Project Northwoods

by Jonathan Charles Bruce

  Knocked back by a body blow, Aeschylus charged forward and slammed into Arbiter, picking him up and pile-driving him into the pavement. The hero knocked him into the air, spinning him to face the sky. Arbiter leapt above him, arms back to strike in a hammer blow. Aeschylus grabbed Arbiter’s leg and yanked as gravity pulled him back to earth. The rotation of their bodies put Arbiter beneath him, and he slammed the hero into the ground.

  Aeschylus stood up and brought his foot up above the hero’s head. His foe rolled away and upright as the villain’s foot powdered the pavement. Arbiter kicked him in the lower back, sending him rocketing end-over-end. The suited man bounced before landing in a crouch, his boots digging gouges into the concrete to slow his momentum. Arbiter seethed quietly as Aeschylus rose.

  Archetype took a step backward, his hands falling to his side. “But… I was able…”

  Zombress held up a hand to silence him. “I was drugged up and put into a coma before.” Her hand returned to her hip. “I’m the Queen of the Dead, not some brain-dead minion of yours.” She took a step toward him, menacingly. “Normally, I don’t like killing for the sake of killing, but being framed, thrown head-first into a floor, mentally violated, hunted, beaten, and blown up would put any woman in a very, very bad mood.”

  “Tell me, Zombress…” Archetype said, his voice not faltering but his intention to retreat clearly evident. “Do you know how old you are?”

  Zombress had reached the sword and kicked it into the air, snatching it as it rose. “I’ve never been carded if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  He smiled, a curious upturn of his lip marking something sadistic. “You are the agent of chaos, the patron of all things villainous… and yet you have no idea of your origins.”

  “Do you honestly think I care?” she growled as she moved closer to him. “I am about five seconds away from gutting you and repurposing you as a tea cozy, and you’re busy feeding me this ‘I know you better than you know yourself’ bullshit?” In a flash, she cut the distance completely, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted his frail frame up the wall. “I know everything I need to know. I was killing Nazis in Egypt before you lived in a milkman’s testicle. I don’t need to know anything more than the fact that slitting your throat is going to feel fantastic.”

  Arbiter smashed Aeschylus across the face, the force of it buckling the latter to his knees as he spun. Immediately, Arbiter’s hands latched around the helmet and pulled, threatening to remove not just the armor but his head as well. Stunned, all Aeschylus could do was paw at Arbiter’s hands as he felt a bearing pop and hiss, causing his opponent’s grip to momentarily falter.

  Aeschylus took the opportunity to get himself crouched to his feet and leap up and backward, pinning Arbiter beneath him. The hands fell away as Aeschylus rolled aside, got to his feet, and leapt as the downed hero rolled away. Arbiter rose and shoulder-rammed the still aerial villain hard enough to fling him several yards away. Before he could recover, Arbiter tackled him, bringing his fist across the helmet before grabbing the chin with one hand and the breast plate with the other.

  Another bearing popped, but Arbiter’s grip didn’t falter. Aeschylus fiddled with the buttons on his wrist, and another burst of stimulant shot into his system. His heart quaked, but kept pumping. Aeschylus thundered a blow against Arbiter’s gut followed by another which freed him from the hero’s clutches. Arbiter staggered to his feet as Aeschylus scrambled upright and ran toward him. A right cross rocked Arbiter’s face, followed by an elbow to his gut. The villain shoved the hero back and delivered a vicious uppercut, sending his foe skyward.

  “Be careful, Zombress. Your hubris is showing.” Something flashed across Archetype’s face, and immediately Zombress seized her head, crying out in agony as she dropped the sword. She collapsed to her knees as something felt like it was forcibly ripped from her skull. “I think your companion doesn’t appreciate being kept in a cage.” Steaming air shot from Zombress’s mouth as her flesh broke out in goose bumps.

  “No…” she said, turning her head. A mass of black miasma wafted lazily in the air, crackling with pulsing purple tendrils of energy. Zombress stood upright.

  “Say hello to your dark id, as it were,” Archetype said with a laugh as he shoved his way by her, sprinting between the whorling darkness and Zombress before turning back to her. “You’ve never been formally introduced.”

