“No leaking, so I think that we’ve solved the problem,” Lilith said, letting out a sigh as she stood up, her back aching from her posture, and she stretched. Chris blushed and looked away, causing her to smile in amusement. She really didn’t understand why some of the people were working for Omega Code, as many of them seemed perfectly nice, if rather weird in some ways. “If you don’t mind dealing with the detritus, I’m going to go get cleaned up.”
“Sure! Uh… I’m guessing that means the gunk?” Chris said, looking at the horrifying glob sitting in the disposal box. Lilith thought it should’ve been a hazmat container, personally.
“That’s right,” Lilith said, nodding in confirmation.
“Yup, I want that gone. I’ll have to talk to the boss about something to keep it from happening again.” The man said, shaking his head, then paused. “Oh, and so you know, Black Harbinger will be back later today. You’ll probably want to stay out of his way, he doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. He also likes killing people, torture, and that sort of thing. You’ll probably be fine, but I wouldn’t tempt him.”
Lilith paused for a moment, then nodded to indicate her understanding, a hint of wariness washing over her, and she replied as calmly as she could. “I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for the warning.”
“No problem,” He said and headed for the door with the gunk. Lilith wasn’t sure where he was taking it, but she didn’t much care, either.
Instead, she considered for a moment, then grabbed a screwdriver and a couple of other tools to take back to her room. She had a couple of ideas on a potential escape, and one of them relied on getting some help.
First, she needed to clean up.
Chapter 48
Tuesday, November 4th, 2031
Guardian Compound, Paragon City
“Thank you for coming to get us,” Morgan said, settling onto the ground carefully, her body still not quite recovered from the flights. She’d seen some of the damage downtown had taken as they’d flown in, and Morgan wondered if they’d have been able to reduce it if she and Warden had been available to help. Most likely, but it was water under the bridge at this point, and it would likely take a few weeks for the crews to repair.
The trip had progressed much faster once they’d landed in New York, as they’d been escorted by Flicker to the Champion’s base, at which point they’d stepped through a portal directly to Washington DC, where Portus had directed them through another portal to Dallas, though not before they’d caught a momentary glimpse of Destiny, who’d told them to let her know if the situation got too bad. It’d been strange to see the country’s most famous heroine with a steaming mug of tea in hand, but Morgan had been too disoriented to do anything more than agree.
Coming out in Dallas, they’d quickly been escorted to the nearby airfield, then aboard the LANCE hyperjet. It was the first time Morgan had been aboard one, and she’d already decided that she didn’t care to repeat the experience. While the jet had inertial dampeners, the power of their takeoff overwhelmed them and had been far less pleasant than a normal flight was. It’d made her incredibly queasy, and it’d taken most of the flight from the airfield to the Guardian Compound for her stomach to begin settling.
“Thank you for coming quickly,” Shade said, garbed in his hero outfit, and nodded firmly to each of them as he showed them in. “Do you think you’ll be able to track her down?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Warden asked in return, smiling tautly as they stepped into the building. “I asked earlier, and Morgan wouldn’t give me a straight answer.”
“I don’t have a straight answer,” Morgan snapped, her temper slightly frayed. “I have a couple of her hairs, sure, but that’s not enough to guarantee finding Lilith, not when they have an Atlantean mage helping them. They’ve been researching magic for just as long as we’ve been building our technology, so when it comes to wards, they can be incredibly skilled. The only advantage I have is that I have more raw power than most of them.”
“In that case, it’s good that your mentor contacted them and asked for help,” Shade said, glancing back at Morgan. “She sent a message saying that a representative from their Outer Conclave will be arriving later this evening.”
Despite all the surprises she’d had numbing her to further shocks, Morgan nearly tripped over her own feet. She sputtered, then demanded, “She what? I didn’t know that she had contacts with the Atlanteans! She didn’t say anything to us, either!”
“Really?” Shade asked, pausing to look at her more carefully.
