Crush
Chapter 6
Kids in the BrawlThe giant flying octopus had only descended ten feet before a flurry of fireballs began striking it, causing it to roar in rage and pain.
Warren also winced in pain from the sore ribs he had sustained in p.e. the day before. The pain also threw off his aim as he had tried to send his fireballs into the monster's gaping beak-mouth, but only succeeded in peppering the area around it, including the base of the tentacles.
Marduke used the distraction to fire his eyebeams as Will, who was caught in the chest and sent hurtling backwards into a parked car with such force he caved in the drivers side door and sat in the front seat momentarily stunned.
"Get over there and make sure his buddies don't interfere," Marduke yelled at Drake and Aaron, "you too Balth!"
Balthazar balked at his older brother talking to him like that.
"I'm not one of your goons," he snarled, "and don't use my real name!"
"Whatever," replied Marduke, "just take somebody!"
"I know who," grinned Balthazar, "I think I'll go meet the little redheaded cutie over there."
"Balth, no!" yelled Marduke, his heart skipping a beat at the thought of his brother using his pain-inducing touch on Layla. Layla, a girl who had stolen Marduke's heart in the little time he had talked to her and stolen a kiss using Warren's form.
Marduke was about to blast his own brother in the back to save Layla, but another Mandragore stepped in as Victoria became a living roadblock between her older brother and Layla.
"I told you to leave Will and his friends alone, Balth," she growled, "back off."
Balthazar stopped, trying to figure out what to do. He knew if he could grab Layla he could force Will and the others to do whatever he wanted, but he hadn't counted on Victoria actually taking their side.
"Come on Vicky," he said, "I'm not going to hurt her, just scare Willie and the others."
"Don't call me Vicky," said Victoria, "and you're NOT going to put a finger on Layla!"
Layla didn't know what to think. Here was the girl who had stolen Will away from her now defending her against someone who was apparently another brother Marduke had mentioned. While Layla always prided herself as a free thinker, this whole situation was tossing convention out the window at an alarming rate. But she wasn't about to play the shrinking violet in this instance, and she found something in her pocket that she had picked up earlier in the park that would make things interesting.
"Hey "Spike"," yelled Layla, "catch!"
Layla threw something over Victoria's shoulder that landed at Balthazar's feet.
It was a small acorn.
"Was that supposed to hurt?" sneered Balthazar.
"No," smiled Layla, "THIS is."
In an instant the acorn burst open and transformed into a monstrous adult oak tree that shot up into the sky, taking a yelling Balthazar caught in its branches up with it. Its roots sank through the street into the ground below as it held the struggling young villain in its branches nearly fifty feet off the ground.
"Wow," said Victoria, "I guess I should have protected him from YOU."
Layla smiled at the compliment, but she wasn't done yet. With a thought she had the mighty tree uproot itself and, with a deafening groan of moving wood, the tree flailed out and slammed into the giant flying octopus, sending the monster into the side of a building where its squishy form received a tremendous impact.
A savage smile crossed Warren's features, and he mentally thanked Layla for the chance to catch his breath. He was getting ready to build up to one of his major blasts when a strange sensation started in his head, followed by a feeling much like when he met Layla in the Paper Lantern that first night. It was a warm tenderness that began to relax him and make the anger leave his body…
Warren snapped out of it. Snarling, he looked around and saw one of the jerks in a H.A.D.E.S. letter jacket, this one a skinny blonde geek, standing and staring at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" snarled Warren.
"Uh…" stammered Aaron, realizing his "warm and fuzzy" power was no longer working on Warren, "trying to make you feel good."
"You REALLY want me to feel good?"
"Uh…yeah."
"Hold still…" hissed Warren as a fireball appeared in his right hand.
Will climbed out of the car, bringing the door with him. He hoped the owner had good insurance.
"I see you like to blindside people like your brother," said Will, actually glaring at Marduke, "is that how your parents taught you to fight?"
"Leave my folks out of this," said Marduke, "it's bad enough my sister's involved."
"Hey, she chose me," said Will, "not the other way around."
"Yeah, but if you think I'll sit back and let you continuously hurt her like you do Layla, you're even stupider than you look."
"What do you know about Layla?" Will found himself starting to actually get angry now.
"Everything," Marduke grinned evilly, holding up his hand to show the silver ring on his finger.
Will was confused for a moment, and then he remembered seeing the same ring flash on Warren's finger earlier at his house.
Suddenly Marduke was gone, and Warren was standing in his place, the same mean grin on his face.
But Warren never wore a silver ring.
