The Second Archon War: Superbia Hominem 3 (Patreon)

Superbia Hominem 3: And Throw Away the Key

Holding her Vision in her hands, Alexandria marveled at the cold she could feel. Most physical sensations, even pleasurable ones, were severely muted by her powers. Her invulnerability grew from her body being kept in a kind of stasis, to the point that Wyatt joked that he was dating a college girl as Alexandria was physically 18 years old. Though she wore makeup to make her seem slightly older most of the time, especially now that she was 35. Aside from apparent eternal youth, she also didn’t really taste food, feel physical pain or pleasure, and of course, experience heat or cold. 

But she could feel the beating heart of ice within her Vision, and she enjoyed feeling the cold. It was novel. 

“You ready?” 

Looking up, Alexandria saw Wyatt waiting for her and smiled, hooking the Vision onto her belt. She reached for her helmet, then paused. Did she need that anymore? The world knew her face now, and she had her Vision. No. Let her foes and allies both see her face. To some it would bring hope, and to the guilty, fear. 

“Ready. Let’s go,” Alexandria agreed, and stepped out of her office. It was a short walk through the halls of Protectorate HQ: Los Angeles to the briefing room, but several people nodded or smiled at Alexandria, whispering as she passed. A couple of others scowled and averted her eyes, and she pegged them as those who didn’t approve of her presidential run. 

Let them doubt her. She would prove them all wrong. 

She stepped into the conference room, nodding to the other heroes in the room. Legend and Armsmaster were there from Brockton, along with Narwhal and some Canadian capes, and a few other heavy hitters. They were going in hard for this one. 

Eidolon was at the front of the room, and he nodded at seeing her enter. He stood up from his seat, and the conversation quieted as Alexandria and Hero took their seats at the end of the conference table. “That’s everyone. Right. We’re going to go over this briefing one more time. I know you all know the stakes, but there can’t be any mistakes here.”

The lights dimmed, and a projector overhead came to life as Eidolon stepped to the side for it to display on the screen. The image showed a teenage girl dressed in a tattered-looking green and black robe. Around her stood shadowy figures, some hulking and imposing, others thin and short. 

“You all know who she is,” Eidolon said, looking around the room, his eyes glowing faintly green behind his mask. “The Fairy Queen. Glaistig Uaine. Real name Ciara Dunn. She’s been a persistent threat for years, but now she’s gone and harvested Grey Boy after a clash with the Slaughterhouse Nine. We’ve had her on the radar for a long time, but enough is enough: She cannot be allowed to roam free any longer.”

“What’s our plan for taking her out?” Legend asked. “You mentioned you’d ID’d a weakness, but we’ve sent teams after her before. That just made her stronger when she killed them and raised their shades to serve her.”

“I can help with that.” 

All eyes in the room turned to the woman who was sitting in the front corner of the room, a fedora tipped over her eyes, her chair leaned back on two legs. Contessa swung her legs forward and sprang to her feet, pulling Eighty out of her pocket and rubbing it as she stepped up to the projector screen. 

“Most of you know Asset Tyche, but she’s also our top Thinker,” Eidolon said, and Contessa flipped her hat off her head, rolling it along her arms from one side to another before bouncing it back onto her head. Eidolon glared at her, but she ignored him and grinned. 

“And I planned this op! So it’s pretty much a slam dunk to work, so long as you all follow the script I made for you,” Conessa said with a grin. 

“Well, as long as an Archon’s not involved, we can probably trust it,” Miss Militia said dryly. “Or does this somehow involve whatever the fuck happened in Russia three days ago?”

Contessa sniffed and shook Eighty, before holding up the words, which most of the others couldn’t see due to the dimness and distance. “Very Doubtful. Though I am working on that. No, this was in the works before she showed up, but she did give us the final piece of the puzzle.”

“She?” Narwhal asked, raising an eyebrow. “You know something the rest of us don’t?”

“I heard a woman’s voice,” Alexandria said, and all eyes in the room turned to her. “A young woman’s voice. I can’t tell you anything else, aside from the poem she told me, but that’s in the relevant report you can read later.”

“She,” Contessa said smugly. “Gave Alex a Vision. And that’s Glaistig’s weakness: She can’t harvest Vision Holders.”

“So, why don’t we send a team of just Vision Holders against her? The only ones here are me, Punk, and now Alexandria,” Freebird said, frowning around the table. He was an Anemo Vision Holder, who worked with his partner Punk, an Electro Vision bearer. Freebird had long shaggy hair held back by a green bandana and wore a leather vest. The two of them were some of the most experienced and powerful Vision Holders the Protectorate had, though they were still not considered A-Listers compared to someone like Narwhal or Legend.

