“Showoff,” Limox muttered as he climbed into the passenger area.
May chuckled. “Look who’s talking.” She watched as Peter walked up the steps and turned around to offer her his hand with a slight bow. “And then there are still true gentlemen out there.” With a nod she followed the young man inside.
I looked back towards the crowd now milling to get through the small set of doors into the terminal. The rag-tag mob shuffled back and forth. A mother corralled her two children who whimpered, one little girl holding a stuffed animal. The other, a boy, kept looking back at the horizon.
Climbing into the plane, I tugged on the harness one more time. “Right. This is how it’s going to work.” Taking the empty seat, I pointed at Limox. “You grab my left hand. May, the right. Hunter, you’re at my back. Peter…” I reached behind me, taking hold of one of the two loops. “What I need you to do is grab one and hold on for dear life. I’ll put a bubble around us to keep us in the air, but you have to hold on. If you let go, I can’t catch you in time.”
“Right.” His eyes were wide but focused.
“It’ll be fine.” Hunter patted his shoulder. “Nothing to it.”
“How come Hunter gets to ride your back?” Limox fastened the seat belt, tugging it tight around his waist.
“Because I said so. Don’t pout.” Settling into my chair, I closed my eyes and tried to focus. “Okay, here’s the drill. Peter, while we’re still in the air I want you to gather as much information as you can from the birds, the flies, anyone who can tell you what’s happening. We’re not going to get anywhere near that fat avocado before we have to bail, so we’ll have some time to find out what’s going on before we get to the actual fight.”
“Roger,” he said with a note of confidence.
“May, I want to see if we can scramble those alien minds. I saw that you could direct the attacks—can you specifically target the ship?”
“I’ll try. Be easier to just target the one fellow, to be honest.” She paused. “But it may give you all a bit of a headache. Just warning you.”
“Let’s run with that—aim for the first guy you see. If it’s like the other cities, they’ll only send out one fighter at a time. Although I’ve never seen them toss out more than one. Hunter…” A sudden lump appeared in my throat, threatening to choke the words before I could get them out. “I’m going to set you down with May. Stay undercover as much as you can, both of you. Don’t take any risks and stay clear of trouble.” I ignored the huffy snort from Limox. “And, Limox—all I want you to do is melt the crap out of anyone or anything you can and keep us safe.”
“And who’s going to save me?” he snapped back. “And where are you going to be?”
“First, don’t yell at me.” Keeping my eyes closed, I held up my hand and ticked off the points on my fingers. “Second, your job is to protect May primarily. If she can snarl up their minds, then we’re going to have a major advantage. Peter is going to rally the ground troops, as it were, to provide enough random factors to keep the alien fighters off balance. Me, I’m going to be tossing as much heavy-duty crap at him as I can and hope that it’ll be enough to keep them at bay long enough to get all the civilians out. If we’re lucky, there’ll be other supers showing up as well, but I’m not depending on that.” My skin began to tingle as I finished pulling in the waves from around me, the surge meeting maximum capacity. Just then the pilot’s door opened and Josh climbed in. “I’m thinking that they’re going to send out only one guy like they did in New York.” I started juggling the energy back and forth between my hands, releasing bits and pieces and then pulling in more. It was going to be a long warm-up, but I wanted to be as sharp as possible when we jumped out.
“Didn’t take more than one to kick ass there,” Limox replied.
“Except this time he’ll be dazzled by May’s attacks and if we’re lucky a million insect stings from Peter’s friends.” I put a smile on my face, trying to make it real. “Whenever you’re ready, Josh.”
A sense of relief went through my body when the plane lifted off from the asphalt, more that it wasn’t my own energy keeping us aloft than a successful takeoff. True, I had managed pretty well getting us to Buffalo and back, but there was no way I could do that distance and then be ready to fight.
