Chapter 11
I stood in the deep shadow of the building's back alley. Night had settled in not long ago. It was earlier than I usually struck, but I'd learned what happened if I waited too long.
The street was still busy. Cars zipped past the alley opening at regular intervals, even the odd person on the sidewalk. But my focus was on the small apartment building.
The building itself was abandoned, marked for demolition. The kind that always attracted the wrong kinds of groups.
This one was currently home to a group of animal-based punks: the Pride gang.
It bothered me that they hadn't been dealt with yet. They were a well-known problem, and they hadn't been quiet, never were.
Their numbers varied depending on how many escaped at any given time. I remembered reading they had something like eighteen members, but the last jailbreak only five or seven got out.
I moved closer to the building. The back door didn't look worn down despite its age, but it wouldn't stop me, or slow me down like the last one did.
I could hear them in there, loud and probably drunk. They'd just crashed through a supermarket and taken the money and beer, finally crossing the line that would bring real enforcement down on them.
The heroes would be coming for them soon. But all they would do was give them another chance to break out again. I'd fitted a second blaster to my left leg. I drew them both.
I wouldn't make the same mistakes again. I wouldn't fail again. I started running for the door. No more wasted time. No more victims.
No wasted effort. I didn't even slow down. I barreled through the door, turning it to splinters. I caught a brief flash of a stairwell before embedding myself in a concrete wall.
"Fuck," I growled as I pulled myself out of the small crater I'd just made. Somewhere inside, the music had cut off.
"Hey, what the hell was that?" someone yelled.
So much for surprise, I thought as I pushed through the stairwell door and into the hallway.
The first floor was mostly a lobby and a pair of event rooms, probably meant for tenants to rent out. Now they were being used as a party space.
I moved toward the event rooms, keeping the lobby and main exit at my back, as a lizard man's head poked out into the hallway.
"Hey? Who the hell are you?" he said, stepping farther into the hall.
That made my shots easier. In the enclosed space, and with his larger body filling most of it, the three bolts I fired all landed. The lizard let out a short cry before tumbling to the floor.
I sped up to a near run, trying to close the distance as I heard several large bodies getting to their feet in a hurry. Surprised shouts replaced the brief silence.
I reached the end of the hallway, running over the lizard man as I went. I shoved through the door he'd left open and immediately collided with someone trying to get out.
We bounced off each other. I stumbled left but stayed on my feet. The deer went crashing backward.
I lifted one of my blasters to make sure he stayed down, but a gray, fur-covered hand grabbed my arm and shoved it aside.
A quick shove pinned me against the wall, snarling teeth and yellow eyes bearing down on me.
I immediately recognized the gang's leader. Hurtz? Whatever. I flicked up my other blaster and fired from the hip, catching the wolf on the side of the head.
He jerked away, releasing me, but I didn't get the chance to finish it.
A set of antlers slammed into me, driving me hard enough into the back wall to crack it.
He'd caught me under the right arm, pinning me at a strange angle. I twisted just enough to get a hand on one antler and shove.
It snapped like breaking wood. The deer man reeled back, clutching his head and letting out a very nonhuman sound of pain.
I finally got a shot off and sent the deer tumbling backward.
My next shot never came. A green-scaled body wrapped around me, yanking my arms tight against my sides.
I looked up to see the glowing green eyes of a woman with a snake's lower body.
She hissed, but whatever she said was drowned out by a great white paw slamming into my head.
I was dragged up from the floor by a leg.
I heard, "Sil, get off."
My arms loosened, but before I could do anything with it, I was tossed across the room.
As I got up from the splintered remains of tables and chairs, I found myself facing a big white bear and a brown bear. The room suddenly felt cramped.
The wolf guy pushed between them, one hand clutching the right side of his face.
"Rip him apart!"
They rushed forward. I lifted my blasters,
one blaster, one empty hand.
The single shot I had time for sailed harmlessly over their heads.
I tried a hard hit.
It missed the brown bear's head by inches.
This time, when I hit the wall, I was sure I felt it give.
The breath was knocked out of me, and I ended up huddled on my ass while the two bears and the wolf rained down a punishing flurry of blows.
