Chapter 51:
The dance
Kate wandered down the dimly lit hallway, the light from the alien's protective shields cast strange shadows and cut through the reddish emergency lights lining the way.
You always walk,
Dude said.
"Instead of?" Kate said.
Billy would fly. All of my previous hosts would fly. You always walk.
"I like to feel my feet on the ground," Kate said. "It makes leaving the earth feel more special."
As when you danced as a child?
"As when I danced as a child," Kate said. "You're right. How did you know that?"
It is harsh place in your mind, Kate Miller, but there are little glimpses of joy. Why do you dance no longer?
"Because there's no time for it anymore, Dude," Kate said.
You should make time, Kate Miller. I sense it is the only thing that removes the edge from your darkness.
"I'll think about it," Kate said through gritted teeth. "Can you sense Billy's location anywhere?"
He is in the building several stories down. It will be difficult for us to reach him.
"I have a plan for that," Kate said.
I worry about your plan.
"I'll be fine," Kate said. She paused. "Thank you for your concern, Dude."
Just because your mind is the harshest place I have ever inhabited does not mean I do not care about your well-being, Kate Miller.
"That's reassuring," Kate said.
"I'd love to know what you find reassuring about the Labyrinth," Prevention's voice said as she turned the corner in front of Kate, a massive silver old sci-fi style rifle held casually in her arms. "I'm not even a prisoner here and I find the entire place the opposite of reassuring."
"I was hoping we'd meet up," Kate said. "I think we have some business to talk about."
"Like which cell you're going into? I'm through playing games with you," Prevention said. "I've put up with too much of your nonsense already. You're never seeing daylight again."
Kate relaxed into a fighting stance, letting the blue-white light of Dude's energy shields glow brighter.
"Why are you doing all of this?" Kate asked. "What is your end goal? I don't see how any of this turns out well for anyone."
"Control," Prevention said. "My job is to prevent problems and losses. To lock things down. To keep variables to a minimum. To stop things from getting disorganized, to prevent chaos. You and your friends have always been out of control."
The weapon, Kate Miller. Her weapon is the disruptor which disconnected me from Billy Case.
Trust me, Kate thought.
Oh,
Dude said.
Oh, you are very clever.
I told you, Kate thought. Still think I'm the worse host you've ever had?
I will downgrade that statement to 'debatable,' Kate Miller.
You're too kind, Dude, Kate thought.
Kate gestured at Prevention, beckoning her to step forward.
"Put the laser gun down and come fight me," Kate said. "One on one, no games."
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Prevention said.
"Is this because you can't read my thoughts?" Kate said. "I know that's how you usually take people out. You know what they're going to do before they do it. But my connection with the alien is blocking your abilities. You can't get inside my head."
"Well, you're partially right," Prevention said.
Are you ready for this, Dude? Kate thought.
Are you sure you will be okay?
Dude said.
I've been through worse, Kate thought.
We should have waited for assistance. The werewolf would have helped.
Well, the werewolf is too busy being murdered in the parking lot, Kate thought. And I've learned I can't always count on him anyway.
You should give your friends more credit, Kate Miller
, Dude said.
Perhaps they might help brighten the darkness in your head some day.
If we live that long, Kate said.
Kate and Prevention circled each other, the agent raised an eyebrow, clearly curious about the contents of the conversation going on inside Kate's head.
Always something to take into consideration,
Dude said.
You are the most willful, stubborn, and difficult sentient I have ever partnered with, Kate Miller, but I shall miss you.
Do what you have to do, Dude, Kate thought.
Be safe, you brave, strong madwoman.
Good luck, Dude, Kate thought.
"So I'm partially right?" Kate said. "Which part? That I'm going to put you in the hospital?"
Prevention cocked the bizarre rifle in her hands and aimed it at Kate, a high-pitched hum indicating it was primed and ready.
"I have something that'll make sure I can read your thoughts," Prevention said. "Say goodbye to your new friend."
Prevention pulled the trigger and a purple-white blast slammed into Kate, her entire body burning as Dude's presence was ripped from her on a cellular level. Everything burned. Her eyes watered. Her teeth creaked and grinded together. But Kate held her ground, stayed on her feet, and started to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" Prevention said. "What's so funny?" Kate searched around her mind, amazed at how alone she felt, at how empty her head was. There was a deep sadness she couldn't control, a heaviness in her chest, as if she had met and lost a friend in the blink of an eye. She was alone again in her thoughts, and she should be grateful, but instead, she was sad, and lonely, and very, very angry.
Go get your boy back, Dude, Kate thought. I'll take care of this one. Without me weighing you down you'll be able to pass through walls, through entire floors until you get your partner back. Go save the day.
"Can you read my thoughts right now, Prevention?" Kate said. "I hope so. Because you just did exactly what I wanted you to do."
"You have just made the biggest mistake of your life," Prevention said, dropping the rifle. She held up one hand and it became engulfed in flames, forming a knife made out of fire.
"Prove it," Kate said.
