Part Forty-Six: Recruitment Drive
- Location
- Australia
Security!
Chapter Forty-Six: Recruitment Drive
Thursday, April 28, 2011
I slowed the pickup as I neared the rendezvous point; when I saw Kayden waving, I pulled over to the side of the road. Leaning across, I pulled up the plastic tab that unlocked the door; she opened it and got in.
"Hi," I greeted her. "Thanks for helping set this up. I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with it."
She wrinkled her nose. "Well, I'm not all that thrilled at the idea of a one-on-one with the man, but you did say that it was important."
"It's definitely important," I confirmed. "I could've gotten in touch with him through my own channels, but we're not on the best of terms, and I don't need to be any more behind the eight-ball than I already am." I put the vehicle into gear and pulled into traffic.
"So I hear." She smiled at me. "Legend told me an interesting story about a rooftop rescue."
"That happened, yeah," I sighed. "And there was an earlier meeting, at my place. I suspect he had Fog let him in. I kind of told him to leave, in no uncertain terms."
"I would've paid money to see that," she chuckled. "He doesn't often get told 'no'."
"I can understand. He's very … charismatic." I paused, as she kicked aside miscellaneous trash. "Excuse the mess. I don't often have passengers, so the footwell ends up as a rubbish bin."
"That's fine," she assured me. "I can still see the floor. I rode in Justin's car once; now, that was messy."
"Yeah, he always came across to me as a bit of a redneck," I agreed.
She said nothing in reply, but she did give me an odd look.
"What?" I asked.
"To the best of my knowledge, you've never met the man," she pointed out. "How did you know that about him?"
I shrugged. "Same way I knew it was a good idea to give you a heads-up when we took down Coil."
"That's not an answer," Kayden told me severely.
"I know," I replied cheerfully. "But things will become somewhat more clear in good time." I grinned at her. "So, how's things getting along between you and Aster and the guys?"
The smile that broke across her face was like the sun coming up. "She's getting bigger all the time. Legend and Arthur just adore her, and she loves them, too. And it's so nice -" She cut herself off.
"So nice ...?" I raised an eyebrow.
She took a deep breath. "So nice to be around men who aren't trying to control me, who are willing to let me be me."
"Well, yeah, that was the general idea," I admitted. "I've never actually met Arthur, but Legend's a really nice guy."
"He's been helping me settle in with the New York Protectorate," she agreed. "I'm pretty sure that some of them have figured out who I am, but I've had nothing but encouragement."
"Well, that's good to hear. Really good." I paused, as our destination came into view. "Talking about encouragement, are you sure you're okay with doing this? I mean, I figure I can go in alone if I need to."
"Uh huh." She looked me over, her eyes lingering on the dressing that I still wore on my forearm, legacy of my 'discussion' with Lung. "I'm told you have a habit of trying to go it alone. I think it's better all round if I go with you."
It didn't take me long to decide that she had the right of it. "Yeah," I agreed. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Parking the pickup at the curb, I got out. Kayden did likewise; as I rounded the front end of the vehicle, we looked up toward the large house, set back just a little way from the road.
"This is the place, huh?"
She nodded in reply to my question. "This is where he said he'd meet us."
"Hmm." Last-minute doubts assailed me. "I'm just hoping he doesn't do something I'll regret."
A slight smile. "Relax. You'll be a guest. No harm will come to you."
I was more worried about the meeting going badly than harm coming to me, though not entirely so. The injuries I had gotten from Lung were healing nicely – Riley was good at what she did – but they were still a reminder of the fact that I was still mortal, could still be hurt. Could still be killed.
Which was apparently looming in my future, really soon, according to Dinah. Fuckin' yay.
Well, if it's gonna happen, may as well make it count.
I took a deep breath. "Let's go do this thing."
The front door was on the large size, and even the doorbell was ornate enough to complement the decor. I pressed it; stately chimes sounded in the depths of the house. We waited.
Looking around, I managed to make out a discreet security camera dome under the eaves, and another toward the corner of the house. They were darkened, so that the cameras within could not be seen, but I had no doubt that we were under surveillance.
"Maybe I should try again?" I murmured.
"No." She shook her head. "If this is a power play on his part, and I wouldn't put it past him, then pressing again counts as a win in his book."
"So we wait?"
She nodded. "We wait."
We waited. The lawn was neatly kept; carefully-trimmed bushes here and there added a nice touch to the surroundings. I watched as butterflies flitted from one topiary piece to the next; here and there, other bugs buzzed or hummed or crept. Taylor, I decided, would kick ass here.
Not that she didn't kick ass anywhere she went. Especially with her new best friend to supply her with bugs in varieties never before found in nature. For a moment, my mind wandered, imagining her as a time traveller. Oh god, I can just imagine her in the Carboniferous, with those monster bugs. She'd own the place.
The door lock clicked, disturbing my thoughts, and I snapped back to the here and now. It opened silently, without even a squeak from the hinges; that took, I decided, a certain amount of dedicated maintenance. I gestured for Kayden to precede me; she stepped forward.
"James," she greeted the man who had opened the door; he was broad-shouldered, a little shorter than me.
"Kayden," he replied evenly, then glanced at me.
"He's here to speak to Max," she told him.
"He's PRT," he stated with a frown.
I shook my head. "I'm actually not."
For the first time, he addressed me. "You were working with them to take down the last of the ABB and the Merchants."
Now, I wonder where he gets his information from. It was something that I'd have to look into.
"I've worked with them yes," I agreed. "But I'm not with them. They have trouble with the way that I ignore rules I don't like. In any case, what I'm here about is a lot more important than some petty hero-villain squabble."
This raised a frown, but he nodded slightly. "Come in." His voice was less than welcoming, but I didn't care; it was better than being turned away.
"Thank you." I stepped inside and held out my hand. "Mike Allen."
It would have been blatantly rude for him to ignore me, so he shook it. "James Fleischer." His grip was firm; I decided that he must work out, but not all that regularly.
"Kreig," I noted, although I'd guessed at his identity earlier. "You're the kinetic."
His lips compressed, and I realised, a little late, that Coil's fuck-you present had probably left him more than a little annoyed. Casually noting his secret identity would not have scored me any points with him.
"If you say so," he growled, keeping himself under control. "Max is through here."
"Just so you know," I commented, trying to recover some lost ground, "I knew your identity before Coil let it slip."
"And that's supposed to make me feel happier?" It obviously hadn't.
"I didn't out you. And I wouldn't have." I tried to make the point without obviously trying to make the point; harder than it seems.
It seemed to me that the set of his shoulders relaxed slightly, though I could easily have been mistaken. I didn't get the chance to follow up on it, because at that moment I entered the presence of the man called Kaiser for the third time.
He was holding a cut-glass tumbler of alcohol; I could smell what seemed to be high-quality whiskey, though I couldn't be sure. As we entered, he emptied the glass and placed it on a side table, without offering one to either of us. The insult, I figured, was calculated and aimed at the both of us. Not that it bothered me all that much; I don't drink, and even if I did, I would have felt more comfortable drinking in the presence of a redback spider, or a western desert taipan.
"Kayden," he greeted my companion. "How nice to see you again."
"Max," she responded. "I see you're still as pleasant as ever." As full of crap as ever, I deciphered without too much trouble.
As with his insult to me, hers rolled off of his back, as of metaphorical water off of an equally metaphorical duck. "And I see that you've brought the ever … interesting Mr Allen with you. Are you spending time with him these days?"
The tone indicated his real meaning; in not so many words, he had just asked her if we were sleeping together, and managed to make it sound dirty.
"No, he's merely a friend," she responded. "A real friend." Unlike, her tone implied, anyone else here.
I took the opportunity to glance around the room, at the company Kaiser had chosen to witness this meeting. The twins sat demurely, sharing a love-seat; they turned identical, coolly appraising, gazes upon me. Hookwolf sneered at me from where he leaned against the wall near Cricket; the latter had shed her facial cage for the moment, and looked curiously vulnerable. Looks, I knew, could be deceiving; I took care not to stare at her visible scars.
Night and Fog were not present; I presumed that Kaiser had specially requested their presence for the meeting in my flat. Neither was Crusader or Rune; I presumed that the teenager was at school somewhere. However, Alabaster was attending, as was Stormtiger. Nobody was masked up, which indicated either the presence of quite a bit of self-confidence, or a singular lack of caring. Or perhaps both.
"I can see that you've fallen on hard times, Kayden," Kaiser addressed her smoothly, apparently untouched by the barb. A tightening around the eyes, however, suggested that he was holding his temper in what seemed to be an iron grip. Pun intended, I decided with inner amusement. "You know that you can always come back to the Empire. Run it at my side."
So reasonable was his tone that I half expected her to agree, to walk to his side. Almost, I would have encouraged her in 'the right thing to do', if I hadn't known what Kaiser was like. The man, I decided, was even more charismatic than I recalled. And his powers weren't the only dangerous thing about him.
She smiled blandly back at him. "Not right now, Max. I think I'll keep my options open." Which translated in my mind as Not a hope in hell, you slimy bastard. Or some close approximation thereof.
The initial pleasantries dispensed with, Kaiser turned to me. "We meet again – Security."
"We do indeed, Mr Anders," I agreed, deliberately using his real name. Firmly suppressing the part of me that wanted to continue with It appears that you've been living two lives – I really wasn't sure that he'd find it funny, even if he got the joke – I held out my hand. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting."
He shook it, exerting his grip in the age-old dominance ritual. I matched him grip for grip; I didn't feel like humiliating him just yet, but nor was I going to knuckle under to him. This also told me that he hadn't heard, or didn't believe, the news regarding Riley's upgrade. His expression did not change the whole time; if he found my grip exceptional, he never showed it.
"You did ask politely," he pointed out once the contest had ended in a draw, "and you sent the invitation through Kayden. It would have been churlish of me to refuse."
"Well, you've reached out to me twice," I noted. "It was kind of my turn."
Kaiser and I both knew that 'reached out' was a very restrained way to put it; the first time, he had been waiting for me in my flat. The second, he'd had me 'escorted' to him, without much choice in the matter.
This time, I had come to him. Third time lucky, I mused. Lucky for whom, I wonder?
"Each of the other times," he observed, "you were not particularly friendly."
"Are you really surprised?" I asked rhetorically. "I still don't like you. But like you, I'm a pragmatist. I'm not about to let the way you do business get in the way of what needs doing."
His gaze on my face sharpened. "I seem to recall that the last time we spoke, you casually mentioned 'saving the world', as it it were your own pet, personal project."
"I did, and it is," I agreed. "Oh, it's being attempted by other parties, but they were quite literally flailing around in the dark. You could say that I added some illumination to the matter."
His lips tightened. "You do not strike me as the sort of person to be setting out to save the world." Translation: I think you're trying to bullshit me.
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough." I looked around the room. "When we last spoke, I mentioned several members of the Empire. Do you recall who they were?"
Kaiser tilted his head slightly. "Myself, Menja and Fenja, Rune, Hookwolf, Othala and Victor."
I nodded. "Good memory."
"It helps in business. Why those names? Why not anyone else?"
"Oh, others can attend if they want," I assured him. "Crusader could probably be added to the list. Maybe Fog, but not Night. Primarily, I want the big hitters. The ones who can land a hit, take a hit, or do something else that's useful in a massive knock-down drag-out fight against a single, highly mobile, devastatingly dangerous opponent."
There was silence in the room as my words sank in. Hookwolf straightened from his posture against the wall, but no-one else moved.
"You want to recruit the Empire for this?" Kaiser's voice was borderline incredulous.
