by Drew Hayes
Chapter 76
In her youth, Helen would have already changed. Glasses cast aside, blazing through the air, she would have snatched every child out of the trap’s pull and spirited them to presumed safety. Experience had taught her many things through the years, and one of them was the importance of patience. If someone had gone to all the trouble of securing a Cobblord creation, sneaking onto Starscout grounds, and deploying it, then she couldn’t assume this to be the only trick in their bag. Until she knew what this was about, who she was against, and what powers were in play, it was preferable to save her big surprise. Rescue everyone now, and the perpetrators would clock Lodestar’s presence, almost certainly triggering them to flee and try again later down the line. She might be able to catch them, but this was too much preparation to assume there wasn’t some manner of escape plan.
All of which flashed through Helen’s mind before she remembered that transforming could potentially out her secret to Tori, as well as to any of the kids or staff who happened to be looking over. That was a factor to be concerned with, but a secondary one. Protecting the kids came first.
Her eyes scanned the approaching orb, which appeared to be increasing in size as they drew closer. She spotted several moving creatures made entirely of stone, as well as some smaller ones that appeared to be constructed from grass and twigs. Cobblord was an efficient designer; he’d used the terrain of the labyrinth to stock it with pseudo-life. No need to feed them, and more could probably be formed if their numbers were cut down. Certainly, they were dangers in other circumstances; however, for her or Ivan, there was nothing to present a significant challenge.
It was as she was visually combing their destination that she locked eyes with Ivan, who was already clutching Beth and pulling all the kids near him close. They’d be bunched up when they landed, and from the looks of things, not too far from the rest of the cluster. She and Tori, on the other hand, were drifting toward a canyon; based on their trajectory, Helen estimated they’d come down about a mile over from it. On her own, a minor matter to cross. With Tori in tow, it meant they had to either go around or fly, the latter of which came with a lot of required explanation.
“I’ve got them!” Ivan’s voice would not be confined by such mortal hurdles as wind or distance. “Just worry about keeping her safe.”
What a silly thing, the assurance she felt at those simple words. No one could “have them” in this sort of situation. It was dangerous, the kids were in peril, and they had essentially zero clue as to what they were up against. Yet all the same, Helen knew they’d be safe. Villain or civilian, when Ivan said he’d do something: he’d knock the gates of hell from their hinges to keep his word. With his daughter there, looking to him for protection, she truly couldn’t imagine the threat that would successfully stop Ivan.
If he was taking over guarding their charges, then that meant it was on her to find the maze’s center. Every Cobblord labyrinth could be safely destroyed and exited from their middles; he was as faithful to his theming as he was to his prices, both famously inflexible. Tearing it apart by hand was technically an option, but he tended to build in disastrous, often explosive, consequences for those who tried to cheat. On her own, she’d have blasted right through this sphere, and then wiped off all the singes. With a mass of Starscouts in the mix, the safest option was to do this properly.
Their descent speed was increasing, and Helen noticed Tori bracing for impact. Poor thing was probably tearing herself up wondering whether or not to turn into fire upon landing, debating if broken limbs were worth a lost secret.
“Don’t worry!” Helen said, raising her voice to be heard over the whistling of the air in their ears. “We slow down before landing.”
The sharp, focused look Tori shot her was a curious reaction, but she did seem to be less immediately terrified. As for Helen, she spent the rest of their descent making as precise a mental map as possible. For most of the people being drawn in, this was all chaos, but she was used to looking at things from above. While the route she spotted was rough in patches, it definitely seemed to lead somewhere. That was as good a start as any.
Lifting her hands up like she was on a roller-coaster, Helen let out a sharp squeal of fun as the drop-speed grew, plummeting them toward the orb’s ground. Ivan and the kids were out of sight—the warping space pushed them further away with every passing second. Since he had their walkie-talkie, Helen could only hope that Ivan would either be able to handle any danger, or be wise enough to yell for help. The faster she and Tori could end this, the less time those kids would be in even the slightest danger.
