by Wyatt Kane
It made sense to Ty. As for himself, he would have liked to spend the day upgrading all of his tech. The limitations of his mesh suit had been exposed. He wanted to make it easier for Tempest, Dinah, and himself to get in and out of the building. And he had to move Tempest’s device back to her wrist.
But the real world was calling him. He hadn’t forgotten the message Angie left him the night before. He needed to talk to her, perhaps beg to get his job back. Or, if that wasn’t going to happen, he needed to talk to Martin about his cousin in the repair business.
He might have expressed all this to Dinah, but he was being far less delicate with the waffles than she. His mouth was never empty enough for him to speak.
Yet even before Ty and Dinah finished eating, Ty’s plans changed.
Ty’s phone was sitting on the kitchen bench next to where Gremlin had chosen to position herself. The phone pinged to signify that it had received a message.
Ty swallowed and reached for it. His first thought was that perhaps Angie had reconsidered her words from the previous evening. But a glance at the screen told him that it wasn’t Angie calling, but Brad.
He swiped to unlock the screen and read the message with a sinking feeling.
Dinah read Ty’s expression. “Is everything okay?” she asked.
Ty sighed. “Yeah, fine,” Ty said. “Just apartment stuff. That was Brad, my roommate. He’s set up a meeting with a repairman of some sort.”
“Oh?” Dinah asked.
Ty couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. When I was there last, Tempest and Bain punched a big hole through the wall.”
Dinah grinned in return. “I can imagine them doing something like that,” she said.
Ty just grinned.
The meeting was scheduled for within the next hour or so. “Um, you don’t happen to know if we are on a bus route here, do you?” he asked.
The deerkin’s brow furrowed. “I think so. But you don’t need to worry about that. You can just borrow my bike,” she said.
“Bike?” Ty repeated.
The deerkin nodded. “Motorbike,” she clarified. “If you can ride?”
Before she had died, one of Ty’s sister’s favorite things had been her motorbike. It was just a little runabout. Nothing fancy, but she’d loved it, and had taught Ty to ride.
It had been a long time since he’d thought of that bike. With a nostalgic smile, Ty nodded.
“I can ride,” he said.
23: Bike
Ty didn’t want to turn up to the meeting wearing nothing but a sheet, so he took a quick shower and got dressed. Once again, he wore his mesh suit under another of Zach’s less ostentatious shirts.
Ty’s own jacket had been too small for him to wear since the device had given him his additional height and bulk. Fortunately, the dead superhero’s wardrobe included a selection of jackets as well. Many of them reflected Zach’s colorful, eclectic tastes and sported patches of fur in pink and purple, but there was also a simple, leather bomber jacket of comparatively muted design. Ty put it on and left Zach’s room only to run into Dinah in the hallway.
The deerkin had also showered and changed. She looked Ty up and down and gave a nod of approval. Yet her expression also contained an echo of sadness.
“I always liked that jacket. A little subdued compared with what Zach normally wore. It suits you,” she said.
“Thank you,” Ty said. He still wasn’t altogether comfortable wearing the dead man’s clothing. It was as if he was carrying a ghost around with him wherever he went. But both Dinah and Tempest seemed to actively encourage him to do so. It was as if they liked the reminder of Zach.
Nor did he really have any choice. His old clothes were uniformly too small for him now, and he hadn’t exactly had time to go shopping for more. Nor did he have the funds, and without a regular job, he didn’t know when that might change.
“Are you ready to go?” Dinah asked. Ty nodded. “Then follow me.”
She led him down to the ground floor. Ty had been there only once before when affixing the projector disc to the floor. But he hadn’t exactly explored the entire place. Dinah took him to a door marked private and placed her palm on the sensor. It clicked open, granting them access to a small parking garage.
“One of the benefits of penthouse living,” Dinah said with a smile. “Tempest doesn’t need a vehicle, but I do from time to time.”
The lights turned on automatically as they entered, and Ty found himself in an open space that could fit maybe four different vehicles. But the only thing in it was Dinah’s bike.
