Killing Capes

by Scott Mathy

  Even now, Midas’s shocked organs were dying. A few more hits from the electrified plates would be enough to send the Cape into fatal cardiac arrest. Dwight thought about what the news agencies would say tomorrow about the “powerless” Referee slaying Midas, their golden savior.

  Dwight pulled back his arm, preparing to strike directly at the man’s heart. As he did, Lia’s voice called out behind him. “Dwight, stop!”

  Turning back to where he had left her, he found Lia inching along the ground. He checked himself for the familiar feeling of Lia’s mental probes in his mind. Finding none, he waited, ever aware that their window to complete the job was closing.

  Dwight kept his fist raised. “We’re running out of time. He’s about to get his powers back!” He prepared to land the killing blow. Midas’s eyes rolled back in his skull as Dwight lifted him off the stone by the collar.

  “He’s innocent!” She shouted. Dwight suddenly felt Lia’s presence in his mind, even if she still wasn’t strong enough to do anything there.

  “‘Innocent?’ He slept with my wife. Whatever else he did is between him and Wulf.” Something in him wanted to hate this man, to see him destroyed.

  “You know that isn’t you. Infidelity aside, he hasn’t done anything.” She slowly pulled herself to her knees.

  “What do you mean, ‘hasn’t done anything?’ I got this job from Wulf. If he’s on Wulf’s list, he must have done something wrong, broken the rules of the fucking game.” There were only a few more seconds before Midas’s powers returned, and he could destroy them like insects.

  “Did you? Think about it. I’ve been in both of your minds. I know how this works.” She was pleading now, unable to force him to stop.

  Dwight tried to remember.

  “He hasn’t done anything. He’s been busy running the Guild’s business for months now. He hasn’t done a single thing that would violate Wulf’s stupid game.”

  The spasms ceased. Comprehension returned to Midas’s eyes. He hung in Dwight’s grasp, still unable to move his weakened body.

  Dwight leaned in close, eye to eye with the recovering Cape. “Tell me, what did you do to piss off Wulf?”

  Midas coughed, struggling with the words, “Nothing, I swear. I do everything he says. I’d never betray him.”

  Dwight brought his fist down into the rock beside Midas’s skull. It shattered under the strike, shards bouncing harmlessly off his sweating skin. Dwight stood.

  “Get up.”

  It took him agonizing moments, but Midas rose to his feet. He was hunched over, gripping his chest, and breathing hard. Dwight had only ever seen the Cape in that kind of mess after a major incident with one of the big players in the city. He supposed he could take some measure of pride in the fact that he was now somewhere on that very short list.

  He pointed to the tipped RV, “Get this thing off of my friend.” Dwight hoped that Ian’s leg was only pinned, not completely crushed under the vehicle.

  Midas did as he was told. Lifting with a single hand, he tipped the heavy camper back onto its wheels. The entire thing rocked from the sudden force righting it. Inside, Dwight heard clattering; he guessed Ian’s computers wouldn’t be usable. He could add it to the ever-growing list of debts to be repaid.

  The Cape stared at Dwight, growing more confident as his powers restored themselves. “And now?”

  “Now, you leave. I need to have a long conversation with my partners and my boss about what happened here today.” He turned to point back where Bernard’s body had made a rock angel, but didn’t see the huge man where he had fallen.

  “Lookin’ fer me?” Bernard called from behind Lia. None of them had time to react as he roughly grabbed the back of her head before slamming it into the side of the RV. The implant shattered against the steel, blood splattering from the blunt force.

  “That’s what you get for divin’ in me ‘ead.” He let her go and she limply fell over Ian. He spit on her unconscious body.

  “You son of a bitch!” Dwight shouted, already running. He rushed to Lia, but a sharp kick from Bernard knocked him away. He caught himself and sat up, blood boiling, “You set this up. Why in the hell would you do any of this?”

  He pointed at Midas, who remained still. “That bastard stole me powers, left me to die. ‘e deserves to be put down more’n the lot of ‘em.”

