Night Terror & Fialux (Book 3): Villains Don't Train Heroes!

by Archer, Mia

  It really wasn’t. I was fabricating new suits all the time. My line of work tended to beat the shit out of these suits on the best of days, and considering all the crap I’d been dealing with thanks to Dr. Lana that wear and tear had been ratcheted up to eleven.

  Taking one of those suits I was going to be fabricating anyway and giving it to Selena wasn’t all that big a deal. Though from the way she looked at me she seemed to think I was fishing for something.

  “You know you can say that all you want, but I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” she said. “You didn’t have to take me in. You didn’t have to save me, and that’s what you’ve done. In more ways than you could imagine.”

  The way she looked at me left me feeling like shit over every nasty thing I’d thought when I was getting pissy about not being able to pull my usual villainous ways. I reached out and touched her hand and she quirked the corner of her mouth up into a half smile that was quite distracting.

  And then she leaned back. Stretched idly. Looked at me with a decidedly mischievous gleam in her eye.

  “Yeah? What would you think to me maybe thanking you right now? I figure it’s the least I owe you considering all the nice things you’re doing for me.”

  I felt a flush rise. The familiar little tingle I got every time she got like this ran along my body in waves of goose bumps. I stood. Brushed some toast crumbs off of my shirt.

  I also pointedly ignored the image playing on repeat on the screen. So there was a new hero in the city and she punched out a giant lizard. So everyone was talking about her and wondering if there was a new challenger to Night Terror. So I worried there might actually be a new challenger and that new challenger might be an old enemy.

  So all that bullshit could wait for a little while, because there were suddenly far more pressing things for me to attend to than saving the fucking city.

  “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

  “And after that we’re going out into the city and we’re going to give some bank robbers or thieves or something hell, right?” she asked. “And no chasing after new heroes while we’re at it?”

  I stopped. Looked at her. Looked her up and down, is more like it. Thought of all the fun distractions that were on offer, and then thought about how I really didn’t want that fun to be conditional.

  “You’re not just doing the one thing because you hope that will get me to forsake my villainous ways, are you?” I asked.

  “You can rest assured there’s no strings attached,” she said. “It’d be nice if you could be heroic for the sake of being a hero, but…”

  She looked up at me and batted her eyelashes. Bit her lip in a very seductive manner. “I guess this might sound weird, but you have no idea how hot it’s getting me thinking about watching you in action again whether that means watching you be a hero or a villain.”

  She gave a little involuntary shiver. I have to admit that if I was going to be heroic then I suppose it was one hell of a good side effect that it got her all hot and bothered when I acted heroic. It was also interesting that she got hot and bothered by the villainy.

  It put our little fights with each other in a whole new light. That was for damn sure. But still…

  “We’re not taking on anything big,” I said. “You know that, right?”

  “Of course I know that,” she said. “I wouldn’t dream of trying something big like that lizard that you didn’t tell me was rampaging through the city, thanks for that by the way, but it doesn’t mean you can’t.”

  She traced a hand down my arm and it sent another shiver running through me.

  This girl was going to be the death of me. Particularly if she kept giving me incentives like this to throw myself at some of the big bad nasties that tore their way through the city on a regular basis.

  Yeah, it was entirely possible this beautiful girl was going to be the death of me, and if she had her way I was going to die a hero which twisted my stomach, but what a way to go!

  7

  Test Run

  Sirens wailed off in the distance and I could hear and feel the steady deep thrum of a giant monster stomping its way through the city. I’d learned long ago not to use pronouns on those lizards since it was notoriously difficult to figure out whether they were male or female.

  A little incident where a monster that everyone in the military swore was a “he” suddenly started laying monster eggs in the middle of the big arena downtown had been proof enough of the dangers of misgendering giant monsters.

  “Come on Natalie!” Fialux whined.

  An unholy screech that sounded like something from the deepest nightmares of some crazed Japanese sound designer echoed through the concrete canyons. I stopped and shivered.

  Fialux came to a stop. She looked genuinely worried, though I didn’t think she was worried about the oversized lizard on the other side of downtown.

  “You okay Natalie?” she asked.

  “Hey, give a girl a break,” I said. “Everybody has something that bothers them on some level.”

  Her eyebrows shot up and she looked off in the direction of the roar. It was impossible to see anything because there were a bunch of buildings in the way.

  “Really? Oversized lizards are what you’re afraid of?”

  I sniffed. “It just so happens that growing up watching old monster movies on cable instilled a healthy terror of the things in me from an early age.”

  Sure since then I’d come to love the “giant monster destroys a city” genre. At least when we were talking about guys in rubber suits duking it out on a television screen and not the very real thing on the television screen on live news, but that didn’t change some of that deep seated terror that had been instilled in me from a young age.

  “Is this why we didn’t go out to fight the last one?” she asked.

  “Shut up,” I said.

  “Come on,” she prodded. “You can admit it. It’s not like there’s anyone around to find your weakness or anything.”

