Seven Wonders (36 page)

  Joe nodded. Sam instinctively checked she still had her pistol; her hands met her empty holster, and with a start she remembered it was at the other end of the table, empty of bullets. So, that really had happened after all.

  "Happy to help," Joe said with a smile. Sam nodded, still in a daze. Aurora watched the dust clouds outside and flicked his belt comm. "Bluebell? The detectives will be joining you in the detention zone. Release Blackbird, but keep her secure. We may need to move the prisoner quickly."

  The comm popped. "Understood."

  Aurora swung around to Conroy, aura flashing just slightly. Conroy – as Paragon – did not wear a mask, and his fear was clear to see.

  "You and I need to talk, Mr Conroy."

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Sam snapped the magazine back into her pistol, and gripped the weapon in both hands with practiced ease as she and Joe rounded another corner inside the moonbase. At least the superteam kept an arsenal of regular ammunition – not that the gun was of any use other than making her feel better. Joe proceeded ahead of her, his own gun at the ready. Sam knew they were over-reacting, knew there was no point in brandishing the weapons, knew that there was nothing to shoot at, and if SMART somehow made it past the heroes in the workshop, bullets wouldn't have any effect anyway.

  But the gun made her feel better. It shouldn't have, she knew that. Feeling safe and secure when holding a gun was entirely the wrong path, especially for an officer of the law. But just for now she gave in to her feelings, and let the tension and anger guide her, within limits. Darth Vader would have been proud. That thought made her smile, despite the turmoil of emotions in her mind. Then she remembered what uncontrolled emotion had done earlier in the conference room, and she relaxed her grip on the gun's handle, just a little. She thought of David and what he might have done in her position.

  Joe held a hand up, bringing her to a halt. Around the next corner was the main elevator. The lights and life support were on in this section, and the green LEDs of the elevator control panel shone brightly. This part of the base, at least, was unaffected by SMART's shutdown. Sam figured that the robot had more important things to worry about downstairs. And it seemed like it didn't want to freeze or asphyxiate everyone in the base. It wanted to kill with its own hands. Sam thought back to what Sand Cat had said, and wondered if SMART was a machine complex enough to have a truly independent, artificial intelligence. It had been designed and built by someone out of myth, after all.

  The air buzzed between her and Joe, and a light gray blur refocused to reveal Linear. He continued to vibrate as he spoke.

  "All clear and systems operational. SMART is distracted, I think." Linear laughed. "Seems we're small fry and probably last on its list." He indicated the elevator. "Take it down to four. I'll go back and code the door for you. Laters!" The superhero vanished in a blink, only a buzzing sound and the swinging stairwell access door betraying his trail.

  Sam holstered her weapon, but kept it unclipped, just in case. Even with Bluebell in the same room, Blackbird was dangerous. Maybe the gun was not just a psychological comfort after all.

  "Me first," she said, striding boldly to the elevator and hitting the panel.

Conroy sat himself in a conference chair. Aurora remained standing, and regarded him with folded arms.

  Conroy tapped the table, waiting for Aurora to say something. The hero just stood there. Conroy coughed politely.

  "You called me the Cowl."

  No reaction.

  "Am I still San Ventura's supervillain in your eyes? We had an agreement, didn't we?"

  Aurora smiled. Slightly.

  "I apologize for the reference. You came to us in surrender, an exemplar of change, a paragon of–"

  "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Conroy waved the speech off.

  "Those aren't just idle words. Despite our opposition, we have known each other for many years, Mr Conroy. You know as well as I the extent of our agreement with regard to San Ventura. And now Bluebell confirms your allegiance and that your self-sacrifice is just and worthy, at least in your own mind, which is all that matters. You have truly joined the Seven Wonders, for a time. But our situation grows ever more dangerous."

  Conroy nodded an acceptance. "So how much do you know about our impending doom?"

  "Of the Thuban and their war fleet, only a little. I heard the threats the Dragon Star made to her people, although she thought her secret was secure." Aurora shook his head. "But your own communications with them were concerned more with the retrieval of the power core they are going to hide in the Draconids. Although I expected they would come to collect their fugitive in person, I do not know the extent of their intentions." Aurora paused. "Are we really in so much danger?"

