The Viral Superhero Series (Book 7): The Final Battle

by Cohen, Bryan

  "Erica!"

  Erica breathed a sigh of relief. Jennifer and Dhiraj ran toward her and crouched low.

  "Thank god you guys are still okay. We need to get you to safety."

  Dhiraj smirked. "You're not going to get an argument from me."

  Erica put her hand on Jennifer's arm. "Are you okay?"

  She nodded, but she looked a bit shaken up. "I'd be better if my ears weren't ringing and I hadn't seen three people get shot."

  Erica looked off into the distance and saw the control room for the carrier. "I know just the place."

  Erica did her best to ignore the blood and screams that happened all around her. Somehow, she led Jennifer and Dhiraj safely into the control room. She stood by the doorway as she watched her friends huddle together.

  Erica turned back to the battle at hand. "You two should be safe in here. Just don't do anything—"

  The door slammed shut in front of Erica and it locked just as quickly. The protector turned back to see that Jennifer's hand was placed firmly on the pages of one of the missing books.

  Erica's heart skipped a beat. "No."

  Her body lifted into the air and the sword fell from her now-useless fingers. No longer under her own control, her mouth closed and her back pressed firmly against the wall.

  Jennifer laughed softly. "Were you going to say don't do anything heroic?" She looked to Dhiraj, who handed her an already bloody knife. "Don't worry, protector, that shouldn't be a problem."

  18

  Ted instinctively ran to Riu as soon as the lights went out. Not only was the boy practically defenseless against whatever it was that was shooting at them up above, but he also made for something of a useful night-light. Ted reached for his powers to create a protective bubble, but his proximity to the boy made even the simplest living soul task impossible.

  Riu tugged at his sleeve. "What's happening, Ted?"

  The discharge of weapons up above was getting louder and louder. But, who exactly was fighting who?

  Ted took Riu's hand. "I'm not sure, but if I tell you to point and shoot your powers, don't hesitate."

  Through the glowing dim light, Ted could see Riu nod.

  Natalie and Doren had the dark soul prisoner up on his feet beside them.

  Natalie twisted the dark soul's arm behind his back. "Tell us which friend is the mole, or this little guy is going to send you packing."

  Ted looked into the prisoner's eyes, but he didn't see fear. He saw a sense of calm wash over the dark soul.

  Craig smiled. "I'm already done."

  A trio of bullets shot through the room. Ted tried and failed to use his powers to stop them, and all three slammed into the head and neck of the prisoner. He fell to the ground with a bloody thump.

  Doren's voice echoed through the room. "Get down!"

  Ted pulled Riu toward him and dove to the floor as another series of bullets flew through the sky. None of them found their mark, however, and Natalie caught Ted's eyes from a few feet away.

  "We need to split you and Riu up. You could take care of these bastards in less than a minute."

  Ted knew she was right, though the thought of leaving their army's greatest weapon in harm’s way made him shiver to the core.

  "Okay. But, I don't want anyone taking their eyes off him."

  Doren grunted. "Agreed. Can we fight back now?"

  As soon as Ted nodded, the light soul sprinted, in a crouched position, into the darkness that lay ahead. The shooters only got off two more rounds before Ted heard the snapping of a bone echo through the hallway. After he heard two bodies crumple against the metal floor, he helped Riu to his feet.

  Ted smirked. "That guy's helpful to have around in a pinch."

  Natalie rolled her eyes. "He's more reliable than some people I know."

  Ted tried not to take offense, as he ushered the boy out of the room. When they reached the outer rim of their deck, Ted could see that all hell had broken loose. To one side, he saw four human soldiers all pointing guns at one another. To another, three angels circled around like predators, unsure if they were actually prey. He could hear blade on blade and bullet after bullet throughout the ship.

  Riu tightened his grip on Ted's hand. "How do I tell who the bad guys are?"

  Ted took in a deep breath. "Shoot first and ask questions later, I guess."

