by Gideon Mills
Shaking my head, I went back to the screen, and they were about to finally vote. I turned away and waited for the others to tell me the results. Watching stuff like this in the past, for me, had been bad. As dumb as it sounds, I didn’t want to jinx it.
The wait was horrendous. It felt like time slowed to nothing like I was back in one of Elric’s time bubbles.
Then I heard them cheer; they must have passed the vote to get rid of all the anti-Paragon laws.
“They did it,” McGarrett said. “I won’t have to listen to Fenrir, and that bozo he put in charge of the New York unit.”
That was great news. “What do you think Fenrir will do?” I asked.
The table was silent, none of us really had an answer to that since we couldn’t read minds.
“He’ll act fast, and strike out at the Paragons,” Fleur said.
“You don’t think the video will have helped at all?” Lola asked.
“No,” Fleur said. “This will make that a washout. He isn’t used to losing.”
That was true, and something I hadn’t thought of. Now it was time to wait and see. I didn’t want to let Fenrir strike, but we couldn’t be the aggressors.
Several hours later, Fenrir made his first move. Of course, it was another press conference. I swear the man loved to stand on that podium he built for these things and talk. To see his mug on the news later.
He really was a narcissist. The term did, in some ways reflect the man from my times, Narcissus. He was the first to be in love with himself and spend way too much time looking at his own reflection, and for a time it was considered bad luck.
Again, we were all glued to the screen to see what Fenrir Walker had to say. He was a vile man and looked the part very well. On the stage, he didn’t look happy. Anger covered his face and his posture.
“I know that the government has turned its back on us,” Fenrir said. “But we all know the people, the true people, don’t want this. All those pro-Paragons are brainwashed by them.”
I couldn’t believe that was the route he was going to go. Fenrir was very much a sore loser, and it showed up now.
“I will not stop,” he continued. His face was red, and his nostrils flared. “I will find Ares, White Angel, Major Thorn, Bionic Man, and their precious Academy and remove them all.”
The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos. That was no surprise, since he was bound to try to get the people that backed him up, and hated Paragons just like him.
“What about the video,” a person asked.
“That phony video of my mother,” Fenrir said. “Fake news.”
The crowd was silent, and that hung in the air. “So much for that helping,” I said.
“We knew it was a long shot,” Fleur said.
While that was the case, that didn’t mean I was happy about it.
“I challenge you, Ares,” Fenrir said. “Man up, and prove to me that you don’t mean to hurt us.”
“And how does he expect me to do that?” I asked. Not that he could hear, or anyone else would know. “I think I have done that.”
“He already has,” a voice in the crowd said. “So far, you have been the only one to attack. The only one to fight.”
Fenrir’s nostrils flared. “I’m doing what is best for the people. And I will continue to do so. And with that in mind, I’m going to take matters into my own hands. With me in charge, I’m taking over the city, and instating a kill-all-Paragons policy.”
Then, around him and around the city, hundreds of people in mecha suits appeared.
“Fuck,” I said.
47
Chaos in the City
I jumped to my feet and said, “We have to get out there.”
There was a good chance this was the stupidest thing we could do, and I knew that.
Lola dashed over to her workstation and started to work. She projected her screen on the monitors closest to us. “He’s already got the city.”
“How?” McGarrett asked.
“It looks like he had men at city hall and the police stations. The TV stations are all out too.”
That wasn’t good. “What about the bridges out of the city?” Janet asked.
“Those are covered too,” Lola said.
I knew that Fenrir was dirty and could stoop to a low level, but this wasn’t something I had expected.
“We should have killed him,” Fleur said.
“You don’t mean that,” I said. “We are better than that.”
If I had been killing, many of my problems since I had been back would have been removed. Sometimes being the hero, or bigger man, sucked.
Fleur hung her head. “I don’t, but it would be the smarter thing to have done.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” McGarrett said. “If we ever stoop to the level of the people we are fighting against, then we are no better. Killing is never the answer. Rules and laws are in place for a reason. Just rules and laws. If we kill the people that don’t believe in what we do, we have lowered ourselves to their level. We become the oppressor.”
I couldn’t believe what I just heard, but the man was right. McGarrett was a wise man, and he knew what he was talking about. I had seen it over and over throughout the years. People killing since they thought it was the right thing, and justified, and in no time at all, they turned into the person they fought against.
“You’re right,” Fleur said. “I just can’t believe this happened. That my father would do this, and now we have to fight again.”
“We do,” I said. “And we are greatly outnumbered.”
The alarms on the outside of the building went off. Lola turned on the cameras, and to my great delight, on the screen were Felicity and Athena. They had returned from their adventure, and both appeared to be in good spirits.
Seeing Felicity melted my heart. She was as adorable as ever with her short brown hair and bushy tail. I missed her more than I could even put into words.
Soon they were in the building, and while they had some scars from the side quest they went on, they appeared happy.
