Blaze of Glory

by Sheryl Nantus

  I looked at Hunter, a wide smirk on my face. “Yes, yes it is. Let’s go kick some alien butt.” Grabbing his hand, I led him to the stairs and up towards the roof. He didn’t try to break free, probably smiling like a hyena as we gathered with the others.

  Peter grinned at me, reaching for the nylon harness I had slipped on over my black jacket again. “I’ve managed to secure for us some aquatic help if anyone falls in the lake. It won’t be much, but no one’ll drown.”

  A shiver ran up my spine as I tugged on the rope, checking the knots. “Lord, don’t even think about that. The pollution in the lake’ll probably mutate us beyond belief.”

  An answering snort from Limox, standing a few feet away near Stephen, confirmed my words. “Rather fall into a shitpile than that water.” He glanced at May next to him, a frown settling over her delicate features. “Sorry. I’m trying.” His sheepish look appeared to be genuine. Maybe some old dogs can learn new tricks.

  “Try harder.” The harsh tone was tempered with a small bit of sympathy, the edges of her mouth twitching upwards with the slight reprimand. She nodded at Slammer. “I’m ready to go.”

  Kol’tak gave me a nod before leaving, jumping into the air and gaining altitude at a dizzying pace. I figured he was trying to intercept the alien ship before it got too comfortable over Lake Ontario and decided to wander inland for the heck of it. I hoped he wasn’t about to defect to his family and open up another round of fighting. Even with Hunter Dillon on our side, there was no guarantee we’d take Kol’tak out a second time.

  May was a little pale, Limox appeared a bit green around the gills, and Slammer really didn’t seem to care, looking like he was about to chug a few beers at a Penguins game. Hunter wrapped the cord around his hand, standing tall. The flirty persona was gone. This was the Guardian in charge, getting ready for the Show of the Century. Again. And even that got lousy ratings the first time around.

  “Just follow me. We’re going to play spectators for a few minutes until we see what’s going on. Don’t do anything until you get my signal.” Without waiting for a response I pushed off, carrying Peter and Hunter with me. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Slammer doing one of his majestic leaps with May in his arms and Limox hanging on around his neck for dear life, landing so lightly atop a building I was sure he didn’t even stir the dust on the rooftop.

  The Canadian National Exhibition grounds sit right at the edge of Lake Ontario, the century-old fair now updated and improved with huge permanent buildings and plenty of stalls selling anything and everything. The Royal Winter Fair was held here every year as well, giving the city kids a chance to slip in real cow manure and inhale the delicate fragrance of farm animals running oot and aboot in a wonderful continuation of tradition.

  There used to be a wooden rollercoaster there as well, the Flyer. Made so much noise and rocked so badly it’d scare the heck out of anyone foolish enough to ride, but the kids kept climbing back on for another ride just in case this was going to be the time it flew apart into a thousand pieces and they’d go down in history as a funky footnote.

  The Flyer was long gone, along with the stadium where the Blue Jays originally played when the baseball team started up decades ago, but the general area was the same. Wide empty lawns ready to host the yearly airshow that would have the Snowbirds screaming overhead and families sprawling on picnic blankets as all types of aircraft roared over them in a blatant display of airpower from around the world.

  Except now there was a huge fat shadow cast over those same lawns from the avocado-shaped craft hovering just over the water. It was the same size as the one over NYC, maybe two, three football fields across and at least as many from top to bottom. For all I knew it was the same one and the mere thought sent a shiver down my spine.

  I hovered in the air, seeing Slammer land in the clearing not far from a carillon displaying a series of beautiful if silent bells. The streets below us were filled with organized chaos, from what we had seen on our short trip, the residents racing to leave the city as gracefully as possible. On every corner stood police or military personnel directing the evacuation and keeping the crowds moving.

  No one reacted to seeing us fly overhead. One cop actually saluted us—that or he was waving away a flying bug.

  “There’s Kol’tak,” Hunter said over the link, his hand tightening in mine. As we descended I watched the diminutive figure circle the ship as if waiting impatiently for something to happen, bobbing up and down towards what I could only guess were surveillance ports. His hands stayed at his sides with no apparent attempt to get ready for a fight.

