Down with the Queen

by Benjamin Medrano

  Then, all he could do was wait as Dana went to start the forklift. But a second before she got into it, he interrupted. “Hey, could you put some music on, first? This is damned boring.”

  Chapter 24

  Thursday, January 10th, 2031

  Megawatt’s Hideout, Tracy

  Properly maintaining power armor was a beast, and Megawatt knew it. He didn’t really regret having to perform all of the maintenance, but at times how hard it was to keep a suit running wore on him. It was good he was an inventor, otherwise it would’ve been beyond him, most likely. He just hadn’t had the chance to get the education to be able to build a suit otherwise.

  Not that he didn’t have an advantage over other people in power armor. Megawatt was smugly aware that someone like Sky Defender would likely give a kidney or lung to have his other power. Not having to put in power cells or a generator allowed him to build far more functionality into his suit than anyone else could with the space. It helped him make up for how much weaker his systems were in comparison to Sky Defender or several other villains and heroes.

  Reaching out to lay a hand on a power lead, Megawatt murmured, “Let’s see…”

  The servos of the arm of his suit whirred to life as he fed them power, and he watched them smoothly go through a full cycle: the arm extending, half-rotating in each direction, then retracting and extending in the variety of gestures he’d ensured that his armor could make. He couldn’t make it as fully maneuverable as his own arms, but Megawatt could get damned close. Finally he nodded, releasing the power lead and cutting power in the process.

  “Right, need to oil that gear and I should be good to go,” Megawatt murmured happily.

  The payments from Doctor Johnson and his collaboration with Blue Impulse had been enough to make some needed upgrades to his armor, and Megawatt was looking forward to seeing what he could do when it was done. Putting the armor back together would take about a day in all.

  “This should be badass,” Megawatt murmured, grinning. “Thanks, Impulse. Hope you recover some day so I can show you it.”

  “Why warehouses?” Lilith asked suddenly, and Gina blinked at her in surprise.

  “Umm, what?” Gina asked, feeling slightly confused. She’d just been getting back into the groove of being Warden properly, and then Lilith had asked her question.

  “Why warehouses? First Blue Impulse, then Yates, and now Megawatt. Why are warehouses so popular? And why haven’t the authorities started doing mandatory monthly checks of their interiors?” Lilith asked, gesturing at the building. “I’d think it’d cut down on their use by villains!”

  “Well, I think that they like warehouses because they have a lot of space to use. Plus, you can have deliveries at all sorts of hours, with cargoes that you can hide stuff in,” Gina said, glancing at Rachel in some amusement, and her friend picked up the explanation.

  “As to why… Lilith, there are a lot of warehouses in the world, and inspections cost money. They interrupt business, so companies complain about them, and there’s only so many inspectors at once. They just can’t get to all of them,” Rachel explained. “Now, even if they could, there’s the matter that villains might be able to bribe the inspectors, or that they might have hidden their activities. If it were to actually work, I’m sure that the villains would just change tactics and find another type of building for their work. There aren’t any simple solutions.”

  “Ah. I guess that explains it,” Lilith murmured, seemingly sated as she stared at the large warehouse they were planning to assault.

  “Lilith? Usually you seem like you’ve adapted so well to society. Why are you asking so many questions about things like this, anyway?” Gina asked, her curiosity roused. “It’s just… different.”

  “I normally have dozens of questions about odd things that I run into. Remember, I’ve only had a year to learn about things. Circe and Amber’s programs taught me a lot, but often it doesn’t necessarily tell me about reasoning behind things. I know that usually people have a relationship with a single other person, but I didn’t know why that was until I researched it. Jealousy makes sense, but I didn’t know that,” Lilith explained, frowning thoughtfully. “Before, I’d just make a mental note of the question and look it up later or ask Circe. Now? You two know me. You know about my history, so when I don’t understand something, I can just ask.”

  “Interesting, I guess. While I want to explore this more, we’ve got other things to do. Now, why don’t we go in to catch Megawatt before my spells binding Yates wear off? I don’t want him to hear something about us on the police scanner and have a chance to suit up,” Rachel suggested, glancing at the two of them, a slight smile on her face. “I’m just going to assume that there’ll be an alarm or trap this time.”

