by Wyatt Kane
Instead of returning fire right away, he took a moment to look back up to Tempest. The blonde superhero had backed away from the warehouse window. As Ty watched, she hurled herself toward it, smashing into it at blinding speed.
This time, there was no stopping her. One moment the window was there, damaged but in place, and the next moment there was massive Crack! and Tempest was inside the warehouse, leaving a hole that reminded Ty of his own apartment.
He couldn’t help but grin, all his pre-battle jitters forgotten, as he heard the distinct sounds of surprise and increasing mayhem from within the warehouse.
Then he turned his attention back to those he faced.
With a snarl of anger twisting his features, he finally started to return fire.
<<<>>>
The guards’ shields, in the form of body armor worn as part of their uniform, proved far less effective then Ty’s. In less than a minute, all of the guards were on the ground, wounded or unconscious, but hopefully, Ty thought, not dead. Not that he would grieve over them if they were. It was just that he didn’t enjoy unnecessary killing.
During the time he’d taken, the sounds of carnage from inside the warehouse had risen to a crescendo. Ty looked around to make sure he’d got them all, then, with a satisfied nod to a job well done, hurried toward the still-open door.
He came to a halt just inside.
This wasn’t some abandoned, mostly empty place like where he and Tempest had rescued Dinah from Bain. This was a working warehouse, a massive place packed with crates and boxes and pallets. A perfect hiding place for the Ark of the Covenant.
On a normal day, everything would likely have been neatly stacked, with automated forklifts and hoists working efficiently to keep it that way. But today was not a normal day. Today, Tempest had been hunting for a crate labelled, ‘anchovies,’ for more than a minute.
Everything was in chaos. Whole rows of industrial shelving had come crashing down, spilling crates and boxes all over. One of the forklifts was on its side in the middle of the mess, and another had been crushed like it was a child’s toy instead of the heavy work machine it was. A dozen guards were sprawled out on the floor near where Ty entered, either groaning with pain or ominously silent.
Further in, Ty saw what looked to be an active war zone. More of Rubio’s guards were there, and they weren’t limiting themselves to hand blasters. They were using heavy, military-grade blasters and even thermite rockets instead, and each and every one of them was shooting at a high-speed blur flying around near the ceiling.
“Tempest!” Ty cried, afraid for the blonde superhero’s safety. Could even she survive a direct hit from such powerful weapons?
He didn’t know.
What he did know was that his suspicions were right. There was far too much firepower to guard a simple drug shipment. Somehow, he and Tempest had been expected.
They’d walked into an ambush.
An earlier version of Ty might have panicked at the thought. He might have stood in the middle of the destruction, afraid for his and Tempest’s lives but unable to do anything to help. Possibly, his inaction might have led to them both being captured or killed.
But that was before he’d gained the device on his wrist. Before he’d come to love the two amazing women in his life, and before he’d stood up to monsters like Bain and the Master.
Instead of panicking, Ty felt a cold, hard knot of hatred form in the pit of his stomach and work its way up his spine.
His shield enclosed him fully, stretching as he moved and merging with itself as needed. So there was nothing stopping him from stowing his blaster under his belt at the back of his pants.
This was not a first-person shooter. This was real life, and Ty wasn’t playing any more.
The last time he’d really let loose with the power of his suit, it had resulted in a double-digit body count and ongoing nightmares. But whether she realized it or not, one of the girls he loved needed his help, and that was all that mattered.
Yet he didn’t want to just kill everyone, either. Not if he could help it. So instead of letting out a guttural, animal yell and unleashing all of his suit’s power in a single, explosive detonation, he took a moment to focus.
He aimed at a formation of guards and released a blast of energy from his hand like he was a sorcerer aiming a wand. It was a fraction of the strength of the blast he’d let loose before, yet it was powerful enough. His shield flickered for the briefest of moments, and a bolt of pure energy arced toward the men.
Where it touched, flesh and blood erupted.