"No." Mine was hard, flat. "I want to recruit everyone." I tapped the dressing on my arm. "This was me convincing Lung that I was serious."
"Lung." The voice came from behind me; Kreig. "You fought Lung and survived?"
"Twice, actually." I turned to face him. "I'm not playing around here. I'm here to issue an invitation to a meeting. Anyone who doesn't think they've got anything to bring to an Endbringer battle, don't bother showing up. The names I gave? They're specifically invited."
"And the rest of us aren't?"
I sighed. "If you want to show up, you can. You will be required to maintain absolute secrecy about what happens there. I'm not bullshitting here; if any of you go with the intent to break it wide open for shits and giggles, you won't be walking out again."
"And Purity? She's invited, too?" asked Kaiser. Kayden bridled.
"Evenstar is definitely invited, yes," I informed him.
"Who else will be there?" asked Kreig.
I resisted the impulse to roll my eyes. "People who need to know about the situation. People who can help win the coming war. So trust me, if you front up to the table, and you have a problem with anyone else there, they're not the ones who are gonna have to step back."
"You've referred to this as a 'war', Mr Allen," Kaiser noted slowly. "You've also given the impression that whatever this fight is against, it's either an Endbringer or the equivalent. But there's been no Endbringer emergence anywhere in the world. More to the point, when we first spoke, you made a comment to the effect that Leviathan had been due to strike here, but that you had taken steps to prevent it."
"All true," I agreed. "Though I misspoke when I said it was Menja who was going to die." I glanced over at the twins on the love seat. "Sorry, it was Fenja. My bad."
One of them came to her feet, a fast and fluid move. "Did you just threaten me?"
"No." My voice was flat. "I just told you that you're off the hook. Just like your boss and Alabaster."
Alabaster's head came up. "You're saying I was going to die, but now I'm not? How?"
"Long story short, time bubble grenade. You end up sharing eternity with Dauntless and Jotun."
"So, not dead."
"Close enough. No-one ever really figures out a way to get you out of it."
He grimaced. "Christ."
"We're getting off point here," Kaiser noted, his voice just a little sharp. "Mr Allen says that it's not going to happen any more; even if Leviathan does attack -" I got the impression that he was dubious about that, for obvious reasons, "- we should be able to avoid our so-called predestined fates." He paused and took a breath. "What we should be focusing on is the current matter."
Hookwolf took a step forward. "Who we gonna fight?"
"That'll come up at the meeting," I told him. I looked at each of them in turn. "You know who's invited. Anyone else who wants to turn up is free to do so. Nobody talks about what goes on in the meeting. Not to anyone, ever. Is that absolutely understood?"
"I don't like being told what to do by some fat old security guard. Is that absolutely understood?" Hookwolf's voice was mocking; he showed his teeth, took a few steps closer. "And Legend ain't here to save your ass, now."
The light in the room started to change; Kayden had started to glow. "No. But I am."
He looked past me, shading his eyes. "You wouldn't attack me to help him."
"Try me." Her voice was flat.
"Kayden. Evenstar. Thanks, but we're good here." I took a step toward Hookwolf. "You really, really don't want to go there, Brad."
"Don't tell me what to do, fat man." He stepped toward me; I tensed. But then a fence of spikes shot up between us.
"He's not telling you what to do, Hookwolf." Kaiser's voice was hard. "I am."
I took a breath, reined in the combat mods that were starting to take over. Forced the aggressiveness back into its box. Behind me, the light levels dropped again as Kayden restrained her power.
"Despite our feelings on the matter, Mr Allen is a guest." Kaiser's voice was calm, over an undercurrent of anger. "We treat him as such. And until further notice, we treat what he is saying as deadly serious."
Keeping half an eye on Hookwolf, just in case, I turned toward him. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"I didn't say it for your sake." He lifted his chin slightly. "Tell me, right now, to my face, that this meeting is not a trap, and I will attend, with my people."
"It's not a trap." My gaze was steady on his; after a long moment, he nodded curtly.
"When and where?"
I nodded in return. "PRT building, tomorrow evening, seven o'clock."
Everyone except Kayden reacted to that; even Kaiser's eyes narrowed.
"Mr Allen. You still say that this is not a trap?"
"No." I was working hard to stay patient. "It's not a trap."
His gaze bored into mine; around the room, I felt rather than heard the other members of the Empire Eighty-Eight shifting restlessly. I wanted to look, to make sure that no-one was getting too close, but nor did I want to make it appear as though I was backing down from Kaiser.
After a long, long moment, he nodded again, abruptly. "We will be there."
"Good." I inclined my head briefly. "I'll see you there." Turning, I nodded to Kayden. "We're done here. Let's go."
She didn't say a word, merely fell into step with me. We were halfway down the entrance hall when Kaiser's voice cut through the air. "Purity."
She didn't react, kept walking.
"Kayden."
She paused in her steady stride; I stopped also, as she turned her head. "What?"
"I forgot to ask; how is our daughter?"
"Aster is doing fine," she stated flatly. "She's safe and she's well, and she's being cared for."
"Good." His voice was faintly mocking. "You know, one day, she's going to ask who her father is."
"I'll tell her that you're dead. And hopefully, by that time, it'll be true." She turned again and strode toward the front door; I followed suit.
By the time we got to the pickup, she was shaking; I opened the door for her, and she got in without question. I was hurrying to get into my side; not because I was worried about them coming out, but because I wasn't sure that Kayden wouldn't decide to go back in, all guns blazing. Or that I was absolutely sure that I'd try to stop her.
We drove away, down the street; Kayden had her hands clenched in her lap, and she was shaking all over. A couple of blocks away, I pulled over and stopped. "You okay?"
"Yes. No." Her head was bowed, and she was beginning to glow. "Christ, I don't know. Fuck!"
The expletive was accompanied by a brilliant flash of light that blinded me for a few seconds; when I could see again, she was back to normal, but bent over with her forehead resting on the dashboard.
"You okay now?" I asked gently.
Sitting up, she turned to me, her eyes wet with tears. "That man makes me so angry. He's so certain he's right, all the time. And he knows just what to say to hurt me."
"Hey. Hey hey hey." I put my hand on her shoulder, the best I could go toward a hug in the cramped confines of the vehicle. "The man is a comprehensive dick. And I know dicks." I paused. "Yeah, that came out wrong."
Despite herself, she giggled damply. "Yes, yes it did."
"Kaiser's just trying to screw with your head," I assured her. "That's because he can feel that his previous hold over you is just about gone. And he doesn't like losing control over anything."
"Doesn't help," she mumbled. "He had ten years to work on me. Ten years to learn all my buttons. It took me nearly all of my pregnancy with Aster to work up the nerve to actually break with him."
"Hey, it's a work in progress." I squeezed her shoulder. "You'll get there."
"I hope so." She sniffled. "Great, and I don't have a tissue."
"In the glove box. I have an emergency stash."
She opened the glove box and located the somewhat-bedraggled flat box of tissues that I generally carried in there. Pulling a couple out, she blew her nose noisily. "Thank you."
"Eh, keep 'em," I offered. "I can get more, and that box is nearly out."
"Thank you," she repeated, and tucked the box into her handbag. "I appreciate it."
"And I appreciate you coming in with me."
"Well, I wasn't about to let you walk in there alone," she pointed out.
"Still, it can't have been easy."
"No, it wasn't." She took a deep breath, and got the tissues out again. This time, she dabbed at her eyes before blowing her nose for a second time. "Okay, I think I'm good now."
"Excellent." I gave her my best encouraging smile. "Now, you know what I think you should do?"
"Oh, great," she muttered. "Another man who wants to tell me what to do." But she was smiling.
"Exactly." I beamed at her. "I think you should go back to New York and cuddle Aster. Spend time with the people in your life who really matter. And then, you know, come back to attend the meeting tomorrow night. What do you think? Good plan of action?"
She considered it. "I think it's definitely workable," she conceded. "Especially the 'cuddle Aster' bit."
"Yeah, I though you might like that bit," I agreed.
"You should come down to visit sometime," she urged me suddenly. "I'm sure that Legend and Arthur would love to have you."
"I'd like to," I replied slowly, "but I've got a lot of demands on my time right now. I really don't know when I can get away. Time is kind of at a premium for me."
"No arguments," she told me firmly. "You're coming to visit."
"Yes, ma'am," I agreed meekly. "I'll make time."
"Better." She smiled, more naturally this time. "It'll be nice."
We got out of the pickup; I went around the front of the vehicle to stand next to her on the pavement. "So, see you tomorrow night?"
"See you then." Unexpectedly, she hugged me. Of course, I hugged her back. "And thanks."
"I should be thanking you." Momentarily, she leaned her head on my shoulder. "You've done so much."
"All in the name of saving the world. And you and Aster too, of course." I made my tone light.
Pulling back, she searched my face. "You were serious then, about what you said about saving the world? And a war?"
"Serious as serious can be. I'll be talking about it at the meeting."
"I'll be there." Reaching up, she planted a kiss on my cheek, and then began to glow.
I shielded my eyes just in time; when I uncovered them, there was just a fading trail of light in the sky, heading south. Getting back into the pickup, I started the engine and drove off. I had places to go and people to see.
The door buzzer went; L33t looked up from his workbench. "That was fast," he called over his shoulder. "Did you forget something?"
"Nope." He froze for a moment; the voice was both unfamiliar and amused. "You're right here."
Slowly, he turned, pushing up the magnifier goggles. "Who the fuck are you?" Behind him, he began to stealthily scrabble through the detritus on the bench for his shock pistol.
The man standing before him had a salt-and-pepper beard that was given over mainly to salt. His hair – a lot of grey there as well, and receding over the temples – was very closely cut. Apart from that, the guy was bulky as hell; a little taller than L33t, he outweighed him two or three times over, easily. His beard and eyebrows were just a little patchy, and he wore a dressing on his right forearm.
"Huh," mused the interloper. "You're skinnier than I pictured you."
That threw L33t off for a moment, so much so that when he found his hand closing over the grip of the shock pistol, he didn't realise for a second what it was that he was holding. Then he grabbed it tightly and swung it around, to point directly into the intruder's face.
"Okay!" he shouted. "Enough bullshit! Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my workshop?"
"The name's Security," was the reply. "I don't know if you've heard of me yet, but ..."
L33t stared. This was the guy who had apparently fucked up Lung and Coil? And, if rumour had it right, Bakuda and Oni Lee as well? All of a sudden, he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep pointing the pistol at the guy's face.
"So what do you want with me?" he asked, trying for a harsh tone. Even to his own ears, it came out a little whiny. "And how did you get in here? I've got the workshop door set on a rotating password system."
"You really ought to invest in biometrics," the man called Security observed. He held out a piece of paper; L33t took it. On it was a series of words and phrases, mated to a series of timestamps. With a shock, he realised that those were his passwords, and the times they were due to roll over.
"But ... but," he sputtered. "Where did you get this?"
"A scarily competent woman in a business suit gave it to me," replied the intruder, still apparently unconcerned that he had L33t's shock pistol pointed at his face. "As for why I'm here ... well, I know it's a cliche, but I need you to help me save the world."
"No. No. This is bullshit." L33t wasn't exactly sure why the words made him so angry. "Now you're just fucking with me."
"No, I'm really not."
L33t glared. "No-one says that shit to me. This is just some big joke to you, isn't it?"
"Hey. L33t. It's not a joke." Security's voice was carefully calm. "I'm not bullshitting you. I actually do need you to -"
L33t would never be quite sure if his finger actually twitched on the trigger, or if the shock pistol just decided to go off on its own. Or rather, decided to try to go off. There was a sharp crack, and pieces sprayed everywhere; the backblast knocked him off his chair and on to the ground. To add insult to injury, the intruder was still standing there, not knocked to the ground as intended.
