“Sorry, I can’t let you do that,” said Delsin to Aaliyah, “my Geokinesis magic is what’s keeping that crane in place. Who knows what I could do with that oversized tonfa in my grasp? Even if you knocked me out, that would just take away the pillars holding back a man-made meteor.”

“Huh? Are you trying to hold this park hostage or something?” Hannah squeezed tighter on him.

“Well, yes, I am the bad guy after all, and I still have a job to do that involves hindering the GalvanGal for as long as possible.”

“What is the job you came here to do?” asked Aaliyah, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer.

“What do you think it could possibly be?”

“His mission is to retrieve Deimos. You realize it, too, right, Hannah?” Aaliyah said.

“Wow, they actually do teach you guys something in there. See, we’re the Immortals—I even have the patch right here—and we’re exactly the villains you said we were. Especially that ex of yours, woof, I’m sure the tin man is recyclable right about now.”

“I see. If you’re a villain then it would be fine if you die.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hannah, I’m going to open the bubble for a moment. Would you kindly carry this villain into the sky for me? There I can trap him as I like, and drop him if I must. Then, get back to Garrick.”

Delsin’s protest was cut short as he fell out of the bubble into GalvanGal’s rising shoulder. Both disappeared from view. Aaliyah came down to the front of the stage where she perched herself. She cupped her cheeks, set her elbows on her knees, and dangled her boots off the edge.

She trapped Delsin in a bubble at the height of the troposphere. If he does release the crane, he will fall to his death too. That’s not something she would do, but in the moment to think of something, she thought of what he would do.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Yeah. This day was a long time coming. The Deimos’ helped her family and she’s carried that lie with her to Olympus in front of Garrick’s face every day. It wasn’t particularly hard with him. But Zariah, and Kenny, they looked up to her. People like them believed in her and The Pantheon. Worst of all, they did not hold it against her when the truth came out.

WhiteOut was another matter. Aaliyah could never tell what was going on behind the mask. She had clearly pushed for Hannah and Kenny to join the Pantheon. She has been away on more missions lately and has even been completely absent the past few days.

Then there was Garrick and Tyler. Two trains on a collision course decades in the making. Aaliyah watched but could never do anything to stop it. She never had the power to stop anything. All she could do was tend to the wounded after the crash.

A pillar of smoke was erected against the bright sky. Hannah said that there was an attack on Olympus. Just what was going on over there? Communications with Olympus were cut off. In an emergency, mutants like Aaliyah were to return to Olympus but that wasn’t an option now. Could the attack spread to the rest of the city? Why did Delsin come to help hold up the crane anyways? Was that part of the attack?

These weren’t questions that would be answered anytime soon. Right now, two of the Knights came to escort her away while the rest head back to Olympus.

A blue monster with red wings appeared out of thin air and lunged at her. She stumbled onto her back while the soldiers fired in panic. The monster swooped over them and disappeared the same way it came. She realized that her loss of concentration removed the bubble, but neither the pillars nor Delsin fell. Soon after, Hannah arrived with Garrick passed out in her arms.

“Garrick’s injured! I gave him some of my energy but you need to heal him!”

Aaliyah sat up and put her palms together. A sparkling golden mist blanketed Garrick’s broken body. Every harm would be mended, from torn muscle to broken bone. All except for one that remained severed: his spine.

Aaliyah had never encountered something like this before, as if something was stuck as she tried to pull it out of a hole. When she reached down into the unseen darkness, the dark lurched for her soul and knocked her unconscious.

----------------------------------------

Delsin kicked back in the bubble of light he was contained in. There was no way in a million days Aaliyah Folious would kill someone—hell would freeze over sooner. Do no harm and all that. Same with that juiced-up bimbo, GalvanGal, she couldn’t hurt a fly. Probably.

The bubble was more comfortable than a cell, and the view was better to boot. Delsin did his part, now he just had to relax and wait to be rescued. Still, that titan was great work. How did it get punked so easily? Especially with the rockets hidden inside like an all-American punji trap. Can’t expect much from moving dirt, he supposed.

Little Birdie landed on his shoulder.

“Get ready, I’ll catch you,”

“What?”

The bubble popped and Delsin plummeted into the arms of the Iron Angel. The ebon mask receded to expose an Angelic smile.

“See, I told you I’d catch you.”