Enhancer 3

by Wyatt Kane

  At the thought, Ty felt an odd sense of kinship with him. Badger didn’t know about Ty’s superhero activities, nor did Ty have any intention of telling him. But in a way, they were both doing the same thing. They were protecting innocent people from those who would cause them harm.

  Ty just hoped he would do as good a job of it as Badger did.

  “Do you know what you’re going to do?” the bouncer asked with genuine concern in his voice.

  Ty shook his head. “Not really. But I didn’t come here just to get yelled at by Angie. Martin told me about a possible opportunity, but our glorious leader saw me before I could talk to him.” He hesitated for a moment.

  Badger noticed and gave a grunt. “You want me to have a word with him?”

  Ty grinned again. “Yeah. See if—” he began, but before he could complete his thought, the device on his wrist pinged an alert.

  In an age where cyber implants and body mods were the norm, the device took everything to a new level. It was the reason Ty’s life had changed so much, so quickly.

  The nanites within it had made him taller, stronger, and more capable than he’d ever been before. In addition, those nanites had awakened a skill within him that had incredible potential. Because of the device, Ty had joined a real-life superhero team, defeated real villains, and formed relationships with two of the most spectacular women alive.

  As well as all that, the device acted as a communicator.

  “Just a moment,” Ty said, and answered the call.

  It was Dinah. The beautiful deerkin’s face appeared as a hologram floating above the device. Ty heard Badger draw a quick breath of astonishment at Dinah’s appearance. Ty had to grin at the bouncer’s reaction. He understood it perfectly. Dinah was special.

  “Hey,” he said.

  Dinah smiled warmly in response, and Ty felt a visceral thrill at the sight. He still wasn’t completely used to the idea of someone like her being attracted to him.

  “Ty,” she said, her voice almost a purr. “Is it just me, or does it feel like forever since you left us all alone?” The deerkin didn’t give Ty the chance to respond. Instead, she shook herself, shot him a grin, and then got straight to the point of her call. “Are you able to get away? We may have an opportunity to disrupt part of Rubio’s business. Tempest can probably handle it by herself, but would prefer if you were there as well. We’re not completely sure what she might face.”

  Ty understood immediately. Rubio Vecoli was the head of one of New Lincoln’s crime families and as such was already a dangerous adversary. But he had recently acquired twenty or so devices like the one Ty wore, if the man could be believed, and that added an element of unpredictability Ty didn’t like.

  Not everyone had hidden skills locked away within their DNA. But if Rubio – or one of his men – did, there was no telling what they might be able to do.

  3: Showing Off

  “Sure,” Ty said. “Where should I meet her?”

  Dinah shook her head. “It’ll be quicker if she picks you up on the way. She’s leaving here now.”

  The deerkin ended the call and Ty looked back to Badger. The bouncer was staring at him, wide-eyed. “Nice tech,” the big man managed. He seemed on the verge of saying something else, but hesitated.

  Ty waited him out.

  “Who was that?” the bigger man finally asked.

  Ty grinned again. Badger wasn’t normally the type to ask intrusive questions, but even via hologram, Dinah was stunning. Luminous. If Helen of Troy’s face could have launched a thousand ships, Dinah’s could have launched a million. Should she choose to enter a beauty pageant, every other competitor would just give up on the spot.

  “Girlfriend,” Ty responded, still grinning. Then, just because he wanted to, he added, “One of them, anyway.”

  “One of them?” the bouncer responded. It was as if he couldn’t help himself. “Man, you must be hung like a moose.”

  Badger was typically friendly, yet at the same time he was also reserved. Ty’s friend Brad might have blurted something like that without a second thought, but it was so completely out of character for Badger that Ty burst out laughing.

  The bouncer actually blushed around his facial tattoos. He listened to Ty’s laughter for a moment, then said, “What was it you wanted me to say to Martin?”

  Ty laughed even harder. He knew that Badger was mostly just trying to change the subject. Yet it was a question Ty needed to answer, so he eventually reined himself in.

