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Act 1: TWILIGHT OF THE GODS Series

Book10: Folly Of The Gods

Chapter -1- Wake of Catastrophe

Saturday, October 30, 2049 - noon Old Manhattan, New York City ...

Reno Nevada gazed out over the island of Manhattan, once the biggest metropolitan city in America, and sighed. The city was unrecognizable. Not one skyscraper remained standing. It was an island of rubble where millions of people once lived.

It was now the biggest mass grave in human history - known, simply, as 'NYC', New York Cemetery.

A girlish voice startled Reno from his reverie. "Hey," she said for the second or third time. "Hey," she repeated again. "Wake up."

Reno sat on a rooftop of a house, overlooking Manhattan Island. It was cold, and gloomy. The sky was the same color of grey as the rubble that extended for miles in front of him.

His eyes lifted to the colorful girl at his side.

She was young looking, with bright green eyes and canary blond hair. The succubus, at a glance, could have passed for fifteen years old, but despite her youthful appearance and occasionally childish demeanor, Karla Loupe was one of the oldest people Reno knew.

He looked her over. She almost always wore skirts and blouses, despite the cold New York weather. Her carnation-painted lips always matched the color of her lacquered, manicured nails. She always wore an expensive handbag, and had exceptionally white teeth.

Reno offered her a smile. He turned his gaze back to the seemingly endless cemetery. "I hear you. I'm just thinking."

"About what?" she asked.

"How this," he nodded towards Manhattan, "is my fault."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." Reno shifted his weight on the roof. "In 2023, there was this Romanian girl named Abby."

"I remember Abigail," Karla said. "How does she factor into the East Coast of the United States inexplicably ripping off the continent and, more or less, moving out to sea?"

He sighed with a shrug. "She told me she needed help with some ... religious relic. Apparently her people were self-proclaimed guardians of this thing." Reno ran his hands back through his black tousled hair. "Three Romanian men had a tattoo on their backs. If they stood side-by-side, you could read the inking like a map."

Karla tilted her head. "Yeah?"

"Aris Falcon killed them, slashed up their backs until the map was unreadable, and then he went for that relic. Abby was young."

"Yeah, she wasn't even drinking age yet."

Reno nodded in agreement. "She was old enough to know what was going on, but young enough that we caught her several times. She was smart enough that she kept getting away, so we assumed she knew something important. We questioned her about those three dead guys. And you know what?"

Karla rubbed her palms over her leggings in an attempt to warm her legs. "What, babe?"

"That girl told me everything."

"Everything? Like, she told you about Falcon killing the gypsy guys? She told you about the relic?"

Reno looked away from Karla, as if ashamed. "Yeah. And I didn't help her. Falcon nabbed her, put her away, and then that asshole marched off with that 'seed' or 'nut' Abby's caravan was trying to hide. I should have done something but I didn't. Falcon got away, used these relics to create some sort of global catastrophe, and now..."

Silence. Karla looked down. Her expressive eyes looked like Reno felt - sullen and guilty.

"What, Karla?"

"I approached her once. I told her to leave. I said she needed to convince her folks to leave the city. But I didn't think they were in that much trouble, so I wasn't as convincing as I was told to be. Then, ages later, I find out her company was connected to the world's oldest religious relic.

"And she told me about it. I could have stopped millions from dying."

"Whoa, hey now," Karla said in a stern voice. "You can't blame yourself - Falcon figured out how to mess with plate tectonics, Top Cop. He used that technology to kill millions. Stop being so hard on yourself."

Reno pointed to Manhattan Island. "You see it? That's my fault, Karla. I didn't even try. I just let it happen. By the time I decided to get involved, it was too late. And the worst part of it all - Aris used some copycat homegrown Nicky-look-alike to mess with my head. And I let her walk over me. And now the entire East Coast of America is a dirty, poverty-stricken strip of swamp and death."

Karla sighed. "You shouldn't be sitting out here. It's not healthy."

"Why, because of the nuclear plant that went up in 2025? Yeah, that's also my fault. It blew up because an earthquake lasting, like, a week - the whole thing was the result of my inability to..."

"Shut up." Karla smirked. "Seriously, you never whine. So why are you doing it now? Cut it out. You know what you've got now?"

"A guilty conscience?"

"You've got kith and kin to help you out." Karla's expression melted into a lopsided grin. "Seriously, babe, Vincent is out there, somewhere, waiting to help us. You've got all of us as friends. We're here for you."

Reno opened an arm towards her. "You look cold."

Karla moved close and put her head against the top of his chest, beneath his shoulder. She drew her knees up to her chest and sighed. "Yeah. You do realize this area is irradiated from nuclear plants going critical to the north and south, right? Indian Point and, uh, I forget the other."