“You made it back,” Lola said. She was hugging Felicity already. We all had greeted them at the door.
“We did,” Felicity said. “Though Fenrir made getting back hard. I never knew that I could hold my breath that long, and let me tell you, do not swim in the Hudson River, it’s disgusting.”
Fleur laughed, and the others soon joined in. “Not a place most New Yorkers choose to swim.”
“I know,” Athena said. “And that is why I did. It’s been cleaned up and safe.”
“Didn’t feel that safe,” Felicity said. “I’m going to be traumatized for life.”
She was clearly playing it up and having a joke with it. But I worried about the rest of the trip for her. The creatures that she went to see could leave a person in shock.
“The trip?” I asked.
“We’ll see,” Athena said. “The two of us made our case to the creatures, and some seemed open to fighting against Hera, but none straight up said they would join.”
“I guess it was too much to ask that they join us right now,” Lola said.
As much as I wanted to talk about the monsters and Hera, we couldn’t. Fenrir had made himself a foe that we had to take out and now.
“We’ll tell you more later,” Athena said. “Do you have a plan for Fenrir?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Ares.” Athena gave me a look that said she was disappointed. “I thought you were trying to look at the long term and not just rush in.”
“I am, but none of us saw this outcome. We had put in place a lot of small plans to undermine him, and they worked.”
Athena smiled. “That they did, almost too well.”
Maybe she was right about that, we forced him into a corner, and the cornered animal was bound to lash out, and in a way that one didn’t expect.
“What do you think?” Fleur asked. “I’m too close and torn on it all.”
Athena nodded. “You have
done well, all things considered.”
My half-sister was right about Fleur. Fighting family made the task a thousand times harder. Something Athena and I knew all too well.
“You have to take out the mecha suits, and the man,” Athena said. “And if possible at the same time.”
I groaned. That would take a team much larger than what we had. I might be able to deal with one of the checkpoints that Fenrir had put up in the city, but I was one God, and Athena was the only other one.
“I worry about that,” I said. “Many Paragons will lose their powers.”
Athena nodded. “For now, I think there is a way to reverse it. Science or magic is fickle.”
“I don’t want to risk it, nonetheless.” If Fleur and Felicity lost their powers, I would be devastated and not sure I would be able to continue the fight against Hera.
“We know the risk,” Felicity said. She stood tall, at least for her. I had missed her so much. Her adorable fur and tail. I just wanted to pick her up and kiss her, but didn’t. “I will fight, and I will take out as many as I have to.”
Athena smiled. “I think that we need to talk to some of our Paragon allies and non-Paragon allies. Set up a strike as fast as possible.”
48
Reaching Out
The rest of the night was spent sending out messages and making calls. I was the one with the least amount to do, since I didn’t have the contacts that Fleur, Felicity, or Lola had.
I was tasked with the Third Street Dragons, and Mako. The first call I made was to the Dragons, and their leader, Lincoln, was a good man.
“Ares,” he said. “I thought I would be hearing from you.”
I grunted. None of this was easy, and even though the Dragons were a gang, albeit one that was trying to go straight, I didn’t want to cause them harm. I had gone from hating them to trusting them.
“We are going to strike,” I said. “At once, reaching out to anyone willing to help.”
“We are in,” Lincoln said. “Just tell me when.”
That was easy, and I knew it would be. Lincoln didn’t want his city to be thrown into chaos or under the control of Fenrir and his tyranny.
My next call was just as easy. Mako was on board and ready to stop this. He was just happy that he had his daughter out of the city already and in a safe house, that he wouldn’t tell me the location of.
With my two calls down, I went over to the gym area and went through the motions and watched the others making call after call. I had no idea who they were reaching out to.
Athena joined me. “I hate this,” I said.
“I know.”
She knew all too well that I didn’t like feeling useless, and that was what I was right now. Once the fighting started, I would be in the center of it, but right now I was dead weight.
“Do you think we can defeat him?”
“I do,” Athena had her confidence on full display. Right now, she had her godly look. A true Goddess and one that knew she was powerful. I was lacking that at the moment. “With you and me. Not to mention the allies you have found.”
“Me?” I had none. Not really.
“Look at the team you formed, hard at work to save the city. They do this for you and for themselves. Just because you don’t have more contacts, doesn’t mean the people you surrounded yourself with don’t, and that you aren’t part of that network.”
It helped, but only a little. “I just hope it’s enough.”
“It will be.”
Hours later, Lola set up a call that must have had a hundred people on it. I had no idea who most of them were, but they wanted to help. To stop Fenrir, and make America great, and keep it safe from Fenrir and Hera. They would do whatever they could.
Athena took the lead in planning the attack with them all. Asking me for help when I could provide it. On many of the monitors were people that I had read about, Bionic Man, Major Thorn, and more. Mako and Lincoln were on the call too.