  “Megawatt’s not an idiot; of course he’ll have an alarm,” Gina replied, shaking her head. “I’m just surprised that Yates had weapons like that!”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Rachel cut her off, growing more serious. “Even if Megawatt gets into his armor, we can take him down if we work together. Lilith, could you stay out here? It’d be safer.”

  “Not a chance. I’m done hiding and hoping people ignore me. Besides, if the police or other heroes react, being out here will put me in more danger.” Lilith replied, adjusting her goggles. “I’m coming in with you.”

  Rachel gave Gina a look, but Gina just shook her head.

  “What? I agree with her,” Gina replied seriously. “You were right earlier. We could’ve taken Yates down, but it would’ve been really destructive. Lilith took him down pretty easily. We can’t treat her like she’s made of glass.”

  “I’m not. I’m tougher than a regular human, and wearing armor designed by a powerful villain,” Lilith added, giving Rachel a skeptical look.

  “Alright, I just… your powers make me worry about you, Lilith. You aren’t able to use them to directly help yourself, so putting yourself in harm’s way just makes me cringe,” Rachel said, looking down, then taking a deep breath. “Right. So, my plan is to blow the bay door off its hinges and go in behind Gina’s shield. Seem fair?”

  Gina grinned at that and nodded. “I do love a dramatic entrance.”

  “It sounds more than fair,” Lilith said, nodding slightly and dropping the argument. “Let’s move, please?”

  Getting into position didn’t take long since there was plenty of cover around the sprawling old warehouse. It looked like it’d been part of a manufacturing plant that had closed down, which was probably why Megawatt had chosen it. The machinery left over, if there was any, might be of use to the villain. Fortunately, the bay door didn’t look like it was too tough, and Gina looked it over before nodding.

  “I’m ready when you are,” Gina murmured.

  Rachel began to cast, weaving her spell quickly and easily. Gina had always envied Rachel’s breadth of options with her magic, but her friend had the significant disadvantage of requiring her jewelry to even be able to shape her spells. Gina didn’t envy that part at all.

  The spell coalesced into what looked like a flat purple wall that rushed forward mercilessly toward the door, and Gina quickly raised a shield around them as they followed the spell.

  The bay door gave way with a crash and the sound of ripping metal, and the spell sent it clattering across the floor. As they rushed into the room, Gina flinched as the immediate interior of the warehouse vanished in dust and smoke. Something hit her shield in a sudden, harsh wave that rocked her back on her heels, but the impact wasn’t even as sharp as the powerful laser turrets that Yates had possessed. The cracking sound of the explosions was only an instant behind the impact, and it took her a second to realized that Megawatt had set up claymores around the entrance.

  “Holy… well, that was rude!” Rachel exclaimed. Looking through the dust, she pointed toward a lit doorway and spoke. “There! We’d best move!”

  “Told you he was smarter than Blue Impulse,” Gina said, and rushed after her friend, while Lilith jog
ged along on the ground just behind them, darting from pillar to pillar.

  Gina pushed her barrier ahead of Rachel hastily, which was just as well, because the moment the door started to open, a brilliant crimson laser lashed out and hit it much harder than the previous attack or Yates had. Gina grunted, but even without Lilith’s boost she could’ve held it off. A moment later the laser cut off, and she heard a man mutter. “Ah, crap.”

  The door opened to reveal a large workroom, filled with tables covered in parts and with a rack holding a partially assembled suit of power armor. The man half-inside the armor was dark-skinned and broad-shouldered, and tall enough to startle Gina. His hair was short, and he lowered his outstretched arm, scowling at the cannon with smoke billowing out of it, then at Gina and Rachel before groaning.

  “Oh shit. What the hell are you two doing here?” Megawatt demanded.

  “You know, I’m always happy to find a villain who uses power armor out of their suit,” Gina said, forming spikes on the surface of her shield that she was preparing to fire.

