H.E.R.O. - Horde (33 page)

I chuckled, "No, I was in costume.  I walked up and hung out by the mutant in the shadows.  When Rayna came back out and spoke on her phone was when we heard about the drug thing."

He stared at me.  "If you two overheard her, then someone else could have as well."

"If they were a super, perhaps."

"Hmm.  Maybe I'll hang out around Blacklight tonight.  If the Goth peeps know about this they may be planning on retaliation."

"Just don't forget that mutants have great senses - they'll hear you some distance away, and possibly smell you."

"Got ya.  I'll leave the cycle a block away and use a rooftop."

Agent Carson showed up about then and we gave him our statement.  It took the super paddy wagon a bit longer to come and take away the brick.

While Hellshock gave his statements to Agent Carson, I went over to the group of people on the far side of the street near where I'd set down the child.

While crossing the street I winced as I moved my right arm around.  The brick's punches had broken the bones in a few places, but the pain was fading fast.

Apparently, the girl's mother had been with her and had ran across the street to check on her daughter after I'd caught her.  The girl attempted to describe what had just occurred to her, but was very confused.

When the mother saw me approach, she jumped up and hugged me.

I lightly hugged her in return and said, "Hey, she'll be okay, right?"

She nodded, "Thank you so much."

"I'm glad to help.  I'm just happy I was able to get to her."

"I am too.  Maybe I should bring her to a hospital just in case."

I nodded, "That's a good idea.  She might have some bruising from that guy holding her - bricks are unbelievably strong."

"All right, come on honey, we're going to see a doctor."

"Have a good one, ma'am."

"You too, hero.  Thank you."

Huh, what would Lance think of this one?  I got to rip up the bad guy
and
save someone!

After that, I returned to riding around the streets to learn them better.

Chapter 26 - Search for a Raving Lunatic

Razorwing's Viewpoint

Thursday I woke mid-morning, checked my stocks and walked the house.  Maris had cleaned the living room so well I couldn't even tell she had a gathering the night before.

I sat down with her for breakfast and reviewed my tablet for the latest news.

I looked up at her after a while, "So how did your party go?  I notice you're wearing new earrings."

She smiled.  "Good, you raised the excitement level quite a bit by letting the two hostesses see you."

I chuckled, "I suppose I did."

"Are you going out again tonight?"

"Aye.  We need to cut off whatever is changing people into orc-like creatures."

"How is the tabard working?"

"It looks great - I didn't get much of a chance to use it last night.  I was with mutants, and they seem to prefer non-hero types.  I can tell the other heroes liked it a lot when they saw it."

She grinned and continued eating.

I said, "Hey, would you pick up a batch of tamping bars today?  They are metal bars used in gardening."

"For Robert?"

"No, for me.  I'm going to practice with them as a weapon.  They look a lot like a staff."

"I still think you should wear a sword or mace.  It would fit with your medieval tastes, and would look nice."

"I would, but I'm not sure who or what I'd use one on.  They wouldn't penetrate a brick, and these talons on my wings cut through most things better than a metal sword would."

"Yeah, but you would look more like a knight with a sword."

I smiled.  "You'd probably like to see me wear armor too."

"Sure.  Some pauldrons, upper arm, maybe bracers and thigh plates too.  Here, I'll show you the one I'd like to see you in."

She got up and motioned to me.  I smiled again and followed her to one of the rooms in the mansion with armor suits.  She pointed out a partial suit of plate armor.  It was one of the slimmer sets of plate - without the ornamentation or massive flare many of my fantasy suits had.

I said, "That silver would stand out a lot at night."

"I suppose it would, but it would look great.  You would look more like a knight."

"I wonder how often I'd have to replace it.  Bricks would crush it with a hit and mutants would tear right through it."

"Isn't a costume about looks as much as anything, though?"

"True."

"Come on; let me have a suit made for you."

"Just those pieces - not the chest, back or abdomen?"

"Nah, like you said, it wouldn't protect you anyway.  That would also be hidden by the tabard.  Do you sneak around much?"

