I'm sorry it took a while for an update to be posted. Been dealing with a lot of big things in real life plus working on a big project.
Not sure how soon the next chapter will come, but hopefully by next month updates would be sooner and more regular. Thank you for still reading :)


XVII: Into Darkness, Part 2

This is an absolute mess.

It was already bad when one teenager almost died and another was kidnapped. But to have five be in peril?

It's days like this when Tecton worries about what his health would be like later in life. Yes, he has the ability to regenerate, and yes he's immune to pain – but that's not going to last forever.

With this amount of stress and abysmal amount of sleep, he wonders which disease would get to him first. High blood pressure? Incurable insomnia?

A hand claps on his shoulder and startles him. My heart, then, he thinks. "Alex. Breathe," Sharp advises quietly, the bustle around them not lost on him.

"I'm trying." He glances back behind him, making sure none of the other members see the uncertainty lingering about him. "Are all the equipment ready?"

"Yeah. I triple-checked to make sure they're all good to go."

"Good."

She hesitates a moment as she follows him out of the Core. "I also packed the neutralizer just in case."

Tecton pauses. "The neutralizer?"

"Negates any energy inside it."

He thinks. "Is that new?"

"Yes."

"Your invention?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of?" The hesitant look in her eyes plus the word invention give him the answer. He sighs, putting his hands on his hips. "Magda…"

"It's going to work, Alex. I promise. We've tested it multiple times."

"We?" He leans closer to lower his voice. "So it's not just Katrina who made it."

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, it's the two of us who worked on this."

He hesitates. Sharp had come up with so many of the devices and gadgetry that the league members have found very useful. He knows she's reliable. Still… "We're in this situation because of a prototype. I don't need another problem to arise because of another one."

"It's practically out of the testing phase. I haven't tested it out in the field – but come on! What better time to do it than now?" Sharp reasons so excitedly, so surely, that it nearly convinces Tecton.

Nearly.

He runs a hand down his face then back up to his hair. He wants to argue more about it, but he knows she's only going to win this debate. "Just make sure you supervise it - "

"Okay."

"And don't tell anyone else about it," Tecton instructs. "Also, only use it when absolutely necessary. I don't want it backfiring on us."

"You got it."

"Tecton, I can't reach Kaz," Skylar says, walking towards their small huddle. "I'm extremely worried."

"We're about to head to Paris now." Tecton leads the two women back into the Core, asking Blue Tornado: "How is everything on the ground? Are there still people needing transport?"

"Most of the civilians are out of the way," Blue Tornado reports. "Our problem is the first responders and the reporters. Some of them are willing to cooperate, but most of them are pretty stubborn. They think they should be there."

Tecton takes in a deep breath. Of course. "Someone needs to get a hold of the ambassador there."

"Already placed a call," Gamma Girl says. "He said he's on his way to talk to the Prime Minister now."

"Thank you."

"Surge and Titanio already left to do a recon, just to be safe. Alley Cat's on her way there now, too," Solar Flare chimes in. She crosses her arms. "Tecton, I know this might seem like a big thing, but can't we just send the trainees to handle this? Quasar, Pulsar, and Shockwave can take care of it. We've prepared them for it."

Tecton opens his mouth to respond, but Gamma Girl replies disinterestedly with, "If The Incapacitator was able to move the three of us out of the way with a bit of power from a small island, imagine the damage he can do with power from a big city."

"Okay, well, in that case, we should still involve them."

"It's not a good time. They could get hurt," Blue Tornado says. "Incapacitator already has five teenagers held hostage, three of them being heroes. We don't need to give him more ammunition."

Solar Flare smirks. "Our trainees are different. They're not like those kids," she says. "Hailey, Phoebe, and Finlay are real heroes, not pretend ones. Surge and I made sure of it."

Seeing from squared shoulders and puffed out chests that an argument is brewing, Tecton tames, "Okay, okay. Let's calm down. Solar Flare, as much as I do think that they're ready, I'm not comfortable taking them with us to this fight."

"Why?"

"Because Incapacitator is my nemesis. That means the responsibility of his arrest primarily falls on me," he says. He glances at Sharp then admits, "I...asked for your help because I can't do this on my own. I can't rescue the hostages and make sure everyone in the city is safe by myself. That's why I asked for the league's help."

Solar Flare begrudgingly keeps her mouth shut. She catches sight of Skylar then nods at her. "What about her? Why is she involved?"

"She's been assisting me since this first began. She knows as much about this as I do."

Solar Flare nods. "So we trust her now?"

Tecton knows what she means. It's not a question; it's a challenge.

"Why shouldn't we?" Sharp says, smirking defiantly. "She's a registered superhero. Plus, last I heard, she knows how to handle a fight."

Solar Flare can be sweet and kind, a woman who knows her duty to humanity, but one area she falls short in is hiding her feelings.

The disdain she's always seemed to feel towards Sharp seems to have grown a little bit more with that answer, Tecton notes.

I can't have them work together, he thinks. "Gamma Girl, you and Alley Cat are in charge of overseeing the people on the ground. We don't know in what shape the kids will be in when we find them, so Gamma Girl, if you can be on standby…"

Gamma Girl nods, her arms crossed. "I'll provide transport to the hospital when needed."

