Ultrahuman 01 - Ugly

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘She’s a friend. More than that, this is worrying June sick. I’m going over to see her later.’

  Twilight gave a nod. ‘I’ll drop by there when I quit for the night, let you know where I’ve got to.’ She got to her feet and started for the door.

  ‘Good hunting,’ Red said to her retreating back.

  ~~~

  ‘The New Millennium Police have been unusually successful today,’ Ghostfire growled, ‘and now Twilight has destroyed another warehouse.’

  Kopf nodded. ‘I have been analysing the attacks. I believe I have detected a pattern.’

  ‘You know where she’s going to hit next?’

  ‘It seems that she is following the list of properties from our interactions with Thorpe.’ He tapped some keys and a map appeared on one of his monitors. ‘These three locations are the most likely targets.’

  ‘I’ll…’ Ghostfire began.

  ‘I have sent Thog out to the warehouse on Gorton Street with a number of zombies. You should not take an active role in the proceedings. The risk of identification is too high.’

  ‘She’s become a liability. I want her head on a spike!’

  ‘And Thog will see to it that you get it. And if he fails, there is no further risk of discovery. If, somehow, she were to see you, our operation would be severely damaged. Your dual-identity is too valuable a commodity to risk on such a venture.’

  There was silence for a few seconds. Ghostfire knew Kopf was right; he just did not like it. ‘When can I have her?’ he said, changing the subject.

  Kopf turned to look out through the armoured glass between them and Cygnus. ‘I will wake her tomorrow and begin active tests. The day after… unless something unexpected comes up.’

  There was a grunt of displeasure and then the opening of the door out of the observation room. Kopf turned back to his instruments without comment.

  ~~~

  At first the warehouse appeared to be entirely empty. Twilight stepped through the shadows to one of the corners where there were a number of unmarked crates and waited for several seconds, trying to detect anyone in there with her. Satisfied that she was alone, she used her sword to lever open an edge of one lid and then began prising the box open with her fingers.

  So far she had found two warehouses used for drug storage. Both had had people in them she could question, not really expecting the answers she wanted. She had left both for the NMCPD to clean up, making sure she was gone before anyone official appeared. This time it was not drugs, however.

  There was a crate full of grenades, but not explosive ones. Not normal explosive ones anyway. She picked one up and turned it over in her hand, examining the base where a label told her that it was an EMP grenade, designed to take out electronics. It was a weird thing to find given that they were supposed to be experimental, and military.

  Cracking another box she frowned at the rifles within, lying in wooden racks three deep. Nine weapons of an unfamiliar design. Lifting one out, she examined it. No magazine, but the receiver seemed to be designed for some sort of power pack. Integral, high-tech sights on the top. These were laser rifles, or some sort of energy weapon. Was Ghostfire stockpiling them? Was this part of the war on the Tonaldos? Or was he selling them and, if so, to whom?

  Before she could check another crate she heard something behind her and turned. Then she gasped.

  There were six of the cybernetic zombies moving toward her and she could see more on the gantries above, probably there to cut off any escape. It was the behemoth in the middle of them that drew her attention, however. Easily eight feet in height, the figure was massively built. The dim overhead lights glinted off his skin, which was dull and metallic. Whatever had given him that skin had distorted his features, flattening and pushing his nose up to give a skull-like impression. His eyes were an unhealthy yellow colour. He growled.

  ‘Oh crap,’ Twilight said, her eyes widening as he charged at her.

  ~~~

  ‘Twilight has been engaged,’ Kopf announced.

  ‘Do you have video?’ Ghostfire asked.

  ‘From four of the zombies. Thog is charging her.’

  ‘I’ll be right down. I want to see this.’

