Hostile Territory

by Tom Andry

  I shrugged, "That remains to be seen. First you have to lose the first bet and then I have to lose the second."

  "But," Gale followed and I continued toward the stairwell, "if he doesn't show, you lose both by default."

  "Hey, that's not fair!" I protested.

  "You made the rules. He doesn't show and you've got to take Liz out and tell me about Chris."

  I opened the stairway door for her. She stepped in and turned back to me.

  "Why don't you give me a hint about Chris?"

  I let the door shut behind me, "He's my fat shield. I keep him around to make me look thinner."

  "Puh," Gale scoffed, "he's not that fat." She turned, "So, what's the plan? We can't get out from the roof. That's been secured. There were no windows in the stairway to begin with and any exterior doors have been sealed by the lockdown. So..."

  "Well," I smiled, "I'm guessing this place is in some way tied into the catacombs? Or whatever you call it?"

  She nodded. "That should be sealed too, though."

  "Sealed as tight as the walls?"

  Gale paused, "Probably not."

  "And from what I've seen of your power, it's gotten a lot stronger. You can get us into the catacombs?"

  "And then what? There are miles of tunnels down there and no guarantee that there will be any emergency lights. And even if there are, all the other exits will be locked down too."

  "Well, I'm not worried about the miles of tunnels, but the lack of light might be an issue."

  Gale's eyes narrowed, "What do you have in mind?"

  I smiled, "Trust me."

  Gale didn't respond.

  After the first ten flights of stairs, I started to get really winded. Gale, even without her power, wasn't even breathing hard. I guessed she could control how much oxygen was available for her or something. Cheater. I thought about asking her for a lift, but one look at how much she was enjoying my exertion told me she probably would laugh at me.

  Well, laugh more.

  The building was tall. I was beginning to think this was a lousy plan. I was soaked with sweat, my white dress shirt sticking to my back. I untucked and unbuttoned it. Underneath was one of my "Supers Suck" T-shirts. Gale scowled at it.

  "I'm sorry, Wendi. Really. It was all I had."

  I took the dress shirt off and used it to wipe the sweat off my face. It occurred to me that I was missing an opportunity here.

  "You know, I've been meaning to ask you," I huffed.

  "Yeah?"

  "The geniuses? Where are they all?"

  Gale didn't answer at first as we continued our descent, "We don't know. I was hoping a few would have shown up by now. But all the tests have been negative. Close, but negative."

  I shook my head, "That's weird, right?"

  "Yeah, we've been toying with lowering the cutoff."

  "Really? Wow. Things must be desperate."

  "Well, not yet. But soon. This place," Gale motioned around us, "it cost a lot. We didn't quite break the bank, but we definitely used a lot of our reserves."

  "And Proving Ground? Basically for training the new recruits?"

  "Bob," Gale shook her head, "you don't even know. Most supers are lucky to use their powers once a week. Even then, you aren't going all out. We always thought that powers didn't really grow that much. But it isn't true. A few weeks in Proving Ground, and pretty much everyone gets stronger. We don't have as many supers, but the ones we have? Much more powerful."

  I nodded, gulping for air and thinking. "And new supers? I've heard that they are starting to manifest earlier?"

  Gale actually stopped at this. I stopped as well, thankful for the break. "You heard that?"

  I nodded, unable to respond.

  "Hmm...Well, yeah. That seems to be the case. As young as seven. I saw a boy...well, we had to move him here for his parents' safety. It's...well, we don't know what it means." A bitter laugh escaped, "What we need is more geniuses to figure these things out."

  "And Ted doesn't do humans," I managed.

  "Well, after this, Ted won't be doing much of anything." She shook her head, "I wouldn't have believed it, Bob. Ted is just so...Ted. He's like that funny kid that talks about burning down the school, but never does. All talk."

  "Yeah," I agreed.

  Gale continued to shake her head, lost in thought, "I just...I guess I expected more."

  "Me too." I nodded to the stairs, "Shall we?"

  Gale smiled, "Well, look at you. Can't get enough exercise, huh?"

  I smiled back weakly, sweat stinging my eyes, "You're looking at a new Bob."