“Because frankly, Vision Holders don’t have the durability and sheer firepower needed to take down someone like Glaistig,” Eidolon said with a shake of his head. “You’re good, Freebird, but you’re not up to taking on Glaistig.”

“Says you. Give us a Dendro Vision Holder and another electro user and we’ll rock her world,” Punk snorted. She was, well, dressed like a punk rocker, with various piercings all over her face, a large spiked mohawk of her now naturally purple hair that hung down by her eyebrows, and a costume of studded leather. She was also an outspoken critic of Alexandria and her political policies, though to be fair, Punk was an outspoken critic of every political policy that wasn’t radically progressive. 

It was true that Visions worked together in a way that Parahuman abilities most assuredly did not. How exactly Elemental Reactions worked was still being studied, but it was well known that Anemo users worked extraordinarily well with Electro users, who in turn were even more powerful when paired with Dendro users. For some reason, Anemo and Dendro didn’t do much together, but an Electro user with them multiplied the power of all three to the next level. 

And, in an interesting turn of events, the ice powers, dubbed Cryo by the egg heads after their favorite card game, were also amplified by the Electro users. There were applications with Anemo as well, but it was Electro that was truly interesting. 

“We’ve never had a Vision Holder strong enough to get in the decisive blow against Glaistig. She’s fought Vision Holders before and killed them all, though she didn’t harvest them,” Eidolon said with a shake of his head and used the projector to show various teams that had gone up against her, only for their members to be wiped out. “Or at least, we didn’t have a strong enough one until now.”

“We don’t yet fully know what it takes for someone to get a Vision,” Alexandria said, looking around the room. Contessa was making a face, so she narrowed her eyes. “Or do we, Asset Tyche?”

“Welllll,” Contessa shook her magic eightball again, eyes closed. When she held it up, she made a face and said, “Reply Hazy, Ask Again Later.” 

There was a collective exhalation of breath, but Punk and Freebird nodded. “Yeah, honestly, the two of us had really different experiences. He got his while working for The Man, I was a broke college student working at freaking WcDonalds and writing on my political blog.” 

“He was a City Manager, she was an Anarchist. Together, they Fight Crime,” Freebird joked, and Punk rolled her eyes. “And started a band! Do you play an instrument, Alexandria?”

“We’re getting off-topic,” Eidolon said, and the two Vision Holders rolled their eyes and turned to him, though they did quiet down. “The point is, Alexandria has proven to have greatly augmented her abilities with her Vision, and she works well with both Punk and Freebird. Together, they’re our best shot at taking The Fairy Queen down. Now, Tyche, will you be able to give your presentation without sidetracking us again?”

“It’s all part of the plan, Captain Grumpy Pants,” Contessa told Eidolon, and blew him a kiss. Alexandria had to fight back laughter, while Hero didn’t bother hiding his guffaw. 

Eidolon just stared at Contessa, who sighed and tucked away Eighty. “Yes, fine. Alright people, here’s the plan. Some of it might not make sense to you, and I’ll be in constant radio contact. But do not go off script unless I tell you to. That means you, Punk. Yes, I know, I’m The Man, but right now The Man wants you to not die, OK?”

“Yeah, sure,” Punk agreed with a shrug. “I might rage against the machine, but you’re that Thinker 12, right? Even I’m not dumb enough to argue with you when it comes to keeping my ass alive.”

“Then here’s your script! I wrote them all out for you with Eighty’s help,” Contessa said, and pulled out sheets of paper from within her hat, then folded them into paper airplanes and threw them to each of the people in the room. 

Alexandria unfolded hers and read through it, nodding to herself. Well, it at least made sense. Even if Contessa’s antics were growing increasingly bizarre. 

“Any other questions?” Eidolon asked, looking around the room. There were a few regarding some minor details, but it seemed everyone knew their roles.

“Right then. We’re not wasting any more time. We’re taking a door right to her location in Thurmond, West Virginia. Let’s get moving,” Eidolon said, and the group stood, making their way out of the conference room and to a ready room. Several of the capes looked nervous, but resolute. Hell, Alexandria was a bit worried herself. The Fairy Queen was one of the most dangerous Parahumans in North America, up there with the Slaughterhouse Nine in how much of a threat she represented. 