Chapter 52:
Improvisation
The Super Balls thrown at Billy and Emily were soon joined by others, followed by random but more deadly inanimate objects, pens, letter openers, little items like coins that shouldn't hurt but when thrown with enough force could seriously sting. Billy helped get Sam down on the ground and under cover, and when a chair came smashing through the window of Sam's room, Billy shielded the old man's body with his own.
"Will you get off me and let me have some dignity?" Sam said.
"You're welcome!" Billy said. "Emily, can you like, bubble of float whoever is throwing this stuff at us or something?"
"What?"
"You control gravity, do something about this!"
"What? I am so concussed right now," Emily said.
"Concussed?"
"What?"
"This is ridiculous," Billy said.
He tried to sneak a look around the corner but was only barely able to get out of the way as a tape dispenser came flying at his head. He got a quick look at the assailant in question, however: a middle-aged man, whip-thin but strong, with a monk's look to him, lean, shaved-headed, wearing a blank expression.
"A tape dispenser? For serious?" Billy yelled.
"Did you want me to bubble of float something?" Emily said.
"I want you to bubble of float him!" Billy said.
"I don't think I can bubble of float someone I can't see," Emily said. "Did I mention I'm concussed?"
"Yes."
"Because I have a concussion."
"You are even less helpful than usual right now," Billy said.
"I think I know who this is," Sam said, pulling himself slowly closer to the doorway, carefully brushing broken safety glass out of his way. "We called him the Improviser."
"Were all the cool names taken?"
Sam raised an eyebrow.
"This coming from you," Sam said.
"Okay, okay," Billy said. "What does he do?"
"He can turn anything into a weapon," Sam said as a stapler came flying in through the now glassless window and splintered against the wall, pelting everyone with staples. "He's also a real jackass."
"And why is he throwing a desk drawer at us right now?" Billy asked. He yelped as he scooted over and found a staple stuck to his rear end.
"I locked him up here," Sam said. "My biggest collar. I'm guessing he found out I'm here and he's holding a grudge."
Billy nodded vigorously.
"Okay, so he's got no superpowers other than being able to kill me with a paperclip, he's just a guy, right?"
"I wouldn't call someone who can kill you with a paperclip just a guy, Billy," Sam said.
"I got this," Billy said.
"You do not 'got this,'" Sam said.
"I got this. Emily!"
"What?"
"Cover me!" Billy said.
"What?" Emily echoed.
Billy ran out into the hallway, screaming an incoherent battle cry like a lunatic. He had just enough time for Sam to yell to him that he was an idiot before a snow globe hit Billy right in the solar plexus, knocking the air out of him and sending him sliding five feet backwards down the hall.
He was gasping for air when he looked up to see the Improviser walking at him quickly with a surgical scalpel in his hand like a knife, his intent clear. Billy tried to skitter away, but couldn't quite get his legs to move in unison with his arms.
Emily appeared in the doorway of Sam's room but was knocked backward herself when the Improviser threw another Super Ball at her. The ball careened off her forehead, sending her in retreat wincing and cursing, before it landed right back in the Improviser's free hand.
I was really hoping for a more dignified death than this, Billy thought. And then a six hundred pound gorilla-orangutan hybrid come charging down the hallway with shocking speed and grace and slammed a basketball sized fist into the back of the Improviser's head.
Or at least, that's what the Ape Lord intended to do. It was clear the other villain heard the big ape's approach and ducked quickly to the side, slashing upward with the scalpel and burying it halfway in the Ape Lord's abdomen.
The Improviser shoved the Ape Lord, who fell onto his back and onto the floor like a severed tree. Billy tried to push himself back onto his feet, but his entire belly felt like a single big bruise, each breath still taking incredibly long to reach his lungs. Emily stepped forcefully out into the hallway from Sam's room to stand between the Improviser and Billy.
"I'm about to bubble of float your brain out of your head," Emily said.
Without missing a beat, the Improviser scooped a mechanical pencil up off the floor and smoothly grabbed Emily by the shoulder, spun her around, and pressed the tip of the pencil to her neck.
"I really should just start following through on my threats instead of saying them out loud," Emily said.
"Shut up," the Improviser said. "I didn't come here to kill the rest of you, but apparently that's what it's going to take to put a sharp object into Sam Barren's ear, so just stand still, the both of you, and I'll make it quick."
Billy pointed at the Improviser, trying to speak, but still choking on his own saliva and woozy from a lack of oxygen. This is not how to make a threat you can fulfill, he thought.
And then a blue white light poured in from the ceiling and crashed into him like an ocean wave.
Every cell in Billy's body came alive instantly, electrical shocks ran up and down his limbs. The pain in his chest was immediately replaced by an adrenaline rush, a return to strength, and a heart that beat stronger and faster than it had in days. The light poured off his hands, out of his eyes, and surrounded him with a familiar potency.
And he knew he wasn't alone in his own head anymore.
You there, Dude? Billy thought.
I am, Billy Case
, Dude answered, his monotonous voice sounding almost joyful.
