The thing that had been Stephen Detch attacked its remaining foes, slashing at the Aegis’ shield as Sybil ducked under it. Red wondered what to do. He knew he couldn’t face the monster physically; he would have to find another way to help. He wracked his brain, trying to think of something, but his concentration was soon disrupted.
As if celebrating eminent victory, the dragon raised his arms, and waves of terror sprang forth, radiating from its body. Red ground his teeth as the fear took hold. The emotion seemed palpable, and even Sibyl, despite her mental abilities, lost control of herself in the oncoming fright.
Red felt the world fall out from under him, opening a void of mindless dread. His personal faults and professional failures took form, and various scenarios played out within his consciousness. He had again disappointed them all, and people were dying as a result. This time however, more than his team succumbed.
His family was at risk, too.
Images of Cynthia lying in the hospital flooded his mind, tubes and wires hanging from her limp body. Her reddened eyes stared at a prenatal crib nearby. Their baby was suffering, losing its precious little life with slow incremental beeps. He could see them both, vitality dripping away, and it chilled him to his soul.
The terror felt fresh and authentic, whirling inside until his stomach threatened to empty, but it did not paralyze him as Detch no doubt intended. Red had dealt with this pain, wondering if he himself had caused their plight. The outwardly-generated fright paled in comparison to his last forty-eight hours, and realizing this, he walked toward the beast.
“You think you’re powerful,” he said, yelling at the thing. “I see nothing but a frightened boy, bullying others to cover his own insecurities.”
The dragon turned, surprised and confused by this lone aggressor. “I am more powerful than you know, Mr. Cunningham,” he said, opening and closing his claws. “I am the master of fear.” He spread his arms again, sending forth another burst of terror.
Even though Red felt the emotion penetrate him, he ignored it. “You don’t know the true meaning of fear,” the man said, continuing his approach. “Those thinking only of themselves never do.”
He stopped three feet from the beast, its glossy eyes staring down at him. “I almost lost my family the other night, and I know that my choices put them in danger. Compared with that, your hollow power means nothing.”
The monster raised a claw, and tendrils of dark electricity dancing around its fingertips. “Fear is not my only ability. I have others.”
It released a blast.
Red had no time to react, watching as the lightning flashed toward him. His life replayed itself before his eyes, and happy memories came pouring back into his mind. He smiled when the bolt struck, and to his surprise, he felt no pain. Pure whiteness filled his vision as the currents raged around his body.
Chapter Forty-two
Sybil’s hallucination was broken as Red Cunningham stepped from behind a pile of debris, approaching the monster. She forced herself to watch him, fighting the paralyzing apparitions that had gripped her. The man seemed to be unaffected, unafraid, and he strode slowly to meet their aggressor. He shouted at it with a voice strong and pure, and although the words seemed lost in the jumble of her mind, she could feel the effects weaken as the monster shifted its focus.
The Aegis felt it, too. He rose from his crouched position.
The tide of fear withdrew, but as it did, dark bands of energy began to surge around the dragon. It drew up a single claw, flexing each finger with crackling power. Speaking again, its last snide words signaled another attack. The energy leapt at Red’s unprotected body.
Sybil felt the Aegis’ shield push beyond her, popping the bubble in which she had been encased. It reached Red in the instant of Detch’s attack, and the electricity formed a dome around him, travelling downward. The voltage danced in a livid display, chaotic sparks spraying everywhere, but as the lightning dissipated, Red smiled underneath it, exhaling and alive.
Anger flaring, Detch turned his attention again toward the Aegis. “Your interference has become quite tiresome. It’s time I ended you.”
The wind howled with a strange ferocity, and Sybil feared the new power that the dragon had chosen to showcase. Neither her nor Red could do much in a physical battle, and the Aegis had been weakened by protecting them. She knew that each attack could be their last. Watching for the coming blitz, she questioned their capacity to survive it.
