Keilah is a long drive from Oasis King's base, and an even longer walk. Marcel however, isn't walking, he's running very quickly. Sprinting, Marcel is topping out at about sixty miles per hour (about one-hundred kilometers per hour). But even with aura, Marcel is not at the level where he can maintain his full output for long. At most, he can manage that speed for about ten minutes. So that's what he does. He runs as fast as he can for ten minutes, and then slows down, but not once does he stop moving until he reaches the city about twenty-six minutes later.
Huffing and puffing, Marcel sits behind a dumpster in an alleyway. But his reprieve doesn't last long. He didn't have time to grab his stuff before he left, so he is wearing a very obvious hero's suit, filled with padding and clips for armor and weapons. While none of that is attached, minus his sling and a few dozen ball bearings which he always keeps on him, he still sticks out like a sore thumb. Marcel hears the familiar rumble of a transport in the distance. It's a loud machine, meant to withstand the extreme environment of the wasteland outside the city, not drive quietly down the streets. So it makes a racket, giving Marcel a moment to react. He thinks about trying to hide in the store, or the dumpster, but those would be the first places the heroes looked. It took them almost thirty minutes to catch up with him thanks to Johnny's distraction. If they'd caught him while he was out in the open fields, things would have been much harder.
Marcel looks up, and makes a decision; he draws out the last of the aura he can manage for now, and jumps onto the roof. He doesn't know what this business does, but the roof has a big satellite dish, and roof access, as well as a very large back-up generator. Marcel takes a hiding spot between the generator and the dish, and waits. He hears the transport stop at the business below, and the sounds of multiple people getting off and shouting.
"Search the building. Question everyone." Someone shouts, but Marcel doesn't recognize the voice. He reasons that either it is someone from one of the other teams he didn't know well, or King asked for help from another hero group. "Vinette, check around the building. Melodie, search the roof." Hearing that, Marcel's blood runs cold. Melodie can find anyone. The moment she uses her power, it's over. And then she lets out a scream, rocking the building and nearly bursting Marcel's eardrums. He doesn't know if she said anything after that, as all he could hear was ringing, but he knew… she's found him. There was no way she hasn't. But… nothing happens. Marcel waits… and once he gets his hearing back, he realizes they are still searching. Sure, they all were moving inside, but they haven't found him yet.
The door to the roof opens, and Marcel peaks, it is Melodie. She walks straight towards Marcel's hiding spot, and they lock eyes. For a moment, Marcel's world freezes. He doesn't know what to do, or what happens next. He's caught.
Melodie puts a finger to the communicator in her ear, turning it on for a moment. "This is Melodie… top floor and roof both clear. Heading down." She clicks the communicator off, and Marcel can suddenly breathe again. "We're going north after this. To the next closest part of the city to the base. Where are you going? Do you have somewhere safe?"
"K-Keilah. The Margrave Center." Marcel says, shocked, and very relieved.
"Keilah? That's one of the first places they'll check. Don't go anywhere public. Find somewhere private. Do you know anyone in Keilah at least?"
"Yes."
"Good, at least stay with them a few days. Then go to the center. I'll meet you there one week from now. But Marcel… don't go home. They'll be watching it." Melodie says. Marcel nods that he understands, and Melodie hugs him, then leaves. A few minutes later, he hears the transport load back up, and drive north, just as she said. Once they are gone, Marcel hops down from the roof, and resumes running.
Four hours pass, four nerve wracking, slow, confusing hours of hiding in alleyways, running along roofs, and resting in secluded places along the way. But at the end, he is in Keilah, outside a familiar house. He knocks on the door, constantly looking over his shoulder. Then it opens.
"Marcel?" Delores asks. Over the last few months, she was the person, aside from Judy at the center, that Marcel had grown closest to.
"Delores, something happened. Can I come in?" Suddenly Branches the cat bolts out the door, and climbs the tree. "Ah, dang it. I'm sorry, I-"
"Oh don't worry about him. Come inside. He'll be fine for a few minutes." Delores says, and pulls Marcel inside. She sits him down, makes some tea and brings a few cookies, just like she does for him every day. Marcel takes some time and explains the situation, as best as he understands it anyway.
"Oh baby, why would this Oasis fellow do this to you?" Delores asks. She is sitting in her bright pink chair that she always sits in, while Marcel sits in an old brown recliner that Delores says her late husband loved.
"I don't know. I didn't do anything. He's always been a little… off around me, but I never thought." A frustrated tear wells up in Marcel's eye, and he grips the handle of his teacup tightly. It isn't that he's sad exactly, but that he is so filled with so many different emotions that he doesn't know what to feel right now.
Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. "Go wait in the bathroom." Delores says. Marcel gets up and hides as he's told. Delores goes to the door, opens it, and sees two heroes wearing uniforms similar to Marcels.
