Echo Classified: Gravity

by Steve Libbey

  ~*~*~*~

  The five metahumans goggled at the chaos enveloping the Springdale Shopping Center . It was unclear where to even begin calming the crowd. The fires had spread from the smaller fringe stores to the PayMart. A single fire truck blasted water at the flames without effect. The scene they faced had devolved from careless flouting of the law into a full scale riot, complete with tear gas, bleeding foreheads, sobbing victims, riot police and dogs.

  Familiar dogs.

  “That’s Bowser,” Devil said, pointing out a thickly muscled bull mastiff barking at a pair of rioters armed with axes that still bore their sales tags. “Zone must be nearby.”

  Einhorn shook her head in disbelief. “What were they thinking? Unleashing a pack of dogs on a food riot can only escalate the situation.”

  “The police seem to be doing their fair share of escalation.”

  “I’ll handle that. Fan out and neutralize the aggressors.” Matai sprinted towards the line of black-clad riot police.

  The remaining Echo metahumans advanced towards the wall of smoke. “Let’s find Zone,” Devil told Shahkti. “He can rein those mutts in, then we can work our way towards the PayMart.”

  “Just keep cool when we do find him,” she said.

  “Always cool, baby.”

  Yet when the clouds of tear gas parted to reveal a panicked Contrayer Zone pummeling a policeman, Devil bolted forward and seized the man’s arms.

  “For Christ’s sake! What are you doing? That’s a cop!”

  “Get off me, you imbecile!” Zone shook himself loose with more strength than Devil knew he had. “Look at him.”

  Up close, Devil got his first clear look at one of the riot police. He wore sleek black, military grade body armor, emblazoned with a gold and white snake coiled in the shape of an S.

  Blacksnake.

  “What the hell?” Blacksnake was a military contractor who often vied with Echo for security contracts. They were an unabashed mercenary force, though they maintained close ties to the government and the Pentagon – and several right-wing extremist organizations. Most of their operatives had a military background, though some few metahumans peppered their ranks.

  The contractor before them took advantage of their argument to aim his shotgun at Zone.

  Without thinking, Devil leapt into the line of fire. Zone yelped and threw up his hands reflexively. But the contractor’s shotgun just clacked. It had jammed.

  The man’s eyes went wide.

  Devil kicked him in the head. His helmet rang with the blow and he went down, body convulsing.

  “Thanks,” Zone said.

  “I owed Bowser one. Saving his Pop should count.”

  Shahkti appeared with two small children nestled in her arms. “How did it get this bad?” she shouted over their wailing.

  “The Blacksnake ops arrived first, claiming the city contracted them. When I asked to see papers, they ignored me and commenced with the tear gas bombardment.”

  “But there are children all over this lot!”

  Zone’s face was a mask of determination. “I sent the dogs out to round them up.”

  “You’ll terrify them.”

  “They’re already terrified. I just want to send them out of harm’s way.” Shahkti used her second set of hands to stroke the children’s hair. They clung to her, faces damp, eyes red.

  Heavy footsteps shook the ground. Through the veil of smoke, they saw a massive, vaguely humanoid figure advancing towards a line of Blacksnake operatives. Motu flailed his fists and seemed to be yelling, although his stone armor muffled his voice.

  Although he already knew in his gut what was underway, Devil flicked on his comm unit: “Matai! Report!”

  No response.

  Contrayer Zone tilted his head as a dog would. “Speedy’s seen something. Blacksnake has Matai surrounded.”

  Shahkti set the children to the ground. In a single motion she drew four guns. “Lock and load.” Devil scooped up the riot shield as Zone’s eyes glassed over while he summoned his dogs.

  As one, they followed Motu into the fray.

  Twenty Blacksnake operatives blasted at Motu with riot guns and tasers. The air took on a fierce ozone tang. They stood between the giant and his brother, who grappled with another half dozen operatives with billy clubs.

  “Take ‘em down, baby! I’ll grab the Chief!”

  Shahtki sprinted forward and launched herself at Motu. She landed on his shoulder, flexed her legs, and spun into the air above the mercenaries and their shields. All four pistols opened fire, one at a time, like a human gatling gun. Her targets fell or ducked behind their shields. Motu wrapped his hands around them and threw them to the side.

  Zone’s dogs appeared from nowhere with fangs bared. They threw themselves onto the Blacksnake troops, tearing at clothing, catching flesh and ripping. Zone’s dogs possessed heightened strength and resilience thanks to their bond with him; both were in ferocious evidence now. Bowser bit through a riot shield and headbutted the owner to the ground.

