The New Heroes: Crossfire

by Michael Carroll

  Warren said, “I don’t like this, McKendrick. Not one bit.” He tilted Colin’s head to the side and peered at the wound. “That’ll hold for a while. Maybe long enough to heal properly, if you don’t take any more damage.”

  Lance said, “Doesn’t matter whether you like it, Warren. This is Colin’s choice.”

  “But it’s your idea, so I’m holding you responsible.” He rested his hand on Colin’s shoulder. “Just… Just remember to stay low.”

  “Sure, Dad. I’ll be all right.” He tried to sound braver than he felt, but wasn’t sure that the act was fooling any of them. Lance is right—this is the only way.

  “Do you want to talk to your mother before you go?” Warren asked.

  Colin slid down off the bed. “Yeah, but I won’t. She’d only panic.” He smiled. “If I never make it back, you’ll tell my little sister all about me, right?” He’d meant that as a joke, a lighthearted comment to break the tension, but no one was laughing.

  “Still in a lot of pain, huh?” Lance said to the injured clone, Roman.

  Weakly, Roman nodded. He was lying on a small camp-bed inside the tent Lance had ordered to be erected on the roof of Sakkara.

  “We’re not monsters, kid. It’s not that we’re leaving you in this state just because you’re the enemy. We’ve given you the strongest painkillers available but you’re practically immune to them.” Lance took a step back and looked at Roman from head to toe.

  Earlier, before they’d carried Roman to the copter, Lance had watched as Renata did her best to force his broken bones back into place. It had been a futile effort. Whenever the clone coughed or his muscles twitched, the bones shifted, their shattered ends grinding against each other. There wasn’t a needle and thread in the world strong enough to sew up his wounds. In the end, Lance had asked Renata to twist a series of steel bars around his arm and leg to act as splints.

  And then they had left him there, alone. Renata and Colin were the only two strong enough to detain him, and Lance wasn’t going to risk leaving anyone else with him.

  Now, the steel bars were warped, some of them split, and the jagged broken end of Roman’s femur was again pushing through the skin.

  He’s going to die in agony because he’s so strong, Lance thought. We could sedate a normal person. Aloud, he said, “Roman… I’m sorry about this. I truly am. But there’s nothing more we can do for you. Your body will have to heal itself, and I don’t know whether that’s even possible. But... bad as this is, it’s still better than being dead. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  Very slightly, Roman nodded. “You think I... deserve this.”

  “Maybe you do. You attacked us without reason. Your friends have already killed one of us, and taken two others. My people are about to launch their counter-attack on Victor Cross’s base. If they fail, that’s it for life on this planet. Everything will burn. Do you want that?”

  “We… We’ll survive. We can withstand any amount… of heat. One of the reasons Colin’s DNA was chosen.”

  “I see. And what about Cross? He doesn’t have superhuman strength. He’ll die. A single supervolcano would discharge enough lava to swamp the United States. It would cover the entire world in an ash cloud so dense that every air-breathing creature would suffocate. It would block out the sun, global temperatures would plummet. Within a year, all the plants would be dead. There are forty or more dormant supervolcanoes on the planet. You said Victor Cross intends to trigger a dozen of them. And you want to live in a world like that?”

  Roman didn’t reply.

  “Physically, you’re almost identical to Colin Wagner, but morally… He’s by far your superior. You’re a weak copy of him.” Lance turned away, hesitated, and turned back. “If you don’t die of infection, or blood-loss, you’ll have the privilege of watching the world burn. The lava will wash over this world, boiling the seas, setting even the air on fire. And you and your fellow clones might well be tough enough to survive that. But I’ve done some calculations, Roman. This area, right here,”—he tapped his cane on the floor—“will be buried under a thousand feet of lava. And you’re weak now because of your injuries. If the weight of the lava doesn’t crush you, if you somehow live long enough for it to cool and solidify, you’ll be stuck. Buried alive. You won’t be able to scream for help, because your lungs will be filled with solid rock. Your friends will never find you. You’ll be stuck here, alone, in agony, deformed because we’re not strong enough to properly set your bones.”

