by J. A. Giunta
Lee closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He was too tired for what-ifs or explanations.
Allison wouldn’t let it go. “Lee?”
“It means,” Brody said, “he disobeyed a direct order. And took a life. Don’t be surprised if he’s off the team.”
Lee almost laughed. If only it was that easy.
He didn’t know which was worse, feeling Alexandra’s opinion of him change or realizing Allison’s hadn’t.
They landed in the hangar moments later. When the ramp lowered, Lee looked out.
Will was waiting at the bottom.
- Ember -
Ember’s feet barely touched ground as she ran. Her breath seared her throat and her organs were working to extremes. Her mind was filled with Lee’s unconscious form, but she pushed herself to focus on catching Culvers.
Behind her, Flare’s breath and pounding feet kept up a rhythm with her own. “Where?” she heard Flare ask.
“Spider turf,” Ember rasped out. No need to ask Zeta to confirm. She’d been tracking their direction in her head. Though Culvers led them on a twisting maze-like route, she’d known for blocks where he was going. The one place he thought he could lose them.
“If he heads into Spider territory, we’ll lose him.” Flare’s words matched the rhythm of her breathing.
Ember’s palms itched. “He’s not getting away.”
“Copy that.” Flare huffed out, her words as certain as Ember’s. They were no longer sharing comms. Flare’s handler had refused to play along after the first outing. Ember thought it was stupid, but Flare defended the decision, not wanting to get reassigned to a new AI. Ember had to grudgingly give in. She’d come to depend on Zeta’s guidance. Breaking in a new handler would be more than an annoyance. It would be like losing a close family member, or a part of herself.
“Where are Aegis and Tinker?” Ember panted into her headset. The rest of the team had split off a few blocks back, trying to get ahead of Culvers and herd him back toward Flux and Flare. The team—minus Remedy and with Keys struggling to hold it together after watching so many of her demon followers crushed by Culvers—wasn’t at peak, but they’d trained for such scenarios.
Ember could imagine how Keys must feel. She clamped down on her own emotions, letting the anger surge. Culvers might have lost family, but that didn’t excuse what he had done to Tammy and her brother. And to Lee.
She gritted her teeth, pumping her legs and arms, knowing she was beginning to put distance between herself and Flare.
“Hey!” Flare huffed, putting on a burst of speed to come up beside her. “Won’t do any good for us to catch him alone,” she reminded Ember.
“Won’t do much good if we don’t catch him at all,” Ember shot back, but she slowed enough to allow her breath to lose its ragged edge.
“But,” Flare paused before continuing her thought, “what if he’s adapted to you?”
“Guess we’ll find out when we get there.” Ember tried not to sound worried, but the same thought had been running through her mind. Worrying isn’t a solution, she thought. Oh, gods. When did I become my mother?
“You’ve gained on him,” Zeta told her. “He slowed when he crossed into Spider territory.”
“Running out of steam?” Ember asked, hopefully. Her lungs burned and her legs ached. This mission had already pushed her physical abilities to their outer limit.
“It’s more like he’s looking for something,” Zeta told her.
“Shit,” Flare hissed, tapping Ember on the shoulder as they ran. “Let’s not get ourselves ambushed.”
Ember shrugged her off, but nodded and slowed her pace to a jog. “Zeta, how’s Lee?”
“Focus on the mission,” her AI replied.
“Oh, I’m focused.” Ember’s tone was bitter. “I just want to know as soon Lee wakes up.”
“Copy that.” Zeta was all business out here in the field, but there was assurance in that voice that Ember recognized and trusted. She needed that. Especially now, as they crossed what remained of Halstead Street and headed directly into Spider turf.
“You think the Spiders are smart enough to stay out of Culvers’ way?” Flare asked.
“Turn left at the next intersection,” Zeta continued to guide her.
They rounded the corner just in time to see a three-story high wall collapse into a grumbling avalanche of bricks and dust that poured across the sidewalk and street.