"Hello ma'am, we're looking for someone. A young black man, about nineteen years old. His name is Marcel. You may know him. He's the hero that patrols this area. We need to deliver some new orders to him. Have you seen him?" One of the two lies.
"I'm sorry young man. I haven't seen anyone around today. I don't get out of the house much." Delores says, putting on the same fake old-lady voice she used when she roped Marcel into getting Branches down from the tree the first time.
The two look at one another. "We understand. If you do see him, please call this number. We'll come and meet with him straight away." The other man hands Delores a small business card. She takes it in her shaky hand, tells the men she be on the lookout, and closes the door. Then she goes to Marcel, still hiding in the bathroom, and opens the door. "The coast is clear, baby. Come on." She tosses the card into the trash, and sits back in her chair. "You need a safe place to stay for the night. There's a room upstairs that no one is renting. It's pre-furnished. Stay there for now." She says.
"Is that okay?" Marcel asks, taking his seat again too. "What about the landlord?"
"I think that crazy old cat lady won't notice." She smirks.
"You?" Marcel asks. "You own the building?"
"My husband and I have owned this place and three others like it for forty years. I ran the books, and he fixed them up. When he passed, I found a new repair man and have kept myself busy with this since." She explains.
Elsewhere, in a small apartment near the center of the city, Omar lays in bed, and Natile sits beside him. She holds his hand, listening to him closely as he speaks. For a long time, the 'Source' had kept him alive, but now a change is coming, and a new era needs to be set up. So his life is coming to an end.
"Marcel… you will watch over him?" Omar asks.
"Of course." Natile says. "Very closely."
"He will do great things. He will make a way… for change." Omar coughs, his throat dry. "It's time." Omar reaches out to Natile's forehead, and places his thumb on it. A river of pure white energy flows out of Omars mouth, and into Natile's. It continues to rush between the two, erupting with force. Her eyes, which normally glow a brilliant orange, shift into white, matching the color of the energy. Slowly, the energy river stops. Within Natile, all of Omar's power resides, passed down from one to the next. And then, she understands. Omar had no power… he was just a conduit for it. There is a moment of silence before Omar's hand falls away and to the side. Omar is dead. Natile takes a deep breath, takes Omar's hand, and lays it across his chest, then calls the morgue.
A day passes, and all the arrangements are made. Omar is laid to rest in a cemetery for heroes. It is not a small funeral. Omar was a well respected and long-serving hero. In actual attendance are over a thousand people. But those viewing the funeral are even greater, as two separate television crews show up, and record the event live for the entire city to watch.
Marcel and Delores sit in Marcel's new apartment, and watch the event. Delores comforts Marcel, who wished he could go in person.
The news caster speaks, "For those just tuning in, yesterday morning, a legend of the Hero Corp passed away. Omar, also called Prophet, served for a confirmed six-hundred years. The longest serving hero on record. He mentored other great heroes such as the Three Cardinals, Oasis King, and hundreds more. Reports say that an official truce has been called between multiple wasteland factions outside the city to mourn this great hero, who did not discriminate between those outside the city, and those inside. Many heroes have postponed official patrols to pay their respects today. Also in attendance today are multiple members of the city's government who had both personal and professional relationships with Prophet. Today's service was officiated by his personal assistant Natile, who made her intention to take up his role as a hero and heroic-persona clear to everyone. The question on everyone's mind is, can anyone really replace this great hero?"
"I didn't know about any of that." Marcel says. "He never told me. Sure, he told me he was a hero, but not that he was Prophet. He was always just Mr. Omar to me."
"Not everyone likes being in the spotlight all the time. Most likely, he wanted you to see him for who he was, not what he'd done in his life. You probably knew him better than anyone."
There is a knock on Marcel's apartment door. Delores gets up to answer it. She looks through the peep hole and Marcel ducks into the kitchen. "Don't worry, it's Ken." She says, opening the door. Outside the door is Delores's tenant, and now Marcel's downstairs neighbor, Kennedy, who told Marcel about the Margrave Center when he first arrived in Keliah. He'd been made aware of the situation, and was helping them both out. In his hands were two bags of groceries.
"Thank you, Kennedy." Marcel says, coming out and taking the bags. He hands him enough money to pay for it.
"You're welcome, Marcel. Listen, the heroes left the center. Should be all clear for a couple of days. I told Judy what's happening like you said. Told her you wouldn't be around for a while. She says if you need anything, stop by. She'll have some work for you, and fresh clothes and food if you need it."
"Little Judy has always been a good girl." Delores says. "Cold as ice, but sweet."
Kennedy bends down and picks up another bag, "She sent you this." He hands Marcel a small bag of clothes, all about his size or close enough to wear.
"Why did she send this?" He asks.
"Kid, you've been helping us all out for months. Now we get to repay the favor." Kennedy says.