I'm back, and at least to my admittedly biased eyes this now reads much better. I'm still having some problems with later sections, though that's mainly because the plot as it is now written is similar to a couple of my Masks plots. I may change it or just plunge ahead.

Anyway, I hope folks enjoy this.

The Angel of Chicago

Part Fourteen: Ephemeral Solutions

by

Rodford Edmiston

Malak slowed from his high-speed flight mode well above the general area of the rockies described to him previously by Blackpool. He didn't know the exact location, but what he was trying to find was the group of empowered who were actually looking for the facility. They should be obvious, since few of those involved were known for their subtlety.

Little affected by the cold or the thin air, he circled, looking for sign of his quarry. Unfortunately, the weather was partly cloudy, and the clouds were hanging low in the cool and damp air. In some cases they were actually forming ground fog. His passive sonar had a limited range and the clouds frequently blocked his vision.

On the positive side, the early morning sun was rapidly warming the rocks below, not only burning off the low clouds but creating thermals to ride.

I don't do this enough, these days, thought Malak, smiling in spite of the potential for disaster.

He spread his wings wide and circled with several hawks, gaining altitude in a strong updraft while saving energy. For the first time in years he felt the urge to just fly away. To find some isolated area and live feral, for however long his extended life would last. With his powers survival would be easy. His duties were many, and burdensome. However, his sense of duty was strong. A few minutes later, reluctantly, he resumed his search, trying to find the group of empowered before they got into too much trouble.

He found the facility first. Or, rather, it found him, something made obvious as he suddenly came under attack. Two missiles screamed through a thin cloud cover towards him.

Malak watched them approach for a moment, then abruptly whipped into a complex maneuver. The missiles collided and he went desolid to let the debris pass harmlessly through him. He allowed himself a slight smile. He had been flying for longer than most people had been alive. He had learned a few tricks.

More missiles launched; four this time. Malak scowled. He went into his fast flight mode and moved south a ways. Stopping and looking back he saw that he had successfully broken lock. The missiles wandered around drunkenly for a few seconds, then destructed.

As the echoes of the booms died away Malak heard shouting. From nearby, despite his altitude.

"You found it!"

He turned and saw a young woman he vaguely knew, flying towards him, without wings. She wore a costume of iridescent white with blue trim, and a mask which covered the entire upper half of her face. Her blond hair fell slack as she slowed.

"Yes, and you need to back off. Pearl, isn't it? We're playing into their hands, giving them reason to release the toxins."

"Toxins?!" she said, startled, pulling up short in the air. At first she hovered, but when she saw Malak moving in a tight circle she joined him in formation. "Nobody said anything about toxins! They just told us there was a target here. A bad guy fortress."

"Take me back to where 'they' are, please," said Malak.

* * *

Other fliers saw the pair approaching from well off, courtesy of Malak's huge wingspan, and joined their formation. By the time they found the main party - most of whom were on foot - there were five flyers in the procession. They landed in front of the ground-bound. Most of those assembled were walking due to the terrain, and many of them were obviously not happy about that. A few were in vehicles appropriate to the rough landscape.

"You're being played!" said Malak, loudly, as he landed, wings cupped and dust flying from the downdraft this produced. "The people in that facility have a plan to use empowered as scapegoats. The closer you come to the repository the more likely you are to cause them to detonate the device which will spread the toxins."

"What toxin?" said someone.

"Why should we believe you?" said someone else.

"A collection of toxins which can trigger the empowerment process, but will kill most of those exposed," said Malak. "Because I'm one of those who has been working to reveal the plot."

There was a confused shifting and accompanying murmur from that. However, before anyone could decide on their next course of action, Blackpool came hurrying out of the shadow of a crevice.

"They've already started the countdown for the device!" he shouted. "Malak, you didn't cause it; they began evacuating the place just before you arrived. I've been watching them from a nearby peak. They apparently decided to proceed with their plan as soon as they realized this group..."

He included the mass of empowered with a sweeping gesture.

"...was looking for them."

