Seven Wonders

by Christopher, Adam

  "All clear and systems operational. SMART is distracted, I think." Linear laughed. "Seems we're small fry and probably last on its list." He indicated the elevator. "Take it down to four. I'll go back and code the door for you. Laters!" The superhero vanished in a blink, only a buzzing sound and the swinging stairwell access door betraying his trail.

  Sam holstered her weapon, but kept it unclipped, just in case. Even with Bluebell in the same room, Blackbird was dangerous. Maybe the gun was not just a psychological comfort after all.

  "Me first," she said, striding boldly to the elevator and hitting the panel.

  Conroy sat himself in a conference chair. Aurora remained standing, and regarded him with folded arms.

  Conroy tapped the table, waiting for Aurora to say something. The hero just stood there. Conroy coughed politely.

  "You called me the Cowl."

  No reaction.

  "Am I still San Ventura's supervillain in your eyes? We had an agreement, didn't we?"

  Aurora smiled. Slightly.

  "I apologize for the reference. You came to us in surrender, an exemplar of change, a paragon of–"

  "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Conroy waved the speech off.

  "Those aren't just idle words. Despite our opposition, we have known each other for many years, Mr Conroy. You know as well as I the extent of our agreement with regard to San Ventura. And now Bluebell confirms your allegiance and that your self-sacrifice is just and worthy, at least in your own mind, which is all that matters. You have truly joined the Seven Wonders, for a time. But our situation grows ever more dangerous."

  Conroy nodded an acceptance. "So how much do you know about our impending doom?"

  "Of the Thuban and their war fleet, only a little. I heard the threats the Dragon Star made to her people, although she thought her secret was secure." Aurora shook his head. "But your own communications with them were concerned more with the retrieval of the power core they are going to hide in the Draconids. Although I expected they would come to collect their fugitive in person, I do not know the extent of their intentions." Aurora paused. "Are we really in so much danger?"

  Conroy frowned. "The whole world is. Once I had recovered their power core, I was to use it within a weapon I had built myself, using the plans you had hidden in your vaults. Plans that you don't even remember exist."

  Aurora didn't move, but Conroy saw his jaw tighten. Conroy continued.

  "You had plans for a weapon, one that could be used against superheroes. It wasn't quite done – didn't have an adequate power source – but before work was completed you ordered the plans and key components to be broken up and hidden. Having such a weapon, even locked inside your Citadel and under the guard of the Seven Wonders themselves, was too great a risk. Too much of a temptation. Even for you."

  Conroy sniffed. Aurora turned and gazed out at the lunar surface.

  "How did you discover the secret, Mr Conroy?"

  "Oh," Conroy said, waving a hand. "That was the easy bit. The Thuban knew about it because the Dragon Star knew about it, and they told me. And the Dragon Star knew because Bluebell's mind tricks don't work on her. So she remembered. Quite an oversight, big guy."

  Aurora said nothing.

  "But," Conroy said, "we can use this to our advantage. Retrieval of the power core is integral – they're sending it because it can be used against one of their own, the Dragon Star. So I figured we can use their own power against them. But only if you're sure you don't want to give her up. The Thuban are very keen to have her back."

  "That may be," said Aurora. He sat at the table, and stroked his chin.

  "But I want to know why. Threatening the Earth is not the most diplomatic approach."

  "Depends what she's been telling them behind your back. She didn't want the Seven Wonders to know about any of this. There must be a reason."

  The room shook, and the sound echoed on for too long. Conroy sat bolt upright as Aurora turned back to the table-top display. He passed a gauntlet over the screen, which flickered back on. The workshop was filled with smoke − SMART had rendered the main doors in two, and advanced on the Dragon Star and Sand Cat.

  "How long until the Earth crosses the orbit of the Draconids?"

  Conroy stood, glancing out of the observation windows, as if he could somehow see the approaching shower. "Less than a day."

  Aurora nodded. "Acceptable." He jerked a thumb toward the display, showing the fight in the workshop. "First things first, Mr Conroy. We need to deal with SMART. Ready?"

  "Lead the way, Aurora." Conroy clapped his hands, and took a breath. As Aurora strode out of the room, Conroy held back a little, focusing on keeping calm. Powerless, he was about to face a big white robot that wanted to kill everyone, fighting in the tightly controlled and delicately balanced environment of a base on the moon.

  This was going to be fun.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Jeannie didn't look happy. She didn't look particularly scared either, but then Sam reminded herself that despite her expression, and despite the shapeless orange prisoner jumpsuit she was wearing, it would probably take more than an insane giant robot smashing its way into the moonbase for her to break a sweat. Instead, she sat in a plain interview room, out of her cell but wrists held by powercuffs, glaring with indignation at Bluebell as the superhero stood over her with hands on hips. Bluebell didn't turn around when Sam and Joe entered. She kept her eyes trained on the prisoner while Linear buzzed around the room in a silver flash.

  Jeannie raised an eyebrow when the two detectives walked in. She glanced at Bluebell.

  "Police? On the moon? Gimme a break."

  Bluebell merely raised an eyebrow to match Jeannie's expression.