“Not so fast, monster. You’re not through with me yet,” a voice called aloud. The true source of the disturbance became clear, and with it, hope again entered her heart. David Mead hovered before the awestruck gathering.
He had no jetpack, and no mechanical means for his propulsion, only David himself, using the ability that she knew he possessed. That familiar confident smile radiated from his face.
His appearance captured the beast’s regard as well, and its black eyes stared at him.
David stared back, a strange moment passing as each of those gathered atop the building came to terms with what had happened, serene in comparison with the previous violence.
The Lieutenant spoke again in a cool and assured voice. “It seems I may be worth your attentions after all, Mr. Detch.” His smile paralleled the creature’s frown.
“So you are,” Detch said, anger dripping from his words. Raising a claw, another lightning bolt streaked into the sky, but his target moved without worry, and the attack shot wide. “So you are,” he said again.
While happy to see David alive, the immense psychic noise still pushed against Sybil’s mind. She decided to try and link the warriors, to coordinate the battle between the participants on her side. Concentrating, she fed their multiple perspectives to David and the Aegis, while Red searched for flaws in their opponent.
Seeming to forget the armored mercenary, the dragon swiped at his new target with a preternatural speed, his claws blurring through the air. The thing followed the fast-moving man with menacing violence, trying to lock onto him, but failing. Its snout opened into a fanged sneer as another lethal attack missed its mark.
David faced the beast with a soldier’s determination, and Sybil’s eyes had difficulty keeping up with his supersonic motion. He flitted around Detch, thumping the creature whenever an opportunity presented itself.
“I should have finished you before,” the dragon growled. “I will not make that mistake twice.” It drew up both claws and released another torrent of power. Multicolored strands of energy erupted, filling the rooftop with hypnotic patterns. Random detonations of colored energy crowded the space around them.
Sybil studied the monster, seeing the plating on its neck separate as it tracked the Lieutenant. A weak point, she thought, and with the connection between them, David heard the idea as well. As if on cue, he swept down and engaged the beast at a bullet-like speed. His body became a missile, blasting across the dragon’s face.
Detch roared, its pain and rage mixing. The dragon sent more energy in David’s direction, but the shot missed, streaking across the emptiness above the city and tearing the façade from a nearby skyscraper. The explosion echoed as half the structure came loose and slid down the building’s face.
Ignoring the destruction, David launched straight into the sky, and just as quickly, dove back to meet his opponent. Striking the target, he wrapped his arms and legs around the villain’s solid neck, squeezing with all of his might. The constriction forced the air from Detch’s thick windpipe.
The monster gasped, thrashing in panic and pulling at his neck. His giant tail undulated, slamming the ground as his razor claws grabbed at David. They grasped repeatedly, but nothing touched the man. Each attempt stopped inches from his body.
Sybil looked over, seeing that the Aegis had projected his shield to cover the Lieutenant. The idea was conveyed to David as well, and making full use of the added safety, he linked one hand around his foot, tightening his full-bodied grip and freeing an arm. He began to pummel the back of
the dragon’s neck, beating a dent into the metallic scales.
David punched until his fist began to bleed, and even then, he continued pounding, ignoring the injury. Each powerful strike focused his rage. As his anger erupted, he grasped the beast’s metallic throat with both hands, and curled backward. Using his jet-like power to launch himself, David wrenched against Detch’s spine.
Through the fury and armored flesh, Detch remained mortal. The monster struggled, but each effort brought it closer to unconsciousness. The beating was taking its toll.
Its vertebrae resisted, but not for long. As the Lieutenant pulled, a short spurt of dark energy leapt from the beast and bounced across the rooftop. The plates at the front of the dragon’s neck parted, splitting with gradual, then sudden, progress. The separation continued across the neck’s entire circumference, opening to the bone.
With a quick snap, the spine broke, and the monster went limp. It landed sideways as David released it, falling in a sprawled heap. The head came to a rest at an awkward angle, strange liquid oozing from the open wound.
