Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The hounds barked and snarled, leaping from car to car on the deserted street. Their sleek bodies and shiny black fur gleaming in the unsteady glow of the streetlights. Drool dripped from slack and hungry jaws, teeth like razorblades tearing through metal like it was paper. Above, the lurker watched its pack’s progress with glowing eyes. A sudden movement drew its attention and it slipped back into the gloom of the building it had perched on. There was a snap then the whistle of something moving faster than the human eye could perceive. One of the hounds was lifted off the ground with the force of a terrible impact, it yelped and hit the ground, skidding a few feet. A shiny black arrow protruding from its flank.

“Go!” A young man shouted from an alley, a black hood over his head concealing his face. He clutched an intricate bow in his hand made of a dark looking metal. He held the bow up, reaching forward as if to draw the string back and another arrow formed between his fingers. He took aim as the hounds rounded on him, rage in their eyes. Four of them lunged at him, their teeth bared only for an enormous hammer to come down hard on the head of the leader. It didn’t even have a chance to whine as its head was pulverized.

The man holding the hammer, shirtless and wearing a ski mask, barked out a laugh and spun his body. He gripped the end of the long handle of the weapon and brought it up against the side of the nearest hound and with a noisy crunch it was sent flying into the nearest car, dead. The other two hounds didn’t hesitate, they turned on the new threat and charged him, one clamping its jaws around the handle as the big man brought it up to defend himself. An arrow finished that one off with a thud.

“Hah! Nice!” The hammer wielder barked.

“One more, Sledge!” The bowman shouted, drawing another arrow, “Don’t get distracted!”

Sledge rolled his eyes and kicked, hard, catching the last Hound in the jaw and sending it up into the air. He fixed his grip and brought his weapon up into the air before pulling it back down with a roar, finishing the last one. “I’m fine, Bandit! Quit nagging me!”

Bandit frowned beneath his hood and stepped out, glancing around, “There’s usually more in a group.”

Sledge flexed his arm and grinned at him, “Maybe they went back where they came from, afraid of all this!” He laughed.

A noisy bang sounded down the street, a momentary flash of blue light accompanied by the yelps of several hounds. Sledge turned to look in the direction and slung his hammer over his shoulder, “Show off,” He said with a frown.

In the distance, a young woman stood with her hands outstretched and a determined look on her face, a white domino mask the only thing concealing her features. Sparks of blue light danced around her fingertips before swirling into what looked very much like a magic circle, it bloomed with intensity before several darts of blue light launched from it, striking a final hound several times and leaving it defeated on the ground. She let out a breath and stood amongst the group of dead creatures, brushing her aquamarine robes off with disgust.

Bandit walked up next to Sledge, “Just be glad she joined our group,” He said with a shrug, “I just wish we had a proper healer.”

Sledge snorted, “Whatever mister gamer, let’s wrap up and get lost before the cops show up.”

“Right,” Bandit said with a nod and cupped his hands over his mouth, “Bluestar you good over there?” He shouted.

Bluestar looked up from the corpses and waved at him, “I’m fine!” She called and began walking over. “Any others?”

“I’m checking now!” Bandit called back and hopped onto the nearest car, turning in a circle, his eyes turning black as he scanned his surroundings. He paused and frowned, “Hm.”

“What? What’s ‘hm’?” Sledge asked as Bluestar got closer.

Bandit held up a hand and started to trace his gaze up the side of a building, his eyes narrowed and then widened. He took a step back and slipped off the top of the vehicle, moving slowly backwards, “Guys... we should go.”

Sledge looked up, following his line of sight, “I don’t see anything.”

“Holy...” He breathed and then scrambled to his feet, “Bluestar!” He shouted and darted towards the blue-garbed figure laying on the ground a few feet away from the body. He slid to a stop and knelt next to her, “Blue... are you?” He touched her shoulder, there were no burns. He blinked as she coughed and shuddered, curling into a ball. “You’re alive, oh shit,” He laughed wearily, falling onto his rear and coughing.

“Oh, there were two of you, didn’t see you there bud, sorry if the heat got to you,” A voice called out from behind Bandit. He whirled and got to his feet once again, drawing his weapon only to freeze. A man was standing there in ostensibly the most comic-book accurate get-up he’d ever seen. A full jumpsuit that even went as far as to include a cowl to cover the top half of his head. It was red and orange with a fiery design on it that would have looked corny if he hadn’t just cooked a lurker alive.

“...Firestorm,” Bandit breathed.

The hero rested his hands on his hips and grinned at him, “You guys did great! You really held in there,” Firestorm said brightly.

Bandit lowered his weapon and looked at the ground, “We lost Sledge and Bluestar is really hurt.”

Firestorm glanced past Bandit and out of the alley where the lower half of Sledge still knelt grotesquely. He let out a breath and shook his head, “Damn, I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” He said and glanced towards Bluestar, “Lifesaver is on the way, we were in town. I ran off ahead when I heard the lurker howl.”

Bandit felt all of his strength leave him but he forced himself to remain standing, he hung his head, “Thank you.”

Firestorm walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, “You gave it your all, man, that’s what matters. Bluestar put on one hell of a show, too. What’s your codename?”

“Bandit,” The young man croaked, his shoulders trembling.

“I’ll remember it,” He said as another person slid to a stop outside the alley behind him, a man in a white plague-doctor’s mask and lab coat. He had his hands on his knees and was heaving, taking in big gulps of air.

“Firestorm... you... asshole...” He choked, “I... hate... running...”

Firestorm turned with a brilliant smile, “Oh hey Lifesaver! You’ve got patients.”

Lifesaver looked up and Bandit could almost feel the man scowl behind the mask but then he looked to Bandit and Bluestar and stiffened. “The guy has broken bones but nothing serious, the girl needs help quickly,” He said hurriedly and stalked forward, rolling up his sleeves. He was past Bandit in an instant, dropping to a knee next to Bluestar. He held out his hands and silver liquid began to drip from his fingertips splashing onto Bluestar’s body.

Bandit watched the creepy looking power for a moment before glancing back at Firestorm who seemed happy as a clam, “She’ll be fine,” Firestorm said with a nod and pat him on the shoulder. Just then, a jolly ringtone filled the alley and the fiery hero paused, he reached into a hidden pocket on his outfit and pulled out a phone. “Woah!” He gasped and grinned sheepishly at Bandit, “Sorry, gotta take this.”

Bandit watched him in confusion for a moment and turned away, going to sit down next to Bluestar. The silver liquid was flowing across her body and concentrating on her chest and throat before slowly seeping through cloth and flesh. She let out a gasp and trembled before relaxing, her chest rising and falling normally. Bandit let out a sigh of relief as she opened her eyes a crack and looked at him, “Did we win?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Bandit croaked, taking her hand, he looked up at Lifesaver who was still focused on healing her. “Thank you.”

“It’s what I do,” Lifesaver said dismissively.

“Hey guys!” Firestorm called, walking back over and putting his phone away, he rested his hands on his hips and struck a pose, grinning ear to ear. “How would you like to do something really heroic?”