There were a hair over a dozen minions with guns, Acheron Dreadnaught, and Spark, she noted, ignoring the minions as they turned and fired at her. The sonic blasts rattled her armor slightly, but aside from the strange vibration in her bones they didn’t do a thing to her, and she focused on Spark, her jaw tightening slightly.
Standing over Spark were two of the minions, and they were frozen in place, staring at Archon with huge, terrified eyes. Her teammate was unconscious on the ground, her face smudged with some soot and forming bruises while her hair looked like it’d had a brief encounter with fire. More importantly, what looked like a black straitjacket holding Spark’s arms behind her back had been placed on the heroine, and her legs had also been restrained with some sort of broad black cuffs, and that was a bad sign.
“If one of you tries to hurt Spark further, I will cut off the appendage you use for the attempt,” Archon said conversationally, watching Dreadnaught regain his feet as she smiled, walking toward him slowly, then decided to change tactics as she sheathed her sword. “Are you going to surrender, Dreadnaught?”
“Screw that. You took me by surprise, but that didn’t hurt at all,” Dreadnaught retorted, spitting to the side as he glared at her, raising his fists as he added, “Bring it on!”
Archon shrugged, then lunged toward him, fully prepared to break off the fisticuffs if she saw a single minion go after Spark, but most of them had given up even shooting at her as they cowered back with widened eyes.
That was for the best, as otherwise they would’ve gotten involved in a fight that was out of their league. Dreadnaught hit harder than the sonic guns had, but for Archon that wasn’t saying much. It meant that she felt them, but they weren’t enough to bend her armor, let alone leave bruises. Her blows were another matter entirely.
A single punch from Archon dented Dreadnaught’s armor, and she saw his eyes bulge slightly as he staggered back, then did his best to dodge after that, which wasn’t something he had much practice in. Still, he was tough, she had to admit that as she pounded on him, beating the man back toward the wall relentlessly, until he was finally cornered.
“Do you really want to keep going? I barely feel your punches,” Archon spoke again, her voice cold as she looked at him, an odd tickle at the back of her mind, but she ignored it. She’d rather be in bed, certainly, but she had things to do. “You can’t beat me.”
“No, I can’t. Damn, you hit hard,” Dreadnaught said, gasping, then he smiled. “On the other hand, I don’t have to beat you.”
“What are you… you…” Archon began, then she felt herself sway as the world seemed to swim around her, and she staggered. Something felt… wrong, and she tried to focus, but then a voice spoke to her right.
“Shh… quiet, little birdy. No need for violence,” a woman’s voice crooned, and Archon turned slowly to meet the eyes of a woman she should recognize. She knew that pale-skinned, white-haired woman, as well as those scarlet eyes and the sadistic smile. She just couldn’t think, she was so tired.
“Oh, freaking hell, that’s Dreamer! Archon, snap out of it! You need to back off and clear your head! Archon? Archon!” Decarin’s voice was frantic, but aside from her name, the words didn’t really register to Archon. Instead, she felt herself falling into those deep, dark eyes as Dreamer slowly approached, a soothing warmth enveloping her as Dreadnaught moved to the side.
“Damn, that freaking hurt. The pay might be good, but I didn’t think she’d hit that hard,” the villain muttered behind her.
“Come here, little bird. I’ll let you rest and relax,” Dreamer almost whispered, stepping close to Archon as she smiled widely, reaching up to stroke the heroine’s cheeks. Then her eyes slowly dilated, and it was as if Archon could see herself reflected in them.
No, not just herself. It was every one of her old hopes and dreams, Archon realized, just a hint of panic welling up in the back of her mind, but it was too little, too late. Much like the whispering voices in her earpiece, which cut off as Dreamer plucked it from her ear.
Then there was nothing to distract her from the reflections, and the seductive sound of Dreamer’s voice.
Chapter 15
Sunday, April 27th, 2031
Federal Reserve Bank, Paragon City
“That doesn’t look good,” Morgan muttered as they came into sight of the bank. If Archon was on the scene, she’d either have expected villains to be running every which way, the police to be taking people into custody, or for fire to be everywhere. At least Lilith’s armor allowed her to catch up with them before they got too far ahead of her in this case.
