Fall of Heroes

By Christopher Bailey

A powerful new threat rises. A monster unlike anything seen before, putting the entire city in danger. The Sub-Heroes must rally to find the beast ravaging the city, despite Cloud's lost power.

But not all is at it seems, as dark hands control events behind the scenes. Hands the Sub-Heroes have battled before.

As their powers disappe

• Language: English
• Publisher: Phase Publishing
• Release date: Sep 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781952103643

Christopher Bailey

Since 1990, translator Christopher Bailey has worked as a writer and editor on books, including The Grail Code and Praying the Psalms with the Early Christians, both with popular Catholic author Mike Aquilina. Bailey is a graduate of the great books program at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.

Book preview

Sub-Heroes

3

Fall of Heroes

By

Christopher Bailey

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Phase Publishing, LLC

Seattle

By Christopher Bailey

From Phase Publishing, LLC

Sub-Heroes:

Adventures of a Fourth Grade Superhero

Rise of the Nightwatch

Starjumper Legacy:

The Crystal Key

The Vanishing Sun

The Plague of Dawn

Without Chance

Whisper

Text copyright © 2023 by Christopher Bailey

Cover art copyright © 2023 by Phase Publishing, LLC

Illustrations created under private contract with Phase Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved. Published by Phase Publishing, LLC. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

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Phase Publishing, LLC first ebook edition

September 2023

ISBN 978-1-952103-64-3

Library of Congress Control Number 2023944562

Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file.

To all the kids trying to make the world

a better place for those around them.

You don’t have to be big to be a hero.

And to my daughters. You have the power

to become anything you want.

How you choose to use it is up to you.

CONTENTS

1 - The Incident

2 - The Creature

3 - First Contact

4 - Debriefing

5 - A Second Chance

6 - The Hideaway

7 - Set in Stone

8 - A Secret

9 - The Plot Thickens

10 - The Road to Truth

11 - The Truth Revealed

12 - The Nightwatch

13 - Allies

14 - Fall of Heroes

15 - Vanished

16 - Ablaze

17 - Good to Be a Hero

1

The Incident

The training room roared with activity. Bursts of flame exploded at random from nozzles in the walls and floor. Ramps suddenly raised or tilted. Platforms dropped away with no warning. Pits opened and closed in the floors. Massive fans blasted sharp gouts of air at hurricane speeds.

Vanisher raced up a slanting ramp. Reaching the end, he leaped for the ladder leading to the platform several feet away. Before he could land, a huge metal wall slammed up right in front of him. He didn’t flinch.

Vanisher’s hand snapped out, the energy fields on the tips of his fingerless gloves dropping in an instant. His bare fingertips in touched the wall. With a whoosh, the metal structure disappeared.

Still in mid-air, he flicked his wrists. The white energy field sprang from each finger of the gloves, covering his fingertips. Finishing his leap, he caught the rungs and scurried up like a monkey.

The release upgrade on Vanisher’s gloves was working well, Tech thought.

Nearby, Blaze moved carefully past. His eyes glowed a faint yellow. In one hand, he held a sphere of flame. Cloud moved beside him, watching his back.

Right in front of them, a net sprang up. Not slowing, Blaze’s eyes flared. The ball of flame in his hand stretched out, striking like a coiled snake.

He guided the flame like a blade. The flames struck and burned away a long hole in the net. Cloud and Blaze moved through it without slowing.

Dancer zipped across in front of them. Her yellow uniform was a blur with her supernatural speed. Turrets in the nearby wall began firing paintballs at her, machine-gun style.

Leaping into a rolling flip, Dancer twisted her body with astonishing grace. Not one paintball touched her. She landed like a cat, springing once more into super speed.

In a blink, she dropped into a slide on the metal floor. Her kneepads were low friction, so she slid long and fast. Bending back, she glided easily under the metal rod that had snapped out to block her. On her feet before the rod had even stopped moving, she was running again.

Skipping almost absently behind her, Joy adjusted her glasses. A metal cage sprang from the ground around her, closing her in tightly. Unbothered, Joy lifted the chalkboard hanging around her neck by a cord.

