Supernal Dawn

by J. A. Giunta

  Lee didn’t know the name but by her tone took it to be a criminal organization they’d dealt with in the past.

  “This could’ve been a blackmail attempt,” Will said, “to leverage Stillman into service. Or they could’ve simply wanted him out of the way, to gain access to his team. Either way, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Sorry wasn’t good enough, wouldn’t bring Discord back, and Will knew it. The call ended with Lee feeling worse than he had when he’d used his power against Jeremy. Discord wasn’t dead, but he was gone all the same.

  “So he’s one of them now,” Lee said, his stomach in a twisted knot of guilt, “like Jim Tompkins and Samantha Richmond. That’s so wrong.”

  Are we the bad guys? he wondered. Am I on the wrong side?

  “Tell me about it,” Anna said. “Breaker creeps me out. He’s been rebooted three times since you shot him but keeps remembering.”

  “Breaker?” Lee asked. He wasn’t familiar with the call sign but supposed it made sense. “You mean Jim, from the station. They shot him again?”

  “You have clearance now, look.”

  A video came up on the wall monitor. It was Jim, dressed in the white shirt and pants, in a training room with his tutor. He had a gun in his hand.

  There was a knock on Lee’s door. He went over and undid the privacy setting, opened the glass with a palm against the wall. The others were leaving. Allison had stopped to look in, seemed to be waiting for him, but it was Kevin who spoke first.

  “You coming? We just got a call.”

  “Yeah,” Lee replied. “Just give me a minute.”

  “Why? I don’t want to,” Jim was saying, as Lee went back to watch the recording. “She’s a good person. What did she do wrong?”

  “It’s not about right or wrong,” an older woman’s voice replied from off screen. It was Alice, one of the three agents who’d been behind the mirror at the police station. She went on, “It’s about following orders without question.”

  Jim shook his head, while the young woman who was his tutor stood before him without fear. She was in her early twenties, probably a grad student. Not everyone at Cerberus was an agent. It was all just a test, Lee knew immediately, but Jim was still learning.

  “We can reboot you again,” Alice threatened gently, “keep trying until we get the program right.”

  “I understand,” his tutor said, almost pleading with him. Was she there against her will? She seemed too young to already have ties with the agency. Then again, Lee was only fifteen. “I know too much. But I’ll live on through you, through your memories and all I’ve taught you. Remember, nothing is above the agency. Not you. Not me.”

  “Lee!” Ember shouted from down the hall. “Let’s go!”

  “In a minute!” he yelled back, annoyed.

  Jim had hugged his tutor. “You won’t feel a thing,” he said. “I promise.”

  In one quick movement, he snapped her neck. There was immediate panic, voices gasping and barking orders to subdue him. Some shouted it was just a test, that he was supposed to have used the gun. It was painful to see the look of realization cross his face, the moment he understood a woman he loved had needlessly died for the sake of an evaluation. Stun guns went off from the left at the same time foam struck him from the right and began to harden.

  “Get Lee down here!” a man’s voice snapped. It was Jim Armand, the lead agent from the police station.

  “It’s too late for that,” Alice said, and her casual tone sickened Lee.

  “I’ll kill you,” Jim said, as his face reddened and tears welled. “I’ll remember,” he promised, “and I’m going to kill every last one of you.”

  Alice moved into the frame, where Jim was on his knees, trapped up to his neck in foam as hard as steel. Anna ended the clip just as Alice leveled a gun at his eye and fired.

  “Jesus,” Lee said, visibly shaken. “How many bullets does that guy have rattling around in his head?”

  “None by now,” Anna replied. “Like the others, his body eventually absorbs what it can and passes what it can’t.”

  Lee suited up without another word. He’d considered making a change for some time, even before learning the truth about Discord, but his mind was now firmly set. He put his plan into motion, began internal preparations as he finished getting dressed. He headed out to meet the team in the hangar.

