Project Northwoods (100 page)

She put her hands on her hips indignantly as the pressure of his ability began to prod ineffectively at her mind. “Really?”

Arbiter’s blows were jarring, even through the layers of steel and wires. A primitive version of the system Zealot used to scramble Bestowed abilities was at work here, but it didn’t seem to affect the hero in the slightest. Aeschylus figured that his opponent’s discipline would insulate him from the effect of his armor, the rationale behind the villain hiding behind a helmet. Out of sight, even if his Retribution ability worked, it was rendered meaningless.

Knocked back by a body blow, Aeschylus charged forward and slammed into Arbiter, picking him up and pile-driving him into the pavement. The hero knocked him into the air, spinning him to face the sky. Arbiter leapt above him, arms back to strike in a hammer blow. Aeschylus grabbed Arbiter’s leg and yanked as gravity pulled him back to earth. The rotation of their bodies put Arbiter beneath him, and he slammed the hero into the ground.

Aeschylus stood up and brought his foot up above the hero’s head. His foe rolled away and upright as the villain’s foot powdered the pavement. Arbiter kicked him in the lower back, sending him rocketing end-over-end. The suited man bounced before landing in a crouch, his boots digging gouges into the concrete to slow his momentum. Arbiter seethed quietly as Aeschylus rose.

Archetype took a step backward, his hands falling to his side. “But… I was able…”

Zombress held up a hand to silence him. “I was drugged up and put into a coma before.” Her hand returned to her hip. “I’m the Queen of the Dead, not some brain-dead minion of yours.” She took a step toward him, menacingly. “Normally, I don’t like killing for the sake of killing, but being framed, thrown head-first into a floor, mentally violated, hunted, beaten, and blown up would put any woman in a very, very bad mood.”

“Tell me, Zombress…” Archetype said, his voice not faltering but his intention to retreat clearly evident. “Do you know how old you are?”

Zombress had reached the sword and kicked it into the air, snatching it as it rose. “I’ve never been carded if that’s what you’re getting at.”

He smiled, a curious upturn of his lip marking something sadistic. “You are the agent of chaos, the patron of all things villainous… and yet you have no idea of your origins.”

“Do you honestly think I care?” she growled as she moved closer to him. “I am about five seconds away from gutting you and repurposing you as a tea cozy, and you’re busy feeding me this ‘I know you better than you know yourself’ bullshit?” In a flash, she cut the distance completely, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted his frail frame up the wall. “I know everything I need to know. I was killing Nazis in Egypt before you lived in a milkman’s testicle. I don’t need to know anything more than the fact that slitting your throat is going to feel fantastic.”

Arbiter smashed Aeschylus across the face, the force of it buckling the latter to his knees as he spun. Immediately, Arbiter’s hands latched around the helmet and pulled, threatening to remove not just the armor but his head as well. Stunned, all Aeschylus could do was paw at Arbiter’s hands as he felt a bearing pop and hiss, causing his opponent’s grip to momentarily falter.

Aeschylus took the opportunity to get himself crouched to his feet and leap up and backward, pinning Arbiter beneath him. The hands fell away as Aeschylus rolled aside, got to his feet, and leapt as the downed hero rolled away. Arbiter rose and shoulder-rammed the still aerial villain hard enough to fling him several yards away. Before he could recover, Arbiter tackled him, bringing his fist across the helmet before grabbing the chin with one hand and the breast plate with the other.

Another bearing popped, but Arbiter’s grip didn’t falter. Aeschylus fiddled with the buttons on his wrist, and another burst of stimulant shot into his system. His heart quaked, but kept pumping. Aeschylus thundered a blow against Arbiter’s gut followed by another which freed him from the hero’s clutches. Arbiter staggered to his feet as Aeschylus scrambled upright and ran toward him. A right cross rocked Arbiter’s face, followed by an elbow to his gut. The villain shoved the hero back and delivered a vicious uppercut, sending his foe skyward.

“Be careful, Zombress. Your hubris is showing.” Something flashed across Archetype’s face, and immediately Zombress seized her head, crying out in agony as she dropped the sword. She collapsed to her knees as something felt like it was forcibly ripped from her skull. “I think your companion doesn’t appreciate being kept in a cage.” Steaming air shot from Zombress’s mouth as her flesh broke out in goose bumps.

“No…” she said, turning her head. A mass of black miasma wafted lazily in the air, crackling with pulsing purple tendrils of energy. Zombress stood upright.

“Say hello to your dark id, as it were,” Archetype said with a laugh as he shoved his way by her, sprinting between the whorling darkness and Zombress before turning back to her. “You’ve never been formally introduced.”

Arbiter’s strength was beginning to wane, but his determination to stop Aeschylus burned all the brighter because of it. Each blow sent waves of electricity through his system, making it harder and harder to focus. But he had no doubt in his mind that this old man, even behind his armor, would succumb to exhaustion before he, the Lord of Justice, would fall.

Aeschylus aimed a haymaker at him, arcing his hand back as he charged forward. Arbiter darted forward and caught the hand, yanking it down as he slipped underneath and to the side of the still-moving villain. He pulled, Aeschylus’s momentum working against him and sending him sprawling to the ground. Arbiter, hand still wrapped around his opponent’s wrist, kicked him over and planted a boot on his shoulder. He pulled upward, feeling the old man’s arm spasm in his grasp.

“No!” someone screamed, drawing Arbiter’s attention. Déjà vu tugged at his brain as a vision from the past ran toward them.

“Ariana, no!” Aeschylus shouted before being silenced by a twist of his arm.

“I never sought to end your entire line,” Arbiter said, releasing the limb. He kicked Aeschylus away and turned to Ariana. The girl was grabbed by Aquaria in an attempt to keep her back. Arbiter’s lip twitched in a semblance of satisfaction. “But your recalcitrance forces my hand.”

Ariana squirmed free of the traitor’s grasp. “Stop this, Arbiter! Please!” the former heroine cried out.

“I gave you your chance, and you seek to drag all heroes down with you!” Arbiter roared. He sprinted toward Ariana, hand outstretched. A step away, Aeschylus intercepted him, throat-checking the hero with a spinning backhand. Arbiter crashed onto his back as the villain turned to his daughter.

“Run, Ariana!” Aeschylus shouted. “Don’t look…” Arbiter got to his feet quickly and grabbed Aeschylus by the neck. Fingers once more digging into the armor, the hero spun him and threw him away from Ariana. He leapt into the air and landed feet-first on Aeschylus’s chest.

“Claymore, look away!” Zombress shouted as she reached up to her earpiece. She pressed the button. “Mollie, shut off all cameras immediately.”

“Already taken care of,” Mollie said in her soothing tone.

Archetype was walking backward, keeping Zombress in view the entire time as the darkness behind him took shape, solidifying into something familiar. “This will prove to be more fortunate than I originally thought. Everyone will blame you for the boy’s death, and your sudden disappearance–” A black tendril slammed through his gut, spraying the floor with blood. Archetype twitched before being thrown down the hall and landing with a wet thud.

Zombress dug her heels into the floor as the human figure in the miasma turned, revealing itself to be a picture-perfect rendition of herself, albeit with glowing purple eyes. The Nightmare smiled, tight-lipped, emulating her own position. “Hello, fear itself,” Zombress snarled. “I guess it’s time to see what all the fuss about playing with yourself is.”

The thing howled and threw itself at her, Zombress hitting it across the face with a right hook. As it reeled from the blow, the body twisted, and it snatched her deftly and spun her before smashing her into the wall. Even as the structure buckled under the force of the blow, Zombress brought her legs up and kicked the Nightmare off of her, sending it staggering backward.