Then Warren was gone, replaced by Marduke.
For one of the few times in his life, Will became angry.
Very angry.
Without hesitating he hurled the car door like a frisbee at Marduke, who easily blasted it aside with his eyebeams. But Will had flown up into the air and came down fist first to slam the street.
Will's version of his father's "seismic punch" sent a shockwave out in all directions, shattering the blacktop and sending EVERYBODY flying into the air. It was then Will realized what he had done.
"Oh God," he whispered, "I'm so stupid."
He knew he had to save his friends, but which one first?
Layla.
He looked for her in the split second everyone was up in the air and spotted her, but before he could move she was already falling.
She was caught.
Victoria, who had ridden the shockwave like a surfer on a board, held Layla in her own massive arms for a second, then set her down safely.
Magenta was sent flying, but Drake, who had been flying towards her, caught her.
"Hey cutie," he said, "you don't look so dangerous to me."
"Oh yeah?" sneered Magenta, and she turned into her guinea pig form.
"SQUIRREL!" Drake screamed like a little girl.
"I'm not a squirrel you idiot," squeaked Magenta, "I'm a guinea pig."
"Oh," said Drake, "GUINEA PIG!"
He then dropped her.
Magenta panicked at the thought of hitting the torn up asphalt, but again she was caught.
This time she plopped down into the lap of Loki Mandragore, who was sitting up from having been knocked down on the outer edge of the shockwave.
"Wow," he said, looking at the unusual colored rodent, "it rains guinea pigs here? I gotta come to town more often."
Magenta returned to her human form, only making Loki's eyes grow wider.
"I'm DEFINITELY coming to town more," he said as he looked at the cute purple and black clad girl standing over him.
"Alright," said Magenta, trying to sound tough as she hauled Loki to his feet by his jacket collar, "call off your big…whatever it is before Warren turns it into calamari."
"Calamari is squid," corrected Loki, trying to sound distinguished to impress Magenta, "and Herkimer is obviously an octopus."
"Herkimer?" Magenta asked, "You named that thing…whatever. Just call it off!"
"You can turn into a guinea pig?" said Loki, totally lost in studying Magenta, "that is SO COOL."
Magenta did not know how to respond. She had expected the little monster to start fighting or yelling for help, but to compliment her like that?
Zach and Ethan had been having the hardest time of the fight so far, mostly dodging the octopus' tentacles as it flailed wildly while being attacked first by Warren then by Layla's animated oak tree. While Ethan could easily avoid the tentacles by melting and flowing out of them, Zach had to duck and roll almost nonstop until the shockwave hit, sending him into the air where he grabbed a light post and held on for dear life.
"Great," he thought, "now I AM a human stoplight."
Warren's fireball was thrown off course as Will's shockwave hit, so it exploded a couple of feet away from the cowering Aaron. Warren was barely able to keep his balance, but he was determined to keep his dignity and look cool while everyone else flailed around.
He then saw Marduke sitting up and about to blast Will in the back.
"Stronghold, duck!" yelled Warren as he hurled a fireball in Will's direction.
Will flattened just as both the fireball and eyebeams met where his head had been an instant earlier. The colliding energies made a deafening blast that reverberated almost as loud as the shockwave.
"Warren," Will yelled back, "behind you!"
Warren turned and looked up to see that "Herkimer" had recovered from being attacked by Layla's tree, which was now still as Layla had lost her concentration from the shockwave. The monster was flying over Warren, its eyes narrowing as a strange gurgling came from it.
Ethan, again solid, had an awful idea what was about to happen.
"Warren," he yelled, "it's going to…"
A blast of liquid ink equal to the strength and volume of a fire hose attached to a truck smashed into Warren, hurling him back and covering him with countless gallons of the smelly black substance. Everyone on both sides of the fight winced at the sight.
"Eww," said Loki, "I forgot he could do that."
When the deluge ended, nearly a one hundred foot area was covered with an inch of thick black ink. Warren lay in the center of the blast; his chest moving was the only sign he was alive.
Then he sat up.
Warren blew ink out of his nose and spit it out of his mouth. He wiped it from his eyes as best he could, then slowly got to his feet. He then noticed he was soaked with the vile smelling liquid, and the ink on him started steaming and bubbling.
The ink around him for ten feet also started hissing and bubbling.
Warren glared up at the octopus, his body starting to tremble with unbridled anger.
Someone yelled "DUCK AND COVER!" No one was sure who it was, but everyone did.
"This…was…my…best…JAAACCKKKEEEETTTTT!"
