mean they didn't?" Realizing that his voice had risen, he steals another look at the siblings.
The little outburst had called to Bree's and Adam's attentions.
Oliver grins. "Just talking about the blasters, that's all," he tells them. Once they seem satisfied, he turns back to Kaz and draws closer. "You know it's better if Tecton is here. The Incapacitator is his archenemy. He should get to call the shots."
"Okay," Chase says, coming back into the group. "From what I gathered, thankfully, there are no casualties. There were people who got hurt from the initial attack, but those ones had been safely transported to the hospitals."
"How? The ambulances are kind of just parked right now," Adam points out.
"No, that happened just twenty minutes ago. Apparently, as soon as they came, another incident happened, and—"
"Incident?" Bree asks.
"Energy draw," Chase says somberly. "They're guessing EMP, but we know better."
"So he knows they're here," Kaz observes.
Chase nods. "He probably did it to stop them. With the tower powered down, going up there would be extremely difficult. Now that he has disabled any electric-, battery-, maybe even solar-powered devices and items, it would be impossible."
"How do we even know he's still here?" Bree asks. "He already got what he needed. Paris barely has any power left in it. You don't think he's moved on?"
"No. He's still here."
"Why would he set up shop up there?" Adam asks. "Bree's right. He could have just moved on somewhere else. Maybe he's in Vegas this time."
"I don't know. My gut tells me he's here." Chase's features betray his unease. He shakes his head. "He didn't drain this city for nothing. He did all of this on purpose."
"On purpose?" Kaz repeats.
Chase looks up the consuming shadow. "He's calling us," he says. "He wants us to come."
Chills crawl up Oliver's skin. "That's it," he says, drawing out his phone. "I'm calling Skylar."
Chase grabs the phone from his hand then tosses it into the fountain.
Oliver gapes. "Hey!"
"This is ours. We found it first," Chase says resolutely.
"Yeah, well, you sure are horrible in finishing it."
"Hey, okay, stop," Bree says, stepping in between the boys as Chase rises to the argument. "Chase, you shouldn't have thrown Oliver's phone. What if we need it later?"
"We're not going to need it," Chase says. He glares at Oliver. "We're more than capable handling this on our own."
"Oliver, look - " Bree sighs, "I know we've made mistakes. But give us a chance. I know we're not the League of Heroes, but we deserve at least another shot to prove ourselves."
"I'm not saying you're not capable," Oliver responds, more lenient and gentle despite his annoyance with Chase. "All I'm suggesting is that we involve more people in this. Tecton knows Incapacitator's MO the best. They have a little bit more information on him than we do. I mean, don't you guys rely on information, too, before you go on your missions?"
"Eh, sometimes," Adam says.
"The point is: we're going in blind. You don't have info on him, do you?"
"Of course we do." Chase taps his temple. "I have it all right here. I bet no one in your superhero club can store the information I can store in my mind."
"Sharp," Kaz says.
"Thank you."
"No, I mean Sharp," Kaz clarifies. "She can't store data like you per se, but she can definitely outsmart you."
Chase glares at him.
"What else do we need to know about The Incapacitator other than what he's planned?" Bree says to Oliver. "Yes, it's true that we need to know some things before going into a fight, but the thing about fights is that things rarely go as planned. What we need is experience, and experience is what we have."
"You have just about four years of practice."
Bree's gaze turn to ice. "And how many years of med school did you and Kaz have again?"
"Ooh!" Adam says excitedly. "I'm smelling first fight!"
Both dart daggers at him, effectively silencing him. "That's got nothing to do with this," Oliver patiently tells her.
"It's got everything to do with it," Bree says. "Just four years? Do you know what we've all been through in just four years?"
"I'm not saying it's not valid - "
"Oh, that's exactly what you were saying." Bree crosses her arms then scoffs. "Now I get it. It's obvious that Skylar likes you, but I was wondering why she's keeping her distance. Now I see it's because you're so self-righteous."
