Morpheus’s Legacy Universe – Part 22 (13-18)

The Return of Nevermore

by

Morpheus

 

Part Three

 

Chapter 13

Gwen scowled as she stared down the empty street, which wasn’t nearly as wrecked as the area where they’d found the Sinner. Clearly, there hadn’t been riots occurring in this area, or at least, not at the same level. There were still a few broken windows and vandalized cars, but only a fraction of what she’d seen before.

Though the streets were empty, Gwen knew that there were still people nearby. She caught glimpses of them, peeking out of windows and watching as she and her team went past. They were in hiding, which was a huge improvement from the looters and rioters that she’d seen elsewhere.

Then, Gwen suddenly saw three people running across the street. Two men were carrying a TV while a woman had her arms full of something, that Gwen couldn’t make out. She guessed they were looters, but the normal kind, not the kind that the Sinner had set off. These ones didn’t have the same overwhelming desperation as the Sinner’s victims.

“I think we lost her,” Mannequin announced.

“No shit,” Alleycat responded with a snort. “That bitch slipped away in the chaos, and now she’s hiding. Who knows what the Sinner will do next.”

Gwen nodded at that, knowing that wherever the Sinner was, she was probably up to something bad. Her type always was. “I think we should rejoin the others. My dad must be getting worried.”

“Yeah,” Alleycat agreed. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Suddenly, Mannequin called out, “I see movement…” She was staring down a narrow side street with an intent expression. “Incoming…”

“What…?” Gwen started to ask since she couldn’t see anything, at least not for several more seconds. Then her eyes widened and she blurted, “Oh shit…”

Gwen gulped as she saw numerous figures coming towards her, keeping to the shadows as much as possible, which made it more difficult to make out how many there were. However, what she could tell, was that this was not another angry mob sent by the Sinner. These things definitely weren’t human.

Seconds later, the creatures came out from the side street and emerged into the open, giving Gwen a good look at them. One of them looked like a large, two-headed dog. One looked like a bald monkey, with large leathery wings. Several of them, looked as though they might once have been human, but had been raised from the dead or otherwise twisted into monstrous parodies.

“IREFAY,” Gwen yelled, throwing a fireball at one of the flying monkeys, which was coming straight at her. She hit the creature, which cried out in pain and dropped to the ground. She might have felt pity for the thing, if it hadn’t been glaring at her with hate filled eyes to start with. She turned her attention to one of the other creatures and unleashed her next spell, “Reezefay…”

“Stand back,” Mannequin warned, holding out her arms. Both of her arms split open, revealing weaponry that had been hidden with. Suddenly, a half dozen tiny missiles shot out of the openings, going right into the cluster of monsters, where they exploded, taking out nearly half the creates. Her arms closed up, but she immediately followed her attack up by firing beams of energy from her palms. “Take that…”

Alleycat rushed forward, lunging at a humanoid looking creature and slashing out with her clawed fingers. She tore deep gouges all up its front, then snapped around and kicked the creature’s legs, causing it to drop to the ground. It snarled, spat, and tried to bite her, but she gave it several good kicks to the head until it went motionless.

“At least these ones aren’t innocent bystanders,” Gwen said, relieved that this time, she didn’t have to hold back against her attackers. She focused on three of the monsters, who were side by side as they rushed towards her. With a grimace, she called out, “OOMBAY.” Suddenly, the ground beneath the creatures exploded, taking all three of them down at once. However, two of them were still moving and were even beginning to get back to their feet. “Irefay…”

Gwen grimaced as more of the creatures began arriving, and when she looked around, she grew increasingly nervous. At the rate these things were appearing, it wouldn’t be long before they were completely overrun. From the worried look on Alleycat’s face, it seemed that she’d come to the same conclusion.

“A bunch of damn cockroaches,” Alleycat snarled. “No matter how many we step on, more of these damn things just keep coming…”

Just then, there was an explosion of brilliant, swirling light, right in the middle of the swarm of creatures. They all began to shriek and howl as their skin burned and blistered. Then as one, the entire swarm tried to disperse and run, though it was far too late. They began to crumble to ash and disintegrate before they could get away.

“What the Hell?” Alleycat exclaimed, looking just as shocked and confused as Gwen felt.

“I hope you don’t mind my lending a hand,” a new voice called out, drawing Gwen’s attention up to the glowing figure that was hovering in the air.

“Glamour Girl,” Gwen blurted out in surprise and relief.

Glamour Girl came down lower and fired several energy blasts in different directions, hitting creatures as they tried to run away. She killed another half dozen before they all seemed to be gone, then she finally landed on the ground. However, she’d barely done that when something that looked vaguely like a green and slimy gorilla, leapt at her from where it had been hiding. She snapped around and punched the thing, sending it flying back, where she blasted it with another beam of light.

“DAMN,” Mannequin exclaimed, staring at Glamour Girl in stunned amazement. “You wiped them out…”

“These things are pretty vulnerable to my power,” Glamour Girl responded with a faint smirk.

“Then it sounds like this mission was made for you,” Mannequin said. “Thanks, by the way.”

Glamour Girl just nodded at that and gave a wry smile. “It might be more accurate to say, that I was made for this mission. Literally.”

Gwen gave Glamour Girl a curious look, suspecting that there was a story behind that comment. Then again, since Glamour Girl had been able to pass through the barrier, she obviously had a story for that as well.

“So,” Gwen started, looking around curiously. “Where are the rest of your team?” She frowned, suddenly fearing the worst.

“We took down our obelisk,” Glamour Girl answered, gesturing off to the distance. “But the Scepter got away. I was out looking for her, or any sign of Nevermore.”

“Same with us,” Alleycat said, scowling deeply as she did so. “We got the obelisk, but that bitch escaped…”

“Anyway,” Glamour Girl continued, “since I can fly, I started to scout ahead…and when I sensed that dark power, I came to investigate.” She gestured to where the creatures had been, before she killed them. “There are a few other patches of these things, and I sense a lot more darkness in that direction, where they all seem to be coming from. I figure, that’s where Nevermore is.”

“You can sense these things?” Gwen asked in surprise.

Glamour Girl nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, I was given my powers so I could fight Nevermore.”

“You know,” Alleycat mused with a thoughtful expression. “I think our groups should hook up, then go take a closer look at what you’re sensing…”

“Sounds good to me,” Mannequin quickly agreed while Gwen nodded.

“How far is the rest of your team?” Gwen asked.

“A couple miles,” Glamour Girl answered with a shrug. “It’s hard to travel when only two of my group can fly…and Mystik levitates more than she flies.”

“I’ve been holding back so I don’t use up the rest of my power,” Gwen offered. “But since we have a destination, I’m pretty sure I have enough juice left to manage…”  Then she held out her hands, concentrating on the effect she wanted as she said, “Loudcay.”

A moment later, a thick mist began to form around her, thickening until she and the others were completely surrounded by a cloud. Then, the cloud began to float up into the air, carrying them with it. This was the most complicated spell that she’d learned so far, but it was proving to be useful.

“The Witch Girl Taxi Service is ready to go,” she announced, giving Glamour Girl a wink before adding, “And the fare is running.”

Glamour Girl just laughed at that. “This is definitely a different way to fly for me.” She pointed off to the distance and announced, “That way, Jeeves.”

Gwen flew the group in the direction that Glamour Girl had indicated, and when they were close to where she said that she’d left her team, there was a sudden flash of light. A moment later, Mystik was floating in the air beside them.

“I found reinforcements,” Glamour Girl called out to her.

Mystik gave them a curious look, nodded faintly, then vanished. When Gwen looked down over the edge, she saw Mystik had reappeared on the ground, right beside Poison and some guy she didn’t know. It wasn’t until she landed and saw the blood on his shirt, and the obvious wound that caused it, that she realized that this guy was Deadbeat.

“This is a surprise,” Poison announced, looking them over with a faint smile. “Reinforcements are definitely welcome.”

“Especially ones with transportation,” Deadbeat added. “My feet are killing me…”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re already dead,” Glamour Girl teased him, only to get flipped off.

“I can teleport us wherever we need to go,” Mystik pointed out, sounding almost defensive about it, “but it would use up the rest of my power. Any time I teleport someone besides myself, it takes up a lot of my stored power.”

“Better to save it for when we really need it,” Glamour Girl told her. Then she looked over her team and continued, “I’m pretty sure I know where Nevermore is, and Witch Girl can get us there.”

Poison smiled at that, though it was not a nice smile. She held up her hand, clenching her fist, which glowed green. “Then it sounds like we have our destination.” Then she paused to look around, adding, “Assuming that everyone is on board with this.”

“Hell yeah,” Alleycat said while Gwen nodded her agreement.

“Might as well,” Deadbeat grumbled. “I’ve seen what that bitch does to people, and someone has to stop her.” However, the tone of his voice suggested that he’d prefer it was someone other than him.

“Then, let’s go get Baron Nevermore,” Mannequin announced.

Gwen let out a sigh, thinking about how much energy it took to transport people like this. However, when she remembered what the Sinner had done, she knew that stopping her and those other villains was well worth using up every bit of her reserves.

With that, she held out her hands and called out, “Loudcay.” A new cloud began to form around her, replacing the one that had vanished upon landing. Once the cloud had been summoned, she gave a forced smile and announced, “The Witch Girl Express is ready for departure. Next stop is Nevermore.”

Joselyn sat back, still feeling stunned by the revelation that the current Ms. Miracle…that Dave…was her half-sibling. She silently berated herself as her powers had given her hints about this before, but she’d overlooked them and just hadn’t paid attention.

“I can’t believe it,” Joselyn muttered, giving a worried look at the nearby medical tent.

After a moment, Joselyn blinked and then looked around, knowing that the rest of her family was even more surprised than she’d been. Her cousins Ryan and Angie were standing off by themselves, having a private conversation. Since they kept glancing towards the medical tent, the topic of that conversation was clear. Uncle Leon was playing a poker game with a couple other heroes while Aunt Gina, was talking with Marvel and Radiant.

“I knew that Dad and Ms. Miracle had a thing,” Joselyn said, looking at her sister Evie, who was sitting beside her. “But I never imagined this…”

“We shouldn’t be surprised,” Evie responded with a loud sigh and a glance towards the medical tent. “I mean, after the Fallen…”

“I’d rather not think about her,” Joselyn said, shuddering at the reminder of the Fallen…a hero who turned villain…and who was then revealed to be her half-sister.

Evie shook her head. “This is so weird. I mean, in less than a year, I’ve gained three new sisters…”

Joselyn rolled her eyes, since she was one of those new sisters. “What about me?” she asked. “I went from being the oldest of three, to the second youngest of five…”

Evie chuckled at that. “You were a good big brother, but I think I prefer you as my little sister.”

Joselyn rolled her eyes again. “No guy…or girl…should ever have their kid sister suddenly turn into their older sister. It’s really weird.”

“It may have been sudden for you,” Evie pointed out in a quiet tone as she started off into the distance, “but for me, it was hardly sudden. For me, it was six years. Six years stuck in that place, wanting to leave and go home. And when I finally got home, I found out that almost no time had passed for the rest of you.”

Without saying a word, Joselyn reached over and took Evie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Evie almost never talked about the time she’d spent trapped in another dimension, but Joselyn knew that it hadn’t been happy. From what she understood, Evie had been held prisoner in a gilded cage, kept safe, comfortable, and with all of her needs taken care of. However, she’d also been alone for most of the time, and had been extremely lonely.

“Just think of the family gatherings,” Joselyn joked, in order to change the subject. “Can you imagine having Ms. Miracle over on Christmas morning?”

Evie laughed at that. “Or the Fallen at Thanksgiving…” The two of the looked at each other, then burst into giggles.

After a minute, Evie gestured towards the medical tent. “Is she…he going to be all right?”

“Yes,” Joselyn answered without hesitation, surprising herself a little with that certainty. She concentrated on Dave and ‘knew’ that after the magically enhanced blood transfusion and healing, he was now stable and even on the verge of waking up. “He’s doing fine.”

Just then, there was a loud ‘boom’ from the direction of the barrier, which made Joselyn jump. She looked over at the source and saw several heroes were still trying to blast their way through the barrier, though they weren’t having any more success than they had earlier.

After four of the pillars had been destroyed, the barrier was a lot weaker than it had been, and according to Exile, it was more ‘flexible.’ She’d seen evidence of that herself when it was time to leave. Denise, Dave, and the original Ms. Miracle had all been able to get through the barrier, but no one else had been able to get through it after that. Joselyn wondered if perhaps it was because those three had been trying to leave the barrier instead of enter, but she had a feeling it was more than that.

A moment later, Joselyn noticed that someone was walking straight towards her. It was a teenage boy, about her own age, who she recognized as being Denise’s nephew. She’d seen him when she first returned to the camp, but had been too distracted since to give him another thought.

“Hi,” the boy said, giving her a friendly smile. “I’m Will. Are you Lady Knight?”

“Yeah,” Joselyn answered, gesturing to her sister and adding, “And this is Figment.”

“Nice to meet you,” Will said politely.

Joselyn stared at the boy, and for a brief moment, she considered mentioning the fact that her dad was named Will as well. However, after a lifetime of protecting family’s secret identities, she managed to squash that impulse. It was one thing to be a little relaxed around other heroes, especially when many of them were people her family knew and had worked with for years. It was quite another thing to get careless around a stranger.