  “What if no one shows up?” Limox growled. I turned to see his fingers rolling into fists and then unrolling again and again, stretching out to their full length each time. “What if they figure he’s blowing smoke up their collective asses and just blow him away with some hidden cannon or something?”

  “Always the optimist, aren’t you?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. “Something’s going to happen at some point, so stay frosty.” The cool air was sharp in my lungs. “May, get ready to blast the leader if Kol’tak starts losing. We’ll slam him as hard as we can if it’s going the wrong way.” I didn’t need to turn my head to see their confused stares. “Look, if we’re going to lose, then all bets are off. I may have told him we wouldn’t interfere, but I’m not going to hand over this planet to his boss without putting up a fight.”

  Slammer nodded, squeezing his hands together. The metallic lines glinted in the sunlight. “I can go for that.” He peered up towards the ship. “Seems kinda strange to be sitting on the sidelines for something like this.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “But we have to give him a chance. If we start slugging it out, we’re not going to survive. It’ll be worse than New York City, I figure.” The words came out thickly, spoken through molasses. “But we’ll look good going down.”

  “Just the way I like my women.” Limox chuckled and I had to smile. Walked into that one.

  A small opening appeared in the ship. A single figure hovered for a minute before moving out from the brightly illuminated interior. The door slid shut in silence, so quickly that if you had blinked you wouldn’t have seen a thing. Except for the second warrior hanging in midair.

  It could have been Kol’tak’s clone. Dressed in the same casual dress shirt and pants, he moved towards his opponent slowly at first, then picked up more and more speed.

  Kol’tak raced towards the leader, fists in front of him. Even at this distance I could see his jaw was clenched so tightly I was sure the speed would cut his face to ribbons if he didn’t stop soon. As the two collided, a shock wave blasted outwards, rolling out towards us, down towards the water, out everywhere. Hunter grabbed my waist and pushed me towards the ground, yelling for the rest to follow suit.

  The wave smashed into us, driving us back so hard I felt my fingernails dig into the lush green grass and lose traction, tugging dirt up under the exposed nails. Then the wave was gone as if it had only been a shared illusion.

  The flagpole next to us wavered and then started falling. Without hesitation Slammer leapt into the air and brought it to the ground as softly as he could, his feet digging into the thick soil as he let out a loud huff.

  The few windows in the buildings around us shattered, sending shards of glass flying outwards as the bells nearby began to ring, an off-tune melody of confusion that mounted as we watched the two men spin back and forth across the sky near the alien craft. Scrambling to my feet, I looked around and saw the others seemed to be okay. Hunter stayed close, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stared skyward.

  The two figures danced back and forth across the sky like a pair of enraged hawks defending their territory. One would dart forward, let go with a series of multicolored bolts of energy that I knew had been stolen from the other supers, and then throw up a force field or a shield of some sort to catch and toss aside the other alien’s attack. It would have been a beautiful display of fireworks if t
he fate of the whole world hadn’t been hanging on the outcome.

  Finally I had to turn away, stamping my feet on the ground in frustration. “I can’t tell them apart.” Lifting one hand to shade my eyes from the sun, I called to May. “Can you lock onto Mal’tor?”

  She looked up into the bright sky for a second, then away with a tight smile and nodded. “Done. He’s pretty pissed, as you can guess. He really doesn’t like Kol’tak at all. Some sort of family-blood thing. It’s pretty complicated and I can’t figure that part out, but he’s definitely mad at him and for the way this entire situation is going. It’s not going to be easy to fuzz him up.” The senior reached up, rubbing her temples with the index fingers of both hands. “I’m sorry, it’s rather hard to keep at it. It’s strange, you know. I can’t get inside your mind like this, but his…it’s like a wide-open book now that I’ve gotten inside once.”

  “Hey, I’m thrilled you can do anything at all.” I returned my attention to the fight, watching the two buzz around each other with a speed I could only pray to have. “Every little bit helps and you’re helping…” My voice trailed off as I saw one of the figures smash into the side of the ship headfirst. The inert figure slid down over the rough surface of the ship.

