ELEVEN

The building shuddered. Fire billowed into the night sky, flames blanketing the surrounding areas. Black smoke puffed into the sky; debris fell like smoky raindrops. A gust of hot wind blasted over Zach; the smell of smoke and fire assaulted his senses. He whirled away, waiting out the rush of intense heat.

They had been right.

They had been guarding the wrong hospitals. They had evacuated the wrong hospitals.

They hadn’t saved those people.

How many have died?

Something moved in Zach’s eyesight. Fear slammed into his chest, choking the breath out of his throat.

A shadow sat on a raised section on the rooftop; a pair of legs dangled over the ledge. A leg crossed over the other; an arm lazily rested over them while the other elbow leaned against a knee. A head settled against a hand.

It can’t be…

In a swift, fluid movement, the shadow unfolded its limbs and leapt down. It strode towards Zach, its steps elegant and precise. Sirens blared through the night; sounds of wild flickering flames lifted into the air; the acrid smell of smoke never wavered.

And all the while, the shadow was calm within the chaos.

It was a man.

He was a number of inches taller than Zach’s five feet, seven inches. There was enough light to make out the dark blue suit; it appeared to be made of a similar material to Unit Twelve’s suits. It covered the man’s entire body. No skin showed. Two white sections, in exaggerated shapes of eyes, were on his face.

Black lines decorated the man’s suit, forming complicated and elaborate patterns. The shadow turned slightly, as if to look out over the horizon. Zach sucked in his breath, catching a glimpse of the emblem on the man’s back.

Falcon.

A pair of wings spanned across the man’s upper torso, following upward along his shoulder blades. Intricate white lines created a detailed pattern.

The one everyone feared…

And he stood only a handful of feet away.

“Beautiful night,” said the man, looking towards the billowing blaze. His head turned; those unnatural eyes seemed to glow on his covered face. His head tilted to the side. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“He’s here,” whispered Zach, his heart leaping into his throat. A chill slid down his back. “Guys!” he shouted. “To me!”

Zach darted forward; adrenaline exploded through his veins. The man’s head followed his movements. Zach threw a wild punch; a hand leisurely blocked the attack with ease. He attacked again. The man didn’t move his feet, blocking each punch with his arms.

He’s powerful.

He could tell in the brief encounter: the man had been trained in combat far exceeding Zach’s own training. It didn’t matter, though. I just have to keep his attention; wait for the others to arrive. It wasn’t lost on him that the man had been casually sitting on this roof, when a distant hospital had gone up in flames.

It’d been a trap.

Zach twisted, striking at the man’s side with his leg; it was blocked. He leapt back, putting some distance between them, and dropped into a crouch.

I haven’t gotten him to move. This is insane!

He hasn’t fought back, either.

“You’re Falcon, right?”

The man’s head cocked to the side. There was a pause. With a bolt, the man rushed at him.

Zach gasped at the speed; he dropped into a roll. He couldn’t escape: a kick met his side; he blasted across the rooftop with a cry of pain. He rolled to a stop, groaning. He pushed himself to his knees and looked up to see the man standing over him.

“You attacked without asking,” said the man. An amused tone entered his voice. “I wonder… What gave it away?”

He’s so calm.

Zach’s chest heaved for breath. His heart pounded out of his chest, sweat already accumulating at his temples; every part of his body felt hot from one short fight – and the man was perfectly calm.

What an arrogant—

“Probably the wings,” the man mused, as if to himself. Those white inhuman shaped eyes looked down; there was an inquiring tilt of the head. “And who might you be, kid? You’re young, aren’t you?” There was a low sigh, almost inaudible. “They’re always young.”

Why was this man striking up a casual conversation?

Zach shivered. There was something off about him. He could feel the man’s gaze, though hidden, as if it could strip his protective suit and reveal the truth: a vulnerable boy. He trembled, overwhelmed by the desire to run.

There was an angry snort and the man shook his head. “Our government sure has fallen to an all new low if they have to hire a bunch of kids to do what used to be an adult’s job.”

Echoes of Sullivan’s berating voice bounced inside his mind, cruel words grating his self esteem into shreds. Irritation flooded through Zach’s chest. He growled, bolting to his feet. He threw a punch at the man’s face.

“I’m not a kid!“

Falcon stepped to the side; he slammed a hand down. Zach choked as pain flared in his back. He ducked into another roll, avoiding a kick. Zach leapt to his feet; he blocked a blow to the head with his arm. He sucked in his breath, the pain stronger than he had anticipated.

“You’re all children – every last one of you,” said Falcon, a cold breeze entering his tone. “Unit Four has one of the youngest I’ve seen. I bet she wasn’t older than nine years old.”

I know.

We all started that young.

What do you know about us? What do you know about what we’ve gone through, what has been taken from us, what we’ve sacrificed? You’re acting all self righteous when you just killed a hundred people or more.

How dare you!

Zach cleared his mind; trained instinct took over.