“I just wanted to thank you for getting Aunt Denise out of there,” Will told her, gesturing to the barrier. “I was pretty worried about her…”

“I’m glad we were able to,” Joselyn said, glancing towards the medical tent again. “And I’m glad she was able to patch up my friends. If it hadn’t been for her, then…someone would have died…”

Will nodded at that, looking serious. “And I hear that you’re the one who talked the Face into coming to get me…”

Joselyn laughed at that. “Not directly. I just knew that Denise needed you nearby for some reason…”

At that, Joselyn gave Will a curious look, still not even sure why he needed to stay near Denise. When she’d first met Denise, she’d sensed that the doctor was dangerous…like a ticking time bomb. Somehow, she was sure that Will had been the means of disarming that time bomb, and now that she saw him face to face, she was even more certain of it. Will had some kind of power, though there was so much ‘noise’ at the moment, that her psychic abilities couldn’t tell her much more than that.

“I’m just glad that she’s all right,” Will said, looking more than a little relieved. “You have no idea how bad things could have gone…”

“Now, that sounds interesting,” Evie said, giving Will a curious look. “Why was it so important that we get you here?”

Will just smiled wryly. “I’m just here as an insurance policy…in case she has a…seizure. Fortunately, it looks like I’m not really necessary, and I hope it stays that way.”

Before Joselyn could ask Will what he meant, he said, “Thanks again,” then quickly hurried away.

“There’s something really odd with him,” Joselyn carefully said.

“Well, duh,” Evie said with a roll of her eyes. “I figured that much out, without using any ESP.”

Joselyn was about to respond to Evie, when she suddenly ‘knew’ that Dave was waking up. Without a word of explanation to her sister, Joselyn started for the medical tent.

When Joselyn stepped inside, she saw Dave stretched out on a cot while Ms. Miracle sat by his side, still in Channel’s body. Her dad sat a short distance away, staring at Dave with a strange expression, as he was still trying to absorb the fact that he had a son he’d never even known about, and that he’d come extremely close to dying.

And then there was Rumor, who was pacing back and forth with a worried look on her face. The rest of the Miracle Men were hanging around near the tent, occasionally peeking their heads in so they could check on their teammate and friend.

The Face had left the tent after the blood transfusion and healing, but Denise remained, keeping a close eye on her patient. Joselyn stared at Denise, thankful that her powers had led her to the woman. Joselyn still didn’t know Denise’s secret, but the doctor had patched up several of Joselyn’s new friends, and had then saved her new brother. Those actions had earned her the benefit of the doubt.

Dave groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Joselyn’s dad was immediately on his feet, as was Ms. Miracle. “David,” she cried out with tears of relief running down her cheeks. “You’re all right…”

Dave stared at her for several seconds with a look of blank confusion, then recognition came. “Mom?” he whispered, sounding a little uncertain.

“I’m still here,” she assured him, before reluctantly admitting, “but not for much longer. I’ve pushed Channel well past her limits…”

“I…thought…you…were…a…dream,” Dave whispered.

Ms. Miracle smiled down at her son with a mixture of pride and sadness. “I have to go again,” she told him. “But this time, I have a chance to say goodbye…”

“No,” Dave quietly gasped. He looked as though he was about to sit up, but Ms. Miracle put a hand on his chest to keep him from exerting himself.

“I don’t have a choice,” Ms. Miracle told him. “But before I go, there are things I have to tell you…” She paused for a moment, then gestured to Joselyn’s father. “The White Knight... He’s your father. Your real father.”

Dave just stared at her without any comprehension for a moment, then he looked to Joselyn’s father, who looked awkward and self-conscious. “This was a surprise for me too,” he said, giving a nervous smile.

“There is so much I want to tell you,” Ms. Miracle told Dave, wiping the tears from her eyes, though they continued to come. “But all I have time for, is to tell you I love you…and I’m proud of who you’ve become…”

With that, Ms. Miracle shimmered and her costume transformed back into Channel’s uniform instead. An instant later, Channel collapsed, though Joselyn saw this happening in time to catch her.

“Channel,” Joselyn cried out.

“Is she all right?” Joselyn’s dad demanded as he rushed over.

“Just unconscious,” Joselyn said, not even bothering to check Channel’s pulse. Her powers had already assured her that Channel was merely unconscious, not dead. “She’s exhausted…”

Denise didn’t seem ready to trust Joselyn’s judgement, because she checked Channel’s pulse, then instructed, “Put her on that cot…”

Once they had Channel on the cot, Denise began to look her over, quickly agreeing with Joselyn’s diagnosis. “I think she just needs some rest,” Denise said.

Joselyn was relieved at that, and when she looked back to Dave, she saw that Rumor was holding his hand and smiling at him. Dave definitely looked happy to see her, though he looked over at her and her dad and a strange expression appeared on his face.

“Pretty strange, I know,” Joselyn told him. Then she joked, “I always wanted a big brother…”

Rumor suddenly started snickering, and when Joselyn looked at her, she explained, “He is usually a she. Dave usually only goes back to being a guy, once every couple weeks.”

“I don’t have any powers when I’m like this,” Dave explained self-consciously, his voice weak and quiet. “And I kind of got used to my other form.”

Joselyn glanced over to her dad, who’d come back over again. He was staring at Dave, and when Dave looked back, he visibly gulped. “I think we have a lot to talk about…”

“You can talk later,” Denise announced. “After what he’s been through, it’s a miracle he’s still alive…” Rumor and Joselyn both snickered at the unintentional pun, earning a flat look from Denise. “He needs to rest, so everyone…out.”

Joselyn’s dad reluctantly nodded agreement, then told Dave, “Then we’ll talk later.”

After they left the medical tent, Rumor immediately went to the rest of the Miracle Men in order to fill them in, while Joselyn and her dad began to update the rest of their family. There was clear relief that Dave was doing all right, even though they’d only discovered he was related.

“I don’t know whether to give you congratulations or condolences,” Joselyn’s uncle Leo told her dad. “Because after this, Ellen is going to kill you…”

“Or make you sleep in the dog house,” Evie added with a smirk.

“Or make you build a dog house, just so you can sleep in it,” Joselyn offered with a smirk of her own.

Joselyn’s dad shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do about this…or what to think. Ms. Miracle and I were together…and done…before I ever even met Ellen. I certainly never expected this…”

“At least this time, you can skip the diaper stage,” Joselyn pointed out wryly. The look her dad gave her, suggested that he didn’t appreciate her attempt at humor.

Just then, someone yelled out, “We have more returns…”

Joselyn turned and looked to the barrier, seeing that Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy had just come through it. She was a little surprised that they were back, especially since their obelisk was the last one still standing. Then, Joselyn noticed that Invincible Woman was in rough condition, with a beaten face that clearly showed that she’d been in a fight.

Even as Joselyn absorbed these details, her dad rushed to their side. He gave them a grim look, clearly thinking of the fact that they were back, but the barrier was still up.

“What happened?” he asked.

Invincible Woman had a guilty look on her face as she answered, “Circuit Monger… She’s stronger than the last time…”

“We couldn’t beat her,” Ghost Boy added with a dark look on his face. He gulped visibly, then added, “We lost Praxis.”

Chapter 14

Joselyn stood back, silently watching Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy, who had just returned after their failed mission against Circuit Monger and her obelisk. They were both sitting down to rest, though Ghost Woman was also holding an ice pack against the side of her face. Between the bruised face and her torn costume, it was pretty obvious that she’d been in a tough fight. In contrast, Ghost Boy looked tired, but completely unharmed.

Many of the heroes had gathered around, eager to hear about what had happened with Circuit Monger. The members of Faction Zero looked especially interested, which was no surprise since they were the ones who had the most experience with her.

“We beat Circuit Monger before,” Invincible Woman said, her tone being just a little defensive…or maybe just embarrassed. “But this time was different. When we got to the obelisk, Circuit Monger was there…with an army.”

“An army?” Shiver blurted out in surprise.

“There were several hundred people in the area,” Ghost Boy explained, “completely surrounding the obelisk. They looked like normal people, except they all had glowing green eyes…”

“The infected,” Denise stated, drawing Joselyn’s attention to her. She hadn’t even realized the doctor had come over, until that moment.

Icarus gave Denise a suspicious look and asked, “You know about them?”

Denise had a grim look on her face as she nodded. “I saw them this morning. Groups of them were searching the streets and buildings, finding other people and then infecting them.”

“Infecting them?” Joselyn’s dad asked. “What do you mean?”

“The infection seems to be spread through direct physical contact,” Denise explained with a deep scowl. “Less than half a minute after direct exposure, and the victim shows all the same symptoms as the others. I would assume that this was a form of virus, but the rate of progression is far too rapid for that.” Then she shook her head and added, “I haven’t seen any of them speak or even communicate with each other, but their movements and actions were still completely coordinated. It was quite…disconcerting to see.”

“Damn,” Kaboom exclaimed, shaking her head. “Sounds like Night of the Living Dead or something…”

“Or the Borg,” Ghost Boy added with a deep scowl. A moment, he looked around defensively, “I have watched Star Trek, you know…”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Joselyn commented, watching Denise with a curious look.

Will, who was standing beside Denise, gave her a nervous look. “I’m…something of an expert in retroviral mutation,” Denise said with a carefully controlled expression. “And I watched those infected, as much as I could without getting close. In fact, when I first saw them, I assumed that Baltimore had been quarantined to prevent their spread…”

“A reasonable assumption,” Joselyn’s dad stated, turning his attention back to Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy. “Please continue…”

“When we got there,” Invincible Woman said, removing the ice pack from her face and revealing that most of the bruising was now gone, which said something about how bad she must have been to start with. “Circuit Monger was waiting…with her army. There were so many of them, and they were completely surrounding the obelisk. Praxis went to try shooing them away from the obelisk so we could destroy it, while Ghost Boy and I tried to keep Circuit Monger busy…”

“The…infected,” Ghost Boy said, glancing to Denise before using her term for them, “swarmed over Praxis…and infected her. The next thing we knew, Praxis had joined them and started to attack us…”

“Damn,” Kaboom exclaimed while several others nodded agreement with the sentiment.

“Praxis,” Joselyn whispered, feeling bad for the woman. She barely knew Praxis at all, but to have something like this happen to her… She shuddered at the very thought.

“We couldn’t beat both Praxis and Circuit Monger,” Invincible Woman continued with a deep grimace. “And we didn’t dare get too close to the infected…”

“I could have gotten past them,” Ghost Boy added, looking frustrated. “But there isn’t much I could have done to the obelisk. My powers are more suited to stealth than destruction…”

At this point, Warchild grumbled, “We should have sent all the teams in with explosives...just for situations like this.”

“But how do you get past an army of mind controlled civilians?” Joselyn asked, looking around. “I mean, you can’t just kill them like you would a bunch of zombies or robots…”

“Actually,” Interface mused with a thoughtful expression, “I believe the Borg analogy is probably closer to the truth.”

Joselyn stared at Interface for a moment, then realized that this wasn’t just speculation. The Guard member actually knew something about these infected. However, before she could call him out on it, Shiver pointed out, “That’s right. You and Circuit Monger have a history…”

Interface nodded grimly. “Circuit Monger and I received our powers from the same source…a techno-organic virus. This virus gave me the ability to interface with computer systems, and even other people’s nervous systems, but Trojan received a variant strain that had somewhat different effects. He gained the ability to interface with computers, just like I can, but not with humans. Unfortunately, his strain also became somewhat sentient…and either merged with him or seized control. I’ve never been quite certain which.”

“I thought we were talking about Circuit Monger,” Kaboom said with a confused look. “Not this Trojan guy…”

“Trojan is Circuit Monger,” Shiver told Kaboom.

Interface nodded again. “Trojan transferred his consciousness into a cybernetic body, a duplicate of Circuit’s, and then changed his…her name.” He scowled at that. “From what I know of her, she considers this cybernetic conversion an upgrade…and as she is far stronger and more powerful than she’d been in her human body, I can understand that perspective.”

Warchild snorted. “Please don’t tell me that you’re thinking of turning into a fembot too…” He smirked faintly as he added, “Having one fembot on the team is enough.”

Interface gave Warchild a wry look. “Trust me when I say I have no such plans.”

“Please continue,” Joselyn’s dad urged him, somewhat impatiently.

“From what I have heard about these infected,” Interface continued with a deep scowl. “I believe that I know how Circuit Monger is doing this.”

“How?” Joselyn asked.

“When I interface with a person,” Interface explained, “I create a very limited infection, which allows me to interface with their brains and access the information stored within. Trojan was obsessed with acquiring information, and was jealous that I could do this while he could not. The human mind is a repository of information that he could not directly access, much to his frustration.”

Joselyn’s dad stared at Interface for a moment before saying, “And you think that Circuit Monger learned how to do this.”

“Yes,” Interface agreed with a deep scowl. “I believe that Circuit Monger has not only learned how I interface with people…but has created a much more powerful version. Instead of just interfacing with someone else’s brain, she created a virus that could override and control it.”

“An infectious virus,” Joselyn pointed out.

“Yes,” Interface said again. “One that allows her to access and control those who are infected.”

“Like Praxis,” Ghost Boy added bitterly.

“And all those civilians,” Icarus stated with a sour look. “Circuit Monger has always been dangerous, but if she can do this now, then she has become a major threat. Perhaps an even greater threat to the world than Nevermore.”

“I doubt that,” Joselyn muttered, though she could definitely see how dangerous Circuit Monger was.

If Circuit Monger’s infection got out of Baltimore, it could easily spread over the entire world, like some kind of high tech zombie apocalypse. But as bad as that was, Joselyn was sure that whatever Nevermore had planned would be even worse.

“Circuit Monger has turned people into…drones,” Interface spat out in disgust. “If this spreads beyond Baltimore…”

“It won’t,” Joselyn said, surprising herself with the comment since Interface had just been echoing her own thoughts. Then she realized that her powers were giving her more information. “I think she has some kind of limitation about distance. She can only control them if they’re close enough…”

To Joselyn’s surprise, no one questioned how she knew that. Instead, Interface merely nodded. “If she’s controlling these people directly, then they have to be close enough to receive her communications signal…”

“Unless she builds some kind of repeater,” Surge, of the Miracle Men, offered.