“Not a word. She just told us to have a pleasant flight, and to kick Omega Code’s ass if we got the chance,” Warden said, looking at Rachel with almost as much surprise. “I mean, that much is a given, but you’d think she’d tell us about something this important!”
“Huh. Well, you’d have to ask her, since I sure don’t know.” Shade replied, starting to move again. He was leading them toward the conference room that Morgan had met them in the last time she was here. It made her a little uneasy, considering how that meeting had gone.
When they stepped into the room, Morgan’s eyebrows rose, as the only ones present were Decarin, Shade, and Spark, with there being no sign of Archon. Well, and her and Warden, of course. She also noticed the shadows under Spark’s eyes, and how the woman was glowering at her.
“Where’s Archon?” Warden asked a second later, frowning. “She isn’t hurt, is she?”
“Hurt? Oh, of course not. She’s just trying to rest, in case we manage to track down Black Harbinger and Omega Code,” Decarin replied, shaking his head wearily. “We’ve had a hell of a day, I have to say. It’s been barely over twenty-four hours at this point.”
“Question is, why do you care?” Spark demanded hotly. “You two vanished for months, didn’t talk to Lilith, and now you show up? What gives?”
Heat rose in Morgan’s cheeks, shame washing over her uncomfortably. She opened her mouth to reply, then hesitated, not sure how she should explain. For good or ill, Warden wasn’t as reticent.
“We were on the phone with her when she was attacked, so don’t give me that shit,” Warden snapped back, stopping and folding her arms. “After months of dealing with all the stuff Shadowmind did to us, we finally figured everything out and called her to let her know what the results were, and what happens? She’s kidnapped before we can tell her. I hate being a super some days.”
Spark opened her mouth again, but before she could speak, Shade slapped a hand onto the table, creating a sharp sound that cut her off. He spoke after a moment. “Enough, Spark. We don’t need arguments at this stage. Not as long as they’re going to help.”
“Alright. Sorry, I’m just… antsy,” Spark said, looking away as she paused, then admitted. “I’m just remembering what happened to those tourists with the alligators. I don’t want Omega Code doing something like that to her.”
Morgan felt slightly ill as she remembered the incident in question, and immediately changed her focus as she tried not to think about Lilith trying to escape mutant alligators in a half-submerged maze.
“I… didn’t need that thought. I think I’m going to have nightmares,” Morgan said, her unsettled stomach churning again as she took a seat. “Bad enough that he has her, but… he normally doesn’t kill his captives, right?”
“Except for the first year he was active, Omega Code hasn’t killed any captives except when actively broadcasting to as large of an audience as possible,” Decarin said immediately, looking slightly more relaxed as he spoke. “In most cases, any captives were kept alive as witnesses for his attempts to usher in the apocalypse. As we haven’t seen any transmissions from him yet, I don’t believe she’s in any immediate danger.”
“That’s good,” Shade said, but a chill ran down Morgan’s spine as she thought for a moment.
“What about those who tried to escape?” Morgan asked carefully.
“Hm?” Decarin asked, looking at her c
uriously.
“If captives tried to escape, what happened to them?” Morgan elaborated. “I seem to recall hearing something about that going poorly.”
“Ah… yeah, that’s usually bad. In that case, he’s killed a good number of them, though most heroes have managed to get out of his death traps alive,” Decarin said, then paused, frowning. “You don’t think she’d try, do you? She isn’t that powerful on a personal level, and Black Harbinger is probably with them.”
“Shit,” Warden muttered, and when Morgan looked at her friend, she’d paled, which was about how Morgan was feeling.
“I… am just looking back at the incident with Sky Defender. Yes, she hid. What you may not know is that when she was in her safe room, she’d set it to unleash all of the sump’s stored kinetic energy into the room when it was breached, to make sure her death was at least painless,” Morgan said slowly, and she could practically see the blood drain from Spark’s face. “When we rescued her, we could have just hidden and let my lawyer take care of everything. She refused. She didn’t want to hide, as she felt like she’d been in enough prisons over the course of her life. If she doesn’t know if we can track her down and help her… I’d be more surprised if she doesn’t try to escape.”
