Blaze of Glory (27 page)

I spun in the air as a flurry of movement burst out from all directions. From every building, from every nook and cranny of the empty grounds, appeared men and women. Some I recognized, some I didn’t—but they were all supers.

Some long-haired guy with what I could swear were extra arms barreled into the crowd of aliens, helping extricate Slammer. The large Pittsburgher leapt back to the ground, landing beside us with a loud thud. He was bleeding from a huge gash on his forehead, and he wiped the blood away from his eyes before speaking.

“Who the fuck are these guys? I mean our guys, not their guys.” Turning away from May, he spat a mouthful of blood into the grass. “’Cuse me.”

“Other surviving supers. Guess they heard about the showdown and decided to come help make one last stand.” Hunter was grinning too widely to not have had something to do with this.

“Did you set this up?” I levitated into the air over him, fists clenched. My pulse increased as I watched the dogfights continue overhead. A few supers were being carried into the fight by other fliers while others stayed on the ground, shooting up into the crowded sky. A shack flew by, the small building airborne courtesy of one of the stronger supers. Mentally I made a note to compose an apology to the groundskeepers.

“Let’s just say that I sent the word out through Jessie’s network that if it wasn’t going to be now, then when?” He spread his hands. “Mike had a lot of friends, in case you didn’t notice. And all they wanted was a stand-up, straight-on fight. Which you just gave to them.” He gave me a double thumbs-up with a wide smile. “Go save the world, woman.”

“Bastard.” I dipped down just enough to brush my lips against his. “We’ll talk later about chain of command and who gets to be on top.” Ignoring his grin, I spun back into the rolling dogfight over the lake.

A body narrowly missed slamming into me as I approached the ship. The young man spiraled down towards the lake without moving. I spotted Peter on the water, riding some sort of large fish, rushing to get to the super before he drowned. Nearby a blonde woman sparred with two of the alien warriors, deflecting their blue neon energy attacks with some sort of body shield that vibrated at a high-pitched squeal every time they slammed their fists into it. But I could see it was beginning to weaken.

A one-two energy punch from my hands had the two attackers bouncing away, letting me get closer to the woman. Only dressed in a raggedy T-shirt and jeans, she let out a cough and dropped the shield as I grabbed her arm.

“Thanks.” Turning her head to one side, she coughed out a broken tooth, letting it fall into the water under us. “They don’t fight fair.” The younger woman looked at me. “They call me Blockhead.”

“Stupid name. I’m Jo.” Extending one hand towards her, I used the other one to chase off a pair of twins threatening Limox where he stood atop the alien ship. “Thanks for coming.”

“Linda. Yeah, well…” She spun away to send a series of glowing orange balls thudding into the returning punks, encasing them in a bright orange globe that fell towards the ocean. “Won’t kill them but it’ll take them out of the game for a bit. Thanks.”

She shot off towards the hapless Peter who was busy dealing with a flock of seagulls that were doing a pretty good job of harassing the fighters. The huge sturgeon ferrying him around the water under the fighting had become the target of one of the more perceptive aliens who figured that the kid riding the big fish might have something to do with the aerial attacks. Linda let out a handful of bright yellow bolts that might have been lightning strikes. I’d never caught her act before. Either way they chased away the single fighter who turned to see who this new menace was, arcing up to smash his fists right into her face before she could react. I spun around to lay down some suppressing fire, give her a chance to put up that shield.

Except I couldn’t, due to the sudden trio of thugs who appeared on my left side, announcing their arrival by laying a punch into my ribs that had to have come from Slammer’s gift. The stabbing pain shot up through my lungs and into the back of my head as I spun around and around, laying down a series of blasts while trying to figure out what to do. The water raced up towards me as I spiraled away, out of control.

I managed to pull up at the last second, fingers skimming the surface of the water. My ears were popping while I gained altitude, still spinning around, gathering power from the waves emanating off of everyone and everything.

A low static started in my head, rising in intensity as I gasped for air.

“Everyone…” I wheezed. “May’s about to lay down something. Get ready.” I suppose I should have explained further for those supers new to the battle, but all I could think of was how many ribs must be broken to cause this much pain and how the heck I was going to keep these punks off my back, literally.

