Chapter 28
-Lisa-
The five of us looked down at our target from a nearby rooftop. Grue paced nervously back and forth, Bitch was scratching Angelica's plate-sized ear - the poor dog had startled badly enough to flip over a dumpster a handful of blocks ago when Cassandra jumped on her back after having wandered off for a "snack" - while Regent and Cassandra herself… I did a double take. The newest crazy on our team had the clown's sceptre pressed against his own nose.
"What did you do?" I sighed.
"She threatens me with a weapon and I'm the one at fault? That's sexist!" he answered, in mock outrage. "I didn't even say a thing to her!"
"A river always moves, yet it stays forever in its place. Usually," the girl said exasperatedly.
"Quiet!" Grue hissed. He jerked his head angrily towards the building where his sister was currently hiding. It was a warehouse not unlike many other relics of the Bay's former shipping industry, owned by a company that officially got it on the cheap when another company went bankrupt, but due to discovered defects found it too expensive to use and too much of a hassle to demolish.
That was the official story, of course. It said nothing about what was going on down there tonight. My phone beeped. Imp.
showtime
"Time to move," I said. "Come on!"
Cassandra handed Regent back his sceptre, and we all got back on top of the dogs, Angelica whining about having to carry Cassandra again until Bitch repeated the order more firmly. The animals' shudder as the feral girl gave them a little bit more of her power would've been easy to miss in the flurry of motion that put us on a straight path towards one of the side entrances, guarded by a pair of refreshingly regalia-free Empire thugs.
Rachel and Brutus charged through the door, breaking through it easily - of course my guess on whether the wood could withstand that was correct - and Grue and I followed right behind her on Judas, trailing darkness. Once I was far enough past the door to safely look back, I saw Angelica carry Alec through the door - while Cassandra was standing up from a roll, headbutting one of the guards in the same motion before dragging him into a trail of Grue's fog. Good. She'd have an easy time hiding in the chaos now.
And hopefully stick to the plan, I added. It might have been uncharitable, but that would be an embarrassing way for this operation to go sideways.
One by one, the dogs leapt, and a handful of seconds later we were on the edge of an arena, watching the winners of Empire's latest fighting tournament - and the "undesirables" who'd be the guests of honor at their initiation. On the far side of the arena, Victor and Othala were tending to several of the less fortunate combatants. Or they had been, before we'd made our entrance. I could see the gladiator trio on a raised platform some distance away, where they could see and be seen. A quick scan of the room didn't reveal any other capes besides them. That's one thing going according to plan, for now.
"You kids have been very irritating," Victor spoke as Brian and I circled the edge of the arena, trailing darkness. His voice carried like a professional orator's, and I idly wondered who he snatched that ability from.
Local politicians; stolen skills supplemented by old propaganda recordings and—
That wasn't important, power.
"But this? This is your worst decision so far," he finished before we were halfway done with the circle. The candidates had split almost evenly between stepping forward, raring for a fight, and backing off, uncertain about fighting the giant dog Rachel was approaching them on. Judging by the shake of Victor's head, that had not escaped his notice either, but he still didn't make the first step, staying right in front of his ...wife, presumably.
Hookwolf and Cricket had disappeared from the platform, presumably going down the stairs, while Stormtiger tried to jump the edge and catch himself with his power. Alec lazily waved his hand just as he was going over the railing, and the shirtless idiot had to reach the ground in a far less dignified position than he'd probably have preferred.
Even with the delay, our time was limited. We didn't want a stand-up fight against five Empire capes. So when I saw Othala swaying on her feet, it wasn't a second too early.
"Go, now!" I whispered to Grue, and he urged the dog forward. Victor turned to Othala for a power boost… only to freeze as she halfway collapsed in front of him. He didn't turn back fast enough, and got swatted aside by the dog as it skidded to a stop. The unconscious woman flopped onto the dog's side, and Brian pulled her up. One of the bolts Aisha had liberated from Shadow Stalker was sticking out of the Nazi's ass. Something made me suspect the girl would defend her choice of target with the argument that it is genuinely one of the safer places to stick someone with a big needle.
As soon as Othala was on the dog and I had a solid grip on her, we fled the scene, Regent and Bitch barely dodging the gladiator wannabes. I spotted Rune coming out of a nearby corridor - Missed start of fight; slightly unsteady movement; food poisoning, was in bathroom. Food poisoning, hurrying - didn't wash hands. - thank you, power, I didn't need that.
We rushed back out the door we'd come in, leaving a fresh trail of Grue's darkness to cover most of what wasn't already covered by our entrance. We hadn't turned the corner yet when Rune flew out the door on what seemed like a chunk of the stage to follow behind us, carrying Hookwolf, Stormtiger and Cricket with her, giving chase. If that's not enough of a distraction for our Strangers to do their work, we need some new Strangers.
We rode through the streets, scaring a few late night pedestrians off the sidewalk and into side alleys. The quartet of capes chasing us was thankfully short on ranged firepower - I would not have come up with this plan if there was a snowball's chance in Hell of being chased around by Purity. As it was, we only had to run fast enough to not get caught, but not too fast for the Empire to not give up chase.
Something whistled past Bitch's head, striking her dog right behind the ear and bouncing off the protruding bone with a sharp twang. I snapped my head back to see Cricket standing a little awkwardly atop Rune's flying conveyance with a fistful of Hookwolf's spikes in her left hand, another gripped like a throwing knife in her right. The gladiatrix was already lining up another throw, and a second later the spike left her hand, gaining a burst of speed a foot after leaving her hand. I flinched, but the throw missed. Stormtiger assisting. Maneuver not practiced in these conditions.