  “I was going to ask if you could get him to come out for a chat. But maybe you could just give him my number and ask him to call me?”

  The bigger man nodded, obviously relieved to have moved on to a safer topic.

  Ty gave him the number to the smartphone he still carried in his back pocket. The communication function of the device on his wrist only operated with similar devices, and unlike nearly everyone else in New Lincoln, Ty didn’t have any sort of phone embedded within his skin. Ty promised himself that one day soon, he would expand the device’s functionality so he didn’t have to double up.

  Then he asked Badger a question. “You’re on the door today?” he asked.

  “Sure am.”

  “Could you keep an eye on my bike for me?” Ty asked, nodding to the sleek, black machine parked on the side of the road.

  The bouncer glanced at the bike and then studied Ty closely. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” he said.

  Ty just smiled. “It’s Dinah’s,” he said. “She lets me borrow it from time to time.”

  The bigger man nodded. “Sure,” he said, then turned back toward the club.

  “Oh, and if you really want to see something surprising, maybe don’t go looking for Martin just yet,” Ty said.

  Badger half-turned and gave him a quizzical look.

  “You’ll see,” Ty said.

  The bouncer took him at his word. Instead of disappearing inside, the big man paused at the door.

  Ty grinned at him and waited as he tried to calculate how long it might take for Tempest to arrive.

  Less than a minute, as it turned out. Tempest casually strolled toward him as if she was a perfectly normal person walking along the pavement.

  Ty’s smile broadened as he admired the blonde woman. She was as far from normal as it was possible to get and still be considered the same species. The device she wore on her wrist gave her all the power of an archetypal superhero. She was immensely fast and strong, impossibly durable, and she could fly as well. And if that wasn’t enough, Tempest was as gorgeous as Dinah in her own way.

  Where the deerkin looked like a woodland goddess, Tempest Flaire could have stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. She was blonde, customarily wore skin-tight black, and could have been Scarlett Johansson’s more beautiful sister.

  It was like she’d spent years dumping all her points into attractiveness, and as she approached, Ty forgot about everything else. He had eyes only for her, and he wouldn’t have noticed if Badger turned into a flashing neon sign or burst into flames.

  Nor was his reaction one-sided. Tempest wore a broad, confident smile. Her eyes never wavered from Ty’s own as she reached for him, pulled him close and kissed him soundly on the lips.

  Ty forgot about everything else and just enjoyed the moment. When the gorgeous blonde woman broke away, she smiled and said, “Are you ready to go?”

  Ty nodded. He shot a quick glance at Badger and took in the bigger man’s astonished expression. “Sure. Only – we don’t need to find an unused alley, do we? That video of you flying is already out there. And besides, there aren’t many people around here anyway.”

  It was Tempest’s turn to look around. She caught sight of Badger at the door and might have understood what Ty wanted. In any event, she gave him a conspiratorial grin and nodded.

  “Okay,” she said. She hadn’t really broken away from him after the kiss, but still drew him in closer and held him tight. With no perceptible effort, she launched them
both into the sky.

  As they rose into the air, Ty took a last look at Badger. The bouncer was staring at them, open-mouthed. If he was astonished before, it was nothing to how he looked now.

  Ty let out a whoop of laughter at his friend’s expression. Then he put the bouncer, the club, and everything else out of his mind and enjoyed the ride.

  <<<>>>

  Ty and Tempest rose through the clouds into the sunshine above. For no reason other than to luxuriate in the heat of the sun, Tempest spun them both slowly about. Ty felt like they were dancing an aerial waltz, and for just that moment, he forgot all his worries and thought about when they’d made love in the sky after leaving their clothes in a satellite dish.

  He let out a low sound of enjoyment. To him, flying with Tempest was an almost spiritual sensation. If he could, he’d fly with her every day for the rest of his life.

  Perhaps Tempest was thinking much the same thing. In any event, she let out a breath that was almost a sigh of satisfaction as she held him close.

