by Wesley King
“You murdered them,” he spat. “My friends, your friends! You murdered innocent people!”
“I only did it to avenge you!” She was racked by a sob. “You should have told me!” She spun on Courage. “You! Why did you never tell me?”
“I regret what happened,” Courage said. “I always have. You know I cared for you. But you came out of that chamber a different woman.”
“I came out to find my husband dead!” she snarled, and then turned to Derias. “I’m still here,” she whispered. “I never left.”
Derias gazed at her for a moment.
“You told me she was a monster,” he said quietly.
“She was,” Courage said. “I was too. And now, so are you.”
“I’m sorry,” Avaria told Derias, taking another step toward him. “I should have stayed with you.”
He gestured at her. “And I never should have done this to you. We should be living in a house like this watching our children play,” he said wistfully. “So many things went wrong.”
“It’s not too late,” Courage said.
“I took so many lives,” he murmured. “Those men aren’t coming back.”
“We all must pay for our mistakes,” Courage said. “Myself included.”
Avaria came within a few feet of him. “Derias, please. We’ll go to your island. Together.”
Derias gazed at her. Finally, the knife fell from his fingers. “It’s just too late.”
She shook her head. “Let’s go now. No one will know.”
“I’ll take you there,” Courage agreed. “Maybe I can give back what I took all those years ago.”
Derias put his hand out, and she took it, squeezing his fingers.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
“How touching,” a mocking voice said, and Avaria whirled around to find Leni standing behind her, sneering. “But I do not forgive so easily.”
Avaria heard a wet thud, and she spun back to find Derias’s knife embedded in his chest. Blood spilled out around the hilt.
“No!” she screamed as Derias toppled backward.
“No question this time,” Leni said. “Right in the heart.”
Courage flew at him, but Leni waved a hand, and he crashed into the grass. Once again, Avaria dropped to her knees beside her fallen husband.
“No,” Avaria pleaded. “No!”
He looked up at her, his discolored face betraying no pain.
“At least this time I can say good-bye,” he wheezed. “I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t lose you again,” she said, the tears pouring down her face. “I can’t.”
“I was already gone, Avaria. But it’s not so bad. I saw you once more, when I thought I never would.” He smiled. “It’s not so bad.”
Then he closed his eyes, and his skin began to lighten. Soon she was staring at the face of her husband, Derias Tepper, and he was dead.
Avaria turned around and lunged at Leni, but she was stopped in midair. She hovered there, straining every muscle against the invisible grip.
“Murderer,” she hissed.
“I did love you, Avaria,” Leni said quietly. “He was right. But you always loved him. I’m sorry, for a great many things. And mostly, for this.”
She saw Derias’s blood-soaked knife circle around her and then stop, hovering in front of her chest.
“I know you, Avaria. You would hunt me to the end of my days. You already hunted this old fool,” he added, gesturing at Courage, “for fifteen years. I have to kill you and end this before it begins. Good-bye, Avaria.”
Avaria closed her eyes. She wasn’t afraid. She had felt so little for so long, and now she felt only pain, fresh and raw. What was there to fear?
A loud blast split through the air, and Avaria dropped to her knees. She opened her eyes and saw Leni topple forward, crashing into the lawn. Emily stood behind him, slowly lowering her rifle.
Avaria crawled back to Derias. She lay over her dead husband and cried, and no one disturbed her.
36
THUNDERBOLT STARED AT THEM ALL GRAVELY, HIS FACE CAKED WITH BLOOD and dust. Everyone else looked much the same. Those who had survived the battle were gathered in the center of the mostly destroyed lobby. The dead lay on the far side.
They had labored for the past half hour to collect the bodies, send the injured to the nearest medical facilities, and drag the prisoners to the cells in the basement.
Among the dead lay twelve of Nimian’s men, Nimian himself, Junkit, Sinio, Peregrine, and the Baron. James glanced at the Baron, lying peacefully with the others. Thunderbolt had crouched beside the Baron when they first found him and whispered some quiet words. James wondered if it was an apology.
The five protégés now stood beside the remaining seven League members, including Courage. James and Sam’s families stood quietly behind them, as well as Hayden’s mother, while Lana’s family had gone with her father to the hospital.
“We won today,” Thunderbolt said, “but at a cost. And again, you five have had to pay for our past mistakes. We have lost more friends. Good people, and ones who didn’t need to die today. Even Nimian was a good man once, and I mourn him anew. Courage told me what happened, and it seems he found himself before the end.”
His eyes hardened.
“For those who don’t know, Leni survived. He wore body armor under his clothing, and it absorbed much of Emily’s blast. He is severely wounded, but I have left him alone in a prison cell. He will survive on his own, or not. I know my own preference.” He looked at the Baron, and his expression softened again. “Four other Vindico members survived as well. They will be moved back to the Perch soon.”
“What about Nimian’s men?” Emily asked.
“They will be taken there as well, for now,” Thunderbolt replied. “I don’t know if the process can be reversed. We’ll have to find out.”
“I can help with that,” Emily said.
