Capítulo 25: Chapter 25
Two days after their break-in at the records office, the group gathered in The Torch's newsroom, sifting through everything they'd uncovered. The office was cluttered with open folders, stacks of printouts, and empty coffee cups. A whiteboard stood against the wall, covered in notes and theories written in Chloe's messy scrawl.
"So," Pete said, spinning a marker between his fingers. "We've got illegal workers with no records, a sheriff covering up disappearances, and a wealthy family expanding farmland for no apparent reason. That's three separate problems that all lead back to the Mankins."
Skye scrolled through her laptop, scanning her hacked files. "It gets worse. I found land survey reports—something's off. The Mankins aren't just farming." She turned the laptop toward them. "The Mankins have been making reinforcements under their property. It's way more than just expanding their farmland—they're digging for something."."
Chloe frowned. "What are they digging for?"
"That's the million-dollar question." Skye scrolled down the document. "They built underground tunnels—big ones. That's not farming. That's mining."
Apollo stood, slipping on his jacket. "Let's check it out."
Chloe gave him a look. "We're just going to waltz onto one of the most corrupt families' farms in the middle of the night?"
Apollo leaned in, frowning.
"What? You say that like it's hard" Apollo said in a teasing tone challenging her.
Chloe rolled her eyes and then the two smirked at one another, Chloe meeting his challenge.
"So we sneak onto the Mankin property, find out what they're hiding, and don't get shot?"
Apollo shrugged. "Unless you have a better idea."
Pete grinned. "Yeah. Don't get caught."
The four of them crept through the tall cornstalks of the Mankins' farm, the moonlight casting long shadows over the fields. The air smelled of damp soil and fertilizer, and the occasional chirp of crickets was the only sound breaking the silence.
Apollo led the way, his enhanced hearing picking up distant voices. He gestured for the group to stop.
"There's a work site ahead," he whispered.
Chloe and Pete crouched lower, while Skye checked her phone.
"According to the blueprints I found, there should be an old barn nearby. It might be where they're keeping the workers."
As they moved forward, the field suddenly gave way to a massive open pit.
The sight made them stop in their tracks.
The hole stretched over a hundred feet wide, surrounded by heavy machinery and floodlights. Dozens of workers—all of them immigrants—were being forced to dig. Their faces were gaunt, their clothes tattered, and their hands blistered from constant labor. Armed guards stood at the edges, shouting orders.
Pete clenched his fists. "This isn't a farm. It's a damn work camp."
Apollo's stomach twisted. His gaze shifted toward the far side of the dig site, where a group of Japanese men in suits stood watching the operation.
"Who the hell are they?" Skye whispered.
Chloe pulled out her camcorder, zooming in. "They don't look like farmers. More like… businessmen?"
Apollo focused his vision on the far side of the site—where the group of Japanese men in suits stood near a row of crates. Their expressions were unreadable, watching the forced labor with an unsettling calm.
One of them stood apart.
A man with long, flowing black hair and pale skin, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. A katana hung at his side.
His presence alone made the air feel heavier.
The others seemed to report to him.
Pete pulled out his camera and began taking pictures. "We need to get proof."
Apollo x-rayed the tunnels and was disturbed by how deep the digging was going. Digging that far underground meant they were searching for something ancient.
Pete noticed his expression. "What is it?"
"They're digging for something old," Apollo said. "Something dangerous."
Chloe continued her recording—then stiffened.
A loud shout rang out from the dig site. A commotion quickly erupted from the far side of the pit.
One of the workers—a young man with a bruised face—tried to make a run for it and sprinted toward the tree line.
The nearest guard raised his gun.
Apollo moved before thinking.
In an instant, he was across the clearing, striking the guard's wrist and sending the gun flying. The man collapsed, unconscious.
The worker gasped, eyes wide.
Apollo's friends saw nothing—just the guard suddenly on the ground.
Pete and Skye moved to help the worker, but before they could—
A sharp whistle pierced the night.
From the shadows of the pit, figures emerged.
Their movements were silent, their faces hidden beneath dark masks.
They wore black and crimson armor, swords gleaming under the lights.
Skye's breath hitched.
"Uh, guys? Those are ninjas."
Pete groaned. "Of course there are ninjas."
Chloe and Pete ducked for cover, while Skye pulled out a Taser.
Their leader—the pale man—nodded once.
The ninjas attacked.
The first ninja struck at Pete—before he could react, a precise chop to the neck knocked him unconscious.