Humming happily to herself, Joy drew a small key. Reaching down, she lifted the chalk key from the board. As solid as a real key, she put it into the lock and turned. The lock clicked, and she opened the door. Joy began to skip once again.

In the back of the training room, Tech sat in his wheelchair and watched. He held a small touchpad device in one hand. Quickly, he pressed icons on the small screen. With each press, a new trap or obstacle sprang on the Sub-Heroes.

Watch the landings, Blaze! Tech called out. Nice move, Dancer!

He laughed suddenly, shaking his head.

You’ve got to be faster than that, Vanisher! Quick decisions, let’s go!

Tech kept tapping on his screen. He didn’t need to look at what he was doing. His perfect memory told him exactly where each icon was. And exactly what each one did.

Careful, Dancer, he called, becoming alarmed.

Running with super speed straight up a wall, Dancer ignored him. But then, like someone flipped a switch, her super speed stopped. Now running at normal speed, gravity won.

Stumbling upward, she desperately reached out for something to grab. The smooth, metal wall gave her nothing.

Dancer! Vanisher called from too far away.

Tech’s breath caught in his throat as he watched her fall. She was high. Too high. And falling fast now. He didn’t have anything he could do to catch her. None of the traps on that wall would work for this.

Blaze, still holding Cloud’s hand, spun and pulled Cloud. Tech knew what he was doing. He was going to launch the weightless Cloud across to catch Dancer. It was a good move, except for one thing.

Cloud’s powers were gone.

Blaze lurched in surprise, then horror as he remembered.

Dancer screamed as she fell.

Tech suddenly had an idea. He quickly hit an icon on his pad. Immediately, all of the obstacles stopped. He tapped another two icons rapidly.

A panel on the wall below Dancer opened. A massive fan hidden inside roared to life. The hurricane winds caught the falling girl sidelong. She was blasted out and away from the wall, but she still fell.

Diving in from the side, Vanisher was barely close enough. But only because she’d been blown directly toward him.

Vanisher caught her in both arms. Tucking into a roll, the pair tumbled down a ramp. Sliding to a stop, Tech could hear Vanisher and Dancer both gasping from here.

Tech wheeled quickly toward them. The rest of the team was heading their way, too.

Dancer stood slowly and gave Vanisher a relieved, grateful look.

Dancer, are you okay? Tech asked as he reached her.

Yeah, Tech. I’m fine. Stupid powers. I hate it when it switches off like that.

Joy arrived next, looking to see if Dancer was hurt.

Slowly, Vanisher stood. He was holding his left arm tightly with his right hand. His expression was angry. He looked her over carefully.

I’m fine, Vanisher. I’m sorry, that was stupid.

You’re lucky Tech was so quick to react. That fall could have killed you! he almost shouted.

Dancer looked down, ashamed. Joy, obviously realizing Dancer was okay, began doodling on her chalkboard absently.

I know, Dancer agreed. My power hasn’t switched off like that in weeks. I got careless.

Vanisher’s expression softened.

Just be careful, okay? We don’t want to lose you. Especially not over a loco stunt like that in a training exercise. Even Cleric can’t heal you if you’re dead.

The girl who worked in the medical bay with healing powers was incredible. But even she couldn’t heal death.

Blaze and Cloud arrived then. He was hurrying but limping heavily on his leg with the brace. Cloud moved beside him. Her expression was sad, and Tech understood.

Blaze’s move would have worked if Cloud’s power was still active. But ever since their last battle with the Nightwatch…

Well, Tech didn’t know if her powers would ever work again. The evil Doctor Tox’s serum had removed them. Permanently, as far as anyone could tell. But Tech was working on it.

Joy’s drawing of a bird suddenly hopped off the chalkboard. The little chalk bird fluttered around and chirped at them happily. After a moment, it vanished in a small cloud of chalk dust.

Most of the team grinned at her. Vanisher still didn’t look happy.

Tech’s display pad beeped at him. He looked down at it, and quickly read the message. Frowning, he looked up.

All right, Sub-Heroes. Let’s call it a day. I just got some information I need to go run through my computer.

Problem? Vanisher asked, turning toward Tech.

Tech shook his head uncertainly.

"I’m