  Sam looked around the interview room. The walls were alternating white plastic and bare metal panels like the rest of the base, and there was the usual one-way mirror set into the wall, but apart from the slightly odd and clinical aesthetics it could have been any interview room in any police station she'd ever been in. Even with four people in the room, a table and a couple of chairs, it was quite spacious. A classic setup. She wondered when it had last been used… perhaps when the Seven Wonders had taken down the Anti-Man. That, as far as she could remember, was the last superhero battle that had taken place in orbit.

  Bluebell saw Sam looking, and tilted her head toward the mirror. Looking at the reflection, Sam saw Bluebell's bruised face, the purple welt a sharp contrast to her otherwise perfect appearance.

  "This room has never been used," she explained, having read Sam's thoughts. "By the time the Apollo Fortress was finished, there were no supervillains left."

  Sam shook her head and remembered why she didn't like Bluebell. The truth-twisting mind-controlling bitch.

  Bluebell's reflection smirked, having heard that thought too. Well, good.

  "No, there was one supervillain left," Sam hissed. "Not that the Seven Wonders ever gave a shit."

  Bluebell ignored the comment. Joe kept quiet, letting Sam vent her frustration.

  "What are you going to do with her, anyway?" Sam continued.

  Bluebell looked at Jeannie as though she were an art patron regarding an important gallery piece. "Same as any criminal, superpowered or not. She'll stand trial and face justice."

  "Won't she join the Seven Wonders? You seem to be making a habit of accepting terrorists and murderers into your ranks."

  Bluebell shook her head. "No, Paragon is different. His change is genuine, fundamental, and he has agreed to face justice after he has completed his duties. But there is no remorse or regret in this one."

  Jeannie snorted in derision. Linear hazed into being next to her chair and frowned. The room shook as another shockwave rumbled around the moonbase from the battle in the workshop. Linear looked worried, while Bluebell was apparently unmoved, still keeping watchful eye on the prisoner.

  "Why is she out of the cell anyway?" Sam asked.

  "In case we need to move quickly. The cell release takes a full t
hree minutes to complete."

  "And we're safe here?"

  "The safest point on the base, certainly. It's also close to the medical zone and the morgue."

  Joe blinked. "Morgue?"

  Bluebell turned to him, smiling sweetly. "If we have to move, we need to take the evidence with us as well."

  "Evidence?" Jeannie squirmed at the table.

  "Tony Prosdocimi's body. Exhibit A."

  Sam blanched at the thought of wheeling a body bag around the base, then swung her arms to regain balance as the room shook again.

  The Dragon Star took a steady step backward every twenty seconds or so. The containment field from her powerstaff only represented about one hundredth of one percent of the alien device's total power output, but operating it at such low levels was difficult. The slightest miscalculation would result in SMART being converted into a slick of molten metal and burning plastic and, most likely, the hull of the moonbase being damaged. It was best, then, to play it slightly under, allowing the robot to fight against the force holding it back until the others arrived.

  Sand Cat paced the workshop in her animal form, ready to pounce on SMART if the robot should suddenly breach the Dragon Star's multicolored energy shell. She was a contingency only, while the Dragon Star's field was merely a temporary measure. To safely deactivate SMART without damage, allowing its systems to be restarted and debugged, would require all seven of the Seven Wonders. All six, thought the Dragon Star. Minus Hephaestus, minus SMART, plus Paragon.

  Paragon. He knew of the Thuban, he knew of the transmissions. The Dragon Star was also sure Aurora knew of her hijacking of the satellite surveillance systems and the data tapes she had dubbed. But he hadn't said anything, and seemed unwilling to intervene, allowing events to play out while he watched the others deal with it.

  But she'd done the right thing. She was no criminal, not by the standards of the Earth, her adopted home. The Seven Wonders and the international alliance of superpowered protectors were sworn to defend life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Did such fundamental tenets not apply to her, a citizen of the Earth? Or would her friends turn against her in the relentless pursuit of theoretical justice, no matter how unjust the charges? Would they respect the unjust laws of another sovereign power over the laws of her adopted homeland, a homeland that she had devoted her life to defending?

  SMART surged forward a few yards. The Dragon Star refocused on holding the giant robot and flicked her powerstaff a little, allowing an infinitesimally small lick of energy to crack across SMART's armored chest. The robot shook a little and raised its arms up, before shuddering forward another step. They were now halfway across the large workshop space, the destroyed airlock doors behind SMART and the smaller, though equally heavy-duty entrance to the main base behind the Dragon Star.

  The doors slid apart from the center, admitting Aurora, followed by Paragon. With each step forward, Aurora's corona grew in intensity, tongues of solar energy pluming outward, arching over his body as he ramped up his own internal magnetic field, channeling the power of the nuclear furnace inside him. Paragon scuttled through the door behind him, keeping as flat against the metal walls of the workshop as possible, face turned away to limit the risk of severe sunburn from being so close to the solar superhero.

  "SMART! Stand down and deactivate, pending system check." Aurora's voice boomed in the echo chamber of the workshop. SMART did nothing but gear up a powerful leg to take another step forward into the Dragon Star's shield.

