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Chapter 30
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“What has he done?” Mayor Oldman asked, grasping his thin hair with both hands and pacing around his office while the heroes watched him. “What has that madman done?”

Adamast Cross said, “Sir, we need to get you to safety.”

“I’m fine right here. It’s this menace. We need to do something about Mortar Mage before he kills us all.”

“He’s not going to. You can count on that, but we need to help everyone and do something about the villains going crazy out there.”

“No, no, no. Don’t you see? These villains want something. Something set them off. It was Mortar Mage. Yes, it had to be him. How else can we explain this? Listen, I want the six of you to team up. I know you’re short two members. Doesn’t matter. By the powers invested in me as mayor, I’m making you a task force to bring down Mortar Mage. Use lethal force is necessary. That should fix things.”

“That’s not going to work,” Adamast Cross said.

“It has to.”

“I’m not killing Mortar Mage when he’s not the problem.”

An enraged Mayor Oldman said, “You will do it, or I will have you arrested! You Dallevan Leaguers have been a thorn in my side since I appointed your task force six years ago. It is bad enough having one or two strong-willed mutants or other so-called heroes having their way with my city, but you! You lot have to make things difficult for me at every turn. So do as I say, or else!”

Around the room, the other heroes were shifting uneasily. There was no telling if half of them, even Dock and Bucht, would have tried to arrest Adamast if the mayor gave the order. She did not lose her resolve.

She said, “No. I’m done following your orders, Mayor. When tonight is over, if it’s over, I only hope the people are done as well. There are good people out there. Not just the men and women fighting as we speak to save countless lives, but the everyday person. If we abandon them to follow your whim now, we doom them to pain, death, or possibly worse. Don’t ask me how. Mortar made his decision, and we have an hour to make sure it is the right one. We have an hour to get our people to safety, which is Herculean to say the least. Do you know how many of those villains out there started out as good people? Do you know how many villains you will birth if we do things your way?

“No, Mayor, we will not abandon them. And if you want to bring up the last six years, then let me bring up what I’m going to do when this is over. I’m going to start a campaign to find someone who will replace you. Someone who can provide this city the help it’s needed since you came to office so the good people can go back to being good people. If I can’t find anyone, then I will run against you myself.”

“You?” asked Mayor Oldman. “A scantily clad mutant with porn tits? Who’s ever going to listen to a freak like you?”

Never mind the fact that her breasts were a cup and a half smaller now than when she had been a succubus; she wasn’t going to dignify half of what the mayor just said. “When this is over, I hope everyone in the city will listen. I’m going now, to help those people you would rather ignore. You can try to stop me, but remember that every life I’m unable to save is on you. Someone get the mayor to safety.”

Adamast turned to the door. She heard people following her while she reactivated her earpiece. The only person not following her was Ohm Wire.

“I hope you’re right about Mortar,” said Dock.

“So do I,” Adamast said. “Ohm Wire, are you OK on your own?”

Through the earpiece, she said, “I am, love. I’m just going to escort the mayor to the bridge.”

“Good. I don’t think the Escapist will let him in.”

“The Escapist?” came another voice over the radio.

“They probably have their underground gateway open to somewhere safe. We can use that as an auxiliary outlet for people closer to the center of the city. We’re going to need people ready to teleport the sick and injured to a safe distance. We’ll need all ports and major roads as clear as possible, and evacuate from the center of town outward. Someone needs to plug up the source of these masked zombies, and we need to do something about the villains posing a threat right now. That’s what we have ahead of us for the next fifty-seven minutes. Alright, everyone, let’s do this.”

His smile was wider now than he had felt in a long time. Walter rode across town on his bike, having heard what Adamast said to the Mayor. Everyone did who was on the Alpha Signal. If Walter was right, a lot of heroes were feeling encouraged right now. It wasn’t going to be enough to beat the growing threat across the city, but every little bit helped.

Walter spotted a pile of rubble that made a ramp and some of the masked foot soldiers charging at someone from behind. He rode up the ramp, aiming his bike in what he hoped was the right direction. The bike’s front tire smashed into one of the foot soldiers and knocked it down as he pushed forward with his bike. The other foot soldiers turned his way, but he left them behind.

He spoke into the earpiece. “If anyone is able and interested, I last saw Nervaeus in Talos. I do believe he’s quite strong, however.”

