The Enhancer series Box Set

by Wyatt Kane

  But now, only a few days later, he had done it again, with the full knowledge of what his power could do.

  Part of his soul experienced guilt. But mostly, that guilt was smothered by a combination of justified rage that Rubio should send his men against them, and a sense of something that felt like betrayal.

  How had Rubio managed to spring this trap? It shouldn’t have been possible!

  Nor was the conflict over. Tempest was trying her strength against the steel door, but it was like a vault, and Rubio’s men had locked it tight. The steel groaned under her efforts, but didn’t give. Ty started to stalk toward her. He intended to add his strength, augmented by the power of his shield, to hers, or to simply blast their way through either the steel doors or the concrete wall beside it.

  But before he had taken more than a couple of steps, he heard a sound that froze the blood in his veins.

  Slimy, malignant laughter, as if a sneer had been turned into a semblance of humor.

  It was an ugly laugh, a jarring, disturbing laugh, filled with a maniacal glee that might have suited a comic book villain.

  Ty knew who it was before he even turned around. Steam. The superpowered criminal he’d faced just the day before, and against whose powers Ty had yet to find an answer.

  “Tempest!” Ty called.

  “Ty Wilcox,” the slimy voice of Steam pronounced. Ty turned around to face the man, and saw the translucent figure standing maybe twenty paces away. “Look at what you have done,” the villain said. “I have to admit, I didn’t think you had it in you. And neither did Rubio, to be fair. To take out so many without any hesitation. I do believe that if you were one of us, Rubio might even be proud!”

  “Tempest! How much longer?”

  In response, the screeching sound of metal being strained to its bursting point stopped, replaced by a repeated whump! whump! whump! that sounded like massive hammers on industrial anvils. Each pounding collision was punctuated by Tempest cursing out loud.

  “Give me a minute!” she spat between two attempts.

  At this, the vile, steam-powered minion of Rubio laughed again. “My, my,” he said, the words sounding like he was gloating. “And here I was, thinking you might try to attack. Who would have thought? Tempest Flaire, the greatest living superhero of our time, trying to escape. Guess what, my pretty one. You won’t find it easy. This building was designed to withstand a direct nuclear strike, and that includes the doors. You might have better luck digging through the concrete at your feet and tunneling under.” He paused, then added, “Rubio chose this location very well.”

  Tempest didn’t pause in her efforts for a moment. But she did offer a reply. “Ty! Keep him busy!”

  It was all Ty needed to hear. Even though he knew he couldn’t hurt the villain, he was going to do his best. He had to buy Tempest time.

  If they couldn’t escape, they would have to face Steam where they were.

  And, from past experience, Ty knew they couldn’t even touch him.

  To shore up his doubts and concerns, Ty called on his anger. For the third time, he unleashed with everything he had, aiming all of his might toward Steam. As before, the full weight of Ty’s power was enough to knock the man back, but most of it just passed through him.

  Ty’s blasts of power were not silent. As well as the guttural roar that escaped from Ty’s throat, the sheer power he sent through the air gave voice to a sizzling crackle that was harsh to listen to. It was like the sound produced by a high-voltage Tesla coil, and it came with the acrid stench of ozone as well.

  But none of that mattered to Steam. Over and above the noises and smell, Ty could hear the villain laughing.

  Ty didn’t falter. He knew his only real chance was to focus his power on the man without pause, without giving him a chance to slip out of the stream. He did so, gritting his teeth and snarling in the face of Steam’s ongoing laughter.

  How long he kept it going, he didn’t know. All he knew was that the bands of power that broke away from his control arced through the air and left blackened scorch marks on the concrete and machines all around. Around them was a giant crucible, proof against molten metal at enormous temperatures. Ty’s ongoing blast turned that crucible into a glowing mound of superheated slag on the ground, bubbling and boiling into the concrete. And still the villain continued to laugh.