Skye tried to get one with her taser, but a blur of motion disarmed her in seconds. A knee slammed into her stomach, and she crumpled to the ground.
Chloe barely ducked away in time, scrambling behind a piece of machinery.
Apollo turned to face them, his fists tightening.
The ninjas hesitated.
One of them lunged. Apollo sidestepped effortlessly, grabbed his wrist, and flung him into a nearby crate.
Two more came from behind. Apollo dodged their blades with inhuman precision. A punch to the chest sent one flying backward, while a casual backhand shattered another's sword in half.
The leader of the group narrowed his eyes.
He gave a short hand signal.
Three ninjas attacked at once.
Apollo let them come.
The first tried a downward slash—Apollo caught the blade with his bare hand. Before the ninja could react, Apollo's grip crushed the steel like paper.
The second ninja swung low—Apollo pivoted, elbowing him in the ribs hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.
The third leaped at him from behind—Apollo didn't move, shifting his weight and planting himself into the ground. The ninja's own momentum lead him to crash into Apollo and he immediately crumpled.
The others hesitated.
Their leader—the man with the katana—watched with cold amusement.
He tilted his head. "Impressive."
Then he turned to the remaining ninjas. "Enough."
At once, the assassins disappeared into the shadows, retreating as suddenly as they had arrived.
Apollo stood among the wreckage of the fight, unscathed.
Pete groaned from the ground. "What the hell was that…?"
Skye coughed. "Ninjas. There were actual ninjas."
Apollo knelt to help them up. "You guys okay?"
Chloe ran over, breathless. "What just happened?! I was hiding, and then you—"
Pete frowned. "Wait, how did you not get hit? Those guys dropped me in two seconds."
Apollo shrugged. "Guess I got lucky."
Pete muttered. "Yeah, right."
Skye groaned, rubbing her stomach. "Let's just grab our evidence and get the hell out of here."
Apollo cast one last look toward the Japanese men in suits.
The pale man—the one with the katana—was watching him.
Their gazes met.
And for a moment, Apollo could tell—this wasn't over.
Then the man turned, stepping into a black car.
The engines roared to life, and the group drove away, vanishing into the night.
Apollo clenched his fists.
Something big was happening in Smallville.
And he was going to find out what.
The group made it back to The Torch, bruised but alive. Chloe immediately began writing. Pete grabbed an ice pack. Skye transferred the video Chloe had captured onto a hard drive along with her pictures.
"This is gonna make front-page news" Chloe said.
Apollo nodded.
"We're not stopping here. Not yet"
"Obviously" Chloe said.
Skye leaned back in her chair. "I just have one question."
Apollo glanced at her. "Yeah?"
She frowned.
"Who the hell were those guys?" Skye asked.
Apollo didn't answer. He was used to having the answers, especially cause of his eidetic memory but right now he truly had no idea.
The next day Gloria and Skye were hacking the encrypted flash drive in the Torch after classes. Determined after everything last night more than ever to get to the bottom of this.
Pete, Chloe and Apollo sat back keeping an eye out to make sure they weren't disturbed. The three stood by the doorway acting like watchmen.
"Can you believe that the Mankins could be involved in something like this?" Apollo said a little shocked that such a powerful and seemingly upstanding family could potentially be involved in something this dark.
"I can, the wealthy usually have enough skeletons in their closet to fill up a cemetery" Chloe replied a dark and angry glint in her eyes.
Apollo and Pete both didn't speak.
They'd been friends with Chloe long enough to know that her Dad was a blue collar worker that had been screwed over by so many wealthy and powerful people. They knew that one of the reasons Chloe was so obsessed with reporting was because to her the truth was the great equalizer. With it you could take down anyone no matter how powerful, show them they weren't as above the rest of the world as they thought and even make them pay for the pain that others suffered because of them.
Chloe clearly didn't want to talk more so she walked away from the two of them and Pete and Apollo stared at one another silently communicating at what the best way forward was with Chloe. This case leading back to the Mankins had obviously stirred up feelings in Chloe and they wanted to help their friend. Apollo wanted to go comfort Chloe, he didn't like seeing his friends unhappy but Pete insisted on letting her cool off first and eventually Apollo relented to Pete.
After that brief conversation the trio watched largely in silence as they waited for Skye and Gloria to finish hacking the flash drive. It took them quite a while, the school day was long since over and night was beginning to fall.
They knew that hacking wasn't a fast endeavor but this was taking a while and Apollo was worried about what would happen when Deputy McNally realized that Apollo had pickpocketed the drive and came looking for him.