  Riu did as he was told. Ted felt the boy siphon his power as a blast of green energy struck the four humans. Two of them collapsed to the ground, their weapons scuttling along the deck. Another blast hit the angels right in their backs. One of them bent to his knees before falling face first into the metal below.

  Natalie shouted to the confused soldiers, who were still standing. "The ones on the ground are dark souls. The rest of you are on the same side."

  The soldiers took the cue and joined them.

  Ted looked to Natalie. "What's the plan?"

  Natalie raised an eyebrow. "You think that just because I'm a general, I have a plan? I'll go with you, Doren and the ones we know are on our side should take the boy."

  Riu stomped his feet. "Did you just see me take out three bad guys though? I was amazing."

  Ted bent down and spoke over the sounds of battle. "We just don't want them to take you out next."

  Almost as if on cue, two wild-eyed humans with guns came running down the deck toward them. Ted shielded the boy, but they never even got a shot off. The sound of metal slicing through flesh took Ted out of his cradling position. He saw two heads roll off their bodies and hit the deck. Behind them, Yoshi cleaned off his bloody sword with a small cloth.

  Doren gave a sharp laugh. "He can be on my team."

  Yoshi jogged up to them. "Is everybody safe?"

  Ted examined the samurai. "Yeah, we're okay. Can you keep Riu safe with Doren?"

  The samurai bowed. "Of course. You have my blade."

  Natalie spoke with speed. "Great. Then let's split up, and get your sorry super heroic self into this battle. Unless anybody has any objections."

  Ted felt something strange in the air. As if he was making a grave error that he couldn't quite place. He looked around the small band of soldiers, but he couldn't tell exactly what the problem was.

  Natalie grabbed his shoulder. "People are dying. Can you get your head out of your rear and start fighting for them?"

  Ted nodded and patted the boy on the back. "Stay alive. I'll see you after the fight is done. Unless you want me to stay?"

  Riu shook his head. "You must fight now, living soul. Like you said, this is a time to be a hero."

  Ted smiled and saluted to Doren, Yoshi, and the soldiers before running off in the direction Natalie had already sprinted.

  As they made it up to the second deck, he could feel his abilities creeping back into his body.

  Natalie showed no signs of fatigue as they spoke. "You'll let me know when you can stop bullets again, right? I don't want to jump into any stupid fights."

  Ted huffed as he tried to keep pace. "Trust me, I don't want to get shot either."

  As they turned the corner to get to the next stairwell, a massive creature stood in their way.

  Ted nearly ran into the rhino before putting on the brakes. "Whoa! Sorry, soldier."

  The rhino breathed heavily as he crouched as low as his gargantuan body would allow. "You are the one who will be sorry."

  Natalie shouted. "Ted!"

  The rhino, who didn't appear to be on their side, swung his fist straight for Ted's face. A last second roll to the side prevented the pain for just a moment. The rhino snatched the living soul off the ground with his other hand and tossed Ted toward the protective railing at the edge of the deck. The metal slammed into Ted's chest hard, sending pain from his pectorals to his abdomen.

  He gritted his teeth. "That didn't feel good."

  Natalie was by his side in a hurry. "I don't think he's with us."

  "You think?"

  The rhino charged toward them, and Natalie stood her ground. As the thick, natu
rally armored warrior came close enough, she took his momentum with him, throwing him into the guardrail. The poles bent with his weight, but they didn't break beneath him.

  Ted backed away as quickly as he could, and the rhino once again rose to standing.

  The creature grunted. "I will kill you for that."

  Natalie danced on her toes. "As if you weren't going to try to kill us anyway. Come on, beefy."

  This time, the creature approached slowly. Without the ability to use his momentum, Natalie did her best to keeping moving and stick her jabs into the rhino's chest.

  She continued to circle him. "It's like punching a cow. He's too thick for me to do any damage."

  When Natalie's punch was too slow, the rhino gripped her hand and smiled. "Now, let's see what happens when I punch you."

  Unable to break free of his grasp, Natalie braced for the attack.

