Darting through the stairwell door she took the stairs three at a time, bounding up them, leaping over the middle to the next floor, not stopping until she hit the seventh floor. Because of the pyramid design, each floor was smaller than the next. This one was a third the size of the break room level and only had a short hallway with two doors.
She moved in, careful to keep her bare feet spread, with very little contact on the floor. Her feline nature made it easy to move silently, a second nature. When her powers had expressed, she was banned from the gymnastics team. She’d lost her scholarships and her whole life had gone downhill... until she found it ridiculously easy to steal. Everyone else moved in slow motion compared to her.
But what should have led to a comfortable life for her only led to one disappointment after another. The last one had ended with her in the UltraMax, for life. No one believed her when she said Ericsson mind controlled her. Of course, once it was out what had happened, everyone behind bars used that excuse.
He hadn’t, but it was worth a shot.
She let out a little breath as she reached for the gadget to open the door. She held it in front of the key card lock and raised her thumb, ready to activate it, when the door opened.
Kate Petrenelli held the door open: her long black hair done up in a bun, a towel wrapped around her, her jaw hanging slack. Time snapped forward and both women reacted with the incredible speed of their superhuman nature. Petrenelli lunged forward, kicking out at Vixen, knocking her across the hall into the far wall.
“Milton,” Petrenelli yelled.
Vixen rebounded, pushing off the wall into a forward roll, flexing her legs she dodged the next blow and slammed Petrenelli in the jaw with an uppercut, sending the woman flailing backward. Vixen was on her in a heartbeat, pressing her advantage, savagely raking her claws across the superhero’s exposed legs and arms, bleeding her strength from her.
Petrenelli surprised her with a jab to the ribs that winded her for a moment, then the hero hit her in the head with a vase full of flowers and water.
“Full Beast Mode,” Petrenelli said. Her left arm flexed and claws not unlike Vixen’s own, popped from her hand.
“Thanks,” Vixen said as she sprang up. Petrenelli lunged; Vixen batted the arm aside, twisted, and elbowed the woman in the gut before grabbing her head and throwing her bodily over onto the coffee table. The furniture shattered on impact. This fight was starting to feel good to her. She was normally a match for Petrenelli, but with the woman’s powers disabled, Vixen was her better. She’d waited a long time for some vengeance on these people and now seemed like a good time.
“For what?” Petrenelli asked as she leaped up, putting some space between them.
Vixen grinned, showing off her fanged teeth. “For showing me which arm.” She lunged forward, feinted, then was forced to duck back as Petrenelli threw an unbelievably fast ax kick at her. She bounded back in, raking her claws into the hero’s abdomen.
Pain lanced through her arm and she let out a horrendous roar as Petrenelli slashed her monomolecular fingernails down to the bone in Vixens shoulder. Vixen reacted blindly, biting the wrist that held her shoulder.
It wasn’t flesh, but it wasn’t metal either, she pulled back with a mouth full of metallic goo. Petrenelli staggered back, shaking her arm trying to make her hands form a fist. She spun counter-clockwise slamming her foot into Petrenelli’s hard stomach, knocking the empath back several feet.
Vixen spat out the goo into her hand and quickly stashed the metal in the small bag attached to her belt.
“Bitch,” Petrenelli snarled. “Sword,” she said.
“Sword?” Vixen looked around assuming the woman was speaking to an associate.
No such luck.
A two-foot-long, black-bladed sword emerged from Kate’s arm like she had sheathed it there. Suddenly Petrenelli was on her again, sword in her one hand, claws in the other.
She ducked the sword, only to catch a foot in the face, sending her sprawling backward. The blade sliced through the air her head had occupied a second before, then through the wall as if it didn’t exist.
Vixen eyes went wide when she realized what the sword was. She’d seen Arsenal use a similar weapon enough times to know that even a grazing touch would cut through her like... like the concrete wall she just sliced.
