by Jamie Hawke
An explosion sounded from above and two enemy bodies fell nearby. Still, from where we were standing, it seemed like our blue friend was in more need of help, so I turned and aimed at the supers. It was only then that I noticed that one of them was carrying Nyoka. Rather, he had a massive python that was wrapping itself around him, working to cut off his air supply. Half-way up, they fell, the super lifeless, and I cringed when they thudded on the ground and Nyoka didn’t move.
There wasn’t time to wait and see, however, because the other supers had reached us and were ready for battle. Like their boss—as I assumed Caldoran was—these guys were dressed in full space armor that reminded me of my time with the fleet back home. Their armor was black with red faceplates, and while they shot from weapons built into their suits, their hands were free to call upon their powers.
When the first one threw flames and the next a wall of ice that tried to encase me, I figured they were elemental supers. While intimidating, at least I could know what was coming. These guys wouldn’t have been so bad, except that I had a fear of drowning—a side effect of having messed up on a particular Marine Corps training exercise. One caught me in a swirling stream of water and I thought I’d be stuck like that forever. I nearly had a heart attack. In a moment of desperation, I put my helmet on and was glad to see it expel the water. Just in time, too, because the one with lightening had spotted me and started to send a bolt my way.
“Help!” I shouted, still terrified by the thought of drowning, but realized that wouldn’t do any good. My hands reached desperately for a supervillain passing by, when the bolt hit. To my relief, it actually blasted me out of the water. That was only a split-second thought, though, as I hit the ground and went skidding, my body spasming with shocks from the electricity.
Usually my power meant I would absorb such a blast, I remembered. Somehow the water must have neutralized that power. Still, a blast like that probably would have killed most men, so I imagined something had worked. When my limbs were back under my control, I pushed myself up and saw the man with fire standing over Sakurai while Sacrada was busy with the ice one. I charged over and, without even thinking about it, leaped so that I was flying at the man. My surroundings felt fluid, like I was being pushed down a river, or like I was the river, and then sparks were rising up around me. For a moment it seemed the electricity super was attacking again, but a quick turn showed him staring in confusion.
This was my power now. The combination of water and electricity had hurt like hell, but given me a temporary combination of their power. When my fist connected with the fire guy, he was flung sideways in an explosion like lightning striking. Sakurai stared at me, backing away, and I realized I must have looked fierce with water and electricity flowing around me.
Since Mr. Electric had moved on to try and fight Navani and she was holding him off with her shields, I decided Ice Boy would be my next target. He played right into my plan, blasting me with everything he had. I’d forgotten how much my powers helped against such supers with ranged attack. The effect was that my powers only increased and, as I grunted in pain, I charged him, grabbed him by the arm, and then did it the old-fashioned way—broke each arm in turn, then kicked him down onto his back.
“Let’s see how much of this shit you can handle,” I said, and let electricity fly back his way. He was down, then fried.
A fourth was being taken down by Andromida as she returned, but Mr. Electric had just blasted away Navani’s shields and looked to be a problem. I tried to blast him with a lightning bolt, but my shot just rippled across him. There was no way I could reach him in time, but that didn’t stop me from trying.
Meanwhile, he’d already hit Navani once, and it didn’t look good. She had fallen back, stumbling, crawling away. Above I saw Sacrada swooping back around for a strike, but she wouldn’t make it in time. The supervillain pulled back to strike again, and I wanted to scream, throwing everything into my next shot—ice flurries mixed with water and blasts of electricity hit that son of a bitch, and he fell back, blasting back to counter what he could.
That gave enough time for Sacrada to hit him with a solar flare, but he shot out with his power at the same time, creating a sort of protective bubble of electricity. That didn’t save him from Sacrada’s attack though, and when it was over a plume of smoke rose above him and he was on the ground.
The man pushed himself up, armor crumbling off of him. He tore away his faceplate, glaring at me with fierce eyes under a matt of sweaty, black hair. Electricity sparked around his hand, and I braced myself.