“Guess not,” Ember said.
Culvers rose from beneath the rubble, his shirt torn to shreds, blood dripping from his hairline and into his face. He grinned as the jagged wound across his scalp knitted itself back together.
A gang of Spiders surrounded him. The group of rogue Supers stepped back and spread out. All of the Spiders wore black clothing, each with red bandanna tied around their upper arms.
The three nearest Flare and Flux, two guys, one pale and the other olive-skinned, and a slender girl with her bleach-blond hair pulled back into a short ponytail, stood poised and ready to strike.
“Waster and Blast,” Zeta informed her. “STAMS mid-level. Waster’s power is speeding up decay and rot. Blaster can lob blasts of air hard enough to dent metal plate.”
“That explains the building collapsing without an explosion,” Ember said under her breath.
“The blond is Phosphor,” Zeta continued. “Never been tested, but projections have her rated as highly dangerous. She can ignite almost anything.”
Flare grabbed Ember by the shoulder and hauled her back. “Hang on, let’s let them soften him up a bit,” she whispered.
Ember backed up a few steps. “Where are the rest of the team?” she asked Zeta.
“Tinker is still outside the zone. Aegis and Keys have hit a snag,” came the reply.
“More Spiders?” Ember asked.
“Affirmative.”
“Where?”
“Midpoint, north. But your orders are to stay with the main target. Copy?”
Ember clenched her fists. “Yeah, yeah. Copy that.” She watched as Culvers strode toward the lineup of Spiders, his face split into an anticipatory grin.
“What the hell?” Flare said when Culvers strode across the boulevard, then stopped a few feet in front of the nearest gang member and slapped his hand against his own chest. “Come on,” he shouted, “hit me with your best shot.”
Ember watched in growing horror as Culvers stood like a statue waiting for the Super gang members to pour their powers into him.
“Is he suicidal?” Flare asked.
One by one, the Spiders attacked. And one by one, Culvers healed from their powers and then destroyed them, mowing them down as easily as he had Keys’ demons. Only this involved a lot more screaming and blood. They were used to working in a pack, but they’d never had to fight as a team, didn’t have the training for it. And there was no Remedy here to heal them.
“Dammit,” Ember said. “He’s acquiring more and more immunity. We need to stop him.” She measured the distance between her and the closest Spider. She had to give them credit, they hadn’t backed down, had stayed to protect their territory. “Think you can get their attention?”
“I’ve always had a knack for getting all eyes on me,” Flare responded.
Ember resisted the urge to laugh. “Give me a three-count head start, starting now.” She sprinted across the intersection. On her fourth step, light blazed, hitting the middle gang member in the chest. He fell back with a shriek. Flare’s power singed clothing and skin, filling the air with the smell of burned fabric and flesh.
Culvers let out an angry howl and all eyes turned to Flare’s position. Ember reached the blond girl, grabbing her hand before she could spark anything in Flare’s direction. “Tell your friends they need to let me get close enough to touch Culvers and then attack in concert. It’s the only way to defeat him,” she said. “If they h
old back, he’ll just adapt.”
“Like I’m going to listen to a sellout like you.” The girl tried to yank away, but Ember held tight. Phosphor’s eyes widened as she realized she had lost access to her power. “Hey, what the hell are you?”
“You can call me Flux,” Ember told her. “I’m your new—”
“F.U. Flux!” Phosphor cut Ember off, dropped back and side-kicked her, trying to wrench from her grip.
“Help us stop him,” Ember said. “And we’ll leave peacefully.” She yanked Phosphor to her and wrapped an arm around her neck.
“Doesn’t work like that. Not once you trespass onto Spider turf.” Phosphor grabbed Ember’s forearm and bent, tossing Ember over her back.
Ember flipped in midair and landed beside Phosphor, twisting the girl’s arm behind her and yanking hard on it. She felt the girl’s shoulder dislocate, but Phosphor only grunted.
