H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (21 page)

Authors: Kevin Rau

Tags: #Science Fiction

BOOK: H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall

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While those three had been checking Sandra, Razorwing came over to Kralgon while I held the monster from behind. He cut off the mutant's chitin armor from the front, causing the monster to roar in pain again. He struggled with the fear of someone without options, but I was able to hold him down. As he made me angry, I finally heard a snap from his right shoulder bone.

The huge brick hurried over to us. He took a few deep breaths and fumes began to come from his skin, mouth and nose. He eyes lit up like Gravitix or Shrinker’s did when they used their powers. Then he began punching Kralgon with hits that I felt through the mutant.

He said, "Damn, you healed your full jaw in a week?" Then he began smashing the mutant in the mouth while I held his head. One punch hit his head so hard one of the horns snapped off in my hand as well. Soon Kralgon lost consciousness.

He looked at me. "Isn't there an APB on you?"

I rolled Kralgon off me, and then shrugged at the hero.

"I don't know, but probably. I got into a fight with Gatecrasher, and another with Psycom. I'm tired of fighting, though. This is dumb."

He raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Psystar walked up to me and said, "Are you going to surrender?"

I sighed. "Yeah. We should check ditsy." I motioned at Diva.

Psystar said, "Chrome’s fine guys." She looked up at me. "Just ... just stick with me, okay? Maybe we can salvage this situation somehow."

I nodded. "Thanks."

Several of us walked over to Diva. She was still breathing, and soon sat up with a grimace on her face.

She said, "Unh, no one told me I'd get stabbed doing this. Is this going to leave a scar? Oh no, oh no."

The big guy pulled up his shirt and pointed at places on his abdomen. "I got stabbed by him last Monday in each of these spots - there isn't a scar. I'm sure it'll be the same for you."

The guard with the huge gun brought Spartan and the other black-clad hero, who they called Black Tiger, around with her for security. She woke each mutant and whispered to them, after which they meekly followed her back to their cell and she put them back in. Fortunately the inner cells were all in good shape.

She brought Sandra to an empty cell, had her strip down to her underwear and enter it. I waited for her to tell me to go into one, but for the moment she left me with the heroes. I put on the remnants of my t-shirt while I waited.
One more thing destroyed....

Guards began taking positions at the end of the hall, others helped to take out the injured and dead.

Diva asked, "Hey, where's that guy with the wings?"

We all looked around, but found no sign of Razorwing.

Spartan asked, "Is he a member of H.E.R.O?"

Black Tiger said, "No, I looked at the roster today. He would have stood out."

"He wasn't an inmate, was he?"

The guard said, "No. He put in the initial call to H.E.R.O., and then stopped to see the guards and got me, then we came in together."

"Why would he do that without being in H.E.R.O.?"

"No idea. I was glad to have some additional help, I'm not a meleer."

Black Tiger asked, "What do you do, anyway?"

"I whisper, people do what I tell them to. It comes in handy in this job."

"Oh, cool. So ... do we wait in here for our H.E.R.O. agent or what? This is kind of unusual."

The guard said, "Help me get the big mutant into a brick cell. After that, now that the area is secure we'll go outside."

I grabbed Kralgon by his remaining horn and dragged him toward the cell he was previously in. Spartan walked with me on the other side of Kralgon.

He said, "Pretty cool that you were able to hold him down like that. He's about the toughest mutant I know of."

"I can thank my brothers; they used to pick on me all the time. My dad taught me some moves to defend myself, that was one."

"Sorry to hear you've had such a rough first week as a brick."

"How did you know?"

"Well, there's the change, getting kidnapped, being forced to work for the kidnappers, fighting us on Thursday, and now all this? That's got to be a rough week."

"Oh, I thought you meant, well, never mind."

"What?"

"I used to make jewelry for a living, I broke some of my tools, I can't feel the metal like I used to and keep crushing it, broke my sewing machine, crushed my husband - who now wants a divorce, and then I got drunk and angry and threw that machinery into a building. Then I fought the two heroes - although to be honest, it was kind of Psycom's fault that he came after me in the hospital. I just wanted to see my husband. Oh, and now this. I call her a ditz, but I guess I'm an idiot."

"Dang. That's a really rough week. I've broken my kitchen table, clothes, destroyed my car, and got kidnapped too. If it makes you feel any better, I heard that you and I kind of beat up Gatecrasher."

"We did?"

"Yeah, although I don't remember it either. Psystar said she wiped out the memory area that Arissa created in our heads. Didn't you know that Shrinker kinapped a bunch of people a week ago and was going to murder them all, and force a bunch of innocent new mutants to become all freaky?"

"I didn't even know she was called Shrinker until some of the mutants here started calling her that. We knew her as Sandra."

Once the guard directed us to a new cell for Kralgon; we all walked back out to a different section of the Jail where the Warden met us. He seemed to know the heroes, as they spoke about questioning the mutants a week ago paying off.

Two men from H.E.R.O. arrived - an Agent Carson and Captain McCain. They had a lengthy discussion with the heroes and I about the entire situation.

While it looked like I could lie and possibly sneak out as some kind of hero that was here to help, I told the truth about being with Sandra and Gravitix, but also about realizing what they were doing and helping against Kralgon.

Captain McCain said that they couldn't simply ignore what I'd done both to the construction vehicles, attacking Psycom - regardless of the reason, and being part of an attack on the Jail that resulted in several deaths and massive property damage.