While I had sounded pretty darned confident or had tried to in my briefing, I knew that it would be a close battle, at the least. Even if the aliens only sent out the single fighter who had devastated Mike and the others, he would be more than a match for second-liners like us. In other words, a suicide run. It didn’t need to be said, we all knew it.
“Hey, Jo!” Jessie’s voice echoed in my ear, courtesy of the imbedded electronics. “How’s it going?”
“We’re doing fine.” I saw Josh’s head turn slightly to one side, wondering who I was talking to. Tapping my jaw with the index finger on my right hand, I smiled. “Internal stuff.”
“Ah. Okay. Just didn’t want to think I’d missed something.” He returned his gaze to the sky outside. “We’re doing well. Everyone’s getting out of town. We’re the only ones really in this corridor doing an approach.”
“Great,” Limox grunted.
Jessie’s voice overrode my urge to snap back. “Good news. The scuttlebutt is that there are other supers that are going to be at Pittsburgh. Don’t know who, don’t know what they’re going to do, but there’s been reports of people flying and running and all sorts of stuff happening.”
“That’s the best bit of news I’ve heard all day. Strike that, all year. If it’s true.” I bit down on the inside of my cheek. “Anyone actually confirmed?”
Jessie sounded a bit downcast. “Not really. Mostly rumors, but if we get an actual name, I’ll let you know.”
“Jo?” Hunter said. “I wouldn’t count on too many of them showing up. Better to plan for just yourself and don’t get distracted with the idea of reinforcements.” He paused. “Just a recommendation, of course.”
“Of course.” I couldn’t help smiling. “Can’t get it out of your system, hmm?”
“Once a Guardian always a Guardian.” Hunter chuckled. “Just focus on getting everyone back safe and sound.”
My stomach lurched as I remembered Jenny’s prediction. “Yeah, we’ll do that. Call me if you hear anything else.”
I looked out the window to my side, seeing white cirrocumulus clouds around us. In my mind I was already flying down through them to the fat avocado and taking it out with a massive electrical charge. In my mind.
The next couple of hours went by quickly with mild chitchat in the cabin, mostly Peter asking Limox how he had been taken out against this super and that super, and Limox repeatedly pointing out that it was prearranged that he’d lose them all, and if he had just been given free rein he would have…
“We’re about there.” Josh nodded at me. “Better get ready to do your thing.”
Unbuckling my seat belt, I crouched down and moved towards the door. “Okay, here’s how it goes. Meltdown, you open the door and be careful about it. Everyone hooks onto me then we all go out as one, slowly and surely.”
Just as the last word left my mouth Limox flung the door open with all the delicacy of a rampaging rhinoceros. The air inside the cabin whipped around us like a hurricane. Josh let out a loud curse as the plane dipped to one side, his hands tight on the controls.
I held onto the back of the seat. Limox, however, wasn’t lucky enough. He disappeared out into the sky with his mouth flapping in what probably would have been a curse if we could hear it. I suspected my name figured prominently.
Chapter Fourteen
Part of me wasn’t shocked at the way our carefully arranged plan was already going to hell in a handbasket. Part of me wondered if he could burn a hole in the ground fast enough to delay his inevitable death from the impact. And the other part told me to get the lead out and save my teammate.
“Grab on!” I yelled at the team. The plane lurched back to the other side as Josh i
nstinctively tried to compensate for my companion’s stupidity. Me, I just felt sick to my stomach.
May unfastened her belt first, grabbing hold of Peter who struggled with the straps. Freeing him, she wrestled his left arm through one loop of my harness. Her own right arm went through the other loop as she pulled him close, pressing them both against my back. She wrapped her left arm around his waist, prompting him to do the opposite. I couldn’t do anything but feel the tugging on my back and pray that Limox wasn’t falling as fast as it looked. Hunter moved to stand in front of me, wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug and slid his hands through the harness and under the two supers on my back. I suppressed a nervous giggle at the image we created. It was either that or throw up.