The three men had turned toward Flare and she was now dodging bursts of power from Waster and Blast while throwing energy bolts their way. Her brows were knitted in concentration, face showing the strain of physical exertion. Culvers watched the fight as if weighing his options. Suddenly, he ran at Waster.
“So much for being allies,” Ember said in Phosphor’s ear. She slammed a fist into the girl’s temple, knocking her unconscious, and winced at the pain in her knuckles. She dropped Phosphor on the ground. “Lucky for you, you’ll heal.”
She needed to help Flare. Her palms filled with heat.
“Ember,” Zeta cautioned. “Orders.”
“Screw that,” Ember said. “This situation calls for an exception.”
Energy orbs filled each of her hands and she hurled the first one at Blast, hitting him dead center in the back. He flew forward, almost taking down Flare when he tumbled to the ground at her feet, jacket smoldering.
“What the hell was that?” Flare called, eyes wide.
“A little something I’ve been keeping to myself,” Ember said, wrinkling her nose at the burned leather.
“Nice.” A smile quirked up the corners of Flare’s mouth.
“Cover me.” Ember ran at Culvers, but before she could connect with the big man, Waster managed to hit him with a blast of his power.
Culvers’ face rotted and reformed in a rolling wave. It was like watching a horror movie then hitting the reverse button. Ember gagged at the overpowering stench of decay. She had to turn her head away to avoid retching.
In that moment Culvers struck out at her, his fist connecting with her cheek. She flew sideways, landing in a heap. He shook his hand, eyeing it curiously. Then stared at Ember. A patch of rotten flesh fell from his cheek. Then, slowly, his face finished reforming.
She stared back, vision still swimming from the blow. Maybe he can’t adapt to me, after all, she thought, trying to rise.
Flare hit Blast with a bolt of energy and he went down on his hands and knees, his clothing smoking.
Then Flare paused, staring at the end of the street. Ember followed her gaze. Aegis and Keys were running toward them, but before their team members could reach them, four more Spiders appeared, blocking the way.
“Shit,” Ember said, pushing herself to her feet.
Culvers grinned, gave her a one-fingered salute, then turned and ran.
Aegis disabled one of the new Spiders, locking her into an energy sphere with a wave of his hand.
“Turmoil,” Zeta said.
“Not now,” Ember replied.
“But you need the intel.”
“Screw the intel,” Ember all but yelled. “I don’t care what they can do. These a-holes are going down.”
Keys opened a portal and a herd of pint-sized demons poured out, snarling. The Spiders dropped back, assessing this new threat and giving Aegis and Keys enough time to skirt around them and join up with Flux and Flare.
“Four-person defensive stand!” Aegis rushed toward her, Keys on his heels. Both of her teammates looked exhausted.
“Son of a—” Ember rose to her feet, assuming her position in the back-to-back formation.
Beside her Flare groaned in frustration. “We need to get moving. He’s getting away.”
“First things first,” Aegis replied. He trapped one of the oncoming Spiders inside an energy sphere.
“There’s no way to stop Culvers. He adapts too quickly.” Ember said. “The only good thing is that he doesn’t seem to have adapted a resistance to my power drain.” She dodged a cannon-sized ball of molten metal thrown by one of the gang members and heated by Flare. “Flare, can you try and flash those before they get close enough to cook my face?”
“Sorry,” Flare said.
“Aegis,” Ember said. “Guy on the left. Trap, neutralize and release?”
“Yeah,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll take the one on my right. Keys keep the others off us. Now!”
Keys opened up a row of portals, keeping each one open just long enough for one or two of her impish followers to leap through, one after the other. They lunged forward in a straight line between the team and the Spiders, hissing and swiping with their long claws.
Aegis formed an energy sphere in his hand, swung his arm back, then forward again, releasing it like a bowling ball. It hit the oncoming Spider in the legs, knocking him down.
