Ultrahuman 01 - Ugly (36 page)

‘The girl,’ June mumbled.

‘Sorry, love?’ Red asked.

‘That mobster who died…’

‘Briscetto?’

‘Him. We saw him the night before, right? He was picking up a street girl.’

‘It wouldn’t be the first,’ Andrea commented.

‘It was the last. Bobby liked the ladies. A girl like that could have got close…’

‘Unless we’ve got a description,’ Red said, ‘that’s a good idea but it doesn’t get us anywhere. Not with finding her, or Penny.’

Andrea picked up her cowl. ‘I’m going out. If she’s out there hunting, I’ll find her.’

~~~

Kopf looked out through the observation window into the chamber he had constructed to contain Cygnus. Her forearms and shins were encased in reinforced composite shackles, holding her spread-eagled in the centre of the cylindrical room. Her head was rolled forward, her chin resting on her chest; the room was full of the same sedative gas which had incapacitated her in Heartbreaker’s apartment. That had worked well; the dispersal had been quick and efficient. Kopf allowed himself a smile at his own skill, and went back to examining the output of his instruments.

‘Why is she not naked?’ Ghostfire asked from behind him.

Kopf rolled his eyes. ‘Nudity was not required for my experiments.’

Ghostfire gave a mirthless laugh. ‘You’re getting old, Professor.’

‘At ninety-one, most people would have said I
was
old. There is no “getting” involved.’ He looked younger. While the UID had classified him as an N-class, a normal with considerable skills, he clearly had some slight mutation or adaptation which made aging easier on him.

‘I meant mentally. A woman like that, you want to see naked.’

‘I have never had your predilection for the ladies, my friend, though I find this one fascinating. Even asleep her power readings are extraordinary. I am initiating a full scan, but I believe we will have to wake her before I can get more detail.’

‘You think those bonds will hold her?’

‘No, but if she puts too much stress on them they activate a Neurotronic field which will disable her. Her strength will be no more than a woman of her size.’

Ghostfire nodded, even if the old man could not see him. ‘Your tests are non-destructive?’

‘I have no plans to do anything that will kill her. There may be pain…’

‘When you’re finished, put her in a collar and send her to my rooms.’

‘Of course,’ Kopf replied. He had expected that; his protégé was nothing if not predictable when it came to attractive women.

11
^th
December.

‘We were expecting Penny back today,’ Mister Leighton said, his gaze on June.

‘Yes, sir.’ June decided that keeping the worry off her face was not the best idea. ‘She’s missing, sir. She vanished yesterday. I’m not sure where she is. The death of her friend… She was really upset, but I never thought…’

‘Have the police been notified? She could get herself into trouble.’

‘There are people out looking for her, sir,’ June replied. ‘The best.’

~~~

The costume never felt the same as it had when she was active. Sure, people still called her the Red Huntress, and she still had the physique to pull off the skimpy outfit. The days when she could leap from rooftop to rooftop with the grace of a cat were gone, however. She was Red, but not really the Huntress.

Still, with Twilight searching at night, someone needed to cover the day shift, and Red was putting on the costume again to handle it, with a little help anyway. Dom was just as keen to find Cygnus so she was going to lend a hand.

She was heading out of the club when she spotted Dannon and Bryant walking toward her. Neither of them looked happy, which put a frown on Red’s masked face.

‘You don’t wear that much these days,’ Dannon said as they closed the distance.

‘I’m looking for Cygnus,’ Red replied. ‘This makes it semi-official. I’m still registered.’

‘I know, but…’

Red looked at him, then at Bryant who was avoiding her eyes. ‘Out with it, Special Agent.’

‘Someone came forward this morning,’ Dannon said. ‘A witness who claims Cygnus killed Zephyr, and then came after her.’

‘Ridiculous,’ Red told him without a pause.

‘Unfortunately it’s not,’ Bryant replied. ‘The girl’s apartment has been trashed, and the chemical analysis of Zephyr’s blood shows high levels of potassium. That can…’

‘Induce heart failure,’ Red said, ‘but you’ve only this girl’s testimony to indicate Cygnus did it?’

‘So far. We’ve got people searching security tapes, but right now the fact that Cygnus is missing is not looking good for her.’

