by Matt Cowper
“That’s so thoughtful of you,” I said. “You’re like a brother to me, Netty, looking after me like that.”
Netmaster frowned; he detected the sarcasm in my tone. “I. Am. Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without your consent. But I figured—”
“Here’s the thing, old pal,” I said. “Julia Anderson has Comfortable Fortress security. That means any call she sends or receives is masked – and you said you couldn’t hack that security. So, even if you did hack my phone, you wouldn’t have been able to listen in on our conversation.”
Netmaster was silent.
“See the problem here?” I said. “You lied. You can hack Comfortable Fortress tech, can’t you?”
“Yes – I can.”
“And you did kill Captain Neptune,” I said.
My former friend and superhero comrade stared at me for a full minute. Finally he spoke: “OK, you got me. I killed the dumbass. Checkmate – winner, John Wagner.” He laughed spitefully – but I didn’t know if the spite was directed at me, or himself, or both. “That ‘part of the family’ comment….it’s always something simple. Well, I did my best. I tried to make everything as convoluted as possible, but it’s hard to juggle all that crap at once – you always end up dropping something.”
He looked at me with a strange mixture of scorn and respect. “You’re good, Johnny.”
“Why did you kill him?” I asked.
“He was smuggling drugs for me,” he said. “Overdrive Juice, specifically. He was screwing me over, like he was screwing over everyone else, but no one else had the balls to off him. All these villains, they were scared of reprisals from the superhero community. But I’m not a damn supervillain – I don’t play by their idiotic rules. So I killed him.”
“You led me on a wild goose chase…lied to me….”
“You led yourself on a wild goose chase,” Netmaster said. “Why did you have to go stirring the pot of shit?”
“I was hired—”
“You didn’t have to take the case! I thought you were pragmatic, but then you go and challenge the most powerful man in Z City, piss off numerous heroes and villains, and sleep with a notorious assassin! What the hell were you thinking?”
“We’re not examining my actions,” I said. “We’re examining yours. You killed a man—”
“Technically, Gray Squirrel killed him—”
“Don’t split hairs!” I tightened my grip. “You killed him.”
“The man deserved to die,” Netmaster said bluntly. “He was trash. A crazy junkie. If someone didn’t kill him, he would’ve killed himself by overdosing on something.”
“You hired Deathrain, and then when she failed, you duped Gray Squirrel.”
“Yes and yes,” he said. “I thought that crazy chick could pull it off, but she got her ass handed to her. So I got squirrel to take out the trash.” He threw back his head and laughed. “Neptune getting killed by him, of all people? That was fucking hilarious.”
“You duped me.”
“Yes, I did,” Netmaster said, “but I never tried to hurt you. Misdirect, yes. I admit no one out-hacked me; I let the DOT track me, so I’d have an excuse go underground for a while and finalize some plans. I didn’t send any hitmen after you, or try to poison you or whatever. Shit, I saved you from Befouler, Johnny! Doesn’t that mean something?”
“Yes, it does,” I said, “but not much.” I rose, still holding onto his wrist. “Come on, I’m taking you to Ironrock Island personally.”
“Are you fucking serious?” he yelled. “All of a sudden you’re a model of virtue? How many corners have you cut in this case? How many laws have you broken? And you have the nerve to try and drag me in to the authorities? You’re a goddamn hypocrite!”
“Yes, I did cut corners,” I said, “but I never killed anyone. You murdered a husband, a father—”
“He was a worthless addict!”
“And you aren’t?” I yelled. “You said he was smuggling you Overdrive Juice. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? You couldn’t get your fix on the cheap, so you killed him.” I leaned down. “Look me in the eye and tell me I’m wrong.”
Netmaster’s lips twitched. “You don’t know what it’s like, taking Overdrive Juice. It increases my powers, makes me a god in the Net. I can blitz through firewalls like they’re nothing. I can summit data-peaks that only a few net-runners have climbed. I can play a thousand hands of poker simultaneously.” A rapturous grin appeared on his pale face, but it was quickly replaced by a horrific scowl. “And that so-called superhero dangled all that in front of me, toyed with me, withheld the Juice when he felt like it….”