  Arbiter’s strength was beginning to wane, but his determination to stop Aeschylus burned all the brighter because of it. Each blow sent waves of electricity through his system, making it harder and harder to focus. But he had no doubt in his mind that this old man, even behind his armor, would succumb to exhaustion before he, the Lord of Justice, would fall.

  Aeschylus aimed a haymaker at him, arcing his hand back as he charged forward. Arbiter darted forward and caught the hand, yanking it down as he slipped underneath and to the side of the still-moving villain. He pulled, Aeschylus’s momentum working against him and sending him sprawling to the ground. Arbiter, hand still wrapped around his opponent’s wrist, kicked him over and planted a boot on his shoulder. He pulled upward, feeling the old man’s arm spasm in his grasp.

  “No!” someone screamed, drawing Arbiter’s attention. Déjà vu tugged at his brain as a vision from the past ran toward them.

  “Ariana, no!” Aeschylus shouted before being silenced by a twist of his arm.

  “I never sought to end your entire line,” Arbiter said, releasing the limb. He kicked Aeschylus away and turned to Ariana. The girl was grabbed by Aquaria in an attempt to keep her back. Arbiter’s lip twitched in a semblance of satisfaction. “But your recalcitrance forces my hand.”

  Ariana squirmed free of the traitor’s grasp. “Stop this, Arbiter! Please!” the former heroine cried out.

  “I gave you your chance, and you seek to drag all heroes down with you!” Arbiter roared. He sprinted toward Ariana, hand outstretched. A step away, Aeschylus intercepted him, throat-checking the hero with a spinning backhand. Arbiter crashed onto his back as the villain turned to his daughter.

  “Run, Ariana!” Aeschylus shouted. “Don’t look…” Arbiter got to his feet quickly and grabbed Aeschylus by the neck. Fingers once more digging into the armor, the hero spun him and threw him away from Ariana. He leapt into the air and landed feet-first on Aeschylus’s chest.

  “Claymore, look away!” Zombress shouted as she reached up to her earpiece. She pressed the button. “Mollie, shut off all cameras immediately.”

  “Already taken care of,” Mollie said in her soothing tone.

  Archetype was walking backward, keeping Zombress in view the entire time as the darkness behind him took shape, solidifying into something familiar. “This will prove to be more fortunate than I originally thought. Everyone will blame you for the boy’s death, and your sudden disappearance–” A black tendril slammed through his gut, spraying the floor with blood. Archetype twitched before being thrown down the hall and landing with a wet thud.

  Zombress dug her heels into the floor as the human figure in the miasma turned, revealing itself to be a picture-perfect rendition of herself, albeit with glowing purple eyes. The Nightmare smiled, tight-lipped, emulating her own position. “Hello, fear itself,” Zombress snarled. “I guess it’s time to see what all the fuss about playing with yourself is.”

  The thing howled and threw itself at her, Zombress hitting it across the face with a right hook. As it reeled from the blow, the body twisted, and it snatched her deftly and spun her before smashing her into the wall. Even as the structure buckled under the force of the blow, Zombress brought her legs up and kicked the Nightmare off of her, sending it staggering backward.

  Hands free as she crumpled to the floor, Zombress stood upright and carved a sigil in the air. She reared back and shouted, “Heart Breaker!” before bringing her fist forward, shattering the symbol and sending three shards of it toward her shadow-self.

  The beast backflipped remarkably fast, three times, landing and
carving out two of the same symbols with impossible speed before landing a one-two punch on the floating signs. The first three shards connected with Zombress’s own assault while two of the others homed in on her and the last on Claymore, still trying to keep his eyes averted from the fight.

  Zombress ran forward and threw up the Elder Sign, the shield springing to life as the dart meant for Claymore and one for her reached the shield, shattering it. The third slammed into her chest, blowing her backward.

  The force knocked her into a roll. She recovered upright before the Nightmare slammed into her with sigil-enhanced speed, blasting them both into the office behind them. The thing continued onward, allowing Zombress to dig her heels into the floor and carry through the doppelganger’s momentum. Bending at the waist, Zombress picked the beast up and brought it, head first, into the floor.