"Karla, I came up here because I needed the perspective."

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "Lucky for us this house is lined with lead, and it's clean." She took a deep breath, adding, "I'm not going to cry again."

"Why, because tomorrow is your birthday?"

She laughed softly, nuzzling against his chest. "No. I was thinking about the infamous third of October."

Reno sighed. "Sinopa might have survived. She can handle the heat."

"Don't, Reno. Don't start that."

"I know you miss everyone. I'm sorry." He frowned thoughtfully and looked down at the top of her head. "You've cried for four weeks."

"If they were alive, we'd have heard from them by now."

"How do you figure?" Reno reached his free hand down and tilted her chin up. "Seriously, Karla, how do you figure they would have contacted us? No power, no phone lines, no cellular signal, and they're probably underground."

"You're a goddamn optimist lately."

Reno afforded her a smile. "Yeah? So what if I am?"

"They would be dead by now from radiation poisoning. You think Sinopa kept potassium iodide behind the bathroom mirror? No. Not at all. I'll tell you right now, if Sinopa survived it, then she's the only one. She would be sitting there, burying Kalen and Laura and Kuda, and ... goddamn. I can't talk about this right now."

Reno pulled her against his chest and sighed. He rested his chin atop of her head. "I say we go and look for them."

Karla looked back up. "You're crazy. The exclusion zone is the whole goddamn city."

"You can teleport. I can zap from place to place as a bolt of lightning. There are lots of ways to get in."

"Reno, it's the entire city. We're not talking about circumventing the border patrol. We're talking about trying to gain access to any part of the city at all."

"Yeah, Karla I get that. But...

Karla sighed, frustrated with him. "It will be guarded with satellite, thermal, you name it - you're not making sense right now."

"How bad can it be?"

She sighed against his shoulder. "Let's see, nine thousand people died. It could have been a quarter million if the city was populated. And that's just from the blast. Then there is a ton of radiation. It's as bad as what happened to Nagasaki - same death count. But downtown is just gone, like Hiroshima. We can't go there. Not without your brother, at least."

"I thought the news said the radiation was a fraction of what was initially assumed." Reno shrugged. "They said it was supposed to be really bad because of a surface explosion, but last week, it was estimated to..."

"Reno, the facts keep changing because nobody knows what's going on. Next week, they might tell us it's ten times worse than initially assumed."

"We have to go and find Sinopa. You said it yourself, there's a possibility she survived."

"She couldn't have survived that. Anyone who was unlucky enough to have experienced it won't live very long."

Reno arched his brows. "They were talking about a guy on the news, just this morning, named ... something Yamaguchi. He survived both nukes over Japan, and lived to the age of 93."

"Tsu ... tomu, or something like that," Karla said. "He died in 2010. I have a pretty good long-term memory. He died of stomach cancer, and you're right, he survived two atomic bombs and went on to outlive many who have never been near radiation."

"See? Have a little faith."

She sighed. "I've seen the heavens. No technology. It sucks."

"Karla..."

"Reno, those were airburst bombs in Japan. It's different."

"So?"

Karla shrugged. "The one that went off in San Francisco was nearly on the surface. That caused a lot of radioactive fallout. You're talking nearly two centuries before it's safe to go back there."

"Two centuries is worst case," Reno said. "I heard that, too, but you know that's for the downtown area. They lived in Pacific Heights. We have to go. If there was a way to get a hold of Vincent, we could..."

"There isn't," Karla said. "We can't just call Falcon and ask to borrow your brother." She stood up and stretched. "Shit."

"What?"

She cracked a smile. "Actually, you might be right."

"I ... what?"

"I just remembered, when that tsunami hit the lower East Coast a few months ago ... Vincent was sent out by Falcon to clean up the damages. Sinopa and I saw him at a nuclear power plant in Maryland. At first, I thought Falcon was doing it because he didn't want radiation problems anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean. But..."

Reno grinned. "But the news reported, just a few days ago, that their initial reports were wrong, and the radiation was, somehow, much more manageable than previously thought. And nobody could understand why."

Karla sat back down next to Reno. "You really think Vincent might have been sent there to help save San Francisco?"

"We can't think about that right now. We have to find Sinopa. If Vincent is there, great. If he's not, then it is what it is. One thing at a time."

"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into going into an exclusion zone."

Reno stood up and stretched. "You're technically in one right now."

"Yeah, but it's almost thirty years old. San Francisco is almost thirty days old." Karla looked down into her handbag. "I miss having Kuda at my side. What if he died?"

"Then he deserves a proper burial. We can teleport. We're the ones who have to go."

