by Ben Bequer
She sat up, glaring at me.
"I'm fucking around with you," I said, holding out my hand. She took it, her grip strong, her hands warm and calloused. “I’m Dale.”
Our hands fell away, and I didn’t want to be caught in an uncomfortable silence. “Do your powers work?” I said.
She shook her head, hooking a finger under the collar. I noticed the skin underneath was raw and chafed. “I thought I would be able to since my powers are magic in nature, but this device is very effective. I can still fight though.”
She looked pretty banged up, but it would have to do. She was still a skilled, experienced fighter, and like me, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill. Especially not these murderous bozos. “Our time is coming, Princess, and when it does we’re going to be ready”
“How do you know that?”
I looked up at the camera as it rotated again, adjusting the level of zoom. “Because we have friends.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Some Things Are Best Left Unsaid, and Unseen
It wasn't too long after that Whisper returned. She basically unfolded in the open space outside our cell. Her belt probably created small pockets in space that she moved through. I had hoped she would bring food, but she was empty handed. "You two look mighty cozy," she said. "I wonder what Madelyne would say if she saw you in bed with a naked blonde."
Armada flinched next to me. She was actually scared of Apogee, and that was a good instinct. I got up from the bed, her hair tickling me as it fell away, and walked towards the glass. Whisper knew my collar was off, but she didn’t move, and there was something different in her posture. She was downright jubilant.
"Man, you've really missed out while you've been in here," she said, her attention squarely on her phone. "It's only been a day, but it seems like someone has decided it’s 'Ruin Blackjack's Life' day."
“What are you talking about,” I said, trying to peer around the edge of her phone. She saw me looking and pulled the phone closer to her playfully.
“Hey asshole, that’s my private stuff,” she said in faux outrage. “Try to peek again, and I’ll tell.”
I laid my palms against the cell door and pushed. The strain was immediate, the protest of dozens of aching, overworked muscles all deciding they didn’t care at the same time. Whisper looked at me like I were some species of small animal. Snarling, I pushed past the discomfort and pressed my hands into the glass. Nothing happened and Whisper looked on the edge of laughter when a thin crack marred the glass. It barely made a sound, but Whisper recoiled a few steps, which made me happy.
“Enough games,” I said. “What are we doing here, Whisper? Killing me? I get it. But Armada? All these other people? Is this really what you’re about?”
I was still trying to break through the door, and taken aback by how much the effort was costing me. The glass was thick, and like the rest of the place, built to keep supers enclosed, but I should have been able to get through. I was putting all my force behind it and not making much headway. Whisper came closer, laying her phone against the glass at my eye level. “I came down here to show you this.”
It was recorded video of Jason’s house, I could see the time bar across the bottom of the screen. It was a profile angle of two men in suits knocking on the door. Jason answered and had a short conversation with them. One of the men flashed a badge, the other pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. I knew what was happening, probably before Jason did, but where I would have run, he stepped onto his porch and allowed them to cuff him. They walked off the porch together and I lost them.
My arms fell to my sides, my horror reflected in the glass wall of the cell. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t grasp the words. Whisper’s chuckle broke the haze. She had taken the phone away from the glass, drinking my dismay. “Your brother, who you were a total dick to when you were kids?” she said. “The IRS is dropping the hammer on him. Accounting violations. Just like Al Capone. The best part is when he had to call the wife from the police station. He sobbed like a bitch. He’s a pretty boy, too. Some con in federal is inheriting a nice piece of ass."
I still couldn’t talk, it was hard to form thoughts. There was no world where my brother was a criminal. He was the good one, the straight shooter. I was the piece of shit. I’d done extensive research after Brutal threatened him and found nothing. A hand fell on my shoulder, and I flinched from under it. I turned and found Armada standing next to me, still holding the blanket around her. She was so tall that the hem drifted above her knees.
“Witch! Is it not enough that you are going to kill us? Is this necessary?”
Whisper let out a loud, snickering laugh. “Necessary? No. Fun? Absolutely. And I’m just getting started. I’ve got thirty straight minutes of the girls losing their shit. All the crying and hugging an uncle could ever want to see. Mom had to give the older one pills just to calm her down.”
“Please don’t,” I said. “Whisper, come on, please don’t do this.”
“You know what?” she said. “You’re right. Why make you suffer through the opening act when we can get right to the main event.”
She pressed the phone's viewscreen against the glass, another video playing, this time a news clip. A flat-faced woman spoke from behind a new desk, the timestamp dating the video from the day after Terry’s barbecue. I tried to deduce how long I’d been held prisoner, but those thoughts were obliterated as the newsroom shifted to a street view of Madelyne’s apartment building in New York. "The superheroine Apogee was spotted leaving her apartment across the park this evening and didn't make a comment,” the newscaster said.
There was Madelyne, dressed for the cold and wearing glasses despite the late hour, swarmed by reporters, with cameras and microphones thrust in her face. She struggled to make it the few steps from her front door to a waiting car. “The tape, which had been leaked to various pornographic websites and message boards clearly show Apogee having intercourse with Barry Ashbourne, better known as the hero Pulsewave. Ashbourne, son of retired senator Ted Ashbourne, was killed in action by Blackjack.”
