Jorg waved him off. “We will.”
Once they were out of earshot of him, Priscilia said, “Relm, take us through this. What happened?”
Relm’s deductive abilities were second to none. While they had been talking with the man from Zero Grade, he had been busily recreating the crime scene, as it were. He could trace the flow of god-energy to figure out every action that had taken place. “A mighty tempest, unleashed by forces arrogant and intelligent, the house consumed from within.”
Jorg looked at him expectantly. “And…?”
Relm adjusted his glasses. “The proud god, contending with novices unpredictable, his power commandeered.”
Priscilia chuckled. “So, in other words, Poseidon got cocky because he was up against what he took to be rank amateurs.”
“And he unleashed his powers inside the house. Bannen and this Arcturus guy figured out how to use that against him. It’s not hard to see how. A lot of things can go wrong for you in a situation like that.”
“Perhaps Posdeidon got complacent in recent centuries,” she suggested.
“It doesn’t matter. Now, then. Priscilia, it’s time for you to bring your talents to the table.”
* * *
The Awesome Three had originally teamed up, not simply because of their grades, but because each of them had a unique ability that complemented one another. Priscilia happened to be the best tracker anyone had ever seen. She could follow even the faintest trace of god-energy back to its source.
This was how they ended up at this strange rock formation roughly a hundred kilometers from the destroyed house in a remote forest.
When they arrived, she said almost immediately, “There’s an illusion in place.”
They walked forward and quickly hit a shimmering wall. Going through it, they discovered a cave with the remains of a fire inside. “Looks like we’re too late,” Jorg said.
“The bounty, though pursued, remains elusive—who can say for how long?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Priscilia said. “I can find them no matter where they went. The energy trail leads south, so let’s head that way.”
And so they pursued their quarry even farther into the country.
* * *
Adlo was the capital of the Tru Republic and by far its largest city. Originally a farming settlement centuries ago, it had grown into an economic powerhouse in the center of the continent.
The North District was the oldest part of the city, and Adlo only became more sophisticated the farther south one went. This particular area, while not technologically advanced in the least, was still a popular tourist destination. A fifty-foot-tall wooden windmill greeted visitors arriving from the northern farmlands. Farmers still worked diligently to cultivate their fields and reap their harvests. Potatoes were a popular staple of the country.
A massive stone wall surrounded Adlo, a throwback to earlier times when barbarian hordes roamed the land and defenses were needed. Nowadays, it was more decorative than anything else, but residents still took pride in it.
Further south, into the Central District, the dirt roads gave way to cobblestone streets, and the buildings went from wood to mortar. They rose in height as well. Also, gas lamps replaced torches for lighting.
Only once you were in the South District did the city’s modern infrastructure reveal itself. The cobblestone streets became concrete, and the buildings rose into the sky with the aid of steel. Every modern amenity could be found here, from wi-fi to the latest caffeinated beverages dispensed by vending machines that took credit cards.
Visitors often asked why the rest of the city didn’t get with the program. As if turns out, Adloans took great pride in their history and didn’t want to mess with it. In fact, eighty percent of tourists come here to step back in time to centuries past.
But on this day, a certain trio skipped the history lesson and headed straight for the South District carrying duffel bags full of weapons that were illegal…pretty much anywhere.
Their destination on this day? McCormack Technologies Incorporated. This mammoth building lay in the heart of the South District, and its diamond-shaped skyscraper could be seen anywhere in the city.
However, looks could be deceiving. As Arcturus explained before they left the cave, “MTI is just a front for Zero Grade. Most of the offices aboveground are legitimate, but what the public doesn’t know is that there’s an elaborate underground facility here. Everything that goes on down there is completely off the record. That’s why they won’t call the police when we attack them. They can’t risk their secrets getting exposed.”
Ev was the first to enter the building. The metal detectors immediately went off. His chest began pounding. “We haven’t even brought the weapons in yet,” he said, though not loudly enough for anyone else to hear.
Arcturus strolled past him with the duffel bags. “These aren’t metal detectors. They’re scanning for god-potential.”
The lobby here was almost as nice as the main hall of House #4. A pair of elevators sat behind a reception station. They were the clear kind that let you see everything coming and going.
The receptionist, a petite young woman wearing a gray pantsuit and brown-rimmed glasses, strolled up to them. Even though she seemed plain, she had a subtle beauty. Her hair was in a chestnut bun. “I’m sorry, sirs, but you’ll have to leave here.” She smiled sweetly as she said it.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that. We have pressing business in the sublevels,” Arcturus said.
She closed her eyes and her smile broadened even further. Her saccharine sweetness threatened to choke them. “Oh? That’s too bad. Well, for you, I mean. For me, it’s pretty great.”
She ripped the bun loose. Suddenly her hair became wild, almost alive. It snapped at them, and Ev could see each thick strand had a mouth with sharp teeth.
