by Logan Jacobs
“That is the most likely one, as he tends to prefer it based on the media footage we have so far,” Aileen confirmed. “I have detected similarities within the available videos and still photos.”
“So which supervillain is he going after?” I asked to get a better idea of what we might also be up against.
“Electronica,” Elizabeth answered. “A nasty villain who is planning some kind of major attack tonight. We got that information pretty easily from basic gossip and surveillance, so Slade also probably knows about it. He’s after some kind of power plant in East Grayville, past the low-income district.”
“Well, we can’t just let him get away with that while we intercept the Shadow Knight,” I said as I studied the map.
“I know, but…” Penumbra frowned. “The Shadow Knight is our top priority.”
Penumbra was right that Slade was our top priority, but shit would get dicey if an electricity-powered supervillain got hold of an entire power plant. And since I couldn’t just let the supervillains slide because the feathery menace couldn’t control himself, I’d just have to work that into my plan.
“Alright,” I said. “Beacon and Penumbra, the two of you will head out early to go after Electronica.”
“What?” Beacon frowned. “I told you, Miles. The Shadow Knight is my responsibility, and I have to be the one to bring him in.”
“Your duty is to Grayville before anything else,” I told the ex-apprentice. “Once Slade is gone, who’s going to take over?”
“I…” Beacon trailed off. “I guess I never thought of it that way…”
“Listen, I know we all want to take down the Shadow Knight for our own reasons,” I said as I looked at everyone else around the table. “But we need to protect Grayville, too. The civilians are always the main priority because we aren’t delusional assholes like Slade and the Wardens.”
“You’re right, Miles,” Penumbra sighed. “Electronica needs to be stopped, and we definitely can’t risk the Shadow Knight, like, blowing up an entire power plant to stop him, you know?”
“And based on his recent actions, he seems likely to do something so stupid,” Elizabeth groaned and rubbed her temples. “I still can’t believe I used to look up to that bastard.”
“So Penumbra and I will take care of Electronica while the three of you intercept Slade, right?” Beacon asked.
“That’s the plan,” I said. “Norma will be above us in her glider, and Elizabeth and I will take the armored car.”
“Can two people even fit in that thing?” Elizabeth asked.
“If not, you can always ride in my lap,” I snickered. “But speaking of the car, we should probably take our vehicles out for a quick test drive before we go up against Slade.”
“I guess so,” my girlfriend sighed.
“The machine guns need someone to control them while I drive,” I said. “So you’ll also need to see how those work.”
“Machine guns, eh?” Beacon whistled. “That’s way more intense than the Shadow Knight’s weaponry.”
“Maybe not,” Elizabeth replied as she glanced back at the materials still spread over the kitchen table. “He may not be using machine guns, but he’s definitely been using that RPG cannon of his pretty liberally.”
“Yet for some reason he still doesn’t fire it at supervillains,” Penumbra sighed. “Just like… at buildings full of normal people.”
“It’s only a matter of time now before we stop him for good,” I said. “So let’s do our final preparations and get ready to go.”
“I want Penumbra and I to do a little more planning about Electronica,” Beacon said. “So you all go on ahead.”
“Aw, I wanted to see how their new stuff works,” Penumbra whined and then shook her head hard enough for her blonde hair to toss about her head. “But, yeah, okay, I know. We need to focus.”
“I’m sure you’ll get a chance to see it later,” I replied with a smile. “Aileen, why don’t you stay here and help them with anything that they have questions about?”
“As you wish, Creator,” my android said. “I will also monitor your vehicles remotely as you test them.”
Elizabeth, Norma, and I left Aileen with the Shadow Knight’s two ex-apprentices. I had faith in both Beacon and Penumbra that they would be able to come up with their own plan to take down Electronica, and I didn’t think they would have any real trouble with a minor supervillain like that. As long as they got to him before he reached the power plant to boost his powers, it should be easy enough for them to defeat him.
For now, I needed to put all of my energy and brain power into how to defeat the Shadow Knight at his own game.
I changed into my supersuit and had Norma and Elizabeth do the same thing so we could properly test out the vehicles, but Norma and I left our helmets behind for now.
“Do you really think you can win against him?” Elizabeth asked as we headed out toward the garage.
“Of course, we can!” Norma huffed. “We’ve got the element of surprise on our side, so he won’t have a meticulously plotted plan he can use against us.”
“I still wouldn’t count him out,” I said as I opened up the garage to reveal the two newly-developed vehicles in shiny black metal. “He seems to have a plan for everything, just like we do.”
But I was tired of discussing the Shadow Knight for now. We had a few hours to kill before it was dark enough to enact the plan, and I wanted to find some enjoyment in the new toys I’d created. Besides, I wanted to test Norma in the glider before we actually had her go up against the Shadow Knight.
But even more importantly, we’d been taking everything so seriously lately that I was starting to understand why Slade had cracked in the first place, and that meant that it was time for some good old-fashioned fun.
It was time to blow some stuff up.
