The Knight of Disks (Villainess Book 4)

by Alana Melos

  I looked around. “That was without my powers,” I said. “Anyone else want to try me?” It wasn’t dead quiet. Some people laughed at the guy on the ground. The people in front didn’t meet my gaze. They couldn’t see my lip curl up behind my mask, but I’m sure the intensity of my stare still had weight. A few dropped back while others pushed forward to see what damage I had done. I hadn’t really done much. He’d broken a vital rule of combat which was never to turn your back on an enemy. You leave an opening like that, you were gonna get your ass kicked.

  “I didn’t think so,” I said. “I’m going to say this once, and only once. If you have a problem with this werewolf, you have a problem with me.” Between the fight, my confidence, and the staredown, people broke off in twos and threes. I didn’t blame them for their fear. I understood where it came from. That… that giant monster threw me for a loop too. I didn’t know what we were going to end up doing to take care of it.

  Pulling on Mauler’s arm, I drug him aside to the closest window. In a low voice, I said, “They might be kind of right, Wolf. Everything you know, you need to tell me. Now.”

  His lip pulled back in a half sneer, and he huffed. “There is nothing to know,” he said. “Motherr is angrry.”

  “Did you know she could do that?” I hissed.

  “No,” he replied, matter-of-factly.

  “Think of something, anything,” I said. “There’s got to be some sort of connection, some part of you that knows a weakness.”

  “Ah, there you are!” the Siren chirped from behind me.

  “What did he say?” I asked, turning around to face her.

  Her bright smile dimmed as she shook her head. “He won’t,” she told me. “He said it was better for a giant monster to, uhm, smash the city than for him to work his magic.”

  I sighed as I clenched my teeth together. Running a hand through my hair, I looked back out the window. It crept ever closer. I imagined I heard the buildings crumbling to dust under its feet as the giant monster rampaged, however slowly, through the city.

  “Well, fuck,” I said, trying to keep everything under control. My emotions scattered like roaches avoiding the light. Every time I tried to put something back under the thin blanket of not-feeling-much, something else escaped. I put a lid on my anger, only to have doubt slink around the edges. I threw a noose around doubt and wrangled it into submission, then fear looked around and hissed at me. It was like herding cats, and my nerves were raw and all a-jangle from the noise in the room and my inability to formulate a next plan to deal with the threat.

  “Where is she?” a loud, familiar voice rumbled through the room. Now the room went dead quiet. Just like in a Western showdown, the crowd parted with Imperius on one end and me on the other. “You,” he said, pointing at me.

  “Me,” I said, putting a hand on my hip. It wasn’t just a saucy gesture. I wanted my hand near my sword hilt as he didn’t look too happy.

  Unlike when we me the first time, now he wore his heroing costume, all black and purple and gold, looking every inch the white hat. His eyes blazed with purple fire as he crossed the room in what seemed to be three large strides. “You said it would work,” he growled.

  “It did work,” I pointed out. “We cleared out all of the main vines… even now people are clearing the streets!”

  “Then what is that?” he asked, pointing savagely to Pangea’s manifestation.

  “Something no one knew could happen,” I replied. “No one.”

  His fingers twitched as he lowered his hand, holding both of them in front of him. His super strength made him, without question, the strongest man in the world. If he grabbed me, I’d have a second, at best, to get him off or I’d be paste. I didn’t know if he had the same reservations about killing many other white hats did, but something told me in this instance it wouldn’t matter. He was so pissed he’d do it and feel bad about it later.

  The purple fire in his eyes flared, actually shooting out an inch as his body crackled with power. “You will fix this,” he said, enunciating each word carefully.

  I thought about his pleasant brown eyes and how warm they’d seemed before… and then another plan hit me with the force of a semi. “I will, and I know how to,” I said. “But I need your help.”

  “Of course,” he scoffed. “There’s always one thing more.”

  “No, I’m serious,” I said. “Power… it’s got powers, like us. If you generate a big enough dampening field…” I shook my head, “It’s not for the daikaiju, anyway. I still need a big one though. Strong.”

