The New Heroes: Crossfire

by Michael Carroll

  “You can do anything, Danny. Reach back. Pull Krodin out of the past, like The Helotry did. But go to a time before they grabbed him. When they did it, they damaged the time-lines. But you’re the god of time. The universe created you so that you could make things right. It tried first to give your father that role, but he failed to understand what was required because he didn’t have anyone to guide him. The task has now fallen to you, and you have me as your guide. You can manipulate the past any way you like, without side-effects. Danny, you could even take Krodin from his time and leave him there. Do you understand what I mean by that? Split the time-line into two streams, one where Krodin stays where he is, the other where he’s pulled out of the past. You can do anything.”

  Danny felt as though a door was opening in his mind, and he allowed his consciousness to step through. He saw himself as he was now, slumped in a chair in an icy cavern, wearing battered armor that was covered in his own frozen blood.

  He slipped back further, and was rocked slightly by a sudden rush of images. The most painful memories were strongest and brightest. The death of his father. Losing his arm inside the power-damping machine. Working at hyper-speed as he used a scalpel to cut into Renata’s stomach to remove a bullet. Watching Solomon Cord’s body being brought back to Sakkara.

  But there were good memories, too. Seeing his baby brother in hospital the day he was born. The discovery of his powers. Sitting on the floor of his bedroom with Colin and their friend Brian as they read through piles of comic-books.

  The first time he and Renata kissed.

  The memories came rushing at him then, all at once, overwhelming him.

  Danny remembered everything. So many memories, and most of them not his own… His parents being introduced to each other by a mutual friend. His father racing back and forth across the planet, desperately trying to bring the cure for The Helotry’s plague to the entire human race. Victor Cross as a teenager, walking through a courtyard on a bitterly cold night with fireworks in his pocket and a gallon of gasoline in his backpack.

  He saw Lance McKendrick, not more than twenty-five years old, playing poker with a deck that contained fifty-eight cards. He saw a silver-clad young woman wielding an ax in one hand, a sword in the other. He saw Solomon Cord standing in a remote field, staring up into the air with an angry expression, holding on to two broken leather straps as his first prototype jetpack disappeared into the sky.

  He saw his younger brother Niall dressed in black rags, racing through a brick-walled corridor as he carried a two-year-old child in his arms.

  He saw Colin Wagner ripping open a metal sphere and releasing a wave of energy that washed over Renata and failed to restore her powers.

  He saw a man—a teacher—speaking in a room full of oddly-dressed people, while the wall behind him showed pictures of Colin, Renata, Brawn, Stephanie, Mina, Cassandra and Danny himself.

  He looked through the eyes of a man staring into a mirror and seeing a woman in the reflection.

  He saw Max Dalton’s dead body lying in rubble. He saw Evan Laurie crying as his trembling hands fumbled with the clasp on a red plastic medicine box. He saw Victor Cross’s missile launch, the force of its exhaust shattering the glacier.

  Roz Dalton as a young woman on a deserted street, talking to a hungry dog. His own mother, heart-broken, unable to cope with the knowledge that the man she’d believed was her husband for eleven years had been an imposter. Brawn, fighting for his life against Titan, Energy and others. Solomon Cord, stripped of his armor and thrown from a helicopter.

  Too much, Danny thought. I can’t… I have to focus on one thing, not everything. He looked at Cross. “You…”

  “What have you seen, Danny?”

  “Everything. You. The Chasm.”

  “Colin quoted the Bible, the bottomless pit… But I know that was a lie. That was McKendrick, trying to freak me out. Payback for me getting Roman to quote the Bible to him. What is The Chasm?”

  “A… hole. An emptiness. A void.”

  His teeth gritted, Cross said, “What does that mean?”

  Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you, Danny thought. All he knew of The Chasm was Victor’s obsession with it. “It… It’s something you won’t know, ever, if you launch that missile.”

  Cross rocked back on his heels. He looked disappointed. “But that’s a lie.” He pulled the Extractor from his pocket. “You had your chance.” He pressed the muzzle of the gun against Danny’s forehead.

