by R. J. Ross
“Shut up,” Bombastic snarls. “Technico, I’ve got—”
“No thanks,” Deathblow says, throwing him off of him. Bombastic slams into the rubble of the nearest building, shaking it off quickly. “I don’t feel like getting caught just yet. I’ve got a list, you know? You’re at the top, but you’re not the only one on it. I’m going to slaughter our ‘happy little family’ one by one, and when I’m done with that, I’m going after all the people related to Sonic Scream. I heard somewhere that he’s got a son. Some prissy little singer boy—I saw him on television. He looks just like his old man. I look forward to killing him again.”
“You won’t get that far,” Bombastic says, taking to the air again. “You’re going to be stopped here and now.”
“Then stop wasting my time and FINISH IT!” Deathblow bellows, tackling Bombastic hard. “Do it, Boom, hit me with your best shot!”
“If you keep throwing stupid lines at me, I will!” Bombastic shouts, twisting and flinging Deathblow away from him. “You know what’s most twisted?” he demands. “You and I spent YEARS having those stupid little five minute meetings. I always knew you were a psycho, but seriously, man, they were really boring meetings, even for you,” he says, frowning as he thinks about it. “Why am I on the top of the list?”
“Because you give me the biggest thrill,” Deathblow says.
“I would have thought Atlanti would do that—I’d be the first to admit she’s a million times better looking than I am.”
“Sure she is, but you’re the one that excites me.”
Bombastic stares at him. “You’re not my type,” he says after a moment. “Besides, I’m a married man—”
“Not like that! Go ahead and ask me, Boom—ask me what sort of tank I am.”
“Fine,” Bombastic says, sighing, “what sort of tank are you, D.B.?” he asks, dutifully.
“I’m a kinetic absorber,” Deathblow says. “Every time you hit me, you make me more powerful. You’ve hit me plenty,” he says, “but I was really hoping you would use your ability on me. Turns out you’re too big of a chicken to do that. Pathetic, I was looking forward to that the most.”
“So… basically you’re a masochist?” Bombastic says after a second of thinking. “All these years and I never wanted to know that,” he complains. “Technico, did you hear all that?” he asks, touching his earbud. “D.B. likes being—”
Deathblow tackles him again, at full speed.
***
“Technico, did you hear all that?” Nico tries not to laugh—now is not the time to show amusement, and he knows it. He’s got Mimic acting as Massteria right in front of him. It’s a bit weird to think that he has more history with Mimic than this Mimic has with him.
“Technico,” Mimic says, holding up his hands. “I didn’t do anything, man—it’s all D.B.’s fault, you know? He kidnapped me and forced me to do all of this—”
“Stop lying, Massteria,” Nico says, playing along. “If you tell me everything, I might be able to keep them from stripping your powers. If we strip you of your powers, you’ll be stuck in a tiny hold next to the other stripped ones. Can you imagine having to listen to Herold for the rest of your life?”
“Okay, you got me—” Mimic says. “I did mess with the crowd at—”
“No you didn’t,” Nico says. “In fact, the only thing you’ve done is take down Massteria, isn’t it, Mimic?”
Mimic lets out a curse and rushes towards Nico, his hand reaching for his throat. “Feel your FEAR, Technico!” he roars, grabbing onto Nico’s throat. He stares Nico in the eye, grinning triumphantly for all of a second before starting to look confused. “What—” he says.
“Do you really think you could strangle me in Massteria’s form?” Nico asks.
“I was trying to use his powers,” Mimic mutters. “Oh forget it, I’ll use mine, instead—” Nico punches him in the gut so hard that he hits the wall of the building across the street.
“No thanks,” Nico says, tapping on his watch. “I got a new toy, Mimic. Let me try it out on you,” he says, a malicious grin on his face as he starts forward at a stroll.
“You’re psycho,” Mimic says.
