Crystal sighed. I knew it was too much to hope for.
She stood just around the edge of an opening into another large sewer maintenance room. Her team quickly worked their way along the trail left by the Rikti warband, smashing aside what little opposition lay in their path. They halted at the next big room to investigate the foes that waited for them, and found a familiar face in the bunch. The Heavy Assault Suit that they fought before was present, cheering on the otherworldly troops and accompanied by another Heavy Assault Suit. Unlike the first one, this suit was in the center of a huge energy field that surrounded and covered the supporting troops with no ill effects, yet Crystal knew this was not a sign of benevolence. There was nothing about the invading Rikti that wasn’t geared towards the destruction of humanity, and if this Rikti had an energy field, it was bad news for her team.
Echoing her thoughts, Supa Fly inquired, “Isn’t that…”
“Probably,” said Harm.
“It is,” StarDust declared. “War has returned. The other one is called Famine.”
“Why?”
“Don’t get close,” was all StarDust had to say in reply.
“I’m real curious how you know so much about these things,” Bellona accused.
“Quit bugging him,” Jenny commanded.
Bellona turned to face her. “No. We don’t know [censored] about these things, yet all of a sudden this little guy is on a first name basis with their heavy hitters! Maybe you’re too stupid to think of this, but maybe he isn’t who you think he is! Or maybe he’s got a side job-”
“Cut it out, Bellona,” Crystal spat. “We already know who the enemy is.” She pointed to the assembled Rikti. Heading off the inevitable comeback, she continued, “I’m sorry if betrayal is so common in your life that you have to be suspicious of everyone, but we do things differently here. Besides, not knowing their names doesn’t put us at a disadvantage.”
“Didn’t you notice how cryptic he was about Famine’s powers? He’s holding back!”
“I’m sure he has his reasons.” Crystal glanced over at StarDust. “But I’m trusting his benevolence, and I’m sure he’ll share more of his knowledge once he’s comfortable doing so.” She turned away and resumed sizing up the Rikti.
Bellona stomped over to StarDust and loomed over him. She hissed, “The cheerleader may be dumb enough to turn her back on you, but I’m not! If you think you can pull a fast one, try to betray me, or do anything else to harm me, I’ll make [censored] sure to kill you before I die!”
StarDust remained silent, but Crystal did not. “I doubt that,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m the Tank, remember? The one who takes the hits so you don’t have to? If we’re betrayed, it’ll happen to me first, so you’ll have plenty of time to notice and escape, if necessary. Just relax.”
Harm scooched closer to Crystal. He whispered, “Bellona has a point. We don’t know what danger Famine poses. StarDust seems to know more than we do, and he’s not talking. How do you intend to fix this situation?”
“I’ll go ask Famine what he does.” More loudly, she continued, “I’m going to try and pull War and the other Rikti away from Famine. Hopefully, Famine isn’t as… enthusiastic as War. Wait here and look for an opening.” She powered up and stepped around the corner.
“Be careful!” Jenny whispered. Crystal laughed softly. Annoyed, Jenny retorted, “You know what I mean!”
“I do. Thanks.” She stomped off, her heavy footsteps echoing in the large chamber. The sound, combined with the magnified glow from her hands, should already have alerted the Rikti to her presence, yet they remained in a loose formation. Whatever they were up to, it didn’t involve maintaining watch for “intruders”. Crystal stopped and looked around the room. Now she could clearly see the recessed alcoves along the walls. These were spaces for some sort of local control or monitoring equipment, placing it far enough from the water that flowed through the center of the room to keep the equipment dry. Her experience with Paragon’s sewers didn’t permit any identification of the function, but she did know that these sewers were no longer in use due to their antiquity and the dangers posed to the sewer workers by lurking Rikti and Circle of Thorns mages. The machines could be destroyed without compromising the city’s utility services.
Crystal walked a bit closer to the assembled Rikti. They still took no notice of her. There would be no getting around it; she had to make the first move. “Excuse me! I’ll have to inspect your work order before allowing you to begin your repairs!”
War took her comments as poorly as she hoped. It cried, “To: Battle!” and charged. Most of the other Rikti followed suit. Crystal almost lost sight of them in the opening salvo of plasma fire. She flew backwards to keep her distance, then pulled a hard left and ducked into one of the alcoves, earning herself a momentary reprieve. As planned, the alien warriors swarmed around the corner. Most stopped as soon as they regained line of sight and opened fire. A few continued their charge and attacked in melee with gunblades. War hovered over the firing squad and added his firepower to their own. Despite the pounding she was taking, Crystal smiled. The plan worked. Most of the aliens were bunched up, easy pickings for her team. Better still, Famine had not followed. The timing would be close, but it was possible that enough damage could be dealt to these Rikti to remove them from the fight before Famine got involved. Crystal took a few more steps back to distance herself from the fiery explosions she was sure were about to rip through the tightly packed aliens.
“Famine’s coming!” Jenny shouted.
