McLeod took a few more looks at all the people below before nodding his head. At his signal, the pale girl lifted her hands and blocked off both ends of the streets, along with the alleyways that separated the tall buildings. Considering how long and how much effort it took Lori to use her Anomaly sometimes, the pale girl’s speed, precision, and control with her earth-moving power was incredible. It wasn’t just able to level buildings. She could have done a lot of good with her power.
Slowly, almost painfully so, they descended to the people below. The poor people had already started screaming, clawing desperately at the walls of rock that wouldn’t break. The most desperate ones were bleeding from how hard they dug at the wall. Many of them began to cry and beg their captors, while others made frantic phone calls to the police and miserable ones to their loved ones. What could the police even do to free them from the rock walls? They were all trapped like lab rats.
“Silence!” McLeod’s voice boomed, echoing off the new walls. “It would appear that Vancouver was not enough for your kind to recognize my declaration of war. Allow me to formally introduce ourselves to the world. We are Dii Consentes. We are the next step forward for life on Earth. You will see us as a collection of gods in time.
“This will be the final warning to the world that we have arrived. We will no longer hide in the shadows. We are prepared to fight for our spot on this planet. History has been written by humans abusing, hunting, and brutally murdering my kind for centuries. Lies, deceptions, and coverups have been done to avoid suspicion. But that time is over. You will know that we have been here for centuries. We will not be the hunted any longer. Instead, we will take our rightful place as kings of this world. This evolution will be bloody, but necessary.”
Looking at the news reporter, he made a small hand waving gesture his way, and the man burst into blue flames. The camera operator screamed as her partner burned, his own pained cries joining her startled and horrified ones. In her fear, the woman dropped the camera she’d been holding. Before it could crash into the ground, it stopped midair. The burning man only screamed for a few more seconds before the flames finally put him out of his agony.
The scientist-looking man walked forward and gently turned the floating camera toward the woman originally operating it. She was on the ground, dirt covering her pencil skirt. Her makeup ran down her face as she begged for mercy, holding up her hands in a useless attempt at defending herself. I wanted the poor, trembling woman to run and hide. Her body seemed to be totally paralyzed by fear.
“Thank you for helping us broadcast our message today, ma’am,” the scientist-looking man said, his voice much softer than McLeod’s. “You have helped us reach billions of people, and for that, we are grateful to you. You have brought us such magnificent equipment with great audio pickup, ma’am. However, you are now obsolete. Nothing personal, ma’am, but Dii Consentes will display its power. Heather, ma’am, would you be so kind?”
The pale girl, who must’ve been Heather, huffed but nodded her head. She carefully walked up to the cowering camerawoman, each step precise and controlled, like she had rehearsed how to walk for this very moment. With the angle, we could only see Heather’s back, but the camerawoman continued to look horrified, matching how I felt about that girl’s unnerving appearance.
Heather stretched her arms out to her sides and two chunks of rock came out of the ground, each in the shape of a hand. Heather flexed her long, slender fingers a little bit and the hands mirrored her movements. Even with the horrible events I was witnessing, her control and precision still would not cease to amaze me. The rock hands were formed so quickly and reacted so naturally like they were truly second hands.
With a single clap, that awe and amazement turned to disgust and horror. The rock hands came together and crushed the camerawoman with a sickening crunch and splatter of blood on the street. The poor woman managed to let out one final, haunting scream the instant her life was ended for the world to see. Before the aftermath could be shown, I closed my eyes and turned my head, my stomach beginning to churn. Lori screamed, and Mrs. Carmichael shouted more things into her phone.
If Shelly reacted in any way, I didn’t know. I was trying to drown it out. I just wanted it all to stop and to go away. I knew if the news people there were killed, the rest of the trapped civilians wouldn’t be far behind. I didn’t want to see anymore civilians be killed like that. No more destroyed families or cruel deaths. I didn’t want to see any of it anymore. I didn’t want to hear those sounds anymore. It was all too much for me. It all needed to just go away.
There was an unmistakable crash of glass breaking, then the living room went totally quiet. I opened my eyes to see our TV lying in two pieces on the carpet. Small shards of the screen littered the ground and I already dreaded trying to clean all of those up. The spot where it was mounted on the wall had cracks spiderwebbing out from a small hole in the center. The mount itself looked like it was just a nudge away from falling too.
