‘For once, I agree with the monster,’ Twilight said. ‘I wanted to off Kopf in San Francisco, but someone persuaded me it would be better if he stood trial.’
‘And it was,’ Andrea replied. ‘If I’d known things would end up here, I might have made another decision, but the trial was for the best.’
‘But not again?’ Twilight asked.
‘I’m kind of with both of you. Cygnus and Miss Liberty might not see it the same way, but I’d prefer it if Quail finishes the old bastard. I think.’
‘You think?’ Midnight asked, sounding a little disgusted.
‘Well, yeah. If he kills him, I’m never going to get to do it.’
23rd May.
It was after midnight when a combined FBI/UID team arrived to take control of the site under direct orders from President Hart. As had been requested, Cygnus had told her what was going on at the black site in Washington State ‘at her earliest convenience,’ and using the site’s own communications suite. It was going to take days to get the prisoners out of the lowest level. Special containment facilities were going to be needed for some of them, like The Freak.
The entire heroic assault team watched as Theakstone was led out of the base in cuffs. He was just the first. Most of the agents were not being cuffed before being taken out to transports; there were simply not that many cuffs going around.
‘I wish we could have taken Kopf alive,’ Miss Liberty said.
Cygnus flashed a glance at Andrea. ‘You–’
‘Not me,’ Andrea said. ‘He was behind a ward of some sort. I couldn’t get near him.’
‘It was one of his experimental subjects, we think,’ Miss Liberty explained. ‘Kopf’s skull was smashed in and I think a few other things were broken before that happened. It was brutal. And yet, somehow I can’t quite bring myself to feel sorry for the old man.’ She glanced at Andrea too. ‘You were lucky you couldn’t go in to see some of the things in his labs.’
‘I’ve seen some of his experiments before,’ Andrea replied. ‘Far too close in one case.’
‘What about the one who killed him?’ Cygnus asked.
‘I couldn’t find him,’ Miss Liberty replied. ‘It took me a few minutes to find the room Kopf was in. I also found a secret escape stairwell we didn’t know about. I guess Sergeant Quail got out through that.’
‘Something to worry about another day.’ Cygnus turned to where Zap was standing very close to Fleet, now dressed in a shirt and military slacks they had found somewhere. She looked scared and bewildered. ‘Tonight, we have one of our own to worry over.’
Andrea gave a nod. ‘Don’t worry, Zap. We’ll get her to the Union HQ and get her checked over. If nothing else works, I happen to know a witch who knows a lot about brainwashing techniques and how to deal with them.’
Union of Ultrahumans HQ, Antarctica, 24th May.
‘The work is quite sophisticated,’ Viviane said. Light flickered around her fingers and Josie’s head as the witch searched through the amnesiac girl’s mind. ‘This Professor Blutadler appears to have known what he was doing.’
‘He probably did,’ Andrea replied, ‘but he won’t be doing it again. He was beaten to paste by one of his own creations.’
Josie’s mother, standing nearby with her husband and Brian, looked a little shocked, perhaps at the flat delivery. Viviane, however, just nodded. ‘One might call that poetic justice. He has not succeeded in implanting a new personality. That’s a blessing. It will, however, require months of carefully planned cognitive therapy and a little luck to trigger the return of her natural memory.’ There were several gasps. Andrea was used to the rather dry humour of the English ex-supervillain, and she waited. ‘Or I can just restore it now,’ Viviane added.
‘I think I’d like my memory back now, please, ma’am,’ Josie said.
Viviane smiled. She had turned up in the costume June had designed for her. Silks of various elemental colours and designs rustled around her as she moved closer, placing her hands on Josie’s head. The girl was sitting in a chair in one of the medical rooms in UoU HQ. For once, it was being used for a patient who preferred Earth-normal environmental conditions. ‘This will take a moment,’ Viviane explained, ‘and then you’ll probably realise why that young man over there is just as keen as you to see your memory restored.’
‘Well, he said he’s my boyfriend, and other people say he’s not lying, so I guess he would be pretty enthusiastic.’
