The Good Fight 2: Villains
Page 17
If anything, she wanted President Might’s blood more than she’d ever wanted it in her life.
Her desire to kill him now surpassed the only other thing she’d wanted with all of her being: her mother’s love. See, Nova knew the story of how she came to be adopted by her mother. Aurora never once kept it a secret from her, because Aurora was a good person like that.
From as far back as she can remember, Nova had been told all about the supers who were her biological parents. How her real father called himself a Hero—was even president of the supers—but he was a two-faced coward who bent the rules to please himself.
As superior as the Super race is, there was one small hiccup that evolution hadn’t quite worked out. Twins were a rare phenomenon in the Super race, but when such an event occurred, in every single instance in history, one of the twins would turn bad. Very bad. Worse than a villain. They would murder and destroy anything and everyone. So centuries ago, the elder supers had devised a plan to get this under control. There was no way to tell which twin would turn bad until they became of age and their powers were fully developed. Because the elders didn’t want to wait that long, they choose to kill both twins the moment they were born.
Then this Hero came along. He had a plan. He was going to turn things around. He was Hero Might and he quickly became everyone’s favorite candidate for president. After being elected, he funded research programs to discover a way to tell which Supers would turn villain and which of them would be good. They called it progression.
Super twins were now being experimented on, tested, researched.
It didn’t work.
“So what did he do next?” Aurora had asked Nova on her tenth birthday. It had become a tradition to talk about the day of her birth each year before bed. It was the only time she ever got a bedtime story. Nova lifted her eyes curiously. She had never heard this part of the story. Aurora’s eyes lit up with anger. “He instituted a new rule. All super twins would either be experimented on, or depowered.”
“Both of them?” she had asked. “But wasn’t one twin a good twin?”
Aurora nodded. “President Might decided it wasn’t worth it to wait to find out who was good and who was bad, so he depowered them both as children. Children!”
Nova gasped.
“How could Central do such a thing?” Aurora had asked her. “How do you think that would make a parent feel? To know their precious children would be depowered?”
That year, Nova’s hair had turned a golden shade, getting more blonde by the month it seemed. Aurora stroked her daughter’s hair appreciatively. The lighter Nova’s hair became, the more Aurora seemed to like her. Nova might have even called it love. Yes, she thought. As her hair turned blonde, her mother started to love her.
“So that’s why you saved me?” Nova asked. “So I wouldn’t be depowered?”
“No, honey.” Aurora leaned in closer, making the cot creak under her weight. “They were going to kill you.” Chills prickled down Nova’s arms. She was now keenly aware of her own heartbeat, a symbol of her being alive. Aurora continued, “See, President Might was happy to experiment on other twins. He depowered them left and right. But when he found out his wife was having twins, well, he became a two-faced coward. He slipped off to a human hospital for his wife to give birth. Then he staged this elaborate event where the hospital blew up and he blamed it on the villains.”
Nova’s eyes were wide as she listened to the details of a story she had only before heard of in tidbits. “Why did he blow up the hospital?” she’d asked.
“So he could kill you.”
“But why did he want me dead?” Her tiny fingers gripped the blanket. “Did he think I was the bad twin?”
Aurora nodded. “He had decided that you would become a villain. One of us.”
“I am one of you!” Nova said desperately, her eyes filling with tears. The villains had never tried to kill her. Nova wanted to be a villain.
“I know, honey. I know.” Aurora patted her arm. “Don’t worry, child. I saved you from that hospital. I took you when he didn’t want you. I am your family, not him. And one day,” Aurora said, looking off into the distance with an expression on her face that was a mixture of anger and joy, “You will be old enough to seek revenge on the family who tried to kill you.”
* * *
Nova hadn’t seen Aurora in three days. She spent most of her time training or eating. Or lying in her cot staring up at the concrete ceiling. She had a window, but it was way up near the top of the wall and no matter how high she jumped, she couldn’t see out of it. Now, at the age of sixteen, it occurred to Nova that she could probably launch herself off the wall on the opposite side of the room, and jump back and forth between the small distance until she got high enough to see out of the window. She was much stronger than she’d been as a child, and in the three days since her birthday, she’d gained three times the strength and agility.
But what was the point? The sun was up as always and the compound was surrounded by water. She knew these things, so she didn’t need to see them.
What she needed more than anything, was a mission. Without the mission she had been training for, she had absolutely no reason to be alive. There wasn’t anything else she wanted to do but kill President Might.
She would watch the life drain from his eyes and then—well, she didn’t know what would happen next. She played a key role in this mission of revenge, but Aurora hadn’t made her privy to the rest of the plan.
Nova trusted it would be worth it.
* * *
It was dark by the time something exciting happened. Nova had almost fallen asleep—in fact she probably was asleep, when a pudgy villain named Miriam tossed open the door to Nova’s room. “Suit up!” she snapped. “We’re going to Central.”
