Rise of the Supervillains

by Jaron Lee Knuth

  Everlast did not respond immediately, but then just chuckled and rolled his eyes.

  “Are you serious? I really need to talk to my agent if people still don't understand what my super power is.”

  Hector only grinned.

  Everlast showed no fear. The invincible man probably didn't know what fear was.

  “Whatever you were hoping to accomplish today, it isn't going to end well,” Everlast said, slamming his fist into his open palm.

  Hector stepped over the split open corpse laying in front of him, and then leapt toward Everlast. The blade came down in a wide arc, and Everlast lifted one arm in a casual defense, expecting the medieval weapon to bounce harmlessly off his forearm. The blade slashed through flesh and bone, and his arm dropped to the ground.

  Normally, Hector would follow up the attack with an immediate death stroke, but he couldn't help himself. He selfishly took a moment to see the look in the man's eyes as he felt pain for the first time in his life.

  Everlast's eyes widened to their breaking point, his mouth stretching open in a state of shock that wouldn't allow sound to be released, until a shrill scream erupted from his lungs. He held his bleeding arm with his other hand, staring down at the wound like it couldn't possibly be real. The look in his eyes was that of a man who wanted desperately to live in his own denial, but the physical pain bursting from his bleeding limb wouldn't allow it.

  Hector advanced on Everlast and gave him a single kick to the chest, knocking him off his feet. He slammed down hard on his back, laying among the corpses that filled the courtyard. Hector stepped over him, pointing the tip of his sword under Everlast's chin, drawing the tiniest bit of blood from his throat. The man's eyes filled with tears when he saw his death approaching.

  “You must appreciate the irony,” Hector said as he dropped one foot on the man's chest to keep him in place and gripped the sword with both hands. “That the very woman you came here to celebrate, the very corpse you mourn, is the thing that kills you.”

  Everlast's eyes flashed to the blade as he mumbled the name, “S-S-Stiletto?”

  Hector smiled, lifted the blade over his head, and then drove it straight through the invincible man's chest, giving it a final twist that stopped his heart from ever beating again.

  6

  LUCY

  “I don't like this,” Connor said as Lucy climbed out of bed and slipped on her workout clothes. “It doesn't feel right.”

  “I don't know what you were doing just now, but like... that felt all kinds of right to me,” Lucy said with a wink.

  “I'm not talking about the sex, Lucy. I'm talking about the things they're training you to do...”

  “It's only training. And to be honest, it actually feels pretty good.”

  “You like it?”

  “What? Shooting guns? Like... I never really thought of myself as a gun person, but yeah. It feels awesome to finally be good at something. I can hit the targets so easily. You should come and watch me sometime. Spook has really taught me how to focus my vision and-”

  “He's teaching you how to kill people.”

  Lucy paused. It wasn't like the thought had never crossed her mind. She understood that the skill set they were training her in wasn't exactly humanitarian, but so far, it was just practice. Paper targets. So far, it was just for fun.

  “I don't think I'm the murdering type.”

  “I know you're not. That's what bothers me. At what point does he start manipulating you? When does the brainwashing begin? When does he turn you into a mindless killing machine?”

  Lucy chuckled. “I don't think that's on the schedule.”

  “Lucy!” His voice raised above his normal soft-spoken tone and it startled her. “This is real. He's a goddamn spy. And now so are you. You signed up for this. He could take you away to some black site at any point and... do whatever he wants to you.”

  “What do you want me to do?” she shouted back.

  “I don't know. Quit. Leave. Tell him you refuse to do whatever it is he wants you to do.”

  She pulled her top over her head and sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. “I finally feel like I fit in around here. I finally feel like I'm good at something... and you want me to quit?”

  He reached out and touched her shoulder, his voice soft again. “I want you to be safe.”

  She turned and looked into his beautiful blue eyes, melting. “I am safe. Here. With you.”

  Connor dropped his head, letting his dreadlocks fall over his face. “I hope so.”

  She leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “I have to go. I'm already late and now I'm showing up to my training session smelling like sex.”

  “Are you complaining?”

  “Not in the slightest,” she said with a laugh as she grabbed her bag of gear and left his room, jogging down the hall toward the transport tubes.

  When she stepped inside the tube she said, “Retina, Shadow Department. Code word: Eisenhower.”

  A light above her scanned her DNA for a moment before there was a small DING. The floor dropped out from under her as her body rushed through the transport tube system. She hadn't gotten used to it, the feeling of her stomach rising, then falling again, before she slowed to a stop. But at least she didn't scream anymore.

  When she stepped into the Shadow Department, more lights bathed her body with examinations. She knew there was another DNA scan, an x-ray, and three more they wouldn't tell her about. That was something she had to get used to right away. The secrets. The half truths. The redacted statements. The need-to-know basis that she was never a part of. She didn't mind though. It was actually kind of cool, like she was a part of something big, something important.

