by Drew Hayes
“As it should be,” Lodestar said. “Because that would never happen. Helen leaning on Ivan, however, happens probably more frequently than it should. In the sense of over-imposing, I mean.” Her gaze turned softer, perhaps nearly embarrassed. “As for your ‘what the eff’ question, I guess I would describe things with Ivan as breaking a candy bar in half to pretend it has fewer calories. Perhaps not always the healthiest choice, though it does make life sweeter. I don’t have a lot of constants in this world. Ivan is a rare exception, though sometimes I worry I overburden him too much when things get choppy.”
Tori couldn’t argue much there. Ivan was nothing if not steady and reliable. Pseudonym and Fornax might be different stories, but the middle manager named Ivan Gerhardt was solid and sturdy enough to build bridges off of. “Why does he do all this...” Tori realized she knew the answer, even as she was forming the question. “Because he feels like he owes you.”
Another short flash of surprise from Lodestar, though this was less marked than before. “That’s a quick mind you’ve got there. Ivan credits me with his freedom more than he should, and given what’s associated with that freedom, he values it beyond measure. But it would be disingenuous to say that’s the root of it all. Truth be told, we even got along well in his Fornax days, when circumstance allowed for civil conversation.”
“What possible circumstances could allow for that?” Tori demanded.
“The first time was when we were chosen to represent Earth in a galactic tournament to stop it from being attacked.” Given the blasé response, Lodestar had definitely seen some form of this question coming.
Tori folded her arms. “You’re fucking with me.”
“What a thing to say. Lodestar doesn’t really lie, and she certainly doesn’t curse. Ask Ivan about it sometime. The whole thing ended up being an evil scheme we had to deal with, but there was a solid bit where Lodestar and Fornax were on the same team.” Rising from the grass, which she’d never really even touched, Lodestar stretched out her legs. “That said, since it seems like we’ve moved past the mental-panic phase of the reveal, how about we fly and talk? Since we didn’t get another monologue here and I found another gem when smashing the final boss, it seems this place has given up most of the clues it’s going to. Let’s wrap this up and get everyone home safely.”
Lodestar extended her hand, which Tori grasped. It was unnerving, the ease with which Lodestar lifted Tori up from the dirt. It was as if she had no more substance than a politician’s morals; with a single motion, this slender woman could crush Tori to goop. Instead, Lodestar used that strength to pull her close and cradle her gently, taking care to ensure she would be safe as they rose higher into the air. Tori could see more of the fake world stretching out below them, and just before the wind began to howl in her ears, she made out a few half-whispered words from Lodestar.
“Much as I’m a proponent of walking softly, I think the time has come for the big stick.”
Chapter 87
With dawn had come the inevitable truth that they were out of food. The last of the scrounged-up rations were doled out among the kids, water making the rounds as well. To their credit, the scouts were holding together well, but hunger was already beginning to put some on edge. Given that they were children who’d been spirited away and were slowly being starved, the fact that they’d stayed this composed was outright miraculous. Ivan couldn’t expect it to hold forever.
The lie about being inside a boundary would only work until desperation defeated sense. Pressed into a survival corner, thoughts of monsters would fly out the window, a potential quick death not so bad compared to a slow, certain one. They’d go hunting for food and water, even though neither were here.
It was hard, sitting around, doing nothing, knowing the other two were out there fighting to free them. His hands ached to be fists, furious and powerful. The sidelines were never his place in battle. He belonged in the thick of things, the center of chaos and often, the cause.
Breaking off from the group she’d been talking with, Beth wandered over toward the log where Ivan was resting. Watching her approach, he realized something that should have been obvious.
That brutal position in the middle of a fray was Fornax’s place. Ivan didn’t belong on a battlefield. Ivan had no place slaying monsters. Given the choice in that moment, he knew he wouldn’t have traded places with Helen or Tori without dire cause. Because this was where he should be: watching over his daughter, along with the other charges. Were he out there, his mind and heart would be here, constantly distracted by fear for her safety. Better to be focused on the task at hand than let himself be split.
