Volume 8: Telophase

Issue 11: A Crimson Coda

Jannette Adrian Churchwell

By Nova

The broiling inferno cut off all at once, immediately fading into a rolling sea of cinders and patchy fires. Qilin took a few steps back, his movement slow. Did he see that his attack had left Red Queen unscathed? Or was he simply exhausted from the exertion? I couldn’t read the reasoning behind his careful, deliberate movements. He kept his gaze locked on the small, crimson-wreathed shape of Red Queen in the distance.

I braced myself for Red Queen’s counterattack, but the villain didn’t get the chance. There was a brilliant explosion of violet light, followed by a lance of energy from Asteria hanging in the air above. Just as Red Queen was beginning to steady herself, the flash of energy pounded her back into the ground—keeping her there as Asteria shot her remaining stars, one by one.

“How are those two?” Qilin muttered, without looking my way.

I glanced back down at my two patients. Ripple and Seraph were still unconscious, but stable. My power flowed through them, regenerating muscles, nerves, and mending broken bones. I was trying to heal both of them at the same time. It was slower work but I hoped that getting them back in the fight together would raise our chances.

“They should be back up in a moment…” I said, trying to split my attention between them and the fight without missing anything important. Ahead, Asteria's stars and Red Queen's aura continued to clash, sparking violet and crimson embers around them.

Qilin nodded, but he still didn’t look back. He kept his eyes on the battlefield, carefully shifting his weight from foot to foot. “Nothing I did even scratched her,” he finally said, unprompted.

“O-Oh?”

He grunted. “And nothing she’s doing,” he motioned up at Asteria, “is doing a thing either.” Qilin shook his head. “I don’t know how we’re going to beat her… Maybe sneak up on her when she goes to sleep?”

“M-maybe…”

Qilin snorted. “Except she’s never been incarcerated, so no one really knows if she needs to be conscious to maintain that… field of hers.”

I wasn’t sure what Qilin expected me to say. But, as I gazed over the battlefield—to Red Queen’s crimson-wreathed figure, struggling to stand under Asteria’s onslaught—I began to wonder… Was he trying to say that we had no idea how Red Queen's power really worked? Everyone claimed that her aura basically ignored physics, but was that really true? The way she was getting buffeted by our attacks implied that we could at least try to restrain her.

But—even if we were able to corner her, trap her somehow—that wouldn’t work for long. She could break out of whatever restraints we had for her, and there was no way we could hold her down long enough for her to fall asleep… Assuming that she even needed to be conscious for her powers to work.

We were fighting an enemy who was pretty much stronger than us in every way… And we didn’t even know how much stronger she really was.

Ripple and Seraph stirred in unison as I brought them back to consciousness. “Wha-” Ripple began to say, but I interrupted her.

“Y-You guys need to get back in there,” I said, feeling a bit too much like General Olstien for my liking.

They both nodded and, shakily, rose to their feet. Their first few steps were slow, almost confused. Seraph's blood-stained wings unfolded as she steadied herself, while Ripple glanced back over her shoulder. My friend gave me a wide-eyed stare through the cracks in her helmet—a look of… shock? Fear? I wished that there was something more I could say, but only a second later did she turn to face the battlefield alongside Seraph. Within moments, the two of them seemed to have collected themselves again.

And not a moment too soon. Asteria must have run out of stars because her bombardment had stopped, and Red Queen struggled to her feet. Not giving her a moment to gather herself, Seraph shot ahead—striking Red Queen with a solid blow that sent her sprawling. Ripple rushed forward, bounding across the battlefield, and slammed the side of her spear into Red Queen before she even hit the ground.

“Not good enough,” Qilin muttered as Red Queen went flying right back into Seraph’s fists. “It didn’t work before, why would it work now?”

I glanced back at Qilin; apparently he wasn’t done lecturing me. “D-Do you have a better idea?” I asked.

Qilin sighed. “No,” he admitted, “and that’s what scares m-” He stopped suddenly, interrupting himself with a shout. “Move!”

Without another word, Qilin leapt away from me. I barely had time to face the battlefield and see Red Queen rushing toward us.

No, not rushing toward us—but toward me. Seraph and Ripple were close behind her, but the villain shot toward me with such rapid speed that all I could do was raise my arms in front of my face as her long, crimson blade reached toward me.

Reached through me.

The blade plunged into my chest—perforating my left lung—and cut straight through and out of my back. A shot of pain rushed through me as Red Queen shifted the blade slightly, snapping any bone that got in the way. Instinctively, I reached up to push Red Queen away—but, instead, my hands only met the crimson aura enveloping her head.

