True Dark

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘I’m going to start patrolling,’ June said as the channel switched back to its regular news coverage.

  Penny blinked. ‘You think you’re ready?’

  ‘I think I’m ready to at least help. Even if I don’t intervene too much, I can watch for trouble. My night vision isn’t as good as yours or Andrea’s, but it’s still pretty good, and I have the guilt sense thing. Plus, I get field experience.’

  ‘So long as you’re still going to go to the classes–’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss them.’ June flashed a grin. ‘I’d feel like I was missing out if I never found out what happened with Zap and Fleet.’

  Penny’s lips twitched. ‘He still hasn’t said anything to her then?’

  ‘Nope. I think she’ll decide she can’t wait any longer pretty soon. I want to be there to see how he reacts. It’s like a real-life soap opera.’

  ‘Okay. We’ll go out together a few times and then work out some sort of schedule.’

  June nodded. ‘We’ll go out tonight then. Should be interesting.’

  ~~~

  June’s night vision was not as good as Cygnus’s. Cygnus could see in total darkness, presumably by sensing the flow of cosmic energy or something, though no one had ever explained it in June’s hearing. June needed light. It was just that, since her powers had expressed, she did not need much light. She figured it was another adaptation for working in space, along with the glare protection which some testing the Union had done had uncovered. Space, after all, had a habit of being very dark or very bright. Tonight was a good test: the Moon had set before sunset and the stars were partially obscured by clouds. The night was dark, and Astraea glided through it, watching for signs of trouble on the streets below her.

  ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to get over being able to fly,’ June said. ‘Not like this. It’s getting kind of ordinary in the gym and in the training room in Antarctica, but out in the open, under the stars…’

  ‘You haven’t done it that much,’ Cygnus pointed out. ‘You’re not really used to being Astraea yet.’

  ‘I guess I’m not. What’s that?’ They were over the northern part of Churchton, the area worst affected by the riots and more prone to crime. Given the crime rate in Churchton, that was saying something. What she had spotted was a woman backing into an alley, away from a man who had not seemed especially threatening. But she had been backing away…

  ‘What did you see?’ Cygnus asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. I’m going in for a closer look.’ Dropping down, June came in to land on the rooftop of a three-storey building beside the alley and looked down, searching for the couple. Almost before she caught sight of them, she was struck by the sense of guilt coming up from below and used that to narrow her search. Now the man was holding a revolver, a small one with a short barrel, and he was definitely the source of the guilt. This was not even his first victim tonight: he had robbed three other women out on their own and felt more guilt over his choice of victims than the robberies. ‘I’ve got a mugging. I’m going in.’

  ‘I’m right over you, but you go ahead.’

  June was already vaulting the wall and dropping. She adjusted her flight path and landed right beside the girl, narrowing her eyes at the mugger. He was young and there was something about the way his cheeks seemed hollowed and his eyes sunken that suggested a reason for his criminal activities. The sunken eyes widened as he realised he was facing off against a woman in a costume, almost certainly an Ultra. June got out, ‘I really can’t let you–’ before he opened fire.

  June’s shield sprang into existence in front of her as two bullets hit it, flattening against the barrier of cosmic energy before bouncing harmlessly away. June stepped forward, raising her hands. ‘Fuck!’ the mugger exclaimed, and then he did something June had not expected, shifting his aim toward his original victim and firing. A third bullet hit the field; apparently, June could protect those beside her as well as herself. She reached out, grabbing his gun arm and forcing it up to where it was no danger. He let out a gasp. ‘Oh, God! What am I doing?!’ The gun dropped from his suddenly nerveless fingers and June let go of him to catch it. ‘What am I doing?’ he repeated. ‘I was going to– Why would I do that?’

  Cygnus dropped down to a silent landing behind him, giving June a quizzical look. June shrugged and turned to the girl. She was older than her would-be mugger, mid-twenties seemed likely, and there was a suggestion of a uniform from some sort of fast food place under her jacket. ‘Are you all right?’ June asked.

  ‘I’m fine now,’ she said, nodding. She watched as the mugger sank to his knees, looking at his hands as though they were covered in blood or something. ‘Better than him anyway. What did you do to him?’

  ‘Uh… Not sure. I’m new at this. I think–’

  ‘I robbed three women tonight,’ the mugger blurted. ‘They weren’t the first. It’s for drugs. Coke. I do cocaine! Lots of it!

  ‘I think you turned him honest,’ Cygnus said.

  ‘I peek at one of my neighbours across the alley when she forgets to close the curtains!’

  ‘Really honest. Wonder how long he’ll be spewing out confessions.’

  ‘When I was six,’ he began.

  June stepped forward and put her hand over his mouth. ‘I’m not sure about anyone else, but I think I’ve heard enough.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ the waitress said. ‘I could stand to hear him embarrass himself a bit more.’