  ~~~

  Twilight dived to her left as the metallic monstrosity’s fists swung through the space where she had been standing. The sound of steel-skinned hands hitting concrete was loud, but it gave her an idea. Of course it was a bit of a vague idea and it relied upon a lot of circumstances…

  Her sword swung, cutting the foot off an approaching zombie. It fell, rolled over, and began crawling toward her. They were good-quality zombies, that was for sure. A little too nimble for her taste, maybe. Good zombies should shamble. Whoever had built their electronics was…

  Twisting again, her sword took another zombie to the ground and she vaulted over it as the big man rallied and turned to try again. Twilight ducked under a wild swing, grabbed a grenade from the crate she had opened, hit the firing stud and tossed the thing on the floor. Then she vaulted the crates. She was not sure how long the fuse was on the things, but she had somewhere else to be and Metal Man was ploughing his way toward her, ignoring the boxes he was wading through. There was a small office off to one side of the main room, and she could see the glow of a lamp in it. That was where she was headed, and for two reasons. First, there was the plan to stop the big thug, and then there was the escape clause if that failed.

  Behind her there was a flare of light. Twilight heard a high-pitched shriek as her radio died an ignominious death. The grenade had gone off.

  ~~~

  ‘What happened?’ Ghostfire asked. He had just walked in to screens full of snow.

  ‘She found some of the EMP grenades,’ Kopf replied, his fingers tapping on keys. ‘She is a resourceful wench, I will give her that. Their range is limited…’

  The screens changed, showing more distant views of the scene from the zombies on the upper levels. All the ones on the ground floor were down, their control modules shorted out by the burst of electromagnetic radiation. Twilight could be seen pushing through the office door while Thog was staggering after her, looking dazed.

  ‘I thought those things were non-lethal?’ Ghostfire growled.

  ‘They are, unless you’re a robot. The flash can be disorienting, and Thog’s metal skin may have had a current induced in it… It does not seem to be bothering him much and she is now trapped. That door will not stop him for long.’

  ~~~

  The door was not going to hold, not for more than a couple of seconds. Twilight grabbed the light from the desk, turned it off, and unscrewed the bulb. Next came the baffle, which was stiff, and the door was giving under the thug’s fists. She got the shade off, screwed the bulb back in and turned, hiding the lamp behind her back just as the door crashed open.

  ‘Dark not help girl,’ the metal monster growled. ‘Thog crush…’

  Twilight snapped the light on. ‘You should really work on those communication skills.’

  Thog drew back a fist. Twilight stepped forward, ramming the naked bulb into Thog’s chest. There was the odd, squishing sound of thin glass imploding, and then there was a smell like a cross between burning pork and molten solder. Thog lurched backward and there was a loud bang from the plug on the wall. Twilight threw the lamp aside, swung her sword up, and stabbed it through one of Thog’s yellow eyes. She felt the slight resistance of the back wall of the eye socket, but her sword was very sharp and driven with a lot of force.

  Roaring in pain, Thog swung his arm, catching Twilight a glancing blow to the ribs. She figured there was going to be a bruise there the size of a plate by morning, but she ignored it, yanked her blade free with a screech of metal on metal, and went for the other eye. Her sword skated off his bald skull and his fist swept past her head. She turned, stabbed, and Thog let out a scream as his other eye was speared.

  Twilight had no idea how he was still standing, but he was, and she backed away, watching as he swung wildly at t
he empty space around him for several seconds before collapsing to the floor.

  ~~~

  Kopf frowned at his displays. They could not see what was happening in the room; none of the zombies had made it to the ground to look in yet, but…

  ‘Thog’s vitals are unstable,’ he said. ‘She’s found some way to stop him.’

  ‘Blow the building,’ Ghostfire said, his voice flat.

  ‘Unstable, not flat,’ Kopf replied. ‘He can be recovered and…’

  ‘Blow the building, now! I want her dead! Do you hear me, Blutadler?!’

  Kopf’s fists clenched; there would be some unhappy people… But they were a long way away and Ghostfire was here. Kopf had made this decision a long time ago. He reached for the keyboard.

