Chương 36: A Will of Steel

Alexander smiled to himself. Things had been touch and go for a moment, but the team had pulled it off. One of the remaining drone feeds showed Augustus and Talia, both awkwardly trying to support each other as they limped up the stairs to level three.

"Don't forget the loot," Alexander subvocalized across the implant, watching them shuffle like wounded pack mules. Augustus glanced up at the drone with a weary grin hidden behind his mask.

"From your relaxed tone, I take it we'll be celebrating with the good wine tonight." Alexander laughed, then winced, curling in on himself from the pain—only for the movement to trigger even more pain. That was the state Annie found him in as she climbed onto Ripper's floor: curled up and bloodied, grinning to himself like an idiot. She looked around the room at the grotesque displays of flesh, then at Ripper's corpse, and finally at Alexander.

"Took your time," he rasped. Annie raised an eyebrow, one hand pressed to her stomach.

"Yeah? You look like shit."

"If you'd seen what Talia and Auggy had to fight, you wouldn't think so," Alexander murmured, closing his eyes. Annie thumped over and sat beside him.

"You okay though? That's a lot of blood."

"I'll manage. I'm using low-level current to stimulate the muscles and tendons around the worst wounds, tensing them shut as best I can."

"That's… actually kinda smart," Annie muttered, impressed despite herself.

"Goth-bitch got me in the gut. I'll need a real doc. Or a healer. Shame we just killed the best one I've ever seen." Alexander groaned, biting back a laugh. Through the drone's eye he watched Augustus and Talia shove as much treasure as they could into a pile beside the stolen gold bullion. Augustus conjured a portal and sent it away. Then another, which opened only a few feet from Alexander and Annie.

Talia stepped through, leaning lightly on Augustus, but between them their clothes were barely ruffled and they hadn't shed a drop of blood. Must be nice. Teamwork looks suspiciously like cheating. Talia gasped when she saw Annie.

"Are you okay, Annie?" Annie's eyes dropped to the floor.

"It's not mine," she muttered.

"Pandora… She killed a hostage. I couldn't stop her." Alexander and Augustus exchanged a look, but Talia knelt and wrapped Annie in her arms. The four of them let the silence stretch until Augustus spoke.

"I don't have much left in the ol' tank. We should head up top so I can get eyes on where to open a long-range portal." Alexander nodded and held out a hand. Augustus pulled him to his feet. Annie and Talia rose as well, and together they made their way to the rooftop, trading quick accounts of their fights along the way. Annie pushed open the screeching, rusty door, and they stepped out into a beautiful sight. Sundown. The sky was a wash of vibrant red, orange, and violet against a backdrop of blue.

Streaks of light stretched across the clouds, the sun low above the skyline, bleeding gold and casting the city in shadows. A warm breeze tugged at their clothes and hair. Somewhere in the distance a car horn blared, followed by the wail of sirens. For a brief moment the four of them, bruised and bloodied silhouettes framed against the falling light, stood still. Until something tugged at Alexander's awareness. He spotted a glimmer in the sky. At first just a dark green speck against the clouds, but growing larger.

Fast.

"Uh," he said, pointing.

"Is that—" The speck twisted and angled directly toward their rooftop.

"There's no way that's real, right?" Talia murmured. A gust of wind sent Annie's hair flying.

"I want one," she whispered.

"How long to get us out of here?" Alexander asked.

"Longer than we've got," Augustus replied.

"I've maybe two big portals left in me. With Endurance, I can handle short range for now."

"Okay. On my signal, take us down a level. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll pass us by." None of them really believed that would be the case, but Augustus nodded anyway. Fifteen seconds later the dragon landed at one end of the rooftop, claws like razors driving deep into stone. The man standing on its back looked like he belonged on the set of a superhero holo series, not astride a dragon about to ruin Alexander's day. But Alexander's eyes were drawn to the figure descending beside him.