‘I assume you don’t know where she is?’ Dannon asked.

‘If I did, I wouldn’t be dressed like this and going out to find her,’ Red replied.

~~~

Herman Kopf stood before a hologram of Cygnus’ stretched-out form, his gaze scanning over it while his fingers stroked at his chin. Behind him one of his zombies stood, waiting patiently as they always did, to be of service. The only service Kopf required was a silent sounding board.

‘The energy signature is not normal,’ he mused aloud. ‘The UID figured that out. We were lucky to get our hands on her before Project Jekyll. Yes…’

His fingers shifted over keys and the patterns on the hologram changed. To Kopf it seemed as though the energy was originating from a core location somewhere in the figure’s chest. He narrowed the scan…

‘Now this, I believe, is something the agents would be most interested in, and I doubt they have discovered.’

‘And that is?’ It was Ghostfire’s voice; he had been listening in on the intercom, Kopf assumed.

‘Our subject’s energy originates in the chest.’

‘And?’

‘Ultrahumans channel cosmic energy through the mind, the brain. This scan should show the highest concentration coming from the head. Instead there is a core of energy in the upper torso.’

‘And what does that mean?’

‘This I do not yet know. Patience, my friend. Perhaps she possesses some new organ which concentrates cosmic energy. I will run a full MRI scan. Let us see what lies under that skin you find so attractive.’

~~~

Red winced as she sank into the hot tub in her apartments. It was there precisely because it helped her back, and today it was needed, along with her strongest painkillers. Even the sight of a lithe young woman in a skintight, black bodysuit was not enough to make her feel better.

‘The UID will be looking for you,’ she said as Twilight moved to the side of the tub and sat down. ‘Dannon and Bryant. They say they’ve got someone accusing Cygnus of killing Bobby.’

‘I’m busy,’ Twilight replied. ‘Their fantasies can wait until I’ve found her.’

Red nodded. ‘I checked out the first five properties on your list. I’m not built for raiding labs and distribution warehouses, but I took photographs and sent them to the cops. No sign of Cygnus, but we’re hurting Ghostfire some more. You’re sure it’s him?’

‘Aren’t you?’

‘There’s Conrad…’

‘He shoots to kill. We’d have found a body. Besides, he’s probably working for Ghostfire too.’

‘Probably. You’ll continue down the list?’

‘Yeah. She may be being held somewhere else, somewhere not on that list, but it’s all we’ve got.’ She looked at the woman lying in the tub. Red’s face was tight with pain. ‘Thanks for doing this. You’re retired for a reason, you didn’t have to…’

‘She’s a friend. More than that, this is worrying June sick. I’m going over to see her later.’

Twilight gave a nod. ‘I’ll drop by there when I quit for the night, let you know where I’ve got to.’ She got to her feet and started for the door.

‘Good hunting,’ Red said to her retreating back.

~~~

‘The New Millennium Police have been unusually successful today,’ Ghostfire growled, ‘and now Twilight has destroyed another warehouse.’

Kopf nodded. ‘I have been analysing the attacks. I believe I have detected a pattern.’

‘You know where she’s going to hit next?’

‘It seems that she is following the list of properties from our interactions with Thorpe.’ He tapped some keys and a map appeared on one of his monitors. ‘These three locations are the most likely targets.’

‘I’ll…’ Ghostfire began.

‘I have sent Thog out to the warehouse on Gorton Street with a number of zombies. You should not take an active role in the proceedings. The risk of identification is too high.’

‘She’s become a liability. I want her head on a spike!’

‘And Thog will see to it that you get it. And if he fails, there is no further risk of discovery. If, somehow, she were to see you, our operation would be severely damaged. Your dual-identity is too valuable a commodity to risk on such a venture.’

There was silence for a few seconds. Ghostfire knew Kopf was right; he just did not like it. ‘When can I have her?’ he said, changing the subject.

Kopf turned to look out through the armoured glass between them and Cygnus. ‘I will wake her tomorrow and begin active tests. The day after… unless something unexpected comes up.’

There was a grunt of displeasure and then the opening of the door out of the observation room. Kopf turned back to his instruments without comment.