‘From what I hear, you’ll be just as pleased with the results. Close your eyes.’
Josie had just done as requested when a blazing nimbus of blue-white energy enveloped her skull. Josie let out a gasp and stiffened, but then her body relaxed as Viviane’s magic invaded her mind and began to work. Viviane lifted her hands away after a couple of seconds and the light faded. Josie was still, her eyes still closed, for what seemed like several minutes but was actually more like a second. Opening her eyes, she looked around at the people in the room. Her lips curled into a smile.
Brian bolted forward before anyone else could move or say anything. ‘Don’t you ever do that again,’ he said in a rush as he lifted Josie out of her chair and into a hug.
Josie hugged back. ‘Sure. Next time, you can get kidnapped by the evil government organisation intent on turning you into a living weapon.’
‘No,’ Andrea said sharply. ‘Neither of you are going to do that ever again. I’m not coming to rescue you again if you do. Once is acceptable. Twice is just being inconsiderate.’
New Millennium City, MD, 25th May.
‘It is with a profound sense of shame that I stand here today,’ President Hart said. ‘Not for something I have done, but for something I have allowed to happen in this country. For something we have all allowed to happen, even though we had no knowledge that it was happening. When the Fortress was destroyed, we worried over what would happen to its prisoners and abrogated our responsibility to them to faceless government officials. We were told they were being held in a safe location. We stopped worrying because the government was keeping us safe from Ultrahuman criminals. We did not give a passing thought to the rights of those people. All we did was consider a plan to launch them into space where we could forget about them entirely. As an Ultrahuman myself, I consider my failure to question what was being done as a particular failure, but none of us should feel we are without blame.’
‘She’s really pretty displeased with herself,’ June commented. Up on the big screen was the live broadcast of Hart’s speech. Cygnus and Miss Liberty were standing just behind her on the podium. It was possible more people were watching due to Miss Liberty’s first real appearance on TV, but plenty of people were watching, and that was what counted.
‘I get her point,’ Andrea said, ‘but she isn’t really to blame. Hell, we’ve known about Project Jekyll for a while. We’re more to blame than she is.’
‘What is it we should blame ourselves for?’ Hart went on. ‘For decades, a secret division of the Ultrahuman Investigation Division has been conducting experiments on Ultrahumans. Experiments designed to turn them into weapons for government use. This division, known as Project Jekyll, was given free access to every survivor of the Fortress. Let me make this clear: even criminals have rights. Whether they are Ultrahuman or normal, prisoners have rights. One of those rights is not to be pressganged into government service as super-powered killing machines, or killed in an attempt to find out how their powers work. No one deserves that, and it will not be allowed to continue under my administration.’
Hart paused, collecting her thoughts it seemed. Once again, she had notes before her but seemed to be entirely ignoring them as she spoke. ‘If that were all that Project Jekyll was responsible for, I’m sure that some of you would feel justified in ignoring those human rights we can never remove, even when convicting someone of a crime. But that is not all. Ultrahumans have been kidnapped and brainwashed, or they have been manipulated into committing other crimes. Crimes including the murder of a UID a
gent in Los Angeles and a scientist in San Francisco simply because they were a threat to some interest in the military or intelligence communities.’
‘At least Damian will be able to close that case,’ June said.
‘Always good to have a mystery solved,’ Heather agreed. She had come over to the house because they had a bigger TV.
‘An eighteen-year-old girl was taken from outside her apartment building in New Millennium City,’ Hart went on. ‘She was brainwashed. Her memory was blanked and she was part way to being turned into yet another lethal weapon when she was rescued. As with so many things in this country, we have had to rely on private individuals, Ultrahumans with the conscience and means to correct our mistakes, in order to uncover and stop this systematic, horrific abuse of our citizens in the name of national security and it will stop! I heard just before starting this speech that the site where all this happened has been emptied and closed down. Now comes the hard part. I am directing the Department of Justice to find all those responsible for this travesty so that they can be prosecuted for their roles. As a society, we have the even more onerous task of deciding what we are to do with our most dangerous criminals. But when we make that choice, we need to remember that they are human. They have rights, and we have responsibilities. I will not allow us to abrogate those responsibilities again.’
