Peter Clines - Ex-Heroes

And you’re saying I did something unnatural?” Gorgon was still looking at the floor. “Is it tied to you?”

“What?”

“You created all these things with your power. Even if you can’t stop them, are they still linked to you somehow?” Josh shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“There is a simple way to find out,” said Stealth. It was a scene from a western. She pulled the Glock so fast, like a quick draw artist, that there was no time to stop her. Josh’s forehead burst before most of them even realized she had the pistol out. St. George was just starting to lift his arm when the doctor’s eyes rolled back in his skull. Josh tipped over backwards, hitting the wall just under the splatter.

Blood poured out of his mouth and the ruined mass of his nose. “What the HELL!?!” shouted St. George over the echo of the third gunshot. Stealth looked at him as she holstered the pistol, and her voice almost sounded confused. “It seemed like the simplest solution to all our problems.”

“You know, every time I start to think there’s really something human under that mask, you go off and—” Josh lunged up and took in a deep, rattling breath. Oh, Jesus , said Zzzap. Stealth had her pistol back out. Josh’s eyes trembled and swung back down. The irises trembled and shrank, focusing on Stealth. The bloody hole swelled, filled in, and sealed itself shut. His nose wove itself whole again. The doctor staggered back to his feet, his hand shaking as he felt the back of his head. Cerberus made a noise inside her armor that came out as a hiss of static. There was a coarse, scraping noise as the back of his skull knitted together and his nose pulled itself tight. He spat out a mouthful of blood and a tooth he’d already regrown. “Oh, come on,” he wheezed. “All I’ve been through and you think a few bullets are going to put me down?

Don’t you think I tried that?” St. George glared at him. “You said your powers were gone.”

“I can’t heal anyone else,” said the doctor. “Can barely even heal me. But it keeps me alive. Trust me, I’ve been trying for over a year. I’m here whether I like it or not.” He leered at them with mad eyes. “We’ll decide what to do with him later, then,” said Stealth.

“Gorgon.” The goggles whisked open and his gaze pinned the doctor.

Josh didn’t try to look away. He sank to the floor as Gorgon dragged out his life. The doctor began to twitch on the carpet. “That’s enough,” said St. George. Josh spasmed for a few more moments before the lenses snapped shut. Gorgon drove his boot into the fallen man’s head. “Just to be sure,” he told them. St. George shot him an angry look before turning to Stealth.

“So what do we have?” She threw a blueprint of the Mount on the lobby floor and crouched next to it. “The walls are still secure, the fences are all reinforced, so the most likely attack points will be the Melrose gate, Bronson, and North Gower.”

“What about Van Ness or Marathon?”

“Too far east and north for a major assault,” she said. “We can leave regular guard units there. If the Seventeens have done any reconnaissance of their own they will know Marathon is sealed.”

“So’s Bronson.”

“Sealed to regular exes. If they are being guided by Casares we must assume they will be smarter and more resourceful. It is the next closest gate after Melrose, the fence is low, and it is a very tempting target.”

“I’d still like to see extra people at Van Ness,” said Gorgon. “You doubt my strategy?”

“I doubt Rodney’s going to approach it as strategically as you are. He’s kind of an idiot when you get down to it.”

“I was taking his lack of formal training into account.” Cerberus pointed a thick metal digit north of the studio. “Are we worried about Hollywood Forever?” Inside the hood, Stealth’s head shook. “The sheer height of the walls still protects us there. Regular numbers along that wall.” Gorgon tapped the blueprints. “If we break it down that way, we’ve got enough manpower for forty, maybe forty-five guards at each of these gates.” That’s it? He shrugged. “We don’t have an army. Fuck, we barely have a militia.” The battlesuit straightened up as best it could. “How many weapons do we have? We could ask for more volunteers.”

“Maybe another hundred rifles in good condition,” said Gorgon. “If we can get people, we can use them.” I don’t think we need to worry about the exes that much , said Zzzap. They all looked at him. “Why not?”

Well, everything we’ve seen this guy do is either individuals or groups that are all acting the same way, right?

Stealth nodded.

I’m betting he’s still got a human brain , said the wraith. Or a human mind, at least. I don’t think he can control lots of exes individually. It’s too much input and output for him to handle. Like playing an RTS video game. You can work with one unit, or you can click on a bunch and make them all do the same thing. But it’s impossible to manage more than two or three to do specific tasks.

“Does he need to?” Gorgon shrugged. “They break open a gate and the exes are just going to do what he wants anyway.”

Right, but I don’t think we need to worry about anything too elaborate. He’ll probably just move them to where they can do the most damage and that’ll be that.

“A good possibility,” said Stealth. “This makes splitting our forces more advantageous. Casares will have to split his attention to deal with all of us.” St. George nodded. “Keep him off balance on multiple fronts and he won’t be able to focus.”

“Correct. We know he has Cairax as an asset. The demon is still faster and stronger than humans, even as an ex, and also fireproof and bulletproof. Odds are he will focus some of his attention there.” She looked up at Gorgon. “His main focus seems to be capturing you, however. You and I will be at the Melrose gate. It will most likely be the primary point of their attack and where he will be.” Gorgon nodded. “I can play bait. Barry?” The burning silhouette turned to him. “Remind me to bounce something off you. I thought of it a while back. It just seemed a little weird to bring it up if we didn’t need to.”

“St. George, you can monitor between Bronson and Van Ness,” continued Stealth. “It is a larger area but you are the most versatile of us. Stay on alert for Cairax as well. Cerberus and Zzzap, you will guard the North Gower gate. If conditions permit, Zzzap can offer support to other crisis points. Cerberus?”

“Yeah?”

“I think it’s time we re-armed you.” Inside the armor, Danielle smiled. “Finally.”

* * * *

The North Gower gate was set up in the same way as Melrose. A truck had been tipped against the sliding fence to block one side, and another backed up to hold it in place. The other half was left open in case they ever needed an exit.

The walking dead filled the street as far as they could see in either direction. They packed every inch of the alley across Gower and the lower level of the parking structure. Dozens and dozens of exes stretched and clawed through the bars of the gate. Young and old, male and female, fresh and piecemeal. Where the truck blocked the entrance they flailed at the fiberglass walls with open palms. The sound was like an enormous drum.

“That’s going to grate on the nerves,” said Cerberus. She shifted her stance and the armor reset dozens of targeting factors for her. After all this time, the M-2s felt heavy on her arms.

Zzzap hovered over her, casting light over the gate and down 12th Street. Could be worse, he said. Can you imagine if they all moaned like in the movies?