He was up, lunging for Navani. She hadn’t recovered yet, though now she reached for her rifle, which she had apparently dropped a few feet back. It was clear she wouldn’t reach it in time, and when I tried for another blast, it didn’t come.
I glanced up, hoping Sacrada would be there again, but she was sweeping around. Shit, we were both going to be too late. The others were just finishing the last of the others supers off, and dammit, Navani wasn’t looking—she was going to get fried and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
Except then a form appeared slithering fast toward him, and it leaped through the air, landing on Navani’s attacker. Nyoka in python form was cutting off his air and snapping bones. That didn’t stop the electricity from shooting out, though, and as I charged forward to try and rip her free, her body lit up—her bones were visible as the electricity fried her, and then flames erupted, but still she held tight.
Finally, as he let out his last breath, she fell away.
“Tell Andromida…” Nyoka said, returning to a burnt and dying version of her normal form, “tell her… I tried.”
Andromida approached from behind, the super she’d been fighting vanishing into one of her tunnels as she dismissed it. Kneeling at Nyoka’s side, Andromida placed a hand on her hair and said, “You were wonderful,” and even knelt to kiss her scorched forehead.
Turning, Andromida said, “No more suffering,” and pulled metal to pierce Nyoka, then take her down to her burial.
To my surprise, there seemed to be a glisten in the woman’s blue eyes. But then it was gone, leaving behind that cold faced killer I’d come to know.
Done with the supers, Andromida pulled her tunnels up to carry us up to the others on the rooftop.
“It’s good to see you,” Sacrada said to her sister, coming in to land close by. “I was starting to worry.”
Sakurai embraced her, giving us a moment that felt very out of place and, yet, welcome in the midst of all this.
“Where is he?” I asked Andromida, but she glared at me for a second before pointing at the rear section of the fortress. A tower surrounded by more defenses. “He retreated to there, the coward.”
“Then we smoke him out,” Threed said, huffing as she tried to catch her breath at the door to the stairs.
Andromida was about to start off, when I saw more of the Nihilists climbing up onto the roof, eyes glaring at us.
“Go!” I said. “We’ll hold the others off and lead them away.”
Andromida tore away, the rest of us squaring up against the incoming enemies. All except Threed, who said, “I’m not letting her go down like that alone,” and sprinted after our Blue Lady.
“Dammit, we’ve already lost one super,” I shouted after her, but she merely turned as she ran, gave me a mock salute, and kept going.
“She can handle herself,” Navani said, and then let off a shot that hit one of the Nihilist’s dead on.
“I would’ve said the same for Nyoka,” I countered, also opening fire.
We kept on like this, shooting and blasting them with powers. Explosions went off like fireworks, and blast after blast would’ve gotten me if not for the fast actions of my team.
More and more Nihilists were joining in the fight, but hadn’t seemed to notice the departure of Threed and Andromida. At least, they hadn’t moved to the tower yet. We had to keep it that way, so drove the fighting away from it, tearing the enemy down and t
hen moving on, sending back shots to antagonize newcomers into following us.
One fell ahead of us, and then we were in the clear. A break from the fighting, and then Charm appeared, crouched and ready for more action. Sniffing the air, she motioned us on.
We moved across the roof, this time finally in a moment of silence. My level had surely gone up, so I looked at my stats screen and grinned. Sure enough, there was an extra skill point waiting for me. Not knowing what I was going to be getting into, though, I decided not to use it. I scrolled through my options, so I could be ready. They were Blood Bath and Stun Pulse under the knife options, and Spiked Shield under the shield menu. It looked like Blood Bath allowed a punch at the end of a combo that would be sure to penetrate flesh. That sounded disgusting, but I supposed could be cool if I ever had a craving for pulling out someone’s beating heart. Stun Pulse sounded safe, and stuns had certainly been useful so far. Plus, it looked like a ranged attack. Spiked Shield would be cool, too, if we found ourselves surrounded.