“Oh no.” Spark murmured, lowering her head as she rubbed her temples. “Doesn’t she know that I wouldn’t leave her like that?”
“We wouldn’t,” Warden said, prompting speculative looks from the others.
“That’s… an interesting response. May I ask how things turned out?” Shade asked, though he seemed slightly uncomfortable doing so.
“You certainly can,” Morgan said, smiling mirthlessly.
“Shadowmind is a damned liar,” Warden said hotly, growling softly. “She might, might have led us to meet Lilith, but that’s iffy. She had absolutely nothing to do with us starting our relationship with Lil, and the claims she made there were nothing more than misinformation intended to screw everything up, damn it.”
Decarin’s eyebrows rose, and he let out a low whistle. “Well. That doesn’t sound like much fun at all. All of that work, only to find out she was being… wait a second, did you say that she fixed it?”
“That’s right. Madison reversed each change, one at a time, until our natural emotions and memories are what’s left,” Morgan confirmed.
For a couple of seconds the room was quiet. Then Shade muttered, “Well, this will be awkward.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Warden agreed, and Morgan couldn’t help a soft, helpless laugh.
She couldn’t disagree, though.
Chapter 49
Tuesday, November 4th, 2031
Final Countdown Redoubt, Kansas
“Lilith Carpenter.”
The deep voice had a metallic edge to it, and the harsh inflection caused Lilith to pause, looking away from the treadmill, though she didn’t stop running. Unfortunately for Gillian, the woman tripped, and Lilith winced sympathetically as the other woman went flying off her treadmill. Lilith knew from experience that hurt, and she made a note to make sure she was alright in a minute. After she dealt with Black Harbinger.
The villain was large and imposing in his black armor, and she noticed some details about the shining black surface that she hadn’t in San Francisco, details which felt… odd to her. Lilith couldn’t quite place what was odd about his armor, but it bugged her. It was like his armor hadn’t been forged in any way she could identify, and there were no other tool marks. Maybe it’d been cast, or extruded somehow, but she wasn’t sure. Instead, she hit the button to slow the treadmill, then brought it to a stop as she paused, stretching.
“That is my name, yes,” Lilith said calmly, stepping off the treadmill and offering a hand to Gillian, helping the woman up. She looked at Black Harbinger as she did so. “And you are Black Harbinger, based on your appearance and the one time we were in the same area.”
Gillian gasped softly, but Lilith ignored her reaction. Despite everything, she honestly wasn’t that afraid of Black Harbinger. Not even when he raised the cannon on one arm, pointing it at her face, and energy started crackling within it.
“Impudent wretch. I could kill you here and now,” Black Harbinger boomed, and it was all Lilith could do to keep from rolling her eyes.
“Yes, you could. I’m unarmed, weaker than you in every way that matters, and can’t even run away, since you’re blocking the only exit,” Lilith agreed, folding her arms, and wasn’t terribly surprised when Gillian edged away from her. “That said, I sincerely doubt you will. You and your boss spent far too much time and effort kidnapping me to kill me in the middle of the gym. It simply isn’t worthwhile. Besides, Percy is almost directly behind me.”
Almost as if on cue, the cat let out a curious meow, and Lilith glanced back to make sure he hadn’t gotten too close to any of the bike machines. He was good at avoiding getting injured, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t concern her at times. He was far too curious for her taste, considering the threats that Omega Code had made about what would happen if she hurt him.
For an instant everyone in the room was quiet, then Black Harbinger lowered his cannon slowly. Nervous laughter rippled through the room as the cat meandered toward her, and Lilith leaned down to pet the cat. For the favorite pet of a villain, Percy was an amazingly friendly creature. She almost felt bad for him and would have if he wasn’t so pampered.