  ~~~

  ‘That was fun!’ June trilled, more or less dancing into the lounge.

  ‘Tell me that when you’ve done it in the rain,’ Cygnus replied, but she was grinning.

  Turning, June caught Cygnus’s waist and pulled her into a kiss which grew rapidly in intensity until Cygnus had to break away to draw breath. ‘It was fantastic,’ June said, ‘and educational.’

  ‘We learned you can make people honest with a touch.’

  ‘And that my shield works for people beside me. That could be useful to know.’

  ‘Yes.’ Cygnus squirmed as June’s hands roamed over whatever bare skin they could find. ‘You’re horny, aren’t you?’

  ‘God, yes. And we haven’t made love with me as a blonde. I want to test the axiom.’

  ‘What axiom?’

  June began to pull Cygnus toward the bedroom. ‘That blondes have more fun.’

  ‘That’s not really what an axiom is.’

  ‘Don’t care. Want sex.’

  ‘Can’t really argue with that.’

  5th September.

  Whether as Penny or Cygnus, the ‘Protector of New Millennium City’ had been fuming silently since the invitation had arrived on Wednesday. The city had decided to throw a welcoming event for Captain Freedom, inviting important and famous people from the upper echelons of the city’s society. Penny did not consider herself part of that crowd, but Cygnus had received an invite, as had Svetilo. Andy Hatch, Fire Bug, had got one too, but he had managed to come up with an excuse to stay away. Fire Bug and Svetilo felt similarly to Penny: the whole thing was a – possibly unintentional – insult to the other heroes of the city.

  Sitting at a table with June, Cygnus smiled and nodded to the various old, rich people around her. Many of them had been New Yorkers back when Captain Freedom had been around the first time. They had moved to New Millennium because it was the new business capital of America, but they were still New Yorkers at heart. They loved the fact that their old hero was back and now living in the city they now called home.

  June barely touched her food and Cygnus barely noticed. Barely, but she did. When the speeches started, Cygnus leaned closer. ‘Something up? I’m not putting you off your food, am I?’

  June gave a slight shake of her head. ‘Everyone else is.’ She pointed across the table where a couple in their late forties were listening to the mayor with apparent interest. ‘He’s cheating on her with his secretary. She’s cheating on him with the pool boy.’ She moved her hand, indicating the next man around t
he circle. ‘He owns a construction company and he used to own half the fire traps in northern Churchton. Insurance paid out for the ruined buildings, but he’s not putting up replacements until he can get all of the money through grants.’ Her head turned. ‘The mayor publicly supports LGBTQ rights, but he’s basically disowned his second son after he came out as gay last year. And he’s cheating on his wife with her best friend.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Yeah. This place is a minefield if you’re sensitive to guilt. You’re running your social configuration. You have to have noticed how insincere everyone is.’

  ‘Most of them seem to be sincere about the Captain. They’re all so happy to see him here.’

  ‘Yeah. Kind of. The woman beside you is, but she feels guilty about it. She thinks we need a man to keep the city safe but doesn’t think she should be thinking that way.’

  Cygnus rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, here we go. The big man himself.’

