Shadows Lingering//A Glaze AU//Sequel to 'A Superhero's Heart'

32

As two bodies laid on the roof of an apartment building, a jet flew over the city, stopping right above it. A spotlight shined down and two rope ladders dropped. Laurance and Teony came down first, the brunette quickly rushing over to his friends. His heart dropped, seeing the scene.

"Oh my Irene..", He breathed out, kneeling and checking their pulses. Once he got nothing, he cursed; "Damnit...Teony, tell them to bring down two stretchers."

She spread the message into her walkie-talkie and came up to him. She kneeled next to him, a deep frown on her face. "You okay?"

He looked over to her, tears already streaming down his face. He wiped them away and said; "I will be once I kill that monster."

"Hey, don't let your emotions blur your vision. We don't know what we're up against,", Teony snapped, looking up at the building storm clouds above them. "Once we send these two up, we have to have all hands on deck."

She got up on her feet again and started calling orders over her walkie-talkie again, leaving Laurance there to sulk. He hated staring at them...the phone call was replaying in his head. He saw that they were holding each other's hand, staring at each other, foreheads touching. It was somewhat haunting yet heartwarming to Laurance that even in their last moments, they still showed their love for each other. Their skin was pale and their eyes drained but, they looked at peace in some way. He felt cold tears fall down his cheeks as he swallowed down a sob. He hoped to Irene that the team back at the base could figure something out. Before he left, the whole team was in chaos. 
The stretchers came down and Laurance helped the paramedics put them on as agents came down per Teony's order. Once the two were being lifted to the jet, Laurance went up to her, asking; 

"What's the plan?"

Teony frowned, still worried that Laurance wasn't mentally or emotionally sound. It was late anyway, meaning that he was probably already tired. But, she took a breath and said; "Well, the city has called for an emergency lockdown. Let's just hope everyone follows suit...in the meantime, several teams are entering each district. Our group's job though is to make it to where the energy is the strongest. We just have to wait for the signal..." 

Laurance nodded, hearing police cars drive by blaring sirens. He noticed how this area was already starting to clear out, even with a large jet hovering in the sky. That made things a little less stressful. 

"What's the plan once we reach that point though?", He asked, looking over to Teony who just shrugged. 

"We'll try everything in our power to defeat him and hopefully get a dent in. We don't know what we're up against." 

Laurance, unlike Teony, knew a fraction of what Shadow was like. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best of news. He knew the bitterness and power that came from him...it wasn't not going to be easy. She placed a hand on his shoulder and asked with a sympathetic smile; "If you want to go back, I completely understand. You have your family there and I don't-" 

"No. This is my job Teony,", He insisted, wiping away the rest of his tears. "As you said though...we are going to need all the help we can get. Besides, Aph would kill me if I went back." 

She smirked and laughed a bit, knowing there was some truth in that statement. She felt a buzz from her watch, showing her a signal in the town square, and said; "Then, let's go partner." 

...

 The group slowly made their way to the city square, shops being completely abandoned and locked up. Laurance didn't like this though...it was quiet. The whole way down, there was no threat insight. Just the booming of thunder and strong gusts of wind. He recalled Shadow saying that there was going to be an army, so where was it? 

"You look upset,", Teony said, looking over at him. Laurance frowned and responded by saying; "There's something up...who brags about having an army if they don't even come?" 

Teony narrowed her eyes as she looked around. Nothing. It was strange, she had to admit but, at least wasn't a full-on attack. She held her gun tightly, ready to aim at anything that came their way. "Well, just keep an eye out. There's no such thing as too careful when it comes to things like this." 

"Help!"

A shout came from behind, everyone turning back to see a man running like his life depended on it. He looked panicked as his hair blew back in the wind. Everyone raised their guns, ready to fire at what was causing such alarm. Suddenly, a long black spike came shooting towards the man from around the corner, piercing him in the chest. Laurance's heart stopped. He couldn't believe they already lost somebody...unfortunately, he was wrong. The spike disappeared, showing the man to be in perfect health. His eyes turned a deep scarlet as his face went blank.  Nobody knew what to do...

"Sir? Are you alright?", Teony called out, nervousness traced in her voice. She had her finger on the trigger but, refused to shot a citizen. Unless she absolutely needed to.

The man didn't say anything. He just stared at the group. It made goosebumps appear on Laurance's skin under his suit. What the hell was going on? 

"He's never been better,", Another man announced, coming out from around the corner. Everyone held fire to just wait and see what was going to happen. "He's been blessed by having his anxieties and depression erased from him. He's now a new man." 

"What did you do to him?", Laurance called out, already on the edge of wanting to let loose. 

"Not what I did to him. Shadow did this. He's going to wash everyone's fears away..." 

"And you're not going to get in the way of that,", Said another voice, high-pitched. Laurance turned to see a small group of young adults, matching the description of what Blaze had told him who had attacked him that night on patrol. 

"You're Shadow's-" 

"Followers, yes. I'm Michael by the way,", The man informed them, placing a hand on his chest. "Now, either you can join us voluntarily or forcefully. Take your pick." 

"There's not very many of you,", Teony smirked, a cocky tone replacing the nerves she had before. "We can easily take you down before we get Shadow." 

The man laughed and said; "Thankfully, we have more coming." 

Multiple groups of people began to flood the square, coming out from buildings, alleyways, or down the street. They all had the scarlet eyes and walked like zombies. Everyone was lost for words, not knowing what to do or what to say. Pertified was the right word to use in this situation. Laurance was freaking out at this point. He didn't remember Shadow being this powerful before....

"Now, let me ask again. What are you going to choose?" 

Word Count: 1165