My mugshot appeared on a popup screen as the reporter continued speaking. “Seen by some as a cult figure, Blackjack is currently missing but has been seen in Apogee’s company on frequent occasions. Various gossip websites have reported them being romantically involved, though no official word has been made by Apogee or her representatives.”
Whisper pulled the phone away and started swiping again. “You know how the rest of that goes. A bunch of talking heads dissecting canned talking points. That shit is no fun. The real fun is right here.”
She slapped the phone back against the glass. Whoever had posted this video created a little opening credits title for it. Nothing fancy, a black background with their names plastered across it in hot pink. Very ‘90’s and when the video started I understood why. It had obviously been shot with an old VHS camcorder, and though it had been cleaned up a little, the footage was still fuzzy in a way that was almost dizzying in a world where we watched everything in HD.
Madelyne and Barry dated for a long time. They were engaged. I knew they had been intimate. But it's another thing to see your girlfriend playing sexy with another guy the same way she does with you. Madelyne had a hell of a figure, and she made a big deal of taking off the dress she was wearing.
Now they were only kissing, but the way they were together, the passion between them was almost too painful to watch. Then we caught up with her taking off her clothes, and she pushed him against the hotel room door and unzipped his pants.
"This is my favorite part," Whisper said, pulling the phone back for a quick peek. "And look at that," she said, timing it with Madelyne unspooling the guy's dick. "Pulsewave was packing, I tell you."
Apogee dug her face into his crotch, taking him in, and giving him the most amazing fellatio I'd ever seen. And she’s done it to me. The camera was resting on a far table, so the shot was wide, and occasionally, Barry would look over, consciously to playing
to the camera. It seemed to go on forever, but Whisper stopped the tape and scrolled forward, "That's enough of that," she said. "I always knew my girl had stamina...let's see...that was fourteen minutes she sucked him. Looks like he's got stamina too. Here, let's see what happens next."
Now, he was servicing her. The camera had moved, and it was clear that Apogee was running it. The shot was from her point of view, looking down. "Oh, my," Whisper said. "He does it like he was born to it. Are you that good?"
Armada had turned away from the glass, but she rounded on Whisper. “You take much glee from this. Which one of them are you trying to hurt? Or maybe the reaction you want is more basic.”
"Shhh, it's coming to the..." She paused as Apogee's orgasmic cries interrupted her. "Damn, dude. Now I'm really jealous."
I punched the glass, leaving a spiderwebbed crack.
"Hey, if this is too much for you, let me know."
The shot had changed again. She was on her belly with him on top, screwing her from behind. Apogee still held the camera, selfie-style, withBarry's face was right beside hers, and he was licking and kissing her ear while piledriving her. Madelyne’s eyes were defocused and her mouth hung agape in ecstasy.
“Enough!” I said.
"Man, can't you let me enjoy this. Not a lot of promising guys up here on this rock."
My stare was enough for her to know that I was done playing games. Whisper turned off the video and stored her cell phone, "Anyway, it's online. It'll be there for later. Hell, forever, right?"
"The offer still stands," I said. "Forty million to get us off this rock."
She considered me for a moment, then shook her head and turned to leave. I could feel it all slipping away. I struck the cell wall with a balled fist, the cracks expanding further. She stopped at the sound. “All you’re doing is making them impatient, and giving them a reason to kill you quicker.”
“Whisper, come on,” I said. “We talked earlier. This isn’t you.”
She laughed.
“If you can’t get me out, I understand.” I gently pushed Armada in front of me. “But you can help her.”
“Absolutely not!” Armada said, shrugging me off. “I will not run while you die.”
“There you have it,” Whisper said, looking at us over her shoulder.
"You don't understand, Whisper. This isn't over. We're getting out of here."
"I don't know why I didn't report your collar," she admitted. "I should have."
I moved closer to the glass. "You’re not really on board with what’s going on here, are you? The bowing and the supers caste system? Primal is off his rocker and Father Mike is not much further down the road."
She turned her head to me, her eyes slowly rising to meet mine. "That's true. But you know what happens to me if I help you? To my family?"
“And what happens when this goes south? Because it will, you know. There’s a reason dumb villain plans never work, Whisper. It’s not because they’re bad plans, it’s because the lunatics run the asylum. You’ve seen it from both sides, same as me.”
Whisper looked past me at Armada. "She was blabbering when they brought her in, a few days before you. She said she stabbed you in the leg. Is that why you're walking with a limp?"
I nodded.
"And you want to save her?"
"I have to. Please help me."
She said nothing for the longest time, her attention settling down the hall at the rest of the cells. Then she shivered and shook her head. "I wish I could, Blackjack. I just have too much to lose."
"Wait," I said.
"What?"
"It's not too late," I said. "If a piece of shit like me can do better, so can you."
