by Wyatt Kane
As his shield slowed his descent near the ground, he briefly wondered why seeing Bain would trigger thoughts of the drug, but couldn’t see a connection. Then his world filled with violence and rage.
His descent hadn’t gone unobserved. He was landing among the Master’s mercenaries, and as he twisted about so he could land on his feet, someone shouted an order.
“Shoot him!”
Ty gritted his teeth against the blaster fire that followed. He waited only until he was sure of his footing, then unleashed his shield cannons with a roar of pure rage, flinging mercenaries in every direction.
It was enough to attract the attention of the mercenaries surrounding Tempest. They turned toward him, their expressions filled with fear, and fired at him as if it would do any good.
Ty unleashed again, doing what he could to avoid Tempest, who was still caught in the net.
All at once, the way to Tempest was clear. Ty stalked toward her, intending to help, but there was little need. Cursing fluently, the blonde superhero threw the net off herself and stood.
“Are you okay?” Ty said as he approached.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice almost a snarl. “Let’s finish this!” she said.
Ty knew there were too many superpowered people in the fight for it to be that easy. He shook his head. Nobody else knew it but him, but this battle was effectively over.
“I have a better way. Let’s get to the top of that building and I’ll show you.”
He could tell Tempest wanted to vent her anger in some heroic way, but he stood his ground. “You’ll see,” he said, and grinned broadly.
At first, Tempest looked incredulous. Then, as if she couldn’t help herself, her lips quirked into a mirroring grin. “Okay, but this better be good,” she said.
As she moved in to gather Ty into her embrace, the air filled with an elongated, wailing scream that mixed rage with fear.
43: Endgame
It was Bain.
Ty and Tempest watched in astonishment as the hulking brute of a man appeared to grow larger and larger as he fell from the sky. It was only then that Ty understood what Lilith had done. She had teleported both of them straight up into the sky and let him drop in an imitation of Tempest pile-driving special attack.
The demon woman hadn’t released the man at the same speed Tempest might have done, but he still hit the ground with a thunderous crash and an obvious jolt that made the rest of the combatants pause.
Ty couldn’t see if Bain remained conscious or not through the cloud of dust that rose around him. But when Lilith reappeared and let out a howl of frustration and rage, he assumed the villain had survived. Before Ty or Tempest could even move, the demon woman blinked out of existence with Bain once again.
Ty and Tempest looked at each other. Surprisingly, the blonde superhero gave him a broad grin.
“You know, Dinah’s new friend is really starting to grow on me,” she said with a tone of approval that was akin to pride.
Ty smiled back. “Yeah,” he said.
Boomcrack!
The Master’s clapping superpowered villain wasn’t to be outdone. Once again, the battlefield shook to the sound of his power. Tempest and Ty were far enough away that they could hold themselves firm, but those unpowered fighters around them staggered, with some falling to their knees.
“Time to go,” Tempest said. Without ceremony, she picked Ty up and launched into the air.
They didn’t go far. Just to roof Ty had pointed out before, overlooking the battle. Tempest held him steady until he was sure of his feet, then they turned to survey the battlefield.
A new combatant had appeared. One of the Master’s men, he was small in stature, yet device he wore on his wrist gave him power. He was facing both Massive and Steam, and Ty knew that if it had been him, he would have been badly outmatched.
But the man was like a human Tesla coil, spewing jagged bolts of electricity in every direction. Neither Steam nor Massive could get near him without risk of being fried. Yet the small man had enough control that the clapping man and spitting woman could stand at his sides without being harmed.
They faced Rubio’s men together.
The unpowered combatants were, in Ty’s mind, inconsequential. This was where the true battle was.
He wanted to ask Tempest how she’d become caught in the net, but right then, his most important concern was what Tempest had planned.
“Do you really intend to aid Rubio against the Master’s men?” he asked.
“Yes,” the blonde superhero replied.
