Big Ape_Lawless Book Two

by James Maxey

  I motored downstream until the boat ran out of fuel. I filled it up again and kept trucking. I turned off the motor and pulled the boat ashore as night fell. I figured that the guy had to have come from a village, and he’d reached me on a single tank of gas, so his home might be just around the next river bend. If so, I needed to figure out the best way to approach. The fisherman’s shotgun hadn’t done any real damage, but who knew what artillery the natives might wheel out? On the other hand, these people possessed Spam and thrift store clothing. They weren’t savages. Maybe someone would recognize me. Maybe, with luck, someone spoke English. Why not try the direct approach and go ashore to talk to people?

  That would be a plan best carried out in daylight. For now, I wanted to get some sleep. The boat wasn’t big enough to stretch out in comfortably. I tied it off and headed back into the canopy.

  I found the biggest, mossiest branch among the upper reaches of the tree and kicked back, staring up at the moon, watching the bats flicker in front of it. Then, something that wasn’t a bat rose in front of the moon. My heart sank as it moved closer. The outline was that of a man. A flying man. I needed to run. I wanted to run. But some stupid part of me wanted even more to fight. Which is why, as Golden Victory flew down from the sky to stand in front of me, I was waiting for him with fists clenched.

  “Hello, Harry,” said Golden Victory. “You haven’t been easy to find.”

  I answered by punching him with everything I had, POW, right in the kisser.

  Chapter Thirty

  Big Misunderstanding

  OW,” I SAID, bending over, cradling my bleeding knuckles with my other hand. “Ow, ow, ow.”

  “You had to know that was a bad idea,” said Golden Victory, his arms folded across his chest.

  “Bad ideas are all I got,” I said through clenched teeth. My punch hadn’t even tousled the bastard’s hair. He floated before me, looking smug. “What are you waiting for? Kill me.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Why would I want to kill you?”

  “Then slap the cuffs on,” I said. “Whatever it is you’re planning to do to me.”

  “I’m planning to give you a ride back home so you can rejoin the team. You’re not in any trouble.”

  “I find that hard to believe. I mean, I did help Technosaur steal the Doom Raptor and flatten half of Manhattan.”

  “True,” he said. “Pretty poor judgment on your part. Smash Less tells me you were being manipulated by Reverend Rifle, a known outlaw. Smash Lass also vouches you realized the error of your way and helped save the city. The videos of you wrestling the Doom Raptor have gone viral. Big Ape posters are now selling as fast as Smash Lass posters. The Legion’s marketing team has set you up for a hero’s welcome.”

  I shook my head, wondering why he was toying with me. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you mean?” He smiled as he asked the question.

  “You know what I mean. You’re acting like you’re my friend. You think I’ve forgotten watching you go on television and outright call me drug addict and a murderer?”

  Golden Victory shrugged. “I answered questions with the best information I had on hand. You’ve been away from television for a while, so you probably don’t know that a few days ago another video surfaced showing the entirety of the attack. Plainly, you acted in self-defense.”

  “Yeah, but when the cops looked for me in their database, they didn’t find a record of me. You’d already purged me from the roles.”

  “Um, no,” he said. “While investigating your kidnapping by Reverend Rifle, we interviewed the detective who interrogated you. You gave your current code name, Big Ape. When you joined the team, your alias was Sock Monkey, and apparently that never got updated. An honest clerical error.”

  “Why should I believe a word you say?” I growled. “I told the truth about the Butterfly House, and you told the world I was a damned liar. You said Valentine made it all up!”

  He waved his hand as if the problem meant nothing to him. “We’ve had this discussion. For now, the Butterfly House remains classified. Fortunately, while The Butterfly Cage caused a lot of headaches, we’re starting to contain the damage. If you renounce the book, we should get it completely under control.”

  “I don’t care what you say about a hero’s welcome. You think the world is really going to believe I’m still a good guy after all the terrible things I did?”

  “Your explanation is solid. You went undercover to track down Technosaur and Dr. Moreau. We’ll say we knew about the mission all along.”

  “So your plan is to lie, lie, lie.”

  “We live in a complicated world,” he said. “Occasionally, the truth needs edits. I’ve been doing this a long time. People trust me. What I say becomes truth, even if it contradicts things I’ve said before. I regard my ability to edit the truth as another superpower. It’s a tremendous responsibility. I try to use it for the greater good.”

  “But I’ll know the truth!” I shouted. “The Butterfly House is real! I was there, you asshole. How can you expect me betray Valentine by lying?”

  “You’re not an idiot, Harry,” said Golden Victory. “You have to see the importance of what we do at the Butterfly House.”

  “You kidnap children and brainwash them!”

  “We rescue youths from difficult situations and train them to be heroes.”

  “You make it sound noble,” I said. “But if it’s such a great program, why keep it secret from the public?”

  “We’re not hiding it from the public. We’re hiding it from the graduates. Most of them are better off not knowing the truth about their past. Think about Atomahawk. John Niache, your friend. Don’t you think he’s happier believing he developed his powers as an adult while serving in the military? His true past is so tragic. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… all dead before his tenth birthday, victims of radiation poisoning. Do you know how rare it would be to find a person with the mental strength to bear such a burden?”