Karla replied with a disgusted expression, displeased with the mental imagery. "What about fighting Falcon?"

"Sinopa was part of that battle plan. We need her and you know it."

Karla nodded. "You're right. Dammit. You're right. And what if Kalen died? Who is going to wake Natalia?"

"One thing at a time, Karla. Let's go downstairs and talk to Conner and the others."

"Yeah." Karla frowned. "Tamamo will want to go. She's taking Sinopa's death harder than I have."

"Yeah. Should we tell them? They'll all want to go. And, for the record, I still think Sinopa is alive."

Karla turned to face Manhattan Island and sighed. "I don't know what to do. We can't all go, incase it's too dangerous."

"What are you two planning?" The voice belonged to Tamamo-no-Mae, a kitsune spirit fox of Japanese Shinto lore.

Reno and Karla turned around on the rooftop. Two delicate white hands came up over the side. A young Asian woman pulled herself up, upon the roof.

Karla waved her hand, using telekinesis to levitate the woman up onto the roof. Karla closed her hand, placing Tamamo on her feet. "Watch your step, Tammy."

The woman had long dark hair with stark white roots. The face of the woman belonged to a human Japanese woman named Tamae who volunteered to be a host for Tamamo-no-Mae's spirit.

The kitsune crossed the roof, careful to mind her footing, and asked, "Are you two going to look for the remains of our friends? Something about a proper burial?"

Karla hooked a thumb at Reno. "Top Cop seems to think that Sinopa would have survived. We were going to head over there and..."

Tamamo held both of her hands up. "You would want a record of a flight to the west coast? We were trying to lay low. And we cannot put ourselves into danger at length."

"Tamamo, we could be in and out," Karla said.

"How short is your memory? We all stood together from the Hallway of Reflection and watched as San Francisco was subjected to a horrific explosion."

Reno held his hands up. "Slow down, Tamamo. Please. If Sinopa is alive, we have to help her. She would have no way to leave."

Tamamo narrowed her gaze. "She would not stay there for a month under those conditions. We rescued the Celestial Realm. Sinopa would have stepped into any mirror large enough to pass through as a portal. She would not stay in that ... graveyard of a city."

Karla grimaced.

"We have to try."

"No, Reno-san. They would be charred or sick from radiation."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "If so, they require a proper burial."

"No." Tamamo narrowed her eyes. "Mourn them, but there is no point to disturb them. I am waiting to hear from a friend in my home realm. Kuzu-no-Ha will determine whether or not our friends have passed into the afterlife."

Reno shrugged. "You're a deity, but you're not my God. No offense, Tamamo, but I'm going with or without your blessing."

Tamamo opened her mouth, shocked. Words failed her.

"I'll let you guys know what I find. If you don't want me to take a flight to California, then let me pass through a mirror or something. I'm going either way, so make up your mind."

Tamamo narrowed her eyes. "Do not think you are getting your way because you are acting like some sort of alpha male. I will take you through a mirror because you need to see, for yourself, that you are impetuous. Once you've been humbled, this will be the last time you speak out of turn. Are we clear?"

"Fine," Reno said. "I have one condition."

"You are in no place to make demands, Reno-san."

"You're going to hear me out and do as I ask, because it's for the best." Reno turned away from Tamamo and hugged Karla, gently. He turned back to Tamamo and said, "You leave Karla here. I'm the only one going."

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Karla.

"Sorry, Karla. Someone has to lead a team down to that stupid city and rip Falcon apart. If it's dangerous in San Francisco, we can't both be in danger. Also, I heal."

"So do I!"

"Yeah," Reno argued, "but it's a slow repair thing. Mine is a cellular regeneration thing. I'm not arguing with you. You're not going. It was my idea. You're staying here. You're in charge of Conner, Carmen, James, Rachel, and Wilfred. You're going to help them find Greg Watson and his wife. You're going to get Carmen together with Steven and Cybil, so they can cut that thing out of her head. And you're going to play nice. Are we clear?"

Karla glowered at Reno. After a moment, she sighed. "We're supposed to be a team."

Reno held a finger up to Tamamo. "One sec." He put his arm around Karla and walked her further down the roof. He spoke softly, so that Tamamo was out of earshot. "No offense, but just because we're fooling around, don't think I'd bring you into danger like that. Not unless I absolutely had to. If anything, sex is going to make me more protective of you."

"God dammit."

Reno kissed her forehead. "This is man's work. Let me go and do it. I know you're capable, but you shouldn't have to risk your ass over there. It's my right, as a man, to open the pickle jar for you. Let me open the goddamn pickle jar, okay? I will let you know if it's safe."

Karla sighed. "Going over there is stupid to begin with. We already had this argument. The only reason I want to go with you is because I want to make sure you're okay."

