“Biomaster,” said Speedclaw over his communicator. “Please tell me this thing is stable.”

“Currently,” said Biomaster. “All readings are normal. Just try to keep it from...”

“Getting jostled,” said Speedclaw irritably. “Yeah, I know.”

As the feline supervillain turned off his communicator, he looked around. He stood with the organic bomb in first class, watching the organic bomb pulse before him. Gaia-born had stolen and repaired a decommissioned plane years ago. They’d just never gotten around to using it. The plane was currently running on autopilot, so all Speedclaw had to do was keep any heroes away from the bomb and then high tail it out of there once the bomb was ready.

That didn’t make this job any less nerve wracking. The idea that the bomb could blow prematurely like this made his fur stand up on end. He took solace that the superheroes were probably not stupid enough to jostle the plane, but that didn’t reassure him as much as he would have liked.

This job couldn’t be over soon enough, but there was still one thing Speedclaw needed to do before the heroes arrived. Quickly, he reached to a seat to pick up a case he’s stored there. The contents of that case would be vital for this mission.

###

“A plane?” asked Silent in his mind. “They can’t possibly be that desperate.”

Silent stood in the center of the room communicating with Paramount as Speedshock and Elementus kept watch over the hostages as they evacuated the building. SteelStar stood in the center of the room, keeping an eye on the henchman’s electromagnetic signatures, just in case one of them woke up. In particular, he kept a careful eye on Sister Nature, who still lay where she’d fallen, unconscious. Neither SteelStar nor Elementus heard Paramount’s telepathic signal, but they heard Silent speak out loud. A moment later, Silent turned to them.

“It’s true,” said Silent. “They’re going to crash a plane with a second Tholatite bomb.”

“Are they insane?” asked Elementus. “That can’t be safe even for them.”

As they talked, a small, blue, leechlike creature crawled through Sister Nature’s robes and attached itself to her chest, right above her heart. It quickly started pumping something into her, like a living syringe.

“Here’s the plan,” said Silent. “Elementus will take Sister Nature to custody while I fly SteelStar and Speedshock to the plane. I’ve already contacted the police, and they should be able to handle the henchmen. Speedshock, remove the weapons, please.”

“Roger that,” said Speedshock, speeding around to pick up the guns and relocate them.

Right at that moment, Sister Nature opened her eyes.

###

Demigoddess clung onto Paramount’s back as they flew to meet the plane. The two of them flew fast, the wind rushing by with a deafening sound. Paramount’s face was set in determination while Demigoddess looked eager.

“How much longer?” Demigoddess asked with her mind.

“Not much longer,” Paramount replied.

Before long, they could see the plane, little more than a white speck in the distance.

“Finally,” Demigoddess muttered.

“Be careful,” said Paramount. “We’ll have to get you on that plane gently.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Demigoddess irritably. “I know.”

Paramount grimaced at her attitude, but at least she understood the stakes. Before they got too close to the plane, however, Paramount suddenly felt pressure on his mind. It was that same creature that had attacked his mind before.

Black Ash was near.

“Get ready,” said Paramount. “We’re about to be attacked.”

And at that exact moment, far below, Black Ash’s limbs burst through the roads, spreading rubble. The giant black branches reached upward fast, aiming directly for the super Superheroes. Paramount was forced to dodge, and Demigoddess clung to him tightly as he evaded the black branches’ relentless assault.

###

Sister Nature lay there, pretending to be unconscious. As gross as it was to have this creature bite into her chest, it had done its job well, though it had died once doing it. The creature flopped onto the floor, shriveling up, and Sister Nature could only hope that the superheroes wouldn’t notice until she was ready to make her move. Knowing she was in a bind with four supposed do-gooders in the room and no hostages, she worked quietly, producing some oil from her hands on concentrating it into a single ball that would produce a powerful explosion. She just needed a few seconds.

Speedshock finished clearing the weapons from the floor as Silent produced a pair of handcuffs for Elementus. SteelStar kept an eye on the people still evacuating the building, when he sensed a subtle change in Sister Nature’s electromagnetic signature. Looking over, however, she still looked unconscious, so SteelStar figured it was nothing.

“I haven’t been to D.C. in a while,” said Elementus, taking the handcuffs. “Where’s the nearest containment unit?”

