by J Bennett
“Raincheck,” I say to DeAngelo and bound away from him.
Shine shoves past the Glory League hero in the silver dress, who cradles a frosted arm against her chest. The Professor shoots his ice ray, and its charge splatters frozen crystals across Shine’s breastplate, not stopping him for a single moment. The Professor curses as he realizes that his weap is useless against Shine’s fancy suit. My boss scurries around The Hero, grabbing up a small case hidden in the shadow of the statue.
Enclosed in the case is his jet pack, but the thing will take a min to unfold and rev up.
Sequoia finally manages to pummel the Dragon Rider into the ground, but then DeAngelo staggers into his path, ready for another fight.
As Shine swings around the statue, Kitty pops up in front of him.
“Hi,” she says brightly. “Want to play tag?” She winks at him, and her voice grows soft and whispery, “I bet you can’t catch me.”
Shine pulls back his arm and delivers a blow so vicious I can hear the impact on his titanium gloved fist against Kitty’s face. Her cheek crumbles inward, her eye dislocating. She sways.
“Ouch,” she says mildly. “I do not appreciate this level of roughhousing. Safe word. Safe word.” Then she topples to the ground. Shine grins and steps over her body. His shadow falls across The Professor, who desperately unfolds his jet pack with shaking hands. There’s no way he’ll have time to slip on the pack and power it up.
“You’re mine!” Shine growls.
I leap desperately at Shine. He sees me at the last moment and raises his arms to catch me. We tumble to the ground together, rolling across the grass. He hits the base of the statue and grunts, but I doubt he feels the impact.
He’s up quickly. I stay down and swing my leg at his feet. This same move worked beautifully on DeAngelo, but Shine dances away and gives me a brutal kick to the kidneys. My breath explodes out of my lungs and colors dazzle in front of my eyes. He kicks at me again, and I grab his foot, desperately curling myself around it to soften the blow. This throws him off balance, and he hops awkwardly. I yank down hard, and his knee hits the ground.
I swing for an uppercut, but he bats my arm away and I feel his elbow drive into my shoulder blade, slamming me into the ground. I cry out as pain radiates across my back. Even if Shine weren’t encased in an impenetrable suit, I’d be no match for him. Adan is the superior fighter by far, and I’ve no more tricks up my sleeve today. Shine smiles as I roll onto my elbows and knees. I’ll never know what final blow he has planned, because The Scream from The Dark League leaps onto Shine’s back, screeching like a banshee. Her enhanced vocal adapter turns the sound in a wailing cry that nearly bursts my eardrums.
I gasp in a painful breath and flop onto my back. Overhead, I watch as something—possibly Lizard’s tail—hits one of the Dragon Riders square in the chest. He tumbles off his sky skimmer and plummets to the ground. That fall would kill a normal human, but his reinforced costume will save his life, though probs not the structural integrity of all his bones. I wince, knowing that his career—whichever Dragon Rider he was—is probs over.
Then I hear a high whine growing louder and louder. I look up and see the riderless sky skimmer tumbling through the air, headed right at us. Next to me, Shine rips Scream off his back and bodily tosses her into the base of The Hero statue.
“Shine!” I croak. He follows my gaze to the incoming sky skimmer. I wobble to my feet, already knowing I’ll be too slow to dive out of the way. Unlike the Dragon Riders, I’m not wearing an impenetrable carbon fiber costume. I’m going to die. Def going to… Suddenly I’m in Shine’s arm. He tucks me into his body as he leaps away from the statue. We both watch as the sky skimmer slams into The Hero, shattering half her face and shearing off her sword arm, before slamming into the ground.
Thick, oily smoke curls around us. Through the haze, I see Sequoia dragging DeAngelo away from the flames. I don’t know where Gold and Mermaid are, or my boss. I look up at Shine. Adan’s bright green eyes stare down at me in concern from beneath his mask.
“You alright?” he asks softly. My ears are ringing from The Scream so that I can barely hear him, but I nod dully.
Then I see a figure rising into the air through the smoke of the downed sky skimmer. Wearing his jet pack, The Professor bobbles into the air, apparently unharmed. His face is tinged with soot, but he must be hardy because he lets out his signature villain laugh.
