Nobody Gets The Girl (17 page)

"Things look good here on the ground," he
said into his radio. "How's the sky look?"

"All clear here," said the Thrill. She was
stationed nearly a mile overhead. The sky above the city had been
declared a no-fly zone, and the Thrill was there to enforce it.
"How you doing, Rail Blade?"

"I detect no unusual magnetic movement," Rail
Blade answered. She was hidden just outside the walls of the city,
spreading her iron awareness to its limits. If anyone other than
the UN troops tried to bring in a weapon, she would know it.

"Looks like the show is getting underway,"
said Nobody, moving to the front of the crowd.

The three clerics solemnly strode onto the
stage. The cameras recorded them as they took their seats at the
large round table.

And then, without a noise of warning, the
three clerics vanished. Their seats were empty. The crowd murmured
in confusion.

"Something's wrong," said Rail Blade.

"What just happened?" said the Thrill.

Nobody ran toward the stage.

With a silent flicker, the three clerics
reappeared.

Only, on second glance, Nobody saw the
clerics weren't the ones who had reappeared. They had been
replaced.

By a skinny, scab-faced old man.

By a flame-haired woman whose chair was
smoldering.

And by a teenage boy in jeans and a tee
shirt, who knocked his chair backwards as he jumped on the table,
faced the crowd, and shouted, "Boo!"

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE GREAT, BIG, FINAL SMACKDOWN!

"LIVE FROM THE
Apocalypse!" said the
Panic, facing the camera. "Citizens of Earth! Rise up! It's time to
riot in the streets! It's time to take what you deserve! It's the
End Time, Armageddon, the Great, Big, Final Smackdown!
Waaaaahoooo!"

Nobody's stomach twisted in knots. All around
him, panicked people were stampeding, trampling those too young or
too old to move out of the way. Sundancer rose into the air,
flinging glowing balls of plasma at the United Nation guards, who
screamed as their weapons melted in their grasps. Pit Geek belched,
bringing up a buckle to his lips. He tugged on the buckle, and
dragged out a bandolier of hand grenades.

"Crap," said the Thrill, her voice crackling
over the radio. "Trouble. A dozen helicopters just popped up from
nowhere. They—shit! Missiles fired! Missiles fired!"

"On it," said Rail Blade.

In the distance, loud explosions could be
heard. "Sarah, get down here and calm the crowd," said Nobody.
"People are dying."

"Oh no," said the Thrill. "Tanks. We have
tanks moving in on the edges of the Old City."

"Do what you can with the crowd," said Rail
Blade. "I'll stop the hardware."

High overhead, a glimmer of light, a daytime
star, grew brighter and larger. In seconds, the image had resolved
itself into the Thrill, clad in mirror armor, wielding her glowing
sword.

The Panic looked up.

"Ex—" he said, and vanished, just as the
Thrill reached him, slashing the air where he had stood. With grim
satisfaction, Nobody noted a stream of blood whip from the sword as
the Thrill pulled from her dive and shot back into the sky.
Apparently, the Panic had been a little slow.

"Think I got him," the Thrill said, her voice
strained. "Felt like I got a solid hit."

"Watch out!" said Nobody.

Sundancer blazed a trail behind the Thrill,
slamming into her back with a hard tackle. The Thrill went into a
spin but pulled up before hitting the ground.

"Monday's pulled out all the stops," Rail
Blade complained over the radio. "Every tank I tear apart, two more
pop up. I've never seen him use his teleporter so
aggressively."

Nobody wasn't exactly focused on her words.
Even with the Panic gone, the crowd was still going crazy. By now,
Pit Geek had strapped on the bandolier and stood on the edge of the
stage, lobbing grenades into the mob, laughing.

Nobody raced onto the stage, banging his
fists on the treaty table to get Pit Geek's attention. It didn't
work.

He noticed the treaty on the table. The
formal, gold-rimmed parchment had vanished. In its place was a
sheet torn from a notebook, with words written in red marker:
"Screw it! Let's just fight!" Beneath it were three neat
signatures.

"Doc," said Nobody. "The clerics. When Monday
teleported them, could you follow them? Can you track them?"

"They reappeared beneath the ocean," said Dr.
Know. "They died in seconds."