It was sleek and black and made his sister’s old runabout look like a toy. Ty couldn’t help but admire it. It was a Ducati, the type of thing that a middle-aged man might buy to satisfy the urgings of a midlife crisis. It wouldn’t look out of place on a race track, and while it was currently quiescent, Ty wouldn’t have been surprised if it lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as the key was turned.
Ty let out an unconscious murmur of appreciation.
“Cool, huh?” Dinah said. “She’s my pride and joy. Every once in a while, I just get on her and take off for a ride. What do you think?”
Ty was having trouble reconciling the bike with the impression he had of Dinah. To him, she epitomized grace and delicate beauty. She was a forest creature, a deerkin, and would be perfectly at home in a woodland setting.
To think of her speeding along a highway in black leathers and helmet seemed like a contradiction. In Ty’s mind, it was Tempest whom he might have expected to own a bike like this. Not Dinah.
“It’s amazing.” Ty said. “But how do you wear a helmet?” he blurted.
Dinah laughed at him. “I have a modified one. My antlers poke through. Not ideal if I’m ever in an accident, but still better than nothing.” She grinned. “Well? Are you going to get on, or just look at her?”
When Dinah had mentioned she had a bike, Ty’s immediate thought was that perhaps she had a scooter. This black monster of a machine was not what he had in mind at all.
He couldn’t help but be uncertain. “Are you sure?” he said.
In response, she gave him a broad smile and walked over to where a couple of helmets hung on the wall. She selected one and held it out to him, along with the key.
There were no more reasons to hesitate. Ty gripped the handle bar and climbed clumsily on board. Even with both feet still on the ground, one on each side, the bike felt surprisingly comfortable. Like it had been made for him.
He could do this, he thought. Even though it had been years since he’d last ridden, he still knew how. He put on the helmet and flipped the face shield up, then accepted the key.
He was ready.
“Just bring her back in one piece. And yourself, of course,” Dinah said.
“Will do.” Ty said. At the thought, he activated his mesh suit once again. It might not protect him from fall damage, but it should help soften the blow if anything went wrong. Then he thumbed the ignition button and was rewarded not with a throaty roar, but the delicate hum of a finely tuned electric motor.
“There’s an anti-theft system you can activate with the key, and the remote for the garage door is on the fob,” Dinah said. “And don’t forget to turn off your shield for this wall.”
Ty nodded and thumbed the appropriate buttons. Then he gave the deerkin a wave and a grin, and, very gently, accelerated out into the street.
Fortunately, the building’s garage was at the other end of the building from where Lilith had ripped up the road. Ty could see temporary barriers put in place by the city maintenance workers, but where the garage door opened, the streets were in good condition.
It took Ty less than a minute to become familiar with the marvelous machine. When he did, he lost much of his tentativeness and started to enjoy himself. He felt an almost irresistible urge to open the throttle and see what Dinah’s bike could really do. But he reined himself in, sticking mostly to the speed limit as he made his way through the city.
He quickly left the comparatively up market area where Tempest and Dinah lived and found himself back in the rundown neighborhoods with which he was more familiar.
At ground level, New Lincoln was a city made mostly of alleyways and dark corners. The streets were lit by pink and blue neon, covered in refuse, and rife with potholes. The pavements, such as they were, were home to furtive pedestrians, many of whom may have been up to no good.
Yet to Ty, viewing it all on the back of the bike, it was different as well. He felt a freedom almost akin to what he felt when flying with Tempest. Ty found himself grinning within his helmet, and even though the city air was not fresh, he breathed it in as if it was.
The bike itself performed wonderfully, and even though it wasn’t his, he really felt like he was leveling up on life.
All too soon, Ty found himself back in his old neighborhood. He parked the bike, made sure to set the anti-theft system, and headed into his building.
It had only been a few days since Ty had last been there. Yet to him, it felt as if he’d been away for weeks. So much had changed that it seemed a different life entirely. It was as if it wasn’t Ty who lived there but someone else whose memories Ty happened to share.
