A tight feeling rose in his chest, an old friend demanding to drown himself in vodka. In seconds he was on his feet and halfway across the living room, reaching for the empty shot glass on the small breakfast bar bordering his open kitchen. He grabbed a half empty bottle from the cabinet above the microwave and filled the shot glass to the brim.
I’m sorry, Natalya. He threw back his head, downing the vodka in one go. I need this right now. But instead of tasting like home, the liquor had a bitter aftertaste to it.
You can’t even protect your brother’s bird, and you know it, the henchman’s voice rang in is ears. That’s pretty sad for a hero, man.
Clenching his jaw, Andrey filled the glass a second time. He didn’t raise the shot to his lips, but he flung it against the kitchen’s far wall where it sent shards of glass raining onto the countertops when it shattered. Rivulets of vodka streamed down the kitchen wall.
“To hell with you,” he growled. A familiar red haze washed over his mind and in the next instant he stood over the remains of a shattered cabinet. His fists were clenched, but unblemished within his costume’s shredded gloves. His breathing was fast and heavy.
Andrey, stop, came Natalya’s voice, as clear as if she was standing right next to him. I’m not letting you go on like this.
“Natalya…” he croaked.
Listen to me, Andrey. Control your breathing and relax your fingers. Think of your anger like a river. Let it flow out of you and into the ground.
He fought back a sob. She always came to him when he needed her the most. She never abandoned him.
Do you remember what the Oka River looks like at dawn? It’s red like the angry part of your mind. You have to learn to let it go.
“What if I can’t?” he asked her.
You have to, Andrey. Acknowledge the river and move on.
Andrey turned and slumped into a chair. He wasn’t doing anyone any good by wallowing in his anger, breeding it. Natalya was right. She was always able to calm him since she was his bastion of tranquility even when he was engulfed in storms.
He grabbed the remote and turned on the television. If he was going to try to move on, he had to know what was going on in the world. He had to know the reason why Gentleman stalled him and put his family in danger. What did the villain want him to stay away from?
“…the Covenant headquarters was destroyed along with the fifty-story tower that housed the UNEOA’s administrative offices in New York,” an American news anchor declared in English.
Andrey felt the remote control drop from his hand. It clattered onto the hardwood floor.
“The attack happened less than three hours ago, shortly after mass panic erupted at the Citi Fields stadium. Hundreds of spectators were severely injured when stadium-goers charged the exits. Several deaths have been confirmed by eye witnesses, though for the time being we still lack an official death toll.”
The screen suddenly flashed with a stock image of Athena in full costume. He leaned closer to the TV and held his breath.
Please don’t let them say you’re hurt.
“The Covenant heroes and the Wardens overwhelmed the perpetrators at the stadium. But as of now, no perpetrators have been apprehended in connection to the bombing of the UNEOA headquarters in New York which killed over a hundred individuals.”
So much for Gentleman denying his murderous motives.
The anchor prattled on, annoying Andrey with her cold, professional tone. He retrieved the remote from the floor and switched channels to a Russian news station.
“…minutes before the attacks in New York, a broadcast station in Liverpool was hijacked. A top UNEOA official was kidnapped, and one of the EU heroes was injured. There are suspicions that Raven’s mercenary outfit may have had something to do with this, but authorities have yet to comment…”
So much chaos today, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.
That had been Gentleman’s intention all along, he supposed. He glanced over at the helmet which sat on the coffee table, its small green light teasing him with the lie of active communication. It didn’t look like Alexandra had a desire to get involved in his current troubles so he flicked to another channel, which turned out to be the ANBE news entertainment station.
“Meanwhile, Radiant’s absence during the events in both Liverpool and New York raises questions. The world’s formerly most popular hero appears to have all but disappeared since the Shanti incident. While no one suggests he played an active role in today’s catastrophic series of events, people are questioning the lack of intervention…”
Unable to restrain himself, Andrey hurled the remote at the television. The plastic device bounced off the screen and fell to the floor, shattering. How about the fact that I dealt with the Shadowspawner long before Samael even appeared? The thought set his nerves on fire.
He was about to walk across the room to switch channels when ANBE changed topics to the studio hijacking in Liverpool. A shaky cell phone video filled the screen, showing a discolored hole in the sky releasing a steady downpour of brown water onto a flat-roofed building.
“We have new video material of the sewage geyser above the ANBE Britain headquarters,” the news anchor announced. “As you can see, water continues to gush from an unknown source. Local authorities and the European hero team are awaiting the arrival of Paladin, whose Revoker abilities will hopefully remove this anomaly. In the meantime, an anonymous Internet source claims to have knowledge of the Antithesis’s involvement in the kidnapping and subsequent sewer geyser.”
The Antithesis.
Andrey turned the word over in his head, thinking about it. The Oracle’s end of the world prophecy about the Healer and the Antithesis hadn’t been discussed in the media of late, but now the A-word was heard over and over again. The news anchor didn’t elaborate on who the Internet ‘source’ was. He was more interested in speculating about the downpour of sewage that had rendered the NBE headquarters building unusable for the foreseeable future.