The platform shook as though an earthquake
had struck. Nobody was thrown from his feet. The Thrill lay beside
him, among shattered boards, shaking her head. She still had her
shield, but had lost her sword.

"I'm so sick of this bitch," she
grumbled.

Nobody rolled aside as a ball of flame
smashed into the Thrill's shield. The Thrill flew into the air,
deflecting another ball of flame, then buzzed over a UN guard who
was trying to carry a wounded child to safety.

"A little help here," she yelled. "Shoot
her."

The guard dropped the child and placed his
rifle to his shoulder, unleashing a stream of bullets toward
Sundancer. Sundancer motioned toward the gun, melting its barrel,
causing it to explode in the guard's hand.

The Thrill swooped in, using the momentary
distraction, screaming her best kung fu yelp as she delivered a
powerful kick to Sundancer 's head. The burning woman spun
backward, looking surprised and disoriented. The Thrill pressed
forward with her attack, continuing to deliver savage kicks with
her metal boots. The boots glowed red hot, but if the Thrill felt
any pain, she didn't show it. Instead, her features locked in an
angry grimace as she struck Sundancer again and again.

"Come on, Sunny," Pit Geek screamed. "Take
her! You're making us look bad."

Sundancer didn't have anything witty to say
in response. Instead, she crashed to the ground, hard, rolling to a
stop on the pavement stones. The Thrill swooped down, continuing
her assault.

Pit Geek pulled a pin on a grenade and lobbed
it toward the fighting women. It bounced on the stones, and burst
open in a loud flash. Nobody ducked and covered his eyes as
shrapnel ricocheted around him.

He blinked, trying to make sense of the
smoking aftermath. The Thrill had been thrown back, lying still
against the pavement, though her armor appeared to be intact.
Sundancer was screaming. Her left leg was gone from the knee down,
and jets of flame spurted from her wounds with each heartbeat.

"Oops," said Pit Geek.

Nobody spun around, running toward the filthy
bum. Pit Geek didn't notice him. Nobody passed through him, and
turned around. There were grenades on the back of the bandolier as
well. Gritting his teeth, he pulled one, two, three pins, then ran.
He was knocked to the ground by the explosion seconds later. Pit
Geek's head bounced to the ground in front of him, his eyes
blinking wide, his lips mouthing words that Nobody couldn't make
out.

Then, the head vanished.

Looking back, Sundancer was gone as well.

Nobody raced over to the Thrill, who had
risen to her hands and knees.

"You all right?" he said. "Are you hurt?
Burned?"

She shook her head. "Amelia makes good
armor."

He helped her to her feet.

"No rest for the weary," she said. She rose
into the air, two dozen yards over the platform.

"Listen up!" she said. "Yo! Look at me!"

In unison, the hundreds of people within the
sound of her voice stopped their panicked flight and looked to her.
"We've got a lot of wounded people here. I don't know how long it
will be until help arrives. I want everyone who knows anything
about first aid to stay and help those too hurt to walk out under
their own power. Everyone else, I want you to leave, slowly! Stay
calm, don't step on anyone, and get to safety. Let's move it,
people."

A pleased murmur came from the crowd, a
chorus of "Great idea," and, "She's so clever!"

"Ground zero's locked down," the Thrill said,
dropping down to grab Nobody. "Let's see if Amelia needs a
hand."

It quickly became evident that things were
even more chaotic outside the plaza. Everyone in the streets
appeared to be armed, and firefights were blazing from every window
and doorway. A millennia's worth of frustrations and anger had
apparently boiled over, and the ancient buildings of the Old City
were slowly being chipped to gravel by the relentless spray of
bullets.

"Stop shooting," the Thrill said, flying low
and slow over the streets. "Go home! Be nice!"

She left a small wake of peace and quiet, but
the sound of gunfire was still omnipresent.

"It's hopeless," she said. "We're never going
to put a lid on this."

"Don't say that," said Nobody. "I signed on
as one of the good guys. We don't give up."

Ahead of them, a tank flew into the air and
disassembled itself, sending its astonished crew screaming toward
the ground.

The Thrill darted forward, placing a free
hand on one of the falling men, and lowered him to the ground. He
stood, staring at her, his eyes wide.

"You're welcome," she said.