“Dammit!” Arcturus yelled. “It’s Medusa!”
“Ohhh? You know about me. That’s so great! Then you know what I can do. I may not be a full-fledged god, but I can certainly tear you limb from limb. And believe me—I’m going to!”
“She’s activated her powers. Ev, Maya—don’t look into her eyes.”
Ev was busy dodging her snake-like hair. “Why not?”
“Just don’t!”
Ev didn’t know what was so dangerous about this manic woman, but Arcturus was dead serious about her, so he decided to obey.
“You don’t want to look into my eyes? Why noooooot?”
The hair was now wrapped around Ev’s arms, sinking their teeth into his flesh. He winced at the pain. Even if this Medusa wasn’t a proper god, she was still dangerous.
“You bitch! Get this crap off of me.”
Her innocent smile never wavered. “Awwww, what’s the matter? Oh! You probably think my hair is poisonous or something. Don’t worry; it’s not.”
Poisonous or not, it was still a pain in the ass. “Good to know,” Ev grumbled.
A pair of arrows flew through the air, severing the thick strands of hair holding onto Ev. He ripped the remaining strands from his arm. Blood flowed from the wound.
He quickly redirected energy to heal. “Thanks, Maya.”
“Don’t mention it. Now let’s take this psycho down.”
While keeping her eyes down, she fired a volley of arrows at Medusa. The faux god retracted all her hair and used it to form a shield, causing the projectiles to bounce harmlessly off it.
“Uh-uh-uh!” Medusa said, clicking her tongue and waving a finger at them. “I can’t have you conjuring weapons in here. The higher-ups won’t like it. So…”
Her hair exploded in all directions, enveloping the three intruders. Ev tried to fight it, but it was like a steel sleeping bag; he couldn’t budge. Maya and Arcturus found themselves in the same situation.
“This is bad,” Arcturus said.
“Thank you for pointing out the obvious,” Maya shot back.
Medusa strolled nonchalantly over to Ev. He closed his eyes to keep from seeing
hers. His head was the only part of him not bound by hair. “Hey, now. It’s rude to avoid eye contact with people you’ve just met. Look at me.”
Ev shook his head. “No way.”
“I said…” Strands shot up and bit into his eyelids. They lurched upward, forcing his eyes open. More strands grabbed his head and forced him to turn towards her.
“Look. At. Me.”
Panic shot through him as he found himself looking into her eyes. And…
…nothing happened.
They stared at each other for several moments. Finally, Medusa burst into laughter. “You were so scared, silly boy!”
She released his head and eyelids, leaving him bewildered. “W-What the hell…?”
Medusa wandered over to Arcturus. “This is our first time meeting one another, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“And you only know me from the legends.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And what do the legends say?”
“That you freeze anyone who looks into your eyes.”
“Legends!” She laughed maniacally. “Can’t trust ‘em. It’s true that I have the power to freeze people, but it isn’t what you think.”
“Then what is it?” Ev said.
Almost instantly, he became aware of coldness in his body. It began in his extremities, and then worked its way to his head and chest. He noticed Medusa’s hair had become frosty and was emitting vapor. Realization hit him hard. “Your hair freezes people—literally!”
“Correct!” she cheered. “My hair maxes out to a temperature of negative two-thousand degrees below zero, so don’t try fighting it. Even a god can’t resist this cold for very long.”
“Sounds like a perfect reason to fight it,” Ev said as he began struggling against his cuticle coffin. Unfortunately, he soon realized Medusa was right. The cold quickly sapped his strength. His body was going numb, and increasingly fewer signals got through from his brain. His mental capacities diminished as well.
Medusa loved every moment of this. The entire lobby was now covered in an ever-growing sheet of ice, and vapor hung in the air like a chilly fog. “Did you know gods can get hypothermia like everyone else? All it takes is for your core temperature to drop a few measly degrees.” She gave them an exaggerated shrug. “Mammals are certainly silly, aren’t they? You lose a few degrees, and next thing you know, you’re shivering, you’ve got frostbite, you can’t think straight, and your organs are shutting down. Bang! Bang! You’re dead. Or something like that.”
“Big deal,” Ev said. “I can just redirect my energy to raise my temperature back up.”
She made another exaggerated display, this time of stroking her chin as if doing some serious thinking. “Hmmm, you couuuld do that. But that’s assuming you have the proper training, your brain will respond to your commands, and you don’t accidentally raise your temperature too much and cook yourself. It’s certainly something to think about."
Dammit, she was right. In his current condition, there was no way he could pull it off. But there had to be something he could do.
Arcturus suddenly spoke up. “Hey, b-bitch.”
“Ohhhh, the mouth on this one. You can stay in time-out for a while.”
But Arcturus wasn’t about to shut up. Despite the cold, he continued. “I…k-know your story, woman. You…w-w-ere a maiden in Athena’s temple b-before Poseidon r-raped you.”