Nova was on her feet in an instant. She grabbed her suit from a hook on the wall and began undressing, briefly wondering why she had to knock on everyone else’s door but no one ever knocked on hers. Oh well, it didn’t matter. The mission was back on.
The hallways were alive with the collective rush of adrenaline from every villain in the compound. Nova wandered down the long corridor, noticing something peculiar with the hood of her suit. The fact that it was black and she could still see out of it wasn’t what was curious about it. The strange thing was how every time she walked past another villain, their bodies turned a light shade of blue. Almost as if they were lighting up when she saw them. At one point, she lifted up the mask and peered out of it, only to find that everyone looked normal. When she put it back on, they were blue.
Aurora wore a sleek leather dress that hugged her curves and made her appear a hundred years younger. Nova wondered why she wasn’t wearing a bodysuit that was easier for fighting, instead of a tiny dress and high heeled boots, but she didn’t ask. She did, however, ask about the blue lights.
“Have I not told you yet?” Aurora asked, looking somewhat confused. She was usually calm and in control but tonight she was, Nova thought, a little frazzled. “Your hood is an invention of Felix’s. Our people will show up blue so you know not to attack them. Heroes will show up as red. Your target, will be white.”
“President Might,” Nova said, feeling her hands tightened into fists.
Aurora peered at her for a moment, as if she was going to say something to the contrary. “Your target will be white. You attack and kill the white target. Kill any of the reds if you wish, but stay focused on your mission first and foremost.”
Nova nodded. “I will.”
* * *
The journey to Central was less eventful than Nova had always imagined it would be. They took a thirty minute ride in a metal car that zoomed through underground tunnels and stopped just at the base of the Grand Canyon. Nova knew instantly why it got such a name. The massive formation in front of her was the grandest thing she’d ever seen.
Though there were lighted walkways that led up to the top of the canyon, Aurora took everyone to a pile of rubble
that was the entrance to a newly carved tunnel. It was dark and dusty inside, but Nova piled into the rocky walkway with all of the other villains who had embarked on this mission.
Central was rumored to be the most secured place on earth, but Aurora had spent sixteen years gaining allies within the facility. She’d even worked inside of there before Nova was born. Nova trusted that Aurora knew what she was doing as she guided them through crudely formed tunnels that stretched on for miles.
Eventually they reached a metal door. Nova watched in awe as Aurora took out a black device that was smooth and looked plastic, like some kind of radio or remote control. She moved it in her hand and the door in front of them slid open soundlessly.
The strange environment almost knocked Nova off her game. But she kept her jaw tight and reminded herself that this wasn’t some amusement park field trip. This was the day she would get her revenge.
Stay focused. Stay on mission. Follow your orders. She repeated the words to herself as she slipped into the official hallway of Central. The walls here were smooth like the concrete in her compound back at home. Most of the villains split into different directions, tasked with other missions that didn’t involve Nova.
Nova’s vision turned red. And then a loudspeaker shocked them all as a sudden burst of voice came from the walls.
“All Supers are in Lockdown. Proceed to shelter and do not leave until notice is given. Do not use communication devices. All Supers are in Lockdown.”
Nova realized now that her vision wasn’t actually red. There were red lights up in the corners of the hallway, flashing on and off again. The message repeated itself through some hidden speaker. No one seemed to care, especially not Aurora who wore a smile of satisfaction as they made their way through Central.
Another one of the metal cars appeared from around a corner in the hallway. Nova watched it move and come to a stop in front of them. She saw now that it didn’t have tires like a normal car—it was attached to the ceiling and the floor by some kind of wire. Aurora took Nova and two of her henchmen into the car, telling everyone else to go to other places.
This time their ride lasted about forty-five seconds. The car went very fast, so fast that Nova couldn’t see the flashing lights anymore. But when it stopped, the lights were still in fact flashing and the lockdown message was playing on repeat. They exited the car and were in front of an oddly shaped set of double doors.
Two torches flanked the doors and instead of real flames, their flames were purple. The word PEPPER shone in bright purple lighted letters above the doors.
“What a show hound,” Aurora murmured as she approached the doors. They opened before she could knock.
A handsome black man appeared on the other side of the door, his jaw set into a grimace. He wore a black suit with a purple tie. Nova had never seen anyone wear a tie before. She’d only known what they were from reading about it in a magazine that a villain had once left in the dining hall. Apparently there were dozens of ways to tie them.
Aurora and the man were talking now, but Nova missed the first part of the conversation because she was studying the man’s attire. He was still handsome even though he dressed funny.
“I created you,” Aurora said to him. “You exist solely because I made you into the designer you are today. Where is your loyalty?”
“It’s not too late to end this insanity,” he said in reply. “You know this is wrong.”
Her silver hair reflected the red blinking lights as she straightened her back and focused a glare on the man. Nova stood far behind her and the two henchmen who kept to Aurora’s sides, but she knew her mother was glaring. She’d been given the glare enough times in her life that could tell those things by now.
