“Nope.” Rosa took several quick steps backward, evidently not interesting in playing, either. “Creepy laughter is where I draw the line. I’m out.”
“This is probably a good place to split up,” Julio agreed.
“Why don’t you hide out in that employee cafeteria we passed back there,” I suggested. “We’ll come get you when we’re done.”
“Okay. Good.” Rosa was still backing up. “You guys be careful, okay?”
We assured her we would, and Rosa turned around and ran. Julio and I continued to follow our mind-controlled guide, searching the dark for our friend with the sense of humor. As Rosa had said, the tunnel ended at an elevator that wouldn’t work and a spiral staircase. The mind-controlled man pushed open the door to the stairs and started shuffling up them. Julio pointed his flashlight to the top of the staircase, and when it didn’t catch any movement, we followed.
Stairs were a chore for my bad knee on the best of days. When I’d gotten beaten up hours ago by a giant, super-strong villain made of hard light, they were torture. The painkillers the doctor had given me seemed to have lost their fight and surrendered. Besides my inflamed knee, the muscles of my back and stomach protested wherever Bloodbath had hit me (and he’d hit me pretty much everywhere). I soon fell behind even the mind-controlled man’s shambling pace.
Eventually (and that was a very long eventually), we reached the top. The mind-controlled man lurched out the stairwell door without a thought, but Julio and I paused to the side of the doorway, looking through for signs of an ambush. We didn’t see anyone, but there was light in the distance, so we switched off our flashlights to avoid giving away our position. The stairwell exited into a short, narrow hallway that came out right at the beginning of the ride. Metal posts and chains that would normally create a twisting path for the line lay knocked over on the floor, and three empty boats sat waiting at the front, ready to hold nine people each.
The strangest thing, though, was that the lights were still on. Heroes of Yesterday and Tomorrow was a dark ride, with only the specific scenes of animatronic superheroes having illumination. It wasn’t much light, and there were still plenty of shadowed places for an enemy to lurk, but the power was working here. How had the telepath managed that?
There was a splash as the mind-controlled man climbed into the water and walked down the path the boats would normally take. That explained why his pants legs had been wet. I sighed, imagining how soggy my shoes were going to feel for the rest of the day, and moved to follow.
Julio grabbed my shoulder. “There’s gotta be a dry path. Every time one of those dumb robots breaks down, the engineers can’t have to wade through the water.”
“Good point.” Just like the tunnels, there had to be a secret back way for employees. I looked around.
“Hurry!” The mind-controlled man turned around when he realized I hadn’t followed. “The mistress is waiting. The mistress doesn’t like to wait.”
“Just a second,” I said.
“Please!” The man wrung his hands. “The mistress doesn’t like to wait.”
Agitated, he splashed back toward us to come get me.
“He only needs White Knight,” I said to Julio. “I’ll go through the water. You find the back way and attack the telepath while I keep her distracted?” At the very last second, I managed to raise my intonation and turn it into a suggestion rather than a command.
Julio considered it, and this time, he nodded.
“Be sure to project psychic static,” I told him.
“I know how to fight a telepath.” His voice came out sharp.
“I know.” I rubbed my face. “I know you do. Just… be careful, okay?”
His glare softened. “You, too.”
I climbed down, and the mind-controlled man immediately relaxed. The water around the boats was designed to look like a deep river, but in reality, it only came up to my knees. Lukewarm and uncomfortable, it would slow me down if anyone attacked, and the splashes made by moving would make sneaking up on the telepath difficult to impossible. Plus, it had soaked through my socks, which just felt gross.
The ride began with a dark tunnel, and I nearly tripped over something that turned out to be the track the boats went along. Yellow light ahead came from the ride’s first scene, and I squinted as I cautiously walked forward. If the ride was working normally, an echoing voice would welcome me onto “The River of Time,” and music signaling the Crimson Phoenix would start playing. Unsettling silence filled the void, interrupted only by water lapping against the walls and the soft splashes as the mind-controlled man and I moved.
