by Matt Cowper
She contemplated blasting him with the flamethrower, but that would do nothing but burn off his suit. The shotgun, sniper rifle, and grenades would be equally useless.
The ultimatium-tipped rounds. Eight bullets. Only chance.
Dropping the flamethrower, she whipped out a pistol, inserted the ultimatium clip, and charged Kain. She had to get close enough so she wouldn't miss. One bullet right between the eyes should––
Something hit her, driving her into one of the columns. She felt her back wrenching from the impact. A dozen fists pounded her – no, only two fists, but moving so fast she couldn't dodge. Deft hands ripped her weapons from her body. In what seemed like a blink, she had nothing except a few knives she'd hidden in her pants.
“My, my,” Kain said. “He truly is impressive once unleashed, isn't he?”
Deathrain kipped up, facing the person or thing who'd so easily trounced her.
It was Auspice. A small gasp escaped her mask, and a cold sensation crept into her stomach.
The superhero was no longer dressed in his white spandex. He was now wearing all black, from his head to his toes. He stared at her with a fixation similar to Sergei's mad huntsman's stare. He was slightly crouched, arms raised, in a perfect stance to either attack or defend.
“Auspice?” she whispered.
“Yes, it is indeed him,” Kain said, walking over to put a hand on the hero's shoulder, “though he has changed since you last saw him.”
“What have you done to him?”
“Oh, many things.” A malicious smile. “First we tortured him. Then I gave Sergei his hunt, as I'd promised. Sergei won, but it was a close contest. He wanted to kill Auspice, per his custom, but I prevailed upon him to let the do-gooder live. It's so much fun to turn someone's allies against them.”
“Mind control.”
“Precisely. I have several telepaths and illusionists within my employ. Auspice's mind was tough, on a basic level I mean, but he'd had no training on mental fortifications. His superhero foolishness was overwritten, replaced with a more...realistic view of the world. Isn't that right, Auspice?”
“The world is black and cold,” Auspice said, his voice devoid of emotion. “I exist to shatter mankind's delusions.”
“And how do you do that?” Kain asked.
“I make them see. If they don't see, I kill them.”
“Simple enough, isn't it?” Kain chuckled and patted Auspice on the head.
“You'll pay for this,” she snarled.
“Oh, you're going to use that line?” Kain sighed and shook his head. “So utterly banal. But anyway, I am not paying for anything. You are far out of your league.”
“I killed Sergei, and I'll kill you.”
“You killed Sergei because I let you kill Sergei. Sergei's obstinacy and excesses had become unreasonable. He let you escape at the docks, remember, though he swore otherwise. He knew I couldn't track you by myself, and he wanted you as a plaything. Well, he got his wish – and I got mine. No matter who won your fight, I'd come out on top. If he killed you, a troublesome piece would be removed from the board, and I'd only have to deal with Sergei. If you killed him, I'd be rid of that crazed hunter, and I'd only have to deal with you.”
“You're a ruthless psychopath,” she shot at him. “If this is how you treat all your––”
“My god, you get more pathetic by the minute. Of course I'm a ruthless psychopath. How do you think I ascended to this position? But enough blathering. Auspice, end this nuisance.”
The brainwashed superhuman charged her, and again she felt like she was being hammered by a tornado of fists. Her parries were anticipated, and her counterstrikes hit nothing but air.
Her healing factor had mostly rejuvenated her from the brutal fight against Sergei, but again it was put to the test as her bones cracked and her muscles ripped.
Auspice's sixth sense...he knew what she was going to do almost before she knew herself. And he no longer had the superhero's caution and sense of morality. He wanted to kill her – but she didn't want to kill him.
This wasn't his fault. She couldn't go all-out and murder him.
Ironic. She was supposed to be the heartless assassin, but now she was worried about taking a life, while Auspice was the one attacking her like a savage.
