“There is still a price on your head!” Gina retorted, quickly floating forward and making her barrier more compact. “I’m betting these jackasses are after it!”
“Oh,” Lilith said, her thoughts starting to catch up, as well as anger as she saw what had happened to her car. The entire right side was mauled and scorched, the mirror completely gone. Beyond it she could see several other damaged cars, and a handful of bystanders who’d been injured as well. That made her angry, and her eyes narrowed as another laser slammed into Gina’s shield. Her tone was surprisingly calm when she spoke again. “Gina, here’s a boost.”
Gina’s eyes went wide as energy surged out of Lilith and down the link to her friend. Lilith scanned the area as her anger grew, looking for the people who’d attacked them.
Aside from the woman on the rooftop, she saw seven people moving who weren’t acting like bystanders. Most of the civilians were scattering, which was what Lilith would be doing if she weren’t the target. Those who she’d noticed each were moving like they had weapons, though, and she continued, her voice tight. “I think we need to teach them the error of their ways. You?”
“Agreed. Try not to kill them, Lil,” Gina said, and glanced back as a couple of bullets and energy bolts bounced off her shield. “Away from the car, too. I don’t want to risk the batteries cooking off.”
“They won’t. It’s part of why it took so long to find a car I liked,” Lilith said, taking careful aim, then pulled the trigger.
A bright blue bolt lanced across the street, beneath a car, and hit a man in the leg. She heard him curse as he dropped, and Lilith smiled angrily.
“Right! Let’s get these… oh, don’t you dare!” Gina snarled, and Lilith’s expression tightened as well.
The men and women, almost as one, turned and began to run. One pair jumped into a truck, while another ran down an alleyway. A woman was helping the man Lilith had hit down the street, using the cars as cover, so she made a snap decision, spinning and taking aim at the truck as she fell to a knee, dialing the gun up to maximum power.
Lilith had liked mechanics pretty much for as long as she’d been conscious. She liked seeing how things fit together, and engineering projects were clean and simple, by and large. It was why she’d been able to put together the power armor she was planning to have Whispering Darkness manufacture, after looking over how her own armor was made. That made picking out the right spot to disable the truck quite easy for her. Hitting the drive shaft was an entirely different matter, but that was why she took several shots.
The first shot missed, burning a hole into the truck’s underside, but the second hit dead-on, causing the metal to light up brightly and smoke for a moment before it broke, hitting the ground with a clanging sound. Only a second later the driver hit the accelerator, and the drive shaft sent a spray of sparks in every direction as it spun on the ground.
“Nice shot! We can’t get them all, so choose a group!” Gina exclaimed, and Lilith grinned tightly.
“Right!” Lilith said, and stood again as the two men jumped out of the truck and began running, one of them a tall, serious-looking man with brown hair, and the other with short blond hair. As she moved, she set the pistol back to non-lethal levels, just to be safe.
“Doro, run already!” Shawn demanded, ducking behind the dumpster and hurrying down the alley as the other man paused and took a shot, then followed.
A blue laser lashed out in return, and Shawn cursed under his breath, demanding, “Why’d they come after us? And how’d they react in time?”
“Don’t know,” Dorofei replied, turning the corner after Shawn, his gaze darting from side to side, then upward, and his pistol snapped up to take aim, then he stopped.
Shawn followed his gaze and swallowed a curse, seeing Warden above them, surrounded by a shield and with an incredibly angry expression on her face. He wondered why Dorofei hadn’t fired for a second, then abandoned the thought since the reason was quite obvious. If Lois’s sniper rifle hadn’t managed to punch through Warden’s shields when she was caught off guard, there was no way that their pistols would do the job.
“Well, are you going to surrender, or do I get to pound you two into the pavement?” Warden asked, pressing a fist into the palm of her other hand and cracking her knuckles. “I’m really pissed off.”
“You know… I think that this is a situation where surrendering might be a good idea,” Shawn said, lowering his gun and clicking on the safety. Then he slowly leaned over to place it on the ground before raising his hands.