Vixen flipped backward, dodging another blow and folding herself into a ball to land ten feet away. Before Petrenelli could reach her, she turned and ran.
Her revenge would have to wait. A graceful exit was out as well. Nope, she was just jumping out the nearest window. She ran full speed at the hall window and the reinforced, shatter-resistant glass exploded as she hit it claws first.
Then she was in the air, facing a seven-story fall. Luckily for her, the Spire’s pyramid shape gave it a gradual slope. She bounced off once, caught the wall with the smaller claws from her toes, and then latched on with her clawed fingers. Her momentum carried her down while her claws slowed her descent. On the third floor she leaped off, risking the forty-foot drop. She hit the ground, rolled, and was up and running just as the alarm sounded.
By the time Spire security was out in force and the bright star that had to be Lux was flying the perimeter, Vixen was safely under the cloak of the two agents from ARC
They froze when Lux’s light shined above them, but the alien quickly moved on.
“Good cloak,” she said.
“Our technology is second only to the aliens. Now with this, it will be second to none,” he said holding out his hand for the pouch.
“Yeah, I hope you meant what you said about a handful. I was lucky to get out of there with that much.”
He held it in his hand as if weighing it. The other one spoke, though. “It is sufficient. Your payment is now in your Grand Caymans account. Our deal is concluded.”
Vixen put a hand to her bloody shoulder and craned her neck looking back at the Spire. “What I really want is some revenge. I don’t suppose you can put that in my bank account?”
The one holding the pouch didn’t miss a beat. “Revenge is costly, Clarice. But if you’re willing to the pay the price, we can sell it to you.”
SIX
NORTHERN ARIZONA DESERT: 36°58'29.9"N 110°10'03.1"W
The construction was going much faster than Epic or I anticipated. The team that built the Spire had really upped their game and they were building the travel plaza at an accelerated pace.
I slowly wheel a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, checking on different sections. I try really hard not to spend more time eyeing the secret entrance to the underground tunnel, after all, there isn’t anything special about it… right?
Half the crew are in there, excavating to Epic’s exact instructions. One of the nice things about having an AI do all the planning—his math is never wrong.
What the plaza will look like when it finishes is projected as a wireframe on my glasses; this way as I move around, I can make sure we’re heading in the right direction.
I shift Luke’s black Stetson a little. It keeps falling down to my eyebrows, but I’m determined to wear it. I need to get it resized though.
I take a moment to wipe my forehead. Greece has got nothing on Arizona heat.
Confident that everything is going according to plan, I leave the construction teams to keep working on Lancaster Lodge and I wheel myself over to the semi I’m staying in until this is all done.
Automated articulating arms pick up my chair and deposit me in the side entrance. The little airlock is a perfect fit for me, and I wheel right through into the delightfully climate-controlled interior.
“Now, Epic, what do you have for me?”
The back of the truck, where I am, is a makeshift lab. Nothing too fancy, just a holo-tank, a desk, and about a hundred artist’s drawings of what the lodge will look like. It’s a little weird, but I’m almost as excited to build the travel lodge as I am my secret underground mountain base.
The A-team, as we are cal
ling the tunnel excavation team, is one-hundred and twelve meters in. As you know, we were debating about a lift at the end or angling the tunnel so that you would shoot out at a forty-five-degree angle upon exiting.
“Did you work it out with Rutabaga?”
Yes. The foreman believes the best results would come from the forty-five-degree angle.
Rutabaga is a super, like a lot of my friends, but he decided to go into the construction business instead of the hero business. With his power set it makes good sense; the ability to fuse objects together so seamlessly that they are molecularly one piece is pretty awesome from a metallurgic standpoint, but kind of useless in the crime-fighting department.
However, it did make him one of the most sought-after construction assets in the world. Eventually, he started his own company—with a little help from a mutual friend (Epic). His first big project was the Spire. The rest is history.
“Sounds good. I like the idea of flying out into the sky. Besides, this way I can crank up the speed long before I hit the exit. What about everything else?”