He would be in a lot of trouble and so would everybody else and if that happened before they discovered what exactly Montgomery Mankins, Deputy McNally and Doctor Wesley then it might have all been for nothing.
It was moments like this Apollo wished he could mind read because then at least he would already know what they were hiding and Skye and everybody else wouldn't have to be taking such a big risk like this.
However, Apollo also knew all too well how every power had its own challenges. Apparently his Uncle Druig could read minds and hearing stories about him he wondered how much of a burden that must be to him. Hearing the thoughts of others and being able to control them would be a difficult ability to live with.
"Oh my god!" Skye said her voice filled with shock pulling Apollo out of his thoughts.
"What?" Chloe, Pete and Apollo said in unison racing to the computer.
"This is…. this is…" Skye started to say but seemingly couldn't the shock of whatever was on the flash drive stealing her voice.
"Those bastards. I'm going to kill them" Gloria said angrily.
She had tears in her eyes and Apollo could hear her heartbeat and even smell her pheromones. She was overflowing with rage.
"What is it? What's on the flash drive? You are kind of leaving us in suspense over here" Pete said speaking on behalf of the three of them.
"This flash drive has a tracking system on it" Skye said simply stunned.
Pete, Chloe and Apollo all hunched over to the desktop and looked at the monitor it showed a map of Smallville with several blips on them. Most of the blips were centered around one particular location by one of the Mankins farms but there were two that were in the middle of the woods.
Apollo realized that the spot they were in was a few miles from the area that the Mankins boys had been flying over with their helicopter.
"These blips are people, when you click them it links a file including their name, age, sex and location" Skye continued.
Then she clicked on the two blips in the middle of the forest.
"Those blips that are the middle of the woods near Crater Lake. Those are Carlos Diaz and Francisco Ramirez" Skye finished still processing what she was seeing just as files on the two of them showed up on screen.
The files were extensive and even included height, weight and languages spoken.
"What do they use it for?" Pete said sounding almost afraid of the answer.
"To sell them!" Gloria said her voice dripping with rage as she pointed out that at the bottom of the files on them there was a price.
Apollo saw red and for a moment he was afraid he was going to vaporize the screen with his heat vision.
"They put a tracker in them like they're animals then they auction them off and sell them!" Gloria spat out, if she was angry before speaking about this was making her damn near nuclear.
"We need to make them pay!" Chloe said her expression cold and almost murderous.
Apollo's body was filling with rage, he knew people could be violent, he knew they could be greedy but truly seeing the darkness that people were capable of first hand made his blood boil.
Apollo clenched his fists, fighting his impulse to fly over to the Mankins house and smash it to pieces. He remembered what he overheard Mankins and Deputy McNally say and realized that something was happening tonight and he needed to stop it.
"We will make them pay" Apollo said "Skye and Gloria download everything and I mean everything. We need to publish the proof. Show everyone who the Mankins truly are. Chloe write the article and Pete keep a look out. Protect them"
Everybody nodded understanding their roles.
"What are you going to do?" Gloria questioned.
"I am going to go to the Mankins and find the others. I think they're planning something tonight which is why Montgomery rushed to the Sherriff station with the flash drive. He wants everything sorted as soon as possible" Apollo replied.
"We might have another problem" Skye said staring at the screen.
"What do you mean?" Apollo asked.
"This system allows us to check when it was previously active and it was used earlier today" Skye said.
Chloe and Pete looked at her confused as to how that was a pressing issue.
"That means whoever used this system earlier knows where Carlos and Francisco are, which wouldn't be a pressing issue if it wasn't for the fact that their blips are moving. As if their running" Skye elaborated and Apollo mentally kicked himself.
No wonder Deputy McNally hadn't come bursting down the doors of the school looking for them. He must've already known where Carlos and Francisco were and decided they were more important.
Apollo activated his super hearing and could hear them. Two boys running in the woods, running away from a man. Deputy McNally.
"What are we going to do?" How do we help them?" Pete asked wondering how they could reach them in time.
Gloria's eyes began tearing up as the realization that her boyfriend could die tonight and she fell to the floor beginning to breakdown. Pete walked to Gloria and began comforting her.
Apollo couldn't let them die, he wouldn't let them die. Apollo started moving towards the door.
"Apollo?" Skye said noticing him about to run off.
"I know I promised not to run off into danger but I've to try. I've got to go save them" Apollo said to her remembering his promise the night of the meteor shower.
Skye got up and kissed him deeply.
