Ultrahuman 01 - Ugly (41 page)

‘No,’ Brightstar replied.

‘First time for everything,’ Twilight said brightly.

‘Ah,’ Ultimate said. ‘Well, worth a try. I got to see Kopf’s data on you, young lady. Even if you’re not going to join up, I’d like the opportunity to talk to you about it. Drop me a message on UltraNet.’ He turned, producing a device from somewhere on his person and tapping a button. The shimmer in the air appeared again and he stepped through without further comment.

Brightstar nodded to them both before following him.

‘She wasn’t pleased,’ Twilight commented. There was a mile-wide grin on her face.

‘She’ll live,’ Cygnus replied.

~~~

‘You refused Brightstar?’ Red said, her lips curling further upward at the edges the more she thought about it. ‘Oh… she’s going to hate that.’

‘She’ll live,’ Andrea said, grinning. She had taken less persuasion than usual to come to the Den after the lab bust.

‘I’m not letting them put me on call all the time just because they lost one scumbag member,’ Cygnus added. ‘I’ve got responsibilities here. There’s plenty to do and, frankly, I’m going to need a new job next year.’

‘Maybe,’ Red said. ‘Oh, while I remember… I don’t want to bring the mood down, but the executors of Bobby’s will contacted me. They need Cygnus at the reading, and June, and me. It’s on Monday, ten o’clock.’

‘Not like I have to go into the office,’ Cygnus replied. ‘It’s closed until further notice, probably for good.’

‘There’ll be clean-up to do,’ June put in, ‘but you’re right. I shouldn’t have a problem either, but why do
I
need to be there.’

Red just smiled. ‘Have to wait and find out.’

21
^st
December.

Of course Saturday afternoons were the worst. Normally Penny would have changed and flown to Bobby’s house. They would have thrown each other around the dojo, and then made love until neither of them could move. Now it was just Penny, watching television with the voices as a constant backdrop.

ACPN was still playing stories about Ultranova’s death, and each time one aired Penny thought the voices whispered, ‘You killed him,’ over and over again. But when she focussed on the sounds at one point all she could hear was the usual gibberish and she concluded that the voices did not care about it. She was hearing what she wanted to hear, or did not want to hear, in the random noises.

‘You should go out,’ June suggested when the moping had become too much for her. ‘Go find some criminals to smack around.’

‘What if I hurt someone?’ Penny replied.

‘That’s the idea.’

‘I mean
really
hurt them.’

‘Pen, have you
ever
hit anyone as hard as that before?’

‘Pulya…’

‘Was in a suit of armour. I’m talking about the thugs and purse snatchers? The drug dealers I think you could hit harder, but it’s not my call.’

‘There’ve been some broken bones, but… no.’

‘Right. Ultranova was trying to kill you. From the state of your face when you got home, he could have done it, and everyone knows he had some fairly heavy defences of his own. Bullets bounced off the guy. You did what you had to do to defend yourself.’ She paused and then added. ‘Red thinks it’s better he didn’t live to stand trial.’

Penny looked up at her, shocked. ‘She what?’

‘This way they can cover up the fact that he was basically using his hero identity to put down the opposition while committing some pretty unpleasant crimes himself. She did a little checking. He’s taken down a disproportionate amount of Tonaldo’s people and he’s been Hell on independents. His people, though, or the ones suspected of belonging to Ghostfire anyway, he hasn’t touched one of them. When he has shown up the crooks usually get away. The last lot that were caught were in that car you grabbed.’

Thinking back on it, him firing at the getaway car had had the effect of making the cops back off rather than stopping the bad guys. At the time Penny had assumed that that was accidental.

‘Bastard,’ she muttered. ‘I used to idolise that man.’

June grinned. ‘Yeah, and then you met him.’

23
^rd
December.

It was not until Monday morning that Penny realised that Cygnus had nothing formal to wear. She felt a little uncomfortable in a black mini-dress at the lawyer’s office, but it was the best she could do and no one else seemed bothered.

‘This shouldn’t take long,’ the lawyer said. He was suitably old: grey hair, grey eyes, dressed in a grey suit, and probably considering retirement. Penny liked him just for that. ‘Mister Lee wrote a new will three months ago and the terms are very clear.’

The old man gave Red a smile. ‘As you know, Miss Jacoby, Mister Lee has left you his collection of Japanese Kyūjutsu books and manuscripts.’

Red glanced at Cygnus. ‘That’s Japanese archery. Bobby has a
very
extensive library of martial arts texts going back centuries.’

‘To Miss June Summerfield,’ the lawyer went on, ‘the sum of fifty thousand dollars “to let her take the modelling world by the throat and show it who is boss.”’

June gave a little giggle. ‘That sounds just like him. That’s wonderful, and very useful considering.’

‘It should tide you over until you can get modelling to pay,’ Red agreed.

‘Finally,’ the lawyer said, ‘the remainder of Mister Lee’s estate goes to the Ultrahuman known as “Cygnus.”’ The subject of the final clause let out a gasp. ‘There is a fairly substantial lump sum, his house, the remainder of his martial arts materials, and a number of long-term investments. I’ve been instructed to make arrangements to set up access to the accounts via the Federal protocols for use of a pseudonym. I’ve done this sort of thing before.’

‘Uh… right,’ Penny said. ‘Thanks.’

~~~

‘You don’t seem especially happy,’ Red commented.

‘I’m… a little shocked,’ Penny replied.

