He was the Warhammer.
18
ANDRE
The cellar finally stopped shaking. No one spoke for nearly ten minutes, because no one was willing to break the comforting sound of silence. It was a relief after spending the last hour sure that every crash and rumble above them was the sound of their imminent death.
Cleo groaned in pain as she crawled off the floor and struggled to search the metal shelving unit against the wall. There was lots of fumbling around in the pitch black and when she knocked a few bottles onto the floor, the sudden crash made Andre jump. Cleo let out a sigh of relief, and with a single click, a ray of light shot across the room.
“Thank you, Lawrence,” she said, casting the beam from the flashlight around, searching for everyone's face to make sure they were okay. “That man always insisted I keep fresh batteries in this thing.”
After the silence broke, a chorus of groans and coughs began as everyone tried to move around, making sure all their bits and pieces still worked. Andre crawled up the staircase and tried to budge the debris that fell across the doorway, but despite his enhanced strength, it wouldn't move.
“Cleo? A little help, please?”
She handed the flashlight to Wesley and made her way to the stairs. She shuffled her feet, bracing herself against the banister as she made her way up the steps.
“I may have been blessed with super strength, but I sure as shit didn't get any invulnerability. Maybe I should start wearing my Pyramidas armor again.”
She chuckled, but it must have hurt too much to laugh because she stopped herself, grabbing her side and groaning. When she reached the top of the stairs, she pushed with Andre. The debris budged, but only a little. When they both let go, it sounded as if even more fell back into place.
“Looks like we'll be here awhile.”
Andre nodded and made his way back down the stairs. Wesley scanned the shelves with the flashlight, taking stock of their inventory.
“We definitely have enough booze down here,” he said, trying to make light of the situation.
“There's a box of pretzels in the corner. In case we're down here for...” Cleo let the sentence drift away, afraid to put a time frame on their stay.
“The thing shanked the whole bloody city,” Victor said, snagging a bottle of whiskey off the shelf. “It'll take'em weeks to find us.”
“D-d-don't talk like that,” Mickey said, shaking in the corner. “Th-th-the Alliance is out there. They'll have this c-c-cleaned up in no time.”
Victor rolled his eyes and blew out a breath of derision between his lips before he took a swig from the bottle of whiskey and handed it to one of the other patrons that had followed them down.
“You got any powers, mate?”
The middle-aged man took the bottle and poured a shot down his throat before passing it on. “Not really. I was one of the guys that tried being a costumed villain without any powers.”
Victor stared at him for a second before letting out a laugh. “How'd that turn out?”
The guy shrugged, as if he was used to people laughing at him. “Lost the hearing in my left ear and spent a long time in jail.”
Andre sat down next to Wesley and called across the cellar. “Least you got out before the life sentences.”
Cleo shuffled through some junk on another shelf before she proclaimed, “Found it!” and yanked a small radio out from behind some boxes. She plopped down on the floor and clicked the power button. Static came out of the speaker, but when she extended the antenna and adjusted the dial, a voice came through.
“Authorities are still assessing the damages, but there's no doubt the death toll will at least be in the five figures. They do urge everyone to stay off the streets, and if you are trapped, remain where you are until military personnel can locate you.”
Victor let out a laugh. “If we're trapped, we shouldn't go anywhere. Bloody brilliant!”
The announcer continued. “Eyewitnesses have spotted Warhammer and the Alliance of Heroes doing what they can to help the military with their emergency response, but the process has been slow.”
“Great,” Cleo said. “You know, I get that the imperator is dead, and that's a real shame, but you'd think they could postpone their little memorial party for a few moments to come help us. But no. All they can spare is one guy. That damn family.”
“The Alliance hasn't made any formal statement,” the radio continued, “but one reporter did manage to catch this brief response from Metallus.”
The audio changed to a bad recording with the wind and sirens and screams in the background. “How the (beep) do you think I feel? I'm pissed off and I'm tired. And people are still dying out there. So if you don't mind, I'm going to keep trying to save as many of them as I can. Why don't you (beep) off?”
