by Dante Steel
Gary and the others gaped at her.
"What?" Nicoletta asked.
"First, I want to kill some of the megavillains," Gary said.
"Don't whine," Elena said, grinning manically. "I like this plan."
"Second, how do you know so much about the weather?" Gary asked Nicoletta.
She shrugged. "I toyed for years about becoming a meteorologist," she said. "When I was little, I used to watch the Weather Channel all of the time until they would air the wildfires in California." Nicoletta lowered her head, and rain rushed down her face and maybe tears too.
"Aren't you in school?" Olivia asked. "You're twenty, right?"
"I am, but I'm undeclared yet. Just can't figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life." Nicoletta shrugged.
The lightning and thunder kicked it up a notch, and Gary had to jump to the side to avoid being struck by lightning again.
"I hate to break up this conversation, but I think we need to start handling this situation!" Gary shouted.
Elena nodded. Olivia grabbed Nicoletta's hand, and they raced away, maybe to move out of range of the wind so they could fly above the storm.
Just then, Gary was plowed over. Damn that Greased Lightning. Nicoletta was right. He was going to be the hardest to take down.
Elena went flying into the nearest building. Too bad the place wasn't made of bricks or stones because Gary would love to mentally whip either at the speedster. Nope. The building was made of wood. Most of the structures were made of stone but not here, of course.
Above them, a flash of orange and red appeared high above and through the dark, ominous storm cloud. The rain dried up, the thunder stopped, and no more lightning flashed. The storm was over.
Gary grinned at Elena, who was just getting to her feet. Maybe the speedster overheard their plan because he spun in a tight circle around Elena, effectively handcuffing her.
She was trying to punch the guy, but he was moving too fast for her to make contact.
"Hold your fist in place," Gary shouted, but the rushing wind of the speedster must've muffled his voice because she didn't do as he said.
Gary rushed over to reclaim his dagger and threw it toward Elena and Greased Lightning. He mentally guided the spinning blade and held it steady within the circle Greased Lightning was spinning. The hilt slammed into the guy, not the blade, damn it, but not all was lost because his momentum caused him to careen into the side of a building. Elena stood, clearly dazed, and Gary whipped the dagger, mentally using his power to bury the blade into the speedster's chest.
One down, three to go.
In the sky, small dark clouds continued to form, but none of them materialized into fully formed storm clouds. Gary reached to help Elena, but she shook him off. Still mad or too eager to enter the fight? He didn't know, but she was already jogging around the corner to the broad main cobbled street.
Ice Bod, entirely in ice form now, stood over the Illusionist, who was visible, a shivering, balled-up man with blood still gushing from his bashed-in nose.
Elena burst into a run and slammed her fist clear into the chest of Ice Bod. He shattered, as predicted. Without hesitating, she bashed in the side of Illusionist's head.
Two more down, only one to go. Where was Tempest Tyrant?
A flash of light made Gary turn northward. Nicoletta and Olivia were fighting the distinct female Tempest Tyrant. Her cape was fluttering behind her, the natural draught of the night breezing by, revealing her outfit which was basically just a bikini. What the hell? A bikini for rainwater was just ridiculous.
Gary turned toward Elena, ready to congratulate her when the ice shard near his foot began to shake. It trembled and scooted back toward where Ice Bod had stood. The other shards were reassembling, and Ice Bod stood before them once more.
"Not so easy to be rid of me," he said, his speech slow and halting, like a stereotypical bodybuilder.
"I can do this all night," Elena said, punching him again.
Ice Bod collapsed into ice shards once more. Gary grabbed one and rubbed it between his hands as fast as he could to create friction and melted it. When Ice Bod reforged, he had no nose.
Again and again, Elena punched him, and Gary melted as many shards as he could. Eventually, he had no nose, one eye, no teeth, no hand. More and more parts of him were gone to the point that he was nothing at all.
By then, the rest of their party had joined them. Gary didn't have to ask if they had handled Tempest Tyrant because the "screen" flashed with a message.