  Lance paused for effect, then added, “And while you’re pondering that, throw this thought into the mix… What if you’re immortal?”

  After a moment, Roman raised his good arm to his face and brushed the tears from his eyes. “All right… What do you want me to do?”

  Lance faked a look of surprise. “What do you mean? I don’t want you to do anything. I just came to let you know what you’re in for. It’s not like you’re in any position to stop Cross’s plans, is it? Even if you had the strength, he’d set your brothers against you. No, you’re no good to me. You’re no good to anyone, now.” Again, Lance turned away, and again he stopped. “I can’t do it. Even though you’re beneath contempt, I can’t leave you to suffer forever. There is something else we can do to ease your pain.”

  “Please. Anything…”

  “You have to let Cassandra into your mind. She can’t heal you, but she can take the pain away.”

  “Yes… I’m begging you. Do it.”

  The tent flap was pulled open, and Cassandra stepped in. She knelt down beside the bed, her face close to Roman’s. “I want you to relax, as much as you can. This will be uncomfortable, but not painful.”

  Lance stood back and watched as Cassandra stared, unmoving, at the clone. Come on. This has to work. If she can get through to him, we just might have a chance.

  Chapter 23

  “They’ll have tracked you, of course,” Victor cross said to Shadow. “I’ve no doubt they’re on the way even as we speak.”

  Shadow floated around the base of the missile’s launch pad. “Yeah. Man, this is big.” The cylindrical rocket towered over them. Far above, working on a flimsy-looking gantry, Evan Laurie was instructing two of Shadow’s brothers how to attach a bulky fuel-line. “We left Roman behind.”

  “I know. When this is done we’ll get him back.”

  “What if he talks?”

  “He won’t.”

  “They might force him to.”

  “They’re the good guys,” Victor said. “They’re not going to resort to torture.”

  Shadow completed his circuit and drifted back to Victor. “Renata said something that got me thinking. Are we going to keep growing older at the same rate?”

  “No, it’s pretty much stopped now. You’ll age like everyone else. Unless you’re one of those lucky few superhumans who happen to be immortal.”

  “Like Krodin.”

  “Right. He’s immortal because his body constantly repairs itself, but I’m sure there are other ways to achieve that wonderful state.”

  “I don’t like the idea of living forever. You’d get to see everyone you know die, and then in a few billion years the sun will explode, and you’d be all alone in space. Forever. Until the universe comes to an end. And after that… Well, there is no after that.”

  “When the universe ends, it’ll be replaced by another one,” Victor said, looking up at the missile. “It’s happened before, it’ll happen again. It keeps happening.” He looked back at Shadow. “Of course, when I say ‘before’ that’s not really accurate. There was no ‘before’ the universe because time is one of the aspects of the universe. The next one will certainly have different aspects. Time might not be among them.” He shrugged. “It’s hard even for me to get my head around that one. How can a universe exist with no time?”

  “Other universes,” Shadow mused. “Like when Krodin changed the past?”

  “No, not that like. That was an alternate reality to this one. That’s
like… Suppose that the universe is a page in a book. Krodin’s reality was on the other side of the same page. But the other universes are different books. Understand?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, I don’t care. Now, go help Evan. Time is short. For now. The heroes are coming and they’ll no doubt have a few surprises for us.”

  “How dead do you want them?”

  “Dead as you can, thanks.” As Shadow began to rise, Cross called out, “Actually, hold on a second… They’re going to want to rescue Mina. If they achieve that, we could be in trouble. Better kill her first.”

  Cross’s radio beeped, and he held up a hand to tell Shadow to wait. “Yeah?”

  Evan Laurie’s voice said, “Victor… We’ve got activity on one of the monitored locations. It’s the New Heroes. They’re, well, I don’t know how they found out, but…”

  “Get to the point.”

  “They’re going after your father.”

  “I see.”

  Laurie said, “Victor, it’s your dad. He’s your only living relative!”