  Ted leapt without thinking onto the rhino's back. He tried and failed to get his forearms around the creature’s neck. It was just too massive. The rhino bucked and turned until Ted lost his grip and landed hard on his right hip. The living soul could feel the bruise beginning to form as he stood up.

  This time, when the rhino attempted to punch Natalie, she brought up her wrist to block it. It wasn't nearly enough.

  The blow from the rhino sent her straight to the ground beside Ted.

  The living soul coughed as he looked to his side. "I've got good news and bad news."

  She grumbled. "You know I always want the bad news first."

  The rhino started to bridge the gap between himself and the fallen humans.

  "I don't think we can beat him. That's the bad news."

  Natalie got to one knee, and clenched her fists. "I could really use that good news."

  Ted floated himself to standing. "I think my powers are back."

  He extended his hand and the rhino flew off of the deck, as if yanked by an invisible string. The creature went far out into the ocean before landing with a large splash.

  Natalie brushed herself off. "It's about damn time. Go stop some bad guys."

  Ted grinned. "With pleasure."

  Ted flew up and around the ship until he had a bird's-eye view of the action below. While he didn't have his mental powers to learn who was friend and who was foe, it was a lot harder for them to kill each other after he switched every gun on the ship to safety mode. He heard the satisfying clicks of the useless weapons all in sync.

  As he flew down closer, he felt for the dark soul mark on any of the bodies in his wake. As soon as he sensed one, he threw the offending soldier into whichever came first: an unforgiving wall, or a turbulent sea. He grunted as each use of his powers seemed to tire him more and more. "I think being on the same ship with Riu isn't making me my best."

  After he'd rid the deck of a few dozen attackers, he set his sights on finding Riu and Erica. But before the nearly breathless living soul could start on his quest, he heard something high in the air above him.

  Ted used his arms to part the clouds near the ship. As he did so, he could see the frightening sight above. Several dozen jets were headed their way, waiting to dump a payload right into their laps.

  Ted floated higher and readied himself to battle. "Whoever did this had a plan. But, I'm not about to let it work."

  19

  Erica fought with everything she had left to get free of Jennifer's borrowed power. It was no use, as the sword remained on the ground far from her reach. Dhiraj was silent and motionless in the corner, and the girl who used to be her best friend had revealed who she really was.

  Jennifer hailed the book with one hand and tossed the knife up and down with her other. "You light souls should have way bigger trust issues. Dark souls could be around any corner. You trusted the president to act in your best interest. You trusted Ted to make good decisions. It's no wonder you ended up like this."

  Erica attempted to keep her breathing even, waiting for the right moment to strike. "When did it happen?"

  Jennifer sucked at her teeth. "When did I get this fabulous new persona? It was at the White House. Much like your status as a protector, it was a lucky accident."

  Erica looked at Dhiraj and back at her. "You kept him alive."

  "It was more of a challenge than you'd think. I don't know how the last girl put up with him."

  Erica relaxed her body. "You wouldn't have spared his life if you didn't still care for him deep down. I think the real Jennifer is still in there."

  The dark soul masquerading as Jennifer smiled. "Optimism will get you killed, protector. The Indian is convenient, nothing more. Can we spare each other the whole pretending to have an internal struggle that doesn't exist? The only thing that's human about me is the girl next door looks."

  Erica would have shrugged if she could move. "Just keep telling yourself that."

  Jennifer grabbed the knife tightly as she spun around and sliced through the side of Erica's ankle.

  Sharp pain brought tears to Erica's eyes, but she refused to cry out.

  I can keep this up. I can keep her busy until Ted gets here.

  Jennifer laughed. "That felt good. Did you know that the old Jennifer always felt like she was in your shadow? If she'd had the opportunity, she might have tried to kill the old you. But, you're the one who got everybody killed with your careless, cataclysmic mistakes."

  Erica watched the blood trickle down from her wound. "You've been sitting on the sidelines since about a month ago. What was it like waiting for the General to tell you what to do?"

  Jennifer twirled again and sliced into Erica's midsection.

  The protector couldn't help but wince at the long, painful gash that showed through her shirt.