“Why?” Ty asked. He couldn’t keep the confusion out of his voice.
Despite the chaos on the ground below them, Tempest took the time to explain. “As tempting as it might be to let them fight among themselves, this is an opportunity to take out some of the device wearers who aren’t on our side.” She looked away, but continued to speak. “And doing so will wipe the slate clean between me and Rubio.”
Ty shook his head, and the wailing scream of Bain started anew. He looked up and saw the huge villain tumbling through the air once again, and judged he would land back in the small crater he’d made the first time.
“You don’t owe him anything,” Ty said. “Rubio didn’t fulfill his part of the bargain.”
“I know that,” Tempest replied as Bain smashed into the ground a second time. “But Rubio believes I’m in his debt, and even that belief is dangerous. This clears any confusion.” She offered a smirk. “And if Steam or Massive should be taken out in the crossfire, so much the better.”
Ty understood.
He and Tempest stood watch as Lilith popped into existence on top of Bain once again. Just like last time, she let out a shriek of anger, then teleported away with the big man a second time.
“Bain is a tough one,” Tempest observed. Then she turned to Ty. “What’s your ‘better way?’” she asked.
Ty grinned. He pulled out the first of is EMP grenades. “How good is your throwing arm?” he asked.
It turned out that Tempest throwing arm was very good indeed. From the top of the building, she threw two grenades, one after the other, toward the battling device wearers. Both grenades hit their target, letting out two distinct, visible pulses of energy.
The first grenade’s pulse encompassed the clapping man and the electrical man, and the second engulfed out the spitting woman and Massive.
As Ty had planned, it didn’t harm them directly. But it did take their devices out of play.
The sight of each device clicking open and falling to the ground carried with it the sweet taste of victory. Before the device wearers even truly realized what had happened, the withdrawal symptoms kicked in.
Ty had experienced the same symptoms himself and knew how debilitating they were. All four device wearers—ex device wearers—looked decidedly ill. The woman tried to spit acid, but was violently sick instead. Massive went down on one knee and had to steady himself with a hand. The other two looked at each other as if they were starting to understand, and slowly collapsed.
Surprisingly, it was the bigger of the two who was first, but the small man followed quickly after.
Only Steam was left standing. He looked around as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened.
Ty had his third grenade out and ready, but he didn’t think he would need it.
“Listen to me!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. The remaining combatants were starting to sense what had happened. The fight had gone out of them, and many had already started to slink away. But several of the Master’s men, mercenaries all, remained, expressions of defiance on their face.
“Listen to me!” Ty repeated. “This day is done! Of those with power, only WE remain. Take your wounded and leave this place. Do it now!”
He didn’t bother to make any threats. The threat was obvious.
Into the silence that followed, Bain’s wailing scream returned. For the third time, he landed with a crunching thump in the crater he’d made b
efore. But this time, Ty turned to Tempest.
“Take me to him,” he said.
<<<>>>
Tempest did as Ty asked. The blonde superhero flew swiftly and the distance was short. Yet by the time they arrived, the Master’s men were already quitting the field of battle, leaving only Steam and a few of Rubio’s men behind.
Ty ignored them. There was nothing Rubio’s men could do to hurt him or Tempest, and if Steam wanted to try anything, Ty still had his final grenade.
For the third time, Lilith appeared over Bain. But this time, she recognized that Ty and Tempest were there and hesitated.
Ty could see Bain through a through the dust. The hulking villain lay face down in the dirt. He looked mess, with his military style clothing torn and blood visible through it from multiple contusions. Yet he was still conscious. Still moving, although the only sound he made was a groan.
Ty wanted to talk with Lilith, to make sure she was in control of herself, but before he said anything, Steam spoke up.
“Interesting toys you have there,” the slimy, steam-powered villain said, his voice like a puddle of old oil. “How many of them do you have, I wonder?
Ty barely glanced at him. “More than enough,” he replied, even though it wasn’t quite true. He could use the one he had against Bain, but then they would be defenseless against Steam should the man choose to attack.