  “So they found him… Or maybe they’ve always known where he is.” Cross pursed his lips and tapped the corner of the radio against his chin. “Shadow, forget what I just told you. Take Tuan, Zeke and Warwick out to find Colin Wagner—he’s coming here. Bring the extractor with you. Their telepath must have found a way to break through Roman’s defenses. She could have figured out our location from his memories.”

  “But you have the location blocked from us!”

  “They’re smart enough to put the clues together.”

  “Then, what about your father?” Shadow asked.

  “Hmm? Oh, right. No, he’ll be fine. They’re not going after him. It’s a trap. Go get Colin.”

  “You want him dead?”

  “Only if you have no choice, but I’d prefer you to use the Extractor. I’ve got a lot of questions for that young man and I’d like him to be in a condition to answer them.”

  Colin flew due north, hoping that he was going in the right direction. Or at least close enough.

  He wondered how many of his clones he’d have to face this time. Three weren’t enough to stop me. They might send four or five. Or all of them.

  At times like this he wished he had Renata’s invulnerability. His skin was strong, but he could be hurt, and his guts churned with the thought of what he knew was coming. I don’t want to do this. It’s dangerous and crazy and it might get me killed.

  Maybe I’ll get lucky and Cross will send them one at a time. I could deal with that. Probably.

  He was within sight of Hudson Bay when he sensed them coming.

  Four of them in a tight cluster, rocketing toward him at least as fast as he was traveling.

  In seconds, they had surrounded him, and Colin decelerated to a stop. He turned around slowly. The clones were keeping their distance, but watching him.

  “Tell me, do you guys all have names, or did Cross give you numbers to make it easier?”

  The clone on his left said, “We have names. You’ve met me before. Shadow. On my left is Zeke. Then Tuan and Warwick.”

  “Pity you’re all so ugly,” Colin said, and all of them, including Colin, laughed. “So… We all have a big fight now and those of you who survive go home to nurse your wounds, right?”

  Shadow said, “We could do that. Or we could beat the snot out of you and leave you broken and dying, like your people did with Roman.”

  “He’s not dead yet,” Colin said. “But he’s definitely out of the fight. So that’s one down and eight to go. Who’s next?”

  “You are,” Shadow said. “If it was up to me, we’d pulverize you into paste, but the boss has other plans for you.”

  Here it comes, Colin thought. He braced himself. “What plans?”

  “He didn’t say. But he did give us this.” Shadow held up a device that reminded Colin of a child’s toy ray-gun. “You can try to zap it with that thing you do to control electricity, but this was designed especially for you. It’s shielded.”

  “A gun. Not very original.”

  “It’s not a gun. Remember Ragnarök’s power-damping machine? Remember the one Victor made for Max Dalton? Similar technology, only instead of wiping out everyone’s powers, this Extractor only works on you. Won’t even work on us, and we’re almost identical to you.”

  Colin said, “An Extractor. You’re going to try to take away my powers.” He narrowed his eyes. “You think you’re a good enough shot to hit me?”

  Shadow lowered the weapon, held it by his side. “Like I said, it’s not a gun. Victor put it inside this toy only because it was a handy casing for it. I don’t need to be a good shot, because it’s omni-directional. Doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you’re in range—”

  Colin darted up into the air, racing away from the clones as fast as he could move. His path took him in a wide arc, brought him low, almost to the ground. He didn’t waste time looking back to see if they were following—he knew they would be.

  In the woods to the east of Hudson Bay he rapidly zigzagged between the trees. He darted across an old road that cut through the forest, zoomed down a hillside and rocketed across a wide lake.

  Wish he’d said what the range is on that thing.

  He entered another forest and slowed, extended his hearing to concentrate on the sounds of the forest, listening for anything that shouldn’t be there.

  Flying is silent, but if they talk to each other I’ll be able to pin-point their location.

  He stopped, hovering a couple of feet above the forest floor. Don’t know if they can see me here… One of them might have infra-red vision.

  Then all the sounds of the forest faded away, and Colin fell to the ground.

