“I got next round,” Victor called out to Cleo, sliding his cash toward her. He glanced at Andre. “And a shot fer me best friend!”
Andre smiled. “You knew that would work on me, didn't you?”
Victor shrugged his shoulders. “I thought about sayin' nine other things, but I kept seein' me block knocked off. Figgered this was the way to go.”
Andre threw back his shot and slammed the glass on the bar. “You figured right, you lucky son of a bitch.”
Andre spent the rest of the night trying to keep his spirits up. He drank until he forgot all about Bobby the Bull.
As everyone stumbled out the front door in the early morning hours, Andre stopped and turned toward Cleo.
“Sorry, Andre. Even with your power, I'm pretty sure you've had enough for one night.”
“No. It ain't that.” He struggled to find the right words in his drunken stupor. “I just... I wanted to ask you...”
“Spit it out already, would ya?”
“Well, I mean, I know you know a lot of supervillains.”
Cleo set some glasses in a sink full of soapy water. “What's your point?”
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I was just hoping that maybe you could set me up with one of them and put in a good word for me if they got a job or a situation they need handled.”
Cleo walked around the bar and motioned toward the door. “I don't mess around with that stuff anymore, kid. I own a bar. That's it. Now go home.”
He set his hand on the door to leave, but stopped again. He knew she was lying. She was always handing envelopes to different henchmen, keeping packages behind the bar, slipping notes with people's drinks. There was something other than drinking going on at Cleo's Place.
“Just give me a chance. I could be one of the big-timers! I could be-”
Cleo gave him a single shove, her super strength lifting him off the ground. He landed in the snowbank next to Bullethead. Cleo pointed at the old man, who was still passed out.
“What you could do is end up like him, kiddo. Go home. Sleep it off.”
She slammed the door shut and Bullethead groaned next to him. He looked over and for a second, it was like he had Victor's super power. He saw his future. An old man at the end of the bar, yelling at kids who didn't understand how good they had it.
He pushed himself out of the snowbank, brushed the snow off his pants, and started his walk home under the buzzing streetlights. He wouldn't have to worry about a hangover in the morning, his slight invulnerability would protect him from that. He just wished his pride was invulnerable too.
11
EVERLAST
He hated waiting. It was why he was always late. Make them wait, that was his motto. Or at least one of his mottos. He had a lot of mottos. And on that day, he made sure to be late, yet there he sat, waiting. Stiletto was supposed to meet him in Voyager's room of doors so they could teleport to the Grand Citadel. If she thought she could flake on him and not show up, she was sorely mistaken. Nobody stood up Everlast. Nobody. But just as he was about to ask Voyager to create a portal straight to Stiletto's personal quarters so he could roll her out of bed himself, Flex and Rainfall walked through the door.
“Hey, hey! Everlast! You ready to party?” the young girl asked with a squeal of delight in her voice.
“What is this? Where's Stiletto?”
“She wasn't feeling well, so she asked us to take her place and keep you company at this shindig.”
“She's sick?” Everlast raised an eyebrow with skepticism. “Can a completely metal body even get sick?”
Flex shrugged her shoulders. “Guess so.”
Everlast turned to the other young member of the group, Rainfall. He was pretty sure they had been in the field together, but all he knew about the kid was that he was shy, kept to himself, and was always sulking in a corner. He might fit in at the funeral, but Everlast wasn't real excited to take him to the coronation celebration.
“What's your deal, Rainfall? Tagging along for the free booze or what?”
The young man's head drooped further to allow his thick dreadlocks to completely cover his face. “I owed Stiletto a favor.”
“Great.” Everlast straightened the bow tie on his tuxedo and brushed off both arms. “If anyone asks, you aren't with me.”
He led the two youngsters over to one of the many doors in the room and called out to Voyager. “Ready when you are!”
She let out a sigh and got up from her desk. She shambled over to the door, touched the knob, and closed her eyes. A few seconds later a light flashed from under the door.