  When he boarded the helijet, Ember and Allison were on the left, Brody, Alexandra and Kevin on the right. He had the chance to sit next to Alex, but Allison patted the empty seat beside her. As much as he wanted to put a wedge between Brody and Alex, he wasn’t about to ignore his sister’s friend when she so clearly wanted to talk.

  “Can you take a look at this?” she asked, after he’d buckled himself in. She held out her left arm to him. The opening at the wrist was undone, and beneath a bandage she had a small gash with burned edges. She said, “It won’t seem to heal.”

  “How long have you had this?” Lee asked and held her arm gently for a closer look. He sent in cells from both hands. “Why didn’t you go to medical?”

  Ember said, “That’s where the bandage is from.”

  “I think I just have the flu,” Allison said. “It’s only been a day.”

  It was more than the flu or any other sickness he’d come across, but Lee didn’t want to say anything until he knew more. Her immune system had been compromised, was even less effective than a normal person’s.

  “Where’s the cut from?” Brody asked, as the helijet lifted off.

  “It’s my power,” Allison explained. “I guess. I’ve got one on my thigh and lower back, too. It’s like I’m burning myself up when I use it.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Brody said, concerned for more than just her wellbeing, like he was flat out stating without her power, she was a detriment to the team.

  “She’ll be fine,” Lee shot back.

  He had to completely rebuild her immune system from a blueprint of his own, force out whatever toxin had damaged both her livers and three of her four kidneys. Whatever she’d been exposed to would have killed her if he hadn’t.

  “There,” Lee said. “It’s taken care of.”

  “See?” Kevin grinned. “You’re not totally useless. Every group needs a cleric.”

  Ember rolled her eyes. “Again, with that game. Good luck role-playing yourself a girlfriend.”

  Allison’s skin flared bright for a moment then faded. She smiled wide, took in a deep breath and let it out in a large whoosh, as if the sickness had left her in a single gasp. Of course, she’d burned away every cell Lee had in her in the process. He’d managed to recall most of them in time, though.

  “Thank you,” she said, squeezed his hand and let go.

  While the whole exchange reminded him of Jen, made him wonder what she was up to, he couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong on a large scale. No one else on the team was sick, not even in the slightest. What if what had caused it was intentional? He didn’t doubt for a second that Cerberus had or was at least working on an alternative to the Bullet Squad.

  They touched down in the courtyard of an apartment complex on the east side of town, two miles south of the mall and just a few blocks from Overwood High. The treetops of a forest preserve in the distance could be seen over buildings and storefronts to the east, giant sequoias well over three hundred feet tall.

  Lee was first to unbuckle but last to head down the ramp. He was focused on duplicating cells, forcing his sensory bubble to expand. It helped take his mind off the foreboding, that nagging thought that someone inside Cerberus was working against them, bolstering the Bullet Squad and experimenting on Supers to find any weakness.

  A crash drew their attention west, as the helijet lifted off. There was a small park between the offices across from Hellebore and the farmer’s market that followed a square of or
nately done brick walkways. Two guys were faced off, one larger than average and a small teen. The second wore a bulbous weapon over his right forearm and was firing heavy energy blasts at the other.

  Though most people had already evacuated, and the area was blocked off three streets out, the sound of screams could still be heard from all around. A teenage girl ran toward the two Supers, throwing spheres of translucent blue light at the large one as she went.

  “He’s an unknown,” Anna said in his ear, and Lee knew she was talking about the bigger guy. He could see the others on his team getting their brief at the same time. Anna continued, “The girl is Tammy Sherwood. She’s already gone through quarantine.” Lee knew what that meant. She was censored, on permanent probation for choosing not to join. She was breaking the law by using her powers. “The smaller one with the blaster is her brother, Daniel. He hasn’t gone through yet. You need to take them all in.”

  “All right,” Aegis said. “Game faces on. We don’t know who the big one is, but best guess is he’s energy. And really strong. Like, a six strong. Satellite caught him throw a bus before they ended up here.”

  “Don’t split us up,” Lee warned. Everyone turned to look, but his eyes were on the big guy. “You’re going to say it, I know, but it’s the wrong call. We split up, we get hurt. There’s no way around it.”