"Fuck," groaned L33t. "Fuck fuck fuuuuck." He shook his hand vigorously, trying to get feeling back into it.
"Could've told you that was going to happen." The big man reached down, offering a helping hand. L33t grabbed it with his left hand, and was hoisted to his feet. "You built something too close to that about six months ago."
"What - ?"
A broad finger tapped the paper. L33t looked at it, then turned it over.
"His gun will explode," he read. "He built something like it six months ago."
He looked from the paper to the big man in growing incomprehension. "What the living goddamn fuck is going on here? How are you doing this shit?"
"It would take far too long to explain, and longer again to convince you that I'm not smoking finest Merchant product," explained Security. "Suffice to say that we need your talents to help save the world. If you can refrain from blowing yourself up first, that is."
"Not my fault," mumbled L33t. "Fucking power restrictions."
"Actually, about that," Security noted. "I've got something for you to think about. Three things."
"What?" grumbled L33t, picking up his chair and settling himself on to it. His hand was starting to ache.
"First. Powers are caused by conflict, and work better when used for conflict."
L33t blinked. "I … yeah, that kind of makes sense."
A nod. "Second. The things that cause powers are kind of alive and kind of intelligent."
"Wait, what the fuck? My powers are alive? No fucking way."
It was as if the man had not heard him. "Third. Your power hates you because you're too careful, too cautious. It is actually trying to kill you."
L33t's jaw dropped. The idea was ludicrous, ridiculous. But … so many times, when he was sure that he'd calculated the tolerances right, he'd still gotten a failure. Too many times, too many close calls. All too often, he'd muttered that something out there must hate him, with the number of bizarre equipment failures he had suffered.
He'd just never considered that it could be his own powers that were setting him up to fail.
But no. It couldn't be. The man was just messing with his head. He had to be.
It was just too whacked. Too unbelievable.
… just impossible enough to be true.
"Hey. Earth to L33t."
L33t jerked out of his reverie, looked around. The man called Security wasn't there, anywhere in the workshop. The door was open, and Über's familiar face was peering at him. " … you okay?"
"Oh, I, uh, yeah," he blurted. He paused. "Uh, you see anyone leaving just now?"
Über frowned. "No," he replied. "Should I have? Was someone else here?" He paused. "What's that?"
L33t looked around; there was a white envelope leaning against the test stand. He picked it up, opened the flap. Inside, he found a single 3x5 file card. On it, in a rounded hand, were written four lines;
L33t shook his head. "I have no idea. No idea at all."
But he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't be able to stay away.
I studied the last piece of paper that Contessa had left for me with a certain amount of trepidation. This is going to be a tricky one. Hopefully, Contessa would be backing me up, but I'd never know unless I screwed up.
Standing up from my couch, I headed into the kitchenette to get a drink of water, the nervous energy making my movements jerky. L33t had been easy to deal with; sure, he'd tried to shoot me, but either Contessa had sabotaged his gun, or his power had. Either way, I'd come out of it unscathed. This next one … this would be the interesting one. I looked at the sheet again.
Cody has made his way to Madison. He is currently stalking the others.
"Great," I muttered. "Just what I needed." I raised my eyes to the ceiling. "This is you getting back at me for screwing you around, isn't it?"
There was no answer; I hadn't expected one, but then, Contessa was probably elsewhere, doing something important.
For about the tenth time, I re-read the instructions, folded the paper, and stuck it in my pocket. Then I cleared my throat. "Door to Cody."
And there they were. Krouse and Noelle. Getting off the bus, walking side by side down the street. Heading for the apartment that they'd rented. He'd forgotten how good Noelle looked, walking. Even with legs she'd only had for two weeks – had it been that little time? - she was striding along, head up, hair blowing a little in the breeze.
Cody shifted a little in the alleyway that he was leaning against, bringing a brown paper bag up to his face, pretending to drink from the empty bottle within. It had not been hard to figure out where the rest of the Travellers had gotten to; after he got from Brockton Bay – even on Earth Aleph, it was still a shithole – to Madison, it had not taken him too much time to track them down.
Krouse and Noelle had their little love nest; Marissa and Oliver were also sharing an apartment, though as far as Cody knew, that was just as roomies. Jess had been reunited with her parents, and Luke had apparently hung out his shingle as "Ballistic – cape for hire".
Everyone's forgotten me. Which is just the way I like it.
He wasn't quite sure what kind of revenge he was going to pull on them, but it was gonna be pretty spectacular, given that they'd turned him over to that white-haired fuck, who sold him on to the fucking Chinese. And all for trying to fix their problem.
It shouldn't be too hard to acquire a handgun -
"Cody."
The voice came from behind him, which was patently impossible; the alley was ten yards deep, ending in a brick wall. But it was also just a bit familiar. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that he'd heard it before. Not that he was taking the time to think.
Spinning around, he saw the guy stepping through the portal. Taking half a second to change his grip on the bottle, he swung it overhand, toward the guy's head. Halfway through the swing, he thought he recognised the guy, but he kept swinging anyway.
It didn't really matter; demonstrating some pretty effective reflexes, the guy brought up a hand and caught his wrist.
Crap. Lucky catch. It has to be.
The guy kept moving, twisting his wrist, turning him around. He fought to keep hold of the bottle, felt himself losing his grip on it -
Rewinding the guy just a few seconds, he turned around and stepped back, still holding the bottle. The doorway was there in mid-air; he could see an apartment beyond, anomalous against the squalor of the trash-filled alley. The guy was just stepping through. Cody threw the bottle.
The guy caught it on the fly.
No-one's that fucking lucky.
He rewound the guy's personal timeline again; the bottle dropped to the ground from where the guy no longer held it. This time, he pulled the knife that was sheathed at the back of his belt, under his jacket. This Madison, in this universe, was a lot more gentle than Brockton Bay in Earth Bet, but old habits died extremely hard.
Even as the guy stepped through, he lunged forward. The guy saw the knife and acted, all in the same instant. He moved forward faster than anyone that big had a right to move, slapped aside Cody's stab, and twisted his wrist; the pain went straight up Cody's arm.
He rewound the guy again before he could drop the knife; this time, as the guy stepped through, he brought his hand to his side, the knife held up against his wrist, out of view. "Cody," stated the guy. "Remember me?"
"Yeah, I remember you," Cody told him warily. "You're the bastard who sent me to Brockton Bay, while everyone else got to go home to Madison."
"I'm also the bastard who pulled you out of a dormitory in China," the guy reminded him. "Or would you rather be back there now?"
"Fuck that." Cody's face twisted. "What do you want with me now?"
"Offer you a job."
Cody paused, blinking. "A what now?"
"A job. You know doing things for money."
"You want me to work for you?"
"Not me." The big guy shook his head. "Some other people. I'm just here to make the offer. You get free room and board, free travel, and a thousand a day, in the hand."
"You're shitting me."
"No. I'm really not. This is a one-time offer, Cody. We need you, but you're not absolutely essential. You've got one hour to decide." He ostentatiously checked a bulky watch on his wrist.
"And if I say no?"
A massive shrug. "I walk away. You never see me again. You never get this offer again. And when the world ends, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you weren't out there fighting, so it's not your fault that we lost."
"Wait, what, when the world ends?"
"Well, I'm not here looking to hire you because of your looks. Six to twelve months, the world is ending. You agree to take this job, you get to be there and help out and maybe avert it."
"Can I think about it?"
"Like I said, one hour. Then the train leaves the station."
" … I still want to think about it."
"Fine." Another shrug. "I'll find you in one hour."
"I … right." I'm gonna have to hurry things up. Get to Krouse's place ...
The big guy took a few steps away. "Door to Trickster's apartment." Beyond him, the portal opened, showing another apartment.
Trickster? The fuck?
"Hey, wait!"
The big guy looked over his shoulder. "What?"
"You're getting Trickster in on this?"
"Well, yeah. Did you think you were the only member of the Travellers that I was interested in recruiting?" He took a step away from the portal, toward Cody. "Maybe I should have mentioned that they get a recruitment deal as well. That I'll be taking them away from Earth Aleph. You'll never get to catch up to them."
His revenge was slipping through his grasp. "No. No. You can't do this."
"Sure I can." The guy shrugged again. "It's easy."
"Wait. I'll – I'll join."
"And you'll drop any and all chance of revenge?"
His mouth opened, then closed again. "I – yes."
He was slammed against the wall, one large hand on his chest, the other catching his knife hand as he tried to bring it up, to stab or slash. Strong fingers squeezed his wrist till the bones ground together; the pain was excruciating.
"I think you're lying."
He rewound the guy, three seconds.
"- revenge?"
"Yes." He was stepping forward from the wall, bringing the knife up as he spoke; the pain from the previous grip made him clumsy, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. His hand was caught and then he was slammed back into the wall. The pain had barely started before the knife dropped from numbed fingers. "I think you're just looking to get close -"
He rewound the guy again. His knife was on the ground. He was leaning against the wall.
"- revenge?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't know," he admitted honestly. "It's all I've lived for, these last two weeks. Longer."
The guy sighed. "You do realise, it's the Simurgh who's pulling your strings on this one? That she set it up so you've got this hate-on for Trickster and Noelle?"
Cody shrugged. "I guessed as much. But they still screwed me over. They owe me."
"Dude. You messed up the meeting with Accord and nearly got Marissa killed. They had very little choice in what they did."
His voice rose. "We could've left town! We could've told Accord to go fuck himself! Instead, they handed me over to him! For all they knew, he was gonna kill me!"
"Hey, I'm not saying it was the right thing to do," the guy told him. "But it wasn't like they could trust you not to do it again, either. You got bystanders killed that day."
"I was trying to solve the problem. You got a problem with that?"
"I do if you keep trying and you keep failing, and keep getting people killed." The guy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Trickster and Noelle aside, there's still a huge problem coming down the pike. I want to know if you're in or out."
He thought about it. "Can I at least go back to Earth Bet and kick the guts out of that white-haired fuck Accord?"
"Ooh, sorry." A grimace. "He's in on this, too."
"Fuck that! No fucking way! That motherfucker sold me to the fucking Chinese!"
"Cody. Listen to me. Do you want Accord dead, or suffering?"
"What?" Cody looked at the guy. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. I can't let you kill him. But I can pretty well guarantee his suffering."
"How do you mean?"
The guy grinned, just slightly. "Did you ever meet Tattletale?"
"Uh, no."
"Hm." A wry expression. "She's a stereotypical smartarse. Her power is super-intuition. She's absolutely got to be the smartest person in the room, and she needles anyone who she thinks might think otherwise. She's really, really good at it."
"And what's this got to do with … oh."
"'Oh' is right." The grin was back. "Accord has to work with her. And you know what he's like."
Cody blinked. "Ah. Right."
"Trust me, he will suffer. But he'll have a vested interest in not killing her, so he'll have to just bear it."
"Just like I've got to do with Trickster and Noelle and him."
"Yeah, but you don't have to be in the same room with the people you hate. He does."
"Huh." A grimace. "I don't like it, but … I guess."
"Okay. Just be aware that you will be noted as a security risk to both of them. You won't be left unattended with either one."
A plan started forming at the back of his mind. "Can I still have that hour to think about it?"
"Sure. I'll catch up with you then."
"Uh, I could just come with, let you know when I come to a decision."
"When I'm just about to go and talk with Trickster and Noelle." The sarcasm was obvious.
"Uh, yes?" Yeah, that wasn't at all suspicious.