That was good to know, but I didn't want to wait for her to figure out her aim. "Regent!" I called out.
He didn't reply, just looked back and jerked his scepter towards our pursuers. A loud curse and a clatter told me enough.
Thankfully, after a sharp turn to let a building cover us, the road disappeared under a low bridge. We ducked under it, spreading Grue's darkness behind us, and I shouted at Rachel to turn around, hoping the darkness muffled sound enough that the Empire capes wouldn't hear. As we dived back out of the darkness, my phone rang. I made sure my grip on Othala was good, then grabbed it as the Empire capes reappeared from above the bridge's edge. Heard us turn around. Had to relay orders to Rune. Cricket can't talk fast enough. Stormtiger is aerokinetic. Stormtiger has enhanced hearing. The plan was to take the next right turn, hit the waterside and escape into a storm drain we'd scouted out earlier - Rune couldn't fly that low, not through Grue's darkness. It took some doing to get the phone out without dropping Othala, but I picked it up.
"Alright, we got the people out," Imp reported in. "Good idea with the tripwire, by the way, now when do you- oh come onnn!" she trailed off behind the sound of the phone changing hands.
"Chase the moon, find the sun!" Cassandra shouted into the phone, before hanging up. I irritatedly looked up at the cloudy sky, and let my power kick in. New moon, 11 PM - moon is to the south. South is next left turn. Will meet the Cobbled-Together Champion.
"Take the left!" I shouted, and we all made the turn, Grue flashing me a questioning look. "Cassandra," I breathed out in explanation. Something rumbled in the background, causing me to almost miss the sound of another Hookwolf spike, this one aimed at Regent. It connected, if barely, drawing a red line across his sleeve. He yelped.
He turned around to ruin Cricket's next throw, and was turned back when a motorcycle roared into view from around a corner. A very pissed-off Victor was riding in, zooming right past the nearest dog's paws and sliding to neatly line up next to Bitch and Brutus, pulling out what I recognized as a taser.
My shout of warning turned out to be completely redundant as a white-and-gold blur smacked the weapon out of Victor's hand with a fairly loud crunch. Our chase had, apparently, crossed paths with the resident Alexandria Package's patrol. Not that I'm complaining - oh goddammit Cassandra! There has to be some way to get you to sound less like a fortune cookie…
"Thanks!" I shouted at her as she circled back around, while Victor regained control of his ride with his uninjured hand. I half-wished she'd knocked him off, but I could see why she wouldn't want to bring the heat for that on her family. Even after Fleur.
Well, let's not look a gift Brute in the mouth. With Imp and Cassandra having finished their job already, we didn't need to keep the distraction going any longer. All that was left was to dump Othala and get away now.
As I looked around for a good spot to dump her - breaking her neck by throwing her to the curb wouldn't be a good idea quite yet - I had an idea.
"Here, catch!" I shouted at Glory Girl when she got close enough to us after a swoop past Rune's flying platform. I gave her just enough time to turn to look before shoving Othala her way.
One diving save later, a very unhappy Glory Girl was taking to the air. Rune's few seconds of hesitation over who to chase were enough for us to dive out of sight and flood a few alleyways with Grue's smoke.
I let Brian point one of my hands towards where they were flying while resting the other on my forehead, and we guided ourselves and the others out of the smoke in the opposite direction.
Glory Girl patrolling outside usual pattern. Looking to vent. Personal troubles? Possible argument with Dean Stansfield about rumors of her having a fling with Gallant. No, rumors too old. Never been believed. Dean knows who Gallant is under mask. Fellow rich kid? No. Dean is Gallant.
I shook my head and turned my power down, disappointed at getting only gossip. No riddles. What even was that, anyway?
I pulled out my phone and called Aisha.
"Yo."
"Let me talk to Cassandra. Now," I growled, enough to make one of Bitch's dogs turn its head my way.
"No can do, Tats. She's already wandered off. Job's done, night full of surprises, someone waiting for her back home. Plus, you know, her whole… her."
I hung up the phone. For a moment, I wanted to rest my head on the cool leather on Grue's shoulder, but if Regent saw that, I'd have to strangle him.
Taylor didn't drag herself back into the loft until the horizon was turning red in the east, just as Aisha was getting out of bed to go for school. I'd fallen asleep waiting for her, but thankfully she'd tripped the bell I'd attached to the handle for this exact scenario. I placed myself in front of her, arms out to the sides so she didn't slip past.
"Good, you're back. Now I have some serious questions for—" Isn't listening. Weakened by more than sunlight. What else could— Is about to fall over, my power added as the vampire wobbled on her feet and fell forward. I barely caught her in time, even if I didn't think she'd be too bothered by hitting the floor.
"Come on, let's get her hidden," Aisha said from behind me. She was looking at the eastern sky when I looked back, then shook her head and stepped in to help me hold her up.
We hauled Taylor to Aisha's room, stuffing her into her usual spot under the bed. No blood flow. Does not get sore or numb from being in an uncomfortable position. Right sleeve rolled down to the fingers, unlike the left. Concealing injury.
I paused at that. Cassandra almost never came back with anything more than dirt on her clothes after a hunt, with maybe three or four exceptions as long as I'd known her.
I rolled her sleeve up to check. Right on the wrist, there was a very distinctive oval of bright red marks on the corpse-pale flesh.