  Finally, from behind, there came a metal-rending sound that sparked a moment of joy. He thought Tempest had found a way through the door, that they would be free. He expected her to call him, or perhaps just to grab him and flee. But all he heard was a delicate grunt and the sound of someone collapsing to the ground.

  Ty didn’t even think. He ended his blast and spun on the spot.

  At first, he didn’t understand what he saw, it jarred with his expectations so badly.

  Tempest was the most powerful person he’d ever met. She was impossibly strong, and durable beyond measure. How could she be unconscious on the floor of the foundry?

  Yet despite this, the doorway was open again. Had she succeeded in opening it before she collapsed?

  Perhaps not. There was a man standing in the doorway

  Steam was panting and laughing behind him. Ty’s efforts had apparently hurt him, although nowhere near enough. “Ty Wilcox,” came the slimy, loathsome voice. “I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. Call him Massive.”

  The man carried the general features that most of Rubio’s extended family seemed to share. He was swarthy, with dark, curly hair, and a thick neck.

  A very thick neck. It was attached to a short, solid-looking body, but the one thing Ty noticed that scared him to the bone was what he wore on his wrist.

  It was a device.

  24: Massive

  Ty didn’t even pause to think. Forgetting about Steam as if the laughing maniac had ceased to exist, Ty ran as hard as he could toward Tempest’s crumpled form. As he did, his device sounded an alert, but he ignored it completely. There was nothing more critical to him than reaching Tempest’s side and making sure she was still breathing.

  The thought of what he might do if she wasn’t felt like a weight on his chest. It made his blood run cold.

  But he wasn’t the only one heading toward Tempest. The squat, solid man at the door pivoted in a lumbering way and stepped toward her as well. Massive, Steam called him. And a small part of Ty’s mind acknowledged the name to be apt. While not large, there was something about him that seemed indescribably solid, as if he was made of pure titanium. And he was heavy! The concrete floor at his feet cracked as he walked.

  “Stay away from her!” Ty shouted. “I’m warning you!”

  The man ignored him. He took another lumbering step toward Tempest. Ty didn’t know this man from a stick of butter, but he was one of Rubio’s men, and that was enough.

  Still a few paces from Tempest, Ty once more unleashed a blast of power from his shield cannons.

  It was like Ty was a living jet engine and his blast was the engine’s exhaust. A powerful beam of blue fire burst from him and arced toward the villain. Massive was only a few yards away. Ty’s blast should have either blown him across the bunker or incinerated him on the spot. Ty wouldn’t have cared much either way. All that mattered was keeping him away from Tempest.

  But the man’s only response to Ty’s power and fury was to raise a hand in front of his face as if he were staring at the sun. He gave a grunt, leaned into the blast and, incredibly, waded forward another pace.

  Ty was incredulous. First, Steam was immune to his power, and now this guy. Massive, it seemed, was more durable than Ty could believe. More durable than Tempest, more durable than Bain.

  It was as if the man fought through nothing but a stiff breeze.

  For the briefest of moments, Ty let his power falter, such was his astonishment at Massive’s incredible strength. Then, with a howl of pure fury, he redoubled his efforts.

  Massive uttered a growl, and stepped even closer.

  He was only half a stride a
way, but at least Ty had made him change direction. Instead of heading for Tempest, the man approached Ty himself.

  Out of sheer stubbornness, Ty stood his ground for a moment too long. Massive let out an inarticulate roar and cuffed him with a back-handed swing of his muscular arm.

  The blow connected. Despite Ty’s shield, it was strong enough to pick him up and send him sailing across the floor. He skidded and bounced, and stopped when he smacked into a concrete column.

  If it weren’t for his shield, Ty knew that the single blow would have killed him. Nobody could stand up to such hideous strength. Perhaps not even Tempest herself.

  Ty shook his head to clear it and started to struggle to his feet. The lumbering man had turned back to Tempest. He was reaching toward her.

  “No!” Ty bellowed. You leave her alone!” Again, he set himself, ready to attack, but he had forgotten about Steam. The laughing villain, as angular and thin as Massive was blocky and square, stepped in front of him.