"I know your history with those two." A chuckle. "I'm not stupid enough to trust you near them yet."
"Oh." Dammit.
"So, are you actually in, or not?"
"I, uh … I want to think about this for a bit longer."
"I'm not going to open a door to them any time you're near," the guy warned him. "So piss off, and I'll come find you in an hour."
Oh well, it was worth a try.
"Yeah, an hour should do," he muttered. "I'll let you know then."
"I'll catch you then." The guy waved. "Bye."
The dismissal was obvious; he turned and trudged from the alleyway. As soon as the guy was gone, he'd double back and grab the knife.
Fuck. What do I do now?
I knocked on the door of the apartment jointly rented by Noelle Meinhardt and Francis Krouse. Personally, I would have preferred to have been waiting for them when they got back, but my discussion with Cody had wasted time. Plus, I'd had to clean my boots.
After a few moments, the door opened, and I came face to face with Noelle. A little shorter than me, she had strong features and straight brown hair. She stared at me, obviously not recognising my face.
"Uh, can I help you?" she asked.
"Who is it, hon?" I heard from behind her.
"You might not remember me," I told her. "Mike Allen? Security? I helped get you here."
She remembered now, I could tell; her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Holy shit. Come in, come in."
I took her up on the invitation, just as Trickster entered the room from what was probably the kitchen. He was out of costume, of course; his swarthy features seemed to be more filled out, the hook nose less prominent. Civilian life seemed to agree with him.
"Wait, I know you," he declared. "You were that guy with the PRT. The one who -"
"- who helped me, yes," Noelle filled in. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?" A moment later, she slapped herself on the forehead. "Duh. The same way you got us here."
"Exactly correct," I agreed. "So, how's life been since you got back?"
"A little fraught, at first," Krouse told me. "They wanted to know where we'd been for the last year and a half."
"So we wove them a tale of daring escapes from the authorities and keeping our heads down, until we could find a way back," supplied Noelle. "Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?"
"Beer?" added Krouse.
"Uh, cold water, if you've got it," I demurred. "Not much of a beverage drinker."
"Pretty sure we've got that," Noelle assured me. "I'll be back in a second."
Krouse stepped up and shook my hand. "It's good to see you. What are you here for? Checking up to see how we're doing? Have a seat?" He gestured to the sofa.
"Kind of," I agreed, sitting down. "Ah, thanks," I added, as Noelle emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" asked Krouse. "How have things been going since we left?"
I drank down about half the cup. "Ahh, that's nice. Well, the place has been settling down a bit. After Coil went down, and Kaiser outed me to the villain population, Bakuda took a run at me." Reflexively, I scratched the scar on the side of my neck.
Krouse fetched cookies, and they sat down, asking more questions. I filled them in on most of what had happened, glossing over the heart attack and my subsequent upgrade at Riley's hands.
"Sounds like you've been having your adventures, too," Noelle observed, when I had brought them more or less up to date. "But you never told us why you're here."
"Is this about that job offer you said we might get?" asked Krouse. "Because it hasn't come yet."
"Well, it was originally going to be a couple of years down the track," I admitted. "When the deadline got a little closer."
"Deadline for what?" asked Noelle, alert now.
"So what's changed?" Krouse queried, at almost exactly the same time.
"One at a time," I replied. "Ladies first; the deadline has to do with a battle breaking out that has the potential to end the world. It was originally fourteen to sixteen years in the future. Now, it's six to twelve months away."
"The world?" That was Krouse. "You mean Earth Bet?"
"To start with, yeah," I agreed. "But it doesn't stop there. Not by a long shot."
Noelle's hand sought out Krouse's. "So why the sudden change?"
I grimaced. "I think I might have had something to do with it. See, I knew it was coming all along. I've been setting in motion plans that were ultimately intended to have us ready for it, when the time came."
"And something went wrong." That was Krouse.
"Yeah." My voice was sour. "Here I am, doing my best to save the damn world, and something I do, or set in motion, sets off the apocalypse early. Fuckin' joy."
"But how do you know it'll happen earlier?" asked Noelle. "Are you a precog or something?"
"Nope." I took a drink from the latest glass of water. "But I've got one on speed-dial."
"So what can we do?" Krouse looked concerned. "I'm not much good against world-ending menaces."
"And I don't even have powers any more," added Noelle. "Not that my powers would have been any help at all, under the circumstances."
"I dunno," mused Krouse. "If you'd managed to clone someone like Jack Slash, he might've turned out all sweetness and light."
I shivered. "I doubt that. If she'd encountered Crawler, that would have been an extinction event for the city, so I can't see a clone of Jack Slash being any better."
Noelle peered at me. "How do you know that?"
"I just do," I told her. "But both of you can help, if you so wish."
"Uh, I get it that Francis is still powered," Noelle replied, "but what can I do?"
"Hell, I can't see that I'd be any more useful," Krouse agreed. "High-powered I'm not."
I pointed at Noelle. "Strategy and tactics. We'll be teaming you with Tattletale, Accord and Dragon. They'll be making it up as they go along, or using powers to fill in for intellect. I want someone at the table who's actually good at it without powers."
"Okay, I can see that," Krouse noted. "But what about me? Swapping full coffee cups for empty ones?"
"Hardly," I told him. "Battlefield support. If a big hitter can't disengage, it'll be up to you to help out."
"Huh." He tilted his head to one side. "Yeah, I can do that."
"Good." I leaned back. "Would you be able to do me a favour, and get hold of Jess and Luke for me? I need to talk to them as well."
"Jess, phone for you."
"Oh, uh, thanks, Mom." Jess wheeled herself away from the TV, over to where her mother was holding the phone. Cradling the receiver between shoulder and ear, she steered herself a little farther away, for privacy.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Jess. How you doing?"
"Francis! I'm doing fine. How are you and Noelle?"
"Yeah, listen, I got someone here who wants to talk to you."
"Okay, who?"
"Remember the guy who got us back? The big guy?"
Reflexively, she nodded. "Yeah, I remember him. What about him?"
"Well, he's here right now, and he wants to ask you something."
She frowned. "Uh, okay. Put him on."
There was the sound of the phone being passed over, and a different voice came on. "Hey, Jess."
"Uh, hi. What was your name again?"
"You can call me Mike. Got a question for you."
"Francis said that. What do you want to know?"
"You willing to come back as a cape, one last time?"
She went very still. "You're going to have to explain that."
"There's something going down, in the next six months to a year, that'll mess up Earth Bet, and put a fair hurt on Aleph and all the other earths out there. I'm working on averting it. Recruiting everyone I know who I think can help. You interested?"
She closed her eyes. "Mike, I … I never wanted to be there. I just wanted to come back. I haven't even used my powers since I got back."
His tone was sympathetic. "I understand. You don't have to do it. I was just checking."
"Who else are you asking?"
A chuckle. "Just about everyone. Luke's on his way over, so I can talk to him personally."
"I'm really not sure if I can face this. Not again."
"That's fine. You don't want to do it, I'm not going to force it down your throat. I will say that there's money involved. Just so you know."
She shook her head. "No. I don't want to know how much. Tell the others I'm sorry, but I just … can't."
"It's all good. I know how much crap you guys went through while you were here. If I was in your place, I'd have trouble saying yes, too." His voice was warm and accepting. "I'll just give you back to the others."
The phone was passed over again; this time, she found herself talking to Noelle. "Hi!"
"Hi, No. So you're saying yes?"
"Not sure, but I think yeah, I am."
"But you don't even have powers. What are you going to do?"
"Well, apparently they've found out how good at game strategy I am, so they're putting me in there."
"Oh. Well, I hope you do all right."
"Thanks. I wish you could be with us."
"I just can't go back. Not for anything."
"Okay then. Say hi to your mom for me."
"Thanks. Will do."
Jess pressed the End Call button, and wheeled back to place the cordless phone on the cradle. She tried once more to lose herself in the TV show, but her thoughts kept intruding.
I hope I've done the right thing …
We heard the high-powered sports car coming before it ever screeched to a halt. I peered out the window; it was bright red, and looked like a jet fighter mated with a speedboat. All raked lines and spoilers, spinning rims and god knew what else. If it didn't feature every accessory known to mankind, plus a few more, I would have been deeply astonished.
Luke bounded out of it, looking bright and energetic; he disappeared into the building below, and an absurdly short time later, we heard the knocking on the door. On general principles, I made it to the door first; if this was Cody trying for revenge anyway, he would get a nasty surprise.
"Oh, hey," Luke greeted me as I opened the door. "My man. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay," I told him. "But you seem to be living large. I take it the hero for hire gig pays nicely?"
"Fuck me, yes," he chuckled. "I'm one of very few capes in the world, and there's no Alexandrias or Eidolons among the others, let me tell you. I can write my own checks. And there's more than a few zeroes involved."
"Well, I'm glad you're getting along," I told him. "You're certainly looking well."
"Benefits of having a personal trainer, a swimming coach, and a dietician on twenty-four hour callout," he pointed out. "Never felt better in my life."
Krouse leaned across to me and added in a stage whisper, "The fact that these are all hot women don't hurt either." Noelle slugged him on the arm. "Ow!" he protested. "Well, it's true!"
"Yes, well, you don't have to make a song and dance about it." She folded her arms, looking miffed.
I wasn't quite sure how to deal with the incipient argument, but Luke rescued me. "So, dude, you got something you want to talk to me about?" He put his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from the couple.
"Yeah." Quickly, I outlined the situation; an escalating problem, likely to break in six months or so, needing big hitters. "And you're a pretty big hitter, as hitters go."
"Hmm." He rubbed his chin, where he'd grown a neatly trimmed soul patch. "Sure, I can help out."
"Excellent."
I went to go on, but he cut me off. "Just make an appointment with my agent, and I'll be right at your service."
I paused. "Your … agent?"
He nodded. "She's really good at scheduling my time."
Recalling Krouse's words, I nodded in reply. I'll just bet she is.
"Well, can you make it to a meeting tomorrow night at least?" I tried to stress how important it was. "I'm going to be explaining exactly how dire the threat is."
He frowned. "I can try. What time?"
"Seven."
"That might interfere with my tennis lesson."
I wondered if his tennis coach was also a hot woman, and then I wondered if the 'lesson' even took place on a tennis court. Then I wondered if I was being unfair to him. "Look, this is serious. End of the world serious."
"Okay, okay." He grimaced. "I'll explain it to her. I can be there." 'Her', huh?
"Great," I told him. "Try to be alone at six fifty. I'll pick you up then."
He nodded. "Sure thing."
"Good." Well, that's three out of five so far …
"So, what's the good word?"
Cody turned at the first syllable. As soon as he saw where the portal was, he reacted.
He had used the hour wisely, getting in touch with someone who could provide him with what he wanted. And then he had used his power to get the item he wanted without actually paying for it.
And so, as the guy stepped through the portal, he pulled out the Saturday Night Special that he had managed to acquire. Holding it double-handed, he aimed it directly at the guy.
Just as the guy started to react, Cody rewound him, putting him back to the point where he started stepping through the portal. "So -" he began, before Cody opened fire, pulling the trigger as fast as he could.
The recoil, as modest as it was, spoiled his aim after the first shot, but he kept firing anyway. The report deafened him, and the muzzle-flare left after-images in front of his eyes, but he was pretty sure that he'd scored with at least two of the shots.
Fuck you, and fuck the end of the world.
End of Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Six: Recruitment Drive
Thursday, April 28, 2011
I slowed the pickup as I neared the rendezvous point; when I saw Kayden waving, I pulled over to the side of the road. Leaning across, I pulled up the plastic tab that unlocked the door; she opened it and got in.
