by Simon Archer
He was a villain on the radar for a long time, but we never took him seriously. He was loud, boisterous, and nothing short of obnoxious. He had gotten into some petty crime here and there and always managed to get himself released on bail or by snitching on someone else. He was a rat, and even though I could be pretty ruthless when I needed to be, he was just a disgrace. If he was involved, then it was likely this was just to show off.
Still, Nick had told Triton in his debriefing that the robbers had it out for Efraim. Maybe he was telling the truth. Diamond was the type to not get his own hands dirty if he could. Then again, Efraim had arrested him a number of times before he eventually dropped off the grid for a time. Maybe he did have it out for the bringer of justice.
Couldn’t blame him there, Efraim was kind of an ass.
If that were all true, though, then that meant there was some shady business going on, which of course I already knew. The Carter incident was still in play, but we hadn’t come any closer to finding out anything more about the villain academy.
Before we left Efraim, Dougie had said to me that everything was falling into place, and as loathe as I am to admit it, he was right. I had agreed to come over to Alexandria as bait, so to speak. We hoped that my presence here would bring out the baddies that wanted to be in cahoots with someone of my caliber of evil, as misguided as they were to think that, and by golly, it was fucking working.
I knew that there was a chance that Nicky would get involved. Hell, who am I kidding? He was already involved. He had been since the final altercation during the World’s Finest. I guess I’d just hoped that my kid would be left alone for once, so I didn’t have to do anything “crazy” to protect him.
And then there was the issue with having to mentor these ride-along kids. I could not have gotten worse luck. It was the mildest form of punishment, I supposed, getting stuck with Akemi’s flamboyant brother and the son of my arch enemy.
Which brought me back to the present, standing atop a skyscraper in the middle of the art district with these two buffoons flanking me on either side, though the Barbur kid kept his distance, which I admit I was grateful for. I simply didn’t understand what Nick saw in him to keep him around.
We had been called out for a shooting that was taking place in the streets. What had started it was irrelevant, but we had to stop it. I really wanted to see how it would play out, but I knew Nick would be furious with me if I did.
“What do you think, My Lord?” The other kid, Niji, awaited eagerly for instructions at my side. Of course, I wanted to go in guns blazing, pun intended, and bowl them over like the pinheads they were.
“It is important to analyze your plan of attack,” I answered matter-of-factly.
“Oh, so you plan out how you torch innocent people to death before you actually execute it?” the Barbur kid spat with resentment and glared at the standoff in the street below. “How kind of you.”
“A fine compliment.” I smirked. “You’re learning quickly.”
“You’re not seriously going to set them on fire,” he retorted. “We came here to stop people from killing one another.”
“Yeah, but if we kill them first, isn’t it like having mercy on them?” Niji asked, and yes, I decided I quite liked this one after all. Maybe his personality was a little loud, but we all had our faults. As long as he wasn’t louder than me, then he could stay. After all, he seemed to have a brilliant mind. If convincing Nicky to take over things at the Brand didn’t work out, this kid might have a crack at it.
The Barbur kid scoffed and turned to Niji and me. “It isn’t merciful to take someone’s life.”
“An interesting point you’ve brought up since you were hellbent on killing my son earlier this year.” I cackled and tossed my head back. This boy was a fucking mess with no morals of his own, just the copy and paste nonsense that’d been shoved down his throat to quell his anger.
Matthew snarled and turned back away from us, though I noted that Niji’s eyes lingered on him. Interesting, but it was of no consequence to our current situation.
“What do you propose we do then, Barbur?” I asked. If he was intent on saving these lives, then I guessed I should let him talk me through his thought process so I could tell him how wrong he was.
“I think in this case it would be best to go in diplomatically,” Matthew growled. “Announce our presence so that we don’t spook them and try to talk them down. No one needs to die tonight.”
As the Barbur kid spoke, I yawned loudly. His head whipped back towards me, and his eyes blazed with anger. Wow, that was amusing. Riling him up was going to be a fun pastime.
“What about you?” I motioned to the fortunate to be under my care student, and I watched as Niji looked between Matthew and the street below.
“I think that if we can create a diversion, we can spook them and they’ll scatter,” he answered.
I narrowed my eyes and sighed. “Psh, that’s so boring! Where is your sense of pizzazz, kid?”
“I have plenty of pizzazz, My Lord,” he defended. Maybe he was right, but he didn’t have my kind of pizzaz.
However, most find that my sense of flair wasn’t particularly appropriate.
I looked him up and down, my curiosity piqued. “What exactly is it you do again?”
The kid looked nervous, but he bit it down with a surge of confidence and a powerful stance. “With all due respect, My Lord, I believe it would be easier if I showed you.”
I rolled my eyes. Kids these days always showing off, but who could blame them? They were standing in the presence of greatness. I waved him on, and with the blink of an eye, I was staring straight into my son’s eyes.
“Nicky?” I gasped and reached out to touch his face, but Nick stepped back.
“No, My Lord,” Nick’s voice said to me, and I have to admit that having him address me as such sent an unpleasant chill down my spine. “I can copy the appearance of anyone after having only seen the whites of their eyes once.”
