บท 24: Chapter 24
Apollo keyed into them using his super senses to track them. They were running 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. Apollo then blurred away and stopped moving at super speed. The world then caught up to him and McNally flew backwards through the air and smashed into a tree crumpling to the floor unconscious as Carlos and Francisco watched on bewildered.
"Hello! Carlos, Francisco" Apollo said as he ran into their view at a normal speed and the two looked at him incredibly confused.
"Thank god I found you. 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" 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.
The two boys began running in the direction of the Kent farm and Apollo floated up into the sky and then shot towards the old farm the Mankins were holding the others on.
Apollo soared through the air at incredible speeds until he was floating above the farm. He saw Doctor Wesley with a man he didn't recognize. They were loading the people into a container on the back of a truck. No doubt shipping them off to their buyers.
"Quite an impressive shipment tonight. Each round is getting bigger and bigger" the other man said.
"Well we have an abundance of people we can acquire because of my employer and you know him a businessman through and through. He's always eager to supply if the demand is there and the money is too" Doctor Wesley replied.
"It must pay well to work for a man like that" the other man said.
"It pays very handsomely especially with the extra bonuses" Wesley said smirking at the truck. No doubt insinuating the sales of those people gave him some extra money. The other man smiled at Doctor Wesley and they shook hands once again.
"I should go my employer wants them by tomorrow morning and these animals can be quite noisy so best to transport them as quick as possible" the other man told Wesley who nodded.
Apollo's blood boiled. They were talking about innocent people like they were animals. People with families and loved one's who only wanted to make a life for themselves. Apollo clenched his fist having heard enough. He shot down like a rocket, moving faster than the two men could hope to react to. He instantly knocked out Doctor Wesley and the other man. Sending them both hurling backwards through the air in opposite directions, Wesley smashed into the barn and the other man flew into the field. Apollo hit them both harder than he would usually hit a regular person but he was angry. He could tell that he broke some bones but right now he couldn't bring himself to care too much about the traffickers. They were still alive and breathing. He turned to the truck and focused on the people that really mattered right now, the ones who were in danger. Apollo ripped the padlock from the back of the truck and opened the doors and saw the faces of over a dozen people all of them scared. They all began to cry out asking to be set free and a part of Apollo's heart broke imagining the hardship they all suffered through.
"It's okay. You're safe now. You're free now" Apollo said calmly in Spanish to all of the occupants of the truck as he reached out his hand to help them out.
–
Chloe and Pete published the article online while Skye and Gloria leaked everything about the Mankins and by the time the next morning rolled around everyone in Smallville was aware of what the Mankins had been doing and about how the Deputy helped them keep everything under wraps. Gloria and Francisco reunited and Ajak healed Carlos's injury. The people who Apollo rescued went back to their families and the Mankins and everyone involved were set to be put to trial for human trafficking and abuse and best of all the stop and search law wasn't passed. Apollo's faith in the people of Smallville proved to warranted much to the joy of most of the people within the community. Apollo and his friends celebrated the following night throwing themselves a miniature party at the Torch. They all played games, drank (soda not alcohol) and danced happy to have helped so many and eager to move on from what was undoubtedly the darkest thing any of them had ever encountered. Gloria and Francisco even joined in overjoyed and thankful to be with one another once again. The Torch was filled with the sounds of teens having fun, music blared and they all cheered and laughed with one another. That night the group of teens that took down the Mankins partied their hearts out.
Elsewhere in Smallville
A Hammer Industries employee was just getting home. He unlocked the front of his house and went to his kitchen to get something to eat. He began rummaging through his fridge but stopped when he heard something. The man, John Neville, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and then slowly walked through his house. He walked into his leaving room turned on the lights and found a tall and large man sitting in his recliner. The man was dressed in all black, he had black leather pants, black combat boots, a black leather shirt and a silver metal skull mask that covered his entire head.
"Mr. Neville, I'm happy to see you made it home safely" the masked man ominously said.
"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?" John said as he began to feel fearful still holding out his knife to look threatening but all it did was elicit a chuckle from the masked man.
"I'm hurt Mr. Neville, a mask and you don't recognise me" the masked man said to him putting his hand over his heart to feign anguish.