"Karla, I'll be fine. I can turn into a bolt of lightning now, remember?"

She turned directly towards him, snatched his collar in her hands, and said, "I'm starting to catch feelings for you, Reno. It was 'friends with benefits.' But we've been friends for a long time. We've trusted one another for a long time. And I nursed you back to health last year. We're close. Everyone else has died on me, and you keep coming back to life. So I have to go with you. I have to make sure you don't join Chance and Eric."

Reno frowned. "I don't know what to say to all of that. I don't ... you're catching feelings for me?"

"Yeah."

"That's going to complicate stuff."

"I know." She leaned in and rested her head against his chest. "I'm a stupid girl. But you have to promise me something."

"Yeah?"

"We don't say 'I love you' to each other. You said it to Nichole and she passed away. I said it to Eric and he died. I even said it to Chance ... and he died. Those are tainted words, so far as I'm concerned."

"Karla..."

She looked back up. "Don't you dare say you don't feel the same."

Reno smiled. He cupped her face in his palms and kissed her, softly, on the lips.

He tilted his head forward, resting his forehead against hers. "I do. I feel the same. But I told myself to ignore it because I know you're a succubus. You feed on other people. You shouldn't deny who you are for someone."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time you try and act like you have a normal life, shit hits the fan. You know why we rescued the Celestial Realm?" Reno patted her cheeks with his palms. "Because, Karla, you were back. Old Karla was back. You have to be 'old Karla,' until this is over. And if we destroy Falcon and win the day or whatever ... I'll agree we should be a couple."

"You want me to sleep with other people until we kick Falcon's ass?"

Reno laughed and shrugged. "I don't mean to say it like that. I just mean ... be who you've always been. You and I - we'll still be friends with benefits. We'll still have our thing. But no emotional attachment until it's all over."

"You want me in your life, but you want me to be 'old Karla,' is that it?"

He smiled somewhat. "Be the snarky succubus who uses her whiles and her ways to get the job done. Then, when Falcon is dead, you take your pills and we talk about starting something together."

"You ... you really mean that?"

"I said it, didn't I?" Reno kissed her forehead. "I was told I'm going to live a long time and age slowly. I don't want to do that shit alone. You want to have a relationship? I'm down. You want to get married? I'm down for that, too. You want to have more kids? We'll try. But not until Falcon's is dead. I need you focused. And the only way you focus is if you're in the zone."

"And you think I can't be in the zone and in a relationship at the same time, huh?" Karla rubbed her face with her palms.

"They say love lifts you up and gives you wings 'n shit like that. They say it makes you unstoppable."

"But?"

"But maybe that's not true for us. You and I have lost all our loved ones to Aris Falcon. Maybe not directly, but he's the reason they're gone. And I need you on your game when we fight him. So, you're going to be old Karla until that man is dead and buried."

"I'll hold you to that." Karla grinned. "Seriously, Reno. I will hold you to that. Just one problem..."

"Yeah?"

"What if I don't want to sleep with anyone else right now? After Aphrodite I realized that women are still interesting to me."

"And men?"

She shrugged. "On the battlefield, Ares was flirting with me and I didn't even care."

"You didn't care about Ares flirting with you? The guy was naked and ripped."

Karla rolled her shoulders, hunching in another halfhearted shrug. "I wasn't interested. You're the only guy I've really wanted to hook up with lately. Sorry, can't change the way I feel. I've felt that way for a while now. And, I've been acting like 'old Karla,' and kicking ass. So, will you take me with you now?"

Reno smiled. "Have everyone else ready to fight Falcon when I get back with Sinopa. It won't be long."

Karla balled her left hand into a fist and punched Reno in the chest. "You're lucky I didn't use telekinesis to slug the ever-loving-shit out of you just now. And what would be the point? Seeing as you can 'heal' and all." She smirked at him. "But I'm thinking about it, though."

Reno cupped either side of her face, kissed her again, and said, "I know you said no making out because it's weird, but ... deal with it. I like kissing you. You've got soft lips." He stepped back from her. "Keep the Parker kids in line. Have everyone training while I'm out west."

Karla sighed. "Yeah. Dickhead." She afforded him with a weak smile. "Come back alive, I swear to God. You better come back alive."

"I will. I've been dead once." Reno shrugged. "It didn't take." He turned away from her and approached Tamamo. "You ready?"

"Where did Karla go?"

Reno glanced over his shoulder. The succubus was nowhere in sight. He shrugged at Tamamo and smiled. "She teleported downstairs to do what I asked her."

"She ... listened to you?"

"Yeah." His smile broadened a bit. "Are you ready? Where's the nearest mirror? I'm ready to go right now."