  Gale laughed, "Honestly, it looks like I'm looking at a Bob on the verge of a heart attack." A sly smile spread across her face, "Would you like a ride? I could float you right down the center of the stairwell."

  Damn her. She knew I couldn't accept and that I'd be thinking about swallowing my pride and saying yes. "No way! I'm just getting warmed up."

  "Oh," Gale laughed, "it looks like you are plenty warm." I turned and started down. Gale called after, "I can feel the heat from here."

  "Are you saying I'm hot?" I called back.

  "However you want to interpret that, big boy."

  "I'm not fat!" I muttered.

  "Yes, you are."

  The voice came from the next landing. Out of a shadow stepped Swell. He was completely deflated and his skin was hanging off his body in large waves. His smile was huge and malicious and full of the promise of terrible things that he planned on doing to us.

  I closed my eyes for moment. "Thank God," I whispered. I didn't think I could take another set of stairs. I turned back to Gale who had replaced her eyemask, "I win."

  Her eyes narrowed, "Only one. But I don't think you should go for two."

  I turned back to Swell. The shadow that he had stepped out of moved. Sounding like a sheet being drawn across a mattress, it ran up the wall and past me. When it hit the landing above me, the shadow catapulted off and engulfed Gale. It wasn't like it wrapped around her; it landed on her and she disappeared into it. A moment later the shadow appeared on the wall and juked around spastically. Whatever was happening, Gale was fighting it.

  I turned back to Swell, "So, we going to do this thing? I've got another kiss to win."

  Swell's smile widened as he reached out to the wall.

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  I laughed at the super who was slowly drawing the material from the wall, "You aren't seriously going to try that again, are you? You've tried to shoot it at me and trap me with it. What's next? Crush it into a powder and make me cough to death?"

  Swell's eyes narrowed, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this..." The concrete, wires, metal, and who knows what else flowed into his body through his hand. Occasionally he'd adjust his shoulders or crack his neck, moving the material around under his skin or crushing it to a finer texture.

  The shadow super bounced across the ceiling and the walls, apparently still locked in a brawl with my ex-wife. Swell was content to stall for time and I didn't mind at all. I had to get closer, anyhow.

  I took a few steps down the stairs, trying to act nonchalant, "So, let me make a few guesses and you tell me if I'm right." I didn't wait for him to answer, "First, you weren't hired by EnviroKop."

  He nodded, his eyebrows up, "Nice. You know. Yes, a third party hired me. They are the ones that want you alive. They wanted you alive then as well, but EnviroKop had different ideas."

  "And now?"

  He sighed, like a cat playing with a ball of twine, "Now? I don't care what they want. I can't let you go on living. Not after what you did to me, and my brother. You or that bitch."

  "Whew," I whistled. "Don't let her hear you say that."

  "After my sister is finished with her, she won't be hearing much of anything."

  A small laugh crawled up my throat, "Wow. Big family, huh? You know, one of the things I love about supers is how confident you all are. It's like you aren't born with the part of your brain that say
s, 'hey, I'm about to get my ass kicked.'"

  I took another step. Swell took his hand off the wall, his skin pulled tight over sharp things underneath. He started to roll his shoulders, arms and torso, and even stomped his feet a few times. Each movement was followed by a grinding sound. After each, his skin looked a little smoother.

  "You don't seriously think you can defeat me, do you?" Swell started to crack his knuckles.

  "Oh, I don't know. But I'm not done with my guesses." I stopped and lowered my head, "You don't mind, do you?"

  "Oh, not at all." Swell cracked his neck menacingly, "Take your time. We're locked in here. If Shade there hadn't squeezed us in at the last minute, we'd never have made it."

  "First, your power. You absorb stuff, shoot it out, get extra strength, speed, whatever from it, right?"

  Swell's arm rose. I was running out of time. I needed to stall him.

  I put up a hand to stop him, "But that's not all, is it? I've seen you in action. You seem to expel more than you absorb. So it's like your body makes more of it or something."

  Swell's arm paused and his eyes narrowed, "I guess. I never thought about it."