“Would it be possible to interrupt this communication signal?” Icarus asked Interface, who seemed to be the expert on this kind of virus.

Interface thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “Perhaps…once we knew how Circuit Monger was communicating with them. The electro-magnetic spectrum is quite vast, and unless we know what part of the spectrum she is using…and what frequencies, our options are limited.”

Joselyn stared at Interface for a moment as an idea occurred to her. “You think she’s using some kind of radio signal?”

“That seems the most likely option,” Interface explained, giving her a faintly annoyed look, as he seemed to think she was asking a dumb question. “From what I know of the original virus, that would be the best means of communication between one host and another. The problem is, jamming the entire range of possible frequencies will be extremely difficult.”

“What about an EMP?” Joselyn’s dad asked thoughtfully.

“Possible,” Interface responded with a look of consideration. “If nothing else, it would disrupt communication long enough for us to act…”

“I have an idea,” Joselyn announced.

Her dad abruptly paused to give her a curious look. “Your powers are telling you something?”

“Not exactly,” Joselyn admitted with a grin. “But I know someone who would be perfect for this…” At her dad’s curious look, she explained, “Her powers let her jam the entire electromagnetic spectrum at once.”

Without bothering to explain more, Joselyn pulled out her cell phone and made a call. As soon as her best friend picked up, Joselyn said, “Hey, Vickie… I know this is short notice, but I need you and Chris to get dressed. We need you.”

The air was filled with a sense of dark unease, the kind that sent chills down Gwen’s spine and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She slowly looked around, gulping nervously as she did so. Though she didn’t see any signs of an immediate threat, she knew that it was out there…surrounding her.

“It isn’t much further,” Glamour Girl announced, pointing down the street.

Glamour Girl had already said this before, just a couple minutes ago. That was why Gwen had landed her cloud and let it vanish. She’d gotten them close to Nevermore, but now they wanted to go the rest of the way on foot so that they wouldn’t be seen as easily.

“This is a reconnaissance mission,” Poison reminded the rest of them. “For now, we just want to get close enough to see what’s going and what we’re facing. If necessary, we can send for reinforcements.”

“I’d rather just kick Nevermore’s ass and get it over with,” Deadbeat grumbled.

“I’m with him,” Alleycat agreed, gesturing to Deadbeat.

Gwen let out a sigh, then pointed out, “We don’t really know what Baron Nevermore is up to…or how many people he has with him.”

“SHE probably has an army of monsters,” Glamour Girl responded grimly. “I can feel the darkness…a lot more of it than the last time I saw Nevermore.” She shuddered visibly.

“Let’s just get this done and over with,” Mannequin said grimly.

Mystik didn’t say a word, though she definitely looked nervous. Instead, she swung her staff in a dramatic manner then began walking in the direction that Glamour Girl had indicated. A moment later, everyone else followed.

“I can’t believe we’ve got to walk,” Deadbeat grumbled, “when we’ve got perfectly good transportation…”

“It’s only a block,” Gwen pointed out with a roll of her eyes. She hadn’t known Deadbeat long, but she’d already noticed that he liked to complain about everything. She was beginning to see how he’d earned his codename.

Suddenly, Glamour Girl froze and looked around with a grim expression. Gwen immediately began scanning the area, still not seeing any threats, though she didn’t doubt that they were there. “They’re coming,” Glamour Girl finally said.

In spite of Glamour Girl’s dire pronouncement, it took another ten seconds before the creatures appeared, crawling out of the nearby buildings and dark alleys. Gwen gulped as she looked around, realizing that there were a lot more of these things than the last time her group had been attacked. However, she reminded herself, this time they had Glamour Girl with them from the start.

Glamour Girl floated up into the air, then let loose with a massive burst of light, aimed straight into the center of the swarming mass. Dozens of the creatures shrieked and crumbled away at once, and she didn’t hesitate to start attacking the rest.

“Oombay,” Gwen called out, creating a small explosion that took out a couple of the creatures.

Mannequin fired energy blasts at a couple from her palms while Poison, Alleycat, and Deadbeat circled around the rest of them, clearly preparing to deal with any of the creatures that got too close. And then there was Mystik, who suddenly teleported to where one giant snake had just appeared from a building doorway, and then smacked it over the head with her staff. Repeatedly.

“Snakes,” Mystik commented with a grin, as if she was making some kind of joke. “Why did it have to be snakes?”

Gwen just gave Mystik a curious look, a little confused since she’d heard that the other magic user was pretty powerful, but all she’d seen Mystik do was teleport and levitate. Then again, she reminded herself, Mystik had once taken out Entropy, when Faction Zero had been unable to do so, which proved she had some real power. But before Gwen could give any more consideration as to why Mystik was holding back, another wave of the creatures began to appear.

“There are a lot more of these damn freaks this time,” Alleycat growled, right before she leapt at one catlike creature and used her own claws on it.

“We’re a lot closer to Nevermore,” Glamour Girl pointed out grimly, right before she fired several more blasts of light.

“Good thing we have you here with us,” Poison said, punching a flying monkey, then lashing out at something else. “Otherwise, we’d be completely overwhelmed, just by sheer numbers…”

“There are still too damn many of them,” Deadbeat pointed out. With that, he picked up one of the humanoid creatures, which looked like a zombie from some horror movie.

Gwen stared at the sight of one zombie fighting another, then shook her head and focused on several of the flying creatures that were getting too close. “Irefay. Reezefay.”

Less than a minute later, the remaining creatures turned and fled, and soon the streets were once again empty. Gwen gasped for breath and let out a sigh of relief before announcing, “We did it…”

Glamour Girl snapped around and demanded, “What do you mean WE?”

“What’s your problem?” Alleycat snarled, glaring at Glamour Girl.

“I am the one who beat those things,” Glamour Girl exclaimed, looking around at all of the others with an arrogant expression. “Just like I’m the one who beat them the last time. We all know that I’m the most powerful one here, and that I’m the only one powerful enough to beat Nevermore. The rest of you are just cannon fodder to keep her troops occupied…”

“Why, you arrogant bitch,” Alleycat yelled, her eyes blazing with rage.

“But she’s right,” Gwen gasped, staring at Glamour Girl and feeling a growing sense of jealousy. Glamor Girl was so beautiful, and strong, and tough, and she had such beautiful light power…

“Calm down,” Poison yelled, but it did little good as Alleycat leapt at Glamour Girl. The glowing heroine responded by backhanding Gwen’s teammate, sending her flying back. Poison snarled in anger, her hands glowing green. “YOU WILL OBEY ME!”

“What the Hell is going on?” Mannequin demanded, looking around in shock.

Deadbeat shook his head with a look of confusion. “Beats me…”

Mystik clutched her staff tightly and began to back up while giving everyone else suspicious looks. “Mine,” she muttered, pulling her staff even closer to her body. “My precious…”

“I want her powers,” Gwen whined, still staring at Glamour Girl. She considered her magic, wondering if one of her spells might be able to take Glamour Girl’s powers… But then, she paused, realizing that something wasn’t right. It was with a great deal of effort that she gasped, “Indmay ieldshay…”

Suddenly, Gwen’s mind cleared and she let out a gasp, no longer feeling jealous of Glamour Girl. She stared at the other heroes, seeing that everyone besides Mannequin and Deadbeat were getting ready to attack each other. With a grimace, she gathered her energy and repeated the spell she’d just cast on herself, targeting Poison first, then quickly getting the others.

“I almost killed you,” Poison gasped, staring down at her own hands in shock. “I can’t believe…”

“I can’t believe I was saying those things,” Glamour Girl said with a look of guilt.

“The Sinner,” Gwen blurted out, immediately getting everyone’s attention. “She’s here…”

Mannequin scowled and began to look around. “I should have known… But where is she?”

“No idea,” Gwen responded, looking around her surroundings but seeing no sign of the Sinner…or anyone else. However, there had been no mistaking that power. “But she’s around here somewhere…”

Just then, someone began to clap. “Very good,” the Sinner announced a moment later, as she stepped out of a nearby doorway and into view. She had an arrogant smirk on her face as she said, “You caught me…”

“YOU,” Gwen snarled, becoming angry at the very sight of the woman who had caused so much devastation.

“I just had to take a peek at your defining sins,” the Sinner casually said, looking oddly amused. Gwen REALLY wanted to knock that smug look off the villain’s face. “Pride and anger are no surprise. After all, those are the most common sins among your kind. But greed…” She stared intently at Mystik. “That is a little less common, but oh so interesting…”

“Bite me,” Mystik responded, flipping the Sinner off while raising her staff to fight.

“Mine would probably be sloth,” Deadbeat admitted with a shrug.

“We’ve got you now,” Alleycat exclaimed with a satisfied look of her own as she began to slowly walk towards the Sinner. “You don’t have any civilians to use this time…”

The Sinner just sneered at that. “I don’t know how you broke free,” she said, “but this time, you’ll tear each other to pieces before you even know it…”

Gwen suddenly felt pressure against the mind shield spell that she’d cast, and she held her breath for a moment. To her relief, the spell held. She grinned, feeling much more confident about the situation.

“That isn’t going to work on us again,” she called out.

“You’re in deep trouble now,” Mannequin announced as she started walking straight towards the Sinner, making a show of cracking her knuckles.

The Sinner looked worried, but only for a few seconds. “That might be true,” she responded, once again smirking and even buffing her nails. “If I was alone.”

“DESTROY HER,” a new voice yelled out.

The voice had barely finished speaking when Mannequin was suddenly struck with a flash of red energy. A moment later, there was a smoldering hole where hero had been…with a charred and severed arm beside it.

“MANNEQUIN,” Gwen cried out in stunned horror.

Gwen snapped around to look for the source of the voice and saw a skinny woman with black hair, and wearing a red and black suit of armor. She was hovering in the air, surrounded by a ring of black smoke. At first, Gwen had absolutely no idea who this woman was, but then she saw the black staff in her hand.

“She has Loki’s staff,” Gwen blurted out, right before snarling, “She killed Mannequin…”

“Good one, Loki,” the Sinner called out with a smirk. “And in case I forgot to tell you before, you look a lot better as a chick. Maybe once we’re done here, we can go try out your new body…”

“Shut up,” the woman…Loki snarled, definitely not looking happy.

“Take them,” Poison yelled, pointing at Loki with a look of cold fury.

With that, everyone burst into action. Deadbeat, Alleycat, and Poison all ran towards the Sinner since she was on the ground and none of them could fly. Since the mysteriously transformed Loki was floating in the air, that left Glamour Girl and Mystik to fly after her, while Gwen focused on her ranged magic.

“Irefay,” Gwen called out, throwing a ball of fire at the floating villain, who dodged out of the way.

“Protect the Sinner,” Loki ordered, right before the Sinner suddenly vanished, only to reappear a moment later in another location. “Protect me…”

Glamour Girl punched Loki, or at least tried to, because her fist went right through Loki as if she was a ghost. Loki just laughed at that, which infuriated both Gwen and Glamour Girl.

“You’ll pay for murdering Mannequin,” Glamour Girl yelled.

“And everyone else,” Gwen added, wondering what she could do against someone like Loki, when her own magic was quickly running out.

“Loki,” Mystik called out, floating up into the air. She had a grim look on her face as she glared at the villain. “If you really are Loki.”

Loki glared at Mystik before answering, “I remember you… You were one of the bitches who sent me to prison…” Then Loki smirked, “I’m gonna love fucking you up…”

“I’ve got one wish left,” Mystik stated grimly. “Taking you down will be a good use.”

“I’ve got as many wishes as I want,” Loki bragged. “But I only need to use one to kill all you nosey bitches…” Then, she held up her staff and yelled, “KILL THEM ALL.”

Suddenly, the sky cracked open, with jagged black tears running through the very air. Gwen stared at it with a very bad feeling, especially when red energy began to leak out from the tears.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Gwen muttered. “A VERY bad feeling…”

After several seconds of tense waiting, the rest of the sky seemed to shatter, releasing a downpour of crimson liquid. Suddenly, a large golden dome formed over the area, like an enormous umbrella to protect them all from the bloody rain.

“What the…?” Gwen started in surprise.

Gwen looked through the transparent dome and saw the red liquid pouring down outside of it, coming down like a heavy rain. Then Gwen noticed steam coming from where the liquid hit, and she gasped as a nearby car began to blister and melt, dissolving like a sugar cube left out in the rain. Even the ground began to burn and dissolve.

“No fucking way,” Alleycat exclaimed.

Then a shriek of agony pierced the air, drawing Gwen’s attention to the Sinner…who was outside the golden dome and caught in the bloody downpour. She was on her knees, screaming as her clothes and skin burned and dissolved, as though she’d been doused in acid.

“Oh God,” Gwen whispered in horror, tearing her eyes away from the villain as she couldn’t bear to watch something so horrific. The screaming stopped a couple seconds later, but Gwen couldn’t bring herself to look at the Sinner…or at what was left of her.

The bloody rain stopped after only a minute, and as soon as it did, the glowing dome vanished as well. Gwen looked around, horrified at her surroundings. The buildings, ground, and everything that had been caught in the rain, was melted and dissolved, losing an inch off the surface. However, the area that had been protected by the dome was intact and an island of normalcy in comparison.

“Loki’s gone,” Gwen said in realization. She didn’t see any sign of the villain.

“She probably figured we were all dead from that,” Glamour Girl announced, “and left.”

“Or she didn’t want to get caught in it herself,” Poison added.

“Good news for us,” Alleycat said grimly. “If she doesn’t come back.”