Kain, of course, understood her dilemma perfectly. “You'd best take him down, before he kills you, Deathrain. But then, you'd be killing someone who was your ally – perhaps even a friend. Someone who was once as pure as a rushing mountain stream. A superhero. A good man. Can you do that, Deathrain?”
She couldn't, but neither could she stand there and absorb this hail of blows forever. Plus, her weapons lay scattered around her. All Auspice had to do was pick some of them up and blast or burn her to pieces.
She needed to target Kain, then disable Auspice and find some way to undo the brainwashing. Either that, or retreat, and plan a better assault on this dark fortress.
But looking at the cold, relentless Auspice, she rejected the second option. She'd retreated – or more accurately, gotten shot into Jameson Bay – at the docks, and they'd captured the superhero and done unspeakable things to him. He might never recover from this ordeal.
And it was her fault. She should've stayed, should've been stronger, should've found a way to triumph....
An uppercut from Auspice nearly broke her jaw. Kain laughed and clapped his hands.
“This is so entertaining!” he shouted. “The agile, resourceful, tenacious assassin reduced to a punching bag! You know, I watched your fight against Sergei. The way you bit into his hand and refused to let go...astonishing. But now you are as meek as a lamb, worried about injuring your poor friend.”
She looked between Auspice, Kain, and the pile of weapons. What the hell should she do?
No idea seemed workable. Kain was too tough, too cruel, and with his special sense, Auspice was nigh-untouchable.
His sense...yes...that might be a possibility....
He could detect danger, and react to it as quickly as his body would allow.
But did the same rules apply to his mind? If Auspice could dodge a punch, could he also dodge a telepath's probing? And how would that work, exactly? Would he allow himself to be “false brainwashed,” perhaps create a fake persona, in order to fool his captors?
It didn't seem probable, or even possible. The man fighting her was deadly serious. There was no indication that the real Auspice was still in there, ready to reclaim his true self.
But she had to try the gambit. Short of running away or severely injuring Auspice, there was little else she could do. Even if she was wrong about the particulars, she still might be able to jolt Auspice back to reality.
She backflipped away from the superhuman, putting a few feet between them. But then she dropped her arms and stood there, as calmly as if she was ordering some fast food.
“Look at me, Auspice,” she said. “I'm not gonna fight anymore. I'm not even gonna defend myself. I'm no longer a threat.”
Auspice didn't reply. He only rushed at her and renewed his assault.
More bones broken. More muscles torn. Her face was now so swollen she couldn't see out of one eye. As soon as her healing factor reduced the swelling, Auspice clocked her again, and again the eye closed.
“I'm...not...a threat,” she muttered. “Not...a...threat.”
She kept repeating those words like a mantra, but Auspice didn't slack off. Her entire body now felt like it had been run over by a cement truck.
Kain, however, perceived something was amiss. “What are you doing, Deathrain? Sacrificing yourself in the hopes that Auspice will snap out of it? It won't work. It won't––”
He trailed off, and she knew he was pondering the implications of her actions. He'd likely considered the possibility of her trying to reverse the brainwashing, but seeing the lengths she was willing to go, and again ruminating on Auspice's powers, he was quickly coming to some unsettling conclusions.
She was runni
ng out of time. It was now or never.
Auspice tackled her and began raining fists down on her crushed face. The pain...just as bad as the fight with Sergei...but she could take it...she had to....
“Auspice,” she whispered. “I know...you're in there. Waiting to come out. Well, now's...the time. I'm not your...enemy. I'm not even...resisting you. Kain is the enemy. You're a...superhero, not this...demon. Come back to...me.”
He stopped as if someone had frozen him in time. Through her one good eye, Deathrain watched as something seemed to click within him. He blinked several times, and when he looked down at her now, the icy murderousness was gone from his eyes.
“My God,” he whispered, staring at his handiwork. “I did this to you, didn't I?”
“Not...your fault. You weren't...yourself.”
“Yes, but––”
“I'll heal. Now...help me up...and let's finish this.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to her feet carefully. Kain watched them, scowling.
“You...you bitch,” he spat.