"Come back to me" Skye told him and Apollo nodded.
Before turning and running off from the Torch. He could hear his friends pray that he would save the two teens.
"How will he reach them in time?" Gloria questioned through her tears.
"Gloria I can be very cynical at times but there is one thing I trust it's Apollo. I trust him to save people because that's what he's always done going back to when we were kids. Apollo's my hero and trust me by the end of the night he'll be their hero too" Chloe told her calming her down and easing her mind if only for a moment.
Apollo was touched that Chloe believed in him and he couldn't afford to let her, Gloria, Skye or Pete down. The second he was out of sight from his friends he blurred running towards Carlos and Francisco at superhuman speed.
Apollo keyed into them using his super senses to track them.
Francisco and Carlos crouched inside the rotting wooden frame of an abandoned barn. The cold wind howled through the cracks, rattling the loose panels.
Carlos exhaled shakily. "We can't stay here."
Francisco winced, still clutching his bruised ribs. "Just a little longer."
Carlos shook his head. "Man, we're done. McNally's got guys everywhere—"
The sound of crunching gravel.
Both boys froze.
A black truck rumbled up the dirt road, its headlights slicing through the darkness.
Carlos paled. "Oh, no."
Francisco grabbed his arm. "Stay quiet."
The truck rolled to a stop.
The driver's side door opened.
Deputy Sheriff Jed McNally stepped out.
His boots crunched against the dirt as he adjusted his belt. His sawed-off shotgun gleamed under the moonlight.
"I know you're in there, boys," McNally called out, his voice casual—too casual. "Ain't no use runnin' anymore."
Francisco's heart pounded.
McNally sighed, feigning disappointment. "Y'know, I tried to do this clean." He took another step forward. "But some people just don't know when to quit."
Carlos clenched his fists. "We have to move."
But the moment he shifted, McNally cocked his shotgun.
BOOM.
A blast tore through the barn wall, wood splinters raining down.
Carlos yelped, ducking.
McNally smirked. "There's nowhere left to hide."
Francisco helped Carlos to his feet. "Run."
The two bolted out the back entrance.
McNally chuckled. "Predictable."
He raised his radio.
"Block off the roads," he ordered. "They're on foot."
He walked to his truck, placing his shotgun back in the front seat. Before pulling out his magnum.
Francisco and Carlos ran harder.
They were running as fast as they could but he could tell they were tired and weak. The two teens tripped up and fell to the ground allowing the Deputy to catch up with them.
Apollo could hear the Deputy cock his 44 magnum and point it at Carlos and Francisco. Their hearts began racing even more out of pure fear and the Deputy cruelly began taunting them.
"You boys thought you could escape? Nobody escapes us. You want to know why? Because we pick the undesirables. The people society wouldn't miss and you boys? A pair of brown migrants from a country that's nothing more than a shithole. You truly wouldn't be missed. Society doesn't just not care about you. It actually doesn't want you period. People hear you lot are going missing and they breathe a sigh of relief because you truly are unwanted" Deputy McNally said as he walked a little closer to the two teens his gun aimed at their heads.
McNally fired at the both of them just as Apollo reached them. He watched the bullets sail in slow motion towards both Carlos and Francisco and he knew what he had to do.
Apollo had no idea if he was bullet proof he just knew that they weren't and so he rushed in front of them letting the bullets hit his chest.
The bullets bounced off his skin harmlessly and Apollo watched them fall to the ground in slow motion. His chest was unscathed, in fact he barely felt the impact.
Apollo chuckled to himself as he realized he wasn't just incredibly durable. He was bulletproof. He really was basically made of steel.
Not letting himself get too caught up in the moment Apollo rushed to McNally, the world was still moving in slow motion and Apollo open hand smacked his chest causing a ripple of force to flow through McNally in slow motion, throwing him backwards.
Francisco's eyes widened. "What the hell—"
A blur of red and blue landed between them and McNally.
McNally stood up slowly, spitting up blood and gripping his gun. "The hell—?"
Apollo straightened, his eyes locked onto the sheriff.
"That's enough."
McNally sneered as he looked at Apollo.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are—"
Apollo took a step forward.
"I think I'm the guy telling you to walk away."
McNally scoffed. "That so?"
He raised the gun.
Apollo ripped it from his hands faster than McNally could react. The sheriff barely had time to register what happened before Apollo crushed the weapon like it was tin foil and threw it away.
McNally's face twisted in rage. "You little—"
He swung at Apollo—
Bad move.