“What happened to the TV?” I asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“I believe you happened to the TV, Ethan,” Mrs. Carmichael replied, no longer on her phone call, but still frantically tapping away on the device. She didn’t even look up from the device to say it. “Given how many times I’ve seen it happen before, I’ll throw out a guess that was your Anomaly. Unfortunately, I do not know what it is just yet.”
“Do you think he’s an offensive one, Mrs. Carmichael?” Lori asked. She still looked sick from the display in Seattle, but she seemed excited about my apparent Anomaly. Shame that excitement came at the cost of our TV, even if we did buy it secondhand.
“I can’t say for certain, though if it can do that to the TV, it likely has some offensive capabilities,” she replied as she set her phone down on the table, using its stand to have it face us. “I understand that what you saw was unpleasant, but if we can get any insight to what they can do, that information will prove beyond valuable.”
There was a livestream on the same news broadcast that we were just watching on the TV. It didn’t look like much else had happened in the few moments that we couldn’t watch. Mercifully, the camera wasn’t on the remains of the two people who were just murdered, returning the world back to McLeod and everyone behind him. Oddly enough, it seemed completely silent, even though there were numerous people in view.
“I will repeat my offer to those who have transcended,” McLeod said, looking hard into the camera. “You will all be given a single opportunity to join us. You will be taken care of in our family with luxuries you’ve likely never enjoyed before. You deserve better than the lives you’ve all been forced to live. Do not hide who you are any longer from those who would rather see you imprisoned or worse. Stand and battle for your place!
“With these attacks on two of the world’s most significant nations, I expect our declaration of war to be taken seriously. Form your armies and watch as we crush your dreams of peace and survival. No guardians you muster will stop this crusade. Meet us in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in two weeks from this day. See how well you can protect your civilians with your best planning and the grace of my forewarning.”
Curiously, McLeod’s head tilted slightly to the side, a small amount of surprise overcoming his expression. It was the first time I’d seen something other than smug confidence from the man. I was sure he wouldn’t take kindly to having his confusion broadcast on live TV, but it was too late for that, and he managed to recover that smug look quickly anyway. That confidence was not something that would be so easy to quell.
“Finally, a challenger!” McLeod yelled out, sounding genuinely happy. “I hope you can make this more of a test than I am expecting from the United States and Canadian governments.”
The camera was slowly rotated to a lone man who was pointing at one of the rock walls. With a small look of concentration, a blue beam flew from his finger and hit the wall. A large chunk of ice appeared from the point of impact, stretching about ten feet in total height, based on the heights of the people around it.
“No! Mrs. Carmichael, what is he doing there?” Lori rose from the couch, turning to her leader. The fear in her voice was unmistakable. “I thought Flynn wasn’t supposed to send anyone in!”
“He wasn’t, and I’m sure he didn’t,” she replied, her usual confidence gone, now replaced by concern. “We still have people who will act on their own wishes, despite any orders we give them. In some, the desire to try and help others will trump any order given by a superior.”
Their conversation was interrupted when the man closed his hand and a chunk of the frozen rock shattered to bits. The people closest to the wall all ran through the newly formed hole. It being the first glimmer of hope they’d seen since the attack started, there was lots of screaming and shoving. It wasn’t long before people ran to the opening from the other end of the closed off street, McLeod and his group doing nothing to stop them. They were all focused on the man in front of them.
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“I see, you’re a hero type. I’m afraid this isn’t the battle for me, as impressive as your ice may be.” McLeod shook his head, all his excitement replaced with boredom and disappointment. He placed a hand on the knight’s shoulder and nodded. “This will be your duel. I look forward to seeing your progress.”
The knight nodded his head as well and walked forward, drawing the sword from his hip. The bright metal contrasted his armor so much that it made it impossible to look away. The knight’s presence was almost as powerful as McLeod’s. His silence compared to McLeod was the most jarring thing about him. McLeod had never been shy about boasting, but the knight’s eerie silence added to his feeling of dread and hopelessness, as if he was just a machine under his armor.
“Oh God, Rory no…” Lori whispered, covering her mouth with one hand. “Please, is there anything we can do to help him?”