He fought with everything he had, his attacks reactive; he couldn’t keep up. His only hope was to survive, to distract – wait for backup and hope beyond all hope they had a chance together. He had never fought someone like this before. With each punch and each kick, it became glaringly apparent: the man was holding back.

“Do you even eat, kid?” asked Falcon, blocking a punch with the palm of his hand. Fingers clamped over Zach’s fist, locking him into a tight hold. Before he could struggle, the man jerked him forward; Zach smashed into the firm chest. A hand grabbed his shoulder; there was a low chuckle. “I could break you in half. You’re a just twig. You really should eat more – you know, build that muscle.”

Heat rushed into Zach’s face, anger and embarrassment overflowing his senses.

He’s messing with me!

Zach twisted halfway, his shoulder pressing into the man’s chest. With a shouting cry, Zach pulled on his arm, heaving the man overhead. There was a whump; the man landed on his back. Zach leapt onto the man’s chest, straddling him, and punched in him the face. He pulled back his fist; Zach stilled. He’s laughing! Chuckles became deeper, flowing into condescending, low laughter.

“Is that all you got?” drawled Falcon; silk laced along his tone. “Is that really your strongest punch?” He laughed. “You hit like a child.”

Zach stiffened. Falcon slammed his hands into his chest, shoving him backwards. The breath died in his throat. He wheezed, dots popping in his eyesight. He couldn’t get his bearings; he was on his back. He curled onto his side, gasping for needed air. Zach pushed himself into a crouch and looked up, tensing for an attack.

He’s just standing there…

What does this man want?

Zach attacked again. He landed a punch; but a kick threw him to the side. Zach rolled through it, settling into a crouch. Yet again, Falcon simply stood there, observing him.

“What, no ‘you hit like a girl’ taunts?” demanded Zach, stalling for time.

Falcon let out that same irritating chuckle. “I think you mean ‘you hit like a child.‘ I’m not sexist, kid,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. He took slow strides towards him. “I should hope you’re not, too, or else you’ll never marry. No woman likes to marry a pig – oh, they might find it sexy for a few dates, but they’ll get fed up quickly. Just a little dating advice. You’re about the age, aren’t you? Or does this generation not date any more? Ah, yes, ‘hanging out,’ isn’t that what it’s called?”

Zach’s jaw dropped. The man had even used air quotes. It was ludicrous – absolutely ludicrous. He could’ve sworn the man would’ve talked the night away if he could.

What the heck? Who is this guy?

Falcon chuckled again, but before he could say anything more, a blast of fire rushed towards him. The man dodged the attack. Relief bloomed inside Zach’s chest. Backup. His relief grew as Drake, Brielle, and Sevati arrived. A hand touched his shoulder.

Hikaru.

We’re all here.

“Chief, you all right?” asked Jacob, fire dancing around his hand.

“Yes. Even better now,” said Zach, standing up. He slid into a fighting stance. “Falcon, I’m giving you a chance to surrender. Give yourself up and we won’t hurt you.”

The man snorted. It quickly melded into full blown laughter. Chills shivered down Zach’s spine. Falcon put his hand over his heart, while he put the other to his forehead. His body bent over slightly in his laughter.

“Are you actually serious, kid?” asked Falcon finally, through his laughter. “That was a joke, right?” It took him another moment to regain himself. He shook his head. “No?” There was another snort. “Why is it that those who can’t back up their own words demand the more skilled and powerful to stand down? It never makes sense to me.”

Zach gritted his teeth. This man truly thought he was more powerful than them. The truly frightening thing: the man probably was.

Well, it was worth a shot.

“You’re going down,” said Zach, his voice unwavering. “We’re not afraid of you. We will stop you, no matter what.”

We have to try.

“Hm, very well, then,” said Falcon smoothly, confidence oozing through his tone. “You’ll just have to find out what all the other units found out—”

So fast.

Zach couldn’t stop it.

Falcon had broken off midsentence. He darted forward, stopping abruptly in front of Jacob, who gave out a squeak of surprise. The man grabbed him by the face, his hand covering it entirely.

Jacob let out a scream.

“Blaze!” shrieked Brielle.

Then, just as quickly, it was over. The boy was tossed to the side, landing with a heavy thud. Zach bit his tongue; it wouldn’t do to scream out Jacob’s real name. The boy moved slightly, groaning. Relief once again flooded through Zach’s veins.

He was okay.

Jacob was okay.

Fingers snapped. Flames blazed in a hand. “Pyrotechnics,” Falcon said, lifting his hand in the air; the flames illuminated the eyes on his mask, giving it an ominous feel. “Excellent gift to have. I’ll be borrowing this for a bit.”

Jacob stared at the flames in Falcon’s hand, his eyes wide. He threw out a punch; no fire came from his fist.

And then Zach knew – knew exactly how this man had fought against trained units with powers and won. It wasn’t just his immense training, his physical prowess – no, this man had a power, an ability, one Zach had never seen nor heard of ever before.

This man could steal their powers.

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