#SuperMaisey #NoCapes
“You can call me at this number for updates,” Jessell said, distracting me as she handed Cronus a business card. “No need to track me down like this again.”
She was still eyeballing the shit out of me, and I actually felt really bad for attacking her.
I cleared my throat. “So, yeah, I mean … Jealousy made me do it. But I’m still sorr—”
My apology was cut off as Hyperion zapped into the room, right between Cronus and Jessell. He looked frantic, hair standing up in messy disarray, eyes blazing with power, face covered in what looked like blood and dirt.
Cronus lurched forward, reaching for his old friend. “What happened?” he snapped.
Hyperion breathed deeply, and considering I never saw the Titans act tired or winded, this was a huge red flag.
“War,” he choked out. “He’s going to kill everyone. We have to move. Now.”
Cronus’ face went super still, expression unreadable, but his eyes were blazing. I’d never seen anything like that before, not on any person or god, and even though I knew and loved him, and trusted he would never hurt me, my body reacted to the vibes with goose bumps and raised hair on my arms.
“I will not risk her,” he bit out, finally, the words strangled. “Narida is missing. We have to wait and find her so I can take the sins from Maisey. Then, and only then, can we contain War.”
Hyperion exploded into action, shoving Cronus back like he was beyond giving a fuck. “We have no more time. We cannot wait. I love Maisey too, but she doesn’t trump the entire fucking world!”
“She does for me,” Cronus said, and power exploded from him, shattering the store windows. The woman behind the counter was thankfully still frozen, so she didn’t react, but screams rang out through the rest of the Hollywood mile of shops.
Hyperion’s head snapped toward me, and in that single look I saw a billion deaths. I saw the deaths that had already happened because we hadn’t contained War as soon as we could have.
Deaths on my conscience.
Tears sprang to my eyes and I choked down a sob.
I could do this. I was strong enough. Everyone had underestimated me my entire life, but I would be enough this time. I’d been searching for my purpose all along and I’d finally found it.
Shooting one last look at my love, I let the tears fall. “I love you,” I said, already diving toward Hyperion.
Cronus’ roar was the last thing I heard before I was blinked away.
Chapter 10
“I can only block him for a few minutes; he will be right behind us,” Hyperion said. “Do not stop. Do not stay in one place.”
We were running, but I recognized the city straight away. I mean, there wouldn’t be many Americans who wouldn’t know the White House. Wanting a closer look, I peered up and gasped. Dark black clouds hung over the block, inky threads dripping onto the buildings below.
“Oh fuck.” My jogging slowed but Hyperion spurred me on.
“Come on. We are on the brink of the next world war,” he warned. Holy shit, this was the most serious it had been since the sins started. I couldn’t let humanity down.
Rhea popped in, running next to us. “How can I help?” She jogged with ease while I was sweating like a pig and ready to fall over. Whatever weakness had been plaguing me for the last day or so seemed to be getting worse.
The sins were just too much for me. But I refused to give up that easily.
Hyperion pointed to the far end of the gates at the start of the White House lawn. “Freeze the right side of it and try to coax it over to us.”
She nodded and zipped off. Up ahead, I saw Crius and Koios standing with their arms out, white and blue swirls of magic wrapping around the black war tentacles, trying to keep them from going into the building. Despite Koios being injured, he held his ground.
Okeanos’ voice came from beside me. “I can flood the building and cause an evacuation?”
#TitansAssemble #CaptainPlanetMyAss
Hyperion nodded. “Might be too late, but worth a try.”
All around us, filling the street, people had stopped to look at the darkening sky, whispering, camera phones held aloft as they tried to capture the insanity.
“We aren’t going to keep this one off the news, huh?” I looked at Hyperion as we finally slowed, reaching the main gates.
He shook his head. “But Cronus can minimize the damage.”
Crazy. How many things like this had happened before when Cronus fucked with time or memories or whatever and we didn’t know?
“Alright, here we go, Maisey. Are you ready?” Hyperion’s face was full of compassion. I knew he cared for me, but his duty was to Earth and all humans, and I appreciated that.
I nodded. “I can do it. I want to do this.” If I died containing War, I wanted him to know I was okay with that.
Hyperion held his arms out. “Okay, you might want to shield your eyes.”
Trusting him, I did as he asked, catching only a glimpse of a bright orange light, like sunlight, that flew from his palms and shot up into the black mass hovering over the White House. Even though we were some distance away, I noticed that water had started to seep under the doors and windows of the massive building. People were already evacuating, running out screaming.
Okeanos had begun the flooding.
Each of the Titans had their own skills and specialties, and I was grateful that the world had beings like this to give them a shot at a future. Turning from the building, the light burned my eyes. Hyperion was still doing his thing and I remembered something from my googling fest.
