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The night sky has vanished. There are so many spears of light I can't see anything except them. That Bruiser is still cackling off to my right. I have no idea how strong this attack is. Could it kill me? I'm going to have to release it all now. The heat inside me has been building steadily, and the ground is melting all around me. I start laughing, and I can't stop. This is what I've been wanting, the type of fight that makes my heartbeat race. My blood is boiling in excitement. The monks and the general are small fries, but this guy is the real deal. The spears start to fall toward the ground like shooting stars. Every spot hit explodes in a flash of light, destroying a chunk of whatever it hits. More and more begin to rain down.
Now or never. I focus on the heat inside my core, spreading through my body, and pull it up toward my head. It takes a second before it's ready, and I get that feeling of having to burp mixed with heartburn. I point my mouth up at the vast array of light and open wide. I unleash a stream of super-heated energy that rips out of my throat. I move my head across the sky, annihilating the javelins. Everywhere my attack hits is wiped from existence by the overwhelming heat. When it finally ends, the heat has all but drained from my body completely.
My temperature’s reset; it’s like I just transformed. I place my hands on my legs and take a long breath. Using that attack always leaves me feeling a little sluggish. Looking up at the night sky, there isn't a single glowing weapon left. Shit, did I kill him? A flash to my right is the only warning I get before a glowing hammer smashes into my face. The back of my head slams into the ground from the hit. A sliver of black rock falls from my forehead. He actually damaged me. I’m so glad he didn’t die. Round two, fight.
Farther Forward is hovering a few feet off the ground, still wearing his shining armor. As far as I can tell, there isn't any damage visible on him. In addition to his halo, he now has several swords circling him. He’s holding the giant hammer in his hands. Neither of us says a word; we’re well past the point of talking. This only ends with one of us being defeated. I spring up, pushing myself off the ground.
I don't wait for an opening, sprinting at him. I launch myself at him, trying to grab onto his legs, but he flies out of the way. Before I even land, I feel his swords slash at my back. No blood comes out. I don't know if I even have blood in this form, but the fact remains that he cut me. He can actually hurt me. I can’t let this become a battle of attrition now. He will eventually cut me down before I grow hot enough to hurt him. He has a range advantage and can fly away at any point. I need to make every hit count.
His swords rapidly rotate until they look like light bulb drills. All at once, they shoot forward like heat-seeking rockets. Those look like they will hurt. It takes a fraction of a second before the first one reaches me, and it’s by the skin of my teeth I don’t get hit. The remaining projectiles graze me despite my best attempts at dodging. Chunks of my hoodie are blown off of me by the hits.
Running at him, I duck and weave out of the way of his swords flying at me. They sink deep into the earth, with only the hilt visible. Jumping over the last one of them, I slide under the next and reach him. I transition my slide into a roll, leaping off the ground so forcefully a crater forms from my lift-off. I soar through the air at him. This is the most fun I've ever had. His swords return to him, dissolving into motes of light that then create a shield. He’s aiming to block my punch, but I'm not interested in testing the strength of his defense. The attack is a feint, and I twist my body midair, falling short of his shield and grabbing hold of his right leg. Gotcha. I exert as much force as I can on his ankle and rip him out of the sky, slamming him into the ground. Dust, gravel, and rocks explode out everywhere. Don't let off the gas. I climb on top of him, hammering punches into his armor. The crater we're in gets deeper with each hit, the force transmitted through him into our surroundings and creating a hole. He tries to stop my attacks by grabbing my wrist with his gauntleted hand; it doesn't even slow me down. Strike after strike after strike, I let loose for the first time ever. A couple becomes ten, ten becomes forty, and forty becomes a hundred until the first crack appears.
Father Forward begins to panic after seeing the first signs of damage. I focus on the tiny fracture until it spiderwebs out. I lose track of how long it's been since I reset my heat, but the soil around us is smoking. He says something, but I can't hear it over the sound of rock on armor. People like him are an infection, a wound in society. I'm not trying to be a hero, but I don't mind helping Nobody remove this cancer. The hole we've created is so deep the light from his armor doesn't reach the surface. I slap his hands away when he tries to block my strikes.
My assault is relentless, and after who knows how long, the spot I've been hitting crumbles, leaving a portion of his chest exposed to me. Stopping my attacks, I notice how hot I've become. The dirt walls melt and crumble around us. I plunge my hand through the hole in his chest plate, my open palm torching the man's skin.
“ARGH,” he screamed.
“I am not here to kill you or hurt any civilians. I am here for you and the other Neuvohumans. If you are truly a righteous man of God, you won't put your safety over your people's.”