“That’s it,” Mystik exclaimed, now standing on the ground and leaning on her staff. “I’m done. My tank is empty.”

“You created the force field,” Poison said, looking at Mystik in surprise. “You saved us…”

Mystik nodded at that. “Yeah, but I’m pretty much useless now.”

“Yeah, but so is the Sinner,” Deadbeat announced with an evil chuckle. “Damn, there’s hardly anything left of her.”

Gwen shuddered at that. “TMI.”

Mystik let out a sigh, then said, “I can still teleport for a couple more minutes, but after that, I’ll change back to normal and probably won’t be able to use my powers again for the next week.”

“Can you teleport yourself back to the base camp?” Poison asked.

“Yeah,” Mystik agreed with a scowl, carefully not looking at what was left of the Sinner…or Mannequin. “I can do that, but I don’t like the idea of abandoning you out here.”

Poison nodded thoughtfully. “If your powers are out, then you’d just be a liability. You’ve already done your part, so get back to where it’s safe…and fill everyone in on what’s going on.”

Mystik hesitated a moment before nodding agreement. “I can do that. Good luck.” And with that, she suddenly vanished in a flash of golden light.

“Now what?” Deadbeat asked.

“Now,” Poison announced, gesturing in the direction that they’d previously been heading. “We still have a reconnaissance mission to complete.”

Chapter 15

“Stop pacing,” Evie announced as she gave Joselyn a flat look. “You’re starting to make ME nervous.”

“Sorry,” Joselyn apologized, though she couldn’t resist sticking her tongue out at her sister.

“Very mature,” Evie responded with a roll of her eyes.

Joselyn just snorted. “Funny, coming from the girl who keeps trying to ambush me with water balloons.”

Evie just grinned at that. “That’s different.” Then she stuck her own tongue out at Joselyn.

From a few feet away, Counterweight wryly commented, “Gee, I’d never guess you two were sisters.” Joselyn and Evie simultaneously stuck their tongues out at her, then burst out giggling.

“Just be thankful their younger sister isn’t here,” Joselyn’s dad commented with a shake of his head. “Then they’d both be acting like twelve year olds.” He paused for a moment before adding, “At least, more than they already are.”

Joselyn was still smiling as she looked to an empty space, where just a few minutes earlier, the Face had created a portal to leave. She’d wanted to go with him, but he told her that it wouldn’t be necessary. Now, all she could do was wait for him to return. Then, as she watched, a glowing red portal appeared in the air, and the Face stepped out of it, along with two other people.

The first person to appear after the Face, was a teenage girl about a year older than Joselyn. She had black hair and a costume that was black and gray. This girl was Vickie Wells, Joselyn’s closest friend outside of her own family. Of course, since Vickie was currently in costume, she was going by the codename of Velvet.

Right behind Vicki was her twin brother Chris, who was also known by the codename of Impact. He was tall and athletic with short white hair and a costume that was white and dark blue.

“Velvet,” Joselyn called out with a grin as she hurried over to see her friend.

“Jos…I mean Lady Knight,” Vickie greeted her with a broad grin of her own. “What’s going on?”

Joselyn looked to Chris and felt herself blush. “I’m glad you guys could make it.”

It only took a few seconds before Joselyn’s dad came over as well and gave her friends a curious look. “My daughter has told me a lot about you two,” he announced, holding his hand out to Chris first. “I’m glad to finally meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances.”

Joselyn gave her dad a firm look, trying to silently warn him not to embarrass her. She’d learned that look from her mom and had been practicing it a bit over the last couple months, though she still hadn’t mastered as well as her mother had.

“Um…nice to meet you too,” Vickie said, looking a little nervous, which amused Joselyn.

Just then, Evie gently elbowed Joselyn and quietly asked, “Is he the one you were telling me about?” She was looking directly at Chris, which made Joselyn brush brightly.

“Yeah,” Joselyn admitted with a blush, which caused Evie to look at him more thoughtfully.

During one of Joselyn’s precognitive dreams, she’d had a vision about her own future. Specifically, about her own wedding. In that vision, Joselyn had been getting married to Chris, while Vickie had been her maid of honor. Several weeks after having that dream, Joselyn had met Vickie and Chris for the first time, which had been very odd for her, but also exciting.

So far, Joselyn had only told three people about that dream...Evie, her mom, and Vickie. She could only imagine how Chris or her dad would react, which was why she hadn’t said a word to either of them.

“This is my sister, Figment,” Joselyn said, introducing Evie to her best friend and future husband. Then she gave them a wry smile and added, “I have a few more relatives scattered around too…” She gestured to the rest of Knight Force, who had come over to see her friends. “I’ll have to have you guys over for dinner some time…and some real introductions, but that will have to wait.”

“Nice to meet you and all,” Vickie told Evie before looking back to Joselyn, “but what’s going on?”

“We saw that thing on the news,” Chris added, then looked around at the large gathering of heroes. “But somehow, I don’t think you really need our help for it.”

Joselyn gave a wry smile, knowing exactly what he meant. Vickie and Chris were both new to the hero business and had only just stuck their feet in. Neither of them had much experience, which was why she hadn’t called them originally. Compared to everyone else, they were rookies. And admittedly, she didn’t want to put either of them into this kind of danger until they were ready. Unfortunately, she no longer had a choice.

“We have a problem,” Joselyn said, gesturing to the barrier and looking at Vickie. “And you might be the solution.”

“The barrier was created by a villain known as Baron Nevermore,” Joselyn’s dad explained grimly. He gestured at the barrier as he continued, “It completely isolates Baltimore and all of the surrounding areas. So far, the number of heroes who have been able to bypass the barrier are very limited, but once the barrier is down, the rest of us will be able to move in and stop Nevermore…”

“And why are we here?” Chris asked curiously.

“Because both of you can get through the barrier,” Joselyn explained, giving them a wry smile that hid how self-conscious she was. “The only ones who can get through, are people like us. Gender switched.”

Their eyes widened and they looked at the gathered heroes, and especially at the ones who’d come close enough to hear that announcement. From their scowls, Joselyn knew that neither of them was happy about having their secret spread around.

“Then, there are only a couple of us,” Vickie said awkwardly.

“Actually,” the Face explained, “we already sent five teams through the barrier…”

“Five teams?” Chris blurted out in surprise.

“We had seventeen heroes who could go,” Joselyn told them with a chuckle. “Turns out, there are a lot more of us than I’d ever guessed…”

Vickie stared at Joselyn for a moment, then shook her head. “Wow… This is so weird…”

Joselyn just snorted at that. “You want to talk weird? I just found out I have a new sister…or brother.” At Vickie’s startled look, she shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

“As I was saying,” the Face said, raising his voice a little to remind them that he’d been about to explain. “The barrier is maintained by five obelisks on the other side. In order to remove the barrier, these obelisks need to be destroyed. Four of the teams we sent in managed to destroy their obelisks, but one of the teams failed.”

“And my daughter believes that you are the key to taking that one,” Joselyn’s father finished, his eyes locked on Vickie, who seemed uncomfortable with the attention.

“Us?” Vickie asked in surprise.

“Mostly just you,” Joselyn told her, giving an apologetic look to Chris. “Your powers are perfect to deal with this…”

At that, they began to explain the situation to Vickie and Chris, who both looked a little worried. Joselyn could see that they felt like they were in over their heads, but neither of them said anything about it. And by the time they were finished with explanations, Vickie and Chris were both nodding their agreement.

“And that’s the situation,” Joselyn’s dad said. “The last obelisk is being guarded by Circuit Monger and an army of infected drones.”

“And Lady Knight says that you can help,” Interface added, giving Vickie a curious look, clearly wondering exactly how she could do that. “I understand that you can create some kind of darkness field…”

“Not exactly,” Vickie responded with a growing grin. “I absorb light. Actually, I absorb all electromagnetic energy in an area…including light…and radio waves.”

Interface suddenly looked more interested in Vickie, as did the Face and some of the others. “I see,” Interface said, giving Vickie a thoughtful look.

“If any drones get in her range,” Chris proudly announced, “they’ll not only go blind…but lose all radio communications.”

“And if Velvet happens to get close enough to Circuit Monger,” Joselyn added with a faint smirk, “she can cut her off from ALL of the drones.”

“Now THAT should be useful,” Evie said before glancing at Chris. “And what can you do?”

Chris looked pleased to finally get a little attention, since everyone had been focused on his sister. He puffed up a little bit as he answered, “I absorb kinetic energy and use it to get strong.”

“He’s strong and hard to hurt,” Vickie said.

“Which will be useful for this mission,” Joselyn’s dad said, looking grim as she remembered what he was going to send them into.

There was a bit of muttering from the various heroes before Kaboom asked, “So, who all is going on this team?” She glanced down to her arm, which was still in a sling, scowling as she did so.

“We’re going,” Invincible Woman announced as she and Ghost Boy came over. She had a determined expression on her face. “We have unfinished business with Circuit Monger.”

“We have to finish our mission,” Ghost Boy added with a grim look of his own. “And we can’t just leave Praxis like that.”

“And I’m going too,” Joselyn announced, glancing towards Vicki and Chris. There was absolutely no way that she was going to send them in to face Circuit Monger while she stayed back where it was safe.

Joselyn’s father looked like he was about to argue, but the Face pointed out, “It isn’t as though we have many other heroes who are even capable of going. Ms. Miracle is out of action, Kaboom has a broken arm, Legacy has a broken leg, Lady Hexx has a sprained ankle, Channel is exhausted, and Counterweight has a broken shoulder…”

“Just badly bruised,” Counterweight corrected him. She went to rotate her arm to show that it could still function, but winced in pain. “Yeah, not good.”

“Yeah, we’re all messed up,” Kaboom grumbled.

“I might not be in good shape to fight,” Counterweight admitted, “but I can still play taxi.” She gestured to Vickie and Chris, adding, “Unless you two can fly or teleport…”

“Nope,” Vickie admitted with a shrug.

“I’m afraid that we don’t have a lot of time to waste,” the Face announced, gesturing to the barrier. “The longer the barrier remains intact, the more people die inside, and the more time Baron Nevermore has to do whatever it is he has planned.”

“Whatever it is,” Joselyn added, shuddering faintly at the memory of the nightmare that had awoken her that morning, “it isn’t good.”

“I guess we’re as ready to go as we can be,” Chris said with a determined look that hid his nervousness.

Joselyn nodded, not blaming Chris and Vickie for being nervous in the least. Circuit Monger was a dangerous villain, and a bit beyond their power levels. Of course, thinking about that just reminded her that Circuit Monger was even further outside of her own power level. However, she wasn’t going to admit that or back out. After all, someone had to take down Circuit Monger, or at least her obelisk, and they were the only ones currently available.

A couple minutes later, they stepped through the barrier and walked towards the metal shell that had been left sitting there.  Joselyn looked around the newly formed team, then at Vickie and Chris. “I guess I should probably introduce everyone…” She gestured to Counterweight and said, “Our limo driver for the mission is Counterweight. She controls gravity.”

“Nice to meet you,” Counterweight said, nodding to the two newcomers. She also gave them curious looks, clearly wondering about them and the story behind why they were qualified to pass through the barrier.

And this is Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy,” Joselyn added, indicating the two heroes who’d already faced Circuit Monger.  Then she paused, suddenly ‘knowing’ that this wasn’t the first time that the two pairs had met each other. She was a little startled at that revelation from her powers and added, “But I think you already know each other…”

The two pairs paused to look at each other in confusion. “No,” Ghost Boy responded after a few seconds. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never met them…”

“Ditto,” Chris said.

However, Vickie stared at Ghost Boy. He wore a domino mask as well as a hood that covered his hair and helped to obscure his features, but her eyes suddenly went wide in recognition anyway. “Miles?”

Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy both jumped at that. “How do you know that name?” Invincible Woman demanded, looking just a little shaken.

“No way,” Vickie blurted out in stunned amazement.

“Wait,” Chris gasped, now staring at Ghost Boy as well. “You’re Miles?”

“I’m Vic,” Vickie exclaimed, gesturing at herself before giving a self-conscious smile. “Or at least, I used to be…”

“Vic?” Invincible Woman gasped, staring at Vickie with a similar expression. Then she gulped and gestured down at herself. “I’m Miles. Ghost Boy is my mom… We sort of switch bodies when we use our powers…”

“That explains a few things,” Counterweight commented as she looked over Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy.

“Chris and I just switched genders,” Vickie responded, gesturing to Chris.

This time, Invincible Woman stared at Chris and gasped, “You’re Christine?”

“I used to be,” Chris responded a bit awkwardly.

Vickie looked back and forth between Invincible Woman and Ghost Boy, then glanced over at her brother. “Now, this is a weird coincidence.”

“Definitely,” Invincible Woman responded. “Freaky weird.”

Joselyn scowled a little as she considered what she’d just learned, that Invincible Woman was Vickie’s old friend Miles. Vickie had mentioned Miles to Joselyn before, a few times, and from what Joselyn remembered, Miles used to be Vickie’s best friend, back when she’d still been Vic. Now, Miles and Vickie were together again, and Miles had undergone a similar change.

Suddenly, Joselyn was feeling a little jealous and left out. After all, Vickie was supposed to be her best friend. And what if Chris liked Invincible Woman better than her too? Invincible Woman was definitely better built.

“Maybe you should continue this later,” Joselyn suggested, trying to keep her tone calm and even. “Or at least, continue it in the air…”  She gestured to the metal shell that Lady Hexx had formed earlier. “Unfortunately, time is running out so we need to get going.”

“Good point,” Ghost Boy admitted. “I’m curious to hear about what happened to you two, but time is of the essence.”

“All right then,” Counterweight announced as she took her position in the metal shell. “Let’s get going.”