  No! Danny thought. I have to do something—anything! His mind raced through his memories, through the visions he had just seen, desperate for something, anything, that would help.

  One image leaped out to him, but he didn’t know why. He grabbed onto it, focused, concentrated. He felt the change begin to happen.

  And Victor Cross pulled the trigger.

  Instantly, the images were gone, only vague traces remained, and as Danny Cooper passed out he knew that the last chance to save the human race had been lost.

  Chapter 34

  Victor stepped back away from Danny’s slumped, unconscious body. “So close.”

  He turned around. Behind him, two of the boys were carrying Shadow between them. His skin was scorched and blistered, his uniform almost completely burnt away.

  “How is he?” Cross asked.

  “Alive, but only just. Brawn’s out there. He has Zeke hostage. He’s wounded. Oscar is there too.”

  “Take Shadow to the gantry. Right to the top. Tell Oscar to get back here, to forget about Zeke. Then lower the plane. It’s already fueled and prepped, just get it down. When all that is done, meet me back here.”

  As the boys carried Shadow out of the room, Cross returned to the circle. He pulled the tarpaulin away from Colin and Mina. “Kids, playing in an adult’s world. How did you think that this was going to end? Did you honestly believe that you would win? I’ve been ahead of you every step of the way.”

  He absently twirled the gun around on his index finger, and turned to look toward Renata and Kenya over by the wall.

  “And you, Ms Soliz… You were my favorite.”

  Victor strode across the hangar floor, and made his way to the control room.

  Evan Laurie’s body was slouched in the chair, his left sleeve rolled up, five empty syringes in a cluster at his feet. Victor tipped him out of the chair and keyed the missile’s ignition sequence. Then he disabled the software that jammed the communications to Sakkara.

  He set up a link between his radio and the communications console, and left the room. As he strode along the corridor, he said, “Hello, Sakkara. All the lines are clear. You may speak freely.”

  Lance McKendrick’s voice said, “You’re a dead man, Cross. I’m going to strangle you myself!”

  “No, you’re not, McKendrick. Is Cassandra with you? Put her on.”

  Cross visited his office long enough to collect his prepared backpack, and briefly looked around. Not forgetting anything? Good.

  Cassandra’s voice said, “I’m here.”

  “Hello Cassandra. Guess what? Not counting my little genetic creations and a certain prisoner in The Cloister, you and I are now the last two functioning superhumans on the planet. That makes us extra-special. How do you like that?”

  “Not much.” A pause. “Mister Cross, please, don’t launch that missile.”

  “Oh. OK then. Consider the launch aborted. See? All you had to do was ask politely.”

  Lance said, “Cross, you’re insane. How are you going to live on a destroyed Earth?”

  “Oh, that’s simple. Suspended animation. I’ll wake up when the planet is once again conducive to human life.” Victor climbed up the missile’s gantry. “Hold for a second, please.” He lowered the radio’s volume control and raced up the remaining five flights of metal stairs.

  Shadow was sitting on the top level, with his back leaning against the rocket. He lifted his head as Victor approached. “Hey, boss.”

  “Hey yourself, Shadow. Stand up.”r />
  Shadow grabbed the rail and hauled himself to his feet.

  “Wow. Paragon’s little girl really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

  “It wasn’t all her,” Shadow said. “A lot of this damage is from Cooper and Brawn. But I’ll recover.”

  “Of course you will.” Victor reached out past Shadow and pulled down on a handle set into the missile’s plating. A three-foot-square hatch slid open. “In you get.”

  Shadow stared. “What?”

  “In. There’s room, trust me.”

  Shadow climbed into the missile. “But… I’ll die.”

  Victor raised the radio to his mouth. “You hear that, Lance? He believes he’s going to die, and he’s getting in anyway. Gotta love that loyalty.”