He asked the warden to book me, but not to lock me in the high detention area so long as I agreed to follow every order.

I nodded. It wasn't like I had any choice at this point. People had died and it was partially my fault. One more thing that had gone wrong in the last week.

Psystar said that she'd be part of any hearing on me and could testify as to the full activities from my memories and those of the others.

At that point, they brought a few guards over and led me away to be booked....

Chapter 20 - H.E.R.O.

Diva’s Viewpoint

After the villains were all put away into cells the group of us went through the Metrocity Jail to an area with meeting rooms and offices. My mind was mostly on my abdomen. I’d never been stabbed before, and the pain bugged me a lot. On the other hand, it hurt a lot less than I thought it would.

I let the others do nearly all the talking to the Captain when he and the agent had shown up. Apart from following the note on the alert to knock out Shrinker ASAP I hadn’t felt like I’d done that much.

I thought how I’d fallen when Kralgon had roared at me. Had I not been wearing heels I might not have fallen. I figured that if I had another problem come up with the heels that I might have to replace them with new bottoms to the boots – though I hated the idea of not looking as good.

As we left the Jail’s outer gate Spartan noticed me touching my abdomen again.

He commented, “His swords weren’t fully regrown, Diva. You didn’t get stabbed all the way through. You’ll heal in a day or two.”

“It hurts. But I thought if I ever got stabbed that I wouldn’t be able to move, and would have to lie on the ground.”

“You have so much packed muscle, and it’s so dense now that you’ll be able to keep moving even with a lot of injury to you.”

“I only even hit one of them. That was a crappy crime thingie.”

“You hit Shrinker. She’s the ring leader. Without her any other criminals that might have been in her gang won’t have the pure evil that she was.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Look, there’s the press. You helped save the day. Enjoy your media time. Plus, you’ll get your commission.”

“Commission?”

“Yeah, you get paid for these. You didn’t know that?”

“Hmm, I guess I never thought much about it. I’ve been concentrating on how to get back into modeling.”

He chuckled, “You’ll earn enough if you keep doing this to not need a second job.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, look it up on your phone.”

“I can do both though, right?”

“Sure. Speaking of, I need to get out of here, change and get to work. Have fun with the news.”

He said goodbye to his other friends and leapt off.

Tom Gates from Channel 13 News was at this scene. I spoke with him on what occurred.

I left thinking that if I earned money this way that I might not need to be so desperate about modeling.

Chapter 21 – A New Shine

Chrome’s Viewpoint

With the good statements by Psystar, the Jail allowed me to help out by cleaning up the rubble caused by our fight, and to re-bend bars down to their original spots.

At least I didn’t have to worry about breaking anything in the cell they put me in. It was made to hold someone of great strength. Thankfully they didn’t lock down my arms, legs and mouth like they had that Kralgon mutant. I made sure to follow orders by the guards; I certainly didn’t want to get stuck in one spot like that all day and night.

One of the brick guards allowed me to keep the plastic spork they allowed me to eat my meal with to practice learning fine motor skills with my strength and reduced sensation in my hands. Granted, I had to put it outside the cell every time they came and allowed me out for some task, but it was a start to controlling my strength.

It was exceptionally hard. I broke most of the sporks within the first fifteen minutes of trying to hold them different ways. Out of interest – and with both bricks on hand, one of them tested handshakes with me to see if I was of similar strength to him. I easily began crushing his hand before he said to stop.

I’d asked if they did that with all the bricks, but apparently most bricks inmates didn’t follow orders well, and couldn’t be trusted not to try something.

They also asked if I would be willing to have weaponry tested against the skin on my abdomen. Anything was better than sitting in a cell all day, and the other supers had mentioned how fast we all heal, so I said ‘sure.’ Anything to be cooperative, I thought.

We discovered that nothing from their pistols, to the normal machine guns, to the ‘cannon’ machine gun (as they referred to it) even dented in my metal. Finally they brought out a heavy duty sniper rifle and tried that … to no effect. The bullet simply thudded into me and fell to the ground, a flattened disc. They asked the Warden’s permission to try out some heavier firepower, but were turned down.

After a few days Psystar and Captain McCain of H.E.R.O. came by to see me. After asking my permission to share my thoughts with them (and my agreement), I was told there would be a hearing soon on what to do with me. Psystar’s power must have been visual, because she stared into space and moved a hand around a lot in the air as they questioned me again. She looked quite tired when finished, though.

I offered to give them Shrinker's loft location, but Psystar mentioned she already knew - but they did thank me for it. It sounded like Gravitix and Shrinker were being kept under heavy lockdown after their murdering of the guards - on camera nonetheless.

I was hopeful that maybe things could turn out better soon, and it seemed as if at least one hero was willing to help me out. I thought there might be a glimmer of hope after all….

****

THE END

Following are 7 chapters from the next book in the series …

H.E.R.O. – Dark Research

****

If you enjoyed this novel, please look into the other novels in the H.E.R.O. series at the author's website: http://www.kevinrau.com

The H.E.R.O. series includes:

H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis (1)
http://www.amzn.com/B005GM3PV8

H.E.R.O. - New Markets (2)
http://www.amzn.com/B005NBLWW6

H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (3)
http://www.amzn.com/B005QNS4ZY

H.E.R.O. - Dark Research (4)
http://www.amzn.com/B006KWAA3O

H.E.R.O. - Horde (5)
http://www.amzn.com/B0070UQ5G6