by King, Wesley
“No!” Lana’s mother screamed. “Get away from her, you monsters!”
“Now, Lana,” Leni snapped, and then glanced at Avaria. “Sliver just informed me they have League vessels on the radar.”
Avaria grabbed Lana and forced her out the door. Lana saw that another black vessel, larger and sleeker than the Shadow, was parked in the middle of the street. Cars were backed up in both directions, and her neighbors were all watching from their lawns. The Shadow was hovering overhead.
“Get in,” Avaria hissed, and Lana climbed the ramp, feeling the last touch of a breeze before she was thrown headfirst into the hold.
“Two ships on the radar,” Rono called from the front. “Definitely League. You in?”
“We’re in,” Leni replied, closing the hatch. “I have left your mother alive for now, girl, but I placed an explosive on the roof of your house. If you misbehave again, your family will die.”
The protégés huddled together outside the monitoring room door, clutching the heavy rifles they’d grabbed from the target range. Emily had already turned the signal off, and now there was only one thing left to do.
“Surprise,” Hayden whispered, and then he pressed the control panel. The door slid into the ceiling, and the Baron and the Torturer spun around, eyes wide.
“What is the meaning—” the Baron started.
“Where’s Lana?” Hayden asked, cutting him off. The protégés stepped into the room, keeping their rifles trained on the two men.
“She is being retrieved by the others,” the Baron replied. “Everything is under control. Now put the guns away, and go back…”
James shook his head. “Not until we know she hasn’t been hurt.”
“That is very unwise,” the Baron said, “and unnecessary. Of course they won’t hurt her. She’s too valuable.”
“We want to make sure,” Hayden replied. “No offense, but by nature, you guys are not very trustworthy.”
“How did you agree to this, James?” the Torturer asked, scowling.
James said nothing. Sam shifted uncertainly, the gun feeling heavy and unnatural in his hands. The Baron turned to him.
“Sam, why don’t you just go in my mind and get the answer yourself? You can tell them.”
“We’ll wait until they get back,” Emily said sharply.
“And then what?” the Baron asked. “What will you do then? Did you really think about this plan?”
Hayden narrowed his eyes. “Nice try, Baron. Then we take Lana, and if anything happens to her, you deal with all of us.”
“You’ll be squashed like ants,” the Torturer snarled.
“I understand you’re upset,” the Baron said, “as you should be. But let’s put down the weapons and speak as equals, so that—”
“No,” Emily interrupted. “You’re not talking us into anything.”
The Baron stared at her for a moment. “And what happens when Leni removes your weapons? What do you expect us to do then with this mutiny? We don’t have time for this. We have to prepare for the League. The two of us will forget this ever happened. We won’t tell the others.”
Sam could sense James wavering, and he felt his own resolve, which had never been very firm, vanish completely.
Hayden was not so easily swayed. “Sure, as soon as we know Lana is safe.”
“Except Leni will know you led this little rebellion,” the Torturer pointed out, “and he’s not going to be very happy.”
Hayden nodded. “You’re right. Leni will be angry. He’ll probably throw me through a wall or beat me with some trees. Fortunately, I have a plan.”
He abruptly fired a fizzling blue stun charge right at the Baron, catching him in the midsection. The old man collapsed to the ground.
“Why did you do that?” James shouted, whirling on Hayden.
“It was the only thing he could do,” Emily said as she walked towards the Torturer. “He’ll need three or four.”
“Don’t even think about—” the Torturer started, but he was cut off as Emily fired right into his chest. Hayden followed with another blast.
The Torturer staggered against the wall, looking scandalized, and after another shot each, he collapsed as well.
“Emily, do you know where the cells are?” Hayden asked, lowering his rifle.
“Yeah, I’ve been helping Rono reinforce the security systems. They’re in the right wing basement. What’s your plan?”
“We need reinforcements,” Hayden explained, “and I know two really strong kids who don’t like villains.”
“Aren’t you the one who knocked them out?” James asked.