Snowflakes spiraled in her wake, tiny crystalline motes drifting like gravity itself had stepped aside for her. Her cape fluttered perfectly in sync, framing her body in pale blue and white. Frost clung to her boots and gloves like ornamentation. She hovered there with the gravitas of a genuine superhero. Jules. Alexander felt the name like a punch to the gut. Seven years had passed—three if he counted his dead counterpart's life—but the sight of her still prickled across his skin like static.

That same impossible grace. The Delvane confidence polished under the weight of legacy. Her hair was longer now, tied back in a high ponytail that whipped in the breeze. And her eyes. Those piercing glacial eyes swept the rooftop with calm assurance. But there was something new there; a hardness, like the glint of someone ready to fight. He'd never seen that before. Two others dismounted to either side of the dragon, leaving one nestled safely on its back behind the man who was clearly their leader.

"I am Maximilian de Castillo, Guild Master of the Throne of Scales," he said, his voice carrying with ease.

"We are tasked with bringing the villains Pandora, Mercy, Ripper, and Gary Lorn to justice." Alexander cocked his head at the last name. The Puppeteer's name was just Gary? That's sad.

"You're too late," Alexander rasped.

"We dealt with them." Maximilian rested one boot on the dragon's neck ridge.

"Then the rumors of the Demon Masks fighting them at the Museum were true. Why?"

"Because it had to be done!" Annie shouted, then glanced at Alexander.

"Oops. Sorry."

"I recognize you," Maximilian continued.

"Annette Sheridan, escapee from Santiago Systems Super SuperMax. Talia Kim, AEGIS traitor and former vigilante. Augustus Greaves, retired Space Force Captain, Orbital Recon Ranger Division." His gaze settled on Alexander.

"And you, I suspect, are the leader of the Demon Masks. Redacted. Alexander Rooke." Julia gasped, her perfect hover stuttering.

"Alex?!" A second gasp followed, this one from his right.

"You know her?" Annie demanded answers. Talia and Augustus both shot him some serious side-eye, but said nothing. He wasn't the only one suffering from the curiosity of their teammates. On the other side, Maximilian was giving Julia a serious look, while the cocky-looking superhero barked a laugh, asking the same question as Annie. Alexander sighed and pulled off his mask, the seal releasing with a hiss.

"Hello, Jules," he said.

"It's been a while. Glad to see you're doing well." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Julia stared in mute confusion before shaking her head.

"I don't understand. You always wanted to be a superhero, so… how—""Hard to become one when the corporation that injects you immediately tries to kill you," he said, remembering the cell.

"And when that fails, disappears you into a hole in the ground." Julia's response was cut short.

"Enough," Maximilian said.

"We can discuss this later. While I appreciate you taking down the villains, you are still wanted yourselves, Demon Masks—""That is not our name," Alexander said calmly, interrupting. He slipped the mask back on with a faint hiss. Maximilian leaned forward with an air of intensity, watching him. Waiting for something. So be it. Alexander reached out with his Technopathy and subtly took control of their drones. They were recording; livestreaming as far as he could tell.

Bending them to his will, he rotated them until all cameras were on him and his team.

"People have been guessing what our name is for months," he said.

"Allow me instead to introduce ourselves." Alexander met Maximilian's gaze.

"We are… Grimnir." For a moment, the world held its breath. The sun dipped lower, shadows stretching across the rooftop. The only sounds were those of the capes and coats flapping softly in the breeze. Maximilian stared at him. Then he nodded.

"Very well… Grimnir," he said, as if testing the word. He raised a hand.

"Apprehend them." The speedster moved first, a dark blur too fast for most eyes. He zipped past Alexander and Annie, targeting Talia. But Augustus was ready. His wand traced a circle behind his back, and the speedster vanished into a portal—reappearing at the edge of the roof, his scream trailing behind him as he fell. Silence returned. Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"You might want to go catch him." Julia sighed, rolling her eyes.