Behind her, the real world fell away as the artificial sky locked into place. They were officially contained in the trap. From this point on, the only way out was victory, or destroying the labyrinth entirely. The ground was rising up toward them at an incredible rate, and Helen permitted herself to savor the sensation of falling.
It was actually kind of fun, when one wasn’t concerned about the landing.
Between the surprise, terror, and sudden rush of ground, Beth had apparently blacked out. She stirred slowly, feeling the strange grass against her skin. It was the right color, shape, even smell, yet something was inherently off. No one factor she could put her finger on, yet she instantly recognized the facsimile of foliage for what it was. Lifting her head, Beth spotted several other Starscouts, most of whom were either unconscious or barely starting to wake.
With a flash of terror, she realized her dad wasn’t there. What happened? He’d been holding her as they fell, so he couldn’t have landed elsewhere. Did that mean something had gotten to him? Beth knocked that idea aside; she knew the wilderness too well. No wild animal would go for one target in a sea of unconscious bodies.
Just as she was about to call out, movement from a nearby tree caught Beth’s attention.
The leaves rustled as Ivan dropped down from among them, knocking some stray fake-twigs away from his khaki ensemble. At the sight of Beth awake, he hurried over, dropping down to a knee. “How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?”
She shook her head. Now that the pounding fear in her chest was fading, Beth realized she didn’t have so much as a bruise from the impact. Her meta-human ability had proven to make her slightly tougher, but considering that no one else was bleeding or howling in pain, she didn’t appear to be the only one. “I guess the ground is soft?”
“We slowed down just before we hit. The rapid momentum shift must have given you kids all a massive headrush.” Ivan pointed over to the tree he’d just come down from. “The good news is we’re close to most of the others. I spotted Trey, Yuri, and the rest of the scouts; they’re less than a mile from that stone tower. We’ve got a bit more of a trip, but the path isn’t especially difficult. Think of it like a nature hike in very unfamiliar terrain.”
“With alien animals,” Beth added. “I saw stuff moving down here when we were approaching.”
The fake grass squeaked slightly as Ivan slid onto his rear, sitting down next to his daughter. “Not alien. Custom made.” He motioned to the ground, trees, sky, all of it. “This is a trap made by a man called Cobblord. I saw one of those online mini docu-videos about him. Apparently, he specializes in custom creations, and these are his favorite. Used to be, you’d hear news about one appearing yearly. While well-engineered, Cobblord also has certain standards he upholds, one of which is that a labyrinth gets more dangerous the deeper in you go. Out here, in the starting areas, anything you see is likely more scared of you than you are of it.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Positive,” Ivan said, because he was. Beth didn’t know about his magic, and she certainly didn’t realize he had a low-capacity sleep spell. Even if she had, it was unlikely she’d have realized that two minutes and twenty pass the same while unconscious, especially with no electronics and an artificial sky. Most of all, she definitely wouldn’t have reason to guess that Ivan had spent that time racing around their entire area, destroyin
g everything non-human that so much as twitched.
Not far from where they were, one could reach the lip of a large canyon. Were one to look into it, they might take note of the piled-up stone bodies, dozens of creatures smashed to oblivion and hurled roughly out of the way. Ivan knew they would all be safe, because he’d ensured there was nothing around to attack. Eventually, the labyrinth would rebuild, but once they had the kids in one place, it would much easier to protect them. Clearing everyone’s path in secret was step one. Step two was rejoining the scout groups. Step three, find shelter—ideally food, if possible.
Step four was where things got complicated. Ivan could either stay with the kids, or try to hunt for the maze’s center. It was tempting: wipe out every threat, then race to catch up with Helen and Tori. But if he were there, Ivan’s mind would be back among the scouts, worrying for Beth. A compromised ally was often worse than an enemy—besides which, he’d told Helen he would keep them safe. That promise didn’t end until the kids were off this orb and back onto... well, a different orb, when one got right down to it, but it was their orb.