“I’ll just have to explain the situation. I can be very charming, you know.”
Emily scanned the monitor that the Baron and the Torturer had been watching. “The comm signal is down, but there’s still a reading on the ships’ locations. They’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
“We better move quickly, then,” Hayden said, gesturing with his rifle at the Torturer. “James, you drag the big lug. I’ll take the Baron. We’ll throw them in a cell and find the kids. Sam, maybe you should come too, and Emily, you keep an eye on the ships, maybe figure out how we can ambush them in the meanwhile. Cool?”
“We’re dead,” Sam said, staring down at the crumpled bodies.
Hayden waved a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it! This is how you graduate from supervillain school: you take out your teachers. Congratulations, the diploma’s in the mail. Now, unless we all want to end up being mentally whipped by Leni, we should get moving.”
30
“HOLD ON!” RONO SHOUTED AS HE SENT THE ARROW INTO A spinning, breakneck dive.
The repaired League ship, the Defender, was right behind them, firing red blasts wildly overhead. Rono pulled up hard on the controls, and the Arrow just narrowly missed plunging into a hillside, its hull skimming the long grass. The blasts from the pursuing League ship exploded uselessly into the ground, sending up plumes of dirt and smoke.
“Where’s the Shadow?” Leni asked, peering into the sky.
Rono snuck a glance at the radar. “It’s still in one piece. We need to—”
The Arrow was suddenly rocked by a direct hit, almost spilling Rono from his seat. He clenched the throttle and angled the ship toward the sky again.
“Look out below,” he whispered, pressing a button on the weapons display.
A remote explosive dropped out the back of the ship, and they all watched on the sensors as it fell toward the climbing League vessel. When it was within twenty feet of the target, it exploded, and the Defender plunged right into the massive fireball.
“Got him!” Rono shouted triumphantly. “That’s a new trick that…” He stopped when he saw the blackened Defender emerge from the explosion, still intact. “Damn,” he muttered. “It’s damaged, but they’re holding together.”
“They’re firing everything they can at Sliver,” Avaria said, pointing to where the Shadow was weaving in and out of a furious barrage of laser fire from the other League ship.
Leni glanced at the sensors. “We have to hold on for a few more minutes. We have no choice but to give up the mansion’s location. Signal the Baron, and tell him to ready the antiaircraft cannons.”
Rono triggered the comm. “That’s weird.”
“What?” Leni asked.
Rono tried again. “There’s no signal from the mansion. Either it’s down, or we’re being jammed.”
“The League doesn’t want us to send warning,” Avaria said.
“It seems that way,” Leni muttered. “But there’s nothing we can do. There’s no point in turning to fight when we can just lead them back to the mansion. The Baron will have warning enough when he sees the League ships come into range. They’ll be forced to pull back and come in on foot.”
• • •
“So how do we wake them up?” Sam asked curiously, looking at the girl.
“I have no idea,” Hayden said. “I kind of assumed they’d be awa
ke.”
After depositing their mentors in one of the heavily reinforced cells in the basement prison, they’d found the captured siblings, as well as cells containing the unconscious bodies of Thunderbolt and Junkit. James had been extremely relieved to see that Junkit was still alive.
Now they stood over the two prone kids, who were laid out across separate metal tables.
“I’m sure there’s a way to wake them up,” Hayden continued, looking below the tables. “This is probably the same stuff they used on us.” He shook the boy’s leg.
“That did it,” James said sarcastically. He glanced down the corridor. “They’re going to be back soon.”
“We’re going to be killed,” Sam whispered.
“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Hayden said. He bit his lip, staring at the unconscious bodies. “Wait. Sam, you can do it, right? You can wake them?”
Sam frowned. “What gives you that idea?”
“You’re a telepath; just tell them to wake up in their minds! You told James to stroke Lana’s hair, right? Just do the same thing. Start with the girl; she’s a telepath too.”
“I don’t think it works like that…” Sam said.