"Do you know how long we have?" said Malak, alarmed.

"There's supposed to be a half hour countdown," said Blackpool. "To give staff time to get away. That's what alerted me. Vehicles began leaving in a big hurry. Started about ten minutes ago. Just before they launched the missiles against you."

"So who was shooting at me?!"

"Probably automatic systems."

"So... There's nobody there to fight?" said Crunch, sounding disappointed.

"Probably not, but the weapons are still active," said Malak. He grimaced. "Very active."

"Just where is this bomb?" said Pearl.

"My contact - who helped install it - said it was in a pit dug into the rock below the lowest level of the facility. The pit the bomb is in was covered in heavily reinforced concrete a yard thick. That is now the floor of the chamber. It looks like any other concrete-floored room, but it's very tough. Once the countdown is started the bomb carries it out, ignoring any further outside signals."

"What kind of bomb is it?" someone asked.

"A small fission device, implosion type. Of about fifteen kilotonnes."

There was more disturbance as that soaked in.

"I see helicopters flying around," said one of the flyers who had followed Malak and Pearl here, suddenly. Eagle Eye, Malak remembered he was called, as well as that he had appropriate vision. "Earlier there were some government type helicopters leaving. These are other types - civilian - and they're circling the area."

"That's all we need," said someone, sourly. "News people poking their noses in."

"Now, hold on," said Crunch, angrily. "Some of us earn a living being on 3V!"

"You called them, didn't you," said Blackpool, tiredly, his tone not questioning.

"I have to notify my handlers when I may be going into action. It's the law!"

"Later!" snapped Malak, cutting off a potentially heated and time consuming exchange. He turned to Blackpool. "Can you get into the control room of that base and turn off the defenses?"

"Watch me," he said, his usually controlled voice almost a snarl.

"Right. I'm heading back now."

Blackpool darted into the shaded crevice. Malak took to the air. After a moment Pearl jumped after him. Then others began streaming into the air. A couple of super speedsters chased after them, but were hampered by the terrain. More slowly, the entire group of empowered began shifting towards the repository as a whole.

"Can any of you communicate with those pilots?" Malak shouted to the other flyers. A couple indicated they could. "Tell them that we're trying to stop a nuclear device, and to keep their distance in case we fail."

One of the other flyers actually looked startled, then peeled off and headed north at a high speed. Several of those remaining looked upset.

"This is not mandatory," said Malak, looking around at those accompanying him. "Any of you can leave if you want to."

None of those remaining did, though most thought seriously about it. Meanwhile, two news helicopters left and most of the rest moved further away, but one which had the logo of the reality show Crunch was in moved closer.

"How will we know if it's safe to approach?" said Pearl, growing increasingly nervous as they drew closer.

"I'll go in first," said Malak. "I should be able to avoid any missiles and heavy machine gun bullets can't do much to me."

He shifted to his golden robes, which were both more noticeable due to their sheen and also offered some armor protection. As it turned out, when they drew close to the facility they could hear Blackpool's voice. He seemed to be shouting over what sounded like a public address system.

"Testing, testing... If you can hear me I have turned off the defenses. I am in the glass-walled room at the top of the central tower."

He began repeating himself.

Malak increased speed and pulled ahead of the others, moving directly towards the indicated tower, waving. Inside, he saw Blackpool waving back. However, as he crossed over the wall around the compound Malak came under small arms fire.

"Stand down! I am Blackpool, LEO for the Empowered Agency! Your boss is under arrest and your facility seized for violation of international treaty and federal law! Stand down!"

Malak saw several armed figures wearing US Army garb in an open area of the compound, looking at each other in confusion. Unfortunately, more flyers were following Malak in and he worried they might also be fired on. Some of them were a lot less durable than him.

"STAND DOWN!" he shouted. That settled the matter.

Malak phased through the glass and entered the large room, which reminded him of the control room of the airport. The ceiling was high enough that he actually had little trouble with his wings when he resolidified. There were several unconscious people lying around, and one clearly conscious. He was bound in an office chair, which Blackpool was standing beside.