Hart stepped back and reporters in her audience began raising hands. Those hands went down when Miss Liberty stepped forward. If it was a trick to allow Hart to get away without answering questions, it was a good one.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Miss Liberty said, ‘everyone at home watching this on your TVs, my name is Miss Liberty and I am the national Avatar of the United States of America. I’ve been avoiding publicity as much as possible because, frankly, I don’t need or want it. I’m not going to be making political comments or endorsing presidential candidates. I won’t be stopping for press calls. You won’t see me out on the town. But I will be there when I’m needed, and I was needed when Cygnus, Twilight, and some of their friends uncovered Project Jekyll and what they were doing. Our last avatar was named Captain Freedom, and I’m Miss Liberty. Two ideals that Americans hold dear. Freedom and Liberty. They come with a price. When we stand by and let other citizens be used and abused by anyone, we are diminishing what it means to be American. Or even human. I was proud to be your Ultrahuman representative, the spirit of a great nation, until I saw what was happening in that bunker. Hopefully, I can be proud again soon.’
Scottsdale, AZ.
‘I’m not sure I can do this,’ West said as he looked at the house Cygnus had landed outside of.
‘They know you’re alive, West,’ Cygnus said. ‘You aren’t a danger to anyone now and no one is going to be charging you with anything. You have President Hart’s word on that. They’re your parents, they’ll understand.’
The front door of the house – a ranch-style building, fairly low, with off-white walls and a red-tiled roof – opened and two people stepped into view. The woman was smiling, though there were tears in her eyes. The man was looking like he had no idea what expression he should be wearing and so was showing relief, sorrow, happiness, and a hint of disbelief. They did not move, waiting while their son stood beside the heroine with the long white-and-blue hair and the swimsuit costume.
‘Thanks,’ West said. ‘You saved my life. In more ways than one. Are you sure you won’t come in?’
‘I have someone else to visit before I head home. Go and be with your family.’
‘Yeah.’ And, turning and rushing for the door, Weston Carter did just that.
Chowchilla, CA.
Two male guards ushered Adrienne Philips into the interview room. They had her in cuffs and a hobble chain, all connected to a thick belt strapped on over her jumpsuit. Cygnus had no idea what the prison authorities were thinking: Heartbreaker was no danger to Cygnus and was not really any danger to the guards. On the other hand, what was it with having so many male staff in the place. No wonder they could never keep Plain Jane inside a prison in California. Heartbreaker was here pending trial for the death of Wilson Cavanaugh.
She was not especially pleased to see Cygnus. ‘What do you want?’ was the first thing she said.
Cygnus ignored her and looked at the guards. ‘You can go. This is a private meeting between me and Miss Philips.’
‘She’s an Ultrahuman accused of murder,’ one of the men said.
‘Convicted of murder actually, but she can only kill men, and I just walked unharmed out of a secret bunker full of men armed with machine guns and blasters. There’s nothing she can do to me.’ The guards did not look pleased, but they left the room. Cygnus had arranged this with the Office of the President. No one was going to argue with that too much.
‘What do you want?’ Heartbreaker asked again as soon as they were gone. ‘You’ve ruined my life. I had a cure. I could have relationships. Real ones! Now–’
‘You had something that suppressed your ability. A palliative. It kept you on a short chain to Jekyll. You kill for them, they keep giving you the drug. You fell for the same con twice. Are you just incredibly dumb?’
‘I’m not–’ Heartbreaker bit the statement off sharply. ‘What do you want?’
Cygnus stepped forward suddenly and caught Heartbreaker’s shoulders. The girl tried to jerk back, but she was no match for Cygnus’s strength. ‘Keep still, moron,’ Cygnus said. She focused her will and power thrummed through Heartbreaker’s body for a second. Then Cygnus stepped back. ‘I’ve taken your powers away. You get a life. Well, you get one when they finally let you out of prison. I’d say you’ve got a chance of getting a reduced sentence for Cavanaugh. Pout at the jury and get your lawyer to suggest you were coerced. You’re what? Twenty-one? You’ll still have your looks at thirty-five.’
