Kenway asked questions and added the information as the trio responded, just by holding his multi-tool hand over the screen. Panels and windows opened and closed as Tempest explained everything he knew about his wife’s absence.
After about thirty minutes of discussion and questioning, Kenway’s face looked concerned with the incoherent results on the crowded screen.
“Oh, dear,” the pirate said, rubbing his human hand over his polished bald head. “Ooh. That is not good.” His face puckered as if he had just tasted something extremely sour. “Not good indeed. For you, that is…”
“What is it?” Tempest pressed, hungry for any answers.
“Well, it seems that Mengele has her, you see…”
Gus shook his head, not recognizing the reference but gave a start when he saw the color drain out of Tempest and Aurora’s faces.
“Who is he? Dad, Aurora, snap out of it. Who is Mengele?”
When his companions couldn’t respond, Kenway explained. “Mengele has a… reputation for experimenting on his subjects. His specialty is exploring the limits of human capabilities. His methods are—well, extreme is too delicate a word. He is totally detached and amoral about how others feel. This allows him to pursue some lines of study which most would find, how would you say… unsavory?”
“He’s a damn butcher,” Tempest said, eyes staring ahead vacantly.
“True, true. That is an apt description. I am sorry, but you did ask. I can give you the coordinates to his last known whereabouts. This ‘Gwen’ was transported here on a research visa only a short time ago, and this coincides with my data on where Mengele should be. Are you still interested?”
Tempest reached a hand forward woodenly, still in shock.
Kenway slid a virtual file to Tempest and did an about-face. With a flick of his hand, the helm-screen went dark. “And that concludes our business. I trust that you can find your way out?”
Tempest nodded in a daze as he reviewed the contents of the folder, turning to leave. Aurora and Gus followed, and Gus kept looking back and forth between his shell-shocked father and Kenway, who had sat again in his massive throne and crossed his legs. He waved his fingers in an effeminate gesture of goodbye or dismissal, then leaned back, clasping his wrists and looking upwards in thought.
The supers left Kenway’s ship in silence and stood in the now crowded intersection as an assortment of people rushed by. The day was in full swing and more shops were open along the entire street as it had been transformed into some sort of outdoor market. Smells of various foods wafted in from different directions, as well as music and the shouts of people hawking their wares.
“Will someone tell me what this all means?” Gus demanded, looking to the dazed supers.
“It means that your mother may already be gone. Even if she is alive, she may never be the same,” Tempest croaked, almost breaking into a sob.
Gus looked at Aurora, who just nodded grimly.
Chapter Forty-One
We’re Not Gonna Take It
“Now what?” Gus asked, at a loss.
“Not much we can do until we meet up with the Crew. Coordinates are on the border of Hinansho. We can’t travel there by ourselves,” Tempest said, appearing to slowly come out of his stupor.
“I hate to ask, but if we’re going to be here for a while, do you mind if I do a little shopping?” Aurora asked. “I think there are some components I could really use to help find Gwen here.”
Tempest waved her off with a distracted wave. “We’re stuck here until the Crew finds us, go ahead.”
As Aurora threaded through the crowd, Gus’ eyes pinched a bit. When she was out of earshot, Gus turned on his father.
“What the hell, Dad? We just got this bombshell dropped on us, and her priority is shopping? You’re just going to let her go?”
Tempest came over and laid a hand on Gus’ shoulder. “We all deal with stress differently,” he said, voice still detached and aloof.
“Uncool. We have better things to do right now—”
“Do we? We may already be too late. If the stories I have heard about Mengele are even partially true… well, we need to think realistically.”
“Why aren’t you angrier? You’re acting like you’re a zombie. Doesn’t any of this make you upset?!”
“Of course it does! I’m still processing it, but what good would getting angry do? Gus, in my duties with Purple Faction, I have always had to keep a level head when others were losing theirs. In my experience, worry or bombast do little to resolve big problems. This, though…” He looked up at Gus with steel blue eyes, uncertainty there for the first time Gus could remember.
“Do you realize how I’ve hung all my hopes on finding her again? I never doubted that we would be together again. It’s what has kept me going all these years. We are linked, Gus; I can see her icon on my display every day, and it is a constant reminder that she is still alive. Very few super couples reach that synchronicity—ever. I just never questioned exactly what state she would be in when I finally found her. What will I find waiting for me if—and that’s a big if—we can even get past Mengele and rescue her?”
“Is he really that bad?”
“Oh, he’s all that and more. And he’s never been caught. All that’s been found are the macabre results of his evil work. Things that are worse than any sane mind could conceive. The fact that she’s here in Hinansho where people experiment and alter their bodies without any oversight doesn’t help my mind from spiraling out of control with the horrific possibilities. It’s no wonder Mengele has a base of operations here. I suppose I should be grateful that Gwen was recently moved here, although that’s cold comfort. He has her, and nothing will be right again if we can’t get her away from him.”
“Everything will work out,” Gus tried to console his father, but the words sounded hollow even to his own ears.
“Tempest, Gus, Aurora—do you read?” Seneschal’s voice crackled over their internal comms.