“Go!” May’s scream had me hurtling out the door, activating the bubble around us and arcing downwards at an angle that had the wind whipping by us at an incredible rate. My mind flew back to one of my first flying lessons with Mike, only a few days after we’d been paired up.
“Flying isn’t as simple as it seems.” Mike flew next to me, the oversized metal suit clunky and awkward compared to my quick maneuvers. “You’re lucky you can do this. Most supers can’t.”
Swiveling myself to move atop him, I grabbed the metal bar on his back. “So why do I need this?”
“When you’re too tired. When we need to get somewhere fast. When you forget the rules.”
“And what are the rules?” We burst through a cloud, the white exploding around us like cotton candy on a child’s tongue.
“First one is that gravity doesn’t lie.” He reached over with a thick steel fist, pushing me down, slowly but firmly, forcing me to fight back with my powers to stay level. “Don’t ever forget that.”
I felt the two bodies on my back, the extra weight slamming into my spine and forcing me almost into a vertical dive despite Hunter tucking his head into the crook of my neck in an attempt to form a counterweight. Holding up my hands, I remade the bubble around us to level off even as we arced down towards what I hoped was the conscious figure of Meltdown.
“Our Father, Who art in Heaven…” May mumbled in my head. The young man beside her stumbled over the words as he joined her. I added my own silent echoes to her words, hoping He’d take pity on this poor lot.
Limox’s body grew larger and larger, his arms flapping wildly as he tried to grab onto air and kept failing. Pushing my hands to my sides, I angled us down so I’d be directly above the panicked man.
“Are you going to be able to grab him?” Peter asked.
I shook my head, forgetting that I was probably smacking them in the face with my hair. “If he’s turned his powers on, he’ll melt through me like a hot knife through butter. Best I can do is grab him by the feet and hope he calms down.”
“Do you want me to let go?” The words were so faint in my ear I thought for a second I had imagined it. Hunter turned his head, pressing his lips to my cheek. “Do you want me to let go? You’ll be able to get a better grip on him with your hands.”
“No,” I croaked out. “No. Don’t let go.” In my mind’s eye I saw Hunter falling to his death, sacrificing himself, a non-super, to get Limox back safely. I wasn’t ready to make that trade.
The ground raced towards us as I got closer, finally able to reach out and touch the falling super’s shoulder as he flailed around in the rushing air. Limox turned quickly, eyes wide open and lips flapping wildly.
“Limox, I need you to make sure you’re off,” I screamed through the link. “Tell me you’re off. Your powers are off; your hands are off.”
His glazed eyes flashed past, around and over me.
“Right.” I looked down at the ground. Even with the first slivers of sunlight breaking over the horizon I couldn’t see exactly where the ground was, but I was sure that it’d be just as hard and unforgiving in the night as in the day. “Everyone, hang on.”
Swooping down, I grabbed Limox’s ankles and swung the terrified man around, his hands towards the oncoming earth and away from us. My gloved fingertips were almost touching. Almost. But that wasn’t going to be enough unless I slowed us down and fast.
I heard May talking to Limox, soft gentle words of consolation that seemed to make him relax a bit more in my grip. Hunter took a deep breath, pressing himself against me and wrapping his legs around mine to allow me to have a better grip on Limox. Or at least that’s what I was telling myself. More likely he was trying to get away in case Limox lashed out with his hands to grab him, melting through fabric and flesh in his panicky state.
Meanwhile, and much more important, we were still plummeting at an incredible rate. I forced myself to level out, push off the ground that wasn’t so far away and bring the situation under control. Maybe all those meditation sessions Mike had forced me into actually had something to them…
Suddenly we stopped. Still. As in not moving an inch.
Limox let out what could only be called a meep. “What did you do?”
“I…” The cool air threatened to steal my breath away. “I stopped us.”
“Yeah, I got that.” He whistled. “Okay, I’m good.” The overweight man squirmed in my arms, the dirty sneakers twisting to the left and to the right. “A little tight there, girl. And could you just drop Hunter and let me get into your arms instead?”
