The sun was setting. She was standing on the terrasse, watching the slow transition from day to night, wishing the world to end. The air tasted like salt. The gradation of the sky, reflected into the sea - from blue to red, red to blue, all melting - bore accents of the apocalypse. She remembered a time where someone had told her that it was beautiful, the symbolic of a sunset, how it was an end for a renewal, a death for a birth, slow and universal. The endless cycle of life, turning.
She downed her glass of whiskey and stepped back inside, closing the glass door behind her. The alarm hadn’t gone off today. The news channel was a soft, subdued background in the quiet house - nothing but minor incidents that others could handle, nothing for her - barely above the volume of the boiling water. She dumped a portion of pasta into the pot, set the timer for ten minutes.
“...a car accident on road A34 near Signamore involving a bus… thirty-four injured...”
She ate out of the pot, sitting at the kitchen island. The sun was almost fully gone now. She watched as the silhouettes of seagulls faded into darkness, the dominant color a dark velvet blue. Her house became the only source of light.
She poured herself another drink and moved to the couch, where she took a sip of whiskey, then left the glass on the armrest. The newsperson looked tired today.
“...five students dead in a mass shooting… three suspects were arrested by…”
She grabbed her glass and took a large gulp of the rich, burning liquid, washing the nausea down.
“...’will not stand by this’ were the last words of Tilda Sturgeon, who was murdered in the middle of her speech against…”
She watched the tired newsperson deliver two hours of information, letting her consciousness being slowly absorbed by the big shiny screen. Her phone rang, once. It was no one - an error, a fan, an accident perhaps. The number wasn’t registered into her phone, which meant it wasn’t related to work, and that was all she cared about.
When the two hours had passed, she walked to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She drank some water. Sat on the toilets. Undressed.
Her body was a map of scars. She remembered someone saying that. Miles and miles of slashes, burns, crashes. Rugged skin and calluses, everywhere you looked. She was an endless supply of scar tissue that could never be broken. Her hands - the knuckles had cracked too many times for her to count, the skin was dry, the nails were ruins. They weren’t hands, really - just fists. They had not been hands since… a long, long time ago, when she hadn’t known better. Or she had , but had been lying to herself, trying to convince herself that she wasn’t that person she’d always been, that she could put it all aside for just one night, one day, a week. She had been a fool then. Delusional, selfish and dumb. She remembered Nataly…
It hadn’t been worth it.
She put her phone to charge. Went to bed.
There would always be another day.
----------------------------------------
Cordelia was three hours into planning her new project when the alarm went off. Not the fire alarm, not the health one - the under-attack alarm. She took three seconds to secure the new leg prototype for Andy so it wouldn’t blow up, then stormed out. She activated the global com on her way up, and told everyone to get inside so she could activate the defense shield. She forced herself to remain calm as everyone filled her in once they’d gathered inside.
“This is Will, I’m inside with Danton.”
“Deb’ here, I’m in, and I got the cats.”
“Liêm and Ginette here, we’re inside with Tina.”
Someone was missing. Cordelia waited a few seconds, then:
“Where’s Andy?”
The deafening silence that followed was all she needed to know. She took a deep breath, and started to change into her suit.
“Does anyone have any idea where she is?”
“I… I think she went to buy spare parts for that old car she’s fixing…”
Slow breaths. Calm and steady. They all counted on her, and panicking would lead nowhere.
“Did she tell you where she was going, Deb’?”
“...No…”
Cordelia closed her eyes and softly cursed. Okay.
“Can you teleport where she is if you don’t know her location?”
“...No. I’m sorry, I… I need to be able to visualize it.”
She sighed. She knew that, but she had thought… she had hoped maybe Deb’ had figured out how to get around that specific problem, and just hadn’t told her yet.
“That’s okay, lil’ bug. It’s not your fault.”
Danton’s voice interrupted them. “Wait… Even if she’s outside the house, she should have been able to hear you, though, right? All of our personal coms are synced with the house’s system.”
