Legends Can Die

  Bolt Publishing Presents

  The Negative Man:

  Legends Can Die

  Krum’s World Edition

  Story by Jeremy Croston

  First Edition

  © 2017 Bolt Publishing

  http://boltbookspub.wix.com/home

  Please do not re-distribute this book

  in any way or format for

  commercial purposes

  or change the content.

  This book is a work of fiction.

  All of the names, places,

  and events that occur are from

  the author’s imagination.

  Any resemblance to an actual

  person, alive or dead, place,

  historical event, or business establishment

  is purely coincidental.

  Formatting by Gen X Formatting Solutions

  Editorial Team:

  Rebecca Blackburn – Lead Editor

  Karen Vacanti – Content Editor

  ISBN Number: 978-1547049196

  Table of Contents:

  Table of Contents:

  Issue #1 –

  Issue #2 –

  Issue #3 –

  Issue #4 –

  Issue #5 –

  Issue #6 –

  Issue #7 –

  Issue #8 –

  Issue #9 –

  Issue #10 –

  Issue #11 –

  Issue #12 –

  Issue #13 –

  Issue #14 –

  Issue #15 –

  Issue #16 –

  Issue #17 –

  Issue #18 –

  Issue #19 –

  Issue #20 –

  Chapter 1 –

  Chapter 2 –

  Chapter 3 –

  Chapter 4 –

  Chapter 5 –

  Chapter 6 –

  Chapter 7 –

  Chapter 8 –

  Chapter 9 –

  Chapter 10 –

  Dungeon Bay Research Facility –

  Chapter 11 –

  Chapter 12 –

  Chapter 13 –

  Chapter 14 –

  Chapter 15 –

  Chapter 16 –

  Chapter 17 –

  Chapter 18 –

  Chapter 19 –

  Chapter 20 –

  Dungeon Bay Research Facility –

  Chapter 21 –

  Chapter 22 –

  Chapter 23 –

  Chapter 24 –

  Chapter 25 –

  Chapter 26 –

  Chapter 27 –

  Chapter 28 –

  Chapter 29 –

  Chapter 30 –

  Dungeon Bay Research Facility –

  Chapter 31 –

  Chapter 32 –

  Epilogue –

  Kim Krummel

  The Cast:

  Eight Years Later…

  The Adventure Continues…

  About Us –

  More Reading –

  One Last Thing:

  Issue #1 –

  Liberation Day

  A year ago was the day I lost everything. The people of Pacific Station refer to it as Liberation Day, the day that The Morning Lynx defeated The Negative Man on the CW Poseidon. Rumors were he died from the effects of the Stormfall or he was being held prisoner in Black Lagoon; either way Jericho was no longer the stable influence in my life. Without him, I had no reason to keep on living.

  The feelings of pain inside soon hardened and turned to stone. All that was left for me to do was take my revenge against him – The Dark Lion’s son. I knew who he was, yet he had no idea who I was or what I was even capable of. Knowing I had the advantage, I hid in the shadows, waiting for the prime moment to strike.

  Earlier in the day, the city had a huge celebration at the site. I was tempted to create a bloody massacre, to blow up every single person that came out to revel in Jericho’s defeat, or maybe even his death. It was all at the tip of my fingers when I stopped – he wouldn’t want me to do it. Jericho preached restraint, he wanted a better place.

  So I stayed, sitting close enough to see people walk by, but far enough away that the pain of seeing the final battleground wouldn’t overwhelm me. As day turned to night and I became the only person left, I still sat. A year of questions, uncertainty, and anger buried me to this spot. Then I noticed two more people – they too seemed to not want to be noticed.

  As they walked a bit closer, I recognized the mountain of a man in Father Reigart. He texted me daily, hoping that I would come in to see him and that we would talk about things. At first I thanked him for trying, but soon I ignored his messages. He faithfully sent me one every day, just like today. He asked me if I was going to be here.

  The other man he was with I didn’t know personally, but in the aftermath of discovering Titan’s true identity, I knew him as the comic bookstore owner. His wife, Diana, was a super with colossal power. She couldn’t control it, though, and the police department took advantage of her. He looked just as angry as I was.

  “What are we doing here, Mike? I have no reason to see where my wife died.”

  “We do, Kim. This is where the villain redeemed himself and did his best to save Diana. The Morning Lynx has confided in me so.”

  Kim broke down, crying. It was hard to watch. “He came into the shop that night and I told him what needed to be done. Her death is on my hands.”

  Father Reigart tried to comfort him. “You tried to give her peace in a world that wouldn’t allow it. You did everything you could.”

  It took a few minutes, but Kim settled down. “I’m still angry, you know; angry about so much. I almost understand why The Negative Man did what he did.”

  “Jericho was a complicated man. There was good inside, even if he failed to see it.”

  It was my turn for my eyes to begin watering. Hearing Father Reigart talk about him, it was almost like having him back. Part of me wanted to run over to Father Reigart and ask where he was, was he really dead? Yet I stayed where I was, not wanting anyone to know what had become of me.