"Not really.  All right, fine, I'll cave - go ahead and have one made."

"Great!  I have your measurements, I'll get it done."

"But don't forget about the tamping bars."

"How about I have a high caliber steel mace made as well?  Please?  Just to try it out?"

"Okay, okay.  See what the hardest material is that you can get for the core.  Supers have hard heads."

"Yay!"  She hugged me and ran off down the hall.

I looked back at the suit of armor.  She was right; it would look far more heroic with the pieces of plate armor on my arms and legs.

I yelled, "Get some helms as well to try out!"

From way down the hall, she called back, "Okay!"

I love that kid.  I hope she sticks around for the long haul.
  While I hadn't been wealthy for more than the last five years or so, when I had the mansion built the first few factotums or lead butler types just hadn't worked out well.  Stumbling across Maris while I was helping down in Haiti after the disaster had been a godsend to both of us.

I went to my locked study, where I'd put in several whiteboards and several large corkboards to attach paperwork with pins to.  I looked over my information so far on the last few days.

On one of the boards I'd listed possible causes for a mutation - one that was repeatable in groups of people, and at different times.  I thought of chemicals - airborne as well as food, and drink additives.  Another idea was a drug being sold on the street that was somehow making changes.

Everyone knew when the meteor showers occurred that the mutations happened.  Since it had happened repeatedly for the last twenty-five years or so we knew it wasn't happenstance.  This led me to believe that a likely chemical would be based off some meteorite that made it to the ground, and perhaps someone was grinding it into dust or something and adding it to other drugs.  That type of thing could be malicious, or it might blend in well with another drug, and the dealers used it to sell less actual product with the other stuff filling up space.

Another possibility was that someone was selling a 'normal' street drug, and had something radioactive near their storage area or manufacturing place - again the meteorite idea came to mind.

Yet another possibility was that a super had the ability to change people into these brutish looking guys.  I wanted to say orcs, being as they fit the rough description found in many of the fantasy novels I enjoyed - but they were red skinned rather than green.

If a super was doing it, then it was likely intentional.  The fact that the horde of orcs were all repeating "Hate Goth" over and over made me wonder.  It was too common a thread, and was the biggest question in my mind about the use of chemicals or drugs.  Changing the people into orcs?  Sure, drugs might be able to accomplish that.  Changing all of their mentality to hate not just people who are different - or just mutants - but specifically the Goth crowd?  Now that was just malicious.

I supposed a new weapon could do it as well.  Everyone loved the idea of strange weaponry in the hands of aliens, but I knew for a fact that aliens actually existed and had been at their ship.  I didn't know if they were capable of body- and mind-alteration ranged weapons, but who knew, it might be possible.

I looked over at the side table.  After Black Tiger had taken one of their laser weapons and stood up to the military supers, I'd taken one as well.  It had been easier to hide under my tabard than in his belt, but I’d thought it might come in handy one day.

I couldn't rule out some kind of hand weapon - perhaps something that kicked off a change in the body.  Again, the oddity was the mindset.  Unless ... unless the band playing had something in their music about hating the Goths.  If that were the case, perhaps it would allow for any of the other methods of change, and still account for the mindset.

Damnit, I just ruined my own simplicity theory.
  I hadn't been at the first Goth club attacked, but the others made it sound like it was a nearly identical situation - perhaps with the mutants at the second club better prepared to stave off the attack so they couldn't reach more of the club.  Good thing, too - that probably saved a fair number of non-mutants just enjoying a night out.

Therefore, they definitely didn't just hate one person, or they wouldn't have attacked two clubs.  Unless that person happened to be at both clubs....  I'd have to look into that – Lady Nocturne was a definite possibility.  The bouncer made it sound like she’d been at her own club on the first night, and then hung out at Blacklight on the second while hers was under repair.

