by Simon Archer
I gave him one last nod and slipped through the door, feeling some relief of my own. Things might not be anywhere good between us, but just the act of agreeing to a talk made me feel a little better about the whole thing. It was a step towards conquering my own nerves, and a step back towards the fucked-up normal of my life.
“Wow,” a familiar female voice chirped to snap me out of my thoughts. “Our young Lord here? I’m so honored!”
I turned from closing the door to see Akemi sitting up on her elbows on an examination table. While this was clearly an examination room, all my focus was drawn to her, partly out of concern for her injuries and partly because she was stripped to the waist save for a sports bra. If I hadn’t realized she was beautiful before, well, I was sure of it now. Her pale golden skin was perfectly smooth over her taut stomach, her lithe, athletic figure made plain by the lack of clothing. Though I doubted it was intentional, the very way Akemi leaned and cocked her head at me spoke of a sensuality that made her distinctly different from the other gorgeous women I knew.
Then I caught sight of the soft cast on her arm, the bandaged cuts and scrapes here and there, and the swollen bruise on her cheek, and I grew angry at Oliver all over again. My eyes flitted to another familiar figure, but this was one I hadn’t seen since I was rescued from my father.
“Dr. Death,” I asked the kindly-looking older man in the black doctor’s coat, “is she going to be alright?”
As much as he looked like your favorite grandpa, Dr. Death quite literally lived up to his name. His powers focused entirely on the forces of life and death. Dr. Death could disrupt biological systems or bolster them and otherwise play with anything organic to his whims. The problem was the strain his powers put on his own body, the one biological system he couldn’t seem to control. So, instead of conquering the world, he served Dad as the family physician.
Akemi blushed as I asked about her, while Doc nodded slowly as he rubbed his wrinkled chin. “Ms. Akemi here is a tough one. I used my powers to jump-start her healing processes, and despite the hard knocks, she’ll pull through. Be right as rain for the second round of the World’s Finest, I’m sure.”
“I’m only sorry I didn’t lead our…” Akemi began but chose a different word when I scowled at that inclusiveness. “My team to victory, young Lord, but I’m certain you can defeat the Carter team with your shining magnificence.”
I sighed and raised my hands. “Look, Akemi, I’m flattered and all, but how about we leave it at just Nick?” She pouted and nodded, so I pushed on. “And while I’m glad you’re going to be alright, I came for more than that.”
“You’ve decided to throw off this charade, leave Alexandria, and join the Brand in your rightful place leading our team?” Akemi cooed expectantly.
Dr. Death actually chuckled mildly at that, as if he had different expectations than the young woman or even my father. Doc did know me since I was a child, and he wasn’t blinded by being as close as Dad. Maybe he did have a better read of me than anyone else on the Brand side.
Me, I shook my head. “No, no, as, uh, tempting of an offer as that is. I wanted to ask you… what happened when you tried to steal Oliver’s powers? I saw it on the tape and--”
“You watched my matches?” Akemi sat up bolt straight now, her wince of pain overpowered by the sparkle of joy in her eyes. It was a bit on the crazy side in my estimation. “I can barely believe it! You honor me--”
“Right, yeah, honor, I get that.” I raised my hands for calm again. “So, I know maybe you might think it’s bad to share information as we’re still in competition but--”
“Oh, no, young Lord!” Akemi put her hands together palm first in front of her chest as she bowed her head to me. “I would be happy to tell you what happened.” She looked up with a scowl on her face, her eyes now alight with a different, angrier spark. “That asshole’s records are a lie! Maybe all the Carter Academy’s files are lies because I did steal his powers… and they definitely aren’t anything technologically oriented.”
That confirmed Kara’s suspicions from the start, that Oliver’s suit wasn’t his… but then the next question was obvious.
“What are his powers, then?” I asked. “You absorbed them, so…?”