“I always liked her,” Cleo said with a smile.
Wesley rubbed his face. “If we get out of here-”
“When we get outta here,” Andre corrected.
“Whatever. I'm leaving. I'm getting out of this city. This whole place is a magnet for this kind of thing. SPMDs are going off every week. Insurance rates are through the roof. How is anyone supposed to live like this?”
“Where are you gonna go, man?” Andre asked. “You can't afford the suburbs. The Frost covers everything in the north, and Domina Winter isn't exactly inviting people across the border. You gonna go south and join the Hive?”
“No,” Victor said with a grin, “lil' Wes is goin' to the empire to join that bloody cult. The House of Psi. Ain't that right?”
Wesley shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Anything would be better than this.”
“Sorry, mate, but even if ya managed to make it over there, I don't think they got any interest in a bloke who can only move a marble.”
“Screw you, Victor. Maybe they could teach me how to-”
“How to wot?” Victor said. “Pull yer own pud without usin' yer hands? Now that'd be impressive.”
“Anybody got one of them new MajesTech mobile phones?” one of the other patrons asked the room. “I want to call my wife. Make sure she's okay.”
“Yeah,” Andre said, digging into his pocket to search for the device. He pulled it out and looked at the screen, tapping the call icon. Nothing happened.
Wesley snagged it out of his hands when Andre showed obvious frustration and with a glance he said, “No service. Either the tower was destroyed in the attack, or we're too far underground.”
The patron scoffed. “What good are those damn things if they don't work when you really need them.”
“Guess you'll have to ask Esmeralda Majesty. I just work at the store,” Wesley said, then stopped himself. “If the store is even there anymore.”
That thought got layered onto the pile of constant reminders of how bad it was outside the cellar. They might be trapped for days, and they were still the lucky ones.
“I hope Carmen...”
Andre's thought trailed off. He felt guilty bringing her up. Everyone was worrying about someone they loved.
“Did you guys hear that?” Cleo asked.
“Hear what?”
“Shh!” she held her finger up to her lips and tilted her head.
The room fell silent, trying to listen for anything, when Andre suddenly heard voices on the other side of the rubble. He rushed up the stairs and started yelling.
“Hey! Hey, we're down here! Help!”
He waited and through the wall of broken debris, he heard the muffled sound of a familiar voice. “Andre? Is that you? It's Carmen!”
“Carmen? Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, you idiot. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, we're fine. But we can't get this stuff off the door.”
“Well, duh. The whole building came down on top of you.”
“Can you get help?”
There was a pause and some muffled conversation before she yelled back, “Get away from the door.”
“What are you-”
&
nbsp; “Andre! Move!”
He backed down the stairs and motioned for everyone to get against the far wall. They waited a few seconds before they heard a humming sound coming from upstairs. It grew louder and louder until they saw a small point of red light glowing in the center of the door. The point grew larger, glowing more intense, until the red energy was making the entire entrance emanate heat. It became so bright that everyone needed to shield their eyes, but when Andre peeked through his fingers, the pile of debris was melting through the opening into a molten pile of slag that poured down the stairs. When the humming stopped, the debris sizzled as it cooled in the cold December air. Andre looked up through the melted opening and saw Carmen smiling back at him, her hands glowing with energy.
He ran up the stairs, his boots sizzling as they stepped on the hot debris. When he reached the top, he snatched Carmen up in his arms and swung her around.
“You're alive!” he yelled.
“Stop squeezing me, mister super strength,” she grunted in pain. “I'd kind of like to stay alive.”
He set her down and looked around the pile of rubble that used to be the bar. The buildings to either side looked the same, making the landscape unrecognizable.
“Th-th-thanks, Carmen!” Mickey called out from the doorway as he tiptoed around the hot debris to make his way up the stairs.
“Don't thank me. This place was so destroyed, I wasn't sure where the cellar even was. I wouldn't have found you if it weren't for Lucy and her x-ray vision.”