  “Cross—”

  “No, shut up. My turn now.” He crouched down next to the hatch. “Comfortable? All right, Shadow. This is it. Out of all your brothers I disliked you the least. And now you’ve got one more job to do for me. The screens will tell you everything you need to know once you’re in the air.” He patted Shadow on the arm. “It’s been fun, kid, but this is where we part company.”

  Victor straightened up, and sealed the hatch. Far below, something deep inside the missile’s engines began to rumble.

  He charged down the stairs, taking them three at a time. He vaulted over the last rail and raced for the corridor.

  “Ignition in two minutes, Lance. Exciting, isn’t it?”

  “We’ve alerted the Russians, the Chinese… Everyone! That missile of yours is going to be blasted out of the sky!”

  “No, it won’t. It’s going to be fast, and it’s got a very nifty scrambler that will render it invisible to any other missile. Plus it’s got the best avoidance system in the world. Shadow. Right now, the missile’s computers are feeding my boy everything he needs to know about piloting it.”

  Cross ran into the hangar and saw the five clones gathered in front of the black plane. Nathan was unhooking the last of the chains. “Nice work, boys. Daddy is very pleased.”

  “What do we do about the New Heroes?” Tuan asked.

  “Nothing. Leave them. They’re finished.”

  Nathan asked, “But what about Zeke, and Shadow and Roman and Warwick?”

  Victor shrugged. “Who cares?” As the ground began to tremble, Victor climbed onto the plane’s wing, and dropped his backpack into the cockpit, then leaned in and activated the plane’s systems. “Warming up. Good.” He took a last look around. “All right, kids. Welcome to the end of the world.” He smiled. “Gather round, gather round.”

  The clones clustered around the wing of the plane, and looked up at him.

  “So. You’ve all been exemplary students.” He removed the Extractor from his pocket. “And here’s your prize, my little Pinocchios. You get to be real boys. For a little while.” He pulled the trigger, and as one the clones collapsed to the ground, and lay still.

  Victor climbed into the cockpit, and lowered the canopy. He pulled on the helmet and linked the plane’s radio to the base’s communications. “Still with me, Sakkara?”

  “We can hear you,” Lance said.

  “It’s been fun playing with you. If I had a conscience, I’d probably feel bad about all those lies I told. Like… well, there’s no point in confessing now, is there?” Cross pulled back on the joystick.

  The plane rose. Even over the roar of the plane’s vertical thrusters, he could hear the deep rumble of the missile’s engines.

  He looked up. The hangar’s circular opening was directly overhead, a growing circle of blue set into the ice and metal of the ceiling.

  All systems are in the green, Cross thought. He glanced to the side—a huge vertical crack had appeared in the hangar wall, and it was growing fast. And we are clear…

  The plane continued to rise. The chains from which the plane was usually suspended were swinging back and forth now, the entire ceiling trembling and shuddering.

  Any second now…

  He looked up. With a deafening roar the missile rose into the air, gathering speed, then the steam clouds rushed out, blocking everything above.

  “And we’re off,” Cross said into the radio. “Missile’s in the air. Boy, are you people in for a fun ride.”

  As the plane emerged from the circular opening Victor briefly looked around and saw a quick flash of blue against the roiling clouds of steam. What? I shouldn’t be able to see the sky yet…

  Something hard and heavy crashed onto the plane, covering the canopy.

  A huge blue fist was raised, and came smashing down, shattering the glass.

  Victor Cross’s scream was cut off as Brawn’s hand locked around his throat.

  Chapter 35

  The plane bucked and rocked and it was taking all of Brawn’s strength to hold on.

  He was thankful for the steam generated by the rocket’s exhaust melting the glacier—it meant that he couldn’t look down and see how high they were above the ground.

  “Set it down, Cross!” Brawn yelled.

  Victor Cross’s eyes were wide with fear, but he shook his head.

  Brawn squeezed tighter. “I mean it! I’ll crush your neck into paste! Set it down!”

  Again, Cross shook his head.

  Right. Brawn thought. That does it. I don’t care if we crash, as long as this piece of filth gets what’s coming to him.