  The miasma around the Nightmare coalesced around it and the thing reformed upright, grabbing Zombress by the hair and flinging her through another wall, into the next office. Zombress got to her feet as the thing leapt into the hole she had just created, and she summoned a sigil for a burst of speed before leaping at it. The creature summoned its own in retaliation and flung itself directly in her path, the two now moving at the same speed.

  The sonic force of the two colliding blew them backward as the shockwave pulverized the room, shattering the windows as the furniture vaporized. As soon as Zombress got to her feet, the thing was on the ceiling and running toward her. She leapt onto the nearest wall, carving a sigil into the air, rebounded off the wooden surface, and connected with the Nightmare’s midsection. Her arms wrapped around it when her feet hit the ceiling, and she pitched the thing as hard as she could. It rebounded off the floor and dove into her, grasping around her body and squeezing, impossibly hard, before a sigil formed above them.

  The brilliant red glyph spun lazily in place as Zombress watched, feeling her bones splinter beneath the thing’s powerful arms. “Damn,” she gasped before it leapt through the sigil, sending them rocketing through what remained of the floor.

  Arbiter picked up the squirming Aeschylus and threw him up into the air, following him with a pavement-cracking jump. They collided in midair, Arbiter wrapping a hand around his opponent’s metallic arm as they continued to move upward, carried by the hero’s jump. Aeschylus responded by cracking Arbiter across the face with his free hand, surprising the hero and sending them spinning.

  As they whirled at the very top of the aerial arc, Arbiter planted another bone-shattering punch on Aeschylus’s head, the helmet visibly denting from the blow. Even as exhilaration flowed through the hero at the sight of weakness, Aeschylus grappled Arbiter and delivered a headbutt. The first stunned him, the second made his grasp falter, and the third sent him further to the ground than the villain.

  Arbiter hit the ground with a puff of concrete as Aeschylus fell right on top of him, the metal armor grinding into the hero’s flesh hard enough to elicit a scream of rage. Arbiter batted Aeschylus off him before rolling onto his back in an effort to recover. He heard the metal screech to a stop before, with a groan, the villain got to his feet only to falter to one knee.

  Body hot with pain, Arbiter pushed himself upright as Aeschylus pushed some buttons on his armored wrist. Even as the hero wobbled upright, the villain was now standing, a little shaky, but still vertical. Arbiter sneered and threw himself once more at his old foe.

  Zombress and the Nightmare landed in the basement, the impact stunning both of them long enough to separate. The creature was the first to react, leaping at her with a fist outstretched. Zombress backed away and flipped forward, bringing her foot down where the thing’s head was. But in a flick of shadow, it darted backward and rushed forward, planting its hands on her gut and launching her backward. It took a few running steps toward her and leapt like a feral animal.

  The Queen of Fear made a sigil to nullify friction and dove under the leaping beast, sliding forward over the dusty floor as the thing landed behind her. She flipped upright and spun, the sigil’s effect still carrying her to the edge of the room. The beast snarled at her and copied the glyph before launching itself at her. Zombress kicked off the wall and slid around the room, the Nightmare sailing past her as she leapt onto the nearby wall. The finger on one hand quickly carved out the sign for speed while the other worked to summon the ability to defy gravity. The moment she touched down, she kicked off the wall, almost instantly ramming into the back of the Nightmare and carrying it forward into the opposite surface.

  The second of impact, Zombress grabbed hold of the thing and flipped up onto the wall, carrying the thing above her head as she tossed it into the ceiling. It began to fall as she dove into it, the force sending the two of them crashing to the floor.

  The Nightmare knocked her off and struggled to rise. Zombress got to her feet and closed the distance between them. The thing was slowing down as she smashed it across the face with one hand, administered an uppercut with the other, then pinwheeled backward, striking it hard enough with her foot to send it ripping through the ceiling.

