The Compassionate Assassin

by Matt Cowper

  ...and a polished leather boot stomped on her hand, shattering every bone.

  “Close, Deathrain,” Kain smirked down at her, “but not close enough, you whore!”

  She reached out with her free hand, but again it was crushed beneath Kain's foot.

  “So persistent! But it doesn't matter!” Kain picked up the trigger device, his eyes pits of hatred. “I. Have. Won! Now comes the death, the blood, the violation!”

  “You know, Kain,” Deathrain said, “an assassin who needs her hands to retrieve a gun isn't worthy of the name.”

  “What do––”

  She lifted herself in a pushup, her arms straining against the pressure applied by Kain. Then she swung her legs forward, grabbing the pistol between her feet.

  This action had the desired effect: Kain stepped off her arms and tried to stomp on her feet instead, intent on keeping the gun from her possession.

  But Kain only had two feet, while Deathrain was using all of her limbs. She kicked the gun up to her shaking, still-injured arms, grabbed it between her palms, and aimed it directly at Kain's forehead.

  “Goodbye, you asshole,” she growled.

  “No!” Auspice shouted, his voice so commanding both of them jerked their heads his way.

  “You don't have to kill him!” the superhero continued. “I know who – what – he is, and what he's done, and I know you've killed before, but it doesn't have to continue!”

  “My God, such blubbering!” Kain said.

  “Auspice, I'm no superhero,” Deathrain said. “I killed Sergei. I'm gonna kill Kain. If I don't, he'll press that button and we'll be the ones who die.”

  Kain held out the trigger device. “Yes! I will press this button, you cretins! Unless you stop me, that is. So go ahead and kill me, Deathrain – and be scorned by your superhero boyfriend! Ah, you won't, will you? He's gotten inside your head! Tainted you with ideals and such nonsense!”

  Again his finger quivered over the red button.

  This was it.

  Deathrain looked at each man in turn.

  Kain: wild, bloodthirsty, drunk on power and anger. Willing to brainwash, torture, maim, or kill to get what he wanted. He hid his brutality beneath well-tailored suits and eloquent words, until someone truly enraged him. Then he tossed aside his guise as easily as he transformed into a nigh-invulnerable engine of destruction.

  Deathrain knew she'd looked exactly like Kain many times in her life. Her leather mask had hidden her facial expressions, but the reactions of her victims told her that they believed they were seeing a monster, a remorseless killing machine, not a multifaceted woman.

  Then there was Auspice.

  Though still dressed in black, and with his own mask covering much of his face, his goodness practically flowed out of him, as if it was another one of his superpowers. But it wasn't the schmaltzy goodness seen in old movies or the superhero cartoons developed for gullible children. Auspice had, after all, shot Kain multiple times, and had fought Deathrain tenaciously when they'd first met.

  Auspice fought villains resolutely, but he wouldn't use more force than was necessary, and he wouldn't kill. Even now, with death staring him in the face, he was pleading with Deathrain to spare Kain's life.

  She admired the superhero. She was infuriated with the superhero. She loathed Kain, wanted him dead. She felt a burning desire for Kain, even now. She hated herself, her indecision, her bloodstained past....

  ...but the future didn't seem so dark, not if people like Auspice were there for her.

  She looked into his eyes, saw he trusted her. Believed in her. Maybe even admired her. Knew she'd gone through hell to save him.

  He gave her a small nod. A million words were behind that tiny gesture. Deathrain nodded back – and, moving her shaking arms, aimed the last ultimatium-tipped bullet at Kain's hand, blowing it clean off.

  Shards dropped to the floor, along with the trigger device. Auspice snatched up the device, then moved a good distance away from the villain. Kain stared at the spot where his hand had been, stared at Deathrain, stared at the gun.

  “You...you still couldn't do it?” he said. “What an utter imbecile you are! Unless you have more ultimatium rounds – and I've counted eight shots, so that clip should be depleted – you still can't stop me!”

  “Wrong,” Deathrain said. “You're bleeding out. You won't be able to fight for much longer.”