Movement signaled that the others were shaking off their slumber. Beth had proven surprisingly resilient, waking several full minutes ahead of them. Ivan wasn’t sure if that was due to her meta-abilities, potent willpower, or a developed tolerance. The reason he’d learned that spell in the first place was to help Beth rest when she was teething, so she’d gotten a fair few doses through the years. It was one more variable to account for in a situation already spiraling fast out of control. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to lean on any more magic. The ideal way this played out was that he found the other kids, they all hunkered down, and then Helen got them out. For her part, he had no concerns. Saving the day was what Helen did. Ivan just wished he felt quite so sure about his own tactics.
There was something else he hadn’t told Beth, a part of the labyrinth that was not quite so comforting. While the starting area was the least dangerous, it steadily grew less so. Since the purpose of these places was to make the subject defeat the maze, staying in one spot was discouraged. The longer they stayed camped around here, the more numerous and powerful the creatures would become. By nightfall, the woods would be repopulated. Come morning, the threats would have grown in size and threat. If Ivan planned to let them survive that long, anyway. Once he got the kids with the other counselors, it would be easier to move freely. However long Helen needed, he would hold the line. Regardless of what he had to do or admit, he would not let harm come to these kids. Especially not with Beth sitting there, watching his every move.
Fornax was a villain, a killer, a monster, and so much worse. That had been the only life he ever knew, the only way of being. It wasn’t until Wade that Ivan saw friendship in another person’s eyes when they looked at him, something he hadn’t experienced since the nameless companion Ivan had been tortured into killing. Then came Helen, someone who looked at him like he could be more than what he was.
But none of them came close to his children. For the very first time, Ivan had understood what it was to be a hero. When things went wrong, when they were afraid, when the world seemed darkest, they looked to him, because they knew he’d be there. That trust in him was among the most precious things Ivan had ever possessed. He already knew it was fading with Rick, and Beth probably wouldn’t be far behind. Still, for right now, she was looking at him like he could make this okay, keep them safe. Save the day. There was almost nothing he wouldn’t do to prove his daughter right.
“Everyone, please stay close as you wake up. The entrance was rough, but you’ll be okay after a few minutes to shake it off. I know you’re all scared and confused right now. That’s not only okay, it’s the expected reaction to something like this. However, we are not merely a gaggle of confused civilians. We are Starscouts, which means if anyone is prepared to get through this, it’s all of you.” Ivan looked to Beth, the only one fully awake so far. “For example, we need to head toward that stone tower. How do we navigate when we lose sight of it?”
From her pocket, Beth produced a compass, carefully noting the tip of the stone tower they could see poking up among the trees. “It’s northwest of our current position. Assuming we always head in that general direction and keep checking in when possible, we should be able to find it without much issue.”
Not exactly a tough dilemma, but the goal was to make them feel in control of the situation. Hopelessness and helplessness were wily enemies in situations like these. When people felt desperate, they started to make bad decisions. Keeping the kids calm was part of keeping them safe, a task that would only grow harder the longer this lasted.
“Starscouts, you heard Beth. Let’s gather ourselves and start moving northwest. Stay close, and if you hear anything, let me know.” Taking a defensive position at the front of the group, Ivan pulled away some almost-bushes and led the children toward what he dearly hoped would be safety.
Sparing a slender amount of his already scant mental energy, Ivan wondered how Tori was coping with all of this. Given that she didn’t have children to watch or the responsibility to battle the maze, it was likely a much more relaxing endeavor than what he faced. With Helen there to keep her safe, the only real trouble she could get into would be self-inflicted.