She pointed at the young girl standing in the corner and Lucy gave a weak wave to everyone.
“How did she...” Andre let his words drift off, not wanting to hear one more word about how amazing her power was. “Thanks, Lucy.”
“No problem. It was kind of cool saving you for once. I think I could get used to this whole superhero thing.”
“Is the neighborhood...?”
Lucy smiled. “It didn't reach your mom's street. Everyone in that building is fine. But most of the neighborhood is a mess.”
Andre let out his breath and nodded his head. He knew he should call his mom and let her know he was okay, but he figured Mickey would tell her. Or Lucy. She'd find out somehow.
When Victor climbed out of the cellar, he slapped Carmen on the shoulder and said, “How'd you get yer mom to let ya outta the house in all this.”
“Our house was destroyed. The neighbor's house was spared, but when she realized she didn't have her medication, I told her I would run down to see if the pharmacy was still standing.”
“Your house was destroyed?” Andre said, gripping her shoulder as a sign of condolence.
She turned away from him, taking her shoulder with. “Yeah. But you want to hear the crazy part?” She flashed a smile at everyone. “Warhammer saved us.”
Mickey slapped his cheeks with open palms. “W-w-what? No way. You actually met Warhammer?”
“Yup. Well, sort of. He came crashing right into our living room and stopped the roof from coming down on us.” She stepped up to Wesley and said, “I was this close to him.”
“I-I-I can't believe you met a Z-Z-Zharkov!”
“By the sounds of it,” Andre said, helping Cleo out of the cellar, “the guy nearly killed her, crashing into her house like that.”
“Yer bloody ugly when yer jealous, mate.”
Victor slapped him on the back and everyone laughed. Andre rolled his eyes, but he froze when he looked out onto the street and saw Bobby the Bull and Pavement walking toward the pile of rubble that used to be Cleo's Place.
“Well, well, well,” Bobby said, snorting out a breath. “I'd love to say the place looks terrible, but honestly, I can't tell the difference.”
“What do you want?” Andre said, stepping out in front of his friends.
Bobby twirled his hand in the air and said, “I'm just surveying the damage. I have a lot of investments around here. I care about this neighborhood, Andre. Remember? That's why you joined my organization.”
“Do you remember why I quit? We don't need anything from you, Bobby. Just keep walking.”
Bobby straightened the gold watch on his wrist, staring into Andre's eyes. For a moment, he thought his words might get him into trouble, but after a few seconds, Bobby relaxed and the smile returned.
“I seem to remember firing you, but no matter. I guess Cleo doesn't need a loan from me to rebuild this place either. I'm sure sooner or later another watering hole will pop up for all the drunks to hide out in.” He turned to walk away, but something caught his eye. “Wait a second. Is that Victor Valentine back there?”
Andre glanced over his shoulder and saw Victor standing behind everyone with his head down. Pavement stepped around his boss and moved toward Victor.
Andre stepped in front of Pavement and yelled over to Bobby, “Whatta you want with him, man?”
Bobby pulled on his cuff links and tilted his head from side to side. “It's not so much what I want. More like what Victor wants. As in, does Victor want to pay me what he owes me, or does Victor want to learn a lesson about debts?”
Pavement shoved Andre to the side and stomped toward Victor. The giant stone man grabbed Victor by the shirt collar and lifted him up.
“Hey, ya cunt, get off me!”
“Victor, what did I tell you?” Andre said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Don't take money from Bobby. That was my one rule.”
“I didn't have much of a choice. I hit myself a bit o' a dry spell down at Nicky Neutrino's and I owed him. I owed him a lot, Andre. A lot. And they were comin' after me.”
Andre let out a sigh. “So you borrowed from one supervillain to pay off another supervillain.”
“Villain?” Bobby said with a smile. “I'm no villain. I'm a business man that takes care of the people in this neighborhood. I love this place. So when someone takes advantage of my kindness, it hurts my feelings. Do you understand, Victor?”