  No one said anything to her as they passed her in the hall. It was silent, other than the hum of the lights in the ceiling, until she reached the training room. Gunfire and explosions echoed through the halls, flames burst from spigots in the walls, and men and women did acrobatic maneuvers around the death-dealing technology. She hustled past the different areas, staying in the clearly-marked safe zone, until she reached the private rooms. She stepped in front of door seven and pressed her hand against the screen on the wall next to it. One last scan, and the door opened.

  The room appeared empty, other than the equipment hanging on the wall, but Lucy knew better. She adjusted her vision to the infrared spectrum, and saw the form of her invisible teacher, Spook, standing in the center of the room.

  “Sir. I'm sorry I'm late, sir,” she said, dropping her bag of gear onto the floor and hurrying over to him to salute him.

  “Please inform me as to what you think is more important than your training?”

  “Sir, nothing, sir. It was like... a personal matter. It won't happen again. Promise.”

  Spook stared down at her, unconvinced. “You understand that I have to take note of this in your personal record.”

  Lucy did her best to hide her smile. She understood that to Spook, a note in her personal record was very serious business. But to her, it felt like the threats from her teachers in the Academy that she always felt were pretty meaningless.

  “Whatever you feel is necessary, sir.”

  Spook nodded his head. “Shall we get started?”

  Lucy stood up straight. “Yes, sir.”

  “You brought your weapons?”

  Lucy retrieved the two automatic pistols from her bag and said, “Of course, sir. You told me to always have a weapon within arm's reach.”

  “Very good. Now, take your place.”

  Lucy walked back to the center of the room and adjusted her vision back to a normal spectrum. She flipped both safeties off with her thumbs, and placed the pistols at her sides.

  “Ready, sir.”

  The lights in the room went black for a moment before a flashing strobe effect started. Heavy metal music pounded into her ears, the vocalist screaming and growling words she couldn't understand. Puffs of air blew into her face. Ice cold water poured from
the ceiling, soaking her to the bone. She centered herself, pushing out the stimuli from her mind.

  And then the targets appeared.

  Two at first, right in front of her. Her eyes zoomed in on the targets, letting the bullseye fill her vision. She raised both pistols and squeezed the triggers at the same time, letting the shots startle her, just like she had been taught. Holes appeared dead center.

  Four targets appeared after that, two on each side of her. She spun to her left, her vision focusing on both targets while her pistols swung into position. Two more trigger pulls and she was spinning to the right to do it again. It continued, targets appearing all over the room, music pounding, water freezing her skin, air blowing into her face, until both magazines were empty. Then she reloaded in one smooth motion, and kept firing.

  It lasted for over an hour.

  When the targets stopped appearing, the music abruptly ended, the water turned off, and the air faded away. Lucy flipped the safeties of her pistols back on, and turned toward Spook, adjusting her vision so she could see him.

  “You did adequately,” he said. “The sixty-fifth shot was a few millimeters to the left of center, but otherwise, that was an acceptable performance.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

  She readied herself for the next routine, but Spook made no motion for her to begin the usual hand-to-hand combat or improvised disguises. He just stared at the American Republic flag that hung above the door.

  “Retina, you know that the Empire is at war. Correct?”

  Lucy was taken aback by the question, but she couldn't help her sarcasm as she replied, “I thought it wasn't a war. It's just an uprising, right?”

  “I don't care what the damn Zharkovs say. Our men and women are dying over there. American Republic soldiers. Alliance members.”

  “An Alliance member died?”

  “They'll announce it tomorrow, officially, but Behemoth fell in battle late last night. Those Neo-Nip bastards took one of our bravest countrymen. And for what, Retina? For what?”

  At first, Lucy thought he was being rhetorical, but he kept staring at her, waiting for her answer.

  “I... I'm not sure. Like... they're claiming that the Zharkovs killed their Domini and the grandson of the Domini. But the Zharkovs claim the Neo-Nipponese killed their daughter and are like... trying to usurp the Imperator.”

  “Those are excuses, reasons to justify going to war. The real reason we are at war? Because two different men want to rule over us. That's it. It brings them some kind of satisfaction to have us under their heel. And they both want to feel satisfied.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, without really understanding.

  “I've fought too hard, done too many things that keep me up at night, to let yet another man try to rule us. We did what we had to in order to keep our freedom, and I'm not about to renegotiate the terms. The lesser of two evils is still worth fighting for. Do you understand?”

  “I think so, sir.”

  Spook bowed his head. “The American Republic is my home, and I have dedicated my life to it, as you have. We will not watch robots march onto our shores. We will not bow down to a Neo-Nip crown. We are going to end this war.” He stopped and looked into her eyes. “More precisely... you are going to end this war.”

  Lucy took a step back, his words throwing her off. She stared at him for a moment before reacting, making sure she had heard him right.

  “What are you talking about, sir? How am I going to end the war?”

  “With those eyes.”

  Lucy blinked and said, “I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand.”

  Spook stepped past her and paced around the room, gesturing with his hands in excited expressions as he said, “They think they're safe behind that damn force field they've constructed. No bullet, no tank, no person can penetrate it. It covers every island of their domain. But we have a way of getting there without passing through their force field. We have someone that can open a door right into their throne room.”