“Some of the kids are starting to get really scared.” She sat down next to him, keeping her voice to polite, if not covert, levels. “I keep telling them we’ll be saved, but between the noises and the darkness, last night was hard. Being hungry isn’t helping. I hope they’ll be okay until it’s over.”
Even in a situation like this one, Beth was more concerned for everyone else. Ivan patted her head, wondering for the umpteenth time how he and Janet had managed to produce these wonderful children. “I suppose that means you’re not scared at all.”
“A little,” Beth admitted. “But that seems selfish. I’ve got my power and my dad here. Nobody else has either. If I can’t be brave, it’ll only make the others more scared.”
The hug was unexpected, as the best ones often are. Beth’s tiny arms encircled his ribs, clutching him tightly, expressing all the fear she was hiding from the others in one single, powerful embrace. “And I know we’ll be okay. Even if Lodestar doesn’t find a way to save us, my daddy always comes through.”
Sitting on that log, Ivan hugged his daughter back, thankful that no one who actually knew him was around to see the swirl of emotions storm across his face. One way or another, they were getting out of this trap. Helen would find a way eventually, but if time ran short, then Ivan would think of something. Destruction was his talent, his burden, his medium. There had to be something he could break to get them out.
Until then, he comforted his daughter, and reminded himself that he wasn’t sitting on his ass doing nothing. Ivan was waiting for the inevitable. Lodestar would defeat this place, just like she’d defeated every meta Ivan had ever seen take a swing. It’s what she did, and frustrating as that was when set against her, the notion offered a great deal of comfort as one under her care.
It was only a matter of waiting until this labyrinth broke open and Fornax was set free to hunt down the perpetrators. For now, he simply threw all of himself into being Ivan. Each version had a time and a place. Fornax’s would come—probably much too soon for perpetrators. Ivan only hoped he’d have enough self-control to take his time. They’d made his daughter afraid. That earned them the slowest death he could provide.
Something was wrong.
Lozora hung near the edge of the campgrounds, away from the prying eyes of police and capes, just near enough to keep an eye on the floating orb suspended above the track. The sun had fallen and returned, yet still no one had come out. By the estimations they’d been working from, the trap was expected to hold a fully motivated Fornax for only a few hours, ideally. Finding out exactly how long it would take was the whole point of the test; however, this was well outside the bounds of expectation.
With his kid at risk, Fornax would have had to move at top speeds, even if he trusted his apprentice to watch over her. The whole thing should have been done before midnight on the first day, based on what they’d been able to find on Fornax’s estimated speed. A few hours here or there was variance, but they were coming up on a full day since the trap had sprung. If Fornax had left the kids alone for that long, odds were at least a few had already been lost, possibly the apprentice, too. What really sent shivers down the cartilage system that functioned as Lozora’s spine was the possibility that his daughter was among that kill count.
Crossing Fornax had been a calculated risk, one Lozora didn’t take lightly. I
t was why she’d been careful not to be seen or implicated in any way, and had advocated for a plan that put the kid in as minimal danger as possible. Because the underworld still whispered about the remains of those who crossed Fornax; even now, the Order of the Final Dawn’s massacre was told like a bogeyman’s tale. Though it wasn’t known what they’d done to cross Fornax, he had wiped them from the face of the Earth: every last member, killed and butchered past even the most potent forms of meta-restoration.
Lozora was growing torn with every hour that ticked by. The more she lingered, the greater her chances of discovery, linking her to this crime. But if she fled before seeing the experiment’s conclusion, her employer would be aggressively displeased. Despite his attitude already wearing thin on her nerves, Lozora had put in too much to walk away from the endeavor now. Besides, she wanted to see how one of the old legends worked—the ones who never bent a knee to those damned capes.