“Da,” Dorofei agreed, following Shawn’s example.
“Good. Because as much as I’d love to hurt you for what you did out there, I’m happier with you surrendering,” Lilith said from behind Shawn, and he stiffened at the deadly tone of her voice. “Now, disarm yourselves, and we’ll wait for the police to arrive.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Shawn said, glancing over his shoulder at her, and almost wished he hadn’t.
Lilith’s eyes were almost glowing in the alleyway, and she looked even more upset than Warden did, so he carefully went about removing his other weapons as the sirens grew closer.
Chapter 31
Wednesday, May 1st, 2031
Eden Manor, Glendale
“Gina? Lil?” Rachel’s voice echoed through the house an instant after the front door closed, her anxiety obvious even as faint as her voice was. “Are you alright?”
Lilith opened her eyes and glanced over at the door, as well as at Gina. The blonde was sitting in a chair near the door, and she looked up from her phone to meet Lilith’s gaze. Gina let out a soft sigh, smiling wryly as she stood up.
“We’re up here, Rachel!” Gina called out, opening the door fully. “Lil’s just taking a bath.”
“A bath? Why’re you taking a bath after getting shot at?” Rachel replied, her voice growing closer as she spoke, her footsteps pounding on the stairs as she almost ran up them.
“While my suit may have kept me from being seriously injured, it did not keep me from getting bruises when the car was propelled sideways rather abruptly,” Lilith replied, and her gaze rose to the door as Rachel appeared in it. “I felt like a nice, warm soak was in order.”
Rachel looked at Lilith incredulously, then at Gina as she demanded, “Why didn’t you call me? I had to find out from Shade about the attack!”
“That’s exactly why we didn’t call. At the time we were a bit busy, what with a sniper shooting at my face, and there wasn’t any time for you to get there if we had. After that, I knew that you’d get word quickly, and I wanted to get Lil home, where she’d be safe,” Gina retorted, turning her phone screen off and slipping it into a pocket. “Neither of us were seriously injured, so I thought it could wait a bit.”
“Waiting a little while isn’t not calling at all,” Rachel said, glowering at Gina, and Lilith sighed, reaching up to rub her eyes.
“Please don’t argue? Pretty please, with sugar on top?” Lilith asked, a tiny bit plaintive. “I’m alright, and it isn’t like we knew we were going to have assassins try to take my head today.”
“To be accurate, you knew that such was likely, Mistress Lilith, or you wouldn’t have been armed when you went out. You may not have expected an attack at the time it occurred, but I have warned you several times that there are impressive bounties on your head,” Circe interjected, prompting a wince from Lilith.
“See? At least someone is being a voice of reason about this!” Rachel said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I nearly panicked since I hadn’t heard from you two! If Shade hadn’t told me that you’re alright, I would’ve been even more worried.”
“I’m sorry,” Lilith said, internally deflating a little as she looked at Rachel apologetically. “I just didn’t think about how you might react, with the police and everything. It’s just… after dealing with the police, I just wanted to get home. I don’t understand why anyone would want to kill me.”
Guilt and worry flickered across the face
s of both women, which only made Lilith feel worse about saying anything. Rachel glanced at Gina, biting her lower lip as she did so, and Gina shifted, then stood.
“Lil…” Gina began, but Lilith interrupted, the water splashing as she used her toes to release the plug and start it draining.
“No, that isn’t quite right. Intellectually, I understand why someone might want to kill me. I’ve heard just enough about Sky Defender to understand why he was so afraid of me being Shadowmind. But aside from that, I truly don’t understand why someone would hate me, not emotionally,” Lilith explained, looking at the wall, confusion almost overwhelming her. “I’m just me. Aside from a couple of thugs or Blue Impulse, I don’t think I’ve ever hurt anyone, so I just don’t… don’t understand it.”