“And he’s coming for US!” Bellona added.
Crystal’s blood froze. Famine’s blue energy aura heralding its arrival as it peeked around the corner; its profile soon passed into view. It was not firing, but the guns were definitely pointed at her team, which had left the safety of cover to begin their own attack on the Rikti. “Defenders (Earth) future: desolate”, it intoned as it smoothly sailed past Crystal.
The aura had not yet reached her team, but Crystal was determined to see that it never did. She launched herself into the air on an intercept course for Famine, barreling past War and the drones hovering around him. As she approached, she cried, “Oh, no you d- uhn!”
The instant she made contact with the field, her whole body convulsed. Her cry involuntarily halted as her chest muscles spasmed and her jaw locked. The sensation reminded her of fighting the Clockwork, only a thousand times stronger, and enveloping her entire body at once. With all her muscles twitching randomly and furiously, she was barely able to control herself; her charge ended, as she was unable to muster any effort beyond simply staying aloft. Crystal drifted helplessly through the air towards Famine. The other effect was that the exertions of her muscles quickly tired her out. Though she’d only been in the field for a few seconds so far, it already felt to her as though she’d just finished a volleyball tournament.
The only bright side, if there was one, was that Crystal drifted close enough to Famine for her freezing aura to affect it. Frost formed on Famine’s hull, coating gun and jet ports. Its stately advance slowed further. Famine halted, and pivoted in place to face Crystal, content to observe her agony; its guns stayed silent. “Why persist: foolish hope?” it mocked. “Your world: no future! Your fate: bleak!” As if to support Famine’s statements, the rest of the Rikti poured on the heat, and Crystal’s ice armor flashed again and again as their energy blasts vaporized her protective coating one piece at a time.
“Crystal!” Jenny shouted.
“Hurts!” she croaked in reply. Unable to think clearly, she began to drift towards the floor; she could barely concentrate on keeping her armor intact, let alone maintain lift, and the fatigue was mounting. When she reached the floor, Crystal immediately collapsed onto one knee. She could no longer fly. She could not even stand. It took every last ounce of effort just to keep her ice armor intact, and even that level of control was rapidly slipping away. Helpless, Crystal stared at the ranks of aliens and knew that her time was up.
“What are we going to do?” Jenny asked the group.
“Don’t get close,” StarDust repeated.
“Not a problem!” said Harm. “We’re Blasters!” He let loose on Famine with a supersonic shriek.
“I meant about Crystal!” Jenny clarified as she threw one fireball after another at Famine.
Bellona chimed in, “I’m more concerned with those other Rikti! They’re not going to pay attention to her much longer!”
“This is gonna hurt like a [censored],” said Supa Fly, “but if I can get a distraction, I’ll show those chumps why you don’t step on my turf without my say-so!”
Jenny snarled, “What about-”
Before she could finish her sentence, a Chief Soldier broke ranks, walked over to Crystal, placed the barrel of his gunblade in line with her head, and fired. The blast shattered the last of the ice and sent her flying backwards. Crystal bounced once off the cement floor and rolled into the water channel that ran the length of the room. She slid beneath the surface of the foul waters.
“NO!” howled Jenny.
“Oh, [censored]!” Supa Fly swore.
Harm cried, “Come on, Supa Fly! Follow me in and do your thing!” The roar of his rocket boots was almost covered by the deafening heavy metal song he played as he launched himself into the thick of the Rikti firing squad, but even that noise was soon drowned out as he overloaded his sonic projectors. The blast shattered the cement floor. Bricks exploded from the wall. Most of the Rikti warriors were liquefied inside their suits, and the few that remained upright staggered around, bleeding profusely. Harm fell silent; the attack consumed nearly all his available power.
War pivoted and trained its guns on Harm. Before it could fire, though, Supa Fly stepped in front of it. Greenish-yellow energy charged his body. He announced, “Yo, [censored]! I am one Extra Mean Pimp!” and released the energy. Power cells ruptured, conduits burst, and sparks shot out of the joints of every Rikti warrior at the electromagnetic pulse ravaged their systems. The few drones that survived Harm’s attack now exploded dramatically. Harm also collapsed to the floor, and cursed furiously inside his armor.
The pulse did have a telling effect on War, but it remained functional. Unsteadily, it advanced on Supa Fly and Harm. “Personal Identity: War! War: Undefeatable!” it boasted.
“Oh, [censored]!” Supa Fly swore again as the huge alien battlesuit advanced on him. Its guns loomed large as they focused on his head.
Suddenly, War vanished inside a blinding white column of flame. Everyone blinked or turned away to save their vision. When the light subsided and it was once again safe to look, War was gone. Underneath where War once hovered stood StarDust, his flaming aura flickering faintly. He propped himself up with hands on knees and breathed heavily. “I’m spent.”
“No [censored]!” Supa Fly evaluated. “You really kicked his [censored]!”
