Confessions of a D-List Supervillain (16 page)

It stands nearly fifty feet tall and has the X arms like the Type C and the hammer like head, but it’s friggin’ huge! The lasers are arrays, spinning like my mini-gun and spitting out an endless stream of red death. I find Wendy, at the base of a building.

“You’ve still got that launcher? Good. I’ll try to knock it off balance. You hit it in the back or a knee and the others will try and finish it.”

“But Patterson?”

“He’s almost down. Let it go and quit being an idiot! That thing can kill us all.”

She’s right. I know she is. It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. Brave young woman. She goes flying off into danger while pregnant with my kid. That’s right, Cal. Get your damn priorities straight! She sways it with the power of an F-4 and Bolt Action hits one of the knees unbalancing the robot. Ares hurls a tank at it as I dodge streams of energy and circle behind it. I line up my bazooka and look for something that might be important. Finding nothing, I aim for where it should do enough damage to knock it over and fire.  
Weapon discharge. Brace for impact.

The overloaded powercell hits it like a sledgehammer, releasing megajoules of stored energy and wrecking the entire hip assembly. The prototype topples to the ground. Heroes swarm it. I join in with my energy weapons.

My taunts come back to me with an ominous message of impending doom. “We’ve got to get the core out in case he tries to detonate it. Move! Move!”

I use my mini-gun like a surgeon’s scalpel.  Armor and the internal structure fall to the side. There! Surrounded by heat exchangers and shining like a small star. It’s not as big as I thought it would be. This isn’t a case of Blue Wire/Red Wire. This is a case of rip the damn thing out before he kills us all.

Pull!
I yank the assembly free and toss it aside. A minute or two later, they drag Patterson in his battered suit over.

“Bravo, Stringel. You’re right, I could have detonated it and killed us all. You’ve saved me the trouble.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Tell me one thing, idiot, what do you think is going to happen now that it is no longer tied to any heat exchangers?”

Shit! He’s right. I whip my head around and engage thermals. The thing is white hot. “We need to get it out of here or Los Angeles is a goner!”  I look for a savior. Bolt Action can’t stand after being pulled out from under the prototype. None of the other flyers have the strength except for Wendy using cyclones. She’s already trying to use her wind powers to air cool the core. It’s only delaying the inevitable.

I meet her gaze and she steps forward, just like a real hero would. I stop her.

“No. My mess. I’ll fly it out into the Pacific and go underwater. You have to push back the jet stream and keep anything from coming ashore.”

“Cal! I’m not that strong.”

“Whatever,” I brush aside her complaint, “Just do it, Wendy!”

I drop the mini-gun and shed whatever weight I can. Grabbing the core, I take off heading west. By the time I see the ocean, my shields are buckling and God only knows how much radiation is around. It’s interfering with the instruments, but my suit can make it. The temp in the suit is rising and the core I’m holding is already spot welded to my arms. We’re going to have to go into the water together.  The core will split open and then … it’s boom-boom time.

My suit can’t survive the beating much longer. This is the end and I know it. Hopefully there’s enough time for some final loose ends. I cut off the garbled receiver and the noise of people trying to say things to me.

Cutting on the transmitter, I know what I need to do.

“Alright everyone, this is the end of the line for Mechani-Cal, but I’m not going quietly. I’m releasing my memoirs right this second. They’re being updated with my final words. Dad, you tried. Thanks I guess. Mom, maybe this will finally get you back in good standing with your friends. Wendy, thanks for everything. I mean it. I always liked Gabrielle for a girl and James for a boy, serious this time. All the proceeds from sales of my book are to go into a trust for that kid. I can’t really say I’m in my right mind because I’m holding a god damn fusion reactor core in my hands! Read my words people and hold the powers that be accountable. They might be super powerful, but they aren’t super human! Remember that. Stacy, sorry we couldn’t make it work. Patterson … if they have any stones, they’ll fry you. Overlord, this squares us in my books, sorry if I just let the world know you’re still out there. My bad. Tough shit. What else? What else? Hey, do I finally get that pardon? I’ve been working my ass …”

Transmission Ends

Epilogue the First

A San Francisco Fiasco

The cool breeze off the bay keeps blowing my hair across my face as we look down through the clear bottom of Apollo’s chariot at the convoy leaving the federal courthouse in San Francisco. Despite long months of legal maneuvering and testimony, Lazarus is going to the SuperMax in North Dakota for a life sentence with no chance of parole and legal experts were saying that the Supreme Court were unlikely to even hear any appeal his high-priced legal team could come up with. When the sentence was read, Lazarus didn’t have a meltdown like I expected.

