Battlelord wound up and struck the staggering Manerpillar, sending the hero flying into two unfortunate bystanders. Recurve drew another arrow, scanning this nigh-unstoppable foe for a weak point. Most of those were far too close to Weed. The powerhouse reached back and grabbed a handful of Weed’s shirt with one hand and pulled the crowbar from under his chin with the other. He hurled the woman over his shoulder.
Recurve had to fight the instinct to drop and roll clear, instead opting to stand firm and hope he could break Weed’s fall. Her elbow slammed into his cheek as they collided, sending them sliding across the floor where Manerpillar lay. Battlelord marched forward seizing the metal bar. The crowbar bent like a straw in his large hands, as he folded it in half and dropped it.
Weed helped Manerpillar to his feet while Recurve dusted himself off.
“I think we’re outmatched, boys.” Weed slid the half torn arm bandage down to her forearm.
“Out the way we came?” Manerpillar asked.
Recurve looked up to the nearest support beam 20 feet overhead. “Easier said than done.”
The crowd closed in forcing them back into the arena again.
“I can get us up there if we had some breathing room,” Manerpillar said.
“On my signal, both of you make your way up there,” Recurve said. “I’ll give you the distraction you need.”
“What’s the signal?” Weed asked.
Recurve smirked. “I’ll give you one guess.” He pulled an arrow, drawing it back, sweeping his aim across the crowd, sending them scurrying away.
“I think that’s it.” Manerpillar pulled himself up to the support beam with a silk line, climbing with all of his arms.
Weed snapped her torn bandage at one of the opened cardboard boxes, grabbing several of the smaller cartons inside, as the other wrapping unraveled upward pulling her to the rafters above.
At the last moment, Recurve lifted his aim several inches and fired the arrow. He focused on the projectile, curving its path in a wide arc over the ducking crowd. Battlelord flinched back as the missile whipped by, plunging into a fire extinguisher, throwing out an explosive white cloud.
Recurve reached the support beam, pulled up by Manerpillar, before the Brotherhood of Armageddon could collect their wits and retaliate.
The trio fled the warehouse, sticking to the shadows, as the fanatics spilled out the front entrance, looking for the intruders.
CHAPTER
19
“You shot an arrow through a guy’s hand?” Patrick stood at the end of the conference table in the team’s headquarters. Manerpillar called the team together the next morning to discuss what happened at the warehouse the previous night. Most of the team was still on the way, but Patrick, Graham, Crystal, and Sean were there. Juliana sat at the far end of the table, nervous and avoiding eye contact with the rest of the group.
“It was a field tip, he’ll recover,” Recurve said. “I wasn’t trying to maim him. I just wanted him to get the point.”
“Ha!” Boost was unable to contain his reaction. “Oh, sorry. That’s not what you meant.”
“Normally I would agree with you, Patrick, but the Brotherhood of Armageddon outnumbered us.” Manny stood next to Stringfellow.
“If you had just stayed out, you wouldn’t have been in any danger,” Crystal said. She had her arms folded across her chest staring the others down from across the room.
“Be that as it may,” Stringfellow said, “I think we’ve got some more complications.” He slid one of the small packages Weed secured during their escape.
Sean opened the box and pulled out the small plastic disc and looked at the inset BoA logo. “What is this?”
“It’s an experimental growth hormone, known as XGH,” Troy said, as he and Abby walked into the room. “Manny sent me a picture last night, so I was looking it up. Those little inhalers are how Armageddon plans on distributing the stuff throughout their ranks.”
“What does it do?” Sean asked, handing the disc to Patrick.
“It’s the stuff that Warhead and Ground Zero took to develop super powers.” Troy took the seat next to Graham.
“But how does it affect everyone else?” Patrick asked.
“Do you know the name Nathan Bell?” Troy asked.
“The Battlelord.” Graham sat up in his seat, hearing about one of his favorite professional wrestlers from his childhood.