Cordelia almost dropped her glove. The alarm was still ringing.
“It’s impossible that she wouldn’t have heard. Liêm and I were outside and we still heard you, even though our coms were off. You designed them that way yourself, Delia.”
She was very well aware of that. Why hadn’t she realized - she forced herself to breathe. She couldn’t afford to let fear cloud her judgement, not right now. She needed to make a decision, and quick.
“I could go look for her -”
“No,” she said, and sighed. “I’m sorry, lil’ bug, but you are all staying inside, where the shield will keep you safe.”
“What about -”
“I’ll find her.”
Cordelia put on her mask, opened the garage door and stepped into the car.
“But mom…!”
“Delia -”
Cordelia started the engine. “This not up for discussion. I said I would protect all of you, so that’s what I’m doing.”
“Please be careful, mom.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m the Restrainer, remember?”
As soon as she’d drove the car out, she stopped and activated the shield. A shimmer of blue covered the house, and disappeared. As long as it was on, nothing and no one could get either in or out. They would be safe.
“I’ll call if I need help, but until then you stay inside. Tina, you’re in charge.”
Tina’s metallic voiced filled her com as Cordelia pulled away. “Roger that, Delia. We’re counting on you to bring her back.”
“Thank you, Ti -”
“The second your com goes out, mom, I swear we’re all coming to get you. So don’t shut it off, okay?”
Cordelia smiled, and pressed the accelerator. “I won’t, lil’ bug. See you soon.”
*
The streets were empty as she drove through, and she didn’t bother respecting the speed limit. Nobody ever came here, anyway - the first town wasn’t until thirty miles away, and even then the place was always dead.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Idir, can you look for all places selling spare parts for cars in the area, please?”
“Of course. There are… only two, actually.”
“Really?”
“Well, only two that Andy could have reached in the time since she left the house. See?” Idir said, and blue dots appeared on the map that occupied the bottom half of the dashboard screen. “Estimated time to reach the closest shop is eleven minutes. From there, it will be twenty two minutes to the second shop.”
Cordelia gritted her teeth, and pressed the accelerator. Every minute that passed without her finding Andy was a minute too long.
“You can’t locate her with the GPS?”
“I am sorry, but I cannot. She took one of the old cars that is still working. They do not have a tracking system wired in.”
“Figured,” Cordelia said, and pushed the accelerator further down. “That’s okay, Idir. How much time until the intruders reach the house?”
Idir zoomed out on the map, and one single red dot showed up, moving towards the house on the road that led to the coast. “They are about twenty miles away, moving slightly above speed limit. Estimated time is eighteen minutes.”
“Shit.”
“I second that sentiment.”
Cordelia scoffed. “You know you can swear, now, right? I took that stupid program out of your system before I even brought you back to consciousness.”
“I know. You might want to stop squeezing the steering wheel so hard, though, Cordelia. It will neither stop time nor make the car go faster.”
Cordelia glanced at her hands, and realized her knuckles had grown white. She hadn’t noticed how hard she’d been gripping the wheel at all. She put her eyes back on the road and made herself relax, then stretched her fingers one hand at a time, careful not to miss a turn.
“How are you holding up, everyone?” she said in the global com.
Deb’ was the first one to speak. “We’re fine. Have you located Andy yet?”
“No, but Idir says there are only two places she could have gone to, so that’s where I’m going. How’s the shield?”
“It’s in perfect state,” Tina chimed in. “Offensive system is also operative. How far are the enemies?”
“They’re…” Cordelia said, glancing at the screen, “...about ten minutes away. Be ready.”
“We already are.”
“Good.”
*
As Cordelia came close to the first stop, she could see no sign of Andy, though she could picture her coming here with no difficulty whatsoever. The shop itself looked quite old-fashioned, and like it’d been here forever. The sign (it said ‘Car Parts & Maintenance’ in simple blue on white letters) could have used a good paint-job; the opening hours, it seemed, were just ‘whenever’. The glass door was dirty, so much so that she could barely peek inside at the crowded shelves. There was no doubt that a man was seating at the counter, though, visibly playing with some kind of small object he kept throwing and catching with a weird look on his face. Cordelia parked right in front of the door, left her mask on the passenger seat, and quickly got out. Eight minutes left, and they’d need twenty two if Andy wasn’t here.