  “That is not my weakness damn it,” I hissed. “And keep your voice own. I don’t want anyone to hear you!”

  “My lips are sealed,” she said.

  Another screech echoed off the buildings. Again I flinched. I hated that sound!

  Not that those screeches bothered me all that much these days. Not outwardly. I could take one of those things out easily enough. Though as I looked at Selena I knew she wouldn’t fare nearly as well. Especially because I had her in the suit equivalent of training wheels right now.

  I wasn’t going to send her out with my full complement of weapons. Not when she was more of a danger to herself and the city than she was to any criminals who might be trying to take advantage of the current giant lizard situation.

  “There’s not a chance we’re fighting that thing, and it has nothing to do with whether or not I’m afraid of it,” I said. “You’re not equipped to do it.”

  “But you are!” she said. “Besides, overcoming your fear to be a true hero is so hot.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. That was not going to work on me, damn it. Even if all evidence to the contrary said that it had worked on me before and it’d probably work on me again.

  Luckily right about then I was distracted by the unmistakable sound of a jet flying somewhere off in the distance. I looked up to see drones flying in formation like a something out of an old World War II movie, and then they banked down and started firing missiles down into the city.

  Whatever. As long as they weren’t firing those missiles at me we wouldn’t have a problem. The moment they did I was going to send the fire and fury of all the automated hell that I could unleash after them though.

  I didn’t even have to worry about running out of ammo this time. No, one of the first things I’d done after my last run in with the giant robots Dr. Lana kept sending at the city was figure out a way to restock my pattern buffers with all sorts of nasty toys directly from the lab, and I didn’t even need to amp up my artific
ial intelligence to do it.

  Sure I’d lost a couple of sleepless nights, but I figured a few nights without sleep was well worth not getting smeared onto the pavement if I ever found myself in a situation where I needed to reload and suddenly didn’t have any arrows in the quiver.

  Speaking of making sure people didn’t get smeared onto the pavement…

  “We’re here to train you,” I said. “The military will take care of of the giant lizard, and meanwhile we need to watch out for all the criminal scum out there who are going to take advantage of the giant lizard attacking the city to try and commit some crimes.”

  “It’s not fair,” she said. “I always wanted to take on one of those things, and I never got a chance to. I don’t care if you’re afraid of them. I’m not!”

  “I’m not afraid of them, damn it, but you should be with the way you’re equipped. You can take one on some other time. A few come through the city every year. It’s like hurricane season, but for giant lizards. Two so close together is a little odd though.”

  I pushed that thought away. I wouldn’t put it past Dr. Lana to shove those poor lizards on the edge of town into radioactive goop so she’d have something to fight, see her robot plot, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was even still around so best not to pick at that old wound.

  Besides, there was no sign of that new hero. Not yet, at least. I was keeping an eye on the news, but right now I had work to do here. That hero showing up out here would just be the icing on the cake, but there was real work to do here. Real work getting Fialux…

  I looked at her. Blinked when I saw the look she was giving me. Damn.

  Fialux stuck her lip out in an obvious pout. Then she floated towards me. She really was getting much better control of her flight ability.

  “Are you sure we couldn’t go and fight the giant lizard?” she asked.

  The sound of rending metal and concrete being blown to smithereens said either the military had gotten in a hit, a hit that was probably going to be completely ineffective since that’s exactly how all their attempts at fighting off giant lizards usually went no matter what I told Fialux to get her to shut up about it, or the thing had just gone on a rampage.

  “You know how much I love seeing you in action saving the city,” she said.

  One of her hands moved down and traced up and down my chest. A move that was entirely too forward, but it’s not like there were any pesky cameras from the Starlight City News Network to see us canoodling on top of one of the taller buildings in the city.

  I activated my shields. Like seriously activated my shields. I’m not talking metaphorically here. An energy barrier went up and pushed Fialux away. Her pout only got more pronounced.

  “That’s not going to work on me this time,” I said.

  I prayed that she wouldn’t see the effect she was having on me. I prayed that she wouldn’t realize how close she’d been to getting me to fly off and do something that was both stupid and heroic. Because there was something about her getting all hot and bothered by me acting like a hero that…

  Better not to go into that. I wasn’t going to let her manipulate me this time. Not when there was training to do. Not when I was a villain at heart, damn it.

  “Fine,” she said. “But in case you haven’t noticed, it’s not like there are exactly any crimes going on around here.”

  “Oh yeah?” I asked. “Then what do you call that?”

  I pointed down. Fialux followed my gaze and frowned.

  “The Starlight City National Bank?” she asked. “I always thought that was such a weird name. How can it be a national bank if it’s isolated to Starlight City?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “As far as I’m concerned banks are good for the occasional withdrawal when I need a cash influx and most bankers need to be the first ones with their backs against the wall when the revolution comes. Beyond that I don’t pay attention to how they operate.”

