Fall of Heroes (20 page)

Bug didn't say anything at first. He just shook, and his eyes began to glow an intense golden green. When he did finally speak, he had only a question.

“If a copy came out of you, you must be the
actual
Legion, right?”

There was a near-deafening buzz in the air, and suddenly Legion was covered in hornets. He tried to bat them off, but they were a seemingly endless cloud of eyes, wings, and stingers. Clones fell out of him but vanished as they hit the ground, all writhing in agony. He ran blindly into the brush, away from Bug and the battle.

Bug picked Zip up and stood silent for a moment. The insect's body curled in on itself. Her beautiful, fragile wings were crushed. Bug swallowed hard as he moved her to the foot of a tree, where he brushed some soil over his fallen companion, whispering a few words. Then, with a crown of hornets circling his head, he continued to fight.

A few yards away, the statue of the Sentry that was attacking Amp began to slow, and then smoke. It took a step forward, but in doing so its leg cracked and broke off.

“Go!” Mallory said from behind Amp. A few beads of sweat had crystallized around her hairline. “Stop Shade!”

“This is for my parents,” he said.

A wave of ear-piercing sound shot out of his hands, all focused on Alex's mother, the woman who was now on her knees with the Umbra Gun in one hand as she swatted insects away with another. When the sound reached her, she shrieked, shaking her head.

All around the battlefield, the statues stopped moving.

Alex wrapped all the energy he could muster around Photon, who floated above Shade, looking as if he'd been stunned himself. With a wave of his hands, Alex ripped the Ranger from the sky, sending him flying across the lawn. He landed near Lone Star, bouncing twice before stopping. Lone Star and Gage were at his side almost immediately.

“He's unconscious,” Gage shouted back to the others.

There was an explosion at the other end of the clearing, erupting from the entrance to the once-secret underground tunnel.

Barrage,
Alex thought.

The metal drain fell on the ground not far from Alex, who picked it up with his thoughts instinctively and sent it flying toward Volt. It was within a few feet of hitting his father's head when Alex realized the repercussions of such an attack and changed its course. The drain dipped and turned, bouncing off his father's shoulder. As Volt staggered backward, falling to the ground, Alex watched smoke and dirt billow up out of the tunnel hole, followed by Barrage and Julie and a dozen armed Unibands.

Alex made it to the middle of the battlefield, where Lone Star, Lux, and Gage hovered over Photon. Barrage sent waves of explosive energy balls that smashed against Alex's telekinetic forces, creating a cloud of fire and debris. Alex planted his feet and peered through the dust. Kirbie was in her bird form, swooping down and picking up Unibands, throwing them this way and that and into one another. Finally she picked Julie up by her hair and flung the girl into the trees, which closed in around her—Kyle was controlling them from somewhere.

“What's the story, Gage?” Alex asked.

“He's out of it,” Gage said, nodding at Photon's still form. “I don't know. I've never exactly dealt with someone who's had their brain tampered with.”

Alex glanced back at his mother, still pinned down by Amp and Bug. If she got to her feet again, he couldn't protect Photon
and
handle the Umbra Gun.

Lone Star slapped the side of Photon's face.

“Come on, old friend,” he said. “You've gotta wake up.”

“These Unibands,” Lux said, “they don't have powers, right? Just weapons?”

“Laser pistols and Tasers and things, yes,” Gage said.

Lux nodded. “Good. I've got some pent-up aggression I'd like to take out on them.”

She left their side, sprinting toward the few Unibands Kirbie had left standing. She moved faster than Alex had expected, her palms smashing against noses and feet sending her opponents flying, even as she dodged all kinds of attacks.

Barrage let out a shout, clutching a shoulder where his coat was now scorched, smoking slightly. Mallory was hurling superheated energy at him, drawing his fire away.

“All right,” Alex said. “I'll keep a shield up around you and—”

Something slammed into him, sending him tumbling to the ground. It was Bug, unconscious. Alex checked to make sure the boy was still breathing, and then looked up to see Titan grinning at him. Farther up the battlefield, the insect army around Shade's head dissipated.

“Crap,” Alex muttered. Amp was now the only thing keeping Shade down. Alex had to keep Titan occupied.