“I will never fall for your wicked words, demon. No matter what you say or do, I will never stop fighting. Our mission is foretold and God-given. Aryans will inherit the earth as God intended. I will purify you and expunge your poison from this world,” Farther Forward said hatefully.
“Have it your way,” I sighed.
I grab him and jump out of the hole. I'm careful with him, but the heat coming off my hand is blistering his stomach and cooking him inside his armor like a crab boil. I can't let him die. Now that we're out, I search for the Bruiser and find him staring at us. I switch the grip I have on him to his ankle and then drag him toward the Bruiser. I wave to him and then slam Father Forward into the ground. Left right, left right, left right, left right, I smash the priest against the burning landscape around us. His radiant protection is tough, but chunks of it are starting to fall off, dissolving into nothing. The Bruiser is reaching for the jade axes from earlier.
“Don’t even try it. If he couldn’t beat me, you certainly fucking can’t,” I said.
He ignores my warning, grabbing his weapons. Not as much juice as before, but it’ll do. The beam of pure heat blasts out of my mouth, burning a hole through his torso. He slumps over, his body lifeless and his eyes dulled. Images of that night in the gym fill my head. He isn’t dead. And this isn’t like that. With the monk in one hand and Father Forward in the other, I start walking back the way I came. I drag the two men through my trail of ruined buildings, molten holes burned through walls, and general destruction. I need to find the other two and then group up with Tuesday.
“Damn, Red, you’re a goddamn monster,” Tuesday said.
I turn and see her standing on top of a nearby roof. She’s in her typical outfit with long stitched sleeves, pauldrons, and a bedazzled bunny masquerade mask. Except she’s drenched in blood. She kicks her foot out, and a dead soldier rolls off the roof, hitting the ground. He’s got about a dozen stab wounds to the chest, and his throat is slit. You’re the goddamn monster. The way all the fire lights up her smile creeps me out. Tuesday makes me uneasy. I’m not afraid of her; there is no doubt I could kick her ass, but she’s the type to show up in my apartment in the middle of the night and slit my throat.
“I got Father Forward and the Bruiser. The General and the crystal guy escaped when I was taking care of these two. What have you hit already?” I asked.
“I got their food supplies, all of their generators, and their armory. I’ve picked off a lot of these shitters. They keep calling me all sorts of nasty names. I’ve been called a godless heretic twenty times tonight,” Tuesday said, jumping down from her perch.
“Godless heretic fits you. They keep screaming about me being a demon,” I joked.
“You do look demonic in that form. Less elemental Amazon, more hellfire and brimstone. It’s very Old Testament spooky vengeance.”
“Well, these fucks deserve it. We need to capture someone and find out where the other two went. Is that something you can handle?” I asked.
“Of course. I’m really good at making people talk,” she said.
“Then go get me that info,” I ordered. I’m second in command. I need to act like it.
“Aye, aye,” she said, vanishing from my vision.
I drop the two men onto the ground. The Bruiser is regenerating already, and if the priest wakes up, it’ll be more trouble. I’m going to have to do something I am not a particular fan of. I could have asked Tuesday to do it, but it should be me. It’s a necessary step. Father Forward is lying still where I dropped him. The man’s wrists snap easily, just like Punch’s did. But that isn’t enough; I walk around waiting for my temperature to get higher. They’re terrible, disgusting bastards. I drag my index and middle fingers from the top of his forehead down through his eyes to his cheeks. He wakes up shouting and flailing, but it’s too late. Two blackened lines go down his face, and his eyes are burned away. He’s blind and shouldn’t be able to use his power. This is something I never would have done before Nobody. I’ve changed a lot.
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“My eyes,” he screamed. “What have you done to me?”
He waves his limp hands around, gesturing everywhere. There aren’t any sources of light for him to manipulate. I know he can use other forms of energy, like fire or electricity, but he never does. Without being able to see, he won’t be able to create anything. There isn’t anything I can do but wait for Tuesday to come back.
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Tuesday reappears, her outfit somehow splattered in more blood. It hasn’t even been that long, maybe fifteen-ish minutes, how did she already get more bloodsoaked?
“You got it already?” I asked.
“I’m very persuasive,” she said, dumping a bag containing dozens of fingers, toes, a nose, ears, and eyes.
Gross.
“Spit it out. Where are they?”
“They’ve split their forces into two bunkers. Half the soldiers are protecting the families and children. The other has the rest of the soldiers, the general, and the other Neuvohuman you mentioned. They’ve wired both of them to explode. It took me asking fifteen people really nicely just to piece the puzzle together. They would rather die than give in. They really are fanatics willing to die for their cause,” Tuesday said.