  Devil used his shield as a battering ram and smashed through the line. Before him, Matai had fallen under the billyclubs of the Blacksnake operatives and their commander, a gray-haired, helmetless man in a stylized, sleeveless Blacksnake outfit and an off-the-shoulder gold cape.

  Capes, Devil reflected, are a bad sign. Only metahumans think they can get away with a cape.

  “Hey Liberace!” he shouted to the Blacksnake metahuman. “Hands off my bud, yeah?”

  The Blacksnake meta lifted his head. He squinted at Devil with an expression that could only originate in military training: contempt and assessment all at once.

  “You people aren’t authorized to be here.” He spat out the words like venom.

  Devil decided to forgo a snappy comeback and charge the officer. Shield thrust forward, he bunched up his legs and leapt.

  The metahuman’s arms extended – and continued to extend, gaining mass and length until they were the size of motorcycles. He brought his oversized fists down on Devil’s head, slamming him into the ground. Stars burst behind his eyelids. Devil wound up spread out on his stomach next to Matai, who bled from multiple contusions.

  “I thought you were supposed to be lucky,” Matai groaned.

  “It’s coming,” Devil said, spitting out blood and saliva. “Bet on it.”

  A female voice shrieked his name: “Klaus!” and in an instant, Shahkti dropped into the midst of the encircled Blacksnake operatives. She opened fire with all pistols at once in a tremendous, spinning barrage of noise and bullets. Those mercenaries who had dropped their shields to beat on Matai fell back, clutching their body armor from the impacts. The pair remaining hit the ground sideways as Shahkti swept their feet out from under their shields. Downed, she shot them in the legs. Blood and bone spattered her uniform.

  Three seconds had passed.

  “Your luck is your girlfriend?” Matai said.

  “Whatever works.” Devil climbed to his feet.

  The Blacksnake metahuman continued his steely squint. His veined, bulging arms dragged on the ground. “Care to break any more laws?” he asked.

  Shahkti released her cartridges simultaneously in a metallic clatter. “Says the man who ordered tear gas used on children. I ought to gut you where you stand.”

  “Little girl, four arms or eight, you don’t have what it takes.”

  “She has me,” Devil said.

  “And me.” Matai hefted his paintball gun. “We’ll put you down and sort out the details later.”

  “With that toy?”

  Grinning fiendishly, Matai took slow aim with the paintball gun. “With this toy, yeah.” He squeezed off three shots – right into the officer’s face. The paint pellets burst in his eyes.

  Reflexively, the metahuman tried to wipe the paint away – but Shahkti and Devil leapt upon his arms. Shahkti drew her knives as she did so and rammed them through the officer’s hand, pinning it to the ground in a spray of blood.
Devil merely wrapped his arms and legs around the other forearm.

  “Motu!” shouted Matai. “I have a target for you!”

  Motu began to lumber forward, shaking off Blacksnake operatives like drops of water. They regained their balance and aimed their tasers.

  “Oh my God, will you people just stop?”

  Einhorn’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, or piercing, but everyone who heard it paused. The Blacksnakes, the Echo metahumans, all turned to see the elegant healer standing in the midst of them with her palms in the air. With her white evening gown and dainty horn, she seemed out especially out of place in the parking lot turned battle ground.

  “I can’t believe this. We’re all on the same side!” She pointed at the department store engulfed in flames. “We don’t know if there’s anyone trapped in PayMart, or the other buildings, or even people injured from the tear gas. So why are you fighting with each other?”

  Einhorn seemed to look directly at both Matai and the Blacksnake officer. She lowered her voice, yet her words were clear: “The only villains here are you.”

  Matai snorted. “I’m not – that’s nonsense, girl! We just got here. They started --”

  “It doesn’t matter. Civilians need our help. Are you guys going to chip in, or do I need to call the police?”

  The Blacksnake metahuman crouched to pluck Shahkti’s knives out of his hand. His arms shrunk back to normal size and he wiped his face. “We’re ready. On your feet, men!” Those Blacksnake operatives who were still mobile assembled around him. He began to issue orders; in pairs they struck out into the lot, weapons holstered.

  Devil rubbed his head as Shahkti put an arm under him. “Now, how the hell did she do that?”

  “That is of no concern to me,” she said. “The hostilities have ceased. Do you feel strong enough to rush into a burning building?”

  “All in a day’s work, baby.” In spite of the bruises coloring his face an ugly maroon, Klaus gave her a wink. Together they ran into the flames.

  ~*~*~*~

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