  I looked down to the streets below. The streets where, despite the giant lizard attack that was going on maybe half a mile away, people were still going about their business.

  That was either a testament to the resilience of the people of Starlight City or a monument to their stupidity. Either way, they’d obviously gotten so used to giant creatures duking it out in the middle of the city that people were rather blasé about it.

  I guess it was proof that people could get used to just about anything.

  “I really don’t see what…”

  I held up a hand and Fialux went quiet. I pointed down to the front of the bank.

  “Wait for it,” I said.

  As though on cue a large delivery truck pulled up in front of the bank. Definitely out of place since most deliveries were taken in the back around here. I happened to know for a fact that there was a loading dock on the other end of the bank where deliveries were supposed to go.

  “What is…”

  The explosion came from inside the bank. It blew out and windows shattered all around. That certainly got people’s attention down there.

  “Figures,” I groused. “Giant lizards ripping the city to shreds half a mile away are nothing, but one explosion nearby and everyone loses their minds.”

  “What was that?” Fialux asked.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Just griping.”

  “Well be quiet. I want to see the show,” she said.

  Armed thugs streamed out of the delivery truck and moved in. People ran away from the bank, and they had the sense to run away from the giant lizard attacking the city too.

  “Poor bastards,” I said. “Getting hit by a giant irradiated lizard in one direction and bank robbers in the other.”

  “Why that sounded like you were almost sympathetic to the plight of the common man,” Fialux said.

  “Almost,” I said. “But don’t start getting ideas that I’m going heroic or anything.”

  “I never would,” she said,

  Of course she would choose that moment to reach out and run a finger along my arm. I could feel that even through the carbon fiber weave that made up my suit. It sent a shiver running through me. I looked over at her and stuck my tongue out.

  “Don’t make me raise my shields again,” I said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to?” she asked. “Because I can think of a few fun ways to get through those shields that would be way more interesting than when I was punching through them.”

  I shivered again. Then pointedly turned my attention to the Charlie Foxtrot going on down below. Way down below.

  It was a good thing I’d invented technology that let me regularly defy the laws of gravity. Otherwise I’d have a hell of a case of vertigo standing up here.

  I didn’t know how some of the normal heroes and villains who jumped from building to building, sometimes without any augmentation other than spending a lot of time in the gym, did it. I’d be crapping my pants if I had to do something like that without all of my toys.

  “Right,” I said. “We have some bank robbers to take out. Are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.

  “Good,” I said. “Then let’s do this. Follow my example, and don’t do anything stupid.”

  Her grin said it all. “I wouldn’t dream of doing something stupid.”

  I had a feeling the only person who was truly doing something stupid here today was me letting Fialux go into the middle of a bank robbery, even if it was a boring bank robbery by normal criminals, but it had to be done sometime. You had to run before you could walk and all that.

  “Let’s go.”

  8

  Training Day

  I dove for the deck with my fist outstretched. I even let out a nice scream for good measure.

  Then I smiled. Pulled up the interface with my eyes and went to the sound library. Projected the distinctive whine of a Stuka dive bomber going for the kill.

  I’m sure it was a sound that, once upon a time, had puckered the assholes of anyone who f
ought in World War II. These days it was just known as the default sound for a plane going into a dive.

  Fun fact. The Germans actually put little things called Jericho Sirens on their planes to make that distinctive sound. Psychological warfare at its finest, and I could appreciate that even if I thought everything else they’d done was repugnant and disgusting.

  People who’d been fleeing a moment ago turned to look. They pointed up in the sky. I’m sure they were wondering if I was a fowl or a heavier than air flying machine, but I was nothing of the sort.

  I was Night Terror.

  Unfortunately none of the bastards looking up were the bastards I was going for. No, those bastards were all in the bank by the time I hit the ground.

  I flipped around and pointed my shields down to the ground. I slammed into it with enough force that it gave my shields and inertial compensators a run for their money, but not so much that it drained my power.

  I’d learned the dangers of letting my power levels get too low time and again, but never as starkly as I’d learned it when I was fighting Dr. Lana and her toys. I’d nearly bought the big one in that fight, and I hated to admit it but if it wasn’t for a save from a giant robot that I was pretty sure was being controlled by a computer who should’ve by all accounts been completely dead I wouldn’t have made it out of that fight in one piece.

  I was still doing a hell of a lot of research into putting two reactors next to each other. I kept running into little issues where they’d go critical, and I kept having to teleport them out to the Kuiper belt where the explosions wouldn’t hurt anything or potentially interfere with any life that may or may not have developed on other planets.

  “Night Terror!”

  I stopped. Closed my eyes. Took in a deep breath. God it felt good to hear people saying my name with fear on their lips.

  It had been way too long. Way too fucking long. First dealing with Fialux who wiped the city streets with me, and then Dr. Lana who didn’t have the proper reverence for the villain who basically put villainy on the map in Starlight City.