Instead the only sign of heroes was Shade, the third field member of the Sentinels, and he wasn’t doing well. The hero was flamboyantly dark, in a set of flowing robes that almost made him look like an aspect of death as he floated through the air like a grim reaper, though there were some symbols on his robes that softened the look. Not that he looked as flamboyant as normal, as he hastily dodged Acheron Dreadnaught throwing a concrete pillar at him, and lashed out with a shadowy tentacle to grab a minion from inside the bank, then bludgeoned the villain with the man. It didn’t seem to more than inconvenience Dreadnaught, unfortunately.
“You’re right. Plans?” Lilith asked shortly, her voice tiny in Morgan’s ear.
“Any additional intel, Circe?” Warden asked, glancing over at them. “Are we only dealing with two villains and minions?”
“Additional intelligence is difficult to come by in such a short time, but from what I am seeing, it’s likely that another hireling of Dreamer’s is Vincent the Viper, as well as potentially Sinister Steel and Northern Circle,” Circe replied promptly, pausing for a moment before adding, “Accessing cameras indicates that only Vincent is a likely opponent, however.”
“Damn. Well, that settles it, I think,” Morgan said, coming to a quick decision. “Warden, help Shade? I’ll hammer Dreamer with Lil, and if we see Viper, we’ll mop the floor with him.”
“Got it!” Warden said, grinning broadly as she looked ahead of them. Morgan saw her shimmer with blue light for a moment, then there was a loud crack of imploding air, and Warden appeared near Shade, shouting enthusiastically, “Hey, Shade, want some help?”
Morgan almost was annoyed at Warden wasting the energy for such a short-range teleportation, but Lilith’s soft laughter distracted her. It was nice to hear, and Morgan’s worry eased slightly as Lilith spoke.
“I’ll back you up as best I can. I’m not the best pilot yet, but I figure even I can take care of minions,” Lilith said calmly, swooping in closer, the thrusters on her suit surprisingly quiet. “Let’s deal with Dreamer, shall we?”
“Definitely. I don’t want her getting her hooks into Archon,” Morgan said, mentally shivering at the thought of what a disaster that would be.
She launched herself forward still faster, her arms at her sides and the cloak behind her whipping in the wind. As she did, Warden threw a half-dozen glowing golden spears at Dreadnaught, which drove the man back a couple of steps. That was only a distraction, though, as she swiftly twisted her magic and transformed the spears into a barrier that cut him off from the bank, preventing the villain from retreating. Morgan had to smile, as she knew that the best method for Warden to deal with him was to trap the villain in a magical cage, but she was probably trying to help Shade save face after his desperate acrobatics earlier.
Morgan shot past them and over the barrier with Lilith beside her as Dreadnaught cursed, then snarled. “Warden, you stupid… haven’t you gotten enough of getting mauled by villains?”
“Well, yes, but it isn’t like you can do anything to me!” Warden retorted, and Shade’s laughter boomed across the courtyard.
“Funny how you suddenly panic when someone you didn’t expect shows up, isn’t it?” Shade exclaimed, his voice deep as the man drifted forward. “Now, let’s see why, shall we?”
Morgan set them aside for the moment as she dropped downward, murmuring words as purple magic seeped out of
her rings, and with a twist of her wrist the armor popped a wand directly into her right hand. She had to admit that changing her suit had distinct advantages at times.
The sight of the room focused her attention instantly. There were a bunch of minions down, most of them looking like common gangers to Morgan, but her gaze was drawn to the two women in the back of the room. The sight of Archon was as awe-inspiring as always, and Morgan could understand why so many Christian faiths wished that she’d endorse them, with her broad white wings, flame-like hair and eyes, and beautiful bronze skin. The heroine wore golden armor and had a sword at her side, though Morgan knew that the armor was mostly there to protect her modesty, since Archon was tougher than the armor itself.