Oh, man, I missed that drone of yours, Billy thought. Where have you been?
In a terribly frightening place, Billy Case. I will explain later.
Are we back online? Billy said.
You are at ninety percent strength,
Dude said.
We will be fully reconnected momentarily.
Can I dismantle the guy threatening my best friend? Billy asked.
That individual is a horrible human being, Billy Case. You have my permission to use any force necessary to stop him.
Permission? Billy thought.
Are we really going to start this right now?
I missed you, partner.
I missed you too . . . partner.
"Are you talking to yourself, you little freak?" the Improviser said.
Billy sent a blast of light at full power directly into the man's face. The pencil pressed to Emily's neck spun off into the air as Emily ducked out of the way, letting Billy strike the Improviser with a second blast right to the solar plexus.
"How does it feel to have someone else do that to you, you dink?" Billy said.
He stormed over to the prone Improviser, dragged him into a nearby medical bay, and tossed him onto the bed, where each station had been fitted with handcuffs reinforced for restraining superhumans. He slapped the cuffs on each of the Improviser's arms. Then he heard Emily cry out.
"He's dying!" Emily howled.
Billy raced into the hallway to see her kneeling beside the massive body of the Ape Lord, who was holding both of her hands in his one large paw.
Is there anything we can do for him, Dude? Billy said.
The weapon caused significant internal damage,
Dude said.
I do not think there is anything we can do without immediate medical assistance.
"Em, we've got to get him to a surgeon," Billy said.
"No you don't," Sam said, staggering out of his own hospital room. Billy ran back to catch his arm and lend Sam support as he shuffled toward the dying ape.
"One of you pull that scalpel out when I say so," Sam said. "I think I can fix this."
"You do?" Billy said.
"I can't cure cancer, kid, but I think these powers they gave me can stitch up a gut wound," Sam said. "Let me try. We'll never get him to a doctor in time."
The ape looked at Sam for a long moment.
"We've been on opposite ends of things, haven't we, lawman," the Ape Lord said.
"Yeah," Sam said, kneeling down painfully beside the ape. "It happens."
"If you do this, I will owe you a great debt."
Sam looked at Emily, then back at the Ape Lord.
"This might kill you, you big oaf," Sam said. "But if you live, go tell your idiot son to stop trying to start World War III down in the Promised Land."
"He's still fighting?" the Ape Lord said. "I thought they would have killed him by now. My boy."
"Still fighting. Still a pain in the backside," Sam said.
"I'll go to him."
"Okay then. Billy?"
"I'm going to throw up if I pull it out," Billy said.
"Oh give me a break," Emily said, putting her hand on the end of the scalpel.
"Now," Sam said.
Emily yanked the blade straight out of the ape's belly, the slithering sound it made caused Billy to almost black out and keel over where he stood. He felt a chill run up his spine as Dude sent some sort of stimulant into his system to keep him awake.
What was that? Billy asked.
Usually reserved for emergencies,
Dude said.
But I want you conscious.
You could make a fortune off that, Billy thought, but then he became distracted, watching a strange, reddish light pass from Sam's hands to the wound on the Ape Lord's stomach, the skin and muscle knitting back together until the wound was closed, not even a scar to be found.
Sam was a terrifying shade of gray.
Billy knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
What did they do to him, Billy Chase?
Dude asked.
Oh, we're going to have to get you caught up, Billy thought.
I will review your memories for the past few days,
Dude said.
You have no idea how creepy that actually sounds, do you, Dude?
None at all.
Nice to see we're already back to normal, Billy thought.
"You," Sam said. "You get to glow all pretty, and fly and be a big damned hero, and I finally get superpowers and all they do is take other peoples' pain away by making myself sick."
"Your powers suck, man," Billy said.
"Tell me about it."
"You saved him," Emily said. "I don't care if you look like you're turning into blank newspaper, you're my new hero, Sam."
Sam winked at Emily, who responded with a rare genuine smile, and then the older man directed his direction toward the Ape Lord.
"You going to be okay, big guy?"
"I believe I will, Sam Barren," the ape said. "I hope I can repay you for this one day."
"Just go talk to your boy," Sam said. "You've lost too much time with him already."
The Ape Lord climbed slowly to his feet, clearly still recovering from the pain of his injury. Billy left Sam with Emily to retrieve a wheelchair, and when he came back, Emily was rummaging through a nearby nurses station.
"What are you doing?" Billy asked.
"This," Emily said. She brandished a large marker.
She went into the patient room where the Improviser had been cuffed and hunched over his face. Then she stepped away and turned his head toward Billy to show him the cartoon smiley face she had drawn. "Okay, we can go now," Emily said.
"Where, though?" Billy said.
"According to the research notes I saw, Sam might be the only one who can hold back the plague for the surviving victims until we figure out how to stop the kid who's spreading it," Emily said.
"I really hate this plan," Sam said.
"So we head back, find Jane, and go put an end to this nonsense," Billy said.