  ~~~

  Twilight watched as explosions and flame ripped through the warehouse she had been in a few seconds earlier. She had heard the first detonation and dropped into the nearest shadow, and now she was across the street watching all the evidence go up in smoke.

  Ghostfire really wanted her dead. She had no doubt that he had been able to see what the zombies saw. He had known she had defeated Thog somehow and he had ordered the demolition of the building. A stash like that was probably rigged in case the police found it.

  The thought occurred to her that he had no way of knowing she had got out and it was probably going to be a good idea to keep it that way. Well, it was if she could figure out a better method of locating Cygnus. Maybe Red had come up with something.

  Turning from the flames, she stepped into shadow.

  12th December.

  Titanic Street was not far from the quays. The location had been selected for short transport of frozen materials from incoming ships and, amusingly for a street named after a vessel that had fallen prey to an iceberg, it had a lot of cold-storage warehouses on it.

  The one Twilight was watching was quiet, too quiet for something which was supposed to be operational. Red had pointed it out on the list as an anomaly. The only premises on there that had a fully legitimate business running out of the whole building. The only one with a business that seemed to have no connection to any of the front companies identified from the other sites they had raided, and the only meat storage warehouse.

  Andrea had grabbed a couple of hours’ sleep and then gone out in the early hours, before the sun was up. If this was the place they were holding Cygnus, time was running out. In truth, that was by no means a certainty, but the longer Ghostfire had her, the less chance there was that they would get her back in one piece.

  Well, there seemed to be no one about. Stepping into shadow, Twilight ported to street level near a door with a lock she hoped she could pick.

  ~~~

  Penny’s eyes flickered open and, for a second, she had no idea where she was. Then her vision cleared properly and…

  She still had no idea where she was, but she knew what her condition was, and that was ‘in trouble.’ Her arms and legs were encased in heavy, metal shackles attached to the floor and ceiling of the cylindrical room by thick, articulated limbs like metal tentacles. It felt as though her hands were stuck in some sort of soft goo which made getting any real purchase difficult.

  Through what looked like dense, thick glass in front of her she could see a man working at banks of computers. He looked old, well into his sixties, probably older. His hair was grey, what there was left of it, his face angular and gaunt, and he had a thick, Roman nose. The lab coat suggested a scientist rather than a doctor. He turned and looked at her.

  ‘Good, you’re awake.’ He had an accent; German, Penny thought. ‘The gas tends to have some after-effects. You should fully recover in a few minutes. Not that that will make too much difference.’ He reached out a hand to a panel beside the window. ‘I have some tests to run. A Neurotronic field is suppressing your powers at the moment to allow me to safely do… this.’

  Penny felt a tingling in her limbs, but nothing excessive. ‘What? You’ll tickle me?’ she asked. ‘Who the Hell are you?’

  ‘You may call me Professor Blutadler, and the effect will become more obvious…’

  Penny screamed. It felt as though someone had run hot lead through her bones. Electricity burned through every nerve. Her fists clenched in their gelatine bonds and she pulled, trying to get away from the pain. There was a tremendous sound of tearing metal and she was falling, but the pain was still there.

  ‘What?! This is impossible!’

  Penny heard Blutadler’s voice, but it was definitely Cygnus, teeth gritted against the pain, who looked up at him. She lifted upward, drawing back her fist as she did so.

  ‘No! The field! How are you doing this?’

  Penny’s fist slammed into the glass and cracks appeared across its surface. Blutadler bolted for the door at the back as alarms began to sound. Her fist struck out again and this time the entire window collapsed inward. The pain was still there, but she was out of the room and into… Well, another room. She had no idea how to get out of the base and there were going to be guards, or something, coming after her soon. How was she going to get out?

  ~~~

  There was nothing obvious anywhere in the warehouse, and the cold was starting to become numbing. The interior was fairly simple, however, and there were only a couple of locations where someone could conceal either a heroine or an entrance to a hidden facility.