The medical tent was quiet at the moment, for which Julie was thankful. After she’d collapsed, her friends and teammates had stuck around to make sure that she was all right, but Denise had finally chased them and most of the other visitors out so that the injured could rest.

Julie took a sip of the fluorescent orange drink that Denise had given her. It was some kind of sports drink, supposedly filled with electrolytes and other things that would help her recover. And though Julie didn’t care for the taste, she had to admit that it was working. She felt much better than she had earlier, though she was still a bit tired.

With a grunt, Julie slowly stood up from her chair, looking at the other patients and being grateful that she wasn’t stuck in a cot like they were. Ms. Miracle…Dave was currently asleep in his cot, while Legacy was awake, but a little out of it from the painkillers. Julie took another sip of her drink, deciding that she was well enough that she didn’t have to hang around the medical tent any longer. She could go outside and finish resting up out there just as easily.

Julie paused before leaving to take another look at Dave, frowning a little as she did so. Though she was happy to have allowed him to have a reunion with his mother, she felt extremely awkward at being caught in the middle of it. And admittedly, she’d also been a bit scared. Ms. Miracle…the original one…had been desperate to stay with her injured son, and that desperation had been powerful enough to overwhelm Julie’s control. For the first time ever, Julie hadn’t been able to eject the spirit she was channeling. She hadn’t been able to take control back, until that desperation had faded.

“At least you got to see her again,” Julie whispered, though she glanced over to Legacy and smiled faintly as she remembered that reunion as well.

When Julie stepped out of the medical tent, she wasn’t at all surprised to find a few people hanging around near it. Rumor was near the door, talking with her teammate Splash. A short distance away, Figment and the White Knight were talking, and they alternated between looking at the barrier and glancing to the medical tent. Julie assumed that they were worried about Lady Knight, and about their newly discovered family member. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly discover that she had a new family member, without any warning.

“Channel,” Zero Kay called out to her. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit better,” Julie responded with a sigh. “I’m still wiped out though. I’ve never held a spirit for that long before, and I hope I never have to do it again.”

Zero Kay nodded as though she understood, though Julie knew that the other girl couldn’t possibly understand. She wasn’t the one who’d been a virtual prisoner in her own body.

“We still haven’t heard anything from Glamour Girl or Deadbeat,” Zero Kay said with a shake of her head. She looked just as worried about her other teammates as Julie was. “And Nike keeps pacing back and forth. It makes me nervous just to watch her…”

Julie chuckled at that. “Nike isn’t exactly one to sit and wait. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to sit down again.”

Zero Kay put a gentle hand on her shoulder as she said, “Rest and recharge. We may need you again when the barrier comes down.”

“If I’m ready by then,” Julie responded with a sigh, since she doubted that she’d have the energy to call anyone else until she’d had a good night sleep.

As Julie started for an open chair, she noticed Denise was having a private conversation with her nephew. Or at least, it would have been private, if their words hadn’t carried as far as they did, because Julie could hear what they were saying, and undoubtedly, so could a few of the other heroes.

“But what happens if you have an episode?” Will asked her. “If you do, this is the last place you should be. I mean, we’re surrounded by heroes…”

“Which means that this may be the best place,” Denise responded, sounding tired. “You have a good point, and I agree with you. I shouldn’t be here. But you’ve seen how badly some of these people have been injured, and who knows how bad the rest of them will be when they come back. Unfortunately, I seem to be the most qualified person available to patch them up, so I can’t leave just yet. Just in case.”

“Fine,” Will grumbled. “But if you have an episode…”

“That is why I have you here,” Denise told him.

This conversation caught Julie’s interest, and she was curious about what they were talking about. However, she didn’t hear any more since Mega was walking towards her, asking, “Channel, can I talk with you for a minute?”

Mega was a large and imposing woman, who towered over most people, even when she wasn’t using her powers to grow larger. However, at the moment, she looked a bit nervous, which made Julie gulp since she knew exactly what Mega wanted to talk about.

“I used to have a boyfriend,” Mega started to say, looking self-conscious and awkward. “And I was wondering…”

“I can’t summon a specific person,” Julie quickly told her, giving the larger woman an apologetic look. “I can’t choose who I summon. My powers don’t work that way.”

Mega suddenly looked disappointed, which caused Julie to wince. She hated it when people asked her to arrange a reunion with their loved ones, because she couldn’t do it…at least not intentionally. Being able to provide two reunions in one day was a miracle, but she couldn’t do it again if she tried...much to her frustration.

“I’m sorry,” Julie told Mega, feeling guilty as she did so. “I really wish I could help you, but…”

“I understand,” Mega said with a forced smile. “I just thought it was worth asking…”

Julie nodded. “I really am sorry. I would if I could…”

Mega muttered a brief apology for bothering Julie before hurrying away. Julie let out a sigh, then sadly shook her head, wishing she could have helped Mega. Then with a grimace, she continued to the chair and sat down with another sigh.

Julie took another sip from her sports drink, then looked at Catalyst, who was sitting in the chair beside her own. Catalyst was staring at the barrier with a grim expression on her face.

“You’re worried about Counterweight,” Julie said sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Catalyst admitted with a frown. “That idiot comes back injured, then turned around and volunteered to go right back in…”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Julie told her, hoping that she wasn’t going to be a liar.

“I just wish I was able to help,” Catalyst admitted after a few seconds. “While Counterweight is in there fighting, I’m stuck out here, unable to do anything to help. I feel so useless.” She shook her head in disgust, then in a bitter tone, announced, “I should be used to feeling useless…”

Julie gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”

Catalyst gave her a wry smile and answered, “My powers are to give powers to other people. You don’t know how many times I’ve given powers to others, then watched them run off to be heroes while I get left behind or treated like a mascot.”

Julie stared at Catalyst for a moment. “I can relate…”

“How could you possibly relate?” Catalyst asked, looking a little curious. “You have tons of different powers, and are always in the middle of the action…”

With a snort, Julie responded, “My powers are to channel other people…to call up the dead and let them fight for me. I’m just along for the ride while the spirits do all the work.”

“Ah,” Catalyst said, clearly understanding. “Yeah, that sounds pretty frustrating. At least I’ve figured out how to take away powers as well as give them. Between that and my martial arts training, I’m able to hold my own a lot more than I used to.”

“Now I’m jealous,” Julie told her with a chuckle. “At least you get a chance to do something on your own.”

Julie continued talking with Catalyst, delighted to find a kindred spirit. It was nice to see that she wasn’t the only one who had that kind of downside with her powers, or those doubts about her legitimacy as a hero.

Suddenly, Catalyst jumped to her feet and exclaimed, “We’ve got another returnee…”

Julie looked at the barrier and saw someone coming through, though she couldn’t quite make out who it was. And when Catalyst hurried towards the barrier, Julie quickly followed.

A young man stepped through the barrier, making Julie pause to stare at him because he wasn’t one of the heroes who’d gone through the barrier. He was tall and slender, with dark blonde hair, and looking as though he was in his early twenties. Then, she noticed that he was using a gold metal walking stick that seemed familiar.

“That’s Mystik’s staff,” someone exclaimed, making Julie realize that they were right. This guy did have Mystik’s staff, which begged the question of how he got it.

“The Staff of Isis,” the Face stated as he approached the young man. He stopped and seemed to stare at the newcomer, though it was hard to tell since that mask completely covered his face. “Then I assume that you are Mystik.”

“Yeah,” the young man responded, looking a bit self-conscious. “My staff ran out of power so I changed back to normal.”

“You’re Mystik?” Mega asked in surprise while the young man nodded in response.

The young man…Mystik…stood there with a grim look on his face. He clenched the staff tightly enough that his knuckles were nearly white, then announced, “I have good news and bad…”

Chapter 16

Joselyn nervously looked over the edge of the floating shell, staring at the buildings and streets below them. They were near the last obelisk, but even if she hadn’t known that, she still could have guessed.

Innocent people who’d been transformed into Circuit Monger’s drones filled the streets below. Groups of them moved in formation, going from building to building, looking for other people to assimilate into their numbers. And as if that wasn’t enough, several drones stood on nearly every rooftop, though it took Joselyn a few seconds to realize why. They had been placed there as lookouts.

“We’ve been spotted,” Joselyn announced. There was no way those drones could have missed their floating metal shell.

“Then we can probably expect to run into Circuit Monger pretty soon,” Counterweight pointed out. “And maybe Praxis.”

“Damn,” Invincible Woman grumbled, looking a little uncomfortable at that. “I hate fighting someone I like…”

“At least she didn’t infect you,” Counterweight pointed out.

Joselyn nodded agreement, remembering something that Interface had said right before they’d left. “It takes me five seconds of solid contact to interface with a person,” he’d told them. “From what I’ve heard described, I believe it takes a similar amount of contact to transfer this virus… A single moment of contact shouldn’t be long enough for you to become infected, but be extremely careful anyway.”

“When you fought Praxis,” Joselyn reminded Invincible Woman, “she hit you…”

“You don’t need to remind ME of that,” Invincible Woman grumbled.

“I was just reminding you of what Interface told us,” Joselyn continued wryly. “Getting punched isn’t a problem. Just don’t let her grab hold of you…” She looked around the shell since that warning went for everyone. “A brief contact probably won’t infect us, but if any of those drones actually get a chance to grab hold…” She shuddered at the thought.

“It looks like we’ll get a chance to test that out,” Counterweight pointed out. “Incoming.”

Joselyn saw Praxis flying towards them, and though she normally would have been a welcome sight, her glowing green eyes proved that she was still infected. Without saying a word, Invincible Woman leapt out of the shell and flew straight at the infected hero, and a moment later, the two of them were playing a form of aerial tag.

“Don’t let her touch you,” Ghost Boy called out, right before he floated out of the shell as well.

“I guess this is my stop,” Chris announced, giving Joselyn a faint grin then leaping over the edge of the shell.

Counterweight gasped, “But he can’t fly…”

“No,” Vickie agreed. “But he can absorb kinetic energy, so once he hits, he’s going to be fully charged.”

Joselyn nodded, looking over the edge at Chris and feeling worried, but not about his jumping from a great height. She was worried about him being down there by himself, while surrounded with an army of drones.

“Drop us off down there,” Joselyn instructed, pointing down to a fairly clear space.

“Gotcha,” Counterweight responded, already lowering them to the ground.

As soon as they landed, Joselyn and Vickie climbed out of the metal shell while Counterweight gave them a quick salute and then floated back up into the air again. Joselyn would have preferred to have Counterweight help them a bit more, but the other hero had been injured in the earlier fight, and probably shouldn’t have been doing even this much.

“Okay,” Vickie asked as she looked around. “Where’s this Circuit Monger?”

“There,” Joselyn answered, pointing in the direction of the pillar. She grimaced and looked around. “But we should probably focus on these guys first.”

Joselyn gestured to the drones that were starting to come towards them. They looked like normal civilians, except with glowing green eyes, and moving with an eerie synchronization. She gulped at the sight, suddenly wishing that she hadn’t watched that zombie movie last week.

“They can’t catch what they can’t see,” Vickie announced, reaching out to grab Joselyn’s hand. “Stay close.”

Vickie activated her powers, and a moment later, everything suddenly went black. Joselyn grimaced at suddenly finding herself completely and totally blind, unable to see anything other than pure blackness. She hated not being able to see, though her sixth sense tried to compensate by giving her bits of information about her surroundings. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for her lack of sight. However, Vickie could still see.

“This way,” Vickie instructed, gently pulling Joselyn after her. After a few seconds, she laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Joselyn demanded.

“Some of the drones,” Vickie explained with a chuckle. “A couple of them came into my dark field, and now they’re just standing there like idiots…”

Joselyn grinned at that, relieved that this really was working. “They’re waiting on instructions,” she said with a chuckle. “Your power really is cutting them off…”

A minute later, Vickie dropped her darkness field and suddenly Joselyn could see again. She blinked several times at the sudden return of the light, then looked around. Vickie had led them to an area that was closer to the obelisk, and all of the drones were hold back and avoiding them.

“How are the others doing?” Joselyn asked, only to see Invincible Woman flying past overhead while being chased by Praxis. “Oh. That good.”

Invincible Woman abruptly stopped and turned around, so that Praxis practically flew right into her punch. As soon as Invincible Woman made contact with the drone hero, she responded by giving her a kick as well, then flying off. Praxis didn’t hesitate to go after her.

“She’s keeping Praxis occupied,” Joselyn said.

“I can’t believe Invincible Woman is really Miles,” Vickie said in amazement.

“And I’m sure she has a hard time believing who you used to be too,” Joselyn pointed out. “Now, where are the others…”

Then as Joselyn watched, she saw Impact leap from the roof of one building to the roof of another.  She nodded approvingly. He’d chosen a smart way of avoiding the drones, since there were only a couple of them up on the roofs and he could easily get past them. However, that still left Ghost Boy.

Before Joselyn could locate exactly where Ghost Boy was, she saw Circuit Monger. Circuit Monger looked exactly like the pictures she’d been shown. She had a statuesque metal body that was green and dark grey with black trim. Dark grey cables came from her head, resembling metal dreadlocks. And at that moment, she was flying straight towards them.

As soon as Circuit Monger landed on the ground, a mere fifteen yards from where they stood, Vickie muttered, “Why do I feel like we’ve got a Terminator after us?”

“And where is Sarah Conner when you need her?” Joselyn added with a weak chuckle, not taking her eyes off the villain.

In an emotionless voice, Circuit Monger stated, “Four intruders have been identified as Lady Knight, Invincible Woman, Ghost Boy, and Counterweight. Two intruders remain unknown. Identify.”

