by Hayes, Drew
“You’re both idiots. It didn’t have to be this way. We had a real chance at coming back together.” With that, she took to the air, zipping through the sky and vanishing quickly.
Now that Alice was finally gone, the two men could look only to each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.
“Do you think she’s right?” Sean asked, studying Blake’s stance, ready for the slightest twitch of movement. “Think there was a way to get past everything that’s happened?”
“Not unless you’re willing to let me take Shelby, to find an actual safe place to keep her. Where do you think Alice will go? Who will she trust? The DVA, of course, because that’s how she’s been trained. The DVA, who might get around to letting Shelby have the procedure she needs, one day, if it’s convenient for them. The DVA, who equally may decide to bury the secret as deep as they can rather than risk changing the world. I won’t trust her to the whims of others, not ever again. But I also won’t hurt Alice any more than necessary when I take Shelby away.”
The last words set Sean’s teeth on edge. “I guess you’re right. With a mindset like that, we were never going to reach a common ground. If it helps, I’ll tell Shelby you died bravely. It’s not a lie you deserve, but it will help her take the loss better.”
There was no more warning than that before Sean Pendleton exploded into a cloud of fog that streamed directly toward Blake.
315.
This wasn’t sophomore year. It couldn’t be. Vince wouldn’t allow it to be. Back then, he’d been confused, tricked by illusions, but the core emotions he’d felt were his all along. That was what made seeing that video of himself so terrifying: the knowledge that while Nick had conjured a scenario to create a specific reaction, he hadn’t actually been in control over Vince. Everything Vince had done, everything he’d felt, that had all come from within. It was the first time Vince truly had to face the monster living inside him, the scared child going feral with anger over the idea of losing yet another person from his life. Now, when the stakes were real, he didn’t have the luxury of such unchecked aggression. That wasn’t how Heroes fought, wasn’t the way they treated life. Vince had to be in control, had to know what he was doing each step of the way and be at peace with it. Otherwise, he was exactly the kind of person Ralph Chapman had always suspected.
However, being in control didn’t mean Vince couldn’t still crib a few moves from his mad self’s playbook.
He stepped out of the orange dome led by a massive blast of fire, concealing the momentary break in defenses and setting the nearby grass and shrubs alight. The flames would create smoke, which would hopefully make him harder to hit, as well as provide disincentive for anyone to try and make a physical approach. When the flames cleared, he got a look at what they were facing for the first time. A dozen guards, most covering their faces to avoid getting burned but a few already lining up shots. Near the rear of the group were four Heroes, one tussling with the guards while the others were getting in position, staring at the dome. After the massive plume of fire, though, all eyes were at least partially on Vince.
It seemed a shame to waste such an opportunity, so Vince didn’t. Lifting his arm straight into the air, an action which made sure everyone even partially aware of him turned their gaze in his direction, Vince let off the most powerful flash he could build up in the span of a few seconds. It wasn’t going to be as effective as his usual attack since he hadn’t darkened the area to dilate their eyes first, but the screams of pain and hands rubbing faces confirmed that it had absolutely had an impact. This was the best shot Vince was going to get, and there was only one energy for the job. Digging deep, Vince summoned as much lightning as he could, memories of Lander East flashing through his mind. Against one Super, even one with enhanced endurance, this was too much, but spread it out among a dozen guards it shouldn’t put them at lethal risk. There was still a chance of it, though; electricity attacks were hardly a precise science. Because of that risk, Vince angled his unfocused, splintering attack away from the Heroes. It meant he wouldn’t get every guard, but it also ensured he didn’t accidentally take down any allies, even if they didn’t know he was on their side.
The blast sent a couple guards to the ground, although fewer than Vince was hoping for. Already several had begun to recover from the flash. One, a bigger guard who had never rubbed his eyes at all, was leaping over his fallen comrades on a direct charge for Vince. Large, unbothered by light or electricity – probably some manner of strongman type. Much farther back, another guard shook off the eye pain and turned into a blur as he raced toward Vince. Not great: two at once could be problematic if they were smart and worked together.
The two were briefly neck and neck as they ran at Vince, and then, suddenly, they weren’t. From out of nowhere another streak zipped in, slamming into the running guard and sending him sprawling to the ground. Vince didn’t recognize the woman who appeared briefly from within the blur – she paused to watch the speedster guard hit the ground then followed when he tried to escape – but he didn’t need to. She’d helped, and in this fight, he’d take all the friends who wanted to pitch in, unknown or not.
There was no time to call for her as she gave chase. The big guard had leapt over the flames easily and was just about in swinging distance of Vince. From the stance and technique, this fellow obviously had some training. It was not, however, enough to bridge the divide against someone who had spent the last four years practicing endlessly for exactly this sort of situations. Vince didn’t even bat an eye, he merely ducked the first swing, put a fist against the guard’s sternum, and said a silent prayer that the guard was as durable as he seemed. Otherwise, this was about to get very messy.