As they led him away in chains, he mouthed the words, “You will regret this.”

The Olympians and many of the Guardians are here to make sure there are no problems and help improve our image which has taken a beating in the public eye as of late.

“You’re pretty quiet, Stacy. I’m just glad it’s finally over. Aren’t you?”  Holly says to me.

“Yeah,” I say feeling tired. There is no sensation of a weight being lifted off my shoulders – no feeling of closure.

“I thought he was going to get away with a shorter sentence when they started trying to pin the blame for the detonation on Stringel.”

If Holly is trying to get me to open up, bringing up Cal won’t help things. I am still conflicted about his death and with the release of his “tell all,” things hadn’t really gotten much better. Cal acquired something of a cult hero status because of his book and I’m told that it doesn’t paint a very favorable image of me or most of the heroes in general.

Truthfully, I still hadn’t mustered up the courage to read more than a couple of pages. Family, friends, and even casual acquaintances that had were more than willing to chime in with their two cents. The ones who hated him, most notably Holly, were quick to point out that the beginning of our relationship had all the classic indicators of Stockholm syndrome. At the same time others, like the Bugler and the rest of the Gulf Coast Guardians painted Cal in a kinder light.

• • •

Still on crutches the Bugler had approached me after the empty casket funeral and said, “Miss? I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

I responded, “I am too. I’m just sorry that I never got my memories back.”

What I didn’t tell him was that I’d been erecting my own mental blocks and walling those memories off. Part of me said I was better off not remembering all the details of my relationship with Cal. The less charitable part of me said I was being a coward and running away from something that might end up causing me pain.

The Bugler smiled, “If you ever do get them back and need a person to talk to, feel free to call. I met him when he was just a petty criminal taking out his frustrations on the rest of the world, but when the world needed him the most, he turned himself around. I know he’d just make some kind of crass comment along the lines that all he was looking for was a paycheck and a pardon, but I’m pretty sure the real reason was you.”

“Thank you, but I think you’re giving me too much credit,” I said, looking for a way to graciously exit this conversation before it got more awkward than it was already.

“You’re welcome,” he replied with his southern drawl. “No. I usually don’t tangle with the uber villain types, just the everyday sort. But that helps me know how they think. Before you, he didn’t really care about anything or anyone. You gave him a reason to start caring and it stuck with him even after the two of you broke up. That’s what really loving someone can do for you and as my wife would say, that’s more powerful than any sonic bugle or superpower out there.”

I managed to stammer a few more things to him before begging off. His comments had cracked the emotional shell I’d carefully maintained concerning the late Calvin Stringel.

Ever since I’d gotten my powers, people would say how guys would do “anything” to be with me and Cal seemingly did. Wendy and I were never really close and never talked much. Despite the press and most everyone else wanting to ask her about Cal and the revelations from the book, she rarely ever spoke about him except in general terms. That said, in a moment of candidness about a week after the explosion off the coast of Los Angeles, I ran into her in the Senate waiting room where we were called to testify before her father’s committee. She said that she thought, half the reason Cal killed Mather was for what he’d done to the two of them and the other half was that he didn’t think I’d ever take him back because of it.

• • •

“Earth to Stacy, are you still there?”  Holly asks, bringing me back to the present.

“Yes,” I answer. “I was just thinking that I need a vacation.”

“You’ve definitely earned one. Where are you thinking about going?”

“Somewhere quiet to get away from everything for a week. Maybe a small tropical island, I don’t know. It’s been a rough year.”