"He might actually learn something from the fall." Then everyone burst into motion. The tall, lean superhero, who'd been lounging near the edge of the rooftop, rippled like a heat distortion and vanished. Maximilian flicked a single finger. The rooftop groaned as a massive steel chain, thick as a forearm, erupted from the stone, tipped with a pointed end that whistled through the air straight at Alexander. Annie was faster. She slid into its path and smashed it sideways with a metal fist.

The rooftop shook with the impact. Talia flicked a hidden blade with a whip of her hand. It whistled across the rooftop and struck something unseen. A grunt followed, then the invisible hero snapped back into view, staggering and holding his shoulder, his face twisted in surprise. Talia allowed herself a small, smug smile. Then Alexander acted. He seized control of the support superhero's tech; a visor and heavily shielded defensive suit.

Slipping past layers of complex defensive protocols, most of them completely new to him, he whispered a command using his Technopathy. Shut it all down. The woman let out a startled yelp when her HUD flickered and vanished, limbs locking into place with the suit frozen. Maximilian and Julia both turned to check on her. Alexander gave them no time to process it. He sent the drones zipping toward the heroes, overriding safety mechanisms placed on their energy cells. Two of them raced toward Julia.

Three at Maximilian. The last one aimed at the helpless support member. Julia's hands blurred, catching both drones cleanly out of the air. Around Maximilian, several square-shaped energy barriers snapped into place. Then the drones targeting them exploded. Flame and shrapnel billowed across the rooftop. None of it reached Maximilian through his shields. Julia emerged from the smoke with an annoyed look aimed at Alexander, but she was unharmed. Those had just been the distractions, however.

The final drone slammed into the helpless support hero, throwing her off the back of the dragon where she fell toward the road below. This time Julia's expression changed. She flew after her without hesitation, snowflakes turning into sharp fragments in her wake. Maximilian reached down and patted the dragon's head with a hand. Then spoke a single word in a language Alexander didn't recognize; something harsh and sibilant, with too many consonants and not enough vowels. The dragon responded.

Its head snapped forward, maw opening wide. It rotated sideways, jaw flexing like a snake, aiming to catch the entire group in a single horizontal bite. Annie staggered back instinctively, eyes wide at the impending death.

"Down!" Alexander shouted. Augustus spun his wand. They fell hard through the portal, slamming to the floor on the level below. But the portal didn't close in time. A dragon's scaled head followed, two tipped metal chains snaking around it. Annie scrambled to her feet, arms morphing mid-swing into metal whips. She lashed, coiling them around the oncoming chains and wrenched them aside with a grunt. Talia darted between the dragon's gaping jaws, and with a smooth motion drew the twin staff halves from her back.

Spinning them into place and locking them together, she jammed the metal staff up into the beast's mouth and braced it. Immediately the staff screeched as metal bent under the creature's immense biting force. Where Talia had expected a soft palate, instead was a slab of hardened muscle evolved to crush bone. Alexander dashed forward and slammed both palms against the dragon's snout, unleashing the full capacity of his Electrokinesis with a wordless roar.

The dragon recoiled with a snarl, and the portal snapped closed. Before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, claws began ripping through the ceiling above. Concrete crumbled, dust sprinkling over them. Chains burst through in multiple locations, twisting in the air and targeting them as though they had eyes.

"Down, down, down!" Alexander called. They fell floor by floor, Augustus casting in rapid succession as the dragon continued to rip through above, Maximilian's chains tearing after them. Alexander processed possibilities. Augustus would need at least a minute for a long-range portal, but there was no way to buy him that kind of time; not with how exhausted and beat up the team was. Unleashing Electrokinesis had caused his own wounds to bleed again, putting a serious time limit on his own contributions.

Any moment now, Julia would return to the fight as well. And though he hadn't seen her in a while, the other version of him had known well what members of her family were capable of. Somehow they all manifest the same classic superhero package: flight, strength, durability, speed… almost like it was genetic. The ice was clearly Jules' unique touch. He recalled the layout of the building from the earlier scans as they dropped yet another floor. The building was mostly residential apartments except for the basement.