Warren's roar built in intensity until it seemed the only sound in the world. Everyone was already on the ground in a fetal position with their hands over their ears.
Herkimer, as if sensing what was about to happen, got a strange looking "uh-oh" expression on its face.
A mushroom cloud of flames and heat exploded upward, its force blowing the flying monster completely out of the city and far out into the bay, where it splashed down in an explosion of steam and water and sank out of sight, leaving only bubbles behind.
For several moments there was silence. Then someone coughed. Slowly everyone started moving, realizing they were still alive.
Victoria had grabbed Layla, thrown her down and shielded her with her own more powerful body. Zach had dropped to the ground and gotten behind a large chunk of now-singed pavement. Ethan had gone liquid and flattened out to be unharmed. Magenta hadn't had time to do anything, but Loki had activated a device and covered both him and her with a force field. Will had not moved from where he had dropped, and neither had Marduke, who had rolled over and covered his face.
All of them looked up and saw him.
Warren stood tall and defiant, the crystallized and powdered ink drifting off him in small dark streamers carried away by a cool breeze. The ground around him was scorched for several yards.
He was majestic. He was triumphant. He was also left wearing nothing but his boots and underwear, the rest of his clothing atomized by the explosion.
"Hmm," thought Magenta, "I never figured him for tighty whities."
"Well, that clears up one rumor," thought Victoria.
Layla did not know what to think.
Catching the sun's light, two tiny rings of steel shined, one in each of the nipples of Warren's rippling, rock-hard pectorals.
"Why's it so cold all of a sudden?" Asked Warren. He then noticed everyone staring at him.
"What?" he said, and then he looked down.
"Great…I better be having that dream again," he grumbled out loud.
Marduke could not take his eyes off Warren. He felt the same strange pulling in his heart that he had had for years…the same feeling that had also extended to Layla so suddenly. How was this possible? Villains weren't supposed to have hearts, yet his was going in two directions at once. He wished he could say something…anything to either or both of them, but he didn't dare…not with so many people around…not with the chances of his mother watching even if she knew the truth already.
While everyone else was distracted with the "show", Balthazar had managed to extract himself from the limbs of the now downed oak tree and was trying to figure out what to do. Not exactly a genius, he stuck by what had always worked for him…brute force.
He snuck up and grabbed Ethan by the back of his neck, his pain-touch causing the boy to go stiff and squeal. Everyone turned at that, and Balthazar grinned menacingly at them.
"Nobody move," he growled, "well, except for Marduke and Loki, but the rest of you…you too Vicky…don't anybody move or we'll find out how high this geek's threshold for pain is."
Then Ethan melted.
Balthazar had been too busy trying to get free of the tree to have seen Ethan use his power, so he was not expecting what happened. Fear shot through his powerful frame as he looked at the multicolored puddle at his feet. Had he just killed this kid? His touch was powerful, but he had never disintegrated so much as a fly with it before. He actually dropped to his hands and knees over the pool, his eyes wide with worry.
"Kid?" asked Balthazar, not sure if he was really expecting an answer, "kid, are you okay?"
Ethan suddenly surged up and shot into Balthazar's mouth, instantly filling his mouth, throat and nose solid. Balthazar went into total panic at not being able to breathe and tried to perform a Heimlich on himself, but he only burned up what little oxygen was still in his lungs. It didn't take long for him to pass out. Once he quit moving, Ethan flowed out and the vacuum created pulled air back into Balthazar's lungs and he was breathing again, though still unconscious.
"Yeah," said Ethan returning to his solid form and adjusting his glasses, "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."
"Dude," said Zach, "that was totally sick. Do it again!"
Marduke had had enough. Everyone's attention was on Balthazar, but he was going to make somebody pay for this, and the tall blond spaz was the perfect target. Before anyone could move Marduke fired his eyebeams as Zach, not caring he was hitting him in the back.
Zach froze in place as the beams struck him. Then, even in broad daylight, Zach's luminescence was there for all to see as the energies of Marduke's eyebeams flowed around it like water around a wall.
There was a massive feedback that shot back at Marduke, striking him in his eyes and hurling him backward to fall to the ground.
"AAAAHHH!" Marduke screamed at the pain, "MY EYES! I CAN'T SEE!"
Marduke was panicking. How did things get so out of hand? Why had he let Balthazar talk him into this stupid macho stunt? What would happen now? Was he permanently blind? Would he never be able to lay eyes on Layla…or Warren…ever again?
A powerful pair of hands grabbed him. Victoria?
"Easy pal, I've got you."
It was Will.
Why was he helping him?
He felt cold water hit his face.