  Midas took a step forward. It was obvious to Dwight that the man’s full strength was back. “He was dangerous. We all voted, and had his powers blocked by the strongest telepaths we could find.”

  “You ‘ad no goddamned right!”

  Bernard may be many things: an oaf, a sadist, a sarcastic asshole – but Dwight could never see him as a hero. He would have been the walking embodiment of everything that scared Dwight about the Powers.

  His confidence and abilities restored, Midas seemed ready for another round; thankfully, his attention wasn’t set on Dwight. “You weren’t going to stop. It was only a matter of time before you did something stupid and got innocent people killed.”

  “Since when ‘as it ever been about them, Kyle? When did you ever give a fuck abou’ a single one o’ them?”

  Dwight had never heard Midas’s real name. He was somewhat disappointed that it was so normal.

  Bernard pointed an accusatory finger at Midas, “You jus’ wanted to show ‘em how strong you are and ‘ow pathetic everyone is compared to you!”

  The words did more damage than Dwight’s assault. Midas let his arms drop, his fighting spirit burned out.

  Bernard’s anger stung in his eyes, “I was no bloody more dangerous than any o’ you! You took my powers because you wanted to see if you could! I was a fucking test!” He took a few steps closer. “You jus’ wanted to see if you could make one o’ us like one o’ them.”

  “You’re right,” Midas admitted, “What we did to you was inexcusable. There were worse than you. More reckless, more powerful. We needed to know: if one of us got out of line, could we stop them?” He looked Bernard straight in the eyes, the solemn gaze of a wounded leader, “We didn’t have any other choice.”

  They were face-to-face, two titans focused only on each other. “You ‘ad a choice; you could ‘ave voted for anyone else.”

  Raising his arms over his head, a piece of twisted metal in his massive grip glinted in the fading afternoon light. Bernard brought down the point with all his strength, aiming for Midas’s scalp. The Cape made no effort to block it. Something about the whole thing made Dwight think back to the look on the Phoenix’s face: the expression of accepting death.

  The blade bent against the top of Midas’s unnaturally tough skull, leaving Bernard impotently furious in the face of a god.

  “You don’t get to kill me for what we did, you monster.” Midas grabbed Bernard’s wrist and twisted the remains of the makeshift knife free. It fell to the ground with a soft clink, covered in Bernard’s own hyper-regenerative blood. The wounds on his hands were already healing as Midas released them.

  “I already did. They all know, Kyle.” Bernard took a step back and pointed toward the downed camera lying on its side about twenty feet away. The broadcasting light, despite all of the tossing and tumbling, was still on. The entire event had been sent to every news organization in New Haven. Their secrets – all of them – were now public knowledge.

  With that, Midas let loose a single uppercut with all his might. The punch caught Bernard in the sternum and launched him skyward. Had Bernard not already survived a similar blow earlier, Dwight might assume his partner was dead. Bernard flew out of sight over the forest, before landing with an audible crash. The impact was brutal enough to down several trees; he would need some time to fully recover. For now, the well-being of the backstabbing scum was the least of Dwight’s concerns.

  With Bernard gone, Dwight hurried to check on Lia and Ian, both still lying in a heap. A growing pool of blood spread beneath Lia’s smooth head. Dwight carefully flipped her over and checked the implant. Exposed wires hung from the
ruined casing; the impact with the RV had destroyed the device. Dwight had no way of knowing how deeply it was attached to her brain and whether the damage was more catastrophic than it appeared on the surface.

  Ian, on the other hand, seemed mostly okay; the camper had torn into his pants, exposing enough of the leg that Dwight could examine it. From a casual once-over, nothing seemed broken, and he suffered only minor cuts and bruises from Midas’s earth-shattering arrival.

  Dwight turned to the Cape. He hadn’t moved from where he had punched Bernard. He looked defeated; this was not the same raging Power who threatened them minutes ago.

  Dwight lifted Lia, taking care with her head. “You, get Ian inside. Be careful with him.”

  Midas looked puzzled; perhaps this was the first time he had ever taken an order from a normal. “Why the camper?”