Congratulations on taking out the megavillain team the Nemesis Fanatics! You are promoted to Superhero! You may now pick your Superhero name!
Gary grinned. "I know what name I'm picking," he said. "Wait, are we all superheroes now?"
"You better believe it!"
"Of course!"
"You know it!"
Gary couldn't type since he was in the game, so he just thought his name. Dragon Hunter.
It is nice to meet you, Dragon Hunter. As a superhero, you will be able to gain all kinds of new powers but also face all sorts of new foes.
"Who all are you?" Gary asked.
"I'm Nighthawk!" Olivia spun in a circle. "I can't wait to figure out my superhero costume! Shh, guys, no more talking."
Gary shrugged and turned to Nicoletta.
"I was thinking Pyra," she said.
"I like it." He hesitantly turned toward Elena.
"Ferra," she said. "You know, like iron."
"It suits you," he said.
Before his eyes, Olivia's clothes changed again and again. She was figuring out her costume right here and now. The others seemed to be too, so Gary checked out the mental warehouse that was similar to the setup for when he first created his avatar what felt like a lifetime ago. Not everything was available for him to pick and choose from, but he did notice the masks and capes and other items he had acquired from completing that mama dragon and her broods quest.
He did not want spandex, but apparently, that was all young superheroes wore. The other outfits with actual shirts and pants weren't an option for him. Fine. Camouflage it was, considering that dragons were mostly brown and green like other reptiles.
A cape? That seemed a little ridiculous, but he tried one on anyhow. All of them were ridiculous. Then again, the one with black on one side and forest green on the other wasn't too bad. Monster boots were a good touch. Should he wear a mask? Nah.
But wait. Dragons breathed fire. Should he have something red or orange to his costume? Maybe camouflage wasn't the way to go after all.
Gary left the room. To his shock, the women were all done and settled on their costumes.
Olivia—Nightwing—wore a black leotard and thigh-boots. Instead of a cape, she had black wings attached to her arms. A black mask to cover her eyes completed the look.
Elena—Ferra—had on a silver latex bodysuit that matched the silver of her metal arms and lower legs. She had on matching silver shoes and a silver cape, a silver mask over her eyes.
Nicoletta—Pyra—wore a spandex bodysuit that was orange and darkened in color to a fiery red at the bottom. Her boots were red, and along her arms was what looked like a tattoo of flames.
Gary felt out of place. Maybe his face showed that because the girls all laughed.
"Do you need help?" Olivia asked through her giggles.
"I don't," he said crossly.
"You look fine," Nicoletta said.
"If a little boring," Elena said.
Olivia went with him back to the warehouse, but the stuff she had him try on was so outrageous that he returned to his original attire.
On the "screen" flashed, Are you happy with your superhero name and outfit?
Yes.
Wonderful. Now pick your superhero team.
Me, Ferra, Pyra, and Nighthawk.
And your superhero team name.
"Superhero team name?" Gary groaned. "Seriously?"
Olivia had an evil glint in her eyes. "How ab
out Gary's—"
He covered her mouth. "No," he said firmly.
She said something, but his hand was there, and he wasn't about to move it.
"Well, you have dragon in your name, so that's two with flying," Nicoletta mused. "Fiery Flyers?"
"That leaves me out," Elena complained.
"Do you have an idea?" Gary asked her.
Olivia tried to say something, but her words remained muffled.
It took them some time and arguing, but eventually, they settled on the Crusading Slayers.
"Awesome, Ladies." Gary grinned. "Come tomorrow, we're going to kick some supervillain ass!"
Only that wasn't exactly what happened. Not at all.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gary woke up the next morning hard as a rod. For once, he couldn't remember his dreams from the night before, but he had a guess. Gary touched himself until he came, as always made a mess, and had to clean up. He was whistling as he made his way down to eat some breakfast. As a perk for being a superhero, his food was given to him for free. Would that happen every day at every tavern? Who knew, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.