“We’re here,” Tempest said, his voice brightening. Gus was impressed how his father could project an aura of confidence and control while his face was still pinched and furrowed with worry. He had no doubt his father would erase those physical signs when back in front of the Crew. “It’s good to hear your voice again, Seneschal. Is everyone alright?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle, but those bastards were tenacious. I would have been here sooner, but I wanted to make sure we lost them for good before meeting up again. How are things on your end?”
“We finally know where she is, after all we’ve been through.”
“I see…” Seneschal replied, almost forlorn.
“It’s not all good news, however. Mengele has her…”
“Mengele’s here? We need to hurry, then. Who knows what he has planned? Or how long she will last?”
Tempest winced as if slapped. He took a second to regain his composure before he spoke. “Agreed. Send me coordinates, and we’ll meet up with you when you find a place to land. We have a lot to plan.”
“Will do.” Seneschal clicked off the comm.
“Let’s find Aurora and get the hell out of here,” Tempest growled, his voice affectation gone, revealing his frayed nerves.
Gus followed as Tempest marched into the crowd, hitting shoulders and barreling through people as they made their way through the press of the busy marketplace. Gus shrugged apologetically to those who bore the brunt of his father’s lack of patience as they scowled back at the pair.
Tempest made a beeline to Aurora, who was finalizing a purchase at a stall with trays and multiple bin organizers with tiny drawers for even smaller components.
“I’m sure you’ve heard. Are you about finished here?”
“Yes, they had more than I expected! I’m excited to try some new designs.” Her excited tone became somber as she turned and saw Tempest’s expression.
“Great, follow me. Seneschal just sent me rendezvous coordinates. The sooner we get underway, the soone
r we can put this all behind us.” Tempest turned quickly and began plowing through the crowd again.
“Sure, sure.” Aurora cast a quick glance at Gus who grimaced.
She mouthed, “What happened?” to which Gus only shrugged. Grabbing her purchases distractedly, she followed Tempest to a crowded landing zone surrounded by food vendors. Gus’ stomach growled as the tasty scents of food hung in the air, but he knew Tempest was on a mission and would not wait.
“Mmm, rations it is, I suppose,” Gus muttered to himself as he looked longingly at another market-goer eating a skewer of grilled meat. The transport lifted off almost as soon as they were aboard. Tempest had sent the coordinates ahead to Seneschal, and she was wasting no time in heading to their final destination.
Grimdark met them, glad that they had reunited with the Crew safely. He went into an animated retelling of what had happened to the Crew. Gus was sure he took some creative liberties, but it was an entertaining tale of how Seneschal had pushed the rickety transport to its limits and managed to lose their pursuers, who were in a Mach Corvair.
“How did we ever beat someone here if they had a Mach Corvair? I hope we didn’t make any enemies. Our competition has some deep pockets if they were using a Corvair for courier work,” Aurora said, eyes wide.
“Custom weapons package as well. Everything top of line. We speed off when they pick me up. Seneschal very, very good pilot,” Grimdark explained, showing the most emotion Gus had ever seen him display.
“Everyone to the common room. We need to plan en route. We’re getting my wife out of there!” Tempest barked over the ship’s comms.
“I’ve never seen his edge-lord side,” Anastasia replied.
“He’s using it to mask his worry, don’t take it personally,” Harmony replied as she walked by, her hand trailing along Grimdark’s shoulders, noting his change in demeanor with Tempest’s command.
Does she flirt with absolutely anyone and everyone? Gus thought, just as Harmony looked directly at him and winked.
Gus followed the Crew as they entered the main central area of the transport and awaited Tempest. He appeared in the doorway leading to the cockpit, and held onto an overhead pipe in the exposed ductwork as he surveyed the Crew.
“Is everyone here?” he asked severely, eyes searching and mentally cataloging the team. “Where the hell is Darik?”
“Oi, right here!” The Keeper replied, pulling his head out of a panel, headlight flashing in the group’s eyes. “Just tweakin’ things; they got a little misaligned during our romp through Hinansho.” Seeing Tempest’s expression, he ripped off his headlight and fell into place with the group, dusting himself off.
“I’m sure you have heard by now—but Mengele is here, and he has my wife. Who knows what other supers are in his little house of horrors. As much as I would like to bring everyone out of there, that may not be possible. Gwen is top priority, but if we can bring anyone out with us without compromising her extraction, then I say we do it. Because this is Mengele, I do not want to go head to head with him. I would prefer we sneak in and sneak out, completely undetected if possible.
“To that end, we need to pick up Prime, as she will have the most experience with this type of mission. The Aslan HQ is in the opposite direction, so we need to hurry. I don’t trust Kenway, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in league with Mengele. He knew where Gwen was a little too easily for my tastes. I may be wrong, but we need to be prepared for anything.”
“Let’s make the bastard pay!” Darik cheered.
“As much as I want to do that very thing, I’m afraid we’re outclassed. We have no knowledge of what he has been doing here, who is working for him, and how he has evolved in the past decade he has fallen off of everyone’s radar. There’s just too many unknowns and we don’t have the time to investigate them thoroughly. I do not want Gwen to get transferred anywhere else or… worse.”
