by Drew Hayes
As far as backhands went, it was fair, at best. The guy clearly hadn’t done much muscle or combat training, but then, it wasn’t really about the damage. It was about the hit itself, reminding Tori that he was free and she was a captive, supposedly at his mercy. The sound of his hand striking her face faded slowly, echoing around the stone room.
“I think I gave you more than ample warning. Now, cease with the senseless blathering. We’ll leave you alone to collect your thoughts. When I return, you will start answering questions, or I’ll have to be an ungracious host once more.”
The rest of the crew took the order, filing back out through the door. Before they were gone, Tori’s voice rose once more.
“Hey, Big Man. I tried. If you care about any of these people, take a swing at convincing them.” She paused to lick the corner of her mouth, where a small trickle of blood was oozing out. “As for you, Freckles, don’t worry about any of that.”
She sat herself up straight, looking him dead in the eyes, making sure he understood every syllable. “You’ll die wishing you could scream. That’s my promise to you.”
Despite his hands being clasped together as he sat, Darius wasn’t praying. Even if he were the religious sort, this didn’t feel like a situation where divine intervention would be on the table. No, Darius wasn’t lost in prayer, he was lost in thought. That woman was off, and in more than one sense. The brutal way she’d fought, her demeanor during interrogation, the things she kept hinting at. She knew. She was connected, in some way. Maybe to a cape, maybe to something worse. But this was not the way a normal person behaved in a kidnapping.
The larger question was what he could do about it. Deacon ran things, even with the broken nose and that shitshow interrogation. He had to be the one to make the call, or Darius might as well just stage a coup. Deacon was smart, despite how he’d handled himself. The trouble was that he was smart in a way that involved patterns, puzzles, and planning. Seeing past his own ego wasn’t in that toolkit, which meant that even if Deacon had been open to listening before, there was zero chance he’d be receptive after Tori had humiliated him.
If Darius couldn’t let her go without staging a mutiny, and he thought there was even the smallest chance she was telling the truth, then his only option was to deal with Tori directly. Maybe he could sell it as good cop to Deacon’s antagonistic style to get the boss’s nod. Whatever story he concocted, Darius had to get in there with her. He could figure out how much was bluster versus how much was actual knowledge, and in the worst-case scenario where she was telling the truth, hopefully he’d have laid the groundwork to get his people spared.
Except for Deacon, most likely. Even in the most optimistic of situations, if Tori was telling the truth, then the boss was a goner. Darius had heard enough dangerous people talk to know the difference between a threat and a vow. Tori hadn’t been making a threat—which was one more oddity to add onto the pile. Part of him had even considered the idea that Tori was a cape herself, but that didn’t track. A cape wouldn’t have needed saving in the street, and she certainly wouldn’t have let herself be abducted.
He didn’t know exactly what Tori’s deal was, but he needed to figure it out, and soon. At least one thing she’d said was right on the money: Deacon was absolutely crazy if he seriously expected black market tech to hold off Professor Quantum.
Chapter 23
By the time Ivan made it to the guild council’s new chambers, he was almost the last to arrive. Wade was standing at a computer terminal, punching the keyboard while barely looking, Xelas standing over his shoulder, adding the occasional bit of advice. Morgana had traded her usual business casual ensemble for something armored and blood-red. With her abilities, clearing out a base silently was a task she often received. Gork was sitting patiently in the corner, waiting to see how things developed. Only Stasis and Arcanicus were missing, neither of whom were immediately necessary.
“Where is she?” It had taken discipline to walk here calmly, to not do anything so dramatic as leaving footprints in the stone or knocking doors clean from their hinges. That patience was wearing thin, however. With every passing moment, they knew less about what had just happened to one of their own. For innumerable reasons, that would not stand.
“If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll tell you,” Wade replied. “As I hope you’ve assumed by now, all the shifting clothes we give Tori have specially encoded tracking devices. Makes it so much easier than hiding them one by one like I have to do with the rest of you.”
That was the sort of thing Ivan might have objected to under normal circumstances, which was no doubt why Wade had chosen this moment to divulge the tidbit. The man wasn’t called a genius for nothing; he knew how to use an opportunity.
“All we have to do is link up, and I should have her coordinates,” Wade continued.
“If it’s that simple, shouldn’t you have them already?” Ivan hadn’t exactly stopped for coffee, but he’d come via mundane routes, taking roughly an hour. There was no chance Wade needed that long to ping a simple tracker.
Sure enough, a crease appeared below his thinning copper hair, a telltale sign that Wade was slightly annoyed. “Whoever took her was smart enough to employ some countertracking methods. The signals they aren’t blocking, they’re scrambling. Xelas and I were finding a workaround to connect with our devices. In fact, you arrived just in time.”
With a flourish, Wade pressed several keys, eliciting several beeps and one loud buzz, followed by flashing red lights. Wade and Xelas both leaned in, staring at the screen, then one another. While Xelas was able to keep up a stoic front, Wade didn’t quite manage the same. His pale face reddened as he checked the information over several more times. When he turned back to them, it was with the gravity of the guild’s leader.