It was the first time she had been back in Bobby’s house since she had found his body and Penny was feeling a little uncomfortable. Being Cygnus just then had been a decision of necessity; the voices would have been roaring in her head if she had been Penny.

‘I can understand,’ Red replied, ‘but it’s yours now. You could move in here if…’

‘Not yet,’ Penny replied quickly. ‘It’s too soon. Besides, if I do that I’m almost committing myself to being Cygnus full-time.’

‘Not really. This place is out of the way and the security systems are first rate. There’s plenty of privacy if you want it. Here’s an idea: invite Twilight over. Use the dojo. You need someone to spar with. Come over to check on the place now and again. Spend some time in the guest rooms.’

June had been silent up until now. She turned and looked timidly at her friend. ‘Maybe… Well, maybe we could have the Christmas party here rather than at Red’s. There are enough rooms, and it would be like… like having Bobby with us.’

‘I’ll cry,’ Penny asserted.

‘No one is going to think less of you because of it,’ Red told her. ‘Come on, I’ll show you where he kept his texts. You’ve probably never been in the basement.’

‘I didn’t even know there
was
a basement.’

Red grinned. ‘Where do you think his wine cellar was?’

24
^th
December.

‘Okay,’ Andrea said as Cygnus put her down on the floor of the dojo, ‘yes, I think I could get used to this.’

‘Red thought we could spar here,’ Cygnus replied. ‘I’ll show you the martial arts books in the basement later. Bobby left them to me, aside from the archery stuff. Though if you’re interested in that Red’s leaving them where they are since it’s all climate-controlled down there. I don’t think she’d mind you reading them.’

‘I’ll leave the bow and arrow stuff to her. Are you really okay with this? He meant a lot to you, and obviously it was reciprocated, and now you’ve got this place to remind you of him all the time…’

‘I’m good,’ Cygnus replied, and then frowned and let Penny out, at least vocally. ‘Well, actually I’m not good at all, but I’ll get over it. This place has a lot of memories in it. The vast majority are really good and once I’ve got over the bad one I should be fine.’

Andrea nodded. ‘You know, I think I can tell when it’s Penny speaking now. The tone’s a little different. Cygnus doesn’t have Penny’s insecurities.’

‘I don’t have as many insecurities as I did,’ Penny replied, giving a slight smile. ‘I… had a revelation.’

‘Oh?’

‘Beauty’s only skin deep, right?’

‘That’s what they say?’

‘Ugly is in your head. I mean it’s a state of mind. I always thought I was ugly. I was the ugly duckling and Cygnus is the swan. It’s why I picked the name. June always said I was stupid, I was never ugly, maybe not attractive, but never ugly and… she was right.’

Andrea laughed. ‘She’s a bright girl. What convinced you?’

‘Ultranova. For all he was a good-looking guy, he was ugly on the inside and I think he knew it. Everyone saw the charming exterior and they kind of glossed over the fact that he behaved like a total prick even when he wasn’t killing people and selling drugs.’

‘That’s pretty deep.’

‘I’ve been rather introspective recently.’

‘A little self-reflection is good for you, but do you want to see if you can beat me up now?’

Cygnus grinned and dropped into a ready stance. ‘You know you’ll probably kick my ass, don’t you?’

‘There’s a high probability of that, yeah, but we learn most from our mistakes.’

‘That’s pretty deep,’ Cygnus replied, grinning.

‘Shut up and try to hit me.’

Epilogue

Schatten Schloss, Italy, 1
^st
January, 2014.

Somewhere high above, in the clear night sky, the moon was new and, as everyone else celebrated the turn of the year, David Lazlo Durant stood in the deepest chamber of the castle encircled by six candles. He was not attending a party this year, and he had no family to be with. His purpose was far different.

Schatten Schloss was old, very old. It had been built so long ago that no one was entirely sure when the first stones had been set. There had been work done since. The keep had been extended upward and a somewhat fairy-tale tower added, an outer wall had been added at some time in the fourteenth century. Some of the chambers in the accommodation areas had been refitted several times. Plumbing had been installed around nineteen-twenty. This room had never changed, not since it was first cut from the rock of the Alps.

Now the stone lining was vanishing into shadow as darkness seeped in and began to surround him. It crawled across the floor, sneaking between the iron candle stands and then rising to envelope the flames. It barely paused around the light and then rushed in once that was gone. Durant could almost
feel
it wrapping around him and he was instantly cold. Even though he had done this many times, the blackness still chilled him right through to the core, bringing with it the fear Mankind had felt in the darkness since the dawn of the species.

‘You have found her.’ The voice was a whisper, but it rang in his ears, apparently coming from all around him, from a great distance and right beside him all at once.

‘We have,’ Durant replied. ‘She is young, inexperienced, and she has no idea of her potential…’

‘Of course she does not. If she did, she would be with us already. She must be made ready.’

‘We have operatives in place, some of our most experienced Scribes and Shades have moved into the city in preparation.’

‘On the fourth new moon I will be ready for her. See that you are.’

The darkness vanished leaving Durant gasping for breath. The conversation, he knew, had taken place in an instant, but his lungs were seared with the cold of it and it was hard to breathe.

The fourth new moon. He knew the lunar calendar well and that set the timescales. He knew what needed to be done. On the thirtieth night of March, Andrea Morgan had to die.

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing
Traveller.
I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing
Dungeons & Dragons
. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing
City of Heroes
. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Writing, sadly, is not my main source of income. By day, I’m a computer programmer. I work for a telecommunications company in Manchester, England. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, and (recently) Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.