Queen's Move (Lilith's Shadow Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Back off, sparky!” Acheron Dreadnaught growled, grabbing a fallen door from one of the police cars and swinging it at Spark almost like a giant fly swatter. Her eyes went a bit wider, and Spark dodged to the side, quickly circling around the man.

  Fortunately, the police had stopped shooting and were trying to take cover again, which made Spark feel a lot better since she didn’t have to worry about dodging bullets from them, but she didn’t have a lot of time to worry about the police, not when she needed to deal with Dreadnaught.

  “If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have had to hop out of my bath, you jerk!” Spark shot back at him, ducking a couple of blasts, noting that the people firing were terrible shots as one hit the villain, though he didn’t seem to notice.

  That wasn’t a surprise, since he was incredibly tough, and only made tougher by people in the area fearing him, which Spark figured was why he’d been terrorizing the police. Fortunately, that still didn’t make him immune to her.

  “Then you should’ve stayed home!” he snarled, trying to catch up with her as she circled in behind him, moving at least three times faster than her opponent.

  “No!” Spark replied, ducking a blast, then darted in the rest of the way, pressing her pistols directly into his back and pulling the triggers. “Eat lightning, jerk!”

  Electricity crackled through the air, streamers of blue-white arcing from Spark’s pistols into Acheron Dreadnaught, and she grinned at the direct hit, a rush of satisfaction running through her.

  The next instant the villain’s elbow hit her in the side of the head, and Spark blacked out for a moment. She recovered a moment later in midair, but just an instant too late as Acheron Dreadnaught grabbed both of her legs and began to spin.

  “That tickled, brat! I suppose it’s time to punish you!” he said, and Spark quickly began struggling, but it was like a pair of vises had clamped down on her legs, and her mind was still scrambled from the impact.

  Then she realized that she still had the pistols in her hands and took aim at the villain unsteadily. Just as she pulled the trigger, though, he let go, causing the arcs of lightning to spray through the air uselessly.

  The next second Spark went flying through the dark doors of the bank, and pain blasted through her as she bounced off the rear wall of the foyer.

  “Spark! Spark, are you alright?” Decarin’s voice was frantic in her ear, and Spark blinked, trying to see through the tears welling up in her eyes.

  “Ow. I… I think I need that backup after all,” Spark gasped, belatedly seeing how the minions in the room were starting to turn toward her with their sonic guns.

  “I’m on my way,” Archon said shortly, a note of anger in her voice. But Spark couldn’t focus on her, not as the first of the thugs took a poorly aimed shot at her.

  Moving hurt, but it was better than being shot, and Spark dragged herself up and began dodging, though she wasn’t nearly as fast as she’d been before. At the same time, she almost staggered when there was a dull thump from downstairs.

  Circe unhappily noted the alarms going out from the Federal Reserve Bank, and how a secondary one was going off now, indicating that the building’s vault had been breached. She hated not sharing information with Lilith, and the current situation was not ideal. Then she noted that Archon had taken flight, and she decided that this was close enough to what Amber had directed, even with Shade on his way.

  She quickly piped her voice through to Eden Manor’s kitchen and spoke as calmly as she could. “Mistress Lilith, I’m afraid that the Sentinels are walking into a trap set by Dreamer. If you wish to prevent her from incapacitating Archon, I believe you should go to their aid.”

  Eden Manor, Glendale

  Lilith froze for an instant at Circe’s interjection, then flipped the pancake anyway to avoid burning it. Then she asked, her calm tone belying her sudden worry, “What do you mean, Circe?”

  “I intercepted information indicating that Acheron Dreadnaught had been hired by Dreamer, and just now the Federal Reserve Bank was attacked in downtown Paragon City by him. Spark is injured, and Shade is farther away, up the canyon. He will arrive shortly, but the situation is dangerous. Based on the description of Dreamer’s powers acquired by Rachel, I believe that this is a plot to deliberately draw out and incapacitate Archon.”

