Frostburn (Ultrahumans Book 4)

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘Well, no… To do that to a child…’

  ‘Quite. And I’ve never eaten a baby, no matter what it says in the press.’ She paused and turned back to the sandwiches. ‘Far too fatty. I really have to watch my figure, you know?’

  San Francisco, CA.

  ‘You claim to have “seen” three women being carried into the basement structure you raided with members of the Union of Ultrahumans, Cygnus?’

  Cygnus regarded the defence attorney with a mixture of pity and suspicion. His name was Franklin Dwight and he had something of a reputation in California. The profile the Shadow Court had sent over the night before indicated that he was honest in his opinion that the Specialist Policing Act had resulted in more than one miscarriage of justice, but defending Kopf was stretching things. Dwight won by no means all of the cases he worked on and this was probably one he was going to fail on, at least partially.

  ‘I’m told the technical term is “hypersensory psychometry,”’ Cygnus replied. ‘My brain collects together evidence I’m not even consciously aware of to form an image of some event in the past. So I saw an image of the women being carried down the steps, yes.’

  ‘But we only have your word for it, and this process would be an entirely subjective one. Essentially, the evidence your brain collects and interprets could be interpreted differently by someone else.’

  ‘Was there a question there, Mister Dwight?’

  Dwight gave her a smile which got nowhere near his eyes. ‘You dislike my client, Cygnus. You claim he tortured you, that he was complicit in the murder of your lover. I would suggest that, even unconsciously, you were looking for evidence that he was doing something illegal and you found it because you wanted to do so. Would that be a fair assessment?’

  Cygnus frowned. ‘Not entirely. I don’t believe Doctor Kopf tortured me. Torture implies a will to inflict pain and that wasn’t the case. He was simply entirely indifferent to the pain he caused. I believe he was involved with the murder of Robert Lee, but I primarily blame Ghostfire for that. He’s dead. Yes, the process is subjective and subconscious. My desires could be affecting the results, but there has to be something there to see, and the women I identified have been found, implanted with devices invented by Doctor Kopf, which I’d consider a validation of the image I saw.’

  Dwight’s eyes narrowed. ‘Your image speaks specifically to kidnapping, Cygnus. Coercion.’

  ‘You would voluntarily have sections of your brain burned out to turn you into an obedient slave, Mister Dwight? I wouldn’t. I’d say coercion or subterfuge was required to get anyone to undergo the procedure.’

  Dwight smiled. ‘That’s for the jury to decide.’

  ‘And I’m just offering an opinion given that you brought up the subject.’

  ‘Yes… You fought a number of “animated corpses” which, it is alleged, my client manufactured.’

  ‘That’s correct.’

  ‘And you are quite sure that my client did manufacture them?’

  ‘Quite sure.’

  ‘On what evidence? It seems we have only your word for this again.’

  ‘Objectively, Doctor Kopf is the only common factor between the events in New Millennium City and San Francisco. The Blood Zombies appear in both places. Doctor Kopf gave them commands and stated that he had manufactured them here with the specific aim of capturing me, but you only have my word for that. It wasn’t recorded.’

  ‘Quite.’ Dwight turned to the jury, his eyes scanning across their ranks. ‘The truth of your statements, Cygnus, cannot be independently verified.’

