West Pacific Supers: Rising Tide (48 page)

2:05 a.m., Saturday, August 3rd, 2013

WPS Headquarters

West Pacific, CA

“So
what’s our plan for dealing with Starfish and friends?” asked Cosmic Kid as he
forced opened the door into the lobby of the legal department. It was nicely
decorated with wood paneling and a granite-topped reception desk. There were
chairs, two couches, a magazine rack, and a wide-screen television. It was a
little excessive given the number of people who probably came through here, but
then again maybe half the city had some legal issue with the team.

“We eliminate his
support and then deal with him,” said Dr. Sterling, walking into the department
and heading for
Matteo’s
office in the back. Cosmic
Kid and Midnight followed after her.

“How are we to deal
with
Fortina
Knox? How invulnerable is she?” asked
Midnight.

“Her skin can’t be
cut or bruised, she’s like the
Nemean
lion,” said Dr.
Sterling.

“The what?” asked
Midnight.

“It was one of the
12 Labors of Hercules; he had to defeat a lion whose hide couldn’t be cut,”
said Cosmic Kid. “So he strangled the lion and after killing the lion he used
its hide as an indestructible cloak. But I always wondered how he got the hide
off the lion if it couldn’t be cut.”

“He used the
creature’s own claws to cut the skin,” said Dr. Sterling as she opened the door
to
Matteo’s
office. “But one should not get hung up
on the details but the lessons from myths and parables.”

“Which is that we
have to strangle her?” asked Midnight.

“If she has to
breathe then her respiratory system is probably her weakness,” said Cosmic Kid.
“Strangling is one thing, but airborne toxins might work as well.”

“Exactly, which is
why when we swung by the armory we picked up gas canisters in addition to
everything else,” said Dr. Sterling, sitting at
Matteo’s
computer and beginning to type. “Starfish can regenerate quickly enough to
nullify the effects of most toxins, but I’m hoping
Fortina
Knox is not as gifted.”

“And if you’re
wrong?” asked Cosmic Kid.

“Then we’ll just
have to improvise,” said Dr. Sterling.

Cosmic Kid’s
HoloBerry rang and he quickly answered it. “Hello?”

“Kid, this is Blue
Star I’ve been trying to get hold of you - what’s happening at HQ?”

“Starfish is here
and trying to kill Dr. Sterling. What’s the condition of the team?”

“Gabrielle’s dead,
Camille is en route to the hospital, and I’ve been helping the WPPD deal with
Starfish’s pets,” said Blue Star. “But with Starfish there I’ll be at HQ as
quickly as possible.”

“We could use the
help,” said Cosmic Kid, who decided not to pass on the news of Gabrielle’s
death and Camille’s incapacity to Midnight and Dr. Sterling.

“No,” said Dr.
Sterling. “Tell Blue Star to stay there till the creatures are taken care of
and protect the WPPD.”

Cosmic Kid looked at
her incredulously. “Are you insane - we need his help!”

“Yes, but the WPPD
at Starfish’s house need him more than we do,” said Dr. Sterling. “Tell him
once the situation is stabilized there he can come to provide assistance.”

Cosmic Kid sighed
and spoke into his HoloBerry, “Blue Star, Dr. Sterling says you need to stay
there and help the WPPD until the situation is under control.”

“Negative, I’m
coming back,” said Blue Star who then ended the transmission.

“He’s on his way,”
said Cosmic Kid triumphantly.

“Fine, I’ll just
have to make some adjustments in my plan,” said Dr. Sterling, bringing up a
webcam in Operations on the monitor. Starfish was there with
Fortina
Knox and two men who were carrying shotguns.
“Hello, Dr. Keller — we seem to keep missing one another.”

Starfish looked
around but apparently Dr. Sterling’s voice was coming from several sources in
Operations. Still he quickly composed himself. “So it’s a game of hide and
seek? I know where the safe rooms are and if need be I can start torturing your
staff until you show yourself.”

Dr. Sterling picked
up her HoloBerry and hit a key. There was a musical ring from Starfish. He
frowned and answered his HoloBerry. “Dr. Sterling, I suppose.”