"Hi," I greeted her. "Thanks for helping set this up. I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with it."
She wrinkled her nose. "Well, I'm not all that thrilled at the idea of a one-on-one with the man, but you did say that it was important."
"It's definitely important," I confirmed. "I could've gotten in touch with him through my own channels, but we're not on the best of terms, and I don't need to be any more behind the eight-ball than I already am." I put the vehicle into gear and pulled into traffic.
"So I hear." She smiled at me. "Legend told me an interesting story about a rooftop rescue."
"That happened, yeah," I sighed. "And there was an earlier meeting, at my place. I suspect he had Fog let him in. I kind of told him to leave, in no uncertain terms."
"I would've paid money to see that," she chuckled. "He doesn't often get told 'no'."
"I can understand. He's very … charismatic." I paused, as she kicked aside miscellaneous trash. "Excuse the mess. I don't often have passengers, so the footwell ends up as a rubbish bin."
"That's fine," she assured me. "I can still see the floor. I rode in Justin's car once; now, that was messy."
"Yeah, he always came across to me as a bit of a redneck," I agreed.
She said nothing in reply, but she did give me an odd look.
"What?" I asked.
"To the best of my knowledge, you've never met the man," she pointed out. "How did you know that about him?"
I shrugged. "Same way I knew it was a good idea to give you a heads-up when we took down Coil."
"That's not an answer," Kayden told me severely.
"I know," I replied cheerfully. "But things will become somewhat more clear in good time." I grinned at her. "So, how's things getting along between you and Aster and the guys?"
The smile that broke across her face was like the sun coming up. "She's getting bigger all the time. Legend and Arthur just adore her, and she loves them, too. And it's so nice -" She cut herself off.
"So nice ...?" I raised an eyebrow.
She took a deep breath. "So nice to be around men who aren't trying to control me, who are willing to let me be me."
"Well, yeah, that was the general idea," I admitted. "I've never actually met Arthur, but Legend's a really nice guy."
"He's been helping me settle in with the New York Protectorate," she agreed. "I'm pretty sure that some of them have figured out who I am, but I've had nothing but encouragement."
"Well, that's good to hear. Really good." I paused, as our destination came into view. "Talking about encouragement, are you sure you're okay with doing this? I mean, I figure I can go in alone if I need to."
"Uh huh." She looked me over, her eyes lingering on the dressing that I still wore on my forearm, legacy of my 'discussion' with Lung. "I'm told you have a habit of trying to go it alone. I think it's better all round if I go with you."
It didn't take me long to decide that she had the right of it. "Yeah," I agreed. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Parking the pickup at the curb, I got out. Kayden did likewise; as I rounded the front end of the vehicle, we looked up toward the large house, set back just a little way from the road.
"This is the place, huh?"
She nodded in reply to my question. "This is where he said he'd meet us."
"Hmm." Last-minute doubts assailed me. "I'm just hoping he doesn't do something I'll regret."
A slight smile. "Relax. You'll be a guest. No harm will come to you."
I was more worried about the meeting going badly than harm coming to me, though not entirely so. The injuries I had gotten from Lung were healing nicely – Riley was good at what she did – but they were still a reminder of the fact that I was still mortal, could still be hurt. Could still be killed.
Which was apparently looming in my future, really soon, according to Dinah. Fuckin' yay.
Well, if it's gonna happen, may as well make it count.
I took a deep breath. "Let's go do this thing."
=//=//=
The front door was on the large size, and even the doorbell was ornate enough to complement the decor. I pressed it; stately chimes sounded in the depths of the house. We waited.
Looking around, I managed to make out a discreet security camera dome under the eaves, and another toward the corner of the house. They were darkened, so that the cameras within could not be seen, but I had no doubt that we were under surveillance.
"Maybe I should try again?" I murmured.
"No." She shook her head. "If this is a power play on his part, and I wouldn't put it past him, then pressing again counts as a win in his book."
"So we wait?"
She nodded. "We wait."
We waited. The lawn was neatly kept; carefully-trimmed bushes here and there added a nice touch to the surroundings. I watched as butterflies flitted from one topiary piece to the next; here and there, other bugs buzzed or hummed or crept. Taylor, I decided, would kick ass here.
Not that she didn't kick ass anywhere she went. Especially with her new best friend to supply her with bugs in varieties never before found in nature. For a moment, my mind wandered, imagining her as a time traveller. Oh god, I can just imagine her in the Carboniferous, with those monster bugs. She'd own the place.
The door lock clicked, disturbing my thoughts, and I snapped back to the here and now. It opened silently, without even a squeak from the hinges; that took, I decided, a certain amount of dedicated maintenance. I gestured for Kayden to precede me; she stepped forward.
"James," she greeted the man who had opened the door; he was broad-shouldered, a little shorter than me.
"Kayden," he replied evenly, then glanced at me.
"He's here to speak to Max," she told him.
"He's PRT," he stated with a frown.
I shook my head. "I'm actually not."
For the first time, he addressed me. "You were working with them to take down the last of the ABB and the Merchants."
Now, I wonder where he gets his information from. It was something that I'd have to look into.
"I've worked with them yes," I agreed. "But I'm not with them. They have trouble with the way that I ignore rules I don't like. In any case, what I'm here about is a lot more important than some petty hero-villain squabble."
This raised a frown, but he nodded slightly. "Come in." His voice was less than welcoming, but I didn't care; it was better than being turned away.
"Thank you." I stepped inside and held out my hand. "Mike Allen."
It would have been blatantly rude for him to ignore me, so he shook it. "James Fleischer." His grip was firm; I decided that he must work out, but not all that regularly.
"Kreig," I noted, although I'd guessed at his identity earlier. "You're the kinetic."
His lips compressed, and I realised, a little late, that Coil's fuck-you present had probably left him more than a little annoyed. Casually noting his secret identity would not have scored me any points with him.
"If you say so," he growled, keeping himself under control. "Max is through here."
"Just so you know," I commented, trying to recover some lost ground, "I knew your identity before Coil let it slip."
"And that's supposed to make me feel happier?" It obviously hadn't.
"I didn't out you. And I wouldn't have." I tried to make the point without obviously trying to make the point; harder than it seems.
It seemed to me that the set of his shoulders relaxed slightly, though I could easily have been mistaken. I didn't get the chance to follow up on it, because at that moment I entered the presence of the man called Kaiser for the third time.
=//=//=
He was holding a cut-glass tumbler of alcohol; I could smell what seemed to be high-quality whiskey, though I couldn't be sure. As we entered, he emptied the glass and placed it on a side table, without offering one to either of us. The insult, I figured, was calculated and aimed at the both of us. Not that it bothered me all that much; I don't drink, and even if I did, I would have felt more comfortable drinking in the presence of a redback spider, or a western desert taipan.
"Kayden," he greeted my companion. "How nice to see you again."
"Max," she responded. "I see you're still as pleasant as ever." As full of crap as ever, I deciphered without too much trouble.
As with his insult to me, hers rolled off of his back, as of metaphorical water off of an equally metaphorical duck. "And I see that you've brought the ever … interesting Mr Allen with you. Are you spending time with him these days?"
The tone indicated his real meaning; in not so many words, he had just asked her if we were sleeping together, and managed to make it sound dirty.
"No, he's merely a friend," she responded. "A real friend." Unlike, her tone implied, anyone else here.
I took the opportunity to glance around the room, at the company Kaiser had chosen to witness this meeting. The twins sat demurely, sharing a love-seat; they turned identical, coolly appraising, gazes upon me. Hookwolf sneered at me from where he leaned against the wall near Cricket; the latter had shed her facial cage for the moment, and looked curiously vulnerable. Looks, I knew, could be deceiving; I took care not to stare at her visible scars.
Night and Fog were not present; I presumed that Kaiser had specially requested their presence for the meeting in my flat. Neither was Crusader or Rune; I presumed that the teenager was at school somewhere. However, Alabaster was attending, as was Stormtiger. Nobody was masked up, which indicated either the presence of quite a bit of self-confidence, or a singular lack of caring. Or perhaps both.
"I can see that you've fallen on hard times, Kayden," Kaiser addressed her smoothly, apparently untouched by the barb. A tightening around the eyes, however, suggested that he was holding his temper in what seemed to be an iron grip. Pun intended, I decided with inner amusement. "You know that you can always come back to the Empire. Run it at my side."
So reasonable was his tone that I half expected her to agree, to walk to his side. Almost, I would have encouraged her in 'the right thing to do', if I hadn't known what Kaiser was like. The man, I decided, was even more charismatic than I recalled. And his powers weren't the only dangerous thing about him.
She smiled blandly back at him. "Not right now, Max. I think I'll keep my options open." Which translated in my mind as Not a hope in hell, you slimy bastard. Or some close approximation thereof.
The initial pleasantries dispensed with, Kaiser turned to me. "We meet again – Security."
"We do indeed, Mr Anders," I agreed, deliberately using his real name. Firmly suppressing the part of me that wanted to continue with It appears that you've been living two lives – I really wasn't sure that he'd find it funny, even if he got the joke – I held out my hand. "Thank you for agreeing to this meeting."
He shook it, exerting his grip in the age-old dominance ritual. I matched him grip for grip; I didn't feel like humiliating him just yet, but nor was I going to knuckle under to him. This also told me that he hadn't heard, or didn't believe, the news regarding Riley's upgrade. His expression did not change the whole time; if he found my grip exceptional, he never showed it.
"You did ask politely," he pointed out once the contest had ended in a draw, "and you sent the invitation through Kayden. It would have been churlish of me to refuse."
"Well, you've reached out to me twice," I noted. "It was kind of my turn."
Kaiser and I both knew that 'reached out' was a very restrained way to put it; the first time, he had been waiting for me in my flat. The second, he'd had me 'escorted' to him, without much choice in the matter.
This time, I had come to him. Third time lucky, I mused. Lucky for whom, I wonder?
"Each of the other times," he observed, "you were not particularly friendly."
"Are you really surprised?" I asked rhetorically. "I still don't like you. But like you, I'm a pragmatist. I'm not about to let the way you do business get in the way of what needs doing."
His gaze on my face sharpened. "I seem to recall that the last time we spoke, you casually mentioned 'saving the world', as it it were your own pet, personal project."
"I did, and it is," I agreed. "Oh, it's being attempted by other parties, but they were quite literally flailing around in the dark. You could say that I added some illumination to the matter."
His lips tightened. "You do not strike me as the sort of person to be setting out to save the world." Translation: I think you're trying to bullshit me.
"Maybe you're not looking hard enough." I looked around the room. "When we last spoke, I mentioned several members of the Empire. Do you recall who they were?"
Kaiser tilted his head slightly. "Myself, Menja and Fenja, Rune, Hookwolf, Othala and Victor."
I nodded. "Good memory."
"It helps in business. Why those names? Why not anyone else?"
"Oh, others can attend if they want," I assured him. "Crusader could probably be added to the list. Maybe Fog, but not Night. Primarily, I want the big hitters. The ones who can land a hit, take a hit, or do something else that's useful in a massive knock-down drag-out fight against a single, highly mobile, devastatingly dangerous opponent."
There was silence in the room as my words sank in. Hookwolf straightened from his posture against the wall, but no-one else moved.
"You want to recruit the Empire for this?" Kaiser's voice was borderline incredulous.
"No." Mine was hard, flat. "I want to recruit everyone." I tapped the dressing on my arm. "This was me convincing Lung that I was serious."
"Lung." The voice came from behind me; Kreig. "You fought Lung and survived?"