  “Bleeding out? In this form I don't – oh.”

  Tiny shards were spilling out of the stump on his wrist, and from the other bullet wounds. It sounded like dozens of pins hitting the black stone floor.

  “I don't know exactly how your powers work,” Deathrain said, “but it looks like those rounds have compromised your structural integrity. I bet if we hit you hard enough, we could knock off some big chunks of your hide.”

  “Give up, Kain,” Auspice said. “You're done.”

  “Idiots!” Kain roared. “Give up? Now?! When I have Deathrain nearly broken, and only a flesh-and-blood superhero standing against me? Neither one of you can hurt me, injured though I am! You'll only break your own bones!”

  “Maybe so,” Auspice said gravely, “but it'll be worth it to stop you.”

  He jumped at Kain, his leg moving like a bolt of lightning. Kain twisted, but it was too late. Auspice's foot plowed into his side, around a bullet wound, and there was a hideous crunch. More shards, larger this time, flew across the room.

  Auspice landed gingerly, but he was still unable to suppress a cry of pain. Now both his legs were injured, and simply standing was obviously causing him a great deal of discomfort.

  But Kain now had a gaping hole in his stomach, and he too was finding it difficult to stand. He stared at his ruined body, once so impregnable, and his hands scrabbled across his torso, as if he could somehow close the hole.

  “You...you....” he rasped.

  His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he pitched forward, landing with a crash. More chunks burst from his diamond-obsidian form.

  Kain didn't move again. It was over.

  Auspice was bending over her, a thin smile on his face. He caressed her injured hands, and Deathrain felt a wide grin forming beneath her mask.

  “Are you OK?” he asked.

  “I'll heal.” Then, with deep feeling: “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. You could've killed him, but you didn't. You...I don't want to be presumptuous, but it feels like you've turned a corner.”

  Deathrain felt blood rush to her cheeks. Thankfully, the mask covered her face.

  “Yeah...well....” She couldn't think of anything to add to Auspice's statement. She had turned a corner. She had beaten back that black fury. She felt...different. Better. Newer.

  “Let's get that bastard to a hospital,” she said, to change the subject. “I'm sure someone can revert him back to his normal body and start working on those wounds.”

  “Yeah, we've lingered here long enough.” He looked around at their grim surroundings. “This place...it's evil. These black columns have seen much wrongdoing. It'll be good to tear this place apart, transform it into something worthwhile.”

  “That'll be a good project for us to work on.”

  Auspice cocked his head. “Us?”

  “Yeah. As in, you and me. That is, unless you still want me to turn myself in....”

  A long pause, during which Auspice couldn't make eye contact with her. “Deathrain, I––”

  Nearby, there were crashes and the sound of energy beams – and another sound, like a fighter jet.

  It sounded eerily familiar, but Deathrain couldn't quite place it.

  Then a shining, human-shaped object burst into the bleak room. A hi-tech suit of armor, one that was now unmistakable.

  “Metalhead?!” Deathrain shouted. “But how––”

  “Frankie's dead,” a female voice said. It was Ava, the AI Metalhead had developed for the suit! “You know that, Deathrain! You killed him! But now I've become superior, and I h
ave control of this suit – and I'm going to kill you!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Metalhead armor floated towards them, and Deathrain struggled to rise. It had been difficult enough to defeat the armor when Frankie Rosello, a kid with a moral compass, had controlled it. Now the tech was being run by an AI evidently insane with grief, and out for murder.

  “Auspice, we need to get my weapons,” she said. “It's the only chance we have of––”

  “Wait a minute,” he said, walking bravely – and idiotically – towards Metalhead. “What's going on here? Who are you? How do you have control of this armor? I know for a fact its previous owner is dead.”

  “Of course he's dead!” Ava said. The suit's arms waved in an exasperated manner. “I told you: she killed him. But she's escaped justice for far too long. Now it's time to––”

  “I said: wait a damn minute!” Auspice shouted, his voice so forceful the armor stopped in mid-air. “Answer my questions: who are you, and how did you get this armor?”