  “Oh, hell no!” Rachel said in horror, springing to her feet as her eyes widened. “If she gets Archon… Archon is damn near invulnerable, and losing her would be devastating, even if Dreamer couldn’t make a shadow-thing out of her!”

  “Damn it, why do things like this happen just after we move in? Can’t we get, oh, a week of recovery time?” Gina asked rhetorically as she stood, pausing to pick up her coffee mug, then downed most of it quickly.

  “We did have a couple of months in the lair,” Lilith pointed out regretfully, then sighed as she asked, “Circe, would you take care of breakfast for me? Just… get rid of what’s done, and save the rest for when we’re back?”

  “Of course, Mistress Lilith. I’m preparing your armor for launch now. Please be safe,” Circe replied, and a compartment on the wall opened, allowing a robot to roll out.

  “I’ll try,” Lilith replied, noting that the other two had already bolted for the new armory, causing Lilith to sigh at being left behind. Not that she could blame them; they were more used to this than she was.

  Lilith broke into a trot, untying the apron as she went and depositing it on a hook just before leaving the kitchen, and she caught a glimpse of Rachel heading down the stairs. Her lover wasn’t in her pajamas anymore and was instead in the skintight purple and black undersuit that Circe had made for her. That meant she’d used magic to displace her clothing, which always disconcerted Lilith. Even if she could teleport with Gina, the idea that the two women could just… swap clothing with their magic bugged Lilith for some reason.

  She rushed down the stairs after them, quickly gaining on her friends, and as she did so, Lilith saw that Gina had also gotten her suit, though her undersuit was quite different from Rachel’s, or Lilith’s for that matter. The heroine’s suit was blue with an intricate pattern of gold across its surface, one that Gina had explained held magic to reinforce it. She also wore tight-fitting silver shoulder plates, thigh-high boots, and gauntlets, which Circe had grumbled about until they’d adjusted them to interface with proper armor. They all had additional armor for over their suits, though, and Lilith caught up just as they entered the armory.

  The armory wasn’t like any of the other rooms Lilith had dealt with before, as the reinforced door looked like it could survive a tank shell, and the interior… well, Lilith wasn’t entirely happy with what was inside it, but she’d given up on arguing with Circe. She didn’t know why she might need an energy cannon rated to destroy satellites from the ground, but the large weapon, and its stabilizers, was neatly folded as it hung from a rack on the ceiling. Other racks held weaponry as well, but most of them held different equipment, from scanners to emergency teleporters, deep-sea survival gear, orbital survival gear… the variety was incredible, and most of it could be attached to a suit automatically. More important, there were three stations in the room, and as Lilith watched, Gina stepped into a pair of boots with what looked like an armored shell behind her, while Rachel approached her own, glittering silver jewelry on her fingers and around her neck.

  “I’m never going to get used to this,” Gina muttered, prompting a laugh from Rachel. The armor whirred, then quickly began to close around Gina, hissing as each section of it locked into place. The armor was primarily silver and white, with more of the magical reinforcements along the joints, and a few more ornate segments across the chest. Most of the additional plates were across Gina’s chest, torso, and upper thighs, though, protecting her vital organs more thoroughly.

  “Don’t kid yourself! You can get used to anything, given enough time,” Rachel retorted, dodging around her friend and over to her station.

  Lilith focused on her own armor, strippi
ng out of her clothing rapidly. Her armor was far different than Gina or Rachel’s was. Their armor was thin, closer to body armor than anything else, but hers was power armor. An undersuit hung next to it, and Lilith quickly pulled it on, asking, “Circe, diagnostics?”

  The armor was a little over an inch thick, and with it open she could see the artificial muscles in a few places, along with several servos. The armor was largely black, but the helmet, chest, and several other sections had a silver sheen almost like hematite and white trim. She rather liked the look, even if Gina had said it looked a bit less heroic than she’d prefer.

  “Power armor systems are nominal and prepared for combat. Do you wish for computerized assistance for the flight?” Circe asked, her voice curious.