I’d wait and find out.
There were undoubtedly more of the enemy forces around, but for now we’d apparently dealt with those who had been close by. Each step I took was with caution, ready for shit to hit the fan at any minute. Something rumbled in the distance, a flash of light following.
I spun, looking for trouble.
“Charm!” a voice shouted, then a figure leaped from the wall behind her. I started sprinting, not about to let one of those bastards take out the woman who’d rescued us. She was already fighting, but the other guy was quick, dodging backwards just at the right moment. I came in with a flaming fist, and pulled back to end him.
22
“It’s me,” the Nihilist who had just landed nearby said, hands up. I had to admit, that voice sounded familiar. My punch had already started and I was committed, but he dove sideways. “Drew, stop, it’s me! It’s Breaker—er, I mean Chad!”
I hesitated, confused, and then a voice called out, “we’re still under the illusion code thing!” as another Nihilist landed next to the one claiming to be my brother. Charm and I stood there, staring in confusion. This had to be some sort of trap, right?
Before I even had a chance to make another move, the first Nihilist made a motion with his hands, and then their appearances faded into those of my brother, Chad, and the green-haired woman I’d seen with him in the pictures from the prison ship.
Charm darted forward, throwing her arms around my brother with such enthusiasm that they slammed into the wall. They were kissing, her hands caressing him like they had been old lovers reunited after many years apart. Meanwhile, I was still glancing around in complete confusion. Their being here made no sense whatsoever.
Just to be sure, I remembered my suit’s ability to scan others. When I pulled it up, it said: Breaker, A.K.A. Chad Bostwick. Level Twenty-Seven. Special Powers: Adaptable, currently includes illusions. Notes: Brother. How the hell was he already at such a high level? That shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. Me, the jock and Marine.
“What took you so long, ass?” Charm asked, shoving Chad back, then grabbing him again and shoving her tongue back into his mouth.
In the awkwardness, I realized that I hadn’t checked my own stats in a while, so pulled mine up and saw I was only level nine. Two more than last time I checked, but still seventeen below my nerdy brother.
I cleared my throat, and finally my brother stopped to grin my way.
“Mind if I get in there?” I said, and Charm laughed, stepping aside. I don’t know what came over me, but I went in for a hug. Probably the only time my brother and I had ever hugged. When it felt awkward, I pulled back and shook his hand. “It’s really good to see you, though I’d say the circumstances could be better.”
“Thanks for saving her,” Chad said, eyes flicking over to Charm.
“Saving me?” She laughed.
“Yeah, you got that backwards, bro,” I said. “Me and my… er, team… wouldn’t be around if not for her. She’s been telling us all about you. In some ways, too much,” I added with a wink. Probably too much? Definitely too much. “I never knew my little bro had it in him.”
“Team?”
Sacrada floated down beside me, making a big, flashy show of her arrival.
Navani crept out of the shadows. “Your brother?”
“Navani, meet Chad,” I replied.
“Most people call me Breaker here,” Chard replied.
“Is that so?” I asked, trying not to laugh. “Breaker of…?”
“Just Breaker.”
I frowned and turned to Navani. “Tell me, why haven’t I gotten a cool superhero name yet?”
“We’ll ask Lamb about it when we find her,” she said.
“Lamb?” Chad’s eyes went wide, but the woman at his side cleared her throat.
“We probably have all sorts of questions, but… we really have to get out of here.” The woman turned to the rest of the darkness and the giant fortress, scanning it with pink screens that popped up in front of her, raising a new series of questions from me, but I kept them at bay. “If we don’t go soon… well,” she scrunched her face in a cute way that made me proud of my little bro, “let’s just say the forces they have arrayed against us are formidable.”
“Formidable?” I asked, and chuckled. “Sounds like something Navani would say.”