“Is it possible for you to get in there and defuse the bombs?”
“What do I look like, the fucking bomb squad? I’m really only good at cutting and stabbing.”
“So cut and stab the wires. That’s pretty much what the bomb squad does,” I said.
“Okay. What are we going to do about those two?” She asked.
“Father Forward is blinded, and I snapped his wrists, so he’s down for the count. Go and get the truck and bring it out front. I’ll bring them over there, and we can load them up before we grab the last two,” I told her.
“I’ll be back in a few,” Tuesday said, disappearing from in front of me.
“That’s really fucking annoying, you know that?” I shouted after her.
I pick up my captives and make my way back to the entrance.
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Tuesday pulls the box truck up, honking the horn repeatedly. I shifted back after killing the Bruiser again to reset his timer. It makes him stronger, but not by a noticeable amount.
“Hey, sugartits, you wanna take a ride with me? I could make it worth ya while,” she said, sounding like a crass trucker.
“Get out and help me,” I barked.
She shuts the truck off and hops out. I drag the two men to the back as Tuesday throws the back open. Isaiah uses this truck to transport Neuvohumans for Nobody. Everything is covered in dried blood. It looks like a slaughterhouse in here. The insides have been reinforced with steel and the sides retrofitted with manacles, and there are chains bolted to the ceiling and the floor. Tuesday jumps in, and I lift the prisoners up to her. We get Father Forward strung up, and then the dead, for now, Bruiser. We wrap extra chains around his limbs, his neck, and his torso. The hole in his torso has already started to heal. We climb out, and I slam the door down.
“We got communicators in the glove box. Grab two, and then you can tell me once it’s done,” I said.
She tosses me an earpiece, and I put the other one in my ear.
“Maam, yes, Maam,’ she said, snapping a crisp salute.
“Just get it done.”
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“Explosives should be taken care of,” Tuesday said into my ear.
“Should?” I asked.
“Yeah, should; I must’ve missed that part of school where I took bomb Defusal 101,” Tuesday said with a bitchy tone.
“Then I will head over,” I said, shifting into my volcanic form.
The earpiece falls out as I transform. Uggh. I start sprinting over to where the bunker is, marveling at the sheer amount of destruction Tuesday was able to cause. I pass corpses of soldiers, each one being killed differently. Each is more disturbing than the last. She is sick.
The bunker is completely underground, except for the entrance peeking up. There aren't any soldiers stationed at the wide-open entrance. I change back to human and then shift back to reset my timer. As long as I'm in and out in less than fifteen minutes, I won't be hot enough to burn them accidentally. Tuesday doesn't try and surprise me; instead she's kicking her legs out from the top of a nearby building.
“They're all in there. They know you're coming; it's just a question of when. Not that it matters,” she laughed.
“How many civilians?” I asked.
“Around fifty. There's thirty-six soldiers plus the pretty man you burned.”
“And the General is in there?”
“Ugh. Yes. He's dressed like a regular soldier, but I saw him using his power. He's in there,” Tuesday replied.
Thankfully, the bunker's opening is large enough that I don't need to duck down. There are just enough overhead lights to keep the tunnel from being completely dark. It's quiet, and my footsteps echo in the emptiness. The tunnel is set at a slight decline and I'm cautious in my approach. It's spooky down here, ominous and gloomy like bad things are up ahead. The decline finally stops, and I'm here.
I enter and see that Tuesday is telling the truth. Metal shelves full of nonperishables and canned foods are against all the walls. They've pushed all the beds to the back, and that's where the civilians are. Men, women, and even children stare at me. They aren't scared, shaking in fear. They are rigid and glaring hatefully. Spread out everywhere are oil tanks with c4 wired up to them.
The thirty-five soldiers have their rifles pointed at me. Only one of them isn't holding a gun and has removed his helmet. The General finally appears. General Franklin Prior has salt and pepper hair, a trimmed goatee, and eyes like a dead fish. Next to him is the long-haired monk who fled from me. He's got burns all over his body and face. His ruined robes hang off him, and patches of his head are missing hair. Looking around, I see that every person in the bunker has the telltale glow of the General's power.
“There you are. You ran like a little bitch just to hole up in here. If you wanted to hide from me, this is a shit hiding place. I mean, I found it so easily,” I said, smiling.
“I wasn't hiding, filthy cur. I made a tactical retreat to gain a more advantageous position,” the monk said.
“Nope, you were scared of me. Now, you and the other rats have backed yourselves into a corner. There is no escaping me now, nowhere to run. Surrender, and nobody else has to get hurt. I'm only here for you and the General; everyone else is free to go,” I said.