"The bad news is this fool activated the bomb and there's no way to stop it from here." Blackpool glanced a display. "We have sixteen minutes left."

"You monsters will never conquer the United States of America!" He shouted. One eye was rapidly getting black around it and he had other injuries, none serious. "America for humans only!"

"So he's suicidal?" said Malak.

"Yes. He and a few volunteers stayed."

"If they timer can't be stopped, why did they stay?" said Pearl, who had found a way in through a broken window.

"Fanatics," said Malak, almost spitting the word as he glared at Major Grimes. "Well, we can name call later. How do we stop this thing?"

"You can't!" crowed the Major. "Our dedication to the cause of humanity makes us undefeatable!"

"Did you hit him on the head, or something?" said Pearl.

"Later," said Malak.

"We need to get someone here to watch these prisoners, then go down to the pit," said Blackpool.

"I'll round some folks up," said Pearl, walking to the window. "You two go ahead. Hey! Eagle Eye! Get up here! The rest of you need to get in through the ground floor and head downstairs!"

"I better show you the way," said Blackpool, hurrying towards a door with EXIT above it.

"What about smashing through the concrete?" said Malak, spreading his wings a bit as he walked to indicate how he intended to do it.

"There are impact sensors on the bomb," said Blackpool. "They're inert before the timer is started, but once it is going tripping one will set it off. Working on it won't cause that; takes a good jolt."

Malak had to turn to Aaron to fit through the door, but that did nothing to slow them. The two men ran down the stairs, trying to figure out a solution as they went.

"I could get a tech into the pit by phasing."

"I don't think there's enough time!" said Blackpool, sounding uncharacteristically flustered. "We'd have to find someone competent, get them here..."

"How heavy is that device?"

"Well over a tonne," said Blackpool.

"Too heavy for me to phase, then," said Aaron, with a grimace.

They picked up more empowered at the ground floor - more flyers, who were the only ones there yet - where that stair ended and they had to cross a hallway to another. Aaron briefed them as they resumed their descent. They seemed a bit confused as to who he was, but he was with Blackpool and seemed to know what he was doing.

Finally, deep under the facility, they reached a locked security door. At Blackpool's indication Aaron transformed and smashed it open with the elbow of his right wing. Thus answering who he was to those who hadn't figured it out already.

"Golly!" said one of the younger members of their group.

Blackpool turned the lights on inside. Beyond the door was an empty room with concrete floor, walls and ceiling. There were no signs that below their feet lay nuclear death. They all just stared for a moment.

"What are we going to do?!" said Pearl, looking hopelessly around the bare room.

"Wait. I saw Domino with the larger group," said Blackpool, suddenly.

"That is a very good idea," said Malak, nodding. He looked around. "We need someone to get Domino here as quickly as possible!"

"We have twelve minutes," said Pearl, as two of the flyers hurried back upstairs.

* * *

Domino came hurrying into the room an eternity later. She started to say something but Blackpool cut her off.

"Domino, I know you can go desolid," said Blackpool, suddenly. "Can you also make other things go desolid?"

"Yes," she said, though she looked uncertain.

"Have you ever synchronized with someone else doing that?" said Malak.

"Yes, actually," she said, looking more confident.

"According to my contact, the bomb is in an open pit, with room for people to work on it," said Blackpool. "They knew they might have to disarm it later. It's not boobytrapped, except for shock sensors. Just on an irrevocable timer. Even if we cut the wires going into it will just continue to zero. We need you and Malak to push it into the desolid plane, then get back out here."

"That's eight minutes," said Pearl, voice strained.

"Plenty of time," said Malak, nodding calmly. "Let's get to it."

* * *

At Malak's suggestion, those not actually needed for the planned procedure left. Domino and Malak stood at the center of the slab, she nervous, he calm but intense. She had donned a headband with a lamp, the light already on. Malak noted, absently, that the band matched her silver lame and black costume. He took her hand.

"Relax. I'll guide you in. There'll be plenty of room. We have enough time."

"Thank you," she said, quietly.