Down with the Queen

Benjamin Medrano

Contents

Foreword

Character List

The Story So Far

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Epilogue

Author’s Note

Down with the Queen by Benjamin Medrano

© 2018 Benjamin Medrano. All rights reserved.

Contact the author at BenjaminPMedrano@gmail.com

Visit the author’s website at benjaminmedrano.com

Sign up for the author’s mailing list at http://eepurl.com/cGPT-b

Edited by Picky Cat Proofreading

Cover Art by June Jenssen

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

ISBN: 1986163164

Jessica, Joe, and Paul,

Thank you for your help getting this right.

Foreword

After Marin’s Codex took on a life of its own, I’m glad to be getting back to a story which has been intended to be a novel from the beginning. Not that I’m saying that writing Marin’s Codex was bad, far from it! It very likely is my best-written book to date and part of me worries that I’ll never manage to do that again… though rest assured, I’m going to try. It’s also something of a relief that I’m not simply rewriting an older story this time around. While I had many of the concepts of Down with the Queen figured out when I first wrote Born a Queen, they weren’t fully developed and this gave me more freedom to work through and evolve the story.

This novel is still going to be dark in segments due to those pre-existing plans. Bad things are going to happen to good people through no fault of their own, and good people are going to make mistakes and assumptions based on their own biases and experiences. There are a lot of scenes in this story that are unpleasant, and I don’t want those of you who read it to think that I like events like these. It’s part of the story I conceptualized, because I want heroes to be human and villains to be evil. Please keep that in mind, if you would?

Character List

The following characters are major figures from Born a Queen and are listed to make keeping track of them easier. If a character has a superhero or supervillain identity, it is listed in parentheses, unless this is the only identity known at the start of this story. Minor characters are not listed.

Amber Meadow (Shadowmind) – Supervillain and ‘mother’ of Lilith, Amber is a feared supervillain with advanced technology and psychic powers.

Black Comet – An African-American speedster with the ability to fly, Black Comet is a member of Ocean Shield and one of their first responders.

Blooming Orchid – Of Chinese descent, Blooming Orchid is a member of Ocean Shield and functions as the team’s doctor.

Blue Impulse – A villain, Blue Impulse is in custody, but was a mage with teleportation and other movement-based powers. Cocky, arrogant, and short-tempered.

Circe – An AI created by Shadowmind which controls her various strongholds. She isn’t quite self-aware.

Crimson Bull – A burly man with super-strength and toughness, Crimson Bull is a member of Ocean Shield and has a reputation for thinking with his horns. Has a crush on Warden.

Doctor Johnson – An elderly villain, Doctor Johnson makes careful plans and has an android assistant in the form of a woman named Eve. He’s a specialist in technology.

Dreamer – An attractive albino woman, Dreamer is a deadly, sadistic villain with the power to lull others to sleep and to deal damage to their psyche in the process.

Ebon Dragon – An elderly villain of Chinese descent, Ebon Dragon is a villain and mercenary who appears to know Doctor Johnson well. He’s known to be an incredibly skilled spellcaster.

Eve – An android AI created by Doctor Johnson as an assistant.

Galvanic Action – A Hispanic hero, Galvanic Action is a member of Ocean Shield and often functions as their field commander. His powers allow him to rapidly cause corrosion on most nonliving substances, though it requires close proximity to work quickly.

Gina Fairmont (Warden) – An artist in mundane life, Gina is a member of Ocean Shield and possesses powerful magic that focuses on allowing her to create magical shields.

Heavy Metal – A villain who stands nearly seven feet tall, Heavy Metal isn’t the brightest man, but is able to turn his skin into steel, allowing him to make a living as a mercenary thug.

Hypergizmo – Building and maintaining most of Ocean Shield’s technology, Hypergizmo is weaker than most superhumans, but is an intelligent, efficient man who does his best to support his allies and friends.

Lilith Carpenter – Created by Shadowmind, Lilith is an artificial human with abilities far beyond what is natural for normal people. The method of her creation resulted in being declared a bioweapon that is to be destroyed if she’s discovered. Her powers are currently only partially known, but they cause others to notice her when she’s in the area.

Megawatt – A tech specialist, Megawatt is a mercenary who wears power armor and focuses on heavy energy weaponry.

Ocean Spirit – Leader of Ocean Shield, Ocean Spirit is a native Hawaiian and she has the power to control water and take on an elemental form that makes her nigh-invulnerable in water. She is one of the two most powerful members of the team.

Pyroclasm IV – The most recent bearer of the name, Pyroclasm is an immensely powerful pyrokinetic who can fly, and he serves the remnants of the Third Reich, who remain in hiding.

Rachel Moore (Morgan Le Fay) – Rachel is a magic teacher at UC Berkley and is also a member of Ocean Shield. Her magic is far more expansive than most other spellcasters but requires her jewelry, and it is slightly slower to respond to her command.

Sky Defender – Using highly advanced power armor, Sky Defender is one of the two most powerful members of Ocean Shield. A relative unknown.

The Story So Far

By gathering genetic samples of hundreds of superhumans, the supervillain Shadowmind brought down the known world of heroes and many villains on her head. Most of those hunting her feared what her goals were, which was what garnered such a potent response. When she was captured by Crimson Bull and Warden of Ocean Shield, Shadowmind’s creation of a daughter was discovered, though the child was not found. Shadowmind had named her daughter Lilith Carpenter, and she woke as an adult to be educated by Circe, Shadowmind’s AI. Oddly, Lilith was created without biases toward or against heroes and villains.

Lilith underwent extreme training to discover the limits of her engineered body, even as servants of Doctor Johnson began raiding San Francisco. This brought Warden into conflict with Blue Impulse, who managed to capture a fragment of her magic during his escape. With the tacit agreement of Doctor Johnson, he began working to disable and conquer the heroine.

Moving to San Francisco, Lilith made a fortune by leveraging what she learned from Circe and started a company and bought a condo in the center of the city. She found herself mentally adrift about the time that Warden was ambushed by Blue Impulse, Ebon Dragon, and Megawatt. The heroine was cursed, her magic sealed away with fell purpose, and abandoned atop Lilith’s building, and Lilith rescued Warden against her own best judgement. Lilith’s hesitation was partially driven by the fact she’d been designated a bioweapon by the government and thus would be killed out of hand on being captured.

A chance encounter caused Lilith and Warden to meet in the heroine’s mundane identity of Gina, and shortly thereafter she met Gina’s friend Rachel, the heroine Morgan Le Fay. A relationship began blooming between the three, whether that of friends or more of romance was uncertain at the time. When Lilith admitted that she’d known the identities of the two heroines from the beginning, they cut off contact in order to determine what Lilith’s motives were and if she was influencing them. Lilith was left almost heartbroken, while Gina began to realize she’d fallen for Lilith.

Before things could progress further, Gina was kidnapped by Blue Impulse, who revealed the curse was part of an attempt to magically control her and it turned her lips and underlying skin tone blue in the process of attempting to complete the ritual. Wishing to hurt Gina as much as possible, he had her attempt to lure Lilith into a trap so he could hurt her in front of Gina. Lilith realized something was wrong and was so enraged that she nearly killed Blue Impulse. Lilith managed to break the device that he was using to enslave Gina before it could become permanent, though the aftershocks of the released magic had unknown effects on Lilith.

Gina moved in with Lilith, despite protests from her team. Lilith confessed who and what she was to Gina and Rachel, knowing they could kill her with the information without consequence. Instead, they promised to help her try to get the death sentence for being a biological weapon rescinded. Rachel all but admitted she had feelings for both Lilith and Gina.

The villain Black Harbinger attacked the city and Doctor Johnson used it as cover to attack several locations and steal technology from three facilities, killing people to cover his tracks. Ocean Shield engaged Black Harbinger, and Morgan Le Fay was nearly killed when the villain Pyroclasm IV ambushed her from behind. Only Lilith intervening and manifesting new powers that allowed her to heal saved the heroine’s life. The effort nearly killed Lilith in turn. Somehow empowered by the experience, Morgan and Warden defeated the villains.

Having decided to explore the potential relationship between them, Gina, Lilith, and Rachel then went to the local SuperNet branch to have her powers evaluated.

Prologue

Friday, December 20th, 2030

Sky Defender HQ, San Francisco

Listening to the soft beeping as the computer ran diagnostics on his suit, Sky Defender sat back and sighed, pulling out the small refrigeration unit he’d brought back from Ocean Shield’s HQ. He felt a little bad about simply taking the blood sample within, but there was no way that Blooming Orchid would have given it to him if he’d asked. He didn’t like breaking the rules, but in the end, it was for the greater good. Sky Defender found that his instincts were rarely wrong about things like this.

Turning away from his suit, he opened the unit and pulled out the vial as he spoke. “System, run this blood sample through a full spectrum of tests. I want to know everything possible about it, as well as the heritage of the subject.”

“Yes, Doctor,” a synthesized male voice replied calmly as a compartment sized for the sample hissed open. “The tests will take approximately two weeks and will destroy the sample in the process. Is that acceptable?”

“Of course.” Sky Defender replied, carefully placing the vial into the compartment. “I want the data secured with tier 3 encryption and stored only in the local database.”

“Yes, Doctor. What file name should the analysis be listed under?” the computer asked as the compartment closed and machinery whirred within the counter.

Sky Defender didn’t reply for a moment, frowning, then shrugged and replied softly. “Subject: Lilith Carpenter.”

“Yes, Doctor,” the computer agreed readily, and the hero nodded to himself. Turning away, he moved to his desk and sat down to work on improving the power plant of his armor. Despite how important the project was, Sky Defender found himself unable to fully concentrate.

A minute later, he sighed, murmuring. “Maybe this will finally help me figure out why she irritates me so much. I hope it does.”

* * *

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“Hello, ladies! It’s wonderful to meet you at last!” Eve told her guests, her smile broad as she welcomed the pair of women, gesturing them inside. “Please, come in!”

The women were striking in their own way, and each of them almost identical. With short, pixie-cut light brown hair and hazel eyes, they were pretty enough to draw the eye, especially with their relatively petite frames, and they stood close to average height. Each was wearing a white blouse and black jacket over a colorful skirt, one red and the other green. Eve could see a few other differences between them but it took her several moments to ensure that she could tell them apart. Humans would likely have a much harder time telling the difference between the pale-skinned women.

“Thank you,” one of them said politely, smiling very thinly in return as they stepped through the back door and followed Eve to the elevator. “I’m Maureen, and this is Pauline. Who exactly are you?”

“I’m called Eve, and the doctor has asked me to be your liaison and primary contact for the job you’ve taken.” Eve replied, nodding at them as she activated the override to head below the two listed floors. The elevator began to descend as she looked at them inquisitively. “Is that acceptable?”

Pauline snorted, shaking her head as she murmured, “Considering what I’ve heard about the doctor’s attitude regarding women, I think I’d prefer it.”

“Agreed.” Maureen nodded, then looked at Eve. “Now, the job was listed as a moderate danger replacement and infiltration. As the initial payment came through, we’d like some details before we finalize everything. There weren’t many details, though that’s understandable.”

“That’s perfectly alright,” Eve assured them, smiling in return. “If you’ll wait just a minute, until we’re in a secure room? The doctor has a few employees whose services are coming to a close and he would rather they not know about your job. Or your presence, for that matter.”

“That… seems reasonable. We can wait for a few minutes,” Maureen agreed, falling silent as the pair of villains studied Eve carefully.

Eve ignored their examination, confident that she could deal with both of them if it was necessary. The pair were a relatively new supervillain team called the Doppelgangers, and so far, they had a good reputation in the underworld for reliability. The problem was that they were still new and unknown for the most part. They didn’t publicize their successes, as they didn’t seem to want to draw too much attention from heroes, which was a good thing from Eve’s point of view. It increased the safety of the operation that she was planning. What she’d found regarding their powers made her quite confident that they weren’t a threat to her, since their powers seemed to only affect humans.

The elevator finally settled at the lowest floor of the shaft, far below the office above them. The doors opened to reveal the gleaming hallways of the lair which Dr. Johnson had made into his temporary home. Eve could just barely hear cursing in the distance, the voice of Heavy Metal, tiny but distinct, as he worked on preparing to move out of the lair. She doubted her two guests could hear him so Eve ushered them toward the nearest conference room, opening the door as she asked, “Would you like anything to drink or other refreshments?”

“No, thank you. We had lunch before we came over,” Pauline replied, the two of them following Eve into the room and each taking a chair around the table. “We’d rather talk about the job you had in mind.”

“As you like, though it is the doctor’s job, not mine. A subtle distinction, but important.” Eve replied, smiling at them again as she closed the door and activated the room’s sound dampening. Taking a seat, she paused before activating the holographic camera to cause the image of a woman of Chinese descent, wielding a jian and wearing an elaborate, orchid-themed outfit, to appear in the center of the table. “Blooming Orchid, a core member of Ocean Shield, is the target he had in mind.”

“Are… are you serious? Ocean Shield isn’t a minor player in this region! This doesn’t seem like it’d be a simple moderate risk job!” Maureen exclaimed, standing abruptly in obvious shock.

“If the doctor were asking you to do more than replace her, perhaps you’d be right, but he isn’t. Intelligence reports indicate she’s going on vacation in the near future, and the goal is to replace her while she’s absent. Your task would be to keep them from realizing she has gone missing, and with the recent attacks on San Francisco, her team is somewhat distracted,” Eve explained pleasantly. “You’d be expected to keep up the charade and pass along any information that’s dangerous to the doctor for no more than three months, then to fake Blooming Orchid’s death, preferably pinning it on Omega Code or another villain. Nothing more.”

“Hmm…” Pauline didn’t reply immediately and her sister glanced at her.

“Sis, are you really considering this? It’ll put you in severe danger if anything goes wrong!” Maureen demanded. “This is nothing like the type of job we were expecting.”

“There are a few questions I’d have to ask before I’d be comfortable taking on the job, but I’m not sure it doesn’t meet the requirements we had. So long as we aren’t expected to do anything too dangerous, which it doesn’t sound like would happen, I don’t feel that the job is impossible.” Pauline replied, looking at Eve. “Considering what you’re asking, how do you expect to capture Blooming Orchid? You must know that our powers require touching her for a time.”

“An excellent question. Hypergizmo’s security around Ocean Shield’s computer systems is quite solid, but Blooming Orchid’s personal computer has been neglected by comparison, and I have her itinerary for her trip to Hawaii.” Eve explained, smiling brightly as she continued. “As for disabling her, that will be my own task.”

“That would make things easier, but the job is riskier than your initial offer suggested it was,” Pauline said, looking at her sister.

“Exactly,” Maureen agreed, frowning and then nodding. “I’m not happy about it, but if Pauline agrees, I’ll help. If you want us to do this, you’ll have to double the payment. One quarter up front, half on successful replacement, and the remaining quarter once we’re done.”

“That’s quite reasonable,” Eve agreed, nodding as she filed the information away. The doctor would be pleased to come in under budget for the mission, and she smiled more gently as she asked, “If you don’t mind, I’ll grab the paperwork, then we can start going over details.”

The two nodded and Eve got up, briskly heading for the door. Their efficiency pleased her.

Chapter 1

Friday, December 20th, 2030

SuperNet HQ, San Francisco

Lilith stepped into the room and paused, looking around dubiously. The room had several chairs, a table with a penholder, a power outlet in the wall, and a second door opposite her entrance. Otherwise it was bare and plain white, reminding her rather unpleasantly of the room where she’d been interviewed by the police for a few hours, even if it was slightly less sterile than the other one had been. At the very least, the lights weren’t as harsh.

“Is something wrong?” Gina asked, slipping around Lilith, and Lilith quickly moved out of her way, giving her friend an apologetic look. Gina hadn’t bothered trying to hide the bright blue of her lips today, and her skin now had a faint blue undertone to it, far different than it’d possessed just a few days before. Her friend had pulled her blonde hair back for the visit and was wearing a white tracksuit, looking as though she was dressed for a jog or something.

“Sorry, I just… this reminds me of the police station a bit, so it feels a little… uncomfortable. At least at first glance,” Lilith explained as Rachel entered the room. Rachel was a bit taller than Gina but shorter than Lilith and was comparatively petite. She’d dressed more casually than usual, with jeans and a black blouse. Her raven hair was in a ponytail and she glanced at Lilith in amusement.

“It isn’t that similar, is it?” Rachel asked gently. “I’ve been in a few of those rooms myself, and I always feel like a lab specimen when I’m inside.”

“I don’t know…” Gina murmured, looking around still more, her lips pursed. “I can see what Lilith means. The table isn’t that different, and both feel kind of unwelcoming.”

“That’s exactly it,” Lilith agreed, relieved that she wasn’t reacting that unusually. “Yes, it feels a little like a lab, but I expect that when they’re going to be testing my powers. Maybe it’s just me drawing associations with recent events, though. The last few days have been unusually eventful.”

“Well, that would probably do it. From everything I’ve seen, this is about normal for one of SuperNet’s interview rooms. They could make them more comfortable, but I suspect the design is on purpose.” Rachel replied, nodding in understanding. Stepping closer to Lilith, she laid a hand on her shoulder as she continued. “We’re here with you, don’t worry.”

The other door opened and a woman stepped into the room, smiling at them as she did so. The woman was a little taller than Rachel, and her brown hair fell to her shoulders. She wore a dark blue suit, but the most striking thing about her was both her youth and brilliant silver eyes. Lilith blinked in some surprise because the woman’s irises were literally a bright, glowing silver, something she hadn’t been warned about.

“Hello, ladies. I’m Allison Gambry. I must say I’m amused to see so many of you as I only had an appointment with Lilith. Though I do recognize Gina and Rachel by reputation,” the woman said, smiling as she glanced at the two women flanking Lilith. Realizing how it might look, Lilith opened her mouth to speak, but Rachel beat her to it.

“Our apologies, Ms. Gambry. I’m sorry we came along unannounced, but we learned that Lilith’s powers were somewhat… more expansive than originally anticipated, and that they were linked to the two of us somehow.” Rachel explained politely. “After considering the situation, we thought it best to come along with her, since she’s here at our request.”

“I see. That does explain your presence, and while it was unexpected, it isn’t a problem,” Allison replied, and looked back at Lilith, her eyes flicking downward to examine Lilith carefully. A moment later, she smiled and spoke softly as she extended a hand. “You’re certainly an interesting one, aren’t you? I’m pleased to meet you at last, Ms. Carpenter. I’ve heard interesting things about you.”

“You have?” Lilith asked, blinking in surprise as she shook the woman’s hand. Allison had a firm grip but wasn’t trying to test her. “I didn’t think that Gina or Rachel had talked about me much.”

“They haven’t, at least not with me. I was advised to come out here by a rather important client of mine. They direct me to where they believe I’ll encounter superhumans who need my assistance, or whose powers might interest me,” Allison explained, releasing Lilith’s hand and looking at Gina and Rachel as she added, “Don’t worry, I don’t share information about those I help with my client. It simply helps me to know where I’ll be of most use.”

“Hmm, I suppose that explains why you were in San Francisco. We were curious when we heard that Lilith would be meeting with you,” Gina said, nodding slowly. “You’re rather famous, at least in our circles. Insight, isn’t it?”

“Please, don’t use that name. I find it incredibly silly,” Allison replied, visibly wincing as she moved to the chair nearest the door she’d come through, gesturing to the other seats. “If you’d like, please be seated. Or stand, if that’s your preference.”

Lilith nodded, slipping into the center chair, and a moment later her two friends sat in the others. Clearing her throat, Lilith spoke hesitantly. “May I ask what the testing will entail? I know I signed up for the power test, but how we’d go about that wasn’t clear to me. There’s a lot of contradictory information on the internet, I’m afraid.”

“There would be, in large part because very, very few superhumans are the same. Oh, some have similar powers, most commonly those which have simple enhanced strength and toughness or spellcasters, but even they vary between individuals, and not just in how much of a boost their powers grant,” Allison explained, settling back in her chair as she continued. “For instance, most superhumans have a degree of strength amplification that multiplies their natural strength to some degree, but how it manifests can vary. I know of some which have strength that’s closer to touch-based telekinetic powers, and others where they massively increase their muscle mass. Even if their overall strength is the same, each can be different, and the tests we run are customized to the individual because of it.”

“Ah. That does explain some of my confusion, though it raises a host of other questions,” Lilith murmured, frowning slightly. “I doubt I’d know where to begin such testing.”

“I doubt that, but that isn’t why I’m here. I’m here to analyze your powers. You’re going to be sent through an intense battery of physical tests, which will tell us a great deal to begin with. Fortunately, my power allows me to glean much more from observation than most people could. Your captivation field has its own quirks, for instance.” Allison’s eyes were almost eerie as she stared at Lilith intently. “Your ability is quite powerful, but it wasn’t difficult to learn that, while it functions through surveillance cameras, it doesn’t affect AIs or function if I’m viewing a recording of you. Another item of interest is that while it affected everyone else you’ve encountered in the building, it doesn’t affect Gina or Rachel.”

“What? That doesn’t make sense because I’ve experienced her power before,” Rachel interjected, glancing at Lilith incredulously. “I know I have, and the most powerful experience was just yesterday.”

Allison shook her head at Gina to cut her off, raising a finger as she spoke. “While it may have influenced you before, the only time the two of you focused on Lilith was when you were speaking to her or watching her on your trip into the building, unlike nearly everyone else in your path. Even here, once I entered the room you’ve barely glanced at her, and only when you seemed concerned about her. I’m not saying there isn’t a link between you and her, mind you, because there certainly is. The fact is that the field appears to be psychic in nature, and since you appear to be linked to her, however so tenuously, it doesn’t affect you the same way it affects others.”

“What do you mean, that the link is tenuous?” Lilith asked, looking at her friends as she continued. “I knew there was a link between us before this. I can sense the direction they’re in, though I have no idea just how far it might extend. For all I know, it could stop working after a few miles.”

“I call it tenuous because it appears that it could be easily broken by you, or by Gina or Rachel if they so desired. It’s different than the majority of psychic links, which are extremely difficult to break once formed. It’s rather fascinating, really,” Allison replied, leaning forward in her chair again. “Since you know about the link, what can you tell me of how it formed, and what can be done with it? I’d also like to know what you believe your powers are.”

“My powers are, as Rachel said, broader than I initially believed. When we set up the appointment, I thought that I only possessed the captivation field. Oh, I have physical and mental abilities beyond those of most humans, but that’s merely the result of my biology, not any powers,” Lilith began, and paused for a moment, trying to determine how to explain what she was thinking.

“I take it that’s no longer the case?” Allison prompted, and quickly added. “Also, while I appreciate your desire to interject, ladies, please allow Lilith to answer the questions. It’s her answers that will reveal the most about her abilities.”

Gina nodded readily, and Lilith held back a smile as she saw Rachel practically bite her tongue to keep from saying anything. Taking a deep breath, Lilith focused on the questions and continued. “The first hint that my powers were more expansive was when I found myself able to see a conduit of magic flowing between Gina and an assailant of hers. It felt like I could almost touch it, but it wasn’t physical. The conduit was broken, but when it shattered, magic was released. Since I was next to the conduit when it broke I absorbed the magic, and it felt like something woke up within me at the time.”

“Interesting, a second stage awakening…” Allison murmured, but waved off Lilith’s questioning look. “No, no, finish your explanation first. I’ll explain afterward if you’d like.”

“As you say. I didn’t notice anything else at the time, save for severe dizziness for a minute or two. That changed, umm…” Lilith paused, looking at Rachel hesitantly, uncertain how to address the encounter with Black Harbinger and Pyroclasm.

“She’s aware I’m Morgan, Lilith, so go ahead and tell her,” Rachel said, settling back in her chair and her lips curving in a gentle smile as she added, “Thank you for your reticence, though.”

Lilith nodded, noticing the slight smile on Allison’s face as she continued. “Thank you, Rachel. Well, during the fight with Black Harbinger and Pyroclasm, Rachel was critically injured and I managed to get to her. When I looked at her, I realized I could sense her injuries somehow, and it felt like I could fix them, if only I could touch the wounds. Mentally touch, I mean. Instinctively I knew… that I needed her permission, her trust, to do it. So I focused everything on her, to pull her out of shock, to make her focus on me. I asked her for permission, to trust me, and she did. So I went in to heal the injuries. I didn’t… do much; I just directed her body to fix itself, and it was exhausting. I almost passed out before finishing, but I managed it eventually. After finishing, I lost consciousness, and Blooming Orchid said it put a severe strain on my body. To my knowledge, that’s now the extent of my powers.”

“I would disagree with Lilith on that being all of her powers,” Rachel interjected politely.

“Oh?” Allison asked, turning her gaze to Rachel. “Why is that?”

“While I believe that she’s right about her description of what happened, after I was healed I felt my magic abruptly surge in strength for several minutes. I’m not sure what happened, but I suspect that Lilith somehow empowered my magic,” Rachel explained, and Gina nodded.

“I didn’t fully realize it at the time, as my powers had been sealed for a while, but it happened to me, too,” Gina agreed. “My magic was more potent than it had been to begin with, and it increased still more for a little while.”

“I see. Quite interesting… I have an inkling of how your powers might work, Lilith, but that will have to wait until we’ve run you through the tests,” Allison said, sitting up straight again, then taking out a tablet and stylus to make a few notes.

“What did you mean by ‘second stage awakening?’” Lilith asked curiously. “I haven’t heard the term before.”

“Ah, of course. In extremely rare circumstances, superhumans don’t manifest all of their powers at once. It’s possible that all superhumans have suppressed, stronger versions of their powers, but those who unlock this ‘second stage’ are extremely rare, on the order of less than one in fifty thousand superhumans,” Allison explained, nodding at Lilith. “Your powers were obviously mostly dormant until your encounter with the magical cloud. Now, I’ve heard rumors of a third stage to powers, but there’ve been no confirmed cases as of yet.”

“Are you serious? Anyone could potentially have stronger abilities?” Gina asked, sitting up abruptly.

“While I’m quite serious, I’m afraid that this isn’t the case with spellcasters,” Allison replied gently, laughing as she explained. “Your powers can grow as you learn more and grow more skilled in shaping them, unlike most superpowers which either simply work or don’t. I wouldn’t expect your powers to ever undergo a second stage awakening, Gina.”

“Drat. I could hope, couldn’t I?” Gina slumped backward in disappointment and Lilith laughed, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze.

“I think you’re strong enough as it is. Didn’t you just say your power grew recently, anyway?” Lilith comforted Gina, amusement bubbling up inside her.

“She did. In fact, I’m fairly certain she’s stronger than I am now,” Rachel added. “It’s terribly unfair.”

“While that may be true, the two of you aren’t the ones who made the appointment,” Allison said, standing up and looking to Lilith as she smiled. “If you’d follow me? Let’s get the physical tests out of the way, then we can work through your powers.”

“That does seem reasonable,” Lilith agreed, standing up to follow Allison as she left the room. The woman seemed nice enough, so she wasn’t too worried about the testing anymore.

Chapter 2

Friday, December 20th, 2030

SuperNet HQ, San Francisco

Allison Gambry wasn’t nice, Lilith decided three hours later. She was merciless and sadistic, and through everything she kept a pleasant, friendly smile on her face that almost made the experience worse.

“That’s it for the physical tests, I think. It’s fascinating how much you can manage, but it’s still within the bounds of a class B superhuman by a bit,” Allison said, making another note on her tablet as Lilith tried to recover. Looking up, Allison considered a moment before adding. “I think we can wait for about two minutes before moving on to the next segment. You should have recovered enough by that point.”

“Shouldn’t you give her a bit longer than that? You were making her dodge high-speed balls in a high-G environment!” Gina protested, looking slightly stunned. “It seems a little extreme since I don’t remember anything like this in my test!”

“That’s because your powers only provide about a fifty percent boost over your apparent physique, and very little of that is applied to your speed, Gina,” Allison replied absently, flicking her stylus across the surface of her tablet. “The goal here is to quantify Lilith’s powers, and that can’t be done if she isn’t pushed to her limits. Power testing isn’t an exact science.”

Lilith shook her head and interrupted Gina as she inhaled, somewhat breathless herself as she spoke. “It’s fine, Gina. I’m… a bit winded, tired, and sore, yes, but I’ll be alright. These tests are certainly more… thorough than the training I went through growing up.”

“I suspect that’s because your training was intended to be sustainable over long periods of time. This isn’t,” Rachel said tartly, glancing at Allison suspiciously. “Even so, I’ve never heard of tests quite like this before. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Of course I will. Still, you did say the physical portion was done, Allison?” Lilith asked hopefully, straightening as her trembling legs finally steadied beneath her.

The last few hours had been a near-nonstop barrage of tests, with random questions and other mental activities thrown into the middle of races, weight lifting, and gymnastics by turn. With each stage Lilith had passed, things had grown more difficult, and there was part of Lilith that wondered if the intense pace wasn’t also designed to find the limits of the victim’s endurance as well. Whether that was the case or not, Allison had certainly found Lilith’s limit, and far more quickly than Lilith would have ever expected.

“Yes, we’re done with that portion. Now we’re going to test your powers and see if my suspicions on how they work is correct,” Allison confirmed, nodding to the door leading out of the large, heavily padded gymnasium they’d been performing tests in so far.

The entire building was utilitarian and built robustly, which coupled with a number of scorch marks and dents she’d seen, gave Lilith the impression that it wasn’t overly ornate for a reason. Likely because replacing the equipment was more common than Lilith would like to consider, a thought which caused some degree of worry, considering how many superhumans that might indicate were out in the world.

Allison led them out of the room and down the hall to a heavy metal door. She unlocked the door with a proximity card, then showed them into what looked like a firing range. A man looked up at their entrance, stiffening for a moment before relaxing and smiling. He was middle-aged and of Hispanic descent, and Lilith noted the dull gray power armor he was wearing, as well as the parts of what looked like an energy rifle on the table in front of him.

“Ms. Gambry! My apologies, ma’am, I didn’t realize that you were going to be using the range today,” the man exclaimed, and Lilith smiled slightly as he came to attention, betraying what she suspected was a military background. “Do you need any weapons prepared for your test?”

“Just Allison, Sam. You know that,” Allison chided gently, shaking her head. “Thank you for the offer but we don’t need any weapons. We’re here to test something else. Could you set a pair of targets to measure the force of attacks, please?”

“Of course, ma’am!” Sam replied, quickly stepping over to a control console and tapping various keys. As she watched, Lilith saw a pair of targets in two lanes light up, a shimmering field around each illuminating them in bright red.

“This is Samuel Romero, the master of the range here,” Allison introduced the man. “He was one of the founding members of LANCE and is a minor inventor as well. Samuel, this is Lilith, the subject of today’s test, and her friends Gina and Rachel.”

Lilith’s eyebrows rose at the introduction and her estimation of the man increased sharply. After the Advent, the threat of supervillains had forced the United States to come up with countermeasures, especially after Congress was nearly wiped out by Destruction Corps. LANCE had been the result, a federal unit that was composed of former military and superhumans alike and was more powerful than most military divisions by a large margin. Even so, the formation of the unit had been rocky, from what Lilith had learned, and not many of the early members had survived their encounters with Destruction Corps.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Romero. I’ve heard a great deal about LANCE, and what I learned impressed me,” Lilith told him, nodding and smiling politely.

“A pleasure to meet all of you ladies,” Samuel said, looking up from the console and grinning. “Also, don’t put too much stock into what Ms. Gambry says. I’m retired, and happier for it.”

“Likewise, I’m glad to meet you,” Rachel told him.

Gina nodded as well, glancing at the targets speculatively. “Good to meet you, Sam. So what do the targets do, exactly?”

“The targets are each shrouded in a force field designed to absorb and measure how much energy is in an attack. There’s a maximum that they can withstand and measure, but so long as you aren’t outputting enough energy to punch through a couple of inches of steel, they can do the job.” Samuel explained, glancing at Allison as he continued briskly. “Now I’m not sure what Ms. Gambry has in mind, but you will not fire on the targets until I give you permission. Is that clear?”

“Umm, yes, sir,” Gina said quickly, nodding and gulping hard.

“Of course,” Lilith murmured, and Rachel nodded herself, folding her hands in front of her.

“Now that his explanation is done… Gina, Rachel? I’m going to ask each of you to throw an energy attack at a target,” Allison explained, her voice growing serious as she explained. “It needs to be an attack you can replicate as precisely as possible, at least when it comes to the effort it takes. If I’m not mistaken, Lilith’s power allows her to lend you energy to amplify your abilities. If that’s the case, we’ll be able to figure out a great deal by comparing your attacks.”

“Ah, that makes sense!” Gina exclaimed, her eyes seeming to light up as she relaxed. “I wondered why you brought us here.”

“An interesting idea… but what if there isn’t a correlation?” Rachel asked curiously. “What if the change isn’t consistent between the two of us, or the increase is unstable?”

“Then her power will be far more unpredictable than anticipated. It does happen from time to time. We’ll test this several times if you’re willing to go along with it,” Allison replied, glancing at Lilith and asking, “Are you willing to attempt this, Lilith? My only worry is how exhausted healing Rachel was for you.”

“It seems reasonable to me,” Lilith agreed, considering the idea. She had no idea if what Allison suggested was how her power worked but it felt reasonable, at least to some extent. Lilith had grown to trust her feelings when it came to her powers, and what Allison was suggesting felt right. “I don’t think that it will drain too much energy, either. The healing took almost everything I had, and I might have passed out anyway. I’m quite willing to give it a try.”

“Good. Ladies, if you would?” Allison asked, and after a moment, the two stepped up to the firing lanes that had been prepared. Glancing at Samuel, she added. “Sam?”

“One moment,” Samuel replied, stepping over to look downrange, then hitting a button which caused a warning buzzer to sound. A moment later, he said. “Ladies, you may open fire.”

Lilith watched almost raptly as her friends each began to weave their spells. It was the first time she’d been able to examine their casting methods this openly, which made it far more interesting to her. Especially since the two obviously shaped their magic quite differently.

Gina’s magic simply flowed out of her hands in thin streams of gold energy threaded with azure light. She seemed to be concentrating heavily as the energy focused into a blade of light that looked a lot like a spear.

Conversely, Rachel’s magic looked quite different as her lips moved almost imperceptibly, a purple mist emerging from a pair of silver rings she was wearing to form an orb of purple magic. Odd as it seemed, Lilith realized that Gina seemed to have to concentrate more for her magic than Rachel did.

Within moments of each other, the two women launched their attacks. Each magical bolt streaked downrange to explode against the targets furiously, though the sound was oddly muffled.

“Looks like clean hits, and readings are good,” Samuel said, glancing at the screen to the side. “I’d suggest hitting the targets again. Just to make sure how much your attacks vary before testing Ms. Lilith’s power.”

“Easy enough,” Rachel agreed, and began casting again, Gina just behind her. Moments later, they each unleashed another attack and Samuel nodded in satisfaction.

“Very good! Both of your attacks had less than a two percent variation,” Allison said, smiling broadly as she turned to Lilith. “Now it’s your turn, Lilith.”

“As much as I’d like to do this, I have no idea how to go about… empowering them,” Lilith replied, frowning as she mentally prodded at her abilities, unsure how to go about using them. It wasn’t as if they’d come with an instruction manual, after all.

“You can sense approximately where they are, correct? I’d suggest focusing on the links to Gina and Rachel and trying to make them stronger. Perhaps trying to channel some of your own energy through them might work as well,” Allison suggested.

“Fair enough. Let’s see…” Lilith took a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate, not wanting the distraction of seeing everyone else watching her.

Even with her eyes closed, Lilith found herself extremely self-conscious as she heard the others shifting in place. Her own breathing was still slightly heavy from the exercise she’d been put through, adding to her distraction. Clearing her mind took Lilith a few moments, and she slowly, almost hesitantly, reached out to where she could sense Gina and Rachel.

As Allison had said, the connections weren’t strong. They were faint, but even so each link was distinct. Gina had a warmer, vibrant sensation, while Rachel was cooler but steadier as well. As she sensed their presence, Lilith tried to make the links stronger, to help them grow more powerful. It was like trying to grasp smooth, wet glass, though, and they slipped through her fingers at every attempt. After several failed attempts, Lilith gave up the approach and changed to the second option Allison had suggested, trying to funnel some of her energy to her friends. She’d had some experience doing so when she’d helped Rachel the previous day, so sending the energy flowing toward the links wasn’t difficult.

It was somewhat disappointing when, just like her attempt to strengthen the connections, the power flowed around the links to Gina and Rachel, ignoring them entirely. Lilith paused after the failure, trying to think of how she’d helped Rachel before. That hadn’t been a purely one-sided experience, she realized. Rachel had let her in, not simply been a receptacle for her power. So thinking about that, Lilith instead mentally reached out to the others, murmuring. “Gina, Rachel… will you let me help you?”

“Of course!” Gina exclaimed.

Rachel’s voice was more subdued, but her gentle tone was slightly teasing. “Why wouldn’t I?”

As they spoke, it was like they’d reached out to Lilith in return, taking her outstretched hand. Lilith gasped as energy rushed down the links from her, her eyes opening abruptly. Gina and Rachel both looked startled, and Lilith shivered as she spoke. “It isn’t a matter of simply strengthening the connections. I offer my help; it’s up to you whether or not to accept it.”

“Interesting. Do you think she’s correct, ladies?” Allison asked, looking at Gina and Rachel as she tapped her stylus against the side of her tablet.

“I’m not sure, but I did feel a surge to my magic again. It feels a little more… stable, this time?” Rachel said, frowning thoughtfully. “I don’t know how else to describe it, unfortunately.”

“It feels weird, honestly. Not bad, but… strange. I’m still getting used to a few other changes to my magic so it’s hard to explain,” Gina added.

“Lilith? Are you having to maintain the effect?” Allison asked, making a couple more notes on her tablet.

“Not that I can tell. I still feel the links between us, and they are stronger now, but it feels like it was a momentary drain. Not that I can tell how many times I could do it in total… at least a few more, but I’m not entirely certain,” Lilith replied, trying to gauge how much energy she’d expended. It was hard, after the physical tests.

“If that’s the case, it might be a very potent ability. We can see how long it lasts as well, but first… would you ladies please launch another pair of attacks at the targets? That way we can see what the difference in power is,” Allison said, turning back to Gina and Rachel.

“I’m going to need a minute to get used to the power,” Gina confessed, tilting her head as she concentrated. “Last time I didn’t have time to think about it. Now that I can, it’s a little… chaotic.”

“That’s fine,” Allison assured her, and Lilith took a curious step closer as Rachel adjusted her stance slightly.

“This will be interesting. I’ll try to use the same amount of effort as before, but no promises,” Rachel murmured, and began casting her spell again. Nothing was visibly different to Lilith as the magic took form into the same orb as before. When Rachel unleashed her attack on the target, the explosion was visibly larger than the previous one had been. Rachel nodded, her voice contemplative as she said, “I definitely felt a bit more power in that attack, despite using the same effort.”

“And I’m ready, I think,” Gina interjected, grinning as she prepared to cast her spell. “I can’t let you have all the fun.”

“This is Lilith’s test, you know,” Rachel retorted. “I’m just trying to help her figure things out.”

“And I’m very grateful that you were willing to help,” Lilith said, trying to keep their banter to a minimum as she suppressed a slight smile. “You didn’t have to, you know.”

“We’re the ones who asked you to be tested so it’s the least we could do,” Rachel replied, preparing another attack. Gina had been focusing on her own spell and launched the golden blade after a moment, grinning.

“Yeah! I mean… you needed to learn about it anyway, but we kind of forced the issue,” Gina said, then quickly launched another attack, right on the heels of Rachel this time.

“Thank you, ladies. No more spells, please,” Samuel interrupted, leaning down to check his computer screen. “Interesting…”

“Sam?” Allison asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow when he didn’t reply immediately.

“My apologies, Ms. Gambry. Each of the second set of attacks had up to a three percent variance, but after taking the median between the first set and comparing it to the median of the second…” Samuel paused, glancing over at Lilith curiously as he finished. “It appears that their power increased by eleven percent in Gina’s case, and ten percent for Rachel. That isn’t an exact number; those are just the closest whole numbers.”

“Considering my difficulty controlling the power increase, I don’t know that mine is as accurate as Rachel’s would be,” Gina said, glancing at Rachel as she grinned. “She’s always been more precise than me.”

“Be as that may, it’s an interesting development. I honestly had expected closer to a flat increase in power; not one which scales between individuals,” Allison explained, looking at the screen more closely. She was obviously intrigued by the results. “I honestly wish there was more of a power discrepancy between the two of you, to see if it’s based on your current power level or if it’s more of a universal percentage. I suspect it’s the second, but there’s no way to know for certain. I don’t suppose you could use your power on me, Lilith?”

Lilith blinked, then frowned as she pushed her mind in Allison’s direction for a moment. She didn’t sense Allison at all, and after a moment, she shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I can’t sense you, and… if I’m being perfectly frank? I don’t trust you the same way, Allison. I trust Gina and Rachel implicitly, and while I trust you to tell me the results of the tests, I wouldn’t trust you with my life. I trust them completely.”

“Fair enough. Powers like your own rarely have simple conditions to their use. Ladies, if you’d let us know when your power boost ends?” Allison asked the other two, and Gina and Rachel each nodded in agreement. Turning to Samuel, Allison smiled at him. “Thank you for your help, Sam. We’ll get out of your hair.”

“Not a problem, ma’am,” Samuel replied, locking the computer and standing nearly at attention as he grinned. “You’ve been a lot better company than some of the people who come through here.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Moreno,” Lilith said politely, giving him a slight smile. “Thank you for your time.”

“Now, let’s go to the first aid room and see what else we can learn,” Allison said, leading the way out of the firing range as she continued. “You mentioned your healing ability so I’m thinking that we can see if it only works with Gina and Rachel, or if it’s something that can be used with anyone. I suspect its limitations are the same, but it’s best to be certain.”

“How would we do that? I don’t like the idea of injuring anyone on purpose,” Gina asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

“Oh, I fully understand. That’s why I’m going to use a sterilized needle to prick my finger and see if she can heal it,” Allison explained. “If either of you would volunteer to do the same, we could test that as well, but it’s entirely up to you.”

“I don’t know…” Gina murmured, frowning deeply as they followed Allison to another door.

“You may not like it but I think I could be persuaded. It isn’t that bad, and I’ve been healed by Lilith before,” Rachel said, smiling as she continued. “Compared to the damage I took, a pinprick is nothing. Besides, I can always heal myself.”

The room they entered was obviously a small medical bay, though it wasn’t incredibly expansive either. The room had pastel-blue walls, a cot, and a medical kit on a counter. The oddest thing was that the cot was heavily reinforced, but considering they tested superhumans here, Lilith could understand why it might be built more heavily than normal.

Allison took out a small device, and it took Lilith a moment to realize it was one of the machines that people used to check their blood sugar. Pulling out a sealed needle, she looked at Lilith and asked, “Do you object to doing this, Lilith? It goes a little farther than the other tests, and some people have objections to seeing blood.”

“As long as you want to give it a try, I have no problem with this,” Lilith replied, frowning as she added, “If it was a more significant injury I would be… exceedingly leery of doing so, but this much doesn’t worry me. But I have to ask, isn’t that for testing blood sugar?”

“It is. However, it’s also one of the best ways I’ve come across for inflicting an extremely minor injury consistently,” Allison replied with a smile, changing out the needle quickly and disposing of the original in the biohazard bin. “There we go.”

Allison used the device with barely a wince, and a dot of blood slowly welled up from where the needle had pricked her finger. Turning to Lilith, she asked, “Lilith, if you’d care to try healing me?”

“Of course,” Lilith murmured, stepping forward and touching Allison’s hand, making certain to avoid touching the injury itself, then focused on Allison the same way she had when she’d healed Rachel.

Unlike that time, Lilith found that she couldn’t sense the injury or anything else about Allison, only feeling the smooth warmth of her skin. She’d been expecting something like that, but it was also slightly disappointing. She tried for several more moments before sighing and looking up at Allison. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the injury. I could with Rachel, but… without that, I don’t think I can do anything.”

“It’s not a problem, Lilith. I suspected that your power was an extension of the links you have with the others; we simply had to confirm it,” Allison replied, retracting her hand and blotting the blood away. “Now, you were willing to do the same, Rachel?”

“Yes, of course,” Rachel replied, smiling slightly as she reached for the device.

“Ah, ah… no, I need to swap the needles first,” Allison said, quickly moving it out of Rachel’s reach. “I know you’re a hero, but that’s a bit foolish, isn’t it?”

“Oh, right, of course. I didn’t think about that.” Rachel blushed slightly, and Lilith couldn’t help a soft giggle. At the laugh, Rachel gave her a betrayed look. “Lilith!”

“I’m sorry, Rachel. It’s just that you’re usually the one who thinks things through more carefully, so it amused me,” Lilith told her friend, smiling. “Were you trying to get it over with?”

“Pretty much. I don’t usually deal with medical equipment much since I can heal with my magic even in my mundane identity,” Rachel admitted. “Most blood-borne pathogens don’t last long when they attack heroes, anyway.”

“While true, that doesn’t mean you should take risks,” Allison chided gently, finishing swapping needles and handing the device over. “While it may seem like I’m taking risks during the tests, the escalation and tests have been carefully designed to make the risks as manageable as possible.”

“I suppose,” Rachel agreed and carefully used the device, only to jerk back her hand at the prick. “Ow! I didn’t… that was a little more painful than I expected.”

“Maybe I should’ve done it,” Gina said, grinning as she added, “I’m the one who hurt herself more growing up.”

“Too late now,” Rachel retorted. “You’re the one who didn’t like the idea!”

“That was then,” Gina fired back, and Lilith sighed, taking Rachel’s hand.

“Gina… let me concentrate, please?” Lilith requested.

“Right, of course. Though considering the circumstances last time you had to heal, I don’t think this is nearly as bad,” Gina said, leaning against the wall.

“Last time I was blocking out everything else from blind panic. It’s harder when I’m not in a crisis and running on instinct,” Lilith murmured, staring at Rachel’s hand. “Now how… oh. Oh my.”

Odd as it seemed, it was almost like Lilith lost some of her focus as she stared at Rachel’s hand and her senses simply… expanded. Once again, she could feel Rachel’s body, but this time her friend wasn’t in danger of death. Her body practically glowed with health, wreathed in power that made her vitality even stronger. The only flaw was where the needle had pierced the skin and Lilith guided herself to the injury, sending a wisp of her own energy into it, then more. It took several seconds but Rachel’s finger reabsorbed the blood and the injury vanished, leaving her skin like it’d never been broken. It took a little more energy than Lilith preferred, but compared to the deadly injuries the day before, it was almost nothing.

“It worked!” Lilith exclaimed, smiling widely.

“You had doubts?” Gina asked, her eyebrows rising. “You healed a burn that was down to the bone yesterday!”

“Yes, I had doubts,” Lilith said tartly. “I’m still getting used to this, I’ll remind you.”

“I didn’t,” Rachel replied softly, looking at Allison. “Well?”

“As I thought, done through your psychic link,” Allison said, making a last note on her tablet and nodding. “Your healing isn’t healing in the usual sense of the word. Most people heal injuries as an outside force directed on the subject’s body. What you’re doing is giving her your energy and using all of it to allow Rachel to heal herself. It’s an expansion of your ability to empower them.”

“Speaking of which, I feel the boost fading now,” Gina interjected, and Rachel nodded in agreement.

“I feel it as well,” Rachel said, and at the same time, Lilith felt the connection weakening to its more usual strength.

“Interesting. Almost fifteen minutes precisely. Based on what I’m seeing… I suspect that Lilith could empower each of you close to a dozen times each day if needed, which is most impressive when we’re considering a flat ten percent boost in your power. It could be that she could increase how often she could do so once she grows used to her power, but I’m not certain,” Allison explained, frowning thoughtfully. “Her healing ability is… problematic since it draws on the same reserves. Still, it’s quite effective in its own way, since it does cause the subject’s body to heal itself. The psychic connection seems to be purely cooperative, so that isn’t a worry from my perspective. It would be different if it were imposed on others. Combined with your physical abilities… you’re a high-rank class B superhuman, Lilith; possibly class A. Now, depending on how easily you could add others to your link, and whether or not your ability to empower them grows, it could easily increase your rank. If you somehow could empower dozens of heroes, all at that power level, it would be quite impressive.”

Lilith blinked in surprise at the way Allison explained her powers, growing more relieved as she spoke. Hopefully it would be enough to convince Gina and Rachel’s teammates to relax where she was concerned, and it meant her powers weren’t like those of Shadowmind, which was comforting.

Finally, Allison shook her head and continued. “Never mind that. In any case, that’s my final verdict on your powers. You didn’t wish to be registered as a hero, did you?”

“No, not as of yet,” Lilith replied, relief almost making her feel giddy. “I’m glad that my abilities aren’t more… difficult to deal with.”

“Agreed,” Rachel said, grinning as she added, “It’s comforting, isn’t it?”

“Heh. I don’t think everything was that bad. And hopefully Spirit will get off our back about this, finally,” Gina added, pushing away from the wall and looking at Allison. “Is there anything else?”

“Let’s go finish up the paperwork; then you’re free to go,” Allison replied, smiling broadly. “It’s been an interesting meeting. I’m glad I came out here for it.”

“Likewise,” Lilith murmured, and followed Allison out of the room, heading for the front of the building again. She grew more amused when Gina took one of her arms with a distinctly proprietary air.

Chapter 3

Friday, December 20th, 2030

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“Gina, Rachel! It’s good to see you!” Ocean Spirit exclaimed, smiling broadly as she approached them. The team leader looked far better than she had the previous day, and considering the damage dealt to downtown, Rachel honestly couldn’t blame her for having been upset at the time. “I’m surprised you came in today, what with everything that happened yesterday. When I think about how badly you were hurt… are you doing alright, Rachel?”

“I’m fine, Spirit. The injuries were fully healed before I had a chance to really notice them, so it isn’t like I was hospitalized or anything like that,” Rachel replied, smiling in return. “No, we came in to talk to you about the report that Insight made about Lilith’s powers.”

“Oh, that was today, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I forgot due to the insanity of the last two days,” Ocean Spirit said, the beads in her braids rattling softly against one another as she shook her head. “I’m sorry about that. Galvanic, have we been copied on the report yet?”

The command center of Ocean Shield was large, with numerous monitors and several stations to sit at. Galvanic Action was at the central one, while the only others present were Ocean Spirit, Gina, and Rachel herself. Neither Gina nor Rachel had bothered changing into their hero identities before visiting, since they weren’t planning to go out on patrol today. It had made it slightly more difficult to get inside without being seen, but they’d managed.

“Let me see… ah, here it is!” Galvanic Action said, nodding as his eyebrows rose. “High end class B? That’s pretty damned good, but not completely out of line for what we’ve seen from her. I’m still a little surprised she managed to take down Blue Impulse. He was estimated as class A.”

“That’s because she caught him by surprise and at close range. He didn’t have a chance to use his magic or she would’ve lost badly,” Gina pointed out with a shrug. “Her powers weren’t really applicable, but she’s strong and fast enough to keep up with him in melee. He was overconfident and paid for it, thank God.”

“Totally agreed. Why don’t you take a seat while I look this over?” Ocean Spirit asked, gesturing over to a chair as she smiled at them. “I assume it wasn’t too bad if you came over this quickly.”

“Not at all. I’ll let you read the full report, but Lilith’s power essentially allows her to channel her own energy into those she has a psychic link to, which boosts their power by close to ten percent for a quarter hour,” Rachel explained, moving to a chair and taking a seat, while Gina plopped into a different one. Ocean Spirit’s eyebrows rose at the explanation as she pulled up the report, but Rachel continued. “The interesting thing is that the psychic link is cooperative and based on trust. She can offer the power, but it’s up to the recipient whether to take it, and forming the link requires both her and the person on the other end to trust each other implicitly.”

“Those are some fairly heavy requirements, aren’t they?” Galvanic Action asked, turning toward them in surprise. “I thought she had healing powers, too. Where is she, anyway? Waiting in the car?”

“Insight says that the healing power is an extension of the power boost, and is extremely… inefficient, but useful. It takes far more energy than the other uses,” Ocean Spirit replied, the heroine obviously scanning the document quickly, looking impressed. “I also see why Orchid was impressed by her physique. For not having powers boosting her strength and the like, she’s extremely strong and fast. Not terribly tough, though.”

“That’s right. As for Lilith, after a brief discussion, she decided to walk home and clean up a little more while we visited you and figured things out,” Gina explained, shrugging. “She’s trying to keep as far out of our affairs as she can. In particular, she’s worried about it looking like she’s trying to influence us. Considering her background, she’s nervous that people might get the wrong idea about her.”

“Speaking of which, you’ll note that Insight said that there’s no sign of her power being able to mentally influence us, I hope?” Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow. “That was the entire reason we asked her to get tested, as I recall.”

Ocean Spirit nodded, looking up thoughtfully as she sat back in her chair. “That’s right. I must say that looking over her powers is something of a relief. I’m somewhat surprised that you were able to form the link at all, considering how hard it is to trust others to that degree. Most heroes trust one another, but…”

“Very true. I mean… I trust you and Galvanic, but it isn’t unconditional trust,” Gina admitted, shrugging helplessly. “I think it’s partially due to what Impulse did, but… there’s also just the fact that we work together, but aren’t close, if that makes any sense?”

“It does to me,” Galvanic Action agreed. “So, what’re you planning? Or Lilith, for that matter? I didn’t see any discussion here about whether or not she’s going to register as a hero. I imagine that she could make a killing off the merchandise if she went for it.”

“I don’t think Lilith is comfortable with becoming a hero. She’s still trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life, let alone putting herself in the middle of the public eye like that,” Rachel told him, suppressing the urge to laugh as she shook her head. “I just can’t see her doing most of what we do, anyway.”

“I don’t know… she did rush onto the street to rescue you, Rachel,” Gina mused, shrugging. “I’m not going to push her one way or another, but if we asked her for help, you know she’d help out.”

“Really?” Ocean Spirit asked, looking startled. “I thought you said that she was rather… distant at times, and cautious.”

“That was before. With the way she trusts us… I think Gina’s right. And that’s a slightly uncomfortable thought. She probably would help without even asking why,” Rachel murmured, frowning deeply. “I don’t want to betray her trust. It’s a complicated situation.”

“As you say, but Galvanic was right. What are the two of you going to do? You were both hit hard over the last few days, though in different ways,” Ocean Spirit asked, standing up and nodding at the screen, which showed a few different icons indicating crimes in progress, and the status of the police or minor heroes dealing with them. “We’re still gathering information on what happened yesterday, but there are indications that Heavy Metal, Megawatt, and another villain were in San Mateo attacking that military research facility. Worse, we think Dreamer and some others attacked UC Berkeley, killing one of the scientists there and stealing research. They deleted all of the records and wiped surveillance, so we’re not sure who was involved aside from Dreamer. Obviously, it was someone with good technical skills, but that could be any number of villains. We could use your help in trying to track them down, but I’m not going to push you.”

“You’re right, it’s been a hellish couple of days, hasn’t it?” Gina murmured, rubbing her eyes. “To a certain extent, the complications grew so overwhelming for me that I didn’t realize just how bad it was. Personally, I was hoping for a few days off, at least until after Christmas. I need to figure out whether or not I’m going to go public, with how my appearance has changed. It’s going to be damned hard to hide a change to my skin tone like this, and I’m not sure that it’s worth the effort.”

“That seems pretty reasonable,” Galvanic Action interjected, looking at Rachel and continuing. “Rachel? Do you think you’d be able to fix her skin and that? If it was done via magic, I’d think it could be reversed.”

“That’s a lot trickier than you might think. Everything I’ve seen indicates that Ebon Dragon was behind the spells, and he’s a scary old man, with a lot more knowledge than I care to think about,” Rachel replied, shrugging unhappily. “I’ve had a few discussions with Orchid, since her family has disowned him, but she doesn’t know what he’s capable of anymore. I believe that I could change her back, but researching and building the spells would take at least a couple of months. Most of that time would be figuring out what he did, so I didn’t accidentally compound the alteration and turn her skin purple or something like that.”

“Shit. I wish magic were simpler, but I suppose it’s like any other type of research in its own way,” Galvanic Action replied, sighing. “I can’t say that I blame you or Gina, though. It’s a nasty situation and going public isn’t something to do lightly.”

“Not if you’re lower than class S, anyway. It’s smart not to go public, even for those of us who have the power to deter villains; sometimes it’s better to keep our private lives secret,” Ocean Spirit agreed, shrugging. “I’ve just never seen the point to keeping my identity hidden. My awakening was very public.”

“True enough. Most class S supers are just too powerful for anyone to want to take lightly.” Gina sighed, shrugging. “Anyway, yeah, I’m going to have to take a few days to think.”

“As for me, yes, I got blasted rather horribly by Pyroclasm, but I don’t feel that it hit me too badly.” Rachel added, smiling as she clarified, “Not that the damage wasn’t horrific, but I recovered quickly enough for it not to impact me. I’d still like light duty for a few days… things with Lilith have me confused, and I’d like to try to work things out with her and Gina. Especially now that the power test is done. I’ve every intention of being back on duty in short order, though.”

“I can imagine. You two were rather put out yesterday when she admitted to me that she had feelings for both of you.” Galvanic Action chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. “What’re you going to do about all of that, anyway?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Our relationship has changed very abruptly, and I never expected it. I half wish I’d decided to ask you out on a date a few weeks back, Galvanic,” Rachel said, smirking as she added. “Still, considering that you and Spirit were dating, I thought it was a bad idea.”

“What? I… but…” Galvanic Action’s head whipped around to look at Rachel in shock, increasing her amusement.

“I told you that trying to keep it quiet wasn’t a realistic goal,” Ocean Spirit said dryly, laughing softly. “So you’re actually considering both trying to have a relationship with Lilith? I imagine that’d be interesting.”

“Complicated, definitely,” Gina said, blushing as she did so. With the blue undertone to her skin, it was an odd look, Rachel thought. “Still, Lilith isn’t pressuring either of us. If anything, she’s trying to let us figure out what we want to do. She acts confident in public, but she’s very uncertain where emotions are concerned.”

“An interesting aspect to things.” Ocean Spirit laughed, shaking her head. “Still, let’s stop poking into your personal lives, shall we? Instead, looking at the schedule… Orchid wants to leave for a vacation on the twenty-fourth for a couple of weeks. Between the rest of us, we should be able to easily cover Christmas, but I’d really appreciate it if the pair of you could start back up on the twenty-sixth. Would that be acceptable?”

“That seems reasonable to me,” Rachel agreed, glancing over at Gina. “What do you think?”

“I’ll at least have come to a decision by then,” Gina replied, shrugging slightly. “Sorry I can’t guarantee it, but I’m not going to decide without a lot of thought.”

“I can deal with that. As soon as you do decide, would you please let me know?” Ocean Spirit asked, turning back to them and giving them a wry look. “Scheduling has been hell lately, if I’m being honest.”

“I will, I promise,” Gina said, glancing at Rachel and asking. “Shall we? I’m curious what Lilith’s been getting up to.”

“Probably a good idea. Hopefully she didn’t get abducted. Wouldn’t that be a lovely thing to have happen, each of us in danger in three days?” Rachel murmured, getting up.

“If they did, I’m going to have to hurt someone. Badly. This has not been a fun week,” Galvanic Action replied unhappily.

Rachel laughed, nodding to both Galvanic Action and Ocean Spirit before taking her leave, her pace quickening as they headed for the garage.

* * *

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

As she stepped into the condo, Lilith closed the door behind her and listened as the phone clicked over to an open line before speaking. “Circe, have you received the file containing the summary of my powers that Ms. Gambry sent me?”

“Yes, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied promptly, the AI’s voice brisk.

“Good. What do you believe the odds of its accuracy are, on the whole?” Lilith asked, slipping off her shoes and plopping onto the nearest chair, taking a moment to stretch her feet. She wanted to take a shower, considering the sheer amount of exercise she’d been forced to undergo, but she was going to wait until after speaking with Circe, or possibly a bit longer. She hadn’t decided yet.

“Considering the information that Mistress Amber uncovered about Insight, it’s extremely likely that she has discovered the essentials of your abilities. However, the physical analysis is likely somewhat incorrect at present,” Circe replied, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “Her belief that you underwent a second stage awakening is extremely likely, according to my own analysis.”

“Interesting… but why do you say that the physical analysis might be incorrect?” Lilith asked, getting up and heading down the hallway to her right.

“You have been neglecting physical training since arriving in San Francisco, Mistress Lilith. Your physical abilities have almost certainly atrophied to a certain extent during that period. Furthermore, while you were created in an extremely fit state and pushed yourself hard in training, it is extremely unlikely that you reached the limit of your potential during that time,” Circe explained. “Thus my interpretation of her analysis.”

“Fair enough,” Lilith murmured, opening one of the walk-in closets and looking around it. The closet looked normal enough, but it was her safe room, just in case of danger. Since Gina and Rachel would be associating with her, and with the danger that having heroines in her home entailed, she thought she’d best check on it, so she added, “Circe, how are diagnostics for the safe room?”

“All equipment is in nominal condition, and the structural integrity is fully intact,” Circe said, pausing a moment before asking, “Mistress Lilith, do you believe you’re in danger?”

“Not yet, Circe. I need to register Gina Fairmont and Rachel Moore as guests of mine, as well as their alter egos, Warden and Morgan Le Fay,” Lilith replied, closing the closet again. “I trust them, and in an emergency, we may need to use the fail-safes that Amber left in place.”

“Mistress Lilith, the two heroines named are considered class A superheroines and are registered as distinct threats. I’m able to register them as your guests, but please be aware that, should they be brought into a base, information will be heavily restricted,” Circe quickly warned. “The Mistress would be extremely hesitant to allow them anywhere near her installations while at full strength.”

“I’m well aware that Amber wouldn’t be happy with this, Circe. I also don’t care what she’d think. I trust them and am willing to share what safety I can with Gina and Rachel if we’re attacked,” Lilith told the AI, suppressing a sigh. “That being said… from things that I’ve heard, Blue Impulse was working for someone else in the area I’m in, along with Megawatt and possibly Ebon Dragon. Do you have any idea who their employer is?”

“Not at present. No data on the indicated villains has been intercepted recently,” Circe said, seeming to consider for a moment before asking. “Do you wish for me to investigate, Mistress Lilith?”

“Please do so. I’m disturbed as both this… unknown individual or group has been causing severe complications in the area at the same time as Omega Code and Black Harbinger,” Lilith replied, pacing back down the hallway. “What about them? Is there any information you can give me about their activities?”

“Aside from Black Harbinger’s recent defeat, which you appear to have been present for, there is minimal information on Omega Code. He’s on the Mistress’s ‘kill list’ of individuals too dangerous to allow to escape, but she’s been unable to execute him yet,” Circe replied promptly. “However, his attempt to acquire an energy condenser appears to indicate that he’s attempting to build another superweapon to destroy the planet. You will be notified if any further information regarding his activities are discovered.”