__________
Red looked down on the conquered creature, then up to the group that had defeated it. They stood weary, but victorious, and he marveled at their combined power. He had dreamt of this moment his entire life, to feel the thrill of victory against an overwhelming foe, but despite their success, he felt no sense of achievement. No joy gripped him, only relief and fatigue. The truth of battle was miserable and disappointing, and instead of celebrating, the group assessed their wounds and longed for home.
Red considered the monster again, perhaps the closest thing he would ever see to the great villains of old. Even its loss was a waste. With so much preternatural power, the creature could have helped the world to realize its potential. Instead, it chose a more limited purpose, one of greed and self-regard. The squandered opportunity saddened him, and he turned from its gaping visage.
The wind and darkness dissipated, and the overcast sky cleared. They were again bathed in a warm, spring morning. The sun peeked through the parting cloud cover, casting a gentle radiance over the remaining foursome. Red closed his eyes for a moment, releasing a breath and soaking in the solar heat. Relief and fatigue.
Applause echoed from across the cluttered battlefield as Senator Jack Williams approached, smiling and slapping his hands together. The man showed no fear, taking determined steps toward the dragon-like corpse. He slowed as he neared it, beaming at the team’s accomplishment. “You’ve all done well,” he said with a wide grin. “I’m very proud of you.”
Chapter Forty-three
Looking upon her adopted father, Sybil heard the recent memories of news coverage ringing in his mind. Jack’s thoughts seemed to broadcast themselves to her, laden with the importance that the public had attributed to their battle. She tried not to listen, forcing herself to maintain his privacy, but the sounds and images were so strong that they were impossible to ignore. The world was watching as the mists parted, and she knew it.
Jack Williams, on the other hand, was the happiest that she’d ever seen him. A new vigor drove his every step, and where once the man had been burdened by responsibility, his present countenance seemed carefree. He smiled as he leaned down to place a hand upon the defeated creature’s head, and she thought back to her last encounters with him. The senator had always been an intense man, but his sheer ravenousness at finding the project’s recruits scared her, and she hadn’t understood the secret that drove him. Beyond the occasional lapses that alcohol brought, he had held it close and private.
The Aegis’ memories helped her to appreciate his past. Sybil now knew that Jack had once been Captain Valour, the man upon whose legacy much of this was built. It seemed natural for him to have felt such a deep connection with, and a responsibility for, all preternaturals. He had always worried about their place in the world, and held a very personal stake in the project’s success.
Could their victory over the thing called “Detch” have eased some of his burden? Despite the project’s failures and the attacks upon its members, the group assembled here had just defeated a powerful villain. Did that explain Jack’s state of mind?
Sybil concentrated, trying to block out the various memories of televised footage. Something felt strange, as if a glimmer of truth peeked from behind a mask. Jack’s mind seemed so unlike the man she knew. The feeling troubled her.
Continuing to smile as he approached them, the politician placed both hands around the dragon’s head and twisted. The thing’s neck parted from the rest of its body, shreds of flesh dripping goo. Jack studied it for a moment, gazing into the cold, black eyes.
Again, noise filled Sybil’s mind, intrusive in its intensity. She had difficulty even thinking above its din. “Keep him away from it,” she murmured, her voice weak through the mental static. Another wave struck her, and she fell, dizzy and nauseous. She could see the confusion in the others as she spoke.
Jack rose, holding the severed skull. Atop the building in the morning sun, cold delight gleamed in the man’s eyes. Metallic rivulets dislodged from the monster, flowing to cover him. A spider web of blood vessels blackened as they spread, and strands of silver crisscrossed his skin, weaving a metallic costume harder than steel.
More of the nanites poured from Detch’s corpse, reaching for the senator. Jack’s muscles convulsed and contorted upon contact, a faint yellow-green glow showing within them. Even his bones seemed to stretch as the changes rippled across his body. The transformation appeared hideous and painful, but through it all, he laughed. The echoes of maniacal mirth filled the rooftop.