  Dwight explained, irritated, “Both of these people likely have concussions, or worse. You can’t just carry them each under one arm to the hospital. Get them inside. You’re going to fly us all to my doctor.” The laws of physics and human anatomy generally didn’t apply to Powers like Midas.

  Midas didn’t question any further. He handled Ian as gently as he could manage; it was a bit like watching a professional wrestler handle a kitten. There seemed to be a new vulnerability in Midas: his strength was a liability. He held Ian in his arms outside of the RV as Dwight set Lia down on the filthy mattress at its rear. Dwight began tossing Ian’s equipment out the door; he wasn’t concerned with the state of the machines at this point. If anything, they would be potentially dangerous projectiles once they were airborne.

  A few moments later, he pitched the last rig out onto the rocky ledge. The machine exploded into a heap of broken parts as it hit the ground. He’d owe Ian for all the mess this day had been. He’d take payment for it out of Bernard’s face if they ever saw him again. Waving Midas into the camper, he swore he’d get his former partner back for this.

  The Cape set his cargo down next to Lia. They were all in terrible shape, but this was the best plan Dwight could manage, given the situation; he’d need to keep an eye on the injured. He pointed back toward the door. “Get to it.”

  Though he looked like he had barely the strength to carry Dwight’s frail roommate, Midas didn’t object. “Where are we going?”

  “They need medical attention. I have a friend at the east end docks. She’s got a lab there that can handle anything.” Even now, Dwight was sure Ellis had watched the broadcast and would be prepping an array of machines to help Lia. Rummaging through the camper’s cabinets, he found a disused first-aid kit; at least the thin gauze bandage would help stop the steady blood flowing from her head wound.

  Midas nodded, and stepped outside. He shouted, “Brace yourself – this is going to be rough!”

  From the moment the Power crawled under the camper and stood, the entire world rocked violently under them. Dwight did his best to hold his unconscious partners in place. As they soared up and away from the nature preserve, he was sure that anyone watching the skies was in for a surprise.

  Twelve

  Though the drive to the remote forest had taken most of the day, the flight back was substantially shorter; there was an advantage to not needing roads. They set down with a screeching protest from the RV’s suspension. Dwight rushed to the driver’s seat to check their position. Fortunately, Midas set them down a few buildings away from the Doc’s workshop. He turned the key in the ignition, praying that the engine somehow survived the abuse. There was a horrible, grinding choke before the engine caught and started. It wouldn’t be pretty, but the camper would get them the rest of the way.

  In his rearview mirror, Dwight saw Midas standing alone in the middle of the road. Once they were a few hundred feet from him, the Power turned away and took off into the sky. Perhaps killing him would have been a mercy compared to having his sins aired in front of all of New Haven. They had broken him – first in body, then in spirit. The untouchable had been destroyed in every way by a normal man. New Haven wouldn’t forget this. Neither would Midas.

  He thought of Bernard, still somewhere in the nature preserve. Revenge was a hell of a motivator; having his powers stolen ruined his life. Dwight wondered if Bernard would be satisfied with what he’d achieved today, or if this was just the beginning of something worse. He frankly didn’t care where Bernard went from here. The betrayal made him seethe.

  His ability to work for Wulf was based on the concept that these Powers needed to be brought down – that the others had to see their actions had consequences. Sure, Midas’s actions against Bernard were horrible, but the Powers weren’t helpless the way the regular citizens of New Haven were. He didn’t want to get involved in some Cape struggle, and certainly didn’t care about their internal bickering. Wulf would be calling, and Dwight would need a hell of an explanation to get himself out of this.

  Pulling up to the rear entrance of Doctor Ellis’s lab, Dwight dashed out, searching for one of the Doc’s hidden cameras. He waved frantically and began shouting. Dwight could only hope she was watching for him; he didn’t have time to carry both of them through her elaborate security system.

  “Doc, we need help out here!” His voice was strained, his shouting transformed into a painful cry, “Come on! Please!”

  Finally, as he reached the end of his patience, the door swung open. The Doc waved him in, “Get Lia first. Your roommate isn’t hurt – just a colossal wuss.” She had been watching the broadcast of their fight.