  Conroy frowned. "The whole world is. Once I had recovered their power core, I was to use it within a weapon I had built myself, using the plans you had hidden in your vaults. Plans that you don't even remember exist."

  Aurora didn't move, but Conroy saw his jaw tighten. Conroy continued.

  "You had plans for a weapon, one that could be used against superheroes. It wasn't quite done – didn't have an adequate power source – but before work was completed you ordered the plans and key components to be broken up and hidden. Having such a weapon, even locked inside your Citadel and under the guard of the Seven Wonders themselves, was too great a risk. Too much of a temptation. Even for you."

  Conroy sniffed. Aurora turned and gazed out at the lunar surface.

  "How did you discover the secret, Mr Conroy?"

  "Oh," Conroy said, waving a hand. "That was the easy bit. The Thuban knew about it because the Dragon Star knew about it, and they told me. And the Dragon Star knew because Bluebell's mind tricks don't work on her. So she remembered. Quite an oversight, big guy."

  Aurora said nothing.

  "But," Conroy said, "we can use this to our advantage. Retrieval of the power core is integral – they're sending it because it can be used against one of their own, the Dragon Star. So I figured we can use their own power against
them
. But only if you're sure you don't want to give her up. The Thuban are very keen to have her back."

  "That may be," said Aurora. He sat at the table, and stroked his chin.

  "But I want to know why. Threatening the Earth is not the most diplomatic approach."

  "Depends what she's been telling them behind your back. She didn't want the Seven Wonders to know about any of this. There must be a reason."

  The room shook, and the sound echoed on for too long. Conroy sat bolt upright as Aurora turned back to the table-top display. He passed a gauntlet over the screen, which flickered back on. The workshop was filled with smoke − SMART had rendered the main doors in two, and advanced on the Dragon Star and Sand Cat.

  "How long until the Earth crosses the orbit of the Draconids?"

  Conroy stood, glancing out of the observation windows, as if he could somehow see the approaching shower. "Less than a day."

  Aurora nodded. "Acceptable." He jerked a thumb toward the display, showing the fight in the workshop. "First things first, Mr Conroy. We need to deal with SMART. Ready?"

  "Lead the way, Aurora." Conroy clapped his hands, and took a breath. As Aurora strode out of the room, Conroy held back a little, focusing on keeping calm. Powerless, he was about to face a big white robot that wanted to kill everyone, fighting in the tightly controlled and delicately balanced environment of a base on the moon.

  This was going to be fun.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Jeannie didn't look happy. She didn't look particularly scared either, but then Sam reminded herself that despite her expression, and despite the shapeless orange prisoner jumpsuit she was wearing, it would probably take more than an insane giant robot smashing its way into the moonbase for her to break a sweat. Instead, she sat in a plain interview room, out of her cell but wrists held by powercuffs, glaring with indignation at Bluebell as the superhero stood over her with hands on hips. Bluebell didn't turn around when Sam and Joe entered. She kept her eyes trained on the prisoner while Linear buzzed around the room in a silver flash.

  Jeannie raised an eyebrow when the two detectives walked in. She glanced at Bluebell.

  "Police? On the moon? Gimme a break."

  Bluebell merely raised an eyebrow to match Jeannie's expression.

  Sam looked around the interview room. The walls were alternating white plastic and bare metal panels like the rest of the base, and there was the usual one-way mirror set into the wall, but apart from the slightly odd and clinical aesthetics it could have been any interview room in any police station she'd ever been in. Even with four people in the room, a table and a couple of chairs, it was quite spacious. A classic setup. She wondered when it had last been used… perhaps when the Seven Wonders had taken down the Anti-Man. That, as far as she could remember, was the last superhero battle that had taken place in orbit.

  Bluebell saw Sam looking, and tilted her head toward the mirror. Looking at the reflection, Sam saw Bluebell's bruised face, the purple welt a sharp contrast to her otherwise perfect appearance.

  "This room has never been used," she explained, having read Sam's thoughts. "By the time the Apollo Fortress was finished, there were no supervillains left."