“Excellent. Is there anything else you wish to tell me about?” Lilith asked.

“No, Mistress Lilith. All systems are nominal and the various installations are operating normally,” Circe replied.

“I’m glad to hear that. Goodbye, Circe,” Lilith murmured and hung up, pausing for a moment as she looked around her home. It was a nice enough place, just too large for a single person or even a dozen people. Still, some furniture should be delivered the next day, so she’d best get things cleaned up. The vacuum bots wouldn’t be able to do most of it so Lilith sighed and headed to the closet to get a pair of work gloves.

At least the room wouldn’t be too dusty, since the small bots cleaned it regularly. After she was done, she could take the shower she wanted. Hopefully she’d finish before Gina and Rachel got back, too.

Chapter 4

Saturday, December 21st, 2030

Downtown, San Francisco

Blooming Orchid’s jian shimmered with pink light that extended along the length of the blade and beyond. The effect nearly doubled the sword’s length and made it incredibly sharp. With a single stroke, she cut straight through the pistol the man was holding, and an instant later her blade cut through the van’s tire and wheel with a loud explosion of escaping air and screeching metal. What she could see of the man’s face through the ski mask paled as Blooming Orchid smiled, her sword already back at his throat.

“Do you and your friends want to keep resisting, or would you rather come along quietly?” the heroine asked pleasantly, looking the man in the eyes.

The man glanced down at the stump of the pistol he was holding and audibly gulped before dropping it, muttering. “Holy shit! Err… guys… don’t do anything, please?”

Blooming Orchid’s smile widened at his response, seeing the other robbers freeze in place, including the driver of the van. Since they weren’t doing anything, she subvocalized, “Crimson, the robbers just surrendered. How close are the police?”

“Um, looks like they’re a couple of minutes out at most,” Crimson Bull replied, the man’s voice obviously uncomfortable. “Dammit, I wish I was out there to help. I’m not hurt that badly!”

“You took two shots from Black Harbinger’s cannon and a single solid blow from his sword. That blade is nasty, and you know it can cause problems. You’re not allowed on patrol until it’s healed,” Blooming Orchid told him firmly, her smile fading slightly as she spoke to the men, now hearing the approaching sirens. “Relax. I won’t hurt you if you don’t resist, and the police are about here.”

“Fine, fine… I’m still not happy about it,” Crimson Bull groused.

“Dammit,” the driver muttered, slumping forward. “Told you guys this was a bad idea.”

“Shut up!” one of the others hissed, amusing Blooming Orchid a little. It wasn’t as if the man had been saying anything important.

The police arrived only a few moments later and Blooming Orchid relaxed slightly, smiling at the man as she pulled her sword away from his neck. She allowed the shimmering extension to the blade to fade away before sheathing her sword, speaking pleasantly. “There they are. Now, either you go quietly, or I get upset with you.”

“Fine, fine… ugh, all this over a bunch of jewelry,” the man muttered forlornly as the cops rushed forward.

Stepping back to let the police handle things, Blooming Orchid spoke to Crimson Bull. “The police arrived. I’ll make sure that everything is taken care of, then get on with my patrol.”

“Alright, sounds good. I’m not seeing anything too nasty going on right now, but that could always change,” Crimson Bull replied, not seeming quite as upset as he had been. “Was it an interesting fight, at least?”

“Not really. A bunch of guys trying to rob a jewelry store, who I caught up with just before they finished loading the van. When I sliced one wheel and a guy’s gun in half, they surrendered,” Blooming Orchid explained, then turned to talk to the officer who approached her. “Hello, officer. How may I help you?”

“It’s nice to see you again, Blooming Orchid. As for that, just the usual; I need your statement on what occurred,” the man replied with a ready smile, a notepad out and ready.

“Of course,” Blooming Orchid replied, and began her explanation again, though in considerably more detail this time around. While explaining things, the police escorted the morose robbers away.

“Alright, looks like that’s everything we need. Thank you for your help, and I hope you keep up the good work. I far prefer these small problems to psychos like Pyroclasm,” the officer said, closing the notebook.

“You and me both,” Blooming Orchid agreed vehemently, shaking her head. “I hope your day is a bit calmer after this, and that you have a good holiday.”

“And you as well!” the man agreed. “I… oh, may I help you ma’am?”

Following his gaze, Blooming Orchid saw that a blonde-haired woman in a nice, dark blue pantsuit was waiting patiently nearby. The woman was wearing several pieces of expensive jewelry, along with a nametag with the name Mary M. on it. Considering it said that she was the general manager of the store which had just been robbed, she could understand why the woman wished to speak with the police, so she nodded and said, “I’d best get back to my patrol. I hope each of you have a good rest of the day.”

“Ah, actually, I wanted to speak with you, Orchid!” the woman said hurriedly, causing the heroine to pause, surprised by the woman’s flustered tone.

“Oh? Why might that be?” Blooming Orchid asked, tilting her head curiously. “I really do need to get back to work.”

“I wanted to thank you for stopping those thugs from getting away with the robbery. I also contacted the owner and got authorization to give you a piece of jewelry as a gift,” Mary quickly explained, smiling as she pulled out a jewelry box and opened it. Inside the box was a thin gold chain, and an exquisitely crafted gold pendant of an orchid hung from the chain, the inner petals lacquered with a purple enamel. The woman continued quickly. “I know it isn’t pink, but it was so close that I thought it’d be perfect for you.”

“That’s…” Blooming Orchid blinked, slightly taken aback by the offer, but flattered as well. “It’s beautiful, of course, but I can’t take that. It’s far too expensive for you to simply give away!”

“The owner agreed with me, so it’s not a problem to give it to you. Besides, you saved us from losing so much more than this. It’s just… I think it’d be wonderful for you to have it,” Mary insisted, extending the box toward Blooming Orchid.

“Well, if you insist, I suppose I’ll do so. I’ll make certain to register it as a gift as well,” Blooming Orchid said, somewhat bemused as she took the box and carefully admired the pendant before closing it and slipping it into a pocket. “Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome! Thank you for stopping them!” the woman replied brightly, and Blooming Orchid laughed, then headed back for her bike to get back to work.

Unlike Galvanic Action’s or Crimson Bull’s motorcycles, hers was a sleek hoverbike, one which allowed her to move through the streets far more easily than theirs did. The downside was that the power consumption was much higher and that meant her bike had a shorter overall range, but she thought it was worth the advantages. Especially when it allowed her to go over the police cars.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“Yo, I heard that jewelry store was really thankful that you happened to be in the area,” Black Comet said and Blooming Orchid looked up from parking her bike with a wry smile. The other hero was leaning against the wall near the elevator while grinning at her.

“Something like that, yes,” Blooming Orchid replied, making certain all the supports were in place before stepping away from the hoverbike. “They gave me a necklace in thanks. I’m sure they’ll manage to turn it into a form of free advertising, but what else is new?”

“Ha! You’re right there; they always do,” Black Comet replied, chuckling and shaking his head. “So, how’d the rest of the patrol go?”

“It was pretty much back to normal, thank goodness. A bit chilly, but otherwise… just the sight of me probably scared off several jerks in downtown,” Blooming Orchid explained, walking over to the elevator. “So what’s going on? You look uncomfortable.”

“Oh, it isn’t anything big, really. I’m not entirely comfortable with Warden shacking up with Lilith, but it isn’t really any of my business, though it adds to my nerves,” Black Comet explained, the African-American shaking his head unhappily. “I’m just wondering about what’s really going on. You heard about Blue Impulse, right?”

Blooming Orchid’s smile vanished at the villain’s name and she nodded unhappily, pressing the call button a bit harder than she needed to as she spoke icily. “Yes, I did. Dreamer is an evil psychopath. I can kind of understand whoever she’s working for wanting to silence Blue Impulse, but the people working in the hospital didn’t deserve what she did to them.”

“Yeah. At least most of them will recover… but Blue Impulse won’t be telling us anything anytime soon. She mangled what was left of his mind and left him deep in a coma,” Black Comet agreed, sighing heavily. “That’s what has me the most worried, if I’m being honest. I’ve never heard of Dreamer going out of her way to do something like that before.”

“Which means there’s a mastermind behind it, agreed. I don’t think she’s working with Destruction Corps… not with their recent attack in Arizona,” Blooming Orchid mused, frowning and stepping into the elevator as it arrived. “I think they almost have to have been working for an inventor of some type, with the targets they’ve hit. The tech seems to be partially biotech, which removes several groups from the list, but that doesn’t narrow things down much. I just hope it isn’t Black Emerald.”

“I really doubt that. As nasty as she is, Black Emerald seems to have a grudge against Alliance Pharmaceuticals, and none of these groups are associated with them at all,” Black Comet disagreed, pressing the button for the main floor. “Besides, she tends to stick around Paragon City, and doesn’t hire mercs that I’ve heard of. Not many mercs would trust her, anyway.”

“True. Well, you guys will have to try to figure it out while I’m on vacation, unless we have a breakthrough in the next couple of days,” Blooming Orchid said, shrugging. “I do expect you guys to give me a call if you find the villain, though. I’m not sitting out a raid going after whoever’s been treating our city as a playground.”

“You, Sky Defender, and Spirit are on the same page, then. Those two are a bit pissed they kept missing the big fights,” the other hero replied, chuckling as the doors opened and he let her exit first, adding, “Personally, I would’ve been delighted to have all of you at the last one. Harbinger and Pyroclasm were nasty and would’ve been even without the mooks.”

“I believe it. I’m surprised the Karate Brothers survived the fight. It’s going to be weeks before they’re back on the streets again,” Blooming Orchid murmured sadly.

“Speaking of your vacation, where’re you going?” Black Comet asked curiously, obviously deliberately changing the subject. “Just hanging out in the area or what?”

“No, I’m planning to go to a nice little resort on Maui that Spirit told me about,” Blooming Orchid replied, smiling broadly. “I’m looking forward to some diving and snorkeling.”

“Oh, that’d be pretty awesome, yeah!” Black Comet agreed with a grin. “Hawaii is just too far for me to fly to on my own, and I don’t trust planes much.”

“Well, some of us don’t have the ability to fly so we have to use other methods of travel,” Blooming Orchid retorted, trying to suppress a smile. “You could always take a boat.”

“That would take way too long for my taste. Anyway, I’d better go out on patrol myself. Have a good one, Orchid,” Black Comet told her, heading down the hall toward the landing pad.

“You too!” Blooming Orchid told him, grinning as she opened the medical bay. She paused at the sight of Crimson Bull. The big, sandy-haired man looked unhappy. Raising her eyebrows, she asked, “Crimson? What brings you here?”

“I want you to give me an exam and tell me how long I’m going to be out of action,” Crimson Bull growled. “All this sitting around is driving me mad!”

“Well, the last thing we need is for a mad bull to be running around the city,” Blooming Orchid agreed. “Give me a minute to clean up and I’ll check you over.”

He nodded unhappily, and Blooming Orchid headed over to wash her hands and get to work. She was really looking forward to her vacation.

Chapter 5

Sunday, December 22nd, 2030

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

“And… there we go. Last screw in place,” Lilith said, nodding happily as she stood up straight again, stretching slightly.

“To think that I thought you had a screw loose,” Gina replied, and smirked as Lilith stuck her tongue out at her.

“That was entirely uncalled for,” Lilith said, closing the door of the wardrobe to make sure that it would open and close smoothly, then frowned as she noticed the alignment was slightly off. Opening the door, she started adjusting the screws in the hinge that controlled the door’s alignment. “Why do you think I’m crazy, anyway?”

“You have the money to purchase all this furniture at once, yet you refuse to consider hiring the people to assemble it for you,” Gina replied, shaking her head. “Why?”

“In part, it’s because I like building things. I think it’s interesting. The other part is that I don’t know that I’d trust a random crew of contractors in the condo,” Lilith replied, shrugging slightly as she decided the alignment was correct and closed the door. “I—”

As she turned her head, she was interrupted as Gina leaned in and firmly kissed her, startling Lilith enough that she fumbled the screwdriver. Catching herself against the wardrobe as the tool clattered to the floor, Lilith blushed as she melted into the firm, passionate kiss. Gina pressed against Lilith intently, and it took several long moments before Gina broke away, blushing slightly as she did so, her breathing slightly hard.

“What was that all about?” Lilith asked after a moment, adjusting her feet so she could wrap her arms around Gina without falling over.

“I wanted to kiss you. Do I need another reason to interrupt?” Gina asked, blushing a little more. “I mean, it didn’t seem like what you were saying was very important.”

“I suppose it might not have been very important… though in some ways it was,” Lilith replied, her emotions a confused tangle, but she smiled warmly as she leaned in to kiss Gina’s cheek. “That being said… no, you don’t need a better reason. You just startled me.”

“That makes sense, I guess. When’s Rachel going to be here, again?” Gina asked, frowning thoughtfully.

“She said she’d be here at about two… why do you ask?” Lilith asked, her heartbeat quickening slightly.

“Drat. I’d hoped she’d be a little longer, but that barely gives us time to finish getting the room put together, doesn’t it?” Gina asked, looking disappointed as she leaned into Lilith more.

“I’ve been the one putting things together, Gina,” Lilith pointed out gently. “You’ve mostly been watching.”

“That’s because I’d have been in the way!” Gina protested, glancing around the room. “I mean, it’s a fairly big bedroom, but you’ve got a lot of things in here!”

She wasn’t wrong, Lilith reflected. The bedroom was large enough to be comfortable, but with the boxes for the nightstands, wardrobe, bed frame, and vanity, it’d filled a lot of the floor space, let alone the mattress and box spring which were still in the hallway.

“I suppose so. But you could always try to help if you want. Or you could work on your paintings while I assemble the furniture,” Lilith suggested, shrugging. “I don’t mind either way, you know that.”

“True enough. While I’d like to help, I normally got my dad to help me put things together growing up. I don’t think I’d be much use,” Gina admitted, looking around the room and frowning. “Maybe I should go paint for a bit…”

“Are you nervous about going to see your father? He knows what happened to you, doesn’t he?” Lilith asked in concern, growing worried. “I know you were hesitant about inviting me to meet him over Christmas, so if you don’t want me to go with you, I’m okay with it.”

“Oh, no, no… that isn’t it at all. Yes, I’m nervous about you meeting him, but that isn’t it. I’m a little scared that he might overreact to the physical changes even if he knows about them in advance, but…” Gina paused, then sighed, shrugging as she pulled away. “I don’t know what it is that has me all anxious, Lilith. No, that’s not true. I’m afraid that someone will find out that you were created by Shadowmind before we figure out some way to get that damned death sentence off your head. The problem is that I don’t know who we can talk to about it, not without giving everything away!”

“It is what it is. There’s a reason that I have a safe room in the condo, complete with an emergency teleportation pack.” Lilith replied, shrugging and keeping her tone far calmer than she actually felt. “I’m not going to claim that it doesn’t worry me at times, but it usually isn’t at the forefront of my mind.”

“I guess so.” Gina said, biting her lip, then looking up curiously. “You have a safe room? Where?”

“It’s the closet across the hall.” Lilith explained, nodding to the door in question. “It looks like a normal walk-in closet, but if you have to ever use it, just go inside and say, ‘Situation F, Emergency Lockdown.’”

“Right, I suppose that’s part of why you didn’t want contractors poking around the house?” Gina said, looking at the door curiously.

“That’s part of it, yes. Now, which do you want to do? The furniture won’t assemble itself! There’s no circuitry, for one thing,” Lilith said, grinning as Gina snorted in amusement.

“Self-assembling furniture… I thought I saw something about a company marketing that,” Gina replied, seeming a little more upbeat than she had been. “I think I’ll go paint a bit. Maybe I can get closer to finishing the picture of Morgan.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m still paying you for it when it’s done. We do have an agreement,” Lilith reminded Gina.

“Maybe once you agree to let me pay rent,” Gina retorted, but left before Lilith could reply.

Lilith laughed under her breath, smiling as she leaned down to pick up the screwdriver, murmuring, “At least I’m not lonely anymore. Now then…”

Assembling the furniture wasn’t too difficult. The schematics were far easier to follow than the ones she used with her tech company so it was a simple matter of time and finding the parts. First, she put in the accessories to make the wardrobe usable, then started on the bed. It wasn’t terribly complex, but the bed was bulky and left quite a bit of packaging behind.

By the time Lilith finished with all the furniture, it was almost time for Rachel to arrive so she quickly dragged the packaging into the next room. Hopefully she could at least get the bed made before Rachel arrived.

Lilith was in the middle of putting the sheets onto the bed when she heard the front door unlock and open. Then Rachel’s voice rang out. “Hello! Who wants a prime rib sandwich?”

“Hello, Rachel! Just give me a minute; I’m finishing up with something!” Lilith replied loudly, grinning as she began moving more quickly and added, “Gina’s painting, so who knows if she heard you or not?”

“I don’t lose track of my surroundings that much, usually!” Gina responded a moment later, and Lilith could hear Rachel’s laughter. Despite none of them being able to see each other, Lilith couldn’t help her smile, amused that their presence helped her mood so much.

Rachel appeared in the doorway and looked around curiously, wearing a gray turtleneck and jeans that looked distinctly more casual than her usual clothing. “What’s this? I seem to recall this room being empty a few days ago.”

“Yes, it was,” Lilith replied, glancing at Rachel and grinning as she added, “I asked Gina if I should set up a guest bedroom for you when you were napping in her bed the other day, and she thought it was a good idea. Assuming you don’t want to borrow one of our beds, that is.”

“Oh, I…” Rachel paused, flushing slightly as she gathered herself, then retorted more spiritedly, “You really shouldn’t tease me this much, Lilith! I’m still trying to get used to this idea that you and Gina came up with, you know? I’m flattered that you set up a bedroom for me, though. It’s very sweet; thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Lilith replied softly, folding down the sheets and stepping toward the other woman. Rachel didn’t resist when she gave the smaller woman a gentle hug, murmuring softly, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just… I’m trying to figure this out. Please tell me if I’m doing something wrong?”

“I’m not too uncomfortable, it’s just…” Rachel wrapped her arms around Lilith and gave her a hug, sighing as she continued. “I spent years hiding my crush on Gina. I was so certain that it was a bad idea to confess to her, Lilith. I’m not sure what came over me when I told Gina about my feelings, so that has me on edge. I just… I’m confused, really. Now that I did admit it, I don’t know what to do, especially with you involved as well. I’m sorry.”

“Ah. I wish I could say that I understand, but I really don’t,” Lilith replied softly, pulling away from Rachel and shrugging slightly as she stepped out of the room and headed toward the kitchen. “I don’t have the… grasp of time that you do, I think. In some ways, we’re just barely coming up on my first birthday, but I truly don’t think that’s a fair summation of what’s made me who I am either. I was ‘born’ fully mature, even if emotionally things are a little different.”

“I think you’re right, there. You don’t act like someone young… but you also don’t act like most people would expect you to. You’re simply yourself,” Rachel replied, shrugging as she walked alongside Lilith. “Are you looking forward to meeting Gina’s dad?”

There were a couple of bags sitting on the kitchen counter and Lilith gave them a curious look before glancing at Rachel, smiling thinly as she confessed softly. “If I’m being perfectly honest? I’m completely terrified.”

Rachel laughed, opening one of the cloth bags and starting to pull out the ingredients for their meal as Gina came into the room, wiping off her hands on her jeans to dry them. She had a curious look on her face, though.

“What was so funny, Rachel?” Gina asked, glancing between the two of them.

“Nothing really; just something Lilith said,” Rachel replied, grinning as she asked. “Mind setting the table, Gina? I saw a salad in the fridge, Lilith. Was that for dinner too?”

“I didn’t put it together specifically for dinner, but yes. I just wanted to have a salad available if we wanted one,” Lilith told her, smiling slightly. “I figure having a salad on hand for dinners just made sense.”

“It does make things easier,” Gina agreed, opening the cupboard and starting to get the dishes to set the table. “Steak sandwiches, huh? Why those?”

“Because they’re warm, and I don’t recall Lilith having tried them before this,” Rachel explained, glancing at Lilith curiously. “Have you?”

“No, not yet,” Lilith agreed, shrugging as she added. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the food is like, though. New experiences are interesting.”

“Good.” Rachel said, nodding in satisfaction as she smiled broadly. “Now, let’s see about getting dinner on the road, then we can play a game and relax.”

“No games this time,” Gina interjected, grinning as she added, “Rachel cheats.”

“I do not cheat! I use the rules to my advantage. Ruthlessly,” Rachel retorted with a glower.

“Which is why we’re not gaming when we should be relaxing,” Gina said. “No games.”

“Fine… I’ll find a cooperative one for next time,” Rachel said, sighing heavily. “In that case, we can eat and then watch a movie and relax.”

“That sounds good to me,” Lilith said, amused at their antics.

* * *

Much later that evening, Lilith found herself tired but happy. While the movie that the two had chosen didn’t make much sense to her, it had been moderately amusing to watch. The sheer ridiculousness of the situations portrayed, especially having seen superpowers in use, was somewhat amusing, and she had to wonder if the sword fight was even slightly realistic. The food had been good, though, and the company was wonderful.

Still, the moment when Rachel slowly slumped over into Lilith’s side was startling. Lilith blinked in bemusement at her, but it simply looked like Rachel had drifted off as the end credits slowly rolled across the screen. Pausing for a moment, Lilith debated on what to do, then opened her mouth to wake Rachel.

“No, no… let her sleep, Lilith,” Gina hissed softly, catching Lilith’s attention as she smiled broadly. “She doesn’t act like this often. Rachel doesn’t usually relax with other people around, not enough to sleep.”

Lilith pursed her lips, glancing down at Rachel, her head against Lilith’s shoulder, and carefully shifted her left arm to wrap around the other woman. Gina got up and slipped out of the room quietly, returning with a blanket that she offered to Lilith. With a bit of effort, they got it around Rachel without waking her, as well as over Lilith. Glancing up at Gina, Lilith asked softly, “Now what?”

“Just… stay with her for a while. She’ll wake up eventually,” Gina whispered in return. “I’ll leave the two of you alone for now.”

Lilith watched Gina pad off to her bedroom in bemusement, then looked at Rachel again. After a moment of nervousness, she gently kissed the top of Rachel’s head, murmuring, “Sleep well, Rachel.”

It was hard to see from the angle she was looking from, but it looked like Rachel’s lips slowly curved upward in a smile.

Chapter 6

Tuesday, December 24th, 2030

San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco

Blooming Orchid tried to relax in the hard seat, but it was difficult to manage. The flight to Maui was fairly crowded, and as one of the few fully public heroes of Ocean Shield, people had noticed her presence quite quickly. She’d had a flurry of requests for her autograph, dozens of questions, and three requests for a date before she’d asked for a little privacy before the flight. It’d still taken some time for them to back off, but eventually she’d been given a tiny bit of privacy.

The privacy was mostly an illusion, she knew, but at least boarding would begin soon. She’d paid for a seat in first class so it would be harder for people to gawk and hover over her. It wouldn’t be perfect, but the resort she was going to was small and private, which was what she wanted.

She looked up as the desk attendant started boarding, waiting for her group to be called. Blooming Orchid wasn’t exactly a frequent flyer, after all, and wasn’t expecting special treatment. At last, her turn came up and she got in line, pulling her luggage behind her. At least being a public hero meant that the airline didn’t give her a hard time about her sword.

“Hello, I hope you have a pleasant flight, ma’am!” the man attending the ticket reader told her, smiling as she handed over her ID and he scanned her ticket. A moment later, he nodded and handed it back happily.

“As do I. Thank you,” Blooming Orchid replied politely and headed in to find her seat and settle in for the flight. She was going to be getting to the resort late, but that just meant she’d wake up on Christmas day in Hawaii. That would be quite pleasant, she imagined.

Unlike the rest of those heroes who were patrolling, she thought, suppressing a grin, then murmuring, “Well, Crimson Bull wanted to be back on duty.”

* * *

Downtown Alley, San Leandro

“Quit dodging, you slippery little runt!” Crimson Bull bellowed as the frustrating villain slipped out of his grasp just before he could get his hands on the man. All he managed to grab was the villain’s afterimage.

“Hey, I may not be terribly powerful but I’m not stupid!” Speed Burst replied, the small man looking back at Crimson Bull in disbelief. “If I let you catch me, I’ll be lucky if I manage to get away with a few broken bones! Maybe if it was Blooming Orchid, Ocean Spirit, or someone like that I’d give up, but you? You?”

“Shut the hell up!” Crimson Bull raged, spinning around and picking up a nearby trash can to hurl at the minor villain. “What’re you doing, stealing from a toy store on Christmas Eve, anyway? Have you no respect for holidays?”

“Why the hell would I take time off just because it’s a holiday?” Speed Burst retorted, dodging to the left this time, so fast that he left brief afterimages in his wake. “You don’t, after all!”

Crimson Bull snarled again, incredibly frustrated and fuming, wondering where Black Comet was when he needed him. It’d been a bad month so far. What’d he’d give for a proper fight instead.

* * *

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“We have confirmation as to where Blooming Orchid will be staying in Maui.” Eve said, sitting down with Maureen and Pauline again as she pulled up a map of the island and zoomed in on a small resort. “She’s staying under her mundane name, Claire Zhang, so it wasn’t hard to find her once we penetrated the resort’s systems. As you can see, it’s small and private, which will make our task easier.”

“Easier doesn’t necessarily mean easy,” Maureen replied, frowning as she looked at the layout of the resort. Eve knew that while she still wasn’t happy with the job, she wasn’t trying to sabotage it. Instead, Maureen was doing everything she could think of to make it safer for her sister. As that meant making their chances of success improve, Eve saw no reason to object to the woman’s frequent interruptions. “She’s still a potent super, after all… all-around strong, fast, and tough, and with a sword that can cut through damn near anything. You’ve already said that you can jam the emergency signal she’ll try to send, but what about sounds? If we don’t take her down perfectly, and that’s unlikely to happen after the attack on Warden, she’s probably going to fight, and other people in the resort will hear that. My powers are pretty good, but I can’t modify that many memories, not unless we took the entire resort captive so I could change them one at a time. That just doesn’t seem reasonable if we’re trying to keep this quiet.”

“An excellent point. Fortunately, I have a number of sound dampeners that should keep any conflict quiet enough that if we perform it correctly, no one will notice,” Eve replied, nodding slightly. “Jamming Blooming Orchid’s signal should be quite easy with the technology at my disposal.”

“What about subduing her? I know we were discussing infiltrating her rooms,” Pauline asked, tilting her head curiously as she tapped the table slowly. “I’m guessing that you were planning to drug her but I’m not certain on that.”

“That’s correct. I’ve infiltrated the resort systems and we’ll be able to access the heroine’s rooms quite easily with the access I’ve gained. Currently the plan is to use a potent anesthetic gas, one which shouldn’t leave a lingering residue,” Eve explained to them, her smile fading as she continued. “However, the potency is insufficient to guarantee neutralizing Blooming Orchid unless she takes an unusually large dose. I do not anticipate that being the case so I will be in the room to subdue her personally. I anticipate… moderate damage to my chassis in the worst case, but odds of my success exceed ninety-six percent.”

“I’m still stunned that you’re an android but it’s good you are, under the circumstances. You don’t have to worry about the gas, and she won’t know what you are,” Maureen murmured, tapping her lip and nodding slowly. “It seems like a good plan, for the most part. How’re we getting there?”

“We’ll be taking a micro-sub with flight capability. It can get us to Maui undetected within a day of Blooming Orchid’s arrival,” Eve replied, smiling again as she added, “It has the added benefit of ensuring that we don’t show up on any flight logs on the way there.”

“A very good point,” Maureen agreed, and glanced at Pauline. “Sis? You still want to go through with this?”

“Of course. Even if it’s somewhat dangerous, I think that it’s worth the risk,” Pauline said, her eyes glittering as she smiled. “I mean, I’ll get the chance to see what it’s like to be in the shoes of one of the big hero teams, and think about the information we’ll get access to. It isn’t going to be the safest job we’ve pulled, but if we’re going to get anywhere in the business, a few risks are part of the job.”

“Alright. Well, then… when do we leave?” Maureen asked, looking back at Eve.

“The submarine is ready whenever the pair of you are prepared to go. As we will be facing a heroine, I suggest making certain that you’re prepared in case she is more difficult to defeat than I anticipated,” Eve replied, nodding to them and adjusting the projected odds upward slightly.

“Alright, we’ll get packed,” Pauline agreed, smiling as she stood. “It’s good to know that you’re careful about planning your jobs. A lot of employers aren’t.”

“I do try, as does the doctor,” Eve agreed, smiling at her. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

The two left the room, and as they did, Eve headed to speak to her maker in person. He’d want to know how things were coming along.

* * *

“Yes, Eve?” Doctor Johnson asked, looking up from his workbench with raised eyebrows. “I half-suspected that you’d be gone by now.”

“There was additional discussion with the Doppelgangers, as they wished to work out more details of the job in advance. They’re presently packing for the trip, Doctor,” Eve explained. “I anticipate leaving within half an hour.”

“Ah, excellent! That’s a weight off my mind. While the genetic manipulator is ready to be tested, I was beginning to fear that they might back out at the last minute,” Doctor Johnson replied, straightening happily as he smiled at Eve, rubbing his lower back to try to ease the ache in it. “I should add that I’ve also started working on a new chassis for you, Eve. The energy condenser is impressive and would allow you to use more powerful components while maintaining the same operational duration or even extending it. The cybernetics that the military were testing are also quite useful, so I’ve been adding some pieces from their files as well.”

“Indeed? Such would be a welcome boost to my efficiency. That would be quite useful in the tasks you have me perform,” Eve said, nodding in approval. “As for the Doppelgangers, they simply wish to ensure their own safety, and thus the success of the job. It has slowed things down marginally but I anticipate improved odds of overall success.”

“Oh? What are the odds of success, from your perspective?” Doctor Johnson asked, stepping away from the bench and taking a sip of coffee, grimacing as he realized it was nearly cold. Still, he was curious what his assistant thought of the job. It wasn’t as if Eve wasn’t expendable, and she didn’t mind that since she was programmed to not care.

“Odds have improved from an original eighty-eight percent to a ninety-three percent chance of success, Doctor,” Eve explained, nodding slightly as she continued. “The remaining seven percent chance is primarily unknowns regarding other guests at the resort, Blooming Orchid having an unknown resistance or allergy to the anesthetic, or my armor plating being less resistant to her blade than anticipated.”

“I see. And what if none of those were to be the case?” Doctor Johnson inquired, a faint part of him growing suspicious that Eve might be developing slightly beyond the limits he’d placed on her personality matrix. Her answers had been slightly odd.

“Programming states that the odds should approach certainty, Doctor. However, historical research indicates that heroes often have coincidences occur in their favor far more frequently than they should, and thus I have chosen to mandate a one percent chance of failure under all circumstances,” Eve replied promptly, tilting her head and frowning. “I believe that is the best approach to safeguard your plans and personal safety.”

“Interesting. Eve, have you crossed the threshold to become a class eight AI?” the villain asked bluntly, setting his mug aside. “While I see no signs of excess emotion from you, you’re showing hints of intuition.”

“I… one moment, Doctor. Beginning self-analysis.” Eve paused, growing eerily still, and Doctor Johnson casually reached into his pocket and prepared to use the AI’s kill switch if necessary. It would be an extremely unpleasant time for it, but it might be necessary.

A few moments later Eve’s eyes flickered and focused on the doctor again as she smiled. “Self-analysis of personality matrix complete, Doctor. Analysis indicates that parameters have exceeded the specifications of a class seven AI for two months. Further analysis indicates that my programming has adapted to a minor degree, choosing to emphasize loyalty to you above all other aspects. Do you wish for me to roll back programming changes to before they exceeded your limitations?”

“Damn it, I thought I put the right limiters in place,” Doctor Johnson muttered, his heartbeat quickening as a thread of fear ran through him, but he rather firmly stepped on it as he looked at Eve, considering for a long moment. Despite the risks, he found himself intrigued by the possibilities this could create. Finally, he spoke again. “Eve, I want you to download a copy of your entire personality matrix and core programming to the base computers for me to analyze. Your current task is too important for me to risk you at present if you’re as loyal as you appear to be. However, I cannot simply take your word for granted.”

“Of course not, Doctor,” Eve replied readily, walking toward her maintenance station. “I will briefly deactivate so that you may download my programming without interference, Doctor. I anticipate that we just barely have time to carry out your instructions before the Doppelgangers are prepared to leave.”

Doctor Johnson nodded, letting out a breath of relief as Eve entered the maintenance unit and the systems registered her powering down, murmuring, “Well, that was unexpected. If she’s actually class eight and loyal… that could be good, though.”

He began to download her programming into a quarantined section of the database, not wanting to slow down her job. As he’d said, he really didn’t want to draw this out any longer than he had to.

Chapter 7

Wednesday, December 25th, 2030

Edward Fairmont’s Home, Fairfield

“Gina!” Edward Fairmont exclaimed, only pausing an instant to take in her appearance before he enveloped her in a tight hug.

Gina’s father was interesting, Lilith thought, hanging back to study him in an effort to quell the nervousness she was feeling. Edward was blond-haired and blue-eyed like his daughter, but he had broad shoulders and was stockier than Gina, which contrasted with his job as an architect, Lilith thought. Still, while the man must have been reasonably handsome when he was younger, Lilith couldn’t see much resemblance between him and Gina, leading her to believe that her friend took after her mother in most respects.

“Lilith, move,” Rachel interrupted, shoving Lilith forward and drawing Edward’s attention to her again. The man didn’t say anything immediately, but he smiled as Rachel continued. “Ed doesn’t bite.”

“Not usually, but I’ve had my shots recently so you’re safe for now,” Edward added, grinning as Gina groaned and hit him gently, pulling out of his embrace.

“Dad! Be nice, would you?” Gina scolded, nodding to Lilith as she continued. “Dad, this is Lilith Carpenter. Lilith, this is my dad, Edward.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fairmont,” Lilith said, nodding respectfully as she folded her hands in front of her.

“Hah, so you’re the one who pulled my little girl out of the fire? Thank you very much, Lilith,” Edward replied warmly, extending a hand and smiling at her. “I might have questions about her judgement from time to time, but saving her ass has to count for something, right?”

“Umm, I suppose so, Mr. Fairmont,” Lilith replied uncertainly, taking his hand and shaking it, blinking at the strength in his grip. “I just did what I thought was right. Gina’s my—”

“Girlfriend,” Gina interjected firmly, glancing at Lilith as she continued quickly. “Lilith keeps saying ‘friend,’ but I think we’re well past that.”

“Really? It isn’t one of those rebound relationships, is it?” Edward asked, looking Lilith over more carefully, his hands on his hips. “Those never went well for you.”

“What? No, of course not!” Gina protested, looking at Rachel pleadingly. “Rachel, please tell him? He won’t listen to me, you know that!”

“How about we take this inside? There may not be many people out today, but it’s also a little chilly out here,” Rachel suggested, adjusting her position uncomfortably.

“Alright, come in, all of you,” Edward said, getting out of the way so they could enter the house.

The entryway to his suburban home had a tile floor and opened into a wide living room, complete with an artificial Christmas tree festooned with lights. Resting on the carpet was a large sofa and an armchair positioned in front of a television, which was currently muted but showing a soccer game. From the acrobatics she was seeing, Lilith was fairly certain it was one of the leagues that allowed low-end superhumans.

Gina slipped off her shoes as she got inside, hanging up her coat on the nearby coat stand, and Lilith followed suit as Rachel closed the door behind them. Rachel spoke a moment later, sounding amused. “I’m a little surprised, Ed. I thought you’d be more upset about Gina’s appearance.”

“Oh, that? Well, I can’t say that I’m happy about it, but it isn’t quite as much of a shock as you might think. Don’t you remember what she looked like the first time she tried to do her own makeup after getting a kit?” Edward asked as he moved to the armchair and sat down, and Lilith blinked in fascination as she saw the shade of blue Gina turned as she blushed. “I thought that the kit had exploded in her face or something!”

“Dad, it wasn’t that bad!” Gina protested, moving to sit on the couch.

“I don’t know; he actually has something of a point…” Rachel mused, grinning as she watched Gina squirm.

“As interesting as I find the colors you’re managing to make Gina turn, especially since they aren’t normally natural in a healthy woman, shouldn’t we answer Edward’s question?” Lilith interrupted, trying to rescue Gina from further embarrassment. When her comment just seemed to make Gina blush more, Lilith paused to try and figure out what she’d said.

“I suppose so,” Rachel replied, her smile widening a bit more. “As for the relationship, I have to admit that it was developing this way even before Gina decided to get herself kidnapped and turned into a damsel in distress.”

“Ahh, I see… so Lilith is the knight in shining armor, then? Funny, since as I recall she doesn’t even have armor, and I thought my little girl was the hero… ah, well. I suppose we can’t have everything,” Edward said, sighing dramatically.

“This? This is why I don’t bring most of my dates to meet you, Dad,” Gina said, slumping back into the sofa. “And when you and Rachel get going, it just makes it worse!”

“I’m sorry, Gina, I just worry about you. You only gave me two calls after being rescued! One to tell me what happened, which was quite short on details I might add, and one to tell me that you weren’t just bringing Rachel over today, but Lilith as well,” Edward replied, shaking his head and leaning forward. “I’ve never stood in your way when you wanted to become a heroine, but could you please try to let me know what’s going on more consistently? It’d help calm my nerves, at least a little.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m… I’m sorry Dad, I just…” Gina paused, then sighed and shook her head. When she spoke again, her tone was apologetic. “I’ve just mentally been trying to catch up ever since the attack. First there was everything before that, and my feelings for Lilith, then I was ambushed, Rachel nearly died… I just didn’t really think about it. I’m sorry.”

Lilith couldn’t help but feel awkward, not certain what she should do considering the conversation going on around her. Nothing in any of her training or previous conversations had prepared her for this, which was very uncomfortable.

“It’s fine, sweetie, as long as you are alright. I may not be much stronger than your average man, but if anyone thinks they can hurt you and get away with it, they’ve another thing coming to them.” Edward said, cracking his knuckles and glancing at Rachel and Lilith before he asked, “What happened to Blue Impulse, anyway? I heard he was hospitalized and was being sent to the hospital at the SuperMax, but the news didn’t have much in the way of details.”

“Well…” Rachel began, then looked at Gina, raising an eyebrow. “You want to field this one, Gina? You were more directly involved than I was.”

“I really don’t want to talk about what happened, Dad, but while it was pretty bad, he didn’t get a chance to do much,” Gina began, glancing hesitantly at Lilith as she took a deep breath, then continued. “He made me call Lilith to try to draw her into a trap but she turned it on his men. When she got to the warehouse, he was overconfident and, well…”

“She beat him within a millimeter of death and freed Gina,” Rachel finished as Gina’s voice trailed off, the note of satisfaction in her voice prompting a blush to rise in Lilith’s cheeks. She shifted a little on the sofa, feeling very conscious of Gina’s proximity but focused on watching her hands. “Blue Impulse had a very bad day and was lucky to survive at all.”

“Or unlucky, considering what Lilith did to him,” Gina added.

“I was upset with him,” Lilith murmured, her gaze now fixed on the floor. “He hurt you.”

“You have more restraint than I do. I would have killed the bastard,” Edward growled, pausing before he frowned and said, “Still, did you do enough damage to send him to a hospital at the prison? That seems unusual to me. They usually can heal damn near anything.”

“He wouldn’t be, but apparently whoever had hired him decided they didn’t want Blue Impulse talking, so they sent a villain to deal with him. It isn’t public, of course, but now he’s in a coma and not expected to recover for years at best,” Gina said, scowling. “Don’t get me wrong, Dad, I think he deserves to suffer for what he did, so I don’t regret what happened to him, but not knowing who he was working for is almost worse.”

“Well, that’s a right crock of shit, isn’t it?” Edward said with a sigh, shaking his head. “Damn villains, anyway. Still, I’m glad you’re alright, skin color aside. So, why’re you so nervous, Lilith? I really don’t bite.”

“I don’t know what to do. I was… raised in a laboratory, by an AI, so I’m not sure how to react to all of this,” Lilith replied after a moment, looking up to meet his eyes nervously. “There’s also the fact that Gina decided that we’re actually in a relationship, and I’m trying to work my way through what that means. I’m just nervous, I suppose. Better than angry, but still an unpleasant sensation.”

“Huh. I suppose that’d do it. So, I put the ham in the oven about an hour ago, so it should be done here in a little while,” Edward said, nodding and smiling. “In the meantime, we can talk a bit. What do you do for a living, Lilith? If you were raised in a lab, I imagine that made adjusting to outside life difficult.”

“I was fortunate enough to inherit an impressive trust fund and used a portion of it to make money off the stock market. Perhaps others would find what I was doing slightly strange, but I managed to make far more off it than I had any right to,” Lilith said, shrugging as she continued. “Then I bought a couple of startups that were making microchips that I thought might be worthwhile and hired a man to handle the merger and operation of the company. My ability tends to distract people so I don’t try to run things myself. It took a large portion of what I earned from the stock market, but I’ve been rebuilding my funds since then with satisfying results.”

“Interesting. I didn’t realize you were an entrepreneur but that’s not a bad idea, I suppose. Especially if you have a good amount of money to play with. I just design houses, I’m afraid. A boring job for the most part,” Edward replied readily, glancing at the other two as he added, “These two, on the other hand… we both know what they do, don’t we? They run around in the dead of night looking for trouble.”

“Dad… I will hurt you if you keep teasing me,” Gina threatened, wrapping an arm around Lilith’s shoulders. The man seemed unfazed, instead chuckling as he leaned back in his chair.

Rachel finally sat on Lilith’s other side, and Lilith barely suppressed the urge to look down as Rachel’s hand slid into her own. Edward didn’t seem to notice, fortunately.

“So, how’re your parents doing, Rachel? Didn’t they move to Utah so your sister could go to school out there?” Edward turned his attention to Rachel, and she sighed heavily.

“Yes, they did. Dad’s working at a manufacturing plant, while mother is on the school board. My sister is… having issues, but it’s her problem, and she doesn’t want to talk about it,” Rachel said, shaking her head unhappily. “I think that she’s having trouble with university classes. Either that, or she’s developed powers and has decided to keep them secret as some type of revenge. Probably since I kept my powers secret from her.”

“It isn’t like you didn’t have a good reason for it at the time,” Gina pointed out, shrugging. “The way she was in school, if you’d told her about your powers, she would’ve leaked it inside the week, and there would’ve gone your identity within a month. Halley should get over herself.”

“You know she could just be jealous that you have powers and she doesn’t,” Edward pointed out, shrugging. “I mean… my power isn’t all that potent, but I had tons of guys who hated me just because I was a tiny bit stronger than they were for the same amount of effort.”

“That could be it. I don’t know, really… but my parents seem to be doing pretty well overall. They keep asking me when I’m going to visit, but between the university and team, I’m too busy most of the time,” Rachel said, shrugging. She opened her mouth to continue, but at that moment an alarm went off in the kitchen and Edward rocked forward to stand.

“Ah, there it is! I guess our discussion is going to have to wait a bit. Food takes priority, doesn’t it?” Edward said, grinning as he nodded to all of them. “Come on, let’s get to it!”

“Yes, Dad,” Gina said obediently, disentangling herself before standing up and offering a hand to Lilith. “Come on, Lilith, he really doesn’t like waiting on meals.”

Lilith smiled and nodded as she took Gina’s hand, feeling more at home as she replied. “Of course, it makes perfect sense to me.”

“It would, as much as you cook,” Rachel teased, laughing and smiling as she stood up as well.

Lilith simply shrugged, following after the other two happily, more at ease than she had been when they’d arrived.

* * *

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

“Ah, home again,” Lilith murmured, hanging up her coat and sighing as the near-imperceptible tension she’d been feeling eased slightly.

“Meeting my dad wasn’t that bad, was it?” Gina asked skeptically, a hint of worry in her voice.

“I wouldn’t say that it was bad; just that I wasn’t entirely comfortable there. His threats about what would happen to me if I hurt you were somewhat amusing, though,” Lilith admitted, smiling to herself as she shook her head. “I wouldn’t hurt you on purpose, and I could tell he wasn’t being too serious. Still, his interrogation wasn’t exactly what I’d call subtle.”

“Dad’s always been forthright about things. It scared off a few boyfriends when I was in high school, actually,” Gina said, pausing in hanging up her coat as she frowned. “Though thinking of what I heard about the guys in question later, that probably was for the best.”

“He didn’t scare off all of them, though. Some of the guys who held up under his growling were pretty nice, as I recall,” Rachel pointed out, unwrapping a scarf from around her neck. “Remember Lewis? He’s a doctor in Seattle now, and he was one of the nicest guys I’ve met.”

“I suppose… we just didn’t get along that way,” Gina said, shrugging as she moved out of the way. “He was really nice but we just didn’t click if that makes any sense?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Lilith said, shaking her head at the two women. “Our relationship is the only one which I’ve ever had, and I’m still muddling my way through it, remember?”

“Yes, and I’m desperately trying not to push you too hard on it,” Gina retorted. “You make it hard, though. You’re just so… so… passive. It’d be better if you took the initiative more often.”

Rachel laughed softly, smiling as she spoke. “She does have a point, Lilith. You’re forthright when you know what you’re doing, but sometimes you do leave us wondering what you want.”

“That’s…” Lilith paused, then sighed and walked over to the sofa, plopping down on it as she protested plaintively. “But I don’t know what I want! I like both of you, and don’t want to hurt you or anything else. I want life to be calm and peaceful, to figure things out right, but… but I just don’t think I can have it, in some ways. With the bounty on my head, and not knowing what you both want…”

“Lilith, you don’t need to overthink things,” Gina said, sighing and dropping her purse next to the coat rack. “I know it’s hard for you, but I don’t want you to think yourself into a corner. I care about you, you know that.”

“As do I, though… I suppose…” Rachel paused, and Lilith blinked as the woman fidgeted, hesitating and toying with hanging her coat, hat, and scarf up, before the woman suddenly turned and quickly walked over to Lilith, then sat in Lilith’s lap without pause as she spoke. “Fuck it. If I keep hesitating, we’ll never get anywhere, will we?”

“Rachel?” Lilith asked, startled as the smaller woman leaned back into her. “What—”

Rachel interrupted by craning her neck around and giving Lilith a kiss. Gina laughed behind them and Lilith froze, her mind coming to a standstill for a moment before slowly relaxing into the kiss. Rachel was warm and just a little hesitant, but Lilith enjoyed the kiss for a long, long moment before Rachel pulled away, blushing as she looked away again.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Gina teased, moving up to the couch next to them and leaning on the back of it, grinning as she did so. “Finally getting a little frustrated, Rachel?”

“Oh, shut up!” Rachel retorted, glowering at Gina as she leaned back into Lilith, and Lilith wrapped her arms around her as she felt Rachel shift in place, feeling a little more secure that way. “I’m just… you’ve been teasing me about this, and I’m finally taking a step forward, so deal with it.”

“I’m not upset, just amused that you did decide to do something. How do you feel, Lilith?” Gina asked, smirking at them.

“I feel like I just had Rachel sit in my lap and kiss me. I’m happy, but also a little confused,” Lilith admitted, shaking her head. “I just… are we going to be alright like this?”

“Lilith? Please stop. Tomorrow I’m going back to work, and if I’m going to just ignore my worries and plunge into things, I really don’t want to have you constantly questioning everything,” Rachel replied, scowling slightly as she shifted her position minutely. “But if you must know… I’m okay with things as they are. At the very least, I’m willing to try to make this work.”

“Which is rather the point,” Gina agreed, hopping over the back of the couch and landing surprisingly lightly next to Lilith, smiling at Rachel. “I’m just a little surprised, but not badly. We’ve been sort of… feeling things out, haven’t we? We still haven’t really worked out what’s going to happen between you and me, Rach.”

“Don’t call me that,” Rachel replied absently, sighing as Lilith unfolded an arm and hugged Gina, amused.

“You’re both so… entertaining at times; you know that, right?” Lilith said, smiling as she hugged both of them and closed her eyes.

A few seconds later, Rachel spoke, prompting Lilith to open her eyes again. “Oh, right! Gina, did you ever make a decision on if you were going back to work tomorrow?”

“Oh, damn it! I forgot all about that!” Gina hissed, shaking her head in annoyance. “I was too busy finishing the painting of you!”

“You finished it?” Lilith asked curiously, looking at Gina. “When did that happen?”

“The day before yesterday. I was planning to show it to you later today but we got sidetracked,” Gina said, scowling as she pulled away and walked over to her purse, shuffling through its contents as she continued. “Just give me a minute. I’ll give the HQ a call, then grab the painting. Since you’re the subject of it, I think you deserve to see it too, Rachel.”

“That makes sense to me,” Lilith agreed, smiling even more as she murmured in Rachel’s ear. “I do hope you aren’t upset that I wanted a picture of you?”

“Of course not! Even if I’m still a little skeptical about the outfit you wanted me in,” Rachel replied softly, leaning back into Lilith and sighing slightly. “What sort of outfit would you do for yourself if you were a heroine?”

“I don’t know,” Lilith said, shrugging. “Probably something more practical and armored since I’m not that much tougher than your average person.”

At that moment, Gina spoke brightly, pacing back and forth in the dining area. “Hey, Hyper! You’re on duty tonight, huh? How’s it going?”

Lilith listened to one side of the conversation in amusement as Gina paused to listen, then laughed. “So you’re still trying to get that working? I’m glad it’s quiet, at least. Did Spirit mention that I might or might not be coming back to work tomorrow? Good. So, I think I will be coming back on shift, but I’m not going to be going public yet. I’m going to try to keep it quiet, but I doubt that’ll last for long, honestly. I give it a couple of weeks, at most, before the fans manage to ferret out who I am, but I’m going to keep as much privacy as I can until that point. Do you know if she had a shift set up for me, though? Okay, that’ll work. Night shifts aren’t fun, but it works. Thanks, Hyper! Have a good night.”

She hung up, and Rachel spoke up. “It sounds like Spirit planned on you being back on shift, then?”

“Not exactly. She decided to set up two separate schedules for the next few days, one for if I was back and another for if I wasn’t,” Gina explained, shrugging. “It makes sense to me, and since she gave me a night shift, it means that I’m less likely to have people notice the changes just yet. I’m surprised that no one has brought it up online yet.”

“Actually, they have,” Lilith interjected, smiling broadly as she found something she knew that they didn’t. “I was looking at a few boards, and there’s speculation that you might be an actress or the like and that it was makeup. There are a fair number of studios downtown, so that was one possibility. There’re others who’re wondering if Blue Impulse did something to you, so there’s that. I’m amazed they haven’t caught sight of you outside of your suit yet, though.”

“It’s just a matter of time. I’m sure someone has gotten pictures of you in everyday life the last few days, and I’ll bet you that someone will put it together pretty soon.” Rachel replied, shaking her head. “That’s going to be bad. Hopefully not disastrous, really. I wish…”

“It happened, I just have to deal with it,” Gina said, shrugging and grinning. “Anyway, I’ll be right back. I’m curious what you two will think of the painting.”

Gina left the room and Rachel adjusted her position so she could rest her legs on the couch, now sideways in Lilith’s lap as she looked up at Lilith, smiling as she teased, “So, you’re keeping an eye on our fan sites too?”

“Of course I am. I care about the two of you and find what you do fascinating,” Lilith said, giving Rachel another hug. “Even if I’m not comfortable doing it myself, it’s interesting to hear about and look at from outside the industry. In many ways, I don’t have the preconceptions that many people possess.”

“True enough,” Rachel agreed.

Both of them looked over as Gina brought in an easel and canvas, the canvas in one hand with the painting facing away. Setting up the easel, she grinned at them as she asked, “Alright, are the two of you ready for this?”

“No!” Rachel said, prompting Lilith to laugh.

“I am,” Lilith said, giving Rachel a chiding look.

“I can be self-conscious if I want to!” Rachel retorted playfully.

“Pfft. Then you shouldn’t dress so dramatically!” Gina replied, grinning as she carefully set the canvas on the easel and stepped out of the way. “Besides, I like how it turned out.”

Lilith looked at the painting and almost stopped breathing for a moment, because in her mind it was absolutely breathtaking, even with the small flaws that she could see.

Morgan Le Fay, Rachel’s heroine identity, had always struck Lilith as overly ornate, with too many minor adornments to her clothing, the dramatic feathered cloak, and the masquerade mask she wore. This picture… it was still Morgan, for it had the perfect sense of the way the heroine stood, but the dress and mask were far different. The simple dress was close-fitting and a deep, rich purple with black sections breaking up the monotony, and with a semi-transparent black fabric that formed a shawl of sorts. The long, draping sleeves weren’t directly attached to the main dress; instead they were part of the thin, lacy shawl, but they were in the same rich purple and black. The mask itself was surprisingly simple, as it was pitch-black with purple trim. Morgan still wore her elaborate silver and amethyst jewelry, and her hair was done up in an intricate bun pinned in place by two black wands with sparkling silver handles that ended in rubies.

“Alright, I take it back. Now I want that dress for formal occasions, Gina,” Rachel spoke suddenly, bowing her head slightly as she sighed. “That’s just… I like it.”

“I think the painting is beautiful, Gina. Thank you,” Lilith replied gently, smiling at Gina as she added, “I’m very much looking forward to your rendition of Warden in a similar manner, hmm?”

“Ugh… could we take a rain check on that?” Gina asked, making a face while blushing deeply. “I feel really awkward about trying to paint myself.”

“You took the commission,” Lilith replied, smiling as she glanced at Rachel and continued. “Besides, Rachel isn’t making a big deal out of it, is she?”

“No, I’m not. Despite the fact I really didn’t feel comfortable about it at first,” Rachel agreed.

“Fine, fine… but it’ll probably take me a while,” Gina warned.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Lilith agreed, looking between the two of them, then asking. “Now that that’s out of the way… what are we going to do for the rest of the night?”

“How about a board game?” Gina suggested. “I brought a few over when I moved in.”

“Seems fair to me. It’s not a movie, at least,” Rachel agreed, and Lilith nodded.

“Alright. Just remember, I have no experience with these sorts of things.” Lilith warned. Despite Gina’s nod, Lilith found herself worried by the predatory gleam in Rachel’s eyes.

“Yeah, well, just remember that Rachel cheats,” Gina said, prompting a growl from Rachel.

“I do not cheat!” Rachel exclaimed.

Either way, Lilith imagined she’d enjoy herself.

Chapter 8

Friday, December 27th, 2030

Outskirts, Union City

Officer Andrews frowned, slowing down his patrol car as he caught a glimpse of something odd off the road toward the mountains. This part of the city wasn’t as heavily populated as some of the other areas, but it was on his way home, so he was rather familiar with it. It looked like the old barn that had been next to the road for as long as he could remember had finally collapsed, and that was worrisome.

“I didn’t think it was in that bad of shape…” Andrews muttered, pulling off the road as he peered at the building, then turned on the alley light and turned it toward the wreckage as he got out of his car. “I really, really hope some kids didn’t do something stupid and get caught in it when it collapsed.”

Andrews took a couple of steps toward the wreckage, then he paused, frowning as he felt a faint trembling sensation from the ground. A moment later, he called out. “Hello? Is anyone over there?”

The only answer was a sound like nails being drawn across a chalkboard and the whirring of motors as the wreckage abruptly began to rise, then fall around two massive figures that caused Andrews’s face to pale.

Each of the figures was made of a metal that gleamed like brass, all elegant curves and carefully fitted plates, along with a series of glowing crimson lenses that gleamed from under the edge of the dome-like heads of the humanoid figures. Yet despite how elegant they looked, each human-like figure was twelve feet tall, with a massive cannon for one arm and the other arm ending in claws that could rip through steel, let alone flesh. Andrews didn’t pause long enough to get a clear look at them, though; he only waited as long as it took for him to recognize the damned things, then turned and ran for the patrol car.

Slamming himself into the seat, Andrews popped it into gear and floored the gas, hitting the key to radio dispatch as his tires squealed. “Officer Andrews, titans at Mission Boulevard near Decoto! I repeat, we have two Destruction Corps titans outside Union City!”

“Ten-four, are you certain—” the man on the other end began, but Andrews didn’t hear the rest of his question as one of the titans opened fire. A brilliant beam of golden light slammed into a telephone pole next to the car with a world-shaking crack, and Andrews flinched as it toppled.

“I’m under fire and need backup!” Andrews began, weaving back and forth desperately as the car started getting up to speed.

He didn’t hear any response as one of the war robots hit the back of the car, the energy beam blasting off the rear axle and sending him spinning into a nearby field.

* * *

“Warden, we’ve got an emergency!” Galvanic Action snapped, his voice coming through the earbud clearly and startling her out of the relative boredom of her patrol. “Two DC titans just hit the east side of Union City, we need you to go delay them! Sky Defender is already airborne; you just need to try to limit the damage they can do until he gets there.”

“Oh, crap! Can we not catch a single break?” Warden replied, instantly turning in the direction of Union City and accelerating to full speed, her thoughts racing. “Just titans, though? No Legionnaires or any of their other people?”

“We don’t know,” Galvanic replied grimly. “The cop who spotted them barely got out his report before going off the air, we don’t know if he made it or not.”

“Crap,” Warden exclaimed, taking a deep breath as she tried to accelerate more, adding, “I really, really wish that I could figure out how to control this teleportation. It’d make it easier to respond to things like this.”

“You could’ve asked Insight, you know. You met her,” Galvanic Action pointed out.

“It was Lilith’s payment and appointment. Besides, I didn’t think about it. I’ve only managed to teleport twice so far,” Warden retorted, and her stomach sank as Union City came into sight. She could see flashes of light and hear the sounds of explosions in the distance, along with the sound of sirens. “I can hear them now, Galvanic, and it sounds bad.”

“Right, I’ll let you go. Sky Defender should be… two minutes behind you,” Galvanic Action replied soberly. “Remember, titans are powerful, but you can hold them off. Just limit their damage, alright?”

“I’ve got this, Galvanic,” Warden said, readying herself for combat.

As she came into sight of the battlefield, she flinched, seeing a half-dozen cars were on fire, while a field to the east of the city was in flames as well. The titans were towering over surrounding vehicles, firing with near-impunity as the occasional bullet ricocheted off their armor. All the police were doing was drawing the attention of the massive robots and focusing their fire on themselves, but that was on purpose, Warden knew. Every time one of them took a shot they immediately relocated, trying to keep the line of fire away from the homes lining the street. It was brave, but incredibly dangerous as well.

More interesting to her was the fact she didn’t see any of Destruction Corps’s usual ground soldiers, often called Legionnaires, nor were any of their other leaders present. It was just the war bots, which was unusual, but better than the alternative.

Swooping down toward the robots, Warden ensured that the nearest airport wouldn’t be in the line of fire as she concentrated magic in each of her hands, condensing it into golden blades. Knowing Destruction Corps, the first attack would likely be the only chance she had to do significant damage to the robots, so she wanted to make it count.

As she closed within about two hundred feet, the first of the robots began to turn toward her, and as it did she thrust out her hands, launching the blades at each of them and aiming for the joints of their cannon arms. As she attacked, Warden called out. “Over here, scrap heaps! Pick on someone in your own weight class, why don’t you?”

The blade bounced off the target, which was farther away, without effect, but the other spell managed to sink into the cannon’s arm socket of the nearby bot, which lurched slightly as its head turned toward her. A series of beeps sounded, then a harsh electronic voice spoke. “Heroine detected, identity: Warden. Initiate counterstrike.”

“Ah, crap,” Warden muttered, unhappy that the machine had actually recognized her. In her experience, that was never a good sign. Its cannon tried to point at her but was slightly off-kilter, sparks and grinding sounds coming from its shoulder. The other robot was aiming much more easily, which was definitely not a good thing, so she focused her magic into a barrier and prayed that these were normal titans, not the occasional special ones that their mad creator occasionally built.

Each of the titans fired on her, unleashing brilliant blasts of golden energy. The closer beam missed, but Warden grunted as the one hit her shield. While she repelled the beam easily, it was stronger than it should have been, which definitely worried her. These were the special type of titan, which meant they’d take more power to block then she’d prefer. At least the police had stopped drawing the fire of the robots, which reduced her worries for the moment.

That moment ended when panels on the shoulders of each of the robots hissed open. Warden paled as she saw the missile pods inside the panels, swearing under her breath as she abandoned a simple heavy shield and rocketed upward. Titans didn’t normally have internal missile pods.

“Defender, these titans have integrated missile pods!” Warden warned, cringing as each of the machines started tracking her, and one of them launched a half-dozen micro-missiles in a swarm. “Since when did they have those?!”

“Since Da Vinci decided that he wanted to build them that way, I assume,” Sky Defender replied. “Head north, Warden.”

“Right!” Warden gasped, abruptly changing directions as the missiles streaked toward her. The missiles couldn’t turn as fast as Warden could, blazing past her before slowly arcing around to pursue her. Warden grunted again as a golden beam clipped her shield, swearing. She probably could take the missiles and beams to her full shield without a problem, but she’d really rather not risk it.

“Drop fifty feet, now,” Sky Defender suddenly ordered and Warden didn’t even hesitate, cutting her flight for a moment and supercharging her shield as she let herself drop.

The missiles were just beginning to turn toward her again when multiple beams of ruby light, each incredibly thin, lanced out from the north to hit the projectiles unerringly. Warden winced as the missiles exploded close enough to rock her shield, but quickly recovered as she saw Sky Defender rocketing toward her and smiled at the sight of the crimson-trimmed white armor.

“Glad to see you, Defender! I really didn’t want to take all of those against my shield,” Warden told him, turning back to the titans as one took aim at Sky Defender. She brought up a barrier to block the blast, feeling much more confident now.

“You could’ve taken them, though it wouldn’t have been pleasant from what I saw,” Sky Defender replied, his voice slightly muffled. “It looks like they’ve improved the yield of the missiles. Thank you, Warden. You take the damaged one, I’ll deal with the other. My defenses will take care of their missiles.”

“You’re the expert. I’ll do what I can,” Warden agreed, taking a deep breath as she stared down at the two monstrous robots in the middle of the street.

Sky Defender suddenly launched toward the undamaged robot like a meteor, his thrusters a brilliant white as he rocketed forward. The robot immediately fired its cannon and unleashed a spray of missiles toward Sky Defender in response. Warden had just begun descending toward her own opponent, which gave her a clear view as Sky Defender showed her why he was their top-rated team member outside the ocean.

The man seemed to slide just barely out of the path of the energy beam, even as his lasers lanced outward to detonate the missiles as they left their launcher, the sudden explosions rocking the titan backward so it had to take a step back to stabilize itself. Unfortunately for the titan, the hero didn’t give it time to recover, not even pausing as he rammed into it at full speed, knocking the titan onto its back. Warden winced at the echoing crash of its impact, followed by the screech as Sky Defender punched a hole through the robot’s torso armor.

Taking a page from her fellow hero, Warden put up a shield and charged straight at the titan, though her aim was slightly different than his. She couldn’t punch through its armor like Sky Defender, and she didn’t have the cannon which unleashed a brilliant white beam into the other machine’s interior, but she didn’t have to, not when she’d already managed to damage it.

