by Ben Bequer
“I cannot pull more material from our surroundings, it is mostly rock. I can reshape our current form, but it will leave you vulnerable.”
I felt the Chosen’s hand dig through the tear in the armor, eager fingers looking for softer bits. “Dammit, do it now!”
He pulled from the torso and shoulders first, the metal shifting with the sound of shuffled cards. It felt like drops of water hitting a raincoat, but I felt us getting taller. The Chosen tried to keep up, but when he saw what was happening, he got a grip on the armor and jumped on, climbing to get a shot at my unarmored head and chest. He must have thought he was being clever and resourceful, ignorant to how completely he played into my hands. All I needed was some space.
I was a foot taller than the Chosen, and he was going all out for a shot at my face. I aimed for his head and clapped my hands together, catching him in the ears. I didn’t think there was much force behind it, but blood exploded from his ears in a gush that splashed on his shoulders. He slid down the armor a bit and I clapped again, meaning to catch his ears, but getting him in the temples instead. He grunted and heaved a couple of times as if he were going to vomit. Slipping further, he fell on his ass, his nose a faucet pouring blood down his shirt into his lap.
I stepped into a kick that snapped his head back hard. He fell backward and was still. “Good work, Haha,” I said as my armor clicked back into place. If he had a response it was lost in Armada’s battle cry.
I didn’t understand the words but I saw her heave a huge piece of the catwalk at the machine, hitting the junction area again. It sliced through something important because the remaining collection tubes jingled in their housings like fine china in an earthquake. I was about to lend a hand when a slagged computer console sailed over my head and finished the job. The collection tubes shattering thunderously as they hit the ground, spreading a dangerous amount of broken glass across the lab floor.
With the Chosen around me no longer in fighting shape, I ran up the stairs to join Armada. Spear in hand, she loomed over the techs surrounding the remains of the machine’s control area. None of the consoles were intact, and most of them had caught fire. There was a four-foot gap in the catwalk where she had torn it away, and she was herding the tech towards it. Snyder was still unconscious where she had knocked him out.
“Armada...Natalia, stop!” I said. “That’s not how we do things.”
“They are monsters,” she said. “They killed so many people. They deserve to die.”
“We had to, we had no choice,” said a familiar voice from the back. Shouldering his way through the techs, Brad came to the fore, ignoring Armada and speaking to me. “Snyder blackmailed some of us, threatened others. There are bombs all over my mom’s house, my dad’s too. They threatened my step-sister at her school.”
The other techs were nodding their heads as Brad tried to move past Armada. The tip of her spear looked very sharp as it came level with his throat. I laid a hand on her shoulder, it was taut and ready, nearly vibrating with her anger. “It’s ok Armada. He’s ok. Let him through.”
He moved past us both to Snyder, who had begun to stir. Hauling him to his feet with a burst of strength that belied his skinny frame, Brad dragged him to us. Snyder looked concussed, stumbling over his own feet, but held steady by Brad. “Tell them, Snyder,” he said, pushing him the last few feet into me.
I lifted him in the air, his feet dangling, his shirt tugging around his neck. “The truth, you son of a bitch, or I give you to her.”
“Superdynamic strayed too far, both scientifically and morally,” Snyder said, huffing the words around his pinched windpipe. “It was less about expanding knowledge and more about helping the lazy and the stupid. When he let you walk the halls as if you weren’t a murderous piece of filth, I knew he had lost his way.”
His limbs flopped as I shook him. “I don’t care about that! Are there more bombs? Did you strong arm these people?”
“Not...not all of them, but yes, I needed to use extreme measures to encourage some of the Tower’s staff to defect. I was sure once they saw the work we were doing, they would gladly join.”
"Haha," I started.
"On it," he said. "I've accessed the personnel database - mind you, it's only an Excel file. I have the addresses and contact information. Blackjack, there are hundreds of employee-level staff on the island. Moreover, I've found a document that outlines the process. Most of these people are destined for the same fate as yours."
"Can you disable the-"
"I already have."
"All of them? The entire staff?"
"Yes, along with any incriminating materials. You would laugh if you could see how weak their infrastructure is. They should have taken an IT professional with them."
“Who are you talking to?” Armada said.
“We met briefly last year,” Haha said, projecting loud enough for all to hear. “As I was, you knew me as Mr. Haha 2000. I am Mr. Haha 3000.”
Armada’s spear turned on me, drifting in small circles, ready to strike. “Is that not the monster you freed? He tried to kill you. Why is he helping us now?”
“We don’t have time to hash this out right now,” I said. “You have to trust me Armada, can you do that?”
She thought it over for a long time before nodding. “We need to get these people to safety, along with anyone else who is trapped here.”
“Brad, can you round up the techs?” I said. “Get them to the blimp?”
He shook his head, “The blimp’s long gone, Blackjack.”
“I meant the boarding platform,” I said. “If we can avoid the Chosen and whatever supers are left-”
“Most of the supers are in the chapel with Primal and Father Mike,” Brad said. “They’re holding services. But why take them there?”
“Because I have friends coming. Haha, please tell me you called them.”