  Captain Freedom was being plain old Alexander Harrow tonight, dressed in a tuxedo rather than his usual costume. He stepped up to the podium at the back of the hall and slipped some notes from his jacket pocket. The dinner was being hosted in the Millennium Royal; most official dinners the city hosted were. The Royal Ballroom was a majestic sort of room with a lot of gold leaf plastered over mouldings and walls covered in pale, printed wallpaper. It really only looked good when the lights were down, but it was a good venue for self-congratulatory speeches, which was what the mayor had given.

  Freedom peered at his notes for a few more seconds and then folded them back up and put them away. ‘I’m not really much of a speaker,’ he said.

  ‘Liar,’ June muttered.

  ‘To be honest, I’m really just a soldier. I did my time in Vietnam, came home, and suddenly I could fly. I still had that sense of duty. I wanted to get out there and keep America safe. I grew up in Queens, so I made my home in New York and when New York was threatened, I knew I had to do everything in my power to save my city. America chose me to fight for her, so I did, and it cost me… Well, thirty years went missing and the world has changed. America has changed.’ June frowned up at the stage and the man on it, not quite sure why what he was saying disturbed her. ‘There’s a new New York, and I’m proud to call it my new home. Thank you, New Millennium City. Thanks for making this boy from Queens your own.’

  The clapping started. Cygnus and June joined in a little late, but they joined in. Things were moving on toward the dancing and drinks stage of the night. Cygnus just wanted to go home but would have to stay a while longer for appearance’s sake. Well, she could get a dance out of June, which was always worth it.

  While various tables were moved to give space for dancing, Svetilo and Zoe appeared. The Russian was in one of her numerous minidresses, a white one with no straps. She had obviously had a hand in dressing Zoe because the girl who frequently dressed like a goth was in a short, very tight, red dress with a cleavage window. Cygnus and June were in some of June’s creations: long, strapless gowns with side splits to the hip, white for Cygnus, black for June. The contrast between the couples was marked.

  ‘I have your costume ready at the house,’ June said to Svetilo. ‘Three copies, as requested.’

  ‘I will come collect them,’ Svetilo replied, smiling. ‘Tomorrow maybe.’

  ‘Any day but Monday. I have a meeting with our agent on Monday.’

  ‘Da. So, what do you think of new addition to our community?’

  June’s eyes flicked toward the stage area where Captain Freedom was smiling a lot and shaking hands. ‘He’s… I’m not sure.’

  ‘He’s Captain Freedom!’ Zoe said. ‘He’s the national hero. What’s to be unsure about?’

  June smiled. ‘If I knew that, I’d be sure.’

  ‘My attitude may be being coloured by this whole party thing,’ Cygnus said. ‘The city’s never done anything like this for me, or Dom, or Andy.’

  June nodded. ‘I’m a bit peeved because everyone here is hiding something, usually something sordid. That may be colouring my perceptions a bit.’

  ‘Dancing soon,’ Svetilo said, grinning. ‘We get out on floor and ignore others.’