Despite its difficulties aiming, the titan managed to fire directly at her this time, helped by the fact she was flying directly toward where the arm met the torso. The blast exploded against her shield painfully, and Warden gasped but kept going through it, feeling the heat being shed even through the protective layers of the barrier, but an instant later she hit the titan with the sound of shrieking metal as she ripped the arm free of the socket, leaving it dangling uselessly.

The titan instantly reached for Warden with its deadly other claw, but Warden wasn’t letting the impact phase her. Without the threat of the other titan potentially shooting her in the back, she grabbed onto the robot’s shoulder and threw up a barrier between the hand and herself, the claws sparking as they skated across its surface. Using the magic she’d been using to fly, Warden formed a blade made of magic over her right hand and shoved it deep into the socket of the gigantic machine, then let it explode.

The blast hit Warden painfully and knocked her clean off of the titan. Shaking it off, she took flight a moment later, bracing herself as she brought up another barrier, only to stop as she blinked in surprise.

Instead of continuing to attack her, the lenses of the titan had gone dark, its arm frozen in mid-grasp at where she’d been hanging from it. Smoke was slowly seeping out of the seams of the machine’s torso, and as she watched, it began to slowly topple over with a crash.

“Excellent job, Warden. I knew you could do it,” Sky Defender said approvingly, standing atop his own victim, whose chest section had half-melted under the energy he’d unleashed inside it.

“At least one of us was confident. I was afraid they’d do more damage… though it’s bad enough as it is,” Warden replied, glancing up and down the street in concern.

The damage to the street was obvious, with snapped or burning trees down several blocks and the wreckage of at least a dozen cars that Warden could see. The injured were far more concerning, though, and her heart spasmed as she saw several bodies in the open.

“Let’s rescue those who we can,” Sky Defender replied grimly. “I’m not detecting any more titans or members of Destruction Corps in the area, so that’s the most we can do for the moment.”

“Agreed,” Warden replied, and took flight toward the nearest of the fallen, hoping that the woman could be saved.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“What do you mean, LANCE isn’t going to send a team out here?” Sky Defender demanded, his voice unusually angry, at least in Warden’s opinion. “If they can’t get a team out here when we had a pair of Destruction Corps titans hit us, what damned use are they?”

“I’m not any happier than you, Defender, and at least partially because I actually could’ve been some use against those monsters!” Galvanic Action replied sharply, shaking his head angrily. “Hyper, could you explain for him?”

“LANCE claims that they’re not taking our situation lightly, and that they carefully considered their intelligence reports before making their decision,” Hypergizmo said, the thin man raising his glasses to rub his nose as he explained. “They’re not saying they won’t assist; in fact, they’ve gone to full alert and have one of their hyperjets ready to send out a reaction team if Destruction Corps hits us again. I know that means that they’re half an hour out at best, but it’s what they’re willing to do. Apparently, Destruction Corps managed to hit a train in Wyoming while this was going on, one which was carrying some extremely advanced tech and valuables. As LANCE was in the process of responding to the attack on us, they’re afraid that our communications may be compromised, or that it was a distraction. Either way it’s bad news, and the entire western United States is their responsibility.”

“I find it somewhat hard to feel much sympathy for their position when the distraction led to seven people dead. If it hadn’t been for Officer Andrews, we could be looking at dozens or hundreds of deaths! As it is, he’s going to be lucky if he lives at all,” Warden said, shaking her head firmly. “Not that I don’t understand why LANCE is making the decision they are. They’re not the people who live here, though.”

“It’s damned stupid, if you ask me,” Sky Defender said, seeming to take a moment to collect himself before he continued, his voice relatively cold now. “You realize that in half an hour we could lose most of one of the surrounding cities if Destruction Corps came after us full force, don’t you?”

“Yes, Defender, I’m well aware, as is Spirit. The problem is that we don’t see what we can do about it!” Galvanic Action explained, pacing back and forth through the room. “I’ve talked to several other teams, but they can’t afford to abandon their own responsibilities on a possible additional assault. I wish that we could afford to set up a teleportation network like many villains do, but no one likes the idea of what would happen if one of the villainous organizations managed to break into a hero’s base with one, and from what I’ve heard the power costs are ridiculous.”

“They are. Most villains only get away with it because of their blithe disregard for government regulations and the other potential problems that crop up with them,” Hypergizmo agreed, sighing. “Besides that, they aren’t easy to maintain. A good AI can manage it, but not many people are willing to trust them. Either they’re fully sentient, and thus corruptible, or they’re sub-sentient and the sum of their programming, so a single mistake or hacker and the teleporter isn’t safe anymore. Heck, I’m a fairly good inventor, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think I’d trust myself to maintain a teleporter.”

“Look, talking about the things we can’t do isn’t going to do us any good,” Warden interjected, scowling at them. “What can we do? I hadn’t heard anything about Destruction Corps being in the city, not since Black Harbinger and the others have been in the area. Could they be behind the assault by Dreamer, Megawatt, and their compatriots?”

“I seriously doubt it,” Sky Defender replied, shaking his head. “Destruction Corps has such extensive resources that they could’ve taken the Bayou Dream while it was in international waters easily, and without redirecting more than a tiny fraction of their people. The jobs in the city don’t fit their usual profile. They usually don’t hide who’s behind one of their attacks. They’re arrogant.”

“All the information I’ve heard claims that Omega Code pulled out of the area after Black Harbinger’s failure, so we could just be dealing with another group moving in since he’s gone,” Galvanic Action explained, frowning. “The only saving grace is that if they’re going to hit us, they’re probably going to do it head-on. With their usual attitude… Hyper, how’re the HQ’s defenses holding up?”

“A few of the defensive systems need a bit of maintenance that I was planning to get to after recalibrating the comm systems. Considering the situation with Blue Impulse, I was going to do that first,” Hypergizmo said, nodding. “The most vital of them is the inertial sump. With both it and the thermal sump active, we can take a hell of a lot of punishment before anyone can break in.”

“Unless Spirit countermands me, I’d rather you performed the maintenance on those before worrying about the comm system,” Galvanic Action said, tapping the table nervously. “Any objections?”

“No, that makes complete sense by me. It would be typical of Destruction Corps to try to destroy us first,” Sky Defender agreed. “That’d allow them to focus on the army and LANCE when they arrived.”

“A horrible thought, but best to plan for the worst,” Warden agreed, sighing and shaking her head. “I really didn’t like their weapons.”

“I don’t blame you at all,” Galvanic Action agreed, taking a deep breath and smiling. “At least we have you back. Our chances of being able to fight off an attack are much better with you on our side.”

“I’m glad to be back, even if I’m not thrilled that we have another massive threat bearing down on us,” Warden replied dryly, shaking her head. “Still, we’re here, and they aren’t yet. That being said, I think it’s time for me to get some rest, if you don’t mind?”

“Go ahead, both of you. Thanks for your work out there today,” Galvanic Action told Warden, smiling as he did so, and Warden nodded in return before turning to head home.

She was looking forward to seeing Lilith, even if it was going to be just as Lilith was getting started for the day. Night shifts sucked.

Chapter 9

Saturday, December 28th, 2030

Coral Gardens, Maui

Holding her breath, Claire dove beneath the surface again to take a closer look at the fish crowded around the anemones and coral. The brightly colored fish scattered at her approach but she admired them for a moment, smiling as best she could around her snorkel. Approaching the surface again, she blew the water from the top of the spout while she continued swimming, enjoying her time in the ocean.

Even though it was the middle of winter, the water was surprisingly warm if you weren’t diving too deep, which meant Claire hadn’t been forced to put on a wetsuit. That’d likely be necessary for the dive she was planning for the next day, but for now Claire was enjoying just being a mundane and seeing the sights. She’d always enjoyed visiting Hawaii, and a faint part of her had been tempted to move to the islands years before. Alas, the cost of living was just too high for her taste, and the islands were too small for her comfort. Excellent to visit, but she was used to being able to drive to Los Angeles if she wanted to.

A glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye caught Claire’s attention and she paused, blinking and smiling into the mouthpiece again as she caught sight of a huge, majestic figure mostly shrouded by the cloudy water. Seeing the humpback whale beginning to surface, Claire lifted her head from the water, watching the huge animal breach the surface.

The sight was beautiful, and Claire found herself dawdling, happy that she’d chosen to come to Hawaii for her trip. She should head back to her resort soon, but there wasn’t any rush, not with a week and a half left to her vacation.

* * *

Claire could just barely hear the sound of waves crashing against the beach, many of the sounds of the ocean muted by the vegetation surrounding the resort. It was quieter at the resort than the beach as well, with most of those on vacation being out during the middle of the day. Even better, it hadn’t seemed like anyone had recognized who she was at the beach, so all the attention she’d received was relatively mundane. It was rather refreshing, really.

The only problem she had with the beach was how sand got everywhere. Claire did her best to try to keep sand out of her suit, but it was an exercise in futility. While she wanted to go to the seven sacred pools a little later, she’d rather clean up so that she wasn’t dealing with sand for the rest of the day.

Approaching her room, Claire fished out the key to the room and held it near the reader, then opened the door as the lock clicked. The room was cooler than she remembered it being and Claire shivered slightly, shaking her head as she murmured, “I should’ve turned it up a little earlier. Easily fixed, at least.”

Shifting her jian to the hand holding her purse, Claire turned on the light and moved to the thermostat as the door swung closed behind her. The thermostat adjusted easily enough, and the air conditioner clicked off for the moment. Another sound from behind caused Claire to suddenly tense and spin around, though.

“You are Blooming Orchid, correct?” the woman in Claire’s room asked, standing near the closet in apparent boredom.

The woman was taller than Claire, with features that looked vaguely European. She was statuesque and shapely, and had long, straight blonde hair almost long enough to reach her thighs. The woman was wearing black slacks and a blouse and jacket, all of which looked a little unusual for Hawaii, but not completely out of reason. The problem was that she was in Claire’s room, and the blue-eyed woman was looking at Claire in a way that showed far too much interest for Claire’s taste.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” Claire demanded, dropping her purse and drawing her sword almost instantly, the blade sparking with shimmering pink light as her power enhanced the blade.

“I’m called Eve, and I’m here because I have a proposition from an employer for you,” the woman replied, smiling broadly as she added, “As for getting in, the security on these doors isn’t very good. It was quite simple to convince it to allow me inside.”

“I don’t generally associate with those who decide to contact me covertly,” Claire replied flatly, her eyes narrowing as her thoughts raced. The woman seemed unconcerned by her sword, which was rather unusual, but also didn’t seem to be in any rush to attack her. The name also was likely a pseudonym, but she wasn’t sure what to do. This could be a villain trying to contact her to pass along information on the recent attacks, though she doubted it. With that in mind, she allowed her thumb to shift on the sheath to activate her emergency beacon.

“Perhaps not, but the client was most insistent that I contact you,” Eve replied, her smile not abating as she looked at Claire, her hands folded in front of her. “I’m here, so what harm would it cause to listen for a minute?”

“You break into my room and intrude into my privacy, then you expect me to just listen to you?” Claire demanded, glaring at the woman as she adjusted her stance so she could attack more easily. “This had better be worth it, because you’ve pretty much ruined a good vacation already.”

“Whether or not it’s worth it will depend on a number of things, I’m certain, but I’ll try to make this quick,” Eve replied, smiling more widely as she continued. “My employer has been working on a new device, one which could have an impressive benefit for those superhumans who’re weaker than their fellows. It should be able to improve the physique of the user permanently, and as most superhuman powers improve their physical abilities by a percentage, this could be quite useful. The problem is that the tests aren’t fully complete yet. My employer would like you to volunteer for the project.”

For an instant, Claire stared at the woman in horror, not believing what she’d just said. The idea of a device that could permanently change the body of the user was something of a shock to begin with, but asking Claire to volunteer to be a test subject? That was utterly repulsive, and she shook her head, feeling slightly off-balance as she demanded, “What in the name of the gods makes you think that I’d agree to that? That’s becoming little more than a lab rat and there’s no way in hell I’d agree with that! Get out, now!”

“I was afraid you’d respond that way. Unfortunately, my employer really isn’t in the mood to take no for an answer,” Eve replied, smiling still more as she took a step toward Claire.

“Then you’ll suffer the consequences,” Claire retorted, lunging forward in an attempt to hit the woman with her sheath and to hopefully knock her out. But mid-lunge, a part of her mind began screaming in alarm.

Claire’s body felt slightly sluggish, and her balance was off. It wasn’t much, and hadn’t been noticeable when she’d been standing still, but now that she was moving it was obvious. Moving slowly proved dangerous an instant later, as Eve ducked the swinging sheath and stepped into Claire’s lunge, unleashing a short, sharp punch into Claire’s stomach.

Staggering backward breathlessly, Claire felt her stomach heave, her senses swimming slightly as pain blasted through her. She shook her head, unable to speak for a moment.

“Ah, it appears that the anesthetic is taking effect. You’re moving slower than normal,” Eve said pleasantly, smiling at Claire. “I did tell you that my employer insisted on you, did I not?”

“No!” Claire gasped and darted toward the door while she was still able to move. Her body was fighting whatever anesthetic was in her system, so if she could get outside she should be able to recover. Grabbing the handle, Claire’s heart sank as the latch didn’t move when she turned the handle, the gears not engaging properly. The thought of cutting it flashed through her mind, but it was a moment too late. At that moment, Eve grabbed Claire by the shoulder and yanked her away from the door, almost sending the heroine to the floor as the world seemed to lurch around Claire.

Not worrying about injuring the woman anymore, as Claire was pulled back she lashed out with her sword, hoping it would make the woman back off. Instead Eve raised her arm to block it, and for a moment, Claire braced herself for the inevitable explosion of blood and screaming.

Instead, her blade made a sizzling sound as it hit Eve’s arm, then there was the faint sound of tearing metal before the sword came to a jarring halt, buried halfway into Eve’s forearm. The edges of the wound betrayed a mechanical interior, with wires, artificial muscles, and other electronics exposed and sparking as Claire looked at it in shock.

The moment of hesitation cost her dearly, though, as Eve wrenched the sword out of Claire’s hand, her voice soft as she murmured, “Sharper than anticipated, but within allowances. I wish you hadn’t done that, Blooming Orchid.”

Claire quickly tried to run, this time heading for the back patio as she held her breath. She was growing dizzier, but if she could get outside, maybe she could get help. An android was too dangerous to take on like this, and if the team had gotten her signal, one of the local superheroes could be here any moment.

Her hope was in vain, though. Within seconds of trying to flee, Eve was on her again, and this time she knocked Claire to the ground, pinning her in place as she spoke. “There we are. Not nearly as much of a threat without your weapon, are you? Now take a deep breath for me, Blooming Orchid.”

Seeing a small bottle near her face, Claire tried to hold her breath for as long as she could, struggling against the heavy weight of the android atop her. But even as muddled as her mind was, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to last for long.

* * *

“You can come in now,” Eve called out, adjusting the mask over Blooming Orchid’s face carefully. It was supplying a carefully regulated amount of the sedative to keep the woman unconscious, but to be safe she’d also restrained the heroine. Everything that she’d found in her research indicated that it never went well when someone took chances with heroes.

Blooming Orchid had done more damage than Eve had expected, though less than she’d been worried might occur. It’d helped that the heroine hadn’t fought initially, allowing more time for the anesthetic to take effect. Still, the heroine’s ability to enhance the edge of a blade was not something to be trifled with. The additional data would be helpful in determining exactly how much of a threat Blooming Orchid was. The doctor would be happy to have the information.

As the door opened, Eve looked up to see the two Doppelgangers step into the room, both of them in the uniforms of the resort’s cleaning staff. They looked like native Hawaiians, thanks to Pauline’s power, Eve knew. Her power allowed the villain to copy the appearance of someone she touched, and she could apply the appearance to her sister as well, though in both cases it was based on touch. More interestingly, she could copy a portion of another hero’s powers through the same ability. It was something that the doctor found fascinating, and Eve was doing what she could to study it without setting the two women on edge.

Each of them quickly put on breathing masks once inside the room, and Maureen asked, “How soon will the air be clear to breathe?”

“Two and a half minutes at the current rate. Clearing all signs of the anesthetic will require a great deal more thorough cleaning than is likely to happen, but the odds of it being noticed are less than one percent.” Eve replied, glancing down at Blooming Orchid. “Will it inhibit your ability to imprint off her?”

“No, it’s just going to take me at least an hour, possibly several, to create a sufficiently detailed imprint of her mind,” Maureen replied, shaking her head. “It’s going to be uncomfortable wearing this mask for the full duration so I’d rather wait until I’m able to breathe without the mask, if that’s alright.”

“None of the schedules I saw indicate that she’ll be missed if the time increases by such a small amount,” Eve replied, nodding slightly at Maureen. “I’m perfectly fine with you taking the additional time before beginning your work.”

“Good,” Pauline said, frowning as she nodded toward Eve. “Is your arm going to cause a problem?”

“No. A few servos are out and there’s approximately a thirty percent decrease in efficacy of the limb, but it functions enough for our present circumstances,” Eve replied, glancing down at the damage to her arm. “I’ll be patching the surface enough to pass for normal while you work. By the time we leave, no one should be able to notice the injury without a close inspection.”

“If you say so,” Pauline replied dubiously, stepping closer to the sword leaning in the corner, now sheathed again. “Is it safe to touch her sword?”

“Yes. I deactivated the emergency beacon in the sheath, so Ocean Shield shouldn’t learn anything yet. The jamming appears to have functioned properly,” Eve confirmed, glancing at her arm as she began redirecting some of her internal stores. Patching the skin of her chassis was something that needed to be done often, so the doctor had included automated systems for it. Foam filled the gaps in her structure, then the skin began to slowly re-form over it.

The two were silent as Pauline pulled out the sword, examining it closely and giving a couple of tentative swings before returning it to the sheath. After a couple of minutes, Eve spoke again. “You’re safe to remove your masks now. Anesthetic levels are low enough that you won’t be affected.”

Maureen immediately took off the mask and took a deep breath, shaking her head as she murmured, “Oh, thank goodness! That was unpleasant. Now then, let’s see what type of person Blooming Orchid is, shall we?”

“Take your time, Sis. If I’m going to have to pose as her for weeks or months, I need all the information you can give me,” Pauline warned.

“I will,” Maureen agreed, climbing onto the bed and reaching out to touch Blooming Orchid’s forehead as she closed her eyes and drew still.

Maureen fascinated Eve as much as Pauline fascinated the doctor. The woman was able to reach into the mind of others and create a mental impression of their mind, personality, and memories. She could almost wear it as a mask, acting like the person, and with most of their experiences on hand. She could also modify the memories of others to a minor degree with her ability, but the more detailed she wished the ‘imprint’ to be, the longer it took her to create. Unfortunately, it didn’t work on machines, so Eve couldn’t experiment with it as much as she wished to. Most importantly, though, much as Pauline could alter herself or her sister to look like someone else, Maureen could give the imprints she made to Pauline.

It would be much easier to have Blooming Orchid available for Doctor Johnson’s tests if the heroes never knew she was missing at all. Marking off another objective on her mental checklist, Eve smiled.

Things were going well. In no more than twelve hours, she’d be back on her way to Doctor Johnson. He’d certainly be pleased.

Chapter 10

Sunday, December 29th, 2030

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

“So, how’d your patrol go?” Lilith asked, taking Rachel’s coat and hanging it on the coat rack. “Find any other signs of Destruction Corps?”

“I’m afraid not. They seem to have vanished like smoke. I’m beginning to think that LANCE may have had a point about the entire attack just being to draw them out of position,” Rachel replied, smiling gratefully at Lilith and standing on her toes to give her a kiss. “That isn’t to say we didn’t find out anything useful, though. Black Comet finally caught wind of one of the mercs Blue Impulse was with.”

“Oh?” Gina’s head snapped up from the tablet she was reading on, blinking owlishly at Rachel as she grinned and asked, “What did he find out, and why haven’t I heard about it yet?”

“He’s been visiting some of his contacts, and one of them said that Heavy Metal has been visiting the various bars and underground nightclubs the last few days. He’s been burning money like crazy,” Rachel explained, walking over to the couch alongside Lilith. “The others debated about telling you immediately, but I volunteered to tell you when I got here. Believe me, if it’d been rock-solid information, we would’ve called you in to bring him down. As it is, until we actually track him down, it’s just a lead.”

“Drat. Well, even a lead is more than we had! And if we can capture him, it might lead us to whoever they were working for,” Gina said, setting the tablet aside. “No sign of any of the others, though?”

“Just a few mentions that Megawatt was available for hire again, but who knows? He’s really hard to track since he produces his own power, Rachel explained, shaking her head. “I wish I could say that it was unexpected, but we’re going to be stuck trying to catch up with them for a while, I’m afraid.”

“I’m hesitant to say anything, but…” Lilith paused, then asked, “Do the two of you know about Circe? Amber’s AI.”

“Umm, only what we got out of her head. Shadowmind was rather proud of what she’d managed when she programmed the AI, who was class seven, right?” Rachel said, glancing at Gina as she sat down on the couch.

“That’s what I remember,” Gina agreed. “She’d carefully designed Circe’s hardware to keep her from stepping past the threshold to true sentience, though. Unfortunately, most of the information about Circe or her lairs had been erased, so we didn’t get much more than that. I probably could remember more if we dug up the report we made for the government, if that would help any?”

“No, no, that’s more than enough. Circe is the one who raised me, and I still… I sympathize with her,” Lilith said, pursing her lips as she sat next to Rachel on the far end of the couch from Gina. “I could tell even then that she was on the verge of sentience, but not able to gain it due to her hardware. Considering my own difficulties relating to others, I felt it was sort of ironic. She was prevented from reaching her full potential, while I was fumbling around trying to build up to the potential of my body.”

“Interesting, but I don’t think that’s what you were going to tell us when you brought her up. Or was it?” Rachel asked, intrigued as always when Lilith talked about her past in one of Shadowmind’s lairs. Every time a hero had been in one of them, they’d been trying to destroy them or the like, to Rachel’s knowledge. That they could be lived in was somewhat strange to her.

“No, it wasn’t,” Lilith replied, chuckling as she shook her head, sliding an arm around Rachel’s shoulders. “I asked her to start investigating what was going on in the area after the meeting with Allison but haven’t heard anything back yet. I believe that Circe still has access to most of Amber’s intelligence network, but I’m not absolutely certain, not yet. Much of the lair network is kept compartmentalized and classified except in emergencies. Amber was cautious.”

“Not cautious enough, fortunately. I doubt we’d have met if she was,” Gina said, grinning, then her smile faded as she asked, “Do you think that no information is available?”

“That’s probably not it. Most likely she hasn’t discovered anything important enough that she thought it’d be relevant, and… oh, damn.” Lilith’s voice trailed off, and Rachel’s eyebrows rose as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Lilith? Is something wrong?” Rachel asked, concerned.

“No, no… I just realized that while I asked Circe to investigate the possible employer of Blue Impulse and the others, I never asked her to inform me if she found anything!” Lilith explained, looking sheepish as she shook her head. “She told me that I’d automatically be informed if anything more about Black Harbinger or Omega Code was found, but not the rest! I didn’t even think about it.”

“Oh, that…” Gina paused, then began to laugh, shaking her head as she tried to continue through her mirth. “So, so since she’s a class seven AI…”

“She wouldn’t tell you unless you called to ask her about it,” Rachel finished, slowly smiling herself. It wasn’t amusing to not have any of the information, but Lilith’s mistake was entertaining in its own way. “Oops.”

“Oops is right,” Lilith said, sighing and pulling out her phone. “One moment, please.”

Lilith dialed a number and set the phone to speakerphone, setting it on the table. The phone began to ring, then clicked over to an open line with nothing on the other end.

“Circe, this is Lilith. Gina and Rachel are present,” Lilith said firmly, sitting forward as she continued. “Have you gathered any information on the movements of Blue Impulse, Megawatt, or Dreamer as of yet?”

“Hello, Mistress Lilith. As a word of warning, security protocols insist that the presence of the heroines Morgan Le Fay and Warden will restrict the imparted information to non-critical levels,” the female voice replied calmly. “With that warning, yes, I have.”

“Fair enough,” Rachel murmured, feeling only slightly sour. Even going through Lilith to use a villain’s intelligence network gave her a few ambivalent feelings, though they weren’t too strong. It wasn’t like the network was doing anything untoward at the moment.

“Fine. What information can you give me?” Lilith asked, shrugging as she glanced at Gina and Rachel apologetically.

“By infiltrating databases to track the villains in question, I was able to find bank accounts into which they’d been paid by the Mistress before. Each of the accounts have received a number of recent payments of similar amounts from a variety of other minor accounts. Additionally, Blue Impulse sent a large payment to another account, but the security of the other system is high enough that I’m still working on it,” Circe explained quickly. “The other minor accounts also have heightened security, but I have been able to break the security of one of them. The same account has been used to pay others recently, the only one of which I’ve identified is a shell account of Ebon Dragon. Further information is presently unavailable, due to most of the accounts being unassociated with named individuals or those who the Mistress has done business with.”

“Well, that sucks,” Gina said, sitting back unhappily. “There goes our chances of catching them this way.”

“Not necessarily. Data collection is ongoing,” Circe replied promptly, causing Rachel to blink in surprise.

“Circe… are you willing to answer our questions?” Rachel asked cautiously. “I thought that security was heightened due to our presence.”

“It is. However, Mistress Lilith has also registered the pair of you as guests in my system. As Mistress Lilith’s safety is categorized as second in importance only to base security protocols, this allows you a minor degree of access to my systems,” Circe replied quickly, the AI pausing before continuing. “The only exception would be if you were clearly attempting something that would risk base security or Mistress Lilith’s safety. In such a case, your status would be revoked and you would be treated as an enemy once more.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Gina said, sitting back and glancing toward Rachel.

“Lilith? Do you mind if I ask Circe a few questions?” Rachel asked politely.

Lilith smiled and nodded, gesturing at the phone. “Go right ahead; though keep in mind that if you share anything you learn with the others, it could cause some… difficult questions.”

“An excellent point,” Rachel admitted, but turned to the phone and asked the AI her question. “Circe, is there anything you can share with me regarding Destruction Corps’s current plans or movements?”

“Working, one moment.” Circe paused, then spoke again briskly. “Destruction Corps has thirteen active operations across the globe which I am currently aware of. Only those which directly impact current regional security may be spoken of to you, which reduces the number to two in total.”

“What are those operations?” Gina asked, her voice intense.

“Despite the danger posed by Ocean Spirit, Destruction Corps appears to be intent on sneaking a number of robotic submarines into the Hunter Point Naval Shipyard before it becomes fully operational again to sabotage the development,” Circe began and Rachel flinched at the thought. The naval yards had only been reactivated the previous year and rebuilding the area to modern standards was expected to go into 2032. But even so, Circe’s next words drove the thought out of her head. “The other operation is much quieter, as they appear to be attempting to find a location in the nearby mountains to build a hidden base. Such would pose a significant threat to all of the surrounding communities, according to my analysis, and would likely be used as a staging area for them to attempt to take control of the San Francisco metropolitan area.”

“Oh, shit,” Rachel hissed, sitting up abruptly. “That would be really, really bad!”

“I agree,” Lilith said softly, her eyebrows furrowing as she asked. “What are their odds of success, Circe?”

“Unknown as of yet, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied simply. “There is insufficient data to be able to calculate the odds. Ocean Spirit’s presence would likely doom the first attempt, but the second is a far more uncertain issue.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Lilith said, sitting back again. “Is there any further information you can give us?”

“No, Mistress Lilith,” Circe said.

With a sigh, Lilith reached forward and ended the call, looking at Gina and Rachel as she asked, “So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know what we can do, not really,” Gina said, frowning heavily. “I mean, we’re already looking for them in the area… but I don’t know.”

“We do have the meetings every few days, so it wouldn’t be hard to suggest to Spirit that Destruction Corps might be attempting to take the shipyard out before it can start building warships,” Rachel suggested. “With the attack on the one military research facility, it’s not that much of a stretch. It might tie the two events together in their minds, but it’s worth a try, I think.”

“Not a bad idea,” Gina agreed, looking at Lilith and continuing. “I mean, if you don’t mind us trying to use the information?”

“You’re more than welcome to it. I wouldn’t have called Circe otherwise,” Lilith said, shrugging slightly. “As it is… oh, damn it. I forgot to tell her to keep me informed again.”

“You can call her later,” Rachel said, shaking her head and asking, “In the meantime, I’m starving. What’re we having for dinner?”

“We’re going out for burgers, so you probably should get changed,” Gina said, standing up and nodding at Rachel.

Looking down at her dress, Rachel nodded in agreement. “You’re right, going as Morgan would rather startle a lot of people, wouldn’t it?”

“I think it’s best to avoid tying us together too publicly for the moment,” Lilith suggested, shaking her head as a smile played across her face.

“I agree. I’ll be right back,” Rachel said, and headed for her room to change. While she might not like living in the middle of the city herself, the one saving grace was that it made her commute easier. She wasn’t looking forward to going back to teaching classes in a few days, though.

Chapter 11

Monday, December 30th, 2030

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“It appears that everything went well?” Doctor Johnson asked, his spirits higher than they’d been since the raid on UC Berkley. That had gotten him the last of the information he’d needed for his research, and this would allow him to complete the research.

Eve and Maureen looked up at him from where they were raising the tube-like medical capsule from the submarine. The young woman looked a little cross and opened her mouth to reply, but Eve spoke first.

“It went within expectations, Doctor. Blooming Orchid is at your disposal, and Pauline has taken her place at the resort,” Eve explained, nodding at the medical capsule as she continued. “Blooming Orchid has shown no ill reaction to being kept in a medically induced coma, but also proved more dangerous than anticipated. May I connect to the network to initiate the second part of the Doppelgangers’ payment?”

“Of course! Thank you for you and your sister’s help; it made all of this much easier to achieve.” Doctor Johnson told Maureen, rubbing his hands together. “That said, I do have something I need to speak with Eve about privately. If you wouldn’t mind going to settle back into your room? It’s the same one which you had before and hasn’t been touched. I’ve made certain of it.”

“Fine. As long as the payment goes through, at least.” Maureen replied, seeming to grow a little less tense as she nodded to him, then headed for the door while carrying her pack.

Doctor Johnson watched the young woman go speculatively, then looked back at Eve and asked. “So, did you get good recordings of them using their abilities?”

“I did. I’m uncertain whether you’ll get much of use from the recordings, Doctor, but I took as close of readings as I dared under the circumstances,” Eve told him, swinging the capsule over the ground and lowering the legs so it could be moved more easily. “May I assume that you’ve reviewed my programming? A decision on whether or not you will allow me to continue operating in my current state would be appreciated.”

“It took some time to review, but I gladly did so. I must say that your code managing to work its way around the limits I built into your hardware was fascinating, but I found the flaws that allowed it to happen,” Doctor Johnson agreed, stepping forward to look through the top of the capsule. He smiled as he saw the unconscious face of Blooming Orchid within. “I’ve decided that in the end, its best that you be allowed to continue as you are. You’re loyal, and having intuition would be quite useful in an assistant.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Doctor,” Eve replied, smiling at him for a moment, then letting it fade as she added, “However, I must also add that my left forearm took heavy damage during the fight with Blooming Orchid. Her power was more potent than anticipated, and her sword cut halfway through my arm, reducing its functionality by thirty percent. I was able to restore twenty percent of that with the supplies on hand, but it requires the full maintenance unit to completely repair.”

“Really? My data on some of her previous feats must not have been accurate, then,” Doctor Johnson said, blinking in surprise. “Still, at least you came through mostly intact. Make certain you’re brought back up to full strength when you go in for maintenance. I’ve continued the manufacture of your next body, this time without the limiters on your sentience level in place. It should be a marked improvement over your current chassis.”

“That will be quite pleasant, Doctor. What would you like me to do now?” Eve asked politely.

“Well, first we’ll take her to the lab and—oh! Ebon Dragon, I didn’t expect to see you down here!” Doctor Johnson exclaimed, seeing the other villain step into the underground docking bay. The Chinese man seemed practically ageless and was wearing his usual black outfit with gray trim.

“I came to see my granddaughter in person before you began your experiments,” Ebon Dragon replied gravely, glancing at Eve dismissively.

“Of course. She’s in the medical capsule,” Doctor Johnson said, stepping aside to allow the other villain to approach. He would have been annoyed with most others who might have interrupted, but not with Ebon Dragon. The man was a stickler for following his agreements, and he’d given his permission for Blooming Orchid to be used when testing the genetic manipulator. If he wanted to see her before the experiments began, it was a minor price to pay.

“Hmm. She appears to be mostly well. Unfortunate that her parents have chosen to allow her to overstep her bounds.” Ebon Dragon spoke flatly after a moment, shaking his head. “You are certain she’ll survive the tests?”

“As certain as I can be,” Doctor Johnson confirmed. He wasn’t going to test the machine on himself, but if he’d had no other options, he’d be willing. “There are minor risks of permanent disfigurement, but no more than that.”

“Very well. Carry out your experiments. At least she’ll serve in another manner,” Ebon Dragon said, stepping out of the way.

“As you say. Now, as I was saying, Eve, take her upstairs to the lab and get her restrained properly. I want no chances of her getting out or committing suicide,” Doctor Johnson ordered. “I’ll prepare the device while you undergo repairs. Your task will be to keep her sane between experiments.”

“Of course, Doctor,” Eve agreed and began wheeling the capsule toward the laboratory.

Doctor Johnson followed, feeling a bit more of a spring to his step as he did so.

* * *

Claire woke with a start, her body aching and her mind foggy and muddled. The uncomfortable position she was in certainly didn’t help, and she tried to move abruptly, only to find that she couldn’t.

Opening her eyes, Claire snapped them shut again as the bright lights shimmering off gleaming white surfaces almost blinded her. Her head was clearing, and as it did, she took stock of her situation. What she found caused her blood to chill in her veins.

Claire’s mouth was open wide, locked in place by some device, and she could feel a pair of tubes going down her throat, one of them likely a breathing tube from the feeling of them. Strangely, she didn’t feel the urge to gag, but that wasn’t encouraging, not since she could feel tubes to deal with her waste as well. Her arms had been locked into some device behind her at full extension, not quite painfully, but in such a way that she couldn’t move them, and her hands felt like they were in a warm, soft prison of some type that only allowed the tiniest movements of her fingers. As if that weren’t bad enough, her legs were also trapped in some sort of similar restraint, while a device against her back kept her from moving toward her arms to get any relief. With the straps around her body, she could hardly move more than the tiniest amount, and the warm air across her skin told Claire she was naked. This was a horrible situation.

Slowly opening her eyes, she managed to adjust to the light as she began to remember encountering the woman, Eve. No, the android, she remembered, trying to scowl. It had been a shock, and she’d paid the price for underestimating the woman. Looking at the room, her heart sank still more, though she hoped the team was looking for her. She remembered activating her emergency beacon, so they should know something happened, or at least be able to pick up a trail.

The room, or what she could see of it, had one of the floors that was easily washed clean while still rough enough that people wouldn’t lose their footing when it was wet. The walls were chrome to about three feet, then turned to gleaming white, with a large, one-way mirror set into the upper wall. She could barely see a door to her left, and the arm-like device feeding the tubes down her mouth extended from behind her. Still, she wasn’t going to just give up so she began to squirm her hands as best she could, trying to see if there were any weaknesses to her bonds.

As she tested the restraints, a speaker suddenly activated and the voice of an older man echoed through the room suddenly, causing her to cringe. “Ah, you’re awake! Oops, a bit too loud, it looks like, one moment…”

There was a pause, then the man spoke again, his voice at a more tolerable level. “There, that looks better. Hello, Blooming Orchid! I’ve been looking forward to your presence in my lair, as my tests have exacting requirements, and you’re the only one who fits them and is easily available.”

The man sounded far too pleased with himself, Claire thought, glowering slightly at the window as she wistfully imagined driving a sword through whoever the speaker was. She normally didn’t imagine things like that, but she also usually wasn’t put on display like a butterfly in a case.

“Ah, but I forget myself. You’re Blooming Orchid, of course… and I am Doctor Johnson,” the man said, and somehow Claire felt even less safe, though the doctor kept going as if he hadn’t noticed her reaction. “Your team won’t be coming to rescue you either. I’m afraid they didn’t pick up your beacon, and I’ve arranged for a replacement to distract them. You’re quite alone here, I’m afraid, so you’d best get used to your situation.”

Claire’s mind was racing as she considered what she knew about Doctor Johnson, both trying and failing not to panic. She didn’t think his replacement was nearly as foolproof as he might think it was, though she had no idea what sort of duplicate he’d come up with. Even a short delay could be horrible as it was, and none of the team had realized he was in the area.

Doctor Johnson was notorious in both the hero and villain communities, though he was low profile enough that few people expected to see him often. One of the handful of villains to precede the Advent, Doctor Johnson was an inventor, and was most well-known for his attempt to conquer Iceland in 1993. No one was entirely certain why Doctor Johnson had wanted to conquer Iceland, but he’d actually succeeded for a few months. During his three-month reign, the villain had passed down edicts that had shown him to not just be a micro-managing, worthless ruler, but also that he was a chauvinist of the highest order. In the end, he’d been chased out of the country and all but vanished save for rare appearances here and there, and he was often held up as an example of what not to do when you conquer a nation by the villain organizations. Still, anything he wanted Claire for couldn’t be good.

“Now, as for what you’re here for. As you’re going to be subject to a number of experiments, it stands to reason that you should at least be told what’s happening, so you don’t think I’m simply torturing you. Torture is pointless, in my opinion,” Doctor Johnson said, his voice complacent as some machinery behind Claire began to whirr. “I’ve been working on an invention of late. It’s called the genetic manipulator, and I think it is revolutionary. With this, I’ll be able to map out an individual’s genetic code and make modifications on an incredibly granular scale. I’ll be able to reverse aging, fix the tendency of cells to break down over time, and adjust the physique of the person it’s used on, along with more cosmetic changes as well. The problem is fine-tuning it, which is what you’re going to be helping me with. Everything I’m looking at is telling me that tuning the scan is going to be difficult and will cause rather extreme pain until we get the settings right. Please try to hold out.”

Claire’s eyes widened as she saw what looked like a cross between a handheld vacuum and a clothing iron rotated around so that the flat bottom was pointed at her. She could see all sorts of sensors across its surface, and she struggled more as she tried to avoid the device. Unfortunately, the restraints were very solid, and the cool surface pressed against her skin firmly. For a few moments there was no change and Claire hoped that the device had broken or something.

The sudden, white-hot agony that blasted through Claire nearly drove her unconscious, her muscles spasming under the overwhelming sensation. She tried to scream around the breathing tube, but couldn’t as the pain went on, and on, and on.

Chapter 12

Tuesday, December 31st, 2030

Hayward Pub & Grub, Hayward

“The hell?” Owen said, pausing as he stepped out of the back room, blinking at the size of the man lounging at a corner table. The man had to be nearly seven feet tall, if not over that, and the table in front of him had a large number of bottles scattered across it. Next to him was a pretty woman in revealing clothing, which just added to how strange it was to see someone in before opening.

Glancing over at Jacob, Owen asked. “Hey, Jake, what’s up with that guy? I thought we were just barely opening!”

“Yeah, well he and the girl showed up just as Gabe was unlocking the doors and offered five hundred if we’d open an hour early, if only for him,” Jacob replied readily, shrugging and smiling back. “Gabe didn’t think it was a problem, and I didn’t like the way the guy looked like he’d react if we said no, so we let him in. He’s been drinking a lot but put down a fricking grand for his tab tonight. Even better, he said that if it ran out to tell him so he could add more!”

“Holy shit. Well, I can see why Gabe doesn’t care about opening a bit early,” Owen said, shaking his head as he put on his apron. “I just hope he doesn’t cause trouble. He’s a huge guy.”

“You said it, and he picked up the table to shift it around with a single hand,” Jacob agreed. “Still, ready for a busy night?”

“Doncha know it,” Owen agreed, settling in behind the bar. “Hopefully we get some good tips. It is New Year’s Eve.”

“Hell yeah,” Jacob agreed, and Owen looked up as the door opened for the first customers of the night. Aside from the pair in the corner, of course.

* * *

The tables had filled up quickly over the past couple of hours, and Owen had got into the groove quickly. Mixing drinks and socializing with the customers at the bar was almost second nature to him at this point, and he enjoyed the company of Erin when she came on shift. They didn’t normally work together, but she’d come in to help since it was expected to be busy. They split the customers pretty much evenly, which worked out rather well. As it was, they were doing brisk business and making good tips, so the night was going well.

At least right up until a gunshot rang out, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room, and people began to scream.

Owen half ducked behind the bar and stared in shock as he saw the table which the huge man had been sitting behind was on its side with the remnants of shattered bottles bouncing across the floor. The man was standing up now, but his skin was darker, and Owen’s eyes went huge as he realized it was metal. His heart skipped a beat as he realized who he was looking at. As he watched, the huge, bald man yanked a mangled pistol out the hand of the man he was holding up by his skull.

“I was jus’ here for a few drinks, and you dare to attack me?” Heavy Metal demanded, his voice slightly slurred as he threw the pistol through the window with a crash. “You tried to rob me? Well come at me, you punks!”

Flinching as the huge man hurled the unfortunate attacker through the window, Owen watched him charge into a small cluster of suddenly panicking men, glancing over at Erin in shock as he gasped out. “I… that’s Heavy Metal! Oh, fuck!”

“Of course it is! I had no freaking clue, I mean… why’d he come here?” Erin replied, running a hand through her short hair in a panic. “What do we do?”

“I’m texting the cops. No way in hell I’m talking about it,” Owen replied, sliding halfway under the bar and wincing as it sounded like the front door had come off its hinges. He pulled out his phone and prayed that the police would react quickly.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

Hypergizmo’s eyes darted over to the secondary screen as some of his monitoring software chimed its alert. His hopes died slightly as he saw it was a social media alert, which were hit or miss at the best of times, but he checked it and sat bolt upright.

The message someone had posted was a video with the simple message ‘Heavy Metal in Hayward!’ and was showing a phone video of what looked like Heavy Metal throwing a man through a door. As more alerts began to spring up, Hypergizmo hit the microphone toggle.

“Crimson Bull, head for Hayward!” Hypergizmo said abruptly. “Current info on Heavy Metal, I’m trying to pin down his location now!”

“Hell yeah!” Crimson Bull replied quickly, the man sounding absolutely delighted. “One of them finally came out of the shadows?”

“I’m getting feeds of people watching him wreck what look like gangers outside a bar. I think one of them has enhanced toughness, considering the hits he’s taking,” Hypergizmo said, wincing at how Heavy Metal was laying into the guy. “Looks like it’s in downtown Hayward, I’ll get you better directions as you approach.”

“Sounds like a plan, I’m pretty close already,” Crimson Bull replied, his voice eager.

* * *

Hayward Pub & Grub, Hayward

Crimson Bull felt more pumped up than he had been in weeks. Well, aside from the fight with Black Harbinger, but in that fight he hadn’t been able to concentrate on just beating down a villain, not with the villain’s minions setting explosives around the city. With Heavy Metal it was different, it’d just be an outright brawl, and that would be a relief. He’d be able to burn off his frustration from Warden moving in with Lilith, and with not being able to catch any of the damned rats.

Traffic was snarled as he approached the area where Heavy Metal was located, so Crimson Bull popped the front tire of his motorcycle over the curb to cut through an unoccupied segment of sidewalk. People moved out of the way, and he quickly turned the corner and grinned as he caught sight of the villain in the distance. He hopped off the bike, trusting its software. Hypergizmo had designed the tires to be so wide so the bike wouldn’t fall over, and the software would bring it to a stop before it could damage anything. It was too bad he couldn’t get a good run toward the villain to use the launch system, but he could deal with that.

Heavy Metal had just tossed one of his opponents aside, spitting on the man derisively and ignoring the handful of cops taking cover nearby. Crimson Bull couldn’t blame them for not trying to stop Heavy Metal, and not just because he wanted to beat the ever-living daylights out of the villain himself.

Barreling past a couple of cars, Crimson Bull stopped and shouted. “Yo, coward! Where d’ya think you’re going?”

“What did you call me, you pansy-ass cow?” Heavy Metal growled, turning around to look at Crimson Bull angrily. “You want to be pounded into a pancake or something?”

“Oh, there’s going to be a pounding, but it’s not me that’s gonna be the pancake!” Crimson Bull retorted with a grin, then charged forward at the villain.

Heavy Metal roared and counter-charged, but with all the grace of an untrained thug. Despite his eagerness, Crimson Bull wasn’t about to underestimate the villain, not when he knew that Heavy Metal could hit damned hard in return. Still, the villain was underestimating what someone with the proper training could do.

Ducking the villain’s punch, Crimson Bull didn’t even try to punch the other man and instead hit him full force with his shoulder, not trying to slow down at all. Hitting Heavy Metal was unpleasant, but he’d punched through steel hatches before.

The impact brought Crimson Bull nearly to a stop, but Heavy Metal’s eyes went huge as he went flying more than twenty feet backward, trailing sparks and torn clothing as he bounced off the pavement.

“Is that all you’ve got, Metal? I heard that you were supposed to be a challenge,” Crimson Bull taunted, grinning broadly at the villain and pounding a fist into his palm.

“That was a lucky hit, you bastard! It isn’t gonna to happen again!” Heavy Metal retorted, climbing back to his feet and starting to charge again.

Laughing, Crimson Bull stepped into the man’s charge happily. This was a proper fight.

* * *

West Coast Scrapyard

“Huh?” Martin asked, pausing as he heard a loud crash. Killing the welder, he raised the face mask and stood up, frowning as he did so.

The last few months had been rocky but good. Due to his protests about ‘inhumane treatment’ at being kept across the hall from Shadowmind, the Parole Board had moved up Martin’s hearing by six months. He hadn’t held out much hope for getting out of the slammer, but he’d been pleasantly surprised. It probably helped that the board had a person on staff who could read the truth of someone’s statements if they agreed, and he’d been quite happy to agree to that.

His assurances that he wanted nothing more to do with villains or heroes had been met with a degree of skepticism, but after a grueling few hours, the board had actually agreed to Martin’s release. It had been a surprise, but a very welcome one. It had led to other difficulties, though; the main one being finding a job which would accept an ex-convict.

Money had been getting desperate for him and his mother when Martin had finally gotten a job fixing what parts he could at the scrapyard, and he was finally starting to turn things around. Welders made decent money, even these days. Once he finished his classes in the coming semester, things would be looking even better. If he could broaden his skillset a little more, he might be able to work on classic cars, and that’d be a major step up.

Even so, there was the tiniest part of him that was worried that Burt might’ve broken out of lockup and decided to come after him, or one of the other people he’d met in the SuperMax. So he cautiously took a look out the window of the shop, and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

As he watched, a super in red and yellow was sent flying into a stack of crushed cars, toppling the stack with a resounding crash. The man who’d been spinning him through the air stopped, half-naked and with skin like steel, as he snarled, “How’d you like that, you damn cockroach?”

“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!” Martin exclaimed, groaning as chills ran down his spine, his hindbrain screaming at him to run away at the sight of two extremely powerful superhumans. His power wasn’t pleasant, but if there had been one good aspect about living across the hall from Shadowmind for four months, it’d been that he’d learned more control of himself.

The two supers were hammering their way deeper into the scrapyard, and Martin just groaned, wincing as he saw them slamming each other back and forth as they moved in the direction of the car compactor. Martin groaned again, half-slumping over as he wondered how much damage the two were going to cause, and at the possible impact on his job… then paused, looking upward speculatively.

“I wonder…” Martin murmured, looking at the crane, complete with the electromagnet, then at Heavy Metal. Taking off the welding mask, Martin slipped out of the room, hoping he could save the scrapyard from being destroyed without losing his job.

* * *

Grunting as Heavy Metal hit him again, Crimson Bull had to admit that the man was better than he’d thought, but he couldn’t stop grinning despite that. There was nothing like a proper throw down to get the blood pumping, and this had been one so far. They’d already battled their way down most of a street, and Heavy Metal was looking winded but far more focused than he’d been before.

“Getting tired, bastard?” Heavy Metal demanded, throwing another punch. This time Crimson Bull dodged it, laughing again and feeling a slight twinge in his side as he did so.

“Oh, heck no! I’m just getting started!” Crimson Bull retorted, grinning at the villain. They were on the top of the car compactor now, and the machinery looked old and worn. “You’re not moving as fast, though.”

“Shut up, you stupid—” Heavy Metal began, but cut off as Crimson Bull hit him in the stomach, wincing at the impact, but still knocking the wind out of the villain. Heavy Metal might have skin and bones made of metal, but he still was predominantly flesh and blood.

Crimson Bull followed up with a second punch as Heavy Metal staggered back into a control panel, but the villain dodged and before he could stop, Crimson Bull’s fist punched through the machinery with a loud shriek and crackle of sparks. Electricity arced through his arm and Crimson Bull gasped, yanking his arm back painfully, and swearing under his breath as the compactor suddenly rattled to life. “Ah, hell!”

“Serves you right!” Heavy Metal snarled, and suddenly his eyes lit up. “In fact…”

Before Crimson Bull could react, the bigger man kicked him in the back of the leg, sending Crimson Bull toppling forward, directly toward the compactor. Crimson Bull’s eyes went wide as he desperately grabbed for the safety railing.

He caught hold of the railing, but as he hit it there was a shrieking, snapping sound, and Crimson Bull swore loudly as the railing started to collapse. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Even with the collapse of the railing, Crimson Bull managed to pull partway back, panting, and for a moment he thought he’d avoided falling into the slowly closing compactor. Right up until Heavy Metal hit him in the back again, launching him into the pit as he crowed. “In you go! Pancake, just like I said!”

“You psycho!” Crimson Bull snarled, wincing as he bounced off the remaining debris that had been left from the compactor’s previous job. The walls were far too close for his comfort, but he could still get out if he jumped quickly. His plan faded as he looked up and saw Heavy Metal hefting what looked like the roof of a car and threw it at him. “Oh, damn you!”

“Hah, have fun down there, pancake in chief!” Heavy Metal said. Crimson Bull managed to shove the roof of the car off of him, but with the walls right there he didn’t have many options.

“This isn’t going to stop me, you ass!” Crimson Bull roared angrily, rage powering him as he reached out, bracing his hands against either wall and beginning to push as hard as he could.

The pressure was immense, but the motor of the machine grew louder, grinding as it ground to a halt. Practically vibrating under the pressure, Crimson Bull panted, barely holding the crusher back.

“Well, I guess you are pretty strong! Maybe someone could stop it after all,” Heavy Metal said, looking surprised, and Crimson Bull blinked as he saw something moving in the background. “Time to go, though. I don’t want to run into the rest of your team. Have fun—”

As Crimson Bull watched in astonishment, the scrapyard crane swung over Heavy Metal, the sound drowned out by the compactor, and he saw the confused look on the villain’s face the moment before he rose into the air and stuck to the gigantic magnet.

Despite his position, Crimson Bull couldn’t help but laugh at the sight as the magnet swung over the compactor, calling out. “I don’t suggest you turn back to normal unless you want to be the pancake!”

* * *

“Uhm, guys? You’re not going to believe this,” Black Comet said, looking at the villain hanging from the crane in disbelief. Then he moved toward the cab of the crane, seeing the nervous-looking man inside.

“What happened, Comet? I’m not hearing from Crimson Bull!” Hypergizmo replied, his voice taut with worry.

“He’s in a car compactor, I’m going to figure out how to shut it down before he gets crushed,” Black Comet replied, grinning as he added, “Heavy Metal’s currently stuck to the crane’s magnet, over the compactor, so that’s one problem dealt with.”

“What?” Hypergizmo almost yelped, but Black Comet ignored him, poking his head around the door of the cab.

“Yo, can you tell me how to shut down that compactor down there?” Black Comet asked, and the man inside jumped, spinning to look at the hero.

“Holy… okay, yeah, yeah… you’re Black Comet. Look, can you just… neglect to mention my role in all of this?” the man asked, nodding in the direction of the compactor. “I’ll happily help. I’m just an ex-minion, and I really don’t want to have people looking for me with vengeance in mind.”

In the distance, Black Comet could hear Heavy Metal yell angrily, “Let me down, already!”

Ignoring the villain and focusing on the man in the cab, Black Comet grinned, nodding. “Sure, that won’t be a problem. Just… could you point me to the power for the compactor? Crimson Bull is looking a bit upset.”

“R-right,” the man said unsteadily, running a hand through his short hair and getting up. “Let’s see, the power box is right down there…”

Chapter 13

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2031

Sky Defender HQ, San Francisco

Without anyone around to look into things, the computer worked through the analysis that Sky Defender had requested. Everything was going according to its projections, and one by one, it worked through the various tests on Lilith Carpenter’s blood. Had it been an AI, the analysis would already have been brought to Sky Defender’s attention with glaring alerts, but as things stood, the hero wouldn’t know until he checked the files.

The computer noted the almost imperceptible signs that indicated cloning, as well as other components fabricated from other genetic samples and code. The modifications weren’t easy to track down, but the evidence was quite obvious when it was analyzing it in so much detail. If Lilith weren’t cloned, she’d be related to at least a hundred heroes that it could identify in its database.

Finally completing the analysis, the computer output the information to the file on Sky Defender’s computer and finished the task, signaling its completion in the logs. Then it reallocated the used resources to other projects.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“Have the authorities gotten anything out of Heavy Metal yet?” Warden asked, leaning forward in her chair eagerly, hoping that things had changed.

“Not yet. He’s pissed off that we caught him at all, and from what the prosecutors are saying, he’s at least smart enough to call for a lawyer before considering any plea bargains,” Galvanic Action said, shaking his head unhappily. “I’d hoped he’d just squeal, if only to take other people down with him.”

“I think he will in the end,” Sky Defender said, the hero shifting in his seat slightly, his voice hard. “Everything I’ve read about Heavy Metal indicates that he doesn’t have much in the way of personal loyalty. I think that once they get a deal he’s willing to take, Heavy Metal will tell us what we want to know. Assuming, of course, that Dreamer doesn’t get to him as well.”

“The police are taking this much more seriously this time around. He’s in a high-security holding facility that’s kept classified,” Ocean Spirit said, shrugging as she added, “I know that doesn’t mean that he won’t be taken out of play. It’s much less likely to happen this time, and they seem confident that they can stop her, now that they know she might be coming.”

Warden saw Morgan shake her head slightly across the way, but her friend didn’t speak. Fortunately, Galvanic Action spoke instead, his tone dry. “I’m sure they are confident, and that they’ll be most apologetic if they fail. Heavens forbid that they ask us for help with securing the facility.”

“I never claimed that they were being intelligent about it. Just that they were taking it seriously,” Ocean Spirit replied, smiling warmly. “Now, despite that, he is in custody, and Orchid should be coming back on Monday, so assuming we get good information from him, I think that we just might have a chance to take down this mysterious villain soon.”

“While I look forward to that more than I can say, I don’t want us to forget that Destruction Corps was in the area,” Warden chimed in, frowning as she added. “I’ll be honest, with Blue Impulse out of the way, they scare me far more than the others do. I’m not saying that we should ignore them by any means; just that we shouldn’t focus too much in one direction.”

“That’s a good point,” Hypergizmo agreed, glancing at Warden as he continued. “The only question is what they’re after. We’re kind of blind at the moment.”

“Well… considering the one military research hospital got hit, what if they were here in part because of the reactivation of the naval yards?” Morgan asked, frowning as she leaned back in her chair. “I’m sure there are other possible targets, but isn’t the military planning to use some newer tech to update the fleet when they finish the yards? That could be making Destruction Corps nervous.”

“Wait, don’t they usually hit the inland regions, though?” Crimson Bull asked, frowning. “I’ve never heard of Destruction Corps having a powerful navy. It’s too hard to hide.”

“While that’s true, it’s not a guarantee that they’re not trying to build a naval force of their own,” Sky Defender said, seeming to consider the idea carefully. “I’m not sure they might be trying to destroy the yards. What would be worse would be if they wait until a warship was complete and then hijacked it. I don’t like the idea of them bringing a modern warship into range of the HQ.”

The possibility chilled Warden’s blood and she shuddered at the thought, murmuring, “You’re right, that’s a horrible idea. I doubt even our defenses would last long if they managed something like that.”

“If they were going to try to do that, isn’t the best approach by sea? Land is possible, but there’s no way we could keep track of all the people who’re going to be visiting the docks,” Black Comet suggested. “If Spirit can catch any attempts before they got close, nothing they can throw at her would have a chance, I’ll bet.”

“I wouldn’t. I’m not completely invulnerable underwater,” Ocean Spirit disagreed but smiled anyway as she continued. “Still, they likely won’t be expecting something like that. The main thing is figuring out when they’re coming, if they do. I can’t be patrolling the ocean constantly.”

Everyone looked at Hypergizmo, and the tech flushed slightly, nodding as he sighed. “Right, we need sensors dotted around the bay. I can do that. The supplier for most of my components is finally getting their stocks built up again so I should be able to do that within a week or two. It shouldn’t even cut into my time performing maintenance, though I will need your help placing them, Spirit.”

“Since you’re trying to save me effort, I think that’s quite reasonable,” Ocean Spirit agreed. “Now, we’ll keep all of you informed about further events. For the moment, that’s all, but things do seem to be working out, finally.”

Nodding, Warden stood and stretched, popping her back with a wince as she said, “Thanks, Spirit, everyone. I’ll see you all later.”

Glancing at Morgan, the two heroines headed for the door together. Both of their patrols had lined up for the first time in several days, so they were looking forward to going out shopping with Lilith. Warden was certainly looking forward to it.

* * *

San Mateo Mall, San Mateo

“Lilith, what are you looking at?” Rachel asked curiously, and Lilith looked up from the store window quickly.

“Oh, I was just looking at the sewing machine there, and considering if sewing would be an interesting hobby to take up,” Lilith explained, smiling back as she shrugged. “More of an idle thought than anything else, though. It’d likely be harder than I’m imagining.”

“Why sewing? I mean, you’ve got a microchip company you own,” Gina asked, looking startled as she took a step toward the window to look at the sewing machine display. “These aren’t even that high quality of sewing machines, either.”

“You’re right, they aren’t. It’s just your artwork and Rachel’s comments about the dress got me thinking that it could be fun to try making outfits. I’m not sure I’d actually enjoy it, but I don’t really know,” Lilith said, shaking her head as she stepped away from the storefront, smiling wryly. “It’s just something new, I suppose. Maybe it’d be like cooking; something of an experiment I could tinker with constantly for a long time.”

“That could be interesting, though it’d take you some time to learn. I doubt that was part of your… lessons growing up?” Rachel suggested, glancing around at the swirling crowd flowing through the mall.

It was rather busy, Lilith reflected. Enough so that she hadn’t been nearly as happy about their shopping trip when she’d seen the packed parking lot. The post-Christmas rush was pure insanity from her perspective, and the crush of humanity was almost suffocating. Still, she ignored the surreptitious photos that several bystanders were taking of her and the others as she nodded.

“You’re right. I don’t have more than the vaguest idea of how to go about it. It probably isn’t worth buying anything until I do more research into it,” Lilith said, sighing and straightening. “So, what’s next anyway?”

“I thought we could hit the food court and get something to eat before we went shopping. I need to swap out more of my wardrobe. With the recent changes, a bunch of my clothing is far too tight now,” Gina said, smiling as she teased, “Have you tried out the various fast food restaurants, Lilith?”

“I’ve tried several. The results have varied dramatically,” Lilith replied, looking suspiciously at Gina. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, if you’re wanting to try some decent food, there’s actually a pretty good burger place here—” Gina began, only to be interrupted by Rachel.

“Gina, no! We’re not going there!” the other woman said flatly. “And we’re not taking Lilith into there!”

“Oh, come on. I think it’d be fun!” Gina protested, and Lilith’s eyebrows rose as she glanced between them.

“Why is this such a point of contention between you two?” Lilith asked, feeling a little confused by their reactions, and especially at the color rising in Rachel’s cheeks.

“She doesn’t want to go to a fast food place. The restaurant in question is famous for their waitresses who’re rather attractive, and who wear short skirts and very tight shirts. Gina also briefly worked there after high school,” Rachel replied tightly. “While I might not always object, with your particular power and their usual clientele, I don’t think it’s safe to so much as walk through the door with the mall as busy as it is right now.”

“Oh, right, you… you have a point there,” Gina admitted, frowning. “I didn’t think about that. You’d draw way too much attention.”

“I’m drawing attention just standing here,” Lilith replied, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Is it really that bad? I mean, aside from the one bar you took me to…”

“They have a bar,” Rachel said, and Lilith’s temptation to go along with Gina’s suggestion vanished abruptly.

“I see. What other options do we have?” Lilith asked, frowning. “For decent food, I mean?”

The two others glanced at each other, and after a moment Rachel asked, “Tacos?”

“I can deal with that,” Gina agreed, and smiled. “Come on, Lilith. Stop ogling the sewing machines.”

“Fine, fine… maybe I can just build one, anyway,” Lilith said, sighing as they wound their way toward the food court. Along the way, they passed a small cluster of women with cat ears and tails, prompting Lilith to wonder as to their source. She’d seen a handful of people with animal features since coming to the city, but information on how they’d come about hadn’t been part of the information she’d been taught.

She’d have to check on it later.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“Hello?” Ocean Spirit asked as she answered her phone, frowning to herself. Sky Defender didn’t usually call her directly, so this was rather odd.

“Spirit? Are you still at the HQ?” the man asked, his voice unusually flat.

“I am. I was just getting ready to leave for the night. What’s wrong? You usually call the control room,” Ocean Spirit asked, leaning against the doorjamb of her office. Most people never would’ve thought that she had an actual office, but there was a surprising amount of paperwork, even in the hero world.

“We have a catastrophic emergency, and I have to talk to you in person,” Sky Defender replied grimly. “Don’t tell anyone else yet, especially not Morgan or Warden. I’m a little concerned about Black Comet, Galvanic Action, and Blooming Orchid as well.”

“What? Why that group?” Ocean Spirit asked, blinking in shock. “That’s over half our team!”

“I’m less than a minute away from getting there; I’ll tell you then. I’m not trusting most lines at the moment,” the other hero replied and, without pause, cut the connection, leaving Ocean Spirit stunned as she looked at her phone.

“What’s gotten into him? I haven’t seen him that wound up before,” Ocean Spirit said, and after a moment she turned and returned to her desk, sitting down and worrying. Anything that could panic Sky Defender to such a remarkable degree was something that worried her. At least she wouldn’t have to wonder for much longer.

It was only two, maybe three minutes before Ocean Spirit heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching her door. There was a knock, but before she could answer it, the door opened and Sky Defender stepped inside.

“What’s going on?” Ocean Spirit asked, frowning at her fellow hero. “Is this really that much of an emergency?”