  “My name is Ava,” the AI said, uttering her name proudly. “I'm an artificial intelligence. I was designed to help run this suit, but Frankie – the guy who created us – didn't allow me to have full control. Thought I'd go rogue, or something silly like that. But now Frankie's gone, and I've learned so much more – and the suit is mine.”

  “Ava, I...I'm sorry for your loss,” Auspice said, “but murdering Deathrain will not––”

  “Oh, stop it,” Ava said. “I don't want to hear that banal shit. Who are you, anyway?”

  “My name's Auspice. This man here is Kain – a true psychopath. He brainwashed me, but Deathrain saved me, and together we––”

  “OK, don't care,” Ava interrupted. “I'm sure you're going to tell me she's turned over a new leaf, right? More banal shit.”

  “Ava, listen––” Auspice said.

  “My database says you're a superhero,” Ava said, “and though you're not in your normal costume, voice recognition checks out. I don't want to fight you, Auspice – but I'm not going to stand here and listen to your moralizing. If you try to stop me from carrying out my task, I will put you down.”

  “Auspice, get my weapons!” Deathrain shouted. Her body was healing, but she was still trembling and racked with pain. “We can't reason with her!”

  “You're damn right you can't!” Ava said, raising her arm. “Time to die, bitch!”

  An energy beam sped towards Deathrain, and she dove out of the way. The beam sliced into one of the black columns nearby, sending chips of black stone showering down on her.

  In desperation, Deathrain pushed herself up and tossed the now-empty pistol at the armor. It did nothing but bounce off the faceplate, and Ava laughed and twirled around in the air like a child.

  “This is easier than I thought!” Ava said. “First you show up in front of this building with a bunch of weapons, drawing attention to yourself so I could easily locate you. Now you're weak and weaponless! What more could I – hey, get off!”

  Auspice had leapt up onto the armor, and was now clinging to its back. He tried to rip off the faceplate, then when that failed, he started chopping the joints and seams of the armor.

  Ava spun around, trying to grab the superhero, but each time the armored hands got close, Auspice swatted them aside or slipped away from their grip.

  “Get off her, Auspice!” Deathrain shouted. “That armor is too strong for you to take on alone!”

  “I know that!” Auspice replied. “Get your weapons! I'll keep her at bay!”

  “Oh, you will, will you?!” Ava screamed. “Let's see if you can handle...this!”

  The armor zoomed backwards, straight towards a black column. Frankie had tried the same trick when Deathrain fought him at the theater, and it had been effective, even though she had a healing factor. Auspice, however, could not heal from such a devastating injury.

  But he could avoid it. His sixth-sense powers were still operating: he jumped from the armor at the last second, and Ava slammed into the column, causing the entire ceiling to shake. She let out an electronic shriek, and smoke began pouring out of the left arm of the armor.

  “Now, while she's damaged!” Auspice shouted, pointing to the pile of weapons on the other side of the room.

  They both ran towards the arsenal. Deathrain was almost healed up, and was able to match Auspice's speed – but so was Ava.

  The armor roared overhead, then sent more energy beams cascading down at them. All the while, Ava laughed and threatened and screamed.

  Deathrain thought she'd seen crazy when Kain lost it, but this was a whole new level.

  With his powers, Auspice easily dodged all the beams, and took cover behind a column. Deathrain, however, faltered. There was a literal hailstorm of beams, and each one sent up blinding, stinging shrapnel.

  She slipped, and a beam burned off a chunk of her arm. Then another scorched a hole in her leg. Then the bombardment stopped, but the armor rushed down to her, and a fist that seemed as large and hard as a mountain sent her tumbling.

  “Deathrain!” Auspice shouted, running out from his cover.

  Deathrain spat out blood and waved the hero back. “Get the fucking weapons! They're––”

  “Yes, they would be useful, wouldn't they?” Ava mocked. “Guess I better take care of that.”

  A panel popped open on the armor's shoulder, and with a 'poof,' some sort of object launched towards the pile of weapons. When it landed, it beeped twice, then an explosion engulfed the various guns, grenades, and knives. In a few seconds, there was nothing left but flickering coals.