  Sam shook her head and remembered why she didn't like Bluebell. The truth-twisting mind-controlling
bitch.

  Bluebell's reflection smirked, having heard that thought too. Well, good.

  "No, there was one supervillain left," Sam hissed. "Not that the Seven Wonders ever gave a shit."

  Bluebell ignored the comment. Joe kept quiet, letting Sam vent her frustration.

  "What are you going to do with her, anyway?" Sam continued.

  Bluebell looked at Jeannie as though she were an art patron regarding an important gallery piece. "Same as any criminal, superpowered or not. She'll stand trial and face justice."

  "Won't she join the Seven Wonders? You seem to be making a habit of accepting terrorists and murderers into your ranks."

  Bluebell shook her head. "No, Paragon is different. His change is genuine, fundamental, and he has agreed to face justice after he has completed his duties. But there is no remorse or regret in this one."

  Jeannie snorted in derision. Linear hazed into being next to her chair and frowned. The room shook as another shockwave rumbled around the moonbase from the battle in the workshop. Linear looked worried, while Bluebell was apparently unmoved, still keeping watchful eye on the prisoner.

  "Why is she out of the cell anyway?" Sam asked.

  "In case we need to move quickly. The cell release takes a full three minutes to complete."

  "And we're safe here?"

  "The safest point on the base, certainly. It's also close to the medical zone and the morgue."

  Joe blinked. "Morgue?"

  Bluebell turned to him, smiling sweetly. "If we have to move, we need to take the evidence with us as well."

  "Evidence?" Jeannie squirmed at the table.

  "Tony Prosdocimi's body. Exhibit A."

  Sam blanched at the thought of wheeling a body bag around the base, then swung her arms to regain balance as the room shook again.

The Dragon Star took a steady step backward every twenty seconds or so. The containment field from her powerstaff only represented about one hundredth of one percent of the alien device's total power output, but operating it at such low levels was difficult. The slightest miscalculation would result in SMART being converted into a slick of molten metal and burning plastic and, most likely, the hull of the moonbase being damaged. It was best, then, to play it slightly under, allowing the robot to fight against the force holding it back until the others arrived.

  Sand Cat paced the workshop in her animal form, ready to pounce on SMART if the robot should suddenly breach the Dragon Star's multicolored energy shell. She was a contingency only, while the Dragon Star's field was merely a temporary measure. To safely deactivate SMART without damage, allowing its systems to be restarted and debugged, would require all seven of the Seven Wonders. All six, thought the Dragon Star. Minus Hephaestus, minus SMART, plus Paragon.

  Paragon. He knew of the Thuban, he knew of the transmissions. The Dragon Star was also sure Aurora knew of her hijacking of the satellite surveillance systems and the data tapes she had dubbed. But he hadn't said anything, and seemed unwilling to intervene, allowing events to play out while he watched the others deal with it.

  But she'd done the right thing. She was no criminal, not by the standards of the Earth, her adopted home. The Seven Wonders and the international alliance of superpowered protectors were sworn to defend life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Did such fundamental tenets not apply to her, a citizen of the Earth? Or would her friends turn against her in the relentless pursuit of theoretical justice, no matter how unjust the charges? Would they respect the unjust laws of another sovereign power over the laws of her adopted homeland, a homeland that she had devoted her life to defending?

  SMART surged forward a few yards. The Dragon Star refocused on holding the giant robot and flicked her powerstaff a little, allowing an infinitesimally small lick of energy to crack across SMART's armored chest. The robot shook a little and raised its arms up, before shuddering forward another step. They were now halfway across the large workshop space, the destroyed airlock doors behind SMART and the smaller, though equally heavy-duty entrance to the main base behind the Dragon Star.

  The doors slid apart from the center, admitting Aurora, followed by Paragon. With each step forward, Aurora's corona grew in intensity, tongues of solar energy pluming outward, arching over his body as he ramped up his own internal magnetic field, channeling the power of the nuclear furnace inside him. Paragon scuttled through the door behind him, keeping as flat against the metal walls of the workshop as possible, face turned away to limit the risk of severe sunburn from being so close to the solar superhero.