Ember leaped on the fallen soldier, grabbing him by the arm, then yanked him up just in time to use his body as a shield against a blast from Phosphor, who had regained consciousness.
“Finally,” Aegis yelled, pleased with himself.
“That’s new,” Flare said, releasing a stream of fiery bolts at the remaining two enemy Supers, causing them to dive aside.
The man Ember held screamed and slapped at himself, trying to put out the blaze, but when he touched it, the fire transferred to his hands. His fingers curled. Skin crackled and his screams filled Ember’s ears. She released him and he fell to the ground whimpering.
As soon as Ember let him go, Phosphor raised her hands to attack, but her shot flew wide as three of Keys’ imps knocked her feet from under her. The blaze rocketed past Ember’s head, so close she felt the heat singe her hair. Then it struck the building behind her. The brick sizzled and burned, and black smoke rose into the air.
Phosphor was on her back, striking at demons as they crawled over her, biting and scratching. One by one, they screeched and blazed out in a flash of silver fire.
The other Spiders were down.
“Should we let her up?” Keys asked.
“I have a better idea.” Ember pulled a metal tube from the pocket of her suit. “I say we let her have some fun with foam.”
“Good idea,” Flare said, pulling out another tube. Let’s pin some insects.”
“Can we get an XTU team in here to mop up?” Aegis asked over his comm. “Before any others head our way.” He glanced over at the exhausted team. “Yeah. Extraction would be good.”
Fourteen
Mon, Oct 3, 1:51pm
- Lee -
Everyone was quiet, as Will pulled Lee aside. The rest of the team went on to debriefing. Ember and Allison looked back with concern as they walked. Kevin’s was more one of satisfied contempt.
“What were you thinking?” Will asked, though it didn’t feel like a question. “Do you have any idea the position you’ve put me in?”
Lee looked down at his feet. He didn’t know why, but it was difficult to meet Will’s gaze. It wasn’t the same as getting in trouble at school and facing down a teacher or the principal. Will was a friend who neatly fit into the space where a father should be. Lee hated the knot in his stomach, the nervous flutter in his chest, that came of knowing he’d disappointed him.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lee managed to say. “After I found out about Discord, I began altering the density of my bones. It’ll take more than a bullet to penetrate my skull.”
Lee frowned, angry. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not the enemy, Lee.” Will had yet to raise his voice, though the tightness in his jaw and shoulders betrayed emotion. “But I’m also not in charge. There’s a limit to what I can do. You can gauge what I’m feeling, if what I’m saying is true. Am I threatening you?”
Lee looked him over. “No. You’re worried.”
“Damn right, I’m worried.” Will kept his voice low, though no one in the hangar was nearby. “You ignored a direct order, neutralized a potential asset and now you’re telling me you’ve taken away the only direct control over you the agency had. You’ve managed to undermine in a single day everything I’ve been working toward for the past five weeks.”
“What the hell was I supposed to do?” Lee asked, incredulous. “Let you shoot me in the head?”
“No,” Will replied, “you were supposed to trust that I would never have let it come to that. I’ve been doing everything I can to show the need for a separate agency, one just for Supers. Cerberus is stretched too thin with magic, monsters and artifacts. It was never equipped to handle this type of crisis.” Will sighed, visibly frustrated. “We needed a win here today.”
Lee said, “I gave you one. You just refuse to see it.”
“That’s my point,” Will said. “You can’t disobey direct orders because you think you know better. You don’t have all the intel. That’s how chain of command works. You have to trust in that command, that I know what I’m doing. You had no idea if Culvers had information we needed, if he’d stolen sensitive documents from the hospital, or if he was an asset in play. Did you consider any of that in your threat assessment, before you reasoned out a need to kill him? It’s fine to look at the big picture, Lee, but not when you don’t have all the information.”
“You’re right,” Lee said. “I didn’t consider any of that. But in the moment? We had no way of holding him. My power wasn’t working, and the longer we fought, the less any of us could hurt him. There was no win but taking him out while we still could.”