Luckily, Vince’s guess was right, and the kinetic blast sent the guard flying up into the air rather than blowing his heart out through his back. With him out of the way, Vince could see that many of the other guards had recovered and were learning from their predecessors’ mistakes, opting instead for ranged weapons. That was an easy enough threat to deal with: he could handle pure kinetic attacks. The trouble was that not every guard was grabbing a gun. One had picked up a stone that began glowing in his hands, another had eyes crackling with some form of red electricity, and a third was now holding what sure looked like a cat made of living super-heated metal. Energy powers and a summoner: that was a dangerous combination, especially when paired with bullets. His best chance was to cut off their ability to fire or fight by putting them on the defensive.
Another massive blast of flames, but this time it didn’t reach the guards. One had held up a hand and created a shield of blue light around them; the fire glanced off it harmlessly. Shit. Vince had caught them by surprise before, that was the only reason his attacks got through. With a defender of their own, this was going to be a much tougher battle.
Vince shifted to absorbing kinetic only seconds before the first gunshot, which was almost instantly followed by screams. For a moment, Vince thought his attack had gotten through, as one of the guards was completely engulfed in flames. Then he saw the next one shoot, and it all made sense. As soon as the trigger was pulled a fireball bloomed around him, a small bubble of concentrated inferno.
Casting his eyes about, Vince could just make out Lucinda near the edge of the clearing. She gave him a tired wave. Blood was on her uniform and she was leaning against a tree, visibly wounded. Even in her injured state, she was still trying to help as best she could. Many questions sprang to mind, such as how on earth she’d gotten here, but they would have to wait. Vince had a fight to deal with.
Unfortunately, just as the guards were getting scared, the Heroes began to move. They made it all of ten steps closer before a golden blade slammed into the ground in front of them, a figure in matching armor leaping out of the trees and stabbing a guard who had been trying to sneak up on the Heroes from the rear.
“Hey there.” Charon tossed aside the bloody dagger, which vanished back into light instantly. “The name is Charon, fe
llow Hero, you’ve probably heard of me. All the kids in white uniforms are on our side. That one included.”
“He’s protecting Globe,” said a woman in a bright yellow and red costume.
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with a prisoner?” Charon countered. “Or did you forget that the head of the DVA ordered us to capture him? Can’t very well let these assholes kill someone in our custody, now can we? Especially not someone that the DVA would want to get answers and secrets from.”
The guard with the stone reared back to throw, but his legs went out suddenly and he fell to the ground, dropping the stone with him. It exploded a second later, sending dirt and several guards tumbling through the air. Vince just had time to see two blades of shadow slither away before he heard Shane’s voice.
“Quit trying to do all this yourself, Vince.” Shane was near, staying out of sight to attack without warning but close enough to speak to Vince. “Come on now, what is the first advantage that separates Heroes from criminals?”
“Heroes work together.” Vince did a short kinetic leap forward, slamming his elbow into the nose of the guard with crackling red eyes and sending him down hard before scuttling back in front of the dome. “Heroes trust each other.” The metal-cat was racing toward Vince, so he held out a hand and began to absorb the heat coming from it. He’d never tried to steal energy from a summon before, but if it was real enough to torch the grass as it moved, it was real enough to lose that same inner fire. The cat began to twitch as its body cooled, cracks forming along its flesh before the whole thing vanished in a puff. Nearby, the summoner who had called it staggered back like he’d been hit. Vince didn’t give him a chance to call any more friends, putting him down with a targeted shot of lightning.
Shadow blades were flying, more guards were slowly dropping from lack of oxygen or burning up when they shot a gun, and the gal in the golden armor was putting down any idiot who got near her. This was why the Vince from sophomore year could never have been a Hero. Indiscriminate destruction not only put people needlessly at risk, it circumvented the ability to work with others. It had been a good tool for showing everyone watching what Vince could do at the time, but in the field there was no technique, no power more valuable than having people he trusted to fight at his side.
One Hero could make a difference, but a coalition of Heroes could keep the country safe, protect the weak from the powerful, and inspire Supers to use their gifts for good. That was why Captain Starlight formed an organization: he understood better than anyone else had the importance of working together.
Unfortunately, he was not the only one to grasp that lesson. All the fighting had stirred up a commotion, and more guards were coming. Near the front of the charge, one of them raised a hand in the direction of Vince and the dome. He was still some distance away, with the remains of the first group of guards between them, so Vince wasn’t expecting the shot to go off yet. When it did, however, there was no mistaking it for anything else.
A wave of rippling force, like heat from pavement on a summer day, cascaded out from the guard’s hand. As it moved, it hit the other guards, and the moment it did they started to… peel. Their bodies came apart one after the other, skin followed by muscles and bones, a hideous sight to watch as the cause of the horror drew closer to Vince and the dome. The guard with the blue shield tried to block it, but his power was useless as his body tore to pieces. Even Charon dove aside after she watched it rip through a spear that she’d left planted in another guard’s knee. Whatever this power was, it was pure destruction, nothing like Vince had ever encountered before. Still, he couldn’t move. There was no guarantee Thomas’s energy would stop it, especially knowing that another shield had already failed. The best chance they had was Vince.