“As much this pains me, I’m afraid not.” Mrs. Carmichael’s tone was laced with sadness. “He’s made his choice to try and save those people. A choice that I would not have been able to talk him out of, no matter how hard I tried. It is now my job to trust in my husband to keep home safe, and for myself to keep you all as informed as possible.”
I wanted to feel angry at her almost businesslike approach to the matter. That was a human being standing up to all five of them! She clearly cared about the man who was standing outnumbered and was actively risking his life to save others. I wanted to be angry that she wouldn’t help, yet it was that same care I detected from her that stomped out that fire. It was probably hurting her more than she let on, but as a leader, she had others to worry about as well. She had been right about being unable to talk some people out of their choices if they were truly set on seeing them through.
“I’m askin’ you as one of you, won’t you please just leave these people alone?” Rory asked, still standing his ground. I was having trouble placing his accent. I thought it might have been Irish. “This has no happy endin’ for anyone.”
“Your words ring hollow to us,” McLeod replied. “Your choice was made when you sided with them. Now you will face the consequences for your actions.”
With that final word on the matter, the knight floated about ten feet into the air, before charging at Rory at a downward angle. His speed was extraordinary; faster than any human I’d seen sprint before. He was a black and silver streak racing through the beautiful morning sun. While horrifying, it was still awe inspiring, if only because it was almost so absurd a situation. People had watched superhero battles on TV and in movies for years, but this was a real battle between superhumans, with very real stakes.
Rory created a wall of ice in front of him, ready for the collision. Unfortunately, any plan he had was swiftly dashed when the knight cut the ice in half with a single swing of his sword, seemingly defying all reason. Rory had just enough time to react to hop back, but a fine line of blood appeared ran across his chest. Had he been any slower, he might’ve been cut in two, if that ice acted as an indicator.
“Of course you have two Anomalies, you freak among freaks. Because this just can’t get any worse for me, can it?” Rory’s voice was thick with sarcasm. As expected, the knight offered no verbal response, just a slow and cautious temporary retreat. I considered it a blessing that he was still uncertain of Rory’s full capabilities.
The knight’s foot touched the asphalt, and the moment it did, Rory focused his powers on his ankle. Ice soon bound the knight’s foot to the ground. It was impossible to see his expression under the helmet, so I imagined it was one of shock. With a bit of effort, he broke his leg free from its prison and looked up just in time to see a massive, pointed chunk of ice heading his way. It slammed into his chest and sent him flying back a good distance.
“None of you goons plannin’ on steppin’ in?” Rory asked McLeod and his allies.
“Absolutely not,” McLeod quickly replied. “I, and the rest of Dii Consentes, pride ourselves on never outnumbering an opponent. Your battle is between you two, no matter the results.”
“Even if that stupid pride means you get killed?” Rory questioned.
“Especially if it gets us killed. We cannot assert ourselves as those who have transcended if we cannot win difficult battles alone.”
Rory shook his head and returned his focus to the knight. By that point, most of the people had cleared out, so their battlefield on the street was largely void of human life. The knight appeared to be shaking off some cobwebs, something I couldn’t blame him for. That shard of ice was formed so quickly and traveled like it was a few pounds. The torso of his armor had a dent in it, but I was just surprised it wasn’t destroyed entirely.
Again, somehow faster this time, the knight flew through the air toward Rory, but he was expecting it this time. He formed a stronger wall of ice in front of him, and the knight was unable to completely cut through it. His blade made it about halfway through, and it wasn’t an insignificant amount of ice put up, showing just how strong he truly was. I would have needed a chainsaw and a few hours to make that kind of cut in ice that thick. The knight managed to do it in a single, seemingly effortless swing.
“So, someone can have two Anomalies?” I asked, assuming his were strength and flight.
It was Mrs. Carmichael who spoke up about it, “Yes, but it’s exceptionally rare. We estimate that less than three percent of the entirety of superhumans have more than a single Anomaly, and neither Anomaly will be weaker than the other. There’s no catch or tradeoff to it. Some people just have two.”