In front of her was the slim but beautiful figure of Dreamer, whose loveliness belied the twisted heart within, though her cruel smile at the moment did a good job of warning anyone in sight. Dreamer’s hands were on either side of Archon’s head as the woman stared into the heroine’s eyes, her lips moving as she spoke so softly Morgan couldn’t hear her, and Archon’s expression was practically blank. Worse, Dreamer’s eyes were hugely dilated, and a few black veins surrounded them, reminding Morgan of what had happened when she’d last encountered Dreamer.
“Dreamer, remember last time?” Morgan snarled, aiming the wand at Dreamer and throwing additional power into her spell. A trio of near-black bolts formed around the wand, then launched at the villain’s head like rockets.
An instant later a pair of red beams lanced out from behind Morgan, sizzling through the air past her. One hit the rifle of a minion unerringly, shattering his weapon, while the other missed a weapon and instead blew the woman across the room, accompanied by Lilith murmuring in the comm. “Oops.”
Dreamer didn’t move, still standing there as the bolts approached, and for a moment Morgan hoped to hit her. Then the villain’s eyes twitched, and she suddenly ducked, taking a hasty step backward as she hissed angrily, her head whipping around to glare at Morgan. The missiles hit the wall behind her, punching holes in the battered drywall that’d been behind the stone facade, sending out a cloud of white dust.
“Oh, you interfering little witch,” Dreamer snapped, her eyes almost pure black now as she glowered at her. “I almost had her, and you just had to show up, didn’t you? Oh, well… I have enough to deal with you anyway.”
Beside Dreamer, Archon didn’t move at first, then slowly began slumping over, and fell to the ground with a crash. Morgan’s heart skipped a beat, but Dreamer’s words reassured her, if only a little.
“Surrender and I won’t have to bury you again,” Morgan said, pointing her wand at the woman. A couple of minions moved, and Morgan didn’t even flinch as Lilith shot a pair of them, prompting the others to duck.
“Such a lovely offer… but no. Not if you want your little spark to survive,” Dreamer said, grinning as she nodded toward the doorway leading out of the room. “She’d make such a lovely firework!”
Morgan couldn’t help glancing over, and when she did, she froze in place, her eyes widening. Just through the doors she could see Spark, who was unconscious and in restraints. More importantly, the woman was strapped to three large, silver gas canisters, and there was a digital clock counting down on her chest, which was at only fifty-three seconds when she looked over.
The instant she looked away, Dreamer moved, and Morgan barely managed to fire off a bolt of magic as the woman dodged, tossing an object to the ground as she called out, “Plan C, Dreadnaught!”
Smoke erupted through the room, and Morgan cursed, waving it away as she spat. “Damn it, where’d she go?”
“Sensors blocked, something in the smoke,” Lilith replied tersely, her voice filtered through her armor. “Spark?”
“Help her,” Morgan said, making a decision, and as Lilith moved away, she snapped out the words of a spell, conjuring a gust of wind to disperse the smoke.
When it cleared, Morgan cursed, as Dreamer had vanished without a trace, again. This time she didn’t even leave her dress behind, either. A couple of minions were making a run for it, but Morgan didn’t spare much more than a glance at them, figuring the cops would be able to deal with them. Instead she focused on the more important fight, with Dreadnaught… and her jaw tightened as she saw him raise his hands and surrender. That didn’t make her happy at all.
“Did anyone see Dreamer leave?” Morgan demanded, looking toward Lilith, who was in front of Spark, examining the canisters and restraints. A moment later she grabbed the display and ripped it away from Spark, pulling the wires out entirely.
“Nope, only a cloud of smoke, and a few minions running out of it,” Warden replied, sounding disgruntled as she added, “Then Dreadnaught surrendered.”
“Me neither. Spark is safe, though. The canisters… they’d have exploded if someone ignited the gas, but I detached the trigger, so it should be fine. She looks like she’s been beat up, though,” Lilith said, pausing as she asked, “Archon?”
The reminder caused Morgan to turn back toward the heroine, her worry spiking as she knelt over the woman, then let out a sigh of relief as she murmured, “She looks alright, just unconscious. I hope Dreamer didn’t cause any permanent damage.”
“As a note, I wasn’t able to detect much through Mistress Lilith’s telemetry, but I did not hear sounds indicating teleportation,” Circe interjected calmly. “It is highly likely she used another method of transport or some form of cloaking device. I could not say which.”
