Peter Clines - Ex-Communication

“It makes sense in a way,” said Cerberus. “I remember the military tried using dead bodies as bait for a while, but the exes only react to living people.”

“Yeah, I remember something about that,” said St. George. “The bait thing.”

“Bait?” echoed Legion. “What the fuck you people talking about?”

“Doc Sorensen ran some tests out at Krypton, sir,” offered Jefferson with a polite nod to Madelyn. “He said it’s some kind of perception thing, like how the T. Rex in Jurassic Park can’t see you if you don’t move.”

“ Jurassic Park ?” echoed Cerberus.

Legion’s eyes flitted between them. “What the fuck you people talking about?”

Jefferson glanced at the talking ex, then back to the heroes. “I remember it because the T. Rex scared the piss out of me as a kid. Pardon me, ma’am,” he added to Madelyn. “He said it was something to do with the reptilian brain. They see everything, they just process it different than we do. Living things get priority over dead things, moving things get priority over still things, things they see get priority over things they hear, like that. He said that’s why they run into walls and stuff.”

“They don’t need it, so they don’t register seeing it,” said Cerberus. She looked at the dead woman. “And he’s in the exes, so maybe he’s stuck using their senses. Or not using them, I guess.”

“And she’s dead,” said St. George with a glance at Madelyn, “so she’s not a priority.”

Legion looked down at the body he was wearing. One of the hands flexed open and closed. The ex’s brow furrowed in confusion. “She who?”

“We know he can see nonliving things,” said Cerberus. “Maybe it’s a focus issue?”

Madelyn took her cap off and waved it in the air in front of the dead woman. “So, you’re saying I’m not invisible, I’ve got a perception filter? Like on Doctor Who ?”

St. George, Cerberus, and the guards all looked at her.

“ Doctor Who ,” she repeated. “It’s this sci-fi show from England.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it,” said St. George.

“Heard of what?” said Legion.

“Okay,” Madelyn said, “well, there’s this thing they use on it called a perception filter. It’s like a force field that makes things inside it less interesting so you can’t focus on them. So you’re sort of invisible but not really. You’re just … very forgettable.”

She waved the cap in front of the ex again for emphasis.

“Well, there’s one way to be sure.” St. George took a few steps back and looked at Madelyn. “Go ahead and hit him.”

“Her?” asked Madelyn, nodding at the ex.

“This some game, pendejo ?” asked the dead woman. “Who you people keep talking to?”

“Yep,” said St. George. “Go for it.”

Legion looked up at St. George. “What?”

Madelyn let the cap drop from her hand. It hit the ground and Legion’s head shifted to glare at it. The dead eyes went wide for a moment. “The fuck?” he said.

“See?” said Cerberus. “He saw that.”

“That’s the big guy’s hat,” said the dead woman. “Where’d that come fr—”

Madelyn slammed her fist into the ex’s shoulder. It wasn’t a great punch, but Legion staggered back a step and spun around. “What the FUCK!” he shouted. The ex reached up to probe its shoulder with its fingers. It glared at the heroes.

“He can feel getting hit,” Madelyn said, “I just don’t think he knows I’m doing it.”

“Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know what to look for,” mused Cerberus. “He can’t prioritize you because he doesn’t know you’re there. It doesn’t even seem like he hears you.”

Madelyn leaned into the ex’s ear. “Hey!” she shouted. “I’m right here!”

“Hear who?” said Legion. The dead woman looked up at Cerberus, then past Madelyn to the roof of a nearby building. “Stealth up there somewhere? This her idea?”

“Hit him in the face,” said Cerberus. “For science.”

Madelyn grimaced, but threw another punch. It caught the dead woman on her bare jaw. Legion stumbled and spun around, clawed hands missing Madelyn by a good three or four feet. The ex spat out a mouthful of Spanish swears and curses that made St. George’s mouth twist into a smile. She poked the dead woman a few times from different directions, making it twist around, then placed her hands on its back and shoved it toward the gate. The dead thing stumbled and tried to get its balance back.

“Oh my God,” said the armored titan. “Once again, science makes the world a better place.”

Jefferson snorted out a laugh.

“This feels kind of mean,” Madelyn said. “I mean, I know he’s the bad guy, but he can’t fight back or anything.”

“You’re not doing anything he doesn’t deserve a hundred times over,” said Cerberus.

“True enough,” said St. George, “but I think we’ve learned what we needed to know, anyway.”

“What is this?” snarled Legion. “Got someone invisible now, that it? Pushing me around and taking my guns?”

“Something like that,” said St. George. “Might want to keep it in mind next time you try rushing the walls.”

“I’ll remember it,” grunted the dead woman. It took in a hissing breath and so did a dozen exes pressed up against the gate. They all spoke with Legion’s voice. “I’LL REMEMBER IT THE NEXT TIME YOU’RE OUTSIDE.”

“Y’know, you’re starting to overuse that trick,” St. George said. “It’s not as scary as it used to be.”

The dead woman made another messy attempt to spit at him and then her jaw started chomping up and down again. Madelyn hopped away from the ex. The teeth clacked together half a dozen times before St. George grabbed the dead thing and pitched it over the top of the Big Wall.

“Game’s changing again,” Legion said from the gate. Now it was a dead man with a helmet and a series of silver loops running along each lip. “I got guns. I got armor. Next time we do this it’s gonna be big.”

St. George walked up to the gate. “Try it,” he said. “One of these days—”

“What, dragon man?” The ex grinned at him. Half its teeth were cracked from banging against each other for months. “You can’t stop me. Can’t do anything. Go ahead and beat up a hundred stiffs. Two hundred if it makes you feel all macho. Can’t touch me, and you know it.”

Smoke curled out of St. George’s nose as he glared at the dead man through the fence. He could feel things twisting at the back of his throat and swallowed the flames down. His fingers curled into fists and he had to fight the urge to drive one of them through the ex’s face.

Someone stepped next to him. Madelyn reached out and poked the tip of the dead man’s nose. Legion growled and stepped back from the gate.

“I can touch you,” she said, “and you’ll never know it’s coming.” She stood up straight and crossed her arms. “Damn it, that was totally cool and he couldn’t even hear me.”

The dead man squinted at the air next to Madelyn. Then its gaze flitted to the left and locked eyes with her. She took a quick step back.

“There you are,” the ex growled. “All fuzzy and blendin’ in, but I see you.”

St. George snapped his fingers. Legion glanced at him, and when the pale eyes swung back they went past Madelyn. The dead man scowled and took a few more steps back.

“I’ll figure that one out, too,” Legion said. The exes stepped back, clearing a path for him as he marched away from the gate. “You go ahead and keep thinking I’m stupid. How many people that cost you so far?” He looked back over his shoulder. “How’s your buddy with the beard doing? Jarvis?”