Suddenly Nick’s face twisted and morphed until I was staring Dougie in the face, then myself, then the Barbur kid.
“Impressive!” I complimented. “Not very useful in the offensive sense, but hey, if things don’t work out as a hero, you could make a killing in the traveling circus.”
“Hey, don’t say that to my face!” Matthew Barbur growled and grabbed my shoulder forcefully.
“I didn’t,” I remarked. “Technically, I said it behind your back.”
“You son of a bi--”
The angry little boy was cut off by the sound of a gun firing into the street below, followed by several more shots and screaming chaos. Oh, I did love some good old fashioned chaos. So maybe it didn’t involve explosives or mechs, but it was still fun to watch a bunch of scumbags scramble to cling to their lives when they had already ruined it by committing a crime in the first place.
“My Lord, what should we do?” Niji asked. His voice and face had returned to normal.
“We, uh, should stop them!” I declared.
“Yeah, no shit, but how? You’re supposed to be teaching us the best tactics for being a hero.” Barbur chided as he finally let go of my shoulder.
I wiped off his disgusting palm sweat and tried to think more rationally. I promised Nick that I would try to arrest, not kill, and I had meant it. The problem was that it was hard going back to my roots when they were brittle and weak. What I had become was stronger, better than the world has ever laid eyes on before. Taking things down a notch seemed beneath me.
“Well?” Matthew prompted, “Say something!”
“The shooting has already started,” I said as I hopped onto the ledge of the rooftop. “We need to be careful to avoid being caught in the crossfire.” I turned to Niji, who stood at attention as I addressed him. “Turn into me and create a diversion. Once their attention is turned on you, me and Wolfman here can incapacitate them.”
“Oh, now it’s Wolfman?” Matthew bitched. “You really are a--”
; “I really am getting sick of hearing your voice, Barbur,” I cut him off before he could insult my greatness again. “Just because you’ve fooled Nick into thinking that you’re worth keeping around, I’m not so naïve to think that you won’t pull the wool over his eyes the second he turns his back, and when you do, you bet your Daddy’s Boy ass I’m gonna get you.”
Matthew stopped, red-faced and horrifically angry, and the snarl I had intended to draw out curled on his lips as he transformed into a beast.
Now that was more like it.
“Easy, boy,” I held onto the back of Barbur’s shirt to keep him in place. I didn’t need him to ruin our big entrance because he was being a naughty pup.
Niji disappeared from my side and leapt from the top of the building. I should have stopped him because you know, that’s basically suicide, but something was slowing him down as he changed his appearance. I peered over the edge and realized that this punk-ass kid had hover shoes. It was genius, though I had the sneaking suspicion that he only wore them because they were fashionable. What was it these kids called it now? Hip? A fad? The cool thing?
Perhaps I was more out of touch than I thought.
It was then that I realized that I had no way off the top of this skyscraper. No matter, though. I’d simply set the outraged Barbur kid free and then use my Super Mega Whirly Wind. Hm, the name needed work, but it would do for now. While I’d normally just use my power suit’s hellfire-powered jets, I had left that at Valcav. Figured it’d be easier to play by the rules if I wasn’t wrapped in a billion-dollars of ultra-tech murder machine.
Anyway, the Whirly Wind would get me from up here lurking over the city like a true hero, or villain as the small-minded might call me, down to the ground where the action was.
Niji landed with ease, and with almost an extra amount of flair and flourish, took my shape right in front of my own two eyes. The thugs didn’t seem overly interested in who they were dealing with though. Didn’t those cretins know who I was? They should be cowering with fear and begging me to give them the sweet release of death.
Another gunshot sounded, and Niji was quick to hover away. We had to act now. The kid, as interesting as his power might be, was only there as a decoy. The Barbur kid and I needed to move fast.
“You hungry, boy?” I mocked, and Matthew snarled at me in response, thrashing about as he struggled against my hold. I was sure that I wouldn’t hear the end of it from Efraim when he learned how I treated his star pupil, but eh, ask me if I cared.
I released Barbur’s shirt and let him free. Immediately, he leapt from the building with a wild cry, hurtled down a dozen stories, and magically landed on his two fat feet. It would be impressive if it were anyone else, but I didn’t like him, so it was meh at best.
My Super Mega Whirly Wind was in the pocket of my cloak, but there was another gizmo in there as well. I brandished that instead and cackled when I realized I wouldn’t have to join the fight or get into the fray at all. I’d let Barbur and Niji handle themselves, and if they didn’t survive, well, that’s the best kind of on-the-job training you can get.
I didn’t have a name for this gadget yet, but, currently, Netromancer was my top pick. I flicked a switch on the small cylinder, and the nanomachinies reconfigured themselves into what appeared to be a modified sniper rifle. This sniper rifle, though, didn’t shoot mere bullets. It fired nets. Not impressed? Well, I forgot to mention the best part. The net was laced with incredibly fast-acting paralytic poison. How awesome was that?
I sank to the ground and positioned myself just right. Everyone on the street was within range, but I needed the Barbur kid to do his freaking job and occupy the enemy. As fun as it was to shoot at moving targets, my Netromancer was only a prototype. I couldn’t waste my shots and get poor results.
