by J. B. Garner
"Where are the others, Ex?" I shouted above the rushing wind. "Maybe if we take her out, we take them all out."
"On the way," he called back. "Get ready to drop before we go in again." I grunted an acknowledgment, dropping Archer off behind one of the few stable police barricades on the Capitol roof. We sliced our path hard away as SWAT snipers fired another ineffectual volley at the oncoming vampire Hogs.
"Got a plan, Ex?"
"Hell no, Indy. Do you?"
"I've got zip."
Extinguisher noticeably tensed, but said nothing. The struggle between the two creatures of legend was ongoing as we came down close. Medusa's sinewy muscles were tensed as she tried to fight the hypnotic sway of the Countess' vampiric eyes, much as Bathory's regenerative powers tried to overcome the petrification brought on by Medusa's supernatural vision. As Extinguisher brought us close to a safe jumping range, Bathory snarled and narrowed her gaze. Medusa made a strangled cry as her gaze suddenly swept up at us.
Ex pulled up hard, saving us from a future of garden statuary, but the weird energies of Medusa's gaze turned the ice slide right under our feet into a solid hunk of stone. Gravity instantly grabbed a hold of our upward motion and threw Ex towards the earth. Those razor-sharp reflexes of mine kicked in as I jumped free before the solid rock plummeted downwards. I could only hope that Extinguisher could stop his fall in time. I arrested my own by catching a flagpole, swinging around one full rotation before flipping down to terra firma. It was only moments, I wagered, before Bathory commanded her new Medusa puppet to sweep that gaze across the final line of defenders in the Capitol. I pushed myself up from a crouch, intent on stopping that.
I was half-way across the yard to where Bathory and Medusa stood when Meds suddenly grasped her head and dropped to her knees. The Countess turned, looking shocked.
"Get up, beast, and do my bidding!" she ordered. Quarter-way there.
"You vile monster," Mind's Eye proclaimed, floating in the air over the lines of defense. "How dare you try to twist my friend's mind." The Indian seer snapped her fingers and Medusa shook her head, looking dazed. Bathory bared her fangs at Eye as ripples of mental force cascaded out, lifting two wrecked police cruisers into the air. Right behind the blind psychic, the Human Tank roared up, taking aim as both of his arms glowed with a building charge of energy. "Go back from where you came from and disturb the living no more."
The air burned with Tank's plasma discharge, forcing me to stop and lower my eyes from the intense light, just as Mind sent both cars hurtling at the Countess' perch. Medusa, thank God, had enough presence of mind to roll away as soon as she saw Tank's glow. There was a burst of superheated flames, then a cloud of shrapnel and debris as the cars smashed into pieces. I turned to look at the results of the carnage as clouds gathered overhead.
Rain began to drizzle down as a pall hung over the battlefield. Ex pulled himself up out of a collapsed car roof where he had landed and Medusa kept back-crawling from the growing conflagration. Hexagon, a little late to the party, bounded over the Capitol's gold dome and landed beside Archer, who was just now recovering from his throttling at the Countess' hands.
"There," Mind's Eye said confidently. "Now let us find Mackenzie and end this farce." She dusted her hands and floated forward, just as Tank was about to say something. A sudden loud rumble of thunder interrupted the young cyborg. Nothing stirred from the wreckage, but something wasn't right. That ancient primal energy wasn't gone. Not by a long shot.
"Good shot, guys," Ex called out as he regained his bearings.
"No, folks, wait, it's not -" I tried to get out, but it was, unknown to me at the time, too late. I can't remember if I finished my sentence before a tremendous lighting bolt blasted down from the sudden storm clouds, striking the Human Tank dead center, ignoring every lighting rod on the Capitol roof, every overhang, and every other metal object.
For a moment, the electricity danced over his protective shields before they violently collapsed from the strain. When my eyes cleared, the teenager was sizzling and smoking. If I hadn't seen his chest heave, I would have assumed he was dead. Mind's Eye's blind gaze widened in shock as the Countess suddenly materialized out of the growing fog. Before the psychic could defend herself, the vampiric noblewoman grabbed Mind's Eye by her sash and slammed her into the hard stone floor of the walkway. The impact was sickening as thunder rumbled ominously overhead.