“What's the matter, Kain?” Deathrain said. “If you...are as smart as you say you are...you would've figured out exactly...how Auspice's powers worked.”
“She's right,” Auspice said, his stalwart voice filling her with strength. “My special sense protects me from threats internal and external. As soon as you bastards started poking around in my head, my mind – my true mind – went into hiding. You got your evil Auspice, but only temporarily. All I needed was a reminder of who I really was.” He squeezed Deathrain's shoulders. “Thank you, Deathrain.”
“No problem,” she said. Her mouth was healed up, but as emotional as she felt right now, she almost didn't trust herself to speak.
“You're undone, Kain,” Auspice said. “Surrender now, before this gets any worse – for you.”
“You two are truly idiotic.” He'd only partially controlled his fury; his granite-hard fists wanted to crush someone, anyone, and soon. “Do you think this is the end? The big battle with the bad guy? No. While I desperately want to maul you with my own hands, you both have proven to be far more dangerous than I suspected.”
He pulled a device out of his pocket. It was about the size of a cigarette lighter, with a bright red button at the top. “Goodbye to both of you. I will survive this, but you won't.”
His finger quivered over the button, but before he could press it, it was knocked from his grasp and skittered across the stone floor.
Auspice had pulled a knife from her cargo pants and thrown it at the villain. It did nothing against his hardened skin, but his ultimate scheme – probably to blow up the building, as Deathrain had suspected – was forestalled.
For a few seconds, at least. Kain glared at them, then ran towards the device. “You pestilences. You ignorant, bleating––”
Another knife thrown by Auspice hit the device, sending it sliding all the way to the other side of the room.
“Trying to bring the entire building down on us, aren't you?” Auspice said. “Or something else equally destructive. Not gonna happen, Kain.”
Kain said nothing. He looked at the faraway device, at the two superhumans against him. He was torn between doing what Auspice had outlined or fighting them both with his hardened hands. The rational part of his mind was probably telling him to retrieve the device, while the vengeful, humiliated part of his mind was telling him to stand and fight.
They needed to take advantage of his indecision. Deathrain leaned in to Auspice and whispered into his ear.
“The pistol about five feet away, in line with your right foot. It has eight ultimatium-tipped bullets.”
Auspice nodded; he didn't need further explanation. He propped her against a nearby column and dove for the pistol.
Kain stood there leering, but then he must've realized that if the superhero was diving for a particular weapon, then it could do some damage. He ducked behind a column, but not before Auspice fired off a round. A grunt verified that the hero's aim was true.
“You gonna be OK?” Auspice asked Deathrain, not taking his eyes of the column that hid Kain.
“It'll take some time for my healing factor to repair me,” she replied. “But don't worry – you'll have beaten him by then.”
The superhero smirked. “Glad you have faith in me.”
He advanced slowly to the column, the pistol held steady.
“You think you have me, don't you?” Kain shouted. “What fools! Deathrain, you haven't seen anyone here besides me, Sergei, and Auspice, have you? Where are all my minions, where are all the deadly members of my empire? Do you wonder why this building is deserted? It was to lull you in, so I could surround you! Even now, dozens of the deadliest men in Z City are moving into position, eager to slay both of you!”
“You're lying,” Auspice replied. “You evacuated the building because you planned to set off an explosion if we were too difficult to take down. If your underlings were here, they'd be caught in the explosion along with us, and your criminal empire would be reduced to dust. No, you're alone now, Kain. You miscalculated – badly. Maybe you could summon backup if you had time, but I'm not going to let that happen.”
He dove around the corner of the column, rolled, and came up in a crouched firing position. Two shots rang out. Kain shouted, apparently in pain, and then Deathrain saw him again running towards the trigger device.
But though Kain darted in between the columns, and she only saw flashes of him, Auspice had the angle covered. Two more shots, and then a thud, like stone hitting stone. The hero must've hit Kain in one or both of his legs.