And the fourth floor, which was some kind of open-plan entertainment level. He can cast faster with line of sight. As they hit the fourth floor, Alexander grabbed Augustus's shoulder and pointed through grimy windows toward a distant rooftop. Augustus was already casting before Alexander spoke.

"We need to buy Auggy time—" Glass shattered. Julia burst in, cloak and ice trailing behind her. Annie met her head-on, catching Julia's hands with her own. A shockwave ripped through the room at the collision, the floor cracking beneath Annie's boots. Julia pressed Annie hard, dropping her to a knee. Her metal arms shrieked as they bent against her will. Ice spread up her fingers and past her wrists, but then slowed as Annie's Temperature Flux Control fought back.

Then Talia was there, both hands grasping either side of Julia's head. Julia's eyes rolled back, muscles slackened. Always ready to fight dirty, Annie pulled Julia down with all her strength, smashing her face into the ground, before dragging her across the floor, turning it into a spin and hurling her out another window with an explosion of glass. Above, floors collapsed one by one under the dragon's relentless assault. Chains stabbed through the roof; twelve of them, spiraling down all around them.

The floor above sagged, groaned, and slowly began collapsing, rebar struggling to hold.

"Shit!" Annie shouted, throwing herself at the nearest chain. She caught the tip of one, then kicked another away from Talia. The others closed in. One nearly skewered Augustus, who barely ducked mid-cast. Another grazed Annie's shoulder, carving metal off her. Talia, weaponless now, was spinning, lashing out to deflect the three chains circling her. One struck her in the side, sending her sprawling to the ground with a breathless cry.

"Almost there!" Augustus cried, wand still carving light into the air. The portal shimmered, nearly formed. It would not be soon enough. There were too many chains. The ceiling was collapsing too fast, the entire building starting to come down on their heads. At the center of it all, Alexander froze. He could sense everything around him. The floor above caving, rebar barely holding it together. Metal structural beams groaning as the building above twisted in ways it shouldn't.

Maximilian's steel chains twisting all around them, stabbing for the people that had become his family. Annie, standing over and shielding Talia. Augustus, still painting the last strokes of their escape. He could see only defeat no matter where he looked. With that came the cold certainty that they would be captured. If they weren't all killed first. A ragged laugh tore out of his throat. I will not be imprisoned again. The thought that did not feel like a thought tore through him.

The declaration—for that was what it was—rippled deep within the darkness at the core of his self. Power clawed its way out in response; responding to the fear of imprisonment, the exhaustion of a day of battles, love for the family he'd found, and ambition to climb to the heights of those he'd seen the day he first escaped the prison. It responded to everything that he was, for the powers he'd awakened had always been his; only hidden. And suddenly he could feel. Metal.

In the ceiling and floor, the mesh of metal holding it together. Conduits and pipes. Chains racing toward them like fangs. His tonfa. Talia's hidden knives. The buckles on Annie's jacket. Wiring throughout the building. All of it. Alexander reached a hand for the collapsing ceiling, the other toward a bunch of spear-chains. And gripped. It all froze in place. The chains shuddered against his control, Maximilian's will contesting against his.

Dust rained from the ceiling as it slowed, then halted with a groan of protest. A tremor ran through the building, as if confused at no longer collapsing. Even the dragon above paused, sensing an unknown threat. Alexander clenched his jaw. Muscles trembled under the effort, but he pushed up with his will. The ceiling rose in response.

"It's ready!" Augustus shouted. He grabbed Talia by the collar and dragged her through the portal. Alexander hesitated. He couldn't both hold everything and reach the portal. Annie turned and saw his predicament. Gritting her teeth, she charged at him and slammed into him shoulder-first.

"Sorry!" She carried them both through the portal. It snapped shut behind them.