“Get used to being on the bottom,” I snapped. “Look to your left while you’re busy making my life more difficult.”
The alien ship was slowly moving up the Ohio River in the dawning light, sending an ominous shadow over the fleeing barges and boats racing away from the city. The roads beneath us were jammed far beyond capacity, many of the cars stopped and off to the shoulder as people took to the streets to walk as far as they could before the attack started. Families carried their life belongings in knapsacks, shopping carts, dumping heavy suitcases and bags along the way in a long eerie trail of colorful luggage.
The river was just as bad, if not worse. Coal barges that usually would be carrying the classic fossil fuel were now filled with refugees, a human cargo that went on for miles with the tugboats pushing them hopefully out of harm’s way. Smaller crafts dodged in and out of the slow tedious trail of barges, overloaded with fleeing residents looking to get out of the city before all hell broke loose.
“Jo…” Hunter nudged my neck with his chin. “Look down at the large blue ship. She’s in trouble.”
The mock paddleboat had probably been some sort of tourist attraction, chugging up and down the river with the garish paint job advertising a sweet cruise for the passengers. But now it lurched perilously back and forth, the mass of humanity standing on the upper decks twisting the center of gravity towards the water that was already lapping at the wood. People scrambled away from the cool water, causing an even more violent shift as the boat swung back.
“Crap.” A yellow bridge nearby was the best bet for solid ground. “Get ready to jump.”
“What?” Limox squeaked, twisting around in my grip.
“Stop. That.” The brightly colored girders were only a few feet away. “I don’t have time to land and set you all down. Go as soon as I get over solid ground. Tuck and roll, Limox.”
I felt Peter and May’s hands slip free of the harness. As if we had practiced this a thousand times the two supers dropped off my back. Hunter let go with a short mumble into my neck, too low for me to understand.
“Don’t let me go!” Limox screamed as I released his ankles and moved back towards the boat.
The boat rolled again to one side, now tipping people into the river. Hovering about ten feet over the water and not far from the upper decks, I reached out, focused on taking control of the craft’s waves and leveling it off.
About half the screaming refugees noticed me, pointing and waving, some even snapping photographs as they struggled to keep their balance. The other half were grabbing onto the railings in an effort to keep upright. The river water wasn’t that cold, but I sure wouldn’t relish taking a dip in it.
“Calm down.” My attempt to sound authoritative reminded me of a church mouse ordering a lion around. I missed Metal Mike’s amplified speakers. “Don’t keep moving around.” My fingers clutched the edges of the boat, pulling it upright. “Stop moving.”
A young woman dressed in a Pittsburgh Steelers football jersey let out a high-pitched scream as she flipped over the railing, narrowly missing the other people already treading water.
“Shit!” The swaying of the ferry was beginning to pick up momentum, dipping lower with each cycle, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to gain control before it tipped totally over. Smaller watercraft had already started zipping over to pluck the people from the water, making the scene even more chaotic.
The woman flailed around for a second, the panic clear on her face. Abruptly she began to rise out of the water on some sort of air mattress, which cradled her as it moved her out of danger.
Fish. She was floating on a small raft of fish.
Gasping, the blonde reached out to grab the hand of a uniformed man, glancing down wide-eyed at the aquatic life keeping her afloat just long enough to get aboard the rescue craft. Then they disappeared in a flash of silver tails and scales.
“Don’t think she’ll be eating sushi again.” Peter’s chuckle brought a smile to my face despite the situation. But the panicked mob could easily turn this from a bad situation to a disaster in only a few seconds…
A rush of emotion washed over me, caressing me from the inside out. It was like having a massage, an obscene amount of chocolate and an infinite number of orgasms. My hands stopped moving as I tried to process all the feelings and sensations, the urge to just wallow in the ecstasy almost overwhelming my goal to stabilize the boat.
“Everyone just calm down.” The whispered words came over my link. “Jo, they should be okay now.”
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