“Yes. This is what shape Nathan was in two months ago.” Troy propped his tablet upright to show the team a photo of a frail former athlete wasting away in a wheelchair, doing his best to smile while greeting fans at the airport.
Recurve leaped from his seat to get a closer look. “That’s him! That’s the guy that mopped the floor with us at the warehouse.”
“That’s the kind of effect XGH has in only two months?” Sean asked, staring at the image on the tablet.
“It could be much faster than that,” Troy said. “Possibly days.”
Patrick stood, also crossing his arms like Crystal, just listening, as the back and forth conversation about the newest complication went on.
“Hey guys, Armageddon is back,” Trevor called to them from downstairs. Genevieve, Nolan, and Bryson were down there with him. They all gathered around the smaller LCD TV temporarily replacing the larger overhead display.
Troy turned on the mounted TV in the conference room. “What channel?”
the answer was uncharacteristically quiet for Trevor, “Every channel.”
Warhead and Ground Zero faced the wall of cameras. The reporters risked their health and well-being, not to mention their equipment, once again to get the scoop. A crowd of faces peered out behind the tag team, all different ages, races, and backgrounds, but all united by the Brotherhood of Armageddon logos they wore. In between the two titans, Battlelord stood, towering over the fanatics, but only coming up to the shoulders of Warhead and Ground Zero.
Warhead looked at the ground flexing the muscles of his chest and neck. “You know, We fought a lot of people, regular and supers alike.” His bass-heavy voice was quiet at first. “We’ve had our fair share of tough battles.” His voice rose, along with his eyes. “But you punks showed us a new low. Attacking our brethren in the middle of the night, using sneak attacks like cowards. You fat little pigs are too scared to face us head on.”
He pushed a fist into the palm of his hand, cracking his knuckles. “Since you’re changing the rules, so are we. This whole city is our hunting ground, starting right now. Everywhere is fair game. Tell’em, GZ.”
“In case you chumps forgot, Armageddon didn’t come here to watch you scared little pukes sneak around and take cheap shots at our crew. We came here to take out any and all challengers. We’re gonna walk all over you spineless little pigs.” Ground Zero turned and slapped Warhead on the chest, passing the proverbial mic.
“It’s as simple as this, me and Ground Zero do what we say we’ll do. And we’re sayin’ we’re gonna hunt you little babies down. We’re gonna turn over every stone, and look under all your bunk beds until we find every stinkin’ cape in this stinkin’ rotten town.”
“We’re puttin’ the call out, for all of you, loyal to the Brotherhood of Armageddon.” Ground Zero stepped forward. “Armageddon just put a bounty out on all wannabe heroes. Five thousand bucks for every cape you bring us. Ten if you beat’em up first.”
“That’s right,” Warhead said, “you’re not safe anywhere in the city. Not anymore. Just in case you think we ain’t serious, we got a surprise for you.”
Warhead placed a heavy hand on the shoulder of the man standing in the middle. “This is Battlelord, and he’s gonna be in charge of the most dangerous crew you’ve ever seen.”
The man known as Battlelord took center stage. “You capes thought you could just jump these men and women behind me, and just walk away like nothing’s going to happen? As far as I’m concerned, that’s an act of war.” He slapped one of his shoulders with the opposite hand. “And you’re about to f
ind out that the battlefield is something I know all too well.”
A dozen BoA fanatics stepped forward from the crowd taking their positions on either side of Armageddon as he spoke. Each one built like a truck with a wild look in their eyes. Veins popping in their necks and arms, Each of the men and women in front held one of the plastic XGH inhaler devices, flexing and moving restless limbs.
“We’re building an army,” Battlelord said. “An army like none you’ve ever seen. You heroes out there are cowards, so we have to prepare for your childish hit and run tactics. I guarantee you won’t be prepared for what we got in store.” With that, he turned and headed back into the crowd, with the enhanced XGH fanatics in tow.