At the same time, it was familiar as well. The same careless garbage littering the stairs up to his floor. The same faded paint and smells of disappointment and defeat. He could even predict which apartments would be quiet as he passed, and which would project thumping music, angry shouts, or TVs turned up way too loud.
Yet when he reached the door to his apartment, he found himself preparing to knock rather than simply letting himself in.
He grinned at his own foolishness and palmed the door open.
24: Catching Up
His apartment looked the same as it had when last he’d seen it. The security bolt was still broken. The microwave and toaster still lay in pieces on the kitchen bench. And Brad, Ty’s roommate, still sat on the couch with his holo-visor down as he played a game on the screen in front of him.
The only differences were that when last he’d been there, the apartment had been filled with people. Bain’s mercenaries, whom Ty had fought with his home-made stun gun. The police who had come to take the mercenaries away. And Tempest, with whom Ty had left out of the hole in the wall.
As for that hole, it was no longer visible. Someone–Brad?–had taped a large sheet of cardboard that looked as if it had once been a box over it. The only visible damage was a few cracks in the wall that the cardboard didn’t cover.
Yet aside from that, everything was exactly the same. It was almost as if the last few days hadn’t happened.
“Hey,” Ty said to Brad.
The gamer barely looked up. “Hey back,” he said. Ty glanced at the screen and saw that instead of the more usual fantasy landscape where Brad plied his trade, he was looking at a battle in the expanse of space.
Brad spoke into his visor. “Real-world interrupts. AFK.” Then he flipped his visor up and studied Ty with greater interest. “You look different,” he said.
“Yeah,” Ty replied. “You said that before. The device, remember?”
Brad was the only person Ty had told about what had happened. He knew all about the device, Tempest, and Bain. But the gamer frowned and waved Ty’s answer away.
“Yeah, the device. That isn’t what I mean.” Then he grinned broadly, showing teeth that hadn’t been cleaned in months. It fit the rest of his slovenly nature. “You got laid, didn’t you?” Brad said.
The accusation caught Ty off guard, and his own face betrayed him. He grinned like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar.
“I knew it!” Brad said. Then he took on a calculating look. “It wasn’t that superhero chick, was it? No way! She’s like, so far out of your league she’s playing a different game entirely!”
Ty couldn’t help himself. He grinned even more broadly. “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “She’s out of your league. Turns out she’s not out of mine at all.”
The incredulous expression that passed over Brad’s features was priceless. He looked both impressed and disbelieving all at once. It was as if he couldn’t believe the Ty he knew could score a woman like Tempest.
Out of no more than a whim, Ty decided to drop the other shoe. “Turns out I’m not out of her roommate’s league, either.”
“Roommate?”
“Yeah. Dinah. Another superhero. Just as stunning as Tempest, but completely different. Full deerkin, with antlers, hooves, and a tail she can wiggle.”
“You’re shitting me!” Brad said.
Ty just grinned.
For a moment, the gamer stared at Ty as if he was a stranger. Then, slowly, Brad shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he muttered, and Ty couldn’t help but laugh.
“I take it that’s where you’ve been over the last few nights?” Brad asked.
Still grinning broadly, Ty nodded. Then he realized there was something wrong with this picture. When last Ty had seen him, Brad had been packing up his gaming gear. He’d been intending to stay with a friend.
And yet, here he was, playing as usual.
Ty made the connection. “Have you still been living here?” he asked.
“Yeah. I was staying with a mate, couch surfing, you know. After the wall got blown out. That lasted a day before his missus gave him an ultimatum.” Brad grinned and gestured to himself. “Seems that the Brad was too much of a good thing for her.”
Ty had known Brad for a long time. They were good friends, but that didn’t mean Ty couldn’t see who the gamer was. He was a high-level slob who had maxed out every slob skill he could find and had unlocked a few hidden ones as well. He spent most of his days in an un-washed T-shirt, fluffy slippers, and a dressing gown that had seen better days. He didn’t shower for weeks at a time, and it wasn’t unusual for his personal odor to get a little ripe.