The shop smelled like oil and dust and steel, the way the garage always smelled when Andy was working on the cars - but Andy was nowhere in sight. Cordelia turned to the man, who immediately stopped playing with whatever object he’d been throwing in the air.
“Sup, Ms,” he said, looking curious. “What’s up with the suit?”
He looked like he was in his forty, had a dirty beard, glasses, a tattoo on his right arm, and smelled like a strange mixture of tobacco and gas.
“I’m looking for my friend. You know an Andy?”
He threw the small object once more, caught it in the air.
“How’d they look?” he said, and threw it again.
“White, no hair, and two prosthetic legs.”
The object fell on the ground. He swore, and bent down to pick it up. “I know that Andy alright,” he said, straightening up, and glared at her. “What d’you want with her? No offense, but you look shady as fuck.”
Cordelia leant over the counter, looking as threatening as she could. She really did not have time for this. “Look, the name’s Cordelia, I’m her friend - and I really need to find her, whatever the means. Obviously she’s not here, but did she come by today?”
“Wait, shit - you’re Cordelia?” the man said, eyes wide, and suddenly grabbed her hand to press something in it. “Here. She told me to give you that.”
“What...” It was her car key. The man had been playing with Andy’s car key. But why -
“Listen, Ms, I don’t know what’s yours and Andy’s deal, but I’m pretty sure she’s in trouble.”
“What do you mean,” she said. Not a question.
“Hey, listen, I didn’t do nothing, okay? She just came in, browsed the shelves, then suddenly her phone went off and she just threw her key at me, told me to give it to you, and ran out - then there was this huge lady biker in front of the shop, and she knocked her out, grabbed her, and reved the fuck out. There was nothing I could’ve done, alright.”
“...Thank you,” Cordelia said, her hand already turning the handle. She wouldn’t have to drive to the second stop, at least - but she’d have to put her foot down if she wanted to get home in time.
“Hey, wait!” the man cried out. She turned back, ready to snap that she didn’t have the time, but he was faster. “That lady biker - I recognized her. She’s the Hero.”
Cordelia stormed out of the shop without a word.
----------------------------------------
The girl’s body was light, but bothersome in height, and she kept leaning on the side with each turn the Hero took, and her legs kept hitting hers. It didn’t help that the girl was knocked out, though she suspected that if she’d been conscious she would have been an even bigger pain. Then again, she could have not taken her at all and flown directly to the target’s den. But it wasn’t just anyone she was up against, and she would need the extra leverage. A pity no one but her could bear the speed of her flying.
The country landscape was passing by around her in a blur, like a movie on fast-forward, and the engine of her bike thrummed and thrummed, steady and familiar. Another advantage of using a civilian means of transportation was that she didn’t attract as much attention as she would have flying - if the Hero was lucky, she would take the Restrainer by surprise.
The Restrainer. After years of research, they had finally found her - and she had been so close. All this time, just a little more than a hundred miles away. All those robberies, those kidnappings and those murders - the Hero would finally put it in order. She wouldn’t capture her. There were too many crimes for redemption. But she would put it right, give that villain what she deserved - whatever means necessary. The girl was leverage, if leverage there could be. Monsters rarely got attached, but they had told her she had been spotted alongside the Restrainer a couple times and was likely a minion. It was worth a shot.
The GPS pinged, indicating she was close. The Hero scanned the landscape ahead, seeing nothing… until a few second later, the curving road straightened, and the den appeared.
It was a big house, probably a mansion, and looked fairly modern, although made of very dark grey stones. She could see two floors, big windows and a large garden with many trees rising up with leaves that looked oddly bright against the dark walls of the house. There was a portal and a fence, all black, tall and built to intimidate, with sharp pikes and clichéd hostility. It looked like the modern version of a witch’s manor.