  Above him, Shadow dropped through the trees. “And just like that—zap!—Colin Wagner is no longer a superhuman.”

  Colin shuffled backwards on his hands and feet.

  The leaves rustled as Shadow landed softly on the forest floor, and began walking toward him. Behind him, the other three clones were descending.

  “Still want that fight?” Shadow asked. “Seriously. Go for it. I want you to.”

  One of the others—Colin thought it was Zeke, or maybe Warwick—said, “Just grab him, Shadow. Victor wants him alive.”

  The four superhuman clones advanced on Colin. In his entire life, he had never felt so helpless, or so scared.

  In Sakkara, Lance McKendrick looked at the tall man standing in the doorway of his quarters. “Yeah?”

  “You sent the kids in without us,” Façade said.

  “This is true. You’d get in the way.”

  “That’s not how this is supposed to happen. They’re our children!”

  “Technically, Danny’s not your son. But I do understand. And I sympathize. But if you were there, Danny would be worried about protecting you. There’s nothing you can add to the fight that would make any difference.” Lance stepped back from the doorway. “Come in.” He pointed toward the sofa with the tip of his cane. “Have a seat.”

  “Razor said that Colin’s been captured.”

  “This is also true.” Lance sat down in his armchair. “Believe me, I’m as worried about him as you are. For now, all we can do is wait. Renata knows not to break radio silence until they’ve been spotted.”

  “What’s your back-up if this doesn’t work?” Façade asked.

  “There is no back-up. This is a one-shot, all-or-nothing attack.”

  “According to Shadow, there are nine clones in total. We’ve got one of them, but we don’t know what other defenses Cross has.” Façade stood in front of Lance’s chair and glowered at him. “You’ve just sent my son to his death.”

  Lance looked away, shaking his head. “You don’t know that,” he said quietly. “He’s resourceful. They all are—you trained them well. And they’re the only hope this world has.”

  Façade began to speak, but Lance cut him off: “Just listen. Cassandra was able to get inside R
oman’s mind. It was tricky for her to decipher because he’s still just an infant in many ways, but she saw a lot. Most of the clones have very simple powers. Flight, strength, speed. They also have a pretty high tolerance for variations in temperature, but nothing like Colin’s. Cross was disappointed with that. He was hoping for something else, something special—Roman doesn’t know what that is—but he didn’t get it. This tells me that Cross is no longer working on his A-plan. He’s moved on to another one.”

  “How does that help us?” Façade asked.

  “That I don’t know. Yet. Now… There’s transport coming to take everyone back to the Substation. The rest of the civilians are already there. We’re abandoning Sakkara. If the kids fail, this place will be Cross’s first target. So you go to the Substation, be with Rose and Niall. Because if the world is coming to an end, that’s where you’re going to want to be.”

  “And you?” Façade asked.

  “I’m staying. Someone has to be here to liaise with the kids, and to make the place seem occupied if their mission fails and Cross comes here. Of course, if that happens, if that vermin comes within a mile of here, I’m going to nuke the building off the face of the Earth.”

  Chapter 24

  Victor Cross watched as Evan Laurie draped a blanket around Colin’s trembling shoulders, then handed him a mug of warm tea. The boy was standing in the center of the ice-walled room and had barely moved since his clone-brothers had brought him to the base.

  “Cold out there, isn’t it?” Cross asked.

  Colin was shivering too much to nod. He raised the steaming mug to his mouth and just as it touched his lips Cross reached out and pulled it from his hands, poured the tea onto the frozen floor and handed the mug back to Laurie.

  “Yeah. I’m not one for the cold, really.” Cross said. “Or the heat. I prefer a more moderate climate.” Cross placed his hand on Colin’s shoulder and kept it there as he walked around to face him from the front. “The good news is that your powers aren’t gone forever. This isn’t like when Danny’s powers were wiped out, or Renata’s. The energy that gives you your abilities has been drained, that’s all. Drained right down to almost zero. It’s going to take a long time for the energy to build back up to a level that’s useful.”