by Drew Hayes
“The code.” Tori answered without a second thought, and she noted that the others echoed her. While she doubted they’d gotten the same thorough training and speeches she had, it seemed their teachers had instructed them on how important the code was all the same. Or, at least, how important they had to pretend it was.
“That is correct. The code of this guild is our armor. It protects us, conceals us, allows us to live in the shadows. All around the world there are metas trying to get rich or seize power by their own means, and inevitably they must deal with the Alliance of Heroic Champions. Through the code, we stay below their radar, always out of reach, always too hard to chase. They know of us, yet because of the code, they are forced to tolerate us. The code ensures that we are smart, careful, and, above all, that we remain unseen. However, the code is not only armor, keeping those in this guild safe; it is also a sword used to carve out those who would bring trouble down upon our heads.”
Ivan didn’t pace, didn’t move, didn’t so much as flinch as he spoke. He was rigid, unmovable, a manifestation of the very code he loved so dearly. If they hadn’t already known, no one in the room would have guessed that this controlled man was once the wild beast of destruction known as Fornax.
“For the most part, we leave other criminals undisturbed. The AHC needs them to prop up their image, and the last thing we want is to leave them scarce on villains to drag before the cameras. However, sometimes we get word of criminals going too far, seeking the sort of power that might threaten our very world—which troubles us as much as the capes—or committing the sort of crimes that work counter to our interests. The gang we’re going after tonight has begun to cause our guild a lot of trouble. They’ve targeted assets owned by guild members, a crime we would punish regardless, but even worse, they’ve been buying up black market information on the identities and loved ones of various capes. Can anyone tell me why that could negatively impact us?”
“An unhinged cape is an unpredictable cape,” Lance said. He earned a few surprised stares, to which he gave a small shrug as if to say that even he paid attention from time to time.
“Simplistic, but true,” Ivan agreed. “Logically, our organization is not worth the trouble of taking a run at. We cover our tracks and have great lawyers on retainer. But when a cape loses their family, when anger and grief overwhelm that logic we depend on, sometimes revenge against the people who stole their loved ones isn’t enough. Often it will boil over, causing them to try and take down every villain they can, including the ones they know they should leave be. This is why our code forbids killing the friends and family of a cape, even accidentally, and it’s why we discourage it to non-members whenever possible. In the case of the gang trying to steal from us and trying to stir up capes, our discouragement is going to be the active kind.”
For the first time since he’d walked in the room, Ivan hesitated. It was subtle, almost imperceptible unless one had been living in his garage apartment for the past several weeks and gotten to know him very well. That moment of hesitation, more than anything else that had occurred so far, put Tori on edge.
“I don’t mean to mince words and dance around the truth; that wouldn’t do you any good with what’s coming,” Ivan said. “You need to know what’s going to happen, and you need to mentally prepare for it as best you can. We’re going to leave the guild tonight. Tunnel Vision will send us to the warehouse where the gang we’re after is hiding out, and I’m going to kill them. All of them. They’ve been warned, they refused to back down, and so tonight, I’m being sent in for a code-enforcement. This is a nice way of saying I will end every life inside that building. And you’re all going to be there to watch me.”
“That seems unnecessarily brutal,” Beverly said, the words clearly leaving her mouth before she had time to consider them.
“I don’t entirely disagree with you, but this is a necessary part of your education,” Ivan replied, unbothered by the outburst. “These people have no association with our guild and that’s why they were given a warning to back down. You, however, are part of the guild, and this is your warning. We cannot tolerate code-breakers here for many reasons, one of the most important of which is that it gives the capes a foothold to bring us down. If they can go after one of us, it could be the first step in allowing them to go after all of us. So we handle our problems in-house, before they ever get the chance to mount an investigation. No one here is above the code, not even your councilors. Better to show you what happens to those who don’t heed that warning than let you become counted among them.”