In an instant, she went from manic to enraged. “What?”
“I said…you w-were raped by Poseidon in Athena’s t-temple. Your goddess decided to mete out some p-punishment…but not to Poseidon. She punished you by t-turning you into a m-monster. She s-sided with Poseidon. How does that m-make you f-feel?”
She stormed over to him and gripped his face with her hands. “It wasn’t my fault! I didn’t do anything! How could I defend myself against a god, huh? Tell me! Well? What are you waiting for?”
Without warning, a flaming hand burst forth from the hair cocoon and lodged itself into her chest. She stared down at it, dumbstruck.
“To answer your question, I was waiting for my hand to get hot enough to burn through your hair.”
Medusa’s jaw hung open. After staring at him for a moment, she abruptly arched her head back and began guffawing hysterically.
“W-What the hell’s w-wrong with her?” Ev asked to no one in particular.
“N-Never mind that. A-Arcturus, g-get us out here before we f-freeze to death,” Maya said.
Arcturus pulled his hand out of Medusa’s chest. She staggered back, still laughing as he used his flaming hand to free himself from her hair. Finally she stopped and fell backwards. She continued to stare at the ceiling with a look of pure joy on her face.
After Arcturus freed Ev and Maya, they paused to contemplate the twisted figure on the floor. “Was what you said true? About her being raped by Poseidon?”
“She confirmed it, didn’t she?”
“The poor thing,” Maya said. “Even though she was the enemy, I feel sorry for her.”
“I’m glad we took care of that guy,” Ev said.
Arcturus nodded. “Some people deserve to die. Others don’t, but sometimes you have to kill them anyway.”
Maya looked at him suspiciously. “What does that mean?”
“It’s personal. I’d rather not get into it right now.”
Ignoring them, Ev continued to stare at Medusa’s corpse. “I know she was our enemy, but I can’t help feel sorry for her.”
“Her experience drove her insane,” Arcturus said. “You know what the most ludicrous part of all this is? You already know Poseidon was part of Zero Grade, but what you may not know is Athena is also one of them. She’s one of the Flawless Few.”
Maya was the first to point out the obvious. “But that doesn’t make any sense! Why would she continue to serve those who had destroyed her life?”
He replied, “Funny thing about insanity—it doesn’t always make sense. My mother stayed loyal to my father even after he beat her senselessly. Some people can’t bring themselves to break their attachment to those who wrong them. That’s just how humans are. And at our core, we are human.”
“Hey, I just realized something. Where’s the security? Shouldn’t there be guards here? The entire lobby freezes over and no one comes to check it out?” Ev said.
Arcturus pointed at Medusa. “She was the security. You see, when we set off the god alarm, it would have sent a signal to keep the mortal security guards away. Zero Grade doesn’t want outsiders seeing something they shouldn’t. Medusa was supposed to stop us before we did anything. But if you’re looking for action, don’t worry; there will be plenty of guys trying to kill us once we get into the sublevels.”
“All right, well, take us down there,” Ev said.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. We’re going to take the elevator shaft down, but I don’t have clearance. And as soon as we enter the shaft, we’ll be inside the God Dampener’s field.”
The shaft? They weren’t taking the actual elevator?
“I just told you—I don’t have clearance. The only way to the sublevels is to shimmy down the shaft. Now come one and help me with this.”
They went over to the elevator and suited up with body armor that held many slots for weapons and equipment. Arcturus then removed a pair of crowbars from the duffle bags and handed one to Ev. Together they pried open the doors. Ev looked into the shaft. “That’s gotta be at least ten floors down!”
“Can’t be helped,” Arcturus said. “And we’ve got to do this while the elevator’s still further up.”
Ev looked at Maya. “I know, I know; bad idea. But if we don’t do this, a lot of people are going to die. We have to do some serious damage to Zero Grade here.” In truth, he didn’t care at all about the supposedly imminent war. Once they activated the Ark and created the perfect world, Zero Grade wouldn’t even exist anymore.
Ev slung a rifle around his shoulder, and Maya did the same. Arcturus loaded up with
almost twice the weaponry. They then grabbed onto the cable and began descending. The elevator was still some thirty flights up, but they had no idea when it would be coming down on them. Arcturus went first, followed by Ev and Maya.
Their powers were now gone, and Ev felt crippled. It was a real struggle just to hang on to the cable while wearing that heavy synthetic fiber armor. His arms quickly burned with every movement.
“How are you doing, Maya?” he said.
“Fine,” she said. “Fortunately, all our training isn’t going to waste in here. Our muscles are still well-developed.”
She must have done a lot more training than he had, he thought. His muscles felt downright nonexistent. Still, he wasn’t about to lose face by admitting that. “Good, good.”
Incident 27 Page 10