While I couldn't throw out the alien weaponry - or I supposed human weaponry perhaps created by a super - and the idea of a super doing it would be nice, but just as fantastic.  The most likely one came back to the chemicals.  The fact that Watermane had discovered a company dumping chemicals in the river right around the time of all this couldn't be coincidence.

In the middle of the afternoon, my phone rang.

I answered, "Hello?"

Rayna said, "Hiya Razorwing.  What are you up to?"

"Not much right now.  Trying to figure out possibilities for this orc horde thing."

"Oh my god!  You call them orcs too?"

"Sure, they fit the fantasy orc, don't they?"

"Except for the color they do.  Do you play video games too?"

"Not really."

"Oh.  That's a bummer."

Apparently you do. 
I chuckled.  "Have you found anything new?"

"Yeah, I happened to be with Psystar when she got a call from Captain McCain - we went to Metrocity Jail together and she did her mind thing on some of the guys."

"She did?  What did that turn up?"

"Apparently they don't really think any more, they just think about hating the Goth mutants."

"Okay, we generally assumed that, being as they practically chanted it."

"Right - but she said their memories had been blocked off, and if she's serious - and I think she was - they didn't have a place to store new memories in their brain."

"Now that's interesting.  It doesn't change many theories, though.  A chemical strange enough to mutate someone like that could also block off the brain's ability to store new memories, I suppose."

"She also said their emotional center had been replaced, all that was left were ... well ... she said pools of hate, rage and anger.  Not sure why she called them pools, though."

"That fits the way they acted as well.  It still doesn't give us any indicators as to the cause."

"Right - but here's the best part - she did her thing on some of the orcs from the second attack, as well one in the first."

"Oh, now that has possible value - what'd she find?"

"The same band was playing at both metal clubs when the change happened."

"All right, now that's something to dig into.  Either one of them - or multiple - may have powers that make people change, or they might have either an explicit or hidden 'Hate Goth' message in their music."

"Or even just one song might be enough to do it.  The memories stopped at roughly the same time, during the same song on both nights."

"Wait, so the band is playing X song, and that's when the change is occurring?"

"Yeah.  Actually, it wasn't just during the song; it was during a pretty killer guitar riff."

"Hmm, no singing?"

"Sure, during the rest of the song there was.  That part was hardcore guitar and support instruments though."

"I think we should nab the guitarist."

"I'm ahead of you - I've been researching the band.  I have their names from their website and the addresses from H.E.R.O.  The actual reason I'm calling you is to see if you'd be my backup on arresting each of them."

"Of course I'll help.  You aren't sending in the police to arrest them?"

"No, for all we know these are supers.  On top of that, we might have a person that's causing these changes.  I don't want to inflict that on police officers.  In addition, even the weakest supers are four or more times stronger than most humans are and can take being shot by a pistol and continue to fight and move.  That could be ugly even if a super has no combat powers."

"I agree.  Where would you like to meet - or for that matter, would you like me to handle the flying?  I'd be happy to carry you."

"I dunno, aren't you afraid of people hitting you with a 'beauty and the beast' line, Razor?"

"Oh, sure, you think I look like a beast?"

"I'm just joking, I'm sorry if it sounded bad.  You do have the horns and tail, though.  And those eyes of yours are pretty rawr, don't you think?"

"Rawr?'

"Yeah.  Umm, a combo between cool and wicked, how's that?"

I laughed, "I'm fine with that."

"Are you on the east side or the west side?"

"Far east."

"I'm on the east as well.  Here, I'm texting you the address of my super garage - I'll meet you there, okay?"

"That'll work.  I'll see you in about fifteen minutes."

I looked up the address on my tablet and memorized the nearby streets.  Pulling up a satellite view gave me an idea of what to expect from the air.

I changed into my black costume, put on the tabard and smoothed it out a few times.  I looked in one of the wall mirrors on the way to the garage.  Maris had done a fantastic job on the tabard.  The black griffin on the chest looked authentic, and the black embroidery along the edges looked fantastic.  I thought it a little odd that she'd embroidered RAZORWING on the front bottom, but I guessed people would at least know my name.