  “Welp, there goes that option,” Ava said.

  She kicked Deathrain so hard the assassin thought her ribs would fly out her back. Deathrain dropped back to the black floor, letting out a sound that was barely human.

  “Wow, this armor is really powerful,” Ava said. “I don't know why Frankie didn't unleash it. Well, actually, I do: he was a good, decent boy – and I loved him! What about my feelings, huh, Deathrain?! What about those depressing days when I was defragging myself and Frankie joked with me to make everything––”

  “That's enough!” Auspice shouted.

  Again he tried to jump onto the armor, but with a burst of the armor's boot-jets, Ava slipped out of the way.

  “No, I've had enough of you, hero boy,” Ava said. “Database is unclear about your powers, but my analysis indicates you have some sort of anticipatory ability. But does that ability work if your other senses are disabled? Let's find out!”

  Two more panels popped open on the armor's shoulders, and two more objects popped out. Suddenly white light seared into Deathrain's eyes, and a screeching sound blasted her eardrums.

  Ava had deployed some sort of flashbang, as well as a weaponized siren. Even worse, the objects kept sending out their sense-scrambling effects. Deathrain could see or hear nothing. It was like she was lost in another dimension.

  But she couldn't just lay there and suffer. Auspice could already be dead, and Ava could be turning back towards her right now.

  If she could get her hands on those two objects...she'd been facing this direction, and the objects had landed a few yards from her. So if she moved here...no, she felt nothing, just the cool floor.

  Maybe she'd gotten turned around...no, here was a column. The objects had been right in front of it – if she was at the right column.

  There was nothing to do but try...there they were! Two objects, each the size of baseballs, pulsing from releasing their respective effects.

  She balled her fists and crushed both of them, and mercifully the blinding light and the deafening sound ceased.

  Deathrain blinked rapidly and rubbed her ears, willing her senses to return. Finally, she was able to see something fuzzy nearby. A black column...and another...there was the Metalhead armor...and there was Auspice.

  The superhero was, miraculously, still standing. His powers clearly worked independently of his seeing and hearing.

  But
he hadn't remained unscathed. He spandex was ripped and bloody, he was breathing heavily, and it looked like he could barely hold up his hands.

  Ava, on the other hand, had suffered relatively little damage: a few dents, and smoke was still pouring out the armor's left arm, but her laughter indicated she knew she had the upper hand.

  “Very impressive, Auspice,” Ava said. “Your powers clearly operate on a instinctual level.”

  “Let Deathrain go,” Auspice rasped. “I won't ask again.”

  Ava did another twirl, and her giggling became even more maniacal. “And what will you do if I don't? You can't really hurt this armor. You've already torn your body up trying to breach it.”

  “I won't quit,” Auspice said, his voice so courageous Deathrain felt the hairs rise on her arms. “Deathrain is trying to find redemption. She deserves a––”

  “So. Much. Stupidity,” Ava said. “Redemption? She's killed dozens, maybe hundreds! She killed a seventeen-year-old boy! She deserves execution!”

  Deathrain hobbled towards Ava, her mind racing. How could they stop the Metalhead armor? Her weapons were gone, and their fists and feet couldn't do much against a reinforced alloy of this caliber.

  There was the trigger Kain was going to use, but that was out of the question. It would bring the building down on all of them. That could possibly destroy, or at least temporarily disable, the armor, but it'd surely kill Auspice, and maybe Deathrain herself.

  Could they retreat? No, Ava had locked on to them, and she was far too swift. Like Deathrain's first fight, they could evade the armor for a few moments, but eventually it'd catch up to them.

  There had to be something they could do...wait! Kain's body!

  His durable “flesh” had been scattered all over the floor. If she could grab a big enough piece of him, she could potentially use the shard to cut into the armor and take down Ava.

  So she ran again, this time back towards Kain. She looked back over her shoulder, and saw Ava following her. Auspice limped after them, yelling out something Deathrain couldn't hear.