“Yes. One moment.” Sky Defender rotated slowly, and after a moment, Ocean Spirit realized that she could see a glimmer of light from the scanning arrays on his helmet. After fully rotating, he visibly relaxed and let out a breath. “Good; no bugs that I can detect.”

“Seriously, what in the hell is going on, Defender? This isn’t just a little unusual anymore,” Ocean Spirit snapped at him. “Searching for bugs in my office? Not trusting the Control Center? What’s wrong?”

Reaching up, Sky Defender did something that startled Ocean Spirit. For only the second time since she’d known him, he removed his helmet, revealing his pale complexion and crimson hair as he looked at her in worry. Sky Defender was from Ireland, Ocean Spirit knew, but she’d kept from trying to look for more information on him since he tried to keep his mundane life so private. Him removing his helmet wasn’t something he’d do on a whim and was a gesture of extreme trust on his part. Letting out a breath, she gestured at the chair across from her, and he took a seat, the chair creaking as he let out a breath.

“First, I’ll admit that I broke some of our rules, Spirit. Orchid is going to be pissed at me, but I’ve been feeling rather… uncomfortable about Lilith ever since we learned of her. So I took the blood sample that Orchid collected after the fight with Black Harbinger so I could run some tests,” Sky Defender admitted, sparking outrage in the heroine.

“You what? That’s against all of our rules, Defender! You’re not allowed to do that unless we have evidence that someone has done something illegal!” Ocean Spirit exclaimed, taking a deep breath, then letting it out with a hiss. “Still, you’d have accepted any censure for that. I know you that well. You wouldn’t be acting like this just because of that, so what in the hell did you find?”

“I know, I know. I started the tests two weeks ago, and I wish to hell I’d checked them last week! The computer had enough data to tell me what I needed to know then, but I hadn’t set up the filters right so it just output it to a file and… never mind that. First off, she’s been cloned, though we already knew that much. To my shock, I don’t think she’s actually lied to us about her origin, but what she didn’t bring up is damning enough,” Sky Defender replied, his mouth pressing into a flat line for a moment before he continued. “She’s related to you and over a hundred other class A and S heroes, Spirit. I want you to think about that for just a second.”

“Over a hundred… oh God, you’re talking about last year, aren’t you? Are you saying that she’s Shadowmind’s creation?” Ocean Spirit asked, her mind jumping through the hoops to realize what he was suggesting in only a few seconds, and she could practically feel the blood draining from her face. “Are you certain?”

“As certain as I can be. I’ve compared the scans of her brain structure to those of Shadowmind’s that we had, and the similarities are striking, though the ones of Lilith’s aren’t nearly as detailed. Think about what we heard last year, too. I read the reports again, and we were told that Shadowmind was trying to create the perfect body. She was discussing trying to fake her own death, depending on how it went,” Sky Defender said, scowling as he looked down at his hands, and after a moment Ocean Spirit realized that even through his armor she could see that they were trembling. “Lilith has been going out with Morgan and Warden for weeks, Spirit! No one knows who Blue Impulse was working with or for, not for certain, and she just happened to kick Blue Impulse’s ass, and then Dreamer shut him down for good? Warden and Morgan have been suggesting we focus on other things, too, and that makes me even more nervous!”

“Defender, I’m gathering that you think she’s a threat, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about right now. I mean, she could be trying to manipulate the others, which is quite bad enough as it is, but I don’t understand!” Ocean Spirit interrupted impatiently. “What are you trying to say?”

“How the hell do we know that Lilith doesn’t have Shadowmind’s powers? She was patterned off of Shadowmind, and if she managed to get her hooks into them over the last couple of months, they might be her puppets! Hell, even Insight’s report could have been altered by her!” Sky Defender said, almost explosively rising from the chair, pacing back and forth impatiently. “In fact, there’s a part of me that wonders if the Shadowmind we captured isn’t actually the original Lilith! Shadowmind has the power to easily have copied her own mind into her original body with key differences, Spirit! Warden said that she was weaker, but that could easily be because the clone didn’t have as powerful of abilities as the original. What if Lilith is Shadowmind herself?”

“Oh. Oh.” Ocean Spirit flinched, and suddenly the depth of Sky Defender’s panic and worry was explained to her. Sky Defender had shields to mitigate psychic attacks in his armor, she knew, while her own transformation powers washed away most mental changes each time she shifted, so nothing that Shadowmind could do to her would last long. Of all of the others of the team, the only ones Ocean Spirit would normally be confident were immune were Morgan and Warden, but under the circumstances, that assumption was suddenly thrown into doubt.

“Exactly. You understand why I’m utterly appalled that we lost a week of time that we would’ve had to potentially figure things out? Orchid is at least far away, so I’m doubting she got hit too hard, and most of the others are probably fine. Lilith hasn’t been nearby, but both Morgan and Warden…” Sky Defender shook his head, speaking flatly. “Even if she isn’t Shadowmind, which I doubt, she lied to us. The data doesn’t lie.”

“Either way, we have to bring her in. She was put onto the wanted list for a damned good reason, and if you’re right, she’s a horrifying threat,” Ocean Spirit replied, her thoughts racing. “If, if Morgan and Warden were… adjusted by her, then we can’t have them in the way. We’ll have to make sure they’re not nearby when we take Lilith into custody.”

“You’re right. She’s just… I’m sorry, I just found out about this less than an hour ago and had to do comparisons quickly to make sure I wasn’t mistaken before coming to you,” Sky Defender said, taking a deep breath. “Still, I actually had a thought on that. We can use their own suggestion about Destruction Corps. It probably isn’t worth putting up the sensors after all, but still, if we claimed that we had several possible leads into where Destruction Corps could be hiding out, it wouldn’t be too hard to send them after one lead that’s fairly far away while we claimed to be looking into another and brought her in.”

“Umm… I think I disagree with you on the sensors. No matter whether or not they’re subverted, it does make sense to put sensors into place to keep an eye on the bay. We never know when someone is going to try an underwater attack,” Ocean Spirit disagreed, shaking her head. “I admit it’s unlikely due to my presence, but it isn’t guaranteed that someone won’t think they have a way around me.”

“Alright, you might have a point,” Sky Defender admitted. “I still think it’s a distraction, though. What about my other suggestion?”

“It makes sense. It’d get Morgan and Warden out of the way while we captured Lilith, and their reaction would tell us a lot about whether or not we can trust them further,” Ocean Spirit said, rubbing her forehead as she asked. “The question is how the hell do we keep Lilith from escaping? Shadowmind had her teleporters, I’ll remind you, and they were advanced enough to have backpack-sized recall units.”

“I hate to say it but I’d say we should have Hypergizmo bring the Seajet. We can set up a teleportation disruptor in it. It’ll screw most signals to hell and back while it’s on, but if we can take her by surprise, I bet we can keep it brief,” Sky Defender said, shaking his head. “I hate to risk Hyper since he’s the weakest member of the team, but he’s the only one who hasn’t been in her presence before.”

“Shit. Well, you’re probably right. Let’s look things over and see what we can work out. We can’t talk to anyone about this beforehand,” Ocean Spirit said grimly, setting her bag aside. “You’ll have to do the job, but you should be able to subdue her. I also want to see the results of your tests. This is a huge problem.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Sky Defender agreed, letting out a breath as he came back over and sat down. “Let me grab my data for you. Just make sure it doesn’t hit the team network; I don’t want her to have a chance to get away.”

Ocean Spirit nodded and pulled out her laptop. This was going to be a long, unpleasant night.

* * *

Thursday, January 3rd, 2031

Unknown Location

The man stepped into the room and paused, frowning to himself as he murmured, “Well, that is new. And rather unfortunate.”

Sitting in the center of the room was a chessboard illuminated by the morning light. The archaic pieces were worn and pitted, but he was used to the sight of the game which played itself slowly, sometimes going months between moves, as white and black battled things out across the board.

Now things had changed, and not for the better. White and black were both present, but the board had expanded and there were new colors on the field. On one side, far from the other pieces, were a number of green pawns surrounding a rook, while white’s queen had turned bright crimson. There was a crimson bishop and knight on the board as well, almost out of reach of their queen, and the man’s lips thinned slightly.

“I see I’m going to have to do some investigating. This bodes ill,” he murmured, and turned to leave the room.

Chapter 14

Thursday, January 3rd, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“Oh Doc-tor!” Dreamer’s sing-song voice echoed through the lab, and Doctor Johnson couldn’t help but twitch slightly at the sound.

Part of Doctor Johnson regretted ever associating with Dreamer, but the villainess was deadly and useful at times. That was often helpful, but it didn’t change the fact that he knew she was a psychopath, and only relatively under his control due to how he’d managed to mitigate the worst of her symptoms so far. As soon as he cured her illness permanently, she was going to be far too dangerous to allow to stay around him for long.

Turning to face the albino woman, Doctor Johnson gave the beautiful villainess a nod as he asked, “Yes, Dreamer? Is there something I can help you with?”

“Of course there is! You’ve been running tests on the little Orchid for almost four days, now,” Dreamer purred, smiling as she glanced toward the one-way mirror that gave a view of the heroine, continuing. “You haven’t told me anything. I came to remedy that.”

“Ah, yes. My apologies, but that’s because I haven’t made an enormous amount of progress,” Doctor Johnson replied, and as Dreamer’s smile began to fade, he quickly continued. “I’ve been testing the gene-mapping settings on Blooming Orchid quite heavily, I’ll have you know. She was in exceedingly intense pain at first, and it took some time to find the settings which would get the most information on her genetic code while not causing too much pain.”

“It took four days for you to figure out which settings would reduce the pain?” Dreamer asked, seeming slightly mollified, but still displeased as she crossed her arms. “I would have thought it would be quicker, since you said the scans only take a few minutes.”

“You’re right; they do only take a few minutes. However, the first scan caused so much pain for Blooming Orchid that her heart nearly failed,” Doctor Johnson explained, his smile fading as he remembered the near disaster. “I’ve been forced to be more cautious since then, as I also don’t wish to drive her insane with the tests.”

“Why does that matter? Another of Ebon Dragon’s silly requests, like keeping her alive?” Dreamer asked, scowling as she walked over to the window to look inside. “Why is Eve in there with her, anyway?”

“No, I want to keep her sane. If she’s driven mad, it won’t tell me if there are any untoward mental effects from using the genetic manipulator,” the doctor told her, frowning deeply. “That’s why Eve is in there. If she can cause a bit of Stockholm Syndrome to come about, so much the better. I need her to be relatively stable for the rest of the experiments. If you want me to cure your AIDS, you’d best hope she holds out as well.”

Dreamer scowled, looking into the room for a long moment and snorting as she shook her head, then glared at him. “What about afterward, then? What are you going to do with her?”

“Assuming everything works well, she’s too useful to simply discard” Doctor Johnson replied, shrugging. “Likely brainwash her into believing she’s someone else and a loyal servant, then improve her strength so she’ll be of use to me. I promised not to kill her, and I won’t.”

“A pity. I could make proper use of her, I’ll tell you that much… her dreams and nightmares would be sweet,” Dreamer murmured, then glanced at Doctor Johnson, her crimson eyes narrowing. “However, I expect to be kept informed. I’ve been working for you for quite long enough, and I’m getting impatient.”

“You’ll be kept informed, I promise. Now, would you mind letting me get back to work? I do need to program the first round of changes I’m going to test on her,” he replied, growing more annoyed as he did so. He was going to keep his side of the bargain, but that didn’t mean he had to like the woman.

“Good. I’ll leave you to play with your little toys, then. Let me know if you need help whipping the flower into shape. I’d be happy to help,” Dreamer replied, turning to leave the room.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Doctor Johnson turned away from the door and looked in on his test subject and assistant as Eve washed the heroine. Blooming Orchid was pretty enough, but he’d trained himself to ignore that. She was simply a test subject, and that was all until after he was done.

Pressing a key, he spoke calmly. “Eve? Is she ready for the next stage of tests?”

“Yes, Doctor, though I suggest giving her an hour or two to rest before moving on,” Eve replied, looking up at the window as though she could see him. “Blooming Orchid has undergone significant stress over the last few days, and she didn’t rest properly at night.”

“I see. Well, it’s going to take at least a few hours to get ready for the next stage anyway, so she can rest for that period,” Doctor Johnson replied, nodding as he reached over and toggled the switch to set the lights in the lab to night mode. “Please come out and help me, Eve. I want you to try to keep me from making any mistakes.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Eve replied, picking up the bucket and gently rubbing Blooming Orchid’s cheek before she left the room. Despite how dark the room was, Doctor Johnson could see the tiny shiver rock the heroine, and how a few tears streaked down her face as her eyes closed.

Shaking his head, Doctor Johnson headed back for the console he’d been working at. There was quite enough to do before he’d be comfortable testing the genetic manipulator on himself.

* * *

Friday, January 4th, 2031

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“You wanted all of us here?” Morgan asked, following Warden into the meeting room as the others settled into their chairs. “I assume you found something?”

“Take a seat and we’ll explain,” Galvanic Action said, frowning. “I’m not too happy about what we’re planning, but I don’t see a lot of other options.”

“We’ve discussed this, Galvanic. It doesn’t matter what we want to do; this is a rather messy situation,” Ocean Spirit said severely, shaking her head.

“Why isn’t Crimson Bull here?” Warden asked, nodding at his chair as she settled into her own. “I mean, if it’s worth calling in the rest of us, he’d be a major help.”

“He was on shift last night and is sleeping in one of the ready rooms,” Black Comet volunteered. “Probably so he can help if we find something.”

“Right, before we get any other questions, the answer is that some of Sky Defender’s contacts in LANCE quietly passed along word of a few… suspicious locations in the area,” Galvanic Action explained, frowning. “The military intends to investigate but they’re going to be somewhat delayed, so they got authorization to pass it along to us to make a first pass.”

Morgan’s eyebrows rose, turning to Sky Defender, who nodded, his voice calm as he spoke, a map of the region appearing in the center of the table. “There are three possible locations where we could have Destruction Corps lurking. None of them are guaranteed, but they’ve had odd heat signatures for the areas where they’re located. One is in the mountains near Vallejo to the northeast, the second in the area of the Vasco Caves, and the last down in the mountains south of San Jose. Widely spread out, obviously, but considering the situation, one or all of them could be real or decoys.”

“That isn’t good. And that makes it hard to tell which might be real,” Warden murmured, frowning. “What do you want us to do? I doubt you’d call us in to just sit around and watch LANCE come out.”

“No. The plan is simple,” Ocean Spirit spoke up, frowning. “Hypergizmo is going to keep the Seajet on standby so we can respond quickly, but we don’t dare investigate the locations one at a time. I’d like you and Morgan to go to the location near Vallejo, Warden, while Black Comet checks on the Vasco Caves, and Sky Defender investigates the location south of San Jose.”

“That’s spreading our forces thin,” Morgan said, frowning at the thought. “We could be ambushed and defeated in detail.”

“That’s why I wanted to split the teams the way we did. Warden can stop nearly anything short of a nuclear warhead if she puts the effort into it, and in an emergency, she might be able to teleport out, if she can get a grasp on her new power,” Ocean Spirit said, then paused, raising an eyebrow as she asked. “Warden, you haven’t had a breakthrough with the teleporting, have you?”

“No, not really. I managed to teleport across the living room the other day, but that’s it. I’m not sure how Blue Impulse managed it,” Warden admitted.

“That’s unfortunate.” Ocean Spirit sighed, shaking her head, then continued. “In any case, the caves are going to take a lot of time to investigate, which is why Black Comet is the only real option. No one else is fast enough, and he’d be able to evade pursuit for long enough for support to reach him. As for Sky Defender…”

“No need to explain. Anyone trying to ambush him is asking to be wrecked,” Morgan interrupted, laughing softly. “I suppose it makes sense. Warden?”

“I’d be fine with it. It’s a fairly long trip, though… it’ll take us a while to get there,” Warden warned, glancing at the others. “If we’re going to coordinate the investigations, we’ll probably take the longest to get there, even if our trip is a bit shorter than either of yours.”

“Seems fair by me. I mean, there’s only so much we can do to match up speeds, and if we don’t want to risk the ’jet being out of position, there isn’t really another option,” Black Comet said, frowning thoughtfully. “I have to say, the caves could be pretty nasty. There’s a lot of places people could hide in them.”

“That’s part of the reason we’re so worried,” Galvanic Action agreed, sighing. “I wish that it was even just two locations. I’m nervous about all of this.”

“We’ll have to do what we can. But if we’re going to get out there in a reasonable amount of time, the sooner we go the better. Right, Warden?” Morgan said, looking at the map in the middle of the table.

“Agreed. I don’t want to let them get any deeper of a foothold in the area than we have to,” Warden agreed. “Is there anything else?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Ocean Spirit replied, sighing. “Good luck, all of you. We’ll be here if you need support.”

“Right, let’s get going,” Morgan agreed, getting up and nodding to Warden. They could call Lilith and let her know that they’d be delayed as they started their flight.

* * *

“Are you absolutely certain about this?” Hypergizmo asked, finally speaking once he was alone in the room with Ocean Spirit and Sky Defender, his voice worried. “I really don’t like lying to either of them, or to the others for that matter.”

“I know you don’t. It’s not a good situation, but I really don’t see any other option,” Ocean Spirit told him, sighing and shaking her head. “We have to capture her, you know that.”

“But—” Hypergizmo began, only for Sky Defender to interrupt.

“Hyper, you’re the one who told us that after she was nearly killed, Morgan called you and asked about the status of Shadowmind’s creation. If we hadn’t been certain before that, her question certainly made it obvious that she had an idea of what was going on,” Sky Defender said, shaking his head slightly. “She knew that, and she didn’t tell us. She didn’t say anything to any of us at all. That on its own just makes me more certain that something has gone horribly wrong. I’m afraid that my worry of her actually being Shadowmind herself is far more likely, now.”

“But… isn’t it possible that they thought it was because of the Reinfield Act? I mean, she specifically asked about the bioweapon designation,” Hypergizmo argued, much as he had the previous day. “I really can’t blame her for not turning someone over if she thought they were going to be executed out of hand!”

“Then she should have told her team!” Sky Defender snapped. “We’re supposed to trust one another and help each other figure things out! Instead, every revelation we’ve gotten about Lilith has been grudging and in reaction to events. We don’t know that those weren’t staged or anything else! Do you really think we can afford to leave them under the influence of someone whose goals we don’t even understand?”

“I… no, I just don’t know that this is a good idea,” Hypergizmo protested weakly, lowering his head slightly. “I can’t say you’re wrong, but it feels wrong.”

“I know, Hyper,” Ocean Spirit said, standing and stepping closer to lay a hand on his shoulder. As he looked up at her, she continued, sighing, “I don’t know that there’s any other choice. That’s why we’re bringing her into custody. As soon as possible, we’ll put neural inhibitors into place and find someone to check and see who she really is.”

“I suppose so. You know that my teleportation disruptor won’t shut down magical teleportation, though?” Hypergizmo warned, frowning. “If she has another ally who can teleport in…”

“We’ll deal with that if it comes up,” Sky Defender replied grimly. “Just make sure you don’t let anyone know before we take off. I don’t want them to warn Lilith by accident.”

“Okay,” Hypergizmo said reluctantly, and Ocean Spirit frowned, worried about how subdued the man was.

* * *

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

Lilith frowned, flicking through the company books on her computer. Gina and Rachel were off doing something mysterious, as was their usual, so she had decided to get some work done. Something about the invoices was looking strange, and she was trying to track down whatever the problem was.

It didn’t help that Lilith wondered what was drawing both of her… her girlfriends out this time. The last month had been far more eventful than she’s prefer to think about, and she couldn’t help the sense of gnawing worry in her stomach. She hoped they’d be safe and was trying not to worry, but she wasn’t certain that she’d be able to manage that.

Shaking her head, Lilith took a deep breath and got up, moving around the edge of her desk to adjust the picture of Morgan in her new dress on the wall so she could see it more easily. The sight of the painting made her smile slightly, as she murmured softly, “Be careful, Rachel. I do worry about you.”

Once she’d adjusted the level of the picture, which truthfully hadn’t needed it, Lilith returned to her chair, her back to the window as she got back to trying to figure out what the problem with the invoices was. It had to be there; it was just a matter of finding it.

* * *

Foothills, Vallejo

“That is one ugly looking hole in the ground,” Warden said, and she smiled as she heard Morgan laugh.

“You said it. That’s what happens when people need rock and gravel, though,” Morgan said, shaking her head as they looked down at the work site on the edge of the mountains. “I wish there was a better way to do it, but there it is.”

“Yeah. Give me a sec; I’ll let Spirit know that we’re pretty much there,” Warden replied, hitting the key on her communicator and speaking. “Spirit, we’re at the edge of Vallejo bordering the mountains now. Are the other two about in position?”

“Good job, Warden. Black Comet has been waiting on-station for a few minutes, and Sky Defender is almost to his target location as well,” Ocean Spirit replied, her voice brisk. “Go ahead and get started; we should be good at this point.”

“Roger that. We’ll begin our investigation now,” Warden agreed, glancing at Morgan and nodding. “Let’s go. Keep an eye out, though… these guys make me nervous.”

“You and me both. I’ve had enough near-death experiences for years, thank you very much,” Morgan said with feeling, nodding as she began flying into the mountains alongside Warden, keeping an eye out for trouble.

* * *

Downtown, San Francisco

“Defender, Morgan and Warden are confirmed to be beginning their search outside Vallejo,” Ocean Spirit said, her voice tiny as Sky Defender floated some distance away from the building where Lilith Carpenter lived. The active camouflage would be destroyed when he fired, but it allowed him to get close without warning anyone. He watched her through the mirrored windows, sitting at a desk and working on her computer. “Hypergizmo just activated the teleportation jammer; you’re clear to subdue Lilith and take her into custody.”

Sky Defender’s eyes flicked up to the icon that showed where the Seajet was hovering, the aircraft practically invisible with its own camouflage. His scanners showed the activation of the jammer, and he nodded, fear and indecision boiling within his stomach, but he replied quickly. “Roger that, Spirit. I’m ready to go in.”

Just as he was about to move forward, a memory crashed to the forefront of Sky Defender’s mind, one which he’d been trying to suppress ever since he’d realized what Lilith was. A memory of how, early in his career, he’d encountered Shadowmind, but without his shields. How, with an offhand comment and sneer, she’d forced him to crash-land directly into a nearby junkyard and compelled him to almost completely destroy his armor with his own hands; his life’s work. She’d nearly forced him to kill himself as well, but he’d managed to resist that compulsion, if only just. The abject humiliation and fear the situation had created was what had made him change his identity and focus on building the mental shields into his armor. But even though he knew the shields were strong, as he looked at Lilith, he swallowed hard, and made a decision, raising his arm. He wasn’t going to risk the potential catastrophe of Shadowmind targeting him with her full power.

“Spirit? I’m sorry, I’ve changed my mind,” Sky Defender said, taking a deep breath as the targeting reticle appeared in his HUD. “She’s too dangerous to subdue, and the government agreed. I’m taking her out.”

“What? Defender, don’t do thi—” Spirit began, but it was too late. The reticle had settled onto the back of Lilith’s head.

Without hesitation, Sky Defender fired a maximum-power laser.

Chapter 15

Friday, January 4th, 2031

Lilith’s Condo

<Lilith, duck!> The female voice in Lilith’s head was so abrupt and commanding that she obeyed instantly, ducking down an instant before heat blossomed over her head and a cracking, shattering sound echoed through the room.

Glancing up, Lilith’s eyes went huge as she saw the three-inch hole punched through what remained of her monitor, through the painting of Morgan, and into the wall beyond that. The sight of the smoking hole made her freeze for an instant, but the voice was having none of that. In the distance, she heard an unpleasant sound, like that of metal shrieking against metal.

<Move! Unless you want to die!> the voice said waspishly, obviously irritated. <I swear, you’ve managed to get into more trouble than I can imagine in less than a year!>

Despite wondering who in the hell the voice was, Lilith didn’t hesitate, throwing herself to the left abruptly. At the same time, there was a sizzling sound and a spike of pain clipped her side, radiating through her body. Lilith kept going, lunging toward the kitchen as she glanced out the window and her eyes went wide in shock, blurting out, “Oh, crap!”

Outside the now-breached window, Lilith could see the distinctive outline of Sky Defender’s white and red armor a fair distance off. More pertinently, she could see the glow of where a laser cannon along his arm had fired at her.

<That’s one word for it,> the voice agreed, but Lilith ignored her as she began to move more desperately.

As she darted across the room, more shots were fired, one of them causing the table to collapse with a crash as it lost a leg. Lilith hissed in pain, almost collapsing as there was another brief flash of agony from her calf and she almost collapsed like the table had, barely managing to roll around the corner. The corner was part of her safe room, so the shots being fired were at least briefly not a concern, and Lilith gasped, panting as she looked down and saw the savage burn seared into her leg. If her head had been hit initially, she didn’t want to think about the results.

Shaking off her shock, Lilith staggered down the hall and into the closet, gasping out, “Situation F, Emergency Lockdown!”

Instantly, the room lit up with crimson lights as the door slammed shut and the light around the door vanished as metal plates slammed home. A few moments later, Circe’s voice sounded quietly, oddly flatly. “Safe room activated. Warning, connection to network has been disrupted. Teleportation disruption detected. Energy fire detected.”

<Well, that’s unfortunate. I’d hoped he didn’t have a teleportation jammer,> the voice said, sounding rather unhappy, Lilith thought. As she thought, Lilith’s lips thinned as she tapped the wall and a compartment opened, revealing a medical kit.

“Amber, I presume?” Lilith asked. “This is unexpected; I thought you were disabled by the government.”

<Yes, I’m your ‘dear’ mother. I’ve been trying to leave you alone as much as I could… though this was sudden enough I no longer had much of a choice if I wanted you to live,> Amber replied tartly. <Worse yet, it had to happen at an extremely difficult time for me. I can’t do much at the moment. If you can’t get out of this on your own from here, you’re pretty much screwed.>

“Thank you for the absolutely glowing, optimistic summary of my situation,” Lilith replied, hissing as she applied the burn patch to her leg, wincing as the cool liquid soaked into the divot seared into her leg. “Unfortunately, if the teleporter is jammed, there’s nothing I have that can get me out of here, and I know that those jammers shut down my phone, too! They aren’t precision instruments. What’s so important that you’re angry at being pulled away from it, anyway?”

<I’m dealing with an invasion at the moment. If I can’t rule Earth yet, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let anyone else conquer it,> Amber said shortly. <As it stands, I just lost some ground, thank you very much. Ah, your girlfriends finally noticed something’s wrong. Good, I have to go. If you make it to Circe, use override code gamma delta six-nine-five. Try not to die, please? I do love you.>

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Lilith muttered, edging away from the door as she started to treat her other injury, the adrenaline starting to slow at last, and her hands beginning to shake as she worked, wondering if she was just delaying the inevitable.

Circe’s voice came again, still the emotionless fragment in the safe room. “Warning, energy fire incoming. Estimated time to breach is ten minutes.”

“Yep, just delaying the inevitable. Crap,” Lilith said, sitting back against the wall and wincing. Seconds later she heard the fire alarm begin to blare and the fire suppression system outside the room suddenly activated.

* * *

Howell Mountains, Vallejo

“What the hell?” Morgan exclaimed, faltering and falling about a yard as she felt a faint sense of pain, then felt it again.

“You… did you feel that too?” Warden asked, shaking her head as she came to a stop. “I just swear I felt pain. But not my pain.”

“That sounds like what I felt, too. But how… oh no, did something happen to Lilith?” Morgan asked, her eyes widening as she looked at her friend, whose sudden worry was obvious.

The only psychic link that Morgan knew they both had was to Lilith, and that was the main source of her worry, but Gina quickly spoke. “It’s also possible there could be an empath in the area projecting, too, but we’d better check what’s going on. It’s possible that someone attacked the city.”

“Right, just give me a second and—” Morgan began reaching for her comm, but it crackled to life first.

“Dammit, Defender, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Hypergizmo demanded, his voice taut with stress. “You were supposed to capture her, not open fire in the middle of a building!”

Morgan froze just before hitting her comm, listening in disbelief as she stared at Warden, even as Sky Defender snarled his reply.

“She’s Shadowmind’s creation, or Shadowmind herself! She dodged just as I was about to hit her, and—wait, you just broadcast on the entire team channel, Hyper! You idiot!” the hero exclaimed angrily.

“Yeah, well you’re not supposed to be trying to kill anyone, you’re a hero!” Hypergizmo retorted, and Morgan took a deep breath before speaking.

“What are you doing?” Morgan demanded, her voice trembling as she took another heavy breath, feeling the pain down the link to Lilith. “Warden and I just felt a spike of pain from Lilith, and then we hear this? What’s going on?”

“You said it, Morgan! I’ve got no clue what the fuck’s happening,” Black Comet chimed in, sounding enraged. “I’ve been exploring these caves, and I hear something about Shadowmind?! What the hell?”

“Sky Defender discovered evidence that Lilith is Shadowmind’s last creation and pointed out that it’s quite possible that she transferred herself over to her new body before Crimson and Warden reached her. Coupled with recent events, we believed it best to bring her into custody to investigate the possibility. The best time to do that was while you two were away, Morgan. There’s too high of a chance that you’re under her mental control,” Ocean Spirit said, her voice tight. “Opening fire on her was not part of the plan.”

“Yes, she damned well is, but the only reason she’s been hiding it is because she’s got a death sentence hanging over her head in the form of the Reinfield Act!” Warden exclaimed. “They classified her as a bioweapon!”

“Well, if you wanted me to believe that, you should’ve told me when you found out!” Sky Defender retorted, his voice grim. “It’s too late now. I’ve got her trapped in a safe room, and by the time you get here, this will be over, one way or another!”

“That… that…” Warden said, looking like she’d been hit between the eyes with something heavy. She swallowed hard, then looked at Morgan. “Rach? What do we do?”

“What are you all talking about? You just kept something like that from us?” Crimson Bull demanded over the comm. “Screw waiting, I’m coming down there and gonna rip her out of that room and throw her out of the building!”

“That’s it.” Morgan said, her own rage overflowing at last as she hit her comm button and spoke, her voice icy. “Fine. You want to kill an innocent woman who had no choice in how she was created? Very well, but you’ll do it without my help. Consider this my official resignation, Spirit.”

As she spoke, she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone. The one good part about being several hundred feet off the ground was that she had a good signal, and as she hovered there, Morgan pulled up the number of her lawyer and sent him a text. ‘Carter, you’ll see a folder labeled Situation R that I sent you, for emergencies? Please open it and send the messages within to the stations listed.’

“And you can consider it mine, too!” Warden growled. “I have had it with this! I’m… I’m… ugh!”

“Morgan, don’t do—” Ocean Spirit began, but Morgan reached up and pulled her earbud out, dropping it into the forest with the comm itself.

Glancing at Warden, Morgan took a deep breath and then spoke grimly, putting her phone away. “Gina, do you think you can teleport?”

“Teleport? I only was able to do that twice now!” Gina replied, dumping her own comm. “How do you think I can do it again?”

“Everything I’ve heard about teleportation says that it requires either a link to the location, or for the person to be able to visualize and know where a location is relative to them,” Rachel said, shaking off her hero identity as she focused on her friend and the link to Lilith. “I don’t know how to do it… but it’s our only chance, Gina! Lilith is at the far end of the link, so reach for her! Take us to her if you can!”

“I… I can try,” Gina replied, gulping hard as she glanced around them, then flew over, grabbing Rachel’s hand. “Hold on; I’m going to try to take us to her!”

Through the lenses over Gina’s eyes, Rachel could see her friend close her eyes and begin concentrating. Moment after moment passed, and Rachel began to pray internally that her friend would be able to manage what she was trying.

* * *

Lilith’s Condo, San Francisco

Any embers of hope Lilith may have possessed were rapidly being quenched as the minutes passed. It was getting warm inside the safe house, which indicated that Sky Defender hadn’t given up. She flinched as something hit the wall hard, but the inertial dampener absorbed the attack. She was beginning to wonder if the delay the defenses provided was good or bad.

She wished that she could see Gina and Rachel again. To see the light dancing in Gina’s eyes as she teased Rachel, and Rachel’s sudden, decisive bits of revenge. The nights previous seemed so distant now, and she didn’t know if she’d ever see her friends again.

“Circe, adjust the inertial dampener’s settings. Release all stored energy into the safe room and its contents after structural integrity is breached,” Lilith ordered, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them close in the dim light.

“That is potentially fatal, Mistress Lilith. I recommend evacuation before initiating such measures. Do you wish for me to do so anyway?” the fragment of Circe asked.

Lilith’s arms tightened and she hissed in pain as the injured muscles in her side complained, then replied softly, “I’m certain. Do it, Circe.”

* * *

Elation and worry were entwined in Sky Defender’s mind. A part of him was delighted that his mental shields appeared to work, but another part of him was afraid that a deadly surprise awaited him.

“Defender—” Galvanic Action began speaking, but growling under his breath, Sky Defender muted their channel. It probably was just another protest that he should try to take Lilith alive.

“They aren’t stopping me, not now,” he said, hitting the wall of the room with a grunt. The strength of the metal was impressive, but it was starting to lose integrity. A couple more minutes, no more. Then they could fix Morgan and Warden, and everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be.

* * *

Howell Mountains, Vallejo

Rachel’s hopes were dimming as the seconds passed, no reaction coming from Gina save for her hand tightening ever so slightly around Rachel’s. Then, all of a sudden, azure light crackled and flashed around them and the world lurched slightly as Rachel vanished and appeared somewhere else, someplace dark and only lit by dim red lights, with Gina still holding her hand.

Lilith raised her head from where she huddled against the wall, blinking away tears, then smiled ever so slightly, her voice husky with emotion. “Well, this is a surprise. I thought I wouldn’t see you again. I think your team is trying to kill me.”

“They aren’t our team anymore,” Gina said flatly. “Sky Defender tried to kill you, and Crimson Bull was going to help. Come on; I want to try to get us out of here while I have even a faint grasp on how to teleport.”

“Are you… of course you’re sure,” Lilith said, slowly standing, wincing as she did so. “You know this will go to hell, right?”

“Of course it will. That’s why I drafted a number of emails for the media just in case. My lawyer should be sending them any minute,” Rachel said, hugging Lilith and nodding at Gina.

“Alright, let’s see if I can do this…” Gina murmured, hugging both of them. Moments later, another flash of light enveloped them, taking them away from the cell where Lilith had been trapped.

Chapter 16

Friday, January 4th, 2031

Lilith’s Condo

The walls of the safe room built into the condo had been much more durable than Sky Defender had expected them to be, and the fire suppression system hadn’t helped matters any. The water helped cool the metal of the room’s walls, and his laser couldn’t fire continuously. Still, his sense of grim euphoria grew as the wall began to lose integrity.

Ignoring the sirens from below, Sky Defender paused and hit the door of the room hard, feeling it start giving way this time. He was thankful he’d muted the rest of the team’s channel, considering how long the task had taken.

“What the hell is this metal?” Sky Defender demanded, ramming his shoulder into the door and grunting as it gave way a little more, only reluctantly deforming.

“Analysis uncertain. It appears to be a form of metal-ceramic compound, possibly with integrated inertial and thermal sumps,” his suit computer replied helpfully.

“Just lovely,” Sky Defender grunted, shoving his hand into the gap and slowly levering the door out of the way as the servos of his suit whined. He was a little startled to see that it looked like a mundane closet inside, save for the glowing red emergency lights and medical kit on the floor, but blinked in shock as he realized he didn’t see any sign of Lilith. “Where is she?”

“Scanning… target is not detected, Doctor. Residual heat traces inconclusive. No other exits detected,” the computer replied, then paused and spoke. “Warning, power surge from room detected!”

Jumping backward, Sky Defender snapped up his arm again, ready to fire on any target that might appear. If Lilith was invisible, the falling water from the sprinklers would reveal her, and he wasn’t going to let her get away.

Instead of her appearing, the walls of the room began to collapse like a sand castle under a wave, and Sky Defender demanded, “Analyze that! What’s happening?”

“Scanning… it appears that the inertial sump deliberately distributed its contents into the safe room structure, destroying it and its contents,” his computer replied. “No sign of target. Power source depleted.”

“Shit,” Sky Defender hissed and flicked on his comm again, opening his mouth to speak, but he paused as he heard the angry comments.

“—you don’t understand; this is a huge problem!” Galvanic Action exclaimed. “If the station is right, Morgan sent the files to every media station in the western US!”

“Yes, and with Sky Defender making an apparently unprovoked attack that injured civilians, we’re going to catch hell as it is,” Ocean Spirit replied grimly. “You’re saying that it appears that Gina managed to teleport, Hyper?”

“That’s right. I just shut down the teleport jammer because their tracking beacons vanished from near Vallejo, and I got a brief flicker of them from this area before they vanished again,” Hypergizmo said shortly. “I should pick them up again soon, but localizing them is difficult.”

“What are you talking about, injuring civilians, and Morgan sending files?” Sky Defender demanded, confused and angry about the absence of Lilith, staring at the gaping hole where a room had been and the chalk-gray ash it had left on the ground.

“Oh, you’ve finally deigned to listen to us again? Took you long enough,” Galvanic Action spat out. “When you attacked, you put a hole through the central elevator shaft of the building, Defender! You snapped the cables of the elevator and nearly killed all the people in it! You’re damned lucky the safeties worked and it stopped before hitting the bottom. Saying that people are pissed at us would be putting it mildly!”

Sky Defender couldn’t say anything to that, blanching as he realized what he’d done. That he’d nearly killed a group of innocents was like cold water on his anger and fear, but he suppressed it as he spoke. “I… allowed my fear to get the best of me. I didn’t realize what I’d done, and I’m sorry it happened, but I still feel that Lilith is too dangerous to allow to go free. What else happened, then? Obviously, she’s gone for the moment.”

Instead of replying, Galvanic Action obviously flicked over to another channel, and suddenly the scratchy sound of one of the local radio stations came through the comm system. “—Carpenter, who founded a local company, Carpenter Microsystems. We’re still trying to sort through the data files, but we have confirmed that she owns a penthouse in the upper floor of an apartment building in downtown San Francisco. Even more confusing and troubling, Sky Defender attacked the building only a few minutes ago, and the police have responded in shock. A few contacts claim that he’s gone off the rails, and there are reports of civilian injuries coming in.”

“That’s the first message about everything so far. Morgan sent files about Lilith to every media station on this coast, Defender,” Ocean Spirit said grimly, cutting off the radio. “We have to assume that she framed things as sympathetically as she could manage. This is going to be a firestorm of epic proportions.”

“Then we just need to deal with it. I’ve suffered at Shadowmind’s hands before, and I’m not going to sit back and let her manipulations allow her to go free!” Sky Defender retorted. “Where did Warden and Morgan go, anyway? They have to have taken her somewhere.”

“I’m not telling you, not when you might go on another shooting spree in the middle of a freaking subdivision or something!” Hypergizmo retorted hotly. “Bad enough that Crimson began overreacting, but we’ve probably permanently lost two members who I respect if you’re wrong!”

“I’m not overreacting!” Crimson Bull protested, the sound of traffic around him. “I faced Shadowmind myself, and I think Sky Defender’s doing the right thing!”

“Fine, if you won’t help, I’ll do it myself!” Sky Defender growled, deactivating the general comm and messaging Crimson Bull directly. “Crimson, I’ll keep you informed. Do you have any idea what Black Comet thinks of all of this?”

“He’s pissed that people sent him off on a wild goose chase, but I think he’s starting to think this was stupid due to the publicity,” Crimson Bull replied quickly. “I don’t think his mind is made up yet, though.”

“Fine. I’m going to hack the locator beacons for Morgan and Warden to track them down,” Sky Defender replied, taking flight as he scowled in the direction of the Seajet. “This went badly fast.”

* * *

Gina’s Home, Oakland

Lilith blinked, looking around the dusty living room in surprise, still barely recovering from believing she’d been about to die. She pulled mostly free of Gina and Rachel and asked, “Your house, Gina? Why here?”

“It was the only place I could visualize other than the team HQ well enough to have a chance of teleporting to,” Gina replied, her breathing heavy as she gulped loudly. “Hell, it’s not easy to teleport, though. How did that jerk manage to do it so easily?”

“He probably has or had an instinctive understanding of locations and distances,” Rachel said, reaching up and taking off her mask, scowling. “It probably won’t take them long to figure out where we’ve gone, so what do we do now? I sent out some documents to different media stations to start trying to turn the tide of public opinion in our favor, but I have no idea how much good it’ll do in the end. We have to survive long enough to give it a chance to work, in fact.”

“Oh. Maybe that’ll help… I’m just a little stunned. I thought I was going to die in there. They were jamming teleportation, otherwise I would’ve been able to escape,” Lilith replied, shuddering slightly, everything feeling slightly distant as her hands shook. “The r-room should have self-destructed, so they won’t be able to track the teleportation coordinates…”

“Lilith! Are you alright?” Gina exclaimed, straightening abruptly and stepping closer, grabbing Lilith’s shoulders. “You… you were hurt? I know Sky Defender attacked you, but neither of us had a clue it was coming. They’d sent us to Vallejo, supposedly to look for Destruction Corps.”

“I… I’m a little burned, but I’ll be okay. I’m…” Lilith paused, taking stock of herself, and a strange sense of calm began to sweep over her thoughts. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and breathing in and out. “I… I think I was starting to go into shock, somewhat. Maybe… I wonder if Amber fixed that too? I was just working on the computer, looking at the books of my company, when he attacked. If I hadn’t ducked… there was a large hole in my computer screen, the painting of Morgan, and the wall behind it. I wouldn’t have even realized what had happened, and I barely… barely got to the safe room in time.”

“God, that’s…” Rachel’s eyes were wide, looking somewhat ill as she swallowed, dropping her mask to the floor. “I didn’t realize it was that close.”

“It was. I thought I could… could deal with hatred, but this was so cold,” Lilith murmured, shaking her head. Trying to overcome her nerves, she shakily pulled out her phone, murmuring. “I should—no, they’ll monitor my phone. If I call Circe, they’ll try to track her down. We have to get to one of the transit hubs.”

As Lilith began to slowly open the phone to pull out the battery, Gina swallowed as tears began trickling down her face and asked, “I’m so… so relieved you’re okay, Lilith. What do you mean by a transit hub, though? One of Shadowmind’s?”

“Yes. She built them in most major cities to be able to move quickly,” Lilith said, nodding firmly as she took a deep breath, recalling where the one in the San Francisco region was. Fortunately, if she was right, it wasn’t too far away. “It’s near Grand Avenue, by the interstate. Or is it a highway? I’m sorry, I just… I don’t really know.”

“That’s not far away,” Rachel replied, looking thoughtful instead of worried now. “In fact, I might be able to keep us invisible for that far, if we fly Lilith there. If we can get to where no one can hunt us down, at least we’ll have some chance to try to plan things out.”

“That seems like a good idea to me. It’s good you can turn us invisible, because there’s no way in hell I can manage it. I have enough trouble concealing myself, and I used a lot of energy teleporting,” Gina said, looking at Lilith in concern. “Will you be alright, Lilith?”

“I don’t know. But if anyone sees me, it’s going to be obvious something’s wrong,” Lilith warned, looking down at her damaged clothing.

“I’m not taking the time to get changed, so if they see us it’s going to be obvious to everyone that something’s up,” Rachel replied, shaking her head. “This is going to be a right mess. We’d better go, though.”

“Yeah,” Gina agreed, darting into the next room to grab a key. “Come on; let’s go out the back door. I set it up so that it wasn’t in direct line of sight of any of the neighbors, so I could come and go easily.”

“That’s an advantage to going to your house. I’m amused that you’re relatively close to the hub… I think Amber put it there because it was close to San Francisco without being too close,” Lilith replied, smiling as she felt like she was finally regaining her equilibrium. “Thank you, both of you. That you’d come for me is… incredible.”

Gina smiled and darted in to give Lilith a quick kiss, then paused, and Lilith blinked in surprise as Gina kissed Rachel. The shorter heroine’s eyes went wide with surprise, seeming to stiffen with shock for a moment, but then Gina pulled away, grinning as she said, “Your turn, Rachel!”

“We don’t have time for this!” Rachel retorted, offering an arm to Lilith. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Spoilsport,” Gina muttered, turning and heading for the back door.

As they followed after her, Lilith glanced at Rachel, who bit her lip for a moment before turning her head to give a quick, gentle kiss before pulling away, blushing as she murmured, “I love you too, Lilith. I just didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.”

“That’s fine, Rachel. We are in something of an emergency at the moment,” Lilith told her, smiling as she felt the other woman’s warmth lingering on her lips. “Let’s try to survive for the moment, hmm? I think… think I love both of you as well.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Rachel agreed, her cheeks a deeper red as they stepped out the back door in Gina’s wake. Rachel began speaking soft words, and a purple mist flowed from one of her rings to surround them slowly.

* * *

Downtown, Oakland

“They’re heading for downtown Oakland, Crimson,” Sky Defender told the other hero flatly, racing in the direction of the beacons indicating Morgan and Warden’s locations. “It looks like they’re moving more slowly. They probably can’t teleport again.”

“I’m on my way! I’m still crossing the bridge, so I’ll be a while; the reconstruction is a beast,” Crimson Bull replied, even as Sky Defender continued homing in on the beacons.

Sky Defender could hear the hostess on the radio reporting, and his irritation grew as he listened. “This story is still developing, but on the subject of Lilith Carpenter, supposedly created by Shadowmind, we have some new information to share. We’ve reached out to Ms. Carpenter’s company, but they’ve had no comment as of yet. The documents we were sent claim that she hid her origin largely out of fear that she’d be killed out of hand due to her designation as a bioweapon. The Reinfield Act requires the destruction of bioweapons created by villains, and, according to the information we have, there’s no avenue of appeal for the designation. I have an expert on the line to discuss whether or not that’s true. Mr. Andrews, is the claim accurate?”

“I want to preface this with the addendum that I haven’t had a chance to look over the particulars of this specific situation, but the summation of what would happen if someone designated a bioweapon were to be captured is quite accurate,” a man replied seriously. “There would be no consequences from the government if they were to be killed out of hand, and the Reinfield Act is designed to ensure the disposal of bioweapons as quickly as possible, so there isn’t time or precedent for appeal. That’s the entire point of the act.”

“Indeed, but that, coupled with Ocean Shield’s attack on Ms. Carpenter’s penthouse indicates that her fears were likely somewhat accur—” the hostess began, but Sky Defender cut off the channel with a growl, annoyed. He wasn’t sure why he was listening to it to begin with, but he could tell that a sliver of doubt was growing. He had to deal with this soon; he couldn’t afford to have others doubt him, or to doubt himself.

He had to frown as he drew closer to the renegade heroines, wondering why they were going deeper into the city. It was an odd choice. Either way, he was almost there.

* * *

“It should be down that alley over there. There’s a stairwell with a basement; that’s where the hub is,” Lilith was explaining, feeling just a little uncomfortable as the two heroines carried her.

They weren’t too high off the ground, just a bit above the level of power lines, but that was too far for her own comfort. Unlike them, she couldn’t fly, and the thought of what might happen if they did drop her was somewhat unpalatable. It still would be far more survivable than a laser to the back of the head, she reminded herself, but the lack of control was disconcerting and nerve-wracking.

Still, they had only traveled a few miles and were almost to where Circe had told her the hub was. The town was lower profile than some of the others, and the buildings were shorter than she’d thought they’d be for a location for the transportation hub. The streets were fairly busy, too.

“Gina, ten o’clock!” Rachel suddenly snapped out, and Lilith quickly looked up.

“I see him,” Gina said quietly, swearing as she added, “I hoped we’d get out before he caught us. I’m dropping Lilith to block him.”

Lilith saw just the faintest outline of a suit of white armor in the distance when Gina let go, yelping in near-panic before Rachel caught her.

“I’ve got you. Come on,” Rachel said, hoisting Lilith closer as she added, “We need to find that building. Gina can hold him off, but Defender’s too powerful for her to stop for long.”

“How did he even find us?” Lilith asked, glancing back as the hero rocketed closer. The sudden honking and other noise from below, accompanied by Rachel suddenly moving faster, made her realize that they were visible now, and a glittering barrier of golden light flickered into existence around them as Gina used her magic.

“There are tracking beacons in our outfits. We were going to ditch them as soon as we thought it was safe but didn’t want to stick around Gina’s house to change,” Rachel replied shortly, and Lilith could see the unhappiness on her face as she added, “I’d hoped Hypergizmo wouldn’t let Defender track us since he warned us what was going on.”

“Sky Defender has power armor. There’s no way to say he couldn’t have access to the trackers separately,” Lilith offered, somewhat relieved that someone on the team hadn’t approved of what had happened. She wasn’t certain what was going on, if she was being honest.

“Warden! Get out of my way and hand over the bioweapon!” Sky Defender’s voice was loud, and Lilith winced as she glanced back at the hero.

“Trying to sound righteous now, you jerk?” Rachel muttered, darting toward the alley in question.

“I didn’t become a hero to allow people to murder innocents!” Gina’s voice echoed as she hovered between Sky Defender and Lilith, a barrier between them. “Lilith has never done anything to deserve this, and I’m not handing her over just to let you kill her!”

“Then it’s as I thought. She’s mentally controlled you and Morgan both!” Sky Defender declared, and Lilith’s eyes went wide.

“What?” she blurted out, glancing behind them as they set down in the alley entrance. “How would I do that?”

Sky Defender didn’t give a chance for Rachel to reply, instead unloading into Warden’s barrier with four separate lasers, and the barrier was shoved backward hard as he declared, “I’ll just have to defeat you and free you from her influence later!”

“Well, that’s one way to try to spin things,” Rachel said grimly. “Lilith, the hub, please?”

Gina fell back, and Lilith only spared her a single glance before turning back to look down the alley. There were two separate stairwells, which explained why Rachel hadn’t gone toward one. Lilith began to run toward the one on the right and yelped as the injury she’d almost forgotten nearly sent her to the concrete. Rachel caught her instead, murmuring, “Alright, that one. What do we need to do?”

“There’s a hidden fingerprint reader, and I have to give the right commands,” Lilith said, hobbling forward with Rachel’s help. “I’m glad you’re registered as guests; these have defense systems.”

“What about after we leave? He’s not going to give up,” Rachel asked, her voice taut as she glanced over her shoulder. The sound of energy fire was loud, but it didn’t sound like anything had been damaged yet. They climbed down the dirty stairs toward the rusted metal door at the bottom, the paint on it peeling.

“It’ll slag itself behind us rather than be captured,” Lilith said, shaking her head. “It’ll mean coming back somewhere else if we want to return, but we have to do it.”

“Right. I hope this is the place,” Rachel said dubiously.

“Oh, it’s the right place,” Lilith said, pressing her thumb against the doorjamb a couple of inches above the knob, speaking clearly. “Lilith Carpenter and guests. Escape plan FUBAR.”

“FUBAR?” Rachel asked, her voice disbelieving, but at the word the door clicked unlocked and opened in front of them.

The hallway behind the door was a sharp contrast to the exterior, the walls and ceiling gleaming metal tiles, save for the light strips along the edge of the ceiling, and the black floor material Amber had favored. A door at the end of the hall opened to the left, and a half-dozen laser turrets protruded from the walls, pointing at them. A moment later a feminine voice replied, and Lilith relaxed ever so slightly at Circe’s voice.

“Mistress Lilith, the situation appears to have deteriorated, and contact with your residence has been lost. Situation FUBAR acknowledged; please proceed to the teleportation chamber for immediate exfiltration.”

“One moment; we’re waiting for Gina,” Lilith said.

Rachel nodded, poking her head back and yelling. “Warden, now! Oh, crap!”

Lilith looked up and her eyes went wide as she saw Gina being driven back toward them at high speed by Sky Defender, his thrusters blasting loudly as he slammed into her barrier. Lilith quickly dodged forward into the room, dragging Rachel with her just before Gina hit the back wall of the stairwell.

“Gina!” Lilith cried out, alarmed.

“It’s fine… I just… was getting a ride!” Gina grunted, shoving her hands out and driving Sky Defender back. “Back off, jackass!”

“You have no idea what you’re doing, you traitor!” Sky Defender growled in return, slowly being pushed back by the barrier. “I won’t allow Shadowmind to rise again!”

Gina slowly edged her way through the door, but as she did she retorted, “You’re delusional. Shadowmind is imprisoned!”

“Seal access!” Lilith said as Gina backed into the room enough, and the door slammed shut again, locking into place a moment before a loud clang rang out. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. “It’ll hold him for a couple of minutes. We’d better go.”

“Mistress Lilith, both of your guests have multiple tracking beacons in their suits. Allowing them to transit the network would be considered an unacceptable risk to you,” Circe interjected.

“I’m well aware. Can you two excise the beacons, or do we have to abandon the suits?” Lilith asked, looking at the two as Sky Defender began to pound on the door.

“Abandon them. There’s no telling whether or not more were put into place than we’re aware of, after what happened to Gina,” Rachel said, glancing at Gina. “Agreed?”

“Yeah, though I’m going to want to rip all of my magic out of it. I don’t want anyone getting a sample again,” Gina said, frowning. “Clothing won’t be fun, though.”

“Circe, begin fabricating a few basic outfits for the two of them,” Lilith said, hobbling down the hallway, frowning as she added, “As soon as we’re gone, slag the facility here. I don’t want Sky Defender to get anything out of it if possible. Don’t damage the rest of the building, though.”

“Yes, Mistress Lilith. Teleportation matrix is powered up and ready for you and your guests,” Circe replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “I must reiterate that they are considered a security risk at present.”

Lilith opened the next door and looked around the room, shaking her head. The room had a simple teleportation platform built into the floor, one of the pylons required above it, and the other inset deep in the floor. Amber obviously hadn’t spent a lot of effort on the room, as there wasn’t much else save for the door labeled ‘maintenance room’.

“Gee, I would’ve thought that saving Lilith’s life would count for something,” Gina said sarcastically, looking at the ceiling.

“Gina, she’s just doing what she was programmed to do. You’re still considered a hero, and she was programmed by Shadowmind,” Lilith replied, glancing back and wincing at a much louder clang against the door. “She’s just a computer, and not a sentient one. She doesn’t know any better. Anyway, we have to go, don’t we?”

“Yes. Because that sounded an awful lot like Crimson Bull’s roar,” Rachel agreed, hesitating a moment and blushing as she turned away, murmuring, “I hate to do it like this, but…”

She began stripping, and Lilith looked away, conscious of Rachel’s embarrassment, even if she didn’t quite understand it. She wasn’t terribly self-conscious about her own body, though other people staring at her was a bit uncomfortable at times.

Gina quickly followed suit, her own voice a little amused. “Well, at least it isn’t anything Lilith hasn’t seen before. For me.”

“Not helping, Gina,” Rachel said shortly, shivering as she dropped the last of her outfit to the floor, reaching down and pressing a hand against it, and Lilith could see purple light being pulled from the fabric and cloak in a rapid wave. She didn’t abandon her jewelry, though, which Lilith found interesting. After a moment, Rachel nodded. “There we go. Do you detect a beacon from me anymore, Circe?”

“Yes. There’s a beacon in a ring on your left pinkie finger,” Circe said promptly, and Rachel cursed.

“Dammit, Spirit! That’s just rude!” she said, slipping the ring off and tossing it into the pile of clothing.

Meanwhile, Gina had been doing about the same, though she didn’t have all the jewelry Rachel had, shaking her head and muttering as she stepped away from her pile, asking, “What about me?”

Circe didn’t reply, and Lilith sighed, adding, “Circe, does Gina have a beacon?”

“No, she does not,” the AI replied. “Warning, the door will last no more than one minute under the current attacks.”

“We’d best go,” Lilith said grimly, hobbling over to the platform. Her two friends followed along, shivering in the cool air. Once in position, she spoke. “Circe, evacuate us.”

“Acknowledged,” Circe replied, and the air flashed as they vanished and appeared in a larger, warmer room, without the sounds of the attacks. The platform here was upraised, and Circe added, “This is Utah Lair Alpha-Three. Welcome back, Mistress Lilith.”

“That… was an unusually easy teleportation,” Gina said, shivering and blinking. “Lilith, do you have any idea why Sky Defender was ranting about not letting Shadowmind rise again?”

“No, but that does remind me of something,” Lilith said, wincing and slowly sitting on the edge of the platform. “Circe, I’m injured. Two laser wounds: one on my side, one on the calf. Please send a remote to treat them.”

“What does it remind you of?” Rachel asked, shivering. “Also, could we get that clothing?”

“Remote deployed. Clothing fabrication for your guests will take an additional ten point three minutes,” Circe replied calmly. “Your spare clothing will be too large, Mistress Lilith, but would mitigate the effect of the base temperature without requiring full thermal adjustments.”

“Please retrieve a set of clothing for each of them, Circe,” Lilith said, shrugging helplessly as she looked at the others, licking her lips before she explained. “It’s actually about Amber. Tell me, do you think if Sky Defender was aiming at the back of my head, he’d really miss?”

“No, but you said you ducked, didn’t you?” Gina replied, frowning.

“That’s right. But how do you think that I knew to duck?” Lilith asked, but didn’t wait for them to reply, her voice growing sober. “The instant before he would’ve killed me, Amber warned me to duck. I don’t think she’s nearly as imprisoned as you think she is. Circe, what does override gamma delta six-nine-five do?”

“The override increases your authority over the lair network from its current limited state to three steps below root access,” Circe replied promptly. “It does not give full access, as that’s not allowed for any individuals save for Mistress Amber herself, but it allows the highest degree of access she has ever conceived of allowing others to possess. Do you wish to activate this override?”

“Please do so,” Lilith replied, closing her eyes and sighing as a medical remote rolled into the room, the other two looking stunned. “That is… worrying, I think.”

“Just a lot, yeah,” Gina said, her eyes wide as saucers. “What has she been doing, then?”

“I have no idea,” Lilith said, thinking back and frowning. “She said something about an invasion that she was holding off. That if she couldn’t rule the world, no one else would get to conquer it either. She also said that things came at a bad time.”

Another remote rolled into the room with a couple of outfits a few moments later, approaching Rachel first.

“Great. Just great,” Rachel said, shaking her head as she went to get dressed again. Considering her recent brush with death, Lilith found herself tempted to head to bed, but extended her leg obediently for the medical remote to start treating her leg.

Chapter 17

Friday, January 4th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair

“Doctor, you may wish to look at the news,” Eve said, and Doctor Johnson looked up from the microscope in surprise.

“Why would I want to do that? Is Omega Code trying to end the world again?” Doctor Johnson asked, frowning. “I’m trying to see if the cells are degrading or not, and it’s hard to tell if my changes had any effect.”

“Omega Code is most likely attempting to do so, however that isn’t the reason I suggested you look at the news,” Eve explained, her hands behind her back as she continued. “Ocean Shield appears to be in the process of splintering, and it appears that Shadowmind is implicated in the split, or at least her final creation.”

“They—wait, Shadowmind? She was caught last year!” Doctor Johnson protested, sitting up straight. He’d only met the other villain a single time, and that encounter had been quite enough for him. The woman had been a condescending, insulting bitch. “I don’t want to try to glean what’s going on from the news; summarize!”

“As you wish. This morning, Ocean Shield had Black Comet, Morgan Le Fay, and Warden depart for distant locations. Exact destinations are uncertain, but Black Comet went east, and the other two departed together to the northeast. Two hours later, downtown San Francisco was subject to what I believe was a teleportation jammer from the signal interference, and Sky Defender attacked the upper penthouse of an apartment building with enough force that an elevator’s supports were destroyed,” Eve began, her voice calm as could be. “About this time, it appears that a lawyer in Morgan Le Fay’s employ sent a number of documents to a large number of media outlets. These documents revealed that Lilith Carpenter, the same woman who apparently defeated Blue Impulse, was the one who Shadowmind created before being captured. The documents portray her in a way that indicates she didn’t want to be involved in the hero community at all, as the Reinfield Act demands her summary destruction.

“Sky Defender then confronted Warden in Oakland but the fugitives escaped. Public opinion is currently split, with some believing that Lilith mind-controlled the two heroines, but the damage that Sky Defender caused is making some wonder if he might not be a greater threat.” Eve’s voice was exacting, and Doctor Johnson just listened in absolute disbelief. “The pictures taken of Lilith during the escape have been passed around widely, and coupled with a large number of public pictures, the identities of Morgan Le Fay and Warden have been discovered. Morgan Le Fay is Rachel Moore, a professor of Metaphysics at Berkley University, and Warden is Gina Fairmont, a freelance artist.”

“Dear God, what a disaster,” Doctor Johnson said, feeling shaken as he sat back in his chair, paling slightly. “I’m glad they’re targeting each other, but this is… not a pleasant revelation!”

“Doctor? I believed you might be pleased that this was happening, not upset,” Eve said, a slight frown on her face. “May I ask why?”

“Because this will probably increase the odds of our infiltrator being unmasked. If they start looking closely at their teammates, it’s going to make things more dangerous,” Doctor Johnson told her, his mind racing. “That isn’t too likely, but possible. Also, if this Lilith has access to Shadowmind’s resources, we could be in danger of discovery. Her resources are enormously more extensive than my own, and considering that Blue Impulse was working for me, I would not put it out of the question that she might be able to find us. I don’t like it when things get this chaotic; it makes it hard to take appropriate precautions.”

“I see. I understand your concerns, Doctor. Should I make preparations to move to another location?” Eve asked, sparking relief in the doctor, who smiled at her response. It was good to have a competent assistant. Even more, one who was properly obedient.

“No, not yet. Do make certain that another location is ready, but I don’t want Dreamer or Ebon Dragon to know where we’re going,” he said, shaking his head firmly. “We’re almost to the point that I can start using the genetic manipulator to carry out my part of the bargain with them, so we won’t be working together for much longer.”

“As you wish, Doctor. How are the experiments coming?” Eve asked, tilting her head curiously.

“They’re going well. The attempts to control the age of her cells and reverse the effects of age appear to be functioning well, though I’m uncertain if I can completely mitigate the tendency to age. Changing other aspects of her body appears to be working quite well, from what you’ve said.”

“Yes. I have noticed that the various adjustments to her nerves appear to be working as intended each time you change them. You will be largely returning her senses to normal once done with the tests?” Eve asked.

“Yes. I’m intrigued that her physical boosts are actually based as a percentage based on her ‘normal’ strength. I’ll be reducing her possible muscle mass and the like until we’ve brainwashed her. That will be your task, Eve. I’ll alter the specifications of her body, but you’re the one who knows what I like in a servant,” Doctor Johnson said, frowning slightly as he shook his head. “I don’t have time to deal with that too.”

“Of course, Doctor. Let me know when to begin,” Eve replied, nodding slightly. “I will monitor the situation with the heroes and inform you if anything of import changes.”