Then he pulled a pistol and thrust it into
her stomach.

He pulled the trigger. His hand dissolved
into red mist as the gun disintegrated. The bullet flashed
backwards with a loud crack, punching a jagged hole through the
man's chest. With a gurgle, he toppled.

"Don't show them mercy," said Rail Blade,
sliding up behind them on her gleaming steel beam. "Everyone signed
on for this intending to kill or be killed. I say we don't
disappoint them."

"How many more tanks?" the Thrill asked.

"None. I've taken apart over fifty of them.
All the helicopters are down. I've detonated all the missiles."

"Then all that's left are the small weapons,"
said Nobody. "It's down to people shooting people now."

Rail Blade's track crumbled to rust, dropping
her to the dusty street. "You have no idea how tired I am," she
said.

Nobody knelt beside her, placing a hand on
her shoulder. "You've done good work. You've saved a lot of lives.
Maybe we should go. The peacekeepers can get all this under
control. Eventually."

"No," said Rail Blade. She sucked in a deep,
long breath. "No. I'm the only one who can stop it. I just need to
catch my breath. Just need to think."

"What—" Nobody cut his question short as Rail
Blade closed her eyes. Her body trembled, as if about to
explode.

Suddenly, the cacophony of nearby gunfire
dimmed.

"I can feel them," Rail Blade whispered,
opening her eyes. "All around me. The guns. I can feel the atoms,
agitated and hot. They're singing to me. Can't you hear the
singing?"

"Um," said Nobody.

"And I can silence them."

She breathed deeply once more.

"Triggers snap," she whispered.

The gunfire lessened further.

"Barrels snake into knots," she said, sweat
beading on her brow. The gunfire grew even dimmer. Angry and
confused shouts could be heard.

"Bullet jackets rust," she said. And all the
gunfire stopped. But the shouting continued.

"They... they pull their knives," she moaned.
"So many knives."

Nobody placed his arms around her as she
tried to sit up. She slumped against him, her eyes focused
somewhere he would never be able to see.

"And the knives crumble to dust," she
whispered.

Suddenly, even the shouting began to calm.
Nobody could see men stepping from their hiding places, looking
down at their empty hands, their faces confused.

Rail Blade went limp, her face falling
against his shoulder. "It's over," she said, quietly. "That's all I
have. It's over."

He stroked her hair. "You did fine," he
whispered. "You stopped it. You just stopped the Apocalypse."

"Wow, Sis," said the Thrill. "You kicked
butt."

One by one, the confused men in the streets
looked at one another, bewildered. Then, with growls, they lunged
at each other, fists flying. They lifted paving stones and hurled
them with angry curses.

"No," whispered Rail Blade. "No."

"Don't sweat it," said Nobody. "They can only
do so much damage. You've stopped the killing."

"I haven't stopped the hate," said Rail
Blade, pushing him away. She rose on wobbling legs. "I'm too tired
now. I could slap everyone in handcuffs, I guess, but I'm beaten. I
don't care anymore. Let them kill themselves. I've done all I
can."

Nobody nodded.

"Don't beat yourself up," said the Thrill.
"What you did was amazing. You did good."

Rail Blade's shoulders drooped. "I'm so
tired."

Nobody looked at the fighting in the streets.
In a way, it was comical—the flabby, middle-aged men kicking and
cursing, slapping each other like children on a playground.

From the crowd of men, an actual child
appeared. He looked to be about ten years old. His features were
dark, his eyes red, as if he had been crying. He wore torn,
tattered, dirty clothing, and he walked slowly toward them, his
eyes focused on the two colorfully garbed women.

Nobody started to point the boy out to Rail
Blade, to let her see that her work had possibly saved this boy's
life. Perhaps that would make her feel better. But something about
the boy's eyes made him think differently. They were too hard, too
full of hate. The madness that had infected the adults also seemed
to be gripping him, though he was too small and powerless for his
anger to find any outlet.

He kept walking, until he was only a few
yards away. He reached into his coat and pulled out a hand
grenade.

Nobody's mouth dropped open as the boy pulled
the pin.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A WHITE FLASH

The pin fell to the dusty ground. The boy ran
forward, passing through Nobody. Nobody swung around, screaming,
"Rail Blade!"