He nodded. “That brings me back to you five. Now, more than ever, the future of the League rests on your shoulders. We have lost three members, and some of us grow old and tired. I have formally invited Courage to rejoin the League, and he has agreed to return for a few months to help us transition into this new generation. To see if we can’t create something better. After that time, I too may retire from an active role. Nimian was right about one thing: many of us are stained by our histories. I’m one of them. But you five have once again proven yourselves to be more than capable of accepting the torch.”
He looked at each of them in turn.
“You have already been inducted into the League of Heroes, and now I formally ask that you take up residence at headquarters and become full-time, active members. You’re very young, but you’ve already been through more than most people ever will. You will still be expected to uphold your studies, but you will be equal members. There will be a state funeral for our fallen in three days, and you will all be introduced to the media soon after.”
James glanced at his family. His parents stood with their arms around his younger sisters. His father smiled proudly, and his mother reluctantly did the same. Ally looked positively exuberant. James suspected that she was already planning her first visit to headquarters.
“How big will our rooms be?” Hayden asked. “Can I bring my TV?”
Everyone turned to him.
“What?” he said.
“I’m just going to start ignoring you,” Thunderbolt muttered.
“Don’t even think about it, Sam!” Sam’s mother said, sounding on the verge of tears. “You’re only twelve years old!”
“And a member of the League,” Sam said firmly. “I wasn’t any safer at home. I’m involved now, one way or the other. I might as well be with my friends.”
“You can take the Mediator and pack your bags when you drop your families off,” Thunderbolt said. “As for the Baron and Nimian, Courage and I have decided to bury them in the League cemetery. It’s time we stop ignoring our past mistakes. We’ll do that t
omorrow.”
“I think Avaria should be there,” Lana said.
Thunderbolt hesitated. “I agree. All right, the Mediator’s in the garage. Take your families home, and be at headquarters by noon tomorrow.”
“Can we make it two?” Hayden asked. “We haven’t slept in days.”
“Fine. Two o’clock. Now get going.”
“So, looks like we’re all going to be roomies again,” Hayden said.
“We better go console your mom, Sam,” Lana added, patting Sam’s shoulder. Sam looked over to see his mother sobbing into his father’s arms.
“We’re officially in the League of Heroes,” James said slowly.
“Are you all right, Emily?” Sam asked.
They turned to find Emily staring at the line of bodies.
“They spent so much of their lives fighting a war they created themselves,” she said. “And they only found peace when it killed them. It had nothing to do with good and bad. None of this. This entire war came from their belief in the choice of fate. They made their own villains.”
“We should remember that,” Lana said quietly.
They all fell silent, and then James felt a hand on his shoulder.
“James, think we can go home?” his dad asked gruffly.
Ally and Jen appeared behind him.
“I told you he was a superhero,” Ally said, almost gloatingly.
Jen shrugged. “I had to see it to believe it. You know, before he’s in tights. Then I don’t want to see anything.”
Ally stepped up and gave him a hug. “You kicked butt.”
James looked down at her in surprise. “Was that a compliment?”
“It was,” she said, and then smirked. “How about the Weasel for a superhero name?”
“Love it,” Hayden said immediately.
James scowled. “No. And yeah, Dad, we can go home. There’s just one more thing I have to do. Hayden, can you come with me? I might need backup.”
* * *
The cell door slid open, revealing the captured Vindico, minus Leni. They were all sitting down, staring forlornly at the walls. The Torturer, Sliver, and Rono sat on one end, each battered and bruised. Avaria sat alone in the far corner, her eyes vacant. She didn’t even stir when the door opened.
“Torturer,” James said, “can I talk to you?”
The big man looked at him for a moment and then stood up, grimacing with every movement. James and Hayden stepped back to let him through the door, and he limped into the corridor, looking suspicious. Hayden shut the door behind him.
“What do you want?”
James hesitated. “I know you were thinking of helping us before Rono came. I just wanted to say thanks and that I’m going to talk to Thunderbolt to see if I can get your sentence reduced.”
The Torturer looked surprised. “I didn’t want to kill you,” he conceded. “But they won’t let me out, ever. What would I do?”
“Maybe you can join the League eventually,” James suggested, though he sincerely doubted that would ever happen.
“Yeah, they’ll love that,” Hayden said, smirking.
The Torturer sighed. “He’s right. Too many people hate me already. But there is one thing you could try.”
“What?” James asked.
“I just hate the Perch so much,” the Torturer said. “I hate it. No sun, no fresh air. They can’t free me, I get that, but maybe I could be exiled to one of those islands too, like Courage and Nimian. They could drop me off there, keep people away, and I’d be happy. At least I’d be outside. Can you ask him?”
James nodded. “Definitely. I can try to get Thunderbolt to agree to that.”
“Thanks. So are you in the League now or what?”
“Yeah, all of us,” James replied.
“I’m glad one of us got in, at least,” he said. The Torturer gave him a pat on the shoulder. “If they let me go to an island, maybe you could come by sometime?”
“I’ll do that,” James said.
Hayden opened the cell door, and the big man traipsed back inside, his footsteps thumping off the metal.
He glanced back. “See you, James.”
“See you,” James said, and then Hayden shut the door.