Before he swallowed his last bite, the tavern doors swung open, and his ladies came in. He grinned at them.
"Ready to find us some supervillains to take down?" he asked.
"Definitely." Elena smiled at him, and he breathed easier. He hated that she had seemed so uptight and unlike herself yesterday. Hopefully, he wouldn't do anything to upset her today.
They meandered out of the tavern and asked several NPCs if they knew of any supervillains. None of the adults knew anything, but a boy pointed them to the edge of town where he swore he saw a man turn into an alligator before eating a woman and wandering to a nearby swamp.
Considering that shapeshifting wasn't a part of the game as far as any of them knew, they figured the boy was mistaken. Still, they went to the edge of town anyhow. Surprise, surprise, they found nothing to substantiate his claim.
Beside him, Elena went rigid, and she grabbed Gary’s hand, something she didn't typically do. He couldn't help squeezing her hand, but then he followed her gaze upward.
A massive dragon was bearing down on them. Not just any dragon. The one from the cave with the Runed Ruby. And not only a dragon. On its back was Smaug. Samuel August. The ten-year-old killer had grown up to be a genius, but had he risen above his troubled past? No. Instead, he had run away, become a fugitive, entered a game, and was still causing mayhem and mischief. It was almost as if he’d never grown up. The thought saddened Gary. He liked to think that people deserved a second chance, but given Samuel's track record and his decided lack of willingness to change, Gary might have to make an exception in his book.
"So much for staying under the radar," Gary muttered.
The dragon flew impossibly fast, and Gary grabbed Elena and jumped to the side, slamming her down to the ground. They jerked apart and turned to see that the dragon had flown by and torched the exact spot where they had just been standing.
"How did he find us?" Elena asked as she jumped to her feet and dusted off her metal hands.
"I don't think how matters," Nicoletta said.
Elena nodded and turned to Olivia. "Think you can lift me?"
"Take you where?" Olivia asked.
"Close enough to jump or grab onto the dragon's tail."
Olivia rubbed her throat, taking her time for once, considering. "I can try," she said.
"I know the metal is heavy," Elena said sheepishly.
Gary wanted to argue with her and tell her that she was perfect, that she didn't need to worry about her avatar's weight, but this wasn't a girl thing. It was a practical thing considering Olivia could only lift so much weight with her power.
"What are you going to do once you get up there?" Gary asked, but he couldn't get a response to his question because the dragon was making another path. The flames were so intense that Gary cried out despite himself even though the fire didn't touch him directly.
Nicoletta was closing her eyes, trembling, and he rushed over to her, hugging her to his chest, burrowing her so that she wouldn't have to see anything.
"Don't look," he whispered in her ear. "Just focus on me. Don't worry about anything else."
"Gary!" Olivia shrieked.
Gary didn't have time to look. He had only a second to react, and he drew Nicoletta and himself into the space between the two buildings that bordered the outskirts of the town. More flames lit up the cobbled path, burning all of the tinder that had dropped from wheelbarrows bringing lumber into the place.
"We have to take out his dragon," Gary said, determined. "Then, he'll be stranded."
"Because we want him trapped here," Elena said sarcastically.
"Well, do you have a better idea?" he asked seriously.
"Ugh, guys, is it just me or is his dragon armored?" Nicoletta asked.
Gary squinted against the sunlight. "Shit. You're right."
"If I'm up there, I can yank off the armor," Elena said.
"Ah, you do realize that Smaug is sitting on part of the armor, right?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, thank you, but when I yank it off the dragon, he'll go flying."
"And use the wind to cause him to stay in the air or else ‘fall' safely to the ground," Olivia said with a sigh.
"I thought for sure we would have more time," Nicoletta said.
The dragon made another pass and nearly singed Olivia, who had to fly to get out of the way. Gary was proud of her. She could fly decently now, but only if she did not look down. If she did, she plummeted, each and every time.
Olivia swooped over to Elena. "You'll have to direct me," was the last thing Gary heard her say.