To my surprise, Archer ducked down behind the cover of the barricade. Hex, though, bounded down from the rooftop, as Ex reformed his ice slide. I ran over to Medusa, pulling on my best friend's arm.
"C'mon, Meds," I said, "we're not done yet." She shakily stood and tried to get her bearings.
"Her mind," she whispered, "ssso old and ssso twisssted. What can we posssibly do to ssstop that?"
"Try harder." I forced myself to smile, which seemed to help Medusa focus, not that it helped me any as I forced myself forward. Hexagon was unleashing a barrage of inhumanly strong blows at the Countess while cagily staying under cover of the Capitol overhang. He may not have had any luck laying a glove on the insanely fast vampire, but she seemed to be held at bay. Ex slid by, grabbing Mind's Eye on his first pass and pulling her to safety. Maybe if Hex could lay his hands on her, he could hold her just long enough for a staking. I had one stake left, after all. Assuming there wasn't a reality-bending asshole watching all this and waiting to turn that stake into an eclair or something equally stupid.
Hexagon's wall of backhands swung wide as the Countess turned to mist, reforming behind him, but she couldn't fully account for his omnidexterity as his other three arms pivoted back, knocking her like a rocket through the air, shattering through one of the porch's pillars. The undead monster dug up a deep furrow in the lawn. Medusa ran past me to check on Tank, so I cut a turn in the muddy lawn and made a tremendous leap, pushing off of the soft ground with everything I had. When your target had about ten ways to avoid any attack, surprise was vital. I'd have one shot at this, I realized, as I pulled my crucifix from my neck with my other hand.
At the crest of my arc, I could see over the crater the Countess' body had dug in the earth to see her still prone but starting to recover. As gravity guided my descent, I presented the crucifix forward and instantly felt a tremendous pressure in what I could only call my soul. It was as if two unidentifiable but tangible forces clashed as I landed knees-first on top of Bathory. My cross-wielding arm started to waver as that dark primal evil pushed deeper and deeper. Wouldn't it be easier to just give up? Nothing could stand up to so much darkness.
I grit my teeth and focused. No, by damn, I didn't give up when the Whiteout happened. I didn't give up when I was tied up like a side of beef in Washington. I didn't stop when Epic and Reaper were tearing apart an entire city. I wouldn't give up now. I only now realized our gazes were locked. No longer was this a matter of faith, it was a matter of willpower. It was the one arena where I might reign supreme and I wasn't going to let simple fear spell the end of me and my friends. Slowly, relentlessly, I began to bring the stake down into position.
I didn't hear the surge of vampires run over the Capitol lawn. I didn't hear the desperate stand my friends were making above that furrow. I certainly was too focused on this battle of wills to notice the vampire Hogs grab me by both arms until it was too late. Suddenly the pressure on my soul was gone and I was struggling, dangling in the grasp of two beefy corpses. Damn, I was so close!
I let out a primal yell and pulled hard on my captors' arms, tearing decaying flesh clean from the sockets. I instinctively lashed out, staking one, then smashed the other upside the head with the undead arm now in my grasp. Things had just gone from bad to worse as I turned towards where Elizabeth Bathory had been. She was gone, but not for long, as the eerie, unbreakable grip composed of writhing ashes curled around my own neck, hoisting me up into the air.
"You insufferable brat of a woman!" Bathory roared. "How dare you resist me? For that sole offense, I am going to drain every drop
of life from your body and use that very strength to murder your friends." She reared back, her jaw almost unhinging. I snarled in defiance and threw a few hard kicks at her body, but the impacts didn't disrupt the ashen form enough to get me free.
Before she could make good on that threat, there was a sudden engulfing white flash. An all-too-familiar white flash. Before my eyes could clear, I heard a booming voice.
"I think not, monstrosity," Epic's voice bellowed. My eyes cleared as Bathory dropped me to turn at her new aggressor. "Her life and the lives of all who dwell in this city are now under Epic's protection!"
That had to have been what Archer was doing. Calling in the cavalry. I wasn't sure, as I looked up to see Epic flanked by a half-dozen Crusaders descending down in the rain like the Second Coming, if I wouldn't have preferred being vampire food than saved by him.