Chapter 77
It was testament to how truly fucked up Tori’s life had become that she quickly adjusted to the sudden shift in their situation: from a day out watching kids in harmless competitions to being scooped up by a giant floating sphere. Anyone who’d done deep research into meta-humans was at least passingly familiar with Cobblord’s works—many of his creations had been huge public spectacles. Tori didn’t have the slightest idea how the mazes functioned, unfortunately; only that they popped up, often swallowing bystanders, and vanished only after the capes ventured inside.
Standing on dirt that wasn’t quite the right shade of red, Tori looked out over the vast canyon. Wide and deep, with sheer edges and no paths to be seen. Climbing down and then out wouldn’t work, not without taking them days. Floating over in fire form was technically an option, if she was willing to reveal her secret and abandon Helen. That wouldn’t have been a prudent move in the first place, and it certainly wasn’t viable after Ivan’s request.
“Just worry about keeping her safe.” That was what he’d yelled across the aerial divide. Seeing as Tori was the one with abilities and guild training, it was obvious he wanted her to protect Helen. A much easier task than Ivan’s guarding an entire herd of kids, but still not a simple job. Without using her abilities, Tori was going to be relying heavily on hand-to-hand, and some of the creatures she’d seen on their descent looked a might too large for that to mean success. She’d have to make judicious use of “tactical repositioning,” the technical term for running like hell when outgunned.
Footsteps caused Tori to whip around and come face to face with Helen, who’d drifted slightly off near the end of the descent. No injuries that Tori could see. She didn’t even look especially put out, face still beaming as Helen looked across the sizable divide. Her whistle started high, then dropped low, stretching for a borderline comical amount of time.
“Unless one or both of us is hiding the power of flight, I don’t think we’re making it across that.” Helen seemed a touch more amused than that line really warranted, a detail Tori brushed directly over. “Not that it matters. Now that we’re in, the only way out is through. Have to find the center and beat the final obstacle. That will safely release everyone trapped inside.”
“Is there a non-safe release option?” Tori asked. She hadn’t counted on the possibility of trapped exits, but there was no reason they couldn’t be in use.
“Non-safe release is what happens when metas try to cheat. For example, nothing here would really pose much of a challenge to someone like Professor Quantum, but if he decided to blast right to the labyrinth’s center, he would trip the failsafe measures, which everyone else inside would have to deal with. Carrot and stick. We eith
er play the game as it’s intended, with a chance at a happy outcome, or we cheat and live with the consequences. All of which is moot, in the first place. Obviously, we don’t have the shortcut option.”
Tori wasn’t entirely sure about that. She could cause some potent destruction when needed, and a lot of the stuff here did look flammable. But Helen was right that they wouldn’t be risking such tactics. Even without Ivan’s fury if anything happened to Beth, Tori wasn’t going to risk those kids. She was a criminal, not a piece of shit, and annoying as they could be, that cluster was still hers. Her fists tightened, anger threatening to rise. They were supposed to having a weekend camping trip, a nice, normal event. Some motherfucker had stolen that. From the kids, from Tori, from Ivan and Beth. Nobody hated getting robbed quite like a thief; Tori would have loved to show whoever did this just what a spectacular fuck up it was. Pity she doubted the chance would come. Ivan simply had more clout and connections. He’d get his vengeance first, and anyone who’d dined at his table knew that neither Ivan nor Fornax left any remains.
“What’s the plan? Do we try to get a signal out to the capes?” Tori didn’t love the feeling of those words on her tongue, but she couldn’t very well suggest that they go attempt to conquer the labyrinth.
“That would take too long. Even if we could send a distress call, which is not an easy task, the way this place has warped space in on itself also means it packed in layers of time around us. Best guess, if we could get a message out right this moment, help might arrive within a week.” Helen slapped Tori lightly on the back, between the shoulder blades. “Good news. Looks like you and I are taking this bad boy on.”
It felt like her brain was stuttering. The ease and cheer on Helen’s face refused to fade, even while she proposed such an insane notion. Maybe Tori could have handled this alone, using her flames to hit and move, but with a human tagging along, their odds dropped substantially.