But ultimately the music started. It came over the speakers… wrong. The cheery tune had turned slow and distorted like it came from a turntable that wasn’t spinning fast enough. Notes were sharp when they should have been flat, and everything about it was just a little off. The sound made the skin on my arms prickle, and I glanced over my shoulder, feeling like I was being watched. The music might as well have been the soundtrack to a horror movie.
When we reached the first scene, it got even more disturbing. The tableau had been completely vandalized. The Crimson Phoenix had gotten it the worst, the word “bitch” spray-painted across his chest, and sloppy clown make-up on his face. Other figures were missing heads or looked like someone had dumped a can of paint on them. One had been stripped, a frowny face painted over his smooth, plastic crotch.
“Just when you thought this ride couldn’t get any creepier,” I muttered.
The next scenes were the same or worse. Miss Mesmerize had her nose knocked off and was covered in red paint like dripping blood. She was the only figure still standing on a 1950s Baltimore street where her normally adoring crowd all lay ominously on the pavement. Aero Ranger had been cut from the strings that let him soar through the air and impaled on a lightning rod on one of the skyscraper tops he was supposed to be flying around. Everyone in the 1980s Los Angeles scene had been arranged in different sexual positions, Victory bent over in front of the villain she was supposed to be defeating. It left me with a slimy feeling in my stomach.
I knew I was getting close to the White Knight exhibit—and probably the telepath—when I passed the Illusionist hanging from the ceiling, her cape turned into a noose. That one really got my blood boiling. Yuna Kwon—the Illusionist—was a good kid who’d risked everything to help people, and she deserved better. The mind-controlled man splashed on obliviously, but I slowed down and took a moment to control my temper. Any extreme emotion would make it easier for the telepath to control me. I had good mental shields; I needed to stay calm and focus on them.
Obviously, the telepath had spent the most time on the next scene. Spray-painted profanity covered the pillars and front steps of a recreation of the Capitol Building, and a different color of bright paint had been dumped on each of the animatronic bystanders. The Bloodbath figurine was the only one that had escaped molestation. The White Knight figure sat on the steps, and a young woman sat in his lap like it was a throne. Her spiked leather boots used the animatronic Freezefire as a footrest, and she wore the smallest, tightest pair of shorts I’d ever seen. Metal jewelry and a corset covered in buckles and chains made up the rest of her outfit. Her black-dyed hair had brown roots, and she was even paler than she’d been the last time I’d seen her. Her lips, smeared with black lipstick, broke into a smug smile as I climbed out of the water and onto the stage.
“White Knight,” she greeted.
“Treat,” I replied.
Yeah, her supervillain code name was Treat. To give some context, she had a twin brother who went by Trick. And before you say anything—yes, I realize that name’s even worse. I first met her when I was trying to clear Val of murder charges. Trick and Treat had been the actual murderers and the ones who’d framed my wife. They’d been hired by an obsessed damsel-in-distress to mind-control a superhero into loving her, but it had gone wrong. (Long story.) I hadn’t expected to see her here. Not because I didn’t know she’d bee
n in the Inferno, but because last time I’d fought her, she couldn’t use her powers without her twin brother—who was currently in a coma. Like Bloodbath and Mother Earth, it seemed she’d somehow gotten a lot stronger.
“I heard you wanted to see me,” I said.
“You bet your ass I did.” She put her arm around the animatronic White Knight’s shoulder and ran her fingers through his fake brown hair. I could almost feel her fingernails against the back of my head and fought a shudder. She was testing my mental defenses. “And lucky me. I was afraid Bloodbath would kill you before I got a chance to have my fun.”
“So this is a revenge thing, then?”
“Of course it is!” Her pretty face twisted in rage, and the hand on my animatronic double clenched into a fist. “My brother’s in a coma thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me? Your brother’s in a coma because Dr. Sweet put a kill switch in his brain to keep him from talking. Why don’t you come up with an elaborate revenge plot for him?”