Tempest cleared his throat before continuing. “For now, the plan is to check out these coordinates without being detected, determine when the best time to extract Gwen is, and then be in and out as quickly as we can. I want to kick some ass, but we have to save that fight for another day. Let’s get Prime and get going. How are we in terms of our shrouds?”
“Shrouds are running low on power; we will probably only have another 8 hours,” Aurora reported, checking the suits.
“Power them down until we absolutely need them. Seneschal will let us know when we are close. Let’s finish this and get the hell out of here.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Hellcat
“Since our new friends know about the Aslan clan’s HQ, I’m going to be dropping you off nearby, then circling back. I don’t want to have to shake them again and waste any time,” Seneschal told the small group as they crammed into the small cockpit. “I’ll sync this timer so you can meet me at the drop off coordinates. Be there or it will reset and I’ll have to make another circuit and come back around. Do not make me do that, if at all possible.” A timer with twenty minutes popped into life in the lower left of Gus’ display.
With the plan set, they headed for the cargo bay, ready to jump out as Seneschal made the brief stop near the Aslan’s alcove.
“Are you okay, Gus?” Aurora asked.
He self-consciously stopped massaging the base of his skull. “I would be if these headaches would go away.” He stretched his neck back and forth, forward and backward, trying to relieve the tension and pain. “BoJack couldn’t find anything wrong.”
“You think it’s from, you know, the crystal? Didn’t you say that’s when the headaches started?”
Gus nodded as he fell in step with Aurora. “I thought they were going away for a while, but they’ve recently started getting worse. Some things help but then the rebound seems even worse.”
“Still not sleeping?”
“I don’t dare to, that’s when Leech kicks in and assimilates any absorbed abilities. I just know there’s too much in the buffer that I can’t risk it. At least until we get Mom. She needs me until then, so I’ll tough it out.”
“Don’t try to be too strong on your own for too long. That won’t serve anyone. You have to communicate when you’re on a team; we need to know if you’re on the edge. I still think you should tell the group about everything.”
“Noted. But let’s wait until we finish this op. We don’t need any distractions—we’re almost in the end zone. Don’t worry about me, I won’t let you or the Crew down.”
“It’s not about disappointing us. We can’t help you if you aren’t honest about your status.”
“I can pull my weight. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get the job done. I’m just looking forward to some downtime when all of this is over.”
Aurora gave Gus a sidelong glance. “Alright…” she said, letting the issue drop.
“Are you guys in position for the drop and dash?” Seneschal asked as the ship began to slow and rotate.
“We’re good,” Tempest confirmed as the gangway began to open, its noisy hydraulics whirring as the roar of engines and whipping wind intruded on the relative peace of the cargo bay. As the gangway yawned open, buildings were revealed as they zipped by in the mists. They were still moving at quite a clip, and a chill wind circulated into the room through the open hatchway. Tempest made a motion for the others to activate their shrouds.
“Get ready to go in three… two… one,” he indicated with hand motions.
The ship did an abrupt spin and the bottom of the gangplank oriented a couple of feet above a familiar alcove. Everyone slid down the gangplank and the ship shot off again as soon as Gus’ feet were clear, even before he had touched down on the alcove. They rushed to the doorway as the ship disappeared into the darkness and the countdown timer began ticking down.
Sir Rhino reluctantly let them in, muttering under his breath as they were led back to the throne room.
The throne room was darker than before and the primal, animal scent was more evident. The thron
es were backlit by an orange glow, and they were allowed to wait there while someone conversed with the hybrid sovereigns in the shadows. With a gesture, the figure left, opening a doorway to the side of the thrones, leaving it open. Light spilled in through the door as the beaded curtain in front of it rattled to rest.
“I must admit, I did not expect to see you back so soon.” The lights brightened to allow the trio to view the leaders again, as well as a larger group of muscular hybrids accompanying them on their dais.
The queen purred, one claw scratching her whiskers. “I had almost hoped you would have left our daughter and gone on your way, but perhaps this is for the best. She is here in body only, and her time among the supers has only made her more defiant and uncooperative.” Another gesture and two servants held the curtain apart so the princess could exit onto the dais.
Prime stepped through the doorway into the throne room wearing a flowing dress with large slits that showed her legs up past the hips. Thick laces held parts of the dress in a provocative cut that emphasized her femininity much more than the biker’s outfit she usually wore.
As far as Gus could tell, just her head and tail had catlike fur. The swath of skin that arced from her shoulder across her chest was as human as they came. Prime’s fluffy pink tail flicked in agitation as she stood by her parents, her arms tightly folded, accentuating her modest cleavage. Her ears were pressed firmly down atop her head as she glared at her parents.
“We will be taking the cube now, please leave it with our steward,” the queen commanded, and on cue, a small hedgehog hybrid with bifocals scuttled forward with a tray, bowing his head as he approached Gus.
“No!” Prime roared. “That was not the agreement, and you know it!”
“Daughter dear, if you ever want to leave here, you will realize that you are not in a position to bargain. We are the Aslan clan and we will take what we are due,” her father said dismissively, holding a large paw out, indicating there was to be no interference from her, princess or not.
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