Charm took my brother’s arm, rubbing her head on his shoulder, and said, “My hero, come to rescue the princess from the dark, scary place.”
“Although, it doesn’t look like you needed my help,” Chad replied with a grin. Turning to me, he motioned everyone along. “Come on, we’re going to work on finding a way out of here.”
I hesitated, glanced over my shoulder in the direction Threed had gone, and said, “Only problem, one of ours ran ahead, thinking she could take on the whole damn Nihilist army by herself. I can’t exactly leave her behind.”
“And we have to move,” the woman with the pink screens said. “Ranger found us once, he can do it again. If he gets to the ship and Gale before us… Well, we want to get that planet back before that happens.”
“Are you… going to be okay?” Chad asked, as if he was ever the one who needed to look out for me. It was almost funny, but kind of nice.
“We have an escape portal,” I said, although that wasn’t entirely accurate—we had the ship we’d come on, which we hoped could get us back because of the way we’d used it to come here, “which will take us back to our entry point.”
“If we can get here,” Chad said, turning around, considering it, “why can’t we all just send armies of supers to take them down?”
“This isn’t their world,” Navani said. “It’s dark, yes, but theirs… from what I’ve seen in visions, is so much worse.”
“Fuck,” Chad said, then covered his mouth. “Oh, damn, sorry for my language.”
I laughed. “These ladies have as foul mouths as they come. Yes, even the angel one.”
Sacrada gave me a glare, and then Sakurai came running up, her cute little miniskirt bouncing. I couldn’t help but notice Chad take a defensive stance, but I quickly introduced her.
“What’d I miss?” Sakurai asked. “Where’s Threed?”
“We’re going after her,” I said. “My brother is here, apparently, and is about to save a planet, and it sounds like he’s going up against Ranger?”
“No shit?” Sakurai said, eyeing Chad up and down, seemingly liking what she saw.
“You’re staying with us,” Sacrada told her sister, shooting my brother a reproachful glance as if it were his fault she’d checked him out. Good thing she did, or I was about to speak up.
“Actually, we’re not trying to fight him quite yet,” Chad explained. “Escape him, that’s the goal.”
“It looks like you already fought him and he kicked your ass,” Sacrada said.
“Yeah well, long story. An arena fight, kind of like in Ancient Rome.”
“What… the… fuck.” I shook my
head, overwhelmed with the idea that I now knew so little about my brother and what he’d been through. “Bro, when this is over, I can’t wait to catch up with you. The stories we will tell!”
“I look forward to it,” he said, and we went back in for the bro hug. Finally, we separated, told the others it was nice to meet them, and my ladies and I ran back toward the fortress to find Threed.
“Strange, running into them here,” Navani said, glancing back. “But it gives me hope?”
“My brother gives you hope?”
She nodded. “If they’re here and we’re here, at the same time, it can’t be a coincidence. We’re all following patterns and steps, whether they’re on purpose or not.”
“More prophesy mumbo-jumbo,” Sacrada said with a laugh.
I had to side with Navani on this though. As odd as the thought was, knowing my brother was here with his little army really did make me feel that much better about our chances of success.
Even though Charm had only been with us a short while, we were starting to miss her. Not in a sexual way, but she was one interesting, foxy lady, that was for sure. And honestly, I don’t think I knew as much about my brother as when she was talking about him. It would have been great to have them join us, but he had his own mission.
Soon enough, I thought, and actually believed there was a chance, now, after seeing him and his team. We might both actually find a way to win this and become Elders, then be able to sit back at the Citadel for a bit, and relax.
I couldn’t wait.
But there was the death of Nyoka weighing over us, though I still hadn’t figured out really how to address it. She’d helped us, but I hardly had a chance to properly get to know her. Losing a partial-team member hurt, but we had to move on, to do what we could to not think about it too much. In war, people die. Hell, any one of us could be next.
“What’s the status on finding Andromida?” I asked Navani, trying to get my mind off of all that.