  “Would you look at that?” the man sneered. “Looks like you and your girlfriend are completely outclassed. Rubio will be pleased when we return, with your devices as trophies for our triumph.” And with that, the insubstantial man who controlled the power of steam reached toward Ty.

  He knew his power was largely ineffective against Steam, but he let rip regardless, angling his blast to catch Massive a glancing blow when it ripped through the insubstantial villain. Massive let out a bellow of irritation and hesitate for just a moment. Ty got away, out of Steam’s reach. But he knew he was done for. He couldn’t even protect himself, let alone Tempest. Steam was right. They were both seriously outclassed.

  And, all by himself, Ty didn’t have the power to stand up to either of them.

  Perhaps it would have been better if he’d just run. Tried to save himself, to make his way out of the bunker and hope that Tempest would survive whatever these monsters planned for long enough to mount a rescue.

  But Ty had a stubborn streak, and there was no way he would leave Tempest behind. Even though it might cost him his life, in his mind, there was no other option. He would fight to his last breath to keep Tempest safe. And if that meant Steam boiling him in his own shield, then so be it.

  He just wished he had some offensive capability that would be effective against these two.

  In desperation, he looked around, seeking inspiration. But there was nothing. Just cold concrete and solid steel. Nothing at all he could use to his advantage.

  Again, Massive reached for Tempest, and once more Ty aimed a blast of power at him. But this time, Steam was too close. The insubstantial villain took just a moment to heat up the air around Ty. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t focus, and the skin on his face and hands was starting to burn.

  He changed his focus to Steam instead, but the villain just laughed and heated the air up even more.

  It was too much for Ty to bear. Still trying to use what power he had, Ty sank to his knees. He snarled and gritted his teeth against the pain of Steam’s heat, doing his best to keep going. To last a little longer. And he hoped beyond all semblance of reason for a miracle.

  Steam laughed even louder. He loomed over Ty like a grinning grim reaper, and turned up the heat even more. In the back of Ty’s mind, he understood that Steam could already have killed him. Even without touching his skin, Steam’s control of heat was strong enough. He felt he was boiling inside his own shield, and had no choice but to let go of his power. At this, Steam gave a mocking laugh and bent closer.

  This was it, Ty thought. His brief superhero career was over. He was done. As his vision started to go dark around the edges, he looked once more toward Tempest, hoping that at she would come back to her senses and somehow escape Massive’s grasp. That’s what he had been playing for. A few extra moments to allow the blonde superhero to recover. But it seemed even that was to be denied him.

  Ty started to relax under Steam’s power. He would have given anything to hurt the man, but such was not to be. There was nothing more he could do.

  But just before he gave in completely, he heard a characteristic pop! and caught a distinct whiff of ozone.

  This time, that ozone smell wasn’t from his power, but Lilith’s. The demon woman was looking at him with horror on her face.

  She had come to save them, Ty understood. He summoned the last of his strength and spoke.

  “Tempest first,” he said.

  Then there was blackness.

  25: Burn Ward

  The shocking cold of the void between two distant points was enough to jolt Ty back to consciousness. Mostly, at least. Out of no more than the most basic, animal instinct buried in the reptile part of his brain, he started to struggle against both the cold and the feeling of strong arms holding onto him.

  The arms held him more tightly, and in less than a heartbeat, he and Lilith blinked back into existence.

  “It’s okay,” Lilith said to him gently. She didn’t let him go even though they’d appeared in the entranceway of the mansion itself. It seemed that she wasn’t sure if he would remain standing. “You’re safe, now,” she said. “Just breathe.”

  Breathe. Ty realized that the air was no longer too hot to breathe. He drew in a great lungful of the sweetest, most delicious air he’d ever tasted, enjoying the cool familiarity of it, as well as the overtones of Lilith’s earthy scent and leftover cupcakes.