I had the landing gear slide out from underneath the plane-glider as we lowered it from the lift, and then I slid it out into the driveway. Most of my other cars had been cleared out of the way earlier in the week in preparation for this glider, since it did need a bit of a runway so it could take off properly. I didn’t have the luxury of a full hangar bay like the Shadow Knight’s base, but my mansion had plenty of space and private land that we could test it out on.
Norma slid into the glider without much difficulty and braced her hands against the center stick to control the plane. The way she fit in it was like she was riding a motorcycle of some kind, with slots for her legs to fit into so she actually straddled the glider to the point that she looked like she was lying down with her little ass in the air.
It was actually a pretty erotic position, but I didn’t want to say anything to fluster my poor assistant before she had to fly a glider for the first time.
As Norma started down the long driveway, she tested the controls of the glider enough to turn it one way and then another. She started to pick up speed as she moved further away from us, and even though she still moved the glider a little erratically, I figured that was just nerves that would go away once she was in the air.
“Do you want a countdown?” I asked her through her earpiece.
“I think I’m good!” she shouted like she’d forgotten we could hear her through our own earpieces.
“You’ll do fine, Norma!” Elizabeth assured her. “You know how to do this.”
“That’s right,” Norma responded. “I do. I know how to fly it.”
My assistant’s powers always did make me a little curious, so I was always glad for an excuse to test out what she was capable of. The plane-glider felt like a good way to see how far her omni-average abilities could really stretch.
I was certain she would perform to an average standard of competency.
The plane-glider raced down the driveway until Norma finally jerked it up into the sky, and then it steadily flew higher and higher until she leveled it well above the ground. She twirled and spun the plane through the sky without much difficulty, and the whole time, she seemed
to keep it stable, and that was more than enough for our purposes, even if she couldn’t perform any crazy airborne acrobatics with it.
“How is it?” I asked through the earpiece.
“It’s amazing!” she gushed as she circled around in the air. “I can see everything from here!”
“Probably not everything,” Elizabeth laughed. “But that’ll help us a lot against the Shadow Knight.”
“Yup,” I agreed with a grin. “We’ll be able to see any backup coming from miles away.”
“Should I test out the guns?” Norma demanded. “What can I shoot at?”
“Wow, getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” I chuckled, but I also wanted to see the guns in action, so I looked around for something that Norma could blow up.
“Aw, come on, please?” my assistant begged.
“I’m working on it,” I told her. “Elizabeth, grab one of the sandbags from the garage.”
We’d used the sandbags to hold down parts and to keep the armored car in place while we’d first worked on it, so there were plenty to choose from. There was no way that I could have carried one of them, so Elizabeth disappeared into the garage to find one, and when the dark-haired heroine emerged again, she carried one of the larger ones in her arms.
I gestured for her to take it into the open field just behind the mansion. Since we were located on the outskirts of Grayville, we had a lot of space to work with and even though I hadn’t really considered it useful before, it definitely was now.
Elizabeth tossed the sandbag into the grass and took several steps back.
“You might want to back up a bit more,” I laughed.
“Norma, can you see the sandbag I just put on the grass for you?” the turquoise-eyed heroine asked after she had moved back to stand beside me.
“Yup!” Norma chirped. “I, uh, I guess I aim at that?”
“I included an electronic targeting system,” I explained. “You just need to aim in the direction of the bag, and the system will lock on. Then all you have to do is pull the trigger.”
“Understood!” she replied.
Norma seemed so happy to be flying around in the sky that it actually made me feel a little jealous. I would have to look at the plane-glider’s engine to see if I could include something similar in the thrusters of my suit so I would also be able to fly.
The sleek, black-armored plane circled around in the air and dove a little lower as Norma angled the machine gun down toward the sandbag.
She fired off several quick shots in succession, and only a few of them ended up hitting their mark. Of course, the targeting system wasn’t exactly designed to hit a tiny target from that high up in the air, so I considered it a success that any of the bullets hit the bag at all. After a few more tries, the bag erupted in a puff of sand.
Norma then circled around again and fired off a single burst of bullets that exploded the rest of the bag into dust.
“You’re really amazing, Miles,” Elizabeth sighed from where she watched beside me. “Every time I think you’ve hit your peak, you keep on climbing.”
“Just wait until you see the armored car,” I replied with a cocky smirk.
“Even if it’s a bit of a tight fit for both of us?” Elizabeth purred into my ear.
“I’m sure we’ll manage,” I said as I looped my arm around her waist to pull her in close to me.
Elizabeth pressed a soft kiss against my mouth and then pulled away with a smile.
“Um, I really hate to interrupt, but I think I’m ready to land now,” Norma said before I could grab Elizabeth and pull her back in for another kiss. “And the sun is starting to set, so we should probably go and prepare.”
Elizabeth gave me a little wink and then shrugged.
“She’s right,” my girlfriend replied. “It’s almost time.”
“Then go ahead and come back down,” I told Norma. “We should check back in with Beacon and Penumbra one more time before we all split up.”
As I watched Norma bring the plane back down to the driveway and then slow it to a stop, I felt how badly I wanted to test out some of my armored car’s capabilities now that everything was finished, but I already knew what it could do. The real test would be how it drove and if it could catch and overpower the Shadow Knight’s tanks, but that wasn’t anything I could test out on my own.