  “Is it true he died, Mike?”

  Reigart seemed taken aback by the question and tried to cover it up with a cough. “Why do you care, Kim? I don’t see how his fate affects you.”

  “If he survived, one day I’d like the chance to thank him. Like I said, I now understand his motivations.”

  Father Reigart didn’t want to answer. I found myself waiting with bated breath, he knew information that I wanted. The silence was deafening. Then, “He’s unconscious in Black Lagoon’s hospital. The doctors aren’t sure if he’ll ever wake up.”

  Cold – from the center of my body and it spread out everywhere. A fate worse than death. “No.”

  Neither man heard me, not that I cared. Hearing that Jericho was in such a state renewed the fury inside me. His body would not be put on display as a trophy. Getting up and walking away quickly, I needed to put together a plan to break him out. “You’re coming home, Jericho.”

  Issue #2 –

  Return to Action

  Black Lagoon Penitentiary – like a modern day Alcatraz, it sat there like an imposing fortress. Surrounding it was the man made lagoon that made it almost impossible to get to the prison itself as no one was sure just how deep the waters were. Or what might be lurking in them.

  At the northern end of the prison was the hospital. This is where they would be keeping Jericho, probably on life support. The man was a legend; this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. It was up to me to rescue him and bring him home. Once there, I knew he’d come back to me and we could continue our revenge on the city and then the country.

  I hadn’t used my powers much in the year since everything happened. That was about t
o change. Before arriving, I stopped in a local gas station and purchased every disposable phone they had. The clerk looked at me funny at check out. “That’s a lot of phones, miss.”

  Handing him a roll of cash, “I don’t trust regular phones for me and my family after the fiasco with the Predator last year.”

  He nodded knowingly. “I remember that. Had one myself until they crashed. Can you believe those phones were developed by The Negative Man himself? That’s even crazier.”

  The mention of Jericho’s alter ego rattled me, but just for a moment. I played it off easily. “The Negative Man caused so much damage to my home. I don’t know that Pacific Station will ever be the same.”

  The man seemed to be in a bit of a chatty mood this evening. This proved most beneficial to me. “I heard a rumor from a friend that The Negative Man didn’t work alone. They say he had an ally who was just as deadly.”

  Not many people knew of Detonate’s existence. And I wanted to keep it that way. “That’s quite the rumor. Who did you hear such things from?”

  “A friend of mine who works at the comic book store. His name is Al, he’s a solid dude.”

  I would remember this Al. Taking my phones, “I thank you for your help tonight. It’s been lovely talking to you.”

  He offered a wave. I think he wanted to ask me for my number, but thought better of it. “Thanks, come back anytime.”

  Unfortunately, there would never have been a need to come back. As I walked out, I needed to ensure rumors of me were squashed. I tossed a phone back into the store and just a few moments later, the block was on fire as the chain of gas fueled explosions rocked this end of Pacific Station. It felt good to be back.

  ****

  The northern wall to the prison was taunting me to attempt to penetrate it. The black water at my feet looked like an abyss. Even with a burning vengeance and a desire to bring Jericho home, this task seemed daunting alone. Even though my mind told me there was probably nothing in the water, when I attempted to jump in to swim across, I stopped. The unknown of it all was the greatest barrier of all.

  I went home feeling defeated. Even with a great desire to break in and take Jericho back, I failed. I couldn’t do this alone, as I came to that conclusion on the side of that ominous watery hurdle. The problem was where to find help, in this city or anywhere.

  I remembered when Jericho reached out to Shawn Jordan, aka Hammerspace. It seemed like such a natural fit in our team. Then he betrayed us; selling us out to the highest bidder. If it wasn’t for his stupidity and not leaving his cellphone at home, we both might’ve been killed that night. As it turned out, only he and his friends ended up dead.

  With that bitter memory in mind, I was searching the internet, seeing if anything jumped out at me. Just when I was about to call it a night on this venture, a headline jumped out at me – ‘Deranged Gang Terrorizing Red Rock.’ There were five of them and they all looked more than adequate for my needs.

  Grabbing a bag from under the bed, “It looks like it’s time to go recruiting.”

  Issue #3 –

  The Fatal Five

  It took two days to drive from Pacific Station to Red Rock. I could’ve flown, but I felt better staying under the radar. I’d stayed hidden for this long, trying to piece together a plan for revenge. The problem with that was The Morning Lynx was out of reach. John Wonderton’s son was as good as I was, sticking to the underground and not being seen unless he wanted to.

  So my plans stalled. I sunk into depression – drinking and no longer wanting to live. My anger turned into self-loathing and disgust. I was close to ending it all, that is until Father Reigart gave me my spark again. Jericho was alive and getting him back was just the first step to gaining our revenge. That’s why this trip to Red Rock was so important; I needed this gang’s help in breaking him out.

  Red Rock was nothing like Pacific Station. There were no tall skyscrapers, rather bunches of low buildings, short and squat. As I drove down the streets, there weren’t a lot of people out and those that were looked scared. It reminded me of when The Negative Man first burst on to the scene. That was a different time, one that was much less complicated.