It was like he’d set off a bomb. The men he’d aimed at flew left and right, some landing with sickening crunches and others bouncing and lying still. Perhaps some of them were only wounded, Ty thought briefly. A better result for them than it could have been if he’d gone all out.
Those guards outside the range of destruction reacted with surprise, but not panic. They were calm and professional, with some of their number turning to face him while others kept track of Tempest.
Ty gritted his teeth. Ignoring the barrage of blaster fire heading his way, he aimed and fired again, then again, doing his best to cut the men down.
Such was the power of his assault that they couldn’t maintain their professionalism for long. Overwhelmed, the survivors started to give in to their fear. Some broke and tried to run. Others cried out in pain or terror, certain that their end had come.
Ty snarled and kept firing. This wasn’t the only grouping of guards in the warehouse, nor was it the one that threatened Tempest the most. There were three other groups Ty could see, and he intended to see to them all.
No longer was this a mission just to destroy a precursor to zzapp. Sure, Ty intended to do that too, but first he would make sure the warehouse was safe.
Grimly, Ty stepped forward, aimed, and let off another round. Men screamed and collapsed.
Then Ty learned he should have paid more attention to his surroundings.
All of a sudden, he felt the most extraordinary pain hit him high on the right shoulder blade. It was the very definition of agony. Ty couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything other than cry out just as the guards had done under his efforts, and hurl himself away from whatever it was that hurt him.
His shield caught him and lowered him gently to the ground. Ty’s shoulder was on fire. It was as if someone had applied a blow-torch to him, and he couldn’t understand. Had his shield malfunctioned? Had one of the plasma shots he’d been ignoring somehow got through?
As he lay on the warehouse floor, panting and gasping in pain and the smell of his own burnt flesh filling his nostrils, he heard someone give voice to a smartass cackle.
“Oooh, that looks painful.”
The voice sounded slimy and foul, and it came from where Ty had been standing.
Ty rolled to the side, took aim and released a blast of energy from his suit.
It went straight through his attacker, a tall, angular man with a grin like an open wound. Uniquely for Rubio’s henchmen, this man had a shock of white hair, and he looked a little hazy, like he was a hologram instead of a living person.
“Can’t touch this,” the man said with another slimy cackle and a small dance. “But I can sure touch you, can’t I?”
Ty’s anger gave way to bone-chilling fear. There was no mistaking the device on the slimeball’s right wrist. Despite the odds, Rubio had already found somebody with a talent locked away in their DNA.
Yelling out in a mixture of pain and fear, Ty let loose with a blast at full power. Like the first, this one went through his attacker as well, but this time the loathsome man staggered back a couple of steps. Yet, even though Ty’s blast took out a chunk of the warehouse wall behind him, the man stayed on his feet.
“Wow. I actually felt that,” the insubstantial man said in amazement. Then he lunged forward.
Ty scrambled desperately to keep away, but he was on his back and his shoulder hurt. He fired at the slimeball again and again, kno
cking him back each time, but the insubstantial man kept coming. And he was laughing as he did.
All at once, the slimeball dodged one of Ty’s shots. He made a quick grab at Ty’s right leg, his translucent hand wrapping around the outside of his shield.
Ty cried out again as the air around his right calf heated up to blast furnace temperatures. He understood then that his shield hadn’t failed. Not exactly. The creep couldn’t touch him physically, but the heat the man generated got through anyway.
Ty jerked his foot away and fired again. Just like before, the shot passed clean through the man, but it also knocked him back.
The man laughed. “Have you figured it out, yet?” he asked in his slimy, condescending voice. “This was all a setup for you and your girlfriend. And a trial run for me, I might add. Rubio didn’t get too much joy from the others who put their hands up to wear these devices, but he paid some serious attention to me when I boiled his coffee just by touching the cup.”
Ty had started to sweat. The pain in his leg and shoulder was almost unbearable. It hurt every time he moved, and he feared for his life. His shield couldn’t protect him, nor did his weapons have any impact.
He felt helpless, and wondered if the same thoughts of doom had gone through Zach’s mind as Bain beat him to death.