"As you wish." Tamamo peered over the side of the rooftop. "I wish to speak to Conner before we go. We are in a relationship, now. It would be in poor taste not to tell him I am leaving briefly."

Reno took Tamamo's hand and, all at once, he took her to the ground in the form of lightning.

Tamamo looked around and swallowed. "I honestly thought it would electrocute the other person. I had no idea you could take someone with you when doing that."

"Surprise." Reno nodded towards the door of the small house on the hill. "I'm glad that place is lead-lined. Go kiss my nephew and let's go. Where's the nearest mirror?"

"Inside, actually. We have one in the basement."

"Well let's hurry it up, then. I'm in the mood to be productive today." Reno offered a wry grin. "So we're going back through the Celestial Realm? Did the war ever stop, there?"

"Hai. They have elected a Prelate panel to determine the next voice of our kind."

"What the hell is a prelate?"

"On Earth, it is a title for someone who teaches the word of faith to worshippers. But we are all gods. We elect those who are familiar with all religions to determine a voice for our kind. Think of that voice as a sort of Prime Minister."

"Oh, I get it. You have a congress voting on a president."

"Hai." Tamamo paused at the door to the house and smiled.

"What?"

"Did you know a gathering of apes is known as a congress?"

"That puts things into perspective."

"Hai, perhaps. But another name for a Prelate, like an Archbishop, is a 'primate,' which is also another term for an ape?"

Reno grinned. "No matter how you look at it, Tammy, whether it's a gathering of politicians, or ministers of faith, they're all a bunch of monkeys."

"I would not have dared to say it."

"Yes you would," Reno replied with a thin smile.

The kitsune replied with a knowing smile of her own. "Come." She opened the door. "We should be prepared before we depart for San Francisco. I cannot believe I am allowing this."

"Believe it, sister. And I'm ready already."

Tamamo narrowed her eyes. "In my culture, there is a level of respect to which one should always adhere. I would appreciate it if you did not refer to me by a street title. That is only appropriate if I were related to you."

"Relax, will you?" Reno walked through the door. "I'm going to rescue Sinopa. I'll bring the mirror back with me."

Tamamo opened her mouth but paused. "You will not be able to bring the mirror back through a standard mirrored portal. It is the Yata no Kagami. It is one of the most sacred of relics of Japan. That is your mission."

"Excuse me?"

"You must secure it. I will await you in the Celestial Realm and watch your progress. If you need my aid, I will come through and assist you, else I will stay in the Hallway of Reflection."

"I thought you'd be separated from your host body?"

"Hai."

"But I thought you were too wounded, outside of Tamae, to separate from her."

Tamamo swallowed. She frowned. "You are correct. I am getting ahead of myself. I'm afraid I will not be able to help."

Reno ran his hands up through his hair. "Alright, alright. Shove me through a mirror. I'll nose around the Hallway of Reflection, find one that reflects San Francisco back, and hop through. I got this. I've been there; I've seen it. I can handle this."

"Reno, consider your safety? You need to realize you will not have my aid. At all."

"As Conner would say, I'm jumping in blind with no safety net. I got this, okay? Just relax. Let's get this done."

Tamamo sighed. "Come, then. I cannot believe I am sending you alone, but if the Yata no Kagami mirror remains undamaged in San Francisco, we cannot allow it to be taken by either the Esoteric Council or Aris Falcon. It must be taken to the Parker Island and sealed away from the world."

Reno sighed. "Okay. I'll find a way to bring the mirror back. It's got eight sides and a fancy frame, right?"

"Hai. You leave immediately. Come."

X

---

X

Saturday, October 30, 2049 - 9:15_am San Francisco, California Pacific Heights_ ...

Reno Nevada tumbled through a mirror and crashed on top of an empty bed.

He sat up in the bedroom of a gorgeous mansion. Glass covered the floor around the bed, and the remains of downtown San Francisco loomed in the distance.

He climbed off the mattress and made his way to the window. His mouth felt dry.

He gazed out the glassless window in shock at what little was left. Charred skeletons of three skyscrapers stood like grave markers over the remains of the city.

Reno felt overcome with grief. His emotions made it difficult to breathe. He backed away from the window and sat down on the bed, staring at the city he grew to love in his youth. It was all gone.

He ran his hands over his face and silently cried. Was this his fault, too?

Reno dropped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He sniffed loudly and rubbed his palms into the swollen sinuses beneath his eyes. "Fuck!"

Silence was his reply. Time stood still over the charred husk of once-beautiful San Francisco.

He took his time to get over the lifeless image in the distance.