“You don’t get to tell me what is wrong,” she hissed, taking a step toward him. And then she raised a tiny disk in her hand and pressed a button on it. The man screamed in agony and fell to the ground, clutching his head.
Nova shuddered but kept her back straight. This is what happens to the people who don’t follow Aurora. She’d seen it before on other villains who dared to cross her. Somehow, it felt wrong to harm this man, but she wouldn’t think of that. That wasn’t her problem.
The next words out of Aurora’s mouth were confusing. “You will tell me where she is,” she said, pressing the button a second time without waiting for the man to reply. He convulsed in pain on the floor, his eyes rolling back into his head. Nova wondered if Aurora had misspoken. She had asked for a she when President Might was a man.
When Aurora asked the question a second time, she used the same pronoun. Nova assumed it wasn’t a mistake and maybe whoever she was talking about would lead to President Might. Yeah, that was probably it.
“I demand loyalty,” Aurora said. The man just shook his head in reply. The button-clicking went on for some time and Nova’s stomach turned with each torturous cry that came from the man’s mouth.
Finally, Aurora seemed to have had enough fun with the button. She lowered her gaze to the man, who was gasping for breath on the ground. “You will tell me where she is this instant or you will die.”
Nova crossed her arms over her chest, a feeling of relief washing over her. Now they would get the information they needed. No one would deny answering a simple question if it were going to kill them. Heroes always tried to ‘talk it out’ when they needed something, but they were so stupid. Villains had the right idea. Threaten to kill them and get what you want.
Strangely, the man refused to answer. Not even when Aurora counted down from three, a tactic that always worked when Nova was a child. The man’s face remained stoic as Aurora stepped forward, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting his tortured body off the ground. Tears fell down the man’s cheeks.
Something in the way he refused to break his silence made Nova begin to feel things she’d never felt before. Was it sympathy? No, it couldn’t be. Not for a super who sided with Heroes. He was worthless scum and he deserved what he got. She shouldn’t feel sorry for him because it wasn’t her fault that he didn’t see the err in his ways of thinking.
Stay focused. Stay on mission. Follow your orders. Nova added something to the chanting in her head: Do not get emotional.
Just when Nova had gained control of herself again, Aurora said something that took the breath from her lungs.
As Aurora held the man in the air, eye level with herself, she uttered the words, “Where is the Might girl?”
Nova’s breath caught in her throat. Girl? As in...no, it couldn’t be.
Amidst the wailing of the lockdown alarm, and over the sound of her own heartbeat thudding in her chest, Nova heard another sound from across the hallway. A voice, much like her own.
“I’m right here, bitch.”
Nova stepped backward, hiding behind the metal car. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The person who had entered the hallway was glowing a stark white color. It’s as if the girl’s body was alive, electric, white hot fire. But Nova knew the girl wasn’t actually on fire. It was the hood of her suit making her look that way.
Nova’s target was her twin sister.
Attack. Nova’s body knew what to do, but her mind wasn’t so sure. Aurora was having a conversation with the target, and she hadn’t once turned around and told Nova to attack her yet. So maybe this wasn’t the time. Nova had known the mission was supposed to take place in front of all the Heroes, so she should probably wait to kill her until they were in front of other Heroes.
Yes, she decided as she gripped the edge of the car she was hiding behind. This was a mistake in the plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She would wait until Aurora told her what to do.
Nova swallowed, but it did nothing to quell the dryness in her throat. The moment Aurora removed a silver disk from her pocket, she knew what was about to happen. The man would die.
And then maybe they’d kidnap the target and take her to the Heroes where Nova could kill her with an audience. That would work. That would be fun.
In that moment, the man looked away from Aurora. His eyes looked behind his executioner, searching for something, anything else to watch in his final moments. They found Nova. Her eyes locked onto his and for a brief moment, she could almost feel his anguish. He had refused to disclose the location of the target because he loved the girl they were after. He didn’t want her to be found. He was sacrificing himself for something he believed in, just as Aurora’s villains were planning to do with their own lives.
Aurora pressed the button. Though his eyes were still fixed on Nova, they turned glassy and lifeless. A moment ago he was a man who fought for what he believed to be good. Now, he was a corpse.
Nova had known they were there to kill people. She knew what death was—how it stopped a heart and shut down a mind. How death was an irrevocable punishment, something worse than depowering. She knew death meant that person would never smile again. Never love or care again. A person had but one life to sacrifice for what they believed in. And when it was gone, it was gone forever.
She knew all of this. It was something that had never taken more than a fleeting thought from her mind before she went on to think about other things. Death didn’t matter to her unless it was her own, and even that she was willing to give up if it meant Aurora would love her.
But seeing death first hand changed something inside of her. A sleeping part of her subconscious thoughts began to wake up. They had just killed a man because he dared to believe in something that contradicted their own beliefs.