Even through the pain, I was shocked by how it felt. It wasn’t hard, or soft really. It didn’t feel like anything. It was like the universe ended at my fingertips and, no matter how hard I pressed, I wouldn’t be able to push any further.

Red Queen leered at me through her mask as I pushed, futilely, against her face. “No more playing doctor,” she hissed—her voice as tired as it was before, but with a note of savage triumph.

All I saw was red, consuming my vision, as she leaned in close and grabbed at my hair. I felt blood filling my lungs, her sharp fingers digging into my scalp, Red Queen’s pupils dilating, her muscles tensing for the final blow…

Wait, her muscles?

But, before I could even fully process this, two strong hands gripped my shoulders and wrenched me backwards.

Red Queen’s blade ripped through my side as I was torn from her grasp. Blood and gore poured from the gash in my torso, while the villain reached out to grab me again.

In a dark blur, Ripple darted in front of her—spear leveled like a baseball bat—and struck her hard, knocking the villain back into the center of the ashy clearing. I was just able to see Qilin let forth a roaring inferno from his mouth at Red Queen, before I was dropped into a painful, bloody heap on the ground.

I gagged in pain as I hit the ground, my vision fading in and out—bordering between awake and unconsciousness…

I was running on fumes, my powers struggling to undo Red Queen's injuries to me. I wouldn’t be able to keep this up too much longer.

Seraph’s blurred silhouette loomed above me, my flickering vision recognizing the unmistakable outline of her wings. My rescuer, I managed to piece together. I tried to tell her what I had felt—that my powers had, ever-so-briefly, reached Red Queen. But, I only choked, unable to force enough air through my vocal cords. My left lung hung uselessly from my side, punctured like a bloody balloon.

“You can’t die on me,” Seraph said, her voice hard as she looked down on me. As my vision gradually focused, I could make out her pure white wings, singed at the edges, and her robes dyed red with blood… But, in her eyes, I saw something unfamiliar. It looked like fear, but not the fear I’d seen in her back in Redding. It was something else… Concern, maybe?

Probably concern about whether or not her little healer would be around to keep her alive…

She didn’t say anything else as she rose into the air—rocketing back into the fight, wings spread wide.

I couldn’t dwell on her. As I crawled forward, my left lung dragging along the ground, I knew I had to tell them what I had felt. In hindsight, it was obvious. If my power could penetrate a few inches of clothing or armor—and could even reach through open air if I had enough time—of course it could pierce Red Queen’s aura. It was a layer of protection. Admittedly, a ludicrously tough layer, but little more than that at the end of the day.

And, if my power could penetrate it, it could penetrate her. Behind that crimson shield of hers, she was still only flesh and blood.

I could take her down—end this right here and now.

But I wasn’t near strong or fast enough to pin her down myself. And, if Red Queen tried to attack me again, I suspected she would go straight for my head. I needed help, maybe from everyone… and sooner rather than later.

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My lung retracted into the gash in my chest—my torn left bronchus winding it upward like it was a fish hook—as I feebly crawled forward.

Qilin was still breathing forth his crackling inferno at Red Queen. Ripple was immersed in it, her power nullifying the heat, as she exchanged blows with the villain. Meanwhile, Seraph and Asteria circled overhead. I tried shouting to Qilin to get his attention, but only managed a cough which filled my mask with bloody spittle. My left lung was still useless, even as it was sealed behind rows of ribs knitting themselves back together.

Still unable to stand, I resorted to tugging on Qilin's pant leg—anything to get his attention. A pang of annoyance hit me between waves of pain, but I didn’t have time to feel indignant. We had to get this done.

This, at least, got his attention. Qilin looked down at me, an annoyed look in his eyes as the fire died on his lips. “What is it?” he asked, smoke billowing from his mouth.

“I-I…” I coughed again, my blue mask filling up with more blood. “M-My power… I-it got through-” I managed, before another coughing fit overtook me as the gash in my side finished sealing up.

But Qilin immediately understood. “Are you sure?” he asked, kneeling beside me.

I nodded. “P-Positive,” I said. “I felt her…”

Qilin seemed to be convinced… Or, maybe he was just desperate for anything to work, because—as he straightened up—he waved into the air, motioning for Asteria and Seraph to join us on the ground.

They seemed to get the message because, in moments, the two heroes landed on the ground next to us. “What is it?” Asteria asked, her voice still strong and commanding despite the obvious edge of exhaustion within it.

Qilin jerked a thumb down at me as I struggled to my feet. “She’s got a plan,” he simply said.