The automated excavators are ready as soon as the tunnel is complete. Then Rutabaga will enter the cave we carve out and fuse everything together. The mountain will actually be more geologically sound when we are done than it is right now.
“Awesome. Any word from Carlos?”
Yes. He said, and I quote, ‘don’t hold your breath.’
“You saw how she acted. It’s weirding me out. I’d say she saw my death, but I don’t think even that would make Pythia flip out. Well, regardless, we’re going to be ready. I really think Tia’s still alive and I’m not going to stop until—”
Incoming priority call from Kate.
“Amelia?” Kate’s voice is calm; I would expect her to be upset if she resorted to our priority channel.
“I’m here. Is everything okay?”
“Not really. Everyone’s fine, but we had a break-in at the Spire last night. Milton cannot account for any of it. I need you here to figure it out.”
I can’t answer right away. I just... I haven’t been back since I left with all my stuff. Every inch of that place is wrapped in Luke’s memory. I can’t separate one from the other, nor do I want to. Not to mention, I’m already having trust issues with Milton and now he’s unable to track down how someone broke in?
“Amelia? You there?” Kate says.
“Yes... I’m just... thinking.”
“It was Vixen, Amelia. She broke in. Can you please come investigate how that’s possible?”
“Fine,” I mutter. “I’ll be there shortly.” I hang up the phone without waiting for her to respond. My heart races as I think about going back to that place. Not enough time has gone by—not nearly enough. I need… like a century or so.
I will prep the jet. It will take too long to drive.
“Yeah. Good call,” I say, slipping my hat back on and heading for the door.
An hour later my personal Emjet lands on the second Spire’s pad, touching down smoothly as Epic controls every inch of our descent. I wheel over to the door and wait. I can feel the hydraulics lower the plane down to the ground.
The main door slides down and the ramp extends. It isn’t a very steep ramp, since the plane’s belly touches the landing pad. Kate’s waiting for me. She’s wearing knee-high boots over her jeans, a white scoop neck blouse, and a black leather jacket that looks like it belongs on a rock star.
I’m wearing sweats and a t-shirt, along with Luke’s Stetson.
“Hey,” I say as I role down.
“The hat suits you. He would have liked you in it.”
I look down, trying to hide my feelings under the brim. Of course, I can’t, because she is who she is.
“Let’s get this over with. I have work to do elsewhere,” I say to her. She takes my chair, and wheels me to the door then inside the lift.
“Sky-bridge,” she says. The doors shut and the lift immediately moves. We wait in silence. I’m sure she’s reading me, getting a feel for what is going on inside my head, how I’m coping, but I really want her to not say anything.
“What happened,” I say in order to break the awkward silence. Well, awkward to me.
“I was taking a shower last night and I heard someone at my door. When the monitor didn’t show anyone outside, I opened it to look in the hallway. She was standing there, bold as brass, waiting for me. We fought. She escaped.”
“Escaped? From you?” I practically spit it out. “How?”
“She had tech that blocked all my powers. No empathy, no teleporting. All I had was my strength, speed, and training. And I have to tell you, she’s good in hand-to-hand. Like, really good,” Kate says. “I’d still be black and blue if not for Teddy.”
I nod. “I’ve fought her before. I don’t know what her claws are, but they scratched my suit one time. Any idea what she wanted?”
The doors open and Kate pushes me onto the sky-bridge to the other Spire. They’re not that far apart. I take a second to look down; the bridge is designed so you can see what’s below. Right now it’s just the empty desert garden. It’s the middle of the day and a hundred and eight outside; it isn’t like anyone would lounge out in the sun.
Then a bright light flashes by and I catch a glimpse of Lux’s golden hair and big smile. She thrives in the sun; it powers her. She’s gone in a heartbeat, over the horizon in a flash.
“She may be the fastest flier on Earth.” Kate says. “Major Nelson is looking at setting up a kind of sporting competition for heroes. He genuinely wants to help us improve our image. He thinks she could easily take the gold.”