“I did contact them,” Haha said. “But they were already inbound when I reached them. There are three vehicles approaching the island, and at current speed will arrive in five minutes.”
“Brad, where’s the chapel?” I said.
“Yes, Brad, tell him where, so he can go die,” Snyder said. Armada tapped him on the side of the head with her spear and he fell unconscious again. I looked at her from the corner of my eye, and she shrugged.
"In the central hub," he said. "There's an elevator that brings you up to Primal's citadel. It's Sunday."
"Got it."
"But all the villains above," Brad said. "And The Chosen."
"Don't worry about Primal and his little brigade," I said. "He fucked with the wrong pilgrim."
Brad grabbed at my arm, "No, not Primal. He's...he's not...it's, Father Mike. He's been taking high doses of the Omega Ray solution. He takes his share, then comes back later and steals more. We're not to tell Primal or any of the others."
"How much of the stuff is he taking?"
"Once Primal's Chosen were...had taken their doses - almost all of it," Brad said. "It was supposed to go into storage, for future generations of Chosen. But Father Mike's taking all of it. A thousand times what we've given anyone else."
"That's not good," Haha said. "Such concentrated amounts would not only radically augment any of his pre-existing attributes, but it would also dramatically alter his physiology and psychology."
"He's drunk with power," Brad said. "He was in a wheelchair, you know."
"I do," I said. "Brad, get these people out of here and start warning the others. We’re going to clear this level of Chosen. How many down here?"
They talked it over, then Brad said, “About a dozen? The rest are participating in the ceremony.”
I hesitated, trying to wrap my mind around that word. Church services were rarely called ceremonies. No time for it now. "Alright, get cracking," I said, and turned to the rest of the techs in the room, maybe twenty men and women in total. "Listen, all of you. We've disabled the devices that threatened your families and friends. You're safe to get
out of here. Tell everyone else that's been forced to work here. Tell them to head to the blimp boarding ramp - we'll get you all to safety."
The techs stared at me as if I was crazy, but Brad took my arm once more. "I got this," he said and started barking orders. Coming from a familiar face, the message got across faster.
Armada came up next to me as Brad and another tech picked Snyder up and led him away. They filed away from us in an orderly gaggle, some of them pulling out small communicator devices, hopefully spreading the word. “The two of us are not going to be able to defeat all those Chosen. Do we wait for reinforcements?”
“Reinforcements are already here,” I said. “Haha?”
“I have deactivated every collar I could connect to and rerouted the RF signal so that they cannot be reactivated. I have also opened the cell doors.”
“Good man,” I said as the first of the newly freed supers poured into the lab. They were all villains, but they didn’t look very dangerous right now. Most of them were malnourished and beaten. More than one showed the cracked lips of dehydration, but they went to work on the lab without a word, destroying anything that still stood. They ground the broken glass to dust, and one of them vaporized the Chosen where they lay, leaving small piles of ash that were then stomped into nothing.
“Enough of that!” I said from above. My voice boomed through the lab, and all eyes turned on me. I recognized a few faces from Point Nemo, but everyone looked so different out of costume, never mind the changes that lack of nutrition wrought. “You’re all free, you have your powers back. Help is inbound, but there are more Chosen between us and them. You can take your chances alone, or we can all get out of here together.”
I don’t know if it was desperation or shared trauma. Maybe I just looked badass in my armor, but there were neither arguments nor discussion. They gathered in a small group and waited to hear our next move.
And just like that, I had an army.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Blackjack's Army
I wanted the station's staff to spread out, to find their own way out, but they were content to follow me, especially with Armada and the other supers in tow. I was headed in the same direction, hoping to find a nice flat surface for my friends to land, at the head of a growing corps of people, from technical specialists to the people that mopped the floors. Everyone dropped what they were doing and followed. Word spread that the explosive devices were inert, and what started with about twenty men and women from the lab turned into a horde easily a hundred strong. And growing.
Two Chosen came in our direction, not realizing death was approaching. Without a word the supers charged into their captors, overwhelming them with a show of power that was impressive and terrifying. The Chosen looked bewildered as they died, and we walked by their dismembered corpses without a second look. None of my people had been hurt, but I stopped and waved a few of the more vocal members of the staff over.
"I want you guys to follow farther behind," I said. "Can you let the others know? If we run into any more of them, let us handle it."
Armada and I shared knowing glance, as they moved off to the spread the word. Getting all these people to safety might require more than we had to give. She was flying high on the steroids of the gods, and I had to thank Haha for any edge I had in a fight. This funny feeling gnawed in the pit of my stomach that I was going to regret accepting his help in the end, but these people needed me at full strength. It was a compromise I was willing to make.
The central spoke that led outwards was close ahead, and a couple of my supers broke off to reconnoiter. They were gone a minute at most before returning "What's going on?" I whispered as they approached.
"Two Chosen," he said.
I patted the guy on the shoulder, "I got this."
Armada came forward with me spear ready. I waved her off. “Stay here with them.”
“I will not! You need my help, you cannot face them alone.”
“Technically, he is not alone,” Haha said.
“Shut up, machine.”
“He’s right, Armada,” I said. “I need you to protect the civilians. You’re the big gun, now. I’m a fraction of what I was.”