“The Zharkovs don't let me keep a doorway open to the citadel for security reasons. You'll have to call me when you want to come back.”
“Thanks, Voyager!” Flex said with a smile and a tilt of her head.
Everlast opened the door and stepped through the glowing portal. When the blinding light receded, he was standing in the welcoming hall of the Grand Citadel of the Zharkovian Empire. The giant golden walls shot into the sky, arching over his head like an ancient cathedral. The black and gold banners surrounding the room reminded him he wasn't there to worship one god, but an entire family of them.
“Greetings!” a young man said, flying into the room and touching down in front of them. “I am Niko Zharkov the Cherubim, son of Azakor Zharkov the Morningstar, Grandson of Vigo Zharkov the Paramount, and great-grandson of the late Imperator Konstantin Zharkov the October Guard.”
“Hi!” Flex stepped through the portal and stuck out her hand to shake his as she said, “I'm Sara Keen, but you can call me Flex.”
Niko looked down at her hand, unsure of what to do with it. Everlast knocked it away and knelt down on one knee.
“It's a pleasure to meet you, my liege.”
Flex glanced over at Everlast and blinked a few times before it registered. She dropped to one knee.
“Sorry, my liege.”
Rainfall knelt down, but remained silent.
Niko smiled and said, “Please. Rise. I'm so glad you could attend today. I'm sure my great-grandfather would be honored that you took the time to mourn his loss with us. And you also have the great honor of witnessing the coronation of Imperator Padamir with your own eyes! I'm sure this moment in history will be something you will tell your grandchildren about!”
Everlast glanced at the two youngsters next to him and watched their gaze fall to the floor. He looked back at the royal brat in front of him and saw the completely oblivious smile on his face. Was he not aware of his own family's laws? Did he not know that none of them would be allowed to have children, let alone grandchildren?
Niko clapped his hands together and said, “I'm sorry, but I have to admit something to you all. I actually asked for this assignment, to greet the Alliance of Heroes personally. I'm quite a fan of your superhero antics.”
“Antics?” Everlast said before he caught himself. “I mean, yes. Of course. I'd be happy to sign any memorabilia for you.”
Niko looked at him with confusion, but decided to continue anyway. “Your costumes. They are something to behold. So colorful. So daring. They really grab the public's attention, don't they?”
Everlast immediately regretted not wearing his blue and black leather armor. Niko admired Rainfall's blue fringed jacket and brown leather pants, but of particular interest to the young man was Flex, with her yellow, curve-hugging spandex.
“We wear costumes because we aspire to be more than just crime fighters,” Everlast explained. “We like to be symbols, something for the people to look up to.”
“I know what you mean!” Niko said. “I think that when people look up at the Grand Citadel, and they see the royal family floating above them, gazing down upon the world with protective, parental care, they feel safer knowing we're here. We are giving them something to believe in. Something to have faith in. Don't you agree?”
“Um... yes. Of course.” Everlast forced a smile.
“Well, I don't want to keep you. I can
lead you to the grand hall, where you can make yourselves comfortable while we wait for the others to arrive. Domini from the other six domains will be in attendance!”
Niko lifted off the floor and flew toward one of the many hallways leading from the room. The three of them hurried to keep up with the excited young man, but he still had to stop and look over his shoulder every once in a while to allow them to catch up before dashing off through the air again.
When they arrived at the grand hall, Everlast couldn't deny that he was awestruck. The room was the size of two football fields, with ornate pillars running up the walls to keep the massive structure standing. Murals covered the ceiling, depicting moments throughout the family's history. Floating orbs of light hung in the air, bouncing up and down ever so gently, creating a cosmic, heavenly feeling. A wooden table in the shape of a ring sat in the middle of the hall, filled with an indulgent amount of meats, fruits, breads, and deserts from across the empire. Everlast's mouth watered when the smell made its way toward him.
“This is beautiful!” Flex said, her eyes hypnotized by the shininess of everything.