“Remember that!” Ground Zero said. “You little pigs wearing your little capes got nowhere to hide now!”
“Time’s up, boys and girls.” Warhead brushed his tag team partner to the side. “Because Armageddon is already here.”
CHAPTER
20
Crystal held Manny’s hand close, examining the knife wound. “That’s going to need stitches.” She winced, more out of sympathy to his flinching as she bandaged the wound.
“I’ll have it checked out when things slow down a little.” Manny smiled.
“By then the infection will be so bad, they’ll just amputate.” Crystal gave his shoulder two taps with the side of her fist and stood up.
They stayed behind in the conference room while the rest of the group went their separate ways, making sure their friends and families were safe. Their comm channels were full of non-stop chatter from nervous heroes checking in to make sure the rest were still doing well. Armageddon’s latest broadcast shook the team, hitting a little too close to home.
“Do you think Patrick is making the right call?” Manny asked. “By reaching out to the police, I mean.”
Crystal paused, taking a deep breath, trying to keep her exasperated sigh to a minimum. “I guess the short answer is yes.”
“What’s the long answer.”
She forced a smile. “We have to make sure everyone is safe with Armageddon out there. No matter what our reasons are for getting into this, it’s the job of the police to keep the city safe. To serve and protect.”
Crystal knew it wasn’t the answer he was looking for, Manny didn’t fill the void of silence when she stopped, so she continued.
“Patrick is doing this right...on paper. I’m going to back his play because it’s what’s best for all of us right now. But it does make it that much harder for us to be out there. We’re vigilantes. Not just in the eyes of the police. We’re legitimately committing acts of vigilantism.”
“I’m just glad we agree,” Manny said, standing up.
Patrick entered the room, followed by Abby, Troy, and Genevieve.
“How’s Trevor doing?” Manny asked.
“He’s going to take his mother out of town for a couple of weeks. Maybe visit family back east.”
Crystal gave a solemn nod. She didn’t get along all the time with Trevor, but still considered him a friend. “Good, I’m glad they’re ok.” She looked at Troy and Abby. “How about you two? Are your mom and dad safe?”
“Safe as they can be,” Troy said. “I rigged the apartment up with a few monitoring devices, but dad wasn’t so happy about that. We agreed on only installing a couple of cameras, to watch the front door and hallway, as long as they let us know if anything shady was happening. I hid an extra camera to keep an eye on the living room, though.”
“Great, now you’re making my life difficult,” Abby said. “You’re not the one that still has to live with them.”
“How about you, Genevieve?” Manny noticed she looked nervous and gave her a reassuring grin.
“I don’t have anyone here.” She looked down at her feet. “My family is still down south. I think.”
Abby draped an arm across her shoulders. “We’ll be your family here, then.”
“Thank you.” Her smile was soft, yet genuine.
Crystal took a moment soaking in the warmth before moving on. “Have you talked to the police yet?”
Patrick looked up at Crystal. “Oh…yeah, I spoke with a couple of off duty officers that we connected with after taking down the Visionaries. We’ve got a couple of fans in the force, but they still have to condemn our actions in public. We’ll get a little bit of support, but mostly they’ll do their best to cover for us when we get into an altercation with any masks.”
“So what does that mean for us?” Troy asked.
“That means they won’t be pulling down our drones when they spot them,” Patrick said. “And as long as we coordinate with them, they will make sure to direct a police presence to our location when we need them.”
“What about the Supers Task Force?” Crystal asked.
“No connections inside that team. When they show up, we’re all obstructing justice.”
“Wonderful,” Abby said.
“There’s something I want to check out,” Crystal said.
“Can I come?” Abby asked.
“It’ll be quicker if I go on my own.”
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Patrick asked.
She did her best to ease his worry. “I’m just meeting a contact. I just need some more information about what’s happening here.”
“You’ve been doing that a lot,” Abby said. “What are you hiding from us?”