“Guess you can see why the boss called me Steam,” the insubstantial slimeball said, his face twisted into an ugly grin that was akin to a sneer. “You might like to know he’s offered a fat bonus for the device on your arm. And believe me, that’s a bonus I plan to collect!”
Ty thought he had only moments. There was nothing he could do. Yet even then, he wasn’t ready to give up. He would let this monster have it with everything he had, and do his best to keep himself alive.
He gave voice to a snarl of desperation and rage, but before the slimeball called Steam could move, before Ty could set himself for another shot, Tempest blew in like an elemental force. She unceremoniously whisked Ty away from Steam’s grasp and flew them both out through the hole Ty had made in the warehouse wall.
As they left the warehouse behind them, Ty thought he could hear Steam swearing loudly from within.
6: Pain
Ty’s enjoyment of flying was nothing compared to the relief he felt at just being alive. Despite the ongoing pain in his back and leg, he felt almost euphoric, and the only thing that kept him from whooping and hollering out of sheer joy was the endless flow of curses Tempest let out as they headed back up through the clouds.
She was enraged like Ty had never seen her before, and it wasn’t hard to guess why.
“It’s okay,” he said, turning his head as far as he could toward her. “We’re still alive. We’re safe.”
“It is not okay!” Tempest shot back, her voice right in Ty’s ear. “We walked into a trap, and you could have been killed!”
The way she said the last sounded almost like a sob, and Ty knew she was right. He could have been killed, very easily. His shield hadn’t been able to protect him. But maybe he could tweak it somehow so it dispersed heat....
He was already starting to think of possible adjustments he could make, at least partly to block out the burning in his shoulder and leg, when the device on his wrist pinged an alert.
It was Dinah. Ty gritted his teeth against the ongoing pain and answered.
“Ty, Tempest,” the deerkin said, her voice and expression a picture of worry. “I caught fragments of chatter. What happened? Are you alright?”
“Do we look alright to you?” Tempest said in Ty’s ear, her fury clear in every syllable.
“I got injured,” Ty said, doing his best not to let how much he hurt show in his voice.
“What? Did something get through your shield?” Dinah asked, her concern growing into wide-eyed alarm.
“Yeah,” Ty admitted. “And it hurt. But I’m okay.”
Ty could see Dinah had a million questions, but before she could ask, Tempest spoke again. “Look, just get the med bay ready by the time we get back, okay?”
Dinah nodded. “Will do. Get here as soon as you can,” she said, and the hologram winked out.
<<<>>>
Tempest put on a burst of speed and didn’t slow down again until the penthouse that she and Dinah called home came into view. Perched on top of an abandoned building, the mansion looked like it had been somehow plucked from a simpler, more dignified time, to create an oasis of serenity in the middle of the seething metropolis that was the city of New Lincoln.
Only the faint blue glow of the shield protecting it broke the old-world illusion. After Bain raided the place to kidnap Dinah, Ty had updated its security, making it as safe as his inventions would allow.
Like she normally did, Tempest touched down on the bridge overlooking the koi pond. Ty hit the remote in his pocket and the shield flickered off, then Tempest helped him to the massive, glass doors and inside. Once there, he reactivated the shield, promising himself again that he would automate the process someday.
Dinah was waiting for them in the entryway. Even though Ty had seen her only a couple of hours earlier, the sight of her was enough to make him forget his pain for a moment. In any beauty pageant that ever existed, only Tempest could match her, although they were both very different. Only if modifications had been disallowed would anyone else have had a chance. As a deerkin, Dinah had the legs, antlers, and tail of a deer, and a delicate, beautiful skin-mottling to match.
Ty had seen such splice jobs all his life, but seldom done to Dinah’s level of perfection. She was exquisite.
She was also looking at him with undisguised anxiety, her dark eyes heavy with concern. “How bad is it?” she asked, moving with unconscious grace to Ty’s other side and wrapping a warm arm around him.