  That was good news. I took another step, a bit to the side this time, and changed the subject, "Okay. So, this third party. They were represented by one man. Gideon Sans."

  Swell's jaw and hand dropped.

  "And you never met anyone else, right?"

  His chin quivered, "How did you know..."

  "Ah!" I put up a finger, "It's still my turn. I guess right, you tell me." I tapped my chin, taking another step, "So, where was I? Oh yes, Sans. I'll tell you something you didn't know. Sans works for Siddeon."

  Swell's eyes grew wide, "No! He's..."

  "Dead? So I keep hearing. But I'm starting to doubt it. So, what I have to wonder is why Siddeon wants me alive? Good question, right?"

  I took a final step toward Swell. We were now only a few feet apart. "So, if this third party is, in fact, Siddeon. And Siddeon wants me alive. What do you think he'll do if you defy him?"

  Swell licked his lips, his eyes distant. I took the last step down onto the landing. Now I was within arm's reach of the super. Perfect.

  "No!" Swell said more to himself than me, "You're just trying to distract me. To get me to let you off."

  I shook my head, "Actually no, I'm not. I fully expect you to try to kill me. My guess is that you're planning on squeezing or choking me."

  Swell looked confused and somewhat disgusted. It was one thing to have a general plan of how to kill someone. It was something completely different to have your intended victim tell you, in a level and calm voice, how you were going to do it.

  I stuck my hands in my pants pockets and shrugged, "It's okay. You're just being a typical super. Just don't get mad when I do THIS!"

  I brought out my left hand carrying an open box filled with a white powder. I flung the powder at Swell who took an involuntary step back. The powder covered his face and most of his upper body. He coughed at first, but then the powder faded into his skin.

  Swell looked at his hands and then started feeling his chest for injury. After a moment, when it became clear that he was unharmed, he glared at me, "I don't know what you are trying to pull, Bob..."

  I looked at the box like it had offended me, "Huh. I thought that would at least slow you down." I threw the box on the floor, "I guess you are a lot more powerful than I expected."

  The wicked smile returned to Swell's face, "Damn straight. Now come here and...how did you phrase it? Hug it out?"

  I slowly raised my eyes to the ceiling, "Oh...I remember..."

  Swell stopped, irritated, "What?"

  "Something my ex-wife said. It takes two to tango."

  Swell scowled, "What?"

  I pulled out my right hand and squeezed the soft plastic bottle. The clear liquid hit Swell in the face and chest. This time, he didn't flinch or pull back, but instead, just started absorbing it. I tried to get as much of the liquid on him as possible. His power was, if nothing else, thorough. Almost none of the liquid touched the ground.

  "You're such a grrggghph..."

  Swell's words were lost in a stream of foam. His expression was, at first, confused, and then panicked.

  I couldn't help it. I laughed. However his power worked, it was keeping the reaction going. Swell fell to the floor, foam pouring from his mouth, nose, and ears. His body was bulging like little explosions were going on just under the skin. He was saying things. Probably either threatening me or crying for help. I couldn't make it out.

  Finally, I leaned over the top of him and shouted, "I'm not sure if you can hear me through the bubbles, but remember what I said about Compartment? That's totally happening. And when people ask, tell them I defeated you with vinegar and baking soda."

  "Vinegar and baking soda? I don't get it."

  I turned. Gale was standing behind me. Behind her, in a heap, was the prone figure of what could only be the super called Shade. I didn't give her a second glance. Gale was bleeding from a cut on her cheek just under her mask, and the five yards of fabric she used as a costume was a little worse for wear, but overall, she looked okay.

  "What?" I laughed, "You never made one of those volcanos in science class?"

  Gale continued to watch Swell spewing more and more all over the floor, "How long is he going to go on like that?"

  I shrugged, "I'm supposed to know? He was going to kill me. Plus," I paused for effect, "he called you a bitch."

  Gale's eyes frosted over. She looked back at Swell. His eyes, from what we could see behind the foam, were wide with terror. Gale cocked her head and Swell levitated.

  "What happens if you shake him?"

  "Got me. I never shook a volcano before. But you should probably..."