Treat surged up from the fake White Knight’s lap. “Dr. Sweet’s not the problem. He broke me out of prison—and I never would have been there if not for you.”
So Dr. Sweet had been responsible for the breakout. That was good to have confirmed. But was holding the park hostage part of his master plan, or was it something Bloodbath had come up with?
“I’d argue that using mind-control on innocent people is the reason you went to prison,” I said, “but I’m guessing you’re not in the mood for debate.”
“No.” She smiled and held out her hands. “This is what I’m in the mood for.”
From the shadows on each side of the stage, dozens of people emerged. Ride workers in uniform, sunburned tourists, a man in a white chef’s jacket, children with messy hair. They lurched forward like zombies and surrounded me.
“Get him,” Treat said.
As one, they attacked. Fists hit me from all sides. Fingers pulled, nails scratched, and at least one of them started kicking. I tottered, off-balance from the force of their weight against me, so I lowered my center of gravity. It was awkward, but... well, I had super-strength. Nobody here could hurt me.
With a firm grip on my cane, I took one slow step forward, and then another, forcing back the people in front of me. I had to be careful. Push too hard or step on someone, and it would break bones. I could barely see with them pressed around me, and it got really distracting when someone jumped on my back and started yanking on my hair, but I focused on my balance and putting one foot in front of the other. Progress was slow and uncomfortable, but I was moving forward, and they couldn’t stop me.
“Shit,” Treat said.
The mob backed off, giving me a clear view of her again. The worst damage her attack had done was make me a little winded from the stress. She scowled, but then her lips lifted in a smile again.
“Plan B.”
Together, the mob turned and shambled to the river. When the first ones reached the water, they climbed down, took half a dozen steps, and dunked their heads under. Then the next ones climbed down to do the same.
A jolt went through my chest, and I rounded on Treat. “What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Treat smirked, delight sparkling in her eyes. “I’m drowning them.”
Chapter 9
“Stop it!”
I stepped toward the water but stopped myself. I’d never be able to pull them all up in time. No, I had to stop this at the source.
I lunged for Treat. Her mouth formed an O shape, and she turned and ran for it. That’s where she had me at a disadvantage: mobility. With my busted knee and other injuries, I couldn’t keep up with her. She slowed to a stop at the edge of the stage, a wide smile forming on her face when she realized it, too.
“Let them go,” I growled, still coming.
She backed up an equal distance. “Make me.”
I grabbed an animatronic figure of a woman in a dress suit, ripped her from the floor, and threw her at Treat. Treat yelped and ducked just in time for it to smash into the wall behind her. More seconds wasted with nothing to show for it. How much time did the people in the river have left? I had to take her down now.
“Fuck you, White Knight!” she shouted as I grabbed another figure. “I was going to let them go if you surrendered, but now I’m going to kill them, anyway. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”
I paused right before throwing the next figure, and Treat smirked, thinking she’d gotten to me. Then her eyes widened as she realized I was looking at something behind her.
She spun around—just in time to catch Julio’s fist with her face.
Treat went down, and as she lay groaning on the floor, the people in the river jerked up, coughing and sputtering. I hurried to the water’s edge, squinting through the poor light to see if anyone was still underwater. Scared voices filled the quiet chamber as everyone started asking what was going on, and a few people splashed toward the shore in panic.
“Calm down,” I called out in what I thought of as my superhero voice. “You’ve all been psy-assaulted, but it’s over now. Check the water around you for anyone who’s still under, and help the children get out first.”
Except for one man who kept rushing in a panic to the shore, everybody else settled down somewhat and followed instructions. The good news was that nobody had drowned, and the adults picked up the kids for whom the water was a lot deeper. The last group to have gone in was climbing onto the stage when everyone froze. Their expressions went vacant, and simultaneously, they bent down and plunged their heads back under water.