“She doesn’t know who you are,” Joselyn pointed out with a faint smile since this was something that she’d been counting on. “She doesn’t really know what you can do yet…”

“We’re here to stop you,” Joselyn called out, trying not to show how afraid she was at facing something as powerful as Circuit Monger. She wasn’t at the same kind of power level, and she knew it. However, as she quickly reminded herself, she wasn’t helpless either. Force had learned that the hard way.

“Interference is futile,” Circuit Monger responded. “This unit is too powerful for you to defeat. Prepare to be upgraded.”

Then as one, all of the nearby drones began to march towards them. Joselyn held out her hands a glowing pink bubbles appeared in front of her, then pulled together and formed into a bo staff of glowing pink energy. She braced herself to fight, silently reminding herself to keep the drones away from her.

Suddenly, a car flew through the air and smashed into Circuit Monger, sending her flying back amidst the pile of metal. Joselyn grinned at the sight, then looked over to Chris, who had come down off the rooftops and had joined the fight. However, Joselyn’s delight only lasted for a moment. A burst of blue energy tore through the wreckage of the car, then the remains were tossed aside as Circuit Monger dug herself out.

“We’re going to kick your metal ass,” Chris yelled out.

            

“Organic units are obsolete,” Circuit Monger responded while drones continued to advance. “Upgrade or be deleted.”

“I think we need a strategic withdrawal,” Joselyn said, nervously looking at the sheer number of drones. They were starting to fill the streets and to surround them. She began backing away from the drones while Vickie did the same.

“We’re surrounded,” Vickie announced unnecessarily. Joselyn could see that for herself. The drones were beginning to come around from the other direct, cutting off their escape routes.

Ghost Boy suddenly appeared beside them, teleporting into place. “I’ve got you,” he announced, grabbing hold of Joselyn and floating up into the air with her, carrying her out of the range of the drones.

Joselyn wasn’t worried about Vickie, who was more than capable of avoiding the drones. Not only could Vickie absorb electro-magnetic energy, but she could use that energy to increase her strength, speed, and agility.

As soon as Joselyn was out of range, Vickie was in motion, running away and dodging through an opening between some drones. She slipped out of their reach and continued running. The drones turned and began following after her.

The drones advanced though Circuit Monger remained where she was, not taking any direct action. At the moment, she seemed content to let the drones do the work for her.

“Hey rusty butt,” Chris yelled, right before throwing another car at Circuit Monger.

This time, Circuit Monger saw the car coming and flew up into the air, avoiding the car which smashed into the ground just a short distance away from where she’d been standing. She held out her hands and fired blasts of blue energy at Chris, who immediately ran and dove behind a parked car.

“RUN,” Joselyn called out, knowing that Chris must have used up most of his stored energy by throwing those two cars, and wouldn’t have much left. Until he could absorb some kinetic energy, he wouldn’t really be any stronger than a normal person.

“I’ve got to put you down,” Ghost Boy told her. “You’re too heavy…”

“Are you calling me fat?” Joselyn teased, noticing how Ghost Boy immediately tensed up at that. Of course, she knew that Ghost Boy didn’t have any enhanced strength, and he was probably pushing his powers as hard as he could just to take her up into the air with him.

“Now I regret using that one on my ex,” Ghost Boy muttered as he set Joselyn back down in a relatively safe spot. A moment later, he vanished, teleporting away.

“Watch out,” Joselyn called out to Chris, who couldn’t move as fast as Vickie.

“Don’t worry,” Chris responded as he backed away from some of the advancing drones. However, more drones kept appearing, pouring into the streets in vast numbers. He moved closer and closer to Vickie, as they were both being surrounded.

“Damn,” Joselyn complained, feeling worried for her friends. However, a moment later, she had to focus on herself. Several drones were now coming straight towards her. She focused on the closest one, a large man and commanded, “Stop where you are…”

The man stopped for a moment, then started coming for her again. She focused on her power and repeated the command, but it had no effect. It seemed that Circuit Monger’s control overrode her mind control.

“That is a problem,” Joselyn muttered, forming a new bo staff and swinging it at the approaching drones before she turned and ran. She paused long enough to form a couple throwing daggers and fling them, keeping her aim low so that she’d hit their legs rather than anything vital. After all, they might be mindless drones, but they were also innocent victims.

Circuit Monger hovered in the air, watching her drones advance. Then she landed again, right in front of the drones, leaving nothing between her and Joselyn’s friends. She raised her arms, apparently deciding to finish dealing with Vickie and Chris herself.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Joselyn repeatedly nervously. She looked in the direction of the obelisk and then to Vickie and Chris.

Suddenly, Joselyn ‘knew’ that it was time to act. Ghost Boy appeared in the air a moment later, and they simultaneously cried out, “NOW!”

Vickie grinned at that, an instant before she and most of the street vanished into a black cloud. Joselyn stood outside the area of Vickie’s power, but Circuit Monger and many of the drones had been trapped within.

“Gotcha,” Joselyn triumphantly exclaimed as every other drone suddenly stopped moving and just stood there. Vickie was jamming Circuit Monger’s communications directly.

Though Joselyn couldn’t see anything inside the black haze, between her powers and her common sense, she had a good idea of what was going on inside. Circuit Monger opened fire, but she fired powerful beams of concentrated electro-magnetic energy…energy which Vickie immediately absorbed.

A loud cry from Invincible Woman drew Joselyn’s attention up, to where she saw Praxis rapidly falling towards the ground. Invincible Woman flew towards the infected hero, catching her before she could hit. Joselyn gulped at the sight, knowing that any lingering contact was dangerous. However, Invincible Woman didn’t seem to care as she landed and set Praxis down on the ground.

“Circuit Monger pulled all the drones away from the obelisk,” Ghost Boy told her, gesturing to the large number of drones that were now filling the streets and surrounding them. “And Velvet has her cut off…”

“I’m on it,” Invincible Woman said, giving a worried glance towards the area of darkness before flying up into the air and straight towards the obelisk.

Seconds later, several loud BOOMs filled the air. The first came from Invincible Woman slamming into the base of the obelisk, while another one came from within the darkness. Then as Joselyn watched, the darkness vanished and she could once again see what was occurring. Circuit Monger was holding out her arms, revealing several tiny missile arrays that were built into her forearms. From the smoldering crater in the street, it was clear that the villain had changed weapons.

“You missed,” Vickie taunted, well away from the smoldering crater, though the blast had knocked her off her feet. Chris was still holding her hand, having been led around in the darkness by his sister, who’d had no problem seeing.

Another BOOM came from the obelisk, right before the stone pillar shattered and fell over. Almost immediately, Joselyn ‘knew’ that the barrier was gone. “WE DID IT,” she called out triumphantly.

“Did you hear that?” Vickie exclaimed as she flipped off Circuit Monger. “We just took down your stone pillar and that barrier…”

“You failed,” Chris added just a moment later, looking rather smug.

“Negative,” Circuit Monger responded, not showing the least bit of concern over the loss of the obelisk. “The structure’s destruction is of minor consequence. Its primary purpose has already been achieved…”

“What?” Joselyn gasped in surprise. She’d expected Circuit Monger to at least be upset that the obelisk had been destroyed, not to shrug it off as though it wasn’t even important.

“The structure was obsolete,” Circuit Monger announced. “As are you.”

With that, the drones once began to advance and Circuit Monger raised her arms to launch another attack. Sudden, an SUV dropped from the sky above Circuit Monger, smashing the metal villain into the ground. Joselyn jumped back, staring at the mass of metal, which had an android arm sticking out from beneath it.

“Did I do that?” Counterweight asked with a bad Urkel impression while floating in the air above the ruined vehicle.

“You did it,” Vickie exclaimed, nearly bouncing with excitement. “You took out Circuit Monger…”

“I don’t think so,” Joselyn responded, grimly pointing to the drones, which were still moving towards them.

Then, as if on cue, the ruined car began to groan and move as the metal villainess began to push it off her. Joselyn stared at the sight for a moment with a very bad feeling. Circuit Monger had probably been damaged by that attack, but she could repair herself pretty quickly.

“We need to get her while she’s down,” Joselyn called out.

However, before anyone could act on that, the drones swarmed in around Circuit Monger, making it impossible to attack her without also hitting them. It would only be a minute at most before the villain was free, but Joselyn didn’t want to wait for that.

“Let’s get out of here,” Joselyn yelled, gesturing to Counterweight who was supposed to be their transport. “We did our job. I’m sure some of the others will be happy to deal with her.”

“I’m on it,” Counterweight said, right before she began ‘falling’ to the side, in the direction of where she’d left the metal shell.

Ghost Boy floated after Counterweight while Vickie and Chris ran in that direction, away from all the drones. Joselyn grimaced and started to run, only to find herself grabbed from behind and lifted up into the air.

“I’ve got you,” Invincible Woman told her.

All of them quickly reached the metal shell, which Counterweight immediately levitated up into the air. As soon as they were out of range of the drone army, Joselyn let out a sigh of relief. However, they weren’t safe yet…not until they were out of range of Circuit Monger too.

“We did it,” Invincible Woman exclaimed with a broad grin. “We took down that damn obelisk…”

“All we had to do was trick her into luring the drones away from the obelisk,” Ghost Boy pointed out.

Vickie nodded at that, adding, “And cut her off long enough for you to take it down…”

“Yeah,” Joselyn agreed, though much more somberly. “But what she said about the obelisk being obsolete…”

“What did she mean?” Chris asked, looking just as worried as Joselyn felt.

“I don’t know,” Joselyn admitted. “But whatever she meant, I’m pretty sure it isn’t good.”

Chapter 17

In a world without a name, where time, space, and the laws of normal reality held little sway, a solitary figure sat upon a throne. The ‘throne’ was more akin to a comfortable recliner, and the figure sitting within it was that of a woman, with golden metallic skin and green energy which flowed from her head in such a way as to resemble hair.

Exile stared at the space in front of her, where several glowing disks floated in the air. Each of them had images on the surface, almost as though she was watching though a window or TV monitor. She scowled at what she saw, knowing that she shouldn’t be watching, that she shouldn’t expose herself to such temptation, though she couldn’t help it.

“Damn,” Exile muttered in frustration.

After centuries in her self-imposed exile, Exile knew that she shouldn’t watch the other world, because it would only tempt her to interfere. And if anyone knew the cost of her interference, it was her. Her scowl deepened as she remembered what it had cost her, and the unbelievable price that she’d paid as a result. She couldn’t afford to do that again, no matter how much she wanted to help.

“This threat is no greater than any of the others,” Exile told herself with a sigh.

The world was constantly faced with threats, and the heroes were usually able to stop them on their own. Nevermore was about to smother the entire world in fear and darkness, but there was still a chance that the heroes could stop her as well. That window of opportunity was shrinking very rapidly, but it was still there. For now.

Exile was worried about the heroes who faced Nevermore, especially since she had a certain fondness for several of them. Nevermore could kill them…or do things to them that were far worse than death. And though Exile had the power to help them, and could stop Nevermore’s plan, she didn’t dare do so. The consequences would be too great.

Once, long ago, when Exile had been young and new to her powers, she’d thought that she could be a hero…that she could save lives and perform great deeds. However, she’d soon discovered that her powers were greater than she’d ever suspected, and that using them had a great cost.

For her, the cost had been her family…who had had accidentally been erased from existence, as though they had never even been born. She herself, was now a paradox, a being who shouldn’t exist…yet did. At other times, the consequences had been even more drastic and far reaching.

“The only thing more frustrating than being powerless,” Exile said with a sigh, “is being too powerful to risk using it.”

Exile closed her eyes as she pushed back the old feelings of guilt, as well as the temptation to help now. After a minute, she opened her eyes and let out another long sigh. She returned her attention to the images in front of her, and the current events they depicted. Though she couldn’t help the heroes, she could wish them luck…and did.

The door to the small office said that it belonged to an insurance agent named Allison Hargreaves. However, with the current situation in Baltimore, Sam had absolutely no idea if Allison was even still alive, or if she’d ever see this office again.

Just a short time ago, Sam had entered the building with her team, finding that the building seemed to be completely empty. However, there was lots of evidence that the creatures they’d encountered earlier had previously rampaged within. Most of the bottom two floors were torn to pieces, though as they made their way up the stairs to the fifth floor, they found things more intact. Allison’s office didn’t even look like it had been touched at all.

Sam was crouching down on her knees, positioned so that she could easily look out the office window without being noticed form the other side. She looked over the rest of the group, most of whom were similarly positioned.

Poison sat back, staring out the window with an intense look in her eyes. She was taking this reconnaissance mission that they’d volunteered for very seriously. Alleycat paced back and forth on the opposite side of the room, pausing each round to look through the window, before she went back to pacing. Deadbeat stayed by the door, keeping watch in case anyone…or any THING came towards them from the hall.

“I can’t believe how bad that is,” Witch Girl said, verbalizing the very thing that Sam had been thinking. She was staring out the window with a worried expression.

Sam watched Witch Girl for a moment, thinking that the teenage girl looked far too young to be in a situation like this. Of course, she looked to be about the same age, but in her case, the youth was just an illusion. And then, Sam thought of their missing team members, the ones who should have been there with them, but weren’t.

Mystik was gone, having left them all to return to the base camp. Sam envied her a little, being able to leave this nightmare behind. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feeling that Mystik was abandoning them and had run away. Intellectually, she knew that this wasn’t the case. Mystik had just used up all her power, and had left before becoming a liability. Or a corpse.

“Mannequin,” Sam whispered, thinking of their other missing member. She hadn’t known the android woman very well, she but she felt a knot in her stomach when she thought about the way she’d been murdered.