After a little while to grieve, he stood up again and put his feet on the floor. His shoes crunched on glass, likely shattered during the nuclear eruption nearly a month ago.

Reno made his way through the mansion and found graffiti on a large wall. It read, 'Like 1906, we will rebuild!'

He rubbed his face again, deciding it was strange for the mansion to have its curio cabinets intact. Little ornate teacups, clocks, and other things that should have been looted were still behind glass doors.

He approached one such cabinet and frowned. Inside, teacups were lying on their side, in their dishes. Ornate dolls had fallen over, and some objects had fallen from any given shelf, leaving a collection of random pieces at the bottom of the curio cabinet.

Reno made his way down to the ground floor, noting the banister was coated in a month's worth of dust.

He opened the front door, but no alarm sounded.

The mansion, like the city, was as silent as a tomb. There was a sign posted in the yard.

Reno headed down fancy stairs and walked out into the grass. He approached the sign and moved around in front of it.

It read, 'Looters: A reminder, the objects within have been irradiated. Taking objects from San Francisco is forbidden and dangerous to your health. It is illegal to sell these objects, because items taken from this city may cause cancer, radiation poisoning or death. Article 27229B1, subparagraph 1A.'

The sign appeared fairly new. The mansion, from which he came, was bleached and faded looking. Most of the windows were shattered.

Reno made his way out of the yard, to the street. Radioactive contaminant signs were posted throughout the area. Other than the breeze, the city was eerily silent.

He sighed and started walking. At the end of the road, the gates were ajar. He pushed on a large fence and it squeaked softly. Reno made his way through and paused.

A security shack was half collapsed. One wall had crumbled, causing the roof to cave inwards. There was a first aid box on the remaining wall, but at a glance it appeared open and empty.

Reno made his way down the street, heading towards another expensive neighborhood. He stopped at the bottom of an intersection and gazed up a hill towards the swanky homes where the Parker Mansion resided.

A home at the bottom of the hill appeared to have been damaged by fire. The front of the home was missing. He could see into the rooms from the street, as though it were an oversized dollhouse.

Wallpaper covered one room, and another room had painted walls. Reno grimaced. He started up the hill towards what he once called the 'swanky estates,' years ago.

He used a footpath to go around the large gates, leading into the community.

He recalled teaching Nicky Parker how to drive a stick shift on the steep hill when they dated. It seemed like another lifetime ago. For the rest of the world, it happened twenty-seven years ago. However, for Reno, it felt like two years - three tops.

Further up the hill, the street began to level out. Reno walked along the gates of the Parker Mansion.

He approached the gate and frowned. Someone or something powerful had forced it open. An electric magnet hung on wires from the top and bottom of the gate frame. He pushed the gate open and walked onto the premises.

Reno made his way around to the back of the mansion. A part of the hillside sloped away, facing San Francisco's downtown area in the distance.

Entire city blocks were flat and charred. The streets created squares and rectangles in the distance, leading all the way out to the bay. Treasure Island was in the far distance, but the I-80 Bay Bridge had collapsed halfway out to Yerba Buena.

He squinted, able to see what used to be AT&T Park in the distance, as the morning fog lifted. It didn't appear to have lights over the stadium anymore. The fact he could see the stadium was a heartbreaking testament to the fact San Francisco had been blasted and burned to the ground.

He turned west and squinted. He couldn't see the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog in the distance. Reno wondered if the legendary landmark was even still there.

He headed into the courtyard behind the mansion, where tents were still set up, forgotten after a month. He walked through, peering into several. Cots were missing their blankets, likely taken by homeless people.

Very little was left from the hundreds of hunters who stayed in the tents before going to the Celestial Realm a month ago.

Reno headed through the courtyard to the shattered back windows. He sighed softly and made his way into the mansion's rear entrance.

It was mostly intact. Spoiled food was molding in the fridge. The 'game room,' where Jon Parker once kept all of his football memorabilia was empty. The fancy decorative keepsakes were all missing. Every last football helmet and framed jersey - gone.

Reno made his way through the entire house, room by room.

The only door that didn't open was in a hallway on the first floor. It was just around the corner from the kitchen. He eventually came full circle and made his way back to it after checking everything else.

Try as he might, Reno couldn't open it.

He considered the possibility that it might be sealed electronically. Reno placed his palms against the door and sent a charge into the frame.

No dice. The door didn't budge.

He thought about the times he'd been through the house, trying to remember what was behind the door. All at once, he remembered his car was on the other side of the door.

Reno headed back out of the mansion, through the front doors and saw a sign posted in front, just like at the other property, from earlier. It had a radiation symbol and words of warning.

He walked down to the street, through the front gate, and made his way down the hill, to where a small side street was located. He walked along the side street and approached a rolling door, which lead to the car garage beneath the Parker Mansion.