  At those words, he stopped, thinking it over. “There’s no way to build a dampening field the size you want in time,” he said.

  “We just have to amplify the signal,” I said.

  “Won’t it still be alive?” the Nacht Sirene asked. I’d forgotten she was there. “I mean, you cut us off from our abilities, we are alive. It’s not the powers that are the problem, but the size. It’s… it’s big!”

  I glanced to Wolf, my mind working furiously. I knew this was the way to do it, but it had to be applied in the right way. “You control plants, right?” When the werewolf shrugged then nodded, I went on, “Wouldn’t Pangea be the same way?”

  “The Earrth is Herrs to contrrol,” he said, his voice like gravel.

  “But the kaiju… monster… isn’t Pangea, is it?”

  He shook his head, looking offended. “It cerrtainly is not!”

  A smile spread across my face, though they couldn’t see it. I knew they heard it in my voice when I spoke next. “That’s just Pangea’s powers… the real Pangea is in the forest.” I paused, thinking it over, “In Nox. That’s where we use it. It’ll cut her off from the control and the beast should fall like the inanimate object it really is.”

  “What if it doesn’t work?” Imperius asked.

  “We bring a big enough strike force to take her out,” I said. “One way or another, it should work. That thing’s--” I waved my hand at the giant monster, “--just a puppet. Pangea’s pulling the strings.”

  “I will get you the containment collar you need,” Imperius said. “Take a small team with you. The rest of us will attempt to drive the monster back. If it doesn’t work, we are the last line of defense.”

  “Not coming with, huh?” I asked, somewhat snidely.

  His lips spread into a smirk. “The ‘big guns’ are needed to handle the puppet,” he said. I blinked and huffed, insulted by the insinuation. “You will need speed and stealth.”

  “And luck,” the Siren said, her voice glum. “I think she’s mad at you for taking Mauler away.”

  I glanced to Wolf, who gave me a wolfish grin. “Probably, but hey, I’ll be bringing him back home. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Six of us stood there. I hadn’t wanted six, but five. Septimus quite reasonably said that since he had a secure line to Imperius and could keep updated on the battle with the daikaiju, he should come along. That would have been the fifth. Along with Wolf, the Siren, Lethal, and myself that would have been enough. Lethal bitched mightily about going with us, but I wanted him there. “I’m almost out of ammo,” he whined. “I won’t do you no good!”

  “Then you’ll touch the stuff and do your thing,” I snarled. “Trust me, there’s enough of it around.”

  He’d grumbled and pouted--yes, a grown man pouted; it wasn’t attractive--and stomped around like a five year old but still got ready to go with us. I wanted him in particular because all it took was a small cut and a touch and he would raise havoc with the vegetation since it was all connected. In theory, he only had to cut or shoot it once and he’d be able to clear the way. While he had a lot of limitations, he was easily one of the most powerful biokinetics I’d ever seen. Rough and tumble, uncouth and loud-mouthed, he would no doubt be annoying to have along, but invaluable in the long run.

  No, it wasn’t him or Septimus who was the unwanted sixth: it was Regulus. In the span of the couple m
inutes it took to form the plan and gather people together, he managed to somehow sidle his way into the small group, watching and listening. I saw him. Our eyes met for a second, then I moved on.

  “You’re taking me with you,” he stated as if it were fact.

  “And why would I do that?” I replied, fully expecting some bullshit excuse.

  “Because it’s psychic,” he said. “And, right now, you’re not in the best position to fend off any psychic attacks.”

  That stopped me there. Mauler looked at me askance, waiting. The Siren bounced in place, looking eager and happy, but then she would be since she wanted to work with her father. I still didn’t understand their relationship, and I had a feeling I never would. My father was a bad man, as bad as they came… but he’d kill people happily before letting anything happen to me or my mother. Regulus wasn’t like that, but she wanted him to be.

  He had a point. With a sharp inhalation and a slower exhalation, I nodded, “Fine. Just follow orders and we’ll be good.”

  Regulus smiled, dropping a wink at me. “When have I ever not?”