“Loki will pay for Mannequin,” Poison promised. “And Nevermore will pay for everything else…”

Sam nodded at that, knowing that Mannequin hadn’t been the only casualty. She had no idea how many innocent people had been murdered because of Nevermore, only that a lot more would be killed unless they stopped that monster. With that, she looked back out the window.

From her position, Sam could clearly see a black and ruined space, which appeared to have once been a park. She could see bits and pieces of things like benches and playground equipment around the edges, though all of it had been melted and warped. However, it wasn’t what had been in this area that interested Sam, but what was there now.

Creatures, like what she’d encountered before, surrounded the outer edges of the blackened area and filled the nearby streets. As many as she’d already destroyed, there were at least three times that number gathered nearby. Those creatures were vicious, nasty, and evil, but even though there was an army of them, they still weren’t what really concerned Sam.

In the center of that dead and blackened area, was a black stone throne, which appeared to rest on top of a pile of human skulls. Nevermore sat in the throne, definitely female, though Sam couldn’t see her well enough to know if she was using the same body as the last time they’d encountered each other, or a different one. What she did know, was that she could feel Nevermore’s dark power, like an itch that demanded to be scratched.

Nevermore was not alone. Two men stood beside her throne, one on each side. Both were dressed in black, though one appeared to be some kind of a ninja while the other wore clothes that looked more like those of a Victorian gentleman. From those two, Sam could feel more of that dark power. It was the same kind of darkness she felt from Nevermore, though not nearly as powerful.

And then, there were three more villains just a short distance in front of Nevermore. Sam immediately recognized Force, the Scepter, and the female Loki who’d murdered Mannequin. Since the three of them were present, rather than guarding their obelisk, Sam was confident that they no longer had anything too guard. She knew this as a fact for the Scepter, but was quite confident that it was true for the other two as well.

“At least the Sinner is gone,” Alleycat pointed out. “That bitch was scary…”

“All of them are,” Witch Girl said with a worried look.

Sam nodded at that, then looked around the group, knowing that there was absolutely no way that the five of them would be capable of defeating all of the forces below. All of them together could probably defeat any one of the threats, but not all of them combined.

“Too bad we can’t hear what they’re saying,” Poison commented.

“Um,” Witch Girl started, looking a little chagrinned. “I might be able to help with that…”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Poison asked in annoyed tone.

Witch Girl looked a little embarrassed, but instead of answering Poison, she began to recite one of her spells, which sounded like it was in Pig Latin. A moment later, Sam suddenly heard Loki’s voice.

“I wiped those heroes out good,” Loki bragged, looking rather smug.

“You also killed the Sinner,” Force pointed out, glaring at Loki. “If you try anything like that with me, I’ll shatter every bone in your body…”

“She thinks she killed us,” Witch Girl e exclaimed. Of course, they’d already assumed as much since Loki had disappeared in the middle of the acid rain.

Poison smiled faintly, though it wasn’t a pleasant smile. “Her assumption is to our benefit.”

Nevermore fixed her allies with a cold malevolent gaze and announced, “What I am more concerned about, is that the last pillar has just fallen…”

“WHAT?” Loki exclaimed, suddenly looking worried. “What are we going to do?”

“It is of little consequence,” Nevermore stated. “I have already gathered the power I require. It is less than I had hoped for, but it will suffice…”

“Then, what now?” Force demanded. He crossed his arms, looking imposing. “Whatever it is, let’s finish it quickly. I have my own business to take care of…”

“By any chance,” the man in the black Victorian gab asked. “Would this business happen to be with a pink haired girl?”

Force snarled, suddenly looking furious. “Don’t EVER mention her…”

Sam looked to the others, but it was Witch Girl who asked, “Does he mean Lady Knight?”

“Maybe,” Poison answered grimly. “But she wasn’t in the team that was sent after Force, so I don’t know.”

“The barrier is gone,” Nevermore said, looking at each of his allies again. “Soon, the heroes will come. You three need to go deal with them…” She looked at Force. “Show them how powerful you truly are as you crush them beneath your feet.” Her eyes went to Loki. “Unleash all the chaos and destruction upon them that you may…” And then, she turned her attention to the Scepter. “Prove your new power. Prove you are powerful enough to take a place in the new order…”

With that, the three villains turned and hurried off. Force flew up into the air while Loki raised her staff, vanishing a moment later in a flash of lightning. The Scepter remained behind, but not for long. She gestured to Ebon, the large black cat, who immediately came over so that she could climb onto his back. The panther let out a frightening roar, then ran off with his rider.

Once the three villains were gone, the man in the black Victorian garb asked Nevermore, “Do you think the three of them can defeat all the gathered heroes?”

Nevermore was silent for several seconds before answering, “It does not matter… Even if all three are slain, they will delay the heroes until it is too late…”

“We need to warn the others,” Alleycat blurted out, looking just as worried as Sam felt.

“If they’ve got Force, Loki, and the Scepter coming for them,” Sam agreed, “they need to know…”

Witch Girl removed her witch hat and rubbed her temples. “If the barrier is down,” she said after a moment, “I can probably send a message to my dad…”

“Then get to it,” Poison told her, only taking her eyes from the window for a moment.

While Witch Girl began to cast another spell, Sam watched Nevermore, who stood up and left her throne. She felt a knot in her stomach, still not sure what Nevermore was up to, only that it was very VERY bad. She took a deep breath, knowing that she had to stop Nevermore, but not being sure she could. After all, Sam seriously doubted whether she and her team would be capable of stopping Nevermore and her army of monsters.

“We have to try,” Sam muttered. “If we don’t at least try…”

But just then, Nevermore stopped in front of a black stone arch, which stood about twenty feet high. She held out her hands, and suddenly, red and purple lightning shot back and forth within the arch. Sam froze, feeling the sense of darkness growing more powerful. Before she could say anything, the insides of the stone arch began to glow with shimmering veil of red and black energy.

“She made a portal,” Witch Girl exclaimed, staring out the window with a look of shock and fear.

Alleycat quickly added, “It looks a bit like the ones the Face makes…”

“But where does it go?” Poison asked.

However, Witch Girl just shook her head, sounding worried as she admitted, “I don’t know…”

Suddenly, something emerged from the portal…a black bird that flew straight out of it. The raven swooped through the air, doing a quick circle around the dead and blackened park, then came back down, landing on the back of Nevermore’s throne. The raven looked around with glowing red eyes, then called out, “Nevermore…”

“It is I,” Nevermore answered. The raven nodded at that, then let out an eerie sounding ‘KAW’.

As soon as the raven let out that cry, a second raven flew out of the portal, followed by a third and fourth. Ravens began to pour out of the portal, darkening the sky above before each found a perch. Soon, every phone and powerline was filled with black birds, each of which stared down at the portal. Others began to land on the ground, where they flapped their wings and began to transform.

The first raven transformed into a man, with black armor and glowing red eyes. The one beside him became a woman, wearing an outfit similar to the ninja. In less than a minute, a hundred ravens had taken human form, each with glowing red eyes and black garb of one style or another. Most were visibly armed.

“Oh no,” Sam gasped, feeling the darkness that radiated from each of these ravens. But as horrific as that was, she could feel an even greater darkness coming from the portal.

Ravens had ceased emerging from the portal, yet now, something else was stepping through. Sam stared in horror as a woman appeared. From where Sam was, the pale skinned woman seemed tall, lithe, and beautiful.  She wore a long black dress that somehow seemed to swirl and move independent from her movements. Her long hair was black as night and draped behind her, almost vanishing into the darkness of her dress. The only true bits of color came from her glowing red eyes, and the silvery crown upon her head.

To Sam’s complete and utter shock, Nevermore immediately dropped to her knees and bowed. “Welcome, my queen…”

All of the transformed ravens dropped to their knees to bow, while the man in the black Victorian clothing, called out, “ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF RAVENS.”

“ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF RAVENS,” the gathered soldiers yelled back.

Witch Girl looked around at the other heroes, her eyes wide. “This isn’t good, is it?”

“No,” Sam answered in a shaky voice. “No it isn’t.”

“Baron Nevermore,” the Queen of Ravens announced. “You have completed your task and brought me to this world. For this, you have earned my favor.”

“It was my honor,” Nevermore responded while still bowing.

“Arise my new consort,” the Queen of Ravens told her. With that, not only did Nevermore stand, but so did the army of raven solders. The Queen of Ravens looked Nevermore over for a moment, then commented, “As my consort, you will require a more appropriate form…”

The Queen of Ravens held up her hand and suddenly, Nevermore’s body began to shift and change, growing larger and more muscular. Seconds later, she was no longer a she. From what Sam could see, Nevermore had become a man again, with a well-trimmed black beard.

Sam gulped at the sight, then looked to the other heroes. All of them had pressed up to the window to get a better look, and each of the others looked just as stunned by these events as she felt.

“Baron Nevermore,” Poison stated in a grim tone that matched her expression. “Why do I feel like we just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire?”

Chapter 18

Julie slowly looked around the camp, frowning with worry as she watched all the other heroes preparing to leave. Now that the barrier was gone, they could finally do what they’d all come here to do...save Baltimore…or what was left of it.

Most of the heroes were planning to go after Nevermore, but several smaller groups were forming to deal with the other villains. After all, as powerful and dangerous as Nevermore was, she wasn’t the only monster running loose.

“Damn,” Julie muttered in frustration.

Julie wished that she could go in with the assault force, though admittedly, a part of her was thankful that she wouldn’t have to. She’d already done her part for the mission and had exhausted herself as a result. Because of that, she was going to be left behind with the injured. Unfortunately, she knew that this wouldn’t be easy for her, especially when the rest of her team would be going in.

“Now it’s our turn,” Nike announced, her eyes gleaming with eagerness to prove herself.

“Now you know how the rest of us felt when you were the one going in,” Zero Kay teased Julie, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Still, I wish you were coming with.”

“Yeah,” Chrome agreed with a nod. “We’re down half our team right now…”

Julie chuckled at that, then gestured at all the other heroes nearby. “I’m sure you’ll make do. And who knows, you might find Glamour Girl and Deadbeat…”

“I hope so,” Zero Kay said. “You know how effective her powers were against Nevermore’s monsters the last time…”

“Be careful out there,” Julie reminded them. “You remember how nasty Nevermore was, and I can assure you, Loki is no joke either…”

Once Julie’s teammates went to the gathering crowd, she looked around again, settling her attention on Counterweight. Counterweight, like her, had powers that encouraged other people to do her fighting for her, but unlike Julie, she was actually going on this mission. Counterweight was talking to Kaboom, who was injured and staying behind, but a few seconds later, she went to join up with the Miracle Men, who were currently down Ms. Miracle.

“About time things got moving,” Warchild loudly exclaimed while several other people near him made similar comments.

Suddenly, the Face called out, his voice loud enough to be heard over all the noise. “EVERYONE,” he exclaimed. “YOUR ATTENTION!” With those words, most of the talking stopped, and nearly everyone turned to look at the Face.

“What is it?” the White Knight asked with a grim expression, which reminded Julie that his daughter still hadn’t returned from her Circuit Monger mission.

“I just received a message from Witch Girl,” the Face called out, loud enough so most could hear him. “She said that Force, Loki, and the Scepter are all on their way here…”

Everyone instantly tensed at that and there were several loud gasps before Warchild announced, “I guess that will save us the trouble of hunting them down…”

“How soon?” Icarus demanded. “What’s the ETA?”

Before the Face could answer, a flash of red crashed down from the sky and struck a canopy that had been set up to provide shade while the heroes waited. There was a loud BOOM, and a moment later, the canopy was gone. In its place was a burnt and smoldering hole, with a woman standing right in the center.

“What the hell?” someone blurted out.

Julie stared at this woman, with what felt like a lump of lead in her guts. “SHE’S LOKI,” she quickly yelled out a warning.

“I thought Loki was a guy,” Quartz exclaimed, obviously not having paid much attention to the reports of those who’d returned.

At the same time, Shiver called out, “Get her…”

Loki stood up straight and held her staff up, announcing, “Keep them away from me…”

The moment those words left her lips, the wind suddenly began to blow, growing stronger and stronger until Julie was thrown back from the force of it. Even as she began to tumble backwards, being blown away from Loki, she saw that she wasn’t the only one.

“Kill th…,” Loki started to command her staff, only to have Marvel fly into her. Loki was thrown back from the impact, though her armor seemed to have protected her from the damage as she quickly got back to her feet. “I’m gonna kill all you fuckin losers,” she exclaimed with a sneer. “Just like I just did to those bitches…”

The wind was still blowing hard and Julie was lying flat on the ground, using her hands to cover her head for protection. Most of the heroes were too busy dealing with the wind to focus on Loki, but not all. Neon had created a glowing blue force field, which he used to protect himself and several members of Knight Force who were close to him. Mega had grown to twenty feet tall and was now crouched down on her knees, providing a wind-break for several other heroes, including Shiver, who fired an arrow straight at Loki.

“No,” Loki exclaimed as she leapt aside, right before the arrow hit where she’d been standing. The ground was covered in a sheet of ice crystals, courtesy of Shiver’s power. Unfortunately, the ground had been struck instead of the villainess. Loki quickly scrambled back to her feet and announced, “I killed those fuckers in the Seven, and I just killed a bunch more of you losers heroes… Now, I’m gonna kill the rest of you cock suckers too…”

“You’re going to pay for each and every one of those deaths,” the White Knight announced, floating up into the air. A sword made of glowing white energy appeared in his hands, though his focus never left Loki. “Now.”

Loki stared at the White Knight with a sneer on her lips, but suddenly, the Face stepped forward and fired a blast of golden energy at Loki from his mask. For a moment, all the blue in the Face’s costumed suddenly turned grey, though it quickly returned to its normal color.