He wrapped his knuckles against the door, but it was solid. It wasn't the same kind of door he remembered seeing in the past. Reno stepped back and held his hands towards the metallic surface.

A bolt of electricity bubbled up from his core and fed through his right arm. The rod of white burst from his palm.

The lightning he unleashed danced around on the surface of the solid door. It left a black scorch mark, but it didn't penetrate the metal. He closed his fist and dropped his arm.

A spot on the door glowed bright orange, but dimmed as it cooled in the crisp autumn air.

Reno approached the door and tried again. He put his palm less than six inches from the surface. He tensed his body, throwing as much current as he could muster into the bolt.

He grit his teeth, working to keep the energy focused on one point.

Water dripped down from above the door, as a built-in counter-measure. The electricity followed the path of the water, which drew electrical focus away from the singular concentrated point on the door surface.

Some of the water splashed up on Reno's hand, causing his focused electrical current to spread out, away from his palm. He drew his hand back and wiped it on his pants. "Water won't electrocute me! I'm immune to electricity! How the hell do you think I shower?!"

There was no response.

He ran his hands up through his hair and sighed. "Automated defense systems - there's power somewhere in this house." He began pacing in front of the door. The orange spot on the surface cooled rapidly from the water rolling down the door. It pooled on the asphalt at his feet.

Reno sighed. "Okay, there was an EMP created from a nuke. So there must be some sort of shielded generator in there. Using power means someone is alive in there. Right?"

He began pacing from frustration. "It's been a month. Did they die from radiation sickness or are they still alive?"

He looked down at his hands. "Am I going to get sick, or is this potassium iodide stuff going to be enough?"

Reno paused. His eyes met a maintenance panel on the wall. He approached it and pulled on the panel but it was secured to the wall.

The metal appeared to be different than the panel covering the parking garage. It sounded hollow when knocking on it.

An electric beam came from his palm. It curved around, taking the shape of a large sickle with a hooked end. He pushed the shaped beam into the door panel and, slowly, carved a hole into the hatch.

The piece of metal fell to the ground with a loud clang. Reno peered in, using a small arc of electricity between his thumb and forefinger to create light.

There was a lever inside marked, 'manual override.' He reached into the hole and lifted the lever up. Nothing happened.

Reno took a deep breath to clear his head. He reached through the hole in the square metal cover again, felt around for a latch, and unlocked it from the inside. He opened the hatch and studied the access panel.

A grounding line ran down from a circuit board, behind the lever. The ground ran down into the wall. The circuit board appeared damaged, likely from the EMP caused by the nuke four weeks ago.

Reno sighed, staring at the damaged board behind the panel with the lever. He reached for it but his fingers met resistance. A clear glass box housed the damaged circuit board. "Okay, so it's fried. Awesome."

He rubbed his face and stepped back from the maintenance panel. Reno stared at the concrete wall around the large metal door. He approached the wall, between the door and the panel. He put his hands against the concrete and took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's fall back on fiction. How many superheroes have abilities involving electricity? Maybe I can," he trailed off, thinking about his options. "Maybe I can make a plasma grenade."

Reno cupped his hands in front of the concrete and tensed his body. He channeled intense electricity and heat into a focused point.

A brilliant ball of light formed in front of his cupped palms. Reno looked away, unable to stare at the tiny illuminated point.

He grit his teeth from the heat. He backed away but focused on keeping the energy adjacent to the wall. The glowing ball on the wall was so hot, his palms bubbled up.

After a few seconds, his third degree burns mended. Blisters disappeared from his palms. He continued to back away but could still feel the intense heat from the building energy.

The little orb of electricity cooked the paint off the wall. The asphalt bubbled on the ground. Reno continued to feed electricity to the ball from several feet away but the heat was growing uncomfortable, even with the added distance he put between himself and the glowing ball of plasma.

He felt sweat run down his back, just being several feet from the glowing ball.

Reno moved further down, until he was twenty-feet away. The ball of energy remained. "Now what? Do I blast it with lightning?" He held his hands up and discharged a bolt of lightning into the glowing ball of plasma. Nothing happened.

He squinted, unable to look directly at the ball due to its intense bright illumination. The concrete wall began to decompose, resembling something akin to lava. The asphalt bubbled like boiling tar.

The paint on an adjacent section of the wall ignited, cooking off the surface.

Reno squinted. "Jesus, what did I make?"

The concrete wall slowly crept away from the rebar, leaving a hot pile of sludge in the puddle of what was once asphalt. He tried to move closer to see, but the intensity of the heat made it impossible.

