by Ekeke, C. C.
High above, a thick-bodied woman with buzzcut hair chuckled. “He’s an artist, Meteora.” Sirocco’s green unisuit had a cape. Another reason for Hugo to hate her. As she soared overhead, citizens got blown off their feet with anything not nailed down. “Don’t be a wet blanket.” She winced. “No offense, Alluvion.”
The final Forces of Nature member gave a throaty laugh. “None taken.”
Hugo was seconds away, disgusted at how casually these villains chatted amid their slaughtering.
Alluvion was human from the torso up with a high-top haircut, but made of translucent bluish water. From the waist down his body was a tidal wave roiling down the streets. Judging from Alluvion’s face, he was like a kid at a candy store. “Too bad the big heroes are in Seattle,” he griped. “I was hoping for a fight.”
“Seattle isn’t that far for the fast fliers,” Meteora remarked, directing a twisted spire of street to puncture the walls of Paragon’s Pub. “If our partners aren’t fast enough, you might get your wish.”
Reaching downtown Atascadero, Hugo accelerated toward Hellfire. “How about now?”
He punched the pyrokinetic hard in the chest. Hellfire gasped and plummeted. Pouring on the speed, Hugo raced for Alluvion—plowing straight through the hydrokinetic.
Dammit. Did I get him? Sensing another foe advancing, Hugo whirled and unleashed a sonic scream at Sirocco. That knocked her head over heels for several meters. Annoyingly, the drafts keeping her airborne blunted his knockout blow.
Hugo would handle her later. He directed his attention on the other Forces of Nature members.
Meteora calmly waved a hand, raising a slab of street to catch an unconscious Hellfire.
“Holy shit!” Alluvion churned up next to Meteora, his watery frame unharmed by Hugo’s attack. “Aegis!” He sounded more fanboy than supervillain.
Hugo jerked back. “You know me? I’m flattered.” He measured the pair for the best attack approach. Even more jarring was the devastation now that the chaos had stilled. Atascadero had a large super population, but many lacked combat-ready powers. This made them as vulnerable as humans and just as dead. The corpses strewn about ranged between burnt, crushed by pavement, or drowned on the city streets. Hugo clenched both fists to curb his rage.
Sirocco floated to Meteora’s side, worry on her pudgy face. “I don’t like how public this is getting.”
“Likewise,” Meteora agreed. Her eyes glittered like diamonds. “But the money’s worth it. Take him.” She pointed. Pavement erupted around Meteora into spears of sharpened rock, snaking at Hugo.
He dodged and weaved around each spire, aching to kick Meteora’s ass for what she’d done to his city.
From his right came the watery roar of Alluvion just as Sirocco’s gale-force winds blasted down.
Hugo juked upward, watching Sirocco’s winds bash Alluvion’s liquid body sideways.
That was close. He checked for bystanders. Luckily, the streets had cleared for a good half-mile. Now Hugo focused on kicking this foursome’s asses. He whipped about with another sonic scream at Sirocco.
She dodged last second as the ground beneath Hugo was clearing its throat.
He charged Meteora again. But she was ready, drawing all kinds of bedrock blockades from the earth.
Hugo punched through each barrier and the dust until he grabbed a startled Meteora by the throat.
He slammed the woman down, pasting her across the face with repeated, piston-like right hands.
Before a knockout blow could be landed, scalding fire raced toward him.
He soared upward, clutching Meteora by the neck. Hellfire’s flames doused where he’d just stood.
Hugo cocked back to strike Meteora, when she slammed stony palms into his chest. Violent quakes quivered through Hugo’s body to the bone. His muscles seized, forcing him to let go.
She landed several feet below, grinning. Sirocco, Alluvion, and Hellfire gathered around her. “Think you can win, Shield of Justice?” Meteora dared.
“Yes,” Hugo countered and dove.
Sirocco climbed out of reach with startling speed, blasting him from behind with a wind burst. That sent him sailing into Alluvion’s oversized fist, striking Hugo’s chest so hard, he was seeing stars.
Hard water? Is that shit possible? he wondered. A cop vehicle broke his fall, crumpling under him.
Just as quickly, the ground lurched, sending Hugo tumbling down the street.