I turned my attention back to the livestream with a newfound feeling of dread. The knight had an Anomaly that let him go airborne. His arial maneuvers were too quick and calculated for him to not have control over his flight powers. I also didn’t know if the other Anomaly was just limited to superior strength. Even if I did know, it wasn’t like I could help Rory. The only thing I could do was stay on this couch, observe, and hope for the best outcome.
Rory seemed to be doing well for himself, at least from my observations. He was efficiently dodging the knight’s attacks and keeping a good distance between them, occasionally forming ice in the air and launching them at his opponent. They weren’t as menacing as that first shard, but they were putting scratches and small dents into the black armor. The knight suddenly stopped and slowly floated backward, staying about three feet off the ground and far enough away that he could see an ice attack coming.
“What? You done already, bud?” Rory asked. It wasn’t a taunt. There was no malice in his words. “You gotta have more tricks than that in your impressive armor there.”
I could see the knight’s shoulders rise and fall as he took a deep breath, raising his sword slightly with both hands, preparing to attack or defend. There were no sounds surrounding them, not even emergency vehicles. If anyone was there, they were also trying to keep their distance. Maybe they were busy handling the civilians who escaped through that hole in the rock, but there had to still be a lot in the buildings that hugged the street.
The knight then decided that the feeling out process was over. He crouched slightly, touched the ground, and flew forward, faster than both times before, racing through the air like a meteor toward Rory. The only reason I knew he didn’t was because I heard him pressing off the asphalt and moving through the air and it sounded like a small explosion. The spot where he briefly stood had two holes with cracks expanding from them, much like what I did to the wall behind the TV.
Rory barely managed to get ice up in front of him, but it wasn’t enough this time. The knight slashed through it and cut deeply into his forearm, spilling blood on the street beneath him. He started to yell in pain, but the knight flew behind him and delivered a hard kick to his back, producing the sickening crunch of broken bones. He flew forward and slammed into the ground, his breathing ragged and coarse.
“No, please stop!” Lori shouted, tears forming in her eyes. “Please don’t let it be him. Don’t take him away from us.”
Rory coughed and turned over to face his opponent with great difficulty, spitting out some blood as he did so. His eyes narrowed and, from a finger that was hidden from the view of the camera, another blue beam flew from his finger. He was aiming for the knight’s chest, but he dodged it just enough so that his left forearm took the attack. Much like the rock wall, the armor quickly froze over, extending from hand to elbow.
The knight looked down at the ice and raised his right hand, probably preparing to try and shatter the ice entirely. He wasn’t fast enough. Rory closed his fist, and the ice shattered, taking the armor along with it. The attack removed the armor, leaving behind a surprisingly lean, pale arm that was a gross shade of red from the ice burn.
“Dammit, thought that’d get your entire arm there. That’s some special armor you got.” Rory went through another round of wet coughs. “But I showed them that you can be hurt. You aren’t immortal over there, no matter how much you’re wantin’ us to believe you are. If you can get hurt, you can lose, and it won’t just stop with me.”
The knight’s left arm hung limply at his side as he pointed his blade at Rory. The man smiled, knowing his time was running out. The smile was replaced with a grimace when the blade went through his chest. Blood ran down the man’s chin as he coughed and gasped. Next to me, Lori shrieked and cried, begging for it to stop.
“I might fall here today, but this will be turnnin’ into their victory, McLeod,” Rory said, barely loud enough for the audio equipment to pick up. His smile returned, albeit weaker. “You might have some strong lapdogs here, but every bit we’re learnin’ about you means we’re getting’ closer to beating you.”
The knight pulled the blade free from Rory’s chest. Blood slowly dripped from its tip to the street below. A few more coughs and gasps escaped Rory’s mouth before he passed away; that mouth still turned upward in a grin that seemed to indicate he won the battle. Despite the violent way he went, Rory looked oddly at peace. Perhaps he truly knew he wouldn’t return home, his only goals being to save those lives and give us the slightest bit of hope. That hope would have to be enough. People would need to study the footage to get any kind of information on possible weaknesses Dii Consentes may have had.
The camera once again rotated back to McLeod, who now looked much angrier than he had before the battle began. “Remember my generous warning. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in two weeks from this day. With this, my grace and kindness to your kind is no more, so make it worthwhile. Transcend and rise above, my brothers and sisters.”
And the camera feed went to black.