Everlast noticed Rainfall peeking between his dreadlocks at the spectacle of the room, though he said nothing.
Niko smiled proudly. “I must attend to a few things, there is much to accomplish before the coronation, but please, enjoy.” Then he flew out of the room at such a speed that Rainfall's dreadlocks were cast to the side by the gust of air.
“He's cute,” Flex said as she stretched her hand across the room, plucked a strawberry from the table, then retracted it, and popped the fruit in her mouth.
Everlast rolled his eyes. “He's royalty. Royalty isn't cute.”
“Royalty can't be cute? Could have fooled me.”
“Royalty is royalty. Don't even think about it.”
Flex rolled her eyes back at him and wandered off, unsure of what to inspect first. Rainfall dropped into the first seat he could find and commenced moping.
Everlast made his way to the bar. The servant behind the bar offered him a selection of wines from different regions of the empire, but Everlast knew nothing about wine.
“Something red.”
The servant tried to remain smiling as he nodded and grabbed a bottle of Pinotage. He poured the glass with a whimsy of elegance, twisting the bottle as he finished and then presented it to Everlast with a flourish.
“Thanks, kid,” he said, taking two large gulps as the servant's face hardened, trying not to react.
When Everlast turned around, another group entered the Grand Hall. He immediately recognized the Oshiro dynasty. The unmistakable look of the patriarch, with his mechanical life-chamber, was hard to miss. They made their way to a corner table and stuck to themselves, except for the young Zharkov daughter who had married into the family. She made a direct line for the bar, strode up next to Everlast without looking at him, adjusted the elaborate headdress she was wearing, and slapped her hand down to gain the attention of the servant.
“Malbec. Eighty-nine. Something from Gaia. Give me a glass and leave the bottle.”
The servant looked around nervously.
“What?” she snapped. “What's the problem?”
The servant cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, my liege. Dominus Takahiro asked me not to serve you alcohol because of your... predicament.”
“My what?” She glanced down at her pregnant belly and rolled her eyes. “Oh please. This kid is invulnerable. If bullets can't hurt him, then I'm sure a little wine will be okay.”
“I'm sorry, my liege, but I can't-”
“Ugh!” she groaned, reached across the bar herself, and snatched a bottle of whatever was in reach. “There. I stole it. Now it isn't your fault.”
As she leaned against the bar, she let out a sigh and glanced toward Everlast. She gave him a nod when he smiled at her, so he figured it was okay to speak.
“Greetings, my liege, it's an honor to-”
“Oh please,” she said with a disgusted look as she took a swig from the bottle of wine. “You don't need to do that crap. I'm not in the mood, okay?”
“Yes, my liege.”
She eyed him up and down before asking, “You're part of the Alliance of Heroes?”
“Yes!” he said, straightening his tuxedo jacket a bit, proud that someone of her stature would recognize him.
“Sorry. I don't really keep up with the Alliance. What's your name?”
His body deflated with his ego, but he managed to say, “I'm Everlast.”
She smirked and said, “Of course you are,” before taking another swig from the bottle. “I'm Sasha. Of the Oshiro dynasty.”
He straightened his bow tie again. “My real name is-”
“Really, there's no need.” She glanced around the room, taking in all the spectacle and grandeur without the faintest look of awe. “So, are you excited to be here? You get to party with the royal family and all that.”
“I suppose. It's my first time here.”
“Impressed yet?”
“Sure,” he said, taking a sip of his wine. “Though I think the girl I came with is excited enough for us all.”
He pointed toward Flex who was still spinning around the room, taking everything in like a child in a toy store.
Sasha chuckled. “She's a bit young for you, isn't she?”
Everlast stiffened up. “She's not my... she's a member of the Alliance. I just needed... I mean we were supposed to bring-”
“Calm down there, Everlast. I was only joking. I doubt my grandfather would have blessed that union.”
