Just Cause Universe 3: Day of the Destroyer (24 page)

“Shit,” repeated Sundancer. “I guess we have to stay here now.”

“The organist said to keep people calm for a few minutes,” said Tommy. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“I do,” said John. “Gloria, why don’t you give the people a little light show? Take their minds off the darkness.”

“Well, for one thing, I don’t have my costume. These clothes will burn off in seconds,” argued Sundancer.

“Glo,” said Tommy. “You were just in
Playboy
. Half the people in this stadium have probably seen you naked already.”

“Oh, that’s true. I guess it’s different though when you can see them looking back at you.” Nevertheless, she flew out over the field and hovered somewhere over second base. A glow limned around her and people turned to look, murmuring. As she brightened, she spun around, leaving a trail of light behind her like a human comet. Her clothing burned away to leave her nude, showing off her taut dancer’s body, which had let her claim the title of Miss March. Some people averted their eyes and hid the eyes of their children. Others stared unabashedly at her beauty.

Organ music swelled from the stadium PA. It was something familiar, bright and upbeat, and Tommy looked around as fans nodded and grinned at each other. People got the joke immediately and many started to sing along.
Dashing through the snow… in a one horse open sleigh…

As Christmas music blared from the speakers, Sundancer performed her own intricate aerial ballet, spinning and flitting about like a campfire spark. Tommy and John grinned at each other and bellowed
Jingle Bells
like a couple of fools. For the moment, Tommy could forget about his unrequited feelings, his disenchantment with his job, and his recent behavior.

Instead, he sang Christmas carols in a darkened stadium in July.

#

“Tell me what happened,” said Pony Girl. “Start at the beginning.”

“Don’t you guys have to, I don’t know, do something about the power being out?” asked Gretchen. She hadn’t really thought as far as what to do once she actually made it to Just Cause, and now that she was confronted by the heroes, she felt very small indeed.

“I’m sure this is just a temporary brownout,” said Bobby.

“I hate to tell you this,” said Shane, “but temporary brownouts only happen in sections. A citywide power failure like this…” He whistled. “This is a crisis. Trust me, I work for Con Ed. This isn’t supposed to even be possible.”

“I’ll tell you what,” said Bobby. “You let me ask my questions here and I won’t have you arrested for aiding and abetting. Then when I’m done, we can talk about the power.”

“You’re going to have people stranded in elevators, trapped in subways,” said Shane.

“Shane,” interrupted Gretchen. “Please stop. Let me speak my piece.”

“Hold on,” said Pony Girl. She turned to Shane. “Is it really going to be as bad as that?”

He stared back at the superhero, unflinching under her gaze. “Probably worse.”

Pony Girl whispered something to Bobby and then slipped out of the room in a flash, leaving papers flapping in her wake.

“All right,” said Bobby. “We’re looking into it, but let’s get back to you, Ms. Gumm. Tell me why you’re here exactly.”

Gretchen reached for Shane’s hand and squeezed it to comfort herself. “I kind of… something bad happened, and I don’t know what else to do.”

“Go on.”

“There was this boy. And he was hurting me. He wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop breathing on me.” Her tears flowed unchecked. “I just wanted him to stop breathing on me. And something bad happened, and I know it was my fault. I came here so you guys could help me or something.”

“Had you ever displayed any abilities before that point?”

“No! I swear I never even had any idea!”

“Well, here’s the problem. We’ve got a dead body clearly killed by parahuman abilities, and the law looks very poorly upon that.”

“But he attacked me! He… he r-raped me!” Saying it made her feel ill, but at the same time the admission gave her strength, like she’d named a demon.

“Easy, Ms. Gumm,” said Bobby. “I believe you, and understand why it happened. Stress is often the primary factor in manifestation of parahuman abilities. Yours just happens to be inherently more dangerous than most. The most important thing right now is for you to learn to control that ability before anyone else comes to harm.” He paused. “Has anyone else come to harm?”

“N-no,” sniffled Gretchen. “There was a man who tried to mug me, but I didn’t hurt him. Oh, I blew up a rat.”