Asteria turned her glowing, violet gaze upon me. One of the stars hovering over her shoulder split off and formed a translucent, rectangular shield between us and the clearing. Through it, I could still see Ripple and Red Queen’s battle.

“Miasma… Right? What’s this all about?” Asteria asked.

“I-It’s S-Stitch,” I muttered, not meeting her eyes. “B-But yeah… When she grabbed me earlier… I t-think my powers went through her aura.”

“Think or know?” Asteria asked, her voice stern.

“K-Know,” I stammered. “I think if we c-could hold her down… Or something… I could have the time I need to… Well, y-you know…”

Asteria raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

Qilin spoke up. “It’s better than just throwing ourselves at her. How far has that gotten us?” He cast his gaze back at Ripple and Red Queen’s battle, where the booms of Ripple's spear reverberated across the ashen landscape.

Asteria nodded slowly, then turned to face Qilin. “Remember the summer of 2007? How hot do your flames burn?”

“Hot enough for that,” he said.

I looked between them, confused. “We’ll restrain her, at least for a few moments,” Asteria said. “Is that going to be long enough?”

I honestly didn’t know, but I did know that I didn’t have a better choice. I nodded.

“Good,” Asteria said. “Seraph, get Ripple out of there. Tell her she’s on standby for cooling.” Without another word, Asteria flew back into the sky—the shield she had placed between us and the battlefield fading away.

“W-What’s the plan?” I asked Qilin, still uncertain what they intended to do.

“You’ll see,” Qilin said. “Just be ready for my signal.” He glanced at Seraph, who still hadn’t budged. “What are you doing? Go get Ripple!”

Seraph ignored him, her eyes focused on me. “W-What-” I began to ask, but she cut me off.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“W-What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

I gulped. “I-I’m going to end this.”

Seraph was silent for a moment. “Are you really going to kill her?” she finally asked.

I stammered, not quite having an answer. “I-I’m not a murderer…” I said, pathetically.

“Stitch,” Qilin interjected. “This better not be what I think this is about. If you don’t kill this bitch…” he trailed off, muttering what I assumed was a litany of Chinese curses.

“I will end this,” I said, more confidently. But I still didn’t have an answer to Seraph’s question.

Seraph spread her wings. “Don’t betray who you are for them,” she said, before rising into the air—ash scattering around us with each flap of her wings.

The words didn't have time to sink in before Qilin spoke. “Is your psychotic friend trying to play therapist?” he asked, clearly exasperated. “I don’t care what ideals you have. Do what needs to be done.”

“I.. I know…” I muttered.

Ahead, Seraph swooped down and drove Red Queen into the ground with a strike from above. In the wake of a loud boom, she pointed at me and, together, Ripple and Seraph rushed back to us. As soon as they were past Qilin, he opened his mouth wide. He shot forth an intensely bright, tight beam of fire; the same blowtorch he’d opened the fight with. It struck the ground beneath Red Queen just as she rose to her feet. But, before she could leap away, Asteria struck her from above with a lance of violet energy—keeping her in place. Then she hit her with another, and another. Asteria and Qilin focused everything they had at Red Queen…

Or, more accurately, the ground right below the villain’s feet.

As I saw the ground begin to glow a brilliant red, I heard Ripple breathlessly ask, “What’s going on?”

“Stitch has a plan,” Seraph said, simply. Her voice was now entirely devoid of its usual sing-song twang. “Apparently your job is ‘cooling,’ whatever that means.”

“I-I think I’m beginning to see,” I said. Ahead, the ground wasn’t just glowing. It was flowing. The combined heat from Asteria’s energy and Qilin’s flames was melting the earth beneath Red Queen’s feet. I squinted to see anything at the center of it all—which seemed to glow as bright as the sun—but I swore I could see a human figure slowly sinking into the earth.

“So they want me to cool that… lava?” Ripple asked.

“Looks like…” I started, but, at that moment, Asteria ran out of stars. Her strikes ceased. And, as if they had coordinated it, the blow torch bursting from Qilin’s mouth cut out at the same time.

“Go!” Qilin shouted to Ripple. She was already on the move, leaping forward to the glowing mass of lava in front of us. As the smoke cleared, I could just make out Red Queen struggling at the center of it, neck deep in the molten earth.

“Come on…” Qilin muttered as Ripple reached the edge of the pool of lava. She stuck the tip of her spear into it. I could make out waves rippling through the lava as she did so, and—with each wave—the lava grew a little darker, and a little more solid. At the end of the day, heat was just another form of kinetic energy, over which Ripple had complete control.