“Crap. That’s… ugh,” Morgan said, then grimaced as she murmured, “At least she didn’t succeed. Let’s get Archon and Spark together and deal with these minions while we clear the building with Shade. What a morning.”
“Agreed. I’m just glad I didn’t run into anything,” Lilith said, sounding a little chagrined. Of course, that did prompt Warden to snicker quietly.
Frustration rippled through Dreamer, which she bottled up and refused to show, no matter how much she wanted to. Instead, she stood near the doorway hidden by the cloaking field until the heroines weren’t in direct line of sight, then slipped through it.
She’d been so close to disabling Archon permanently and getting a shade of the woman that was nearly full power, only to be interrupted at almost the last moment. She’d still gotten enough of the woman’s essence to create a shade, but the difference between one that was complete and one that wasn’t was significant.
She managed to slip out unnoticed and glanced around, looking for the signs of police covering the sides of the building. When she spotted a couple of officers, Dreamer smiled and invoked her powers, walking toward them calmly.
The sound of them hitting the ground was quite satisfying, in her opinion… and at least Vincent had been given plenty of time to punch a hole into the subway and get out. If he hadn’t, she’d be really annoyed with him.
Chapter 16
Sunday, April 27th, 2031
Guardian Compound, Paragon City
“Thanks for the help, really. I can’t believe that Dreamer laid a trap like that for us. Or that Ethan Security didn’t tell us that they lost a whole bunch of armor intended to negate electrical powers,” Decarin said, scowling at one of the suits in question. “If we had, Spark might not have been downed so easily.”
Lilith, Gina, and Rachel were at the Guardian Compound now, with Archon and Spark on beds while the medical equipment treated the women with Rachel’s assistance. Well, Morgan, if Lilith was trying to keep her current identity straight.
The room was much like the medical chamber of Ocean Shield, when Lilith thought about it, similar enough that she wondered if both had the same suppliers, though this one only had four beds, and a pair of rooms for long-term recovery. It did have top-line automated equipment, though, and from what Decarin had said, they had a doctor on staff.
“To be fair, from what I’ve heard they’re still combing through the wreckage, trying to determine what was taken. I suspect we’ve found at least some of it, however,” L
ilith said calmly, out of her armor for the moment and adjusting a couple of settings. “Whatever the case may be, at least you know now, and it appears no lasting harm was done.”
“True, even if the media is already wondering why they didn’t see Archon leave,” Shade said in the artificial voice he favored, pausing before he added, “Thank you for helping with that, Morgan. My powers do not include skill with invisibility, at least not during the day. Perhaps I should work on it.”
“Not a problem. It wouldn’t be the first time I did something like this, unfortunately,” Morgan said, glancing up from Archon with a nod. “I’m just glad that Dreamer didn’t finish with her. I can sense her mind beginning to stir, so I believe that Archon will be awake soon. Possibly about the time I finish treating Spark, for that matter.”
“Yeah, looks like it,” Decarin said, glancing away from the suit, which he’d tossed on a nearby chair, then at Lilith’s armor curiously for a moment, and at the readings on his screen. “I see the improved brain activity. I just hope these suits aren’t all over in the underworld already… that’d make things fun.”
“Would you like to set up a comm channel, to make it so you can ask for help if you’re getting—I mean, if there’s too much going on at once?” Warden suggested, switching what she was saying quickly, which caused Lilith to smile wryly. Obviously, she’d been about to say something that might upset the two men and thought better of it.
“Why? As it is, you seemed to get there in time quickly enough,” Shade said, his tone challenging.
“We got a warning from my AI, who intercepted a few communications from the underworld that indicated that Dreadnaught had been hired by Dreamer, along with a few other villains,” Lilith said, looking up at him calmly as she glanced over at Morgan, whose magic was playing over Spark, causing the young woman’s bruises to fade. “If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have shown up. If you’d like our occasional assistance, I would set up communications, but I’m not going to insist. I know how I’m regarded in the hero community as a whole.”
Queen's Move (Lilith's Shadow Book 3) Page 11
