Megamatrix Hero Within (7 page)

Then Fletcher realized, Technein couldn't have stolen his powers. The powers were a part of him, not the device. Interfering with it, could only restrict his use of them, not take them away entirely.

He knew he couldn't control his size like MaxMolecule or turn invisible like Red Wraith, and if he had Korgus or Liberty Torch's strength, he'd have no trouble pushing these security guards off of him. He had trouble concentrating on what was left. He was so thirsty it was making him lightheaded. He couldn't use Archer's accuracy, and even though Ali Babba’s all-seeing vision would be worthless, he tried it anyway and failed. What was left?

Fletcher rolled his head to the side and heard the choir singing for him again, calling for him to join them. Only the song wasn't coming from some magical afterlife beckoning him to cross over.

It came from Neptune's Spirit.

Lord Trident's magic spear glistened within the glass case above the desk. When his eyes locked onto it, the pain in Fletcher's chest, his entire body, faded to a numb throbbing. He calmly extended his hand toward the case, which caused one of the guards to grab and pin his wrist to the couch.

At Fletcher's command, Neptune's Spirit freed itself at last. For more than a decade, it has patiently awaited the return of its master and at last the time had come to reunite. In a shower of glass shards, the trident broke free of the case and hurried to Fletcher's hand, stabbing the guard who'd pinned his wrist cleanly through the forearm.

The guard fell backward, letting go of Fletcher's arm and clutching his own bleeding wound instead. But the other guards, Napalm, and Technein barely noticed his cries of pain.

That's because when Neptune's Spirit reached Fletcher's hand, they were a little distracted. For years, the ruler of the seas had been missing, but now that he was back, the water itself celebrated.

Every pipe in the entire mansion burst at once, and none in a more spectacular mess than those in Napalm's lavatory. The toilet and sink exploded in a scene reminiscent of the 4th of July if fireworks were replaced by indoor plumbing. Fragments of porcelain tore through the wall separating the bathroom and the office, allowing streams of water to spray through the hole left behind. Water from the upstairs pipes that had burst began seeping through the ceiling. The room looked more like a dam ready to burst than an office.

As soon as the water touched his skin, Fletcher realized why he'd felt so thirsty. He'd been dehydrated. Now, as he soaked up the deluge pouring forth from the wall and ceiling, he felt every cell of his body restored. Better than restored. He felt every cell rejoice. The pain from the device was gone, and with it his concentration problems.

Fletcher took advantage of the distraction of exploding plumbing, rolling off the couch and using the handle of Neptune's Spirit to trip two of the security guards all in one fluid motion. He got to his feet and grabbed the remaining guard by his shirt and tie, then tossed him across the room on top of the others as they tried to stand, knocking them all down.

He pointed the tips of Neptune's Spirit at Technein's throat. Technein stared at the handle, silently panicking at every twitch of Fletcher's hands. The ability to interfere with any electronic system was worthless against an ancient magical sea spear. That was why he'd had Napalm kill Lord Trident instead of doing it himself.

It would take next to nothing. With less effort than it would take to slice a ripe peach, Fletcher could plunge the trident into Technein's throat and end the supervillain's reign over the city. Yet something within him restrained him. He didn't want vengeance. He wanted justice. But more so, he didn’t want to be like Technein or Napalm or Tremblor. He wasn’t a murderer.

"Over by the window," Fletcher ordered, giving Technein a quick, painful poke in the chest. "You, too," he shouted at Napalm

Napalm, who was nearly fully restored and ready for another blast, happily joined them by the large bay window that overlooked his fishing boat in the marina, ready to kill Lord Trident all over again.

"You think if you get rid of me you can just take over the whole city and it's that easy? What are you going to do?" Technein said. "Kill me?"

"No," Fletcher declared, "superheroes don't do that. I'm going to bring you to justice."

Napalm and Technein both laughed. "And how are you going to do that?" Technein laughed. "There's no justice left on Earth, dummy."

"Maybe not on land," Fletcher said with a sly smile, slamming the base of Neptune's Spirit on the floor of the office.

The two supervillains shared a quizzical look for a second before they heard the roar. The first thing they noticed when they spun around was that Napalm's fishing boat was above their heads. But that didn't make any sense.

With a deafening explosion, tons of water came crashing down on the mansion. The tidal wave shattered the windows and filled the office with water up to everyone's chest.

Napalm launched himself toward Fletcher and exploded, but the water moved to protect its master, dousing the flames before they could cause any damage. As his body tried to reform itself, the bits that remained slipped out the window in the undertow of the water receding back to the gulf.

The current grabbed Technein as well, and though he tried to fight it, it was too strong. He was sucked out the window and shouted threats at Fletcher that were drowned out by the roar of the water.

With both supervillains pulled far out to sea, Fletcher breathed a deep sigh of relief and turned to leave the office. Lord Trident wasn't the only one of his kind and far beneath the waves, the last of his people would be eager to dispense justice to the men who had robbed their kingdom of its king.

In the doorway, waiting for him, were two dozen more of Technein's security guards, each bigger than the next.

CHAPTER 13

Now that Technein was no longer around to tamper with the device on his chest, Fletcher realized he could again access the powers of superheroes other than Lord Trident again. However, something must have damaged it, because he could now only access on set of powers at a time.

Not that it mattered much against a pack of security guards. No matter how burly they might look, they were no match for Korgus... or MaxMolecule... or Liberty Torch... even Red Wraith could probably take them all without breaking a sweat.

Fletcher decided he’d have the most fun chasing them down the hallways of the old mayor’s mansion while swinging a giant ball and chain over his head, smashing everything in sight. So Korgus it was.

“What do you want us to do now?” the lead guard asked Fletcher just as the ball and chain formed around his forearm.

“Excuse me?” Fletcher said.

“Did you want me to call a plumber or do you want to keep the plumbing broken?” the guard prompted. “You seemed to like it this way.”

“Um...” Fletcher didn’t understand why he was being asked for his opinion on how they should treat Technein’s mansion. “What do I care? Technein is gone.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m asking what you’d like us to do.”

“Why are you asking me?” Fletcher yelled.

“Well, if you get rid of him,” the guard explained, pointing out the window toward the direction the wave had taken Technein and Napalm, “you can just take over the whole city. It’s that easy.”

It took a moment for the reality to sink in. For the first time in as long as he could remember, there wasn’t a supervillain lording over the city. What could that mean?

What if he demanded the police enforce the laws, the way his dad did? What if he opened up the hospitals so that anyone could go to them? What if every idiot who got superpowers was no longer trying to impress Technein with how much they destruction they could cause?

He quickly realized he had no idea how to run a city. He needed to talk to Miguel—if Miguel would listen to him. He needed to talk to Android 7. He needed to know what to do next. He needed... he needed a plan. He'd fix this city as best he could. Because things were about to change.

“Yes,” he told the security guard. “Call a plumber.”