“Yes,” said Dr.
Sterling with a smile. “The WPPD and West Pacific Supers are en route. You can
either surrender or come to the legal department.”

“Legal department?”
asked Starfish. “What are you planning on doing - stopping me with an
injunction?”

“Nope, just going
over your contract. It appears you are in violation of several clauses that
forbid stupidity, cowardice, and poor hygiene.”

“Yes, yes, witty
insults and while I run to the legal department, you will no doubt move to
accounting,” said Starfish. “I’m not a fool. You have five minutes to come to
operations or I pop open Safe Room E and kill everyone there. I’m done playing
your games, Annie, now I’m making the rules.”

“
Chickenshit
as always Dr. Keller,” said Dr. Sterling, cutting off her audio connection but
leaving the webcam on to watch Starfish.

“Yeah, well, I’m not
the one hiding am I, Annie,” said Starfish. “I know you have something planned
and I’m not biting, so come see me or people will start dying… do you hear me,
Annie? I’m done playing around… I’ve beat you and you know it.”

Dr. Sterling turned
towards Midnight and Cosmic Kid. “It appears my original plan is not going to
work.”

“How long will it
take him to get into Safe Room E?” asked Cosmic Kid.

“If he doesn’t have
the passcode, it might take 30 minutes for him to bash his way into the room,
but I have a suspicion he has the passcode,” said Dr. Sterling with a worried
tone.

“Then let’s go get
him,” said Midnight. “You stay here, Annie. Cosmic Kid and I will face off
against Starfish and friends.”

“No,” said Dr.
Sterling, typing a command to reconnect her to Operations. “Alright, Dr. Keller
- here’s the deal. You send
Fortina
Knox and your two
friends outside of Operations and Cosmic Kid and I will come and meet you.”

“I’m curious what
trick you plan on using and want to see it, Annie. Bedazzle me with some
delightful toy you had in the Kill Safe for me,” said Starfish. “I’ve taken
some precautions as well. Anyway, time is ticking; I’m waiting.” Starfish waved
at
Fortina
Knox and his two other minions and they
headed out of Operations. Dr. Sterling cut off the connection and sat quietly
for a moment.

“Annie, I should go
with you instead of Cosmic Kid,” said Midnight.

“Sorry, but this
appears to be an invitation-only event,” said Cosmic Kid, holding out his hand.
“Give me the gun.”

“No! This bastard
killed my father. I’m taking him down,” insisted Midnight.

“This bastard is
responsible for the death of who knows how many homeless, day sailors, and
other innocents due to his monsters and the Infinite Circle,” said Cosmic Kid.
“Besides your father, he also killed Meltdown and Gabrielle. I agree he has to
be brought down, but no offense - I’m better than you and I have the best
chance of the two of us of doing it.”

“He killed
Gabrielle?” asked Midnight quietly.

“Yes, he’s killed
three supers and we need to make sure he doesn’t get to four. Trust me, I can
get him.”

Midnight nodded and
handed the gun to Cosmic Kid before turning to Dr. Sterling. “What do you need
me to do?”

Dr. Sterling held
out her hand to Cosmic Kid. “Give me the gun.” Cosmic Kid gave her a
questioning look, but handed over the weapon.

“The plan is simple,
Cosmic Kid and I will enter through the secret corridor from my office to
Operations,” said Dr. Sterling. “Midnight, you will engage
Fortina
Knox and those outside of operations. I will lock the doors into Operations
from my office, but you need to keep them from reinforcing Starfish.”

“If I can deal with
them, should I come in to assist?” asked Midnight.

“No, do not enter
Operations,” said Dr. Sterling. “In fact, if you can draw
Fortina
Knox away that would be best. I’ll tell Blue Star to assist you when he
arrives. You go get in position and we’ll signal you when to engage.” Midnight
nodded, looked at Cosmic Kid and back to the gun in Dr. Sterling’s hand, and
then left, taking the backpack that Dr. Sterling handed her and that was filled
with things they had taken from the armory.