Tempest could have carried Ty to the med bay all by herself, but didn’t object to Dinah’s assistance. “I’d say second, more likely third-degree burns. Is the med bot—”
“Ready and waiting,” Dinah assured her. “What about you? Are you hurt?”
Tempest tried for a smile. “You know me. I’m always okay.”
Dinah tactfully didn’t say anything else as she and Tempest helped Ty further into the mansion.
Even though he had effectively been living with the women for several days by then, he was yet to explore the mansion in its entirety. When Dinah had been abducted, he’d helped Tempest search, and had investigated more when he’d installed his shield. But the mansion was like a labyrinth, and there were still many nooks and corners he’d never seen.
The med bay was tucked in behind the kitchen, at the end of a short corridor Ty had never noticed before. Judging by the extensive shelving built into the walls, it may have once been a pantry. Now shelves that might have housed vegetables and spices were lined with a wide assortment of bandages, ointments and creams. There was a large monitor taking up most of one wall and a couple of elegant dining chairs that looked out of place.
But it was the plain, rectangular surgery bed covered by a blindingly white sheet that dominated the center of the room. That, and a small robot suspended above that reminded Ty of the fabricator in the Architect’s workshop.
The robot was as white and shiny as only modern plastic could be, with a square head and a squat body. The ‘eyes’ looked like camera lenses and its hands would have made Edward Scissorhands proud, with ten needle point fingers that were decidedly surgical – and a little scary.
Dinah noticed Ty looking at it. “Hippocrates bot, integrated with a medical database. Top of the line,” she said. Then she gave a wry smile. “We call him Gregory. He’s a house med bot. Now stand still.”
Ty did as she asked and tried not to wince.
Without another word, Dinah and Tempest systematically stripped him of all his clothes and tech. Once upon a time, being undressed by two gorgeous women would have been a dream come true. Right then, all he cared about was the pain.
When his shirt came off, Dinah murmured under her breath, and Tempest started to curse
again. Same when they took off his pants and could see the damage done to his leg. But it was when Dinah tried to pull the adhesive projector disc from his shoulder blade that he gritted his teeth.
“Gently,” he managed, aware that sweat was beading on his forehead.
Tempest tried to help, but Dinah stopped her. “His skin’s too damaged. And look, the disc is melted into his flesh. We’ll get Gregory to do it. Ty, can you get up on the bed?”
Awkwardly, Ty did so, lying on his front on the cool sheet with his head to one side.
“Gregory, let’s start with a diagnosis,” the deerkin said.
The way he was lying meant he couldn’t see the med bot spark into life. Nor could he see it maneuver about on the retractable arm that connected it to the surgical bed. But he could hear its servos whirr as it moved about, and felt the first, feather-light touch of its needle-fingers starting to probe.
“Scan complete,” it said after only a moment, its voice surprisingly deep and melodious. “Diagnosis: extensive third-degree burns over the right scapula and back right calf,” the robot declared. “Assorted partially-healed bruising covering approximately seventeen percent of patient. Foreign body at scapula injury.”
“Treatment?” Dinah asked.
“Advised surgical treatment: remove foreign body. Non-surgical: apply analgesic, clean and disinfect burned areas, antiseptic cream, Dura-Dermis to aid healing, bandages, then bed rest.”
Ty listened to the med bot’s words as patiently as possible, but really, all he wanted was for it to begin. Especially that ‘analgesic’ part. Fortunately, Dinah was of a similar mind.
“Commence treatment,” she said.
Almost at once, Ty heard a hissing noise as Gregory sprayed first the burn on Ty’s leg, then the one on his shoulder with something that at felt downright icy, but which quickly faded into a pleasant coolness. Moments later, the pain from Ty’s burns faded into nothing.
7: Restoring Health
Ty let out a sigh of purest relief. In his previous life, he’d burnt himself a few times with a careless soldering iron or hot stove. But that was nothing compared to the raging agony in his leg and shoulder. To suddenly be almost entirely free of that pain was akin to bliss, and Ty’s whole body relaxed.