  I found my hotel at the corner of Mojave and Dune. It was a small place, right on the limits of downtown Red Rock – the perfect place to set up shop. The Oasis Inn had Wi-Fi, cable, and offered weekly rates, so it was a no brainer. A bellhop ran outside as I pulled up and opened the door for me. “Good afternoon Miss and welcome to The Oasis Inn. Is your luggage in your trunk?”

  “Yes dear, it is.” I slipped him a ten dollar bill and walked inside as he unloaded the car. There wasn’t much, one bag of my personal attire and another that contained everything Detonate would need.

  After getting checked in and settled, I turned on the television. One of the things I hate about road trips was constantly having to switch radio stations. With the advent of satellite radio, that no longer became a burden. The only downside was I missed quite a bit in my two day journey.

  The local newscaster, Tim Donovan, was breaking the latest updates. “Local hero, The Sidewinder, was found dead this morning hanging from the flagpole in front of Sunset First Bank. The RRPD are calling this just the latest calamity that the gang, being dubbed The Fatal Five, have committed. The Sidewinder, real identity being confirmed as James Taylor, was only thirty-five years old.”

  When they showed the picture of the crime scene, blood was everywhere and a green suit that looked to be covered in scales was lying on the ground. The police had removed the body from the scene, but left the Sidewinder’s suit behind, maybe as a beacon of hope?

  The camera panned back to Donovan. “Folks, as you watch this today, the RRPD encourage you to stay safe and stick to your homes at night. The Fatal Five’s influence of this city has spread and until they are apprehended, the best thing is to not present yourself as a target.”

  The more I heard about this gang the more I liked. Wanting to know more about their terror spree, I opened up my laptop and searched the internet for criminal activity in Red Rock. The results were outstanding. In no short order they’d committed –

  Armed robbery

  Arson

  Murder

  Extortion

  Terrorist attack on RRPD’s Station

  Their crimes had been committed in less than two weeks. No one knew where they came from and their criminal activity usually left no survivors, yet multiple sources were saying these gang members were capable of committing truly weird and unexplained things. As I dug deeper, no one was willing to say what powers they may or may not have had. The mystery just went deeper.

  I needed to find these persons and quickly. Thinking like a criminal, there was one way to surely bring them out of hiding and lead them to me. I needed to infringe on their territory.

  Opening my second suitcase, my detonate costume was still in good working order. Sliding it on, it felt like I was slipping back into my true form. The day Jericho gifted me with these powers, the old Heather Adams had died. I’d denied myself the pleasure of being Detonate for far too long.

  I grabbed a handful of burner phones and slid them into my belt. Red Rock was about to experience a true resonance in the art of super villainy. It was time to make my introduction.

  Issue #4 –

  Burn

  The building was on the verge of collapse. Two cell phone grenades was all it took to ruin the support structure of the condominium complex and send people out into the night in pure terror. Not satisfied, I flung another phone across the street, in the direction of a semi that was parked by itself. As soon as it slid underneath, the beautiful sound of pure joy hit my ears. A well-placed shot found the gas tank, adding to the fire that was swarming downtown Red Rock.

  The police came, but that didn’t worry me. When the first cruiser came within distance, they were met by one of my handy little friends, blowing the car into bits. The cops were able to abandon the doomed vehicle just in time, but smartly, they retr
eated from the scene.

  Run tiny humans, run I laughed to myself.

  I was the conductor of this symphony and no one could stop me.

  The feeling of power once again flowed through me. How could I have ever given this up? I had four phones left, just enough to create more chaos and mayhem to the unsuspecting town I was now in. I skipped off down the street, taking one last basking look at my handiwork. I was so proud of myself.

  On the next city block, I found a perfect second target. It was Red Rock’s Chamber of Commerce, a popular location for business types and those looking to get a start to congregate. Bad news for them, tomorrow morning, this place would be in shambles. As police and fire sirens rained down in the area, I unhooked another bomb and threw it into the window, shattering the glass. Being a softball pitcher certainly helped with the accuracy.

  I stood there for a moment; that moment before I triggered the bomb was my favorite. I let my joy really set in and when I was at my peak, I let it go. Brick and mortar ejected into the street. Neighboring buildings were soon alive with panic. Not content with just one explosion, I sent two more into the combusting Chamber.

  Plumes of fire took over, no more need for my power. It was another masterpiece, an example of just how powerful I could be. If this didn’t rouse the Fatal Five, I wasn’t sure what would.

  My answer would be had shortly. As I left another scene in disarray, five shadows surrounded me. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. “Come on out and play, boys!”

  They answered my taunt by appearing in the moonlit alley. The five of them looked identical, as if they were quintuplets. The only difference was the hairstyle; bald, dreadlocks, Mohawk, spiked, and tassled. Each was dressed in scuffed up blue jeans, biker boots, and leather vests. On the right chest of the vest was a saying: Stronger Together. They formed a circle around me.