  Cygnus smiled at the attorney. ‘Of course, that’s for the jury to decide.’

  ~~~

  ‘The DA seemed fairly pleased with your performance,’ Andrea said.

  ‘Yeah,’ Cygnus agreed, her eyes scanning the menu. ‘Dwight tried to set up the idea that it was all a vendetta against Kopf and maybe he even got somewhere with that, but he opened the door to bringing in everything that happened in New Millennium and that doesn’t paint Kopf in a good light.’

  ‘Sounds like a mistake,’ Bianca said.

  ‘It lets Andrea say pretty much whatever she wants this afternoon.’

  ‘Within reason,’ Andrea said. ‘Anyway, I’m fairly sure I know where Dwight will go to discredit Twilight. The main problem is that Twi doesn’t have your charisma.’

  ‘She’s got charm,’ Cygnus replied, smiling, ‘and a lot of skin on display. The jury is three-fifths male.’

  ‘Yeah, well… Whoever thought requiring that evidence be given in costume was not thinking straight.’

  ‘It was done to protect Ultras with secret identities,’ Bianca said. ‘It meant there couldn’t be any pressure to appear without a mask since the mask is part of the costume and the “entity” providing the evidence is the Ultra, not any alter ego. One of the most controversial parts of the legislation.’

  ‘People argued about the right to face one’s accuser,’ Cygnus said, nodding. ‘Expediency won out since the regular police were having trouble dealing with Ultrahuman villains. Supposedly, the balance is that the defendant is allowed to retain their secret identity until convicted.’

  ‘But ninety per cent of cases involving Ultrahuman witnesses don’t have Ultrahuman defendants with secret identities.’

  ‘No one ever said the law had to make sense,’ Andrea said. ‘I have to admit it was great when I was back in the catsuit and no one could stop me wearing the cowl. Now… It just feels kind of crazy that I have to dress up in that stupid costume to give evidence at a trial.’

  ~~~

  ‘You feel it’s necessary to wear a mask in court, Twilight?’

  Okay, so it was an unorthodox start to a cross-examination, but there was a simple answer. ‘It’s part of the costume,’ Twilight said. ‘I’m required to wear my costume, but if the court prefers, I can take it off. My identity isn’t a secret.’

  ‘The court has no objection,’ the judge stated. Andrea had been impressed with the judge so far. The woman had seemed quite fair but was not having anything to do with Dwight’s tendency to try to make political points.

  Twilight reached up and peeled her mask from her face. Andrea smiled at Dwight. ‘It really doesn’t do much to obscure my expressions anyway, Mister Dwight.’

  ‘And I’m happier,’ Twilight added from the back of their shared mind. ‘I hate doing this stuff and it always has to be me.’

  ‘Thank you, Twilight,’ Dwight said. ‘Now, my client was severely injured during his “arrest” by yourself.’ He paused, maybe expecting her to respond, but he got nothing. ‘You felt it was necessary to run your sword through his stomach?’

  ‘I felt myself to be in physical danger and responded with a suitable degree of force,’ Andrea replied.

  ‘You considered yourself in danger from a ninety-two-year-old man?’

  ‘Who had just ordered his… bodyguards to attack me and may have had more than one weapon ready to assault me with.’

  ‘So you almost killed him.’

  ‘No, not really. I missed all the major organs. I’m really quite proficient with a sword. If I’d wanted him dead, I would have cut his head off or stabbed him through the heart.’

  ‘And you have killed before, have you not?’

  ‘In situations where lives are in danger, yes.’

  ‘You have, in fact, cut the head off a normal human in–’

  ‘Objection,’ the DA said, getting to his feet. ‘Twilight is not on trial here.’

  ‘I’m attempting to determine the mindset of the witness with relation to physical violence.’

  ‘SFPD investigators ruled the wounding of Doctor Kopf to be within allowable bounds under the circumstances.’

  ‘I don’t mind answering the question,’ Andrea put in.

  The judge looked down at Andrea and then turned her attention to Dwight. ‘You are pushing my tolerances for inadmissibility, Mister Dwight, but if Twilight is willing to continue, you may proceed.’
<
br />   Dwight nodded, but Andrea spoke before he could. ‘You’re referring to the gangster I killed in New Millennium City in October of twenty thirteen? I cut his head off, as you say.’

  ‘That is correct. You–’

  ‘The man who was about to shoot a wounded policeman with a light machine gun.’

  ‘Yes, but–’

  ‘I will use lethal force if it’s necessary, Mister Dwight. Usually if someone else is in danger. I prefer not to because, quite frankly, the paperwork involved is incredibly annoying.’ There was a rumble of laughter from the audience; the judge glared at them. ‘But, as any police officer will tell you, sometimes it’s the only reasonable action under the circumstances.’

  ‘And you felt that it was necessary in the case of a ninety-two-year-old man?’

  ‘You’d like me to repeat my previous answer?’

  ‘You honestly feel that violence was necessary in this case?’

  ‘Yes,’ Andrea stated flatly. ‘Doctor Kopf has demonstrated, on more than one occasion, that he has absolutely no regard for human life.’

