VOLUME III, PREQUEL CHAPTER THREE

Prison Riot

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“As much as I enjoy our love-hate relationship, Crow, I believe it’s time for us to move on to better things… Wouldn’t you agree?” The Trickster cackled. “Our ‘little healer that can’ will make an interesting new foil to my antics, while you—”

There was a loud crack that arrived at the same time as the telekinetic whip that slapped against the obsidian floor just a few feet away from cell forty-two’s open door.

“Well, it seems like you’re about to make some new acquaintances”—despite the straitjacket restraining his body, the Trickster managed to use the wall to slide back up to his feet—“and I don’t mind sharing.”

A glowing red whip slipped into cell forty-two like a cobra rushing in for the kill, but it was summarily parried away by one of Crow-Man’s feather-shaped throwing knives. He swung the knife in a reverse grip at just the right angle and drove the telekinetic whip into the ground where it dispersed into shards of psychic energy before disappearing into the ether.

“Only, I feel like I might not want you back once they’re done playing with you and the beautiful Ms. Carlyle,” The Trickster sighed exaggeratedly. “I’m not very good at fixing broken things… I’m more broke than most as you might have noticed.”

A second telekinetic tendril whipped forward. This too was quickly repelled though not by Crow-Man. Warden Bethan Carlyle might not be an active hero anymore, but the former War Maiden’s skills hadn’t dulled one bit. A gifted psychic herself, Bethany wrapped her right hand in beta-level telekinetic energy and slammed her glowing blue fist hard against the villain’s telekinetic whip. These similar energies clashed violently, sending bursts of shockwaves spreading out around them that caused the walls to crack. Bethany’s power won out in the end though, and both the TK whip and its wielder were blown back because of their clash.

“Go back into your cell, Lash, and I might not have to pound you into unconsciousness and shove you back in myself,” Bethany warned.

“W-War-M-Maiden,” whispered the gaunt-looking woman crouched next to the wraith-like albino who called himself Lash. “Y-you s-should -sh-shut y-your—”

Stutter might have completed her ‘Suggestion’ and done great damage to Bethany, but Crow-Man’s throwing knife was quicker. It lodged itself in her shoulder and deposited the payload of narcotics coating the blade into her bloodstream, ensuring that Stutter’s gift of suggestion would be unable to work while the villain was drugged.

“Where did—”

“I’m prepared for every situation,” Crow-Man cut Bethany off.

“Sheesh, he really is,” the Trickster chimed in. “I can’t tell you the number of times he managed to foil my plans with one of his gimmicks…”

No one was listening to him though as both Crow-Man and Bethany had already moved out of cell forty-two to engage the half dozen villains idling outside their cells. It wasn’t easy, but they did manage to bring down Lash before Soul Eater—a bull-necked, broad-shouldered, dark-skinned man who could have rivaled Apex in size—swung a scythe forged of dark energy down on the hero and warden.

“Thanatos wants me to reap your soul, Crow-Man!” Soul Eater spat.

Surprisingly, Crow-Man dual-wielding his feather-shaped daggers was enough to block the powerful-looking energy scythe in Soul Eater’s hands. He formed an x-shaped shield over his head and kept the scythe’s sharp edge a few inches from stabbing his neck.

“How are you… doing that?” Soul Eater asked in disbelief.

“My knives are made of adamantine alloy… I don’t know if you know this but adamantine’s one of the few metals on Earth that can repel and disrupt energy,” Crow-Man explained.

“He’s quite informative whenever he wants to explain how he’s going to foil your murder spree… it’s truly vexing and boastful to boot,” the Trickster chimed in.

“Shut it, Trickster,” Crow-Man growled right before he cast a sidelong glance at Bethany and asked, “Why aren’t their power dampeners working?”

“Power dampeners are in the lining of the cells,” Bethany explained while she maintained the telekinetic wall that kept the other prisoners from crowding her. “There’s a backup in case of a power outage but—”

“They’re not working!” the Trickster’s sing-song voice came from inside his cell.