Akemi faltered a bit at that. “I-- I’m not really sure.” She turned her red eyes away from me. “Taking someone’s powers isn’t… it isn’t as clear cut as you might think.” She sighed. “I don’t know exactly what they are, but I know they were some kind of psionic powers. When I tried to use them, I felt the tingle of the other minds around me, and then…” Her voice trailed off as she touched her swollen jaw.
“That’s when he hit you,” I said darkly as I clenched my fists. “Before you could figure out the rest, reveal whatever trump card Carter is hiding.”
Akemi nodded glumly. “I am sorry I can’t tell you more, young-- Nick.” I could see the self-blame etched on her features. It wasn’t the same as the guilt I had felt in the past, but I still understood it. I forced myself to smile and patted the girl gently on her good shoulder.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Akemi,” I soothed. “You gave us a lot more information to work on. We’ll beat Carter, and then we’ll get to the bottom of this.” I folded my arms over my chest. “Is there anything else you saw or noticed that might help? Anything else that’s a lie or could poke a hole in their--”
My comm chirped to life in my ear, and Gemma’s voice came loud and anxious in my ears. “Nick, I’m sorry, but… we’re out of time.”
Akemi and the Doc both gave me a curious look as my eyes widened, but I held up a finger as I pointed at my ear. “Gemma, what’s going on?”
“I can’t believe it, but Carter…” She took in a deep breath over the line. “They waived their rest period. They want to start the match now.”
I set my jaw as I spun on my heels, ignoring Akemi’s questions as I rushed out of the Brand’s locker room. “Get everyone to the ready room. I’ll meet you there.”
15
I ran through the back halls of the Orion Arena, skidding through turns as I did my level best not to run into any arena workers or other contestants. As I maneuvered my way to catch up to my team, my mind was wrestling with all the new data and also what Carter could be planning by pushing our match forward. It wasn’t like this was the end of the World’s Finest. Hell, it was just the beginning, so this kind of power play seemed dumb.
Unless they wanted to prove something. This was the one event in Alexandria, so maybe this was a move to show dominance, that Carter could beat anyone on their home turf… but even that seemed nonsensical. Breaking tradition like this by trying to push a fight before either side could be ready wouldn’t make the academy any friends, and the next event, defense, was one where all schools could work together. Why alienate and isolate themselves?
None of it made any sense, and that frustrated me. The nature of my powers and the challenges I faced on my way here made me an analytical sort, and the fact I couldn’t find a clear motivation for this stung. Still, the tidbit that Akemi had given me did make a few things obvious. I opened my comm as I turned the last corner. Now, it was just a straight sprint to the ready room.
“Guys,” I said over our team channel, “Akemi did tell me something before Carter pulled this bullshit.”
“Damnit, Gateon,” Matt growled. “You can tell us when you get your ass here.” To hear Matt in full piss-and-vinegar mode was music to my ears because it meant he was ready to go.
“Then count me down, asshole,” I teased back, “because I’m almost there.”
Though Matt only answered with a huff, Eric burst onto the channel, more than willing to add to the drama. “One! Two! Three! Four--”
I burst through the doors before Eric could get to five. He was bouncing around, as energetic as always, with a cheer on his lips. As I skidded to a halt, I sucked in a deep breath and wiped my brow. As breathable as our uniforms were, I had been running, climbing, fighting, and stres
sing for a good forty minutes now without a shower or a change of clothes. Sweat was building up, and fatigue was starting to set in. It’d be fine, though, because, in this match, I was going to go full power, and all these tiredness would burn away under that infinite well of energy.
“Impeccable timing as always,” Andie said with a grin as I straightened up.
The whole team was already there as Gemma paced by the doors to the arena, her previous nervousness replaced by a heavier step borne of anger instead of worry. Andie herself seemed in good spirits even though it was clear she got called right out of the showers because her blonde hair was still wet, dripping, and pulled back into a loose braid. Now, a small part of me wanted to have been in the showers with her, but I bit that back.