Shaking off the cobwebs, he climbed to his feet. The Forces of Nature had him surrounded. These guys were good. And Alluvion was definitely a threat.
“We’re not the Elite,” Meteora crowed, arms spread in challenge. “And you’re just not that good.”
Hugo itched to shut her up, just because. “You’re a talker, aren’t you?” Changing strategies, he flew up superfast. But a solid wall of wind slapped him back down so hard, he bounced after cratering the street.
Meteora waggled her fingers. Veins of gravelly pavement strapped around Hugo’s limbs, pinning him down. He strained, but the formations over his arms and legs only multiplied.
Hellfire and Meteora held hands—melting together. Hugo gaped. “What the fuck?”
The outcome was a brawny rock monster well over seven feet. Orange fire pulsed from its pupil-less eyes, mouth, and every crack in its hide radiating heat. Hellfire and Meteora combined like a goddamn Transformer. Hugo strained against his manacles, which weren’t splintering fast enough.
“Because of your arrogance,” the beast boomed, Hellfire and Meteora speaking as one, “you will die!”
The rock monster dove down, slamming both hands into Hugo’s torso. His body temperature skyrocketed. He arched his back and cried out, the heat nonstop and intensifying.
Even worse, his bones quaked more violently than before. He couldn’t think straight, getting scorched inside out while his bones turned to jelly.
The rock monster’s pupil-less eyes gleamed a sinister yellow as Hugo’s world darkened.
Not…like this… He clung to what little consciousness remained and screamed, blasting the monster’s face. It roared and stumbled back, clutching its disintegrating features.
Hugo struggled upright. He couldn’t see straight, his legs wobbling. Smoke curled off his suit.
I’m hurt, Hugo realized after a quick self-assessment. But we’re not finished.
He inhaled deeply for another sonic scream…and couldn’t. Hugo tried again, unable to catch his breath. Then he saw Sirocco’s wicked smile as ferocious whirlwinds encircled him, sucking the oxygen right out of his lungs. His muscles grew rigid, vapor cascading from his body straight toward Alluvion. Now Hugo’s lungs and muscles were withering. He sagged, consciousness fading faster.
Fuck! To stay here meant defeat—and death.
Despite his arms and legs turning to lead, Hugo focused on that last iota of strength and rocketed down a street, smashing into a building or two. The impact sent him careening down a sinkhole opened in the strip mall parking lot. Several feet went on for forever, until he landed in a pile of grime and mush. Sucking in greedy breaths, he pushed up on wobbly limbs and dashed away into the darkness. Hugo fled, wounded and humiliated, hearing the Forces of Nature celebrate.
“Aegis bolted!” Alluvion crowed.
“I wanted to fill the sky with embers from his corpse,” Hellfire whined.
“Aegis wants us to chase him, just like the Elite.” Meteora sounded like herself again. She and Hellfire must’ve separated. “We hold positions and finish the job. Sirocco, give me some amplification.”
Meteora spoke again, her voice carried by the wind loud enough for Hugo to not need superhearing.
“Your Shield of Justice is broken,” Meteora boomed. “Your police repelled. Atascadero belongs to us. Further attempts to attack will cost you twenty lives every hour.”
The world shook again. A stronger quake, caused Hugo to collapse in the gloomy sewers. I failed.
Exhausted, overcooked, and defeated, everyth
ing went pitch-black.
Chapter 39
Two days passed before Greyson found a realistic timeframe to escape the compound with Shattershot.
Erika departed for DC in the early afternoon to meet with Seneca International higherups. Greyson actually wanted her when his plans to dismantle the Natural Born Thrillers came to pass.
“Wherever your girlfriend is,” Greyson instructed, “we need to meet her now.”
Shattershot, eager and trembling, called Bam-Bam to schedule a meetup. Lower Shenandoah in an antebellum-style building on Avenue X, another casualty of the economic downturn. Greyson coordinated with Connie via text to arrive in advance and watch their location.
From there, the two snuck out when Bulldozer, Brightburn, and Reverb left on evening patrol.
“Should be a few hours,” Reverb warned. “No house parties.” He guffawed at his own joke.
Once they’d departed, Greyson and Shattershot headed out under a burnt-orange sunset in a smaller car. On the way, he texted Bulldozer through an encrypted line as Damocles, tipping him off to Bam-Bam’s location and whom she’d be meeting.