“Do you really want to find out?” Tempest said. “Especially as we’re here at your boss’s request and have just saved your life?”
“Oh, I don’t think you saved my life. Not at all. There’s not much that can touch me,” the slimy man said, his voice filled with threats.
Tempest glared at him. “Take one more step toward us and you’ll be writhing on the ground like your friend.”
Steam hesitated. He kept grinning his foul, slimy grin, but didn’t take that step.
Ty turned his attention back to Bain, who had been cursing under his breath as Steam spoke. Now, he heaved himself over so he was on his back, and surveyed each of them with an ugly expression on his face.
It was enough to enrage Lilith. “Why won’t you just die?” she shouted. She was a true demoness, a being of fury and power, and looked as if she was about to launch herself at the man. But Ty held up a hand.
“Wait,” he said.
“I don’t want to wait!” Lilith spat. “I want him defeated!”
At this, Bain turned his snarl toward her, but there was nothing he could do to defend himself against her power if she chose to use it.
Ty’s brain was still buzzing. They needed to neutralize the man, and quickly. But Ty’s original idea of taking him back to the Architect’s workshop to remove his device wouldn’t work. There was nothing there to restrain him.
Nor was he sure that letting Lilith kill him would be a good idea. There was no doubt in his mind she could do it, but that she hadn’t simply teleported him into a furnace showed she had her own doubts.
She was lawful good, and he didn’t know how she might respond to having the man’s death on her conscience.
“There might be another way,” Ty said.
Lilith gave him a look of barely suppressed rage. “What?” she demanded, and Ty fervently hoped that she would never turn her anger on him. At the same time, he noticed Tempest’s reaction. The blonde superhero was actually grinning, as if she was enjoying the demon woman’s fury.
“You said once that you could teleport out of your own device if you wished,” Ty said. “Why don’t you try that with him?”
Understanding dawned on Lilith’s beautiful face. As fast as thought, she lunged at Bain, who flinched back. “No!” he said, but Lilith was too quick. She grabbed hold of Bain’s device with both hands and blinked out of existence, only to reappear again standing next to Ty.
Bain let out a shriek of agony. At first, Ty thought it was the start of withdrawal, but when he looked closer, he saw that the man’s wrist and hand had vanished, leaving a spurting stump partway up his forearm.
Lilith was staring at the man in horror. “Oh! I didn’t mean…” she began, but by then it was too late. She shuddered, dropping the device and its gruesome contents on the ground.
As if in response to being dropped, Bain’s device clicked open, and his severed hand gave a spasmodic twitch.
The sight of the huge man’s hand on the ground was shocking to Ty. He stared at it for a moment, then glanced at the villain himself, who was writhing on the ground in obvious agony as he tried to stop the blood spurting from his wrist.
“Maybe we should gather these devices and get out of here,” Ty said.
Tempest and Lilith both agreed. “What about him?” Tempest asked, indicating Bain, and Ty figured it was up to Lilith to answer.
“Leave him as he is. He’s tough. He’ll survive. But he ought to be out of action for a while.”
“The Master will just give him a new device. Same with these others,” Ty said. “We haven’t stopped the spread of these devices. All we’ve done is slow things down a little.”
“What we’ve done,” Tempest countered, “Is show what we can do. And rid ourselves of a perceived debt.” She turned back to Steam, who had been silently watching. “You hear that? Tell Rubio we are done. We owe him nothing, and he has no hold over us any more. Do you think you can do that?”
The slimy man offered a sneer. “Would you like me to do your laundry as well? I’m not your messenger boy!”
“Would you prefer to join your friend Massive, writhing on the ground with no powers?” Tempest asked sweetly.
Steam’s sneer turned into a snarl, but he said nothing else.