“Wow, that’s the most hypocritical thing I’ve heard all day. You’re the craziest guy I know, Mimic—well, no, I think you’re a strong contender with a few others.” Nico pushes off the ground and flies straight at Mimic. For a moment he’s certain that Mimic will try to block. He sees the other man lift a fist—and then turn and run away as fast as he can. “Figures,” Nico says.
“KEEP AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT TOY OF YOURS!” Mimic shouts over his shoulder.
“I didn’t even tell you what it was!” Nico complains. Maybe this Mimic remembers him better than the Mimic from the future did, he thinks with a sigh. Of course the Mimic from the future had caught him off guard. He’d been expecting this one.
Mimic is gone. He looks around before taking to the air to try and find people. There’s a good chance the other cape will be looking for a new form. If he’s distracted with his hunting, it should be easier to capture him. He digs through his pockets as he searches for Mimic, pulling out the little gun that he always carries with him. One good thing, he thinks as he reaches a group of people, if he hits a norm, nothing should happen.
“Ready or not, Mimic, here I come,” he says. This is a strange, strange world, he thinks. It’s almost like Deathblow’s comment about being a “Happy little family” struck a nerve, he admits. It makes him want to take each of them down, and prove they aren’t the same, just—just like Deathblow was planning, he realizes. That thought stuns him. No, he tells himself. What he’s doing now has nothing to do with the “family” theory. It’s all about doing his job and protecting his school. If the norms don’t think they can handle their own, they’ll turn on all capes. The seeds of mistrust were planted by Herold, already. He will not let these idiots make it worse. This entire group is self-destructive, and he knows all of them really well. He’s the one that can stop them the quickest.
He watches the people below for a moment before aiming and shooting one. Nothing happens. He aims and shoots another, and another, until one staggers slightly, falling to his knees. Nico drops down in front of him, picking him up. He doesn’t recognize him, he realizes. If it was Mimic, he would have changed forms with that.
“What was… that for?” the man asks.
“Sorry, Mimic is—” Something large and metal (a small car, his abilities tell him) hits Nico in the back. When takes a step forward, deliberately anchoring his foot in the concrete, it hits him again and again. The crowd starts screaming.
“Why. Won’t. You. FALL?” a woman’s voice demands from behind him. Nico turns, ripping the car from the woman’s hand and grabbing her by the throat. There are several phones recording them right now.
“MOMMY!” a kid screams. “He’s hurting my mommy!” Every phone in the area turns to the kid.
“Do you really think your mom could hit a guy like that?” Nico complains before shooting the woman with the power blocking gun. Several people scream and a siren starts blaring—and then they stop as the woman turns into a man. “See?” he calls to them. “Super villain.”
“Then where’s my mommy?” the seven-year-old asks, his cheeks streaked with tears.
“We’re going to find her, and I’ve got someone that will wake her up, I promise,” Nico says before tapping on his earbud. “Life Light, I need you to come to my coordinates, we have a cleanup job for you. Boom, I caught Mimic. I’ll be there after I take care of this and drop him off with a security detail.”
“Looking forward to it,” Bombastic says a bit breathlessly over the com. “Come join the party.”
***
It's controlled chaos as the black suits start cleaning up the mess that Mimic caused. Half of the team went off with Aubrey to guard her as she helps the child's mother. The other half of the team is standing guard against the curious onlookers as two others prep the fallen super vill
ain to be transported to the Hall. "We're taking him to South, right?" one asks as he unlocks the box with the power blocking collar and controller.
"Central is more equipped to handle him," the other says, "but we're on a timeline, so South it is."
"Is this the new version? How do you unlock it?" the one with the collar asks, looking it over with a slight frown. "Ever since Technico came, these things have been changed every week. There used to be a switch that only worked before they were activated the first time. "
"It's a code on the controller, now--here, I'll do it," the second says, tapping on the controller. The collar snaps open and the one holding it starts to place it around Massteria's throat.