Philips stood there, open-mouthed, staring at Cygnus. After several seconds, she shook her head. ‘You… cured me? You can do that?’
‘Yeah, and if you hadn’t been neck deep in Jekyll, you’d probably have known I could.’
Philips’s eyes brightened. ‘If you put in a word for me, it might go easier in court.’
‘No,’ Cygnus said flatly. ‘You were manipulated, Adrienne, but you weren’t innocent. You knew what you were doing was wrong, but so long as someone would hang that possibility of a cure there for you, you went along with whatever they wanted. You could have said no. At any time, you could have said no.’
Philips frowned. ‘You don’t know what it was like. Not being able to kiss–’
‘The man I loved? Yes, I do. I know exactly what that’s like, because the man I loved died of a heart attack after you kissed him. Even I can’t cure death, Adrienne. You get to have a life again when you get out. Bobby doesn’t.’
New Millennium City, MD, 26th May.
Brian walked up the path to the front door of the little house in Friendship and pressed the bell with his free hand. His other hand was holding Josie’s. Josie’s grip was tight; they were both worried about how this was going to go.
The door opened and a fairly small girl, not long into puberty, with flaming red hair cut to shoulder length was standing there. Her eyes widened, then brightened, and then dulled again as the serious expression on Brian’s face caught her attention.
‘Hi, Beth,’ Brian said. ‘Is Dad in?’
‘Yes,’ Beth said, clearly thinking that would have her brother turning around and leaving.
‘Good. I need to talk to him.’ Beth nodded and stepped back to allow Brian and Josie to walk through into the lounge.
Edward Woodford was on his feet looking… Actually, Brian could not quite work out what the expression on his father’s face meant. There was tension there, being held back under as much calm as the man could muster. ‘Good evening, Brian,’ Edward said. ‘It’s nice to see you again. And we were all glad to hear that Josie was okay after her… ordeal.’ Someone had leaked the fact that Josie was the New Millennium City girl kidnapped by Project Jekyll. Josie
’s picture from her UID registration had appeared on TV. She hated the fact that the picture was terrible more than the outing: she had always been out. ‘We… I assumed that she was why you, um, reacted so badly to–’
‘Yes,’ Brian interrupted. ‘And no.’ He lifted his hand and let his power build. Sparks began to dance between his spread fingers. He left his crackling hand there as he spoke. ‘The club I go to on Saturdays is run by the Union of Ultrahumans. I go there to learn how to use this properly, safely. In fact, the idea for that club came from Twilight when she caught me trying to stop muggers in Friendship Park.’
‘Well, we thought you might be…’ Brian’s mother – perched on the edge of a sofa – said. She was Felicity, and she tended to defer to her husband quite a lot; it was possibly her worst character trait. ‘We knew you met there and when we found out that Josie was…’
‘An Ultra, Mom,’ Brian said. ‘You can say it. It’s not an insult. I should have told you before this. I was scared. I wasn’t sure how you’d take it, and then Dad started spouting off about Harrison.’ Brian frowned and shook his head. ‘When Josie was taken, and Twilight found out where she was, I went with them to get her back. Me, and Astraea and Svetilo went down to get Josie while Cygnus, Twilight, and Miss Liberty took care of the big stuff. And Frostburn was there holding our exit in case things went bad. I had to go in and get her. Had to. And now I’m not scared to come here and find out what you think of your son being an Ultra. I’m not giving up Josie for anything. I’d rather not give up my family either, but if it’s got to be a choice…’
‘Brian,’ Edward began, but he stopped as Beth stepped up beside her brother.
Raising her hand beside Brian’s, Beth narrowed her eyes and her palm began to glow. Something like a flashlight beam shone out onto the floor in front of her. ‘I’m one too,’ she blurted. ‘I can’t do much. I can control light. Make it. I’m an Ultra too.’
Liberty Page 24