  Ty wished Dinah’s call had been no more than a ruse to get him away from the Club, and that Tempest was there to whisk him off to some secluded spot. But not every flight could be a prelude to enjoyment. Some had a far more serious intent.

  Ty looked down at the clouds beneath them. Below it was the city of New Lincoln, the vast sprawl of corporate skyscrapers and neon lights he had called home his entire life. It was a city filled with pettiness and anger that frequently festered into hate. Lives were lived under the yolk of corporate greed, and most just did what they could to survive.

  It was a desperate, furious, miserable city, but within the meanness and filth, there was also hope. A little laughter. And even some joy.

  And Ty had become a superhero. For the first time in his life, he could have a measurable impact on the level of hope in the city. In fact, in his mind, he had an obligation to do so.

  Instead of suggesting that they find some exotic location to share in some fun, he leaned back against her grip and said, “What did Dinah find?”

  Tempest grinned at him in response. “Oh, nothing big. Just a shipment of zzapp precursors that could cause untold damage to a lot of innocent people. It’s worth millions.”

  Zzapp was the latest designer drug doing the rounds in New Lincoln. Ty had heard it could give users a buzz that made everything seem to happen in slow motion. Pro gamers often used it to heighten their reaction speeds, but Brad once said he could tell who was on it because their decision making tanked.

  It was also highly addictive, and users were known to suffer brain aneurisms at a much higher rate than normal.

  Yet it was the money Tempest mentioned that made Ty gape at her. “Millions?” he said.

  The blonde superhero laughed. “Yeah.”

  “Sounds pretty big to me.”

  Tempest acknowledged his point. “It should make a sizeable dent in Rubio’s business if the shipment found its way into an incinerator somewhere,” she conceded.

  Ty marveled at the nonchalant way she spoke of such things. “Where is it?” he asked.

  “There’s a warehouse on the lake docks. One of the officials there has been in Rubio’s back pocket for a while. Dinah spotted some unusual movements, followed it up, and here we are.” The blonde superhero was obviously proud of Dinah’s efforts. “You know what she can do with that system of hers. I swear she could track a single rat through the sewer if she tried.”

  Ty knew Tempest’s words to be true, yet there was one piece of information he wasn’t sure Dinah could provide. “Do we know if anyone there is wearing a device?” he asked.

  Tempest’s grin faded a little. She shrugged mid-flight. “No. Does it matter?”

  “It does if we’re not ready for them. The last thing we need is a nasty surprise.”

  Tempest laughed. Then she wrapped Ty up a little more tightly, bringing him close enough to nuzzle his neck and gently bite his ear. It felt delicious.

  “We are going to be the surprise, Ty,” Tempest breathed. “All going well, we’ll be in and out before anyone knows what happened.”

  For a moment, Ty forgot what they were talking about. All he knew was that Tempest was warm, soft, and completely incredible. He even forgot they were flying. He just responded to her nuzzling and nibbling by crushing her to him with all his strength.

  She gave a squeal of delight and let out a little laugh, yet she somehow managed to keep her focus. “It’ll be like a classic hit and run,” she continued. “And besides, the odds of Rubio finding someone with a useful skill so quickly can’t be that high, can they?”

  Ty knew she was right. But, as they descended back into the clouds, he wondered if they should have collected his device tracker on the way, just to be sure.

  Without it, they were going in blind.

  “Are you ready for this?” Tempest asked.

  Despite his doubts and much to his surprise, Ty actually did feel ready. He felt stronger and more capable than he’d ever felt in his life.

  “Yeah. I’m ready,” he growled.

  After all, this was hardly his first rodeo.

  4: Knock, Knock

  “Then let’s do this,” Tempest said. With that, they dropped like a stone toward the roof of the warehouse below them.

  The rush of wind and rapidly approaching ground helped to focus Ty’s attention. He hadn’t really known how vast the lake bordering New Lincoln was until Tempest had taken him there when he’d first put on his device. The lakeside port was a match for it in both size and overall activity. Massive ships were coming and going, cargo was being unloaded by cranes and forklifts, and people scurried about like ants on the piers.