“Aeon might give her a run for her money. Their powers are similar, but I’m not sure how Aeon’s work,” I say. She pushes us through the next door which opens automatically as we approach.
“It’s a pleasure to see you Miss Lockheart,” Milton says over the speaker built into the wall. “Shall I ready an apartment for you?”
“I won’t be here long,” I tell him. Then to Kate, “Nelson huh? I read your report. You’re not sour on him for betraying you?”
She shrugs. “He was following what he thought were legit orders. He had no idea his command structure was corrupt. I’m telling you, Amelia, I’ve never seen a criminal organization move that fast and go that deep. Of course, once they were exposed, it was all over… at least here.”
I nod. I’m still intending to look into Agent Brown and ISO-1. They put a lot of resources into taking The Protectors out of play, and I can’t help but feel like it was directed at me personally. But I haven’t had time to catch up on everything that is happening.
“Epic, make a note. Find everything out we can about ISO-1 and their operations. I want a full intelligence briefing later.”
Note made.
“I thought you were out of the hero game?” Kate asks.
“You see me wearing armor and walking around?” I retort.
She stops the chair, clicks the brake on and moves around to kneel in front of me. Her perfect green eyes bore into me.
“Amelia,” she says my name stretched out like she knows I’m up to something. Which of course, I am.
“What?” I say trying not to flinch from those penetrating eyes.
“What are you up too?”
I shake my head. “Nothing I’m sharing with anyone at the moment. Not even you, Kate. Sorry.” I shrug.
She looks at me for a long second. “He was my friend too,” she says. “I miss him every day.”
The sudden mention of Luke is almost too much for me. I shudder, choke back a sob, and squeeze my eyes shut as hard as I can. I don’t want to feel it right now. When I’m home, later, I’ll let myself cry, maybe, but not right now.
She puts a hand on my shoulder and some of the urgency of the burden is lifted, but not the pain. I’m grateful she didn’t try to take that away. It’s all I have left of him.
“It will get better,” she whispers, “with time.”
I shake my head. “I
don’t want it to.”
With a nod she stands back up, unlocks the chair and pushes me the last few feet to the conference rooms.
Fleet, Glacier, the Doctor, and the Protector are all waiting for me. “Hey guys,” I say with a forced smile. We exchange pleasant greetings for a few moments before we get down to business.
“So, Milton,” I say, “please allow Epic access to the system.”
“Of course, mum.”
“Epic, pull up all the security footage for the time in question and put it on the screen.”
One second, appears on my field of vision along with the big TV so everyone can join in the conversation.
A few seconds later the big screen at the head of the table comes to life. There are almost a hundred cameras in and around the Spires. With the exception of the bathrooms and the personal rooms, all the common rooms are covered.
“Kill all the cameras from the sub-basement,” I say.
Ten camera images disappear.
“What are you thinking?” Fleet asks.
“While it’s conceivable they could come from underground, it’s the least likely avenue of approach. Epic, how about airplanes, sky diving, that sort of thing.”
There were no planes in the area before or during the break-in. We chose this location for this building because it is not in the flight path of the airport, therefore allowing fliers to come and go as they please.
I nod. Of course. “Show me just the landing pads.”
All the boxes vanish, replaced by six cameras.
“Epic, run the filters please.”
They cycle through infrared, thermal, UV, motion, the whole bit. Other than a couple of birds roosting, nothing.
“Does that mean we can rule out the cameras on the roof?” Glacier asks.
I nod. “Yeah. Okay, now that we can rule a few entrances out, let’s work backward. Show me the hallway where the fight happened. I want to see it from thirty seconds before Kate’s door opened. All cameras on that level. Sound too, please.”
There are three screens in the room. The largest one, at the head of the table, shows just the hallways from two angles. The screen to the right shows the stairwell. The one on the left shows all of them.
Arsenal Reloaded (Full Metal Superhero Book 8) Page 4