Greyson had expected activity in lower Shenandoah this early evening. To his shock, the district was jam-packed with merrymakers in superhero costumes.
“Paragon Day.” Shattershot had a sad smile as they roamed through dressed-up crowds. “His birthday. It’s such a staple that the city kept celebrating, even after Paragon became persona non grata.”
“No kidding,” Greyson replied slowly. This was even better than he’d imagined.
The building sat in the heart of Lower Shenandoah, eleven stories tall with cracks running up the brick walls. Greyson and Shattershot found Bam-Bam pacing on the sixth floor, dressed in a maroon catsuit.
Bam-Bam’s eyes widened. “Baby? Hi!” While embracing Shattershot, she watched Greyson warily.
Shattershot cupped her cute face in his hands. “Pax Humana? You didn’t bomb their hideouts, right?”
Bam-Bam stiffened and stepped back. “Of course,” she admitted, as if he should’ve known this.
Greyson allowed himself a smirk.
Shattershot looked like he’d been stabbed. “What?”
Bam-Bam got annoyed by his naïveté. “Babe. They were going to hurt you and your friends.”
Greyson put on his best concerned face. “This doesn’t look good, man.”
Shattershot whirled on him heatedly. “I thought you were on my side!”
Greyson raised both hands in peace. “I am,” he lied. “But she just confessed. There’s an option, though.”
“Wait.” Shattershot faced Bam-Bam. “We can figure this out. I can take the blame.”
Bam-Bam glowered. “Never. I did the crime.”
While the lovebirds argued, Greyson’s cellphone buzzed from a new text.
Hopefully, this meant Bulldozer was incoming. Once that hotheaded oaf saw Shattershot with a wanted criminal, his worst instincts would take over very publicly.
Greyson turned his back to Shattershot and Bam-Bam before checking his cell for new texts.
CIH: Incoming!
ME: Dozer?
CIH: Skye.
Panic tightened Greyson’s chest. Not her! Erika was supposed to be away in DC until midday tomorrow.
Shattershot was holding Bam-Bam by the shoulders, desperation on his face. “We can run away together. Leave this behind.” His hand swept their grim surroundings to stress his point.
Bam-Bam recoiled. “And look over our shoulders forever?” She shook her head. “That isn’t living.”
“It is for me when I’m with you.”
“Guys,” Greyson interrupted, mainly because this lovers’ quarrel annoyed him. “We’re running out of time. I have a way out of this before—”
“Before what, Hazard?” a female voice interjected. “Before I arrive?”
Shattershot staggered back. Bam-Bam gasped.
Greyson squeezed his eyes shut. “Something like that.” Opening his eyes soon after, he saw the leader of the Natural Born Thrillers striding into the room in full costume. Erika Skye’s presence was enough to own whatever spot she entered. Her sharp features were emotionless as she studied the room.
Her gaze landed on Shattershot’s girlfriend. “Bam-Bam,” she greeted with a smile that left her eyes cold.
Greyson slowly put several yards between himself and the couple. His thoughts raced on how to spin the surprise in his favor.
Shattershot raised his hands, casting puppy-dog eyes in Erika’s direction. “Please let me explain.”
Erika waved off his stammering with a lazy hand. “No need.” She tapped the side of her skull. “And don’t bother trying to sway me with your powers. I’m wearing a dampener.”
Shattershot was trembling like a leaf, glancing to Greyson for instructions.
It would’ve been easy to take both heroes out. But Greyson’s plan was to get Shattershot on his side to expose the Thrillers, not make them martyrs.
Erika’s expression spasmed, as if she was near tears. “Guess I’ve been wrong about everything, huh?”
The catch in her voice forced Greyson to glance away. Guilt over his actions and what must happen hit hard.
Erika recovered and cleared her throat. “There is a way your girlfriend gets a lenient sentence.” She pointed at Shattershot. “And keep you from going back to jail.”
Shattershot was on his knees, to his girlfriend’s disgust. “How?”
Greyson folded his arms, eager to hear this.
Erika spun and hurled three hot knives.
The energy projectiles plunged into Greyson’s chest and stomach. “Ahhhhh!” Every nerve ending caught fire. Suddenly, Greyson lay on his side, paralyzed, black dots swimming across his vision.