"Twice, actually." I turned to face him. "I'm not playing around here. I'm here to issue an invitation to a meeting. Anyone who doesn't think they've got anything to bring to an Endbringer battle, don't bother showing up. The names I gave? They're specifically invited."
"And the rest of us aren't?"
I sighed. "If you want to show up, you can. You will be required to maintain absolute secrecy about what happens there. I'm not bullshitting here; if any of you go with the intent to break it wide open for shits and giggles, you won't be walking out again."
"And Purity? She's invited, too?" asked Kaiser. Kayden bridled.
"Evenstar is definitely invited, yes," I informed him.
"Who else will be there?" asked Kreig.
I resisted the impulse to roll my eyes. "People who need to know about the situation. People who can help win the coming war. So trust me, if you front up to the table, and you have a problem with anyone else there, they're not the ones who are gonna have to step back."
"You've referred to this as a 'war', Mr Allen," Kaiser noted slowly. "You've also given the impression that whatever this fight is against, it's either an Endbringer or the equivalent. But there's been no Endbringer emergence anywhere in the world. More to the point, when we first spoke, you made a comment to the effect that Leviathan had been due to strike here, but that you had taken steps to prevent it."
"All true," I agreed. "Though I misspoke when I said it was Menja who was going to die." I glanced over at the twins on the love seat. "Sorry, it was Fenja. My bad."
One of them came to her feet, a fast and fluid move. "Did you just threaten me?"
"No." My voice was flat. "I just told you that you're off the hook. Just like your boss and Alabaster."
Alabaster's head came up. "You're saying I was going to die, but now I'm not? How?"
"Long story short, time bubble grenade. You end up sharing eternity with Dauntless and Jotun."
"So, not dead."
"Close enough. No-one ever really figures out a way to get you out of it."
He grimaced. "Christ."
"We're getting off point here," Kaiser noted, his voice just a little sharp. "Mr Allen says that it's not going to happen any more; even if Leviathan does attack -" I got the impression that he was dubious about that, for obvious reasons, "- we should be able to avoid our so-called predestined fates." He paused and took a breath. "What we should be focusing on is the current matter."
Hookwolf took a step forward. "Who we gonna fight?"
"That'll come up at the meeting," I told him. I looked at each of them in turn. "You know who's invited. Anyone else who wants to turn up is free to do so. Nobody talks about what goes on in the meeting. Not to anyone, ever. Is that absolutely understood?"
"I don't like being told what to do by some fat old security guard. Is that absolutely understood?" Hookwolf's voice was mocking; he showed his teeth, took a few steps closer. "And Legend ain't here to save your ass, now."
The light in the room started to change; Kayden had started to glow. "No. But I am."
He looked past me, shading his eyes. "You wouldn't attack me to help him."
"Try me." Her voice was flat.
"Kayden. Evenstar. Thanks, but we're good here." I took a step toward Hookwolf. "You really, really don't want to go there, Brad."
"Don't tell me what to do, fat man." He stepped toward me; I tensed. But then a fence of spikes shot up between us.
"He's not telling you what to do, Hookwolf." Kaiser's voice was hard. "I am."
I took a breath, reined in the combat mods that were starting to take over. Forced the aggressiveness back into its box. Behind me, the light levels dropped again as Kayden restrained her power.
"Despite our feelings on the matter, Mr Allen is a guest." Kaiser's voice was calm, over an undercurrent of anger. "We treat him as such. And until further notice, we treat what he is saying as deadly serious."
Keeping half an eye on Hookwolf, just in case, I turned toward him. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"I didn't say it for your sake." He lifted his chin slightly. "Tell me, right now, to my face, that this meeting is not a trap, and I will attend, with my people."
"It's not a trap." My gaze was steady on his; after a long moment, he nodded curtly.
"When and where?"
I nodded in return. "PRT building, tomorrow evening, seven o'clock."
Everyone except Kayden reacted to that; even Kaiser's eyes narrowed.
"Mr Allen. You still say that this is not a trap?"
"No." I was working hard to stay patient. "It's not a trap."
His gaze bored into mine; around the room, I felt rather than heard the other members of the Empire Eighty-Eight shifting restlessly. I wanted to look, to make sure that no-one was getting too close, but nor did I want to make it appear as though I was backing down from Kaiser.
After a long, long moment, he nodded again, abruptly. "We will be there."
"Good." I inclined my head briefly. "I'll see you there." Turning, I nodded to Kayden. "We're done here. Let's go."
She didn't say a word, merely fell into step with me. We were halfway down the entrance hall when Kaiser's voice cut through the air. "Purity."
She didn't react, kept walking.
"Kayden."
She paused in her steady stride; I stopped also, as she turned her head. "What?"
"I forgot to ask; how is our daughter?"
"Aster is doing fine," she stated flatly. "She's safe and she's well, and she's being cared for."
"Good." His voice was faintly mocking. "You know, one day, she's going to ask who her father is."
"I'll tell her that you're dead. And hopefully, by that time, it'll be true." She turned again and strode toward the front door; I followed suit.
=//=//=
By the time we got to the pickup, she was shaking; I opened the door for her, and she got in without question. I was hurrying to get into my side; not because I was worried about them coming out, but because I wasn't sure that Kayden wouldn't decide to go back in, all guns blazing. Or that I was absolutely sure that I'd try to stop her.
We drove away, down the street; Kayden had her hands clenched in her lap, and she was shaking all over. A couple of blocks away, I pulled over and stopped. "You okay?"
"Yes. No." Her head was bowed, and she was beginning to glow. "Christ, I don't know. Fuck!"
The expletive was accompanied by a brilliant flash of light that blinded me for a few seconds; when I could see again, she was back to normal, but bent over with her forehead resting on the dashboard.
"You okay now?" I asked gently.
Sitting up, she turned to me, her eyes wet with tears. "That man makes me so angry. He's so certain he's right, all the time. And he knows just what to say to hurt me."
"Hey. Hey hey hey." I put my hand on her shoulder, the best I could go toward a hug in the cramped confines of the vehicle. "The man is a comprehensive dick. And I know dicks." I paused. "Yeah, that came out wrong."
Despite herself, she giggled damply. "Yes, yes it did."
"Kaiser's just trying to screw with your head," I assured her. "That's because he can feel that his previous hold over you is just about gone. And he doesn't like losing control over anything."
"Doesn't help," she mumbled. "He had ten years to work on me. Ten years to learn all my buttons. It took me nearly all of my pregnancy with Aster to work up the nerve to actually break with him."
"Hey, it's a work in progress." I squeezed her shoulder. "You'll get there."
"I hope so." She sniffled. "Great, and I don't have a tissue."
"In the glove box. I have an emergency stash."
She opened the glove box and located the somewhat-bedraggled flat box of tissues that I generally carried in there. Pulling a couple out, she blew her nose noisily. "Thank you."
"Eh, keep 'em," I offered. "I can get more, and that box is nearly out."
"Thank you," she repeated, and tucked the box into her handbag. "I appreciate it."
"And I appreciate you coming in with me."
"Well, I wasn't about to let you walk in there alone," she pointed out.
"Still, it can't have been easy."
"No, it wasn't." She took a deep breath, and got the tissues out again. This time, she dabbed at her eyes before blowing her nose for a second time. "Okay, I think I'm good now."
"Excellent." I gave her my best encouraging smile. "Now, you know what I think you should do?"
"Oh, great," she muttered. "Another man who wants to tell me what to do." But she was smiling.
"Exactly." I beamed at her. "I think you should go back to New York and cuddle Aster. Spend time with the people in your life who really matter. And then, you know, come back to attend the meeting tomorrow night. What do you think? Good plan of action?"
She considered it. "I think it's definitely workable," she conceded. "Especially the 'cuddle Aster' bit."
"Yeah, I though you might like that bit," I agreed.
"You should come down to visit sometime," she urged me suddenly. "I'm sure that Legend and Arthur would love to have you."
"I'd like to," I replied slowly, "but I've got a lot of demands on my time right now. I really don't know when I can get away. Time is kind of at a premium for me."
"No arguments," she told me firmly. "You're coming to visit."
"Yes, ma'am," I agreed meekly. "I'll make time."
"Better." She smiled, more naturally this time. "It'll be nice."
We got out of the pickup; I went around the front of the vehicle to stand next to her on the pavement. "So, see you tomorrow night?"
"See you then." Unexpectedly, she hugged me. Of course, I hugged her back. "And thanks."
"I should be thanking you." Momentarily, she leaned her head on my shoulder. "You've done so much."
"All in the name of saving the world. And you and Aster too, of course." I made my tone light.
Pulling back, she searched my face. "You were serious then, about what you said about saving the world? And a war?"
"Serious as serious can be. I'll be talking about it at the meeting."
"I'll be there." Reaching up, she planted a kiss on my cheek, and then began to glow.
I shielded my eyes just in time; when I uncovered them, there was just a fading trail of light in the sky, heading south. Getting back into the pickup, I started the engine and drove off. I had places to go and people to see.
=//=//=
The door buzzer went; L33t looked up from his workbench. "That was fast," he called over his shoulder. "Did you forget something?"
"Nope." He froze for a moment; the voice was both unfamiliar and amused. "You're right here."
Slowly, he turned, pushing up the magnifier goggles. "Who the fuck are you?" Behind him, he began to stealthily scrabble through the detritus on the bench for his shock pistol.
The man standing before him had a salt-and-pepper beard that was given over mainly to salt. His hair – a lot of grey there as well, and receding over the temples – was very closely cut. Apart from that, the guy was bulky as hell; a little taller than L33t, he outweighed him two or three times over, easily. His beard and eyebrows were just a little patchy, and he wore a dressing on his right forearm.
"Huh," mused the interloper. "You're skinnier than I pictured you."
That threw L33t off for a moment, so much so that when he found his hand closing over the grip of the shock pistol, he didn't realise for a second what it was that he was holding. Then he grabbed it tightly and swung it around, to point directly into the intruder's face.
"Okay!" he shouted. "Enough bullshit! Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my workshop?"
"The name's Security," was the reply. "I don't know if you've heard of me yet, but ..."
L33t stared. This was the guy who had apparently fucked up Lung and Coil? And, if rumour had it right, Bakuda and Oni Lee as well? All of a sudden, he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep pointing the pistol at the guy's face.
"So what do you want with me?" he asked, trying for a harsh tone. Even to his own ears, it came out a little whiny. "And how did you get in here? I've got the workshop door set on a rotating password system."
"You really ought to invest in biometrics," the man called Security observed. He held out a piece of paper; L33t took it. On it was a series of words and phrases, mated to a series of timestamps. With a shock, he realised that those were his passwords, and the times they were due to roll over.
"But ... but," he sputtered. "Where did you get this?"
"A scarily competent woman in a business suit gave it to me," replied the intruder, still apparently unconcerned that he had L33t's shock pistol pointed at his face. "As for why I'm here ... well, I know it's a cliche, but I need you to help me save the world."
"No. No. This is bullshit." L33t wasn't exactly sure why the words made him so angry. "Now you're just fucking with me."
"No, I'm really not."
L33t glared. "No-one says that shit to me. This is just some big joke to you, isn't it?"
"Hey. L33t. It's not a joke." Security's voice was carefully calm. "I'm not bullshitting you. I actually do need you to -"
L33t would never be quite sure if his finger actually twitched on the trigger, or if the shock pistol just decided to go off on its own. Or rather, decided to try to go off. There was a sharp crack, and pieces sprayed everywhere; the backblast knocked him off his chair and on to the ground. To add insult to injury, the intruder was still standing there, not knocked to the ground as intended.