Holly nods as we adjust our path for the turn the convoy below us is taking.  “Sounds like a plan. If you want company, let me know. If you want to go solo, that’s okay too.”

I start to reply, but a loud rumbling catches my attention. The source is a half-built office building and it’s collapsing. My mental funk clears and I start acting. A quick scan of the area with my powers shows the building is thankfully vacant. The main risk is damage to the surrounding buildings that aren’t and to the convoy we’re escorting.

“I don’t sense anyone inside,” I say over Holly telling Kevin to get the chariot closer so Robin can use her force shields to stop the flying debris. When it comes down to it, we’re professional heroes and being together for over a decade has made us the best at what we do.

The only problem with this is the nagging feeling that this isn’t a coincidence.

WhirlWendy, flying nearby, helps Hera with the dust and debris. Between the two, the cloud dissipates rapidly. The things that become readily apparent are that it was only the front of the building that collapsed with the other three walls still intact. Also, there is very little in the way of debris. Finally, there’s the matter of all the robots pouring out of the three-sided trap. There are hundreds of them, mostly the ball type robots, but there are some larger Warbots in the mix as well.

“Ambush!” Robin shouts as the laser blast emerge from the shadow of the trap. She protects us, but the staggering amount of power is like buckshot to the buildings behind us that are full of onlookers.

I glance at the convoy and see it stopped. It looks like some kind of cylinder with a manhole cover disguise on top has bisected the armored van carrying Lazarus. He’s probably already out of his shackles and changing into an Ultraweapon suit.

Holly sees it too and throws one of her energy spears at the van, hoping to put a stop to things before it gets any messier. It splashes ineffectively on a shield coming from the pillar. Realization dawns on me. If this was just going to be a jailbreak, he wouldn’t have brought so many robots. Lazarus wants a war in the middle of downtown San Francisco and doesn’t care about the collateral damage!

Robin and Athena bark orders. When the chariot is within thirty feet of the ground, I leap off and brace my body for the landing, regretting that I didn’t wear my powered armor that Cal made for me. My mental blasts are more effective against living opponents, but they can still do the job against the smaller robots.

I join the woefully outgunned federal agents and SWAT officers on the ground scattering from the vehicles, some already burning. Concentrating, I focus my energy into a tight stream and unleash it on the first group of balls I see. There are so many of them that it’s nearly impossible to miss and the area is so dense with buildings that heroes like Wendy and Bolt Action can’t unleash the full force of their powers.

We’re in trouble!

A pulse cannon love tap sends me back into a mailbox. I finish ripping the hunk of twisted metal out of the ground and hurl it back at the approaching wall of bots. Gouts of fire slag at least twenty of them as Apollo summons jets of magma. Ares is smashing away with his titanium mace but the robots around him suddenly detonate sending him flying through the air.

“Cover me, Aphrodite!” Zeus shouts, crouching low and trying to make himself as small a target as possible. He’s charging up for a full release of his lightning powers and needs me to buy him time. Ripping a parking meter out of the concrete and using the ball of metal and stone at the end as my own club, I jump in front of him and go back to my old high school field hockey days on the closest group of robots. My brute strength helps clear the ones in the immediate area and my mind blasts take out some in the second wave.

“I can handle these, Zeus. Try and take out one of the big ones.”

“Right,” he answers with a grunt. “Here it goes!”

Energy erupts from his body like a horizontal geyser, ripping a jagged line through the opposing robots. The discharge makes many of the ones in the path explode and that causes an even wider swath of destructions. The mass of energy slams into the leg of one of the large Warbots and sends it crashing to the ground.

Hermes zips up the path Zeus just cleared to get to the back of the pack and start attacking them from there. The danger is everywhere, but we’re starting to take the momentum.

“Energy building up!”  Zeus says pointing at the shielded cylinder protecting Lazarus.

We dive to the ground as it pulses outward, killing the few remaining agents nearby and even destroying some of the robots. Sadly, that probably bothers Lazarus more. He’s so far beyond gone now.