“I do not like this,” she said as I walked around the corner.
The two Chosen were strolling down the hall, unaware of me until I charged. I caught one of them full in the midsection, but he didn’t move. Before I knew what was happening, he had grabbed me by the hips and power bombed me into the floor. I grunted as the armor shifted around me, absorbing some of the impact, but stars bloomed in my eyes, and I had trouble catching my breath.
“That one appears to have enhanced strength,” Haha said.
"I can see that," I said as the two Chosen charged me.
Haha had his flaws, some bordering on the psychotic, but there were few others I'd rather have next to me in a scrape. He transformed my left arm into a wicked-looking axe with a flame-red glowing aura, and my right into an equally menacing sword. "The energy output should allow you to wound him”
“The prisoner is free,” one of the Chosen said. He tapped at his ear and repeated his statement, then turned to his buddy. “Comms are down.”
"Oh, you're not calling mommy for help!" Haha shouted loud enough for them to hear.
"Jamming their comms?"
"I’m hurt, it’s like you don’t know me at all!"
I laughed and stepped forward.
The first of my enemies was a black guy, the leaner of the two. He had the same haircut, and other than his race and a few extra pounds of muscle was cast from the same mold. He ran right up to me and fired off a powerful straight kick at my chest. I sidestepped, but not fast enough, catching the blow and spinning away. The axe moved of its own accord, batting away his leg with the flat edge. It was Haha, using the armor's onboard servos and motors to power my arm on his own. The blow wasn't full strength, but it did give my attacker pause.
"Thanks for that," I said.
"It was a Kali move," Haha said. "Abecedario, if I'm not mistaken." Then he started laughing. The sound of Haha's insane laughter would be enough to give anyone chills. "Who am I kidding? I'm never mistaken."
They dove into me, floating in the air as their bodies spun, throwing a pair of spinning kicks designed to decapitate me. I ducked and swung my sword at the first guy. He blocked the blow and from his resistance, I could tell they were both stronger than me. Strong and faster - how the hell was I supposed to win this? Well, I had a sword and an axe.
"Haha," I said. "Go to town." I moved into them, flailing the weapons. I looked like a moron, and one of the Chosen actually smiled at my clumsy efforts. I didn’t worry about pacing the shots or trying to hit anything. I just put as much force as I could muster behind each blow.
And Haha took over, providing the accuracy.
Our combined blows were pinpoint and powerful. I swung as fast and hard as I could, and Haha focused that energy with his calculated, computer perfect, timing. Both Chosen were forced to go on the defensive, blocking every blow. They split to flank me, but that didn't keep them from getting the worst of it. After twenty seconds of brutality, they retreated a few steps, bleeding from a dozen nicks and cuts.
My weapons were massive. The Chosen were tough, but not invulnerable, and most important of all, they had no idea how exhausted I was. We faced off in a loose triangle and came to the same conclusion: The next round of this fight was going to be lethal.
The Chosen looked past us, as more and more of my makeshift army came to the junction and watched us fight. They didn't need much more prompting, moving in almost instantly. The first guy opened with a wide sweeping reverse kick at my face. The second feinted an attack, then turned and ran.
"No!" I said, then the kick caught me in the face. If he got away, he could sound an alarm and the whole place would come down on us. I was having a hard time fighting two of the Chosen.
The kicker jumped on me, using Judo or Jiu-jutsu to straddle me in the guard. He
rained blow after blow on me, snapping my head back. The back of my skull crashed hard against the polished stone floors, but my attention was on the guy running away.
"Do like your gauntlet," Haha said, prompting me to aim my fist at the escaping Chosen. An energized lance fired from my wrist, glowing as brightly as my sword and axe. A long tendril of jagged metal trailed the lance, which struck him in the spine and dropped him on the floor. I'd seen an explosion of blood erupt from the opposite side of his chest from where the dart had speared him through and through.
I took shot after shot in the face, but once he saw me take his buddy down, the remaining Chosen stood and tried to stomp me. I yanked hard on the cable between me and his fallen buddy, turning him into a missile. They collided with a crunch of bone, and a scream of pain. I rolled to my feet, and got my bearings, to find that the lance had skewered the Chosen who had been punching me, driving through his back, the jagged metal cable punching a large hole through his chest at an angle that revealed bony protrusions and some intestine. The Chosen I had speared lay on his side, back to back with his buddy, twitching as foamy blood spilled from his mouth and nose.
"Sword," I said. Haha complied, and I finished them both with quick stabs to the neck.
I waved the group towards me and started towards the light.
Looked like we were going to make it after all.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Time for the Cavalry to Arrive
We reached outside ramp without further opposition, and after so long under artificial lights we all took a moment adjusting to the brightness. Hashima was over the highest cloud layer, meaning we were getting the fullest of the sun. I must have been indoors at least a day because when they brought me in was also during the day.
Ahead of us was a broad causeway that led to a series of long boom ramps. We'd used the middle one of the three, but Baron Blitzkrieg's blimp was long gone and there was nothing moored against the other two. The lead elements of my army saw the desolate landscape and a low murmur of dissent boiled through the crowd.