Slowly, Ivan met the eyes of every apprentice in the room. “These people were going to die no matter what, whether you watched it or not. None of their blood is on your hands, and unless you take a code-enforcement job from the board, it never will be. This is happening. Even if you tried, you couldn’t stop me. Don’t waste time feeling guilty. Instead, learn from what I’m showing you. If it keeps even one of you from forgetting how seriously this guild takes the code, then perhaps these lives won’t be lost entirely in vain.”
He turned back to Tunnel Vision, who were waiting patiently. “Whenever you two are ready, please open the door.”
* * *
The sudden onset of humidity took Tori by surprise, even though she should have expected a climate change. In the distance, she could make out bells ringing and the long low whistle of an unseen ship making its way across water. Tunnel Vision’s doorway had let them out near a harbor, so close that, if she strained, Tori could make out the sounds of waves crashing against the piers. In front of them was a dirty brick building, the high windows on several sides broken out. Occasional bursts of light would come from within—flashlights sweeping through the surroundings. It was more familiar than Tori would have preferred, a reminder of the days when she holed up where she could and constantly stole to finance her projects. Places like this were ones she’d quickly learned to avoid. They were too convenient and tempting for gangs of actual criminals. Sooner or later, one would move in and Tori would be out a place to stay, along with any possessions she couldn’t sneak away with.
In front of them, the air shimmered and Arcanicus stepped into view. It was somewhat reassuring to see their usual field teacher, though everyone couldn’t help noticing his face was pinched and weary this evening. Wordlessly, he handed out the pendants that would keep them unseen then cast a new spell that created a softly glowing bubble around them.
“Near as I can tell, there are around twenty,” Arcanicus said, speaking to Ivan instead of the apprentices. “At least seven are metas. The rest might be, but my wards didn’t catch them. There’s a pair of magic-users in there, so I had to be careful not to tip them off.”
“That’s fine, I prefer surprise above all else,” Ivan assured him. “Are any more coming?”
“They’ve started their meeting so it’s unlikely, but I can ward the place once you’re in, just to be safe.” Arcanicus shivered, though whether it was due to the chilly wet air or the events he knew were about to transpire was anyone’s guess.
“A ward would be appreciated. Also, keep an eye on the apprentices. I should be able to handle that many, but my powers aren’t well-built for protection. If one of them is in danger, teleport them out here to join you. Apprentices, do your best not to get in danger. You’re almost guild members; I hope you can handle at least that much.”
Ivan turned to face his charges, and Tori noticed that for the first time that night his eyes had changed. Once more they had become orbs of darkness lit only by glowing red runes. Those eyes, Fornax’s eyes, meant things were about to get serious. Her nerves tensed, and she mentally moved herself a little closer to fire-form. She’d be damned if she had to get yanked to safety like a puppy wandering too close to a street.
“The most important rules for tonight are to stay silent, stay focused, and above all else, stay out of my way. Once we’re inside, I won’t be able to coddle you, so if anyone starts to lose it, take care of each other.” He
looked away from them, back at the warehouse filled with criminals who didn’t know their time on the planet had almost run out.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sincerely sorry for what I’m about to make you watch. Feel free to hate me afterward; you’ll have every right. But do me a favor and try to keep yourselves from being this example for a future class of trainees. I take no more joy in doing this than you will in watching it.”
With that, Ivan headed toward the warehouse, and the apprentices followed.
Chapter 54
Unlike the crisp, humid air outside, the interior of the warehouse festered with must. It permeated everything around them, soaking the building in a depressing fog of neglect. Tori’s ears perked to the sounds of chuckles, whispers, and the scuffing of boots. The gang was nearby, and for a moment she was surprised they hadn’t bothered stationing a guard at the door. Then the others moved forward and she saw a man with a snake tattoo on his face lying on the ground, neck twisted at an inhuman angle. Ivan had killed the man upon entering, before he had a chance to sound an alarm, doing it so quickly that even the apprentices on his heels hadn’t been fast enough to catch him in the act. Tori fought the urge to gulp audibly. She’d seen far worse than a bad man given a quick death in her time on the streets. And she knew she would see worse again before the night was done.