Chapter 19 Twilight
I rolled away from Bathory's feet. Knowing Epic's usual battle tactics, the immediate area around the Countess was going to be very unsafe, even to me. True to form, before the Countess could say a word in response to the demigod, the air was filled with a barrage of pure white beams from Epic's hand. When the barrage cleared, the ground was mulched and cratered, but the vampire remained, smoking but still standing.
Epic's six Crusaders arced out over the battlefield away from their leader. My best guess was that they were heading to clusters of vampiric activity to throw back Bathory's army. I could recognize most of them from the files Rachel and Duane had collected: Battalion the one-man army, Fray Justicia, God's own masked luchador, Wavelength the living rainbow, Gaslight, steampunk inventor extraordinaire. A couple I didn't know and, frankly, I didn't much care. I was more worried that I didn't even know if Brooks and Choi were alive or dead. I flipped up to my feet as the Argent Archer landed beside me in one jet-assisted bound.
"Milady -" he started to explain as Bathory blurred to meet Epic head-on. Lightning cascaded down from the unnatural storm overhead, doing nothing to slow the nigh-invincible Push Hero. It did do quite a number on the Capitol building unfortunately.
"Not now, we need to regroup," I interrupted. He nodded curtly and grabbed me under my arms. Jets flared and I braced for the inevitable acceleration as we took to the air. There were times like this when I wished that Pushtech worked for me. A moment later, we landed on the far side of the Capitol lawn, away from the two mythical combatants.
Everyone was here, except for my two fellow mortals, in various states of disrepair. Extinguisher, battered and bloody, supported Mind's Eye as the Indian psychic swayed unsteady on her feet, her free hand trying to comfort her lower back. The Human Tank's cybernetic parts were still sparking and spasming, making the teenage hero seem more like a broken appliance than anything else. Hexagon was the most unhurt of all of us, kneeling beside Medusa as she clutched her head. No doubt having a centuries-old serial killer-slash-vampire in her head had left it's mark.
"Yay us," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "We're all still alive."
"This will not last if we do not think of a real plan soon," Mind's Eye muttered between groans.
"'T is why I summoned forth a contingent of Crusaders," Archer said. "Sir Brooks insisted I do so, beyond my objections." I arched an eyebrow.
"He's right, Indy," Ex said. "After things started going south, Rachel said she had a back-up plan, took Brooks, and tried to get cross-town. Something about getting additional help."
"Anyone got a spare com? Mine is fried." It literally was fried, after all. Archer produced one of our communicators from a compartment in his armor.
"Lady Choi insisted I take one as a back-up," Archer shrugged as I changed ear-buds and strapped the throat mic into place. "I dost not know why Milord Epic was needed, but -"
"I'd hate to say it, but we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Hexagon said. "This ain't just a Push Battle, this is a fight fer a city. We needed help."
"Maybe, but we won't let the Crussadersss have all the fun, will we?" Medusa said, starting to sound a bit like her usual self. She pushed up to her feet with both Archer and Hex each giving her a hand-up. The two men gave each other a brief glance.
"Right, but we have a larger problem," I said, scanning the area. We were safe for a few moments, but not for long. The battle between Bathory and Epic was intensifying. What was surprising was that it wasn't over already. "Mackenzie has a baby version of the device that caused the Whiteout."
"Whaaaaaaaat? That's crazy nuts so does that mean he can change the world or some junk, but no, if he could do that wouldn't he have already ended all of this with him winning and stuff?" Despite the damage to his systems, it was refreshing to see that Tank still had his gift of gab. I switched my fresh new com on as I raised a finger.
"Okay, can everyone here me now?"
"Doc!" Duane cried out over the com. "Shit, am I glad to hear your voice!"
"Indy, excellent," Rachel said, in her strictest business voice, "we are almost to the Capitol with the back-up I mentioned to the others. Epic is on site, yes?"
"Yes, but first: Mackenzie is around here somewhere with a reality-bending doodad. The only thing that's saving us from being written out of reality is that it's limited in power."
"Doodad?" Ex cut in. "Is that the scientific term?"
"Very funny, wiseguy."