  Zombress carved a sigil and leapt through it, reaching the Nightmare at the apex of its flight. With a single kick, she sent the beast through the wall as she backflipped from the force of the blow, landing as the dust settled from the initial onslaught.

  “Sweetie, are you ready to come back inside?” she asked as she leapt after the creature.

  Aeschylus slammed into Arbiter again, carrying him forward before the latter slammed him on the back of the head with a hammering blow. Aeschylus released Arbiter and the hero leapt forward, grabbed the villain by the neck, and slammed him into the ground. Arbiter yanked his opponent upright and put him in a headlock with one arm. With his free hand, Arbiter grabbed Aeschylus’s helmet, fingers digging into the weakened metal, and pulled. The villain tried to fight back, punching at the hero’s arm, but Arbiter held fast.

  More of the brackets popped, hissing steam as they shifted. The armored man struggled more at the sound of twisting metal, prompting Arbiter to yank him around like a rag doll before slamming a boot down on Aeschylus’s leg.

  Finally, the helmet gave way, tearing at the old man’s face with the tattered remains of the brackets and warped metal. Arbiter tossed the useless article away and kicked Aeschylus upright before batting him aside. The villain rolled to a stop, then rose, shaking. He pressed a button on the wrist of his arm, unleashing a noticeable hiss. Aeschylus’s eyes flickered at the sensation.

  Arbiter’s hand rose. “Submit,” he demanded, flooding Aeschylus with the agony he had inflicted on the hero. The villain merely twitched as he remained upright. Arbiter’s face twisted angrily. “How do you resist Retribution?”

  “Painkillers and adrenaline,” Aeschylus slurred, bringing his hands up like a boxer. “The only things needed to end your reign.”

  Arbiter scoffed. “You’re only going to kill yourself,” he warned.

  “Don’t be so sure,” Aeschylus growled. With a roar, he launched himself forward.

  As Zombress reached the hole in the wall, a black tendril snaked around her neck and yanked her in. Pulled aloft, she clawed at the thing around her throat. The Nightmare had changed. Six black, oily tentacles whipped around it while two propped the slouching, angry anti-Zombress in the air. The tendril around her throat flexed, tossing her to the floor.

  The villainess rolled to escape an attack she instinctively knew was coming: a fat, writhing tendril slamming down where she laid moments before. She got upright and had to backflip over another tendril sweeping down behind her. Another swept at her, slapping her hard enough to knock her flying back into the wall.

  She rebounded off the surface and landed on one knee before standing. The thing lurched toward her and swung two tendrils together, intending to flatten her between them. Quickly, she summoned a shield glyph, the shell bursting into brilliance as the tentacles slammed against it. Safe for a moment, Zombress carved a glyph into the air and jumped out of the shield, the
sound of shattering glass accompanying its destruction.

  She landed on one of the tendrils and ran along it, leaping over one of its brethren attempting to sweep her off. The thing watched her approach with purple eyes before she leapt at the Nightmare’s core, latching onto it and crushing its face in with a series of straight punches.

  With a squeal, it shuddered, the tendrils writhing with nervous energy as Zombress kicked off it. The Nightmare fell in a heap as the villain touched down after it. The creature suddenly bucked, knocking her back and into the wall as it swirled upright. Two tentacles grabbed Zombress by the arms and pulled her into the air as it rose, back to its intimidating height. With a flick, the tendrils went taught, threatening to pull her arms off.

  Through the pain, Zombress’s foot formed the general arc for the Song of the Dark Mother. “You’re starting to piss me off!” she shouted in annoyance before the greenish blob erupted into existence from the sigil and burst. The thing screamed and dropped Zombress to the floor. From her position, she looked up as the four tendrils copied the symbol, each summoning an angry red orb that wafted lazily in place. “This is going to suck,” she predicted with a note of resignation.

  Each of the blobs exploded, blinding Zombress as a thick tendril wrapped around her waist.

  Aeschylus gave no indication that he was slowing down. As they traded blows, Arbiter knew he had to put an end to this. Aeschylus could at least die knowing he attempted to avenge his family… it was a small comfort that only a few could truly experience. He honored his foe enough to grant him that one final dignity.