  "Confirm!"

  SMART took another step.

  The Dragon Star and Aurora were the two most powerful of the Seven Wonders, Conroy knew that. But the way they worked together really was breathtaking. Each wielding a different spectrum of energy, the two worked with a synergy that was almost telepathic. Even as Aurora began raising his fists, ready to soften SMART up with low-energy plasma balls, the Dragon Star deftly stepped to one side, yanking the powerstaff up and providing a window in her shield, through which Aurora could direct his fire. Backed into a corner, away from Aurora's radiance, Conroy gasped in appreciation. The initial move took a second, and for the next minute the two superheroes danced around their target, moving the shield and throwing energy at the robot's exposed weak spots. Conroy had no real idea what he was expected to do except stay out of the way.

  Eventually, inevitably, one bolt found its mark. One of SMART's legs failed, the machine hitting the workshop floor on one broken knee servo.

  That was enough for the heroes. The Dragon Star deactivated her shield, allowing Sand Cat a clear run. The muscular, translucent animal swept into the air with a roar, landing with two heavy front paws on SMART's domed head. Sand Cat's supernatural claws penetrated the covering and tore the dome off, revealing a black, square processing unit, surrounded by wires. SMART's main optics, six rotating red lenses of various sizes, swam on their servos, scanning the attacking enemies. A green laser sight stabbed a target on Sand Cat's muzzle but passed straight through her ghost-like form. Aurora saw his moment and flew in, arm outstretched, and removed the laser and the six optical sensors with a superheated punch. The impact knocked SMART backward, but the robot caught its fall with an arm. Rotating gears switched the damaged knee mechanism for the agile stealth system, and SMART regained proper footing. It swung up both gun arms, the square ends of which flashed blue for an instant as the power coils charged, then kicked back as two violet-blue laser beams caught Sand Cat square. This time at least some of the energy spectrum was absorbed by her form and the hero spun backward through the air, unhurt from the blast but rendered unconscious. By the time she hit the floor she was back in her human form.

  Aurora floated himself into the beam, catching one with each hand, waiting for SMART to stop the onslaught before shooting forward with another atomic punch. This one impacted the robot in the center of its curved white chest, but in testament to Hephaestus' mystical blacksmithing, the world's most powerful fists could only cause a shallow dent. But it was enough at least to send SMART sliding backward, sparks cascading from knees and knuckles as it gouged out a path in the workshop floor.

  Conroy moved to the stirring form of Sand Cat. The warrior moaned back to consciousness, bright red blood trickling from her nose. She was aware enough of her surroundings to acknowledge Conroy's assistance, but it was pretty clear that she wouldn't be fighting again today.

  Aurora lowered himself to just a foot above the floor, the Dragon Star at his side, her powerstaff now pulsing with a radiant intensity, fully charged and ready for a refreshed attack. Aurora held his arm out across her front, however, shaking his head.

  "We can't risk it," he said, addressing the Dragon Star but keeping his eyes fixed on the sparking chassis of SMART. "One stray blast and we'll tear out a wall. All of the base control systems are being routed through SMART – we wouldn't be able to contain it in time."

  The Dragon Star said nothing, but lowered her staff, just a little. Overhearing, Conroy called out across the workshop.

  "If SMART controls the base systems, why hasn't he just shut the life support down and voided the base? It would be an easy way to get rid of us."

  There was a pause, a beat of just a second, then the lights went out. Aurora flared his aura and the Dragon Star cracked her staff on the floor, the high metallic ring sounding out across the workshop as a brilliant white glow emitted from the weapon, re-illuminating the room. Aurora took a breath to berate Conroy before the room shook and the sound of rushing water filled the workshop. No, not water. Air. Conroy swore under this breath.

  Aurora's comm beeped. He flicked it on. Bluebell.

  "Aurora, the power is out up here, and it's getting cold. Are you OK? Has the base been breached?"

  "Affirmative, Bluebell." Aurora had to raise his voice against the steadily increasing roar as the base atmosphere began to equalize with the vacuum of the lunar surface. "SMART is still in control of all systems, and has compromised the integrity of the base. We must regroup."

/>   The comm buzzed as SMART again attempted to override the link. Conroy could hear Linear talking in the background, and Bluebell agreeing to something. "We're on our way," came her final communication.

  Conroy jumped, and turned. Standing directly behind him was Linear, Sam and Joe, Bluebell, and a powercuffed Blackbird. Sam looked around in bewilderment, her blonde hair still moving in the breeze brought up by Linear's speedy delivery. Conroy slapped the speedster on the shoulder. "Nice trick."

  "It's getting cold," said Sam, stating the obvious and absently rubbing at her arms. Conroy glanced around the room. The Dragon Star's light threw odd shadows upward, while Aurora's red swirling aura projected organic, rippling shapes across the walls. He nodded.

  "Indeed. We don't have much time."

  Aurora and the Dragon Star looked at each other, then he nodded and she turned away. She floated backward, head down and hood completely hiding her features. She raised her powerstaff up over her head, holding it at one end like a gigantic battle-axe, poised over SMART's frame.