Chapter 25: A black cat with golden eyes
They were somewhere near James Davison Rockefeller Memorial Highway, as Jalen could attest high in the sky. In a few hours, or probably now, law enforcement checkpoints would block the highway and all surrounding roads, while police officers, both local and state, would swarm the countryside. He flew up north to a forest near Allentown, then carefully placed the van in a clearing in the woods. It would be found, of course. But by that time, they'd be long gone. After assuming his human form, he opened the van's back doors.
Nikolai rushed out and threw up. "Fucking hell! It felt like I was trapped in a plane tumbling out of the sky."
"Where is this place?" Declan asked, appearing a bit uneasy.
"In a forest off Allentown." He pointed at a narrow trail leading into the dense patch of towering trees. "We'll head into the forest. I hid a car there. Then you'll head onto Lakewood Road. Take the long way around to Hermosville. No highways."
The men followed him down the windy and rocky trail. When they reached a moss-covered section of the forest with fewer trees, Jalen veered off the path, disappearing into a dense wall of tall bushes. There they spotted him removing branches from an enormous pile of cut branches. Declan ordered the men to aid him. Underneath all that dead foliage was a mid-sized black sedan.
"A Ford Fusion. Nice." Nikolai nodded with approval, inspecting the car. "This will do. Tinted windows, excellent performance, good fuel economy so we don't have to stop at filling stations as often, and an understated appearance as the icing on the cake. You have done well, our mysterious benefactor."
That wasn't all. Jalen told Nikolai to open the trunk. The Russian man found food, supplies, clothing, caps, gloves, and first aid equipment. He regarded Jalen, more respect laced in his gaze. They changed their clothes once more, adding the gloves and caps to their outfits.
Nikolai took the wheel while Declan and Finnegan sat in the back. Jalen remained outside.
"You are not coming?" Declan asked.
"Yes, I'm not," he answered. "This is where we part." Next, he handed Declan a piece of paper. "That contains the location of two other cars if you need them."
Finnegan growled. "Are you setting us up?"
Declan slapped the big fellow in the head. "Quiet!" He shouted, then addressed Jalen. "Then I will give you my number. Contact me when the heat has died down somewhat."
Once he received the number, the car pulled out, winding through a path between the trees. He had done more than enough for them. Following along in the car would just put him at unnecessary risk. Besides, he considered his initiation plan into The Black Book a success, assuming they reached Hermosville, that is.
Before sunrise, he returned to his room at the Pine Motel. The stale smell of the old place seeped through him. He stripped down and showered, getting rid of all the accumulated dirt and filth. As for the clothes used during the hijacking, he had already burnt them into a pile of ash, which was poured hundreds of miles off the coast of Hermosville into the Atlantic Ocean. One can never be too cautious.
Jalen, wrapped in a towel, sat by his desk and switched on his laptop, then tuned into the Hermosville Herald, where a reporter broke the latest news.
'…with the latest developments on a brazen armored convoy hijacking that has left law enforcement authorities scrambling for answers. In a daring and meticulously executed operation, an armored convoy transporting several high-profile mobsters was hijacked earlier today, resulting in the escape of the notorious criminals and the temporary detainment of the convoy's officers. Among the individuals transported in the convoy were Declan "The Fixer" O'Malley, Nikolai Ivanov, Sean "Shamrock" Murphy, and Finnegan Callahan, all known figures within the criminal underworld. The convoy was en route…'
"I see you have been very busy, Jalen." A female voice spoke behind him.
His muscles tensed. "Who are you?"
The person let out a mocking gasp. "You do not know? How can you be so unfamiliar with yourself, Host?"
He turned around. On the bed lay a tall, slender cat with long limbs and rich black fur which gleamed from the small moonlight that seeped into the room. Her eyes were a captivating golden hue; windows leading to the same volatile cosmic energy that powered him.
"Yun," he smiled. "Took you a while."
Yun inspected her clawed paws. "Well, someone had to stay back and make sure everything was in working order."
He muted the news anchor and got up to change into some clothes. "My apologies. I had to be sure my sister was safe and accounted for."