It took what felt like hours for me to think of the pulse emitter. I couldn't aim it like this, so I just fired and hoped.
The attackers staggered back, dazed. It worked, but not like before.
Whatever.
I'd somehow managed to hold onto my last blaster and fired while still sitting on the floor.
It took three shots, but I finally hit the wolf in the gut, sending him to the ground.
I turned my blurry eyes onto the brown bear. I fired once, missed.
A chair smashed into me, wiping out any chance to aim.
I barely got back to my feet before a massive white fist found me again.
By accident and momentum, I avoided the second blow. It crashed into the wall instead, knocking free a large section of it. Dust covered me, it would have blinded me if not for the visor.
I grabbed the white bear's arm with my left hand to stop him from punching me. My hand barely wrapped around his wrist.
I caught the next blow on my forearm, nearly dropping my blaster from the impact. He seized my wrist, locking it in place and preventing me from aiming.
I could feel the armor trembling under the strain.
I stomped on the bear's booted foot, making him jerk back. He kept his grip on my right arm, and the blaster, but loosened enough on my left for me to throw a hard hit.
It landed. My first solid hit in what felt like the entire fight. The white bear staggered back, giving me a second to breathe.
Only a second.
I caught sight of the wolf on his back, the snake woman frantically trying to give him first aid. The damage was done.
I holstered the blaster and grabbed a broken chunk of table, hurling it at the white bear. It sent him sprawling back.
A small victory, undercut immediately as brown paws wrapped around me from behind.
I thought I was about to be thrown again.
Instead, it bit me.
There was a screech as teeth tried to chew through my armor.
Then it lifted me by its jaws and shook me.
I flailed, trying to get free. More by chance than skill, I clipped it with my elbow and it let go.
I hit the floor in a clatter, dizzy, breathless, and unsure which way was up.
The remaining four or so gang members stood across from me.
I didn't understand why they'd stopped attacking, until the ringing in my ears faded enough for the sirens to cut through.
Oh no.
We all knew what was coming next.
The gang members suddenly looked more interested in an exit and turned to leave.
"No!" I growled. Too slow, again.
I moved toward them, and the white bear, bleeding from what was left of its left eye, roared.
The roar was followed by a charge that caught me around the waist.
There was a flurry of movement, then a sudden, crunching crash.
I was tumbling out into the night air as the wall I'd just crashed through crumbled, forcing my attacker back inside and sealing my way in.
"Damn it," I coughed as I tried to stand. Bricks and debris were still falling from the shattered wall.
From the rubble, a single unmoving, white-furred hand jutted out.
I tried to push myself back to my feet. The fight had ended only seconds ago, but the exhaustion and pain were catching up fast.
I was slow getting upright, using the fire escape beside me for support.
I couldn't seem to get enough air. My hand rose halfway toward the helmet release before logic cut through the panic.
I had to leave. Job undone or not, I had to leave.
I wavered there, catching my breath as red and blue lights washed over the street.
Still leaning on the fire escape, I was about to push off when I heard it.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
A weight slammed down on top of me. It didn't knock me over only because I still had a hand on the fire escape.
As I tried to recover, a lean, green-scaled body wrapped around me, stretching impossibly.
In seconds, I was fully constricted. I'd been reaching for my blaster, leaving one arm pinned to my side while her body coiled around my left arm and the fire escape, locking me in place.
I looked up into her almost-glowing green eyes. She hissed, her long tongue flicking out.
"I'm going to kill you for what you did to him!" Her voice vibrated with anger.
I struggled to reach my blaster, to break free, to do anything. Every movement only made the coils tighten.
I gasped.
That made it worse.
"Look into my eyes!" she hissed, her gaze seeming to glow brighter. "Look at them."
She grabbed my helmet and held my head still.
Our eye contact was brief and eternal.
She was breathing deeply.
The reason became obvious a second later.
She exhaled a stream of liquid directly into my face.
I jerked, but I couldn't move. Something pressed against the back of my head, pinning me in place.
My fingers scrabbled uselessly at my blaster, it might as well have been gone.