  Kol’tak, or what I hoped was Kol’tak, skidded along the pebbled exterior, his hands digging into the metal and ripping long grooves as he brought himself to a stop only a few feet from the bottom of the ship. Pushing off from the craft, he swung wide to clear the ship’s arc. The second he did, the alien let loose with a neon red blast from his eyes, punching Mal’tor directly in the chest.

  “I know that power. B-Beam,” Hunter whispered in my ear. “He died in the first wave.”

  A sour taste in my mouth reminded me that I hadn’t eaten much lately and what I had was floating somewhere in the Toronto septic system. Turning my head to one side, I spat onto the grass, trying to focus my energy into my hands again. My thoughts were fogged and not only from May’s presence.

  “Here.” A granola bar appeared in my left hand, pressed there by Hunter. “What would you do without me?” The half-smile sent another lurch through my stomach. I shredded the wrapper with shaking hands and pushed the bar into my mouth, extending my cheeks like a hamster’s. It wasn’t pretty but it was necessary. Mike would have a fit if he saw me letting myself go like this.

  “Don’t choke.” Hunter put his hand on my arm, squeezing enough to break my attention away from the fight. “Don’t swallow it whole, bloody well chew the thing.”

  The harsh tone snapped me back for a second, long enough to grind down on the mush in my mouth. Yep, Mike would be pissed at me.

  Suddenly other portals opened in the sides of the ship, other warriors floating in the dim light.

  Peter pointed up at the shadowy figures. “I think that honor system might be a bit overrated.” He drew in a shaky breath. “Maybe the fix is in.” His head tilted to one side as a pair of German Shepherds trotted up and sat just in front of the young man, tails wagging and tongues hanging out. “Thanks for coming.”

  “New friends?” Limox stared at the two dogs, doing a little shuffle back and forth.

  “I told you to go before we left.” I glanced between the dogs and the older super. “You okay?”

  “I’m not a big fan of dogs.” Meltdown moved closer to Slammer, who couldn’t help grinning like a madman at Limox’s reaction.

  “Break it up.” The stern voice surprised me until I realized it was my own. “Peter, tell them that I appreciate the help and we may need them and their friends if it goes bad. But ask them to stay away from Limox. And you…” I turned my head to stare at the man. “Don’t. Be. An. Ass.”

  My attention returned to the two figures still dancing around the craft in some sort of strange 3-D ballet. Various blue and white and yellow beams shot out from their hands as they used captured skills from dead supers. The anger I felt at Limox caught in my throat as I recognized the powers being used and the memories of the people who had been behind them. Friend or foe, we had all fought under the same banner.

  Hunter kept muttering the names of the dead heroes, the running mantra beginning to piss me off. Right now I didn’t need to be reminded of how many people had died for us to get to this point.

  “Look!” May squealed, not unlike a young girl catching a glimpse of her superstar. Mal’tor had started to falter, his shots of energy missing Kol’tak by mere inches and then widening to a foot or more. I didn’t know if the guy used targeting software or what, but it was obvious the balance had shifted.

  “Lucky guy,” Limox said with what almost sounded like relief. I didn’t say anything.

  Kol’tak zoomed in and smashed both his fists into the center of his former leader’s chest, sending him rocking back against the ship, smashing into the pebbled surface. Breathing heavily, Kol’tak backed off a few feet, his hands held up in front of him and directly in front of the alien’s face—I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know it was a do-or-die moment for the now-former leader of the Chu’kar. Mal’tor stayed there for what seemed like an hour before making a weak gesture with his right hand, fingers wriggling in the air.

  As if they had practiced for this precise situation the warriors flew out of the hatches, launching themselves at Kol’tak. I couldn’t see his face but from May’s gasp I could guess he was shocked at the blatant violation of their rules. Me, I had figured it was more likely to happen than not. I’m cynical that way.

  “Fuck.” Rising into the air and leaving Hunter behind, I screamed into the link, “All bets are off—give ’em hell.”