To my surprise, Lincoln had talked to a few of the other local gangs and got them to join in the assault. That was going to help a lot. Never in my life had I expected this many people on all sides of the law working together.
I had no doubt that a man like Major Thorn wouldn’t usually be caught dead working with a gang leader, being a military man. It was amazing to me that we, or rather the rest of the team, pulled this all together.
“Once you all arrive,” Athena said. “We’ll set up the attack time.”
Many of them had to travel to New York.
On the news, the government was talking and speaking of taking action. Maybe sending in the military, but I knew they wouldn’t stand a chance. Fenrir knew all the technology they had and would be able to defeat it handily. We were the only chance the city had.
49
The Calm Before the Storm
The morning after planning, the arrival of the people helping us happened en masse. Setting up shop in the surrounding areas, many joined Bionic Man in the building they used to interrogate Elric and his people not that long ago. Several went into Connecticut or just north of the city.
We had several Paragons and non-Paragons already in the city helping as well. The Third Street Dragons were taking charge of that with the leadership of Lincoln. McGarrett helped as well in the staging of the people. Both he and Lincoln had a knack for logistics and where people should be.
It was truly amazing.
In the meantime, I went back to my room to not get in the way of the setup. Lola, Athena, and Fleur were hard at work. I knew a battle was coming, and I needed to clear my head.
I didn’t want to go into berserker mode in the battle and kill every human that I crossed paths with. That would be bad and not helpful. While they would be people that were fighting against the cause, they might be useful when Hera struck. I had no doubt that once we defeated Fenrir, she would unleash another attack on the Earth.
What that attack might be, I had no idea, but it would happen. The assault from her would be deadly and devastating. Not that this attack by Fenrir wasn’t; it would cost us dearly.
I hoped that we didn’t lose anyone and have to mourn them. That was a stupid thought since this was a war, and that meant death. As sure as anything in the world. Being the God of War I knew that all too well.
Many that worshipped me knew that they would be soon in the grasp of Hades. That was something I hated since Hades and I never really got along.
The door to my room opened, and Felicity walked in. She had on her hero outfit, and it looked stunning on her. I missed looking into her deep brown eyes and running my hand through her short hair. Seeing her large tail whip around. She was truly remarkable.
“I missed you,” I said.
The squirrelkin smiled. “I missed you too, you big lug.”
She was in my arms before I knew it and kissing me. Her lips were soft and delicate against mine. I wanted this, needed this.
I don’t know how long the kiss lasted, but she pulled away. “When this is done, we need to spend some quality time together,” she said. “All of us.”
“We do.”
“Until then, we need to get ready.” She was right, but that didn’t stop me from pinching that ass of hers. It was one of the best. “Ares.”
I shrugged. “I can’t help it. I missed all of you.”
“Patience.”
“Not my strong suit.”
It was true that I lacked patience for most of my existence.
Soon everyone was here, and the time was set for the evening. Although it wasn’t ideal to let Fenrir have this much time to set up his men and put the fear into the people in the city.
It was clear from the little bit that we went out in the city, using the devices that Mako made. For a moment I thought we would have no use for them, but they were turning into a lifesaver.
Fenrir had his minions out in droves, using his tech to scan for Paragons. I couldn’t leave, nor could Felicity. Fleur went out once with them, and she came
back with horror on her face.
“It’s terrible out there. The whole city is scared, and he’s attacking any Paragon on sight, using the weapons to depower them.”
“He’ll pay,” I said with an angry tone. “The attack needs to start now.”
“In an hour,” Athena said. The sun was setting, and that was when we would strike to take out the man and all his people.
Fleur, Felicity, and I would be taking Fenrir out. Athena would work with one of the Third Street Dragon teams. Lola would be staying behind to monitor it all. Be our eye in the sky, as she did so well.
The wait helped me think about the future and what was to come. When this was all done, I wanted to spend my time with my loves. Travel and relax. As much as a God and Paragons could. I knew that there would always be villains to fight, but we could take an extended vacation, many of them.
50
The Attack
We left the base and headed to city hall, since that was where Fenrir was spending his time. He made it known to everyone that he was there, and he still wanted to have his showdown with me.
I wasn’t going to disappoint him and let him think I was afraid of him. Fenrir had to know that if I wanted to kill him, I could. The man had to realize that he really was no challenge for me if I used all my power.
Though he also knew that I wasn’t going to do that. That did give him the upper hand, but I wasn’t going to let that get in the way.
The three of us would take him out and arrest him. McGarrett had gone to his precinct with dozens of loyal men and women of the New York Police Department. Athena was at Walker Consolidated with the Third Street Dragons, and Bionic Man was going to join them.
The others were going to the areas where Fenrir had sent his men. Our force was strong, but it still didn’t match Fenrir’s in size. Most of the people with us were Paragons, and that had to count for something.
