The Secret War (Jack Blank Adventure) (16 page)

“What’s he doing here?” the matriarch demanded. “Did they follow you?” It wasn’t so much a question as it was an accusation. Oblivia gave Hypnova the kind of look that could turn a person inside out. It was clear to Jack that he’d put Hypnova in a bad spot. A really bad spot. She set him back down without another word. The villains converged on them, looking for hostages. Pain grabbed through a liquefied Allegra while Skerren dodged Keystone’s probing fingers.

Jack wasn’t so lucky. He was snatched up by Arsenal while Hypnova was busy pushing back against his cohorts. Jack fought back as the heavily armed mercenary tried to carry him off, but it was no use struggling—at least not physically. Arsenal had the clear advantage in size. Luckily, even though Arsenal wasn’t using his tech-based weapons against Jack, he was still carrying them. With a thought, Jack blew up the stores of ammunition and explosives in Arsenal’s belt. Flames shot out of Arsenal’s waist as little compartments blew up one after the other. He scrambled
to take his belt off, and Jack squirmed free. Before Arsenal could recover, Jack activated a cartridge of knockout gas the mercenary had loaded into a wrist cannon and pushed Arsenal’s hand up toward his own face.

Arsenal went down, and Jack jumped back into the melee. Skerren was fully in it, slicing away at Backstab, doing his best to take her in a rematch. Allegra was wrapping her arms around Onyx’s legs, tripping him up while the Secreteers pounced on him in ever-increasing numbers. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Jack looked around for something to hit, and he found it in Tiki Man, who was throwing fire from his satchel down onto the Secreteers on the riverbank. Jack ran up and jumped off a rock, launching himself into Tiki Man’s back and knocking him over the edge. Jack landed squarely on his feet and looked down with pride at the sight of Tiki Man jumping into the river, trying to escape the very flames that he himself had thrown. When Jack looked up, he saw Hypnova staring down at him with a disapproving look.

“I know you didn’t want our help,” Jack began. “But you have to admit, we are making a difference. Maybe you
guys can pay back the favor when we’re done.”

Just then a barrage of rapid-fire smoke blasts blinded Jack, and the next thing he knew, he saw Obscuro holding Skerren and Allegra up by their necks.

“There’ll be payback,” Hypnova said to Jack with a bitter edge in her voice. “You can count on it.”

“This ends now!” Obscuro shouted. Skerren dropped his swords at his feet. He looked like he didn’t recognize what they were. Allegra looked dazed as well. It appeared that Obscuro now had his ticket out of the glen.

“No!” Jack shouted. “What did you do to them?”

“Nothing yet,” Obscuro said. “So far I’ve only made them forget how to use their powers. I’m walking out of here, Oblivia. Either that or I’ll wipe their minds clean forever.”

“How do you know I wasn’t going to do that myself?” Oblivia asked. “I’ve done far worse things to punish interlopers for nosing into our affairs. These children are not my concern, and they are not my responsibility. You are.”

“Oblivia!” Jack shouted. “You can’t let him do it. They’re my friends!”

A few tense seconds passed in silence. It was a high-stakes
standoff, but Oblivia blinked first. Obscuro almost seemed to be smiling underneath his mask. “Nice try,” he told his former leader. “But you won’t sacrifice innocents. No matter how stupid they were to interfere.”

Oblivia said nothing. Jack realized Obscuro was speaking the truth, and he was at least partially relieved, but his friends weren’t out of the woods yet. If anything, they were going in deeper than ever. Obscuro backed away slowly, and then rushed off into the mist, taking Skerren and Allegra with him.

.

Forced to let Obscuro go, Oblivia and the other Secreteers quickly turned their attention to the supervillains in the area, hoping to at least prevent their escape. Jack, on the other hand, was still intently focused on the rogue who had disappeared into the murky haze with his friends.

“No,” Jack said through gritted teeth. “Not again.” He darted into the woods after his friends. He had gotten them into this mess, and he was determined to get them out of it. He couldn’t lose them, too … not like he’d lost Jazen.