His vision started to grow brighter, but it was like his pupils were dilated. That he could live with. Marduke tried to focus on Will, who was standing over him next to the fire hydrant he had opened with his bare hand to get the water for Marduke's eyes.
"Come on Marduke," said Will, "let's stop this. I never wanted to fight to begin with."
Again, Marduke did not know what to do. He looked around with his vision clearing, and saw that Drake and Aaron were gone, Balthazar was just sitting up but still out of it, and Loki was more interested in bombarding the purple girl with endless questions than calling back his pet monster which was apparently gone for good anyway.
He looked at Will; the friendly smile, the puppy eyes, the extended hand of friendship even after having fought with him twice in less than twenty four hours.
"No wonder everyone likes you," Marduke thought.
Marduke was confused. He had done as his mother wanted, but when he deviated to what he wanted he had ended up being as big a jerk as his younger brother. He had let Balthazar tease and goad him into this fight out of stupid pride, and all they had done was tear up some streets, damage property, panic people and possibly expose everyone's secret identities.
"Mom is going to kill me…" he said for the second time that day.
As if on cue a clap of thunder and an explosion of green fire announced the arrival of Lucretia Mandragore in all her legendary dark glory. She wore a black and purple dress that reached the ground, but was slit up the sides to the knees for free movement. About her shoulders flowed a black cape held by a golden skull-shaped clasp. Her shoulder-length black hair was unbound, and blew about though there was no breeze to stir it. Rings shimmered on her long fingers tipped with two inch-long black fingernails, and her blue eyes seemed to burn with a threatening fire from within.
Layla could not help but notice the resemblance between her and Warren's mother; it was like looking at a strange photographic negative of the other woman when it came to features and color, not to mention demeanor. While Warren's mother was like a strong, beautiful and kind queen from a fairy tale, this woman was more like the evil queen from Snow White and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty combined into one. Beautiful yes, but also powerful, dangerous and cunning.
She remembered the warning about her that Angelica Peace had given.
"I see that Loki is not the only one I need to make sure the child safety locks are on for," she glared at her oldest son, her disappointment almost a physical blow.
"Mother," Victoria stepped forward, "did you do this?"
"Victoria," said Lucretia, surprised by her daughter's question, "of course not. In case you have forgotten I have approved of this from the start. I am sorry that these hooligan brothers of yours have disturbed this lovely afternoon for you and your new friends."
"You do?" asked Will, stepping forward to stand next to Victoria.
"I do a lot dear, could you be more specific?" asked Lucretia.
"Approve of me and Victoria?"
"Oh, of course," smiled Lucretia, suddenly no longer the threatening villain of everyone's childhood, but now a doting mother, "I think it shows she has good taste in men…and friends," she said nodding to the others.
"Speaking of which," she said, noticing Warren, "aren't you cold dear? Still, while every young female here with an ounce of estrogen may appreciate the…display…I think we need something a little more appropriate."
She gestured, and suddenly Warren was once again wearing his shirt, jacket and jeans, all clean and new.
"Uh…thanks," he said, not knowing for sure what to say to this woman who was once his mother's archenemy.
"You are welcome," said Lucretia with a smile. She remembered the last time she had seen Warren…so small and frail as he started the road to recovery after his ordeal when his powers first manifested. Now he was so tall and strong, the image of his father. She wondered if Baron was as proud of him as he should be.
"Now then," said Lucretia, ending her musings, "we shall have a serious talk once we get home." Her words were directed at her sons, who had gotten to their feet and gathered before her with their heads down, though Loki kept sneaking glances over at Magenta.
"Brawling in the street like common thugs," she said, shaking her head, "you were raised better than that. What kind of an example are you two setting for your younger sister and brother?"
She turned to Victoria and smiled.
"Dear, you stay here with your new friends…I shall send for you later. All of you enjoy the rest of the afternoon…Victoria can easily afford to buy you all lunch, and don't worry about anyone discovering your identities…for some reason everyone seems to think this was caused by an exploding gas line."
With that there was another clap of thunder and explosion of green flame. When it was gone, so were Lucretia and all three Mandragore boys.
"Is your mother always so dramatic?" Will asked Victoria.
"Oh that's nothing," she smiled, "you should see Daddy when he's in the mood. He puts on a REAL show."
They, and nearly everyone else, laughed at that.
Except for Warren. He had noticed something that had escaped the others.
"Where's Layla?" he asked.
The laughter suddenly stopped. She had been there a moment ago until…
Until the Mandragores had disappeared…taking her with them.
To be continued