~~~

At first the warehouse appeared to be entirely empty. Twilight stepped through the shadows to one of the corners where there were a number of unmarked crates and waited for several seconds, trying to detect anyone in there with her. Satisfied that she was alone, she used her sword to lever open an edge of one lid and then began prising the box open with her fingers.

So far she had found two warehouses used for drug storage. Both had had people in them she could question, not really expecting the answers she wanted. She had left both for the NMCPD to clean up, making sure she was gone before anyone official appeared. This time it was not drugs, however.

There was a crate full of grenades, but not explosive ones. Not normal explosive ones anyway. She picked one up and turned it over in her hand, examining the base where a label told her that it was an EMP grenade, designed to take out electronics. It was a weird thing to find given that they were supposed to be experimental, and military.

Cracking another box she frowned at the rifles within, lying in wooden racks three deep. Nine weapons of an unfamiliar design. Lifting one out, she examined it. No magazine, but the receiver seemed to be designed for some sort of power pack. Integral, high-tech sights on the top. These were laser rifles, or some sort of energy weapon. Was Ghostfire stockpiling them? Was this part of the war on the Tonaldos? Or was he selling them and, if so, to whom?

Before she could check another crate she heard something behind her and turned. Then she gasped.

There were six of the cybernetic zombies moving toward her and she could see more on the gantries above, probably there to cut off any escape. It was the behemoth in the middle of them that drew her attention, however. Easily eight feet in height, the figure was massively built. The dim overhead lights glinted off his skin, which was dull and metallic. Whatever had given him that skin had distorted his features, flattening and pushing his nose up to give a skull-like impression. His eyes were an unhealthy yellow colour. He growled.

‘Oh crap,’ Twilight said, her eyes widening as he charged at her.

~~~

‘Twilight has been engaged,’ Kopf announced.

‘Do you have video?’ Ghostfire asked.

‘From four of the zombies. Thog is charging her.’

‘I’ll be right down. I want to see this.’

~~~

Twilight dived to her left as the metallic monstrosity’s fists swung through the space where she had been standing. The sound of steel-skinned hands hitting concrete was loud, but it gave her an idea. Of course it was a bit of a vague idea and it relied upon a lot of circumstances…

Her sword swung, cutting the foot off an approaching zombie. It fell, rolled over, and began crawling toward her. They were good-quality zombies, that was for sure. A little too nimble for her taste, maybe. Good zombies should shamble. Whoever had built their electronics was…

Twisting again, her sword took another zombie to the ground and she vaulted over it as the big man rallied and turned to try again. Twilight ducked under a wild swing, grabbed a grenade from the crate she had opened, hit the firing stud and tossed the thing on the floor. Then she vaulted the crates. She was not sure how long the fuse was on the things, but she had somewhere else to be and Metal Man was ploughing his way toward her, ignoring the boxes he was wading through. There was a small office off to one side of the main room, and she could see the glow of a lamp in it. That was where she was headed, and for two reasons. First, there was the plan to stop the big thug, and then there was the escape clause if that failed.

Behind her there was a flare of light. Twilight heard a high-pitched shriek as her radio died an ignominious death. The grenade had gone off.

~~~

‘What happened?’ Ghostfire asked. He had just walked in to screens full of snow.

‘She found some of the EMP grenades,’ Kopf replied, his fingers tapping on keys. ‘She is a resourceful wench, I will give her that. Their range is limited…’

The screens changed, showing more distant views of the scene from the zombies on the upper levels. All the ones on the ground floor were down, their control modules shorted out by the burst of electromagnetic radiation. Twilight could be seen pushing through the office door while Thog was staggering after her, looking dazed.

‘I thought those things were non-lethal?’ Ghostfire growled.

‘They are, unless you’re a robot. The flash can be disorienting, and Thog’s metal skin may have had a current induced in it… It does not seem to be bothering him much and she is now trapped. That door will not stop him for long.’

~~~

The door was not going to hold, not for more than a couple of seconds. Twilight grabbed the light from the desk, turned it off, and unscrewed the bulb. Next came the baffle, which was stiff, and the door was giving under the thug’s fists. She got the shade off, screwed the bulb back in and turned, hiding the lamp behind her back just as the door crashed open.