“ERIKA!” Shattershot cried.
Erika Skye stood over him, bristling with hostile intentions. “Handcuffing this traitorous motherfucker.” Four more hot knives sprouted from the fingertips of her right hand.
Greyson tried rolling on his back, sending waves of agony down his spine. If Erika had wanted, those knives would’ve sliced him up like butter. “Erika…what…are you…doing?” he gasped, barely conscious.
“Taking out the trash, Levi.” Erika tilted her head. “Sorry, I meant Greyson Hirsch.”
Hearing his real name collapsed Greyson’s stomach in on itself. How the hell?
Shattershot was lost, watching Greyson. “What is she talking about?”
“Levi is an impostor.” She jabbed an accusing finger at him, the tip burning with another hot knife. “Even creepier, Greyson Hirsch is supposed to be dead. Killed by Damocles.”
Bam-Bam and Shattershot were beside themselves.
Shock and torment strangled Greyson’s voice. Erika knew almost everything. Someone had betrayed him.
Erika aimed a kick to his stomach, shivering his ribs. He groaned.
“I thought you were one of the good ones.” Erika’s eyes sparkled with tears. “But when you fought Bulldozer at the compound, you could’ve fought back. You hesitated briefly before playing possum.” She made a weirded-out face. “Couldn’t shake it. Then I got proof.”
Pain spasmed through Greyson from even tiny movements. And Connie couldn’t reach him. “Who…?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Erika cut in contemptuously. “I know you leaked to Damocles about the Thrillers. You’ve been the poison infecting my team! A fraud gifted with powers!”
Those words seized hold of Greyson. I’ve heard that before…
Shattershot looked close to collapse. “Oh my God.”
“What is this?” Bulldozer’s voice thundered through the room, drawing everyone’s attention.
His giant shadow blocked the entrance, with the smaller silhouettes of Brightburn and Reverb flanking him. Through hazy vision, never had Greyson been more fearful. His plan was falling apart.
Erika frowned at her teammates. “Why are you three here?”
Bulldozer stepped into the room, a d
ominating presence. “We got pinged from one of our Seneca contacts.” His eyes darted from his leader to a trembling Bam-Bam. “Why are you with her?” His question was loaded with accusations.
Erika glowered at Greyson and then marched up to the metallic hero. “Dozer. You were right about Hazard. You were right about everything…”
Greyson, still barely able to move, watched his plans collapse.
Shattershot made furious movements toward him. “You were supposed to be my friend!”
“Shut up…and listen,” Greyson hissed in desperation.
Bulldozer didn’t look completely sold on Erika’s apology, gesturing in their direction. Brightburn and Reverb were stone-faced as they watched the argument.
“The Thrillers seeing you with Bam-Bam…they’ll never trust you.”
Shattershot knelt beside him, pulling out power-dampening handcuffs. “Why should I trust you?”
Bam-Bam placed gentle hands on her lover’s shoulders. “Because he can help us.”
Greyson sagged. Connie reached her. God, his wife was amazing.
Shattershot whipped around and gawked up at his girlfriend. “What—you knew about him?”
Bam-Bam looked down in shame. “Not everything. But he and his partner can give us a new life.”
Seeing Shattershot’s indecision, Greyson pushed his advantage, pushing up to an elbow with great discomfort. “Erika will take her from you. Stand beside me…or fall before them.”
In that moment, Shattershot chose. Pressing his fingers against his temple, the empath focused on Bulldozer, Reverb, and Brightburn.
The shift in the room’s energy between the Natural Born Thrillers was palpable.
“This is on you, Erika.” Brightburn looked disgusted. “For your failed leadership.”
Erika stared back in disbelief. “Excuse you?”
“She’s right, Erika.” Bulldozer jabbed a meaty finger at his leader’s face. “I told you not to trust either of them. You wouldn’t listen. Blinded by your need to save every broken bird off the street.” He gestured melodramatically with those massive hands.
Erika’s jaw dropped. “Why? Because I have compassion for others, which you utterly lack?”
Bulldozer recoiled as if struck. “No.” His thunderous voice bubbled with rage. “I just have a brain that can filter bullshit, unlike you.”