“These rounds hurt bad, don't they?” Auspice said, moving slowly to put himself between Kain and the trigger device. “I'll give you another chance to surrender, Kain. I don't want to kill you, but if I have to, I will.”
Deathrain knew this was a bluff. Auspice probably felt bad about even using a gun; killing was certainly out of the question.
Kain had to know this as well. He'd take advantage of Auspice's morals if he could.
That left her. She had to be the executioner – and now that she was healed enough to move, she was happy to play the role.
Picking up a few grenades, she stalked between the columns, keeping to the open spaces so Kain couldn't jump out at her. Slowly she narrowed down his potential hiding spots. With Auspice watching from the other side, there were only so many spots he could be.
Kain had to be – here!
But he wasn't there. Her eyes darted around, wondering how he'd slipped by them. Then something fell on her, something as heavy as a rhinoceros.
Kain! But how?!
Slowly she realized what had happened: using his tough, strong fists and feet, he'd bashed one of the columns, creating handholds and footholds, which he'd used to climb up out of her field of vision. She'd thought she'd heard some crunching noises, but the acoustics in the room were odd, and she'd had no idea those noises were so important.
Kain picked her up and drove her back-first across his knee. Again her spine shattered, and her grenades fell from her grip.
It was a truly savage blow, and as Deathrain looked up at her assailant, she saw he was gnashing his teeth like one of the lunatics in the insanity wing at MegaMax Prison. The suave, arrogant, mastermind was gone, replaced by a bloodthirsty beast.
Then Auspice burst into view, and fired two more rounds at Kain. Chips flew from Kain's diamond-obsidian skin, and the villain staggered and let out a string of barely coherent curses.
“Stand down, Kain!” Auspice shouted. “Now!”
Damn his superhero ideals! He only had one ultimatium round left. If he shot Kain in the head, this would all be over!
“Kill him!” Deathrain said. “It's the only way to stop him!”
“I will if he doesn't surrender!” Auspice shouted.
His words wouldn't have convinced a second-grader. Kain sneered at both of them, then did something neither one of them expected. Reaching into one of the
gunshot wounds in his stomach, he pulled out a handful of shards – pieces of his rocky flesh that had been broken by the bullet – and flung them at Auspice.
Though his sixth sense told him to dodge, Auspice clearly had not, in the front of his mind, expected this. The superhero avoided most of the shards, but several pieces ricocheted off one of the columns, knocking the gun from his hand.
Everyone's eyes zeroed in on the weapon. Auspice and Kain ran towards it, and Deathrain willed her spine to heal quickly so she could get back in the fight.
Kain got to the gun a split-second before Auspice, and kicked it away – directly towards the trigger device.
“Isn't this rich?” the villain roared. “Two all-important objects, right next to each other! Whoever retrieves them first wins!”
Laughing, he ran past Auspice – only to land flat on his face. Auspice had executed a perfect leg sweep, hitting Kain's ankle exactly as he planted it.
But it had cost him. Auspice might as well have been kicking the black stone columns. He stood up, and though he tried to hide his pain, his limp was unmistakable.
“Quite valiant of you, Auspice,” Kain said. “But unlike Deathrain, you won't heal up quickly. Continue hitting me, and you'll only damage your own body until it's useless!”
“I'll do whatever it takes to stop you.”
“But you won't kill me,” Kain said. “You had your chance, and you couldn't pull the trigger. I am unstoppable!” His cackle reverberated off the columns. “Now you both die! You will be crushed under the rubble as this building falls, and then I will drag out your corpses and violate them in ways you can't imagine!”
Deathrain struggled, trying to stand – yes! Her spine had healed enough for her to walk. It still felt like she was eighty years old, but she could push through that.
She shuffled around the columns, trying to keep out of Kain's vision. He was moving towards the gun and the trigger device, and while Auspice was fighting him, he was only hurting himself, as Kain had taunted.
There were the two objects, not ten feet away! She bent her knees and leapt, sliding across the floor, her hand outstretched....