Apollo caught his wrist mid-swing.
McNally's eyes widened.
Apollo didn't squeeze, didn't break anything no matter how much he wanted to—but the message was clear.
The sheriff couldn't move.
Couldn't escape his grip.
"You're done" Apollo said his voice powerful and filled with anger.
McNally snarled. "You don't know what you're messing with, boy."
Apollo through him over his shoulder sending him sailing into a nearby tree. McNally hit the tree hard, the air leaving his lungs in a wheeze.
Carlos stared, stunned. "Holy—"
Francisco elbowed him. "Shut up."
Apollo loomed over McNally. "The workers you've been covering up? The trafficking? It's over."
McNally coughed, glaring up at him. "You… you don't know a damn thing."
Apollo leaned down.
"Then tell me."
McNally's jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
Apollo exhaled through his nose hoping to find out more about the whole operation, but he saved Carlos and Francisco and that was enough for now.
He looked down at the sneering Deputy and then knocked him out cold.
McNally went limp.
Francisco and Carlos just stared.
Apollo turned to them. "You guys okay?"
Carlos nodded slowly. "Yeah, we… we're good."
Francisco took it. "Who are you?"
Apollo hesitated—then smiled.
"Just a friend. I'm with Gloria. She sent me to find you and I heard gunshots are you okay?" Apollo asked and the two teens nodded slowly still confused.
"Don't worry I know about the Mankins. I am here to help. I promise. I won't let you get hurt" Apollo assured them his kind voice and expression winning them over.
The two teens looked at Apollo and Apollo x-rayed them. Francisco wasn't really hurt but Carlos was. He had a gunshot wound in his shoulder. Apollo realized he must've got it when they ran away initially. They couldn't go to the hospitals because they were afraid the Mankins would be looking for them there so they hid out and treated the wound themselves.
The bullet was still inside him and they had wrapped his arm up. There was something else inside him too, in fact it was inside both of them. It was the trackers the Mankins had put inside them.
Apollo clenched his jaw when he saw them anger filling him up. He quickly calmed himself not allowing his mind to be overcome by anger. His anger wouldn't help them, not right now. His kindness and his family would.
Apollo smiled at the two boys reassuringly.
"I know you've been through a lot and I can't imagine how you've struggles and suffered these past few weeks but it's going to be alright. A friend of mine; Chloe is publishing a story that will reveal the Mankins for what they are. My girlfriend Skye and your girlfriend Gloria have hacked into the Mankins system and are downloading every piece of incriminating evidence on the Mankins and are going to post it online for the world to see" Apollo told them.
"That's my Gloria, she was always a wiz with computers, I could never make heads or tails of it though you know" Francisco said smiling for the first time in a while.
He had a crooked smile, the kind that was playful and mischievous. It reminded Apollo of Sprite.
"She really is a wiz, her and Skye are incredible and she loves you very much and I promise you. You'll see her soon" Apollo told Francisco warmly and he nodded.
"Is this really over? Are we safe?" Carlos asked.
"It will be over soon and you are safe. I promise you" Apollo said to Carlos and he too nodded.
The two teens let out sighs of relief and happy tears filled their eyes, Apollo inwardly smiled happy he was able to save them.
"Right now I need you to walk in that direction" Apollo said pointing to the direction of the Kent farm.
"Walk there until you get to the Kent farm and say you are friends of Apollo. My parents will let you crash with us and notify your families once you tell them your story. Also when you get there call Gloria. Tell her you're safe." Apollo told them.
"Thank you" Francisco said amazed at the sudden generosity being showed to them after weeks staying hidden from the Mankins.
"Don't mention it, all I did was find you. You two are the ones who escaped the Mankins and stayed hidden from them long enough for someone to find you. That's truly amazing, you two are amazing and never let anyone tell you different. I heard what McNally said and he was wrong you're not undesirables and you would be missed and even though it hasn't felt like it recently people care" Apollo told Carlos and Francisco and they both smiled at him.
"There's nobody between here and the farm so you'll be fine on your own. I have to go to the Mankins and let the others go" Apollo informed them.
"You can't go over there man. They'll kill you" Francisco warned Apollo.
"Seriously, they shot me when Francisco and I were escaping" Carlos added.
"I have to, their planning something tonight and I have to put a stop to it. Now don't argue with me just go" Apollo said to them.
The two teens looked at their savior and then hugged him.
"Don't die" Carlos said and Apollo nodded.
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Also read Superman(Marvel+DC) and Marvel: Hyperion.
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