“Just try it!”
“Okay,” Sam said hesitantly. He laid his hands on the girl’s arm and closed his eyes. A minute passed, and then he began to tremble.
“Uh, Sam?” James asked, reaching for his shoulder.
A sudden wave of panic swept through James, and he toppled to the floor. Slowly pushing himself up again, James saw that Sam and Hayden were lying flat on their backs beside him. The girl was sitting on the platform, looking at them suspiciously.
“That was unexpected,” Hayden groaned, climbing to his feet. He managed a weak smile. “Good morning.”
“You,” she said. “You’re the one who attacked us.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Wait!” Hayden said quickly. “We’re friends.”
Sam blinked and sat up, rubbing his forehead.
“Where am I?” the girl asked.
“You’re in the Vindico’s mansion,” Hayden replied, gesturing at James and Sam. “We’re their protégés, but we’ve had a bit of a falling-out.”
“Their protégés?” she murmured. “Yes, Thunderbolt mentioned something about you.”
“Yeah,” Hayden said slowly, “Thunderbolt. Well, here’s the deal…” Hayden briefly ran through Lana’s escape and their subsequent rebellion. “Now the rest of the Vindico are coming back, and we have to ambush them so they don’t kill us. And we need your help. You and your brother’s.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You want us to help you even though you’re the one who attacked us?”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Hayden said, sounding guilty. “Sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
“Hmm,” she said, glaring at him. “And what happens after we ambush the Villains?”
“I don’t know,” Hayden conceded. “You two can leave if you want. See the thing is, we can’t just make peace with the League either. Basically, we’re going to start our own group, I guess.” He looked at the others, shrugging. “Right? Something like that. You’re free to join if you want.”
“And what are you going to do with your mentors?” she asked.
“I don’t know, lock them up?” Hayden glanced at the hallway, looking increasingly anxious. “I hate to rush you, but they could be back any minute, so you know, the after-planning isn’t as urgent.”
She looked them over for a moment and then sighed. “Well, we don’t have any choice, do we? You seem honest enough. I’ll wake Lyle.”
She turned to her brother, and after a moment, he jerked awake. As soon as he saw Hayden, he lifted his hand.
“They’re friends,” the girl said.
“That’s not how I remember it,” he snarled.
Hayden forced a smile. “First impressions were never my strong suit, but I grow on you. Just ask these guys.”
James snorted.
“We don’t have time for this,” Sam pointed out. “They’ll be back soon.”
“Right,” Hayden agreed. “Listen, Lyle, and…”
“Deanna,” she said.
“Deanna, we need your help to save our friend Lana from certain death.” Hayden paused. “Well, we think. Not clear on that. It doesn’t matter. Will you help us?”
“Where are Thunderbolt and Septer?” Lyle asked.
“Thunderbolt is in a cell down the hall,” Hayden explained, “and Septer, he, uh…he’s dead.”
“Dead?” Lyle whispered, getting to his feet. He exchanged a disturbed look with his sister. “They’ll pay for that. Let’s get Thunderbolt.”
Hayden shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, we’ll do that after, I think. He may not be too happy to see me.” Lyle seemed wary, and Hayden met his eyes. “I know you don’t trust us, and I don’t blame you, but if we’re not ready when the Vindico get back, we all may be killed.”
Lyle glanced at his sister. “All right,” he said. “What’s the plan?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Getting you two was kind of as far as I got,” Hayden admitted.
James sighed. “Some leader you are. Deanna, can you guard your minds so Sliver doesn’t know you and Lyle are awake?”
“I think so.”
“Do that. Let’s get back upstairs. We’ll ambush them in the garage, where there are lots of things to hide behind.”
“And lots of things for Leni to throw at us,” Hayden objected.
“Well, make sure you throw them first,” James said. “Sam, contact Emily and tell her to meet us there. Let’s move.”
“You’re so dreamy when you take charge,” Hayden purred.
