by Lucas Flint
I thought Rubberman was going to say no at first, but instead he nodded and said, “Go for it. I think you’ve earned it.”
I smiled. “Thanks, boss.”
With that, I left Rubberman’s room, feeling both happy and anxious. Happy that I had gotten Rubberman’s permission to do the interview with Frank, but anxious about the future. In particular, I was anxious about the return of the Legion and also what Nightbolt’s training for me was going to entail. Would four weeks really be enough time to teach me everything I needed to know about fighting supervillains?
I guess I was going to find out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The Necromantress knew that she was being followed. She had known, in fact, that she was being followed for hours or at least since she left Golden City a week ago.
Standing in the streets of Holdings—a mid-sized city to the southeast of Golden City—the Necromantress stopped on the front porch of the apothecary she had just exited from, a paper bag of dark magic ingredients in her hand. She had seen a shadow in the alleyway to the right, the shadow of a tall man, but only for a moment before it retreated. The Necromantress would have dismissed it as just her own imagination under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances.
Ever since leaving Golden City, the Necromantress had tried to hide her tracks. She didn’t want the police following her, or Dennis, for that matter, even though he was probably still in the hospital recovering from his injuries. She thought she did a pretty good job of avoiding detection, but for the last few days, she had been aware of a tall man in dark clothing following her wherever she went.
At first, the Necromantress had thought the shadows she saw out of the corner of her eye were just figments of her imagination, but she kept seeing them more and more often, until she finally had to conclude that someone was following her. It didn’t seem to be the GCPD or Dennis, but that didn’t mean much. It could just as easily have been a federal agent. She knew there were a lot of those people around, trying to capture ‘villains’ like herself due to their criminal activity.
The Necromantress had tried to lose this man several times, but each time he’d always find her again. But this was the closest the Necromantress had ever seen him before and, despite knowing nothing of this man, she was determined to find out who he was at long last.
She stepped off the porch and ran over to the alley. Upon entering the alleyway, the Necromantress looked around, but she saw no one in the alley except for a cat (which immediately hid under the huge dumpster) and tons of trash. There was no sign that any man had been back here or that anyone else had been back here for a very long time, either.
“Hello?” said the Necromantress, walking into the alleyway. “Who has been following the Necromantress? Show yourself, you stalker, or else.”
“I dislike the term ‘stalker,’” came a deep voice behind her. “I prefer ‘ninja.’ It’s more accurate.”
The Necromantress whirled around. Standing at the entrance of the alleyway, his arms crossed in front of his chest, was a tall man with sky blue eyes wearing dark clothing. The Necromantress was sure he hadn’t been there even just a few seconds ago, yet she saw nowhere from which he could have been hiding. And unlike most people who saw her, he didn’t look even remotely disturbed or afraid.
“Who are you?” the Necromantress said. She pulled her bag of ingredients closer to her chest. “Identify yourself, masked man, or else the Necromantress will cast a dark spell upon you and your soul, a curse which will pass down from generation to generation with your blood.”
The ninja showed no emotion, though he seemed amused. “There is no need to threaten me, Ms. Kenneth. I have been following you since the graveyard incident with benign intentions.”
“Benign intentions?” said the Necromantress. She sneered. “There is nothing benign about stalking a young lady like myself.”
“Call it what you will, but I do not wish to harm you,” said the man in black. “I have been following you on behalf of my employer, a very wealthy woman who has taken an interest in you.”
The Necromantress scowled. “What if the Necromantress does not care about your employer’s ‘interest’ in her?”
The ninja shrugged. “You should, if you’re smart. My employer is aware that the incident in Golden City left you with nothing. Your resurrection potion and your cauldron were both confiscated from you. You’ve been forced to purchase sub-par supplies from questionable establishments just to start again, yes?”
The Necromantress held the bag tighter. “Even if that’s true, what does the Necromantress care? She is a woman who carves her own path. She does not need the aide of wealthy people.”
“My employer has taken an interest in you because you and she have a common enemy,” said the ninja. “The superhero Rubberman, or, as you know him, Dennis Pullman, your ex-husband.”
The Necromantress’ right eye twitched. “What does Dennis have to do with this?”
“My employer wants him gone,” said the ninja. “Dead, incapacitated, sued out of business … it doesn’t matter how, she just wants him gone. And you want him dead, don’t you?”
I don’t, said a small, sane voice in the back of the Necromantress’ mind, but aloud she said, “The Necromantress does. Can this employer of yours help me achieve that?”
“She can,” said the ninja. “She is willing to provide you with everything you need to perform your black magic, but only if you agree to work for her. She’ll even give you a new cauldron, if that’s what you need.”
The Necromantress bit her lower lip. “This seems all too good to be true. How does the Necromantress know you are not just trying to trick her?”
“Trust me, my employer is not the kind of lady to make this kind of offer jokingly,” said the ninja. “You have my word that you can trust her. And you probably should, unless you want an anonymous tip to reach the police about your current location, that is.”
The Necromantress growled, but she was sane enough to see that rejecting this offer would be dumb. The ninja wouldn’t hesitate to report her to the police if she said no, so she said, “Fine. The Necromantress shall accept your offer, as long as she is given the freedom to practice her magic as she pleases.”
“Of course,” said the ninja. “Come with me. We have much to do, and much to prepare for, if we’re going to take down Rubberman once and for all.”
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Continued in First Mentor, now available for purchase here.
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About the Author
Under the pen name Lucas Flint, Timothy L. Cerepaka writes superhero fiction. He is the author of The Superhero’s Son, The Young Neos, and Minimum Wage Sidekick.
Find links to books, social media, updates on newest releases, and more by going to his website here. You can also sign up to be the first to learn about his newest releases by subscribing to his mailing list here.