  She found the latter. Or she found what looked like a freight elevator, which would have been ignored if it were not for the buttons which made it go down as well as up. The warehouse was not supposed to have a basement, but there it was, a button for down with a lock beside it, just begging to be picked.

  It took five frustrating minutes before she was going down. And down, and down… And after a few seconds she realised that she had no idea what she would meet when she got to the bottom. There was a service hatch in the ceiling, and she pushed her way through it just as the car came to a stop and the doors opened.

  She was, perhaps, expecting to hear voices; guards wondering why the elevator had come down, maybe. What she heard was an alarm claxon echoing loudly in the narrow confines of the elevator shaft. No one entered the car; no one seemed to be paying it any attention. Twilight got the distinct impression that Cygnus was being a distraction again. Somehow, somewhere in the base under the warehouse, her partner had got free and was causing trouble. Which, given her propensity for being where she should be when it was needed, was what Twilight should have expected.

  Dropping down, Twilight drew her sword and started looking for the source of the confusion.

  ~~~

  There were… things trying to stop her. They smelled bad, looked worse, and they had bits of metal bolted to their heads like some sort of semi-successful Frankenstein’s monsters. Somewhere in Penny’s pain-addled brain a thought surfaced that Twilight had mentioned cyber-zombies, but she was too busy hitting them to worry over exactly what they were.

  She had charged out after Blutadler, but he had turned a corner to the left or right, and she had no idea where he had got to. Picking a direction at random, she had got a dozen yards before the zombies had appeared, blocking her path. They had made no sound, but their intentions had been obvious.

  The end of that corridor had been a T-junction, and she had turned left for a second time and began slamming zombies aside that way. All the doors looked like offices, not exits, and she ploughed on, the pain making her head fuzzy and her swings wild. Luckily, with the number of semi-dead creatures attacking her there was usually something at the end of her arm when it stopped.

  ‘You can’t escape, girl.’ The voice came from behind her. She slammed a dead body against a wall and turned, but there was no one there who was not animated by electronics. ‘Surrender now, and I’ll let you live.’

  Something grabbed her arm and she kicked out. A dead face fell away along with the grappling hand. ‘Fuck off,’ she growled, and the corridor filled with light.

  It was as though someone had ac
tivated a small sun in the confined space, a brilliant flare of white light which filled her vision for a second and then was gone. If she had been looking that way it would have blinded her, but the zombie had distracted her. The creatures coming down the passageway toward her had not been so lucky, and now they were flailing about, blinded by the weapon that had been meant to stop her.

  ‘Cygnus! Run!’ Another voice, female, urgent. As it sounded several small spheres flew over Penny’s head, hit the wall and ceiling behind her, and exploded into clouds of smoke. Penny ducked away from the detonations, smashed a zombie aside, and ran toward the voice, and then the black-clad figure she could see holding a sword.

  There was a roar of anger from behind her and a beam of light flashed past her, burning into a wall. Whoever was back there, Ghostfire presumably, he was firing a beam weapon wildly through the smoke… Light bursts and light beams…

  Twilight grabbed her arm and pulled. ‘Come on, we need to get out of here!’

  Penny winced and nodded, and ran with her friend down the corridor, around a corner, and into an elevator. Twilight slammed the hilt of her sword against the up button and the doors seemed to take forever to close.

  ‘Can you fly?’

  Blinking, Penny looked at Twilight and frowned. ‘Why? We’re going up…’

  ‘Until they cut the power, or…’

  ‘Yeah, sorry… They hit me with something. My brain’s on fire.’ Grabbing Twilight, she lifted them both up through the hatch and powered upward. ‘When do I stop?’

  ‘Take us out at the roof, if you can. I’ve got some clothes for you in a bag a couple of blocks away. You need to be Penny as soon as possible.’

  ‘What? Why?’

  ‘Because… Because there’s a warrant out for Cygnus’ arrest.’

  ‘Arrest…?’

  ‘You’re charged with Bobby’s murder.’