Another gush hit me. Then another.
Long, deliberate streams.
It finally clicked.
She was spitting acid.
My breathing had already been ragged. Now it tipped into full hyperventilation. The suit could take an acid bath and be fine.
My visor?
I looked up just in time to see the surface discolor, clouding.
It was melting.
Slowly.
But it was melting.
I redoubled my efforts to break free. Everything failed. I couldn't reach my blaster. I couldn't draw it even if I did.
I couldn't use a hard hit like this. Even the pulse emitter was pinned, facing away.
The color deepened. Control slipped.
I bucked and twisted and pulled. The visor material was nearly gone.
I was about to take a face full of acid.
If she kept going, she could dissolve me completely, threading it all through the small opening where my visor had been.
I don't know when I started screaming.
Realizing that only made it worse.
I was going to be fucking dissolved.
That's when something crashed into us. Not a blow, a wave. The pressure lifted both of us off the ground.
Then the ground came rushing back up.
Still breathing hard, I looked up. It was difficult to see through the damage. I reached up, trying to wipe the visor clean.
It crumbled at my touch, letting cool night air spill into my helmet.
Still breathing hard, I looked around me.
Everything was wet. Green fluid mixed and diluted as it ran across the cement.
Steam still rose from my armor.
I looked up in time to see a dark blue cape scattered with stars, white pants flying after the escaping snake woman.
I knew that cape.
Comic Lad?
Understanding hit me like a train.
Panic drove me back to my feet. My visor was gone, along with my low-light assistance and protection, but I didn't need it.
Standing under a streetlight was an older hero in a blue, black, and white costume. Water swirled lazily around his feet.
I knew him too.
"So you're the one causing all the trouble?"
There was no mistaking him. Tsunami.
"Let's get the basics out of the way," he said, his accent hard to place. "Don't try to run, and put that weapon away. Right now, I just want to talk."
I was still struggling to control my breathing. I hadn't even realized I'd drawn my blaster.
I straightened slightly. With my visor gone, I had never felt more exposed, but I holstered the weapon.
"Good," he drawled. "Now step back as I approach."
"What?" I asked, confused.
Tsunami took a deliberate step forward. I stumbled back.
We repeated this several times before he raised a hand.
"Good. Right here will work."
He lifted both hands. Water surged up around us in a wide circle, then rose sharply, sealing overhead into a dome.
The outside world vanished behind rippling blue.
"Now," he said calmly, "we have a bit of privacy."
I looked around at the steady wall of water trapping me. It didn't look like much, but I didn't doubt it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get through.
"Now," Tsunami said, crossing his arms, "you must be the one who knocked over Techshield."
I stayed quiet. That was harder with him looking straight into my eyes. I broke eye contact before answering.
"I did," I said simply. I didn't know what he wanted, but not playing along wasn't an option.
"He's a little mad about that," Tsunami continued.
I felt like I was standing under a spotlight. "Care to explain why you'd attack a hero, then only go after criminals afterward?"
The cold, damp air clung to my face. "I needed equipment." I kept my answer short. That wasn't hard, I was still out of breath.
Tsunami nodded. "I see." He seemed to weigh something internally. "Why kill Ringmaster?"
The question caught me off guard. "Why?" I shot back. "He mutilated and killed people."
"Doesn't everyone deserve a chance to change?"
"He had his chance, and wasted all of them," I said. "How many more people had to die while waiting for him to change?"
"And using his serum on him," Tsunami asked, "that was absolutely necessary?"
I stayed quiet for a few heartbeats.
"Yes."
Tsunami seemed to be looking for something. He studied me in silence for a moment. That was when I noticed the thin ring of water slowly circling his feet.
"Now," he said, "if you've got a few more minutes to talk…"
I glanced around the dome and back at him, catching the faint half-smile on his face before he continued.
"There's a tick in your strategy I don't quite follow."
He began counting off points on his fingers.
"You assault Facility Eight—an operation that clearly involved months, if not more, of planning."
Another finger.
"Then you assault and kill Ringmaster."
"Somewhat planned. Very clear you have no formal training."
Another finger lifted.