Ty could easily see how he might outlive his welcome very quickly.
But all that was beside the point. There was a reason Ty had suggested he find somewhere else to stay.
“Has anyone else come looking for me?” Ty asked.
“Nah, man. You’re all good. The way I figure it, that big guy must’ve decided you wouldn’t be back. Or they were watching and saw you leave.” He shrugged. “They haven’t returned.”
Ty frowned. Even that wasn’t the real issue. He was worried that Bain’s or the Master’s men might try to use Brad against him. They had captured Dinah to try to force Tempest and Ty to hand over their devices. Dinah had removed all traces of Ty’s family online so they wouldn’t become targets. But Brad was a different matter. They already knew he existed. And that meant, simply because he knew Ty, the gamer was in danger.
“If they come back, don’t tell them we’re friends. Tell them I couldn’t wait to get out of here. That we had a fight or something, or that you owe me money.”
Brad looked at him with a puzzled expression. He cleaned out an ear with his index finger and wiped it on his dressing gown. “Sure, man. Whatever you say.”
“It’s important. These guys might try to hurt you. It’s all because of this device. They want it and if they can threaten you to make me give it to them, they will.”
This time, Ty’s message got through. Brad’s expression grew more serious. “Okay. Got it.”
Ty relaxed a little. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was all he could do. He nodded. “Good. Now, what’s this all about?”
Brad shifted his weight on the couch as if trying to get more comfortable. “Just what I said, man. I didn’t want to call the landlord about the hole in the wall. You know how they can be. But it gets a bit draughty at night, so I called a repair company instead. They said they’d send some guy around to have a look-see. You’re a bit early. Want to play a game in the meantime?”
Ty didn’t like the idea of calling a repair company directly. It sounded expensive, and with him not having a job, it was a bad time. Yet Brad was also right about the landlord. The bu
ilding was owned by one of the mega-corporations, and they had a reputation for being difficult to deal with.
It was a no-win situation, but Ty knew that something had to be done. And Brad had been right to call him. Even though he’d spent a lot of time at Tempest and Dinah’s place, Ty still technically lived with Brad.
He uttered a sigh. “Sure. What do you have in mind?”
Brad took off his visor, exposing a mop of ginger hair that hadn’t been washed in ages. “Old school. Punch Crazy three. One-on-one fighting game.” Without asking, Brad brought up the game and offered Ty a second controller.
Given all the battles he’d been involved in over the past couple of days, Ty thought the choice of game to be particularly appropriate. And it was one he enjoyed as well. It was simple, with no complex quests or reliance on a team of others. He could play against the computer or against another opponent, and a fight would be done in minutes, yet could go on for days if so desired.
“Works for me,” Ty said.
Brad quickly chose his favorite character, a hulking brute of a street fighter named Balthazar who reminded Ty strongly of Bain. Ty scrolled through the available options, and almost picked his usual, a slim, martial arts expert who shared Ty’s name.
Instead, he chose Wendy Wu, a blonde fighter dressed in tight leathers, at which Brad offered a snigger. But Ty was happy with his choice. The character reminded him of Tempest, and he knew full well what she was capable of doing.
As soon as Ty hit the enter button, the screen changed to an image of an outdoor fighting arena complete with a crowd of onlookers. The camera panned in, and both Balthazar and Wendy displayed their power attacks to the tune of really bad music.
Balthazar’s power attack was a helicopter move where he floated in the air and spun about with his arms spread wide. Wendy’s was more of an energy attack, like a Kamehameha wave, which to Ty’s mind also suited Tempest well.
As the characters’ power moves were completed, their health bars appeared at the top of the screen and a countdown began. “Three, two, one… Fight!” An off-screen narrator spoke the words at the same time they appeared, and then the two characters faced each other at the ready.