As for the others, Matt was in the same shape as Andie, hair soggy which, I hate to say it, made the room smell faintly of wet dog, something he seemed acutely aware of as he growled and shifted from foot to foot. Kristen looked annoyed herself, but from the way she glanced toward the stadium doors, I figured she was more annoyed at Carter than anything else.
Of everyone, the person who looked the calmest and in control was Kara. She had already configured one of her four tech boxes into a bracer on her arm, probably the force shield emitter she told us about, and another I could also assume had been shaped into some piece of tech tied to the fact she was now wearing a golden cape over her shoulders. Behind them all, Aylin floated with her arms folded behind her back, exuding a regal confidence that I knew she didn’t fully have. I appreciated her efforts, though, and I knew she’d come through when the chips were down.
All eyes turned to me, and Kara was the first to speak. “So, was I right?” she asked plainly as she adjusted her new cape.
I laughed as I wiped my brow. “No hello?”
“No time for that,” Gemma added as she thumbed back toward the door. “I don’t know what Mother is playing at, but we only have three minutes before it’s go time, and I want you guys to trounce these creeps.” She thumbed her nose, and for a moment, I wondered if she wasn’t going to join our team as an impromptu eighth member. “Maybe then we’ll get some answers.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Simply put, Oliver’s files are falsified or lies or something. You were right, Kara, he doesn’t have tech powers. Akemi thinks he has some kind of psychic powers of some kind, but she was knocked out before she could figure out more.”
“Asshole,” Matt growled as he flexed his hands, his fingers shifting into claws. “I’ve had enough mindfuckery for my entire life, I don’t need some lying shit to try to do it to me in a ‘friendly competition.’”
Kristen put a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We know it’s coming at least.” She matched my gaze with hers. “Besides, we don’t know the nature of the power. It could be sensory, or protective, or a billion other things.”
“But the fact the records have been altered worries me,” Gemma added. “As much as I want you kids to kick their asses, be careful and watch yourselves. This could just be the first lie of many.”
Eric nodded. “Yeah, I mean, we’ve seen most of their powers, but those Carter dudes could have all kinds of things secret now.”
“Starlight, what should be our plan, then?” Aylin asked as she drifted around the team and towards me.
I took a deep breath as I gave that plan some final thoughts. “We’re slated to play villain for the finals, but that doesn’t change our goal: knock them out or incapacitate their entire team in less than ten minutes. We know they have that Switch girl for portals, so lies or not, we need to keep someone fast by the ‘hostage.’”
“Or someone who can hide in plain sight,” Andie noted as she glanced over at Kara. “Got a cloaking device up your sleeve, strawberry?”
“No, but I can,” the technopath said with a grin. “But between that and a weapon for me, my tech load will be maxed out.” She tapped her shiny new cape. “Anti-grav cloak. With Carter’s movement options, I didn’t want Aylin to get bullied out of the skies, and that experimental force screen for defense.”
Aylin smiled softly at Kara’s words, and I nodded. “Right. So Kara, cloak and play defense. I know you’ve been playing offense this event, Andie, but I want you to stick with her. You can hide really well with your plasticity.”
Andie nodded and gave Kara a stretchy high-five. “We’ll keep that lady in her place.”
“Matt, Kristen?” I called out, and the twins snapped their attention to me in perfect synchronicity. “You and Eric are offense. Sarah and Thurgood, their elemental pair, seem to not get along well, so use that against them. Eric, big zaps, buddy. We’ll need them.”
Matt growled and arched a bushy eyebrow. “And what about you, Nick?”
“I’m going to play the field,” I said with a nod. “I’ll activate my powers the moment the match starts and hit them hard. I personally want to tear Oliver out of that suit and find out what’s going on, but winning the match is my first priority. With my super speed, I can cover both fronts.”
I was about to go into some more specifics, but the speakers in the ready room crackled to life. “Valcav Academy, your match is set to begin. Please head to the starting area on the field for the rescue finals.”
With that, Gemma turned towards us and gave the team a double thumbs-up. “Go kick these guys’ asses, team!”