“Three miles due south of here,” said Silent. “You can’t miss…”

Sister Nature moved suddenly.

“Look out!” cried SteelStar.

SteelStar turned to metal, Elementus turned to stone, and Speedshock turned to electricity as Sister Nature launched her oil bomb, releasing more oil to swirl around her body. Speedshock grabbed Silent, turning him to electricity to speed him to safety, while Elementus used a small gust of wind to knock away civilians and even henchmen unconscious on the floor. SteelStar didn’t have time to charge a magcannon, so he quickly loaded his right gauntlet and launched the projectile like a normal bullet.

The ball of oil exploded, knocking SteelStar and Elementus in opposite directions. At the same time, SteelStar’s bullet was deflected by a small explosion as it hit the oil swirling around Sister Nature. SteelStar crashed through a wall, landing in the alley outside as rubble fell around him, while Elementus landed within the building, rolling to a stop.

Sister Nature stood, surrounded by a sphere of oil. As soon as Speedshock returned, she aimed oil at him and threw it, sending a wave of fire that Speedshock dodged. Sadly, Speedshock’s partial electric form was still organic enough to take damage, so he narrowly avoided the flames, zigzagging back and forth as flaming oil chased after him.

Elementus got up first and spun a whirlwind to fly over and unleash ice breath on the oil. The oil flow that had been chasing Speedshock fell to the floor, shattering. Elementus then set his sights on Sister Nature, blowing his icy mist in her direction, and holding his hands to the sides of his mouth to guide it with the wind.

Sister nature slipped some oil under her feet and moved it, riding a small wave of oil to dodge Elementus’s ice as she fled the building. Elementus pursued, the wind rushing around him as he blew more ice breath.

SteelStar, feeling his head ringing from the explosion, began to fly after, until someone interrupted him.

“Speedshock! SteelStar!” said Silent.

Speedshock and SteelStar stopped by the building’s entrance and turned to Silent. Behind them, people were still fleeing out of the building through the side exits.

“You two go after the plane,” said Silent, pressing a button on his wrist. “You may be needed if Demigoddess can’t reach the bomb. Elementus and I can handle Sister Nature now that she has no hostages.”

In a nearby Alley, the Wraithjet dropped its cylinders, letting them clang to the ground below.

“Understood,” Speedshock and SteelStar said at the same time.

A moment later, the Wraithjet appeared. It opened a compartment to let a motorcycle land on the road below it, then opened its cockpit.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Speedshock,” said Silent. “The Wraithjet’s autopilot will get you to the plane. You’ll have to get on by yourself.”

“Roger,” said Speedshock, who zipped into the cockpit in a flash. The Wraithjet then closed, cloaked, and flew away.

“Good luck out there,” said Silent to SteelStar.

“You to,” said SteelStar before flying off as Silent mounted his motorcycle, revved it, and disappeared.

###

Paramount, carrying Demigoddess on his back, dodged Black Ash’s arms as they reached up through the pavement and into the sky. As the plane neared its destination, it would pass where Black Ash’s limbs were currently sticking up, forcing him to sever some branches above ground and sprout new ones further down so he could keep attacking Paramount. As the two of them dodged and weaved, trying to reach the plane without getting knocked out of the sky, Demigoddess grimaced.

“Just throw me at it!” shouted Demigoddess.

“We can’t!” Paramount shouted back. “One wrong move and that Tholatite blows!”

“Well, we have to do something!”

“Don’t worry! I’m still linked with Silent! If barely! We have more superheroes incoming to give black Ash another target!”

Demigoddess sighed exasperatedly. She had a feeling knew who one of those superheroes was.

###

As SteelStar flew he looked around with his metal eyes, wondering where Speedshock and the Wraithjet were. He couldn’t even sense an electromagnetic signature. He supposed that they had to be nearby, or even ahead of him, and SteelStar marveled at how effective the Silent Wraith’s technology was.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, however. He soon saw the plane in the distance, and the closer he got, the more he saw something reaching up between the buildings and attacking something. Black Ash attacking Paramount, no doubt.

As SteelStar approached, a couple of the giant tree branches shifted away from Paramount and started going toward SteelStar.