“You’re just like him,” I said. “A worthless addict.” I pulled him to his feet. “I wish you would’ve told me about all this. I could’ve gotten you some help, fixed this before you got in too deep.”
“Shove your pity up your ass,” Netmaster snarled. “And I’m not going anywhere.” He tried to yank his hand free, but I was still holding firm. “I don’t want to hurt you, Johnny – I still consider you a friend – but if you don’t let me go, this’ll get ugly.”
“It will, for a certainty,” Dak rumbled, “but it will go badly for you, not us. How can you match Dakroth’gannith’formaz, the God of Destruction? You are the Master of Net, but this is not the Net.”
“That’s true,” Netmaster said, “but I can change that.” His free hand snatched something from a nearby table, but I swatted it out of his hold before he could use it. It fell to the floor, a circular crown-like object with a wire running from it.
“A Mind Meld device, right?” I said. “I wasn’t going to fall for that again.” I stepped onto the device, crunching it into a hundred pieces. “You’re finished. Stop struggling, or I’ll knock you out and drag your limp body to the nearest police station.”
“I’m not finished – not even close.” He blinked three times, and the room started shaking. The workstations started flying towards Netmaster, like he was a giant magnet. “True, the Net is where I’m strongest, but I’m also a pretty good engineer.”
“What are you doing?!” I yelled. I tried to keep my balance, but it felt like the entire building was collapsing. I tripped over my chair and fell to the floor, cutting my left hand on the edge of a table.
“Fighting you,” Netmaster said. The workstations, and every other piece of equipment in the room, were bonding to him somehow; a giant suit of armor was quickly forming around him. His legs and arms were already completely covered. “I’m not going to prison.”
“Dak, shoot something at him!” I thought-spoke.
“I shall, with great happiness and hate,” Dak replied. Then he roared: “You are not as weak as you appear, Master of Net. That armor looks mighty and destructive. But it cannot withstand a blast of pure dark energy from the God of Destruction!”
A black bolt shot out of my palm, but Netmaster simply raised his own palm, and the bolt disappeared within his hand.
“I’ve been planning this for a long time, Johnny,” he said. “I’ve taken into account all of your God Arm’s capabilities. I can absorb every one of your silly little beams.”
He picked up a chair and threw it at me. It crashed into my ribs, and I fell back to the floor, gasping, and the dark energy beam tapered off into nothing.
“Arise, John Wagner,” Dak thought-spoke. “This battle is only beginning! I will not be vanquished by this nerd!”
“As soon as I can breathe, I’ll be right back in the action.”
Netmaster formed his own beam in his gauntleted hand. “Sorry, Johnny. You’re forcing me to do this.”
A room about to collapse, a metal behemoth about to blow a hole in my torso, computer equipment flying by me? I needed some fresh air.
I ran to one of the windows at the far end of the room and crashed through it. Netmaster’s beam raced by my shoulder as I fell, nicking my jacket. I was only on the second floor, but between the sharp glass and my aching ribs, it was still going to be a pa
inful landing.
That is, unless I didn’t have backup. Soft furry hands grabbed me, and I tumbled through the air in a series of flips, then found myself on terra firma, in Felicia’s arms. She looked down at me, twitching her whiskers.
“Guess he didn’t want to go quietly,” she said.
“No, he didn’t,” I replied. “We’ve got a fight on our hands.”
The second floor wall exploded, sending brick and more glass into the air, and a metal humanoid form fell to the sidewalk. It landed with an earth-shaking boom, the feet making two deep depressions in the sidewalk.
“That looks pretty formidable,” Felicia said.
It certainly did. Although the armor was bulky, and looked like it could withstand a blast from an ion cannon, Netmaster’s movements were smooth, almost graceful. The metal itself was slick, like it had just been polished, and the blue visor shone.
“The Fractious Feline,” Netmaster said. His voice was being broadcast from speakers somewhere in the suit, and it had an inhuman quality. “I figured Johnny didn’t come here alone.”