  ‘Your opinions in that matter are not required here. Move to have the last statement stricken from the record.’

  ‘My opinions on Kopf’s personality are why I stabbed him.’

  ‘You started this, counselor,’ the judge said. ‘Please continue, Twilight.’

  ‘Thank you. Doctor Kopf has demonstrated his lack of compassion on a number of occasions. I had no doubt that he intended to kill me or have me killed. He would have done so without the least qualm. All he wanted was Cygnus. I would have been collateral damage, not worth considering. Yes, I felt that a violent reaction was justified and necessary. The fact that your client is here to stand trial shows that I have more restraint than he does.’

  ‘Just barely,’ Twilight said silently. ‘I really wanted to kill him.’

  ‘I know,’ Andrea told her while Dwight struggled to recapture the thread of his argument. ‘This way is better. Kopf looks like a kicked dog.’

  ‘No further questions,’ Dwight said, giving up on trying to make whatever point he had been aiming for.

  ‘That went well, I thought,’ Twilight commented.

  ‘You’re just saying that because I had to do the hard part,’ Andrea replied.

  ‘I am insulted.’

  ‘It’s true though.’

  ‘Can I plead the Fifth?’

  New Millennium City, MD.

  ‘Dominika?’

  Svetilo looked up from her pasta salad. There was nothing on the big screen aside from the late-evening news, which was going over the Blutadler trial, again. ‘Yes, Denny?’

  ‘I have been analysing a number of media sources to determine the current state of public reaction to Cygnus.’

  ‘And you found something which concerns you?’

  There was a slight pause, almost as though the computer was embarrassed. ‘No… I found something which does not appear to match my perceptions and I wanted to ask your opinion.’

  ‘Okay. Fire away, as they say.’

  ‘An odd idiom in a country with so many firearms. However… I have found a number of sites featuring files which appear to relate quite complete descriptions of sexual encounters between Cygnus and Twilight. I was unaware of any such aspect to their relationship and feel sure that Cygnus would have mentioned it.’

  Svetilo frowned. ‘Could you show me one of these files?’

  ‘Of course… Ah, this one appears to have been written by someone with at least a basic grasp of English grammar.’ The big TV screen filled with a web page featuring huge blocks of text. ‘Admittedly the writing style is somewhat lacking, but the spelling is not too bad.’

  Svetilo read the text of the first couple of paragraphs, a smile growing wider the further she progressed. ‘Ah. This is fiction, Denny. This is the internet for you. There is some rule, I think, that everything has to tend toward pornography given any chance to do so.’

  ‘It’s all made up?’

  ‘Da. It is all made up. In fact, I do not think the position in the fifth paragraph is physically possible, even for Cygnus.’ Her eyes flicked to the top of the page. ‘Da, written by man. Straight to the action, barely any foreplay. Both of them would be more considerate lovers.’

  ‘I see. There are really quite a large number of these files.’

  ‘Really… I think I should read some more of them. For research purposes, obviously.’

  Denny seemed oblivious to the subterfuge. ‘Of course, Dominika. I will forward some of the larger collections to your UltraNet account.’

  Svetilo nodded and went back to her meal. ‘Thank you, Denny. Let’s just hope Hugh doesn’t check links in our email.’

  ‘Why would that be a concern?’

  ‘Oh, no reason…’

  Antarctica, 3rd December.

  ‘You’re doing very well, dear boy. Are you feeling any discomfort at all?’

  Jacob looked out through the window of the testing chamber at Doctor Ultimate, who was busy at about three consoles at once. ‘No, sir. I can feel it getting warmer, but that’s about it.’ The doctors at the UoU base had declared Jacob fit that morning and Ultimate was wasting no time. It had been out of the medical facility and straight into the labs. Into a chamber meant for testing equipment designed for space, actually; Jacob just hoped the good Doctor remembered not to pump the air out.

  ‘Excellent. We’re at two hundred and eighty-two degrees. Kelvin, obviously.’

  ‘Uh, obvious– Woah…’ A sudden wave of fatigue swept over Jacob; it was not exactly an overwhelming sensation, but quite strong and accompanied by a touch of nausea.