  ‘That,’ Cygnus said, ‘sounds like an excellent plan.’

  ~~~

  ‘He’s watching us.’

  ‘Who?’ Cygnus asked, keeping her voice as low as June’s had been. They were on the dance floor, moving slowly. The music was being kept relatively low and fairly slow to let people chat around the sides of the room.

  ‘Captain Freedom. He’s watching us. He’s watching me.’

  ‘You’re worth watching.’

  ‘Thank you, but I’d prefer it if he didn’t.’

  Cygnus manoeuvred them around so that she could look in the direction June had been. The Captain was there, but he was moving, vanishing into the crowd. It seemed odd. If anything, Cygnus would have guessed he would get a better view of June that way. ‘You’re sure he was looking at you and not my ass?’

  ‘Quite sure.’

  ‘Well… Well, he has spent thirty years entombed in rock. He says he can’t remember it, but still… I mean, he’s got to have urges. You can’t really blame him for looking.’

  ‘Mm.’ There was silence for a second or two. ‘I don’t know what it is about him that’s making me edgy. I think it’s great that he got out. I just… can’t seem to trust him.’

  ‘Well, if he’s going to be patrolling the city, maybe you’ll get to meet him properly, and then you can get to know him.’

  ‘You’ve met him on patrol.’

  ‘Kind of. He said he was just passing.’

  ‘So, what did you think of him?’

  Cygnus considered for a second. ‘He was sympathetic about what happened with Naryan Tan. He told me that President Vanlaren had been complimentary. I mean, no one in the administration has ever told me that.’

  ‘True. Like I said, I don’t know what’s off about him. I’m not getting guilt from him.’ June shook her head slightly. ‘I don’t know. I guess I should give him the benefit of the doubt.’

  ‘Probably for the best. We’ll head home soon. Dancing like this with you always makes me want to dance some other ways.’

  June giggled. ‘Good. I really like the other kinds of dancing.’

  ‘I’d noticed.’

  Union of Ultrahumans HQ, Antarctica, 19th September.

  There was nothing super about Master Niigaki, unless you counted the fact that he could kick butt like few other people in the Union. He fitted the image of the ancient martial arts master rather well: short, somewhat wizened, bald as a coot, and possessed of eyes which could pierce skin with just a look. Under the loose clothing he always wore, his body was all whipcord muscle. Despite his stereotypical appearance and his intensity with regard to the martial arts, he had an impish sense of humour.

  For example, he was attempting to teach June how to use her flight ability to break falls. What this meant for June was that, once a week during martial arts training, she got to be tossed around a mat by an old man for several minutes. She was getting better at it, but she still tended to walk away from the sessions with a bruised butt. Thank heavens for healing powers.

  Even when Master Niigaki was working one-on-one with a student, he always seemed to know what was going on with the others. While June was picking herself up after a throw, he would call out instructions. This time it was, ‘Twist hips more, Fleet. Power comes from hips.’ June was almost certain he spoke that way to sound more like his ancient Japanese archetype.

  ‘Those two are so cute,’ June said as she prepared for another bruising fall.

  ‘Fleet and Zap?’ Niigaki asked in reply. Fleet and Zap almost always ended up paired together for Niigaki’s class. The instructor made a sound somewhere between a laugh and an avalanche. ‘Young love.’

  ‘The funny thing is, they fancy each other and neither of them seems to realise the other one feels the same way. Zap actually feels guilty for having fantasies a
bout her.’

  ‘Believe it or not, I was once a teenage boy.’

  June smirked. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘I was, and I see some of myself in that young man.’ The fact that his English tended to get better when he was not shouting instructions seemed to prove June’s theory about him trying to sound the part.

  Across the mats, Zap threw Fleet – making good use of his hips – but Fleet caught his arm on the way down. That screwed up her ability to break her fall but resulted in Zap tumbling on top of her which, June judged, had been her intention. Zap’s cheeks looked like they could be detected from space on an infrared camera. Fleet, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with herself.

  ‘Or maybe Fleet knows full well what she’s up to,’ June said.

  ‘That is also strong possibility,’ Niigaki replied and June prepared for another attack: poor grammar always meant she was about to add a purple spot to her behind.

  Ruins of New York, NY, 22nd September.

  Lava continued to bubble up from the vent over what had been The Lake. It had been unusually persistent for the general activity in the area and monitoring stations had been put in to keep an eye on things. There were still people living in the southern part of Brooklyn and in the Bronx who might be affected by further volcanic activity.

  Still, the sudden increase in the flow of molten rock went largely unnoticed at three in the morning, as did the shift in the surface detected by the tilt monitors. At that hour, no one was watching and, while the changes were locally dramatic, no alarms were triggered to wake anyone. Even when the lava shifted and something in the shape of a man lifted up out of it, none of the automated systems responded: they were not designed to look for that kind of danger. Everyone knew that Magmatic had to be dead. If he was alive, he would have found another city to sink under molten rock.

  Standing up to his knees in glorious heat, Magmatic turned his rocky head upward toward the sky. He had no idea how long he had been hidden beneath the rock. Until magma had broken into his prison, he had been dead. Captain Freedom had managed to trap him, exhausted by the fight and unable to get to the heat he needed. He thought that Freedom had been trapped too, but there was no sign of the bastard when Magmatic awoke. Either the Captain had not been trapped or he had found a way out since. Well, whatever the case, Magmatic was going to get even.