  Aegis said, “Good thing we brought you, then.” There were frowns and crossed arms, but he held up a hand. “You know the drill. These aren’t my orders. We either do what we they tell us, or we spend the next month in intensive training.”

  “Pairs?” Flux asked. His sister, Lee knew, would end up with Flare. The two had developed a symbiotic tactic over the past few weeks and worked well together. “Circle around and close him in?”

  “Uhh.” Keys pointed at the fight. “Don’t forget the other two. I don’t want to get hit by whatever they’ve got going on there.”

  “The plan,” Aegis said, “is to surround all three and contain them however we can. XTU is still three minutes out.”

  Which meant Aegis would choose Keys, no matter what he said about orders. Lee had turned down the opportunity to act as team lead. He didn’t want anyone getting hurt because of a split second call of his. He was more of a planner and worked best when he had time to think. It was only before the mission, at times like this, that he felt anything close to regret over his decision.

  Tinker smirked. “Glorified cops with borrowed tech. We don’t need them.”

  Lee sighed inwardly. Being paired with Tinker would be his second regret.

  The blasts had changed in color to thicker beams of bright purple. They landed, caused severe damage, but nothing seemed to stop the larger guy from advancing. He’d only pause, regenerate and keep going after Daniel. Tammy was there as well, but her spheres did little more than bounce off him like beach balls that scorched the grass and nearby trees.

  “Usual pairs,” Aegis said and eyed the fight. “Flux and Flare go wide around the right, Rem and Tink take left. Me and Keys will head straight up the middle. Don’t let any of them get away.”

  A dozen circles of outer light and swirling inner dark appeared on the grass, before two foot high ovals sprang up from their center. Each portal closed as a demon ran through, grotesque imps like monster babies, with tails and pointed ears. They snarled and slavered and fell in line as Keys and Aegis started to run.

  Tinker was readying parts as he broke into a jog as well. “Remind me,” he said, “never to piss her off.”

  “Dude, please.” Lee laughed. “You piss everyone off.”

  “We’ve got a name,” Anna said. “Frank Culvers. Until last week, he was a nurse at St. Johns. He stopped showing up when his wife and son were killed by falling debris. They got caught in a fight between the Furies and Triple Twos.”

  Lee hated to run, mostly because it was a part of their daily training. One thing about being Affected, though, he was much faster than he ever was before the Rumbling, at least four times faster than the average person. He and Tinker were in place in less than half a minute, started closing on the fight as Aegis and the demons engaged.

  “The shit is he doing?” Lee asked, angry that he’d put Keys in harm like that. “They’re supposed to wait!”

  Tinker put away the gadget he’d been working on and pulled two disc-shaped ones from chest pockets.

  “What’s the big deal?” he asked. “The Culvers guy hasn’t attacked once. He just keeps taking hits.”

  “You don’t see it,” Lee accused. “He’s not just taking hits. He’s adapting. That’s why the tech keeps changing beams, and he’s ignoring the sister.”

  They were hundreds of yards out, but Lee could see Frank break through Aegis’s shields like they were nothing. Demons swarmed him, biting and clawing large gouges in his flesh. One by one, he grabbed and crushed them, and once the wounds had closed, demon claws and teeth no longer hurt him.

  “So,” Tinker said and winced at the fight in progress, “take him down in one hit, or we’re screwed?”

  Aegis got too close and took a punch across the jaw. He literally flew a hundred feet backward with the blow and dug a trench in the grass with his body when he landed. Lee sensed the broken jaw, neck and spine and sent cells over to start working inside him.

  A hundred yards out, Frank backhanded the sister. Tammy spun twice in air and landed hard on her front. Daniel screamed, made an adjustment to his blaster and fired a yellow-white beam that burned a massive hole in Frank’s right shoulder. A pause to look at the wound, to watch bone and muscle reform and heal over, then Frank closed the distance between them in a single step.