  “Agreed. That was quite rude, Megawatt… but as to your question, we’re here for you,” Rachel replied, magic flowing around her hands in slow, lazy swirls. “We’ve been looking for you. Especially Warden.”

  “Damn it, I had nothing to do with Impulse’s plans. The only job I was hired for was to keep you out of the game for a couple of months. That was it,” Megawatt growled. “You got him, didn’t you?”

  “That isn’t the primary reason we came looking for you, Megawatt. While I admit it does make things more satisfying, it isn’t the real reason,” Lilith interjected, stepping forward and giving Gina a slight smile. “I suspect they’re trying to make you nervous.”

  “Oh. You must be the crazy lady everyone’s up in arms about. The one Shadowmind made.” The villain’s annoyance faded slightly, turning to worry. “What do you want with me?”

  “Me? Nothing. I don’t want you for anything at all. Oh, I don’t like you; you hurt Warden and she’s important to me, but I honestly couldn’t care less about you as an individual,” Lilith replied, sniffing as she added, “No, I just wanted to live my life without having people try to kill me. That’s been a failure, but it doesn’t change what I want.”

  “Bullshit. If you didn’t want me, the three of you wouldn’t have barged in here like this,” Megawatt snorted, shaking his head slightly, his eyes darting between the three of them. “What do you want?”

  “Doctor Johnson,” Rachel said softly, her eyes slightly narrowed.

  Megawatt went still, paling slightly. That told Gina quite a bit, and she smiled.

  “Looks like we were right. You and Blue Impulse were working for him, along with all the others. We’re after him, Megawatt. Not you,” Gina said, grinning at him.

  “Look, I… I don’t want to try to lie about this. He scares me. He’s got Ebon Dragon working for him, and Dreamer on a freaking leash,” Megawatt replied, looking around nervously for a moment, then taking a deep breath. “Look, you’re all in bad straits, right? I’m not ready for any of this myself. My gear’s half in pieces, and I can’t fight you. How about this, I tell you where he is, and you let me go. I’m not causing trouble right now, and I’d be more trouble than I’m worth to you.”

  “Hmm…” Lilith seemed to muse, her arms crossed. A moment later, her voice came through their comm system. “What do you think?”

  “I’d say yes, as long as he lets us use a truth spell first,” Rachel replied quickly. “We don’t know if Yates will tell anyone about us.”

  “I may not like it, but I agree,” Gina added, scowling and looking at Lilith as she continued, not subvocalizing this time. “It’s your call, Lilith.”

  Megawatt looked slightly uncertain, glancing between them quickly, but Gina thought she saw him relax slightly. He probably was figuring that since they weren’t moving to take him down that his chances were good, Gina realized.

  “I think I’ll accept that bargain, Megawatt,” Lilith said after a moment, nodding slightly as she stepped forward. “As long as you allow Morgan to cast a spell to detect truth.”

  “That’s good. This would’ve been unpleasant if you hadn’t agreed,” Megawatt replied, starting to unhook his armor and step out of it, revealing a surprisingly fit figure, clad in only a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. “Look, the doctor’s in a base under Santa Cruz, in a building by—”

  Gina barely had time to react to the faint whirring sounds she heard above, and her shield was just taking form when hundreds of projectiles penetrated the ceiling of the warehouse all along its length.

  Chapter 25

  Thursday, January 10th, 2031

  Sky Defender HQ, San Francisco

  The buzz of the alert woke Sky Defender instantly and he hit the button to answer, sitting up as he spoke. “Defender here. What’s the issue?”

  “Two DC reapers and a dropship are inbound on Tracy,” Ocean Spirit replied tersely, using the shorthand for Destruction Corps. “LANCE spotted them and shared. We’re spinning up the Seajet now.”

  “Ah, hell. What’re they after?” Sky Defender asked, practically jumping out of bed and rushing toward his armor as he woke up. The base computer opened and closed doors for him, and a tiny part of the hero wished he had the time for coffee.