  The dark soul laughed. "Do you know the reason you lost this war?"

  "The war isn't over yet."

  With lightening reflexes, Jennifer tossed the knife through the air. It nicked Erica in the ear as it landed beside her head. She could feel the crimson trickle from the new wound on her lower lobe.

  "As I was saying, do you know why you lost this war? It's because you couldn't put yourself in the head of the dark souls. We don't follow the General because we're sheep and he's the shepherd." Jennifer did a half circle around Erica, as if she was waiting to strike the final blow. "We follow him because it's our only chance at freedom. You light souls think that everyone should be exactly like you. But, we don't want to live on just one world, with one set of rules. We crave freedom, and none of you could ever understand that."

  Erica began to feel dizzy with the blood loss. "We understood it. We just weren't willing to subject other worlds to slavery so you could have your freedom."

  Jennifer ran up to Erica and shouted in her damaged ear. "You made us slaves to keep control of the other worlds yourself. You've made billions of slaves without them even knowing it. That's much more evil as you pretend we are."

  There was a knock on the door. Erica could feel her pulse quicken.

  Ted, if that's you, we need you.

  The door opened to reveal not Ted, but Riu. He was followed closely behind by Yoshi and Doren. "No! It's a trap!"

  As Doren reached for his sidearm, Yoshi turned and sliced the light soul’s arm clean off. Doren screamed as the blood poured out of his open shoulder. The light soul spun quickly and grabbed the samurai by the throat. Unsure of what to do, Riu ran to the corner of the room and tried to make himself small.

  Jennifer laughed. "Now, now, boys. This is no way to behave at my party."

  Erica saw the samurai's sword remove itself from his grip and plunge straight through Doren's back. The light soul released his grip on Yoshi and fell hard to the ground. The blood continued to pool beneath him.

  Erica screamed and struggled, but she still couldn't move. "No! No!"

  Yoshi wiped some of the blood off his face and shifted Doren's body with his foot to allow the door to close.

  Riu shivered as he spoke. "Yoshi. What are you doing?"

  The samurai bowed to
Jennifer. "As you requested."

  Jennifer looked like a birthday girl who'd gotten everything she ever wanted. "This is all going so well. Dhiraj, can you be a dear and help turn this tiny human against humanity?"

  Dhiraj nodded and began his chant.

  Riu shook in the corner. "Stop! This isn't my destiny."

  Yoshi smiled, a strange look on the usually stoic samurai. "There's something I never told you about destiny, little one. It can change in a moment’s notice."

  As the symbol began to flicker into existence on the boy’s arm, Riu ran across the room. Jennifer reached toward him with her free hand, but he evaded her grasp. As Riu leapt for the book, she pulled it away from him, losing her grip on the pages. As the book landed on the ground and slid to the far part of the room, Erica softly reached the floor.

  The protector smiled. "Like you said, destiny is a funny thing."

  As Yoshi ran toward her, Erica leapt several feet in the air. She scissored her legs around the samurai's head and spun in a circle. As she used her momentum to roll the samurai to the ground, she twisted her hips hard to the right, snapping Yoshi's collarbone.

  The samurai cried out in pain, and Erica got back to her feet. Jennifer cursed loudly and stomped over toward the book. "If you make one more crack about destiny."

  Just as Jennifer was about to reach the book once more, she doubled over in pain. The knife which had been lodged in the wall was now in her back, courtesy of the now very in control Dhiraj.

  "I've had just about enough of this mind control crap. Erica, are you okay?"

  Erica tried not to think about the throbbing near her wounds or the dizziness, which was starting to double with every breath she took. All she did was nod as Riu joined her side.

  Jennifer screamed like a banshee as she pulled he knife out of her own back. Her eyes blazed fire in Dhiraj's direction. "We are never, ever getting back together." Jennifer walked toward Erica with a vengeance. Dhiraj ran in to try to intercept, but she kicked him so hard in the chest that he flew backwards into the opposite wall. His head hit hard, and he slumped against the ground.