“Somehow, they’re still blocking. We got a connection, reached out to the device, but they’ve employed a tactic to halt any real communication. While I realize that this might not seem like a larger concern than what we were facing, please understand the severity of what I’m saying. If they’re using tech able to disrupt mine, then it has to be of roughly the same technological capacity, or greater. As things stand, there are only three living people in the world who can create on that level: me, Professor Quantum, and Tyranny. I’m not working against myself, Professor Quantum would never lower himself to dealing with street criminals, and Tyranny has spent decades observing an isolationist policy that I doubt she’d break for some quick black-market cash. Outside of a known entity throwing us a hell of a curveball, the most logical explanation is that there’s a new player.”
“A new player with some skills,” Xelas added. “I never caught the designing bug like Wade, but I can still analyze the complexity of the programs we’re seeing, and it’s far from amateur.”
“Which means this is no longer just some punks grabbing the wrong person off the street. We have to consider the possibility that it was targeted, the opening shot of a war.” Morgana finished buckling on one last bracer, completing her preparation.
They were all making very good, reasonable points. Things that should definitely be considered. When Tori was safe.
Striding forward, Ivan closed the gap and glared at the still-flashing red screen. He turned from it to Wade, actively working to keep his eyes from shifting to their rune-filled forms.
“Find her.”
“Relax. That’s what we’re about to do.” Wade put his hand on his old friend’s shoulder, trying to keep him calm. “It will take a little time, but I’m going to reconfigure the tracker’s communication system until we can slip around the block they’ve got in place.”
“How?” Ivan asked.
Wade met his question with a carefully raised eyebrow. “Do you want the five minutes of me condensing complex concepts into techno-jargon, or can you just trust that I know what I’m doing?”
After a deep breath to get himself under control, Ivan gave a quick nod and stepped away. It was easy to let himself sp
in out, to give way to everything inside him scratching to break free, but that wouldn’t help Tori. He needed to be ready to act when Wade gave the word. Much as he appreciated Morgana donning her work clothes, there would be no need for silence or subtlety in the approach. Not once Ivan was on the scene.
“In the meantime, we should try to establish communication with Tori,” Wade added. “Gork, would you show Ivan to Mind Mirror’s new accommodations? With tech temporarily at a roadblock, that leaves magic, and psychic bonds form a lot easier between people who are familiar with one another.”
The huge gray creature rose from her seat, lumbering over to lay a large hand across the entirety of Ivan’s back. “She’ll be fine. No one gave her membership into this guild—Tori earned it. Don’t forget what that takes, or what it means. She’s a danger, not a damsel, and they probably haven’t even realized it yet.”
Despite being one of the least human among them, Gork had a knack for knowing the right thing to say. The points raised were valid. Tori was far from helpless—at worst, he should probably be worrying about how to get rid of five charred corpses before the capes could show up. All the same, Ivan would feel much better once he knew Tori was actually safe.
“Thank you, Gork. Let’s go find Mind Mirror. I’d very much like to check on my former apprentice.”
“Blocked? How is someone blocking you?” Even as she said the words, Lodestar knew she should have taken a different approach. Professor Quantum’s ego was his tenderest spot, especially where she was concerned, and the fact that someone was stopping his satellite scan had to be weighing on him already.
Sure enough, there was a telltale bristle as he looked back to the giant screen that showed only an empty map. For a man his age, Professor Quantum had never grown especially adept at concealing his annoyance. Or maybe he was a master of the skill and merely chose to not employ it. It never paid to make assumptions where Professor Quantum was concerned.
Together, they were standing in the Chamber of Champions, a near relic from more active times. Across the walls and ceiling were screens capable of displaying all manner of images, both flat and three-dimensional. There were also tables, computers, and other stations filled with stuff boasting varying purposes that Lodestar couldn’t remember. During the AHC’s early days, this place had been their hub, the place they’d spend time coordinating to take down threat after constant threat. Over time, order had won out over chaos once more, bringing things to a peaceful equilibrium. They’d held that order for a long time, but one had only to look at human history to know that every era of peace was but a temporary ceasefire.
“It is concerning,” Professor Quantum agreed. “Granted, I am working with minimal information about this woman and no devices local to her body. Yet it was also inevitable that as the masses inch their way toward technological progression, some exalted minds would use that springboard to fuel their own creations. New minds are born daily. It’s hardly shocking that one managed to develop something of use.”
It didn’t feel like he was telling her everything, but then again, what else was new? That was Professor Quantum. He’d agree to alliances, join organizations, and work with others to the extent he needed to, and never a single step more. It was more accurate to say they all worked alongside Professor Quantum, rather than with him. Sometimes, Lodestar wondered what he’d been like back in the beginning. Was he jaded from the jump, or was there a time he’d cared?
“What’s the game plan? At this point, they could be anywhere in the world. It’s been more than long enough to utilize a teleporter, and if they can block you from tracking them, then they were obviously prepared.”
“The plan?” Professor Quantum was an absolute master of the dismissive stare, and the one he sent her was among his finest works. “I am not one of the soft-faced children roaming our halls. I know who this woman really is. Are we sincerely pretending that this is a good use of our resources? She is a member of that damned guild, and what they lack in decorum, they make up for in brutal efficiency. A scan was one thing. However, we both know those hoodlums will be a pile of limbs before we can ever track her down.”