“Thank you, Walter,” Adamast said. “I think a few of us should head that way now. Saelum, would you mind heading north and seeing about where these undead creatures are pouring in from? There are more heroes that way, so you should be fine.”

“You got it, honey,” Saelum Blaster said.

When Ohm Wire barked a laugh, Adamast sighed. “I am so fucked.”

“In more ways than one, love,” Ohm Wire said.

“And you thought my puns were bad,” Psi Wizard said.

Princess Undercut said, “They still are, sweety.”

Walter drove through the Kingston district until he wrapped around the south side of City Hall where he suspected he might spot Ohm Wire and Mayor Oldman. Indeed, they were coming down the steps as he reached the front. He honked the bike’s horn, and beckoned them over.

“Mind if I take him?” Walter asked. “I appear to be on evacuation duty since Adamast has things well in hand.”

“I have a car,” the mayor said. “We can take that.”

“Cars are but tools that can be replaced, Mayor; something I feel you might appreciate. Cars are no doubt flooding the streets as we speak as people try to leave town. A motorcycle would be quicker.”

The mayor showed reluctance as he got on the bike behind Walter.

“So now what?” asked Ohm Wire.

Walter said, “There are still plenty of villains to subdue and arrest, not to mention the Vanquishiri. A number of heroes will now be appearing in hospitals in the city. I’ve bargained with the police already to help get those heroes and everyone else to safety.”

“You can’t do that,” said his passenger, “I’m the mayor!”

“Oh, shut up. Anyways, Ohm Wire, what you do and where you go is up to you. But I recommend the hospital in Steel Canyon. I’d give you a lift if not for our passenger.”

“That’s OK. I’ve recently mastered travel by sliding along power cables and metal rails. I can be there in seconds.” She ran off before Walter could get another word in. Sure, he could have contacted her over the radio signal, but he didn’t have anything substantial to say.

Walter drove off toward the southwest.

The most delicious thing was terror and pain. That was what Dreamreaver often told people when he pulled against their minds, memory by memory.

He strolled through the grounds outside of Peregrine Labs while the savage things with large masks went around attacking anyone they could find unless he got his hands on them first.

Suddenly, explosions went off that threw a handful of the savage things into the air. A hero showed up. Good. Heroes were often better than everyone else when it came to reliving their pain, and having it torn out like using a sharpened spoon to deal with a cut.

A second one landed on the ground with bright wings. A third person arrived on the scene, but she, the winged one, was the first to make the ultimate mistake. She made eye contact.

That was all Dreamreaver ever needed to feast on their minds.

He reached in. She fell to her knees and screamed.

Psi Wizard teleported in with his wife’s help in time to see the hero with the hat tackle the villain. Thankfully, Psi recognized the villain in time.

“Stop!” Psi Wizard said.

The hero who pinned Dreamreaver to the ground had his fist in the air. The villain was chuckling. The winged heroine had just gotten up again when she screamed.

Psi Wizard wrapped a psionic field around the hero’s mind, and a second around the villain. He knew, with Dreamreaver’s strength, there was only so long he could hold. It didn’t help that the other man on the scene was a psychic as well. The other psychic was poised to assault Psi Wizard’s mind in the confusion.

“Are you alright?” Psi Wizard asked Dazzling Dawn.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be asking her that,” the other psychic said. Psi Wizard knew he looked familiar, but who was he?

“That down there is Dreamreaver. If you look into his eyes, he can infect your mind and tear it to pieces from a couple miles away. If you knock him out, it’ll be much worse.” He released Texplosion.

Texplosion growled, and he looked around at the sparkling lightshow that Princess Undercut was putting on. At the same time, the undead creatures were dropping from the sky. However, Princess Undercut stopped in the middle of the group, panting, while Dreamreaver got back up.

Dreamreaver said, “Oh, a pregnant hero? This should be the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

It was a good thing she was smart enough to keep her eyes closed. Psi Wizard wished she had teleported behind the heroes instead of in front of them like this.

There were still plenty of those undead things, too.

“You guys deal with the undead foot soldiers,” said Psi Wizard, gritting his teeth. “I’m going in.”

“Alone?” the other psychic asked.

“Unless you want to make a bet. First to beat him buys a round?” Drinks were always reasonable. The other psychic nodded in agreement.

“You boys think you can take me?” Dreamreaver asked.