A few steps ahead of the huddled apprentices, a soft glow lit the room as the gathered flashlights threw off a cumulative shine. Standing on the edge of the shadows, still partially hidden by stacked boxes that no doubt contained drugs, guns, or some other illegal ware, Ivan turned back to look at his charges. He held up a single hand, signaling them to stay put, for the moment at least. The command given, he stepped out of the shadows. From the way the small noises of discussion died, Tori had no doubt they’d noticed him. No one had the chance to yell before Ivan spoke, and once he did, there was no need for questions.
“You all know why I’m here. You were warned and chose not to listen. Anyone who wishes for a quick death should lie down right now. That much mercy, I can still show.”
There was some shouting and the sound of heavy footsteps. When Ivan next spoke, Tori was taken aback by the sadness in his voice.
“No takers? So be it. Apprentices, come out. It’s time for you to see what happens to those who cross the guild.”
Tori was the first to emerge from behind the boxes, and not by happenstance. She knew this wasn’t easy for Ivan, the man who wanted to do nothing more than live a normal life with his family in suburbia. He was doing it for the guild, for the peace he wanted to protect, and tonight, he was doing it especially for them. If Ivan was willing to work so hard to show them a lesson, then, as his apprentice, she owed it to him to learn as best she could. No matter how hard it was to watch.
Quick as Tori was, she still missed the first two kills. By the time she rounded the corner, there were a pair of corpses at Ivan’s feet, both distinctly missing their heads. A massive meta bigger than Thuggernaut was rearing back to level a mighty punch at her teacher, while a man who looked like he’d been bred with a mosquito reared back to stab at Ivan with the three-foot blade poking out of his face. Several feet away, a woman was muttering under her breath, conjuring a strange black cloud in her hands. Tori’s stomach briefly tightened with fear as she watched the three metas coordinate an attack on the man who had come to destroy them.
She needn’t have spared the worry. Ivan grabbed the mosquito man without looking and threw him like a javelin into the chest of the woman with the cloud. This allowed the giant to take his swing, which Ivan stopped on impact, a small shield appearing over the spot where the meta had punched him. Ivan grabbed the man’s arm and effortlessly lifted him overhead, then charged across the room to where the mosquito man was trying to free himself from his cohort’s chest. Using the big meta as a club, Ivan rained three blows down on the entangled pair. When he was done, he’d not only finished them off, but also turned his weapon to pulp.
Gunshots rang out as the human members of the gang tried to do what dozens of capes couldn’t—take down the monster once known as Fornax. Ivan dashed across the room, moving so quickly he seemed more blur than man, and dispatched the shooters as easily as if they were made from glass.
“Jesus.” Beverly said the word more like a prayer than a curse, her dark skin several shades paler as she watched Ivan finish off the gunmen and leap up to a decrepit catwalk where a man with bladed tentacles attempted to rain down blows upon him. “He’s... he’s not even trying, is he?”
On the catwalk, Ivan had easily snagged one of the tentacles as it came in for a strike and yanked the attacker over to him. One punch and the man was down, blood streaming through the holes in the metal grating beneath his corpse. Another meta shimmered into view behind Ivan, raising a knife that looked like it belonged in a history book.
“Of course he isn’t,” Lance said. While he hadn’t gone pale, his usual cheeriness had vanished, leaving behind only a stalwart determination to keep watching. “That’s the man who helped kill the unkillable Orion, who nearly fought Lodestar to a standstill, whose power is on par with the greatest metas in history. And he, or someone like him, is who they’ll send after us if we fuck up.”
The blade slammed into Ivan’s back, only to bounce back and knock its wielder slightly off-balance. It was the only attack he got off. Ivan whirled around before the man could vanish again. Another blow and the blood streaming from the catwalk became a small waterfall.