  The smarmy tone of his voice urged me to hit him. I shoved away the feeling, trying to pry it loose and let it go. For now. “Let’s head out,” I said. “Regulus, take the Sirene and meet us by the pack HQ. They… the area should be clear.”

  “I don’t get a lift too?” he said, raising a brow.

  “You can get there by yourself, and get someone else there too,” I snapped. “I don’t have unlimited power, you know. And no one else can fly here.”

  “I will make my own way therre,” Mauler said.

  “Then that’s only two extra bodies I have to carry,” I said after upnodding to Wolf and looking back to Regulus. “Any other complaints?”

  “No, ma’am, boss ma’am,” he replied.

  I gritted my teeth at his tone. The hackles on the back of my neck rose around him. There was… something, not just his snide attitude and huge ego. I didn’t know what it was, but I needed him away from me so I could chill the fuck out and focus on the job. There’d been a hiccup, true, but it could still work, and I could still get what I wanted out of the deal.

  “Then go,” I said, as calmly as I could muster. “Get there as fast as you can.”

  Regulus put his arm around his daughter’s waist. “Better stay close, sweets, this trip isn’t as nice as flight.” She laughed a little, but put her goggles and gas mask back on. I watched as he literally flung himself and her both out the window with his telekinesis. He didn’t have the fine control I did, not even close. When he had to cover large distances, he flung himself from place to place, cushioning his landing with a large pillow of telekinetic force. I couldn’t imagine it was fun, but I heard a last laugh from the Siren as they went out of sight.

  “Caprice, are you… are you OK?” Septimus asked, putting a light hand on my shoulder.

  I whirled with the intent to punch him at the touch. I’d balled up my hands from talking to Regulus. My whole body stood tense, like that stupid game kids played, ‘light as a feather, stiff as a board’.

  “I’m fine,” I said, forcing myself to relax which is a lot harder than it sounds. “We should get going. Everyone gather round… and be sure to be dressed warm, because this is going to be a cold ride.”

  Lethal, Tim, and myself stood together near the busted window. I lifted all of us up and flew us out, heading straight to the pack HQ as fast as possible. The closer we got to the giant monster, the faster and bigger it seemed. Though the lighting still wasn’t the best, closer up, we got a better look at it, especially since the first wave of heroes and villains had arrived and were blasting the crap out of it. The legs were long, but thick, made to support such a great, dense mass. The head was long, oblong, almost looking like a deer’s head sans the ears. If it wasn’t for that head and the thicker legs, it would have looked a lot like Swamp Thing from that terrible old movie. A mouth had been made in the end of the ‘snout’, a gigantic angry slash. The glowing green of the eyes shot out of holes bored into the monster’s plant flesh. Vine, branches, leaves, and all sorts of other greenery wound around its limbs and fingers, making it look veiny and uneven.

  “Jesus,” Septimus swore softly to himself.

  “Damn, that shit is ugly,” Lethal said, scowling. “This shit ain’t fuckin’ worth it. I should just bail.”

  “Too late now,” I said. As we flew by--still a good distance away of course--blasts of all colors, shapes, and sizes hit the creature, lighting the misshapen flesh up in peculiar ways, casting shadows over the rest of it. The play between light and shadow made it look haunted. The creature moved faster than I thought it could. It swiped with one massive arm. Fliers dodged out of the way… mostly. A couple got caught in the backwash of the swipe and fell from the sky. One recovered before they hit the ground. The other didn’t.

  Looking at it now, I expected fiery hot breath to come out like Godzilla. It didn’t need the radioactive death ray. Pangea’s other servants were also active. I’d seen the bees, and heard about other creatures, but seeing a mutant bird, twice the size of a man carry someone off and drop them shook me. I didn’t stop or try to catch them; we had our own mission to do. The scream echoed all the way down. The swarms of creatures didn’t confine themselves to just around the manifestation of Pangea either, but roamed around as they willed in ever widening circles around the monstrous beast. Too far away to see the creatures on the ground, I trusted they were every bit as creepy and weird as the ones flying in the sky. Lethal shot any which got too close for comfort. Every time he hit one, they popped in mid air like grotesque meat balloons and he laughed maniacally. I smiled, letting his delight in carnage wash away the unease in me. If he wasn’t such a crude, misogynist ass, I’d like him.