  He rushed back into the camper and delicately scooped up Lia. Her head wound had soaked through the bandage; the sheets beneath her were stained a bright crimson. He paid no attention as that same blood now saturated his shirt. Dwight carried the psychic outside and into the lab. Even as he walked past her, Ellis was already examining the damage.

  “That piece of shit,” she snarled, unwinding the gauze from Lia’s head. “If I ever see Bernard again, I swear I’m going to disintegrate him.” She pointed to the examination table, “Put her there.”

  Dwight did as he was told. He set her down like she was made of glass. “I grabbed the pieces of her implant, but I may not have gotten it all.” He pulled the blood-drenched bits of metal from his pocket and placed them beside her on the table.

  Ellis shook her head, “I’m not going to be able to use any of that. Dalia’s limiter was a prototype. It’s going to take some time to build a new one for her. Right now, I’m more concerned with the pieces lodged in her skull.”

  She wheeled over a small surgical tray lined with pristine tools. Taking the laser scalpel from it, she began working to remove the shrapnel from the catatonic woman’s head. After a few intense minutes, those fingers slid a quarter-sized hunk of steel from Lia’s skull. Ellis gingerly tugged the miniscule wires attaching the device to her patient’s brain. Sighing heavily, she dropped the bloody mechanism in the tray beside her.

  While she worked, Dwight went back to the camper to retrieve Ian. With Lia secured, Dwight took a moment to examine his roommate. A bruise had formed on his forehead, likely a trophy from Midas. An RV tipping over on his leg hadn’t helped. Dwight decided to set him up in the medical suite. This had been an unfortunately busy week for the Doc.

  Placing Ian on the gurney, he hooked up the vital-reading equipment hanging from the inert machines. At least his roommate had made it out of that mess in better shape than Lia. Dwight returned to Ellis’s side to see if she needed any help with her impromptu brain surgery. To his relief, he was not going to be of any use, and the doctor waved him away.

  Dwight watched her work, cursing himself for not seeing through Bernard’s plan. He assumed that the case had come from Wulf, not his partner. If Lia hadn’t stopped him, he’d have killed Midas.

  The Doc was finishing up the last few stitches as Dwight came out of his mental fog. Six gore-covered shards lay in the bottom of the silver surgical dish. The port that connected the broken device to her brain looked rough, but salvageable. She breathed anot
her sigh, “She’ll be alright, but I’m going to keep her sedated until I get her new unit up and running.”

  “What does it do?” Dwight inquired. He considered for a moment whether Lia would want that question answered.

  “It’s a restraining unit. Dalia’s power is too much for the human mind to handle. I was doing some consulting at First Memorial Hospital when I was introduced to her. She had been living in a psychiatric ward for most of her life.” It seemed that Ellis wasn’t concerned with patient confidentiality.

  Her tone was reminiscent, “She can’t turn it off normally – the telepathy. Imagine spending your entire life hearing the thoughts of every person within a three-mile radius.” She stroked Lia’s smooth head with a damp sanitary towel, cleaning away the last of the blood.

  “It drove her mad. She hadn’t slept peacefully in years, not since her abilities matured at puberty.” The way the Doc touched her, it was almost motherly. Dwight had never seen this side of Ellis before. “I knew what she was the moment I saw her. She was special, but that power is what broke her.”

  A quick tap of the nearest monitor brought up a technical readout of the implant. “Her limiter shuts off part of her brain. I developed them as a way to imprison Powers. It was supposed to be a final measure to deal with the ones that just won’t follow society’s rules.” A faint smile crossed her lips, “Kinda like you, I suppose – just without the killing part.”

  Dwight didn’t like the comparison.

  She pointed to the connection the device made to the gray matter of the simulation, “It can cut off the user’s brain completely, rendering them comatose, or it can get more selective. It also has the potential to restrict higher brain functions, effectively robotizing the mind of whoever it’s in.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down at Lia’s bound skull and the implant port below. “I thought it would be useful in prisons to keep the truly dangerous under control. I never went through with it. Taking away someone’s free will, removing their ability to think; it’s monstrous.