The psychics established a link with the villain’s mindscape. Psi Wizard could feel a level of sickness try to encroach his own mindscape. Those beaches remained untouched. He checked on the other psychic, and saw finally the man’s hero costume.

Something appeared ahead in the murky mindscape full of reds, black and browns. It was a pile of muck and slime at first. Then a huge eye appeared and the pile lifted into the air, turning into something rounder as it floated there and looked at the two heroes.

Whatever that thing was, it laughed, somehow, through its prism-shaped iris. Its pupil was shaped like a double helix. “Kill, kill, kill!” The thing inside Dreamreaver’s head shot a tentacle of black, sounding of metal as it flew through the air, at Psykick first, and then another in Psi Wizard’s direction.

The tentacles kicked rubble into the air above Psi Wizard’s head if he had stood still. Then again, if he stood, still, he wasn’t sure he would have survived. Psykick moved aside as well, but the tentacle blade scratched his leg.

Psi Wizard reached out toward him. His hand glowed a cool green. The gash on Psykick’s leg healed, as did that patch of his costume.

Of course. Wyatt’s powers had been developed to heal, so his role as healer was amplified here. That made more sense to Psi Wizard than his success at healing minor injuries in the real world. So he wasn’t going to argue with it. He at least had some form of mental attack when it was necessary.

Dreamreaver withdrew the tentacles, and laughed again as the ground shook. “Run!” Psykick shouted, and they both moved forward in time to dodge spinning pillars of specters and dark clouds.

Psi Wizard did a jump-kick at Dreamweaver’s mental form of choice. He wasn’t as good at those attacks as he wished to be, as much as Tatiana tried to teach him the basics, but he scored a hit at the bottom of the eye and then managed to land on his feet without falling on his ass.

A golden, blinding light shone in the form of a ball rather than a typical ray or beam. It flew from Psykick’s form to the monstrosity they faced. Dreamreaver cried out in pain. Then it grunted. Lightning flashed. The mindscape shook.

Both heroes moved as best they could, but Psi Wizard felt something lift him before he could see the hand of grime appear around his form.

“Pain! Pain feeds me in ways you’ll never imagine,” Dreamreaver said.

“Is that so?” Psi Wizard asked. He reached outward.

Princess Undercut teleported closer, crouched, and performed the punch she was named for against Dreamreaver’s crotch while doing her best to avoid meeting the villain’s gaze with her own.

I hope that worked, Wyatt.

Getting up was a little harder. The weight in her belly had a habit of making things a little more difficult than she liked.

Meanwhile, the villain squeaked in pain. He fell to his knees. Princess Undercut resisted the urge to look into his eyes; she came so close to losing that control. However, a line of drool soon dripped from his mouth, and the man fell over.

The two psychics took audible deep breaths like they had both emerged from a pool.

“You’re sure he’s alive?” the man in street clothes asked.

Psi Wizard said, “He’s breathing, and might someday put together coherent strings of thought. But his power is a goner, and he’s a vegetable until then.”

“That’s just gruesome.”

“At least we won’t be seeing any brain coleslaw out of him.”

Princess Undercut said, “I’m going to go take him to the authorities. Think you boys can make it to the Escapist?” She so owed her husband a smack upside the head.

A trench coat, matching hat and sunglasses had to be the perfect disguise, as cliché as it was. Sure, Carrion would have simply flown out of city limits. She still might if this plan didn’t work. She still had to try it. Could anyone imagine what it would be like to step through a portal in the hopes of safety only to be massacred on the other side? The terror sounded worth the attempt, for a time anyway.

She walked to the “heroes only” bar located in the northeast corner of Galaxy Park, hoping the rumors were even true about what that place had in its basement. She paid good beatings to that hero who had told her about it.

On the way, she spotted a young woman in a costume leading a group of people to the bar. Carrion felt absolutely stupefied when the woman’s familiarity set in. The people were safely inside the bar by now, and Carrion feigned confusion when the heroine looked her way.

Pixeletta—yes, it had to be her, even though it couldn’t be—ran to her. The heroine guised as her said, “Excuse me, miss, are you lost?”

Carrion grabbed the heroine’s costume by the scruff of the neck and grinned. “Well, well, as long as I live and breathe. If you were a cookie, I'd munch ya. Oh hell, I'll munch ya anyway! And then, maybe I'll track down your old costume and kill your parents while wearing it. How 'bout that?”

Her wings unfolded and tore through the back of her coat.