The General speaks for the first time. His voice is stern and deep. “Where are Marcus and Father Forward?” He asked.
“They're taken care of,” I replied.
“Understood. It has been a pleasure serving with you all,” General Prior said, speaking to his soldiers. “Fire at will.”
I once again find myself on the receiving end of high-caliber ammunition. The bullets begin piling at my feet as I cover my eyes. Don't want to get a piece of metal stuck there. The sound of shooting slowly trails off as they finish firing. The noise the shells make when they hit the ground is odd. It doesn't sound like metal; it almost sounds like glass. Shit. I look at my feet and see my suspicion is correct. All around me are green crystalline bullets; a small mountain of jade.
The monk is smiling and snaps his fingers. The hundreds of miniature explosions destabilize my footing and blast me closer to the soldiers. My head feels rattled, but I shake it off and stand up, ready for the next barrage. But all the rifles are lowered, and even the monk is still. Franklin is holding some device in his hand, the detonator. Too bad for you. He presses the trigger on the harmless detonator. Tuesday already took care of that. The room flashes white as every bomb explodes simultaneously.
The sound of screams is cut off by the roar of fire and the violent shaking of the bunker crumbling. WHAT THE FUCK? I spring up, and all around is carnage. The glow is gone from everyone, and flames are spreading. What do I do? Chunks of the ceiling have fallen and crushed people. So many people are burning, groaning, and crying out for help. What do I do? The bunker is rumbling, and I don’t have much time before everyone is trapped down here. What do I do? Fragile little bodies bent at terrible angles, parents clutching the corpses of their children, soldiers' heads cracked open, and there isn’t enough time to save everyone. I can’t save everyone, and I might not be able to save anyone if I wait much longer. I scan the burning room and see the General and the monk. The monk is dead; his head is smushed under a piece of the ceiling. FUCK. The General is in pretty bad shape as well; both of his legs are blown off and bleeding.
I ignore my heart, crying out to try and rescue as many kids as I can. It isn’t feasible and the bunker isn’t long for this world. I would have to choose which of the kids to save and which to leave behind to die. Do I focus on getting the General or try to save as many people as I can? I can’t do both. A second delayed explosion goes off toward the back of the room and my choice is taken away from me. Chunks of people are blown at me and blood is dripping from the ceiling. I rush over to the General, clear all the rubble away, and use my hand to cauterize the legs. Everything is burning, the fires lapping up all the fabric from the beds and growing larger. Smoke is filling the room, and rubble is covering the ramp out of here. I throw the General over my shoulder, take one last look behind me, and charge through the rocks. Lights flicker, dislodging from their holes as dust falls from above as the whole building shifts around me. I don’t stop, running up the tunnel as the bunker collapses behind me like I’m an action hero. I leap out of the entrance, turning around to see it all fall. I don’t feel like a hero.
“From baptisms and bunkers to bomb blasts and burial grounds,” Tuesday said.
I whip around to see her leaning against a pole nonchalantly. “Was that a fucking joke?”
“I’ve heard that laughter is the best medicine. And you seem like you could use a pick me up,” Tuesday giggled.
“All those people are dead. They are buried underneath all that concrete. The bombs went off. Whatever you did didn’t work,” I spat.
“Hey, don’t get mad at me. I told you I would try, and I did. You can’t judge a fish by its ability to fly, so don’t send a killer to defuse a bomb.”
I suck on the side of my cheek and sigh. I shift back to human.
“You’re right, sorry. The crystal monk died in the explosion. I was only able to grab this guy,” I said, holding up the General.
“Three out of four ain’t bad. Seventy-five percent is a C plus. And C’s get degrees, am I right?” Tuesday joked.
We walk back to the box truck in silence. The two of us chain up Franklin next to his buddies and start the drive back. Tuesday is right that we did well all things considered. But her joking about all those deaths is morbid beyond belief. The faces of all those children are burned into my memory forever. Their eyes instead of bright and wondrous were hateful. So many little ones snuffed out in an instant, robbed of their chance to grow up. They would never be able to change and realize how backward the thinking of this place is. The moment of the General activating the bombs keeps replaying over and over again in my mind. I failed. I can feel the dam of tears right behind my eyes, and the rising bile in my throat. I’m going to be sick. The point of being strong, the point of getting Nobody to agree to my rule, is so that things like this don’t happen. Tuesday is giggling and joking about tonight, but I can’t hear anything over this ringing in my ears. Is she lying to me? Did she actually try to defuse it, or just say she did? Why do I feel like she’s not telling the truth? I have no way of proving my hunch. All I can do is wait to see if she slips up. And if I find out she did this, I will kill her. If she ever does something like this again, I will kill her.