In the end, it was a matter of weighing risks. While Fornax might be coming out furious, so long as Lozora remained unseen, he’d never know she had a hand in it. Whereas her employer was expecting results and a report, which made him the more pressing danger. Still, it was hard not to wonder just what the hell was going on inside that orb.
“Subtle, it isn’t.” The massive crater in the ground looked like a sunken amphitheater, with four grooves chopping it into equal quarters. All of it was made of stone, with visible sections that would probably flip over, revealing the inevitable minions within. It was smaller than the series of rings, which Tori found curious until she remembered how weak those had been compared to the first challenge. So far, the labyrinth had tested its prisoners against a single potent threat and many smaller ones. Logically, the next step would be multiple strong enemies.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was a trap within a trap. Ivan steps in, puts the gems on those raised chunks in the center, the whole thing locks down after he’s worn out from the earlier fights.” Lodestar hovered in the air, Tori still clutched carefully, surveying the land—though for what, Tori could only guess. They hadn’t seen much in the flight over. All roads seemed to lead here; one more sign that they were on the right trail.
“I guess he would have been taking this faster, with no rests in between,” Tori agreed.
Slowly, they began to lower, still a ways off from the giant stone pit. “That wouldn’t matter, not against enemies like this. Even if the challenge were great enough that it did briefly work, all it would do is make him mad. No prison can withstand him for long.”
“Except Rookstone, obviously.” Tori waited, expecting to hear quick confirmation. Instead, she got a very precisely phrased statement.
“In a sense, yes. Ivan never escaped from Rookstone.”
With the ground rushing up, it would have been easy to miss the careful parsing of words, but Tori was feeling reenergized and alert after the shocking revelation, along with some time to rest. “That’s not the same thing as him being unable to, is it?”
There was scarcely even a jostle as Lodestar landed, lowering Tori onto her own two feet. “No, it’s not. I hope you’ll understand why we don’t broadcast that, though. If people knew there was a meta that jail couldn’t technically hold, they’d push for more permanent solutions to be used, and trying that with Fornax, among others, would largely end in bloodshed.”
“Trust me, I want the public getting execution-happy with villains even less than you do. Does make me wonder: if Rookstone didn’t keep Ivan held, then why did he stay? Fornax broke into and out of government installations before.”
“The answer is simple, and exceedingly complicated, depending on how deep one digs. You’ll have to do with the succinct version, since we’re in a hurry: Ivan stayed because I beat him. Defeated him, I should say. We threw down for real. I proved to be better, and that was my prize. Even as Fornax, he always had his pride. That was why he agreed to the terms, and honored them upon losing. Pride was the only cage I ever found that worked on Fornax, and not even that weakness exists anymore.”
“You think Ivan doesn’t have pride?” Had those words come from anyone else, Tori might have flushed with anger, but Lodestar knew her teacher better than Tori could even begin to guess. There had to be some meaning to her words outside the obvious read of it as an insult.
“Heavens no, I’m not blind,” she corrected. “The weakness of it no longer exists. Ivan will cast his pride, his dignity, even his life aside without a second thought when the need is real. If he were suddenly thrown back into Rookstone under similar circumstances, it would only last until the first time Rick or Beth needed help. Pride like that means nothing compared to guarding the ones we love.”
Lodestar reached out, taking Tori’s hands carefully, giving them a squeeze. “I know, at the outset, this world can be confusing. The labels and legends all seem like they mean so much, the distinctions between cape and villain appear as chasms between us. But here’s the truth as I’ve best discovered: when things get serious, you’ll know who your friends are.”
“Ah, so we’re circling back to Cyber Geek and the New Science Sentries.” Tori didn’t pull her hands away just yet, even if she was slightly tempted.