"In truth, 'doodad' is used quite commonly by those of us that pursue scientific endeavors," Archer added. Great, everyone decided humor would help us in our darkest hour.
"The thing is," Hexagon said, finally adding something useful to the conversation, "if Mackenzie's got this little deus ex machina on him, he sure ain't using it."
Hex's observation made me quickly glance over our cover of wrecked police barricades. Epic laid a mighty fist into the Countess' chin that sent the ashen corpse flying in an upward arc and unleashed a column of energy down onto her. I understood that vampires were supposedly immortal past a few strictures, but that much pure energy should atomize anything physical. It had very little effect on the Countess as she slammed into the ground. As Epic sped forward, she was already on her feet, fully regenerated.
"I think he might be, just subtly," I pointed out. "How soon will this plan be ready, Rachel?"
"If we can fight through the roadblocks and traffic, five minutes tops," Brooks answered. I swore I could hear the clash of metal on metal as whatever vehicle they were using crashed against another. I glanced at Ex and he gave me a small nod.
"Okay, team," I said, "here's the plan." I thumbed behind me. "Support and delay. We've got to take down Bathory or at least keep her occupied until Rachel is here with her back-up plan, whatever that is." I scanned the nearby rooftops. "If you lay eyes on Mackenzie, let me know, but I have a feeling he isn't going to show himself until we give him a reason to."
"I would assume you mean being on the precipice of undoing his plans with the Countess?" Mind's Eye stated as much as asked.
"Bingo."
"You heard the lady," Extinguisher said, "let's go get that monster."
Despite injury, pain, and mental anguish, our small cadre turned towards the clash of titans not a hundred yards distant and headed once more into the fray.
"Guys, get Bathory off Epic," I ordered, sprinting towards the battle. I'd have preferred to ride Tank into a charge like this, but he had protectively taken Mind's Eye on his chassis. I wasn't going to argue, not at a time like this. "Archer, ask Epic to back off a bit; tell him I need to talk to him." There was a round of assents as I cut to the left, towards the fringe of the lawn.
"Mockery of life, I will bring you to heel," Epic bellowed as he slammed his hands together, creating a tremendous pressure wave that would have blown the Countess away if she hadn't turned to mist once more. The air pressure scattered her gaseous form, but it swiftly reformed. Archer's message must have sunk in then, as Epic began to float back. Though he wasn't looking at me, I was sure our paths would intersect. As the billowy gas began to flow after him, it was stopped by
an invisible wall of telekinetic force, followed immediately by a giant slab of ice dropping down flat. Unified by the field of unreality around it, the cloud was forcefully ejected out one side. Off-balance, the vampire took her physical form once more, right in front of a waiting Hexagon.
"Eric," I said, one eye on the continuing melee, "we have a problem." The demigod arched an eyebrow at the use of his real name. Under the larger-than-life shell, I could see that Eric himself seemed drawn, almost prematurely aged. Not so unlike myself, I imagined.
"I thought that name was dead to you, Indomitable," he replied. "Why do you wish this parlay when there is evil to be destroyed?" He was all too correct. I had said that, the last time we had a peaceful conversation. Unfortunately, the crisis at hand didn't need Epic.
"The real threat isn't that walking corpse. The real threat is Ian Mackenzie using the technology Eric Flynn invented." That got his attention. Across the field, Hexagon unleashed a bruising series of punches against Bathory, driving her against the block of ice behind her. Epic turned his Zeus-like visage down to look me face-to-face.
"Impossible," he argued. "All that remains of the God machine is secure in -"
"The concealed vault and laboratory underneath the Tech campus?" I finished for him. "I know. He knows. We're past that part." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Countess gaze at the big six-armed powerhouse. He began to succumb to her mental prowess, but not before Archer unleashed a warhead-tipped bolt that exploded into a barrage of wooden splinters a few feet from Bathory, conjuring up a howl of pain from the undead noble.
"I assume then he has your prototype as well?" he asked. The voice and the demeanor was more and more that of the brilliant scientist I had loved and not the arrogant physical god that existed now.
"Right," I answered. "I interrupted him before he could create a full-scale device, but he has a portable reality-bender on him and he's around here, watching." I looked Eric, not Epic, in the eyes. "How can we stop that?"