I pull in a painful breath and then carefully push myself out of Shine’s arms. I plaster what I hope is a gloating smile on my face, though I can barely keep up the pretense.
“Looks like you won’t get what you came here for,” I say to Shine. Our eyes meet again, and I give him silent permission to slip back into his role as my enemy.
“Then I’ll just have to make do with you,” Shine says. “A sorry substitute, but maybe I’ll take those goggles as a personal trophy.”
“Just try it,” I growl. Slowly, painfully, I force myself to my feet. I hope I look noble for the cams as I bring my arms up and put a foot back, positioning myself to fight. Shine grins, and just when he moves into his fighting stance, I turn and sprint toward the densest part of the crowd as fast as my legs will carry me.
That’s one big bennie of being a villain. I don’t have to be noble. I don’t have to stand and fight, no matter the cost. I can cut and run, save my bruised ass to plot another day.
I take five glorious steps toward my victorious escape when something coils around my waist. I look down and recognize what it is.
“Buddha’s gallbladder juice,” I hiss as Shine’s Torch Whip sends an electric shock through me. My muscles contract. My limbs flail. I gag on my own spit and darkness beats black feathers over my vision. And then I’m lying crumpled on the ground. The battlefield shifts in and out of focus above me and my fingers twitch outside my control.
“That was setting three,” Shine says as he steps up next to me. He reaches down and grabs the collar of my lab coat. My head lolls forward as he jerks me to my knees. I concentrate and lift my head so that I can meet his eyes. I know I’m defeated, so what happens now is critically important.
Go out big, Tickles says. It’s my only hope. The majority of henchmen are disposable, but if The Professor’s viewers heart me enough, they’ll pressure him to break me out of the town’s prison. Maybe Leo can even turn my rescue into the main plot of the next ep.
But only if the viewers think I’m worth the trouble. My brain is ringing and sputtering, but I know I must look brave now.
“The Professor got away,” I taunt Shine, forcing my eyes to focus on his face. “I doubt Beacon will be pleased that you failed to capture him again.” I try to laugh, but it comes out as a wheeze.
Shine gives me a tight-lipped smile. “I bet you know where his temporary lab is.” He pulls, and the whip tightens around my waist. “Want to see what the highest shock setting does?”
“Iron!” Sequoia bellows somewhere behind me, but he sounds far away.
“Your little boyfriend won’t be able to help you,” Shine sneers.
My vision blurs and refocuses as I look past Shine. Something catches my attention, a figure slinking on the edge of the battle. He wears a tattered black leather jacket.
My heart freezes in my chest and every last molecule of oxygen evaporates from my lungs.
“Shadow,” I whisper.
Shine laughs. “You don’t think I’m going to fall for that.”
I watch Shadow stroll around the battle, a wide smile on his face. A few others have seen him, and they fall back in fear. Shadow leisurely pulls his Molten Ax from the sheath across his back. Even from here, I can see its tip begin to glow with heat.
“No,” I whisper. Shadow isn’t like the rest. He won’t stop at a broken nose or busted lip. Shadow lives only for destruction and chaos.
Adan must see something in my expression, or maybe he feels how my body begins to tremble because he turns his head and follows my gaze. And then he drops me, h
is whip uncurling from my waist. I watch the flash of his orange-and-gold costume disappear into the fight as he plunges toward Shadow.
Shadow. Just as I remember him. His face smeared in black grease. Those throbbing red eyes glowing even in the midday sun. And the huge ax clutched in his boney hand.
He strolls with purpose.
Nearby, I catch sight of Beacon. She is a whirl of glinting arms and golden curls as she dispatches Cleopatra’s last manservant with a beautiful roundhouse kick. The two others already lay at her feet and the high priestess is nowhere to be seen. Cleopatra clutches her short sword, ready for the fight that’s been building between them for years.
Neither of them sees Shadow.
Not until he laughs. The sound seems amplified, coming from all corners of the Square. It rattles inside of me, echoing off my nightmares. And then he hurls his ax.
I think the weap must be aimed at Beacon, but the trajectory seems off.