SteelStar clenched his fists in determination, “Let’s do this.”

And he raised his fist to punch the first branch as it came right at him.

###

Sister Nature rode the wave of oil through the city. The streets had long since been abandoned as people took refuge inside buildings. Every window and door she passed had blast doors down to protect those inside. While she could break through such blast doors with a big enough explosion, it would take time she wouldn’t have with Elementus on her tail. This meant Sister Nature’s ability to take hostages was limited, which concerned her.

Looking back for a moment, she could see Elementus flying after her, his stone face set in determination. Sister Nature didn’t see the speedster or the metal man, and there would be no way to tell if the Silent Wraith was after her until he attacked. Just in case, she kept a sphere of oil swirling around her, set to blow and deflect any attacks the wraith might throw at her.

Keeping her eyes forward, Sister Nature raised her hands and formed a few explosive oil balls before sending them backwards. Elementus responded by holding his hands to his mouth and blowing out ice breath, guiding it with wind to each oil ball and neutralizing them. The balls fell to the road below, frozen and inert.

Elementus then raised his hands and pulled the air towards himself, bending it around his body so it didn’t affect his flightpath. Sister Nature, however, suddenly felt the wind pulling her oil backwards. She struggled to maintain the sphere around her as oil droplets flew backwards from it. Her pace slowed as the air pushed against the oil wave beneath her feet.

Growling, Sister Nature banked right, forming more oil balls as she disappeared from Elementus’s view for a moment. When Elementus turned the corner, he was met with three oil balls. He promptly blew out more ice breath to disable them and continued the chase.

Unbeknownst to him, Sister Nature had sent an oil ball to the side, hidden under a civilian car. One Elementus passed it, the oil ball flew towards him from behind. Sister Nature prepared another oil ball just as Elementus began pulling the air towards himself again. As Sister Nature faltered against the onslaught of wind, her protective oil sphere began to fail, the distance between them beginning to shorten.

And right at that moment, the oil ball behind Elementus exploded, sending him tumbling forward. Sister Nature immediately turned on the wave and threw her other oil ball, a second explosion knocking Elementus away.

Elementus bounced on the ground, cracking the asphalt with each impact. When he finally came to a stop, he shook his head and tried to stand, only for another oil ball to explode in his face, sending him crashing against the wall and leaving cracks behind him. Elementus kept trying to get up, but Sister Nature worked fast, forming oil balls and throwing them at Elementus, knocking him down over and over again. After a few more explosions, Elementus tried to get up, but fell face down, his head swimming. Cracks showed in his stonelike skin as he looked up with as much defiance as he could.

Sister Nature strolled up casually, a new sphere of oil surrounding her. “You aren’t really made of stone, are you?” she asked. “Those explosions would have easily shattered stone. What are you really made of?”

“As if I’d tell you,” Elementus growled.

Sister Nature grunted. “Just another abomination created by Sonnelicht, no doubt. No matter.”

Sister Nature raised her hands above her head and began swirling another oil ball. This one, however, kept getting bigger and bigger until it was the size of a basketball. As he watched it grow, Elementus’s eye grew wide.

“Stop it!” he cried. “You could knock down a building with an explosion like that!”

“Oh,” said Sister Nature sarcastically. “What a pity.”

Elementus tried to unleash ice breath, but Sister Nature threw some oil down his throat, causing him to block his own mouth with ice. As Elementus stood there choking, Sister Nature made a movement to throw the giant oil ball at him.

Before she could, however, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, it turned out to be a small, black shuriken. Eyes wide, Sister Nature realized what it was as she sent the giant oil ball into the sky.

As the shuriken sailed towards her, Sister Nature expanded the sphere of oil around her, making it bigger. When the shuriken hit, it exploded, igniting the oil. The oil became a burning sphere around Sister Nature for a moment, and then disappeared, leaving her exposed.

At that moment, Elementus unleashed fire breath, exploding the oil in his mouth as a jet of fire spewed forth from his lips. He then used a whirlwind to leap into the air. At the same moment, Sister Nature put up a small film of oil between herself and where the explosive shuriken had come from. Just as she worried, three small tranquilizer darts came out of nowhere, deflected by small explosions as they hit the oil.