  “John’s a good man,” I said. “He was good before you brainwashed him. Gentle.”

  “And tormented,” said Golden Victory.

  “But at least he was tormented by reality,” I said. “How can it be good for anyone that he’s living a fantasy?”

  “John was a time bomb of regret and post-traumatic stress. In the best case scenario, if we hadn’t brought him into the program, he would have killed himself. In the worst case scenario, he could have turned into a dangerous villain. If he released all his radiation in a single burst, he could take out any major city in the world. Editing away his darker memories turns him into an asset instead of a looming liability.”

  I shook my head but couldn’t say anything. Maybe he was right about John, but that didn’t change a thing.

  “What did you do to Jenny? Is she dead? In prison? Brainwashed yet again?”

  “Jenny is safe,” said Golden Victory. “We rescued her from Reverend Rifle’s compound. She’s being treated for Stockholm syndrome. She’s been through a lot of stress since the Victorian damaged her memories.”

  “You damaged them, not the Victorian!” I clenched my fists again, my anger rising, but the pain in my knuckles reminded me of how stupid it would be to throw a punch.

  “We removed the trauma of sexual abuse that left her unable to control her rage. Don’t forget she volunteered to have her memories altered to graduate from the Butterfly House.”

  “But the brainwashing took place long before you changed her memories,” I said. “Everyone at the Butterfly House is kidnapped and fed daily propaganda about how great it will be to use their powers as a hero. Of course people volunteer to change their memories. I even thought about it. I mean, letting go of bad memories? Starting with a clean slate? When you’re eighteen that looks like a pretty good deal.”

  “Because it is a good deal,” said Golden Victory. “Entire religions are built on the premise of letting go of your old life to be born again. We do it with science, no
t mysticism.”

  “You make a lie that will always be a lie no matter how much it’s believed,” I said, staring at my bloodied knuckles. “You can’t know what I’ve been through these last couple of weeks. I’ve watched friends die. I’ve struggled with guilt I can’t even describe.”

  “Because of New York,” he said.

  “Sure,” I said, though I’d actually been thinking about how I’d betrayed Jenny by sleeping with Sasha. I swept my arms back over the canopy. “I’ve been fighting to survive. Eating bugs and sleeping in trees. I’ll have nightmares about this for a long time.”

  “You don’t have to,” said Golden Victory. “We can help you forget.”

  “I don’t want to forget,” I said. “I want to remember everything, every mistake, every time I’ve been hurt, every time I’ve hurt others. It’s all part of me. I don’t always like myself. But, on the whole, I think I’m a better ape because of my pain, my regrets, and even my nightmares. Who the hell do you think you are to even suggest they should be taken away?”

  “That’s a very healthy attitude,” he said. “But you have to know that not everyone reaches the same state of acceptance. Jenny, for example, was much more emotionally stable before the Victorian undid my work.”

  “The Jenny who fell in love with me is the Jenny with the fucked up memories,” I said. “I wouldn’t trade her for anyone else.”

  “She feels the same about you,” said Golden Victory. “She insisted I come find you, even though my flying around these jungles violates international treaties. I’m risking war by coming to rescue you.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “You said the Victorian undid your work? I was told there was a telepath at the Butterfly House who guided the brainwashing. Are you the telepath? Are there any superpowers you don’t have?”

  He grinned. “So far, no super-ventriloquism. And telepathy isn’t actually on my list of abilities. But I am someone who can see the electrical impulses travelling through the human brain. I’ve learned over the years to interpret these signals. It helps me confirm that the virtual memories we implant overwrite the older, less positive memories.”

  “Can you read my mind?”

  He shook his head. “No. Human minds are all unique, but they’re unique in predictable ways. Your mind is wired like nothing I’ve seen before. I would need to study you for months to map out all your neural connections. Frankly, you aren’t worth the effort.”

  “Thanks, I guess.”

  “I meant no offense,” he said. “I meant only that, unlike Jenny or John, you’ve developed coping mechanisms to help you deal with your traumatic memories.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I hit things.”

  “It’s what you do best,” he said, chuckling. “Fortunately, while you’re strong, you’re not Atomahawk. You aren’t going to flatten a city in a moment of rage. I also know you’re joking to imply that violence is your primary coping mechanism. You’ve a sense of humor, even if it’s not one I personally appreciate. You shrug off traumas that would cripple other people with a wisecrack. There’s a heroic resilience about you, Harry. That’s why I’m on board with having you back on the team.”

  I sighed. “You know I’m not going along with that. We’ve been dancing around the real problem here. Let’s get right to the point. I don’t know all the details, but I think the Legion killed Cut Up Girl.”

  Golden Victory raised his eyebrows. “That is the dumbest thing you’ve said yet. You watched McGruber kill her, and you know he had a motive.”

  “The timing was certainly convenient for you, though,” I said.