All the patience he has left in him evaporates. He smirks. "Yeah. You and your brothers are so skilled and so organized that you had to trick two civilians into joining your mission."
"Don't bring Chase and Adam into this."
"You brought Kaz and Skylar into it first!"
Kaz chuckles nervously. "All right, kids. There's really no need to argue. Maybe we just - "
"You're always free to leave," Bree tells Oliver, turning her back on him to look up the Eiffel. "We're able to do just fine without you."
Right. It's not like your brother didn't almost die just a few hours ago. Things sure were looking 'fine' right then. Oliver is fuming, but he at least has the decency to refrain from fanning the fire.
At that moment, a neon green light begins to glow at the tip of the tower.
Chase takes a deep breath. "It's him." Seeing that his sister now refuses to speak, he tells Oliver and Kaz, "You guys don't have to get involved. This is our fight. It's ours to win or lose."
"Oliver is right," Kaz says as the brothers hold onto Bree. He sighs. "It's probably better if we call for backup first. Who knows what's waiting for you up there?"
"We already have what we need to know," Bree insists.
"You don't even have a plan," Oliver points out.
"What other plan do we need?" Bree snaps, whipping around to face him. "We find him, we take the transponder back, and we make sure he doesn't hurt anyone ever again! End of story!"
Oliver stares, stunned. "End of story."
"And we found him before your League of Superheroes found him, so there. We're already better at them in something."
Oliver nods. "Okay. I'm sorry. You're right. You - you got this. Four years of experience. Better than superheroes."
Bree simmers, glowering at him. "Adam, Chase, let's go."
A second after both of her brothers hold onto her, the three vanishes in a gust of air.
Oliver huffs. "We need to call Skylar," he says to Kaz.
"Already on it," Kaz says, his phone lighting up his face. He clicks the speed dial, and then puts the phone to his ears. "Dude, why did you argue with Bree for? Everything was going well."
"Everything was not going well. This is a dangerous situation. They tricked us."
"I know, but you didn't have to keep upsetting her."
Oliver shoots him a look. "She practically called us fake doctors."
"Well, yeah…"
"She also called me self-righteous when all I was trying to do is do the right thing."
"Yeah, she was wrong for that."
Oliver takes a deep breath. "And you know what's worse?"
"What? Oh, hey. Skylar? Yeah, uh… We got a bit of a situation…"
As Kaz walks away to talk, Oliver turns towards the Eiffel Tower. "They forgot about their brother," he mutters, answering no one. "But I guess caring about others is something I wouldn't know since I didn't go to med school."
At that moment, two loud explosions, a few seconds apart from one another, echo in the sky.
Then they hear screaming, the sound coming closer to the ground. It's followed by a snap, which seems to knock the air out of the person.
Then, an unsettling silence.
"Was that Bree?" Kaz asks.
Oliver doesn't know. He can't see anything.
But that voice. That voice…
It didn't sound good. Her screams stopped way too quickly. If he had to guess, it was caused by falling into a net or by a rope tied around her body, a bait in a hook.
He hopes it's the former. A net means bruises and maybe some sprains. A rope means... "What did Skylar say? Are they coming?" he asks urgently.
"Yeah. She's angry, but she said she's contacting Tecton now."
"Good. I was hoping someone would do that."
Before the two doctors can even turn, a neon green lasso has slammed against Kaz, locking him onto the ground.
"Kaz!"
The Incapacitator grabs Oliver's arm, anchoring him in place. "You," he says, smiling. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"No – Let him go!" Kaz yells, struggling to free himself.
"Incapacitator." Oliver's heart hammers so loudly inside him. He wants to move but he can't.
He can't.
The Incapacitator only grins wolfishly at Kaz. "We need to go somewhere private," he tells Oliver. "The two of us have something to talk about."
"What did you do to Bree?"
The villain only laughs.
At that moment, a neon green cloud engulfs them.
"Wait – Oliver, no!"
The last thing Oliver sees before the world dissolves is Kaz fighting with all his might against the lasso.