“I get that he’s strong, but why do they need to show us this?” Beverly asked. “We know the code is important. We get the stakes. What’s the point of making us watch all this killing?”
Tori opened her mouth to try and explain. Before she could, to her surprise, Warren answered the question, and he did so better than she could have.
“Maybe you knew the stakes going in, but not every recruit would. This is an organization of criminals, many of whom have already fought capes and other metas on their own. Some would think the rules were flexible, or that they were strong enough to ignore them. This is about putting the fear in them, in us. They’re making sure we understand that if we fuck with the code or the guild, that’s what’s waiting for us.” Warren nodded to Ivan, who dropped from the catwalk onto the back of another gang member, the sound of breaking bones echoing as he landed.
Those criminals that remained started to panic. The lone man they’d expected to defeat was shredding through them at an alarming rate. Several turned to run, heading for the exit and the four trainees watching the slaughter. They made it only three steps before Ivan was there, standing in front of them. He didn’t bother taking his time; instead, he swept his hand through the air in front of them. A red streak followed his movements, and as he reached the end of the line, the first man’s torso began to slide forward, away from his legs.
Lance turned away, willpower momentarily broken. Tori could hear Beverly taking deep breaths, probably trying to fight back the urge to vomit. She didn’t blame either of them; in fact, she was impressed they’d been able to hold it together for this long. The four corpses in eight pieces that Ivan had neatly created were only thirty feet away from them, bits of life still lingering in the top parts.
This time, Ivan paused before moving on, casting a quick look back at the apprentices who were dutifully watching his show. Whispering a few words, he set his hands on the ground. Moments later, all eight pieces burst into a brief, smoky black fire that burned out in seconds, leaving only ash.
“Corpse-fire? But that’s a real spell,” Warren mumbled, apparently surprised that Ivan’s magic could do more than brute combat.
Tori was just thankful he’d gotten rid of the gory sight and allowed Lance and Beverly to regain some sense of composure. In a blink Ivan was gone again, zipping around the building, finishing off the few stragglers and those trying to hide. It was brutal, fierce, and bloody, but as she watched, Tori realized that Ivan seemed to make a point not to let anyone suffer.
Every kill was efficient, every blow deadly. There was no pageantry, no joy in the task at hand. Ivan was simply getting it done, as quickly and safely as he could manage.
At last, the final gang member had been finished off via a punch to the torso that left a nearby wall splattered in red. Ivan made his way back over to the apprentices. Everyone was still standing, though Lance had needed to duck behind the boxes and vomit briefly while Ivan mopped up the stragglers. His dark eyes, burning with red runes, looked them up and down slowly, taking in their shaken expressions. Though it almost pained her to do so, Tori forced the corners of her mouth into a small, reassuring smile.
“I hate these jobs,” Ivan said, somehow calm despite the blood and flesh clinging to his costume. “But I do them when they’re needed because the guild is important to me, and that means it’s something I want to protect. You may think the way we handle things is too cruel, or gruesome, and that’s certainly your right. However, the world before, without a guild or rules, was much worse. Hundreds of civilians could be caught up in the wake of some half-mad new meta’s destruction; turf wars between meta gangs cost countless people their homes and lives.”
He turned to look at the bloody scene he had created, unnatural eyes gazing through the building to a time long since passed. “If that were the case now, some of those countless civilians could be people we love. Even criminals have people they care about. I hate these jobs, but they keep the guild and the code safe, which in turn, keeps the people that I love safe. So I’ll keep doing them when the need arises. You can hate that we do things like this. You probably should. Just understand that it’s a necessary price to keep the order.”
With that, Ivan walked past them through the warehouse’s front door where Arcanicus and Tunnel Vision were waiting. After a few moments, the apprentices followed. Before leaving, each spent a moment to soak in the spectacle that had been created by the guild, their guild. Everyone took something different from the experience, but all walked out of the building changed.