The transformation finishing, Jack kicked away the frail, naked remains. He stood a different man, empowered by the tiny machines and the liquid inside. Red eyes glared.
David tried to react, to spring into action at this unexpected conversion. He jetted toward the senator, but as he approached, the blur of an elbow plowed into his face, knocking him unconscious. The Lieutenant’s body slumped to ground, blood leaking from his nose.
Another blast of mental noise filled Sibyl’s head, driving her to her hands and knees as she tried to block out the sound. It was no use. The relentless assault bored into her, generating a maddening vertigo that robbed all comprehension. The last thing she saw was the man standing over them, dwarfing the prone shapes of his incapacitated victims. A forgiving unconsciousness took her.
__________
Billy Moffet huddled along the edge of the building, nearly invisible as the fog and dark clouds glided past. It had taken him some time to again reach the tower’s top, and upon finishing his climb, he saw that the fight had gone well for their side. He wiped his forehead. Detch was dead, and his job was over.
A deep, sustained laughter caught his attention, and Billy looked up, watching as Detch’s scales melted away and encased another man. The silvery flow became more armor than flesh, leaving gaps of humanity exposed. As the roiling metal resolved itself, Billy began to recognize its result. All doubt left his mind regarding the man’s identity.
Dr. Malorius was reborn.
The evil doctor subdued two of the heroes with little effort, and as a final show of dominance, his heavy boot slammed down upon Detch’s skull. Blood and brain matter splattered a starburst in all directions. The villain lifted his foot, smiling as the crimson dripped.
Billy considered his options. He didn’t know what to do; his powers weren’t intended for combat, only stealth and camouflage. He looked to Aegis for guidance, but the mercenary was otherwise occupied. Through some telekinetic force, Malorius held him aloft and immobile, his armored feet floating above the structure’s floor.
The energy shield become visible as an unseen power pressed inward and squeezed, disturbing and shrinking it. The Aegis writhed, his survival depending upon the protective sphere around him. Once it was gone, there was no doubt the villain would continue to crush him until all life drained from the man.
Billy crept closer to the action, one thought forcin
g all others aside. The Aegis held Meredith, and if he died, he would take his secrets with him; Billy would never know the girl’s fate. He had to do something, and while the mercenary’s hypodermic needles still waited in his pocket, he wasn’t sure if they would work against this unexpected, new adversary.
He moved even closer, becoming more substantial as the clouds parted and allowed the sun to shine. With such direct light, his invisibility dwindled.
Malorius was not yet finished with his shielded victim when he turned his attentions toward the college student. He seemed to see through everything, looking straight toward Billy’s partially-shaded form. “A word please, Nightgaunt,” he said in a civil tone.
Billy peered from behind the protective obstructions, his heart pounding. He didn’t want to die. Not now. After so much stress and effort, his account held more money than he had ever dreamed. Beyond Detch and the Aegis and all of their schemes, his life had come together at last, and future prospects seemed abundant, if only he lived long enough to enjoy them.
Malorius gazed at him, his features inscrutable behind the domed helmet. “Take your money and leave,” he said in a civil tone. “I would hate to kill a trusted associate.”
Billy paused at the offer. Was it that easy? Could he really just leave? Despite the questions in his head, he did not speak. He stared at the villain, trying to divine the madman’s purpose.
Malorius looked upon him with a smug satisfaction, ignoring the others caught in his paralyzing grip. “You may go,” he said, nodding. “Your abilities are of no concern to me.” He brushed the air with the back of his hand.
“Leave now, and forget all you’ve seen.”
Billy took a few hesitant steps and prepared to descend. He could crawl down the building’s side, change into street clothes, and all of this would be a bad memory. He paused, his hand again passing over the hypodermics in his pocket.
Preternaturals: A Superhero Thriller Page 22