  He let go of Cross’s neck, and instead grabbed hold of the joystick, and ripped it free of its moorings. He dropped it into Cross’s lap. “Now try flying the plane!”

  In the ChampionShip, Stephanie Cord slammed down on the controls, sending the craft shooting forward. “Come on… Faster, faster!”

  The ship’s radar screens showed that Cross’s missile was already half a mile into the air.

  “Still not as fast as we are,” she muttered, “but it’s accelerating.”

  She checked the screens again. Directly behind the ship, the missile was riding on a thick white column of exhaust fumes that stretched all the way back to the glacier.

  A collision-warning light began to flash. Stephanie ignored it.

  Her eyes constantly flicked between the radar display, the monitors, and the controls as she banked the ship a little to starboard, then—satisfied with the ship’s trajectory—she rested her hand on the throttle.

  The missile was three hundred yards behind the ship.

  Two hundred.

  One hundred.

  Fifty.

  Stephanie pulled back on the throttle and the ship juddered with the sudden deceleration.

  Then she jumped from the pilot’s chair, and threw herself out through the open hatch, triggered her jetpack and shot away from the ship.

  She flipped over in the air, looked back to watch the explosion as the missile collided with the ChampionShip.

  “Yes! Take that, Victor Cross! You don’t mess with Solomon Cord’s little girl!”

  Get a grip, she told herself. Don’t hang around here—there might still be time to get the others out.

  She darted down, following the missile’s exhaust trail, and saw Cross’s plane emerge from the steam clouds.

  Brawn was sprawled across the front of the craft. It was weaving and rolling, clearly out of control.

  “Nice going, big guy,” Stephanie said, grinning. She adjusted her course, and swooped in to land alongside Brawn. “Need any help?”

  “Go get the others—they’re still in the hangar!”

  “What about you?”

  “Forget me—the glacier is collapsing. Get the kids clear!”

  The steam was beginning to condense into snow as Stephanie dropped down through the hangar doors.

  Colin, Mina and Danny were closest, but Renata and Kenya were in greater danger: the floor around them was cracking, falling away in car-sized chunks.

  She zoomed over to them and grabbed Renata’s arm with her left hand, Kenya’s with her right, and dragged them up and out of the crumbling hangar. In the air, she could see that
the glacier was collapsing from the southern side—she flew half a mile north, and set them down.

  She raced back to the hangar—and the low-fuel warning light began to flash inside her helmet. Danny and the others were still safe for now, but the clones… They were piled in a bunch almost directly beneath the hangar doors. I can’t. I can’t leave them to die.

  One at a time, Stephanie carried the unconscious clones to safety.

  Each time she returned to the hangar, there was less of the floor and walls remaining—and the low-fuel light was flashing fast and faster.

  Now only her friends were left. Colin was groaning, trying to sit up. She dropped down next to him, grabbed his arm. “Come on, hold onto me! I can’t carry you all at once!”

  Colin pulled himself away. “No—Danny and Mina. Take them.”

  “We don’t have enough time!”

  Colin screamed, “Do it, Steph! I’ll be OK—get them out of here!”

  She grabbed hold of Danny and Mina with her aching arms, and said, “Col… I’ll come right back, I promise!” She zoomed out of the hangar once more, and left Mina and Danny with the others.

  She was half-way back when she realized that something was missing. Something was wrong. She looked up.

  “No…” Far above, past the thick black cloud that was all that remained of the ChampionShip, a long, steady vapor-trail told her that Victor Cross’s missile was still flying.

  Forget that! She told herself. Deal with it later. Get Colin out! Move!

  Stephanie rocketed forward, and was within a hundred yards of the hangar when her jetpack sputtered and the emergency fuel tank cut in and she began to descend.

  It had only enough fuel to allow her to land safely.

  “No, please…”

  Stephanie dropped as close to the ground as she could, but didn’t touch down—she wanted to stretch out the emergency fuel right to the last drop.

  Then the jetpack cut out completely, and she hit the icy ground hard and fast. Before her skid even slowed to a stop she was up and running, racing for the edge of the hangar.