“Stop this!” Felicia yelled. “You’re only making things worse for yourself!”
“No, you’ve made it worse for yourselves,” Netmaster said. “In this armor, and with the Overdrive Juice I’ve just pumped into my body, I outmatch both of you.”
A square slot opened near Netmaster’s shoulder, and a tiny object shot out – a missile. I felt Felicia tense, preparing to bound away, but the missile exploded before it got halfway to us. Through the smoke and shrapnel, I saw Netmaster’s armored head angle to the rooftop directly across the street from him.
Deathrain stood on the roof, one foot on the parapet, her smoking sniper rifle held aloft.
“You brought her too, huh?” Netmaster said. “Come on then – I’ll take you all on!”
He sprang towards us, but Felicia backflipped away, still holding me, and his fist pounded into a mailbox instead of our skulls. The mailbox flew across the street and dashed against a wall. We landed behind a station wagon, and Felicia set me down quickly and then jumped back into the fray.
“For a walking tank, you move pretty fast,” she said, “but I’m still faster.”
She jumped around him, peppering him with blows, while Netmaster swung his arms around wildly, crushing everything he hit, but not coming close to tagging Felicia.
“No, I can’t match your speed,” he said, knocking down a lamppost, “but you can jump around like a hyperactive toddler all day and not hurt me.”
He was right – Felicia’s fists and feet were flying, and her claws were scratching, but she hadn’t done any damage to the armor.
“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” she said. She jumped up to a fire escape and glared down at Netmaster, her tail whipping around. “I’ll let the other chick have a go.”
An explosion rocked Netmaster. He went down to a knee as two more explosive rounds struck his torso. Deathrain continued to unload, firing as fast as her rifle would allow.
But Netmaster stood back up as the air continued to erupt in smoke and fire around him.
“Caught me off balance,” he said. “What are those, supernova rounds? You’re gonna need more than that to get through this ultimatium alloy.”
He ripped off a car door and slung it at Deathrain. She dodged it effortlessly, but then, instead of sailing out of sight, it started flying back to him, like a boomerang.
“Tagged it with a magnetic charge,” Netmaster said. “Gets ’em every time.”
“Look out!” I yelled.
“A dire threat is behind you!” Dak roared.
Too late – the door rammed into Deathrain’s back, and she tumbled from the roof, her sniper rifle falling from her grasp. I was nearly across the street when she hit – a sickening thud, like meat being slapped onto a cutting board.
Before I reached her, though, the sidewalk beneath me exploded, and I went hurtling through a shop window. Glass sliced my skin, and my ribs cut into my insides like knives. Something soft and fragrant fell down around me – flowers. I’d been knocked into a florist’s shop.
“Are you OK?” An older woman in an apron was bending over me, concern etched on her face. I brushed some white roses off my chest and stood up slowly.
“No, I’m not,” I wheezed, “but I can’t sit this one out. Call the police, or the Elites – anyone with firepower. We need all the help we can get.”
“Stop dawdling with this flower-sniffer!” Dak roared. “We must attend to Deathrain!”
I stumbled out the front door and headed to where Deathrain lay. Across the street, Felicia was back to flitting around Netmaster like a bumblebee, trying to keep him distracted so we could regroup.
Deathrain was facedown and motionless on the pavement. I knelt down and turned her over. Her gray eyes blinked up at me.
“That was unexpected,” she said.
“Are you OK?” I said.
“Spine’s broken,” she said. “I’ll be a quadriplegic for a few minutes. Sorry, Johnny, Dak – I didn’t know that suit was that advanced. Another moment of cockiness.”
“This foul deed will be avenged!” Dak rumbled. “So swears the God of Destruction!”
“Can I leave you here?” I said.
“Sure,” she said. “If anyone messes with me, I’ll gnaw their ankles off.”
I smiled and dragged her to a sitting position against a car. Then I sprinted back into the melee.
“Dak, remember that fight with Waverush?” I thought-spoke. “I need that much strength in the arm, if not more.”
“You shall have it,” Dak replied. “With one blow, you will rupture the tin can he has encased himself in, and crush his puny body.”