“You are correct, Percy is too important to kill. You are not.” Black Harbinger stated, not a hint of give in his voice. “I will be watching you, Lilith Carpenter. And if you step out of line, I will destroy you in the slowest, most agonizing way you can imagine.”
Lilith’s eyebrows rose, and she almost asked what that would be. Fortunately, she managed to keep her mouth shut, and simply nodded. The villain paused, then stalked out of the room, his footsteps not quite shaking the floor.
Only when he was gone did Lilith turn to Gillian and raise an eyebrow, asking. “So… do you need a trip to the medic’s office?”
“I… well, probably.” Gillian admitted, looking down and frowning. “I might’ve sprained my ankle. Are you insane, though? You stood up to Black Harbinger! That’s a good way to get turned to a black smear on the wall!”
“If they were going to do that, I never would have lived to get here,” Lilith replied calmly, offering an arm. “Come on, let’s get you over there to check you out. At least you have a medic.”
Gillian nodded, biting her lower lip, and took Lilith’s arm, slowly limping her way toward the door.
“I don’t trust her,” Black Harbinger rumbled.
“You don’t trust anyone. You threaten every minion I employ and kill a quarter of them when they step even slightly out of line,” Omega Code replied distractedly, scowling as he looked through the wiring of his transmitter.
The problem with transmitting his signal to detonate all of the devices simultaneously was that when the first one went, it’d almost certainly disrupt the signals to the rest of them. When he’d tested them on a miniature model of the globe, unless he managed to have every signal arrive at exactly the same moment, only one of them would go off. It was aggravating and trying to get that sort of precision in a lab was one thing, but outside of a lab, with the distances involved… it was going to take extreme precision or moving to another method of activation. And that would be a pain since all of the devices were in place.
“They stepped out of line. They deserved their deaths,” Black Harbinger growled.
“You always say that. How am I supposed to get any decent assistants if you keep killing all of the smart ones?” Omega Code demanded, looking over at him, then paused and admitted. “Well, the smart ones who have a decent head for engineering. Not that there have been many… most of those people think I’m insane. Fools.”
“I don’t trust her. She’s a hero. They always do foolish things,” Black Harbinger said.
“She’s… look, I don’t care if you don’t trust her,” Omega Code sn
apped, glancing down at Black Harbinger in exasperation. “Yes, she’s sort of a hero, even if she hasn’t done any hero-like things in a while. Yes, she’s smart, but her powers are damn near useless here, and she makes good food. If you distrust her that much, lurk around like you always do, and shoot her, cut her, or whatever else you’re planning to do if she actually does betray me. It wouldn’t be anything different than normal, so I don’t see why you’re bringing it to me.”
“Because she’s dangerous. You’re preparing for another attempt at the world’s end, and you’ve captured the daughter of Shadowmind herself, as well as someone that Archon cares about. I do not know about Shadowmind, but Archon will come, and she has many allies. Doing this in the last stages of preparation is dangerous,” Black Harbinger said insistently. “If she somehow contacts them, it will be disastrous.”
“How?” Omega Code demanded, rolling out from under the console and sitting up. “I’ve cut off all outside communications, ripping up every phone line short of the one out by the road, and there’s no internet access! There are exactly two ways out of the lair, the primary exit with its death traps, and the missile silo. To get through either of them, she’d have to deactivate security in the command center, which requires my authorization! How is she supposed to escape, given that? Break through half a foot of solid steel with her bare hands, climb the side of the missile silo, and lift the hatch?”
Black Harbinger didn’t reply, he just stood there, looking down at Omega Code, and after a moment the villain let out an annoyed sigh.
“I don’t have time for this. I’ve already told you what you want to know. You can watch her and kill her if she steps out of line. I’m not going to let you distract me any longer,” Omega Code said, laying back down so he could move under the console again. “The sooner I finish this, the less likely your concerns are to matter.”
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