  ‘Yes! Spike in cosmic… temperature-regulation failure… obvious biological reaction…’

  ‘Hugh,’ Jacob called out. ‘You’re doing that thing again.’

  ‘Apologies. Fifty Fahrenheit, Jacob.’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘You need to stay below fifty Fahrenheit. I assume you want that scale since I’m sure you’ll have trouble finding a kelvin thermometer in America. At fifty, your body reacts to cool the room. The emission spike is quite obvious and… yes, the temperature is dropping.’

  Jacob straightened his back and nodded. ‘I felt… It must take some energy out of me to power the cooling effect.’

  ‘And would likely continue to do so if you continue to be exposed to sufficiently high temperatures. Essentially, you would begin to suffer from heat exhaustion at quite an accelerated rate.’

  ‘Fifty degrees isn’t that high…’

  ‘Agreed, but it is above the freezing point of water and not entirely uncomfortable to others who may be in your vicinity.’

  ‘But outside–’

  ‘Don’t worry yourself over that, young man. I have a solution for that which we will try out tomorrow. It would be today, but I need these results to finish it and I need to be in San Francisco in a few hours.’

  ‘Yeah, the Blutadler trial. Andrea’s there.’

  ‘Indeed she is. I saw video of her testimony yesterday. You would have been proud.’

  ‘It’s important to her. It finally closes the loop on her brother’s death.’

  ‘All the more reason for me to give a good performance. First, however, let us see how low you can go. The room is headed in that direction anyway.’

  San Francisco, CA.

  ‘One hundred and eighty kelvin,’ Ultimate said, smiling.

  ‘That’s… cold,’ Penny said. Then she bit into warm toast. Ultimate had arrived at Bianca’s house prior to his appearance in court, partially so that he could tell Andrea about Jacob’s progress.

  ‘He could work in shirtsleeves in winter down there. It’s minus one hundred and thirty-five Fahrenheit. Carbon dioxide was subliming out of the air around him.’

  ‘That’s not bad,’ Andrea said. ‘Remind me to get you to do that test on me.’

  ‘It would be my pleasure. Less good is his upper tolerance level. He begins exhibiting discomfort and the
re is an immediate reaction from his powers at fifty Fahrenheit.’

  ‘Which is a fair bit lower than typical room temperature. You said you had a solution?’

  ‘I have. A sort of containment suit. I’m afraid my fashion design capabilities are no match for June’s, but the results should be functional and, I believe, not aesthetically displeasing.’

  ‘I don’t think he’ll care that much as long as he can go outside in the summer.’

  ‘We should get moving,’ Bianca said. ‘Penny, you’d better put your other face on.’

  Penny shoved toast into her mouth and started for the stairs at the back of the house. ‘This should be interesting. I’m looking forward to it.’

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ Ultimate said, ‘but I doubt “interesting” will be an entirely valid description.’

  ~~~

  The Fox was fairly new to the whole Ultrahuman heroine business. She definitely considered herself to be still learning. There was a whole culture to discover, and Lament was certainly helping her there. Then there was public relations, police relations, communications protocols… and team tactics. Lament often had something of an odd take on team tactics.

  ‘How many criminals are we looking at?’ Lament asked the SFPD sergeant who was in charge of the situation the two Stars had deployed to.

  ‘Six that we’ve been able to identify,’ the sergeant replied. ‘There’s one really big guy who seems to be doing much of the talking. Not that he’s doing much talking. They have automatic weapons, at least two assault rifles, and some sub-machine guns. And they’ve got hostages, twenty that we know of, maybe a couple more.’

  ‘They’re not talking?’

  ‘So far. They’ve got three hostages lined up in front of the door, each with a gun pointed at their head. The implication is pretty clear. We’ve tried calling in to one of the landlines, but no one’s answered.’

  ‘Sir!’ One of the other officers, the one manning their communications gear, broke in. ‘They just answered. They want to negotiate. Uh, with Lament.’

  Lament smiled. ‘Just waiting for us then, and giving us the perfect opening. I’ll go in. Fox, you follow me in as backup, but there shouldn’t be much need for violence. Once I get in range of them, they’ll be eating out of my hand. Sergeant, have a team ready to come in and arrest them.’