There’s a lull in the action as the remaining robots hold their fire. They’re waiting for his command. I search the sky looking for the shape so many used to look up to and find it, floating above the wreckage. His color scheme is different – red on black.

“When you finish playing with these toys,” he announces, “Come down to the waterfront and that’s where the real fun begins.”

Bolt Action launches himself, but Ultraweapon turns him aside with a computer assisted burst from his force blasters and starts to fly away. I hit him with my mind blast, but it only manages to shove his suit as his shields absorb it along with a spear from Athena. Zeus can’t fire until he finishes recharging and Ultraweapon is already out of range as his remaining robots resume fire and give us something else to worry about.

Leaping next to me, Holly hurls another spear and says, “He’s got us dancing to his tune. If this is his version of a distraction, I hate to think of what’s waiting for us.”

“He forgot one thing,” I shout and blast another robot to pieces with my mind. Lazarus has gone too far this time and needs to be stopped.

“What’s that?”

“He used to lead, but I was always the better dancer!”

• • •

We’re tired and more than a little banged up as we advance to the waterfront. Keisha sprints back from her scouting sortie and blurts out what’s ahead.

“He’s got ten more Warbots and another one of those Behemoth things from Los Angeles!”

Of course, it all makes sense. Why would he just build one atomic powered robot?

Hera puts down the communicator she was using and scowls, saying, “The Navy has a carrier off the coast. They’ve got a squadron launching, with an ETA of thirty minutes. They need us to keep them close to the shore and not let them further into the city.”

Athena nods, “We can assume that Ultraweapon already intercepted this message and knows what’s coming.”

Flying over the virtual river of people running for their lives below us, we race headlong into battle.

• • •

Fifteen minutes have passed, though it feels like hours. I’d check, but I can barely move. Ares might be seriously hurt. He’d taken out a Warbot and was emerging from the wreckage when Lazarus hit Frankie point blank in the back with everything he had. When Ares landed, the Behemoth stepped on him.

The fight rages on, but my part in it is done. Lazarus turned on me next and neither of us held back. If I had my armor, I might have won. Instead, he’s holding me up by my neck, choking me while I fire ever weakening mental bolts at him. I’m spent and he’s toying with me. Even with my superhuman endurance, I’ll pass out any second now. Part of me wonders if he’ll just keep squeezing until I’m dead and if my powers will transfer to either my brother or sister when I die like they did with the original Hephaestus. A male Aphrodite? Now there’s a stupid thought.

“I think this is a good look for you, Aphrodite. This is really your own fault. If you hadn’t been such a whore, none of this would have happened!”

I try to say, “Go to hell,” but don’t have any air to do it.

“No matter what else happens today, I’ll go down in history as the man that destroyed The Olympians!”

His statement is punctuated by a large explosion. One of his six remaining Warbots just went down in a big way. His grip loosens and I suck in the most awful smelling lungful of air ever, but it tastes like life itself to me. Even with my blurry vision, I can see two shapes approaching from the wreckage of the large robot. Lazarus tosses me aside and leaps into the air to attack them. The first one is dressed in some kind of a solid red outfit and the other one is in a suit of armor. I don’t recognize either of them.

Ultraweapon’s opening volley strikes an expanding field of power surrounding the red hero. It grows into a huge figure, lifting Red into the air and into the center of the humanoid energy construct. Who in the hell is that? The “arm” of the energy being swats Lazarus aside as he pounces on the back of a Warbot, and rips an arm off of the big robot.

As impressive as that is, the armored hero is carrying what looks like a big pistol and fires it at the relatively pristine Behemoth. I can’t tell if it’s a slug, a missile, or a bolt of energy, but it rips through the shielding and wrecks one of the laser assemblies. Bolt Action had hit that thing twice already and did far less damage.

Who the hell are these guys?

Lazarus turns on the other armored suit and they both go skyward and try to beat the tar out of each other. It looks like Ultraweapon is faster, but the new guy is better armed, if that’s possible. The pace picks up and they’re moving too fast for my tired eyes to follow.