The Hero braked in front of the portal and pushed the kickstand, then turned the engine off and pocketed the key. She grabbed the girl and threw her over her shoulder. Her prosthetic legs were… unlike any she’d ever since, if she was being honest. It wasn’t made to resemble skin at all, but looked like something out of a science-fiction movie instead, what with all those intricate patterns engraved into a very obviously metallic surface. Was the Restrainer using her to experiment new technology? If she really was the Restrainer’s guinea pig, then there was a chance the leverage could work.
The Hero walked towards the portal, and went to open it. Her hand stopped in mid air, an inch before the gate. She tried again. She pushed forward, put her whole weight into it. Blue shimmered in front of the Hero for a moment and she stepped back, surprised, as it immediately faded back to nothing. Something was blocking her.
The Hero stepped forward again, but this time she pushed forward with both hands, working against whatever invisible wall was keeping her from entering. Blue shimmered again, but she kept pushing. It didn’t disappear. As the Hero kept forcing against the surface, it spread, and soon the whole mansion was under a glimmering dome of blue, and the Hero kept pushing.
Slowly, very slowly, so much so that she almost missed it, the Hero’s palms gained ground. She was pushing inside the blue.
It hurt, the Hero realized. Or rather it stung, like hundreds of tiny electric shocks entering her body through her palms, slithering into her flesh down to her toes.
She kept pushing.
----------------------------------------
Cordelia heard the breach before she saw it. A loud, searing sound, like a scream, frizzling through the air - and a snap. She knew what it was before Tina told her through the com. She swerved right in front of the portal and got out of the car.
There, staring at her with Andy hanging over her shoulder, stood Misha Malenkov.
“Surrender,” the Hero boomed, “or I will kill the girl.”
Cordelia was vaguely aware that several voices were shouting through the com, saying words, but she could only hear the snap of the shield. Over and over again, the echo. The scream. Andy lying still on the Hero’s shoulder. The glaring, dark red of the suit, the yellow belt, the shine of brass knuckles, the short blond hair: destruction in human form.
Cordelia took a long, deep breath of air, and relaxed her gritted teeth and clenching fists. Andy. She needed to get Andy.
Slowly, carefully, she raised her hand. The Hero smiled… and Deb’ appeared out of nowhere with a drop kick to the Hero’s jaw that distracted her just long enough that Tina was able to grab Andy and sprint away. In the same moment, Deb’ teleported right before the Hero’s fist could reach them, and appeared next to Cordelia, eyes wide, knees close to giving out, but grinning all the way.
“Did you see that?!”
Cordelia wasn’t given the time to answer. The Hero bolted straight towards her, and she had only the time to push her kid out of the way before a fist like a rock stent her flying backwards. The world tumbled. Her back hit her car, and the collision made her fall forward - she barely caught herself with her hands. She was lucky she’d been wearing her mask and reinforced jacket, or she wasn’t sure she’d still be conscious after that.
“ Mom! ”
“Get out of here, Deb! Now!” she yelled, and ran in the opposite direction. “Tina, bring Andy to Liêm,” she panted in the com, “Ginette, try to get the shield working again, and - shit.”
Cordelia dodged the fist by a hair’s breadth. The Hero had caught up with her. She’d forgotten about the super speed. She quickly jumped a few steps away, and made herself focus.
“Surrender, you can’t -” the Hero said, but a black bubble swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Cordelia smirked. She could see the surprise of the Hero painted very clearly on her face as she realized that she was floating two feet away from the ground. So she hadn’t known.
“Mom? Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry I scared you. How’s the shield?”
Thump.
“Not good,” Ginette’s voice said. “I don’t think I can bring it back on.”
“Shit. Okay. What about the offensive system?”
Thump.
“All good,” Will chimed in, “but she’s out of range.”
“Okay, I’ll -”
Thump.
“Wait, what’s -”
The Hero hit the surface once more, and the bubble burst out.