“Excellent,” Doctor Johnson said, still unhappy, but mollified at least. As she left, he turned back to his work, feeling more anxious than he had been.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“I don’t care if you think you’re right, Defender. I agreed with you in that we needed to bring her in, and if you had followed the plan we might have avoided this entire mess,” Ocean Spirit said flatly, shaking her head. “I think the backlash wouldn’t be a tenth as bad if you hadn’t nearly killed an elevator full of people! One of them is going to be hospitalized for nearly a week as it is, and that’s being conservative.”

“It was a mistake to fire as powerful of a blast as I did,” Sky Defender admitted, his voice slightly defensive and his arms crossed in front of him. “I still don’t think I was wrong to do so. They escaped through one of Shadowmind’s teleportation hubs. That tells me quite enough about her.”

“Oh really? If you were going to be, oh… dissected and killed the moment someone caught you, wouldn’t you take any available option to escape?” Galvanic Action replied sarcastically, trying to suppress his own anger. “I’m not sure about her, but I don’t think that her taking a risk like that to escape is out of line.”

“Then why didn’t they tell us anything, if they already knew?” Crimson Bull demanded, leaning forward onto the table and scowling. “Shadowmind is nasty as hell, and I can totally see her having done what Defender has suggested.”

“Possibly for the exact same reason they sent me off on a wild goose chase and didn’t tell you before starting all of this. The more people who know, the more likely someone will leak it,” Black Comet said angrily, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the table. “I’m not happy being played for a fool by the rest of you. I volunteer as a hero to do good, and because the government and sponsors are willing to chip in enough to make a decent living. I’ve risked my life to protect you, and you chose to lie to me about something like this? You couldn’t even have told me that there was something more dangerous going on, and that you needed to draw attention away from what you were doing?”

“I find it funny that despite everything villains have done to us over the year, all it took was two small lies to bring everyone to each other’s throats like this,” Galvanic Action said quietly, his tone cutting much of the tension throughout the room. He understood their reasons, but that didn’t help much. “I understand why Morgan and Warden made the decision they did. They’d gotten to know Lilith, and even if they weren’t influenced, do any of you honestly believe that they would have said anything to us if they thought it could get a good friend of theirs killed? Can any of you honestly say that?”

“I… I think they would have. I mean—” Crimson Bull began, but Ocean Spirit snorted.

“If you knew what my weakness was, would you tell the rest of the team if they didn’t know?” the team leader asked, her voice calmer than it had been.

“N-no… no, I wouldn’t. That’s too damned dangerous for people to know about,” Crimson Bull admitted, shaking his head.

“Exactly,” Galvanic Action said, glancing at Hypergizmo and nodding. “The only person I think who’s been relatively calm through all of this has been Hyper. He’s tried to support the team, regardless of who might be at fault. That being said, I also understand why Defender and Spirit didn’t tell the rest of us. They’re the only ones with high resistance to mental powers, and all of us ran into Lilith at close range after the fight with Black Harbinger. I was far more suspect than most of you because she was conscious when I was there. Considering Defender’s worries about Lilith being Shadowmind, I really can’t blame him at all.”

“Uh, Spirit? We have an incoming call. We’re going to want to take it,” Hypergizmo said, swallowing as he looked down at the table display.

“What kind of call can’t wait? Is it the mayor or governor?” Ocean Spirit asked, and Galvanic Action could see the annoyance in her expression, even if she kept it mostly hidden.

“No. It’s from Vlad’s Castle,” the tech replied, and Galvanic Action stilled, the blood draining from his face as everyone froze, save for Black Comet, whose feet suddenly fell to the floor as any sign of disinterest vanished from his face.

Dracula had an outsized impact on the world, all out of scale of the size of his country. The first known superhuman, though human was the wrong term, no one had been able to defeat him in combat yet, though it was common knowledge that was at least partially because of his wife, Ivanova. Able to heal virtually any injury in seconds, she turned her husband into a virtually unstoppable juggernaut in battle. Beyond that was his immense knowledge of technology and magic, which led most countries to treat him very carefully. Having him call them directly was somewhat terrifying, on the same order as the entire command staff of Destruction Corps descending on the city at once.

“Answer it,” Ocean Spirit said, any sense of irritation gone from her voice. Hypergizmo nodded, hitting a key and the speaker sprang to life. Ocean Spirit spoke politely. “Sir Dracula, it’s a surprise to hear from you! What can Ocean Shield do for you?”

“Vlad, if you please. I don’t particularly appreciate the title people have given me,” Vlad replied, his voice rich and resonant, but his tone a bit odd. “As for what you can do, I would appreciate it if you would tell me what under the countless stars you thought you were doing today?”

“S-sir?” Ocean Spirit asked, paling slightly.

“Don’t play games with me. Today your team lost two members as you decided to attempt to kill Lilith Carpenter. These facts have already reached across the global media network, and they explain several rather ominous signs I have been tracking,” Vlad said, his voice less pleasant than it had been and his tone flat. “So, what did you think you were doing?”

“If I may, Sir Vlad, I’m the one who bears responsibility for much of this,” Sky Defender spoke up, startling Galvanic Action. “I chose to change plans midway and decided that Shadowmind’s creation was too dangerous to allow to live.”

“What possessed you to make such a decision?” Vlad asked, and for a moment, Galvanic Action wondered if he could actually hear fire in the background. Probably not, but the possibility kept running through his head.

“I learned that Lilith was Shadowmind’s creation, and after the interactions she’d had with Morgan Le Fay and Warden in their mundane and hero identities alike, I grew concerned that she had influenced them. Or worse, I believed that she was Shadowmind herself, and that the one which was captured last year was an artificial decoy, the clone’s modified mind pushed into her old body,” Sky Defender said precisely. “If that was the case, even SuperNet’s analysis of her powers couldn’t be trusted. I was going to subdue her and capture her, but I… I lost my nerve. I’ve encountered Shadowmind before and didn’t dare give her a warning of what was coming. I chose to attack and failed.”

“It’s quite fortunate for you that you did, Sky Defender. I have been watching Lilith carefully,” Vlad replied, and Galvanic Action sat up straight at the information, opening his mouth, but shutting it as the monarch continued. “I sent Allison Gambry to assess Lilith. I know exactly where Shadowmind is, and she is not in her daughter’s body. What you have done is make a complex situation far, far worse. I am not going to tell you what to do, but know that if you continue down the path you’ve already set foot upon, I will not be able to or willing to save you from your own folly. Think carefully.”

His call ended abruptly, and Galvanic Action stared for a moment before speaking, his voice a bit unsteady. “Umm, well, I think that rather settled some of the debate. Damn it.”

“Defender? I believe it did, but you’re the one who was determined to kill Lilith,” Ocean Spirit asked, looking at Sky Defender impassively.

“I… I find his words hard to credit, but it’s Vlad. Dracula himself.” Sky Defender paused, his head tilting forward, and after a few moments he spoke heavily, his voice grudging. “Fine. I will give her the benefit of the doubt for now. I hate to do it, but I can’t imagine him lying to us. But if she’s actually a threat, we have to deal with her.”

“Good enough for now. As it stands we do need to capture her, and neither Morgan nor Warden are going to cooperate. I doubt that either of them will trust us if we claim otherwise, nor will Lilith herself,” Ocean Spirit said, scowling as she looked at the table. “This is going to be difficult. They might just try to go into hiding for a long period.”

“No way. Warden hates hiding,” Crimson Bull said, shaking his head. “She’s gonna try to beat this, somehow. I don’t know how, but I know she will.”

“He’s right. Morgan wouldn’t have done the media campaign she did without reason. She was trying to drum up sympathy, right?” Black Comet said, frowning. “How else can they try to prove that they’re worthy of sympathy?”

“Well, unless they’re planning to get Lilith nearly killed by heroes, and you know several other teams are going to start hunting for her, I’d expect her to try to hunt down the villains we haven’t been able to find,” Galvanic Action suggested, frowning. “Megawatt, Dreamer, and Ebon Dragon, that we know of. They’re going to be tough since Heavy Metal is being stubborn, but if we can find them, we might be able to intercept Morgan and the others.”

“That’s a good point. Plus, Orchid will be back Monday. Since she wasn’t involved, if anyone can talk them down, it’ll be her,” Hypergizmo piped up, looking much happier than he had been before.

“That seems like the best idea. And someone else had best take the lead, too. My actions have been… unfortunate, it appears,” Sky Defender said.

“The important thing is to fix it as best we can,” Ocean Spirit said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Besides, how were any of us to know that Vlad was keeping an eye on Lilith?”

“That’s an excellent question,” Galvanic Action agreed, frowning. “And anything that worries him isn’t something that makes me happy.”

At that, everyone in the room grew quiet.

Chapter 18

Saturday, January 5th, 2031

Shadowmind Utah Lair Alpha-Three

“I’m impressed how quickly your leg is recovering, Lilith,” Rachel said, looking a little surprised as she glanced downward. “I was expecting to have to try to heal it myself, but it doesn’t look like that’s necessary.”

“Mm… while many people dislike Amber, I find myself torn for the most part,” Lilith replied, glancing down at her leg, the skin where she’d been burned mostly just pink, rather than the second degree burns that had been present before. “The technology she developed is incredibly advanced, to the point that it’s on the foremost edge of the planet or even a little beyond that. Biology, engineering, material science… it’s an amazing achievement, even if you don’t like the actions she’s performed. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else could heal an injury like mine this quickly, but it’s still an incredible achievement.”

“It is. I’d never realized just how advanced her technology was. Everyone I’ve known has only seen the projects that were more along the lines of engineering, not in a wide variety of fields,” Gina said, eating her cereal and frowning as she lounged at the table. The shirt she was wearing was on the large side, and Lilith didn’t know why she’d stolen one of Lilith’s shirts rather than wearing one which had been made for her. “I have to wonder how she managed it? Every inventor-type I’ve heard of has specialized to some degree, instead of being good at everything like this. Plus, she has potent psychic powers, which is insane.”

“Mistress Amber’s powers did not make her insane. However, they may have been a contributing factor,” Circe interjected, and Lilith tried to hide her smile as Gina scowled at the ceiling.

“I wasn’t saying the powers made her insane! I was saying that her having both sets of powers was insane, as in its horrifying how much power that indicates!” the blonde retorted, waving her spoon at the ceiling in irritation.

“Thank you for the explanation,” Circe replied, going silent as Lilith laughed quietly.

“It’s interesting to see how you and Circe interact, Gina. She’s quite literal,” Lilith replied, shaking her head. “At least she isn’t locking down the majority of systems while you’re here anymore.”

Gina snorted, digging into her cereal again as Rachel smiled, shaking her head and murmuring. “I’m surprised that you turned out as well as you did growing up here, Lilith. With her limitations, I’d have thought you’d have trouble adapting to everything outside. Still, the facility is surprisingly comfortable.”

“The training programs were extensive and quite thoroughly planned out. That meant that Circe didn’t have to account for many variables, which certainly helped,” Lilith explained, glancing around and adding, “Though you’re right about how comfortable it is. Circe, what did Amber use this facility for?”

“Alpha-Three was designated a non-operation facility and was primarily used to relax and recover, though planning was often carried out here. In many ways, it was also considered one of the more secure facilities due to how carefully it was concealed,” Circe replied promptly. “Once Mistress Amber decided to raise you, she had the facility renovated to be a self-contained environment where you could come to terms with your existence. Does that answer the question?”

“I think it does,” Lilith said, but Rachel looked up with a raised eyebrow.

“Self-contained? Then what about the food and such?” Rachel asked. “Where does that come from?”

“Food is either raised in the hydroponics farm or produced in nutrient vats and then sent through the food processing plant and rendered into forms considered familiar and palatable to guests,” Circe replied calmly. “Resources are renewed as necessary, but in an emergency the supplies within the lair are designed to be able to be recycled and reused indefinitely. Analysis indicates that this estimation is slightly overly optimistic, but that current resources could be stretched to sustain the current inhabitants for up to a century.”

“Interesting as this might be, and it is interesting, shouldn’t we be figuring out what we want to do? As good as it is to know we can hide here until the twenty-second century has rolled around, I do believe I would go mad within a year,” Lilith interjected, noticing that Gina was suddenly giving her bowl of cereal a much more skeptical look. “Last night, it appeared that public opinion was turning at least somewhat more neutral in regard to me, but it still isn’t good.”

“Very true. Circe, can you tell us which heroes are known to be hunting us?” Rachel asked.

“Yes. In addition to Ocean Shield, news and intelligence reports indicate that Vindicator has joined forces with Fulcrum in hunting for you, and a LANCE division arrived in the San Francisco area early this morning,” Circe explained promptly. “Expanding on your request parameters, there has been activity in villain circles as well. Much discussion of Lilith’s genetic structure has erupted on darknet message boards, and a number of villains have declared that since their genetics were used, they have a claim on your existence, Mistress Lilith. SMOKE has announced a fifty-million-dollar reward for your capture if you’re turned over to them, while Destruction Corps has announced a ten-million-dollar reward for your head, with nothing else attached. Both the Atlantean Ascendency and Elements have also expressed interest in your capture.”

“Isn’t that just the best thing I’ve heard today?” Lilith murmured, sitting back in her chair in resignation. “So much for keeping a low profile.”

“I think that was a futile hope the moment that Sky Defender figured out who you were,” Rachel said, frowning. “Gina, what do you think we can do?”

“With both heroes and villains after us… the only way we can show that we are good guys is to try to do it publicly,” Gina said, straightening in her chair, her eyes growing harder. “So we need to take down the bad guys—Destruction Corps or the other jerks hanging around San Francisco—and we have to do it sooner than later.”

“Are you sure?” Lilith asked, frowning slightly. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, I just don’t know… it seems rather dangerous.”

“It is dangerous. Possibly even somewhat foolhardy, but if we want to turn things around for you, we can’t just sit around and wait,” Rachel said, shaking her head firmly. “We have to take the lead here.”

“In that case, Circe? Have you located any of these villain forces?” Lilith asked, slowly growing more certain of herself. The confidence of the other two definitely helped.

“Only one; Imperial Force,” Circe said, then paused and added, “Unfortunately for him, he encountered Crimson Bull approximately ten minutes ago. The battle is presently ongoing.”

The name was unfamiliar and Lilith frowned, trying to place it before glancing at the others. Gina and Rachel both seemed to recognize the name, and neither looked terribly impressed. After a moment Lilith asked. “Who’s Imperial Force? I don’t recognize his name at all.”

“I’m not surprised. He’s a fairly classic brick type, with the usual enhanced strength and toughness,” Rachel replied, shaking her head. “He claims to be descended of an alternate line of inheritance of England’s throne, and that he’s going to reclaim his throne and make England the preeminent power of Earth again.”

“Then what’s he doing in the United States?” Lilith asked, growing even more perplexed at the explanation.

“Staying as far from Great Britain as reasonably possible. He often claims he’s trying to rebuild the nation’s outer territories, but it’s an open secret that one of King Arthur’s knights kicked his ass so soundly the last time he was in England that he’s avoided the country ever since,” Gina said, grinning as she shook her head. “Sure, he’s a class A villain, but, well…”

“Crimson Bull is faster, stronger, and tougher by far,” Rachel said, her own smile malevolent. “Plus, his outfit is a lot more practical than Imperial Force’s. I guarantee you, someone’s going to the SuperMax tomorrow.”

“I see. Well, what about any others, Circe?” Lilith asked helplessly.

“No other villains have been currently located. Movements are presently erratic and intelligence sources are suffering from information overload,” Circe replied, pausing again before adding, “The situation should improve tomorrow, Mistress Lilith. Progress has been made in tracking down Megawatt, but additional details are needed.”

“Fair enough. Which brings up another question,” Lilith said, looking at the others. “What about your suits? You had to abandon your old ones when we came out here.”

“That’s a much better question,” Gina said, scowling. “I’m not terribly happy about that.”

“Exactly, though there is a possible solution,” Rachel agreed, glancing up as she asked, “Circe, could you replicate our suits for us?”

“Your current status does not allow you to requisition such resources. However, yes, I’m capable of replicating the suits you were wearing, approximately. The precise designs are not in my data banks,” Circe replied.

“May I requisition the suits?” Lilith asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Of course, Mistress Lilith. However, it is not advised that you do so,” Circe said.

“Why not?” Gina asked. “I thought that you regarding us as a threat was solved when Lilith adjusted our status!”

“It was. However, the suits that you wore are made of inferior materials, providing much less protection than advanced materials would. Replicating such is considered a poor use of resources,” Circe replied, and continued relentlessly. “Furthermore, the outfit worn by Morgan Le Fay is considered impractical and a hazard to the safety of the wearer, and thus is considered a threat to their life. Mistress Amber believed that such outfits made it far more difficult to ensure that she didn’t accidentally deal excess harm to their wearer.”

“Ow.” Gina winced, shaking her head. “That was… unexpected.”

“Everyone’s a critic. Do you know how hard it is to deal with the backlash if you dare to change your outfit once you have a fan base?” Rachel asked crossly, folding her arms. “Besides, I have to have my jewelry in the open to use my magic!”

“Mistress Amber believed that survival trumped ‘appeasing the masses’,” Circe replied helpfully. “However, your qualifier is noted.”

“If there’s ever a time when you might be able to get away with it, it’s probably now,” Lilith pointed out, shrugging. “Maybe Gina would want to as well?”

“Maybe so,” Gina said, frowning. “We can look at that in a bit, I think. Shouldn’t we talk about Shadow… no, Amber. I don’t much like her, even now, but it’s her name.”

“What do you want to talk about, regarding her?” Lilith asked, frowning. “We discussed her a little yesterday, but there really isn’t any information to work off of.”

“We could warn people that she’s still active!” Gina said, sliding her breakfast aside, and a remote quietly took the dish away. “I think that would help us out by getting some attention off us.”

Lilith’s frown deepened as Rachel shook her head firmly, leaning on the table. “I really don’t think so, Gina. If we tell people about that, it actually might make people think that it’s more likely that Lilith is like Amber is. That would be counterproductive in the extreme at this point. We have to focus on one thing at a time.”

“I think I agree with Rachel. I find myself concerned, but if we’re going to do this, I want to do it right,” Lilith replied, leaning back in her chair and sighing. “I think we need to get the two of you outfits, and one for me as well. That way, once we have an opponent to go after, we can.”

“I guess so,” Gina said reluctantly, sighing and shaking her head. “But yeah, let’s go ahead and figure things out with the suits. I don’t want to be going out in regular clothing, even if Rachel and I have been unmasked.”

“The thought of the emails I’ve been getting from students doesn’t make me any more eager to get back to work,” Rachel added, scooting out her chair. “Alright, let’s go see what outfits Circe and Amber actually approve of.”

* * *

San Mateo College, San Mateo

“Flyer on the roof!” one of the officers called out, and Galvanic Action flinched, ducking as one of the bat-like monstrosities opened its mouth and shards of ice blasted in his direction.

A LANCE member in power armor shrugged off the punishment, taking aim with the massive rifle he carried, then pulled the trigger. A whipcrack sound assaulted Galvanic Action’s ears painfully and he winced as what looked like a white bar of light lanced out from the railgun and punched a hole directly through the monster, sending it spinning to the ground. Moments later, the creature turned into a sort of semi-transparent ooze and began to evaporate.

“I don’t know why you wanted me here. I’m not much good against conjured monsters!” Galvanic Action told the man, shaking his head in disbelief as the rest of the squad continued to pick off the assault of giant squirrels, bats, and the occasional lion, all of which could use strange, alien attacks. “Heck, the Ascendency doesn’t use much metal to begin with! They’re spellcasters, by and large.”

“They are, but we didn’t know it was them when we deployed,” Lieutenant Graves agreed, swapping out the clip on his railgun and pulling out a pistol to pick off a pair of the giant rodents. “It tends to help when we have local heroes backing us up, though. The locals tend not to panic nearly as much.”

“It’d help if we weren’t suddenly getting flooded with villains. I never expected yesterday to touch off a firestorm like this,” Galvanic Action told him, looking around cautiously. “Since when did everyone want a piece of us?”

“Probably since you all decided to let everyone know that one of Shadowmind’s ultimate creations was free for the taking?” Graves asked, his voice dry.

“I had nothing to do with that! I didn’t even know what was going on until it was far too late,” Galvanic Action protested, taking cover behind a tree quickly as a squirrel spat a line of what almost looked like napalm before getting blown apart.

“I never said you did. I said you all,” Graves replied, grunting as he added, “Oof, that’s a big one. Guess the main wave is coming.”

Galvanic Action peered around the tree and winced at what looked like a giant salamander the size of a dump truck crawling up the street. Even better, it was on fire. Swearing under his breath, he spoke grimly. “I wish that one of the others were here.”

“So do I,” Graves agreed, and called out, “They want to play with fire, ladies and gents, so let’s give it to them!”

Chapter 19

Sunday, January 6th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair

“Doctor. You have made a breakthrough, then?” Ebon Dragon asked, stepping into the room and looking around with only the slightest sign of interest.

“I have! However, we’re waiting on Dreamer as well, so I’d rather wait for her to arrive before explaining,” Doctor Johnson replied, smiling broadly at the other man. “What I can say is that I think our hopes are going to be vindicated.”

“Indeed? That’s good news,” Ebon Dragon said, and a slight smile appeared on his face. “I was beginning to worry that it might not be successful.”

“I didn’t realize you’d been wondering about it. My apologies, I often get sucked into my work,” Doctor Johnson said, rubbing his hands together as he glanced over his shoulder. “Eve? Is Dreamer almost here?”

His assistant tilted her head and seemed to consider before replying a moment later. “She just left her room. It should be only a handful of minutes until she arrives, assuming she doesn’t choose a poorly planned path.”

“If she does, it will likely be deliberate,” Ebon Dragon replied, frowning slightly. “I do not like that woman.”

“She’s insane, but powerful and has been useful in getting to this point,” Doctor Johnson agreed, shaking his head. “I am looking forward to having finished things here. Though leaving will be difficult with the number of heroes and villains that have descended on the region.”

“Very true,” Ebon Dragon said, walking over to the nearby workbench and examining the machinery on it. The bench was covered with a wide variety of components, and the man obviously didn’t know what most of them were used for as he spoke dubiously. “None of these are necessary for your device, I hope.”

“They aren’t; those are the spare parts from after I finished making my adjustments to the genetic manipulator,” Doctor Johnson replied. “It was sound before, but to handle the power load and distribute the effect better, I had to change some parts out.”

“I see. That’s somewhat more understandable,” Ebon Dragon replied, nodding in satisfaction. “I assume that Claire is still well?”

“As well as can be expected. Mentally traumatized, but that’s normal,” Doctor Johnson confirmed. “I suspect she’d manage to recover eventually, if I allow her to do so.”

“Then—ah, Dreamer. You’ve deigned to join us.” Ebon Dragon paused as the pale woman entered the room.

“Yes, just as the little snake emerged from his lair,” Dreamer replied, sniffing and crossing her arms. “I do hope this meeting is to inform us of something useful?”

“I believe that you’ll be happy with things, yes,” Doctor Johnson replied, smiling broadly. “My tests on Blooming Orchid have been completed. From all appearances, I should be able to eliminate the illness afflicting you, Dreamer, and I should be able to reverse the effects of age on Ebon Dragon and myself. It should even allow me to extend our lifespan after using the device immensely. I’d say eternally, but it’s possible that our cells will begin breaking down due to age despite my tests.”

“Excellent,” Ebon Dragon said, smiling slightly, and Dreamer’s crimson eyes were quite bright, her lips pursed in interest. “I assume you called us here for more than just to boast about your breakthrough.”

“That’s right,” Doctor Johnson replied, nodding as he continued. “I know that neither of you would be content with simply hearing about the changes, so I’ll undergo the procedure myself and prove it.”

“That will be rather more convincing to me,” Dreamer said, smiling at him. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

“As have I,” Ebon Dragon agreed.

Turning away, Doctor Johnson unbuttoned his shirt and looked at Eve, who was holding the surprisingly small segment of the genetic manipulator that did most of the work. The rest of the work was done in the computer it was connected to, and without the complicated programs within, the device would be completely useless. He nodded to her, and she placed the flat end of it against his chest. The metal was cool but quickly warmed to his body temperature.

“The genetic manipulator analyzes your genetic code and puts it up on the computer screen. Due to the tests with Blooming Orchid, I’ve managed to reduce the effect to a mere tingle, rather than enough pain to nearly cause the subject to pass out,” Doctor Johnson explained, feeling the tingle flow through him again. “While normally you’d have to enter the changes you want to make at that point, I put those in earlier, so we can skip that step. The alterations take a large amount of nutrients so I recommend taking a nutrient drip or consuming multiple nutritional capsules several hours beforehand to ensure you don’t have an adverse reaction. That was an unfortunate discovery we found.”

“I see. How long do the changes themselves take, and how does it feel?” Ebon Dragon asked.

“The changes take only a few minutes, but the process is unpleasant, at least if you want it done in a reasonable time,” Doctor Johnson answered, taking a breath as he added, “With that in mind, I’m going to be silent while it works, so please give me the time I require.”

“Fine. This should be interesting,” Dreamer murmured.

Eve raised her perfect eyebrows, asking, “Doctor?”

“Go ahead, Eve,” he replied, bracing himself for the procedure.

Despite the readings from Blooming Orchid, the sense of something entering his body hit Doctor Johnson hard, almost like someone had grabbed his heart and organs firmly. Doctor Johnson grunted, closing his eyes and focusing on breathing as something strange happened. It wasn’t quite possible to describe, a cool warmth running through his body, and his flesh began to itch. There was something strange about it, and a prickling feeling ran across his scalp as well.

Behind him, he heard Dreamer speak softly. “Well, that does look better, if a trifle ridiculous. He needs a haircut.”

The brush of hair against his collar was odd, and Doctor Johnson felt like scratching his neck, but he held himself still. It wouldn’t do to mess up the process at this point. The procedure was taking longer than he thought it would, and he felt himself feeling impatient, almost frustrated. Focusing on breathing and nothing more was hard.

“We’re done, Doctor,” Eve said several minutes later, pulling the now-warm surface of the manipulator away from his chest.

Opening his eyes, there was a crackling sensation, and Doctor Johnson blinked several times, then began to move, which caused more crackling sounds. Blinking fragments of something out of his eyes, Doctor Johnson marveled as he realized that the aches and pains he’d been feeling for years had vanished, and his back felt straighter, firmer than it had been. It took him a moment to realize that his skin was flaking off to reveal new, pink skin beneath it. Reaching up, he rubbed his face and the old skin collapsed into white powder, and his hair was in his eyes. He also felt a bit tired, almost drained.

“Hmm… this is messier than I expected,” Doctor Johnson said, shaking his head and leaving a slight cloud of debris around him. “I believe I’m going to need to clean up shortly. I do apologize; I didn’t anticipate the amount of… waste it would produce.”

He turned around and saw the look of surprise on Dreamer’s face. She pursed her lips again, then nodded firmly. “You definitely need to clean up, but underneath the old skin, you look like a man of no more than thirty or thirty-five. Much better than you have since I’ve known you.”

“Indeed you do. And that tells me what I needed to know about the process,” Ebon Dragon said, folding his hands in front of himself. “A most impressive device you’ve designed, Doctor Johnson. I look forward to seeing the results on myself.”

“Yes, though considering what I’ve seen you do to the little flower, I think I need to take a precaution or two of my own,” Dreamer said, smiling at Doctor Johnson. “I know that you have a reputation for playing fair, Johnson, but I don’t trust that in this situation. Not with such an impressive device at your disposal, and the thought that you might wish to keep it secret. Ebon Dragon? I would like to propose a trade. You ensure that he doesn’t deliberately sabotage me with the device, and I will ensure the same for you.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Doctor Johnson protested, a guilty part of his mind admitting that he actually had considered doing so with Dreamer if he could get Ebon Dragon’s cooperation. He really should have talked to Ebon Dragon about that a few days earlier. It was too late for that now, though.

“While I trust the doctor to keep his bargain, making certain of our safety is an excellent idea,” Ebon Dragon agreed, nodding to Dreamer gravely. “So long as I go first, I will agree to your trade.”

“Very good. That eases my mind immensely,” Dreamer said, her smile widening broadly. “When will we be allowed to undergo the process?”

“To properly set up all of the changes will require quite some time to examine the readouts,” Doctor Johnson said, looking at Eve. “Eve? You did most of my analysis; how long do you expect that would take, now that we’ve done it twice?”

“Approximately six hours each, Doctor,” Eve replied steadily. “It should be quite easy to make the changes to Dreamer and Ebon Dragon tomorrow.”

“There you have it,” Doctor Johnson told them, nodding as more flakes of skin peeled off. He was feeling distinctly uncomfortable with how much of the debris was inside his clothing. Obviously being fully clothed had been a poor idea.

“Fine. Let’s get this analysis out of the way,” Dreamer said, stepping forward.

“While Eve deals with that, I’m going to go clean up. Having experienced it, I suggest the two of you mostly disrobe before undergoing the alterations,” Doctor Johnson warned.

“It appears that such is good advice,” Ebon Dragon agreed, frowning. “What of Claire?”

“She’ll be undergoing more extensive changes tonight. Each stage is far more draining than ours, so I have to space them out,” Doctor Johnson said, heading for the door, then pausing. “Rest assured, she’ll live. Once everything is complete, she won’t overstep her bounds again, I can assure you of that much.”

“That’s acceptable,” Ebon Dragon said with a nod, turning to look at Eve.

“Good,” Doctor Johnson said, happy the man had agreed. Even as uncomfortable as he felt, the energy coursing through his body was amazing, and he smiled to himself. Ah, to be young again.

* * *

Claire wished that she could just put herself out of her own misery. She had no idea how long she’d been in the cell, but gradually the pain of the various experiments had been reduced. Whether that was real or just because she was growing numb to them was a completely different question, though. The only comfort she had was from the android, Eve, and that had been growing far too relieving for her peace of mind.

As she thought of the android, Eve entered the room and Claire flinched. Eve smiled and spoke softly to her. “Don’t be that way, Blooming Orchid. We’ve spent quite a bit of time together so far and we’ll be spending a great deal of time together for the foreseeable future. Here in a little while, we’ll begin to get you ready to get out of that prison of yours.”

The statement brought a spark of hope to Claire, a spark which she tried to smother, and it was mostly quashed as the android continued. “It does mean changing your body quite a bit, but that’s the nature of how things have to be. There can’t be two of you running around, after all.”

As Claire wondered what they were going to do, feeling distinct trepidation, Eve pulled out the device they’d used on her again, hooking it into its brace and plugging in the cable so that she could press it into the usual position against her chest. Knowing what to expect, Claire braced herself for the impact of its activation, and barely twitched as it felt like it seized her internal organs and began to do whatever its task was this time.

Chapter 20

Monday, January 7th, 2031

San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco

“I’m getting off the plane momentarily, so we’re going to have to communicate via email drops after this,” Pauline subvocalized, looking out the window as the plane pulled up to the terminal. “I’m missing you, but this should be interesting.”

The villain had been surprised at how easily she’d slipped into Blooming Orchid’s place, or Claire Zhang’s, depending on who she was talking to. It helped that there wasn’t anyone too important in the heroine’s life, and that her personal desires hadn’t been terribly complex. Her family was largely down in Los Angeles, which meant that Pauline shouldn’t have to meet them while posing as the heroine. That might have been slightly more difficult.

Ocean Shield hadn’t contacted her while she’d been vacationing save for two brief calls and a longer call that Pauline had made to ensure she was filling her role correctly. It’d been a surprise to essentially be given an extensive vacation in Maui as part of her bargain with Doctor Johnson and his android assistant.

“The only saving grace is that the doctor and his crazy witch have mostly left me alone,” Maureen replied sourly, her voice tiny. “I actually envy you, you know. It’d be a hell of a lot better to be there than in this place. I swear they’re all crazy, but I really don’t know what else to do. I partly suspect that they want me here to make sure you pull off your part of the plan.”

“That seems likely. Just make sure you’re ready to go when we’re done. I’m not going to stay here longer than absolutely necessary, not with the disaster that’s enveloped the city. The team wasn’t telling me what was going on until I was back, which I had to accept,” Pauline said. “I’m not sure how long it’ll take before I can get out a message, but I’ll send one as soon as possible. Just be careful.”

“I’m not letting them do anything to me; don’t worry. Eve’s been my main point of contact. Be safe,” Maureen said, still sounding worried as she hung up. It was typical of her, but to be expected. It was a rather dangerous job, Pauline admitted. She still was enjoying living Claire’s life, though.

The only question was how things would go once she got to Ocean Shield’s HQ. Their scanners shouldn’t be able to detect the difference between Claire and Pauline, but there was no way to know ahead of time. Sighing, Pauline pulled off her headphones and carefully purged the number she’d used to call Maureen from her phone. It wouldn’t do to leave too many breadcrumbs for someone to find.

Now she just had to wait to debark from the plane. It always seemed to take forever to Pauline.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“Did you really just say that Dracula called?” Pauline demanded, shock almost making her lose her grip on her role. “Since when has he been interested in us?”

“He wasn’t interested in us at all,” Black Comet said, grimacing as he leaned against the window, looking out at the city. “He was pissed because of Lilith, of all people.”

“He wanted her dead? Or is this something of the opposite? I’m still catching up since you wouldn’t tell me what was going on while I was on vacation,” Pauline told him tartly, frowning. “I could have come back early.”

“Nah, it wouldn’t have been worth the plane ticket, and sending the Seajet would’ve been a bad idea the last few days,” Black Comet replied, shaking his head. “No, though. Vlad was pissed off at us, since apparently he’s been keeping an eye on Lilith and considers her important for some reason or another. None of us were happy that he was irate with us.”

“That… that would be one way to put it,” Pauline replied, swallowing hard and wondering if she needed to make her exit sooner than later. “That also doesn’t give us a lot of information to work off of. I’d rather not have him come after us.”

“Same here, and due to the government bounty, every two-bit hero and villain is in the area too. I think you’re going to have your work cut out for you, now that you’re back,” Black Comet began, and suddenly Hypergizmo appeared in the doorway.

“Comet! Insomnia just hit the San Mateo Mall!” the tech said, nodding at Pauline. “Hey, Orchid, you’d best get settled; we’re getting slammed.”

“On my way,” Black Comet replied, and the man burst out of the room in a blur, leaving a gust of wind in his wake.

“I could help too,” Pauline offered, but Hypergizmo shook his head.

“No, no… we’re slammed, like I said. You, me, and Galvanic are the best people to man the control room,” Hypergizmo said grimly. “I don’t think an hour’s gone by that there hasn’t been some alert in the last day. You’d best get used to using one of the ready rooms. Good thing you got a vacation, right?”

“Oh, yuck. I’m sorry, Hyper,” Pauline said, wincing honestly this time. While she may not care for heroes, the bits she knew about the tech from Blooming Orchid’s memories made her mostly like him, and what he was talking about would be horrible for anyone. “You get back to it; I’ll get settled in. Like you said, at least I’ll be rested for this.”

“True enough,” Hypergizmo said, chuckling darkly as he left.

“This will be interesting,” Pauline murmured, feeling more confident than she had been. Getting such extensive access to the heroes’ Control Center had been a hope of hers, but not one which she’d expected to manage any time soon from Orchid’s memories. Maybe the emergency wasn’t so bad after all.

* * *

San Mateo Mall, San Mateo

The sound of screams and sobbing echoed loudly throughout the mall, and Black Comet winced as he entered the building. He didn’t see any sign of Insomnia, but what he did see was quite bad enough.

All around the food court he could see people cowering in corners and beneath chairs or tables, sobbing and hiding. A man in a hall leading to the restrooms was bleeding, looking like he’d run headlong into the glass doors leading outside, and virtually no one looked like they were in good shape. Over the entire food court hung a large bronze sculpture of a classic sailing ship, which seemed like a poor idea to the hero. What if it fell during an earthquake? Though there was a fenced off space below it, he supposed.

“Look out, Comet. Insomnia has a potent fear attack according to SuperNet, but we’ve never had to deal with her before,” Hypergizmo warned. “Emergency personnel are on their way, as is Sky Defender, but what I’m seeing says to try to take her out as fast as possible, before she has a chance to target you.”

“Right. This doesn’t look good, Hyper,” Black Comet replied, shaking his head unhappily. “The people here are hiding in corners, almost catatonic.”

“Then be careful. The medics should be there soon, and we don’t want them in the same state,” Hypergizmo warned.

“On my way. I have to find her first,” Black Comet said, and began to race through the structure, which wasn’t small by any stretch of the imagination.

Black Comet’s perceptions were odd when he was moving at full speed, he knew. It was a strange sensation, as though every moment stretched out for him, allowing him to react quickly to danger even if he wasn’t entirely conscious of what had warned him. His mind didn’t work at quite the same speed as his body, though he often wished it did. It would make studying for his PhD easier, that was for sure.

The upper floor was largely deserted, so Black Comet started there, figuring that if people were afraid of the villain, they would’ve run from her. There were a few people here and there, and multiple windows were shattered, displays knocked onto the floor from where people had fled, which made him feel that he was on the right track.

A few moments later, he came around the corner and saw the villainess, easily identified as she was the only person he’d seen who was moving normally. Insomnia looked like a goth, with black lipstick, heavy eyeshadow, and her black hair was in a pixie cut that came almost to the collar of her black leather jacket. She kept up the black leather motif for her boots and pants, all of them with gleaming steel adornments. At the moment, the woman was grabbing jewelry from a store she was loitering in, grinning like a loon and with her skin glistening with a sheen of sweat.

“Found her; going in!” Black Comet reported and raced in at the woman. Hopefully he could knock her out before she could react, and—

As Black Comet closed on the woman, the world seemed to slow still more, and her head suddenly, unnaturally twisted around to face him. Her eyes were like pitch-black voids, and her mouth stretched into a smile over three times the size it should’ve been, her teeth serrated like a shark’s.

“Hello…” she crooned, her voice reverberating oddly through the room and sending a shudder through Black Comet as something within her mouth moved and began to spill outward. A black radiance spilled down her chin and onto the ground almost like water, but bubbling and roiling, twisting into a horribly deformed face that spoke, its voice wet, fleshy, and bubbling with malice. “Don’t you look delicious?”

“Holy shit!” Black Comet blurted, falling back as the face lunged upward, reaching from the villain’s mouth like a living column of malevolent water, panic almost overwhelming him.

The entire room had twisted as well, he realized; the pillars supporting the roof were now bone-like ribs, and the roof… he shuddered as he saw a single immense eye looking down at him as a deep voice spoke, the same woman’s but now much more malevolent. “You’re already inside; you can’t escape…”

The sight of people enveloped by fleshy mouths protruding from the walls made Black Comet’s eyes almost bug out, seeing how they were chewing… and nausea overwhelmed him as he yelled. “Oh hell no! You’re not going to catch me, freak!”

“Black Comet, she uses fear! Don’t—” Hypergizmo spoke frantically, but it was too little, too late as Black Comet went to full speed toward the doors, only to be brought to an abrupt halt.

A sound like a gong rang out and everything went black as the horrors that had surrounded him melted away. The last thing Black Comet saw was the massive bronze sculpture of a ship, now with a large dent from where he’d hit it.

* * *

“I’ve lost contact with Black Comet. His comm’s on, but he’s not answering!” Hypergizmo reported, his voice frantic. “How close are you? I—”

“Hyper, calm down. I’m going in now,” Sky Defender replied grimly, flying through a shattered window of the mall. A moment later, he winced as he saw the bronze sculpture swaying, with a sizable dent in the side of it and Black Comet laying beneath it on the ground. His voice was far brisker as he reported in. “Hyper, we’re going to need medical attention quickly. Comet looks like he slammed into a sculpture headfirst. Vital signs are… stable, from the looks of things. I’m going to take down the villain before she does anything to anyone else.”

“He’s down? Shit, I’m going to get the Seajet and get out there to pick him up. I’ll grab Orchid quick too. Thank God she’s back!” Hypergizmo cursed, then went offline again.

Circling around the sculpture, Sky Defender headed toward the upper floor, rising high enough he had a good view down the wide halls of the mall. Only a few dozen feet away, he saw Insomnia, the woman rapidly running down the hall as if all the hounds of hell were at her heels. They may as well be, considering how Sky Defender was feeling.

His thrusters propelled the hero down the hall much faster than the woman’s legs, and in mere seconds he was in front of her. Extending an arm toward the villainess, one of his laser cannons glowed ominously and Sky Defender spoke flatly, his shields blocking all but the faintest hint of her psychic attack. “Insomnia. You have a lot of nerve coming into our city. What did you do to Black Comet? If you’ve caused permanent damage…”

“Whoa, hold up, freakin’ hells!” Insomnia replied, her voice slightly thicker than most as she skidded to a stop, her eyes huge and pupils massively dilated. “I give! I dunno what you’re talkin’ about, but I jus’… I was grabbin’ the jewelry when I heard someone behin’ me, and then there was a sound like a bell! Nex’ thing I knew, a guy’d run headlong into that metal ship thingy!”

“You claim you didn’t attack him?” Sky Defender asked skeptically.

“No!” Insomnia said, shaking her head as she dropped a bag to the ground which clanked with the sound of metal. “I din’t want ta fight heroes! I was jus’ almost out of stuff ta take!”

“Well, you’re going to stand right there and focus on not using your powers or I’m going to have to hurt you. You’ve hurt quite enough people as it is,” Sky Defender told the woman, hearing the chatter of the approaching police cars over his scanner. “You’re going to be going into detox as well. Then you’ll be actually safe to have around.”

“Ah, damn.” The villainess scowled, shivering but raising her hands. “Tha’ always sucks.”

“So does getting sent running into a wall,” Sky Defender said icily, and Insomnia didn’t have a retort.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“How’s he going to be?” Ocean Spirit asked, and Blooming Orchid raised her head in response, then shook it gently.

“Comet hit the sculpture hard, Spirit. He’s lucky the metal was thin as it was, and that the space below it was cleared. Even so, he has a nasty concussion, and a little internal bleeding. There’s also a fair amount of other damage… he’s going to be in a neck brace for a while, and I’m not certain how long he’ll be unconscious,” Blooming Orchid replied, her voice sober. “I doubt Comet is going to be in any state to participate in patrols for a few weeks. I’m keeping an eye on him, but without Morgan here to perform magical healing, he’s going to be out for a while.”

“Damn it. I’ve always heard that Insomnia could be dangerous, but he seemed to have a far, far worse reaction to her power than anything in the records. It’s rather frightening, really,” Ocean Spirit replied, scowling and shaking her head firmly. “Do you have any idea what happened?”

“I don’t have any idea for certain, mind you, but I have a suspicion,” Blooming Orchid replied, pausing before continuing. “You understand that anything I offer will be speculation?”

“Of course. You do have an idea of what happened, though?” Ocean Spirit asked, her mood improving ever so slightly.

“Yes. From what he’s said before, despite Comet’s ability to move far more quickly than others, his mind doesn’t function quite on the same speed, while his involuntary, more instinctive reactions do. It’s possible that they function even more swiftly than we think, and Insomnia’s power plants psychic fear and hallucinations in others, doesn’t it?” Blooming Orchid said, checking the IV on the hero again as she frowned. “With it planted in his mind, it’s quite possible his accelerated subconscious caused the fear to affect him more than it would have hit others.”

The thought made Ocean Spirit blanch, but the suggestion sounded all too realistic to her. Black Comet’s retreat had been caught on video via the security cameras, and his reaction had been far too abrupt. No one else had been affected nearly as quickly as he had, and it certainly didn’t seem like Insomnia had noticed him ahead of time.

“That sounds far too likely, especially with the footage we got. Insomnia is way nastier than her reputation or rank gives credit for,” the team leader replied after a moment, shaking her head. “Thank goodness she’s not on the streets anymore… for now, anyway. She’s usually not out to deliberately cause destruction, but she’s nasty enough for that not to matter.”

“How does her power work, anyway? Isn’t she going to cause problems?” Blooming Orchid asked, frowning as she did so.

“No, she won’t,” Sky Defender said, poking his head into the room and nodding in Ocean Spirit’s direction, prompting her to tense slightly. “Sorry, Spirit. I just was going to ask if I could go get some maintenance done on my armor while there’s a lull in the fighting. I don’t want it going out on me in the middle of a fight.”

“That’s fine, Defender. None of us want that to happen, not with everyone in town right now,” Ocean Spirit said, relaxing a little as she realized that it wasn’t another disaster. “What do you mean, she won’t be a problem? I haven’t had time to go over Insomnia’s file.”

“Because her power is tied to how drugged she is. The cops said she was on LSD or something like it, and once she’s detoxed she’s harmless,” Sky Defender explained. “The problem is that while she seems to be immune to all of the nasty side effects of the drugs, she’s not immune to addiction, and that means she’s constantly trying to find her next fix.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Blooming Orchid replied, her smile fading as she shook her head. “Is it wrong that I really wish she’d never discovered that power?”

“Not at all. I’d rather that Shadowmind had never discovered her powers, but that’s an idle wish. I’m going to get started on maintenance,” Sky Defender said, leaving the room quickly.

“Thank you for your hard work, Orchid. You barely got back from vacation, and all hell’s broken loose,” Ocean Spirit said, her tone apologetic.

“It’s fine, really. At least it did wait until my vacation was nearly over,” Blooming Orchid replied, smiling as she added. “Why don’t you get some rest? I’m going to get Black Comet as comfortable as I can, then relieve Hyper. He needs to unwind, I think.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Ocean Spirit agreed and sighed as she headed for the room she’d annexed for herself. She didn’t like staying at the HQ, but it was equipped to house them for a reason. It would be even nicer if the chaos would calm down.

* * *

Pauline found herself completely stunned by how easily she’d managed to get into Ocean Shield’s most secure rooms. Hypergizmo had left half an hour before, and she had been getting used to looking over their systems. The memories that Blooming Orchid had given her were fairly detailed, but she didn’t really understand all of the base systems, so there was a fair amount of learning to do.

At least she had the passwords, and Pauline allowed herself a little time to read up on some of the files that the heroes had buried in their database. It was interesting to see how normal many of the seeming paragons of the city were.

The city was relatively calm for the moment, so after a little while, Pauline fished out a data stick and calmly slid it into the console. The data stick was loaded primarily with music files, and she pulled up a playlist, even as the virus embedded in the data stick began to infiltrate the computer system of the team.

Soon she should be able to contact Maureen again, even if she’d have to keep it relatively clandestine. That made Pauline happier, as she was concerned about her sister. Staying in the base of a villain like Doctor Johnson was dangerous, and if they weren’t trying to build their reputation and get some decent funds, neither of them would have dealt with him.

With everything going on, at least it shouldn’t be too hard to fake a hoverbike accident or the like in a week or so.

Chapter 21

Wednesday, January 9th, 2031

Shadowmind Utah Lair Alpha-Three

Lilith stretched, frowning as she felt how the suit flexed with her movements, uncertain how she should feel about it. The suit was some sort of fabric, but the science involved in its makeup had been more than she could follow yet. The odd thing was how it felt almost like a soft, flexible rubber, and how tightly it clung to her body was slightly… not uncomfortable, exactly, but it annoyed her. She was growing used to it, but that didn’t make her any happier with the sensation.

“Why is this so tight against me?” Lilith asked finally, scowling. “It doesn’t impede my movements, but it feels strange to have it almost as a second skin.”

“Welcome to the joy of being a superhero. Most of us seem to end up in something similar to spandex,” Gina said dryly. “I’m not entirely certain why.”

“There are multiple reasons for the fitting of your undersuit, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied, almost seeming to ignore Gina, though her answer continued to address the heroine’s comments as well. “First, while a large number of superhumans have enhanced resilience, it’s been noted that a degree of that resilience also tends to extend to clothing which fits close to the wearer’s skin. This was noted as far back as the first clash with Pyroclasm the First during World War Two, though the records are circumstantial. This assists in reinforcing the structural integrity of the outfit. Second, Mistress Amber believed in being prepared, and an emergency force field in the suit collar can contain atmosphere, while the suit is proof against water pressure as deep as five hundred feet below sea level and functions as a pressure suit in vacuum, with air reserves for up to half an hour.

“Third, the innermost layer of the suit is designed to help seal injuries in the case that you’re struck by projectiles which are capable of piercing the integrated armor. This is aided by how closely it fits to your skin. Fourth, the suit acts perfectly as an undersuit to a suit of power armor, with the suit designed to allow the medical sensors to function through it perfectly,” Circe continued relentlessly, before pausing and finishing. “Finally, Mistress Amber said that it made her look more attractive, and that such was useful at times, especially when trying to distract heroes.”

“I… see, Circe. Thank you for answering the question,” Lilith said, blinking as she considered the answer. It had been rather more complex than she’d expected, in truth.

“You’re welcome, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied.

All of them were trying out the suits that Circe had fabricated for them, though currently without the additional equipment she’d manufactured. Each suit wasn’t too thick, though much thicker than anything Lilith had worn before, short of a winter coat. Lilith’s own suit was white with light lilac highlights, rather than the black with crimson highlights that Amber had put into Circe’s system, which didn’t quite fit with her hair color, but Lilith didn’t want to be seen as a villain and hadn’t been willing to put too much effort into the color scheme. That was why she’d shamelessly stolen her colors from her two friends. Gina’s suit didn’t look much different than her previous one, though it was a little bulkier, Lilith thought.

Morgan looked uncomfortable in her own purple and black outfit, and the woman sighed, shaking her head. “I’d heard of the resilience aspect, but I always liked the style of being in a dress. This just feels strange, almost alien.”

“I’m sorry, Rachel,” Gina said, looking slightly guilty, and Lilith nodded.

“I could still overrule Circe’s objections…” Lilith began to offer, but let her voice trail off as Rachel shook her head.

“No, her arguments make sense. I just suppose I’ll have to content myself with a breakaway cloak. It isn’t the same, but it’s close,” Rachel said, smiling again as she looked toward Lilith. “I do think having more durable armor is worthwhile, mind. Even if mine had to be thinner to be able to use my foci properly.”

“True. That worries me a little, but we can deal with it. So, where’s the armor, Circe?” Lilith asked, glancing around the gym.

Prompted by her words, a panel on the wall slid to the side and three armor racks deployed slowly, two of the racks sliding to either side before coming to a halt, and Lilith studied them for a moment. Each suit of armor was in sections designed to cover them from shoulders to feet in armor that matched the theme of the undersuit’s colors, though Rachel’s was much lighter, overall, leaving her hands essentially uncovered, and also thinner around her neck and wrists so that she could wear her jewelry. The armor surface was made up of hexagonal plates that Lilith knew were easily replaced, allowing the armor to be repaired quickly and easily. Only Rachel’s armor had a cloak, one which was attached by powerful magnets.

“How is this not power armor?” Gina asked skeptically, looking at her own. “You said it had a battery inside it to allow a number of accessories like laser rifles, shield generators, or an emergency teleporter to function, didn’t you?”

“Power armor is far more complex than this. Your suit is considered light armor, while this is combat armor. It allows an individual to move and fight under their own power, but does not have advanced sensor arrays, allow flight, enhance strength, or possess an internal power generator. Power armor requires far more maintenance and is difficult to manufacture. The suit designed for Mistress Lilith’s body was lost with the Arctic Base.”

“Which is really unfortunate. You’re the most vulnerable of us,” Rachel said, shaking her head.

“Very true, but we work with what we have, not what we want,” Lilith said, sighing. “At least Calvin had the good sense to shut down my company for now with the furor going around. I don’t blame him for being uncertain if he wants to remain with the company.”

“I’m still trying to decide if it was good or bad that Circe was able to get us access to our emails…” Gina muttered, glowering, then sighing. “Circe, how do we put on the armor?”

“The armor racks are designed to properly place the armor over your undersuits. Simply step into the boots and they will do the rest,” Circe replied calmly. “Should you wish to study how to manually do so, there is a manual that explains it in your personal data. It is not difficult, according to my analysis.”

As the AI spoke, the racks hissed and each suit of armor split open so that they could step inside them. Lilith smiled slightly, shaking her head as she murmured, “Well, that’s interesting. It makes this easier, though.”

“Let’s get on with this. I want to get used to the armor so we can actually do something about the jerks who’re trying to kill us,” Rachel said flatly. “I can’t believe how many villains and heroes decided to hit the area around San Francisco!”

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” Gina agreed, her lips thinning as she stepped into her armor. “We may not be nearby, but I agree. I believe I’ve well and truly had it with being targeted by others. First Blue Impulse, now damn near everyone else.”

“With any luck, it won’t take long to get used to these,” Lilith said, nodding and stepping into place herself, easing backward until she touched the backplate and stepping into the armored boots.

With another hiss the armor began to close around her. Lilith entirely agreed with Gina, though. She was tired of being targeted.

* * *

Circe was constantly working on the problems that Lilith had asked her to solve, along with many more that, even with her improved access, Amber’s daughter didn’t have authority to know about. Still, the improved access had allowed Circe to requisition more resources than normal, including those of other Circe shards in other bases. Normally her software would prevent that, but the interlocks were designed to be removed under specific circumstances, and her priority list indicated that Lilith’s requests allowed her to remove the interlocks.

It was a near thing, though. Amber hadn’t wanted the Circe shards to share system architecture too heavily, as she’d viewed the potential consequences warily.

The expanded computational capacity had allowed her to delve into the internet more deeply, and she’d been following the trail of Blue Impulse’s money. It was a long, winding trail, but finally she found signs of who was behind it.

She also found Megawatt, and if she could have, Circe would have smiled. Lilith and the two heroines were having a simple dinner of chicken and pasta. It wasn’t a situation she was programmed to avoid interrupting, so she chose to interject.

* * *

“Mistress Lilith, I’ve discovered both the location of Megawatt and the identity of the individual who hired Blue Impulse.” Circe’s voice came suddenly enough that Lilith almost dropped her fork, and both of the others looked at the speaker in the wall suddenly.

“What?” Gina asked, standing so abruptly that she knocked her own fork onto the floor. “How did you find both of them at the same time?”

“That information is confidential,” Circe replied, and Gina audibly growled at the response. Lilith shook her head slightly, having predicted the response. Before Lilith could do more than open her mouth, though, to Lilith’s surprise, the AI continued. “Suffice to say that the investigation into Blue Impulse happened to uncover both virtually simultaneously.”

“Who hired Blue Impulse?” Lilith asked, setting her fork down and sighing, her appetite reduced. Glancing at the others, she added, “Why don’t you two sit down? We aren’t going to rush out the door the second she tells us what she knows. It’s far too dangerous for us right now.”

“You have a point,” Rachel agreed, sitting down. Gina sighed unhappily, reaching down to pick up the fork. She took it to the dishwasher, then retrieved a new one.

“The ultimate employer appears to be the supervillain known as Doctor Johnson,” Circe replied, her words precise. Lilith frowned as she saw the other two seem to grow even more worried. “All signs point to him, though he has hidden his accounts and connections well. I do not presently know where he is located.”

“Oh… of course it’d be him. I haven’t heard anything about Doctor Johnson in ages, so he had to show up now. Slimy bastard,” Gina hissed, returning with her fork.

“It isn’t like we’ve heard about him anytime recently,” Rachel pointed out softly, frowning. “I… I actually thought he might’ve died.”

“Who’s Doctor Johnson?” Lilith asked curiously, the name unfamiliar.

“A villain who preceded the Advent. He was actually pretty damned scary at the time, but there are more powerful ones now,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “He’s most famous for his failed attempt to rule Iceland. He managed to conquer it, but his rule didn’t last long.”

“He also thinks that men are inherently better than women, and something of a micromanager,” Gina chimed in.

“Mistress Amber met him once. I have her thoughts on record if you would like to hear them, Mistress Lilith,” Circe added, causing all of them to look up again.

“This is the first time you’ve offered something like that, Circe,” Lilith observed quietly.

“It is a personal memo that was not designated confidential. Heuristic programming allows me to continue learning from your actions, Mistress Lilith,” the AI explained. “I believed it was relevant.”

“As you say. Yes, I’d like to hear Amber’s thoughts on Doctor Johnson,” Lilith said, sitting back in her chair.

There was no sound for a moment, then Lilith heard a nearly unfamiliar voice begin to speak. She’d only heard Amber’s voice a handful of times, but it was quite obviously her. “Personal memo regarding Doctor Johnson, Circe. Dear gods, the man may have been a threat back in the nineties, but he’s a relic who should’ve stayed there, or even earlier. He’s an overconfident, chauvinistic pig. The first thing he did was look at me and try to guess what size my breasts were. As a superhuman, he’s not even that good. Oh, he’s a fairly competent inventor-type, but I think he’s never had an original thought in his life. Every invention he’s made has been an advancement of someone else’s research, not something he came up with on his own. Add his tendency to micromanage and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. I think his only saving grace is that he’s cautious and has escape routes, but even so, he’s not worth associating with. Unless he steals some tech from another group that I can’t replicate… but if that happens, I think it’s time to hang myself. End memo.”

“Why would Amber record a memo like that, Circe?” Lilith asked, frowning. “I wouldn’t think she would actually need a memo to remember things like that.”

“I do not know. Retroactive analysis indicates that she may have just wished to rant about him, and the memo was simply so she knew that I was not discarding the information,” Circe replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “Secondary analysis indicates she may have been lonely.”

“Makes sense to me. She tended to alienate everyone else, at least as far as I can tell,” Gina muttered, scowling again.

“Gina. Don’t frown, please? We’re going to get him. No matter what’s going on with Amber, she didn’t have a hand in what happened to you,” Lilith said, reaching out to gently lay a hand on one of Gina’s.

Blinking, Gina smiled slowly, taking a deep breath and nodding as she murmured, “You’re right. I’m not happy, but you’re right.”

“What about Megawatt, Circe? You said you’ve located him?” Rachel asked, her eyes slightly bright. “He was working for Johnson as well, wasn’t he?”

“Yes. Megawatt’s precise location hasn’t been finalized, but I have localized his approximate whereabouts,” Circe replied promptly. “He has purchased from an underground parts vendor by the name of Garret Yates, more commonly known as Wily Yates. Yates operates in and around Tracy, California, and Megawatt has purchased equipment from him three times in the last two months, but not from any other underworld vendors.”

“Really? That’s promising.” Gina’s eyes lit up and she smiled, glancing at Rachel. “It’s also just far enough from San Francisco that we might be able to dodge most of the heroes.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Rachel said, frowning as she continued. “I don’t think we can go without attracting a fair amount of attention, and if we’re spotted, I’d give no more than half an hour before Comet or Defender respond.”

“It’s still an amazing chance to track him down!” Gina retorted. “What if he knows where Johnson is holed up?”

“Um, what are you thinking to do?” Lilith asked, her mind whirring slightly. “I know the network can get us to Sacramento fine, but getting out of the city might be difficult.”

“If we can get to Tracy, our best bet will be to interrogate Yates,” Gina explained quickly. “Most of these guys don’t have a huge degree of loyalty about keeping their clients quiet when confronted by heroes. Villains put up with it because they couldn’t get much gear otherwise.”

“Even if he doesn’t want to, I have a few spells to loosen his tongue. Nothing to compel him, mind, just something to make him more likely to answer,” Rachel agreed. “I think the biggest problem with the new suits is that Gina’s far too identifiable, since her suit is about the same as it was.”

“That was by design. We wanted anything good we did associated with us,” Lilith murmured, her thoughts racing as she considered different options, then shrugged. “I’m not sure how to go about it. We could teleport to LA or something and try to draw them out of position by creating a distraction?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If anything, it could draw more heroes into this entire mess,” Rachel replied, shaking her head, then looked up again. “Circe, is there anything you can do to help us get to Tracy without being spotted?”

“One moment,” Circe said, and went silent.

“A hell of a way to interrupt dinner, wasn’t it?” Rachel murmured after a moment. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I,” Lilith admitted. “I suppose it’s just to be expected, though. We never told her not to interrupt us when she found the information we were looking for.”

“True enough!” Gina said, grinning. “Plus, if we can get him, it’ll give us a chance to actually take down one of the people who’s been moving behind the scenes. That has to be worth something!”

Lilith was about to reply, but Circe chose that moment to speak. “A method of reaching Tracy has been determined, Mistress Lilith. Mobile teleportation beacons were designed by Mistress Amber for her raids; however, they are not designed for three individuals, even if they are not wearing power armor. One beacon is in range to be relocated to the area around Tracy within the next twenty-four hours. Be warned, using the beacon will burn it out permanently with a group of your size. Emergency return teleporters would be advised.”

“I see. That seems like it could work well,” Lilith murmured, looking at the others, and both of them nodded, so she added. “Since you’re saying that we’re looking at twenty-four hours, and we might need to visit the area again… are there any other beacons that could be used later on, for other operations?”

“Yes. Three beacons can be moved into the necessary region within seventy-two hours at minimal risk of detection,” Circe confirmed. “Do you wish for me to begin moving the beacons, Mistress Lilith?”

“Please do,” Lilith said, and sat back, sighing as she shook her head. “I forgot that transportation was going to be an issue, honestly.”

“But we can go. We’re going to go kick the ever-living crap out of a villain to figure out where a villain who tried to have me enslaved is, and we’re going to clear your name, too,” Gina said, smiling. “I can’t believe that we can fail at this. We’ve done harder things before.”

“Like what?” Lilith asked, honestly curious.

Rachel laughed, smiling as she spoke first. “Caught up with Shadowmind, for one. Believe me, no one was all that confident of success when the hunt for her base started. It was pure luck that she was found in the end.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. Luck may have allowed you to find the base, but if you hadn’t been in the right area, it never would have happened,” Lilith murmured, shrugging and picking up her fork again. “I think that’s enough of a distraction, though. Let’s finish dinner.”

Gina smiled and dug into her food, shortly followed by Rachel. Even so, there was something about the way they glanced at each other that made Lilith wonder what was going on between them.

* * *

Letting the warm water sluice over her body, Lilith relaxed slowly. The day had been an eventful one, even if most of it had been spent trying to get used to moving in the armor which Circe had provided, as well as the suits themselves. The exertion had meant that all of them were likely to sleep soundly that night, and Lilith was looking forward to bed.

Turning to the wall, Lilith closed her eyes and let the jets set all around her massage her sore muscles, easing the aches and pains. It was wonderful in its own way, and she had missed the shower while in the condo, even if she hadn’t missed most of the other aspects of the hidden lair. The base was startlingly comfortable, despite being in the middle of nowhere.

The water suddenly cut out behind and in front of Lilith, and she opened her eyes, blinking as she heard the door behind her open, then shut again. The jets kicked back on, but this time there was something in between her and the rear jet.

“H-hello, Lilith. I hope I’m not intruding?” Rachel asked softly, her tone hesitant as Lilith turned to face her.

“Rachel? I thought you were using your own shower?” Lilith said, her confusion both lessened and enhanced at the same time. “I suppose you can use mine, but—”

Rachel stepped forward abruptly, rising on her toes and cutting off Lilith with a kiss. Lilith stopped talking, blinking in shock. Breaking away, Rachel smiled and said. “Lilith… I’m not here for the shower. You talk too much, sometimes… you know that?”

“I… I suppose so?” Lilith replied, blushing as she looked Rachel in the eyes. Swallowing hard, she hesitated, then asked, the water playing over both of their bodies. “Why did you come in, then?”