  “We don’t know for certain, but we’ve got a handful of clues,” Ocean Spirit replied, the sound of typing coming through the link as he stepped into his launch chamber, where the armor sat open and waiting, as pristine as it usually was. “Tracy Police report a disturbance in the area of a place called Yates Supplies, a suspected black-market dealer. Preliminary reports say that bystanders saw some flashes of gold light from the building, along with sounds consistent with laser fire. Warden is my guess.”

  “Why the hell would they be after Warden?” he demanded, stepping into the armor and relaxing as it started closing into place around him and the comm kicked over from the base speakers to his suit. “I’d think they’d be after Lilith, if anything!”

  “I think they are. Some whispers of a sizable reward for her head are floating around SuperNet,” Ocean Spirit replied, then paused and added, “Alright, I’m swapping with Hyper. See you there?”

  “Suit diagnostics are… green,” Sky Defender replied, and what felt like a mule kicked him between the shoulder blades as he was launched out of the bay. “I’m on my way.”

  “Glad to hear it. Be careful out there, Defender. Reapers are no joke,” Hypergizmo replied, his voice sober. “We also have no clue who’s on the dropship.”

  “I know. Thanks, Hyper. Sorry for the recent disagreements,” Sky Defender replied, programming the destination into his autopilot. “How close is DC to Tracy?”

  “They’re hitting the outskirts now. I—holy shit!” Hypergizmo yelped in shock. “The reapers just unloaded on an old warehouse with their anti-infantry weapons!”

  “Crap… I’m dialing up my speed. ETA four to six minutes,” Sky Defender said, the inertial sump now working properly to reduce the gee-forces on him as he ramped up his thrusters. He wasn’t happy about the power it would burn, but as long as Major Destruction wasn’t there, he shouldn’t need it. “What about LANCE?”

  “They’re twenty minutes out, best-case. The Seajet is airborne; it’ll be less than a minute behind you,” the tech reported. “Black Comet is the only one who won’t be aboard, everyone else is going. DC is dropping troops into the building now.”

  “Roger that,” Sky Defender said grimly, adjusting his course ever so slightly, then hitting a button to get a caffeine tablet and water.

  It wasn’t coffee, but it’d do in a pinch.

  Megawatt’s Hideout, Tracy

  Lilith noticed the whirring from above almost too late, distracted as she was by Megawatt starting his explanation. Even when she did notice, she didn’t have more than a moment to try to take cover before the rain of projectiles ripped through the ceiling.

  The rattling, hissing projectiles drow
ned out any other sound and Lilith staggered as she took three separate hits: one to the shoulder, another to her right leg, and the last to her back. Fortunately, all of them hit her armor, she reflected. They must have also been slowed by the ceiling at least slightly, since they were all deflected.

  A quick glance around her as the barrage came to an end revealed that, of the others, only Gina was entirely unscathed, her shield snapping outward above her. Rachel looked shocked, gripping her side where it looked like a section of armor had cracked, and Megawatt was on the ground, groaning as he bled from holes in his left thigh and right shoulder.

  “Lilith, take cover!” Gina exclaimed, extending her shield outward as she grunted. Lilith ignored Gina, moving to help Megawatt. “Morgan, you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Rachel replied, a purple haze enveloping the spot where she’d been hit. “Who—”

  Lilith was just reaching Megawatt when she heard multiple impacts on the ceiling of the building. Most of them were located in other sections of the warehouse, but two hit above them, and with a creak and crash, two figures fell through the ceiling and into the room accompanied by debris.

  “Ah, hell,” Megawatt said, paling.

  The man and woman who’d dropped into the room were each wearing gleaming brass armor that smoothly curved to cover them from head to foot, with only a thin slit giving a view of a crimson visor within. They were wearing armored backpacks and each had a gleaming rifle that matched their armor and what looked like a long dagger in their belts. The brass armor identified them instantly as Destruction Corps Legionnaires, and that was a bad sign.

  “Corporal, target sighted!” the woman said, raising her rifle to aim at Lilith. “Additional targets—”

  “Back off!” Rachel snapped out, her hand lashing out with a bolt of purple energy that sent the woman crashing through the doorway. “Lilith, now would be a good time to renew that boost! It’s almost out of time!”