Up above, Elementus reached the giant oil ball and flew around it, neutralizing it with ice breath before catching it and flying away. On the ground, Sister Nature surrounded herself with another protective sphere of oil and threw out her hand, sending a wave of oil in the direction the shuriken had come from.

A moment later the street was on fire, but there was no burning corpse in sight. Sister Nature clenched her teeth under her mask. The Wraith was here after all, cloaked of course, and without hostages readily available to her, his explosives were a viable way to clear her oil. It was always harder to control her oil when ignited by someone else.

“Where are you?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

###

SteelStar punched the branches as they came at him, smashing them to bits. They regenerated quickly and attacked again, putting SteelStar on the defensive. Nearer to the plane, Paramount was faring better, weaving through Black Ash’s limbs, and punching them to bits effortlessly. With only three to deal with, Paramount was able to close the distance and reach the plane.

“Get ready,” said Paramount. “We’re getting you on that plane.”

“Finally,” said Demigoddess.

“Remember, don’t use any big attacks near the bomb.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know!” she snapped. “Just throw me already.”

Paramount slipped past the branches and lay flat, letting Demigoddess shift to stand on his back. A moment later, Demigoddess pushed kinetic energy to her legs and leapt forward, sailing through the air. She straightened herself out as she sped towards the plane, bursting through a window as the air instantly began rushing out.

Demigoddess rolled to a stand, grinning smugly. She was immediately struck in the face by something moving fast. She absorbed the impact, of course, not even budging, and when she turned to see what had struck her, she saw Speedclaw’s back. Demigoddess grinned.

“Wow,” said Speedclaw, not turning around. “You really can absorb any impact. Anyone else would have been sent flying by that blow.”

His voice sounded strangely muffled, but Demigoddess didn’t notice.

“You might as well show me where the bomb is,” said Demigoddess. “Now that I’m on board, there’s no point…”

Her words were cut off in a gasping sound as she suddenly felt short of breath.

“No point in…”

She took another sharp breath.

“In…”

Her breaths became short and desperate as she put her hand on her chest and fell to one knee. She looked up wide eyed and for the first time noticed a strap behind Speedclaw’s neck. When Speedclaw turned around, she saw him wearing a gas mask. It was then that Demigoddess noticed gas canisters hidden under the seats. If the wind wasn’t rushing out the broken window, she’d have heard the hissing from those canisters.

Under the gas mask, Speedclaw grinned. Now that they knew Demigoddess was on the enemy team, they were better able to prepare for her. This trick would also prevent Speedshock and SteelStar’s unexpected ability to disable the bomb.

“What’s wrong, Demigoddess?” asked Speedclaw. “Did I leave you…breathless?”

Demigoddess growled, but immediately resumed her gasping breaths. Once she started going dizzy, she turned and jumped out the same window she entered. It was too late, however. The gas had done its job, and as Demigoddess started to fall, she passed out.

Paramount caught her a moment later, three black branches pursuing him. Examining her, Demigoddess started breathing regularly. It was difficult to use telepathy with Biomaster’s creature assaulting his mind, but Paramount managed to read Demigoddess’s mind briefly, and found out about the gas.

On the one hand, the gas wouldn’t hurt Paramount or SteelStar. Paramount’s body was durable enough that the gas couldn’t affect him directly, and though his psychic brain needed oxygen, his body also stored more oxygen than a human, so he could hold his breath for a long time. Paramount also knew that Valtarians didn’t technically need to breathe in their metal form. Paramount didn’t know the details. He only knew that Valtarians would have to turn organic to breath eventually, but that wouldn’t be a problem for a few hours.

The problem was Speedshock. He automatically converted air into particles he could breathe in his electric form, but that only worked with normal air. Converting the gas to semi electric particles would produce the same results as it did with Demigoddess. Even if they broke all the windows, it might take too long to clear the gas, preventing SteelStar and Speedshock from getting to the bomb before it blew.

At this point, Paramount was considering getting under the plane and forcing it upward. The problem with that strategy was that it risked jostling the bomb and blowing it early if he fought against the plane’s engines. This low, there would be people in buildings caught in the blast.

“Paramount!” cried SteelStar, still punching branches as they came at him. “What do we do now?!”

“I’m thinking!” cried Paramount.