And then I understand.
A few meters behind Beacon is the man she’s been valiantly protecting throughout the entire fight. Ash Anders is on his hands and knees, hair disheveled, green coat torn. His gaze is intent on the ground, his hands brushing through the grass. As the Molten Ax hurtles toward him, he smiles, reaches into the grass, and grasps the pink seashell in his hand.
“ASH!” I cry.
“LOOK OUT!” Shine’s voice overlaps mine. He shoves desperately toward the mayor, but he’s too far away.
Ash Anders looks up, stares uncomprehendingly at the ax whirling at him, and then a flash of gold and scarlet blocks him from my vision.
In the hushed silence, we hear the cry that softens into a gurgle. We see Beacon stagger and then fall. Shadow’s Molten Ax is embedded in her chest, but that can’t be possible. Beacon’s armor is nearly impenetrable. It’s the very best money can buy.
And yet I’m close enough to see the ruby gush spilling over her costume as her hand flutters weakly at the ax handle. Shine stumbles toward her and falls to his knees next to her. He leans over her, his hand touching the handle of the ax and then shying away.
Ash Anders hasn’t moved. His face is white.
The fighting has almost entirely stopped. Most of those still on their feet stand quiet and uncertain.
I watch as Beacon’s hand slips off the ax handle and lays still on the ground.
No.
This can’t be happening. Beacon is perfect. Immortal. In a world wracked with darkness and uncertainty, she has always been the light.
The Professor lands near Beacon, drops the jet pack off his back, and joins Shine to hover over her. A murmur breaks out among the heroes and vils. The cam drones are turning away from the others and swarming over Beacon like gnats.
“GET AWAY!” Shine screams at them, but they only cluster tighter. The Professor leans over Beacon, but after a moment, he sits back on his knees and shakes his head.
“No!” Cleopatra staggers forward. Her face is distraught. “No, No, No!” she keens. She rushes for Beacon. Shine stands up, catches her.
“NO, NO, NO!” she cries, her voice cracking. She tears herself out of his grip and stares at Beacon.
Numbly, I glance around, but Shadow has disappeared.
Cleopatra howls in agony, and it feels like her scream is loud enough to break open the sky.
Chapter 28
Dawn will always conquer the long night. ~ Beacon, S4, E12
~
That night the clouds roll in and unleash a heavy, drenching rain. The wind screams around us as we make our pilgrimage to The Hero statue. For two hours, the Big Little City Police only allow sponsored vils and capes into the Square so that we can commune with our fallen comrade and dutifully record our lamentations. At midnight they will pull away the barriers and open the Square to all. Already the crowds are gathering; pale, anxious faces set aglow by the screens of their Bands.
But for now, it is only us. The rain chills my skin as I stand at the base of the statue. She is a broken thing, her face cracked in half, that strong, protective arm, gone. The child grinning up at her seems vulnerable now, easy prey.
So many capes and vils come to the vigil. Most from the earlier brawl manage to make it, their arms in splints, noses puffy, and eyes black. One of Cleopatra’s manservants sits in a wheelchair, but he stubbornly wheels forward to nudge a spot close to the statue’s base. There are many others who weren’t at this afternoon’s fight, faces from shows swiped long ago. I recognize The Fat Tubist, The Map Collector, Wild Infinity, Vine, Feline Fatale, and more. Even Evil Santa makes his appearance surrounded by a gaggle of his Lunatic Elves, including Tickles who has served as my online mentor. When I see my henchman hero up close, Tickles looks pudgy and old, his jowls sagging and heavy lines stitched around his mouth. He’s made no secret of his affinity for Mellows, and he’s got that telltale glaze in his eyes.
The capes and vils lay tokens at the base of the statue. They murmur greetings to former allies and foes, and always their eyes dart around the Square. Even as torment rages through me, I catch myself scanning the darkness. Shadow is still out there, and a gathering of so many capes and vils in one place would be a rich target for him.