James just shook his head and led the group to the garage. Emily was already waiting there.
“Emily,” Hayden said, “meet Lyle and Deanna, who have kindly agreed to help us.”
“We can do introductions later,” James snapped. “How long do we have, Emily?”
“About four minutes. And there are two more ships behind them. I think it’s the League.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Hayden muttered.
“I figured out how to activate the antiaircraft weapons,” Emily said. “They’ll fire at the new ships if they come too close.”
“You better not kill any more League members,” Lyle warned.
“We won’t,” Hayden assured him. “But we have to worry about saving Lana first.”
James nodded. “We’ll take cover around the Shadow’s usual landing spot. When they come down the ramp, Lyle and Deanna will attack Leni and Sliver with Hayden and Sam’s help. Emily and I will stun Rono and Avaria. There are six of us: this should work. Hopefully Lana will be awake, and she can help.”
“Brilliant strategy,” Hayden commented. “Very clever.”
“Do you have something better?” James asked.
“Nope.”
“That’s what I thought. Let’s go.”
James hurried to where the Shadow was usually parked. It was a big space, so he assumed they could probably land both ships right next to each other. He turned back to the group. “All right, make a perimeter around this spot. Get behind cover, and make sure it’s on the side away from the garage door.”
“What happens if they don’t park both ships here?” Emily asked.
James hesitated. “Then we’ll just have to deal with that when the times comes.”
He crouched down behind a sleek red sports car and watched the others fan out around the opening. Deanna and Lyle hid behind a black SUV next to him, and after a few anxious minutes, the garage started to open.
Daylight flooded into the room, and the Vindico ships appeared. The Shadow was spewing smoke, and both were covered with black scorch marks. Fortunately, the two ships set down right where the Shadow usually parked.
James heard the ramps sliding down and then the shuffle of feet as their mentors quickly exited the ships. He waited another couple of seconds.
&n
bsp; “Now!” he shouted. Then he rolled out from behind the car and opened fire.
31
LANA WAS BARELY OUT OF THE SHIP WHEN EVERYTHING ERUPTED into chaos.
Fizzling blue stun blasts leapt toward them from every direction, as if they’d walked into a lightning storm. She and Avaria instinctively dove to the ground, but Rono didn’t move fast enough and took a blast to the shoulder. In desperation, Leni threw himself across the garage, and she saw his flapping black cape disappear behind a van. Sliver managed to duck under the first wave of stun blasts, but he soon stiffened under a mental attack.
Time to do your part, Lana thought. Beside her, Avaria flipped back onto her feet, narrowly avoiding a stun bolt that dissipated against the concrete. She tried to run for cover, but Lana kicked out her trailing leg and sent her toppling back to the ground. Lana attempted to follow that up with a stomp to her mentor’s stomach, but Avaria was too fast. She rolled as soon as she hit the ground and then swept Lana’s legs out from under her with a vicious kick of her own.
Lana hit the concrete with a thud, and Avaria sprinted into the ring of vehicles. James attempted to shoot her down, but his stun blasts all sailed wide.
You’re not getting away so easily, Lana thought. She pushed herself up and took off after her.
Sam’s rifle dropped from his hands and clattered off the concrete. He was having a hard time keeping track of his own thoughts. He knew he wanted to shoot Sliver, but another powerful voice had told him to drop the gun, so he had.
We need to overwhelm him, Deanna said into Sam’s mind. Push!
Sam found Sliver’s consciousness and extended himself toward it, trying to displace it with his own. But Sliver was not giving up easily.
Help me, Sam! Sliver’s voice said, sounding strained now. I’m your friend! Cripple the girl!
Sam pushed harder, and he could feel Deanna joining him, their combined strength bearing down on Sliver. Sam could almost feel his mentor’s knees buckling, and Sliver’s anger became colored with fear and betrayal.
Your mother forgot about you, Sliver said desperately. I’m all you have left! And you would betray me?
You just used us, Sam replied, pushing back against the voice.