One by one, the thugs fell to the ground. Barbur all but outright murdered each of them, either by slashing their chests or biting them in places that teeth had no business being. There was a lot of carnage below, and I had the fleeting thought that if Barbur wasn’t who he was, he might have made an excellent addition to the Brand’s legions of heroes. Maybe if he groveled nice enough, I’d officially take him under my wing. Wouldn’t that be just the most perfect knife to bury into Efraim? His star pupils working together against him. It was almost poetic.
All but one had been left behind in Barbur’s wake, and it so happened to be the one that had cornered Niji against the side of the building across the street. I watched as Barbur slashed the man’s back without hesitation then offered Niji his gore-covered, clawed hand in solidarity.
Fascinating. I didn’t think monsters had a human side. Then again, I had been called as much, even worse, and I would always have a soft spot for Nicky.
I shot the Netromancer off, and a ball containing the net hurdled to the street. As soon as it connected with one of the still bodies, the net sprung out and trapped encased the perp, trapping them successfully like the animals they were. Honestly, who even stole art anymore?
Once all of them were trapped and the cops arrived, the three of us took off into the night. It was a job well done if you asked me. At the very least, I didn’t kill anyone. I promised Nicky I would try, and I was. I hoped he was at least proud of me for that much.
11
With half of our normal group away in the Brand, the rest of us took to having our downtime in my dorm room. I wasn’t complaining since I rather liked lounging in the comfort of my own bed, but I had to admit, the group just wasn’t as lively without Andie’s cheery disposition, Aylin’s questions and need for translation, and Eric’s hyper enthusiasm about everything and anything. I kept up with them regularly through texts and phone calls, but it just wasn’t the same. I knew that their absence would eventually hit me, and it looked like today, two weeks later, it finally did.
I was thankful, however, that Kara had suggested a movie night, or rather, a movie day. It was the weekend, and it was miserable outside between sleet and ice that covered the ground. Thankfully, we lived in a time where we could get food delivered to us, and we ordered all kinds of food. We kept the blinds closed to help keep the chill out and piled all of our blankets onto the floor and bed in front of the small flat screen television I had. We took turns picking movies, and I was thankful that we had all silently agreed on no superhero movies. As cool as some of them were, most of them were badly written and overdone.
Kristen had taken to having her hair braided by Kara on the bed, so I sat on the floor next to Matt as we scrolled through the movies that the streaming service had to offer. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this set-up, this moment, felt like déjà vu. We had done this before, when we were kids, when times were easier and there wasn’t any bad blood to speak of. It was nice, and it was the first time in a long time that I felt like we were the little family that we had been all those years ago.
Matt and I had just started discussing the intricacies of different comedy flicks when there was a knock on my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and everyone that would be knocking on my door on a Saturday was already here. Intrigued, I climbed over Matt’s legs and nearly fell into the door when my toe caught one of the many blankets we had nested in.
“Hey, Nicky!” Lord Inferno, my dad, stood on the other side of the door with a large grin across his face and a twinkle in his eye. “Mind if I come in for a minute?”
I looked him over and forced myself not to look skeptical, but that was pretty difficult when I saw what he had in his arms. Two regal gold eyes stared up at me with an unimpressed scowl, and a fuzzy brown tail swished impatiently side to side.
“What the hell is that?” I asked, ignoring his request to come in. I did open the door wider, though, if only to let my friends see what I was seeing.
“Uh, it’s a cat, Nicholas,” my father said plainly.
“Yeah, Dad, I know it’s a cat,” I said as I back peddled. “Why do you have a cat?”
“Actually, he’s yours!” he exclaimed excitedly.
I balked and gave him my best, most honestly dumbfounded expression. “Excuse me?”
“He’s not just any cat, either!” he went on to explain more as he pushed himself into my room. I half expected him to walk out as soon as he saw the Barbur twins, but he didn’t pay them any mind at all. To my surprise, neither one of them reacted either. They were all enthralled with this feline with a bored, grumpy face.
“He’s cute!” Kara exclaimed as she crawled across the bed to where my dad and I were standing. She reached out her hand and patted the top of its head gently. “What are you going to name him, Nick?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t even agreed to take the cat yet.”
“Oh, but Nicky, you must!” my father insisted. “He’s a cat from another planet, an alien cat with great wisdom and knowledge.”
I eyed him skeptically. “How in the world did you come across an alien cat?”
“Well, maybe alien is a strong word.” He chuckled. “I created him from a stray that I found wandering around town a few nights ago and installed a chip in him that allows him to have the mind of a philosopher and the personality of royalty.”
“But why?” I questioned again, and again my question went unanswered as my dad continued to rave about his latest and greatest invention, so to speak.
“He talks?” Kara interrupted, and my father didn’t even care that she had cut him off. Instead, he nodded with just as much excitement as she held in her eyes, but he wasn’t the one that answered her.
“Yes, Lord Inferno has installed a translator chip in me so that I can better communicate, but I much rather just get my point across with my claws, if you catch my drift,” the cat spoke in a deep, luxurious tone that almost made me feel like I wasn’t worthy enough to be in my own room.