Andre rolled his eyes. He had heard that speech a thousand times. “Bobby, wait, I can-”
Bobby held up a finger to shush Andre. “I didn't hear you, Victor. Do you understand?”
Victor nodded his head up and down. “Yeah. Yes. I understand, Bobby. And I'm sorry. Really I am. I'll get you the money as soon as-”
“See, I'm not sure you do understand. You say you do. But how do I know you really understand how much you hurt me?” Bobby paced, as if he were actually contemplating the answer. “I suppose the only way for you to really understand, is for me to hurt you. Or to be more specific: for me to have Pavement hurt you.”
Pavement grabbed onto Victor's wrist and squeezed. Everyone heard the cracking sound of his bones breaking and they all screamed and yelled for the giant man made of cement to stop.
“Bobby!” Andre yelled. “I'll take his debt!”
Bobby stopped and turned his head. “Excuse me?”
Andre let out a breath, giving himself time to make sure he knew what he was doing, but all he knew was he didn't have a choice. “I'll take his debt. In full. With interest and all those other caveats you always put on it. And I'll work it off until it's paid.”
Bobby smiled. “Whatever I want? Until you pay off that little scum bucket's entire debt?”
Andre nodded his head.
Bobby licked his lips and considered the proposal for a second before he nodded his head at Pavement. Pavement slammed Victor into the floor, cracking the wood. Carmen and Mickey rushed to his side to make sure he was okay.
“You got yourself a deal, Andre. I want you at my office tomorrow morning, bright and early.” He smiled his devious smile and looked around at the destruction that surrounded him. “We'll give people the day off. I think it'd be rude to collect on debts in the middle of all this sadness, don't you?”
Bobby laughed as he walked away, a small skip in his step. Pavement nudged his shoulder into Andre, chuckling with a deep, “Hur, hur, hur,” then followed his boss down the broken street.
“Why'd you have ta go and do somethin' s
tupid,” Victor said as he rubbed the back of his head. “With the money I owe that wanker, you'll be workin' fer him 'til yer dead.”
Andre looked around at the buildings burning, and the cars flattened into the street, and the sky filled with ash. “Way things are going, that'll probably be sooner than you think.”
As everyone brushed themselves off and said their goodbyes, stumbling away to find out if anyone else they knew was still alive, Cleo set her hand on Andre's shoulder.
“You're a good kid.”
Andre shrugged. “Just looking out for my friend.”
“That's not all I'm talking about. You've always been a good kid. But today? Today you saved my life.”
“No big deal, man. You saved our lives too. Without your cellar-”
Cleo waved her big hand in the air, the bratwurst-sized fingers waggling back and forth. “That was nothing. I opened a door. You risked your life. You could have been trapped under all that with me.”
Andre smirked at her and said, “Are you trying to tell me that I get free drinks from now on?”
Cleo laughed and waved her hand around the rubble. “Kiddo, if I ever manage to rebuild this place, you can have all the shitty beer you can drink.”
“I'll hold you to that.”
Cleo tugged on the back of his neck, pulling his ear closer to her mouth. “But I'm also going to talk to some friends of mine. If I hear of a job or something, I'll put in a good word for you.”
Andre's smile left his face as the seriousness of the conversation dawned on him. “Are you for real? You'd do that?”
Cleo shrugged her shoulders. “Don't get too excited, kiddo. None of the guys that hang around my bar are planning world domination or anything, but I have some people that are pulling off bigger things than Bobby the Bull, that's for damn sure.”
He tried to find the words, but he hugged her instead. There was nothing he could say that would explain how much her offer meant to him. He couldn't stop the images in his head from lighting up. He imagined himself in a cape, with a mask, and a secret, underground lair. He imagined laying on piles of money. And he imagined Carmen by his side, gazing up into his eyes, and finally seeing just how super his power was.
The Super Power Saga (Book 1): Super Powers of Mass Destruction Page 16