Just in front of the statue, Reena Masterson speaks softly to a cam drone and pulls capes and vils aside for hushed interviews. The air is filled with cam drones. Every Persona with a current show will certainly include a scene of themselves paying homage at the statue, most likely followed by a lengthy reflection on the day’s events and Beacon’s impact on the city from the comfort of their lair or headquarters. Leo has already requested such an interview with The Professor, and I know at least two of the cam drones hovering above us belong to our show.
RTS – Ride the Storm. No matter how terrible.
The bouquets and wreaths the others place against the statue are glorious. Many include real flowers. The Professor’s token is simple by comparison, but he worked on it all night. A little track rings his wreath and a small magnetic train chugs round and round. The colors of the train and the tiny letters painted on its side are familiar. It’s the BLC Express, the site of The Professor’s first major battle with Beacon. That victory made Beacon a name in this town. Now that little train will always stay on the track, will always be safe.
I feel a small, wry smile curve my lips as I remember what Adan told me. Beacon was never supposed to be on that train. She found out about The Professor’s plans and stood against him, grabbing all the fame that was originally meant for some other cape.
And from that day on, Beacon was... everything. She was the town’s protector. She was beautiful and righteous and always had smiles for the children and tourists. Just a flash of scarlet and gold could send villains shrinking in fear.
She was unbeatable. Unbreakable. Immortal.
Until she wasn’t.
Until now.
As I look at the mangled statue, I feel shattered too. And so afraid.
Shine stands in front of the statue, chin up, shoulders back, as he accepts condolences from our town’s most fearsome villains and greatest heroes alike. His costume sets the raindrops and puddles around him aglow, and in this moment he truly looks like a hero. When The Professor shakes his hand, I stay behind him with my fellow henchmen. Lysee stands at Shine’s side, shivering in her thin costume. Her purple hair hangs in dripping rivulets around her face. I manage to meet her eyes once and she quickly turns her face away. And then The Professor is marching away from Shine and from the statue. I have no choice but to follow.
Our vigil is over.
*
When we arrive back at Sequoia’s house, The Professor retreats to the master bedroom and slams the door. Leo’s cam drone hovers in front of it, drinking in the poignant moment. In the living room, Mermaid drops onto the couch. Gold briefly disappears into the kitchen and returns with an ice pack, which he places gently on her swollen ankle. They speak together in hushed voices. Apparently they both turned in strong performances during today’s brawl,
starting with Mermaid’s brave dive in front of The Professor to absorb Ash Anders’s laz shot. She was able to rouse herself just in time for the big fight and took on several members of the Glory League, coming out with only a sprained ankle and broken finger.
Gold claimed he tagged Lobo with his laz pistol and survived a tussle with Hummingbird. He looks mostly unscathed, though I notice a long scratch down his cheek, and several gold beads are missing from his dreads.
I turn away from the living room and head to the guest bedroom. As I pass the office, I see Sequoia sitting inside, Kitty’s head cradled gently in his lap. The left side of his face is bruised, his lip is cut and swollen. I remember catching glimpses of him slugging it out with one of the Dragon Riders, desperately trying to protect The Professor.
I lean against the doorway wishing I could offer him an ice pack as a token of peace. Somehow I doubt he’d accept it. Sequoia has peeled away the synthetic skin from Kitty’s face and is working to reconnect her eye into its socket.
“I hope you can get her up and running,” I say, and he starts at my voice. “I’ve actually grown fond of her.”
Sequoia looks down at Kitty. His wet lab coat is crumpled in the corner of the room, his goggles tossed carelessly on top of it. It feels like forever since I’ve seen his full face, all those scattered freckles and stormy blue eyes.
“Yes, me too,” he finally says. I can see the pain inside of him, the pain I caused, and no ice pack will fix that. I don’t know how to convince him I’m not worth the trouble or heartache.
So instead, I just say, “Shining luck,” and it comes out as a hoarse whisper. He doesn’t respond.
In the guest bedroom, I close the door behind me and pull off my wet lab coat. Every movement causes pain. I’ve re-injured my shoulder and my ribs are bruised. I unclip the bowtie from my neck and unbuckle my belt. Slowly, hissing in pain, I peel off my shirt and pants and then step out of my underwear. I stand naked in front of the bed, a few cold drops of water running down my back from my braided hair.