“A rat?”

“She was protecting me,” said Shane. “We were in the sewer.”

“I’m sorry, how exactly do you fit into all this?” Bobby’s attention turned to Shane.

“My cousin asked me to meet Gretchen here when she got to New York. She’s been with me all day. She helped me with some work underground and popped a rat that mistook my face for a steak.”

Bobby raised an eyebrow at that. “So you’ve learned some control already? Impressive in such a short time.”

“It wasn’t like that,” said Gretchen. “It was more like a reflex. I didn’t have time to think. The power feels kind of like it has a mind of its own.” She shuddered. “It scares me.”

“Well,” said Bobby. “We’ll do what we can to help you with controlling it, but there’s still the question of the death to answer. Self-defense or not, the Feds take a very dim view of using parahuman abilities to commit any crime, and murder is especially severe.”

“But I didn’t murder him!” cried Gretchen. “I didn’t know it would happen!”

“You did the right thing coming here, to your credit. Mr. Devereaux has a couple of outstanding attorneys on retainer, but given the nature of the crime, defending you will be tricky business.”

“What do you mean?” Shane sat up a little straighter. “Isn’t self-defense still okay?”

“Sometimes,” hedged Bobby. “But it’s going to be tough to defend you as a rape victim. A prosecutor has a good chance to convince a jury you were asking for it.”

“What?” Gretchen leaped to her feet. The power launched out, eager to squish Bobby head like a balloon, and she had to force it aside to shatter a decorative vase behind him. “You think I wanted this?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone, but it’s the reality of the court system. And the Feds have already made up their minds you’re the bad guy here. You’re lucky to have come here before they found you.”

“Oh God,” whimpered Gretchen. “I don’t want to go to jail. I didn’t know it would happen!” She burrowed into Shane’s arms.

“Easy. Nobody’s going to jail yet. You did the right thing by coming here. I have to take you into custody, but I promise you that Just Cause will do everything we can to help you.” Bobby stood and walked around his desk. “You’re free to go, Mr. Clemens, but please don’t leave town in case we need to speak to you.”

Shane shook his head. “I’ll stay here with Gretchen.”

“That’s up to you.”

Pony Girl burst back into the office. She looked flustered and concerned. “Bobby, things have gotten bad in town. We’re needed.”

Bobby turned to Gretchen and Shane. “I’m going to have Javelin keep an eye on the two of you. I trust we’ll have no problems?”

Gretchen shook her head.

“No, sir,” said Shane.

Bobby nodded and then hurried out of the office after Pony Girl.

Chapter Fourteen

July 13, 1977, 10:00 P.M.

“All right, everyone, listen up,” called Bobby over the murmurs of the crowd. “This party is officially over. We’ve got a city-wide emergency to deal with. Power is out across all the Five Boroughs. We’ve got reports of fires and looting all over the city. The elevators aren’t working, so if you want to leave, you’ve got a whole lot of stairs to go down. You’re welcome to stay as guests of Just Cause, but understand it will be as refugees, not party guests.” Bobby gave the crowd a stern look. “Bar’s closed, and I’m detailing security to make sure it stays that way. Just Cause, join me in the conference room.”

The heroes moved from the crowd to the conference room. Faith sat beside Bobby and watched as the other heroes arranged themselves about the table.

“Things have gone to shit, make no mistake about it,” said Bobby. “The entire city’s going berserk. The cops and fire brigades are stuck in gridlocked traffic with the signals down. We’re going to have to pick up the slack. I’ve got to ask each of you to do some difficult things.” His eyes were shadowed, as if exhaustion was already taking its toll. “Rick, I need you here in Manhattan.”

“Got it,” said Lionheart.

“Steel, you’ve got Staten Island by yourself. I realize that’s a huge area, but you’re the fastest flier we’ve got.”

“Affirmative.”