  Lilith grunted as she made the plumbing connections, not enjoying that part at all, then finished shrugging on her suit. Gina and Rachel looked like they were about ready, which annoyed her a little, since she was behind. She nodded to them, stepping back into the power armor as she spoke.

  “Go ahead; I’ll catch up,” Lilith said to them, smiling as the armor began to close around her, which was an oddly claustrophobic sensation. Then she focused on the question, shaking her head. “Thank you but no, Circe. I need to do this on my own.”

  “Alright, see you soon!” Gina said, grinning as she took a step below what outsiders might think was the chimney of the building, at least from the outside, but the hatch snapped open to reveal a tube leading upward. Gina launched upward, and Rachel quickly followed her.

  “Just don’t take too long, hm? I don’t want to get surprised by Dreamer again,” Rachel added, then she was gone as well, and the hatch snapped shut.

  The helmet sealed with a hiss, then there was a popping sensation as the suit pressurized and lights sparked to life. The holographic display took an instant to come into focus, then Circe replied in Lilith’s ear.

  “As you wish, Mistress Lilith. Be aware, I do not have a full read on the situation where this is occurring, so I must ask you to be careful,” Circe cautioned, and Lilith blinked in surprise as she realized that there was honest concern in the AI’s voice.

  Then she smiled, nodding as she spoke gently, the armor whirring softly as the helmet moved. “Of course, Circe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “Excellent. I will await your triumphant return,” Circe replied, seeming to relax ever so slightly.

  Lilith felt the rack release the power armor, and an icon changed as it switched from external power to internal power. She took a few steps forward, quickly growing used to the armor after her practice. The problem with it was that the armor simply couldn’t keep up with Lilith’s innate reflexes, so she had to move quite a bit slower than she would otherwise prefer. Still, it made her stronger, faster over distances, and immensely tougher, so she wasn’t going to complain. Not much, anyway.

  Once she was under the shaft, Lilith glanced up, then activated the thrusters through the neural interface. She was so glad she didn’t have to activate everything manually, even if it added certain other difficulties.

  Like, say, bouncing off the wall of the shaft on her way up. At least the others weren’t there to see it, but it didn’t keep Lilith’s face from coloring with embarrassment. She really did need more practice with the armor.

  Chapter 14

  Sunday, April 27th, 2031

  Federal Reserve Bank, Paragon City

  Dreamer had a hard time resisting the urge to giggle as she watched the scene in front of her, her smile broad as she watched Spark dancing about like a cat on a hot tin roof. A cat generally wasn’t being shot at, though, and the look on Spark’s face when she’d shot some of the minions and it hadn’t done anything had been priceless. The raid to get the weapons and armor had been completely worthwhile, in Dreamer’s opinion.

  Even so, Spark might have been able to get away if she hadn’t been injured by Acheron Dreadnaught, Dreamer had to admit. The lithe heroine was incredibly agile and fast, and it was only her slowed reactions that allowed Dreadnaught to block her few attempts at getting out of the room so far, as even she didn’t dare get hit by him swinging a lamppost. If the minions weren’t such terrible shots, they might even have taken her down by this point, but instead they’d even managed to shoot a couple of their own allies so far. It was really quite embarrassing.

  However, the frustration on Sparks face had been growing more and more, and Dreamer had seen her glance at the hallway that Viper had taken earlier a few times, obviously thinking about going for a back door. It wouldn’t be as open in the hallways, though, so Dreamer understood why Spark hadn’t taken the risk so far. That was likely about to change, though, and Dreamer was looking forward to that mistake.

  Almost as much as she was looking forward to Archon’s arrival.

  Spark was trying to avoid swearing, but it was hard under the circumstances, as she was aching all over. At least the sonic weapons Acheron’s minions were wielding weren’t designed to kill, but they also penetrated her armor better than most weapons, which was unpleasant in the extreme. She’d managed to avoid most direct hits, but the minions seemed to be immune to electricity, just like Dreadnaught was. She’d tried stealing a gun from one of the minions who’d gotten knocked out, but it’d promptly fried when some of her electricity discharged through the weapon.