I just had to trust that I’d designed something far better than whatever Slade could come up with.
Norma exited the glider-plane and came over to join us, and she had such confidence in her walk that she actually looked quite pretty.
“How was it?” I asked her.
“I definitely think I can do this,” Norma said. “So I definitely think we’ve got this in the bag.”
“I do, too,” Elizabeth said. “On your lead, Miles.”
We went back into the mansion to go over everything with Beacon and Penumbra again, and by the time we were done planning, the sun had fully set, and we were ready to head out into the night.
The two ex-sidekicks were the first to leave since they had an entirely different location and wanted to lay in wait to ambush Electronica before he could get very far. Aileen had also set herself up in the basement to provide surveillance and to keep an eye on any police reports or any other potential wrenches that could be thrown into the mix. Norma took to the skies, and Elizabeth and I hopped into my sleek, armored car.
The convertible roof closed above us, the cannon clicked into place, and then we were ready.
The Shadow Knight wouldn’t know what hit him.
Chapter 14
The armored car drove better than I’d expected it to, and much better than it would have with Slade’s original design. Because the wheels were able to move independently from the body of the car, it made sharp turns incredibly easy and smoothly, and I started to take impossible turns just to see what my creation was capable of.
But I knew that I needed to focus on heading toward where we would intercept the Shadow Knight, so I followed along the route that Aileen had sent us and didn’t make too many exciting detours. There would be plenty of time later to have fun with my new toy.
The interior of the car was a little cramped, but there was still the gear stick between me and Elizabeth so we weren’t right on top of each other. She had a wheel of her own in front of her, but hers didn’t control any of the car’s driving systems. Instead, her wheel controlled the mounted machine guns on both sides of the car. They didn’t have a lot of range of movement, but there was enough for Elizabeth to be able to maneuver the guns in most directions that I would need her to fire.
And if we needed to shoot someone coming up behind us, that was why we had the cannon on the roof of the car.
For now, the cannon was hidden within the armored plating up top since I wanted it to be a surprise if we needed to use it. Besides, it was meant to be used as a last resort since the rocket blast could cause a lot of collateral damage, and I wasn’t about to be as reckless as the Shadow Knight had been over the past week.
I arrived close to the interception point and parked the car in an alleyway so I could make any necessary adjustments, and then I glanced at the buildings around us to get a better read of our position. We’d ended up in an abandoned, low-income area that had already been wrecked by one of the Shadow Knight’s previous endeavors during the past week. The building we’d parked next to was halfway destroyed, and it definitely didn’t look like anyone currently lived inside it.
“So now we wait,” Elizabeth breathed. “How are you doing up there, Norma?”
I heard the loud sound of thrusters overhead as Norma shakily landed her glider on a nearby, more stable rooftop so she wouldn’t draw too much attention to herself. She hadn’t quite mastered the glider, but she could take off without needing a huge start down a runway, so all in all, her performance so far was average.
“I’m good.” My assistant sounded as shaky as her landing had been. “I think I’m good, anyway. Awaiting fur
ther instructions, Miles!”
At least she seemed to be having a little bit of fun with it.
“Aileen, is the Shadow Knight on the projected track?” I asked my android assistant.
“I have confirmed that he is still on the expected trajectory,” Aileen confirmed. “You should be able to intercept him shortly.”
“You don’t plan to just drive out and ram into him head-first, do you?” Elizabeth asked.
“Of course not,” I laughed. “What do you think the machine guns are for? As soon as he drives past, we drive out after him, and then you and Norma will shoot him down.”
“Yup, I got it,” Norma said through our connected earpieces.
“And you need to warn us if he summons any of his AI vehicles over,” I reminded Norma.
“I know that,” she replied. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
Waiting for the Shadow Knight to show up was probably the worst part, and I gripped the wheel tightly while I waited for him to drive past. Elizabeth was just as fidgety, and her grip on the machine gun handle was so tight that I thought she might break it off if she wasn’t careful.
It was a good thing that we didn’t have to wait for very long.
“Incoming,” Aileen alerted us.
Elizabeth and I snapped to attention. I heard the faint sound of thrusters as Norma launched her glider into the air again, and it was followed by the loud sound of tires as they thundered down the road.
A huge, armored vehicle sped past our hideout too fast for me to get a good look at it, but I knew it was the Shadow Knight, so I immediately roared out into the road after it.
“Elizabeth, shoot him!” I ordered.
My superpowered girlfriend adjusted her grip on the controller for the machine guns and pressed down on both buttons to fire. Shots ricocheted off of the Shadow Knight’s armored vehicle, and empty shells bounced off of my windshield, but I had expected that.
“Aim lower!” I told her. “Wheels! Hit the wheels!”
But by now, Slade had realized we were following him. I saw the cannon on top of his armored tank swivel around to face us, but I was ready for that, too.
As soon as he fired it, I swerved off to the side and nearly clipped the side of a building, but I managed to dodge the rocket. It exploded harmlessly in the street behind me, and then Elizabeth continued to fire our machine guns, but she made sure to lower the angle to try to hit the wheels. The Shadow Knight had made his car as armored as possible, but there was only so much protection he could give to his tires.