The mental noise got larger, sort of like a boil getting ready to burst. It’s not a pretty image, but the only one I could think of as I rose, shooting over the ship in an attempt to outrun the attackers long enough to recharge and get my breath back. Below me I could see Limox, palms pressed against the surface of the ship as he tried to burn through the thin shield that had kept us from damaging it back in Pittsburgh. A pair of warriors was charging towards him, undeterred by Speedster and other supers who were trying to draw them off.

It was going to be a massacre. As far as I could tell there had been few victories over the aliens, if any, and they had been just as quickly replaced by reinforcements inside the ship, waiting their turn for glory and fame in battle. It was New York City all over again, and this time there weren’t going to be any more chances. In the back of my head I heard Jenny’s voice saying that one of the team would die before the end, and I wondered for a second if she had grossly underestimated the number.

A psychic yell went off in my head, so loud I clapped my hands over my ears instinctively, letting out a scream as the pain overrode anything I was thinking or about to think or even breathe. Instinctively I discharged the last of my energy in a series of waves emanating from my body, pushing away anyone or anything within thirty feet of me. Mike had taught me that trick, told me that it’d be helpful to have something like that in reserve. In theory that should have kept the three attackers off me for a few more minutes.

Except they were plummeting towards the water, limp bodies dropping out of the sky, spiraling past supers who hovered in the air with shocked looks on their faces. I spotted Slammer, his hands crimson and dripping, falling back towards our landing zone with glazed eyes, his mouth opening and closing as if he were praying.

Peter began to zip back and forth between the floating bodies on the surface of the water, the now-large school of fish under him straining to keep up with the requests. The identical men didn’t move, didn’t stir. He rolled them over to show blank, lifeless stares. They kept their stolen human forms even in death.

Clutching my side, I flew over to where Kol’tak had gotten back to his feet, but May was now lying on the ground. As I landed in a clumsy heap, Slammer reached out to me with one bloody hand. His eyes were filled with tears.

“May.” The emotion in the one word shot through me like a laser.

Crawling over to where the elderly woman lay, I looked up at Kol’tak. His face had healed itself, but there was an unfamiliar frown now.

“Mal’tor has been defeated.” He stared down at May then at me. “I have taken control of the battle group as per our customs.”

Ignoring him, I studied May’s face. The dark-haired woman was bleeding from her nose, her eyes, her ears…a bloody trail that ran down over her translucent skin into the thick grass. Her eyelids fluttered once, twice, and then opened to reveal scarlet orbs without any pupils.

“Hunter?” she whispered, her left hand rising into the air. Her Guardian was already there, kneeling beside her. He wrapped his hands around her fingers with a gentle squeeze.

“I’m here.” He leaned down, brushing a few strands of hair away from her sightless eyes. “I’m here.”

“Jo?”

I looked at Hunter for a brief second before taking hold of her other hand. “You really went all the way this time, eh? You’ve been holding back on us, you sly old fox.”

She smiled, her lips a scarlet shade you’d never see in a store. “I decided to let it all out. See exactly what I was made of.” A raspy breath with a rattling sound came out of her mouth. “Did it work?”

“You have destroyed all of Mal’tor’s rebels.” Kol’tak’s voice rumbled over us. “I have accepted the ship’s surrender from the few who remained inside. The fleet is waiting my orders, and as we agreed I shall take them back to my home world and explain the…misunderstanding.”

“Good.” A bloody bubble burst from between her lips. “That’s what I wanted.”

I turned my head towards a small cluster of supers who had landed nearby, one of them the red-haired Speedster. “Get some medical help.” The words tore a new pain in my side. With a silver flash he disappeared from sight.

Helicopters began to close in on us, both the media and the military trying to figure out what had just happened…and how much credit they could take for it.

“May, hang on.” Hunter squeezed her hand again, leaning in close. “We’ll get you to a hospital and they’ll fix you up just fine.” He repeated the words. “Just fine.”