  As the ants quickly grew in size to look more like people, Ty started to wonder about the upcoming fight. That Rubio would have men guarding his shipment was certain. The only questions were how many, and how well armed they might be.

  Yet he wasn’t worried. He still had the last of his modified blasters tucked down the back of his pants. Not even Bain, a monstrous, superpowered brute of a man, could stand up to the sheer firepower of Ty’s blasters if they were fired repeatedly.

  But Ty’s most important piece of tech was his energy shield. Starting off as a mesh “onesie” that covered him from head to toe, he’d since leveled it up to be a series of adhesive projector discs stuck on key parts of his body. The whole thing was powered by a set of energy converters that he kept stored in a pouch under his clothes.

  Activating it was like going Super Saiyan. The shield made him immune to physical blows, blaster fire, and fall damage to an amazing degree. He barely felt more than a tap when the shield was struck. And with his latest enhancements, it enabled him to land punches and kicks as hard as those of Tempest herself.

  It also allowed him to unleash blasts of power from the discs themselves. It was like he’d turned himself into a huge, powerful blaster, and he could do serious damage.

  Like when he’d gone to save Lilith, Bain’s unwilling accomplice. He’d let loose with everything he had, and it had led to a lot of deaths. Perhaps those deaths had been necessary, or maybe he could have avoided some of them. Either way, they weighed heavily on Ty’s conscience.

  “What’s the plan?” he asked Tempest as she slowed her approach, keeping his voice low. Below them, he could see armed guards mixed in with the workers. They were close enough that he could easily see the blasters they wore at their sides.

  All of them had the look common to Rubio’s men.

  “The drug is in a crate marked, ‘anchovies’,” Tempest said, just as quietly. “I’m thinking it’ll be the focus of Rubio’s men inside. Dinah says the drug is flammable, so how about we find it, and I’ll keep any trouble off your back while you blast it into dust?”

  Ty nodded. “Simple,” he said.

  He sensed Tempest grin. “Yeah. I like simple. And how about we go in through a window rather than the door. You know, to avoid attracting any attention too early.”

  She did
n’t wait for Ty’s agreement. As she spoke, Tempest angled them toward one of the warehouse’s upper windows, a dirtied, plexiglass pane surrounded by gunmetal grey aluminum. “Knock, knock,” she said, at the same time as she let go of Ty with one arm and casually smashed her fist into the window.

  It was much tougher than it looked. Armor grade, Ty thought. The window cracked on impact but, surprisingly, held.

  The noise of the impact made one of the guards below look up. Ty felt his guts freeze up with fear as their simple plan fell apart.

  “They’re here, they’re here!” the guard yelled. Then he opened fire.

  5: Tanking Hits

  Tempest swore as she spun out of the way of the incoming shots. Ty had a moment to ponder the guard’s words and knew he and Tempest were somehow expected. Then, as plasma sizzled and burned against the warehouse windows and walls behind them, he drew his own blaster and yelled, “Activate!”

  The blue shield came to life, cutting him off from his lover’s touch.

  Additional guards were already running their way, appearing from left and right. A door opened up and even more burst out from within.

  Ty saw an opportunity to draw the attention to himself and give Tempest free rein. “Drop me on them and get inside!” he yelled at her. “I’ll catch up!”

  “Are you sure?” she said.

  “I’ll be fine! Do it!”

  The blonde superhero drew him close enough to kiss his glowing energy shield over his lips, then let him go over the gathering guards.

  Ty dropped like a stone. Blasters fired at him, but to no effect. Then he was down among them, gently drifting the last couple of feet to the ground.

  It made him an easy target. The guards hadn’t paused in their shooting, but had stepped away to give themselves room. Ty counted half a dozen doing their best to kill him, but without even a hint of success. To Ty, it felt no more dangerous than being slapped with damp sheets of paper.