Crow-Man twisted to the right so that his daggers could guide Soul Eater’s energy scythe straight into the ground. Then, while Soul Eater’s weight shifted forward along with the momentum of his downward swing, Crow-Man slid behind the villain and stabbed both of his knives into Soul Eater’s lower back. Neither attack was fatal, but both blades were coated with the same narcotics that had drugged Stutter. These narcotics quickly forced Soul Eater to wobble in place and then fall to his knees.

“Aren’t there more redundancies?” Crow-Man asked as he pulled his knives out of the villain who was about to topple over.

“The Crucible has redundancy after redundancy but”—Bethany crushed a snake-haired villain into the floor with her telekinetic wall—“none of them are working right… and this shouldn’t be happening!”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“That’s the thing about volcanic lairs… there’s always something that needs fixing,” The Trickster cackled. “Why even bother hiding your prison in a volcano? Everyone knows it’s never going to be feasible long-term. Lol.”

“I don’t suppose”—Bethany kicked Strega—a witch who was said to be one of the worst serial killers in America—right in the back of her head, knocking her out for the precious second Bethany needed to shove the dangerous villain back in her cell—“you can knock the Trickster out too?”

It was lucky that Strega had a straitjacket on her too because the poison in her nails was particularly potent. She must have been quite violent to receive the same treatment as the Trickster.

“Come now. You don’t really want me to shut up, do you?” The Trickster’s sad tone fooled no one. “I’ve been told my commentary’s quite the entertain—Ack!”

As if acquiescing to Bethany’s request, Crow-Man had ducked back into cell forty-two and then knocked the Trickster’s lights out with a well-placed fist right in his pointy chin. Seconds later Crow-Man came back out with the Trickster slung over his shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Crow-Man said as he rushed past Bethany.

In his haste, he didn’t bother with the last remaining prisoner who’d come out of his cell with the others as this villain was quick to fall to his knees in fright at the sight of Crow-Man’s grimace. Bethany followed Crow-Man while using her telekinesis to shove the defeated villains back into their cells. She manually activated the sliding obsidian doors to lock them back in and then chased after Crow-Man before he reached the end of the narrow corridor.

While on his way to the doors that led to the Crucible’s lone elevator, Crow-Man passed the open door of Pandora the 7th’s cell. He couldn’t help but glance sideways at the elderly woman who sat in the middle of the room in apparent meditation.

Pandora the 7th’s eyes opened so that their gazes met briefly. Which was when she whispered, “Pride cometh before the fall.” He passed her room and then her eyes closed again. The next time they would open, a new hero would be standing before her. One who was beloved of the Hope she’d kept contained in her for more than fifty years. But that’s a story for another time.

Meanwhile, Bethany caught up with Crow-Man just before he pulled open the double doors leading to the elevator’s hall.

“Why are you bringing the Trickster with—”

Crow-Man had just pushed open the doors to reveal a scene reminiscent of that hospital floor where he and Sam first met Farsight.

A pool of blood leaking out of the corpses of the fourth sub-level’s security team coated the obsidian floor. Standing in the middle of all this carnage was a shapely, pale-skinned woman in a loose red robe with a hemline that dragged against the floor.

“That’s why,” Crow-Man explained.

“Blessed Athena,” Bethany gasped.

The new arrival had long white hair framing a pale, narrow face with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. Her brows were long and white while the irises of her eyes were red as the blood that pooled beneath her heels. She had a long aquiline nose with a narrow bridge, and her full red lips were smeared with blood.

“Hello,” she said in a genial tone that belied the hostility in her gaze.

In her right hand, she held a jagged-edged red saber that dripped with blood.

“Lady Bathory,” Crow-Man growled.

“Bathory…” Bethany’s eyes widened at hearing the woman’s name. “Oh, gods… she’s… Bloodfyre…?”