It was, in a way, an admission of defeat. Ty, Tempest and Lilith did as Ty suggested and collected all the devices they could. Then Ty took a final look at the ruin and carnage around them and nodded to himself. He’d been the cause of yet more deaths, but it could have been worse. And he’d do it all again if Tempest was in trouble.
He smiled at the blonde superhero. “What does a guy have to do around here to get a lift?” he asked.
She raised an eyebrow. “Any guy? They’d have to offer me everything, and even then I wouldn’t bet on it happening. But you? All you have to do is ask me nicely.”
Still smiling, Ty turned to Lilith. “Will we see you back at the mansion?” he asked.
The demon woman glanced at Tempest, who nodded. “Sure.”
44: A Satisfying Conclusion
In the den back at the mansion, Lilith and Dinah shared one of the sofas while Ty and Tempest had both chosen luxurious, reclining chairs. The atmosphere was decidedly friendly and relaxed, completely at odds with the rest of the day. Ty felt comfortably stuffed and knew the others did too, having just finished another of Dinah’s amazing meals.
This time, it had been a traditional lamb roast with all the trimmings, followed by a cream-topped pavlova and trifle. Each of the latter would have counted as one of the best desserts Ty had tasted all by itself, but which together were almost transcendent.
At some point during the main course of the feast, Gremlin wandered in. The cat cast a wary eye over Lilith, but for some reason decided to stay, and curled up on the oversized footstools in front of Ty’s chair. Perhaps she, like Tempest, had decided to give Lilith a chance after all.
By unspoken agreement, they had all avoided discussing the battle beyond giving Dinah a basic overview of what happened, preferring instead to focus on the food and easier conversational topics.
Perhaps to Lilith’s surprise, Tempest was open and friendly, without any of the discontent she had displayed before. She hadn’t shown the slightest negativity toward the demon woman, even when she and Dinah started snuggling closer to each other in that way only new lovers did.
After the dishes had been cleared away, Tempest poured all of them a drink, including Lilith, in an obvious sign that the demon woman was more than welcome.
It was then that Ty asked the question he’d been wondering about since the battle bega
n.
“How did they catch you?” he asked Tempest.
The blonde superhero took a swallow of wine and pulled a face. “It was the little guy. The one with the electricity. The Master’s men were clever enough to put him on a roof, and he saw me hovering above him. I didn’t see his device, at first, so it was a surprise when he aimed a bolt at me.” She shrugged. “It impacted my own power, and all of a sudden, there I was on the ground.” Tempest paused to take another sip. “My own foolishness, really. Although I have to add, I would have been able to free myself from them even without your help.”
She said the last with a grin, and Ty knew she was gently teasing him.
“Oh. Well, maybe next time, just say so. I’ll leave you in it,” he replied, and gained a look of mock disappointment for his efforts.
Ty noticed that Dinah and Lilith were whispering to each other and casting glances at him and Tempest. He didn’t know what they were saying, but then Lilith spoke up.
“What was that thing you used on them?” she asked. “The bomb-thing?”
“An EMP grenade,” Ty replied. “It interferes with electronics of all kinds.”
“Like the devices?” Dinah asked.
Ty nodded. He explained how it worked, and the three women listened intently. “It was Brad’s idea, really. Or at least, he helped me come up with it.” He didn’t mention that the drug still in his system had made the whole process much easier.
“That’ll help,” Tempest said, nodding her approval. Then she turned to Dinah. “But do you think it’ll be enough? You know, with all the new device wearers showing up?”
The deerkin looked thoughtful. “As you say, it’ll definitely help, especially with Rubio. But the Master can just make more, can’t he? All he needs to do is send his men out with a spare or two, and activate them at need. So, perhaps it’ll slow the spread of these device wearers, but no. Nothing has really changed.”
It wasn’t a cheerful thought. Ty still had his dream to cling to, the one where he was flying among a legion of other heroes, all doing their best to keep the world safe from harm. But now, a darker image had appeared alongside it. An image of superpowered villains rising up to face him and those with him.