Without prompting, Seraph scooped me into her arms and rocketed toward the lava pool. Smoke still broiled from it as we reached it, but the dull red had faded into a dark black.

Unceremoniously, Seraph dropped me onto it. It was still incredibly hot, and I could feel the burning heat through the soles of my shoes. I was just a few feet from Red Queen, who had managed to free her left arm from the solidifying earth around her.

“Pathetic,” she scoffed, a crimson blade extending from her free hand. The black rock covering her right side began to crack and fracture. “This won’t hold me!”

I didn’t respond and instead rushed forward, rolling to the side to avoid a slash from Red Queen’s blade. It struck the ground beside me, leaving a deep cut in the blackened rock. Even restrained like this, Red Queen was still stronger than me. I needed an opening.

Seraph must have thought the same thing, because—as Red Queen raised her blade for another attack—Seraph dived down from above and crushed her arm down to the ground. “Hurry!” she shouted at me.

I didn’t have much time. Red Queen would win any contest of strength, so—before she could rally—I leapt toward the villain.

“What are you doing?” Red Queen demanded as I grabbed either side of her head with my hands. The crimson aura around her was as impossibly resistant as it was before… But, while my hands remained hovering just an inch above her scalp, my powers penetrated the aura all the same.

She stared wildly at me with eyes that I could both see and sense were bloodshot. Judging by the levels of inflammation in her nervous system, she must have been awake for days… Maybe not sleeping at all since Redding.

But I wasn’t here to give her a diagnosis.

I struck at her brain. With a thought, I annihilated synaptic pathways and neuron clusters. Destroying was easier than rebuilding, and the brain was so much more fragile than the rest of the body. I killed neurons by the billions—focusing on the frontal lobe, the cerebellum, and the motor cortex.

Red Queen, the Terror of the West, gave a sudden, panicked gurgle, but had nothing else to say as her jaw went slack. There was nothing she could say. As her eyes fluttered, I leaned in close.

“I didn’t want to be the one to do this…” I said. I looked into her eyes as they closed and the crimson field around her dimmed, then faded entirely. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back, letting my hands fall to my side. There was no use in talking to her anymore.

Her body, still half-buried in the smoldering earth and rock, lay limp.

Seraph rose to her feet, looking at me with an unreadable expression. An unexpected silence fell over the ashen wasteland. Asteria, casting as violet glow over the scene as she floated downwards, was the first to say anything. “Is it done?”

I nodded. Footsteps sounded behind me as Qilin and Ripple approached. “What did you do?” Ripple carefully asked.

“I-I…” I stopped, and took a deep breath. “T-Traumatic brain injury. She’s in a coma… Not one she can wake up from. Even if she does, she’s paralyzed. Can’t move a muscle…”

I heard Qilin sigh. “Well, so long as she’s not a threat anymore, I don’t care.”

“I’ll call it in, tell Olstien that it’s over,” Asteria said, rising high into the sky above us.

While Qilin turned his gaze toward the still burning treeline, Ripple sat down next to me. “It’s over,” she breathed. “Tomorrow, we’ll be back home, out of these stupid backwoods… I never thought I’d miss the city.”

She shot me a smile, her relieved expression more easily visible from underneath her shattered helmet.

I wasn’t able to return it.

“How are you doing?” Ripple asked after a minute or two had passed between us.

I was silent for a moment while I gathered myself. I thought I would be an emotional wreck after doing something like this to a person… Something I had no intention of ever reversing. It wasn’t exactly murder, but was maiming someone like that much better? While I never swore an oath to do no harm… It was an ideal I tried to live by the best I could as a superhero.

But I didn’t feel all that sad about breaking this rule of mine. I wasn’t on the verge of tears, or threatening to collapse into an emotional mess. In fact, I didn’t feel… anything. I just felt numb.

“I wish I felt bad about it,” I said to Ripple, “but I don’t. I did what I had to.” I glanced at Seraph, who kept staring at me with that unreadable expression. Was it judgment? Sympathy?

If so, sympathy for what?

“Wanting to be that heroic ideal isn’t bad, Stitch,” Ripple said, gently. “But we’re not ideals, we’re people… Just people.”

I heard the low, building roar of a helicopter in the distance. In moments, it cut through the smoke of the wildfires. It hovered over the ashy clearing, its spotlights illuminating the scene below. The lights momentarily flickered over Red Queen's still form, encrusted in blackened stone—her freed arm lying limp on the cracked surface.

Ripple rose to her feet and stretched a hand toward me. “Come on,” she said, “let’s go home.”