Jack ran through the fog, trying to follow the sound of Obscuro and his friends. Jack heard them nearby and could see a muted light moving through the shimmering fog up ahead. He realized it was coming from Obscuro’s glowing eyes, shining in the haze. The glittering light in the faded olive vapors left an illuminated trail for Jack to follow. He ran hard after it, plowing through pricker bushes and blindly rushing across uneven terrain. Eventually he caught up to Obscuro, just as he was about to escape into a cave near the end of the river. The entrance was camouflaged by thick ivy and weeds. Jack found the Rogue Secreteer pushing the cave’s leafy cover to one side.

“Obscuro!” Jack called out as he sprang out of the brush and back onto the river’s edge. The Secreteer stopped and looked back to find Jack running up behind him. Jack stopped a few feet away from Obscuro and put his hands up in the air. “I’m alone,” he said in between gasps of air. “Please … let them go.”

Obscuro studied Jack for a moment. “Jack Blank,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

Jack, still catching his breath, didn’t answer right away, but he thought the answer should have been obvious. “I
need to talk to you,” he said, gasping. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to sell your secrets or run away. We haven’t lost yet. We can still stop the Rüstov.”

Obscuro looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else lurking in the mist, and then released his hold on Skerren and Allegra. “No, Jack,” he said. “The Rüstov are the future. You of all people should know that. And you know they’ve already laid the groundwork for that future, deep within Empire City.”

“The spyware virus,” Jack said. “I know all about it. It’s not invincible. There’s still hope.”

“I wish I could believe that,” Obscuro replied.

“It’s true,” Jack said. “You don’t know what I’m doing to stop it.”

“What
are
you doing?” Obscuro asked. “It can’t be all that much if you’re out here chasing after me.”

Jack swallowed hard. Obscuro had him there, but he wasn’t about to admit that. “I can beat them,” Jack said. “But I need your help. Please, tell me what you know. You have to give me a chance to shut down their virus.”

“It’s not just the spyware virus that concerns me, Jack. It’s you. It’s the virus in you.”

Jack was taken aback. “What?”

“Surely you understand that the Rüstov will never let you go,” Obscuro told Jack. “They have more invested in you than you can possibly imagine.”

“What are you talking about, let me go? They don’t have me.”

“Don’t they?” Obscuro replied. “I knew about the spy-ware virus long before I saw what you had in your head, Jack. The virus is just the enemy’s plan. Over the years I’ve seen a thousand evil plots from a thousand supervillains. That’s not enough to make me do what I’m doing.”

“Then why?” Jack asked.

“Because of what the future holds,” Obscuro said. “After what I learned from you? About Revile?” The Rogue Secreteer shook his head as Jack drew in a sharp breath of air and looked over at Skerren and Allegra. Luckily, they were both still too dazed by the effect of Obscuro’s memory powers to overhear. “These are the days of no tomorrow,” Obscuro told Jack. “The war is already over. There’s nothing left to hope for. It’s destiny. It’s fate.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” Jack said. “I make my own destiny.” The words came to Jack quickly; he didn’t even
think about them. He had been telling himself that every day for a year now. Most days he even believed it.

“Of course,” Obscuro said. “The future isn’t written yet. Your will is strong. You’re not going to succumb to the Rüstov inside you. Is that it?”

“That’s right,” Jack said.

“Let me ask you this,” Obscuro said as he motioned for Jack to come closer. Jack leaned in, and the Rogue Secreteer dropped his voice to a whisper. “Heard any voices lately?”

Jack’s stomach dropped. “How do you know about that?”

“I think I’ve made my point,” Obscuro answered. “I’m sorry, Jack, but I’m afraid you’re already lost. That means so are we. Please don’t think poorly of me. I didn’t create this situation; I just happen to be one of the few people who know enough to profit from it. My secrets are only worth something here in this place. I can’t sell earth-bound secrets out in space to people who don’t care to know them, and I can’t very well leave here with nothing. I’ve grown accustomed to a certain standard of living.” Obscuro motioned toward Skerren and Allegra, who were
still in a daze. “Your friends are fine,” he said. “I was just doing what I had to in order to escape. We all do what we have to. You will too. There’s no avoiding this, Jack. You can’t fight the future.” Obscuro stopped to think, and then turned toward Jack. “Unless …”

“Unless what?” Jack asked.

“You could come with me.”

Jack took a step back from the Rogue Secreteer in shock. “What?”

“Come with me,” Obscuro repeated. “I could hide you from them. From the Rüstov. You know you’ll never be safe here. Not really. Come, Jack, now,” he said again, this time reaching his hand out toward Jack. “We don’t have much time.”