“Irlene, you stay with Faith. You guys will handle Harlem and The Bronx. Stay together. That’s probably the most dangerous part of town. Faith, I need you to deliver radios to Tommy, Gloria, and John. They’re at Shea Stadium or else they’re trying to get back here. I want Tommy and John to cover Queens and Gloria to handle Brooklyn.”

“What about me?” Javier looked unenthusiastic about an emergency deployment.

“You’re on guard duty. We have the parahuman fugitive from Iowa in-house, and I need someone to keep an eye on her.”

Javier snorted. “Wait, I’m a fucking babysitter?”

“You’re in no shape to deploy,” said Bobby. “But you’ll back up Rick here in Manhattan if he needs it.” He looked across the table at the rest of the team. “I’ll stay here and try to coordinate. Make sure you all have radios. Save lives first, then property if you can. Pace yourselves. There is no backup or relief. And for the love of God, be careful.”

The team filed out of the conference room. Faith hung back long enough to bestow a deep kiss upon her husband. “I love you,” she whispered to him.

“I love you too. Jesus, I’m really scared about this. It hasn’t been half an hour yet and things have regressed into anarchy.”

Faith squeezed his hand, and then followed the others out into the lobby. Lionheart followed Steel to the landing deck. He’d changed into his duty outfit of pirate-style boots, waist sash, and loose-fitting trousers, eschewing a shirt in favor of increased freedom of movement. The Soldier could lower him to the ground, saving valuable time. He looked back once, meeting Faith’s gaze with his own. Unspoken words traversed the distance between them in that moment before he and the Steel Soldier went over the side.

Faith shook herself. Now was not the time to get caught up in her feelings for the tawny team leader. She rushed into the locker rooms and retrieved spare costumes for Tommy and Gloria. “Can you shrink these, and me?” she asked Irlene. “It would be quicker for you to fly me to the ground like the Soldier did Rick.”

“I wish I had some coffee. I think I’m a little drunk.” Nevertheless, Irlene raised a hand. The world grew to towering heights over Faith. She didn’t feel any different, but staring up at Irlene was like standing beside a raspberry-colored skyscraper. Irlene’s truck-sized hand descended with such astonishing speed that Faith stumbled. At her small size, she tripped and hit the ground before she even reacted to the fall. It didn’t hurt in the least, like she was too small to be injured.

“Are you okay?” roared Irlene as her gargantuan hand closed about Faith.

“Yes.” Faith hoped her tiny voice would carry over the distance. “This is really weird.”

“Okay, hang on.” Irlene’s grip was gentle, and Faith found plenty of purchase in the threads of the giant gloves. The world swirled around Faith as Irlene flew off the open deck and spiraled downward toward the dark plaza below. The shadows of Manhattan felt sinister to Faith. Great hulking buildings loomed over her like tangible fear.

Without lights to give her a sense of perspective, Faith became disoriented. When Irlene touched the ground, the shock jarred her so much her teeth clacked together. Irlene set her onto the cement and stepped back. A moment later, Faith returned to her original size.

Irlene bent over and vomited into a nearby flowerbed.

“Jesus,” said Faith. “Are you all right?”

Irlene wiped her mouth with a shaking hand. “I feel a little better.” She burped. “Too much to drink.”

“You need to watch yourself. You’re just a kid.”

The younger girl shrugged. “Did I carry you down okay?”

“That was the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced,” said Faith. “And I was at Woodstock.” She watched as a slow, steady trickle of exhausted folks left the Trade Center. Many of them gasped from the exertion of descending dozens of flights of stairs.

A spark shot off into the sky, heading south, the Steel Soldier headed for Staten Island. A moment later, a bike roared and Lionheart rolled up next to them on his Harley. “Be careful, you two,” he said. His eyes reflected starlight as they looked straight at Faith.

“You too,” she said and turned to Irlene. “Let’s go.”

#

Harlan led Reggie through the darkened streets, which were punctuated by numerous fires. The flames backlit looters as they rushed in and out of buildings with armloads of stolen merchandise. At one point, Harlan saw somebody crash a car right through a storefront to knock down the security gates.