Dr. Sterling stood
up and headed for the nearest staircase to take up to her office. Cosmic Kid
jogged up alongside. “This is a stupid plan; I don’t think I can stop him if he
goes to kill you. I also don’t think depleted uranium bullets will take him
out.”

“No, I suspect he
has jacked himself up on iodine and other counters to radiation to protect
himself,” said Dr. Sterling. “I should have anticipated that, but fortunately
he was sloppy and let it slip. That means we need to go to Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?”
asked Cosmic Kid, who was beginning to suspect where Dr. Sterling was heading.

“We go in, I shoot
him with the depleted uranium, and then you use the Cosmic Blast.”

“The Cosmic Blast?
Dr. Sterling, it’ll destroy operations - it’ll kill you. It’s pretty powerful.”

“I talked to the
Ultimate League when we drafted you; I’m well aware of its potency.”

“I should go in
alone,” said Cosmic Kid.

“I thought of that,
but if he sees you alone he will expect the Cosmic Blast and may be able to
prevent you from engaging it. You’ve only done it a few times; your control is
minimal. With me there, he’ll discount you using the Cosmic Blast and that will
give you a chance to use it.”

“But you’ll die!”
Cosmic Kid couldn’t believe that Dr. Sterling would be willing to do this.

“I have
contingencies, but regardless this is the plan - do you understand?”

“Okay, but this is a
stupid plan.”

“Which is why it
will work.”

They
quickly reached Dr. Sterling’s office where she typed several commands on her
computer and then went to a bookcase that opened to reveal a secret passage.
“Inside,” she told him, “I need a moment,” and then she closed the door again,
leaving him in a passage that extended in various directions. He made a mental
note that when he built secret passages he wouldn’t use bookcases to hide the
entrances; it was a little cliché. After a few minutes, the door opened and Dr.
Sterling entered and began leading him towards Operations.

“Who knows about
these passages?” asked Cosmic Kid.

“You, me, and
Midnight now know they exist,” said Dr. Sterling.

“That’s all?”

“Mr. Awesome knew,
but that’s all. In fact, Mr. Awesome and I handled some of the construction
within HQ to ensure their secrecy.”

“So… what other
secrets are there in this building?”

“Plenty, but most are
on a need-to-know basis,” said Dr. Sterling.

“Wait, Blue Star
doesn’t even know about these passages?”

“No, and we’ll keep
it that way,” said Dr. Sterling taking a narrow staircase down. “Now we should
be quiet the last bit. Starfish doesn’t have superior senses, but he may have
accessorized with technology.”

Cosmic Kid nodded
and followed Dr. Sterling as quietly as possible. He watched when she slowed
and sent a message from her HoloBerry to Midnight. Then she went to a wall and
pushed a button lock. The wall slid back and she led the way into a storage
closet; he suspected the one connected to Operations. After Cosmic Kid got out,
she closed the door; he didn’t see how he could open it from in here. She
walked to the door and opened it, heading decisively into Operations. They were
in the main area, just outside the glass-enclosed command center where Starfish
was sitting in Dr. Sterling’s chair. He was startled to see them, but quickly
composed himself, got out of the chair, and headed out of the command center.

“Annie, Patrick, it
is a pleasure,” said Starfish. They all heard gunfire and sounds of a
disturbance outside. “Oh, let me guess - your vigilante friends, Annie? I
wasn’t expecting you to dip into the discount bin, but an effective riposte.”

“Give it up,
Starfish,” said Cosmic Kid. “The WPPD and the rest of West Pacific Supers are
on the way.”

“Hardly, the WPPD is
busy with my pets and also a little crime spree across town. As for the rest of
West Pacific Supers, they’re out of commission. Come now, what’s the plan
Annie? I’ll even give you the first move.”

Starfish spread his
arms, exposing his chest as a clear target. Dr. Sterling yelled, “do it!” She
leveled the large pistol at Starfish and fired four depleted uranium rounds
into him, but two of them actually passed through his spongy body and hit
television monitors behind him. Cosmic Kid closed his eyes and reached deep
into his body for a spark he knew was there. He touched it with his mind and
pushed as hard as he could.