We all let out a collective cheer at that, even Aylin, and we rushed through the double doors and onto the field. Twilight had turned into early evening now, and floodlights illuminated the rescue field as we funneled out into the villain start area. If it could be believed, the stadium seats were even more packed than before, even though most of the teams already knew their placement in the event. Their fans still stayed on, cheering through the finals, and I caught sight of most of the academy’s teams seated in the crowd as opposed to watching through monitors. At the sight of us, the masses exploded into almost universal cheers, even the academies we’d beaten earlier in the day.
It seemed as if Carter’s breaking of tradition hadn’t just riled up Gemma. Everyone else too looked to be wanting us to put Carter in their places, everyone, that is, save for the small contingent of Carter boosters who were booing us for all they were worth. I found my eyes drifting up towards the box where Triton and Judgment were sitting and watching.
Triton and even Judgment were clapping respectfully. They seemed proud that Valcav had made it this far into the first competition already. When Triton and I locked eyes, he raised a proud fist and mouthed, “You can do this.”
I smiled back and raised a fist of my own. Naturally, Inferno’s team and the rest of the watchers from the Brand took this as support for their country and roared with approval. It was awkward, bouncing back and forth like this without any real say of my own. It left every alliance muddy, and though I held tight to Valcav, I wasn’t so certain the Brand agreed. One wrong move and I could be seen as a traitor in waiting again.
Matt, however, wasn’t so convinced.
“Shake it off,” he said and nudged me in the side. He jerked his chin towards the entrance where our opponents would arrive any minute. The gate was slowly rising. “Anyone who doubts you is an idiot.”
I did a double-take, not quite prepared to receive such easy confidence from Matthew Barbur. He was long past being my enemy, but he wasn’t one to outright state these things.
At my look, Matt tossed his hands up in surrender. “Yeah, I said it. You’re not gonna flip sides on the field, Nick, and if they want to cheer you, that’s their business.”
“Strange words coming from you,” I muttered, but I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and did what he said. He was right. A lot was riding on this, and if they wanted to cheer me, I could hardly tell them to stop.
I glanced behind me to check the field. There were several different ways into the forcefield that protected the rescue target: brute strength, hacking, and interesting power plays like teleportation, the clear avenue f
or the Carter team. Though as villains we had easy access to the field ourselves, we didn’t have any traps to aid us and would have to rely entirely on our abilities in fending off our heroic counterpart.
Our job would be to stop the team from taking her to a safety marker at the north end of the field. The match went on until the heroes were beaten, surrendered, or they rescued the target. It was a game of endurance and skill because some of these matches had gone on for hours. We all were getting tired, but so was our enemy, something that was obvious when the hero gates opened and the Carter team took the field.
Oliver was at the vanguard in his imposing power armor… but it was less imposing now. The battle damage I had seen accumulated throughout the day had only been patched in places, just enough to seal off the obvious holes, but if he was worried, he didn’t show it in his swagger. As for the rest of his team, they were all clearly running ragged save for Roger, their animal shifter, whose healing factor seemed to be keeping him fresh, much like Matt and Kristen both were.
Raven-haired Angela, the glass manipulator, had her left heavily bandaged in a sling, and while their stoic fire manipulator seemed to be unaffected by fatigue, the slowness of her walk told me otherwise. It probably didn’t help that Thurgood, her icy counterpart, was clearly grumbling and bitching under his breath, occasionally poking Sarah in the shoulder. Though Switch seemed totally untouched as she ran a hand through her blue hair, that was primarily because she only really did anything when there was a clear space for her to portal in for a grab. The last one of their number, the light manipulator named Callie, floated behind Oliver, almost entirely hidden from sight behind his massive form.
“The glowbug’s going to go invisible,” I murmured into my comms. “I bet my last dollar on it.”
“Leave the bright one to me, Starlight,” Aylin replied in an instant. “I will see her, no matter how she tries to hide.”