  We landed on top of the pack HQ and waited. Wolf was the next to arriving, jumping on top of the tall building with a few bounds. He looked into the forest as he padded over to the group. “The otherrs sense me herre,” he growled. “They arre not pleased.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s only temporary,” I said, patting his furred arm. The tall werewolf looked down at me. “You sense anything from her?”

  He shook his head slowly, laboriously from one side to the other and back again. “She is looking outwarrd,” he stated. “We should be safe until we come close to the building.”

  A loud thud erupted behind us, and the building shook. Turning, I saw it was Regulus and the Siren. “We’re all here,” I said. “Let’s go.” Without further ado, I lifted Tim and Lethal, heading to the center of the forest where Nox lay. It wasn’t too far. As we flew over, I blinked in astonishment. At least half of the forest wasn’t there!

  Now we know where it got the mass from, Regulus sent to me telepathically.

  You could ask first, I sent back to him, irritated at him being in my mind, yet it would be a necessary evil here.

  The forrest… Mauler thought in the connection Regulus bridged to everyone but the Siren. Destrroyed. Even his thoughts had that growly sound to them.

  It’s not destroyed, Wolf, it’s up and walking around, doing the destroying, I replied, landing near where I knew the Nox Laboratories building lay. The ground had been torn up, like some massive tractor or other farm equipment had torn up the place getting ready to plant crops. The forest still looked more or less intact around the building we were headed to, but now that the cover had gotten up and walked off, I saw the rest of the destroyed buildings of Uptown laying so much like scattered children’s blocks across a field of nothing. What intact buildings there had been here had been smashed in Pangea’s uprising. Over the edge of the forest, the lip of the massive crashed saucer could still be seen, but now we could also see how the land here lay tilted, going upwards at a slight angle. Dirt shifted beneath my feet, and I hovered above it slightly so I wouldn’t lose my footing.

  “This is incredible,” Septimus said, looking over the area. It wasn’t lit well, but the flashes from the battle behind us gave us some
light here and there, enough to light our way, so to speak. “I’ve never been out here before… but so many people must have lost their lives that day. What a shame. What a damn shame.”

  Regulus and Wolf landed close by. Wolf’s jumps weren’t as big as some of the really strong metahumans could do, but between the big jumps and speed granted his wolf form, he’d made excellent time. “We go inside,” I said, drawing my o-wakizashi and pointing with it. “We haven’t got much time.” I paused, looked around, then turned to the single hero in our group. “Septimus, tell Imperius to try and drive it back here. Less damage to the city when it falls.”

  “He already knows,” the white hat replied. “I told him as we landed.”

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  I seemed to be saying that a lot.

  Although still not sure if being a leader suited me well, I plunged on ahead. Our small group crossed the stilted, jumbled countryside. The closer we got to the heart of Pangea, the more vegetation was present. I watched the trees with a wary eye, wondering if they’d come to life around us. Movement alerted us to threats in the distance, closing in fast.

  Regulus? I asked.

  I sense several minds coming towards us, but… all connected, he replied. It’s weird.

  Motherr knows we arre herre, Wolf said. He growled, baring his teeth and switching directions to intercept.

  “Go with him, Sirene,” I directed. “Keep whatever it is off of us.”

  “Okey-dokey!” she said, and turned, bounding in the direction Wolf went.

  The rest of us pushed into the forest. The crooked, broken Nox sign loomed ahead. The foliage here stood denser than it had before, like a protective wall. Regulus focused, and slammed into the trees with his teke, making limbs crack and pushing the looser material aside. He continued to slam at it, full force. He couldn’t be subtle, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have power. I often wondered why he didn’t need to refuel as often as I did, but he didn’t use his teke as much as I did either. Moving stuff around with your mind was a big energy sucker.