“I know I’m asking a lot of you, but this is something I have to do. It’s a delicate situation, and I promise when the time is right, I’ll tell you guys everything.”
Patrick thought about his choice of words. “I know you don’t need our permission, but we’ll give you some space on this. Please be careful, though.”
“I will.” She smiled.
“And call us if you need anything,” Manny said.
Crystal nodded and left the room.
“Should I follow her?” Abby asked.
“I don’t think any of us would be able to keep up,” Patrick said.
“Are you ok?” she asked him.
His facial expression grew softer, “I feel like everything is spinning out of control. There’s so much going on, and none of us are on the same page.”
“I know it seems that way, but we still trust that you’re making the right calls,” Abby said.
Patrick did his best to smile. “Thanks. But I don’t know if I trust my calls.”
“Well, I need some fresh air, boss man.” Abby walked to the door and turned back. “Want to join me for a little run through the city, Ringmaster?”
Genevieve’s face lit up.
Abby had her headphones tucked into her pocket, choosing to listen to the whistling wind as she and Genevieve traversed the city by rooftop. She would glance back over her shoulder to make sure she didn’t lose her running partner, only to see Genevieve in her circus acrobat form, white tights with thick pink swirls running down the length of her body, and hair pulled up in a tight bun. She matched Abby move for move, mimicking her actions, lacking only the glowing red trails of light behind her.
Genevieve was a year younger than Abby, having just turned 19. But she lost touch with her family and was living on her own for far longer than she cared to admit. When they reached the lakeside industrial area, the two heroes stopped at the edge of a warehouse roof.
“Wow, that was harder than I’ve ever pushed myself before,” Genevieve said. “I’ve never been able to do all those moves you were doing.”
“Wait, you mean you were just watching me and copying what I did?”
The younger girl’s face beamed. “Yeah.” She was breathing heavy from the effort, but there was no sign of fatigue in her expression.
“You’re making me feel old. Now I know what Crystal must go through.”
Abby put her hands behind her head and sucked in a deep breath through her nose. She could feel the sweat on the back of her head, soaking into the hood of her sweatshirt. She sat and dangled her feet over the edge.
&
nbsp; Genevieve switched back to her regular appearance and sat next to Abby on the rooftop. The setting sun painted the sky in orange, red, and purple, with a white hot light shooting spears of light from the center.
“Do you even know what you’re signing up for?” Abby asked, still looking off into the distance.
Genevieve stared ahead thinking. “Yes, I think so. I mean, not really, but I know I can help.”
Abby turned to face her. “Where are you from? Where’s your family?”
“I’m from New Orleans,” Genevieve said. She pursed her lips and folded her arms across her stomach. “I don’t know where my family, my real family, is. I just know the family that raised me.”
She looked at Abby. “Please don’t laugh.”
“I promise,” Abby said, turning her body to face her, pulling one leg back up onto the roof.
“My earliest memories were traveling with a circus. I’m pretty sure my parents were there with me in the beginning, but I don’t know, or remember when they left.” Her eyes were welling up, but it wasn’t sadness. “I was treated like part of one big family there. Everyone went out of their way to cheer me up and keep me entertained. They taught me so much.”
The sun was down behind the cityscape now. Genevieve lay back, folding her arms behind her head. “Everything I know, everything that I am, is because of that family. Traveling with a circus and putting on shows all over the South, was normal to me. It wasn’t until my powers developed that everything turned upside down.”
“What happened then?”
Genevieve turned her head to face Abby with a weak smile on her face. “People don’t trust supers.”
Abby knew not to push it. She could see that it was an uncomfortable topic, and she had opened up enough already. “Yeah, tell me about it.” She lay back, also folding her hands behind her head.
CHAPTER
21
“It’s been two days,” Graham said.
He and Patrick, wearing ordinary street clothes, sat in the far corner in of a diner. They looked out the window at the rain-slicked streets.
Two Percent Power (Book 2): Spilled Milk Page 12