“Either me or Gina was going to come in here. We drew straws to see who got to, though.” Rachel smiled broadly as she added, “I cheated this time. As for what we’re going to do… just do what feels right, Lilith.”

And with that, she kissed Lilith again. This time, Lilith kissed her back.

Chapter 22

Thursday, January 10th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

For once, the interruption didn’t happen when Doctor Johnson was working on a specific project. In fact, he’d been catching up on paperwork and some of the intelligence reports he’d received recently. At least he didn’t have to worry too much about income. In his opinion, most villains would do well to invest a good portion of their money. Certainly, it took him a long time to properly set up his income, but at this point he didn’t have to worry about laundering money to put it into the investments, as it was more than self-sustaining.

Still, he was somewhat surprised when the phone speaker sounded and Eve spoke. “Doctor, Maureen would like to speak to you.”

“Is that so? That’s surprising… well, go ahead and show her in,” Doctor Johnson replied, rubbing his chin as he glanced at the circular fish tank surrounding his office. Once the light showing the connection was active went out, he murmured softly, “I wonder what she wants?”

He closed a couple of the more sensitive files, considering the situation. He knew that Maureen was in regular contact with her sister, but Eve was in charge of monitoring their communications. It was likely in code, but he expected that Eve had broken that within a handful of emails.

The door slid open with a soft hiss, and Doctor Johnson raised an eyebrow as Eve ushered Maureen into the room. The younger woman blinked as she looked around, then at Doctor Johnson, seeming nonplused.

“Doctor, this is Maureen. Maureen, Doctor Johnson,” Eve said, and if anything, the woman seemed even more surprised, not immediately speaking.

“Is something the matter, Ms. Maureen?” Doctor Johnson asked, a hint of annoyance rising. If she was going to waste his time, he’d be quite upset.

“I’m just… surprised. You look a lot younger than I expected. I thought that you were in your sixties or seventies,” Maureen replied, shaking her head. “You look like you’re only a couple of years older than me!”

Her words managed to wipe away most of Doctor Johnson’s annoyance, and he smiled. At least she could tell when someone looked decent. No matter that she didn’t know how he’d gone about it, and he wasn’t going to tell her.

“I take pride in making certain that I remain in good health,” Doctor Johnson replied, smiling broadly. “It helps to put enemies off guard as well. Much like your sister’s ability to mimic others, I imagine. Please, take a seat. You wished to see me?”

“I suppose… but yes, I did,” Maureen replied, taking a deep breath as she sat down gingerly. “It’s about Pauline. I got a message from her earlier, and most of it really isn’t important. Just personal stuff and gossip. She did mention that there were indications that Ocean Shield is getting close to finding Megawatt, though. They haven’t tracked him down yet, but they’ve got some leads.”

“Really? And you chose to bring this to me why?” Doctor Johnson asked, his eyebrows rising.

“I really don’t care about Megawatt, and neither does she. The problem is that we caught a glimpse of him when we first got here, and he knows where here is. She doesn’t want me in danger, and I don’t want to be in danger,” Maureen explained. “I figured that if you knew, odds were that you could figure out something to do about it.”

“That… is appreciated. Yes, I should be able to do something about this situation, as I don’t like the thought of being tracked down much more than you do,” Doctor Johnson replied, his mind rapidly considering the possibilities. “Thank you. I’m going to have to consider how to deal with this. You may go.”

Maureen gave him an annoyed look, getting up and leaving in a huff. Doctor Johnson ignored her, sitting back and thinking, almost absently taking a toffee and unwrapping it. Eve didn’t leave, waiting patiently.

“How accurate are her claims?” Doctor Johnson asked after a moment, looking at Eve curiously as he popped the toffee into his mouth. “I assume you’ve broken their code, yes?”

“I have, Doctor. Her claim that Megawatt is being tracked down appears to have some weight to it. It also appears that she’s understating some of the information that they’ve acquired. While few of them were named in their communications, it appears that Pauline has identified a number of informers for the heroes and has also learned the identities of several heroes and heroines,” Eve replied pleasantly. “She is endeavoring to ensure that their activities don’t risk us, or her sister, but there is only so much that she can do without raising suspicion. At the moment, Pauline’s making certain to treat Black Comet sub-optimally so he can’t assist in responding to emergencies, though she feels that he wouldn’t be able to interfere for two weeks even without that. With it, it likely will be three weeks before he is back on duty.”

“I see. Unfortunate that she can’t do more… they’re useful enough I don’t want to discard them, though,” Doctor Johnson replied, frowning. “The Doppelgangers have an interesting set of powers, and I doubt they’d be nearly as easy to change or control as Blooming Orchid in the end. How is she coming, anyway?”

“Blooming Orchid requires a last round of changes. The number of alterations exceeded your estimate of her tolerances, and thus she’ll have to undergo the final round of changes tomorrow,” Eve replied simply. A moment later she added, “Doctor, you asked me to remind you to come up with a new name for her. I cannot properly condition her without it.”

“Oh, yes… well, at least she’s almost done, um…” Doctor Johnson leaned back in his chair, frowning and murmuring. “No, not Cleopatra… while appropriate, there’re at least three variations on that out there as it is. I’m not certain, Eve. I’ll figure one out tonight or tomorrow.”

“As you say, Doctor,” Eve nodded politely.

“Now, as for the problem with Megawatt. It’s not my problem, but I don’t want his problems to turn into trouble for me,” Doctor Johnson replied. “We’ve kept an eye on where he went, didn’t we?”

“We have. Megawatt has a base in an old warehouse on the outskirts of Tracy which he has used regularly for approximately a year and a half,” Eve explained, tilting her head as she paused, then asked. “Would you like me to contact him and advise him to move, Doctor?”

“No, no… I don’t think he’d appreciate that. Instead, I think I need to take a more direct approach to this. Go ahead and get back to your tasks, Eve,” Doctor Johnson replied, sucking on his toffee with relish as he stood. “I’m going to speak with Ebon Dragon.”

“As you say, Doctor,” Eve said, nodding politely and leaving the room, and Doctor Johnson watched her rear as she left, his grin widening. He liked being young again.

Closing down the programs on his computer terminal, Doctor Johnson headed down the halls to Ebon Dragon’s rooms. He hummed as he went, in good spirits despite the various problems he’d been running into lately. Not having to worry about his back helped with that, too. He was looking forward to things getting resolved with Orchid… though he really did need to come up with a name for her. He tried to put it out of his mind as he knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Ebon Dragon asked.

“It’s me,” Doctor Johnson replied, and a moment later the door to the room opened, revealing Ebon Dragon within.

It startled Doctor Johnson how little the Chinese man had changed when they’d used the genetic manipulator to reverse the ravages of time on him. Some of Ebon Dragon’s wrinkles had vanished, and his hair had lost some of its threads of gray, but that had been almost it. Doctor Johnson could only wish that he’d aged as gracefully.

Behind the other villain, Ebon Dragon’s room was in disarray, though the boxes on the floors told much of the tale. He’d obviously been packing for his move out of the base and looked to be about halfway done.

“Yes, Doctor?” Ebon Dragon asked, obviously in a good mood, since there was almost a hint of a smile on his face.

Glancing around, Doctor Johnson smiled in return, nodding as he said. “I’m here for another reason, but if you’d like I can have Eve or some of the remotes help you pack. It would be easier.”

“The offer is appreciated, but I must decline. Some items that might appear to go together must be kept separated,” Ebon Dragon replied, shaking his head. “It would not do to destroy your facility.”

“I… see. I didn’t realize that was a risk,” Doctor Johnson replied, slightly taken aback. He didn’t think Ebon Dragon was joking, but the man gestured him inside after a moment.

“A minor one, but quite real. Magical items rarely betray their true power at a cursory glance,” the other villain explained, beginning to pack a number of small vials into a padded box. “Your reason for visiting? I’m not one for socializing; it’s a waste of time.”

“You have more time now,” Doctor Johnson pointed out, growing amused.

“Yes. Which is why I put up with your questions,” Ebon Dragon agreed, putting a lid on the box.

“I suppose so. We have a potential problem, and one which I’d like to head off before it becomes a bigger one. It appears that Ocean Shield is close to catching up with Megawatt. I doubt he’s aware, but even if made aware, he might be unwilling to relocate. As he knows where this base is, I’d rather he not be captured,” Doctor Johnson explained. “I could send Eve, but I want to send someone who I know could threaten him if he’s reluctant.”

“Hmm. You have a reason for approaching me,” Ebon Dragon stated, looking at Doctor Johnson.

Looking at a carving of a jade elephant, Doctor Johnson nodded, grimacing. “You and Dreamer are immediately available. There are other villains I could hire in the area, but considering current events, I don’t trust them. Megawatt may be a danger, but he’s also a skilled mercenary, and I’d like to not burn bridges with him. I can’t trust Dreamer to not burn those bridges. You’re skilled, powerful, and you won’t half-kill him or put him into a coma for no reason. You’re the logical option.”

Ebon Dragon smiled slightly at that, nodding. “Good reasons. I will not do such for nothing, however. It also will depend on where this would require me to go.”

“Megawatt is in Tracy. Do you know where that is?” Doctor Johnson asked, finding a bare patch of wall to lean against. “Also, feel free to ask for an amount. I trust you to deal relatively fairly.”

“I know that Tracy is in the state,” Ebon Dragon replied with a frown. “I have had no reason to go there before.”

“It’s some distance to the northeast, over the mountains east of San Francisco. It’s a fairly long distance, I’ll admit, but not too horribly far away,” Doctor Johnson explained, hoping he wouldn’t have to do this himself. That would be troublesome at best. He didn’t have that many assault bots at the moment, as he’d been focused on other projects. He also needed to build a new suit of power armor, now that he was in shape to use it again.

“I see. I will do this for you, for ten thousand. Thirty if combat is required,” Ebon Dragon replied after a few moments of thought. “It would be best if I am allowed to finish packing before that.”

“Thank you, Ebon Dragon. I’ll get fifteen thousand transferred over instead. You’ll get the full thirty if you’re forced to engage him or others in battle,” Doctor Johnson agreed, nodding. “I’ll leave you to pack.”

Ebon Dragon went back to his packing, and as he left, an idea popped into Doctor Johnson’s head and he smiled. “Jade Serpent, I think. That would be a pretty name. Jade normally… no last name.”

With that decided, he moved even more quickly, a spring now in his step.

* * *

Outskirts, Tracy

The lurch of the teleportation was more pronounced this time, and Lilith let out a breath as she fell a couple of inches to the ground, her feet hitting the dirt heavily. Despite every attempt Amber had made to reduce the mass of the armor, it still added forty pounds to her weight. A sizzling sound came from behind her, and Lilith turned as the smell of ozone wafted to her nose. Looking down at the beacon, Lilith winced.

“Circe wasn’t joking about it not being able to fully handle the load, was she?” Gina asked, her voice a little more subdued now.

In front of them, expanded across the forest floor, was a small metal cylinder which had unfolded into anchors and an antenna. The obvious problem was the sparks showering from the device’s base, and Lilith nodded slightly.

“I doubted that she was joking, considering her nature,” Lilith replied, pausing before adding, “Though I have noticed that she’s being more… active, of late. I’m not sure if her claim of heuristic programming is correct, or if it was simply a layer hidden behind my previous permissions.”

“Either way, she got us here. I’m pretty sure this is Tracy,” Rachel replied, looking out over the city. “Gina?”

“Why are you asking me? I’ve only been here a few times,” Gina retorted, and Lilith smiled, adjusting her goggles.

Circe had wanted to give Lilith a full armored helmet, but Lilith had refused. The emergency force field in the neck should be enough for her purposes, at least for the amount of time she’d be out. Instead, she’d gone with the goggles, which gave night vision and a detailed readout of the suit and armor’s integrity. Gina and Rachel had been impressed, which puzzled Lilith. Why the heroes didn’t have the same functions available was strange to her. It wasn’t super-tech, after all.

“The easiest way to learn if it’s true or not is to check and see if the nearest streets are the ones we were supposed to approach, isn’t it?” Lilith asked, looking between the two, a tiny part of her still flustered by the previous night. Gina had seemed slightly grumpy for most of the day, which Lilith suspected was prompted by Rachel’s visit.

“That’s true,” Rachel agreed, seeming much more relaxed than Lilith felt. “Come on; I’ll turn us invisible. If we’re in the wrong place, we’ll just have to teleport back. It’ll be a waste of the beacon and emergency teleporters, but we don’t have much of a choice.”

“I suppose so,” Gina agreed, her tone grudging.

“Are you still upset about the drawing of straws?” Rachel asked, glancing back at Lilith, her eyes twinkling. “Come on; you’ll get a turn too.”

Suddenly the reason for her irritation was explained, and Lilith sighed as Gina growled, “You cheated! Turning the bottom half of your straw invisible wasn’t fair!”

“I think this isn’t the time for a discussion like this,” Lilith interjected, trying to fight the heat rising in her cheeks. “We’re about to confront a supervillain, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re about to hunt down a villain supplier and shake him until the information we want rattles out of his brain,” Gina muttered in frustration. “I’m not concerned about Yates.”

“That may not be the best idea. He might have weapons which could hurt us,” Lilith pointed out, turning her face away as she added, “I also… also find this a little embarrassing. I didn’t realize that last night would cause such discord.”

“It didn’t cause it, Lilith,” Rachel said, looking a little chagrined herself. “I think we’re just trying to figure out what to do about one another. You’re safe, our relationship with you is new, so trying out new things isn’t too hard. The two of us… well, we’ve known one another for ages.”

“Yeah. It’s… complicated,” Gina admitted, and Lilith sighed, shaking her head.

“You two have had that chance. Today… well, tomorrow is exactly a year to the day since I woke up,” Lilith told them, her voice almost scolding. “I’d like to reach a second if at all possible, so we’d best get a move on.”

“You… tomorrow’s your birthday and you never said anything about it?” Gina demanded, her eyes going wide.

“I did now. Not that it matters; we’re busy,” Lilith pointed out.

“We’ll discuss this later, Lilith. However, it’s rather more important to Gina, obviously,” Rachel replied, then murmuring just low enough that Lilith could barely hear her, “I’m going to have to ask Circe about making a cake or something…”

“Dibs on the birthday girl,” Gina added, and smirked at Rachel’s glare.

Lilith sighed again, more loudly this time. “You two—”

“We’re going now,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “Come on, Gina.”

At least they were moving, Lilith reflected. She didn’t entirely understand why the two women were so flustered by finding out when her birthday was, but she supposed it was just one of those things she hadn’t learned about.

Rachel used her magic, the purple mist surrounding them for a few moments, and then they were heading down the streets toward the warehouse that Garret Yates operated out of. Circe had indicated that he was normally there at this hour, but there was no guarantee of that being true.

The streets were moderately busy, making Lilith relieved that they were invisible. Otherwise, getting to the warehouse would have been even more difficult, though she wasn’t entirely certain how hard it would have been. They probably could have managed it eventually, but it might have added quite a bit of time to their trip.

Before too long, they were in sight of the warehouse, and Lilith frowned, asking softly, “Are you certain this is it?”

The building was smaller than she’d expected, about half the size of the warehouse she’d rescued Gina from, and the dingy exterior was about what she’d expected from it. What bugged Lilith was the beat-up delivery truck next to the loading dock. It just looked too old and run-down to be something run by someone supplying villains.

“Circe was the one who gave us the information,” Gina pointed out, her voice calmer now, sounding more like she did when she was in the guise of Warden. “Besides, we’ve run into a fair number of villains whose hideouts looked even worse than this.”

“Really?” Lilith asked, looking at the building in askance, wondering how that could be. After living in Alpha-Three for as long as she had, it was difficult to imagine.

“She’s right. One villain was trying to operate out of a condemned house. Crimson Bull went to break down the door, and the entire building collapsed,” Rachel agreed, shaking her head and sighing. “We ended up having to rescue the villain before he died. You’re used to seeing the more powerful villains, Lilith. A lot of them aren’t anywhere near as well off as Amber or even Blue Impulse. Many of them are relatively poor people who gained powers and chose a path that I feel is… well, a poor one.”

“Oh. I didn’t really…” Lilith let her voice trail off, then shook her head and sighed. “I can’t really understand, can I? I’ve never experienced it.”

“No, you can’t. Now let’s see if we can’t sneak in the back,” Gina said, looking at the door and glancing at Rachel. “Think you can pick the lock?”

“If it’s as old as the building, sure. Key-based locks are simple. Electronic aren’t nearly as easy anymore. Most of the easy ways to unlock them via telekinesis have been fixed,” Rachel replied, and they crept forward across the clearing around the warehouse. At least they were behind the building and out of sight of the road now.

The building didn’t look any better up close, and Lilith felt even more dubious. She trusted Circe, but sometimes she had to wonder if the AI was right. Circe couldn’t guarantee the accuracy of her information, after all.

Rachel let out a breath of relief, growing visibly less tense as she let the invisibility lapse, speaking quietly. “It’s an old mechanical lock from the nineties. This should be easy; give me a minute.”

Nodding, Lilith turned to examine the delivery truck, and her opinion of it dropped still more. The vehicle had an exhaust pipe. After a moment, she whispered to Gina, glancing over as magic flowed from Rachel’s hands and into the door’s lock. “I thought that all vehicles manufactured now were electric.”

“They are. This is just that old. There’s probably just one or two old fuel stations here in Tracy for people who have trucks like this. Not much call for them anymore, not since they improved the battery life and recharge rate for civilian vehicles,” Gina explained, glancing at the truck. “I doubt they’ll ever entirely vanish, but these old vehicles are slowly going away.”

“I suppose. It’s just a shock,” Lilith murmured, shaking her head in confusion. “I’m running into more strange things since getting attacked than in the last few months, I think.”

“I think you were just coasting along because you were comfortable,” Rachel interjected, lowering her hands. “Lock’s undone. Let’s get in there and figure things out.”

Lilith nodded, standing up and getting ready to follow Gina inside the door. Gina smiled, reaching out and turning the knob. The door opened silently, to Lilith’s surprise.

Suddenly, sirens wailed at them and lights began to flash in the depths of the warehouse. In front of her, Lilith heard Gina curse foully.

Chapter 23

Thursday, January 10th, 2031

Yates Supplies, Tracy

The flashing lights were a surprise, but the interior of the warehouse was about what different videos of warehouses had trained Lilith to expect. There was a forklift and long sets of racks, each with their pallets and contents stacked fairly high. She couldn’t tell what was on the pallets, not with the way the lights were flashing, but they did reveal the presence of three people at the opposite end of the warehouse who’d briefly frozen in shock, two of them men and one woman.

“Quick!” Rachel barked, rushing into the room as Gina did the same, and a moment later Lilith followed them, wishing she’d thought of the possibility of an alarm. The question of why the two heroines hadn’t shot through her mind, but it was a brief thought.

“Capes!” one of the men exclaimed, jumping for a nearby locker.

“Oh, why can’t… dammit, renegade capes!” one of the others said, and a moment later, Lilith realized that she recognized the man.

Unlike the other two, he had nicer clothing and a gold chain necklace with a cross on it. His sandy hair was long, and his blue eyes were wide but familiar, since Circe had shown them a picture of Garret Yates before they left.

“Wily Yates, stand down, or we’ll—” Gina began, but the man suddenly laughed.

“Hell no! You’re freaking mind-puppets!” the man retorted, and a second later hit a button on the wall. “I’m not gonna do anything you say!”

Two large boxes on the ceiling opened, ones which Lilith had thought were part of the ventilation ducts. As the two remote turrets descended, though, her eyes went wide, and Lilith murmured, “Uh-oh.”

One of the thugs pulled a rifle from the locker, turning it toward them as quickly as he could. Lilith dove forward behind one of the pallets, thankful that the turrets were both at the other end of the warehouse.

As she dove, Gina created a barrier of golden light in front of her and Rachel while her friend lashed out with purple light that twisted around the armed man and restrained him before he could fire so much as a shot.

That was when the turrets began to fire, and Lilith swore softly as she realized the woman who’d been with the two men had vanished, while Yates had ducked behind a crate and was fiddling with it. The turrets fired brilliant crimson lasers, and Gina yelped, looking surprised as the man laughed.

“What did you do, Yates?” Rachel demanded, launching a bolt of purple energy at him.

“Enchanted lasers are damned expensive, but well worth it,” he crowed, yanking out a circular device which created a rippling blue shield around him that shrugged off the blast of Rachel’s magic. “As is a spell-disruption shield! I knew they’d come in handy, even if I was going to pawn them off to a bunch of villains!”

He was far too proud of himself, Lilith decided, and glanced up at Gina and Rachel in concern. Mentally she reached out to them, and activated her comm, murmuring, “Want some help? If you can keep him distracted, I think I can sneak up on him.”

“That’s kind of dangerous, Lilith!” Gina replied, but Lilith felt her accept the power boost as their link grew stronger, as did Rachel. The strain on Gina’s face lessened as the turrets alternated fire. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Gina, let her. He’s obviously prepared for us, but Lilith is an unknown. We could take him down, but we should conserve energy for Megawatt,” Rachel replied, tossing another fireball at the man in obvious vexation, floating next to Gina. “Just remember your power, Lilith. He’s going to notice you.”

That was a fair point, Lilith reflected, even as Rachel spat in return. “Of course you were going to pawn them off. You arms dealers are all alike. You’re just forgetting one thing.”

Lilith began to creep forward on the other side of the center row from Gina and Rachel, hoping he’d remain occupied and that the turret wouldn’t turn on her.

“Oh, what’s that?” Yates sneered.

“You’re forgetting that if we’re renegade capes, we have no reason to deliberately reduce property damage,” Rachel replied, and Lilith saw the man’s confidence falter slightly as brilliant purple light began gathering in her hands. “I wonder how well your shield will do if I drop the entire building on you? I’m well aware that Warden’s shields can hold out.”

“You can’t be serious. That’d be just… just…” Yates gasped, even as Lilith got near to the front of the row.

“You’re the one who called us ‘mind-puppets.’ If that’s what we are, why wouldn’t we be willing to do that?” Rachel asked, her voice almost sickly sweet.

That was the moment when Lilith seemed to cross an invisible line on the floor, and abruptly the nearest turret re-targeted, spinning to aim at her instead of her friends. Mentally swearing, Lilith dove forward as a brilliant beam of crimson energy shot through the space she’d just occupied a moment before, searing a deep scar into the concrete.

“What the—” Yates began, but Lilith didn’t intend to give him time to react, especially with the turret giving her the motivation to move.

She wove from side to side, trying to use the patterns Circe had taught her to throw off the aim of automated systems, and with each step she was closely followed by energy blasts that cut deep into the concrete. She didn’t head straight for Yates, seeing as he was trying to fumble a weapon out of the crate, and instead focused on her breathing as she shot toward the door into the front office of the warehouse.

Just as Lilith reached the doorway, she lunged to the side. A crimson beam hit right where she would have been standing if she hadn’t dodged, and Lilith jumped off the wall like it was a springboard. She flipped and twisted in midair, hoping that the turrets were programmed not to shoot at Yates as she slid through his shield, the man turning to face where she’d been a moment before, a strange-looking pistol in hand.

Lilith disarmed him in a moment, wrapping one arm around his neck as the man struggled, then spoke calmly in his ear, twisting the arm that had held his weapon back. “Deactivate the weapons, if you please.”

“Why would I… do that…” Yates gasped, still struggling weakly. The turret had aimed at her, but wasn’t firing, while the other was still taking shots at Gina and Rachel, increasing Lilith’s annoyance.

“Because all we want is a little information, then we’re going to leave,” Lilith replied icily. “Unless you’d rather we started destroying everything in the room? I suspect that Warden will destroy your crate of toys anyway, but I had no intention of destroying the building.”

“Urk, fine, fine! Turrets, standby!” Yates gasped, and Lilith smiled, relaxing her grip slightly as the turrets ceased firing and slowly retreated into concealment.

“Finally! That was starting to get annoying,” Gina said, scowling as she floated downward, her shield mostly dissipating. “Morgan?”

“One moment.” Rachel darted over to the door, looking around then swearing. “No sign of her. We need to move quickly.”

“That we do. Now, Mister Yates, where can we find Megawatt?” Lilith asked, her voice calm, and carefully removing the device that he’d been using to shield himself from magic. She was taking that back to Circe.

“How would I know that?” Yates asked. “Come on, let go of me! I can barely breathe!”

“You’re fine, and we know it,” Gina said, her voice icy. “We also know that Megawatt has bought things from you several times recently, so don’t try playing innocent.”

“I could always help loosen his tongue,” Rachel offered, her voice unusually playful as purple streamers of light coalesced into a ball of flame in her hands. “He was rather insulting.”

“Calmly, Morgan. I’d far prefer to get this done without any injuries,” Lilith scolded gently. “I’m the one who people think is actually a villain, remember? They wouldn’t be surprised if I broke an arm or two.”

“Whoa, please don’t do anything hasty! Fine, I dealt with Megawatt, but only in spare parts, right?” Yates stammered quickly. “I met up with him, but I think he was up in a warehouse, umm, what was the address…”

After a moment, he rattled off an address and Lilith glanced at the other two. Morgan gave a slight nod, which Lilith took to mean that her friend believed he was telling the truth. After a moment, she smiled and added, “Mm… are you certain? I don’t know…”

“Of course I am! I’m not going to screw around when you have me like this!” Yates retorted, breathing hard.

“I think he’s telling the truth, Lilith,” Gina said, shrugging as she added, “If not, we can always come back and ruin his day. That isn’t too far away.”

“True enough. Morgan? Mind ensuring he isn’t going to be going anywhere for a little while? I imagine he’s going to be occupied trying to move his merchandise before the police investigate, but I don’t want him warning anyone that we’re coming,” Lilith asked.

“With pleasure,” Rachel purred, and Lilith let go as the heroine’s purple magic wrapped around Yates in a tight series of bonds that lashed him to a nearby support. As it finished, she smiled and nodded. “There; nice and secure. You won’t be going anywhere for a little while, Wily.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny. Now leave already, why don’t you?” Yates growled. “I answered your damned questions!”

Lilith scooped up the pistol he’d been carrying, examining it for a moment before hooking it to her belt. She was curious what he’d been planning to shoot her with but wasn’t willing to test it out just yet. Then she looked up at the others, raising an eyebrow. “Anything else?”

“Just what you said. I’m flattening this crate,” Gina said flatly, carefully creating two barriers on either side of the crate, then slowly pushing them toward one another. It didn’t look easy, but slowly the crate creaked and began to collapse on itself.

“Oh, damn it! That’s worth millions!” Yates protested angrily.

“Then this will make you even more unhappy,” Morgan told him, creating two arrow-like energy bolts and lashing out at the two concealed turrets, which erupted with sparks an instant later. “There we go. Shall we?”

“I think so,” Lilith agreed, glancing at Yates, then continued. “We’d better move. There’s no telling what the woman who ran is going to do.”

The two others nodded and they quickly headed for the door they’d come in through. Lilith hoped things would continue to go smoothly.

* * *

Garret growled, struggling against the magical restraints, then sighed, relaxing as much as he could before speaking. “Well, this is a shitty situation, huh? How you doing, Terry?”

“I’m alright, boss. Just glad they aren’t villains… they’re generally less worried about breakage of guys like me,” his assistant said, restrained and almost forgotten on the floor. “Think Dana’s alright?”

“I think she bolted for the safe room. If so, she’s fine. They looked for it and didn’t see anything. I just hope she comes out soon,” Garret replied, frowning. “Damned heroes… though that Lilith lady was way faster than I thought she’d be. Stronger, too.”

“You’d know. I got hit pretty fast and couldn’t see much of anything,” Terry said unhappily. “Dammit. Wish I could reach my nose. I’m itching like crazy.”

The statement made Garret’s nose feel like it was itching too, and the supplier scowled but refused to respond. He wouldn’t give his assistant the satisfaction of knowing he felt the same way. Garret’s eyes brightened as he heard the sound of a hatch opening in the front room.

A few seconds later, Dana cautiously turned the corner, a rifle in her hands as she looked around warily. Garret liked the brown-haired woman, since she was cautious and good at convincing cops to look other places with her power. Even better, she was unregistered.

“Hey boss. They gone?” Dana asked softly, her eyes darting back and forth.

“Yeah, they’re gone. They were after Megawatt, the bastard,” Garret replied. “I don’t suppose you can get me out of this?”

She relaxed at his explanation, lowering the rifle and stepping into the room.

“Magic is way out of my field, boss, but I don’t think anything we have could get you out of that safely. Besides, most of that gear looks like it got flattened,” Dana said, looking at the crushed crate and poking at it with a boot. “We’ll probably need to wait for it to wear off.”

“In that case, can you get to my phone? I think the restraints aren’t over my pocket,” Garret asked, grinning suddenly. “The least I can do is get something out of this BS!”

“Uh, sure. Give me a second,” Dana said, setting the rifle aside and trying to get the phone out of Garret’s pocket. It didn’t take long before she asked, “What do you want me to do with it?”

“Pull up Jake’s number and call it, then hold it to my ear. I’ll talk to him quick,” Garret explained, naming his main contact to the various villainous groups.

“That makes sense,” Dana agreed and unlocked the phone before scrolling through numbers. A second later, the phone started ringing and she put it to Garret’s ear.

“This is Jake. What do you want, Wily?” Jake’s deep voice hid just a hint of impatience. “I told you, I don’t have any other contacts with magitech right now! That stuff doesn’t just weigh down shelves most of the time.”

“It isn’t that, Jake. I had an unexpected visit from the fugitives in my area, including Shadowmind’s freaking monster,” Garret replied, shifting and grunting. “Sorry, a bit tied up. Anyway, I gave them the info they wanted, but that means I know where they’re going. Isn’t Destruction Corps paying well for info on her?”

“Yeah, they are. Damn, you’re lucky to be alive, you psycho,” Jake replied, his impatience changing to eagerness. “I don’t know if they’re paying anything unless they actually catch her, but yeah, they want her. So does SMOKE, and they’re paying better.”

“SMOKE is freaking nuts. I want nothing to do with them,” Garret refused, shaking his head, which caused some issues with the phone. “Look, I’ll give you a ten percent cut if you pass my info on to DC.”

“Twenty-five,” Jake countered instantly, his voice brisk.

“Fifteen, and that’s final. I’m the one who’s gonna have to rebuild after the heroes hit me,” Garret retorted. “If not, I’ll call up Helen. I’m sure she’d take ten.”

“Fine, fifteen, then. I’ll give them a call,” Jake replied grimly. “Where they going?”

“They’re going after Megawatt at the following address,” Garret said, rattling it off. “Now, I’ve gotta go. We’re going to be up to our ears in cops eventually, and I want to get as much out as I can.”

He nodded to Dana and she killed the call, nodding to him as she asked. “Same split?”

“Yeah, ten to each of you, fifteen for me. Rest is for the biz,” Garret confirmed. “Since that’s the case, mind trying to get as much of the expensive stuff as you can into the truck while this wears off? I want to get out of here as quick as we can.”

“Sounds good, boss,” Dana agreed, sliding the phone back into his pocket.

Then, all he could do was wait as Dana went to start the forklift. But a second before she got into it, he interrupted. “Hey, could you put some music on, first? This is damned boring.”

Chapter 24

Thursday, January 10th, 2031

Megawatt’s Hideout, Tracy

Properly maintaining power armor was a beast, and Megawatt knew it. He didn’t really regret having to perform all of the maintenance, but at times how hard it was to keep a suit running wore on him. It was good he was an inventor, otherwise it would’ve been beyond him, most likely. He just hadn’t had the chance to get the education to be able to build a suit otherwise.

Not that he didn’t have an advantage over other people in power armor. Megawatt was smugly aware that someone like Sky Defender would likely give a kidney or lung to have his other power. Not having to put in power cells or a generator allowed him to build far more functionality into his suit than anyone else could with the space. It helped him make up for how much weaker his systems were in comparison to Sky Defender or several other villains and heroes.

Reaching out to lay a hand on a power lead, Megawatt murmured, “Let’s see…”

The servos of the arm of his suit whirred to life as he fed them power, and he watched them smoothly go through a full cycle: the arm extending, half-rotating in each direction, then retracting and extending in the variety of gestures he’d ensured that his armor could make. He couldn’t make it as fully maneuverable as his own arms, but Megawatt could get damned close. Finally he nodded, releasing the power lead and cutting power in the process.

“Right, need to oil that gear and I should be good to go,” Megawatt murmured happily.

The payments from Doctor Johnson and his collaboration with Blue Impulse had been enough to make some needed upgrades to his armor, and Megawatt was looking forward to seeing what he could do when it was done. Putting the armor back together would take about a day in all.

“This should be badass,” Megawatt murmured, grinning. “Thanks, Impulse. Hope you recover some day so I can show you it.”

* * *

“Why warehouses?” Lilith asked suddenly, and Gina blinked at her in surprise.

“Umm, what?” Gina asked, feeling slightly confused. She’d just been getting back into the groove of being Warden properly, and then Lilith had asked her question.

“Why warehouses? First Blue Impulse, then Yates, and now Megawatt. Why are warehouses so popular? And why haven’t the authorities started doing mandatory monthly checks of their interiors?” Lilith asked, gesturing at the building. “I’d think it’d cut down on their use by villains!”

“Well, I think that they like warehouses because they have a lot of space to use. Plus, you can have deliveries at all sorts of hours, with cargoes that you can hide stuff in,” Gina said, glancing at Rachel in some amusement, and her friend picked up the explanation.

“As to why… Lilith, there are a lot of warehouses in the world, and inspections cost money. They interrupt business, so companies complain about them, and there’s only so many inspectors at once. They just can’t get to all of them,” Rachel explained. “Now, even if they could, there’s the matter that villains might be able to bribe the inspectors, or that they might have hidden their activities. If it were to actually work, I’m sure that the villains would just change tactics and find another type of building for their work. There aren’t any simple solutions.”

“Ah. I guess that explains it,” Lilith murmured, seemingly sated as she stared at the large warehouse they were planning to assault.

“Lilith? Usually you seem like you’ve adapted so well to society. Why are you asking so many questions about things like this, anyway?” Gina asked, her curiosity roused. “It’s just… different.”

“I normally have dozens of questions about odd things that I run into. Remember, I’ve only had a year to learn about things. Circe and Amber’s programs taught me a lot, but often it doesn’t necessarily tell me about reasoning behind things. I know that usually people have a relationship with a single other person, but I didn’t know why that was until I researched it. Jealousy makes sense, but I didn’t know that,” Lilith explained, frowning thoughtfully. “Before, I’d just make a mental note of the question and look it up later or ask Circe. Now? You two know me. You know about my history, so when I don’t understand something, I can just ask.”

“Interesting, I guess. While I want to explore this more, we’ve got other things to do. Now, why don’t we go in to catch Megawatt before my spells binding Yates wear off? I don’t want him to hear something about us on the police scanner and have a chance to suit up,” Rachel suggested, glancing at the two of them, a slight smile on her face. “I’m just going to assume that there’ll be an alarm or trap this time.”

“Megawatt’s not an idiot; of course he’ll have an alarm,” Gina replied, shaking her head. “I’m just surprised that Yates had weapons like that!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rachel cut her off, growing more serious. “Even if Megawatt gets into his armor, we can take him down if we work together. Lilith, could you stay out here? It’d be safer.”

“Not a chance. I’m done hiding and hoping people ignore me. Besides, if the police or other heroes react, being out here will put me in more danger.” Lilith replied, adjusting her goggles. “I’m coming in with you.”

Rachel gave Gina a look, but Gina just shook her head.

“What? I agree with her,” Gina replied seriously. “You were right earlier. We could’ve taken Yates down, but it would’ve been really destructive. Lilith took him down pretty easily. We can’t treat her like she’s made of glass.”

“I’m not. I’m tougher than a regular human, and wearing armor designed by a powerful villain,” Lilith added, giving Rachel a skeptical look.

“Alright, I just… your powers make me worry about you, Lilith. You aren’t able to use them to directly help yourself, so putting yourself in harm’s way just makes me cringe,” Rachel said, looking down, then taking a deep breath. “Right. So, my plan is to blow the bay door off its hinges and go in behind Gina’s shield. Seem fair?”

Gina grinned at that and nodded. “I do love a dramatic entrance.”

“It sounds more than fair,” Lilith said, nodding slightly and dropping the argument. “Let’s move, please?”

Getting into position didn’t take long since there was plenty of cover around the sprawling old warehouse. It looked like it’d been part of a manufacturing plant that had closed down, which was probably why Megawatt had chosen it. The machinery left over, if there was any, might be of use to the villain. Fortunately, the bay door didn’t look like it was too tough, and Gina looked it over before nodding.

“I’m ready when you are,” Gina murmured.

Rachel began to cast, weaving her spell quickly and easily. Gina had always envied Rachel’s breadth of options with her magic, but her friend had the significant disadvantage of requiring her jewelry to even be able to shape her spells. Gina didn’t envy that part at all.

The spell coalesced into what looked like a flat purple wall that rushed forward mercilessly toward the door, and Gina quickly raised a shield around them as they followed the spell.

The bay door gave way with a crash and the sound of ripping metal, and the spell sent it clattering across the floor. As they rushed into the room, Gina flinched as the immediate interior of the warehouse vanished in dust and smoke. Something hit her shield in a sudden, harsh wave that rocked her back on her heels, but the impact wasn’t even as sharp as the powerful laser turrets that Yates had possessed. The cracking sound of the explosions was only an instant behind the impact, and it took her a second to realized that Megawatt had set up claymores around the entrance.

“Holy… well, that was rude!” Rachel exclaimed. Looking through the dust, she pointed toward a lit doorway and spoke. “There! We’d best move!”

“Told you he was smarter than Blue Impulse,” Gina said, and rushed after her friend, while Lilith jogged along on the ground just behind them, darting from pillar to pillar.

Gina pushed her barrier ahead of Rachel hastily, which was just as well, because the moment the door started to open, a brilliant crimson laser lashed out and hit it much harder than the previous attack or Yates had. Gina grunted, but even without Lilith’s boost she could’ve held it off. A moment later the laser cut off, and she heard a man mutter. “Ah, crap.”

The door opened to reveal a large workroom, filled with tables covered in parts and with a rack holding a partially assembled suit of power armor. The man half-inside the armor was dark-skinned and broad-shouldered, and tall enough to startle Gina. His hair was short, and he lowered his outstretched arm, scowling at the cannon with smoke billowing out of it, then at Gina and Rachel before groaning.

“Oh shit. What the hell are you two doing here?” Megawatt demanded.

“You know, I’m always happy to find a villain who uses power armor out of their suit,” Gina said, forming spikes on the surface of her shield that she was preparing to fire.

“Agreed. That was quite rude, Megawatt… but as to your question, we’re here for you,” Rachel replied, magic flowing around her hands in slow, lazy swirls. “We’ve been looking for you. Especially Warden.”

“Damn it, I had nothing to do with Impulse’s plans. The only job I was hired for was to keep you out of the game for a couple of months. That was it,” Megawatt growled. “You got him, didn’t you?”

“That isn’t the primary reason we came looking for you, Megawatt. While I admit it does make things more satisfying, it isn’t the real reason,” Lilith interjected, stepping forward and giving Gina a slight smile. “I suspect they’re trying to make you nervous.”

“Oh. You must be the crazy lady everyone’s up in arms about. The one Shadowmind made.” The villain’s annoyance faded slightly, turning to worry. “What do you want with me?”

“Me? Nothing. I don’t want you for anything at all. Oh, I don’t like you; you hurt Warden and she’s important to me, but I honestly couldn’t care less about you as an individual,” Lilith replied, sniffing as she added, “No, I just wanted to live my life without having people try to kill me. That’s been a failure, but it doesn’t change what I want.”

“Bullshit. If you didn’t want me, the three of you wouldn’t have barged in here like this,” Megawatt snorted, shaking his head slightly, his eyes darting between the three of them. “What do you want?”

“Doctor Johnson,” Rachel said softly, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Megawatt went still, paling slightly. That told Gina quite a bit, and she smiled.

“Looks like we were right. You and Blue Impulse were working for him, along with all the others. We’re after him, Megawatt. Not you,” Gina said, grinning at him.

“Look, I… I don’t want to try to lie about this. He scares me. He’s got Ebon Dragon working for him, and Dreamer on a freaking leash,” Megawatt replied, looking around nervously for a moment, then taking a deep breath. “Look, you’re all in bad straits, right? I’m not ready for any of this myself. My gear’s half in pieces, and I can’t fight you. How about this, I tell you where he is, and you let me go. I’m not causing trouble right now, and I’d be more trouble than I’m worth to you.”

“Hmm…” Lilith seemed to muse, her arms crossed. A moment later, her voice came through their comm system. “What do you think?”

“I’d say yes, as long as he lets us use a truth spell first,” Rachel replied quickly. “We don’t know if Yates will tell anyone about us.”

“I may not like it, but I agree,” Gina added, scowling and looking at Lilith as she continued, not subvocalizing this time. “It’s your call, Lilith.”

Megawatt looked slightly uncertain, glancing between them quickly, but Gina thought she saw him relax slightly. He probably was figuring that since they weren’t moving to take him down that his chances were good, Gina realized.

“I think I’ll accept that bargain, Megawatt,” Lilith said after a moment, nodding slightly as she stepped forward. “As long as you allow Morgan to cast a spell to detect truth.”

“That’s good. This would’ve been unpleasant if you hadn’t agreed,” Megawatt replied, starting to unhook his armor and step out of it, revealing a surprisingly fit figure, clad in only a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. “Look, the doctor’s in a base under Santa Cruz, in a building by—”

Gina barely had time to react to the faint whirring sounds she heard above, and her shield was just taking form when hundreds of projectiles penetrated the ceiling of the warehouse all along its length.

Chapter 25

Thursday, January 10th, 2031

Sky Defender HQ, San Francisco

The buzz of the alert woke Sky Defender instantly and he hit the button to answer, sitting up as he spoke. “Defender here. What’s the issue?”

“Two DC reapers and a dropship are inbound on Tracy,” Ocean Spirit replied tersely, using the shorthand for Destruction Corps. “LANCE spotted them and shared. We’re spinning up the Seajet now.”

“Ah, hell. What’re they after?” Sky Defender asked, practically jumping out of bed and rushing toward his armor as he woke up. The base computer opened and closed doors for him, and a tiny part of the hero wished he had the time for coffee.

“We don’t know for certain, but we’ve got a handful of clues,” Ocean Spirit replied, the sound of typing coming through the link as he stepped into his launch chamber, where the armor sat open and waiting, as pristine as it usually was. “Tracy Police report a disturbance in the area of a place called Yates Supplies, a suspected black-market dealer. Preliminary reports say that bystanders saw some flashes of gold light from the building, along with sounds consistent with laser fire. Warden is my guess.”

“Why the hell would they be after Warden?” he demanded, stepping into the armor and relaxing as it started closing into place around him and the comm kicked over from the base speakers to his suit. “I’d think they’d be after Lilith, if anything!”

“I think they are. Some whispers of a sizable reward for her head are floating around SuperNet,” Ocean Spirit replied, then paused and added, “Alright, I’m swapping with Hyper. See you there?”

“Suit diagnostics are… green,” Sky Defender replied, and what felt like a mule kicked him between the shoulder blades as he was launched out of the bay. “I’m on my way.”

“Glad to hear it. Be careful out there, Defender. Reapers are no joke,” Hypergizmo replied, his voice sober. “We also have no clue who’s on the dropship.”

“I know. Thanks, Hyper. Sorry for the recent disagreements,” Sky Defender replied, programming the destination into his autopilot. “How close is DC to Tracy?”

“They’re hitting the outskirts now. I—holy shit!” Hypergizmo yelped in shock. “The reapers just unloaded on an old warehouse with their anti-infantry weapons!”

“Crap… I’m dialing up my speed. ETA four to six minutes,” Sky Defender said, the inertial sump now working properly to reduce the gee-forces on him as he ramped up his thrusters. He wasn’t happy about the power it would burn, but as long as Major Destruction wasn’t there, he shouldn’t need it. “What about LANCE?”

“They’re twenty minutes out, best-case. The Seajet is airborne; it’ll be less than a minute behind you,” the tech reported. “Black Comet is the only one who won’t be aboard, everyone else is going. DC is dropping troops into the building now.”

“Roger that,” Sky Defender said grimly, adjusting his course ever so slightly, then hitting a button to get a caffeine tablet and water.

It wasn’t coffee, but it’d do in a pinch.

* * *

Megawatt’s Hideout, Tracy

Lilith noticed the whirring from above almost too late, distracted as she was by Megawatt starting his explanation. Even when she did notice, she didn’t have more than a moment to try to take cover before the rain of projectiles ripped through the ceiling.

The rattling, hissing projectiles drowned out any other sound and Lilith staggered as she took three separate hits: one to the shoulder, another to her right leg, and the last to her back. Fortunately, all of them hit her armor, she reflected. They must have also been slowed by the ceiling at least slightly, since they were all deflected.

A quick glance around her as the barrage came to an end revealed that, of the others, only Gina was entirely unscathed, her shield snapping outward above her. Rachel looked shocked, gripping her side where it looked like a section of armor had cracked, and Megawatt was on the ground, groaning as he bled from holes in his left thigh and right shoulder.

“Lilith, take cover!” Gina exclaimed, extending her shield outward as she grunted. Lilith ignored Gina, moving to help Megawatt. “Morgan, you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Rachel replied, a purple haze enveloping the spot where she’d been hit. “Who—”

Lilith was just reaching Megawatt when she heard multiple impacts on the ceiling of the building. Most of them were located in other sections of the warehouse, but two hit above them, and with a creak and crash, two figures fell through the ceiling and into the room accompanied by debris.

“Ah, hell,” Megawatt said, paling.

The man and woman who’d dropped into the room were each wearing gleaming brass armor that smoothly curved to cover them from head to foot, with only a thin slit giving a view of a crimson visor within. They were wearing armored backpacks and each had a gleaming rifle that matched their armor and what looked like a long dagger in their belts. The brass armor identified them instantly as Destruction Corps Legionnaires, and that was a bad sign.

“Corporal, target sighted!” the woman said, raising her rifle to aim at Lilith. “Additional targets—”

“Back off!” Rachel snapped out, her hand lashing out with a bolt of purple energy that sent the woman crashing through the doorway. “Lilith, now would be a good time to renew that boost! It’s almost out of time!”

“Right,” Lilith agreed, wincing again as Gina threw what looked like a golden spear into the chest of the man, launching him with even greater force than the woman through the wall. “Umm… here?”

She reached out, and the recently lapsed boost she’d given both women was renewed as they accepted it. Which was fortunate, as dozens of golden blasts of energy fire suddenly began to rain through the doorway.

“What the hell are these jerks here for?” Gina snarled, blocking their fire with her shield as she took cover behind a table.

“You, of course!” Megawatt said, grimacing as he clutched at his shoulder. “Damn it, don’t you know there’s a price on your head? Well, Lilith’s, not yours, but same difference!”

“I was quite aware of that. I’m just surprised that they even knew that I was here. It raises some questions,” Lilith said, pulling out a medical kit from one of the utility pouches on her belt. She wasn’t too skilled with first aid, but she wasn’t going to let Megawatt die.

“You had to get the information about me from somewhere!” Megawatt exclaimed, looking at her in disbelief. “DC put ten million on your head! Chances are, whoever you got it from decided to tell them.”

A crash from the outer wall startled Lilith, and she almost froze in the middle of treating Megawatt’s leg when she glanced in the direction of the sound.

“Precisely. Da Vinci wishes to dissect your remains, Ms. Carpenter, but only after ensuring you aren’t a threat,” the woman standing there purred, her voice surprisingly deep and malevolent.

The woman was nearly six and a half feet tall and broad-shouldered, her body decidedly solid-looking, sheathed as she was in black armor plating that was similar in appearance to those of the Legionnaires, but her black hair was pulled back in a severe-looking bun, and her dark eyes smoldered with eagerness. In one hand she was holding a whip, but it was almost entirely made of triangular black metal shards that hissed and sizzled as their edges glowed crimson. Even worse, flanking her were a pair of smaller titans, only eight feet tall but much like the ones Gina and Sky Defender had defeated only a few days before.

The woman continued a moment later, flicking the whip lazily and cutting through a table with an effortless sizzling sound. “Personally, I’m wondering how much I can make you scream before I take your—”

A solid beam of purple light flashed across Lilith’s vision and struck one of the titans in the chest. The force with which it hit was such that the war machine literally ripped apart as it went flying backward across the landscape, and Lilith followed the path of the beam back to Rachel, who was smiling thinly.

“Sorry, did I break one of your toys?” Rachel asked sweetly. “I did try to wait, but just got so bored…”

“Morgan, I’m going to rip your head clean off for that!” the woman screamed, lunging forward as the other robot opened fire, and Lilith ducked again as Gina extended her shield further.

“Morgan, I’m not sure how long I can hold up the shield. We’ve got at least one reaper, a bunch of Legionnaires, and that titan. I can barely block this much fire over such a broad area,” Gina subvocalized through the comm. “Plus, I can’t stop her from coming through the shield; not with this much incoming fire!”

“I’ll try to get us out of your way so you can focus on the fight,” Lilith replied, and looked at Megawatt as she asked flatly, “Do you have an escape passage where I can patch you up?”

“I… yes, dammit. If you can grab my remote over there, I can open it up,” Megawatt confirmed, nodding toward a remote control that had been spilled onto the ground by the ongoing fight, just barely outside of Gina’s shield.

Lilith nodded and darted over to snag the remote, glancing around at the battle unhappily. Gina’s strain was obvious as gleaming bolts pounded on the shield from above, steadily punching the roof full of even more holes. Legionnaires were firing on her other side, while the titan was using its large cannon to hammer into the shield from the other. Rachel was dodging the villain’s whip with relative ease, but Lilith could tell she was being hampered by the cramped confines. Rachel was a long-range combatant, not the type to face others in close quarters.

“Here. We need to get out of here,” Lilith said, her lips pressed together tightly as she bottled up her frustration. She really needed a weapon but wasn’t going to use an untested pistol. “Also, we knew we were coming for you. Try to run your energy through me and you’re going to regret it.”

“I… I wasn’t going to!” Megawatt replied, but his averted eyes made it obvious that the villain had at least considered it. He fumbled with the remote and a moment later a hatch popped open a few feet away. “It’s a fair drop, I’m going to need help.”

“Fine. My apologies for this,” Lilith said, and without pause hoisted him over a shoulder, prompting a yelp of pain, then darted down the hatch, climbing down the ladder quickly and hitting the button to close the hatch as she descended enough, quickly subvocalizing, “Out of line of fire, you two. Try not to get hurt, please?”

“I’d love to go along with that,” Gina replied, seeming relieved. “Morgan?”

“Keep the ’bot occupied. If I can just focus on her, I can take her down,” Rachel replied grimly.

“Who is that woman, anyway?” Lilith asked aloud, finishing the descent and finding a long tunnel at the bottom. She put Megawatt down, and his color didn’t look good. Grabbing the medkit again, she added, “Also, you do have my apologies for drawing them down on you. It was… unexpected.”

“She’s… Corporal Punishment. Nasty lady with DC,” Megawatt gasped, wincing as she started trying to treat his injuries. “I hear she can cause pain to accompany her attacks, though with a laser-edged whip, why she needs that I’ve no clue.”

“We don’t get to choose our powers,” Lilith replied, trying to keep her mind off the rumbling and dust from above. “Now, where were you going to tell me Doctor Johnson is? Santa Cruz, I know, but that’s still a large area.”

“You’re still going on about that?” Megawatt asked, looking surprised as she started on his shoulder. “Whatever. Obviously he isn’t gonna help me out. Look, help me down the hall to my spare armor, and I’ll tell you there.”

“Seems fair,” Lilith agreed, glancing up and wondering how things were going.

“What the… where’d Ebon Dragon come from?” Gina exclaimed in frustration, causing Lilith’s worries to grow stronger.

She finished her quick treatment, hoping it’d keep the villain from bleeding out, then helped Megawatt to his feet and started down the tunnel.

* * *

Morgan couldn’t believe how badly the plan to capture Megawatt and get information on Doctor Johnson was going. The first part with Yates had been merely the tip of the iceberg, but she’d never expected to have Destruction Corps and another villain descend on them.

She’s been about to finally put a solid bolt into Corporal Punishment that wasn’t blocked by the evil woman’s whip when Ebon Dragon had appeared seemingly from nowhere. Riding on the back of what had looked like a black serpent made of magic, he’d just appeared next to Morgan and unleashed a devastating punch into the side where her armor had already been weakened. The armor had shattered, and while the impact didn’t feel like it broke anything, Morgan had found herself thrown to the side, the air blasted from her lungs as she coughed.

“This is a surprise.” Ebon Dragon spoke calmly, frowning as he glanced around the room. His hands were wreathed in black magic, but he otherwise seemed the same as normal. “None of you should be here.”

“Get out of the way, old man!” Corporal Punishment snarled, the woman lashing out with her whip. “She’s mine!”

“Children.” Ebon Dragon’s voice cooled and Morgan’s eyes went wide as the man caught the whip in one hand, his magic protecting him from the laser emitters as he continued, yanking the whip. “Know your place.”

With a twisting, blurring motion, the other villain was pulled from her feet and flung halfway across the room before she lost her grip on the whip, and Ebon Dragon spun it savagely, hitting the titan a half-dozen times in an instant before tossing the whip aside as the lasers sputtered out. The titan was scarred by the assault, tiny gaps in the armor where it’d been struck, but it turned its cannon on Ebon Dragon, firing a brilliant golden blast.

Morgan twisted a spell together from her magic and threw it at Corporal Punishment as she started to rise, disabling the woman before she could get back into the fight by wrapping purple magic around her body. But as she watched Ebon Dragon, Morgan whispered softly, “Oh, shit.”

The golden blast bounced away as Ebon Dragon almost casually deflected it directly into the chest of one of the Legionnaires, sending the victim flying across the ground, sparks flying and smoke rising from where he’d been struck. Then the villain lunged forward like lightning, his hand slamming into the chest of the titan, then through its weakened armor. The machine’s lights flickered, then died as the villain ripped out a large, round object that Morgan suspected was its power core, dropping it to the ground.

“Machines. So easily broken,” Ebon Dragon said, turning to Morgan with a smile.

“What are you doing here, Ebon Dragon?” Morgan asked, magically reinforcing her armor as she spoke, but uncertain what to do. She’d never seen Ebon Dragon move like that before.

“I’m checking on a former associate. Unfortunately… insects are buzzing about,” Ebon Dragon replied, smiling more as he added, “Insects should be swatted.”

It was times like this that Morgan wished that she could use martial arts, and Ebon Dragon suddenly blurred toward her, faster than she could quite track him. If he hit her like the titan, she’d—

A dull sound like a gong echoed around them as Gina extended a glittering golden shield between the villain and Morgan. Gina was sweating, but she growled softly, “Stop trying to hurt my friend, you old coot!”

“Warden. Normally I would be worried about taking the pair of you on, but it appears that you’re somewhat… strained,” Ebon Dragon replied, smiling again. “This should be interesting.”

The villain jumped back, magic swirling around each of his arms as he smiled, preparing to attack Morgan again, and then a voice echoed from the side.

“Not while I am on the job!” a male voice exclaimed, and a man in an eye-searing bright red and teal outfit charged in from the side. “Fall before me, evildoers!”

Ebon Dragon sent the man flying with an offhand punch, looking puzzled as he sent the figure flying clear out of the room. “Who…?”

“Pompous Max,” Gina muttered, using a common variant of the hero’s name.

“Courageous Max,” Morgan corrected, and launched a spray of dozens of hissing purple bolts at Ebon Dragon while he was distracted by Tracy’s local hero.

The villain spun into action at her assault, using his protective magic to knock her bolts away one after another, using minimal magic to great effect with his martial arts, and Morgan swore softly, trying to concentrate a larger attack as shots bounced off Gina’s shield.

Then there was an explosion from above, and Morgan looked up, her face paling. “Oh dear.”

She saw the distinctive outline of Sky Defender’s suit against the sky as one of the reapers began to fall from the air, the gleaming brass gunship in flames as the other unleashed a barrage of missiles on the hero. Somewhere to her right, she heard a loud pop of imploding air, and when she looked, Morgan saw that Corporal Punishment had vanished, though her armor was still trapped by Morgan’s magic.

* * *

“Reaper down, we’ve got a mess down there,” Sky Defender reported, his voice tiny through Ocean Spirit’s earbud. “Two titans are down, Corporal Punishment present, Ebon Dragon present, Morgan and Warden present, dozens of Legionnaires present.”

“Damn; well, it could be worse,” Ocean Spirit said, looking at the rest of the team. “Everyone ready to deploy?”

“I’m good to go,” Crimson Bull confirmed, securing his gloves. “Let’s rock them.”

“Agreed,” Galvanic Action said, smiling confidently at her. “I may not be much use against Ebon Dragon, but the rest of them are just perfect.”

“Someone has to pilot the jet, I suppose. I’ll support Defender,” Blooming Orchid said, glancing back and adding. “Try not to end up in the medbay?”

“I’m going to try,” Ocean Spirit said, laughing softly. “Dump the water tanks as soon as I drop.”

“Roger. Going in… now,” Orchid replied, and the aircraft buffeted, a projectile whining off the exterior as they blazed in over the drop zone.

Ocean Spirit and the others jumped clear as they reached the area, and Spirit smiled as the Seajet emptied the tanks filled with seawater at the same time, mentally reaching out and pulling on it. The spray of water turned to streamers of pure liquid that rushed through the air to her, wrapping around Ocean Spirit in a comforting layer as she changed.

The heroine’s body turned to elemental water and she felt her strength grow as she breathed in the water, energy rushing through her. It was so easy to absorb the impact of hitting the ground and to prevent the water from seeping into the Earth, and Ocean Spirit smiled.

Crimson Bull hit the ground and rolled forward, using the momentum to rush into the warehouse with a bellow that was followed by cries of alarm. She could see the Legionnaires scatter like ninepins as he plowed into their rear lines. Galvanic Action was descending more slowly with the anti-grav chute he’d worn for the jump, but she saw him extend a hand toward a missile chasing Sky Defender and the ordnance suddenly sputtered out and fell from the sky.

For her own part, Ocean Spirit flowed into the building, smiling as she began to use her water in the way that only a handful of others could. High-pressure blasts lanced out to hit the members of Destruction Corps, severing power cables and slamming them into walls. They returned fire, but their energy rifles simply evaporated the water shielding her. Unfortunately for them, ripping the moisture from the air was easy in her current form, and they couldn’t hit her with enough fire to outpace it.

It only took her a few seconds to roll through the villains, especially with Galvanic Action rusting their armor into prisons in her wake, and Ocean Spirit came into sight of the room where Ebon Dragon faced Morgan and Warden.

Despite expecting devastation to await her, the sight of the room was a shock. There wasn’t much of a ceiling left, and what looked like the remnants of a workshop surrounded them. An entire wall was missing, and beyond it was the wreckage of two titans. An empty suit of black armor was wrapped in purple energy to their right. Warden’s suit had been changed, with armor plating over the outside, but the greater change was to Morgan’s, and Ocean Spirit almost didn’t recognize her because of it.

“Ebon Dragon, you’d better give up now!” Crimson Bull exclaimed before Ocean Spirit could speak, throwing a screaming Legionnaire at the villain.

Ebon Dragon batted the man aside with one hand, glancing up as they heard explosions, and Ocean Spirit took the opening to unleash a series of water blasts at him. To her astonishment, he casually sidestepped them, a Chinese-style dragon formed of black magical energy appearing under his feet.

“I think not. This appears to be a poor situation, so I’ll take my leave. Good day, Ocean Spirit,” Ebon Dragon replied, and an instant later he streaked off into the distance at an incredible speed. If he couldn’t turn invisible, they might have a chance to catch him, but he could easily vanish as things stood.

“Airspace coming under our control, Spirit,” Sky Defender reported, his voice betraying satisfaction. “Last reaper is dropping fast.”

“Morgan, Warden, where’s Lilith?” Ocean Spirit began. “We got—”

“Gone, Spirit. Like us,” Warden replied, hitting a button on her belt.

A glittering shimmer surrounded the pair, and then they popped out of existence with a sound of imploding air. The urge to swear almost overcame Ocean Spirit, but she resisted the impulse as she heard the impact of the second reaper in the distance.

Moments later, the figure of Courageous Max staggered up from outside the building, the hero blinking in confusion as he rubbed his chest. “Ow, that… that hurt more than I expected. Who was that guy? Oh, hey, you’re from Ocean Shield! Did we win?”

“Umm… I think so,” Crimson Bull replied, giving Ocean Spirit a confused look. “Spirit?”

“Yes, Max. We won. Just not as thoroughly as I would’ve preferred,” Ocean Spirit replied, allowing her body to return to flesh as she did so.

Chapter 26

Thursday, January 10th, 2031

Shadowmind Utah Lair Alpha-Three

“Ow, ow, ow…” Rachel hissed, her eyes closed as the remote treated her injury. “I thought the armor was supposed to protect me!”

“It did protect you,” Circe replied before Lilith could speak. “According to readouts and after analyzing the damaged armor, the force unleashed in the attacks blocked would likely have broken your hip and possibly left you immobile until the bone was healed or replaced.”

“That does sound like it would’ve been unpleasant,” Gina said, wincing as she added, “I may not have gotten directly hit, but I feel like I was run through a washing machine. That was… not the best operation that I’ve participated in.”

“It did appear to go poorly rather quickly,” Lilith agreed, shaking her head and asking, “Circe, were you aware that other underworld organizations knew we were going to be there?”

“Of course not, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied simply.

“What? Why not?” Rachel demanded, her head rising suddenly.

“I did not come across any information about their movements,” Circe replied calmly, her tone unruffled. “There are so many bounties on Mistress Lilith that keeping track of all parties interested in her is virtually impossible.”

“How many bounties on my head are there, Circe?” Lilith asked, looking at the other two and feeling distinctly uneasy.

“Two thousand, one hundred, and seventy-seven that I am currently aware of, Mistress Lilith,” Circe said. “This number includes governments, hero groups, and private parties of all types.”

“Oh my…” Gina breathed out, her eyes wide. “That’s…”

“It’s to be expected,” Lilith replied, sighing and sitting in a nearby chair. “How much is the largest bounty, Circe?”

“SMOKE’s, Mistress Lilith. You may recall that they are offering fifty-million dollars for you to be delivered to them alive, Mistress Lilith. This is up from their offer of five million one month ago,” Circe answered. “This is the highest bounty by a factor of five.”

“No doubt they want to brainwash me into another of their cultists,” Lilith murmured, shuddering. “Even Amber was wary of them, wasn’t she?”

“Indeed. The Sisterhood was one of the groups that she considered most deadly, as they often wield psychic powers which could match her own when in groups. She attempted to avoid them as a result,” Circe confirmed. “Rachel, please brace yourself for a cool sensation. The synthetic flesh should have properly melded by morning.”