“Protect me,” Loki called out. An instant later, the Face’s energy blast hit an invisible wall and was reflected, hitting Chrome and sending him flying back. “Destroy him...,” Loki added, and ball of green flame shot out from her staff, straight at the White Knight. The White Knight formed a white energy shield and blocked the attack.

By this time, the wind had died down enough that Julie was able to get back to her feet, which meant that it was no longer keeping most of the heroes pinned down. They were all turning their attention to Loki, who suddenly looked worried.

“The Seven were my friends,” the White Knight told Loki. “Drop your staff and surrender now, and we might go easy on you…” From the look on his face, it was clear that he hoped Loki would choose the hard way.

“Fuck you,” Loki spat out.

Diamond shook her head as she wryly commented, “Such eloquence…”

“Don’t give her a chance to do anything,” Julie yelled out to the other heroes, knowing that they couldn’t underestimate Loki. She’d seen what that lunatic could do with her own eyes.

Loki looked around the gathering of heroes, looking nervous for a moment, but then she began to smirk. “Give me an army,” she commanded her staff.

“No,” Julie groaned, knowing that things were about to get bad.

A thick purple smoke began to pour out of Loki’s staff, swirling around her and then spreading out in different directions. The smoke began to take human shape and solidify, forming into an exact duplicate of Loki…and then another one. Two Loki’s became three, then four, and mere seconds later…three dozen.

Most of the heroes were so surprised by what was happening that they just watched while the copies formed. However, Warchild flew up into the air and fired a blast of energy straight at the original Loki.  A moment later, there was a charred and melted spot where Loki had been standing, along with several wisps of purple smoke.

The rest of the Loki’s started laughing. “It won’t be that easy,” one of the Lokis answered. And just when Julie thought that this might be the real Loki, another of them added, “We’re going to kill all you fuckin hypocrites…”

In an instant, most of the heroes jumped into action. Nearly everyone picked a Loki and focused on them, though Julie stood back, watching the fight with a worried grimace. There was absolutely no telling which of them was the real Loki, or if any of them actually was. This worried her, as did the fact that Witch Girl had warned of Force and the Scepter as well.

“Channel,” Julie heard someone calling her name.

Julie looked around and saw Lady Hexx, who was standing back away from the fight, and had formed several large stone walls. She’d created one in front of the medical tent, to protect the injured people within, though she was currently standing beside another bulwark, one that Denise, Will, and the now depowered and male Mystik, were hiding behind. Lady Hexx gestured for her to come over and take cover as well. After hesitating a moment, Julie nodded and started in that direction.

“Damn,” Julie spat out, frustrating at having to go seek cover while nearly everyone else was fighting. Even Kaboom, who had an arm in a sling, was charging straight at a Loki.

Julie had only made it about halfway to Lady Hexx’s cover, when all of the Lokis yelled out, “DESTROY THEM ALL.”

Those words sent a chill down Julie’s spine. She had absolutely no idea what was about to happen, only that it would be very bad. She’d seen enough of Loki to know that very well. Then she looked up into the sky above them, where a glowing ball of red flames was forming and growing large and larger, looking almost like some kind of miniature sun that was about to be dropped on them.

“No,” Julie gasped.

Without even pausing to consider the fact that she’d already collapsed in exhaustion from overusing her powers, Julie silently called out for help. Several voices answered from the dark, though she couldn’t feel them enough to know who they were or what kind of help they could offer. Still, they offered help…and hope, so she stretched her will out towards one of them, and a moment later, felt the spirit flow up into her body.

As the spirit took control, Julie’s body shimmered and her familiar costume changed into a sequined purple tuxedo. Without any hesitation, the spirit spun the golden staff that had just appeared in her hands, then pointed it up at the ball of fire, which was just beginning to fall.

“ALAKAZAM,” the spirit cried out, making a sweeping gesture with the staff. “Begone.” An instant later, the ball of fire suddenly vanished.

“It’s gone,” Julie blurted out inside of her own head.

“Of course,” the spirit responded, radiating a sense of amusement. “Making things disappear has always been one of my specialties, but you should see some of my other tricks…”

“Channel,” Zero Kay called out, running towards them. “You shouldn’t push yourself so soon…”

“Not to worry,” the spirit told Zero Kay. “I won’t be here long…”

Zero Kay hesitated a moment, looking them over before admitting, “Whatever you did, it was pretty impressive.” However, she quickly added, “But that is a rather…flashy outfit…even for a hero…”

The spirit burst out laughing at that. “I’m no hero. I’m a stage magician…”

“WHAT?” Zero Kay blurted out in surprise.

She gave a sweeping bow as she announced, “I am the Astonishing Anabelle, back for a one time only encore performance…”

“Anabelle?” a voice called out. “Is that you?”

Anabelle and Julie turned and saw a young man running towards them. Julie recognized him as the guy Mystik had turned into, though Anabelle gasped in surprise as she recognized him too.

“Caleb?” Anabelle blurted out. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here…”

“Wait,” Zero Kay gasped, looking back and forth between them. “You two have the same staff…”

Anabelle held up her staff, though her eyes went to the identical one that Caleb was holding. “Actually, this isn’t the real one. I’m not sure how it works, but I think it’s some kind of shadow…”

“I’m glad to see you again,” Caleb said, though he gestured towards a Loki, who was firing a ball of fire towards Target. “But this isn’t a good time…”

“Of course, you’re right,” Anabelle admitted. “I came for a reason…” Then she paused to give Caleb a speculative look. “I assume the staff is recharging…”

“Yeah,” Caleb admitted with a grimace. “I’m going to be useless for a week…”

“Or maybe not,” Anabelle responded with a grin, using her staff to gesture to his. Her staff glowed for a moment, then his staff floated out of his hand and hung in the air.

“What are you doing?” Julie demanded. “You need to deal with Loki…”

“Trust me,” Anabelle silently told her. “I’m bringing more force to bear on the problem…”

“What did you do?” Caleb asked curiously.

“A particularly nice trick,” Anabelle explained. “I used to do it in my shows occasionally, but not too frequently. This one trick adds nearly a week of recharge time on its own. You see, while minutes pass for us, several weeks are passing for the staff…”

“What?” Caleb blurted out in surprise. “We can do that?”

“It looks more impressive when I use it on fruit,” Anabelle admitted, “but the staff should be fully recharged again, right about…now.”

The staff suddenly dropped out of the air, though Caleb quickly caught it before it hit the ground. He held it up, and an instant later, Mystik was standing where Caleb had been.

“I’m all charged up and ready to go,” Mystik announced while Zero Kay stared at her in surprise.

“I have one use left,” Anabelle said, gesturing towards the fight. “I’d better make it a good one…”

Julie was currently only a passenger within her own body, but she still managed to stare at Mystik. Whenever she called on a spirit for help, there was always a chance that they would know someone involved in the current situation, and that this connection was usually what motivated the spirit to offer their help. However, Julie still didn’t get to arrange reunions between old friends very often, and she’d just done so three times in a row. The odds of this happening seemed pretty low, but with this many heroes gathered in one place, she imagined that the odds of a reunion would be much greater than normal. But still…

“Loki’s staff has similar powers to ours,” Mystik told Anabelle. “But she has less control and she’s not limited to three uses.”

Anabelle nodded at that. “Understood…”

Now that they were focused on the fight again, Julie saw that there were only seven Lokis left. Then as she watched, Kaboom flew straight at one of them, even though one of her arms was still in a sling. Kaboom used her good arm to punch that Loki, who vanished into a puff of purple smoke.

“I think I know how to get rid of the rest of the copies,” Anabelle announced as she raised her staff.

Before Anabelle could do anything, a scream of pain filled the air as Nike dropped from the air and slammed into the ground. Julie cried out for her teammate, though the only one who could hear her was Anabelle. Without hesitation, Anabelle teleported to Nike’s side, giving Julie a better look at her friend. Nike’s left arm was missing, nearly up to her shoulder, along with most of her left wing.

“Help her,” Julie pleaded to Anabelle, knowing that if her current spirit really did have the same powers as Mystik, then she’d be able to do so.

“This is the rest of my power,” Anabelle said as she gestured with her staff.

A golden glow covered the staff and then spread to Nike, who was desperately holding her bleeding stump and screaming. Suddenly, Nike let out a gasp and pulled her hand away from the stump. Not only had the bleeding stopped, but the flesh was now covered with a new layer of skin. Then, right before Julie’s eyes, the arm began to regrow. The flesh stretched out, until mere seconds later, the arm looked completely whole and undamaged.

“It’s back,” Nike exclaimed, staring at her arm in stunned disbelief. She opened and closed her hand several times, making sure it worked. Then she slowly got back to her feet and stretched her wings, revealing that her damaged wing had been repaired as well. “Thank you…”

“I’m glad I could help,” Anabelle said, turning to look back over the fight…and at Mystik who had just appeared a few feet way. “I’ve already used all my power…”

“That was quick,” Mystik responded with a sigh. “But I know how that works…”

“Then, I guess its goodbye again,” Anabelle told Mystik with a wry smile. “I’ll see you again on the other side.”  She winked and added, “Just not too soon…”  A moment later, Anabelle withdrew back to the darkness and Julie once again seized control of her body.

“Damn,” Julie muttered, staggering for a moment until Nike caught her. After taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m good now. Anabelle wasn’t here long enough wipe me out again, but it was getting close.”

“Be careful,” Nike told her, right before leaping into the air and returning to the fight.

Julie looked around again, just in time to see the Face using some kind of magical shield to block an attack from Loki, while Mega rushed in to step on the villainess. That Loki vanished in a puff of purple smoke, leaving only one Loki left. That was the real one.

“This is for the Seven,” Shiver called out, right before firing one of his arrows. It struck Loki in the chest, and an instant later, Loki vanished into a puff of smoke.

“Then where’s the real one,” Julie gasped, only to see Loki suddenly reappear in a swirl of purple smoke, right on the outskirts of where the fighting had been occurring.

Julie stared at Loki, feeling worried about what the villainess might do next. The truth was, with Loki’s power, she had absolutely no idea…and neither did Loki. All Julie knew, was that whatever Loki unleashed, it would probably be violent and nasty. So far, the heroes had been lucky in this fight, but that wouldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, Loki would throw something at them that they couldn’t protect against, and it would probably be devastating.

Suddenly, the ground shook with a loud BOOM, and Julie was knocked to the ground. She quickly scrambled back to her feet, only to see that a lot of the other heroes had been knocked over as well, and that Loki looked just as surprised as she was. Then, she looked the other direction and saw that a small crater had formed, and the man who’d formed it upon landing, was getting to his feet.

“NOW YOU FACE ME,” Force yelled as he stood up straight, radiating a sense of arrogance.

“Gladly,” Chrome announced, charging straight at Force, along with several heroes.

Chrome’s body was covered with a layer of the silvery metal that gave him his name, and he’d used it to form large blades from each of his arms. Julie had seen those blades cut through steel, though when they slammed into Force, the former hero didn’t even flinch. Instead, he sneered down at Chrome and his ineffective attack, then backhanded him. There was an explosion of raw force that sent Chrome flying back…along with Nike, Kaboom, and Quartz, who’d all been trying to attack as well.

“NO,” Will screamed out, drawing Julie’s attention to the fact that Chrome had just slammed into Denise. Denise was sprawled out on the ground with one of her legs bent at an unnatural angle. The doctor was screaming in pain, while her nephew stood a short distance away, staring at her with an expression of dread.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry,” Chrome exclaimed as he got back to his feet and saw Denise. A moment later, he blurted out, “What’s happening to you…?”

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Will furiously demanded of Chrome. “It’s too late…”

“Too late...?” Julie started to ask, though she paused when she saw that Denise’s skin was all turning blue. “What the…”

A moment later, Denise’s bent leg straightened out on its own. She turned over, getting to her hands and knees, then letting out another howl, but instead of one of pain, it sounded more like that of a wild animal. Will turned and ran.

Denise began to grow, straining her clothes until the seams burst, though that didn’t stop her. Nearly everyone was now watching Denise, including Force, who’d paused in his posturing long enough to do so. However, no one approached her.

The doctor continued to grow in size and musculature, though her body changed in other ways as well. Bony spikes burst out from beneath her skin, forming on her shoulders, elbows, and all down her spine. She let out a growl that was low, deep, and utterly frightening.

Finally, the changes seemed to stop and the now massive figure stood up, revealing that the creature Denise had transformed into was definitely male. She…he was massive, standing twelve feet tall, with bulging muscles, as well as the bony spines and vicious looking claws on his hands and feet. His skin was dark blue, and he had long and shaggy dark blue hair. His face, stretched out into a bit of a snout, revealing a mouth full of sharp looking teeth.

“No,” Julie gasped in horror as she stared into the monster’s bestial face. There was no intelligence in those eyes, only a berserker rage. And as terrifying as all that was, what scared Julie far more was the fact that she recognized this creature. “Grendel…”

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

Baa Baa Black Sheep is listed as number zero because it is a story that was written several years before the first Legacy Universe story. I originally had no intention of Black Sheep being part of this universe, but at the time I was writing The Knight is a Lady, I ended up tying him into the Legacy continuity.

 

00-Baa Baa Black Sheep

01-The Miracle Legacy

02-A Change of Heart

03-Hardshell

04-The Praxis Crossing

05-Mannequin

06-The Vengeance of Lady Hexx

07-Glamour Girl

08-Counterweight

09-Grendel and Beowulf

10-The Dark Legacy

11-The Witch Seed

12-Marvel and Meyhem

13-The Infiltrator

14-The Return of Red Blade

15-With a Golden Staff

16-The Knight is a Lady

17-Kaboom

18-The Legacy of the Seven

19-Invincible

20-A Velvet Touch

21-Harbinger

22-The Return of Nevermore