  “You're talking about Voyager. The woman that can open portals.”

  “Exactly!” he said with a burst of excitement, then it deflated. “But she can only open doorways to places she can see. We would need a camera or a live feed directly from Neo-Nippon in order for her to open one up. But their damn anti-aircraft array keeps their skies clear of our spy drones.”

  “So you want me to find a door in Neo-Nippon? But how would that help? Just because I can see it-”

  “With a little help from our resident psychic, Link, our portal creating ally can see through your eyes. You find the door, Link connects your minds, Voyager opens a portal. And just like that, we're in.”

  Lucy nodded. “Sounds easy enough. I don't know how close you can get me, but I should be able to find a door somewhere inside without a problem.”

  “Yes. Yes!” He looked excited again, happy that she was following his thoughts. “But I don't want you to find just any door. We don't want to simply move the battle to their shore. We want to end this war. Quickly.”

  This time Lucy waited. She couldn't imagine what magical doorway could put an end to the war so easily.

  He stepped closer to her, this time his voice nearly a whisper. “We need you to locate Katsu Oshiro. We need you to find a door inside his palace so that we can cut the head off this snake.”

  Lucy stepped back and said, “You're going to assassinate Dominus Katsu Oshiro?”

  Spook looked like he wanted to spit. “He's no Dominus. He gave up that title when he rejected the Imperator. Now he's a threat to the Empire. A threat you're going to put down.”

  Lucy kept staring at him until her thoughts caught up to her. She shook her head, trying to find her footing.

  “I don't... I mean... How would that solve anything anyway? Someone else would take his place. Right?”

  Spook returned to pacing and throwing his arms into the air, thrilled by his own words.

  “Think about it, Retina. If what they say is true, and there are only two Oshiros left, Katsu and his wife Izumi, then all we need to do is remove Katsu from the equation. He's the only one left with the power of super intelligence that makes that domain a threat. We end him, and we end all their little inventions, all their weapons and technology that outsmart us at every turn.”

  Lucy shook her head again, unsure of how her role in everything actually placed her in the act of killing the man. Would she be responsible somehow, just for finding a door?

  “I don't know how I feel about this.”

  Spook turned around with a completely baffled look. “What do you mean? It's a good plan. One they won't see coming. They think they're safe in there, far away from their enemies. But they didn't see you coming.” Spook set his hands on her shoulders. “You're uniquely qualified for this mission. In fact, you're the only one that can do this. Your vision gives you the ability to not only see for miles, but to see through matter. Nothing can stop you. Not the army of robots he surrounds himself with. Not the ocean that separates us from him. Not the force field he's created around his domain. Not the palace walls he's built for himself. Nothing.”

  Lucy bit her lip. She didn't know what to say. She knew she couldn't argue her point. All the man was asking her to do was find a door. But if she was compliant, if she actually aided them, wasn't she as much to blame for the murder?

  When Spook continued, it was as if he could read her mind. He must have given this speech to a thousand recruits who had the same trepidation that she did.

  “You aren't pulling the trigger, Retina. All you're doing is locating the target, pointing us in the right direction. But if you don't do this? You're allowing this war to continue. You're allowing thousands to be killed. Maybe millions. Every time you see a video on the news of another soldier in a casket, another city burned and bombed, another innocent civilian holding their dead child... you will be at fault. You will know, deep down, you could have stopped it.”

  Lucy shook her head, tears forming i
n her eyes. She shut them quick, squeezing her eyelids together so the tears wouldn't roll down her cheeks.

  “That isn't fair.”

  “War never is.” Spook stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest. “So what's it going to be, Retina. Will you save the world from the chaos of battle and pointless bloodshed? Will you step up and be the hero you've always wanted to be? Or will you damn half the Empire to the horrors of war?”

  Lucy's stomach dropped, just like in the transport tube. She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell Spook all the reasons he was wrong, but it was like her mind had completely seized. There was no debate. There was no unselfish reason for her to deny what she knew to be true. One life to save millions.

  She nodded her head and stood up straight.

  “I'll find him, sir.”

  7

  WESLEY

  Leaving the work camp was as easy as entering it. There were no guards nor locked doors nor spotlights searching the fields for those workers who dared to escape. At first Wesley had thought that the fear of the Guardians kept people in line, but it seemed as if people chose to live the way they did. Or maybe the Empire had created a world where there was no other choice.

  Outside of the work camp, he was able to flag down a cargo truck and talk his way into riding in the back, with the boxes of spices from Gaia. They were being shipped north of the mountain where the House of Psi was built. He rode in silence throughout the night, nibbled on some leftover dog in the morning, and by mid-afternoon, he was dropped at the base of the mountain. He thanked the driver, who paid him no attention, and set off toward mountain top.

  He climbed up the winding path all night and deep into the next day. By the time the sun was setting, snow began to fall around him. His coat wasn't thick enough to keep the chill of the air out, and soon his bones ached with every step, but as darkness fell, he saw twinkling lights through the trees. As he continued to climb, he found a more well-formed trail that soon became steps, and when he emerged from the tree line, he saw the House of Psi.