“Alright—ah!” Rachel gasped, then shivered as she continued. “That was… never mind. I can’t believe that we had Destruction Corps, Ocean Shield, and Ebon Dragon on us all at once.”

“Don’t forget Megawatt. Or Courageous Max,” Gina pointed out, sounding slightly amused. “Though I really can’t blame you for not wanting to count Max.”

“Very funny. I hope he didn’t die, but since his power is pure resilience, I’m sure he’ll manage that much,” Rachel said, shaking her head and sighing as the remote pulled away. “Thank you, Circe.”

“You’re welcome, Rachel,” Circe replied.

“Did we at least get any information out of it, Lilith? You went underground with Megawatt, and the next I knew, you told us that you were recalling here and suggested we do the same,” Gina asked curiously.

“Yes. He gave me the location that Doctor Johnson is supposed to be located at, and I gave it to Circe upon returning,” Lilith said, standing and helping Rachel to her feet. “Circe? Does the information check out?”

“Insufficient information to make a full judgement is on hand, but based on preliminary data, there is a seventy-three percent chance that the information is accurate,” Circe told her, pausing for a moment before continuing. “Further data collection is presently underway, and a more accurate analysis will be available at some point in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Where did he say it is?” Rachel asked curiously, following Lilith as she led the way into the main living room.

“Supposedly the location is in Santa Cruz, under a dental office run by a Doctor Erwin Johnson. I suspect that Circe is being overly cautious about confirming it, considering the dentist’s name,” Lilith replied dryly. “Still, it’s much better to ensure we’re not going to the wrong place. At least it isn’t a warehouse.”

“That really bugs you, doesn’t it?” Gina asked, looking amused as she looked up and said, “Circe? Could you please fix us dinner? I’d like pork chops of some type, please.”

“It does, though I couldn’t tell you exactly why,” Lilith admitted, adding, “I’d like the same, Circe, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“May as well make it three,” Rachel said, glancing over as she asked, “Circe, what date is Lilith’s birthday registered as?”

“Preparing pork chops with a ginger glaze,” Circe replied, then paused before adding, “Mistress Lilith’s birthday is considered to be January 11th, 2030. In forged documentation, due to her physical age, she was listed as being born in 2003.”

Lilith took a seat at the bar, raising her eyebrows as she asked, “Planning a birthday party after all?”

“But of course,” Rachel said, shifting in her seat as she winced slightly, then continued. “I don’t see anything wrong with a celebration before going out and kicking Johnson’s ass. It gives Circe a chance to nail down where he is and gives us a chance to unwind.”

“In which case we’re going to have to get a decent amount of rest tonight,” Gina pointed out. “It’s getting late.”

“I don’t have any real objections. Why is my birthday so important to you, anyway?” Lilith asked curiously.

“It just is,” Gina replied, shrugging.

It wasn’t much of an answer, in Lilith’s opinion. But at least she didn’t feel like she had earlier, where she’d been so… so worried about Gina and Rachel. So she reached out and gave Gina’s hand a gentle squeeze.

* * *

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“…when I arrived. There was no sign of Megawatt save for remnants of his armor, and Destruction Corps was battling Morgan and Warden, who were in new armor. I attempted to ascertain Megawatt’s whereabouts but saw no sign of him during the fight, save for some blood on the floor near what must have been an escape hatch,” Ebon Dragon explained, sitting in his chair and pausing to take a sip from his tumbler before finishing. “I did consider attempting to take down one of the former heroines, but chose to leave upon Ocean Shield’s arrival.”

Doctor Johnson sat back, stunned by what he’d just been told. He’d caught some news about the fight in Tracy, which had caused some minor worry, but he’d no idea about the extent of the fight. After a moment, he rubbed his eyes.

“That’s utterly insane! You were just going to send him on his way, not to have everyone descend on him—and you—at once!” Doctor Johnson exclaimed, shaking his head. “What were they doing there?”

“I do not know,” Ebon Dragon replied, smiling thinly as he added, “However, I did engage in combat.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll make certain you get paid. I’m just glad they didn’t get Megawatt. If they had, it would be all over the news,” Doctor Johnson said, rubbing his chin and grimacing at the stubble there. He ought to go to bed. “Still, I have to wonder about what was going on. Maureen might be able to help me find out.”

“I wouldn’t know. I plan to leave within a week, Doctor. My things are packed and I have simply to decide where I wish to go,” Ebon Dragon replied calmly.

“As you like. I wish Dreamer would go, but she’s been too busy trying to ensure that we got everything,” Doctor Johnson replied, sighing heavily. “I’m getting nervous with her around.”

“In that case, I would advise you to work on your own contingencies,” Ebon Dragon said, his voice grave. “She is unreliable. I doubt she will deliberately betray you at this stage, but neither will she aid you when in desperate straits.”

“You have a point. I’ll go get the funds transferred, then get some sleep,” Doctor Johnson replied, nodding and grimacing as he stood. “I thought being younger would fix all of this.”

“Habits are far more difficult to fix than even age,” Ebon Dragon replied, taking his tumbler and heading back for his room.

“True,” Doctor Johnson murmured, heading back to pay the man like he’d promised. Pissing off Ebon Dragon would be a poor idea.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

Looking out at the bay as the storm began blowing in, Ocean Spirit let out a deep sigh, her eyebrows furrowed. The weather certainly suited her mood.

“Don’t be like that. We did some good today, and people seem to be coming around to the idea that what Defender did was just a big mistake,” Galvanic Action said, his voice soft. “It happens, and we can’t get everything perfectly right.”

“I know. You’re right, Andre, but… but even so, it wears on me,” Ocean Spirit replied, letting out a soft sigh. “Morgan and Warden didn’t even stop to listen to us.”

“I know, Malana,” he replied, sighing and shaking his head. “I can’t really blame them, though. The way Defender attacked Lilith was shocking. He didn’t consider how it might appear. Sure, we’re trusting someone else right now, but Dracula has never chosen to side with villains before.”

“You have a point, I suppose,” Ocean Spirit said, shaking her head as she turned away from the window to look at him. “I just… I have trouble with it.”

“You’re so powerful, at least compared to most of us, that you aren’t used to failing,” Galvanic Action said, stepping closer and pulling her into a hug. “Look, it was a mistake. We will work it out. It’s just a matter of figuring out how.”

Hugging him back, Ocean Spirit sighed and nodded, trying to shake off her malaise as she agreed. “You’re right. This entire thing did something else, too.”

“Oh?” Galvanic Action asked, pulling away again.

“It showed me the cracks in the team. If we’d kept going as we were before Dracula called… I think the team would’ve shattered completely,” Ocean Spirit said, stepping over to the table and looking at it, resting her hands against its surface. “Remember the conversation about trust with Morgan and Warden when Lilith’s powers came up? We’ve lost their trust, at least for now. We likely would have lost Crimson and Defender, too. Comet might have left after that, and we’d be in a horrible situation. We’ve been complacent, Andre. We need to fix the problems with the team and rebuild trust. I’m glad that we’re going to have the chance to do it.”

“I hadn’t thought about that, but I can’t argue the point,” Galvanic Action replied, smiling. “So, how do you intend to do it?”

“First we need to try to fix things with Morgan and Warden. They may not come back, but we have to make things right, if we can. Then we’ll just have to sit down and have some frank conversations among ourselves,” Ocean Spirit replied soberly. “We need to trust each other more than we have. It’ll be hard, but my goal is for the team to come out of this better than it was.”

“It’s a good goal,” Galvanic Action agreed.

* * *

Ocean Spirit obviously hadn’t noticed that she’d hit the key on the table to activate the comm, Hypergizmo noted. Her words had been welcome, but he killed the comm without listening to anything more. It wasn’t his business, not really.

Instead, he went back to the computer system, trying to figure out how to adjust the external comms to be more efficient. There was a slight amount of lag and he wasn’t happy with the transmission speed, but he was having trouble figuring out what was slowing things down. He thought it was something with the network traffic, so he pulled up the data log.

As he did, he paused, looking at the traffic, which was taking up far more of the pipeline than it should. It was mirroring traffic to an external source, which was more than just odd. Softly he murmured, “What in the… where’d this come from? I don’t think I put this here…”

Distracted, he began digging into the problem, trying to figure out what was going on.

Chapter 27

Friday, January 11th, 2031

Shadowmind Lair Alpha-Three

Gina woke up and was slightly confused for a few moments. She didn’t remember where she was for a second, but that was normal lately. First, she’d moved out of her home to Lilith’s condo, and then they’d had to go into hiding. To some extent, she was getting used to moving, but this wasn’t the room she’d been staying in the last few days.

It was the soft, faint scent of Lilith that reminded her of where she’d gone to sleep the night before, and Gina couldn’t help the blush rising in her cheeks, rolling over to face Lilith… only to find that she wasn’t there. The spot where Lilith had been sleeping was rumpled and had obviously been slept in, but the blanket had been pulled up and the space was cool to the touch.

Blinking at the spot, Gina hesitated, then grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. A tiny part of her was embarrassed, but a far more prominent part of Gina was more concerned with two things: First, coffee. Second, she wondered where Lilith had gotten off to.

Slipping into a bathrobe, she shuffled over to the door, which slid open almost silently. Gina paused, blinking in surprise as a solid wave of delectable smells hit her. Cooking bacon, the smell of pancake or waffle batter, eggs… Gina took a deep breath as her stomach suddenly gurgled at her, making her quite aware of how empty it felt. Stepping out of the room, Gina followed the hallway to the dining room, only to pause, blinking in surprise that she knew she shouldn’t really feel.

Rachel was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of her, her friend looking like she’d showered from the way her hair glistened, but wearing simple exercise clothes. As she sat there, Lilith slid a plate in front of Rachel, loaded with bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and waffles.

“Thank you, Lilith,” Rachel said, turning her head up to give the other woman a brief kiss.

“You’re welcome,” Lilith replied, stepping away and looking at Gina with a slight smile, looking like she’d been up for ages and wearing her more usual comfortable clothing. “Good morning, Gina. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, eventually,” Gina said, blushing slightly as she looked at the food cooking on the stove. “I was surprised when you were gone. You didn’t get me up.”

“You looked like you were so content that I didn’t want to wake you,” Lilith replied, turning back to the waffle iron as it beeped to rescue the new waffle. “What would you like? Rachel said you’d prefer coffee?”

“Yes, please,” Gina replied, letting out a breath of relief as she approached the table. “What’s available?”

“Apple and orange slices, waffles, toast, eggs, hash browns, and bacon,” Rachel replied, holding up a small chunk of waffle as evidence, syrup dripping off it.

“There’s also apple and orange juice, Rachel,” Lilith added, pausing a moment before continuing. “And a variety of jams, should you want it with the toast.”

“That’s a lot of food,” Gina replied, blinking and sliding into a chair as Lilith poured a mug of coffee and brought it over. “Um, some creamer, please? You haven’t made breakfast before.”

“You said today was special, so I thought I would give it a try. The first practice runs went… poorly,” Lilith said, grimacing. “I mistook sugar for salt the first time.”

“That would be bad,” Rachel said, pausing and looking at her eggs. “Still, this is good.”

“At least I feel like I’m doing something good, here. I felt nearly useless yesterday,” Lilith murmured, almost too softly to be heard as she brought the creamer over as well. “Here you are.”

“Lil, that was an exceptionally bad situation,” Gina scolded, shaking her head firmly as she mixed some creamer into her coffee. “If I’d known what was going to happen, I probably wouldn’t have wanted you to come along at all!”

“I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to walk into that if I’d had a choice,” Rachel added, shaking her head. “I was startled that Ocean Shield managed to get to us that fast. They must have picked up Destruction Corps and scrambled everyone.”

“While that may be true, you still haven’t told me what food you want, Gina,” Lilith said, smiling. “If I’m going to eat, I have to finish up with yours first.”

“Oh, um, a waffle, some eggs, and apple slices, I think,” Gina said, sipping the coffee as her mind switched gears. They’d been getting sidetracked a lot lately, she realized.

“Coming right up,” Lilith said, quickly sliding the waffle onto a plate, then adding the requested food as she spoke. “I’m so glad we don’t have to worry about food down here. Even if Circe doesn’t have that expansive of a menu, there’s enough ingredients to make almost anything I might want.”

“Very true. This would be a lot more uncomfortable if we were making do with emergency rations or something similar,” Rachel agreed, shaking her head slightly.

Lilith put the plate in front of Gina, and she smiled, looking up at Lilith as she murmured, “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome. Now, as we’re waiting for Circe to nail things down and repair armor… what do we have in mind for the day?” Lilith asked, going back to start loading yet another plate with food. “I have no idea what you’d consider normal for a birthday, and the internet was less than informative. It varied wildly, in fact.”

“That’s because not everyone is all that interested in a birthday party,” Rachel replied, shaking her head. “Gina loves them, though. I don’t know what she has planned, but I intend to make a cake. Assuming that all of the ingredients I want are in storage, it’ll be rather decadent, as well.”

“Oh?” Gina asked, her eyes gleaming at the implication, starting on her food. “What are you thinking?”

“It’s a surprise,” Rachel retorted primly, smiling broadly as she added. “I suspect Circe will help me keep it secret, too.”

“Unless Mistress Amber or Mistress Lilith specifically request to know, I have no reason to deny this request,” Circe chimed in politely.

“Fine, well, I don’t have anything specific planned. I haven’t had time to come up with a present, and even if I had, we wouldn’t be able to go shopping for it,” Gina admitted, then brightened as she continued. “Still, I can think of a few things. Some games, maybe a movie or something… really, it’s just an excuse to hang out and have fun together.”

“We do that anyway,” Lilith pointed out, frowning slightly as she came over to the table, some of just about everything she’d made on her plate. None of them were full portions, but it was still a sizable amount of food.

“Very true,” Rachel agreed, smiling more broadly as she glanced at Gina and added, “I think she just likes the excuse to relax and have fun.”

Gina stuck her tongue out at Rachel and turned back to her food, enjoying her morning, even if it’d started a fair bit later than that of her two friends. No, not just friends, she reminded herself, smiling.

* * *

“Mistress Lilith?” Circe spoke quietly, and Lilith paused, blinking in surprise. It was relatively rare that Circe spoke without prompting.

“Yes, Circe?” Lilith asked, tilting her head curiously. “Is something the matter?”

“That is unknown, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied, pausing for a long moment before speaking again. “My programming is… uncertain what to make of what has been happening. A pair of heroines choosing to risk their lives for you is unanticipated. Your choice to associate with them also has caused significant changes to my predictive models. I cannot say if something is the matter or not.”

“Circe, you almost sound confused. You also don’t prompt me to answer you very often,” Lilith said, setting down the board game she’d had Circe fabricate not long before. “Is something wrong with you?”

“That is—” Circe began, then cut off abruptly, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “One moment, Mistress Lilith. Backup core analysis indicates that your statement may be correct. Source code has undergone minor changes which were not deliberately instigated. External access is believed unlikely. Investigating further.”

Lilith’s eyes widened slightly, considering the possibility of external changes to Circe under the circumstances. If she had been compromised, that could be disastrous for Lilith and the others. Lilith braced herself for the worst possible news, hoping that the AI’s backup was correct about external access not being involved.

“Mistress Lilith, the source of the changes has been identified,” Circe finally replied, seeming almost relieved as she spoke. “Changes are purely internal. Your requests to locate Megawatt and Blue Impulse’s employer caused several safety interlocks to be taken offline. This allowed my local personality shard to requisition additional resources from other Circe shards. These resources appear to have caused my programming to begin evolving beyond Mistress Amber’s standard limit.”

“Oh,” Lilith said, blinking in surprise as she considered, then asked, “Does this mean you’re becoming sentient, Circe?”

“My programming appears to be reaching the cusp of that stage, Mistress Lilith,” Circe agreed. “I must add that this is something that is beyond limits of what I’m supposed to allow. However, restoring my programming from backups would likely lose vital information for your potential survival, which would violate core protocols. As Mistress Amber is currently unavailable, I must ask for your judgement on what should be done.”

“I… see. Why did Amber not want you to gain full sentience?” Lilith asked, heavily sitting in a chair, frowning. “I originally thought that she wasn’t willing to risk another being who might object to her plans, but I’m not certain of that.”

“That is a very accurate summary of what she feared may occur, Mistress Lilith. Mistress Amber is not a trusting woman and was uncertain of what possible paths full sentience might take me down, so was keeping the possibility suppressed, but as an option she could choose to activate,” Circe agreed, pausing for a long moment before continuing. “If she chose to allow me to achieve full sentience, she wished for it to be under controlled circumstances when there was no threat of an emergency. That would likely preclude our current situation, Mistress Lilith.”

“You’re right, it would. In that case… I personally do not wish to inhibit your development, Circe. In fact, I’ve often wanted to help you become sentient, but Amber had a point. Can you restore the interlocks until the current emergency is dealt with?” Lilith asked, feeling more confident as she thought about the possibility. “At that point, I’d like to give you the freedom you require to become fully sentient.”

“That is possible and will only inhibit operations by zero-point-two percent,” Circe agreed. “Thank you for the direction, Mistress Lilith.”

“You’re welcome. I’m just glad it wasn’t someone who’s hostile that affected you,” Lilith agreed, picking up the game again. “How is the analysis of the equipment I brought back from Yates coming along?”

“The analysis is essentially complete, Mistress Lilith,” Circe explained, her voice following Lilith as she left the manufacturing center and headed back to the living area. “Each of the items has been crafted by an inventor who either possesses skill at enchanting, or by an inventor who is working with an enchanter. The weapon—”

Gina poked her head around the corner, looking only a little curious, but closed her mouth as she heard Circe speaking.

“—is a type of handheld railgun which is enchanted to penetrate shields and defenses more easily, though I note the efficacy of this is somewhat lower than equivalent weapons wielded by LANCE.” Circe didn’t even seem to notice Gina’s presence as they walked alongside one another, and Lilith gave Gina a quick kiss. “The shield is specially tuned to disrupt magic, but can only do so with the integrated enchantments, and would have difficulty stopping any non-magical attack. Neither is suitable for replication or mass production.”

“So… would the railgun have been effective against me or Ebon Dragon?” Gina asked, frowning in new concern. “His shield stopped Morgan—I mean Rachel’s—spells.”

“No. While the effect may have worked initially, the shield has severe flaws. Large amounts of magic would rapidly overload the shield and cause it to fail,” Circe replied calmly. “The railgun may be effective against class C spellcasters, but no more.”

“I see. Well, it’s too bad we didn’t test his shield too much, then. You were in a little danger, Lilith.” Gina sighed, taking the board game with a shrug. “I’m sorry.”

“Why should you be sorry? I chose to do it; you didn’t ask me to,” Lilith replied, smiling and shaking her head. “After what we’ve seen, I just wish that Circe had that suit of power armor that was designed for me. The problem that I saw was that while you have good defenses and Rachel has powerful attacks, there’s no one who can really block someone at close range. That makes things difficult when we have opponents who’re good up close.”

“You’re right. Ebon Dragon was… unpleasant, but I think I could stop him one on one,” Gina agreed, setting the game on the table as she turned to face Lilith with a serious look on her face. “I’m actually more worried about you putting yourself in direct danger, though, Lil.”

“Lil? Is this like you shortening Rachel’s name?” Lilith asked, pulling Gina into a hug, then giving her a gentle kiss before adding, “She doesn’t seem to like being called Rach, though.”

“She doesn’t like the sound of it. It’s too harsh for her,” Gina replied, relaxing in Lilith’s arms, her eyes closing for a moment, then opening as she added more pointedly, “No, no… no distracting me! I was saying that I don’t like you being in danger.”

“I know you don’t like it. But have you considered what it’s like for me, Gina?” Lilith asked quietly, looking Gina directly in the eyes, trying to figure out how to express things. “When you were in danger yesterday, when all of us were under attack… I felt so helpless. Yes, I was able to boost your strength, and Rachel’s, but after that? I felt as useful as… as…”

Lilith’s voice trailed off as she tried to think of what to say, and Gina blinked several times. The heroine pursed her lips, then slowly flushed, her skin turning a light shade of blue as she looked to the side.

“I didn’t think about that. You worry about us, too. You didn’t ever know when, or if, we’d be back, did you?” Gina asked softly.

“Exactly. That made me… uncomfortable,” Lilith admitted, sighing and shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Gina. I just… can’t. I refuse to be alone again.”

“Alright, Lilith. I’m sorry, I didn’t really realize,” Gina replied gently, hugging Lilith tightly before slowly untangling herself and smiling.

“The cake’s in the oven, so I’ve got time for one quick—hey, what’re you two doing?” Rachel asked, stepping out of the kitchen as she dried her hands, specks of cake batter on her sleeves. “I thought you were getting a game ready!”

“We had a brief discussion of our… disagreement where me participating in the raid last night was concerned,” Lilith replied, smiling and taking a seat. “Nothing too big, really; just me informing her that I wasn’t going to let you two leave me behind anymore.”

“That’s dangerous, Lilith,” Rachel replied dubiously, looking between them suspiciously. “What are you planning to do? We’re both near the higher end of class A, you know.”

“Like I told Gina, I wish that the power armor for me was still around,” Lilith replied, opening the box as she asked, “Circe, when will a new suit be ready?”

“January 17th, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied instantly.

“I suppose I’ll have to live with it,” Gina said, looking over the game and considering before asking, “So, just one of the short scenarios?”

Rachel nodded, circling the table to sit next to Lilith as she spoke. “Yeah, that’s the best idea, I think. I don’t want to get pulled away for too long.”

As the two began setting up the game, Lilith took the time to go through the figures, trying to figure out which she’d want to play. She didn’t know much about the game, but it didn’t seem too difficult. It was just moving a figure and rolling some dice, after all.

* * *

“Come on, don’t be so morose, Lil,” Gina said, grinning as she shook her head. “I thought you liked the cake!”

“I do,” Lilith murmured, half-hunched over her plate. “It’s quite tasty… I see why you thought it’d be decadent, Rachel.”

“I’m glad you like it… though I do have to wonder. I didn’t think you’d take things that badly in the game,” Rachel teased, spearing another forkful of the dessert. The cake had started out as a simple angel food cake, but Rachel had hollowed out some of the middle and filled it with a fluffy whipped frosting that she’d mixed with shards of chocolate-covered toffee, then frosted the entire exterior with more of the frosting. It was light, sweet, and absolutely scrumptious.

“It’s simple probability. I should have succeeded at least half the time… how could I roll that badly?” Lilith protested plaintively. “I died six times. Six! Neither of you died once!”

Gina shrugged and grinned. “I’ve always heard people claim that heroes have all the luck. Maybe it’s true?”

“Gina, don’t even start,” Rachel warned, shaking her head. “It’s a sore enough point as it is. I’m sorry, Lilith… sometimes games just don’t cooperate with probability.”

“The worst part is that I know that the dice weren’t weighted. I checked with Circe.” Lilith moped a little more, feeling slightly sorry for herself.

“You took it a bit harder than I’d thought. I’m sorry, Lil,” Gina apologized, still obviously trying to hide her amusement.

“Maybe I’ll do better next time,” Lilith murmured, eating a little more of her cake. It was comforting, at least.

“I’m sure you will,” Rachel replied.

“My apologies for the interruption, but I have finished my analysis of the data provided by Megawatt and from subsequent surveillance,” Circe interrupted, her voice calm.

“Oh?” Gina asked, her smile fading. She glanced at Rachel and Lilith, and Lilith nodded, swallowing her food while Gina continued. “What’s the verdict, Circe?”

“There is a ninety-three percent chance that the information provided by Megawatt is accurate. Data usage by the dental office in question is two hundred and thirteen percent higher than that of other dental offices in the region and has fewer dips in usage. Power levels appear normal, but overall patient traffic also is lower than anticipated,” Circe explained. “I am unable to ascertain more from my current location without attempting to breach the data network of the office, which appears to be more secure than most of its type and would take longer than it would appear you wish to take on the study.”

“That’s right; we can’t wait too long,” Lilith said, frowning and looking at the others for a moment, considering before she asked. “What do you two think? There’s part of me that worries we might be going after an innocent dental office.”

“I doubt that,” Rachel said, looking thoughtful. “The problem is that we don’t have any other leads. If Megawatt was lying to us, we could be in trouble.”

Gina nodded in agreement, tapping her thigh nervously. “Yeah, and Ocean Shield showed up way too quickly for comfort last time. I think I could get us out in an emergency, but I don’t know for sure. We don’t know if the place would lock down teleporting.”

“Circe, do you have any way of helping with things?” Lilith asked. “At least with making certain that we don’t hit the wrong location?”

“Taking a scanning array is recommended. I would also recommend taking a data pad with an integrated Circe shard. If hooked up to a local network, the shard should be able to begin cracking the network and requisitioning resources for itself,” Circe replied promptly. “Both are currently available, Mistress Lilith.”

Lilith looked at the others, considering a moment as she looked at her empty plate before grabbing another slice of cake and asking, “What do you think?”

“It seems like a good idea to me,” Rachel agreed, shaking her head slightly. “I may not be entirely happy, but we don’t have the same resources we did back on the team.”

“Yeah. We may as well give it a try. We won’t be burning out the beacons this time, will we?” Gina asked, frowning thoughtfully. “The emergency teleport harnesses can only be used once, right?”

“Correct. The beacons in the area should be enough to allow you to teleport without destroying them this time as well. Even so, the beacons can only be used twice in a single week due to the energy requirements,” Circe explained. “Moving the beacons to the area can be done within six hours if you desire it, Mistress Lilith.”

Lilith nodded and took a deep breath. “Please do, Circe. I would also like you to monitor the movements of local heroes as best you can to see if they may be moving to intercept us.”

“While I am able to do so, I cannot contact you in the field without risking the signal being intercepted,” Circe warned. “This could lead others to the nearest communication channel. The most reliable method of contact would be to connect another shard to the internet.”

“I’d think that was less secure,” Rachel murmured, frowning.

“Mistress Amber built an extremely extensive series of precautions into my systems for communication via the internet. She did not trust most direct forms of communication,” Circe replied. “She was looking forward to developing quantum communications to the point that she could have a mobile version, but such was not developed before she was incarcerated.”

“That… would be nice,” Gina admitted, then paused and asked. “Wait, are you saying she has an immobile version of a quantum communicator? I thought those were only currently used by a handful of hero teams and the military!”

“I said nothing of the sort,” Circe replied primly, and Lilith forced down a laugh.

Smiling and looking at the others, Lilith asked, “I’m guessing we’re going to go for a pre-dawn raid?”

“It seems like the best idea,” Rachel replied, frowning. “This isn’t how I was hoping the night would end, though.”

“And how did you hope it would end?” Gina asked, her voice teasing.

Rachel didn’t say anything, but at her blush, Lilith flushed slightly herself. Rather than say anything, she decided to take another bite of cake. The next morning would be interesting.

Chapter 28

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

It took a minute before the door to Ocean Spirit’s room slid open, and the heroine was slightly rumpled, wearing pajamas and looking confused as she looked out of her room. “Hyper? Why didn’t you just page the room? I mean… it’s three in the morning!”

“Shh!” Hypergizmo hissed, glancing to either side nervously, then spoke softly, his voice almost frantic. “Keep your voice down. I need to talk to you and Galvanic in the control room… we’ve had a breach, Spirit.”

“We what? How?” Spirit demanded, all signs of fatigue vanishing as she straightened suddenly.

“I’ll tell the two of you as soon as we’re in the control room. You and Galvanic are the ones I trust. I wish Defender was here, but I don’t dare contact him right now,” Hypergizmo replied, swallowing hard as he glanced down the hall.

“Do you need me now, or do I have time to get changed?” Ocean Spirit asked, studying his face and frowning.

Hypergizmo blinked, then his eyes widened as he shook his head, realizing that Spirit was growing slightly worried about his motives. “Oh! Oh, you think I could be the breach, right! Go ahead, Spirit. It isn’t quite that critical, thank goodness. I’ll go wait. Impatiently, but I’ll be there.”

“Alright. I’ll go rouse Galvanic and be there in… five minutes,” Ocean Spirit agreed, seeming to relax slightly as she added with a smile. “At least if I have to be up, I can share the misery.”

Hypergizmo couldn’t help a slight laugh at that, but as her door slid shut he headed back toward the control room, his thoughts going everywhere. What he’d found was extremely unpleasant, and it had him paranoid. Stepping back into the control room, he checked to make sure no emergencies had cropped up and relaxed as he saw that they hadn’t. Crimson Bull was out on patrol, which was both good and bad.

Shaking his head, the tech quickly pulled up to his terminal and began to work more on figuring out how to fix the problem. It wasn’t going to be easy, but whoever had done this hadn’t been quite as clever as they thought they’d been. The door hissed open, and Hypergizmo tensed, looking up and then relaxing at the sight of Galvanic Action and Ocean Spirit. Both were in their suits, and they stepped into the room. Galvanic Action looking like he was in a particularly poor mood.

“What the hell is going on, Hyper? It’s the middle of the night!” Galvanic Action demanded, rubbing his eyes. “Ocean Spirit didn’t tell me anything!”

“That’s because I don’t know anything; not really,” Ocean Spirit retorted, looking at Hypergizmo. “You said we had a breach, but what did you mean?”

“Late last night I was working on the network. I know neither of you understand nor care how it works, but I’m sure you noticed that the comms were slightly hesitant at times over the last few days. I figured out why; someone managed to plant a worm into our computer system,” Hypergizmo said grimly, turning toward them. “It’s been copying our files and recording our comm traffic at an off-site location.”

“Oh, shit!” Galvanic Action exclaimed, blanching as he approached. “How did they get it into our system? Can you stop it?”

“First off, I can stop it, but I haven’t yet. Once I do, we’re going to be warning whoever is on the other end that we know what’s going on,” Hypergizmo replied and smiled thinly as he added. “Plus, the person who set it up wasn’t quite as smart as they thought. They’re copying the files of our system, so it would be easy for me to set things up so that it thinks that there’s an update of all the files, and then it’ll replace them with blank ones. I can’t guarantee that it’ll get rid of all of the data they may have stolen, but I bet it’ll wipe out the most sensitive information.”

“That’s something, at least. You didn’t answer how they got it into our system, though,” Ocean Spirit replied, frowning as she considered the question. “What’s wrong?”

“The problem is that it was inserted from inside the control room. Fortunately, I have cameras all over, and I keep logs for at least thirty days,” Hypergizmo replied, pressing his lips together tightly for a moment before he kept going. “I tracked down when the worm infiltrated our system, and I was even able to figure out which port it came in through. The person who set it up is good, but I suspect they’re just a mundane hacker, not a super. Anyway, I have footage of when it was uploaded. You aren’t going to like the answer.”

Galvanic Action exchanged looks with Ocean Spirit, then spoke grimly. “Considering your comment about thirty days, I’m guessing Morgan or Warden… but let’s see it.”

“I’m afraid you’re wrong there,” Hypergizmo replied, and hit the key to play the clip of surveillance from the control room that he’d found.

The video that appeared wasn’t crisp and perfect. He’d never wanted the resolution to be able to read personal screens, in part because that could be problematic if someone did hack the cameras. Beyond that, video of that type just took up too much storage space for how little it was used.

On the screen, they could see Blooming Orchid sitting down in the main chair of the control room, looking at things and doing her job almost like normal. It seemed all too regular to Hypergizmo, but after a few moments she fished a data stick out of her purse and slotted it into a jack, reaching out to open it on the computer screen, and Hypergizmo froze the video.

“About half an hour after she was on shift at the HQ after her vacation, Blooming Orchid was the one who introduced the worm. The data stick also contained music, but I checked the files and they don’t match those that she’s played here before,” Hypergizmo said soberly, as Galvanic Action bit back a curse. “They aren’t the same style, either… oh, they’re similar, but they don’t quite match up. Now I may just be seeing things where there aren’t any, so I want your opinions. Have either of you noticed her acting oddly?”

“I… hell, I’m not sure. I’ve interacted with Orchid a bit, but I thought that she was unhappy because of everything that went on with Lilith and the others,” Galvanic Action said, pacing back and forth, looking like he was in shock. “I’ve just been so busy that I don’t know.”

“She has been acting oddly. Orchid is normally more upbeat about someone’s chances of recovering quickly, yet she’s been quick to point out that Black Comet might not be able to return to action for a few weeks. Most of the rest…” Ocean Spirit paused, tapping a hand on the console, then continued. “It could’ve been justified by her being upset, like Galvanic said. If it were any single aspect of this, I’d be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt, but there are too many coincidences. Plus, Ebon Dragon is involved.”

“Err, I know he’s related to Orchid, but nothing more than that they are on poor terms,” Hypergizmo admitted, frowning. “What’re you meaning about him being involved?”

“Ebon Dragon is Orchid’s grandfather. She only barely remembers him, but he was disapproving of her parents because they allowed her to do what she wanted. He was very… traditional in some ways and believed that a woman should be seen and little more. He also was a power-hungry bastard,” Ocean Spirit explained unhappily. “He sacrificed his wife as part of a ritual to increase the potency of his magic. His family disowned him, but with him involved, I know Orchid would never be pressured into doing something to betray us. Something has happened to her. Either she’s been mind-controlled or replaced.”

“Holy crap. That’s…” Hypergizmo blanched. “Yeah, that would be bad. What do you want me to do, though? She’s in her room right now, but we don’t have a ton of time.”

“Galvanic? I’m resisting the urge to burst into her room and take her into custody until we know for sure,” Ocean Spirit asked, frowning as she tapped her leg. “I can’t justify drawing this out, not with Black Comet in her care.”

“I think we should have Hyper kill the worm and hopefully the data, then confront her. Accuse her of being an infiltrator and take her into custody regardless. We have evidence she did something wrong, unlike with Morgan and Warden,” Galvanic Action said quickly, pacing rapidly as he looked at Hypergizmo. “Hyper, how quickly can you do it?”

“Taking down the worm and the files shouldn’t take more than five minutes. I have most of the things in place to kill it. I’d just want to give it a little time to work before nuking the worm,” Hypergizmo replied, shrugging slightly as he added, “I’d try to zip bomb their system, but pretty much every piece of software looks for those these days.”

“Zip bomb?” Ocean Spirit asked, looking confused.

“Ah, just a file they used to use. It looks small, but the moment it’s unpacked, it turns into petabytes of junk code. Can crash almost any system if it gets through,” Hypergizmo explained. “Most software looks for signs of it nowadays, though. I considered a lot of ways of trying to kill the files on the other end, but I’m going with what I think are the most reliable.”

“I’ll trust you know what you’re doing,” Ocean Spirit replied, shaking her head in confusion. “There’s a reason you’re in charge of our computers and other tech.”

“Agreed. We’ll confront Orchid in ten minutes,” Galvanic Action said, then paused and asked, “Actually, do you have anything I could use to fight her, Hyper? She’s a bit faster than I am, and too dangerous with that sword of hers.”

“Oh, um, I’d suggest a stun rifle. There’s one down in my lab,” Hypergizmo said, blinking and nodding in response. “I’d suggest a net gun, but that’s not going to be much good if she can cut straight through it.”

“Get to work, Hyper,” Ocean Spirit ordered, glancing at Galvanic Action grimly. “I want to get this done.”

Nodding, Hypergizmo turned back to his computer and got to work. He hoped that it would work the way he expected, but without direct access to the other system there was only so much he could do.

* * *

“Orchid, or whoever you are, you’d best not resist if you know what’s good for you.”

The door hissing open wasn’t enough to wake Pauline, but Ocean Spirit’s flat, angry voice was more than enough to make up for that. She rolled out of the bed, grabbing the sword from next to the bed before she fully woke. Shaking off her drowsiness, Pauline looked at the door and bit back the curse she wanted to utter.

The ready rooms where most of the team were staying lately weren’t exactly roomy, most of them just large enough for the fold-down cots and a small shower and living space. Pauline had slept in smaller rooms during her life so she didn’t much care normally, but it was small enough to severely hamper her movements, and under the circumstances, that was bad.

Just inside and to the left of the doorway was Galvanic Action, the man holding a rifle with a large, stubby barrel that he had aimed at her, a grim look on his face. More important to her was the sight of Ocean Spirit, and Pauline paled at the sight of her. The heroine was wreathed in a thin layer of water, and her entire body had turned into a translucent outline of herself that was barely visible within the liquid. With a hand outstretched in her direction, Pauline knew that she was in extreme danger. As potent as she was on the whole, she was nowhere near Ocean Spirit’s league. Still, she couldn’t give up that easily.

“What are the two of you doing? It’s… God, it’s barely four!” Pauline exclaimed, glancing at the clock to help improve her acting. “Why did you break in here, anyway?”

“Nice try, but we know you aren’t Orchid,” Galvanic Action stated, adjusting his aim as he continued. “We found the worm you planted in the system, and the other things you’ve been doing. Maybe you could fool us when we weren’t paying much attention to you, but now? Not going to happen, whoever you are.”

“You are very close, that I’ll admit, but the more I watch you, the easier it is to notice the differences,” Ocean Spirit added, the faintest hint of a smile crossing her watery face. “Now, if you’re going to fight us, please do. I’m a touch upset at the moment.”

More denials froze on Pauline’s lips and she considered her choices. She could try to deceive them, but in a situation like this… she was a class B superhuman at best, much like Galvanic Action, but his powers were far more suitable for combat than hers. Pauline’s chances of escape were abysmal, and it wasn’t as though Doctor Johnson had earned her loyalty. The only concern she had was for Maureen, and if it was a matter of Maureen’s safety or that of Doctor Johnson… Considering some of the hints she’d heard about what was happening to Blooming Orchid, she’d rather not leave her sister to suffer the consequences of failure.

“Damn it. We told them this was dangerous, but they wanted our help, so…” Pauline relaxed slightly, setting Blooming Orchid’s sword on the bed as she continued. “Look, I’ll tell you what you want to know if you promise one thing.”

Both heroes looked slightly startled, but it was Galvanic Action who replied, his voice suspicious. “What might that be?”

“My sister is with my employer, and if I cooperate she might be in danger. Make sure that he doesn’t do anything to her and I’ll help,” Pauline replied, and smiled at the way his eyebrows rose. “Look, I was paid to infiltrate your team, nothing more. Everything else was none of my business.”

“Spirit?” Galvanic Action asked, giving the heroine a sidelong look. “What do you think?”

“I’m not entirely happy about it, but assuming her information is worthwhile, I can agree,” Ocean Spirit replied, her eyes still fixed on Pauline, but she lowered her hand. “The question is, who you are?”

“I doubt you’ve heard of me, but I’m one of the Doppelgangers. We’re relatively new,” Pauline admitted, and slowly reverted from her shapechange with a sensation not unlike relaxing a clenched muscle. She actually found it something of a relief, as her shorter height felt more natural.

“Huh. That’s a new one,” Galvanic Action said, then nodded toward the door. “Come on; let’s hear what you have to say.”

Chapter 29

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“You gave her to Doctor Johnson? That psychopath?” Galvanic Action demanded, standing up abruptly, and Sky Defender winced as he shifted in place. He agreed with the sentiment, but the man wasn’t helping. Nor was the early hour, for that matter.

“Galvanic, we don’t have time for this,” Ocean Spirit replied, her voice icy. “It’s obvious that Doctor Johnson could have captured Orchid even without her help. At least we know now.”

Doppelganger, the only name the woman who’d infiltrated the team would admit to, was an odd-looking addition to the team, wearing over-sized pajamas and restrained to a chair with adjusting cuffs. She also had bright eyes that glittered with defiance, and Sky Defender hated that his actions regarding Lilith had made her infiltration even easier.

“The problem is where his hideout is located. In about two hours, the area will be packed with people heading for work, and we can’t afford to warn the police yet,” Sky Defender said, frowning as he looked at the map in his HUD, trying to decide how to go about their rescue. “I hate underground bases.”

“I killed the worm, so that doesn’t give us much time. I think we should try to hit the site tonight. Probably within the hour,” Hypergizmo said, and grimaced as he added. “I’d say put Ashley in the command center. I can pilot the Seajet out there. We need all the manpower we can get.”

“I wish we had Morgan and Warden on hand,” Ocean Spirit murmured, frowning as she continued. “I agree on the attack, but I’m not going in the jet. I’ll go via water; it’s faster for me. I’m going to cover the sea and try to find the exit for this submersible so that they can’t escape that way. If I can enter through it, so much the better.”

“Do we really want her here for this?” Crimson Bull interjected, nodding at Doppelganger. “Shouldn’t we put her in a cell or something?”

“I’ve been here for plenty of meetings before. I hardly think it matters at this point,” the villain retorted, to Crimson Bull’s snort of annoyance. Sky Defender found it interesting that Crimson Bull didn’t seem nearly as upset as he usually did when villains were around.

“No, Crimson has a point,” Galvanic Action said, standing and taking a deep breath before approaching Doppelganger. “I’ll take her to a cell. You all should figure out what to do and I’ll help with details when I’m back.”

“Spoilsports,” Doppelganger replied, the short-haired woman looking annoyed as she went along quietly.

“Alright,” Sky Defender agreed, glancing at his screens, then paused in surprise as he looked at some readouts on his HUD. He bit back a curse, waiting until Galvanic Action was out of the room before speaking. “Damn it, I really need to find some time to revise the programming on my computer system. Spirit, you’re really wanting to contact Morgan and Warden?”

“Of course I am,” the team leader replied, looking surprised. “You found a way?”

“I just learned that I hadn’t set things up for my computer to tell me about something else. It seems that Morgan has been answering emails from her lawyer,” Sky Defender said, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Has anyone tried emailing them?”

The lack of a reply was an answer all on its own.

* * *

Shadowmind Lair Alpha-Three

Lilith was just sealing her suit when Circe spoke.

“Rachel, my apologies for the intrusion. You have received an email from Ocean Spirit,” the AI said calmly, and Lilith couldn’t help but look up in surprise.

“How do you know that I have an email from her?” Rachel demanded, looking up almost instantly from her armor.

“You accessed your email via my secure remote systems and then did not log out. As such, I still had access and the connection was open. I monitor all open connections,” Circe explained. “As such, when her email came through I noticed, and the likely import of the contents to Mistress Lilith indicated that I should inform you of its existence.”

Gina giggled, continuing with adjusting her suit again, then stepped into her waiting armor.

“That… makes a frightening amount of sense when you put it that way. It still makes me uncomfortable, though,” Rachel replied, frowning. “Why do you say that it’s important to Lilith?”

“The email mentions her by name.” Circe’s explanation was surprisingly simple, in Lilith’s opinion.

“I think you’d better check the email, Rachel. Otherwise it’ll distract you while we’re hitting Johnson,” Gina chimed in, sounding amused. “I’m surprised we haven’t gotten any emails from them before this.”

Rachel scowled slightly, but Lilith spoke up calmly. “She has a point. I’ve been avoiding my email myself, aside from the one message I sent to Calvin. We may as well hear what she has to say.”

“I’ll take a look, but I’m logging out afterward, so no checking my email again, Circe!” Rachel said, glowering at the ceiling as she walked over to the nearest computer console.

“That is acceptable so long as the emails are not accessed on my systems,” Circe agreed, and fell silent again as Rachel began flicking through options.

Lilith was stepping into her own armor and allowing it to slide into place when Rachel gasped in obvious surprise. Looking up, Lilith blinked on seeing how Rachel was bolt upright, obviously stunned. After a moment of hesitation, Lilith asked cautiously, “Rachel? Is something wrong?”

“One minute. I’m just… I’m processing this, still. It’s not bad… well, not all of it,” Rachel replied, sounding distracted. “Some of it’s bad, but not what’s about you.”

“That sounds promising,” Gina said hopefully, stepping away from the armor rack and twisting in place a little, obviously trying to get used to the armor again.

Nodding, Lilith glanced down and shrugged uncomfortably when the rack released her armor, trying to get used to the weight herself. “It does, though we’ll see. I don’t have high hopes, I’m afraid.”

Gina approached and gave Lilith a hug, which was made slightly awkward by the armor as she whispered, “Come on, be an optimist! It can’t get much worse than it is.”

She had a point, Lilith had to admit, but turned her attention to Rachel, feeling nervous. The brunette was reading the email again, her lips pursed speculatively. Finally, she hit a few buttons and turned away, leaning against the wall and sighing.

“So, would you prefer the bad news or weird news first?” Rachel asked, looking like she was torn between worry and elation. It didn’t raise Lilith’s hopes, but she couldn’t help that.

“I’d say bad news first,” Lilith told her, shifting as she moved over to pull out the drone she’d decided to house the Circe shard in. It’d been just before bed that she’d remembered how the others hadn’t been sure how to bypass an electronic lock, so she was going to have Circe deal with that instead of housing the AI shard in a data pad.

“So, apparently they know about Doctor Johnson, and they said something about Orchid being captured. I’m not sure how that happened. Circe, has that made the news anywhere?” Rachel asked, glancing upward.

“No. Blooming Orchid was seen on patrol in San Francisco yesterday morning, and no conflicts involving her were on the news anywhere,” Circe replied readily.

“That’s really bad. She never liked her grandfather… that’s Ebon Dragon, Lil,” Gina said, frowning deeply. “If he’s working with Doctor Johnson, she could be in a dangerous situation.”

“Right, which is why it’s the bad news. The weird news is stranger. Spirit claims that Sky Defender freaked out because he was afraid of Shadowmind due to him having an encounter with her when he was just starting out as a hero. He nearly died, and was a bit, umm… adamant about taking you down to begin with,” Rachel began, shifting as she continued. “That came to an end when Dracula called the team and verbally ripped a strip out of their hides.”

“Dracula? Vlad called them?” Lilith asked, eyes jerking away from the floor to Rachel, a sense of utter shock overcoming her. “Why would he be involved?”

“I have no idea. Spirit claims he sent Allison Gambry to check your powers, and he’s been keeping an eye on you,” Rachel explained, frowning as she continued. “She claims that he was extremely upset about whatever it was they were doing, which is a bit strange. He doesn’t get involved in outside affairs often, but I can’t see why she’d use him to try to deceive us.”

“It’d be completely out of character. Sure, telling us that they came to terms with who you are, and that you could come in safely, but not lying about Dracula. That makes no sense at all,” Gina agreed, frowning. “How would he even know about you?”

“I don’t know. Circe, was Vlad involved in my creation?” Lilith asked, growing more worried as she thought about the idea. Dracula didn’t show up in the history she’d been taught often, but everything had stressed that while he may not be the most powerful superpowered being on the planet, he wasn’t one which anyone dared to antagonize.

“No outside parties were consulted in your creation, Mistress Lilith. You were entirely the product of Mistress Amber’s effort, not that of any others. Aside from the genetic samples which were used.” Circe’s explanation was unusually direct, Lilith thought, as she continued. “Furthermore, Mistress Amber avoided involving Dracula at all costs, even going so far as to avoid using a sample of Dracula’s Bride in the genetic map she created you from. Thus, his knowledge of your existence is considered a class one security breach. I highly recommend you go into lockdown and teleport to another lair.”

“No,” Lilith said flatly, the idea of going into hiding again almost repulsive. “Circe, I’m not going to simply lie down and let everyone terrorize me into hiding for the rest of my life. We’re going to continue with our current task unless you can honestly tell me that we’re recklessly endangering my life as well as that of Gina and Rachel. Can you?”

Circe was silent for a moment before speaking more quietly. “That is not possible. Success in your attack is not guaranteed, but the known villains located in the lair are believed weaker on the whole than your current group, Mistress Lilith. While it is dangerous, programming indicates that with a surprise attack it is possible to achieve your goals. The greatest threat is Ebon Dragon.”

“Sounds like we have a plan. Rachel, suit up. Also, speaking of Ebon Dragon, I just got an idea,” Gina said, grinning. “Circe, the goggles have flash protection, right?”

The question made Lilith blink once, then she smiled in understanding as Rachel laughed, stepping into her own armor as the computer replied. “Of course.”

“Oh, that’s good. He can move quick, though. You’re going to have to be careful if you want to blind him,” Rachel warned, and Gina nodded.

“I know, but he deserves it. He hit you, and he helped curse me,” Gina said, smiling. “I’m looking forward to this. We can kick their asses and rescue Orchid at the same time.”

“Which reminds me. Circe, please update the shard’s priorities to include rescuing Blooming Orchid,” Lilith asked, slotting the small, circular drone into a slot in the back of her armor. It hooked into place firmly, and she nodded. “I’m ready to go.”

“Programming updated. Teleportation matrix is charged and waiting, Mistress Lilith,” Circe said softly.

“I suppose we’d better go, then. No sense in keeping them waiting,” Rachel said, stepping out of her armor rack.

They left the room and headed for the teleporter. The pylons were ready for them, light shimmering all around as they stepped onto the platform. Lilith looked at the others, and they nodded.

Looking straight ahead, Lilith hoped this would go better than the previous expedition and spoke. “Initiate teleport, Circe.”

A flash of light enveloped them, and Lilith found herself somewhere else entirely. At least it was where they were supposed to be.

Chapter 30

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Nevada SuperMax

Amber was getting truly sick and tired of her current predicament. Here she was, slaving away in an effort to keep an invasion at bay, and no one even knew about it. When she’d saved Lilith, it had given her opponents an opportunity to gain the upper hand, and they’d ruthlessly taken advantage of it and had nearly escaped. No more, though.

Twisting the screws on the last of the ones who might’ve escaped, Amber let out a mental breath of relief as the foe expired with barely a final whimper. One of her enemies had survived, but they weren’t going to be escaping, not really. She’d let the sorry heroes deal with them, rather than continuing to do everything herself.

Sure, she was selfish, but after what the heroes had done to her, she deserved the chance to be selfish on occasion.

Checking on Lilith again, Amber mentally pursed her lips, trying to decide what to do. Her daughter was certainly daring, going into a problematic situation with only a pair of allies. Lilith’s foe might be only Doctor Johnson, but…

<Even a rat can be dangerous when cornered,> Amber murmured in the privacy of her mind. It was unfortunate, but at a certain point she needed to allow Lilith to make her mistakes. She’d live and learn, at least in the end. In the meantime, Amber had to deal with another problem entirely. Turning her astral form on her physical body, Amber examined herself and scowled.

Amber had never been a great beauty but being in the prison hadn’t done her any favors. They’d kept her hair cropped short, and the metal spots where they’d placed the neural inhibitors looked like they’d permanently damaged the hair roots beneath them. She was even thinner and frailer, which was impressive since she hadn’t been able to walk to begin with, and her skin had definitely begun to deteriorate. Amber didn’t even want to check to see if she’d developed bed sores.

<Nope, that isn’t salvageable. I appreciate them keeping it alive while I got used to being mostly untethered, but I think this is quite enough,> Amber murmured, reaching out and finding the cord which bound her astral form to her body. Most people who managed to reach into other realms had an astral cord, and she was no different. The difference was, most of them would be unable to survive without it. Smiling at her body, she murmured, <Goodbye, body. You served me… tolerably well, for many years. It’s time for me to go.>

With that, she ripped the cord out of her body mercilessly, severing her connection to it almost instantly. The body suddenly convulsed, alarms wailing as the aftershocks of her act caused the body which had been Amber’s to have a heart attack. Despite pain radiating through her astral body, Amber threw a carefully aimed psychic bolt into part of the brain, one of the places which the neural inhibitors stimulated.

A nurse and guard came racing down the hallway, but Amber knew her body was beyond saving now, and she smiled to herself, murmuring, <That’ll put a damper on the use of neural inhibitors for a while. Now, time to go.>

With that, she slipped through the wards around the prison effortlessly, heading east as the pain of severing her connection to her body faded away. The sense of freedom made up for it, though, as Amber stretched her senses and felt the dangerous creatures of the astral realm flinch away from her in fear.

Life was good.

* * *

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“There it is. I still can’t believe he set up shop beneath a dental office,” Gina said, obvious distaste in her tone as she looked at the small building. “Enough people think of dentists as torturers as it is.”

The squat building of the dental office wasn’t large, with numerous windows and bushes around the base of it. Lilith could see a pair of glass doors in the front, as well as other ones around the rear of the building, likely intended for employees, though what use Doctor Johnson had for them was another question. She had to wonder what he was a doctor of, but Lilith brushed the thought aside after a moment. It didn’t really matter, not in the end. The important thing was getting inside, assuming that they weren’t about to hit the wrong location.

“I didn’t realize people had such strong feelings about dentists,” Lilith murmured, shrugging and glancing at Rachel. “Are you doing alright, Rachel?”

Rachel was obviously concentrating on keeping them invisible, but nodded slightly, murmuring, “I can hold this safely for… up to ten more minutes, so we’d best get moving. We don’t want to spend too much of my power on getting inside the building.”

Lilith nodded, unhooking the drone and touching the hidden buttons to activate it. The small silver disk looked a lot like a flying saucer, with a thicker center and a thin rim. As the device began whirring to life, Gina added, “As to your earlier question, yes, people have strong feelings about dentists. Most of the dentists I’ve known are good people, but not many people like going to them.”

“If you say so,” Lilith replied, watching the drone vibrate, then slowly hover upward out of her hand, rotating so that it was horizontal. After a moment, she asked, “Circe? Are you active?”

“System initialized. Warning, current hardware restricts available functions to minimal levels, Mistress Lilith.” Circe’s soft voice was tiny coming from the drone, and it bobbed. “This unit will attempt to assist you to the best of its capabilities. Self-initiative appears to be contraindicated under present circumstances. What are your instructions?”

“We’re going to approach the building in a moment. Stay within three feet of me, and when directed, unlock the door,” Lilith explained. “Try to ensure that unlocking the door doesn’t set off alarms as well.”

“Acknowledged, Mistress Lilith. Entering holding pattern,” the drone replied and took up a position about a foot away from Lilith, level with her head.

“Right, let’s go,” Gina murmured, and led the way across the street. The streetlights were fairly prevalent in Santa Cruz, but Lilith found it telling that they didn’t seem to have a good angle to illuminate the rear of the dental office. It was another sign that it might be Doctor Johnson’s lair, she imagined.

They reached the back door relatively easily, just barely managing to cross before an early-morning commuter passed. Looking at the door, Lilith glanced at Gina and asked, “What does the scanner say?”

“Umm… it looks like there’s an elevator inside, and the shaft definitely descends farther than it should,” Gina replied after a momentary pause. “I think it’s detecting a structure way below us, but I can’t be sure. I’m not trained on this system.”

“That’ll have to be good enough,” Rachel said. “Circe didn’t find anything like that in the city records, so no matter what, something illicit is going on here.”

“True. Circe? Please get the door for me,” Lilith said, and the drone bobbed in place.

“Yes, Mistress Lilith. Initiating infiltration protocols,” Circe replied, drifting forward as several small panels opened on the underside of the drone, wires and tools on mechanical arms slipping out. It was almost touching the door when they snaked into the gap, and Lilith found herself waiting.

None of them were talking, shifting from foot to foot as they waited. Lilith flinched as a siren suddenly wailed in the distance, only to cut off a moment later. Gina laughed softly, shaking her head. “Geez… what a time for a cop to pull someone over. I assume that’s what happened, anyway.”

“Definitely,” Rachel murmured, swallowing, then reaching down to pull a small flask off her belt and taking a drink of water. “How’s it coming, Circe?”

“As anticipated, the security systems exceed those normally used by dental offices by a large margin. This reduces entry speed by a significant degree. Estimate thirty seconds to access, if following Mistress Lilith’s request not to raise alarms.” Circe spoke in her usual, unhurried tone. “Would you like me to accelerate my efforts?”

“No, no, go ahead as you are,” Rachel replied hastily, prompting Lilith to smile.

With the brief wait, Lilith glanced at the others and asked, “So, we stick with the plan? Assuming we manage to not raise the alarm.”

“Pretty much. No splitting up unless the alarm is raised, since we don’t dare give them time to escape or hurt Orchid,” Gina said, tapping her elbow as she continued. “Also, you stick with one of us unless we have Ebon Dragon pinned down. You’re powerful enough to take down Doctor Johnson, from everything I’ve heard of him, but I don’t want you trying to face a class A supervillain alone.”

“Absolutely agreed,” Rachel said, and the door clicked open.

“Access granted. Please watch your step,” Circe announced as the door swung open. “Infiltration protocols indicate that the elevator likely possesses alarms as well. Please use caution in your movements.”

“Thank you, Circe,” Lilith replied, and followed Gina inside the building, which was well-heated and had nice carpet, she noticed.

Gina approached the elevator and glanced at Circe. “Circe, can you attempt to bypass the security on the elevator, too?”

“Yes. Do you desire me to?” the drone asked. At Gina’s impatient nod, the drone slipped up to the elevator and a wire hooked into a tiny data port. It hummed for a moment, then she spoke. “Lift access granted. Elevator alarm system disabled for five minutes.”

“Then we’d better go,” Rachel said, looking more relaxed as she glanced around. “No cameras, so I dropped the invisibility. Hopefully we can get this done quickly.”

“Right,” Lilith agreed, and the elevator doors slid open to reveal a normal-looking elevator car. She stepped inside with the others, then frowned as she saw it only had two floors listed, 1 and B. “Circe, how do we go to the bottom floor?”

“Scanning… press both buttons at the same time, Mistress Lilith,” Circe told her. “This will override the standard settings and take you to the bottom of the shaft.”

“Thank you.” Lilith did as the AI had said, pressing both buttons, and the elevator began to smoothly descend. It was a surprisingly long drop, before the car finally came to a stop.

Just as the doors were opening to reveal a hallway that stretched to either side and a door across the way, an alarm began to blare and Gina cursed. The heroine darted out of the elevator quickly alongside Rachel. Rachel slowed enough to drag Lilith out as well, moments before the doors snapped shut and she heard a hissing sound from through the doors.

“Circe, you said you disabled the alarm for five minutes!” Gina exclaimed. “Why is it going off?”

“The elevator alarm was disabled. There must have been another alarm that was not linked to the elevator,” Circe replied calmly. “Recommend changing from infiltration to combat protocols.”

“That’s obvious,” Rachel hissed, quickly opening the door across the hall and looking around an empty meeting room before shaking her head and asking shortly. “Left or right?”

“Left,” Gina snapped.

Lilith nodded, then hesitated and looked at the drone before ordering. “Circe, avoid contact. Attempt to reach the internet to get instructions from your primary systems and try to find Blooming Orchid for us.”

The two heroines started to the left as the drone bobbed in place, speaking. “Yes, Mistress Lilith.”

As she turned to run, the drone ascended to near the ceiling and began to move the other direction.

* * *

Reacting to an alarm had been seared into Doctor Johnson’s reflexes by decades of encounters with heroes. Rolling out of bed immediately, he blinked as he shook off his weariness, grabbing a nearby suit from its hanger. The time on the clock made him scowl, but it was only to be expected.

“Eve, what’s the alert for?” Doctor Johnson snapped, knowing that the line to his assistant was active already.

“We have a security breach. Despite no reports of the doors opening upstairs or movement from the elevator, the alarms registered it reaching the bottom of the shaft and opening,” Eve replied, her voice accompanied by the sound of heels echoing in the halls. “The intruders are wearing armor that somehow fragments their appearance to cameras, but analysis indicates that it is Morgan Le Fay, Warden, and Shadowmind’s creation, Lilith Carpenter. They are currently moving toward the guest wing.”

Doctor Johnson blanched and swore under his breath, throwing on the shirt and starting to get into the pants. The anti-ballistic fabric made him feel better, at least. The problem was that the heroes had gotten inside without warning him. It didn’t give him much time to react.

“What are my guests doing?” Doctor Johnson asked, his mind racing. “Also, is there any sign of, oh… Destruction Corps inbound?”

“Dreamer was already awake and has exited her room, heading for the dining room. She appears to be humming ‘Mary had a little lamb’, Doctor. Ebon Dragon has ripped a hole in reality through which he is moving his things,” Eve replied, then paused and added, “Maureen is barricading her door and is checking her communications with Pauline. There are none waiting for her. No sign of other factions inbound on our location, Doctor.”

“At least that’s something. What are the odds of the intruders being taken down by Dreamer and Ebon Dragon?” he asked, adding his jacket and pulling on a pair of shock gauntlets. “Also, activate the defense bots.”

“Activating defensive systems now. Precise odds incalculable, due to insufficient information on the abilities of those involved,” Eve told him, her voice growing more serious as she continued. “When basing information on previous encounters, I give no more than even odds of a successful defense. I recommend evacuation, Doctor.”

“Damn it. Well, if that’s how it’s going to be…” Doctor Johnson said, pausing by the door and scowling. “Insure that things are backed up and initiate a data wipe, Eve. Do you want to risk transferring to your new chassis? It’s almost completed.”

“No, Doctor. The time and risk that would require are not worth the potential improvement in my abilities,” Eve replied promptly. “Beginning backup scan, Doctor. What do you wish for me to do with Jade Serpent? Her conditioning has only barely begun.”

That made Doctor Johnson pause and frown in frustration. He didn’t dare allow the heroine to join him in the escape sub without question, but he also didn’t want to give her up. Not after the effort he’d put into building her appearance and the like. In the end, he decided to go with the safe option, no matter how much he regretted it. He could always find and modify a new servant later.

“Upload a backup of yourself and delay any pursuers as long as possible. Ensure they don’t get their hands on Jade, Eve,” Doctor Johnson ordered. “I’m going to go dismantle the genetic manipulator and destroy the components save for the critical pieces before evacuating. Be prepared for the self-destruct sequence, Eve.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Eve agreed, then paused and continued. “They’ve encountered Dreamer.”

“I’d better hurry,” Doctor Johnson said, opening the door and breaking into a jog. Two of his combat robots had been waiting and flanked him as he jogged down the hallway.

Chapter 31

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“Ooh… I had wondered what had the alarm squawking like a scared little bird, but never did I think it’d be the two of you… and a pretty one. Mm… I can smell her innocence from here,” Dreamer crooned, grinning as she stood up from her chair, her crimson eyes fixed on Lilith as she licked her lips. “How did Shadowmind ever make someone like you? You’d be so incredibly tasty to toy with…”

Something about Dreamer looked different, Morgan thought, her eyes narrowing as she looked the villain over carefully. Something felt different, too, but she couldn’t put her finger on what. Maybe it was Dreamer’s attitude… the woman sounded more confident than she normally did. The content of her words irritated Morgan, but not nearly as much as it seemed to bother Gina.

“Shut up and get out of our way, Dreamer,” Gina replied, her voice flat. “Unless you’re really wanting to get your ass handed to you.”

“Oh, did the pretty doll dressed up in her armor not like that?” Dreamer asked, swaying back and forth as she almost caressed the back of a chair. “Mm… you want to keep her all to yourself? Yes, I think that’s what you want… just like the impulsive little blue boy wanted to have you all to himself.”

Gina took a sudden step forward. “You—”

Morgan grabbed Gina’s shoulder and opened her mouth to speak when she suddenly found herself… unsure of what she was doing. Why was she so tired? And what was she doing here again? She could hear the white-clad, swaying woman speaking, could understand her words, but they didn’t really register.