"And despite that, you saved those people."
Another finger lifted.
"Then you attack the rat nest. Good find, by the way."
"I watched the footage. You were mission-focused, but you made critical mistakes. Ratking escaped, and he took the people with him." A pause. "If you care about that."
One detail snagged my attention.
"Watched the footage?"
"How did you watch me?" I asked, curiosity cutting through the panic.
"Hm?" He paused, momentarily thrown off. "Oh. Ratking doesn't trust the people he hires. Cameras everywhere. He didn't wipe them before he ran. Not all of them."
Another quiet failure.
I hadn't noticed anything past the main door.
He gestured vaguely toward the ruined apartment building beyond the water dome.
"But this wasn't planned. It was an assault. That doesn't fit your MO." He studied me. "What changed?"
I didn't answer.
We stood there, water murmuring softly around us. He clearly had all night, and was willing to spend it waiting.
"I was too slow," I finally said. "I didn't just fail to stop Ratking. I failed the prisoners."
My voice tightened. "If I'd moved faster, hit harder, made fewer mistakes, I could've saved them."
I broke eye contact.
"So I went in fast. And it still wasn't enough."
Tsunami studied me for a long moment.
"Why does it matter if they escape?" he asked calmly. "We'll arrest them again. We always do."
I met his eyes. It felt more physical without the visor.
"That's the problem," I said. "'Again.'"
The word came out sharp. "It keeps happening."
I leaned into it.
"How many times do you let them escape before the deaths are your fault?"
Tsunami took a slow breath.
"It doesn't take long," he said. "I'll tell you that."
Whatever I'd expected, that wasn't it.
"The system is the way it needs to be," he continued, not meeting my eyes.
"And it works."
A pause.
"But it fills a lot of body bags."
Silence stretched between us before I broke it.
"It shouldn't be this way."
He turned back to look at me.
"I understand trying to help people. I'm not suggesting we kill everyone with powers," I said.
"But when someone proves they won't stop, it becomes the only option left."
"Most people would disagree," Tsunami said.
"Most people are too distracted watching heroes."
He frowned. "There are plenty of non-powered criminals who commit crimes, go to jail, get out, and repeat. Should we kill them too?"
"How many of them have killed five people or more?" I asked.
Tsunami shook his head.
"Go to Blackwater," I said quietly. "Tell me how many people in there killed fewer than five."
He didn't answer.
"That's the difference," I said. "Scale."
Tsunami nodded slowly. Whatever answer he'd been looking for, he seemed to have found it.
My fingers twitched toward my blaster. I didn't know if I could beat him, but I wasn't about to just lie down.
"I'm going to give you a pass today," he said at last.
I straightened in surprise. "What?"
"You need to calm down," he continued. "And if you start killing innocents…" His eyes went cold.
"I'll find you myself."
I blinked, the words taking a second to land.
"Ah," I managed.
"You could say thank you," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"But how?" I asked, genuinely lost. "Why?"
He exhaled slowly. "Look. The system is important."
He paused, just a fraction too long.
"It wouldn't be the worst thing to have one rat eat a few others."
Saying it caused the first flicker of discomfort I'd seen in the senior hero since he arrived.
Then the confidence returned. The fire snapped back into his eyes.
"But target anyone else," he said coldly, "and I'll end my career with you."
I held his gaze, my face damp with cold mist.
"That's not what I'm here for."
Tsunami studied me for a long moment.
"For your sake," he said, "make sure that stays true."
Tsunami stepped forward and stamped once.
The manhole cover behind me popped loose and clattered onto the pavement.
"Now I need to make it look like you got lucky," he said. "So I highly recommend you run very fast once you're down there."
I turned to look at the exit.
Had he planned this?
I looked back at him.
He was already smiling.
I stepped to the lip of the manhole and had a thought.
"Should I give you a black eye or something?"
"You couldn't."
I turned back and jumped into the hole. I ran as fast as the suit would let me.
A roaring wall of water came crashing through the system less than a minute later.
I ended up sputtering down a dark tunnel. I was away.
I just needed to find my van.
Somehow, I survived.