“We’re circling back to the young woman who told me she didn’t think she could keep being friends with people because of circumstance. If that’s your choice, then so be it. I just want to make sure you know the decision you’re making. The longer you live like this, the less the labels matter. You realize that jerks will chase the glory of being a superhero and good people can end up on the path of villainy. At the end of the day, you’ll know who your friends are, because when things inevitably get bad, they’ll be the ones you want to protect. The people who, when you see them in danger, a deep, primal part of you simply says No. The world can’t have them, can’t take them. Not while you’re there to intervene. You can choose to ignore it, if you like, but you’ll never be free of wondering what might have been, had you been a little more honest with yourself and fought when the chance was present.”
She released her gentle grip on Tori’s hands, looking away quickly, albeit not quite quick enough. “Those the words of experience?” Tori asked.
“Too much experience, honestly. There are days I see why most Lodestars don’t last as long as I have.” Quickly changing the subject, Lodestar turned back toward the stone circle, gaze turning determined. “So what do you say we put a wrap on this thing? It’s either the last trial, or meant to look like it, which means there will probably be some sort of surprise trick. Any thoughts?”
“It’s made with Fornax in mind, so my main guess would be violent as hell.”
Lodestar licked her finger, shot up into the air a few feet, then dropped back down. “No artificial wind this time. You feeling up to being my eyes in the sky?”
“Hell yes. Here I was thinking I’d have to sit on the sidelines.” There was a part of Tori that wondered how essential she could truly be, given who she’d be watching over, but she swiftly dispelled that doubt. This was, after all, a matter of not just getting things done, but getting them done quickly. If her efforts saved even a few minutes for Lodestar, it meant they’d be getting the kids out of danger that much faster.
That was, obviously, the reason Tori was excited as she shifted to fire form and took to the air. As a proper villain, it certainly wouldn’t have been anything as silly as the chance to fight alongside a living legend. Well... perhaps Ivan might get some insight into her actual motivations, once the dust had settled.
If anyone could understand, she had a pretty good hunch it would be him.
Chapter 88
Overhead, the scene looked the same as it had floating with Lodestar, only a bit less stable. Tori’s tactic of flight didn’t allow for the same precision when hovering—not that it mattered much, as she was currently flying rings around the area as Lodestar made her approach toward the pit. The legendary superhero was taking the ground route this time, just like Ivan probably woul
d have. No shifts as Lodestar approached, even when she drew within touching distance of the caveless stalagmite in the stone crater’s center.
Pausing to give Tori a brief look, Lodestar placed both gems into grooves on the ground’s upward protrusion, each clicking instantly into place.
For as well as she was rolling with the shock, Tori still hadn’t fully adjusted to the Helen-Lodestar connection. Even as Tori watched her step into the pit, it was hard to fathom that this was really the same person. The woman who’d hit the dance floor like a tornado of elbows, coordinated constant craft projects, and spent half the night talking about old movies was the most powerful superhero known to Earth. All that saved her from wasting time denying the obvious was knowing that Fornax turned out to be a dependable middle manager, a devoted dad, and a surprisingly skilled cook. Tori was in deep enough now to know that the mask and who was under it didn’t always match up, though this still felt like a bit much.
Her interest in speculation fell away as movement came from the stone surface. Shifting rocks fired out of the ground, encircling Lodestar, then briefly blocking her from view as they locked together. In the center of each quadrant, a tower appeared, stretching roughly ten feet into the air. One by one, as they completed, small metal objects appeared from hidden compartments in the very top. The whole process took less than ten seconds, and when it was done, Tori was shocked to hear the mysterious voice echo up from below.
“Well done, Fornax. I’m sure you’ve had a great deal of fun smashing through what must seem like rudimentary obstacles. To escape, however, I’m afraid you’ll need something not normally associated with your skill set: delicacy. Around you, I’m sure you’ve noticed the four pillars that have risen. Atop each is a small puzzle, a minor mental challenge at best, yet you’ll need every bit of focus to see the task through. You see, if any of those pillars are destroyed, the labyrinth will self-destruct. Such an explosion wouldn’t be enough to kill you, obviously. Anyone else trapped inside likely won’t be so lucky.”