"Fuck," groaned L33t. "Fuck fuck fuuuuck." He shook his hand vigorously, trying to get feeling back into it.
"Could've told you that was going to happen." The big man reached down, offering a helping hand. L33t grabbed it with his left hand, and was hoisted to his feet. "You built something too close to that about six months ago."
"What - ?"
A broad finger tapped the paper. L33t looked at it, then turned it over.
"His gun will explode," he read. "He built something like it six months ago."
He looked from the paper to the big man in growing incomprehension. "What the living goddamn fuck is going on here? How are you doing this shit?"
"It would take far too long to explain, and longer again to convince you that I'm not smoking finest Merchant product," explained Security. "Suffice to say that we need your talents to help save the world. If you can refrain from blowing yourself up first, that is."
"Not my fault," mumbled L33t. "Fucking power restrictions."
"Actually, about that," Security noted. "I've got something for you to think about. Three things."
"What?" grumbled L33t, picking up his chair and settling himself on to it. His hand was starting to ache.
"First. Powers are caused by conflict, and work better when used for conflict."
L33t blinked. "I … yeah, that kind of makes sense."
A nod. "Second. The things that cause powers are kind of alive and kind of intelligent."
"Wait, what the fuck? My powers are alive? No fucking way."
It was as if the man had not heard him. "Third. Your power hates you because you're too careful, too cautious. It is actually trying to kill you."
L33t's jaw dropped. The idea was ludicrous, ridiculous. But … so many times, when he was sure that he'd calculated the tolerances right, he'd still gotten a failure. Too many times, too many close calls. All too often, he'd muttered that something out there must hate him, with the number of bizarre equipment failures he had suffered.
He'd just never considered that it could be his own powers that were setting him up to fail.
But no. It couldn't be. The man was just messing with his head. He had to be.
It was just too whacked. Too unbelievable.
… just impossible enough to be true.
"Hey. Earth to L33t."
L33t jerked out of his reverie, looked around. The man called Security wasn't there, anywhere in the workshop. The door was open, and Über's familiar face was peering at him. " … you okay?"
"Oh, I, uh, yeah," he blurted. He paused. "Uh, you see anyone leaving just now?"
Über frowned. "No," he replied. "Should I have? Was someone else here?" He paused. "What's that?"
L33t looked around; there was a white envelope leaning against the test stand. He picked it up, opened the flap. Inside, he found a single 3x5 file card. On it, in a rounded hand, were written four lines;
PRT Building.
Friday, seven PM.
You'll learn more then.
Don't be late.
Über peered at the card. "What the fuck, dude? What's that about?"Friday, seven PM.
You'll learn more then.
Don't be late.
L33t shook his head. "I have no idea. No idea at all."
But he knew, deep down, that he wouldn't be able to stay away.
=//=//=
I studied the last piece of paper that Contessa had left for me with a certain amount of trepidation. This is going to be a tricky one. Hopefully, Contessa would be backing me up, but I'd never know unless I screwed up.
Standing up from my couch, I headed into the kitchenette to get a drink of water, the nervous energy making my movements jerky. L33t had been easy to deal with; sure, he'd tried to shoot me, but either Contessa had sabotaged his gun, or his power had. Either way, I'd come out of it unscathed. This next one … this would be the interesting one. I looked at the sheet again.
Cody has made his way to Madison. He is currently stalking the others.
"Great," I muttered. "Just what I needed." I raised my eyes to the ceiling. "This is you getting back at me for screwing you around, isn't it?"
There was no answer; I hadn't expected one, but then, Contessa was probably elsewhere, doing something important.
For about the tenth time, I re-read the instructions, folded the paper, and stuck it in my pocket. Then I cleared my throat. "Door to Cody."
=//=//=
And there they were. Krouse and Noelle. Getting off the bus, walking side by side down the street. Heading for the apartment that they'd rented. He'd forgotten how good Noelle looked, walking. Even with legs she'd only had for two weeks – had it been that little time? - she was striding along, head up, hair blowing a little in the breeze.
Cody shifted a little in the alleyway that he was leaning against, bringing a brown paper bag up to his face, pretending to drink from the empty bottle within. It had not been hard to figure out where the rest of the Travellers had gotten to; after he got from Brockton Bay – even on Earth Aleph, it was still a shithole – to Madison, it had not taken him too much time to track them down.
Krouse and Noelle had their little love nest; Marissa and Oliver were also sharing an apartment, though as far as Cody knew, that was just as roomies. Jess had been reunited with her parents, and Luke had apparently hung out his shingle as "Ballistic – cape for hire".
Everyone's forgotten me. Which is just the way I like it.
He wasn't quite sure what kind of revenge he was going to pull on them, but it was gonna be pretty spectacular, given that they'd turned him over to that white-haired fuck, who sold him on to the fucking Chinese. And all for trying to fix their problem.
It shouldn't be too hard to acquire a handgun -
"Cody."
The voice came from behind him, which was patently impossible; the alley was ten yards deep, ending in a brick wall. But it was also just a bit familiar. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that he'd heard it before. Not that he was taking the time to think.
Spinning around, he saw the guy stepping through the portal. Taking half a second to change his grip on the bottle, he swung it overhand, toward the guy's head. Halfway through the swing, he thought he recognised the guy, but he kept swinging anyway.
It didn't really matter; demonstrating some pretty effective reflexes, the guy brought up a hand and caught his wrist.
Crap. Lucky catch. It has to be.
The guy kept moving, twisting his wrist, turning him around. He fought to keep hold of the bottle, felt himself losing his grip on it -
Rewinding the guy just a few seconds, he turned around and stepped back, still holding the bottle. The doorway was there in mid-air; he could see an apartment beyond, anomalous against the squalor of the trash-filled alley. The guy was just stepping through. Cody threw the bottle.
The guy caught it on the fly.
No-one's that fucking lucky.
He rewound the guy's personal timeline again; the bottle dropped to the ground from where the guy no longer held it. This time, he pulled the knife that was sheathed at the back of his belt, under his jacket. This Madison, in this universe, was a lot more gentle than Brockton Bay in Earth Bet, but old habits died extremely hard.
Even as the guy stepped through, he lunged forward. The guy saw the knife and acted, all in the same instant. He moved forward faster than anyone that big had a right to move, slapped aside Cody's stab, and twisted his wrist; the pain went straight up Cody's arm.
He rewound the guy again before he could drop the knife; this time, as the guy stepped through, he brought his hand to his side, the knife held up against his wrist, out of view. "Cody," stated the guy. "Remember me?"
"Yeah, I remember you," Cody told him warily. "You're the bastard who sent me to Brockton Bay, while everyone else got to go home to Madison."
"I'm also the bastard who pulled you out of a dormitory in China," the guy reminded him. "Or would you rather be back there now?"
"Fuck that." Cody's face twisted. "What do you want with me now?"
"Offer you a job."
Cody paused, blinking. "A what now?"
"A job. You know doing things for money."
"You want me to work for you?"
"Not me." The big guy shook his head. "Some other people. I'm just here to make the offer. You get free room and board, free travel, and a thousand a day, in the hand."
"You're shitting me."
"No. I'm really not. This is a one-time offer, Cody. We need you, but you're not absolutely essential. You've got one hour to decide." He ostentatiously checked a bulky watch on his wrist.
"And if I say no?"
A massive shrug. "I walk away. You never see me again. You never get this offer again. And when the world ends, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you weren't out there fighting, so it's not your fault that we lost."
"Wait, what, when the world ends?"
"Well, I'm not here looking to hire you because of your looks. Six to twelve months, the world is ending. You agree to take this job, you get to be there and help out and maybe avert it."
"Can I think about it?"
"Like I said, one hour. Then the train leaves the station."
" … I still want to think about it."
"Fine." Another shrug. "I'll find you in one hour."
"I … right." I'm gonna have to hurry things up. Get to Krouse's place ...
The big guy took a few steps away. "Door to Trickster's apartment." Beyond him, the portal opened, showing another apartment.
Trickster? The fuck?
"Hey, wait!"
The big guy looked over his shoulder. "What?"
"You're getting Trickster in on this?"
"Well, yeah. Did you think you were the only member of the Travellers that I was interested in recruiting?" He took a step away from the portal, toward Cody. "Maybe I should have mentioned that they get a recruitment deal as well. That I'll be taking them away from Earth Aleph. You'll never get to catch up to them."
His revenge was slipping through his grasp. "No. No. You can't do this."
"Sure I can." The guy shrugged again. "It's easy."
"Wait. I'll – I'll join."
"And you'll drop any and all chance of revenge?"
His mouth opened, then closed again. "I – yes."
He was slammed against the wall, one large hand on his chest, the other catching his knife hand as he tried to bring it up, to stab or slash. Strong fingers squeezed his wrist till the bones ground together; the pain was excruciating.
"I think you're lying."
He rewound the guy, three seconds.
"- revenge?"
"Yes." He was stepping forward from the wall, bringing the knife up as he spoke; the pain from the previous grip made him clumsy, but it probably wouldn't have mattered. His hand was caught and then he was slammed back into the wall. The pain had barely started before the knife dropped from numbed fingers. "I think you're just looking to get close -"
He rewound the guy again. His knife was on the ground. He was leaning against the wall.
"- revenge?"
He took a deep breath. "I don't know," he admitted honestly. "It's all I've lived for, these last two weeks. Longer."
The guy sighed. "You do realise, it's the Simurgh who's pulling your strings on this one? That she set it up so you've got this hate-on for Trickster and Noelle?"
Cody shrugged. "I guessed as much. But they still screwed me over. They owe me."
"Dude. You messed up the meeting with Accord and nearly got Marissa killed. They had very little choice in what they did."
His voice rose. "We could've left town! We could've told Accord to go fuck himself! Instead, they handed me over to him! For all they knew, he was gonna kill me!"
"Hey, I'm not saying it was the right thing to do," the guy told him. "But it wasn't like they could trust you not to do it again, either. You got bystanders killed that day."
"I was trying to solve the problem. You got a problem with that?"
"I do if you keep trying and you keep failing, and keep getting people killed." The guy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Trickster and Noelle aside, there's still a huge problem coming down the pike. I want to know if you're in or out."
He thought about it. "Can I at least go back to Earth Bet and kick the guts out of that white-haired fuck Accord?"
"Ooh, sorry." A grimace. "He's in on this, too."
"Fuck that! No fucking way! That motherfucker sold me to the fucking Chinese!"
"Cody. Listen to me. Do you want Accord dead, or suffering?"
"What?" Cody looked at the guy. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. I can't let you kill him. But I can pretty well guarantee his suffering."
"How do you mean?"
The guy grinned, just slightly. "Did you ever meet Tattletale?"
"Uh, no."
"Hm." A wry expression. "She's a stereotypical smartarse. Her power is super-intuition. She's absolutely got to be the smartest person in the room, and she needles anyone who she thinks might think otherwise. She's really, really good at it."
"And what's this got to do with … oh."
"'Oh' is right." The grin was back. "Accord has to work with her. And you know what he's like."
Cody blinked. "Ah. Right."
"Trust me, he will suffer. But he'll have a vested interest in not killing her, so he'll have to just bear it."
"Just like I've got to do with Trickster and Noelle and him."
"Yeah, but you don't have to be in the same room with the people you hate. He does."
"Huh." A grimace. "I don't like it, but … I guess."
"Okay. Just be aware that you will be noted as a security risk to both of them. You won't be left unattended with either one."
A plan started forming at the back of his mind. "Can I still have that hour to think about it?"
"Sure. I'll catch up with you then."
"Uh, I could just come with, let you know when I come to a decision."