  It was too late. The wind rushed around us and Swell tumbled end over end, bouncing up and down on the breeze. Swell exploded a little, foam shooting from places I couldn't, or maybe my mind wouldn't, identify. I jumped to the side, but still got a lot of it on my legs and shoes. Gale's power kept most of it off her, but I saw a few bubbles in her hair. With a flick of her hand, Swell soared up through the center of the stairwell and out of sight. Gale dusted her hands off and turned to me.

  "Well, that wasn't such a hot idea."

  I laughed, "I tried to warn you. You know," I raised an eyebrow, "you owe me a kiss."

  Gale rolled her eyes, "Later."

  "Two, technically."

  "Later, Bob."

  "Fine, Wendi. But a bet is a bet."

  "What was that bit about Compartment?"

  I smiled, "Oh nothing."

  Gale raised an eyebrow over her mask and floated over the foam and joined me on the stairs. I looked past her, up the stairwell. Had we passed my office yet? Probably. My dartboard was still on the couch in my office. I really wanted to retrieve it. Leaving it behind with all the clues to Nineteen's search was generally a bad idea but how could I explain it to Gale?

  I shook my head. There was nothing for it. I'd have to get it later. We continued down. While we walked, all I could think about was how much of a child I was being. Betting for kisses? What was I thinking? But I'd already opened my big mouth, and honestly, she was playing along. So maybe she was open to me? Maybe there was more to Rod's absence than she was admitting? But what was the deal with that Liz thing? It didn't make sense.

  What seemed to be hours later, we were near the bottom of the building. The stairs continued into the basement and, hopefully, farther. I wasn't sure how far down we'd have to go to get to the bottom, but the bottom of the City was where we needed to go. The break to talk with Swell had helped, but I was still sweating profusely. The adrenalin might be part of the problem, but the size of my belly surely was most of it. I wiped my forehead with the back of my arm and took a deep breath.

  Eventually, we ended up in front of a huge door. Vault like. Something that might be in a bank.

  "Now what?"

  "Now...we find a way around t
his thing," I put my hand on it. It was cold and felt like metal.

  "And how do you propose we do that?"

  "I don't know, leader of the Bulwark. What do you suggest?"

  Gale turned back to the door and tightened her eyes. After a moment, she closed them and her fingers started to twitch by her sides. The costume settled on her and I was suddenly very aware of how alone we were. It was dead silent.

  "There's a manual lock. Probably some sort of backup. It isn't hermetically sealed. I'm surprised. I'll have to take that up at the next Security Council."

  She wasn't talking to me. From inside the door, things started to click and whir. I just tried to stay quiet and not pant too hard. Gale didn't move. She was like a statue. A beautiful, barely-clothed statue.

  I looked away. I was an idiot. She'd never take me back. Rod was going to come back and she'd leave. I had to accept that. I shook my head. This was a conversation I'd had with myself, in some form or another, for years. But, dammit, she was Gale. Wendi. My wife. Ex-wife. It was...I had to try, didn't I? Didn't she deserve to know how I felt?

  I opened my mouth to speak, but shut it again before I could. She knew. How could she not? I'd been begging her to take me back for years. And, what? Now that she's down and vulnerable, I thought she'd come running back to me? I knew that wasn't going to happen. I knew it. Stop. Just stop.

  The door swung forward and Gale turned to me, a playful smile on her face, "Well, it isn't a volcano, but it'll...Bob?" Her express changed to worry. "Are you okay?"

  I put on a smile, "Of course. Sorry. Just thinking."

  Gale's smile returned, "Well, don't hurt yourself. You look like someone ran over your puppy."

  "Naw," I walked past her, "I'm fine."

  When I was told that there was a cellar under the City that was sometimes called 'catacombs', I got two pictures in my head. Neither of them matched what I found beyond that door. Stepping forward, we entered into a larger space with a staircase heading down. To either side, there were long hallways with pipes running along the walls and ceiling that stretched off to the horizon. The walls and floors were unfinished concrete. The hallways, from what I could see under the dim emergency lighting, occasionally opened up to larger rooms and maybe turned into suspended walkways. Knowing how lackadaisical supers could be about safety, I didn't want to know what they were suspended over.