With no idea what the wave was, blasting through it was probably out. The odds of him having the right energy to stop it and using his one chance to choose that precise energy were just too slender. No, absorbing was the only way this might work, but that had its risks too. Vince didn’t know what the energy was: he’d have to feel it, touch it, to be able to draw it in, assuming he even could. The problem was that the instant it touched him, he’d likely be dead. That was… unless it took something he could live without first.
Bracing himself for what would no doubt be an indescribable amount of pain, Vince set his jaw, locked his feet and thrust out his left arm as far as it would go. Seconds later, the wave struck. The skin on his fingers began to peel before the pain arrived, although it wasn’t far behind. Blocking it out as best he could, Vince focused only on the wave, the energy, the feeling of what it was. Every cell it hit felt like it was tearing apart, or maybe the energy was making his body tear itself apart. There was a frequency to it, an oscillation, kinetically-based yet not quite the same thing – a crafted energy, distinct to the Super creating it.
But Vince had absorbed such powers before.
He ignored the flesh falling from his forearm, refusing to emit the screams that were trying to tear from his throat. It didn’t matter. One arm. One limb to save his friend, the woman he loved, and his father. He should be grateful for such a bargain.
It passed his elbow, the pain growing worse, but Vince was getting a feel for it. He could sense the movement of the energy, the effect it had on the things it hit. Vince would have dearly liked more time, but the arm had only bought him a few seconds before the wave would hit his whole body. The limb was almost gone. Hoping against hope, Vince closed his eyes, focused with all his might on the energy wave, and pulled like his life depended on it. Which it, and several others, very much did.
There was an instant where the wave kept going, nearing the shoulder, and Vince thought it was over. Then he felt the warmth of energy flowing into him. Eyes snapping open, he could see the wave vanish as he pulled it in, absorbing the deadly threat completely. Blood was spilling from what little remained of his left arm at a dangerous rate. Finally allowing a horrendous scream of pain to pass his lips, Vince summoned a burst of fire in his remaining hand and slammed it into the stump, cauterizing the wound.
All eyes, Hero and guard alike were on him. Giving himself a few seconds to catch his breath, Vince finally looked at them, then lifted his right arm and made a beckoning motion with his hand.
“Give me everything you’ve got. Fight me with all you have. It doesn’t matter. No one is getting through this dome. Because I am standing here, against everything you can bring, and I will stop you.”
316.
In many ways, Sean was the perfect opponent for Blake. While the latter could summon destructive spheres known as black holes, drawing in mist was still a difficult task. They weren’t true black holes, of course, merely a Super-version of them. Still, they were dangerous, especially given the level of control Blake had over their strength. He could make them powerful enough to hold fog, certainly, but a black hole capable of drawing in mist was also going to destroy terrain and anyone standing even remotely nearby. That had been their dance since childhood: Sean would turn into fog, and Blake would be unable to create a black hole capable of hurting him without wrecking the environment and putting himself in danger. But they were no longer children, and Blake had been given plenty of years to prepare for a rematch.
“You know, it took me a while to figure out how to defeat you, and even then the solution wasn’t easy. I had to train up an aspect of my power to levels I never imagined I would be able to reach. Funny, the amazing things we can accomplish given enough time and motivation.” Blake seemed unworried by the advancing fog, his hand extended and finger pressed together, ready to snap.
“Oh?” Sean’s fog voice was wavy, yet still easily discernable. “Finally find a way to selectively target living clouds?”
“No. That would be impossible. Instead, I worked on speed.” The snap came on the heels of Blake’s words. Almost instantly, a dark orb appeared in the center of Sean’s cloud, manifesting so quickly there was no time to spread out away from it. Some of the cloud
was sucked in. Sean quickly shifted most of himself away as fast as he could, but the bits where the hole had appeared were still stuck inside.
Blake laughed quietly, peacefully, as he watched the show. “Since each bit of fog can only turn back into whatever it was before, I wonder what you just lost. An arm? A leg? Maybe a heart, not that you get much use of yours. If there is a kind god in the universe, then I got your mouth or vocal cords.”
“No such luck, asshole.” The fog surged forward, washing over Blake. Instantly the assault began, fists to the neck and kicks to the back of his knees. It was an effective rush, knocking Blake to the ground and quickly silencing his laughter. Sadly, the advantage didn’t last for long.
All around Blake more black holes began to manifest. They weren’t especially strong, barely potent enough to pull in a passing butterfly, but conjuring them in the middle of Sean’s cloud meant that each one grabbed the fog where it formed and anything that passed through. Worse, they didn’t appear and vanish; they stayed in place, keeping the bits of cloud they’d stolen sealed away inside them. Fog couldn’t be properly crushed, at least by Blake’s kind of black hole, but it could be contained.
Retreat was the tempting call, but it wasn’t an option. If Sean moved away, Blake would keep on creating these black holes, and there was no good counter. Bunching up tightly made a smaller target, and unfortunately that could allow a single good shot to end the fight. Spreading out meant there was more to catch but turned him into an easy target, essentially dooming Sean to death by a thousand cuts – or black holes in this case. The lone potential path to victory lay in keeping up the attack. Knocking Blake out got rid of any black holes he was maintaining. That was the only way Sean would make it through this.