Sapphyra [Adult Superhero Progression]

Wyatt

“You can’t be serious.” Guy continued, pacing back and forth in front of the cell bars. “She couldn’t forget us. We’re mates, we’re starting a family for goddess’s sake!”

“I know it seems impossible but it isn’t. At least not in this scenario.” I mumbled, going through options I’d written in my head ages ago.

“I knew that board was going to be nothing but trouble.”

“The board is neutral. It is the person fulfilling the wish that is the issue.”

“Remind me why we haven’t snatched out Barbie’s throat yet? I’m dying to make a chew toy out of her spine at this point.”

I chuckled softly and focused more on the task at hand. Fantasizing about her death would do us no good. We have planned for her downfall. Unfortunately, we now needed to speed the plan’s timeline up.

“Tell me you have a plan for this, Wyatt.” Guy pleaded.

I glanced behind him, towards Voss’s empty desk. “There isn’t much I can do from here. I can’t even have a telepathic conversation with you from behind these wretched bars.”

“I imagine it would take far too long to get out on good behavior.” Rupert chimed in, picking his teeth. “Maybe the city will be destroyed for the third time and we can get out then. It’ll be hard for anyone to want us in jail if they’re all dead.”

Guy reached one meaty palm through the bars and grabbed Rupert by the throat, slamming his face up against the bars with a growl.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, runt?!” He gasped, straining against Guy’s grip.

“I’m taking out some frustration on the asshole who gives zero fucks about anyone but himself!”

On the one hand, I should probably stop him from murdering my son. On the other, I didn’t particularly care one way or the other. But my wife would.

“Let him go, Guy. Break him too much and when we wake up Sapph, she might be pissed at you.”

That was enough to get him to let go, at least for now.

Rupert grabbed his bruised throat and glared at Guy.

“Dumbass.”

“Now that everyone’s gotten their vitriol out of the way, I do have a plan but you have to follow it through, Guy. Can you do that for me?” I lowered my voice, glancing at him with hooded lids.

“I…” his hesitation was slowing progress down. I reached through the bars and cupped his cheek, making him shiver. It’s nice to see I can bring that feeling to more than just Sapph.

He leaned into my touch and gave me a reassuring nod and smile. I pulled my hand back and gripped the bars, choking down the syrup of discomfort sliding down my throat.

“Monoliths have human DNA in them.” I let that revelation hang in the air for them.

“What? I don’t follow.” Guy scratched the top of his head.

“Think of it like a person piloting a machine.” Hopefully that would help.

“A deaf, blind and halfway dead pilot.” Rupert wheezed out, still rubbing his throat.

I nodded at him. “You’ve been studying them longer than me. Thoughts?”

Clearing his throat, Rupert continued with a faint smirk, happy to be the smartest person in the room again.

“I’ve only had the one monolith to study but yes, they function off of a brain and a power source. The problem is that the pilot most likely can’t see or hear what they’re doing in the suit.” Rupert sounded far too smug…but I allowed it.

For now.

“So when members of Beacon would knock out monoliths before, it wasn’t the suit they’d taken out—” Good, Guy was putting the pieces together.

“They were taking out the pilots.”

“Yes. Gold star for you. I thought I’d have to dumb it down even more.” I rolled my eyes at Rupert. Heaven help anyone who had to put up with me sounding remotely like him.

“But I don’t understand.” Oh boy, here’s the snag. “If you took out the pilots before, wouldn’t you have noticed a body somewhere when the monolith was destroyed?”

Rupert shook his head, grimacing. “I wish. But no, the bodies were often consumed by the time the suits were destroyed.”

I held up a hand, pausing him, inspiration striking.

“The one that’s been above Cyran this entire time,” Guy mused aloud, “what if it still has its power source?”

That’s my Guy. I’m proud of him.

“We find the body then we knock out the power source.”

Guy grinned like he’d just scored the winning touchdown at the superbowl.

“And the city is saved yet again!”

“That is assuming mother even wants to knock it out.” Rupert snorts and tilts his head towards me. “She’s not exactly herself at the moment.”

“He’s right.” Though I loathed to admit it. “Barbie’s tainted her wish.”

“She’d be much more efficient putting it out of its misery.” Rupert added, stepping back into the darkness.

“But Sapph wouldn’t take a life! That’s her number one rule.” Guy insisted, hand over his heart like he was swearing on the bible.

“She wouldn’t.” I had to let him down,easy. “Sapphyra would do anything other than take a life.”

“But not Dragon Queen.”

The words tasted like burning acid on my tongue. The very same thing Sapphyra never wanted to be is now a mantle she welcomes with open arms.

“She’s not…” Guy shakes his head as if he could clear away the lies trapping our mate.

“She isn’t, Barbie is the cause of this.” I breathed low and deep. “And for that, I’m going to kill Barbie.”

Rupert’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

“Any complaints?” I turned to each of them, fully expecting some pushback.

“No. Not from me.” Guy mumbles softly.

“You—” I cut off Rupert and swerved on him, giving him the same look of hard edges that my father used to give me.

Because the truth is never soft. It’s not meant to be.

“She stole you from me. She’s twisted your mothers heart and used her lackeys to harm our marriage. There is no mercy for her.”

We get close, nose to nose.

“And if you have a problem with that then you had better handle it now.” It was not a threat or a challenge I uttered. I take no pleasure in fighting my family but I relish the chance to make those that harm my family suffer. Death can have them after I take my cut.

Guy whistled and stepped back. Rupert’s eyes, hard like mine but blue like Sapphyra’s met me. Ten seconds, it took him that long to debate if it was worth it before stepping away.

“Alright then.”

I turned back to Guy, nodding with assurance as the ground quaked around us.

“Go out there and find the source. You’ll be looking for a needle in a haystack…but I have faith in you.”

He shook his head and gave me a rueful smile. “Coming from anybody else I’d call bullshit.”

And then, to my delighted shock, he gripped my collar and pulled me up to the bars. His lips locked on to mine. My eyes fluttered closed for just a second, aching for a time of peace when we can explore this more.

“Wait for me.” He whispered against my lips, flying off just as Voss walked back in.

“Always.”