"You know it's not like that. The real world is all about who you know - and look at what’s happening to you. Think it's a coincidence that your brother and your girlfriend get screwed over at the same time? Right after we nab you in broad daylight? You know how many people we killed at that fair? There are some powerful forces at play here, not Father Mike, and most certainly not Primal. He’s a tired old man. They keep him around because everyone's afraid of him, but soon enough, someone's going to walk him down here and put him in that machine," she said, gesturing to the vault door. "And if they can get to you, what do you think will happen to me and mine? I don't have your fancy friends, Blackjack. All I have is me."
"No," I said. "You have me, too."
Whisper laughed, "You talk real big for a guy that's stuck behind ten inches of this transparent metal shit."
"I want you to listen to me, Whisper. Listen close. I'm going to get out of here. And my friends are coming. Then whoever's behind all of this, if it's bigger than Father Mike and Primal, then they'll have to deal with all of us. You can either join the winning side, or you can go down in flames with the rest of this bunch."
"I almost believe you."
"Whisper, I don't lose."
She arched her eyebrows at that but teleported with a small pop of air. Armada had sat back down on the bed during my conversation with Whisper, leaning back into the wall, eyes closed. I looked at the cracks in the cell wall. They were thin and deep. I barely did any real damage to it at all. I was not punching my way out of here, and without Whisper, there really was only one option left, and I wasn’t even sure if it was feasible.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Not Without a Fight
They came for Bubblerella and hour or so later. Two of the Chosen strutted into the holding chamber, their coming presaged by the thunderous creak of the door rolling open. She tried to fight, but after a couple of meaty punches, she dropped and they carried her out. I heard her screams until the vault door sealed us in silence. Power surged through the facility, blowing out one of the lights in an adjacent cell that was empty. With the explosion of sparks, came total darkness that lasted almost five minutes, and during that time, the machine roared like a thousand jet engines, echoing through the chamber. I'd seen the device in action, but it was surprising how loud it was, even on the other side of the massive vault door.
As the din rose to a crescendo, I swore I could hear her scream. Armada was awake, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. "I don't think we're going to make it out of here," she said.
"How did they catch you?" I said.
She took a long while to answer, so long I figured she had fallen asleep. "Epic dismissed me because of what I did to you."
"I heard you were suspended," I said.
"I was," she said. "I got angry and I said things I regret."
“Was that before or after you called me?”
“Before,” she said, averting her gaze. “I guess I owe you more apologies.”
“We’re cool. So what happened?”
“The Chosen attacked me, right in the middle of the street. In New York City! We fought, I killed one of them. They beat me badly. I woke up here.”
“When did they put you in the machine?”
“They...they haven’t put me in the machine yet.”
I recalled when Armada stabbed me as we pursued Primal through Point Nemo. He saw it happen. Right before he escaped, he had given me a little salute. I didn’t know then that he intended this for me, but it made more sense. Maybe ending up here, with Armada, was meant as another form of punishment.
“You killed one of the Chosen?”
“Yes, they are strong and they fight well, but they can’t take much punishment. I impaled one and broke another’s jaw before they subdued me.”
“Good to know,” I said, sitting near her at the edge of the bed. “Listen, I bet if you apologize, Epic will take you back.”
"You think?"
I stretched my legs out, trying to stay limber despite the chilling cold. "He forgave me."
She sat up, curious. "Did he?"
I nodded, "I honestly consider the guy a friend. I’ve already told him you and I are cool."
"When did you do this?”
“I mean, it’s been months since Point Nemo.
”
“You’ve spoken about me?”
“Not daily or anything, but he wanted to make sure I was ok. He was really worried when you disappeared.”
“He was worried I was a danger to others, perhaps,” she said. “Worried I was erratic and unable to control myself. Gods, I am such a fool.”
“Enough of that,” I said. “I’m the only one allowed to wallow in self-pity. I need you to be pissed off, especially when shit gets loose in here.”
“I don’t understand what any of that means. You don’t speak very clearly.”
“What I mean is that you’re right. You’ve been right all along. You were trying to hold a mirror up for me to see myself, it just took me a while to understand what was staring me in the face. I’ve been a bad brother, a bad friend, a bad lover. I’ve lost people on my watch because I wasn’t paying attention to the big picture. I’ve alienated friends who needed my help because I didn’t know how to help them, and instead of trying to figure it out, I resorted to dumb villain plans. But that’s all over now.”
I could tell Armada had only the most basic idea of what I was talking about, but the message wasn’t for her. “I’m not saying we all deserve a clean slate, but for you I’m willing to try,” I said, looking up at the camera. “So what do you say, can we be friends again?”
The camera rotated in its little housing again, and I was about to kick myself for being a fool when the cell door slid open along its bevels. Air rushed in as the door settled in place. I was out of the cell before Armada understood what was happening. Big gears churned as the vault door opened, and four Chosen stepped through. Blue-Eyes led the group, and he showed zero shock at my escape. “Get the woman,” he said, his eyes flaring.
I moved to intercept the three Chosen moving towards us when a flash of blue light seared the world from my eyes. I felt the impact as a pressure wave that tossed me down the hallway as it burned new paths down my nerve endings. I wasn’t even aware that I had tumbled, only that when the world faded into view, I was facing the wrong way laying on my side.