  “If we’d wanted to kill her,” he said, “Don’t you think we’d have done so before she released her book? Waiting until after the book was released only guaranteed a public relations nightmare. Millions of copies were sold following her death. Our first strategy was to ignore her. She would have sold a hundred copies, a thousand, tops, and no one would have cared. Her murder made the book a bestseller.”

  I frowned. Man, why did he have to sound so convincing? Was my own truth being edited by his no nonsense tone and charming smile? I mean, really, what proof did I have that he was lying? At least, lying about Cut Up Girl?

  “You still don’t trust me,” he said.

  “No,” I said. But, after all this, did I trust myself, either? I mean… oh my God? What if everything I’d been through was just a big misunderstanding? What if was nothing but my stupidity and paranoia that caused all this grief.

  “There’s something… something you should know,” I said, softly. “About… about Elsa.”

  He slowly nodded. “I’ve already recovered her remains. We’re holding a memorial service next week.”

  “It’s… it’s all my fault.”

  “As you say, some memories you’ll have to learn to live with. Elsa made the choice to undertake an illegal mission. She knew the risks. Still, when we get back, you might want to stay away from Lt. Laser for a few weeks. He hasn’t taken the news well.”

  “The easiest way to avoid him would be to stay here in the jungle.” I thought this over for two seconds, then shook my head. “Scratch that. I’m done here. I want to go home. I want to see Jenny. But I’ll be damned if I denounce Val’s book. Telling the truth became her mission. I won’t betray her.”

  “I’m certain I won’t change your mind,” he said. “But will you let me give you a ride? There’s someone who really wants to see you.”

  “You could just drop me in the middle of the ocean and no one would be the wiser.”

  “Or, I could hit you so hard you’d vanish in a cloud of mist,” said Golden Victory. He didn’t smile. He reached into a pouch on his belt and took out a small bundle the size of a ring box. “Ready?”

  “For the pulverizing?”

  “For the ride home,” he said, sounding annoyed as he held the small box toward me.

  I took the box. “I still don’t trust you, but I am eager get back to someplace with toilet paper.”

  “There’s that resilient humor,” he said, sounding unamused.

  “What’s this?” I said, holding up the box.

  “Flight suit. Without it, at the speed we’ll travel, your skin would peel off. I’ve compressed it with superstrength. Pull the string on top.”

  I did so and a bright yellow jumpsuit tailor-made for my built unfolded. It even had a built in hood and plastic shield for my face. I pulled it on. The second I had it zipped, he grabbed me. I didn’t even blink before we were a mile above the forest, my ears ringing from the sonic boom. We smashed through the clouds with the speed of a missile. We couldn’t talk because of the roar of wind, which meant I was alone with my thoughts.

  I assumed the person he wanted me to talk to was Jenny. Would she regret sending Golden Victory to find me the second she looked into my eyes? She’d know instantly I’d slept with Sasha. If she didn’t figure it out, I’d tell her. My talk with Reverend Rifle that night in the kitchen still echoed in my ears. What was the end game? How could I ever give her anything resembling a normal, happy life?

  After a long time, we slowed down and Golden Victory pulled his cape from my head as we sank toward the dark sea. As we neared the surface, the water churned and a huge iris spun open as it rose, revealing the landing pad of Sea Base Seven.

  “Bathroom?” he asked as we touched down.

  “Bathroom,” I said, sprinting down the hall.

  “Join me in the conference room after,” he called to me. “There’s someone anxious to see you.”

  “Right,” I said, ducking inside the restroom.

  The sterile, odorless, white gleam of ceramic tile greeted me. I closed the door behind me and dropped to my knees. You try getting lost in the jungle for a week and tell me you aren’t moved to kiss the cool, clean ceramic floor of the first real bathroom you reach.

  I spent a long time in front of the mirror, getting familiar with my face again. The scabbed over wound on my forehead was nowhere near as hideous as it felt
to my fingertips. My face was noticeably thinner, my cheeks and eye sockets sunken. I’d lost weight. If I decided against rejoining the team, maybe I could sell wealthy suckers the jungle survival diet. Rapid weight loss guaranteed, assuming you survive.

  My heart felt tight in my chest when I finally headed toward the conference room. I wanted to see Jenny more than I can put into words. Only, just as deeply, I dreaded seeing her. There was too much to explain.

  Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on the palm-pad next to the door. The metal slid open.

  Standing next to the table was Valentine, dressed in red tights, wearing a domino mask that did nothing to hide her identity from me.

  “Big Ape,” said Golden Victory, standing next to Val, “allow me to introduce the Lawful Legion’s newest recruit—Doppelganger!”

  “Harry!” Val cried out, running to embrace me.

  “What… the… I watched… I watched you die,” I whispered, hugging her back.

  “You know us superheroes,” she said, sounding choked up. “Getting killed isn’t always fatal.”

  A sob escaped my lips as tears welled in my eyes. I hugged her as hard as I dared, hoping I wouldn’t break her. Was this real? Was this some sort of trick? But how could it be? The woman I hugged sounded like Val, and looked like her, and, most convincing to my ape nose, she smelled like her. This couldn’t be anyone else.