“You approach things with just a little too much logic, Lil,” Rachel said, her voice enough calmer now that it almost startled Lilith, and she looked up at Rachel as the woman moved closer, then knelt down next to the tub.
“What do you mean?” Lilith asked, blinking at Rachel, and blushed a little as the woman’s gaze drifted downward from Lilith’s face.
“Well, it’s just that you’re looking for logic where there might not be any,” Rachel said, her gaze jerking back upward as she flushed, fidgeting a little, then took Lilith’s hand, ignoring that it was wet. “People’s feelings aren’t always logical, and sometimes they don’t even come from personal experiences. I mean… it isn’t as though Gina and I had that much reason to panic about you when you told us you knew who we were. It was all based on our fears of how someone might be trying to get close to us and manipulate us.”
“Beyond which, some of them think they have legitimate fears… or worse, they trust that the information they’re getting is accurate, despite it being second- or third-hand,” Gina added, stepping over to the towel rack and taking a towel off it. “They might be right, but they also might not be. It’s… not easy to deal with. People can be terribly prejudiced. Hell, I can, for that matter! If I hadn’t gotten to know you beforehand, I wouldn’t have given you a chance to prove yourself.”
“I suppose,” Lilith said, not entirely understanding, but at least willing to accept their explanations. It wasn’t part of any of the information that Amber had given her and wasn’t something she’d learned in her lessons with Circe, but that didn’t mean they were wrong. It just meant that there was more she didn’t know for certain.
“You don’t sound very confident about that,” Rachel said, the edges of her lips quirking upward, as if she was resisting the urge to smile, and Lilith couldn’t help a sigh.
“Because I’m not, of course,” Lilith told her, standing up carefully, the water swirling around her ankles as it drained from the tub. “I’m woefully undereducated in any way that involves interacting with others. As a matter of fact, I think that I’ve had significant interactions with all of five people. The two of you, Blooming Orchid, Circe, and Calvin, the old CEO of my company.”
“I believe that I would not count as a person, though I appreciate being classified as such,” Circe interjected politely.
“With as much as you argue about our suits, I think Lil has the right of it,” Gina shot back, offering the towel to Lilith.
Lilith laughed, grinning as she gently shook off Rachel’s hand, and the woman let go, standing herself as Lilith took the towel and began drying off.
“I’m glad that someone agrees with me about something. It’s a nice change,” Lilith said, grinning a little. “Anyway… how did your meeting with Shade go?”
“Decently enough. Not great, maybe, but not terrible, either. I found out that they know where Black Emerald is holed up, but her defenses are too heavy for anyone to have dared attack her yet,” Rachel said, and Lilith’s eyebrows rose abruptly.
“Why? Hasn’t she killed people before?” Lilith asked, honestly shocked. “I thought that they had a dead or alive bounty on her head because of that. Considering what happened with me, I’d have thought they would take any chance to deal with her.”
“If they could do it without risking retaliation, I think they would have. Shade simply doesn’t think they could attack and succeed so they’ve kept it quiet with the agreement of the government,” Rachel said with a shrug. “As for helping him with spells, I think he’s got a few ideas on where he wants to go with things. I’m not sharing, though.”
“Of course not, that’s something private,” Gina agreed, giving Rachel a quick hug from behind. “What about the uni, though? Did they have any attractive offers for you?”
“Well… they offered a decent amount for me to come give a couple of speeches and maybe a guest lecturer for their metaphysics classes. They’re also trying to put together some sort of get-together for students to ask heroes questions about what it’s like to be a hero, as well as some of the benefits and pitfalls. I put them off, but they also suggested I invite Warden,” Rachel explained, glancing back at Gina in amusement.
“What, not Lil?” Gina asked, her eyes narrowing. “That seems a bit rude.”
“I’m not exactly a hero at the moment… at least not in the eyes of the public. If we are speaking about experiences as a hero and the lifestyle, I think that I wouldn’t have any useful information, unlike the pair of you,” Lilith countered, folding the towel and putting it back on the rack, then carefully adjusting it so it hung straight. “I can’t say that I disagree with their choice, assuming that it’s because of that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the attacks on me don’t factor into their decision as well.”