It doesn’t sound like something Dancer would do, Andrey mulled. She could, though. Those capabilities are within her powerset.
His gut told him that she had been there, perhaps with the British boy she mentioned in her last text message to her brother, but it didn’t fit. From what Andrey had read about Sarina Baumann, she was a kind-spirited young girl who meant no harm and never abused her powers.
Dancer. What on earth led you to this?
“She is the Antithesis, and she’s about to prove it to the world,” Gentleman had told him.
“Trying to turn her into a villain, are you?” Andrey asked the air in front of him.
He imagined this was the kind of project Gentleman would enjoy. He remembered an interview with the villain, recorded weeks before the man’s transition. It had been in the Covenant database a few months ago, one of the few pieces of evidence Data hadn’t erased during his mass wipe of Conglomerate-related web data. Something told Andrey he needed to watch the interview again.
It was unfortunate that he lost access to the secure files stored within the Covenant database when he left the team. Only Athena could restore his login rights, but his former colleagues may have copied some of the files. He would need to reactivate a few old contacts in order to access the video.
A problem for later. He turned off the TV and got to his feet. If he wanted any chance of seeing Liverpool while the tracks were still fresh, he had to go now so he pulled the helmet over his head.
I might be a sad excuse for a hero, but I’m going to find you.
With thoughts of Dancer fresh on his mind, he stepped onto his balcony to beam himself across the eastern sky.
7.3 Beacon
Liverpool, England
Tuesday, the 12th of June, 2012
10:50 a.m.
Radiant recognized NBE Britain’s headquarters from a few hundred feet away because it was the only building with a brownish-gray geyser spewing from the sky above its roof. The rank stench of sewage assaulted him
as far away as a hundred feet, it was that horrid.
He did his best to ignore it as he beamed closer until he was fifty feet from the building, suspended above a deserted main road. From there he got a good view of the gully suckers who fought a desperate battle against the brownish sludge. The sewage had already flooded an entire city block. The milling police officers kept their distance from the building, as did the vans with the news channel logos.
Radiant beamed himself to ANBE Britain’s flat roof to investigate the source of the downpour. The water emerged from thin air, but the anomaly wasn’t shocking enough to prove the existence of the Antithesis, the end-bringer from the Oracle’s prophecies. But the geyser spouted millions of gallons of sewage all over downtown Liverpool, and he couldn’t deny that the use of sewage was needlessly malicious and not at all like the Sarina Baumann he came to know through his research.
Someone must have put her up to it.
He beamed a short distance away from the aberration to watch the clusters of people who lingered nearby. The police were forbidden to engage with rogue forces like himself, but he knew from the news that the EU heroes were already on the scene. Because their current location hadn’t been shared with the public, he expected them to be at a nearby hospital with their injured teammate.
“Iris,” he said into his helmet. “Establish a connection with Rune.”
“Establishing a connection with Rune,” the AI echoed through his ear piece. “Error. The requested number is out of service.”
He groaned in frustration. Has everyone erased me from their list of contacts already?
He hadn’t seen the leader of the EU team since before Shanti’s death, but he wouldn’t have pegged the Swedish hero as someone who would write him off so easily. They had once been friends of a sort.
Looking over the edge of the roof, he spotted a group of private security guards in full body armor lingering near the entrance to a coffee shop not far from the flooded building. Radiant knew he couldn’t expect much in the way of cooperation from them, but he hoped that they would be willing to talk so he beamed himself to the outer edge of the sewage flood and walked to the group on foot. When the men spotted him, their conversation came to an abrupt halt.
“Is that actually him?” a young, smooth-faced man with short curly hair asked with awe. It had been weeks since Radiant had heard anyone speak to him in that adoring tone; it was one of the few things he missed from his former hero career. But the warm feeling it gave him didn’t last.
One of the other guards eyed him over the top of mirrored sunglasses. “Nah, that’s not him. I heard the real Radiant’s dead, and good riddance.”
“Only missing, I think,” another man corrected.
“Doesn’t matter. He wasn’t here when we needed him, that’s for sure.”
It’s true. I wasn’t.
Andrey approached the guards, pulling off his helmet as he moved. “For your information, I’m not dead. I’ve come to investigate what happened here.”
The men swapped a look among themselves.
“A little late, isn’t it?” one of them muttered under his breath.
After an awkward silence of several long seconds, the smooth-faced man spoke. “Are you gonna apprehend the villains? Someone has to. I can’t believe all of those scumbags got away.”
“Shut up, Edward,” someone hissed.
“Did any of you see the culprits?” Andrey asked. “Did you see what happened here?”
The guard with the mirrored shades briskly cut in. “We’re not authorized to answer your questions. And even if we were, none of us were inside the studio. The ones who were are gone, like all the other witnesses.” His accusatory tone matched the tight, wary faces of the other guards. All but Edward’s, whose hopeful eyes reflected a strong belief in superheroes and happy endings.
It didn’t take much to imagine what the others were thinking. They must have wondered where the hell Radiant, the world’s only Evolved who traveled at the speed of light, was when supervillains demolished parts of New York.