"When I'm just about to go and talk with Trickster and Noelle." The sarcasm was obvious.
"Uh, yes?" Yeah, that wasn't at all suspicious.
"I know your history with those two." A chuckle. "I'm not stupid enough to trust you near them yet."
"Oh." Dammit.
"So, are you actually in, or not?"
"I, uh … I want to think about this for a bit longer."
"I'm not going to open a door to them any time you're near," the guy warned him. "So piss off, and I'll come find you in an hour."
Oh well, it was worth a try.
"Yeah, an hour should do," he muttered. "I'll let you know then."
"I'll catch you then." The guy waved. "Bye."
The dismissal was obvious; he turned and trudged from the alleyway. As soon as the guy was gone, he'd double back and grab the knife.
Fuck. What do I do now?
=//=//=
I knocked on the door of the apartment jointly rented by Noelle Meinhardt and Francis Krouse. Personally, I would have preferred to have been waiting for them when they got back, but my discussion with Cody had wasted time. Plus, I'd had to clean my boots.
After a few moments, the door opened, and I came face to face with Noelle. A little shorter than me, she had strong features and straight brown hair. She stared at me, obviously not recognising my face.
"Uh, can I help you?" she asked.
"Who is it, hon?" I heard from behind her.
"You might not remember me," I told her. "Mike Allen? Security? I helped get you here."
She remembered now, I could tell; her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Holy shit. Come in, come in."
I took her up on the invitation, just as Trickster entered the room from what was probably the kitchen. He was out of costume, of course; his swarthy features seemed to be more filled out, the hook nose less prominent. Civilian life seemed to agree with him.
"Wait, I know you," he declared. "You were that guy with the PRT. The one who -"
"- who helped me, yes," Noelle filled in. "What are you doing here? How did you even get here?" A moment later, she slapped herself on the forehead. "Duh. The same way you got us here."
"Exactly correct," I agreed. "So, how's life been since you got back?"
"A little fraught, at first," Krouse told me. "They wanted to know where we'd been for the last year and a half."
"So we wove them a tale of daring escapes from the authorities and keeping our heads down, until we could find a way back," supplied Noelle. "Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?"
"Beer?" added Krouse.
"Uh, cold water, if you've got it," I demurred. "Not much of a beverage drinker."
"Pretty sure we've got that," Noelle assured me. "I'll be back in a second."
Krouse stepped up and shook my hand. "It's good to see you. What are you here for? Checking up to see how we're doing? Have a seat?" He gestured to the sofa.
"Kind of," I agreed, sitting down. "Ah, thanks," I added, as Noelle emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water.
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" asked Krouse. "How have things been going since we left?"
I drank down about half the cup. "Ahh, that's nice. Well, the place has been settling down a bit. After Coil went down, and Kaiser outed me to the villain population, Bakuda took a run at me." Reflexively, I scratched the scar on the side of my neck.
Krouse fetched cookies, and they sat down, asking more questions. I filled them in on most of what had happened, glossing over the heart attack and my subsequent upgrade at Riley's hands.
"Sounds like you've been having your adventures, too," Noelle observed, when I had brought them more or less up to date. "But you never told us why you're here."
"Is this about that job offer you said we might get?" asked Krouse. "Because it hasn't come yet."
"Well, it was originally going to be a couple of years down the track," I admitted. "When the deadline got a little closer."
"Deadline for what?" asked Noelle, alert now.
"So what's changed?" Krouse queried, at almost exactly the same time.
"One at a time," I replied. "Ladies first; the deadline has to do with a battle breaking out that has the potential to end the world. It was originally fourteen to sixteen years in the future. Now, it's six to twelve months away."
"The world?" That was Krouse. "You mean Earth Bet?"
"To start with, yeah," I agreed. "But it doesn't stop there. Not by a long shot."
Noelle's hand sought out Krouse's. "So why the sudden change?"
I grimaced. "I think I might have had something to do with it. See, I knew it was coming all along. I've been setting in motion plans that were ultimately intended to have us ready for it, when the time came."
"And something went wrong." That was Krouse.
"Yeah." My voice was sour. "Here I am, doing my best to save the damn world, and something I do, or set in motion, sets off the apocalypse early. Fuckin' joy."
"But how do you know it'll happen earlier?" asked Noelle. "Are you a precog or something?"
"Nope." I took a drink from the latest glass of water. "But I've got one on speed-dial."
"So what can we do?" Krouse looked concerned. "I'm not much good against world-ending menaces."
"And I don't even have powers any more," added Noelle. "Not that my powers would have been any help at all, under the circumstances."
"I dunno," mused Krouse. "If you'd managed to clone someone like Jack Slash, he might've turned out all sweetness and light."
I shivered. "I doubt that. If she'd encountered Crawler, that would have been an extinction event for the city, so I can't see a clone of Jack Slash being any better."
Noelle peered at me. "How do you know that?"
"I just do," I told her. "But both of you can help, if you so wish."
"Uh, I get it that Francis is still powered," Noelle replied, "but what can I do?"
"Hell, I can't see that I'd be any more useful," Krouse agreed. "High-powered I'm not."
I pointed at Noelle. "Strategy and tactics. We'll be teaming you with Tattletale, Accord and Dragon. They'll be making it up as they go along, or using powers to fill in for intellect. I want someone at the table who's actually good at it without powers."
"Okay, I can see that," Krouse noted. "But what about me? Swapping full coffee cups for empty ones?"
"Hardly," I told him. "Battlefield support. If a big hitter can't disengage, it'll be up to you to help out."
"Huh." He tilted his head to one side. "Yeah, I can do that."
"Good." I leaned back. "Would you be able to do me a favour, and get hold of Jess and Luke for me? I need to talk to them as well."
=//=//=
"Jess, phone for you."
"Oh, uh, thanks, Mom." Jess wheeled herself away from the TV, over to where her mother was holding the phone. Cradling the receiver between shoulder and ear, she steered herself a little farther away, for privacy.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Jess. How you doing?"
"Francis! I'm doing fine. How are you and Noelle?"
"Yeah, listen, I got someone here who wants to talk to you."
"Okay, who?"
"Remember the guy who got us back? The big guy?"
Reflexively, she nodded. "Yeah, I remember him. What about him?"
"Well, he's here right now, and he wants to ask you something."
She frowned. "Uh, okay. Put him on."
There was the sound of the phone being passed over, and a different voice came on. "Hey, Jess."
"Uh, hi. What was your name again?"
"You can call me Mike. Got a question for you."
"Francis said that. What do you want to know?"
"You willing to come back as a cape, one last time?"
She went very still. "You're going to have to explain that."
"There's something going down, in the next six months to a year, that'll mess up Earth Bet, and put a fair hurt on Aleph and all the other earths out there. I'm working on averting it. Recruiting everyone I know who I think can help. You interested?"
She closed her eyes. "Mike, I … I never wanted to be there. I just wanted to come back. I haven't even used my powers since I got back."
His tone was sympathetic. "I understand. You don't have to do it. I was just checking."
"Who else are you asking?"
A chuckle. "Just about everyone. Luke's on his way over, so I can talk to him personally."
"I'm really not sure if I can face this. Not again."
"That's fine. You don't want to do it, I'm not going to force it down your throat. I will say that there's money involved. Just so you know."
She shook her head. "No. I don't want to know how much. Tell the others I'm sorry, but I just … can't."
"It's all good. I know how much crap you guys went through while you were here. If I was in your place, I'd have trouble saying yes, too." His voice was warm and accepting. "I'll just give you back to the others."
The phone was passed over again; this time, she found herself talking to Noelle. "Hi!"
"Hi, No. So you're saying yes?"
"Not sure, but I think yeah, I am."
"But you don't even have powers. What are you going to do?"
"Well, apparently they've found out how good at game strategy I am, so they're putting me in there."
"Oh. Well, I hope you do all right."
"Thanks. I wish you could be with us."
"I just can't go back. Not for anything."
"Okay then. Say hi to your mom for me."
"Thanks. Will do."
Jess pressed the End Call button, and wheeled back to place the cordless phone on the cradle. She tried once more to lose herself in the TV show, but her thoughts kept intruding.
I hope I've done the right thing …
=//=//=
We heard the high-powered sports car coming before it ever screeched to a halt. I peered out the window; it was bright red, and looked like a jet fighter mated with a speedboat. All raked lines and spoilers, spinning rims and god knew what else. If it didn't feature every accessory known to mankind, plus a few more, I would have been deeply astonished.
Luke bounded out of it, looking bright and energetic; he disappeared into the building below, and an absurdly short time later, we heard the knocking on the door. On general principles, I made it to the door first; if this was Cody trying for revenge anyway, he would get a nasty surprise.
"Oh, hey," Luke greeted me as I opened the door. "My man. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay," I told him. "But you seem to be living large. I take it the hero for hire gig pays nicely?"
"Fuck me, yes," he chuckled. "I'm one of very few capes in the world, and there's no Alexandrias or Eidolons among the others, let me tell you. I can write my own checks. And there's more than a few zeroes involved."
"Well, I'm glad you're getting along," I told him. "You're certainly looking well."
"Benefits of having a personal trainer, a swimming coach, and a dietician on twenty-four hour callout," he pointed out. "Never felt better in my life."
Krouse leaned across to me and added in a stage whisper, "The fact that these are all hot women don't hurt either." Noelle slugged him on the arm. "Ow!" he protested. "Well, it's true!"
"Yes, well, you don't have to make a song and dance about it." She folded her arms, looking miffed.
I wasn't quite sure how to deal with the incipient argument, but Luke rescued me. "So, dude, you got something you want to talk to me about?" He put his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from the couple.
"Yeah." Quickly, I outlined the situation; an escalating problem, likely to break in six months or so, needing big hitters. "And you're a pretty big hitter, as hitters go."
"Hmm." He rubbed his chin, where he'd grown a neatly trimmed soul patch. "Sure, I can help out."
"Excellent."
I went to go on, but he cut me off. "Just make an appointment with my agent, and I'll be right at your service."
I paused. "Your … agent?"
He nodded. "She's really good at scheduling my time."
Recalling Krouse's words, I nodded in reply. I'll just bet she is.
"Well, can you make it to a meeting tomorrow night at least?" I tried to stress how important it was. "I'm going to be explaining exactly how dire the threat is."
He frowned. "I can try. What time?"
"Seven."
"That might interfere with my tennis lesson."
I wondered if his tennis coach was also a hot woman, and then I wondered if the 'lesson' even took place on a tennis court. Then I wondered if I was being unfair to him. "Look, this is serious. End of the world serious."
"Okay, okay." He grimaced. "I'll explain it to her. I can be there." 'Her', huh?
"Great," I told him. "Try to be alone at six fifty. I'll pick you up then."
He nodded. "Sure thing."
"Good." Well, that's three out of five so far …
=//=//=
"So, what's the good word?"
Cody turned at the first syllable. As soon as he saw where the portal was, he reacted.
He had used the hour wisely, getting in touch with someone who could provide him with what he wanted. And then he had used his power to get the item he wanted without actually paying for it.
And so, as the guy stepped through the portal, he pulled out the Saturday Night Special that he had managed to acquire. Holding it double-handed, he aimed it directly at the guy.
Just as the guy started to react, Cody rewound him, putting him back to the point where he started stepping through the portal. "So -" he began, before Cody opened fire, pulling the trigger as fast as he could.
The recoil, as modest as it was, spoiled his aim after the first shot, but he kept firing anyway. The report deafened him, and the muzzle-flare left after-images in front of his eyes, but he was pretty sure that he'd scored with at least two of the shots.
Fuck you, and fuck the end of the world.
End of Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
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