“Feel better?” Hayden asked.
“Much. Did you talk to your mom?”
Hayden sighed. “Yeah. She asked if I could ever forgive her.”
James glanced at him. “What did you say?”
“Maybe.”
James paused. “If you want my advice, give her a chance. You only get one family.”
“I guess,” Hayden said reluctantly. “You’re a good man, James. I like that in a roommate.”
“I am not rooming with you.”
“Please?”
“No,” James said.
“We can get a queen-size bed.”
“No.”
“But we’d be perfect roomies!” Hayden said, as he started to list the reasons on his hand. “We both like staring at ourselves in the mirror. I could use a personal trainer, and you need help with the ladies. I can clean our room while lying down . . .”
James hurried ahead to get away from him, but he fought back a grin at the same time.
37
THE RAIN WAS DRIZZLING FROM A GLOOMY, OVERCAST SKY, AND LANA SHIVERED a little in her damp clothes. The five protégés stood silently in the midst of the small group, huddled around two caskets in the far corner of the League’s cemetery.
Avaria stood alone in front of the left casket, where Nimian lay. She had no umbrella and her hair and clothes were soaked. Still, she hadn’t moved. Thunderbolt stood between the two caskets, letting the silence hold. The water was running down his lined face, and Lana wondered if there were tears mixed with the raindrops.
Finally, he looked up.
“Courage has asked to say a few words,” he said, “to honor two old friends.”
Courage stepped forward, wearing his League uniform.
“I won’t say much. I’ve found that silence speaks better in times like these. But I do want to say a few things that should have been said a long time ago.
“Two good men lie here: men who were products of our flaws. Before he became our oldest enemy, Martin Benwick was a passionate, brilliant man. Before any of us, he saw that these powers brought hope and gave us the chance to bring peace and justice to the world in a way never before imagined. Some of you may still not know this, but it was Martin who created the League of Heroes.”
Lana heard some quiet murmurs around her, and she looked at the Baron’s coffin. She had come to understand the man far better after he’d told them his story, and she had always pitied him somewhat, having spent his whole life surrounded by a reminder of what he couldn’t be. She was surprised to feel tears in the corners of her eyes.
“He brought us together, he laid the groundwork for our mandate, and he gave four confused individuals a purpose. And for all that, we mistreated him. It was only natural that one day he would try and join us fully, and in our pride, we struck him down. Perhaps we were right to stop it from happening, but we were wrong in how we did it.” He turned to the Baron’s coffin. “Today, let us remember him as Martin Benwick, a man with a noble dream.”
There was a long moment of silence. Lana glanced at the others and saw that they were all somber. It was the Baron that had brought them together, and she knew they all felt a certain sense of gratitude toward the old man, regardless of his intentions.
Finally, Courage turned to Nimian’s coffin. He opened his mouth, but closed it again quickly. Then he sighed. “As painful as that mistake was, this one was much worse. Our actions that night destroyed two lives, and for that I apologize again, especially to you, Avaria.”
Avaria made no reaction.
“I am only happy that he found you again, as you both once were. We should all be happy that when he died, he was Derias Tepper, a brilliant mind, a good friend, and a loving husband.”
Lana felt tears run down her c
heeks. She had hated Avaria so deeply for months. Now, she only felt pity for her former mentor, who had suffered for her decisions in a way Lana couldn’t even imagine. Avaria seemed to finally crack, and she laid her hand on the coffin and began to weep.
Courage turned back to the group.
“We lay these two men here, a short way from our lost heroes. They have had as great an impact on the League as any. Remember their stories as we strive forward so that we can create a better League than the one that killed these two men.” He glanced at each coffin, lingering on Nimian’s. “Good-bye, old friends,” he said softly, and then walked back to join the others.
Thunderbolt stepped forward. “It’s time, Avaria.”
For a moment, it seemed she didn’t hear him, but then she stepped back from the coffin.
“Hayden,” Thunderbolt said.
Hayden raised his hands, and both caskets were slowly lowered into the graves, the Baron’s first and then Nimian’s. A racking sob escaped Avaria as the casket disappeared from view.
Thunderbolt waited for another minute and then nodded.
“That concludes the service. If you like, pay your respects to these men and the others that lie here. Remember what you are a part of. When you’re ready, proceed back to headquarters. Courage and I will meet you there.”
Gradually, the small group of League members began to disperse, their quiet conversations filtering across the cemetery.
“Ready?” Hayden asked.
Lana watched Avaria standing motionlessly on the edge of the grave, with Thunderbolt and Courage behind her.
“Yeah,” she murmured, “let’s leave them alone.”
The five former protégés quietly filed out of the cemetery toward the white ships that sat glistening in the rain.
38
“I AM BEAT,” HAYDEN GROANED, FALLING ONTO A COUCH IN THE HEADQUARTERS lounge.
They’d spent the last three days moving into their new rooms and helping with the extensive repairs to the building, and they were exhausted.
The state funeral for the three fallen League members had taken place the day before and drawn a huge crowd as the procession drove through the city streets before heading upstate to the cemetery. Many more tears had been shed at that ceremony.