“Yes, but-”
The rest of StarDust’s reply was cut off as Famine advanced on the trio of supers and covered them with its aura. Harm twitched limply on the floor. Unburdened by heavy armor, Supa Fly and StarDust were more dramatic with their convulsions. They toppled over and thrashed on the ground. Supa Fly mustered enough willpower to threaten Famine: “I’m gonna take my cleaning bill out on yo [censored], [censored]!”
While continuing to hurl fireballs at Famine, Jenny howled, “This isn’t working fast enough!”
“It’s almost over,” Bellona ominously announced.
“You’ve got some other powers! Use them! Do something!”
“Not yet!”
“When would be a good time?” Jenny spat. “When everyone’s back in the hospital and it’s just us against him?”
“Shut up!” Bellona snapped. “I’m about to end this fight, but I have to wait until Famine gets closer to them! You keep the fireballs coming and shut your mouth! I know what I’m doing!”
Jenny gritted her teeth and kept throwing fire at Famine. Its hull glowed from the heat, but it continued its relentless advance. A powerful feeling of helplessness clutched her heart. She forced it to the side as best she was able, periodically glancing over at the spot where Crystal entered the water when she could not fully contain her anxiety. She glanced over at Harm, Supa Fly, and StarDust as well. As Jenny scanned the fallen supers, one missing detail popped back into her awareness. “Where’s Thunder Dragon?”
“Probably waiting for this,” Bellona replied. She clawed at the air. A blue energy wave emitted from Famine. Harm’s suit glowed as its power supplies were completely recharged. StarDust also glowed more brightly. Despite the remaining effects of Famine’s aura, the three managed to struggle to their feet and fire a few attacks at it, holding its attention for a little while longer.
It was long enough. Thunder Dragon struck from the high ceiling like a bolt of lightning. All four clawed limbs ripped into Famine’s rear, sending a shower of sparks cascading onto the floor. He did not disengage to continue his assault; instead, he clung to Famine with both hands and raked at the hull with his foot talons. His ferocious attacks spurred Famine into greater activity. “Your fighting: in vain!” it bragged. Nevertheless, it spun in place instead of firing at more accessible targets, almost as if it was desperate to dislodge the raging demigod. Its panicked motions kept Harm, Supa Fly, and StarDust safe; all four supers attacked Famine without receiving any damage in return.
Bellona stopped firing at Famine. “Now you can go wading,” she announced. Jenny looked at her like she’d lost her mind, but Bellona just pointed to the mucky pool and explained, “I waited until he moved his aura off the water. Either the cheerleader will bob up on her own, or you can go wade in and drag her out, but there was no way for her to get out while that energy field was covering the surface.”
Jenny stopped firing as well. She blinked at Bellona.
“She makes a good meat shield,” Bellona continued without looking at her. “While they’re shooting at her, they’re NOT shooting at me!”
“That was… clever of you,” Jenny praised.
Bellona turned and glowered at Jenny. “I’m not her friend, and I’m definitely not yours! I’m not going into the water after her, so if she’s going to drown or not, it’s not my call!”
That was all Jenny needed to hear. She bounded off for the channel, being careful to avoid the edge of Famine’s aura. A long-time veteran of Paragon’s sewers, she knew that the channel wouldn’t be deep enough to reach over the top of her thigh-high boots, especially since her legs were so long. Jenny waded in and strode to the spot where she last saw Crystal. It took only a few seconds before her boots connected with something heavy beneath the surface. Before Jenny could steel herself for a sub-surface plunge, Crystal shot up, coughing and sputtering. Jenny grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her to the bank farthest away from Famine. She laid her face down on the cement floor and pushed on her back to help expel any water from her lungs.
“Ack! My ribs!” Crystal complained. “Take it easy!”
“I’m just trying to help!” Jenny whined.
“I know, and I’m grateful, but please don’t push so hard! I can’t take the damage unless I’m iced up, and I really don’t want to freeze this sludge to my skin!”
Jenny eased up on Crystal but continued rubbing her back. “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t you drown? You were under a long time.”
“That energy field didn’t go past the surface. That wasn’t too helpful, though; I was almost finished when I went under. I had just enough strength left to freeze my face. It helped me hold my breath, but I couldn’t last forever, and I was too weak to move. I’m glad you kicked me when you did, or I might have passed out and drowned for real!”
The room fell silent. Jenny looked over her shoulder and saw that Famine had teleported away. Thunder Dragon landed and roared in frustration. Everyone else took the time to recompose themselves. Crystal tried to turn over to check on everyone, but Jenny pinned her face down on the floor. “Don’t turn over yet,” she cautioned.
Crystal stiffened. “What? Is there something clinging to my back? Is it moving? Get it off!” she shrieked.
“Relax! That’s not it. You’re parasite-free, as far as I can tell.”
Crystal relaxed her body, but still struggled in Jenny’s grip. “Then why won’t you let me up?”
Jenny bent over her soggy friend and whispered, “We’re in mixed company, and you just went for a swim while wearing a white cotton t-shirt. Think about it.”