A slender, but unnaturally powerful hand shoots up, grabbing him by the throat, instead. "I don't think so," Massteria says, throwing the black suit through the air before turning on the other. He looks a bit incredulously at the gun pointed at him. "Do you really think that'll work on me?" he asks. "Especially when you've got so many other problems to deal with?"
"Give up now, Massteria, and it might be easier on you," the black suit says, staring him straight in the eye. Unfortunately, that's the worst thing you can do when facing off against Massteria. The black suit is still screaming as Massteria races away. He's completely forgotten by the villain as more important things come to mind. Now that D.B. thinks he’s been captured, Massteria has time to do what he’s been dreaming about for years.
He’s going to go see his daughter… and probably some more horror movies.
***
I step through the shadow, tugged along by Rocco. “Up there,” he says, pointing to the sky.
“MOM!” I shout as I see her heading in our direction. “HEY! MOM! WE NEED MALINA!”
“Keliah?” Mom says, dropping down in front of us and dragging me into a hug. “You’re safe! I was so worried—”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, but I need Malina—does Grandma have her?”
“She’s right there,” Rocco says, pointing. Grandma is flying toward us as well, carrying Malina. “Hey! Malina! Do you still have the power blocking gun?”
“I do!”
“Oh no you don’t,” Mom says, pulling away just enough to give me the “Don’t even think about it” look that works even better when she’s in uniform. “You are going straight to the school, where you will watch the fight with the rest of the kids, understand? No ifs, ands, or buts, little lady—”
“I want to help Grandpa!” I say, jerking out of her hold. “And if it means lurking in the shadows looking for a chance to shoot a big bully kidnapper, then all the better!”
She opens her mouth, clearly planning on arguing. Grandma raises a hand, stopping her before she can.
“Can you arrange for her to shoot from the Shadowlands?” Grandma asks Rocco.
“That’s the plan,” he says.
“Can Massteria go into the Shadowlands?” she asks.
“He’s fighting Deathblow,” Rocco says. The color drains out of her face, but Rocco goes on, “But yeah, we can set her up with a clear shot from the Shadowlands—Deathblow can’t go into them without someone helping. There are only two capes in the world that can at the moment, and thankfully my dad’s not involved in this one.”
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘big bully kidnapper’?” Mom asks me, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“Nothing!” I say a bit too quickly.
“Did Deathblow kidnap you? Is that who took you?”
“Mom, the longer we argue the more chance of Grandpa getting hurt!” I tell her, grabbing Malina’s hand. “We need to get going—Malina, you can come with us,” I say graciously.
“Um, thanks?” she says a bit dryly.
“I’m going, as well,” Grandma declares.
“MOM!” Mom says, “You’re just encouraging her—this is far too dangerous—”
“Missy,” Grandma says, placing a hand on her shoulder, “your little girl is growing up, and she’s going to spend her entire life in dangerous situations. Whether she becomes the Falconess or not—”
“I’m going to,” I say, surprising myself, “I’m going to be the Falconess, but I’m going to do it with my grandpa right there to see it happen. And even if he is super, super tough, I’m not such a red white and blue goody girl that I won’t cheat,” I declare, placing my hands on my hips.
“You’ve taught her some very strange things already, haven’t you?” Mom says to Grandma, with a wry look.
“She’s a Falconess from the souls of her feet to the top of her head,” Grandma says proudly. “Now what are we waiting for? Let’s go cheat!”
“Yes Ma’am,” Rocco says cheerfully, holding out a hand to me. We form a link in the group and sink into the shadows, running through the stinky land as fast as we can.
I’m going to save Grandpa!
CHAPTER TEN
How do you beat someone that uses all your hits to make himself stronger? The question is at the forefront of Austin’s mind as he races away from the bulkier man. This is a lot like the situation with Superior, but worse in a way. If he explodes a building and the debris hits Deathblow, it’s likely to help the other guy out. How did Sonic Scream take him down again? He’d heard the story from Technico once. It’s a bit obvious, he realizes a second later. A name like Sonic Scream pretty much tells you what the other guy could do—well, you know, before he died.