"Look I don't know what kind of sick prank or game you're playing but if you don't leave I'll be forced to call the police" John Neville threatened.
"Why would I leave? We were just about to catch up. As I recall the last time we spoke you were taking a contract that could've greatly helped me and my men. We were all ready to help build our own power station. Years of working to get ourselves in a position to be an alternate power solution for Smallville but then Hammer Industries came swooping in and took it. Hammer sold everyone on his plan to build safe nuclear power stations to make Smallville one of the leading energy providers in the state. He called his little plan Project Atom and everyone loved it. I was immediately ruined as was my business and all my years of work went to waste. The day of the meteor shower I urged you to leave us the one site we had for our station. We already were partially operational and had radium. You and Hammer Industries could build everywhere else but just leave us our station. But Justin Hammer told me that he couldn't do that. He said 'what kind of man would I be if I let a second rate business provide second rate services' and you told me before to 'clear the premises as soon as possible' before you drove off and so I spent the night of meteor shower handling Radium as my dreams crumbled before me" The masked man said his voice dark and menacing as he got up and slowly walked up to Mr. Neville.
"Oh my god, Albert? Albert Martin" Mr. Neville said finally recognising his voice.
"Ding, ding, ding." Albert Martin said.
"Look Albert it wasn't personal it really was just business. Hammer was the one who wanted your land and Radium all I did was facilitate the agreement like any good lawyer would. If you want I can get you work on one of Hammer's plants. Help get you back on your feet. There's no need to try and threaten me in my home" Mr. Neville said stepping backwards as Al stepped forward.
"I'm not here to threaten you and I am not here to beg for your scraps like some stray dog that's been left out on the street to die. No I am here to show you what I have become, what you and Hammer made me" Albert said as he started to have a strange glowing purple aura.
John Neville began to sweat out of sheer terror as Albert closed the distance between them dwarfing over him and looking down at him.
"This is how you plan on showing me the man you became? Threatening me in my home? What kind of man do you think that makes you?" John Neville asked nervously gripping his knife tighter and steeling himself.
"I am so much more than a regular man John, as you're about to find out. And once I am done showing you I'll show Hammer too" Albert Martin said as he grabbed John by his collar only for John to stab his abdomen with the knife that was in his hand. However instead of cutting through his skin, the knife broke as if he had tried to stab concrete.
Albert laughed menacingly as he began to glow with purple nuclear energy. The glow that engulfed his body wasn't just bright but extremely hot causing things around him to catch fire. Alberts eyes, the only thing you could see from behind his metal skull musk, were now emanating purple flames as a purple fiery aura engulfed the mask he was wearing. He lifted John Neville up and laughed once more.
"I told you I was more than a man" Martin said with a sadistic chuckle.
"What are you?" John asked his voice dripping with fear and pain as he felt the skin on his neck begin to melt as Albert strangled him.
"I'm the man who's going to crush Hammer and his plants, ruin Project Atom like it ruined me. Before the meteor shower, I was an ordinary man... Now I possess the ultimate power... and the ultimate curse! Now I am the Atomic Skull! And to your everlasting horror, you shall feel my power!" Martin told him before throwing him across the room.
John smashed into the wall and slowly got back up. He grabbed a nearby lamp and through it at Albert but he simply backhanded it away. John started trying to run away but Al moved far faster than he could. He grabbed him up lifting his entire boy into the air before throwing him into the ground. John spat up blood and writhed in agony his back exploding with pain. Albert then grabbed his collar and began punching him in the face. The punches were torture; every hit wasn't just hard enough to break bone but also hot enough to melt skin. John tried to plead but Albert just laughed and laughed as he enjoyed slowly killing the man who helped ruin his life. Albert heard John begin to cry and beg for his life but that was just music to his ears. Finally finishing reveling in John's torment Albert grabbed John's head holding it in between both of his hands and then summoned his atomic power causing a miniature nuclear explosion in his hands. His head was instantly vaporised and the burning remains of his body crumpled to the floor. Albert chuckled as the fires caused by his presence finally caught onto the rest of the house and it went up in flame.
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Also read Superman(Marvel+DC) and Marvel: Hyperion.
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