“Maybe so, but it’s still rude to invite us but not you as well,” Gina grumbled, letting go of Rachel.
Lilith shrugged, picking up her new clothing, and decided to change the subject.
“Circe, do you know where the alien is yet?” Lilith asked, glancing at the other two in amusement as Rachel moved to get closer to Lilith and Gina tried to subtly block her. They were obviously trying to keep Lilith from noticing, but after a couple of months she’d gotten used to their antics, at least most of the time.
“No. I did find the location where it had been hiding out initially, primarily by using the biological readings from the university to track down unusual elements in its equipment, but the creature appears to have vacated the area and taken further precautions to keep from being found. I am continuing my investigation, but am hampered by interference by other AIs. I believe that we are not the only ones attempting to find the alien,” Circe said.
“Destruction Corps?” Rachel asked, her smile fading slightly. “They showed up last time, so…”
“I believe so, among others. There is also the concern of Dreamer’s presence in the vicinity. I am not comfortable with her unknown powers in such close proximity to this location,” Circe answered, her tone ever so slightly pointed, and Lilith sighed.
“I am not moving out, Circe. Not without better reason than the risk of Dreamer dropping by,” Lilith said firmly, pulling on her shirt. “I’m not going to hide simply because of that.”
“Of course not, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied primly, and for a moment it seemed like she was going to stop there, then the AI added, “You appear to have inherited your stubborn streak from Mistress Amber.”
Lilith stopped in the middle of putting on her pants, almost staring at the nearest speaker, and as she did, Gina burst out laughing.
“Ooh, she has a point there, Lil!” Gina said, grinning as Rachel tried to cover a smile with her hand.
“You could take my side, you know,” Lilith said, feeling a little helpless.
Gina simply laughed more at that, and Lilith sighed, then finished getting dressed.
Chapter 32
Tuesday, May 13th, 2031
Brighton, Utah
Okris liked its new hiding place. It had taken some time to find a resort which didn’t have savages visiting in the summer, but it did appreciate that the primitives were inclined to leave some areas with energy alone when there wasn’t snow on the ground. It
mystified Okris why they would enjoy this ‘skiing’ that it had seen information about, but Okris didn’t care much. Not when it was about done with the miserable mudball of a planet, at least for the time being.
Adjusting the last fastener, Okris examined the drive carefully, then reached over and flipped the switch to test its work. Every other test had gone well so far, so this was almost entirely to ensure that its work was correct. It was fortunate that the Multitude had the foresight to put the designs for fold-space drives in the escape pods, or Okris might not have been able to get so far.
A soft whirr filled the room as the drive powered up, and all around Okris the skiing equipment began to rattle, but Okris ignored that, instead watching the lights on the controls turn from green to blue one after another. Once they’d all changed, it flicked the switch again in satisfaction, powering the drive down.
Then Okris stiffened as it caught a faint, ephemeral thought. Something had come for Okris, and it tensed, drawing heavily on its abilities as it extended its senses.
“You sure this’s the place?” Vincent asked, looking at the ski lodge dubiously, and Dreamer resisted the urge to sigh at him questioning her again. If it weren’t for him being a useful pawn, if a disposable one, she’d have gotten rid of him a week earlier.
“Vince… do you have to ask that every damned time we go on a job? Really?” Acheron Dreadnaught asked in exasperation, turning his head to glare at the smaller man. “I don’t like wasting time, I’m sure Dreamer doesn’t like wasting time, so why do you think we’d come here if we weren’t sure that we were in the right place?”
“I’d just like to be bloody sure, instead of running around haphazardly. We’ve checked three wrong places already, and someone’s dog having a fit in the area doesn’t seem like a good clue,” Vincent replied, looking around nervously. “Besides, I’d think someone else would’ve tracked it down by this point, if someone was going to.”
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