“No.” There was no question in the statement, just an acceptance. “I’m done with this, Hunter. Done with all of this. Thank you for everything, but I think it’s time for me to go see Hal.” With a visible effort she drew her hands together over her chest, pulling both of us with her. “Jo, you need a Guardian. And you’ve got a good one here who’s going to need someone soon.”

Her hands moved around ours, pressing Hunter’s palm against mine. “Just…just don’t let this happen again. Don’t let anyone control us.” A labored wheeze. “I’ll be really pissed if I have to come back and haunt you both.” The low whisper dissolved into silence.

“Oh, May…” Hunter laid his head on her chest, tears running down his face. His hand remained in mine as the rest of the team landed around us, forming a protective circle. Limox let out a low sob as he leaned against Stephen, his legs giving out under him. Peter knelt beside us, openly weeping as the German Shepherds licked his face.

Chapter Twenty

“I have to leave now.” Kol’tak looked around at the angry faces of the supers who hadn’t been privy to our deal. They were holding back, but just barely, as they watched the scene play out in front of them. I caught some mumblings over the link as Limox and Stephen filled them in, both men choking on their words until they faded out completely. “I thank you again for this resolution to our dilemma.”

Releasing Hunter’s hand, I got to my feet, wiping my eyes. “Look, just tell them not to believe everything they see. Just…don’t. If you want to send an ambassador in a few months or something, I’ll do what I can to get him a hearing in front of our…well, something like a world council, but you’ll have to give us time to adapt and understand all this.” I waved my good arm around at the dozen or so people, keeping the other one close to my side to help dull the pain. “We’re not sure what’s going to happen now.”

“I understand.” He paused, looking down at May’s body. “I shall make sure to mention this warrior, the bravest one of us all. Take care, Jo Tanis.” Kol’tak nodded to Hunter and leapt into the sky. Within seconds he arrived at the now-silent ship and slipped inside an opening. The alien bodies floating in the water disappeared, vanishing from sight. The ship folded up again, the origami-like disappearance startling some of the spectators. It was gone. They were gone.

Limox moved closer, his clothing torn and charred in places. “So now what?”

“We saved the world.” I let my breath out slowly. “Now we have to remake it.”

Hunter got to his feet, grabbing me around the waist as I limped precariously to the center of the circle. “My name is Jo. You used to know me as Surf. You all became real heroes today. Now let me tell you how we’re going to stay that way.” A stabbing pain started in my side. “But first, I’m going to need a bit of medical attention and some good drugs…”

An ambulance rolled up nearby, the siren screaming. A pair of paramedics raced over with a stretcher, pushing through the crowd of uninjured supers. They looked at me, then at the body on the ground and then around at the men and women in various forms of hurt.

“Who’s first?” the first medic squeaked out, his face flushed.

“Check her out.” I gestured at May. “I don’t think she’s… I think she’s gone. But do what you can. Please.”

Hunter helped me sit on the ground as more medical personnel showed up, a long line of ambulances and emergency vehicles filling every empty space. I didn’t see any coroner wagons. I was sure we’d need some.

“Peter.” I waved him over. “Make sure all the bodies are out of the water. We don’t leave our own behind.”

He nodded. “Right.” Taking a few steps back, he gazed into the sky, probably calling for help.

After a few minutes of trying to administer CPR, the paramedics moved May’s lifeless body onto the stretcher. They looked at me, as if asking permission to take her away.

“Give us a minute.” I nodded at the two supers nearby already getting attention for their wounds. “Slammer, Meltdown—go with her when you’re done.” I slumped against Hunter, the world spinning around me for a few minutes. “Keep her safe.”

When I came to Hunter was cradling me in his arms. “Your turn. They already took care of the boys.”

“Just my ribs. Tape ’em up and go help the others.” I sucked in a breath, feeling the stabbing pain in my side start to subside as the female medic pulled my tattered shirt off and rolled some gauze bandage around my bare chest. I wasn’t too proud to worry about giving the boys a show at this point. “Keep her safe,” I repeated.

Stephen nodded, his bloody hands already wrapped in more bandages than I’d ever seen in my life. Limox climbed into the back of the ambulance beside the body, which was now covered with a sheet. He covered his pale face with both hands.