  At first, he felt nothing but relief that he wasn’t yet dead. Then, with the return of some of his strength and his most recent memories, he stiffened. “Tempest!” he said. “You have to rescue Tempest!”

  Lilith gave him a shy smile. “I did that already,” she said.

  Ty was even more relieved about that than finding himself still alive. “Good. Good,” he said. “I was afraid you might take me first when it was Tempest who was in real danger.”

  “It looked to me as if you were both in danger. But it wasn’t like I had much choice. When I tried to get close to you, you tried to block me.”

  “I what?” Ty asked. He couldn’t remember doing anything of the sort.

  “You were determined. I had no choice but to rescue Tempest first.”

  Ty had no real response to this. “Well, thank you,” he said. “If you hadn’t turned up when you did, I’m not sure what would have happened.”

  Lilith gave him a small smile, accepting his thanks, but said nothing more. Ty got the impression she felt she didn’t truly deserve his gratitude.

  Ty didn’t follow it up. He was still shattered, and there was something more pressing on his mind.

  “Where is she?” he asked.

  “The medical bay,” Lilith said.

  It was all Ty needed to hear. He tried to head that way immediately, but found his legs had yet to recover his strength. He faltered, and Lilith was there, holding him up.

  “Are you okay?” the demon woman asked.

  Ty nodded. “I’ll be fine,” he said. In truth, his latest brush with Steam had left him weak and singed around the edges. But he didn’t think there was anything major wrong with him. A little time and he would be as good as new.

  More cautiously this time, he tried again, and found he was well enough to walk without any problems.

  ◆◆◆

  For the second time in two days, Ty made his way to the medical bay. This time, he wasn’t the patient. Or at least, he wasn’t the main one.

  He didn’t know what to expect. Didn’t really know if Tempest was even alive. All he could do was hope for the best and deal with whatever the truth happened to be.

  It was with a certain grim determination that he made his way past the kitchen to the antiseptic, white room.

  Fortunately, the grim determination proved to be unnecessary. He could see from the doorway that Tempest was not only alive, but she was conscious as well. Dinah was with her, but had her back to the door, so it was Tempest herself who saw Ty and Lilith first.

  “Ty!” the blonde superhero said, her face full of concern. “What happe
ned? Are you okay?” she said, effectively mirroring everything Ty wanted to say to her. Then she added, “You look a mess.”

  The skin around Ty’s cheeks and nose, and his hands as well, was starting to hurt. He felt burnt, and his hair had taken on an old sort of curl due to Steam’s heat. He knew he would be sore over the coming days, and his original injuries hadn’t exactly improved because of the experience, but all Ty cared about was Tempest.

  He was just happy that she was alive. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Just tell me that you’re okay.”

  Tempest was half sitting up in the hospital bed. Gregory, the medical robot, was quiescent, and Dinah had half turned to Ty. The deerkin wore a peculiar expression, one that mixed the remnants of fear with relief, and Ty understood how worried the deerkin had been. But that was all in the past, because Tempest’s health was apparent.

  “I’m always fine,” Tempest said. “It would take more than that to keep me down.”

  “She is not always fine,” Dinah contradicted her. “Look. There, at the temple. Have you ever known Tempest to bruise before?” she asked.

  She was right. In all the fights Tempest had been in, Ty had never seen her injured before. Not against Bain, or Lilith, or even in the midst of a blaster battle. But she currently sported a bruise that reached from the top of her jaw all the way to her hairline, and possibly further.

  Ty couldn’t even comprehend how she had gained such an injury.

  “What happened?” he asked. “I was focused on Steam. How did you get hurt?”

  Tempest made a face. “My own damn fault, really,” she said, sounding disappointed in herself. “I was trying to open the door quickly so I could get back to you and wasn’t paying attention. Didn’t even think someone might try to open it from the other side. But they did. It caught me off balance, and then…” She looked puzzled for a moment. “Someone hit me? I don’t know, really. It was just a guy. Short and squat. How could he have hit me hard enough to knock me out?”