"Do you have more of those bombs?" Nicoletta asked.
Gary shook his head. "I never went back to get more," he said. "I'm sorry."
"So just strength, flight, fire, and telekinesis against an armored dragon and a wizard who can use wind and fire and who knows what else now. What level is he anyhow?" Nicoletta muttered.
"Doesn't matter much, does it?" Gary grabbed her hand and started to race toward the swamp.
"Why this way?" she asked.
"There might be other gamers in that town, and I don't want them to die because of us."
"Smaug seems intent on fighting us," she pointed out.
"True." But Gary didn't stop until they entered the swamp proper. He climbed a tree so that he wouldn't get stuck in the muck.
"Now what?" Nicoletta asked.
"You're acting like I have a plan," he said, amused.
"Don't you?"
"Not exactly."
"Great. Just great."
Gary rubbed his chin. "If you use your fire, you might be able to redirect the dragon."
"To where exactly?"
"Deeper into the swamp."
"Why?"
"So when we eventually bring it down—"
"It'll have its fire quenched by the swamp water. Not a bad idea, but all of these bushes and trees might help to keep that massive beast above the swamp. Then what?"
"I'll move those trees and bushes, or else, I'll lift up the swamp water to cool him down."
"Or you could use the swamp water now," she pointed out.
"Yes, but that beast is huge, and I don't know if I can bring up enough to douse it in one go."
Nicoletta scrambled up her tree, climbing like a pro. At the top, she shielded her eyes as she played scout. "I see the dragon, but I don't see Olivia and Elena anywhere."
"Are they on the dragon's back or tail?" he asked, trying not to worry or panic.
"Nowhere." Nicoletta stared down at him. "I don't think the two of us can handle this alone."
"Don't you dare think like that," he admonished. "You can do whatever you set your mind to."
"Oh, yeah? Then why can't I will you out of the game and into—into the real world?"
"You were going to say something else. Where do you want me?" Gary asked.
> "You're delusional," she retorted.
"I don't think so. Come on. Out with it," Gary probed. "Want me to guess?"
"Don't you—Gary!"
A massive blast of fire seared the air toward them. Like a ball of fire, it hit into the wettest part of the swamp. A thick rolling fog burst forth as some of the swamp water had been burned off.
"Shit. He's taking away our advantage," Gary cursed. "Use your fire."
"On the dragon?"
"On that fucker named Smaug."
"On it," Nicoletta said grimly, although a broad smile stretched across her face.
She sent blasts of fire out again and again, but the dragon easily evaded most of them. Otherwise, they hit the winged bastard’s armor. Only a small portion of its underbelly wasn't protected. Even its tail had armored spikes.
"How in the hell was he able to get armor for his fucking dragon?" Nicoletta muttered.
"Nicoletta, what would Jorge say if he heard you curse like that?"
"He would probably yell at me."
"See?"
"For not cursing in Spanish," she added. She shook her hand and sent out another blast of fire.
Was her hand burning her? Where the hell were the others?
Unable to sit back and do nothing, Gary climbed his tree to its pinnacle. A tiny speck in the distance might be birds or more dragons or the girls. He couldn't tell.
A fireball went over his head. Gary lost his hold on the tree and landed in the swamp water.
All right. Screw this.
Gary jumped up, grabbed a decent branch, and hacked at it with his dagger until he could yank it off. Then he worked on cutting off more. Once Gary had ten, he launched one into the air with his mental powers and torpedoed it straight for the vulnerable part of the dragon. While that one was soaring toward its target, he went about using his dagger to fashion a stronger tip to the ends of the other branches to make them more like spears. The first spear bounced harmlessly off the underbelly, and Smaug promptly set it on fire. The second spear, Smaug also burned. The third punctured the underbelly, but the dragon didn't roar, didn't react much at all. How was that possible?
Muttering a curse, Gary climbed back up. Nicoletta kept trying to use fire to keep the dragon near them, but Gary thought Smaug had to be getting bored. When he got bored, people died.