"I did not require an apology. How is your sister holding up, anyway?"
He gazed at the cat, his mind elsewhere. "I don't know. Last I checked, she wasn't feeling any different. It could be different by now."
Silence fell as Yun regarded him, holding back her words.
"What?" he asked.
"For someone so caring for his loved one that he'd traverse across the multiverse to see them, I expected you to be by her side more."
"Humans don't work like that." He chuckled. "We try so hard to be in the vicinity of the people we care about but still be as far away from them as possible. The distance could be a neighborhood, a few city blocks, a state, or a country even. So long as the family is still in touch, that's all that matters."
Yun stood up, stretched in the way cats do, arching her back, and then dropped from the bed. Her steps were graceful and silent as she hopped onto the chair and propelled herself onto the table. There she lay once more and increased the volume of the news report.
"Interesting philosophy, Jalen," she said. "I intend to experience firsthand what it is that makes the mortals tick. I might even embark on a journey myself to see this world. Though I must ask. Do you still consider yourself a human? You addressed yourself as one."
"Enough about me," he stammered. "Besides, we haven't addressed the elephant, or should I say cat, in the room."
"Oh, this?" Yun looked all over herself, a smile appearing on her face. "It fits me, right? When I came here, I found out I'd stick out like a sore thumb in my energy form, so I had to improvise. I think it really suits me, yes. A massive fire-breathing dragon was my second option to display my majestic power, but I find this body exudes a dangerous allure while remaining classy."
He burst into a lengthy laughter before transitioning into a coughing fit that had to be stilled by a drink of water. "Ah, you can't beat, almost coughing your lungs up," he remarked. "To answer your question, Yun. Yes, it fits you very well. The dragon would've been ridiculous. Save it for a special occasion."
They both lounged about, Jalen gaming on his phone while Yun watched the latest coverage of the Camden convoy catastrophe.
"They are way off," Yun said.
"What?"
"The massive manhunt, as they put it. They aren't even scratching the stratosphere of where the escapees really are."
"Well, I designed it that way. How much do you know about it, anyway?"
Yun turned her head towards him in a way only a cat could. "Everything. I was there. Speaking of such, a mortal was tailing you."
What!
"You mean someone knows what I've been doing?" he asked.
"No. In one of those cars parked across the street, someone's been watching you come and go. The mortal wasn't quick enough to follow you the first time. And after that, I dealt with him."
"Ah, okay." He sighed. "Still, please tell me you didn't kill him, Yun."
"I did not. Jalen, I know I am not privy to the way things are done amongst mortals. But at least I know that killing him brings unwanted attention."
"So, what did you do?"
"I dumped him into a dumpster. One moment, he was fast asleep. The next time he wakes will be atop a bed made of garbage and waste. He never even saw a thing."
Over the next few days, while law enforcement combed through the outer edges of the city, looking for the escaped mobsters, Jalen made a show of going around, searching for apartments to rent, while the person tailing him ate it up. He knew it would become a massive inconvenience when he actually wanted to do something, but for now, everything felt just right. While sitting by his mother's grave, he got a call from his sister, Ella.
"Hey Jalen," Ella said. "How many years has it been since you've seen me?"
"Come on, E. It's only been a week."
"So, what have you been up to?"
"I'd rather not say. It's just business."
"Well uh, just be careful, okay? The city's been on fire these past few days. It's like those criminals escaping set up a chain reaction near my workplace. Eerily similar to two years ago when a bunch of them were arrested."
It seems people are repositioning in reaction to The Black Book getting some of their top guys back.
"I'll be just fine, alright?"
Ella chuckled. "Look at me worrying about you, considering what you are now. Anyway, that brings me to the reason I called. Guess how much I can bench press right now?"
"You're seeing your powers now? That's good." He stroked his chin, calculating how much super strength he gifted her. By his estimates, it didn't seem that much as his focus lay in fine-tuning her other abilities. "I'd say about a ton. You can lift a minivan, right?"