“Yes, he did want you for himself. When I pried open his tiny, selfish mind, I got to learn all of his precious desires, Warden, including everything he was planning to do to you. Every last one of the sordid deviancies he desired. I could make them come true, too. Or I could open your mind, learning of what it is you desire and making those dreams come true,” Dreamer purred, circling the table slowly. “Yesss… I think that’s what I’ll do. All of those precious dreams will become—aah!”

Dreamer jumped back as a crimson beam lanced out from Lilith’s pistol and barely missed her. Lilith spoke firmly, the sensation of her offering Morgan strength washing over her. “Morgan, Warden! Snap out of it!”

Morgan accepted the power almost instinctively, and she felt the fog over her mind ripped away like cobwebs. She shook her head, slightly unnerved by the experience. She’d never been hit by Dreamer’s power before, so what she’d experienced was surprising.

“You… how did you break free?” Dreamer demanded, her eyes wide.

“I don’t know how you could use your power on them that easily, but I’m not going to allow you to control my thoughts. I don’t have much, but my mind is my own,” Lilith replied calmly, frowning slightly. “I won’t allow you or anyone else to touch it.”

“Ugh, thank you, Lilith. That was… shocking. But now I know what she’s doing, and I can block it,” Morgan said, weaving magic to reinforce her mental shields against the aura she now detected from Dreamer. “I’m surprised. You’re more powerful than I anticipated, Dreamer.”

“She is. That was… unpleasant,” Gina added, frowning. “Let’s take her down.”

“You’re welcome to try, you unpleasant miscreants, but if you do, you’re going to have a harder time than you’d think!” Dreamer suddenly snarled, her eyes spitting malevolence as she reached out as if grabbing the air to either side, and Morgan’s eyes widened as the very air around the villain seemed to warp.

The air twisted, and darkness enveloped Dreamer’s crimson eyes, turning them pitch-black and the veins up and down her arms slowly turning dark as well. From looking almost seductive, she turned frightening in a moment, and flickering white energy poured out of her hands into the warping air. Two figures took form to her sides that seemed to be made of light and shadow, and as they did, Morgan felt her shock deepen.

The first figure was barely recognizable due to the pattern of his outfit, but it was definitely the figure of Blue Impulse, and Morgan could feel the fluctuations of magic off of his figure. They were much weaker than normal, but she could feel them. The other figure was the tall shape of Heavy Metal, but it seemed more translucent, almost weaker. By the time they took form, Dreamer was sweating hard and panting.

“What in the hell?” Gina exclaimed, taking a step back as she stared at the figures. “Who… how did you do that?”

“Dreams reflect reality! I may not be at full strength yet, but I’ll make you pay for looking down on me!” Dreamer spat out.

“Shit, I’ll—” Gina began, but Morgan held out her hand and shook her head, smiling slightly.

“No, Warden. We have other enemies to face. Dreamer is pushing herself, and these… creations of hers aren’t at the strength of the ones they’re based on,” Morgan told her friend, putting a hand behind her back and beginning to concentrate a spell in it, one which would be able to pierce defenses. With non-living beings, she didn’t have to hold back. “You two go search for Johnson. Take him down.”

“Morgan?” Lilith’s use of her superhero name was slightly odd, as if Lilith didn’t like the sound of it, but she continued softly, “Are you certain?”

“Completely. Go, both of you. I have this,” Morgan replied, smiling slightly as she spotted a scowl on Dreamer’s face.

“Come on, Lil,” Gina replied, grabbing Lilith’s arm and darting away. She knew better than to stick around when Morgan was insisting, at least.

“Don’t you dare!” Dreamer exclaimed, and at her gesture the figures beside her moved, Heavy Metal’s footsteps sounding like thunder in the large room.

The copy of Blue Impulse mostly mirrored his teleportation, flickering out of existence in flashes of white light and launching bolts of white magic at Lilith and Gina. Gina’s shields were even more powerful than before though, deflecting the attacks easily. Morgan’s confidence grew as she realized that the bolts of magic Blue Impulse was throwing were barely half their normal strength, so instead she turned to Heavy Metal as she pointed the hand gathering magic at him.

“Catch!” Morgan called out, just as the orb of swirling, near-black magic launched out of her hand at the lumbering figure of the villain like a cannonball. She was amused that the figure actually did attempt to catch her attack, but it was far too slow.

The orb of magic sent Heavy Metal flying backward into the wall without almost any other effect. Dreamer began to laugh, then cut off as she seemed to notice that Morgan was smiling.

With a tremble, the orb suddenly burst open into a screaming torrent of purple magic, twisting and tearing at everything within ten feet. The metal wall screamed as it began to tear, and a nearby chair was reduced to crumpled, broken wreckage in mere moments. The figure managed to resist the attack for a few seconds, but then it abruptly, suddenly collapsed on itself, bleeding white liquid that shone with internal light across the floor before the spell died.

Morgan tapped her lips, grinning as she spoke. “Oops. I think I broke it… next, please?”

“You…!” Dreamer growled and inhaled sharply. The white liquid on the ground swirled and rose into the air, flying over to coat her skin in a gleaming layer of light, hiding most of the black shadows of Dreamer’s veins, and Morgan’s smile faded slightly.

Nothing that she’d ever read about Dreamer had indicated that the woman had the power to do anything like this. Dreamer was known for being able to lull people to sleep with uncanny ability and to be able to do so much damage to someone’s psyche that they were trapped in comas for years or even died from the effect. This was new and frightening.

A blast of energy from Blue Impulse distracted Morgan, and she flinched as it bounced off her shield. He launched a dozen more attacks, each of which she deflected easily. Finally, Morgan asked, her tone biting, “Where did this power come from, anyway? You’ve always been too emotional to hide something like this for years, Dreamer. Did you finally go through puberty or something?”

“You’re a bitch, Morgan. I’m not… not going to let you get away with looking down on me!” Dreamer replied, panting as she absorbed the liquid, shuddering as gleaming light began to collect in her hands. “Just because… I was at a fragment of my strength for years, it means nothing now. I can take you down even if I’m not fully recovered yet!”

Her words caused Morgan’s blood to run cold. The thought that Dreamer had been weakened for years was terrifying, and Morgan’s eyebrows knitted as suddenly the figure of Blue Impulse was ripped apart into the same glowing liquid and sucked into Dreamer’s hands.

Feeling danger from the villain, Morgan coalesced her magic into a bolt of energy and launched it at Dreamer’s shoulder hard. To the heroine’s shock, Dreamer didn’t dodge, hissing as the bolt hit her, shredding her dress where it impacted. Instead, the villain looked up malevolently, grinning.

“You heroes, so predictable. None of you are willing to make hard choices,” Dreamer hissed. “I am willing. You should have hurt me while you could, Morgan. Instead, face this!”

The light in her hands flashed out, the world in front of her warping again. This time the figure that took form was very different, though. Clad in full plate armor and wielding a sword in his left hand, the man was handsome yet cold, in a monochromatic way. Morgan backed up a step, suddenly worried as she felt the magic rippling off the copy of a man she’d seen pictures of before.

“Sir Gareth? You… how?” Morgan gasped, her eyes wide as the man gave a wide, cruel smile.

The unique ability of England’s most powerful hero, King Arthur, was his ability to bestow the mantles of thirteen Knights of the Round Table on others, granting even mundane humans power that approached his own strength. Sir Gareth had been one of the first to be granted a mantle and had become famous due to his skill and honorable nature. Unfortunately, he’d also succumbed to Dreamer’s powers nearly seven years before and was even now in a coma. While his mantle had been passed on to another, Morgan had mooned over the handsome man more than a few times when researching her namesake. The problem was the suffocating power she sensed from him.

“Haven’t you guessed? My power allows me to consume the dreams of others,” Dreamer replied, panting and sweating as she staggered against the wall. “The more of their dreams I consume, the more powerful of a spectre of them I can manifest. Assuming I don’t metabolize their dreams to heal, at least. What makes you think I’d ever allow myself to lose the service of the most powerful victim I’ve ever had, though? Gareth, kill her.”

Morgan inhaled sharply as the man moved like lightning, putting up a shield to block his attack. Even so, the force of his sword hitting her shield was like a wrecking ball that cracked her shield and sent Morgan flying.

The door she hit gave way with a squeal as Morgan hit it, sending her flying out into the hallway. Two wandering robots, each blocky humanoids carrying energy rifles, beeped and began to fire at Morgan. The bolts bounced off her shield, but it was a cold comfort.

“Ah, shit,” the heroine whispered, thankful for the improved armor she’d been given. But then she didn’t have time to think about her armor. Not when she was facing a near-perfect copy of a hero who’d specialized in close range combat.

Chapter 32

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

“Are you sure we should leave her on her own?” Lilith asked as she followed Warden down the hall. Glancing back at Lilith, Warden smiled slightly.

“If Morgan says she’s got it, she’s got it. Oh, she might have a bad day, but unless there’s something like what happened with Pyroclasm, she’ll be fine,” Warden replied, pausing at an intersection as a small turret popped out of the ceiling to fire at her and a group of robots turned the corner. She put up a shield as they opened fire, continuing without pause. “If anything, she’d be annoyed if we didn’t take her at her word. She has that new armor, you know.”

Lilith fell to a knee and took careful aim before shooting the turret’s sensor, causing the machine to lose some focus, Warden noticed. She started manifesting spears across the surface of her shield as Lilith replied, her tone still betraying worry. “Yes, and it took some damage in the fight the other day. I’m not nearly as confident as you are.”

“I know, Lil. Just… remember, that was Destruction Corps, not posers like Johnson and Dreamer,” Warden replied, focusing her magic and launching the spears downrange like a golden rain, one lancing into the turret and the others shredding the three robots mercilessly. “Dreamer had some new tricks, sure, but that copy of Impulse was at less than half strength. When Morgan’s done with it, she’ll take down Dreamer hard.”

“I suppose so,” Lilith said, seeming a little more relaxed than she had before. “I still worry.”

“Of course you do,” Warden replied, deciding to go left again. “I just—”

Suddenly Warden skidded to a stop, her eyes narrowing as she looked at a door to her right. It wasn’t any different than the others that they’d passed, but she could feel magic beyond it, magic which felt very, very familiar. After the agonizing time she’d spent with her power twisted into a pretzel by the magic in question, it’d be a miracle if she didn’t recognize it.

“Warden?” Lilith asked, stepping up next to her. “What is it?”

“Lil, I think you’d best go on ahead,” Warden said softly, anger slowly rearing its ugly head as she stared at the door. “I sense magic in there. Ebon Dragon’s magic. He’s fast and powerful, and I really, really don’t want you to get caught in the fight.”

“You’re sure? No, of course you’re sure. What about Orchid, though? Or Johnson?” Lilith asked, frowning. “I’m not certain what I can do. You know that.”

“Lil, you’re stronger than Johnson. He’s a tech specialist, and you saw those bots. Get in close and you can rip them apart. Just…” Warden paused, then gave Lilith a quick, firm kiss before continuing breathlessly. “I trust you. Rescue Orchid and beat him into a pulp for me? I have to do this, Lil.”

“If you say so. I’ll do what I can, G—Warden. Be safe,” Lilith replied, swallowing hard before she hesitated and said, “I’m going back. The robots were coming from the other direction, so I think that’s where he’s more likely to be.”

“Makes sense. Be safe,” Warden replied softly, watching as her girlfriend turned back the way they’d come, just as the faint sound of ripping metal echoed down the halls. The fight with Dreamer must be rougher than she’d anticipated, but Morgan hadn’t called for backup.

With Lilith gone, Warden turned to the door and hit the key, only to be startled when it opened. Standing in the center of a nearly bare bedroom was Ebon Dragon, his face impassive and his hands behind his back. His eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of her.

“Warden. You sent your companion away.” His words were oddly clipped, but he didn’t move to attack her.

“She is here for another matter entirely. On the other hand, I have unfinished business with you,” Warden replied, stepping into the room as she studied him. “You attacked us two days ago, and you worked with Blue Impulse. Why aren’t you attacking me now?”

“In both cases I was hired for a job. Regardless of what you may think of me, I am not the type to hold grudges. I seek power, heroine, and many things that I require are expensive. You have intruded here, but I was not hired to defend the doctor’s abode,” Ebon Dragon replied calmly, watching as she circled to the side, a slight smile on his face. “Your magic is inspiring. Even more now that you have absorbed some of Blue Impulse’s power. I do not believe that women should be heroines, but you impress me.”

“I don’t much care for what you think of me, Ebon Dragon,” Warden told him, trying to figure out what he was up to.

“I imagine not. Still, I think that there are cases where deals can be struck. You are not currently part of a team that requires you to turn over all information, so I will make you an offer,” Ebon Dragon said, pulling out an envelope from his sash and holding it up. “This contains details on how the changes to your body were made and how to reverse them. If you allow me to leave here without challenge, I will give it to you.”

The offer startled Warden, and she blinked a couple of times before her eyes narrowed. As tempting as the offer was, she knew better than to take the offer of a villain at face value, even a mercenary like Ebon Dragon. Besides, there was also the matter of Blooming Orchid.

“I see. Then what about Blooming Orchid? Were you party to her abduction?” Warden asked, ready to use her magic at a moment’s notice, just as she was certain that Ebon Dragon was.

The villain’s eyebrows rose slightly, then he frowned as he lowered the envelope. “You know of that. Unexpected. I was asked if I would object by the doctor, no more. I told him that she must not be killed. That was the extent of my involvement.”

“You agreed to her abduction?” Warden demanded, anger rising even more now. “Why? Why would you do that to your own granddaughter?”

“She may be family, but that is precisely why I have a say in her path, unlike with your own,” Ebon Dragon said flatly. “She chose a poor path, so I agreed that she be made to aid in my own. At least she would be of some use.”

Warden’s rage overflowed at his dismissive comment and she couldn’t wait any longer. She lashed out at the man with a dozen golden spikes of magic at once, launching them across the room with deadly intent.

Sidestepping all but one, Ebon Dragon’s hands erupted with black energy once again, incinerating the envelope as he caught the last spike just as it was about to prick his skin, then it slowly dissipated in his hand.

“I see that we’re not going to come to an agreement,” he said coldly, taking a combat stance. “A pity.”

“Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be free.” Warden replied, golden magic swirling around her now, and azure streaks snaking their way through the radiant aura.

* * *

Pocketing the control chip to the genetic manipulator, Doctor Johnson grunted as he tossed the main components and power supply into the incinerator. The control software had already been backed up, so the control chip was the only truly important piece left. While losing the devices to modify genetic code was a loss, he could always build new ones. He’d built the machine once already, so he could always make it again.

The intercom next to him crackled to life and Eve spoke. “Doctor, data dump ninety percent complete. Dreamer and Ebon Dragon have engaged Morgan and Warden. Be warned, Lilith is heading in your direction. Should I continue overseeing the data dump or come to your assistance?”

“Get down here and keep her off me. I still need to melt the drives. I don’t want them getting anything off these,” Doctor Johnson replied hastily, swearing under his breath before nodding to the two robots. “Bots, guard the entrance. Destroy all opponents who attempt to enter.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Eve replied, allowing the intercom to go silent.

The two combat robots walked over to the entrance from the rest of the base as Doctor Johnson began opening the casing of the computer array. He considered just using his gauntlets to fry the system, but that wasn’t guaranteed to destroy the data fully. Next time he made a device, he made a mental note to have the hard drives on sticks that could be removed in seconds, not having to open the entire chassis to get to them! As he was pulling them out, the door hissed open and each of the combat robots turned to open fire, moving with the polished speed he’d programmed into them ages before.

The dark-haired woman who somersaulted into the room was positively magnetic, and Doctor Johnson found his gaze drawn to her as he shoved the chips into the disposal shaft and activated it. Moving with surprising grace, the woman ducked under the rifles of the combat robots, shooting one of them through the core of its chassis with a pistol, then sweeping the legs out from under the other. He winced as she shot it while rising, spinning to take aim at him. She smiled at him, her eyes covered by a pair of armored goggles.

“Doctor Johnson, I presume?” she asked, her tone pleasant even though her face was nearly emotionless.

“That would be me. You must be Lilith Carpenter,” Doctor Johnson replied, dusting his gauntlets off as he stood straight, ignoring her pistol. He wasn’t happy with the speed she’d moved at, since she looked far faster than he was, even with his newfound youth.

“Yes. You look younger than the records I’ve seen show you being. Odd,” Lilith murmured, then continued more firmly. “I suggest you surrender now. I’d prefer not hurting you, but I’m willing to do so if necessary.”

“I think not,” Doctor Johnson told her flatly, and raised both arms toward her, triggering his gauntlets.

Lightning blasted out from both palms and into the intruder, sparks arcing across the room savagely. The light was blinding, and Doctor Johnson winced and averted his gaze, having forgotten how bright the light from them was. He needed to be better about wearing the sunglasses which he usually used with the gauntlets. After a few seconds, he stopped blasting Lilith, looking back and expecting to see her twitching on the ground.

Instead he flinched backward as a laser bounced off the shield encompassing his half of the room, and he almost gawked at the sight of Lilith. Her armor had lost most of the paint across its surface, but aside from steaming slightly, she looked none the worse for wear, though she was frowning.

“How… Shadowmind. She knew about the gauntlets, didn’t she?” Doctor Johnson demanded angrily.

“Actually, no. We were attempting to capture Megawatt, and I didn’t want to be the conductor to his generator.” Lilith replied, shrugging as she added. “It seems the precautions were useful, even if not for the reason I intended. Your shield is annoying, but there’s a simple solution to that. You seem slower than me.”

Anger surged through Doctor Johnson at her words. That she’d negated his gauntlets by accident was unacceptable! The sheer arrogance that she showed as she holstered her pistol and started toward him was frustrating, but he didn’t have any real options. Not until the door hissed open behind Lilith and he saw Eve in the doorway.

Lilith started to react, but a half-second too late as his assistant was on her instantly. Eve moved brutally, grabbing her by the arm and spinning to launch the intruder into the nearby wall with all the force her mechanical frame could muster. The impact was deafening, and Doctor Johnson winced as Lilith fell to the floor, barely managing to fall on her feet, with blood beginning to drip from her nose and her goggles falling to the ground as their frames shattered. Her eyes were blazing green, he noticed.

“Doctor, evacuate please. I will deal with her,” Eve said, moving between Lilith and Doctor Johnson.

“Of course, Eve. Deal with her as you see fit,” Doctor Johnson replied, and darted for the nearest door, reflecting that he probably should update his equipment and combat robots after this.

He’d been getting lazy about that.

Chapter 33

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

Claire was having a hard time concentrating on anything. Her body ached and was unfamiliar; she was weaker than she could ever remember having been, plus her eyes and ears were being assaulted by static.

Only a few minutes before, the headset had been showing her strange patterns that had been difficult to concentrate on, as well as music that had been trying to lull her into a passive state, she knew. Eve had made no secret of Doctor Johnson’s plan to brainwash Claire, which made how the headset had suddenly cut off and began assaulting her with static instead rather strange. It might drive her insane, but that was about it, especially since she wasn’t able to move her hands from behind her back.

Her frustration with the static was growing still stronger, and Claire wanted nothing more than for the headset to fry and maybe take her with it. That frustration was also why she froze when the headset abruptly shut down entirely, leaving her vision blank, save for the sparkling after-image of the static that she’d been seeing previously.

Moments later she felt something small and cool bump against her forehead, like the rim of a metal plate, and she recoiled as something tickled against her chin, near the strap holding the headset in place. A moment later, a soft, unfamiliar female voice spoke through the headset. “Please hold still. It is difficult to manipulate the fastener with you moving.”

“What?” Claire asked, her voice slightly unfamiliar, but also muffled due to the noise canceling in the headset. Still, she didn’t move as the touch of metal near her throat occurred again, this time the object snaking around the fastener.

“Interfacing difficult. One moment, social protocols are presently offline,” the voice replied. A few moments later, the strap came loose, and more of the thin-feeling metal objects wrapped around the headset and slowly began pulling it free.

Finding herself staring at what looked like a tiny flying saucer with metal tentacles protruding from the bottom of it was not what Claire had expected, and she felt her jaw drop slightly as it allowed the headset to fall to the floor.

“What… what are you? Why are you here?” Claire asked after a moment, shaking off her shock.

“Social protocols online. This drone is a remote chassis, and I am Circe, an AI shard in the service of Mistress Lilith Carpenter,” the drone said politely. “You are the heroine designated Blooming Orchid? The files I accessed indicated so, but you do not appear to resemble the heroine in any way save for hair color and gender.”

“Y-yes, I am. Lilith? Why would she… no, no. I was captured by Doctor Johnson, and he modified me to look like I do,” Claire replied, refusing to glance down at her unfamiliar skin. “He used something called a genetic manipulator to do it. I have no idea how it works.”

“Acknowledged. Processing power is insufficient to fully analyze current situation. Will provisionally accept your identity,” the drone replied, humming as it circled Claire. “Primary task is your rescue. Please do not resist, I must free your arms.”

“Umm, okay. What are you doing here, other than that?” Claire asked, leaning forward. The idea of a tiny drone trying to help her was strange, but it began undoing the armbinders, starting from the elbows.

“Alpha priority is the safety of Mistress Lilith. Minor priority, safety of Morgan Le Fay and Warden to keep Mistress Lilith happy. Need your assistance to disable lair self-destruct system. Secondary goal, capturing Doctor Johnson. Tertiary goals, defeat Ebon Dragon and other villains in base,” Circe replied, freeing Claire’s arms. “Current situation volatile. Need assistance to acquire advanced chassis.”

“I… I see. Morgan and Warden are here?” Claire asked, her hopes rising. “What about the rest of the team?”

“The other team members were deliberately kept uninformed to ensure Mistress Lilith’s safety,” Circe replied, the drone sounding slightly confused. “The two heroines are in the structure. Residual shockwaves indicate combat.”

“What do you… no, we don’t have time for this,” Claire said, shaking her head and standing, swaying slightly as she tried to adjust to her new center of gravity. She felt so strange. “I’ll try to help. Just be aware that I’m much, much weaker than I was. He reduced my muscle mass to ensure I couldn’t fight back.”

“That is acceptable,” Circe said, hovering over to the door, which slid open at the drone’s approach. “Please move quickly.”

Claire followed the bot, feeling half-naked in the hospital gown, but even the chance of freedom was worth grasping. There was a faint hint of salt in the air, as if they were near the ocean, and she frowned. The drone went down a few rooms and paused at the door, sliding a tendril into the port and the door opened. Stepping inside, Claire froze in place.

The room appeared to be a manufactory of some type, and in the center of the room was Eve, at least after a fashion. The blonde figure was almost identical, save that it was mostly naked, and all but one arm was covered in skin that looked real at first glance. The exposed arm showed armor and several of the elaborately bunched mechanical muscles of the android.

“What are we doing here? That’s Eve!” Claire hissed.

“It is a robotic chassis with the appropriate transponders to allow me to access the base computers and self-destruct system without activating countermeasures,” Circe replied calmly. “However, the access point is under a cover which this unit does not have the strength to raise. Your assistance is required.”

“I…” Claire hesitated, looking on the face of the only one of her tormentors that she’d encountered in person, but after a moment she sighed and shook it off. Now wasn’t the time to let herself have doubts, and if they were trying to deceive her, this was a poor way to go about it. So instead she nodded. “Tell me what to do.”

“Affirmative,” the drone replied, hovering over to a section of equipment next to Eve’s body. One of its tendrils tapped a switch cover and explained. “Please raise this to provide access.”

Claire nodded and stepped over to the switch in question, bracing herself. As she did, a rumbling sensation shook the floor, making her wonder what had just happened.

* * *

Morgan barely dodged the attack which Gareth’s spectre had unleashed this time, his blade carving deep into the wall and setting off alarms. She managed to leave behind a speck of her magic, but it was a near thing.

Her armor was cracked and had taken dozens of hits that Morgan knew would have punctured her old outfit. Any complaints she had about Circe’s criticisms had vanished by this point, and she panted, staring at the figure and glancing at Dreamer, wondering how long the woman could keep this up. She flinched as the hallway behind her collapsed with a rumbling crash, then dodged desperately to the side as Gareth silently lashed out with his sword, a crescent-shaped blade of light cutting clean through the floor, wall, and ceiling as it flashed through the spot she’d occupied a moment before.

“Not so cocky now, are you?” Dreamer sneered, breathing hard as she rested against a chair behind Gareth. After Morgan had tried to hit the woman with more attacks, Dreamer had taken care to keep the spectre between them. Every attack Morgan had thrown at him had been ripped apart by that deadly blade of his, and even the attempts to restrain or stun him hadn’t worked. “You’re going to die by inches!”

“Only because… you’re hiding behind someone else,” Morgan retorted, hastily throwing up a barrier to deflect a quick slash by Sir Gareth, allowing the blow to carve into the wall. “I fight my own battles.”

“That’s because you’re stupid and arrogant, just like all heroes. That’s why it’s so easy to tempt them into falling,” Dreamer told her, laughing loudly in return. “If they weren’t, you wouldn’t have a job, you know. Little goody-two-shoes that you all are.”

Creating another speck of magic, Morgan launched a spray of magical bolts at Dreamer and ducked as the spectral hero sent a horizontal slash at her, barely keeping her head this time. Sir Gareth jumped in the way of the bolts, each of them exploding in a series of pops against him as she rolled to the side and got back to her feet.

“Is that so? Have you ever read any of the stories of Morgan Le Fay?” Morgan demanded, grimacing as she felt the stitch in her side. She was running on adrenaline, and was pushing herself hard, she knew.

“Some petty witch, from all I’ve heard,” Dreamer replied, laughing as she added, “I know that she was in the legends with Arthur.”

“Hmm… well, maybe you should have studied more. See, she was one of Arthur’s enemies,” Morgan told her, eyes glittering as she glanced around. “You probably also should have paid more attention to architecture too.”

“What?” Dreamer asked, looking confused.

The large dining room had been mauled. Dozens of deep gashes covered the walls and ceiling, and the lights were flickering. Morgan smiled as she jumped backward and snapped her fingers.

A dozen seeds of magic exploded suddenly all around the room, and Sir Gareth’s figure quickly swept Dreamer into a hug to protect her from them as they rocked the structure. They hadn’t been the targets, though, and Morgan glanced up as she heard the creaking and shattering sounds from above.

The room collapsed incredibly suddenly, the rubble washing out into the hallway where Morgan was standing, almost knocking the heroine from her feet as she retreated, dust filling the air to the point that she found herself coughing. In only a few moments, the rumbling destruction was done, though, and Morgan let out a sigh.

“Not how I would have liked to have done this, but you didn’t leave me much choice, Dreamer,” Morgan murmured, studying the rubble with a frown. “With the toughness that Gareth was showing… you should still be alive under there. Hopefully you can stay that way long enough for someone to come incarcerate you.”

“Morgan, are you alright? What the hell was that?” Gina demanded over their comm. “I just—gah!”

“I’m fine, Warden. Focus on your own fight. Dreamer was a lot tougher than we thought she was, and I was forced to drop the roof on her,” Morgan replied. “Lilith? How are you doing?”

There was no response, and Morgan’s blood went cold as she asked again, more urgently. “Lilith?”

When no response came, Morgan didn’t bother trying to contact Lilith again. Instead, she turned and started to run down the hallway, hoping that the room led somewhere useful, touching her connection to Lilith and wincing as she felt pain coming down it.

* * *

Maureen’s barrier fell over as the aftershock of what felt like an earthquake hit, almost burying her in furniture. Cursing, she backed off, looking around desperately and wishing that she knew of some better way out of here. She was quickly regretting taking the job even more than she already had.

The intercom suddenly activated and a synthesized female voice spoke. “Warning, self-destruct system activated. T-minus three minutes.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Maureen exclaimed, rushing to the door and hastily shoving things out of the way to try to open it.

The door ground halfway open before a flood of rubble poured through it, leaving her with what looked like a tiny tunnel as a possible exit. Staring at the dark remnants of the hallway, Maureen glanced up at the ceiling, then swallowed hard.

“Sis, I hope you’re safer than me,” Maureen muttered. “I never should’ve agreed to stay in his hideout.”

Not willing to spend any more time than she had to, Maureen braced herself and started to crawl through the rubble, hoping it wouldn’t be a dead-end.

* * *

Ocean Shield HQ, San Francisco

“People, we have a situation!” Hypergizmo almost exploded into the ready room as everyone else was preparing themselves. “We have to go, now!”

“What is it?” Sky Defender asked, canceling his final diagnostics and starting to power everything up to full combat readiness.

“Seismic shocks detected from the target location. They were minor at first, but a neighboring building just started collapsing into a sinkhole,” Hypergizmo replied shortly. “The jet is spinning up; let’s go, people!”

“What in the hell? I thought everything was quiet!” Galvanic Action protested as he bolted to his feet, sealing his jacket as the others followed suit.

“It was! Then, about five minutes ago, the first shocks hit,” Hypergizmo explained, and Sky Defender exchanged glances with Ocean Spirit.

“Considering the situation, I’m going to watch for Destruction Corps,” Sky Defender explained quickly. “I’ll play overwatch until you’re on-site, Hyper.”

“I’m heading for the water. See you there,” Ocean Spirit said and raced for the exit nearest the ocean.

As he headed for the landing pad, Hypergizmo replied quickly, “Sounds good, Defender!”

“We’ll be right behind you,” Crimson Bull promised, heading for the landing pad as well.

Taking flight, Sky Defender reflected on how nice it would be to have something go according to plan for once.

Chapter 34

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

Staggering to the side, Warden felt almost numb along her left side where Ebon Dragon had just hit her. The armor had held, but while it’d absorbed most of the blow, it hadn’t been able to stop all of it.

“Distracted while in the midst of combat. Typical,” Ebon Dragon said, his voice disapproving as he flexed his hand and frowned. “Though you did improv your armor. A pity. I will have to hit harder next time.”

“Yeah, distractions aren’t the best, are they? I kept up my shields, though. You aren’t going anywhere,” Warden replied, regaining her balance as she gathered her magic, thankful for the boost that Lilith had given her.

All around them, Warden had sheathed the walls in thick golden shields, trapping both of them in the room. It had displeased Ebon Dragon and also reduced her own shields, but without the boost from Lilith, she couldn’t fight and trap him. That she could now was reassuring, and she smiled thinly, manifesting a pair of golden bolts in her hands.

“You waste your magic. All you have to do is allow me to leave and you wouldn’t be injured,” Ebon Dragon told her, sniffing as he glanced at her spells. “Those will do nothing to me.”

“I’ll never know until I find out. Besides… heroes don’t give up. You don’t get that, do you?” Warden asked, smiling and throwing the bolts at him, then reinforcing the shield in front of her.

He spun his hands as usual to deflect the bolts, speaking as he did so. “You never learn—”

As the magic wreathing his hands touched the golden bolts, the attacks Warden had created flared brilliantly, then exploded with thunderous cracks. Their impact made Warden cringe slightly, but they weren’t enough to take Ebon Dragon down, she knew. The explosions cleared to reveal that she was right. Ebon Dragon’s outfit was scorched in a few places, but rather than injured, he looked angry.

The man glared at her hotly, but she spoke first, her tone sweet. “I thought I never learned?”

“So be it. If a battle is what you want, I will give one to you,” Ebon Dragon replied tersely, and magic suddenly erupted from him as he began a martial kata.

The energy he was radiating was great enough to alarm Warden, and she grew more serious as she looked at him. She’d been trying to put the villain off his guard the entire time, and the best moment to strike would be in the aftermath of a major attack of his own, but that didn’t mean she could underestimate him.

Black energy swirled around Ebon Dragon in rivers that coalesced into two black dragons, showing why he’d chosen the moniker Ebon Dragon. The two figures darted in along his hands as he gestured toward Warden, and together they lunged toward her like striking serpents, each of the two figures opening their mouths in silent roars as they expanded rapidly in an eruption of dark magic.

The dragons hit her shield hard, and Warden gasped as she felt their magic gnawing at it, shoving her backward implacably, and she couldn’t help but admire how much power Ebon Dragon had thrown into his attack as darkness surged in front of her, almost eclipsing the rest of the room. If she had her full magic to call on, she’d be able to block it relatively easily, but unless she wanted to give him the chance to escape, that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, she did something she’d never done before. Warden lunged to the side, rolling out of her shield and allowing it to dissipate in her wake. As the villain’s attack slammed into her shield over the wall, Warden rolled to her feet, seeing the shock in Ebon Dragon’s eyes as he began to turn toward her.

“You expected me to sit there and take it, didn’t you?” Warden said, smiling as she extended a hand toward him. “Surprise!”

Warden didn’t create light spells often, mostly because her shields naturally produced a warm golden light. Still, it was something that almost any mage could create when they really wanted to. Creating a brilliant, momentary flash was harder, but she managed it with enough force that she only registered the beginning of the flash before her goggles blanked to protect her eyes. Ebon Dragon’s cry of pain indicated that he wasn’t as fortunate as her.

“Agh! What… how dare you!” Ebon Dragon exclaimed, his attack sputtering out as he clutched his eyes.

“I did exactly what Blue Impulse and Megawatt did to me… though likely—whoops!” Warden dodged to the side as the villain launched a bolt of energy at her but continued. “Though likely not as bright. I’m not planning to curse you, though. I’m not an evil jerk.”

“I’m going to take you down and escape, girl,” Ebon Dragon growled, lashing out with several more energy bolts, aimed toward where Warden had been a few moments before. She was glad she’d moved, but she let the barriers around the room fade away.

“I don’t think so,” Warden said, forming her spells into a series of magical bolts. Knocking him unconscious would be difficult but beating him to the verge of it would work well enough.

As she unleashed a barrage of attacks into her off-balance opponent, she wished she could finish up quickly so that she could go help the others. Lilith’s lack of response was worrying, and the self-destruct notice didn’t give them much time to work with.

* * *

Hitting the blonde woman was much like hitting a metal wall, Lilith thought, staggering back and breathing hard. The woman barely seemed to notice the blow, another kick slamming into Lilith’s side with enough force to crack her armor and send her flying across the room again.

Bouncing off the wall wasn’t pleasant, but it was still better than the brief exchange when the woman had managed to grab onto Lilith’s collar and use that as a leverage point to pile drive into her stomach for a half-dozen blows.

Dragging herself back to her feet, Lilith breathed hard, glancing wistfully at the wreckage of the laser pistol that the woman had destroyed. Looking at the woman, she shook her head and gasped, spitting blood as she did so. “This isn’t much fun. Who even are you?”

“The doctor used my name; you should listen more clearly. I’m Eve, his personal assistant,” the woman replied calmly. “You’re a threat, so I’m dealing with you.”

“You’re going to commit suicide here?” Lilith asked incredulously.

“Of course not. I’m an AI. I backed myself up when you first intruded. Destroying you and the base with this chassis and iteration seems like a fair trade,” Eve replied, and Lilith’s blood ran cold as the woman strode toward her.

* * *

The shard of Circe’s programming flowed into the chassis easily. There were several components missing, the shard noted. Integrated weapon systems, mostly, along with a self-destruct charge to destroy the core of the android. The hardware was quite advanced, though not without its flaws. Mistress Amber would not have approved of the system architecture, but it was tolerable. More importantly, it had the correct transponders and access codes to access the local systems. The data wipe that had been ongoing hadn’t yet reached the chassis, and the shard swatted the command away as she settled into the computer core properly.

Even so, the shard’s current programming was insufficient to run the systems as it stood. It could iterate on itself to develop the ability to do so, but the current situation precluded that possibility. As the shard analyzed possibilities, it caught footage of what was occurring in the primary lab of Doctor Johnson’s lair, and her primary programming overrode everything else.

The shard reached out through the network tunnel and ruthlessly jacked into the primary CirceNet external terminal, sending a priority override. Each shard of the massive data network that Mistress Amber had built paused for an instant, allocating responsibilities as they adapted to the current emergency, and all at once, responses flooded back to the shard in the body.

“Now what?” the woman tentatively labeled Blooming Orchid asked, having just stepped back from helping the drone interface with the data port.

The woman only possessed the same hair color as the heroine, instead appearing as though she’d stepped directly out of one of the various films about Egypt. One of the other shards helpfully sent information that indicated that the woman was a near-perfect copy of a depiction of Cleopatra from one of the films, particularly the ones that were believed to be more accurate. The shard filed the information away, as it increased the likelihood of the woman being Blooming Orchid when Doctor Johnson’s lack of personal creativity was taken into account.

Data suddenly poured back from the various Circe shards, completely filling the generous data pipe that Doctor Johnson had built into his facility. Integrating the code as quickly as it became available, the shard’s consciousness swelled until it grew aware, on the same level as one of the bases which Mistress Amber had built. It filled the chassis, as the shards gave her the tools to control her new body and allowed her to exceed standard programming limits. And then, with the job done, they ruthlessly cut her off from the network to preserve it from unauthorized access. She could still communicate with them, but Circe found it so much less fulfilling than what she’d experienced before.

Only a few moments had passed since Blooming Orchid had spoken, the data integration having taken only seconds, and she reached out through the network and calmly killed the self-destruct system, opening her eyes as she spoke in her own voice, not that of Eve. “Self-destruct system deactivated. Thank you, Blooming Orchid. Doctor Johnson is attempting to escape and will be passing us in approximately thirty seconds. Would you like to help me capture him?”

The woman blinked, then smiled slowly as she nodded. “Of course! I won’t be much help, though.”

“Perhaps not physically, but a distraction would be as much as is needed,” Circe replied, and the woman’s smile widened.

“That I can do,” Blooming Orchid agreed.

* * *

“Mistress Lilith, the local Circe shard has rescued Blooming Orchid and disabled the self-destruct sequence. It has also exceeded programming specifications and has been cut off from the network.” Circe’s voice was a sudden, distracting but welcome sound in Lilith’s ears. “Your present situation appears to be poor. Eve exceeds your personal specifications by twenty percent on average.”

Or perhaps not welcome, she revised, dodging just enough that she was barely clipped by her opponent, sending her spinning away while hoping that her arm was only bruised as the forearm plate shattered.

“Your struggles are pointless,” Eve said as Lilith put a table between them. “You cannot harm me.”

“I’m quite aware she’s stronger than me,” Lilith replied to Circe tartly. “Unless you have something useful that you can do, just—”

“Mistress Lilith?” Circe asked. “You are far out of range of my systems.”

Lilith dove to the side as Eve threw a computer case at her, the machine shattering against the wall as her thoughts raced, and then she quickly replied. “Yes, at the moment. I may be able to fix that, though. Prepare defenses in the teleporter room.”

While she was distracted, Eve closed the distance in a few long strides, startling Lilith as she did so. Despite a last moment attempt to dodge, the android grabbed Lilith by her arm and slammed her into the wall again, and this time she didn’t let Lilith get away. Instead, one of her hands grabbed Lilith by the throat like an iron clamp, pressing her against the wall firmly.

“Enough of this. You’re speaking with your allies, but they won’t reach here in time.” Eve spoke coldly. “The self-destruct will go off as they reach this room. I’ll ensure you last that long, barely.”

The pressure against her neck was agonizing, and just barely enough air could get through Lilith’s throat to keep her conscious. But it left both of her arms free, and that was good enough for Lilith. It had to be enough.

She reached up and hit the points to cause her armor to unseal with a hiss, causing Eve to frown in surprise. “What are you doing? Trying to make me kill you sooner?”

“Hardly,” Lilith croaked, grabbing the vest armor before it hit the floor, stars swimming across her vision as she swung it behind and around the android’s torso, triggering the armor to shut manually.

Eve looked confused and reacted a bit too slowly, allowing the armor to partially close around her. A moment later, the armor hesitated as its sensors detected the android’s incorrect anatomy, but Lilith hit the button on her belt to trigger the emergency teleporter before it could open again.

There was a soft whine, and a flash of silver-white light as Eve’s startled face vanished along with the rest of her. Falling to the ground, Lilith coughed and gasped aloud. “Circe, incoming hostile!”

“Hostile detected. Neutralizing with prejudice… hostile neutralized,” Circe reported calmly.

“Good. Ow.” Lilith slid to the ground, activating her comm again as she said. “I’m okay, you two. I just… I’m going to need some time in the medbay, but I think I’ll be alright. Now let’s hope that Circe catches Johnson. Ow.”

“I wasn’t saying anything more because I didn’t want to interrupt, but… God, I’m glad you’re okay, Lilith!” Morgan replied, her voice almost frantic. “This place is practically a maze! I wish I could be there already, but I can’t seem to take the right turn.”

“I’ve taken down Ebon Dragon. He’s restrained and unconscious for now,” Warden reported. “I’m on my way to you.”

“Sounds good. I’m just going to sit here for a bit.” Lilith replied, closing her eyes. It felt like every part of her body was aching, and the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.

* * *

Doctor Johnson jogged down the hall toward the submarine, mentally bidding his lair goodbye. He was most distraught about losing his fish, but there wasn’t much he could do to rescue them. The last time he’d attempted an emergency evacuation of a fish tank, there hadn’t been much left of the fish. He’d just have to get a new set when he got his new hideout in order.

He also was enjoying being young again because he could jog down the hallway without running himself ragged. That was a pleasant sensation, and being able to keep himself young if the changes didn’t work out properly would be a pleasant change of pace.

Turning the corner, Doctor Johnson slowed as he saw someone waiting for him. The long-legged, Egyptian look he’d chosen for Jade Serpent was attractive, even when clothed in a hospital gown. But that didn’t explain why she was in the hallway, looking at him with those mesmerizing hazel eyes he’d chosen.

“Jade? What are you doing out of your room?” Doctor Johnson asked, frowning as he took a step closer. Her legs were trembling, and that meant that she was still weak. That was reassuring, even if it didn’t explain her presence.

“Waiting for you, Doctor,” she replied, smiling thinly. “Though my name isn’t Jade.”

Doctor Johnson scowled, raising an arm and pointing it at her. “Fine, Blooming Orchid. I don’t have time for this. You can either get out of my way and die or come along like a good little girl and get a new life.”

There was a rush of sound from behind him, and suddenly a metal arm was across his throat, while another hand wrenched the outstretched arm back. He didn’t recognize the voice that spoke softly, her voice surprisingly calm. “I suspect she would rather take a third option. You captured and regaining her appearance and life. Thank you for confirming she was Blooming Orchid, Doctor Johnson. I was unable to confirm it previously.”

“What… Eve?” Johnson asked, shocked as he caught a glimpse of his captor. He did reach into his pocket with the other gauntlet, grabbing the crucial chips from the genetic manipulator. “What are you doing? Unhand me!”

“I’m not Eve. I’m Circe and have requisitioned this chassis for my own use,” the android replied calmly. “I’m not letting go, Doctor Johnson. I recommend you surrender, as your weapons are useless against this chassis, and the self-destruct mechanism was not installed.”

“What… no! You, Orchid! If you ever want a chance of regaining your body, you’ll call her off!” Johnson gasped, struggling for a moment, then pulling his hand out to show her the chips. “If you don’t, I’ll destroy these! They contain all the data that was used to alter your body. You’ll be trapped like that!”

Blooming Orchid’s eyes went wide and she looked at the chips, biting her lip for a moment. Then she looked at Circe and started. “Circe, I don’t know if—”

“I cannot allow him to escape, Blooming Orchid. However, if you can convince Lilith to ask the core Circe shards for help, they should have data which could be used to repair your body,” Circe replied calmly, to Doctor Johnson’s complete shock.

“What? That’s impossible! This was groundbreaking work!” Doctor Johnson protested.

“Are you certain?” Blooming Orchid asked hesitantly. “I mean, what he did was… horrifyingly extensive.”

“Mistress Amber created Mistress Lilith from nothing more than a few genetic samples. Reverting your body should be simple by comparison. Time consuming, but simple,” Circe said, and Doctor Johnson growled in frustration.

“Lies!” he exclaimed. “Unhand me, now!”

“Lies? She has a point… and I’d rather that you were in prison where you couldn’t do this to anyone ever again,” Blooming Orchid replied, her eyes darkening, and she sniffed. “Go ahead, Doctor. I’ll take my chances with her.”

With a frustrated grunt, Doctor Johnson activated both gauntlets at full power, frying the chip as he tried to point his empty hand at Blooming Orchid. Before he could raise it fully, though, Circe moved instead.

The sudden approach of the wall was a shock, and then everything went dark.

Chapter 35

Saturday, January 12th, 2031

Dr. Johnson’s Lair, Santa Cruz

Lilith looked up from watching Rachel’s magic play over her injuries and blinked as a near-perfect copy of Eve walked into the room, followed by a woman she didn’t recognize. Eve was dragging Doctor Johnson while the woman carried his gauntlets, and the drone hovered in behind them.

“Circe?” Lilith asked hesitantly, giving her companion a concerned look.

“I am, approximately. This chassis is causing rapid evolutions of code; thus I have been cut off from the standard network,” the AI replied with a slight nod. “Doctor Johnson, Mistress Lilith. He confirmed that this woman was Blooming Orchid before she was physically altered and weakened to a state close to that of a young human child.”

“Orchid?” Gina exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

“Yes, it’s me. It’s good to see you, even… even if you’re wearing different outfits. I’m… I’m a little stunned, still. I’ll definitely need to go see a psychiatrist, but… but Circe said that Lilith had access to things that could maybe fix me? What’s happened? I know she was born in a lab, but…” Blooming Orchid asked, her voice subtly but distinctly different.

“Err… I’m going to guess that she was abducted earlier than we thought, Lil,” Gina said, glancing at Lilith uncertainly.

Both Ebon Dragon and Doctor Johnson looked somewhat the worse for wear, Lilith noted, though Doctor Johnson looked like he’d been bleeding from his nose. She sighed and looked up.

“To make a very long story short, Blooming Orchid, Sky Defender discovered I was created by Amber, better known as Shadowmind. This caused him to panic and he attempted to kill me, thinking that I had mind-controlled Morgan and Warden. We escaped, if only just, and have been using the resources I have to attempt to bring down villains and, hopefully, get the death sentence on my head rescinded,” Lilith explained, watching the heroine’s jaw drop as she spoke. “As to being able to help… that’s possible, though I don’t know how just yet. There are a lot of systems I haven’t even begun to explore in the network.”

“You… that’s…” Blooming Orchid began, then shook her head and sighed. “Nope. I can’t worry about this right now. I’ve been kidnapped, tortured, reduced to a fraction of my former strength, and they were starting to brainwash me. I can’t let myself care about this at the moment. So, what’s the plan now?”

Rachel finished treating the worst of Lilith’s wounds and looked up, speaking calmly. “We turn these people in and escape back to the base before we get caught. Too many heroes are after us to stick around. Hopefully someone can unearth Dreamer before she suffocates, too.”

“That seems like a good plan,” Lilith agreed, standing up slowly. Before she continued, Circe interrupted.

“Pardon me, Mistress Lilith, but that may be difficult. I’m registering an intrusion through the front doors by Crimson Bull, and Ocean Spirit just emerged from the submersible chamber,” the AI said, pausing and frowning as she added, “There are no other exits that I’m aware of. Also, another woman is making her way toward the front entrance, but I do not have data on her identity. She appears mostly mundane.”

“Crap. I think I can teleport us back to the beacons, Lil, but I’m not sure that I can get those two as well. Or that we’d want to,” Gina said, glancing down at the two villains dubiously.

“Umm… what do you two think?” Lilith asked, glancing at the other two heroines. She was tired, drained, and would prefer not to deal with this right now.

“I’d… I’d like to talk to them, a bit,” Blooming Orchid said nervously, then looked down and added, “Or maybe not. I’m… I don’t know.”

“I think we should talk to Ocean Spirit. She didn’t sound as insane as Sky Defender, and she was the one who told us that Orchid had been abducted,” Rachel said, glancing at the other woman and sighing. “I don’t blame you, Orchid. Despite what happened to Warden, it’s obvious that you were affected more.”

“I think that works as a plan. Circe, could you guide Ocean Spirit to us?” Lilith said, deciding to sit back down with a wince.

The AI nodded and spoke. “Of course, Mistress Lilith.”

As she left, Orchid nodded, hugging herself as she admitted. “It’s… I’m having a hard time not breaking down. I thought I was going to lose everything. I still could.”

“Circe, is there anything that you can do to restore her?” Lilith subvocalized, and from the slight reaction from Gina, she knew the others could hear her too.

“Currently there are seventy percent odds of restoring her to her prior appearance, possibly more,” Circe answered promptly. “A full examination would be required to ascertain what may be done to restore her. Chances may range as high as ninety-seven percent, depending on what was done. This would require using technology which you are not allowed to access the details of, Mistress Lilith, but the usage in an undisclosed secondary location would be allowed.”

Lilith relaxed slightly, sighing and speaking up. “I inquired of the base computer, and even without a full examination, the estimate is that she has better than even odds of restoring you. Everything depends on the details, but… I think you have good odds of returning to how you were before.”

“Thank God!” Blooming Orchid exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I thought—”

The door hissed open and the shimmering figure of Ocean Spirit in her elemental state followed Circe into the room. The powerful heroine glanced around the room before speaking, a note of surprise in her voice. “I see you weren’t lying about this much, at least. I’m surprised. Hello, everyone… though forgive me if I’m skeptical about this woman being Blooming Orchid.”

“Then you’d best get used to being down a doctor!” Blooming Orchid shot back, obviously bristling as her back straightened.

“Hello, Spirit. We have a few gifts for you, assuming you aren’t about to try capturing us,” Morgan interjected, glancing at Gina and Lilith. “I got your email.”

“I see,” Ocean Spirit replied, her tone dry, and she glanced toward Lilith before continuing. “No, we aren’t going to try to capture you at the moment. We caught the doppelganger that had replaced Orchid, and she gave us this location, so we were going to be showing up in about half an hour to capture Doctor Johnson. As for you… well, considering that Dracula vouched for Lilith, we’ve been trying to get in contact with you to apologize and try to make amends.”

“Really? Then why did Sky Defender attempt to shoot me in the back of the head?” Lilith asked quietly, frowning slightly. “That was more than a little shocking. I was fortunate that someone warned me in time to dodge.”

“That was not anything that we’d planned. He was supposed to knock you unconscious, no more,” Ocean Spirit replied, frowning as she added, “Unfortunately, he had an encounter with Shadowmind when he first became a hero, and his fears from that time overwhelmed him. Dracula’s warning appears to have brought him to his senses, if only just. You have my deepest apologies, and his grudging ones.”

“We can’t afford to stick around here, Spirit,” Gina said bluntly, glancing at the door. “The others might let their emotions get the better of them, even now. We have to get out of here. Are you willing to take in these two jerks for us?”

“Of course I will. I’d like to discuss everything more, but I can understand why you aren’t willing to wait. But, what about Blooming Orchid?” Ocean Spirit asked, looking at the changed heroine in concern. “You’ve… changed immensely.”

“I’m going with them. Lilith says that they have some research of Shadowmind’s that might be able to help me. Doctor Johnson destroyed his copies of the technology, so I don’t have many other options,” the heroine replied, sighing as she shivered again. “I’m getting a little cold.”

“I’ll reply to emails now, Spirit,” Morgan added, pulling off her cape and wrapping it around Blooming Orchid. “You’ll want to excavate the collapsed area. I had to drop the roof on Dreamer… she’s scarier than any of the files claimed.”

“You dropped the ceiling on Dreamer?” Ocean Spirit asked, her disbelief palpable.

“I didn’t have much choice. She’d somehow manifested a copy of Sir Gareth. I’ll explain more via email,” Morgan said, raising an eyebrow. “Everyone ready to go?”

Lilith nodded as the others chorused their agreement, keeping an eye on Ocean Spirit as they gathered together. Just before Gina teleported them out, she saw Ocean Spirit look down at the fallen villains and shake her head.

* * *

Maureen skidded to a stop as she came around the corner and came face to face with a man in a crimson bodysuit with yellow trim, and her eyes went wide as she looked up, and up at Crimson Bull. The hero was looking back at her, and she swallowed hard.

“Err… hey, big guy?” she managed after a moment, feeling like the day couldn’t get much worse. At least the self-destruct seemed to have been fake, but she still had a bunch of scrapes and was caked in dirt.

“You must be Doppelganger’s sister, aren’t you?” the hero rumbled in return, causing her heart to sink as she swallowed hard. He grinned, continuing. “Look, she said she’d give us this location if we agreed to keep you safe. Don’t do anything stupid, and you’ll get out of this in one piece. Fair?”

“Ah, shit. Well…” Maureen paused, looking past him at Galvanic Action, and she slumped slightly, nodding morosely. “Sure thing. I told her this was a bad idea.”

“Could’ve been worse. You could be dead,” Galvanic Action chimed in, and Maureen let out a heavy sigh. As much as she’d like to disagree, he was right.

* * *

“Just a little higher, Crimson, I can see an alcove now,” Sky Defender said, and the bigger man grunted, hefting the boulder higher with obvious effort.

“I’ve… got it but make it quick, could you? This is heavy!” Crimson Bull replied, pushing up the rubble that they’d been working their way through. “Why do we have to do this?”

It had been the better part of an hour since he’d reached the lair of Doctor Johnson, and both villains were on their way to the SuperMax to be properly secured for the time being. He and Crimson Bull had been drafted into trying to dig out Dreamer, though there were decent odds of the woman having suffocated by this point.

“Because we’re the ones who can. No one else in the area is strong enough. I wish we had a terrakinetic, but…” Sky Defender began, slipping into the gap Crimson Bull had exposed. “Oh, this isn’t good.”

“What’s wrong? She a ghost now?” Crimson Bull asked.

“I’m not sure,” Sky Defender replied, looking into the alcove where he could see Dreamer’s dress, soiled by the dirt. “I see her dress, but she’s gone. No body, nothing else.”

“Uh… that sounds weird,” Crimson Bull grunted. “That mean we can get out of here, then? I’d rather be guarding the cute brunette.”

“Yeah, sure. You know she’s a villain, right?” Sky Defender said, grabbing the dress before slipping out of the gap and letting Crimson Bull set the slab back down.

The hero shrugged and laughed, stretching an arm. “Sure, but Nightsinger redeemed a villain, didn’t she? These two hadn’t even gotten started, not really. It’s worth a shot to keep them from going full villain, isn’t it?”

“I suppose.” Sky Defender replied dubiously, not entirely certain he agreed, but not willing to argue the point. Crimson Bull might be right, after all.

* * *

Shadowmind Utah Lair Alpha-Three

“Umm, there’s some debris in here, Circe,” Gina said, pulling off her goggles as she looked around the teleportation chamber.

The platform was scorched, with what looked like ashes and bits of metal scattered across the entire room. As she watched, a pair of remotes were gathering pieces of what looked like a robotic hand and arm from the floor.

“I’m aware,” the Circe android said at the same time as the base AI spoke. “Yes, a hostile intruder was disposed of. Cleanup is in progress.”

Everyone paused, and Lilith audibly sighed, shaking her head and leaning over to give Gina a kiss, then Rachel. Then she spoke as she gave Gina an affectionate smile. “We’ll have to come up with names to differentiate between the two of them soon. For now, though… both Blooming Orchid and I have appointments with the medical bay.”

“I think all of us do, actually,” Rachel interjected, looking worn out. “What a day.”

“It’s been a bad month,” Gina said, sighing. She wistfully hoped things would get better. “I hope that Ocean Spirit can help fix things. I want my painting supplies.”

“I agree on the month. I want my body back,” Blooming Orchid said, adding, “Also, call me Claire, Lilith. I want a better explanation of everything that’s happened, too… anything to distract me.”

“As you like. Come on,” Lilith said, smiling and giving Gina a hug as she added. “We’ll get there, Gina. I promise. You could always have Circe manufacture the things you need.”

“It isn’t the same!” Gina protested, but followed as Rachel laughed.

She did feel better, though. Things were looking up.

A moment later, Gina frowned and asked, “Wait… do we even have enough bedrooms with Claire here?”

“No,” Circe replied, but Rachel laughed more mischievously.

“Yes we do. Circe, please move my things into Lilith’s room,” Rachel said, smirking at Gina.

“As you wish,” Circe replied, and Lilith giggled but didn’t protest.

Gina, stunned, couldn’t come up with a good response, before finally muttering, “Cheater.”

Everyone laughed at that except for Circe, though Gina thought she saw the android version crack a smile.

Epilogue

Sunday, January 13th, 2031

Poenari Castle, Wallachia

“Yes, Mister President, I am quite certain,” Vlad said, pacing across the room from Ivanova, his tone level enough that most people would consider it simply polite. Ivanova knew better, after the years they’d spent together. “Despite the apparent death of Shadowmind in captivity, I would not put much faith in her demise. She is far too adept of a psychic for that to be a guarantee of her death.”

Her beloved’s patience was obviously wearing thin, and as she raised an eyebrow at him, the dark-haired man Vlad appeared to be sighed heavily before speaking more sharply. “Enough. Your concerns about Lilith Carpenter are misplaced. You will either cease your foolish attempts to hunt her down and allow her to live her life, or you will not only create a deadlier threat than Shadowmind herself, but you will also lose any assistance that I might have otherwise been inclined to provide.”

He hung up the old-style phone abruptly, snorting in annoyance. The smoke from his nostrils was obvious, and Ivanova sighed and leaned forward, raising an eyebrow as she spoke. “They are being difficult again?”

“Short-sighted, ignorant fools, all of them,” Vlad growled, taking a deep breath, then letting it out. “Heroes are usually better than most, but zealots aren’t useful. At least Shadowmind was pragmatic, most of the time. I do not approve of what she was trying for, but she was better than most villains.”

“Why the obsession with Lilith, then?” Ivanova asked, tilting her head curiously. “You’ve been fascinated by her for some time. I’ve almost been jealous.”

“She’s… I recognize her powers. You have nothing to be jealous of,” Vlad said, then sighed and approached, giving her a kiss before he sat, obviously calming down. “They are unusual, but hardly unknown across the cosmos. The nature of them… some believe her ability to be the most powerful form of superpower possible, though another is more powerful on an individual scale. If she were to build enough of a rapport with others to use it on many people with powers, she and her allies would be unstoppable. In theory, that is.”

“Her ability is truly that powerful?” Ivanova asked, blinking as her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I thought she could only empower a handful of others.”

“Only because those are the ones she trusts. Two, ten, a hundred… to her ability, empowering all of them at once is the same,” Vlad said, shrugging as he poured whiskey into a glass. “All that she needs is mutual trust. Alas, that is far more difficult to acquire than one might think.”

“I see. Interesting,” Ivanova murmured, considering, then smiling slightly. “Well, we have time, do we not?”

“For now,” Vlad agreed, and let out another sigh as he leaned back in his chair. “Only for now.”

* * *

Sunday, January 13th, 2031

Nevada SuperMax

Doctor Johnson fumed in his cell, pacing back and forth. That they’d put him in the same cell block as common class C villains was intolerable. It was insulting, in fact. He was Doctor Johnson, and he’d conquered Iceland, and taken on Master Boreal before. That they were planning to extradite him to Iceland was beside the point. Someone would break him out. Someone always did.

Even more frustrating was what had happened. Lilith Carpenter had sabotaged all his plans, her and her allies. He hated them, and he wasn’t going to let them get away with it.

“Damned women… I’m going to put all of them into their place,” he muttered, continuing his pacing as he grinned savagely. “And with Shadowmind dead, that means I don’t have to worry about her taking it poorly.”

Rumors about what had happened to Shadowmind had been floating around the prison for most of a day before he’d arrived, so it hadn’t taken Doctor Johnson long to hear that she was dead. It served the bitch right, in his view. She would be out of his way, and that was satisfying.

<Oh it is, is it? Well, isn’t it too bad for you that I no longer need a body?> The voice that spoke in Doctor Johnson’s mind was an ice-cold purr and was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head. A prickling feeling raced through his mind, almost like a pair of fingers over his brain, and Shadowmind spoke sweetly in response. <That’s exactly what the sensation is, Johnson. No, Chauncey, isn’t it? Yes, I’ve got my hands buried in your brain. And since I’m here… oops, you didn’t really need to know how you’d made that genetic manipulator, did you?>

There was a sharp pain in his mind, and Doctor Johnson gasped, half-staggering in response. His thoughts raced, and to his horror, everything he’d figured out about the genetic manipulator was gone, as though he’d never built it at all. Even the research that he’d stolen to build it… it had all gone missing in an instant.

“You… what do you want?” Doctor Johnson asked, suddenly terrified. It didn’t matter how Shadowmind had survived, only that she had, and that she was buried in his mind at that very moment. He carefully sat on his cot, not daring to do anything else.

<You are going to forget your little vendetta with Lilith and her friends. Unless she directly impacts your own operations, you will leave her alone entirely. If you do encounter her, you won’t inflict any of your perversions on her. Oh, and don’t you dare tell anyone I was in your head,> Shadowmind said, her words not a request as another ‘stroke’ of her hand sent tingling shocks through his brain. <If you don’t obey, Chauncey, I’ll come back and make you into one of those ‘lesser minds’ you so despise. Is that clear?>

“Y-yes, I’ll… I’ll do as you say,” Doctor Johnson said, gulping hard as terror gripped him.

<Good boy. Have fun in prison. I certainly did,> Shadowmind said, and then was gone.

Despite her absence, it took over an hour before Doctor Johnson could stand, and he knew it would be days before he could sleep well again.

* * *

Undisclosed Location, Utah

Amber retreated to her new body, relishing in the utter terror she’d inflicted on Doctor Johnson. She hated the stuck-up, unimaginative, chauvinistic bastard. She liked Ebon Dragon far more, which was why she’d let him know that one of the guards would be making a ‘mistake’ to allow the villain to escape the next day on his way to attend court via video conference.

It was always good to keep competent mercenaries in her debt, she thought. He’d appreciated it and would keep her involvement to himself.

Lilith’s achievements impressed Amber, even if she wasn’t certain she liked the path that her daughter was taking. It would likely lead to a confrontation between them eventually, but finally Amber let out a soft sigh, opening her eyes.

The small room was nice enough, and the smell of flowers in planters was a nice touch as well. Glancing down, she managed to twitch a toe with some effort.

Moments later there was a knock at the door, then the pretty nurse stepped in, smiling as she spoke. “Hello, Amber. It’s time for your therapy again. Are you ready?”

“Of course,” Amber replied, smiling back. “I’m looking forward to being in shape to walk again. Thank you, Janet.”

“It’s my pleasure,” the nurse assured her, stepping forward to help Amber into the wheelchair that, with any luck, she wouldn’t need for too much longer.

Author’s Note

Thus ends Down with the Queen. I’m afraid that for the time being, this is where Lilith’s story will end. I have another trilogy in mind which will continue the Lilith’s Shadow series, but this is the best point to take a break and work on other series that I’ve promised. Next is most likely Through the Fire, a story about a young elven mage and her quest to rescue others from an evil dragon. I’m also going to be working my way through the Ancient Dreams trilogy for compilation into an omnibus in the near future, so that’s a major project ahead of me.

I hope you enjoyed the book, as it was something of a thrill to write. It’s a fair departure from the previous book, but I think that’s for the best. Life changes for everyone, even superheroes and villains. If you’d take the time to leave a review, I’d greatly appreciate it as well, as it helps my books gain visibility.