A loud enough decibel can kill a norm, right? So even a tank would have trouble if the pitch was high enough—or loud enough. He can’t use a sonic scream, but a loud enough explosion might do it. He just needs to—
He turns, looking at Deathblow. If he attacks right at the ears, it might do enough damage to the man’s hearing that it’s worth the increase to his powers. He’s going to have to risk it—unless Technico hurries up with getting Mimic out of the way, he’s got a very limited choice of actions. With that thought he races forward, tackling Deathblow into the ground, burying him as far as he can as he places both hands over the other man’s ears and his hands turn black.
With most other capes this would blow their heads off. As it is, he’s just hoping it deafens the man. He feels slightly sick as Deathblow grins joyously. “Fina—” Deathblow starts out.
Austin uses his powers, and jumps back as the explosion goes off.
***
The ringing in his ears is unbearable. Deathblow barely manages to turn before he starts throwing up, his hands automatically going to his ears. He staggers to his feet, shaking his head and trying to get orientated. He stumbles, not able to stand up straight, and holds out a hand to the dirt next to him, hoping to stabilize himself.
His fingers sink into shadows and he watches as a small, familiar blonde head pops out of the shadow next to his hand. She says something that he can’t hear through the ringing, and points a light bulb at him. He would laugh, if he wasn’t so messed up.
The light bulb flashes and he feels his power rush out of his body. He falls flat on his face in the dirt.
***
“Huh,” Technico says, making Austin look up as the other man joins him. “What just happened?”
“I blew out his ears… and then I think I saw a flash of light down there,” Austin says, frowning. “I expected him to recover by now.”
“A flash of light?” Nico repeats, his eyes widening ever so slightly. He drops to the ground next to Deathblow, shoving the other man onto his back and checking his pulse. “He’s knocked out, and barely alive. Rocco?” he says, tapping his earbud.
“Hey, Boss,” Rocco says.
“Did you just shoot him with a power blocker?”
“Nope, Keliah did.”
“Well… tell her she did good and go ahead and take her home—I need a black suit ambulance here, stat,” he goes on, tapping into another line. “We have an almost dead Cape Cell Convict here. I would put a collar on him, but it’d finish him off,” he says. “Don’t worry about security, I’ll be going with him.” He looks at Austin. “Con
gratulations,” he says. “You and your granddaughter just took down a mass murderer.”
Austin falls to the ground and then just flops back onto his back, staring up at the sky. “I’m free?” he asks after a second.
“On parole,” Nico corrects him. “Welcome to the staff of Cape High.”
“Is he going to live?” Austin asks, waving a hand loosely at Deathblow.
“Long enough for the trial and his powers to be stripped,” Nico says. “I’ll make sure of it. After that, well, we’ll stick him with the others that are stripped until he keels over from old age.” He pauses and touches his earbud. “Justin?”
“Yeah?”
“Your dad just saved the day again.”
“Wh—what?”
“Is that Sonic Scream’s kid?” Austin asks. “Let me tell him.” He touches his earbud. “Kid, your dad was how I knew how to stop him. I owe him my life—and that means I owe you, too. So thank you.”
“I’m… I’m glad,” Justin says quietly. “Thanks for… you know, telling me.”
“You’re welcome.”
***
We’re back at the school. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been here. I hesitantly press my hand to the monitor. It scans my hand and the glowing footprints appear. I follow them carefully, stepping onto the platform at the top of the canyon. To my shock, the entire school is either standing or floating in front of me. They start to cheer at the top of their lungs and Aubrey rushes forward, hugging me tightly. I don’t have to look behind me to know that Mom is a bit shocked by that.
“You did it,” Aubrey says. “You were amazing, Keliah!”
“She almost killed him,” Max says, floating above our heads. “Kudos on that.”
“Wh—what?” I say as Rocco steps in behind me.
“The timing,” Rocco says. “Your grandpa just blew out his ears—you hit him with the gun right afterward,” he admits.