Andrey decided to ignore the passive hostility. He was here now, and he had a job to do. “Is Rune’s team still in the area? I need to talk to them.”
“Pretty sure they’re gone like everyone else.”
“You missed them, actually,” Edward said. “They were sniffing around the area until half an hour ago.”
So the European Union’s Empath failed to find any traces.
It was disappointing, but not too surprising. Empaths were rarely able to investigate past events because those were the domain of Visionaries. If Rune’s team had already abandoned the crime scene, there was little hope the cops contributed anything useful.
Andrey focused his attention on the enthusiastic young man. “Edward. If I needed to reach Rune on the phone, could you make it happen?”
The security guard showed excitement at the chance to help the hero out. “I’ll sure try. Give me a sec.” He pulled a cell phone from his utility belt and flipped it open. “This might take awhile.” The young officer turned his back to make a call, leaving an uncomfortable silence among the group.
One of the older guards cleared his throat. “No offense, man, but where have you been? We needed you here. They probably could have used you in New York, too.”
I think I preferred the awkward silence. Explaining his absence from the villain attacks would only get his family involved again, and he wasn’t willing to do that. “Family emergency,” Andrey said.
It took another awkward minute for Edward to rejoin the group and offer his phone to Andrey. “Holy shit, it’s Rune,” he said in a stage whisper, sounding impressed with himself. “The Sergeant patched me through to someone who made the connection.”
Andrey accepted the mobile phone and withdrew into one of Britain’s red telephone booths. It wasn’t exactly private, but it offered a measure of privacy from the small crowd of onlookers who had gathered over the last couple of minutes.
“Rune?” he said into the mobile phone. “It’s Radiant.”
The responding voice was familiar, thick with the Swedish accent Andrey remembered from months before. “They say it’s you, but I’m not convinced. The Radiant I knew would have supported his folks in New York.”
So would the one I knew.
Andrey pressed on. “I tried to reach you on your old number, but it appears to be out of service.”
“My number got compromised so I changed it. You didn’t get the alert about it?”
“Alexandra and I aren’t on the best of terms right now,” Andrey admitted. “She likes to assume she doesn’t need me, and she’s probably right.”
Athena was one of the most independent and bull-headed women Andrey knew, but he refused to believe she had anything to do with Iris’s shutdown right before all hell broke loose. On the other hand, the idea of Data corrupting her software was more disturbing than the alternative, especially since he had to rely on Iris for support.
Rune grunted. “No, I’d say the Covenant could have used you today. Haven’t you seen the news, man? Or maybe you’re on vacation or something and don’t give a shit.”
“I understand my absence raises questions,” Andrey replied. “I had a family emergency, and was kept in the dark about what was happening.”
“I see.”
“I know it’s late, but I’d like to offer my support now if you’ll let me.”
“As what, a freelance hero?” Rune asked, incredulous.
Andrey leaned a shoulder against the inside of the phone booth. “If that’s what you’d like to consider me, sure. I’m still the man you used to share beers and Norse heroics with.”
There was still a hint of skepticism in the Swedish hero’s tone. “Are you? Tell me, Radiant. Who stole Thor’s hammer?”
“Is this a test?”
“Maybe it is. I have to make sure I know who I’m talking to here. We all know Gentleman’s domain is identity theft.”
Andrey pressed his
forehead against the cool glass of the phone booth’s closed door. He squeezed his eyes shut, directing his mind to the cozy bar in Brussels he visited a few months back. The fake red-suede seats popped into his mind with surprising clarity. He remembered a few fragments of Rune’s beloved Norse myths. But if Thor’s hammer was raised at all, the memory drowned along with the name of the bar.
“I don’t remember that particular myth,” he admitted. “I don’t think you mentioned it. But you did tell me about Baldur, the Norse god who radiates light. You compared him to me.”
A deep, throaty chuckle came through the phone. “All right, Andrey. You passed.”
“Glad to hear it. Where are you?”
“We’re at Liverpool Hospital. Our new teammate had his stomach pumped and is under observation now.” His tone was that of a man who had faced death and knew he had no choice but to do it again.
“Man, I’m sorry. Will he be all right?”
“Yeah, should be.” There was a pause. “I was sorry to hear about Sarah, though.”
You and me both. Andrey leaned off the booth. “So how about meeting me?”
Another heavy pause filled the line before Rune spoke. “Hang on a second.” There was a sound of receding footsteps. Somewhere in the distance, a loud, agitated female voice lashed out. Andrey was grateful he couldn’t understand the words.
If they don’t all agree to this, I’m out of options.
When Rune answered the phone, he sounded wearier than he had before. “All right, we’ll meet with you.”
Andrey let out a breath he didn’t realize he held all this time.
“I hope you don’t mind, we’ll keep a close eye on you,” Rune added. “No offense, but I’m still not sure whose side you’re on.”
Neither am I.
Andrey rubbed his forehead with a thumb, willing the images of Alena and Denis’s faces to fade from his mind. He was aware of Gentleman’s mobile gadget as it pressed against the inside of his costume. He still wasn’t sure what he would do if he ever received a call on it. Play along? Or risk the lives of the people who meant more to him than anything else?
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