  She hated the idea of going through the building, but she didn’t see much of a choice, so she hissed, then subvocalized, “I don’t think I can hold out for much longer. I’m going to look for a back door, and hopefully I don’t run into more of these guys.”

  “Very well. I’m closing on your location now, but it’s best that you’re not incapacitated when I arrive,” Archon replied, her voice clipped.

  “I’m going to be a couple of minutes more, but I’ll be there soon,” Shade added, his voice making Spark wince again as she hastily dodged a blast that shattered a vase on a pedestal.

  “Right! See you soon!” Spark replied, and without hesitation she dodged toward the door, suddenly enough she hoped to throw off her attackers still more.

  Her movement did seem to take them by surprise, and blasts hammered into the wall all around where she’d been a moment earlier, indicating to Spark that she probably would’ve been safer standing still than dodging, but even someone with terrible aim could get lucky. She shot toward the doorway, hopping over a few chunks of rubble as she moved.

  When Spark’s foot hit the floormat on the other side of the doors, though, she felt something give way, then there was an abrupt hissing sound as several spouts she hadn’t noticed to her right erupted with white vapor.

  “Gah!” Spark exclaimed, recoiling slightly, but then an arc of electricity touched the gas.

  The explosion knocked the breath from Spark’s lungs, and even if it hadn’t, hitting the wall to her left would have done the job. She bounced off it hard, and this time she couldn’t gather her wits, just lying on the ground in a daze, a hissing sound coming from her earbud.

  “She’s down! Restrain her, quick!” one of the minions exclaimed, the man sounding rattled.

  “The gas isn’t going to explode again, is it?” a woman asked hesitantly, but someone louder interrupted.

  “Only if you give her time to spark again! So get her restrained!” the man barked, and a moment later someone rolled Spark over, and she felt something snapping into place around her tightly.

  The manhandling caused her to groan in pain, particularly as her arms were bound behind her, but Spark couldn’t resist, her mind almost drifting off at this point. She hurt.

  On the other hand, the near-imperceptible buzz of her electricity vanished after a moment, which made falling unconscious far easier.

  “Spark’s comm went down, but I thought I heard gas just before it cut off!” Decarin reported, his voice frantic. “Damn it, they must’ve had a trap in place for her, and she walked into it!”

  “That will make this much harder, particularly if they try to use her as a hostag
e,” Archon said, her stomach clenching slightly. She hated hostage situations, since far too many villains were willing to injure civilians rather than go quietly, and if her friend was injured… that would be unpleasant indeed. It wouldn’t be the first time it’d happened, though.

  The wind rustled over her wings as she arrowed toward the bank, her sword already out and ready, flames rippling along its length. It was truly fortunate she could control the fires to not do lasting damage, something Archon found somewhat ironic, since the edge of the sword didn’t get any less sharp.

  “I’ll be there shortly, and if I can, I’ll get her out of the way,” Shade promised, his voiced filled with frustration. “I’d try to take them on, but Dreadnaught’s resilience pretty much negates my powers. He’s just too tough.”

  “So am I. I’ll deal with him,” Archon said, and she ducked a streetlamp, passed over several police cars and the crowd of civilians and reporters, then turned right hard to enter the bank without even slowing.

  Acheron Dreadnaught was in her way, standing in the doorway with his hands on his hips, and his eyes widened as she bore down on him, reacting a little too slowly. Archon had more experience with the situation, though, and almost instinctively she snapped her wings inward, flipping around and turning her lunge into a flying kick.

  She hit the villain in the chest full force, though without the strength she could muster with her feet planted on the ground. That didn’t matter much, as despite Dreadnaught’s toughness he was sent flying across the room and into the wall. The immense crash of his impact resounded, and there was a solid dent in what was left of the stone facade when Archon landed gracefully on her feet, brandishing her sword as she looked around the room coldly.