I felt immense power coursing through my God Arm, and the exposed portions of the arm turned the color of concrete. I raced towards Netmaster. He hadn’t noticed me; his back was turned, and Felicia was still doing an excellent job holding his attention.
I reared back, and sent the hardest blow I’d ever unleashed into his back. Not only was it infused with superstrength, it contained my anger at being betrayed, my fatigue, my confusion dealing with the women in my life, my frustration at my own mistakes – everything I’d felt for the past three days, channeled into a fist.
The collision was deafening; it was like a wrecking ball slamming into the side of an aircraft carrier. Even Dak grunted from the impact, and Felicia yelled in surprise.
And the punch put a dent into Netmaster’s armor about the size of a dinner plate.
“Impossible!” Dak thought-spoke.
“What part of ‘ultimatium alloy’ don’t you understand?” Netmaster said.
He twisted around and sent a giant fist into me. I barely got my God Arm up in time to block it. I was knocked into the air, spiraling like a football. I could feel Dak cringe from the punch; even though my was arm was in superstrength mode, it still hurt.
I covered my head, preparing for another hard landing, unless Felicia somehow caught me again.
Someone did catch me, but it wasn’t Felicia. Strong, manly arms wrapped around me, and I felt a thump as we landed on the roof of an SUV.
“You’re getting knocked around like a rag doll,” the man said. “How about you sit the rest of the fight out?”
“Waverush?!” I said, staring at the handsome superhero. He let me go, stood up, and patted me on the head.
“That’s me,” he said. “Been keeping a close eye on you – I counted on you leading me to Neptune’s true killer.” He looked over at Netmaster, who had decided to ignore Felicia, even though she was still sending rapid-fire blows into his armor, and instead clomp over to us. “He’s the man behind it all, huh? Or did I miss something?”
“Yeah, he set up Captain Neptune’s murder,” I said. “I thought he was my friend, but—”
“You certainly know how to pick your friends,” he said. “Between him and that assassin, it’s a wonder you haven’t been killed in your sleep.” He rolled his sh
oulders and cracked his knuckles. “I’ll take care of him. This is, as you know, personal.”
“Wait,” I said. “You don’t stand a chance!”
But Waverush had already hopped down from the car and was walking towards Netmaster.
“Neptune’s little guppy,” Netmaster said. “You mad at me, too? Mad because you can no longer suck your master’s—”
Waverush sent a double-axehandle into Netmaster’s head. I heard something crack, and as Netmaster staggered backwards, I saw newly-formed lines running across his visor.
“What the hell?!” Netmaster said. “You…you took some Overdrive Juice, didn’t you?”
“Sure did,” Waverush replied. “After what it did to my old partner, I was reluctant to use it, but if it helps me stomp you into the dirt….”
“Bring it, then,” Netmaster said, dropping to a defensive crouch. “I took some Juice, too. My mind is operating at levels far beyond what you will ever achieve.” He pounded his metal fists together. “Come on – what are you waiting for?”
Waverush lunged at him, and the two traded titanic punches. The earth shook. Windows shattered. The few onlookers who had remained on the scene cringed at each impact.
Felicia somersaulted over to me. “Not dead yet, huh? I’m glad.” Her shining green eyes made it clear she was really glad.
“Me too, obviously,” I said. “How’re you holding up?”
“Not even winded,” she said, “but I can’t hurt him. Maybe Waverush can.”
We watched the two men pummel each other. Waverush was denting the armor, but it didn’t seem to discourage Netmaster; he was moving just as fluidly as he’d been when the fight started.
“Running out of gas already?” Netmaster said. He ducked one of Waverush’s kicks and then headbutted him.
Waverush grunted and fell, and kipped up in an instant – but blood was now running from his nose.
“Nope,” he said. “Still got a full tank.”
It didn’t sound very convincing to me. Netmaster agreed – he crossed his armored arms and laughed.
“This has gone on long enough,” he said. “I don’t want every superhero team in the city coming down on me. So, while I could beat you all single-handedly, time to call in some help.”