  Gathering as much power as I could into my hands, I let go with a flurry of shots in the area around Kol’tak. The space cleared just long enough for me to swoop in and grab him, the astonished aliens falling back at my appearance. A few seconds later the sky filled with clusters of supers and aliens fighting as we dipped down towards the lake.

  The alien in my hands looked up at me. I gasped, seeing the result of his challenge close up. His face was ripped to shreds, the blood dripping off into the air. “He didn’t acknowledge my victory,” he whispered, a childlike astonishment in his words. “He did not accept his defeat honorably.”

  “Yeah, well not everyone likes to lose.” I dove towards the ground where May and Hunter were the only ones left standing, the others hopefully in the middle of the scrum. “Get your strength back and get up here. We’re going to need your help.”

  Kol’tak nodded as Hunter grabbed his arms and lowered him onto the grass. The alien winced as he lay back on the green carpet. “I can tell you that it’s only this ship rebelling against our agreement. The others are standing by to see the results. They are conflicted by this…confusion.”

  “We’ll take anything we can get at this point.” I looked up at the handful of supers ducking and weaving through the mass of alien fighters, my small team hopelessly outnumbered by the warriors. The only thing that seemed to be holding the aliens back from letting loose with the full force of their stolen powers was the fact that they’d be more likely than not to hit their own personnel. Yay for our side.

  “Well, they’re not going to have to wait long…” My voice disappeared as I saw Slammer fold under a large number of identical men, his long fingers scrabbling to keep a grip on the side of the alien ship where he had landed in one of his jumps.

  Suddenly what looked like a bullet slammed into the side of the mob, driving through them and emerging from the other side before circling around for another attack. I caught a glimpse of a silver flash, sending a shiver of excitement up my spine. It wasn’t an alien.

  “Speedster,” May exhaled as she knelt by the wounded alien, looking up at the battle. She patted Kol’tak’s arm. “You did very well, I thought.” Glancing around, the senior frowned. “I thought Speedster was dead.”

  “So did I.” A smile began to spread across Hunter’s face. “Guess we aren’t the last ones.”

  Chapter Nineteen


  I spun in the air as a flurry of movement burst out from all directions. From every building, from every nook and cranny of the empty grounds, appeared men and women. Some I recognized, some I didn’t—but they were all supers.

  Some long-haired guy with what I could swear were extra arms barreled into the crowd of aliens, helping extricate Slammer. The large Pittsburgher leapt back to the ground, landing beside us with a loud thud. He was bleeding from a huge gash on his forehead, and he wiped the blood away from his eyes before speaking.

  “Who the fuck are these guys? I mean our guys, not their guys.” Turning away from May, he spat a mouthful of blood into the grass. “’Cuse me.”

  “Other surviving supers. Guess they heard about the showdown and decided to come help make one last stand.” Hunter was grinning too widely to not have had something to do with this.

  “Did you set this up?” I levitated into the air over him, fists clenched. My pulse increased as I watched the dogfights continue overhead. A few supers were being carried into the fight by other fliers while others stayed on the ground, shooting up into the crowded sky. A shack flew by, the small building airborne courtesy of one of the stronger supers. Mentally I made a note to compose an apology to the groundskeepers.

  “Let’s just say that I sent the word out through Jessie’s network that if it wasn’t going to be now, then when?” He spread his hands. “Mike had a lot of friends, in case you didn’t notice. And all they wanted was a stand-up, straight-on fight. Which you just gave to them.” He gave me a double thumbs-up with a wide smile. “Go save the world, woman.”

  “Bastard.” I dipped down just enough to brush my lips against his. “We’ll talk later about chain of command and who gets to be on top.” Ignoring his grin, I spun back into the rolling dogfight over the lake.

  A body narrowly missed slamming into me as I approached the ship. The young man spiraled down towards the lake without moving. I spotted Peter on the water, riding some sort of large fish, rushing to get to the super before he drowned. Nearby a blonde woman sparred with two of the alien warriors, deflecting their blue neon energy attacks with some sort of body shield that vibrated at a high-pitched squeal every time they slammed their fists into it. But I could see it was beginning to weaken.