Everlast grinned and tried to force a laugh. The girl ignored him and watched Flex stretch her neck so she could take a closer look at the mural on the ceiling.
“I'm surprised that with her abilities one of the domini hasn't scooped her up. She could provide a good power for the next generation of someone's family.”
“I suppose,” Everlast said as he tried to imagine Flex as royalty. “But I'm guessing the imperator wouldn't allow it. You combine that with, I don't know, super speed or something? Might tip the scales a bit.”
“Ha!” Sasha said, taking another swig from the bottle. “You actually believe that the Zharkovs could stop another domain from claiming a wife? Especially now that Imperator Konstantin is dead?”
“Forgive me. I should have said this before. I'm sorry for your loss. Your grandfather was a great man. He-”
“You didn't answer my question.”
Everlast was confused. “Well, I mean, you rule the empire. You're the ones that make the laws and have the most power and-”
“I'm going to stop you right there,” she set the bottle down on the bar and waved both hands around as she spoke. “First of all, I'm barely a Zharkov anymore. Second, if you think that Imperator Konstantin got that crown because no one was willing or able to fight him for it, then you watch too much propaganda on TV.”
She adjusted her headdress and the crystals twinkled against each other like chimes. “They crowned Konstantin the imperator because the rest of the domini respected him and they wanted the war to stop. He let them draw their borders and rule their respective domains with autonomy. He didn't earn his crown by flaunting his invincibility or threatening the other domains.”
Everlast remembered things a bit differently. At least in the American Republic, the Zharkovs brought the Alliance to their knees and told them what to do. He was sitting on a council that only pretended to run things. But he decided to keep these thoughts to himself.
Sasha nodded her head to the Oshiros huddled around their private table. “Even now, with all the Zharkov's SPMDs, the Oshiro dynasty still isn't powerless against them. They've got technology that the Zharkovs could never dream of. Did you know they have a self-replicating, robotic army that could dwarf the Zharkovian army? It's true. They just don't flaunt it like the Zharkovs. They're smart. Super smart actually.”
She snatched her bottle of wine off the bar and took another swig. “So next time you b
ow your head to the all-powerful Zharkovs, just remember, they're not as invincible as you think.”
She tapped him on the chest with her super strength and for the first time in a long time he could feel pain through his skin. “We all bleed.”
She dropped her empty bottle of wine behind the bar and snatched another one before walking away toward the Oshiro's table. The teenage girl looked ready to defy Dominus Takahiro directly to his face.
Everlast sipped his wine, suddenly uneasy with everything and everyone around him. He lived his whole life thinking the empire would rule forever. Even hearing about the imperator's death didn't faze him. Another Zharkov, a more powerful Zharkov thanks to their breeding habits, would take the throne and create a more stable empire. But if what Sasha said was true, then it seemed the entire state of the world was held up by kindling soaked in gasoline. And everyone had a match.
He swallowed the rest of his wine and turned to the servant behind the bar. “I think I'm going to need something stronger.”
12
HECTOR
He found Miguel in the secret command center, dripping with sweat, practicing the same martial arts routine over and over.
“You can stop now.”
Miguel threw out a quick series of jabs, followed by an elbow to the head of the training dummy. “I'm not done.”
Miguel reeled back his fist, but Hector wrapped his hand around the boy's wrist. “I said stop.”
“But-”
Hector stared into his son's eyes and saw the fire burning there. It may have been only beginning to burn, yet it was already ablaze with passion. The boy might surpass him, but wasn't that the plan all along? Create a generation that was stronger than him? If the Zharkovs and the domini of the world could do it through breeding and genetics, then he would do it the same way he did everything else. Through hard work.
“If you want to train more when we get home, fine. But we have a timetable to keep. So hit the showers. I don't want the enemy to smell you coming.”
Miguel accepted the ruling with a nod of his head, then grabbed a towel off the rack on the wall and jogged into the locker room.
The Super Power Saga (Book 1): Super Powers of Mass Destruction Page 10