  He tore the tech off Daniel, with the forearm still attached, and tossed it aside. Daniel’s next scream was one of horrible pain, as blood sprouted from his mangled limb. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out.

  Lee stopped two dozen paces away, and Tinker reined in beside him. Flux and Flare had arrived at the same time on the other side. Fire rose up from Flare’s hands and engulfed Frank’s upper body. Flux had both palms out toward Flare, and from what Lee could see and sense, she seemed to be amplifying the fire.

  Tinker threw both discs at Frank, as Lee set to healing the injured siblings. Electricity sparked between the two pieces of tech, thick bolts that forked and crackled. Frank dropped to his knees, every muscle tensed, as his flesh blackened and curled beneath the flames. Flux moved in close, a bare hand extended. She planned to interrupt Frank’s power, but Lee knew it was too soon.

  “Ember, no!” he shouted.

  Shirt and hair gone, burned to ash, Frank’s skin began to heal. In the span of a single breath, the flames no longer hurt him. He crushed the gadgets on either thigh, got up and grabbed Flux by the throat at the same moment her hand touched his arm. Face reddened, gasping for air, she struggled to break free but didn’t loosen her own grip.

  Lee focused on keeping Daniel alive, had finished healing Tammy and Aegis. He began gathering all the cells he could spare to shock Frank. More demons rushed in, as Tinker tossed another gadget. It stuck to Frank’s waist, beeped twice and exploded. Frank roared and wheeled around, his right side a gory mess. He threw Flux at Tinker, and the two went tumbling past to the crunch of broken bones.

  Frank was already healing, when he bent down to take hold of Daniel. A portal appeared beneath him, as his hand closed over an ankle. Frank fell into the swirling darkness, taking Daniel with him, and appeared three stories in the air between two buildings outside the park.

  “Daniel!” Tammy yelled and ran after, as her brother plummeted to the ground alongside Frank.

  XTU had arrived in four large black armored vehicles and were moving in on their position from behind. Lee made sure his sister and Tinker were healing before running off to intercept Frank.

  “Rem, don’t!” Keys called after. “Wait for Aegis!”

  It only
made Lee run faster. He had one chance at stopping Frank. A shock to the spine would work once, and paralysis wouldn’t last. If he wanted to overcome Frank’s power, he’d have to alter it—preferably, without getting killed.

  Lee ran as hard as he could and caught up to Tammy, as they both found Frank getting to his feet in an alley. Daniel was limp and broken on the street beside him.

  Tammy was crying, and emotions poured off her in waves. She drew on her power so strongly it warped the buildings to either side. Cracks went up the stonework, and the alley buckled from the force. With a grunt of angry grief, she loosed a sphere twice her size. She ran forward, screaming in pain and fear, both hands in front and conjuring more spheres. The first struck Frank and sent him sliding back on both feet, shredding the skin of his chest and shoulders.

  Lee needed time to gather more cells. If he sent them in too few or too soon, Frank’s body would adapt, and Lee’s chance would be lost.

  More spheres struck and jerked Frank backward with the force. He only growled at the pain, as they tore away gory bits of tendon and muscle, exposing the bone beneath. Through it all, he pressed forward, reaching out to grab her.

  There still wasn’t enough time. Lee tried to warn her, yelled for her to stay back. It was too late. Aegis, Keys and Flare were running toward them. There was nothing they could do. Against his better judgment, Lee sent every cell he could into Frank’s spine and shocked him. Frank screamed, shook and foamed at the mouth for a brief moment then took another step. His body fought against Lee, eradicating cells as fast as Lee could make them.

  Frank shot forward without warning, caught Tammy by the neck and threw her against a building. Her body cracked in a dozen places. He walked over to a dumpster, picked it up with one hand and threw it at her like it was a toy. She was utterly crushed, killed in a grisly instant. The flood of her emotions ended and left behind an empty chasm.

  The others had arrived to help, but it was more than Lee could take, seeing her die in such a horrible way. He sent everything he had into her, his body shaking with the effort. He could heal her, he was certain, if he just wanted it badly enough.