I spun around to see Treat pushing herself up. Before I could do anything, she shrieked and clutched at her wrists and neck. I had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was, it distracted her from using her telepathy. The people in the water burst up for air again, and Treat sagged with a gasp. It was over.
“Don’t do that again,” Julio growled.
Treat pulled at her bracelets to reveal a band of shiny red skin underneath. Julio must have super-heated her jewelry. Treat snarled at him, and he stumbled back like he’d been hit, clutching his head.
“Everybody out of the water!” I shouted as I rushed to Julio’s aid. I couldn’t see Treat’s powers working, but if she wasn’t psy-assaulting him right now, then I was an animatronic dummy. I went for Treat. The last time we’d fought, I’d broken her brother’s leg, and the pain had kept him from concentrating enough to use his powers. I just needed to reach her, and I could end it.
Before I could, Julio stepped between us, and I jerked to a halt before I slammed into him. I tried to step around him, but he blocked me. His expression was slack, his eyes blank.
Treat stood up behind him and dusted herself off. “This is better than anything I was planning.” She tried to chuckle but winced and rubbed her neck. “Bloodbath will be pissed I didn’t save him a piece of you, but he’ll just have to get over it.”
Suddenly, I was roasting. The hot, humid air superheated to the temperature of a funeral pyre. I gasped and swayed dizzily. Julio. Some people wrote off Freezefire as having lousy powers, but the truth was that he always held back. He heated up guns instead of focusing on the people holding them. He froze water instead of flesh. I’d seen him cook the brains of an animated corpse, and if he ever wanted to, he could do that to anyone close enough.
Like me.
“Freezefire,” I rasped, the air almost too hot for my lungs. “This is Treat, not you. Focus on your mental shields. You’ve got to force her out.”
He didn’t so much as blink.
I was boiling alive now. The air blurred before my eyes, and the next thing I knew, my cane had slipped from my hands.
“Fight her, Freezefire. You can do this. You have to fight.”
I dropped to my knees, which was a bad idea, because it sent a shock of pain through my bones. The heat flared and overwhelmed all other pain, white-hot agony inside me and out. I thought too late to try to push him away, and he easily evaded my
slow, shaking hands. I fell forward, on my hands and knees now. I could hardly move. My breaths turned weak and shallow, and my head was spinning. Sweat falling from my face to the floor, I tried to inhale deeply. I couldn’t get enough air.
“Julio, please.”
His eyes stayed distant. I wasn’t getting through. My vision started to darken, and I fought the deadly grip of unconsciousness. I had to think of something quick. Something different.
“I knew you couldn’t do it,” I huffed, lying through my teeth. “You don’t know how to fight a telepath. You don’t know how to do anything without me. You’re still just a wet-behind-the-ears sidekick who needs White Knight’s help.”
Julio’s mouth twitched. Then his eyes came back to life, and he snapped. “You patronizing jackass! Blow it out your asshole!”
He paused as I gasped for air, the lethal heat gone now that he wasn’t concentrating. His face went through about five different expressions in the space of two seconds. Then he rounded on Treat.
She took one look at him and bolted.
Julio took half a step after her before stopping and giving me a worried look. On my hands and knees, my muscles shaking, I must have been a sorry sight.
“I’ll survive,” I said. “Go after her.”
He dashed off but didn’t make it five steps before Treat collapsed with a thump. Julio stumbled, and in the darkness just off the stage, I caught sight of two burning orange lights like watching eyes. A psychic presence washed over my mind, feeling like a building had just fallen on top of me. It was vaster and stronger than anything Treat could manage, and I would’ve dropped to my knees if I hadn’t already been on them. Then the twin lights went out, and Julio’s partner, Agent Nicole Lagarde, strolled out of the shadows with her glasses on.
The White Knight & Black Valentine Series (Book 3): Almost Invincible Page 7