"Thank you," Tecton says then turns. "Solar Flare, if you don't mind teaming up with Gray Granite and take air patrol…"

"Air patrol?" Solar Flare asks. "Shouldn't I be down there with you to help you with The Incapacitator?"

"In case something happens to us, I need you two to be our backup."

The frown on Solar Flare's face suffices as a response.

"Spotlight, Sharp, Skylar – you're all with me."

"You want me on watchman duty?" Blue Tornado asks.

"If you don't mind."

Blue Tornado nods. He spins a chair towards him then plops down on it.

"These are your communication devices," Sharp says, tossing a small, circular gadget to each one of the heroes. "Spotlight told me that the most recent version of this was still a bit bulky – "

"It was," Spotlight chimes in. "My ear still hurts from the last time I had it on."

"So I made this one smaller," she continues, trying not to roll her eyes. "Enough to fit in your ears comfortably."

Tecton watches as the members plugged in the new devices. Some startle while some frown in uncertainty.

"Captain," Sharp says, holding up the last one for him.

Cautiously, Tecton takes it from her then slips it in.

The surprised expressions make sense now; the device fits perfectly.

"The audio - " Sharp puts on hers, "should be crystal clear. It's connected to the communicators built into your suits, so think of it as like a blue tooth earphone. Everybody can pretty much hear anybody wearing it wherever they go."

"Won't this fry?" Solar Flare asks, holding the translucent, gummy device.

Sharp shakes her head. "It shouldn't. It should be able to withstand fire and even magnetic waves."

Tecton catches Gamma Girl smirking. "Everyone has been assigned a team," he tells the members. "This is not our first rescue and arrest mission, so I trust that all of you know what to do."

Seeing the confirmation in their eyes, Tecton takes a deep breath. "There's not much we know about The Incapacitator, but one thing's for sure: he's dangerous. At the moment, we don't know if he has the Arcturion in his possession. If he doesn't, we still need to proceed with caution. If he does…" He glances somberly at Blue Tornado. "We have to contain him in Paris for as long as we can so Blue Tornado can sound the alarm."

"I'm assuming we don't really have a contingency plan if that is what's to happen," Gamma Girl says.

Tecton shakes his head. "We just have to trust that the others will succeed in where we have failed."

He senses the shift of fear in the room, one that can never be seen on their faces but they all instinctively feel from one another. As always, it moves him to tell them that everything will be fine, that all will work out okay.

But he knows that they're all superheroes, and one of the most important and probably most bitter truths they understood early on in their careers is that one day, a fight or a rescue mission will be their last.

So, he does what he can best as their leader: focus on the positive and press forward. "Thankfully, most of the people have been evacuated, and if everything works out according to plan we won't have too many bystanders to worry about when we get there. Our main focus would be to capture Incapacitator and rescue Oliver, Kaz, and the three Davenport kids.

"Each team should have at least one person who knows either one or all of the hostages?"

Confirmatory nods answer him.

"Good. We can keep each other updated as soon as we find something," he says. He debates for a moment whether to thank them for their help but decides that it's best left for another time. "Everyone stay safe," he says instead.

With that dismissal, the members separate into their own groups.

"Skylar," Tecton speaks discreetly to the teenager. "Go with Sharp. You guys take one of the other compact aircrafts." He nods at Sharp. "I'll meet you guys at Trocadéro."

"Wait." Skylar glances at the members emptying out of The Core. Once most are gone, she asks him quietly, "What about Leo?"

"What about him?"

"Are we not bringing him?"

Tecton shakes his head. "No. It's far too dangerous now."

"But like he said, he can help us calm his dad down."

"No. I know he could be helpful, but we could also be putting him in harm's way."

She's frustrated, he can see. In a way, he also understands. After all, her plan made a lot of sense, and it would benefit both the league and Leo.

There's not much time to lose with this mission, but he spares a bit to reason with her. "I'm sorry, Skylar, but try to see this situation the way I see it. If you were me, and you know there's a high chance Leo could get hurt or even die, would you risk taking him there?"

Skylar doesn't take long to think about it. "No."

"I know you feel bad for him because he feels helpless, but he's better off left here."

"In case Incapacitator really has the Arcturion, and we can't contain him," Sharp assists.

Skylar's still frustrated and torn. Eventually, though, she nods. "Okay."

Sharp engulfs her with a one-armed hug. "Come on, girl," she says, grinning as she guides her towards the hangar. "Let's go to France. You ever been?"

"France. What part of Earth is that again?"

Sharp chuckles. "The expensive part."

Tecton watches as the two women vanish into the hallway. Once they're gone, he turns to Blue Tornado. "Rich."

Blue Tornado startles at the sound of his name. He slowly swivels the chair towards the leader of the league then hitches his brows.

"If things go south, please look for the Davenports, too," he requests. He hesitates. "Specifically, Leo. He's currently at Mighty Med."

"Leo. Who's that?"

Tecton takes a deep breath. "Someone who can help," he says. "Will let you know once we reach Paris."

Blue Tornado nods back.

As the rest of the league had done, Tecton also heads to the hangar – his mind already buzzing with the unknowns as well as the hope that the night will end without any lasting consequences.