He sprinted directly at the metal boy. To collide with him would no doubt break half the bones in Alex's body, but seconds before the two of them hit each other, he used his powers to give himself a boost. He jumped over the boy. Titan's feet dug deep grooves into the ground as he skidded to a stop.

“Gagh,” Titan groaned. “Just stand still so I can snap you like a . . . stupid twig.”

“That wouldn't be very smart of me, now would it?” Alex asked.

“You think you're so
clever
, don't you?”

“Well, you've always been the brawn, so that
does
make me the brains.”

“Ha,” Titan scoffed. “If you were half as smart as you think you are, you'd have checked your three o'clock.”

Alex spun to his right just in time to see Julie flying toward him from the trees. He ducked and pushed her away with his thoughts, but she managed to drag her claws across his left shoulder. Before he could counterattack, Titan was on him, holding him up with one hand around his neck.

“Well?” Titan asked. “Where's all your smarts now?”

“Not just smarts,” Alex half gagged through Titan's grip. “I've got
friends
, too.”

Kirbie swooped low and pecked her oversized beak at the back of Titan's head. Alex used the moment of confusion to let loose a mighty telekinetic blast that sent Titan into the trees, splintering several trunks. But he was hardly fazed by this and started back after Alex almost immediately.

“Don't you ever get knocked out?” Alex asked. He raised Titan into the air, anger and fear pouring out of him as his thoughts tightened around his opponent. Beside him, Kirbie was in her wolf form, trading swipes with Julie.

“I will skin you and make you into a rug, little doggie,” Julie spat.

Kirbie tackled her with a bone-rattling roar. The two toppled over each other. Farther back, Shade was crawling on the ground, hands clasped over her ears from Amp's continued assault. The Umbra Gun sat on the ground in front of her. Alex wondered briefly if he could somehow pry the bracelet off his mother's wrist, but Titan was struggling in the air, and he had to keep his energies concentrated on the metal boy.

“Barrage,” Shade shouted, pain tingeing her voice. “Take out Amp.”

Several crackling orbs of red energy shot forward from Barrage's palm, sailing straight for the Junior Ranger. There was only one way to stop Amp from taking a direct hit—one that he probably wouldn't survive. Alex hurled Titan forward to intercept the attack. Titan and the very air around him erupted into flames as Barrage's fireballs slammed into his son's body one after the other, each exploding with the force of a small bomb, pushing him out of Alex's grasp. Titan fell to the earth, thick black smoke trailing behind him.

Alex stopped and stared at the wall of dirt and debris where Amp had just been standing. The tree branches were now crackling with fire. He searched for movement. The whole battlefield seemed to pause. And then, something emerged.

At first Alex thought that it was one of Photon's statues, but there was no denying that it was Titan once he got a look at the rage on the boy's face. The entire upper half of his body had been burned away, leaving nothing but shiny metal. The flames reflected off his arms and torso as if they were dancing on his body. He dragged an unconscious Amp on the ground behind him. Alex wasn't sure if it had been the force of the explosions or Titan who'd knocked out the Junior Ranger.

“You . . . ,” Titan growled at Alex with narrowed eyes.

Alex could just make out the hint of white teeth through Titan's sneering lips. It was impossible for him not to think of the grinning silver skull of Cloak, as if it had come to life and manifested on the battlefield before him. Titan tossed Amp to the side. Julie ran to her brother, her arms turning human and fleshy again.

“Titan,” she said tentatively, reaching her hand out. When her fingers met the searing-hot metal of his arm, she yelped, pulling them back and to her mouth.

“Don't touch me,” Titan muttered. His every movement seemed to be made through intense pain as he lumbered toward Alex.

Off to the side, Shade was regaining her composure. Her hands were shaky as she tapped at something on top of the Umbra Gun.

“Do you have
any
idea how much that hurt?” she asked, shaking her head. She turned her gaze to Alex. Her eyes went silver. Inside Alex's head, it felt like his brain was being torn apart. There was a high, piercing ringing that was penetrating his thoughts. He fell to his knees. “I'm betting you regret your decision to turn down my offer earlier.”