Bloodfyre—it was the moniker of the alpha-level villain who was known to be one of Superion’s worst rogues. She was a gifted of Hades, one who could ignite the blood in others and make them burn from the inside out while also being able to temporarily manipulate blood into any shape Bloodfyre desired.

“Why’re you here?” Crow-Man asked.

Bloodfyre didn’t answer him outright. Although it was clear from her gaze that she was staring at the unconscious villain hoisted over Crow-Man’s shoulder.

In response, Crow-Man pulled out a throwing knife from his belt. “You can’t have him.”

It wasn’t noticeable thanks to his cowl but sweat had begun to drip down his forehead. Crow-Man knew that this villain wasn’t an opponent he and Bethany could take on even if they teamed up. Their only chance was to escape Bloodfyre’s clutches while she underestimated them, which he assumed she would since neither he nor Bethany was at Superion’s level.

“Always so surly, Crow-Man…” Bloodfyre raised her saber to her face and then licked at the blood coating its edge. “It’s why I never enjoy our brief meetings.”

As her tongue lapped the blood, dark veins appeared around her eyes which had begun to exude a bright, reddish glow.

“You’re not welcome here”—Bethany charged both her hands with telekinetic energy—“vampire.”

Bloodfyre flashed a playful smirk in Bethany’s direction. One that showed off the two pointy fangs protruding out of her upper lip.

“Unfortunately for you, Warden, I do not need your permission to walk in this place…” She took a step toward them, the heel of her shoe causing ripples to form in the blood on the floor. “…that’s the kind of false superstition that will get you killed when facing something like me.”

In a flash, Bloodfyre covered the distance between them—and her ‘Blood Saber’ would have bit into Bethany’s neck if it wasn’t for Crow-Man’s quick reaction. He parried her attack with the knife in his right hand while simultaneously flinging the knife in his left hand at her. She dodged it easily enough, but this made her unprepared for the telekinetic blast Bethany fired into her gut at near-point-blank range.

The villain was blown away by the force of Bethany’s telekinetic blast. Her back slammed against the obsidian wall while Bethany and Crow-Man—with the unconscious Trickster still slung over his shoulder—made a run for the elevator slab at the center of the circular hall.

Bloodfyre was quick to recover though. She snapped her fingers and ignited the blood pooling on the floor.

“Burn for me,” she said with glee.

A carpet of flames came to life beneath Crow-Man’s and Bethany’s feet. Thankfully, they were close to the elevator now. He threw the Trickster into its opening while Bethany used her telekinesis to quickly carry herself and Crow-Man into the elevator.

“Nicely done,” Crow-Man whispered.

Bethany—her pretty face coated in sweat—grinned at the rare compliment. Then she pressed her hand to the door and used her telekinesis to manually jumpstart the elevator’s engines.

“This is why I was assigned to the Crucible,” she stated—and not because she was being punished for giving a certain vigilante her powerful hammer—before adding, “I need a second… Hold her off.”

Crow-Man didn’t respond. He was too busy forming the Mudra-style hand gesture for a bird with his gloved fingers.

Simultaneously, Bloodfyre launched herself across the room at a speed that would rival a certain hare-themed hero. She nearly reached the elevator when she felt the stab of a blade on her lower back, causing her to topple over and fall into the very flames she’d created.

Bloodfyre hadn’t noticed that Crow-Man’s ‘Shadow Crow’ had wrapped around the knife she had dodged earlier. It flew up from the floor and attacked her while she’d been preoccupied with catching her prey, forcing her to a painful halt. The fire she fell into did nothing to her body, although it licked at the edges of her robe. Ruining the fabric enough that Bloodfyre turned livid.

“Hades damn your gift of sight, Crow!” she spat in anger.

Her ire fell on deaf ears though because the elevator doors had just closed. The last thing she saw was Crow-Man’s gaze and the glowing runic pattern superimposed over each of his violet eyes that marked his gift of True Sight.

Then, with the sound of the rising elevator reaching her ears, Bloodfyre’s lips formed into a tight smile.

“Very well…” she said. “Let the hunt begin.”