“Maybe.” Lodestar ran her hands through her glowing hair, causing it to drift out around her head like she was in low gravity. “But if someone built a device capable of blocking you, it would certainly be able to stop Doctor Mechaniacal, too.”
There wasn’t even a second of consideration from Professor Quantum. “That goes without saying.” At least that giant ego cut both ways.
“Think about this: what if they don’t have her location yet? What if we can beat them to it? Aside from the fact that Tori was snatched publicly, on the street, and so we should be the ones to save her, imagine the look on Doctor Mechaniacal’s face when he realizes that you got there first. We might not be able to touch the guild legally, but you can still remind them who the world’s true greatest genius is.”
And, in the process, they’d get the gang into the courts, rather than letting them be slaughtered over a single mistake. Professor Quantum wouldn’t see validity in that, naturally, but Lodestar didn’t care about his motivations nearly as much as his actions. It was a peace she’d been forced to come to decades ago.
This time, there was a brief pause as Professor Quantum thought over her words. Seconds later, he pulled a communicator from his hip and pressed the button to speak. “Quorum, since you’re down with the field teams, please begin prepping them for search and rescue. We are officially launching an effort to recover Miss Rivas. Feel free to inform the media of that as needed. I’ll join you shortly once preliminary plans are in place.”
Lowering the communicator, he looked over to Lodestar. “Have you considered the potential consequence of these actions? How much worse will it be if we deploy our resources to save this woman, only for our people to stumble upon the carnage of her true rescue?”
“If we find her, I’ll be the first one in,” she replied. “That’s just good sense, anyway, since I haven’t gotten to vet the new teams. That limits their risk, both physical and mental. Make sure they know their job is just search, not rescue.”
“What would you tell the press, were such a scene uncovered?” Professor Quantum probed.
“The truth. That when you enter the world of criminal metas, you’re stepping foot onto a dangerous path where we can’t always protect you. I’ve tried and failed enough times to know I can’t save every person all the time. So has every veteran member of the AHC. We do our best and mourn those we fail. It’s the way of the world.”
Lodestar took three steps toward the elevator, then began to float. “In the meantime, I’m going to zip out through the roof and do a patrol. If Tori’s calling for help, there’s an off chance I could hear it.”
“She won’t be,” Professor Quantum said.
“No, she won’t,” Lodestar agreed. “But someone will be. I was gone for a long time. I’ve got making up to do.”
“Don’t let them get too dependent. You know where that leads.” For once, there seemed to be a note of actual concern in Professor Quantum’s voice.
Ignoring the array of button, Lodestar popped open a hatch in the top of the elevator, one that had been made especially for her. Sometimes, she needed to make a very speedy exit, and going up through the ceiling made for the fastest way out that didn’t involve fixing a wall.
“I’ll keep it in mind. Give me a buzz before you send out the masses. We should talk to them together, make sure they understand the situation.” In a flash, she was gone, through the top of the elevator and out the escape hatch concealed on the roof.
Professor Quantum watched her go: a flash across the screen, the sort of moving energy that it would be harder to not track. All that power, and yet she constantly coached restraint. Maybe that played well with the humans, so timid and fearful of losing a superiority that had long since deserted them. They wanted her to be like them: mortal-adjacent. For someone who knew that woman’s real power, it was exhaus
ting. They truly had no idea what she could do, if only she would take a position of true leadership, one of control. The closest Lodestar had come was changing how wars were fought, yet even then, she’d handled everything so delicately. Were he in her position... well, it wasn’t worth going down that mental road.
As for Professor Quantum, he had tasks of his own to complete. Lodestar’s obvious play to spare the kidnappers had presented him with a fine opportunity. He’d trained a team that was the most capable on staff, yet was failing to make a dent in the public consciousness. This was an excellent chance to give the New Science Sentries the PR push they really needed.
Chapter 24
With an empty concrete cell around her and only a pair of blinking camera lights to look at, Tori didn’t have a lot of options in terms of external stimuli. In this case, it paid to be an obsessive scientist who’d spent most of her life alone. Rather than waste the time being bored or giving in to worry, she focused on pondering the revisions to her suit she was planning. Mentally reworking the power structure and shifting design features was more than enough distraction to lose herself in, so much so that Tori almost didn’t notice when time stopped.
In her defense, the only way she had to know was the blinking lights, which both suddenly stayed lit up without warning. At first, she thought the kidnappers were messing with her, or their computers had crashed. Then she saw the first crack appear.
It came from a corner of the room: a sharp break in the world, like she was viewing a reflection through a broken mirror. Except the crack was three-dimensional, and growing. Another came from near the front camera, then she started to see them growing out from somewhere behind her. The room, the world, fractured around Tori until it was virtually unrecognizable. In front of her, where the door to the room should be, the cracks converged into a singularity. There was something in there, something moving. Tori strained her eyes, trying to see. As she did, a faint whisper of a word met her ears, a lost voice on the wind.