He forced his mother out, pushing her thoughts away with a wave of telekinetic energy. Still, the attack had done its damage. He felt stunned, discombobulated, and looked around the battlefield for help. Kirbie was taking on Julie and Titan by herself. Mallory held off Barrage and a handful of Unibands beside Lux. Lone Star and Gage were dragging Photon toward the edge of the battlefield, out of harm's way. Everyone else was either knocked out or missing.

“A Taser,” Gage was shouting. “Get me a Taser.”

“I'm on it,” Lux said. She charged one of the Unibands, weaving between laser blasts before finally catapulting herself feetfirst into the henchman's chest. Lux disarmed him of several weapons and gave him a swift kick in the side before returning to Lone Star and Gage.

“I didn't know which one for sure,” she said, dropping the haul beside them.

Gage picked up one of the gun-like items and looked at Photon.

“Will this work?” Lone Star asked.

“What have we got to lose?”

An electric bolt shot into Photon's body, causing him to convulse on the ground for a moment. And then, nothing. The Ranger remained unconscious. Lux and Lone Star stared at him, waiting, but there was only his quiet breathing.

“Okay,” Gage said. “We need to get him as far away from here as we can. If you two—”

Photon sat up, gasping for breath, causing the others to jump back in surprise. He patted at his body, as if he hadn't felt it in a very long time and needed to be sure that it was actually there.

“Photon!” Lone Star shouted. There was a hesitation in his voice. They couldn't be sure it was actually their teammate and not some Cloak puppet.

“Lone Star?” The man looked up at him, recognition dawning.

“Is it really you?” Lux whispered.

Photon looked around the battlefield, blinking. Finally his gaze landed on Shade, who was staggering toward Alex. Photon's eyes widened and his fists clenched together.

“We should get you out of here,” Gage said. “We don't know how long—”

“No,” Photon said. “I've seen everything that woman has done and I haven't been able to stop it. Until now.”

With that, he shot up into the sky, hovering in the middle of the battlefield. He raised one hand, and all around him Uniband weapons floated into the air. With a flick of his wrist, they became nothing more than a mangled ball of scraps. Around the lawn, the Ranger statues began to move again, this time attacking the Unibands, holding them off the ground as they kicked and struggled.

“You!” Shade shouted, her eyes wide and bloodshot, her hair a tangled mess standing out in every direction thanks to Bug's previous attacks. “You're mine.” Her eyes went silver, her limbs shaking.

“Not anymore,” Photon said.

He twitched his fingers. The metal bracelet around Shade's wrist shattered, and the Umbra Gun flew out of her hands and up to him. He gave it a quick once-over before a piece of the weapon detached itself and disintegrated. The bomb was disarmed.

From the ground, Barrage shouted in rage, sending a series of blasts at the Ranger. Photon dodged. As he did, the Umbra Gun turned in midair, and he used his powers to fire off a single round. The dark energy hit Barrage in the stomach, the icy black seeping over him.

“No,” he grunted. “No, no, no!”

“Dad!” Julie shouted, running toward him, but Titan reached out and grabbed her arm, holding her up in the air. She tried to wriggle out of her brother's grasp as she shouted at him. “What are you—”

“It's not me, you idiot,” Titan said, glaring at Photon, who had taken control of his metal body. Several of the nearby Ranger statues ran to the brother and sister. They wrapped their arms around the pair before becoming lifeless once again, forming a cage around the siblings.

“Wrangle up what's left of Cloak,” Lone Star shouted. “We're taking them in.”

Across the battlefield, Barrage melted into shadow and disappeared. Julie screamed.

From the trees, a stream of purple electricity shot up and zapped Photon. He cried out, plummeting toward the earth, then landed in a heap in front of Lone Star, the Umbra Gun falling beside him. Mallory and Lux sprinted toward the direction of Volt's charge.

Alex turned to face his mother, but she was nowhere to be seen. Gone.

“Where's Shade?” Kirbie asked, running to his side. “Where'd she go?”

“This way,” Alex shouted, already headed toward the trees. “We can't let her get away.”

He got several yards before Kirbie's talons were on his shoulders, lifting him off the ground. They climbed into the sky. Together they would find his mother. Together they would keep her from escaping.