She picked it up and looked it over, wondering exactly how it worked and how many uses it had. If it was what she thought, it had allowed them to swap conditions completely, which means the kid might end up with Walter’s powers. Wouldn’t that be something? When she walked out of the room, she saw Christy standing there looking at her.
“What are you doing here?” Christy asked.
“I was helping.”
“Sure, I’ll bet you were.”
“Ask anyone. I helped Walter. Say, how many uses does this thing have?”
“I’m not sure. Most are good for more than one. Why?”
“Just curious.”
Mixon walked into the lobby, walking hesitantly toward the group still sitting there, and approached Kendra.
“I think you dropped something in there,” she said.
“What? I didn’t think I left anything,” Kendra said.
“You forgot this,” Mixon said holding the cylinder out to Kendra.
Kendra took it before she knew what was happening, but Mixon didn’t let go right away. She felt a jolt through her body for a second and she let go of the cylinder.
“Oh, maybe she’s the one who left it,” Mixon said, handing it to Christy and walking out of the hospital.
37
Larry Wilkins sat at his desk, watching the news coverage and hardly believing what he was watching. All the attacks were over, and there were mixed reports about how it had ended. In some areas, it was American fighter jets, and in some others, what looked like fighters that came in from space. Either way, the gunships were all destroyed and the ground troops were immobile. He was so engrossed, he hardly noticed the person come into his office, until he looked up and saw a good-looking blonde standing near his desk.
“Are you Officer Wilkins?” the woman asked.
“Yeah, who’s asking?”
“Mixon, Catherine Mixon. I thought you were the cop Walter talked about.”
“Yeah, that would be me. How is the old dude?”
“Well...I’m afraid he didn’t make it.”
“Didn’t make it? Come again?”
“Wounds fighting the aliens. He passed earlier this evening.”
“Well, and how would you know that?”
“I was there with him. Well...he wasn’t wounded, but the kid was...and he did something to change places. Some alien tech. He took the kid’s wounds and now the kid’s okay, but Walter’s dead.”
“That’s a lot to take in. Why did you come all the way here just to tell me? A phone call would have sufficed.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to arrest me.”
“Now that’s a new one. Why would I need to do that?”
“I killed Handley.”
Wilkins sat up straighter in his chair and took another look at the woman.
“Wait, you’re the lady we were looking for. The wannabe mob boss?”
“That’s a bit harsh, but yeah, that’s me.”
“And you’re the one who offed Handley? What did you do that for?”
“He was getting close.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
“Yeah, the plane...that was me too...well me and an associate who helped. I can tell you where to find him too.”
“Okay, this is all kind of sudden, and I think we can take care of that, but why the sudden confession? It wasn’t like we were getting close to nabbing you, especially after you started flying around like Walter. Say, what’s stopping you from just busting out?”
“I gave up my powers.”
“How did you did that?”
“Same way Walter did. Franklin’s little girlfriend might be in for a surprise.”
“May I ask what made you just give up all of a sudden?”
“I’m not overly sure. Never had much of a conscience, but...well...it was something I saw in Walter these last few days. There was something he had with those people. It pricked me. I’ve been a scoundrel my whole life and I just can’t do it anymore, so just arrest me and we can get on with it.”
“Okay lady, if you insist. I hope you like your new accommodations.”
The next few days were a whirlwind. Christy managed to clean up the wreckage of the gunships and the mechanized suits, sorting out the people who had been in them, and getting all the aliens back to their home worlds, which took a week of jumping back and forth between Earth and various other worlds. Several were from Earth, and some of them had been held for a number of years in a state of suspended animation, the oldest being a Civil War veteran who had disappeared shortly after the battle of Gettysburg.
Walter’s funeral was delayed a few days because of the number of people who flocked in from all over the world to pay their respects. Finally it was decided to hold the service at Paul Brown Stadium with only a small group invited to Spring Grove Cemetery for the burial. The stadium was packed and there were screens set up outside for the massive overflow crowd to watch. Hymns were sung, scripture was read, and the eulogy was preached, but it was three hours later and people were still lining up to say a piece. People he had saved, and even a crook he had caught who had since reformed his life. When they were all done, Franklin took the microphone.
“To you, Walter was the world’s first superhero, but to me he was more than that. He was a father, a grandfather, and a friend. He took me in and believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. He taught me how to be a man, how to take responsibility for my own actions, and how to forgive those who wronged me. I was lucky enough to know him in a way most of you never did, and now I can say that everything I am today I owe to him. Heck, I owe him my life. He gave his life to save mine, and there is nothing I can ever do to repay that, except to live mine