"A ton? Jalen. A ton? Multiply that by about 10,000 and you'll have your answer. I calculated it the other day because the number seemed so absurd. So let me visualize it for you. Apparently, I should be able to lift fifty fucking blue whales without breaking a sweat. Fifty! 150,000 elephants stacked atop each other, no biggie. The Statue of goddamn Liberty, no biggie. I can lift forty of those. Fifteen giant cranes, no biggie. The Eiffel Tower, Jalen. Submarines, cargo ships, destroyers—"
"I get the picture, Ella. Well, think of it as a deterrent to others. Something you can pull out of your back pocket when you get in a sticky situation."
"What sticky situation requires the subtlety of lifting an offshore oil rig?"
"Okay, I admit I may have gone overboard there, out of my need to protect you. But think of it this way. If you were to encounter a foe with the strength of my god form alone, those 10,000 tons would become woefully insufficient."
She sighed. "Sorry for the bitchin' Jalen. It's just that I'm quite scared of touching anything because I fear I might break something or someone. I ripped off a door handle the other day while rushing to the bathroom."
"Do you want me to revisit your powers?"
"No. What's done is done. I'm getting better at controlling it every day. Thanks for everything, baby brother."
He shook his head, smiling. "You're welcome."
"Anyway, that brings me to the real, real reason I called. HAVEN is holding a superhuman convention in New York. I was invited free of charge and I can bring anyone with me. Wanna tag along?"
"Me? How about Victor?"
"Fuck you, Jalen. You know I've broken up with him. Besides, only superhumans can attend. I think it'll be cool. We'd get to meet Novaman. I know you've always wanted that."
He initially wanted to decline. But the more thought he put into it, the more appealing it sounded. It would serve as a pleasant break from his anxious wait to determine if Declan and his men escaped, making his plan a success. It also sounded appealing to see Novaman in the flesh, which he couldn't deny. Plus, he had been neglecting other errands that needed doing.
"Fine, I'll come. What day is it?"
"Yes, Jalen!" Ella exclaimed. "Six days from now."
"Okay, lemme sort out my superhuman status first. Oh, and try not to bench press any cars on your way to work."
He cut the call before his sister could quip back.
The next day, he went to The Genesis Empowerment Center to register his status. Ignoring this commitment would have incurred a repeated offense and was detrimental to his plans. He currently sat in a basic hospital-looking room. A lanky man with an unkept white beard, dressed in a lab coat, stepped in and sat behind the desk.
"Just a moment please," the man said, his focus on the computer before him. "I'm Dr. Yefremov, and I'll be conducting your registration. And if needed, I will arrange an assessment as well."
"Sure," he said.
"State your name, age, and birth date. For the record."
He did as he was told, but the doctor cut him off just after mentioning his name.
"Nkanga?" Dr. Yefremov said. "Now that is a name I haven't heard for the 75 years I've lived on this Earth. But if I have a coin for every time I've heard it in the past two weeks, I'd have two. It isn't much but…"
"You are probably talking about my sister."
The doctor smiled, his visible excitement skyrocketing as he leaned forward. "So tell me, Mr. Nkanga. What powers do you have?"
"Uh, just regeneration," he said. "If I get injured, I heal. I can even regrow limbs."
"Ah, I see." Dr. Yefremov's smile disappeared as he reclined back into his chair. "How about super strength, enhanced speed? Anything else?"
"No. That's all I've got."
"Unfortunate." Dr. Yefremov kissed his teeth and stepped into the other room, returning all gloved up and with a syringe. "Let's just get this over with and you can be on your way."
The doctor drew his blood, visibly hissing and shaking his head when the needle pierced his skin. Jalen thought that was odd. It felt like the doctor hated seeing blood.
"Is that all?" he asked.
"Yeah. You can use the door, please."
He stepped towards the door, stopping in the doorway. "What if I have some hidden powers? Wouldn't it be wise to check?"
"No need," Dr. Yefremov said, not even looking at him. "If there is something else, we'll find it in your blood. Now please leave. I am terribly busy."
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aspiringmaker If you are enjoying the story so far, pls consider adding, commenting, and reviewing. Also, my gratitude extends to generically again for the power stones. Much appreciated! Thank you all for the support.
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