Jack didn’t entertain Obscuro’s offer for a second. “I’m not running from them,” he said. “This is the first real home I ever had. I’m not leaving it because of the Rüstov.”

“This is just a place, Jack,” Obscuro replied. “A home is where your family is.” The Rogue Secreteer leaned in close to Jack again. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t like to see your father again….”

Jack froze. Obscuro’s words hit Jack like a bolt of lightning to the heart. His world completely stopped spinning. “What?” was all he could say.

Obscuro turned his palms up. “I know a great many secrets, Jack Blank. There’s a whole universe out there … other worlds and more. There are things I could share with you, but you have to come with me.”

Obscuro reached out a hand to Jack. Jack wanted to hear more about his family, but he hesitated. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?” he asked. “You say my father’s still alive? What do you mean see him
again
? Where is he?”

“You have to trust me. Your father’s out there,” Obscuro said, pointing up at the sky. “I can take you to hi—” He stopped abruptly when an intense spotlight shone down on him from above.

“There!” a voice called out from high in the sky, and Jack looked up to see the
Knightwing
hovering overhead. The ship had separated, and Midknight, Blue, and Ricochet were riding down toward them on the lower half. A glowing Chinese dragon was following close behind with Trea and Zhi on its back. Obscuro grunted angrily as he watched the heroes approach.

“Think about it, Jack,” Obscuro said as he backed away slowly. “Just don’t take too long. The clock is ticking faster than ever.” The Rogue Secreteer dove into the nearby cave opening, leaving Jack dumbfounded. He stuck his head in after him, but saw nothing. Nothing at all. The Rogue Secreteer had vanished.

Jack was still trying to wrap his head around what Obscuro had just told him, when his classmates and the mentor heroes touched down.

“Jack? Jack! What’s going on here? Who was that?” Midknight demanded.

“Midknight?” Jack said, confused. “What … what are you guys doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Midknight repeated. “We’re tracking down a lead on Speedrazor’s gang. What are
you
doing here?”

“I’ll tell you what he’s doing,” Oblivia cut in as she came up behind Jack with a very angry group of Secreteers in tow. “Ruining our best chance to end the Rogue Secreteer’s madness!” The matriarch of the Clandestine Order was absolutely livid. Jack looked again at the cave Obscuro had escaped into. He frowned. Something about
the cave felt off. Before he could put his finger on what it was, Skerren and Allegra came out of their Secreteer-induced trances and immediately barraged everyone with questions.

“Why are you all here?” Skerren asked, looking around at Midknight and the others. “What happened? Where’s Obscuro?”

“Obscuro?” Ricochet exclaimed. “The Rogue Secreteer? That was him?”

“Yes,” Oblivia said curtly. “And thanks to your sidekicks, he got away.”

“Got away?” Skerren cried. “When? What’s going on? How did we get out here?” He was getting ready to blow at any minute. Allegra was a bit more composed.

“Jack,” Allegra said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What happened?”

“Are you okay?” Blue asked. “Jack, what was he saying to you before we got down here? Before he took off?”

Everyone was talking at once. Jack was overwhelmed. Just getting the words out of his mouth was going to be a struggle; he could hardly believe them himself. But he wanted to believe. He wanted to more than anything.

“He said,” Jack began, finding his voice at last. “He said he knows where my father is. He said he can take me to him.”

“Your
father
?” Blue replied. “Really?”

Jack nodded and looked over the faces of the many Secreteers who kept arriving on the scene one after the other. Oblivia, Hypnova, and all the other members of the Clandestine Order were furious, and the fact of the matter was they had every right be.

“That’s it?” Skerren asked. “
That’s
what you talked about? You could have asked him anything, and you asked him about your father?”

“I didn’t ask him,” Jack said. “He just told me. He didn’t even …” Jack trailed off midsentence. His head was all over the place. “Hypnova, if Obscuro knows secrets about my father, doesn’t that mean you know them too?”

“You can’t be serious,” Hypnova shot back. “Do you honestly think I’m going to tell you anything now? After what you’ve done? Do you have
any
concept of the position your actions here tonight have put me in?”

“Jack. Focus,” Midknight said. “This information about your father is interesting, but the Obscuro situation is
important. What are you doing out here? What’s got you three hunting the Rogue Secreteer through the Outlands by yourselves?”