Reno looked down at his hands. They turned bright red, as if from a sunburn, just from his proximity to the area. He backed up. His peeling skin flaked off his palms and fingers.

Healthy pink skin soon pushed the flaking skin away. He dusted his hands together until it was mostly gone.

Reno watched as the rebar grew soft. It glowed orange, but he couldn't look straight at it due to the tiny white energy ball in front of the wall.

Reno kept his eyes averted, but, in his peripheral, he could see the difference of glowing orange behind the white ... but only just.

Part of the wall gave away, dropping down from the weight. It collapsed before the rebar could fully melt.

Water, running down the adjacent blast door, evaporated by the time it reached the ground. The pool of water that had collected earlier was now gone.

Reno relaxed his body. The glowing ball of plasma fizzled away after a moment. All that remained was the bubbling asphalt, the lava-like remains of the concrete wall, and twisted orange rebar, which jutted up through the pile on the ground.

He approached the hole in the wall but the air was still too hot to get close. He clenched his eyes and backed away. Water continued to run down over the blast door, but it was steaming hot. The new puddle cooled from a boil to a simmer.

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I intended. 'Where's the Earth-shattering kaboom?' Damn." He walked in a wide path around the hole in the wall, staring into it from further away.

The glowing debris resembled rocky sludge on both sides of the hole in the wall. He sniffed at the area and grimaced.

It smelled like charred insulation, like from a house fire. Reno threw his hands up. "Still can't get through that bullshit!"

Silence.

Reno eyed the hole, leading into the parking garage, and tensed his body.

All at once, he toppled forward, as if from momentum, and found himself inside the parking garage. He stumbled to all fours.

The echo of his thunderous teleportation reverberated throughout the enormous parking garage.

Reno felt heat against his back. He stood up and moved forward, away from the glowing slag and the hole in the wall.

Several rows of immaculate vehicles filled the garage. Some were fancy, exotic automobiles. Some were vans. Some vehicles were just ordinary automobiles.

Extra tires sat in the rafters, above. Two motors hung from chains.

At the front of the row on the far left was a blue Chevy Chevelle from the 1960's. Reno recognized it and approached the car. He laid his hands over the roof as if hugging the classic automobile.

Reno slid into the driver's seat and put his hands firmly on a cool metal steering wheel. He sent an electric current through his palms into the wheel.

An electric motor came to life. Nearly silent, he felt it running through vibrations in the steering wheel. He sighed in relief, glad his car wasn't destroyed by the EMP. Reno released the wheel and slid out of his car.

He shut off the engine and closed the door. Curious, he walked to an adjacent vehicle in the second row, a Tesla sports car from the mid 2030's.

He opened the door, picked up the keys from the seat and slid them into a slot. With the push of a button, the car came to life.

Obviously unaffected by the EMP, Reno shut the car off, put the keys on the driver's seat and closed the door.

He looked around the garage. "Must be some sort of Faraday cage or whatever they're called." He held his hands back towards the hole and generated a charge.

Instead of passing through his hands, as expected, the lightning was forced from his body through his feet. In an instant, the moisture on his skin boiled to steam, causing his shoes to blast apart.

The current went into the floor, attracted to an electric cage around the entire parking garage. Reno stumbled out of the remains of his shoes. With a grunt and a grumble, he kicked the smoldering bits of melted plastic sneaker away from the top of his feet. "Bullshit!"

He looked around the garage. "I thought I did the lightning thing in here before ... at least once." He turned to the large door on the far wall, adjacent to the hole in the concrete.

On the inside of the blast door, there was a plain metallic rolling door. Reno retreated to his Chevelle and opened the door. In the back seat, he found a pair of clothes and shoes from his last cross-country journey in 2025.

He pulled on a fresh pair of clean socks, which disintegrated from age.

Reno sighed and slid his feet into the old shoes. They were comfortably worn in. The tips of the soles flapped down in front of the shoes, falling victim to age.

"Good enough," he muttered and shut the door. Reno headed through the garage and paused to look at where his other shoes had blown apart on the floor. "I won't make that mistake again."

He ran his hands back through his dark hair and headed for a small door on the far wall. Reno left the parking garage and searched the mansion basement.

He found the sub-level training facility, the storage shelters, and the stairs leading up to the mansion. The blast door at the top of the steps was securely in place.

There was no sign of anyone else.

Reno made his way back to the storage shelters and lifted a rolling door, leading to Karla's belongings. He used an arc of current between his forefinger and thumb to see in the darkness.

He remembered seeing Karla hiding in this area not too long ago. There was a comfortable sofa near the back. Reno dropped onto it and stretched out on his side. The sofa cushions smelled like her.

Exhaustion settled in and Reno closed his eyes.

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Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/835513