“We’ll be fine,” she told Wyatt, giving him a quick hug that wasn’t too tight. She could judge just how much pressure she was exerting much better now that she had her Vision, which was odd. But she did know that protecting Wyatt was one of her most important duties. She didn’t know how she hadn’t seen how much she loved him before, but ever since receiving her Vision, she knew she had to do whatever it took to keep him alive and safe. It made it hard to accept he had to come on deadly missions, but he was her partner in more than love.

“I’m sure you will be, but what about us squishy mortals?” Hero said with a chuckle. He pulled a device out of his belt pouch, then passed them around to the rest of the team members. “As promised, this barrier will give you a second or two of protection against Glaistig’s killing touch. It’s not much, but it could make all the difference.”

Everyone hooked those onto their belts, then looked to Eidolon. “T-minus 30 seconds. Get ready.”

Squaring her shoulders, Alexandria stepped up to the door, going so far as to push Eidolon aside. His head swiveled around to face her, and she smiled at him. “I’m first.”

“That in your script?” he asked, and she could hear the doubt in her voice.

“No,” she admitted. “But I’m taking point on this.”

“This isn’t the time to be a glory hound, Becky,” Eidolon said, his voice low enough the others probably couldn’t hear.

“It’s not about the glory,” Alexandria said, readying herself. “It’s about protecting those I love. No matter what.”

“Those you… love?” Eidolon’s eyes flickered toward Wyatt, but Becky grinned and stepped forward, planting a peck on his cheek which made the man reel back in shock. 

“You’re my friend, David. So are Keith and Hannah. I care about you. Deeply. I hope you know that,” Alexandria told him. Then without waiting for him to respond, she yanked the door open and charged out into the cold gray sky. 

Immediately, Alexandria climbed into the air and looked around her, though the script told her just where to look and go, she still wanted a visual look at where they were fighting beyond satellite pictures. 

She was in a mountain town, with snow and ice scattered in the shaded places, and dead brown grass where the sunlight had melted it. The buildings were mostly of brick, and quite a few of them were in various stages of disrepair. This had once been a coal mining town, but the days of prosperity for Thurmond were long gone. The mines had closed decades ago, and the town hadn’t had a population of more than a dozen before Glaistig had set up shop. Now, there was no sign of life at all, with no motion on the streets. 

Even as the others poured through the doorway and Eidolon, Legend, and Narwhal hovered up to Alexandria’s height, she saw movement to the southwest at an old abandoned hotel. It sent a chill down Alexandria’s spine, for though it was early afternoon, what she had seen was a dark shadow moving along the street. 

“She’s asleep, but her shades have spotted us, so she won’t stay that way for long,” Legend pointed out. “Let’s not give her time to react.” 

 “On me,” Alexandria said, and surged forward with all the speed she could muster, the others right behind her. As she moved, Alexandria felt the Cryo energy all around her, the snow and ice calling to her in a way that was both beautiful and strange. Reaching out through her Vision, she grasped ahold of the elemental force, shaping it into a plow-shaped wedge before her as she barreled towards the abandoned building where Glaistig was sleeping. 

Right before she reached the building, Alexandria slammed into an invisible wall of force, her head ringing as the ice shattered about her. She felt a pang of fear, as this hadn’t exactly been in Contessa’s script. While she could evaluate the Fairy Queen, she had enough powers at her disposal that interfered with Tinker abilities that Contessa would get the occasional detail wrong. Still, she’d warned them that Glaistig would have some sort of defenses erected, but she’d been unable to specify what kind exactly. 

“Blasters, NOW!” Alexandria shouted, and dodged to the side. Legend and Narwhal immediately let loose with their abilities, and the wall of force first bulged, then cracked and shattered. 

However, by the time it had done so, two shadowy shapes had emerged from the building. It was hard to tell by their silhouettes, but one of them had shadowy tendrils growing from its body, and Alexandria was fairly certain it was the ghost of Lernaean, a Protectorate cape who had died trying to bring in Glaistig last year. She’d had fairly high Brute and Striker ratings, but her real power had been that she could grow more arms every time one was cut off or damaged and could regenerate her entire body from a single arm. 

That hadn’t saved her from the Fairy Queen, but Glaistig was nowhere to be seen, and the shades had to be dealt with. 

Alexandria tried to charge again, only to run into another barrier. She wasn’t sure who the second shade was, and Glaistig had absorbed dozens of Parahumans the Protectorate either had very spotty information on, or poorly understood. Still, she remembered the Script, and what she had been told. 

If you want to succeed, and for those you care for to survive, don’t get distracted. The game ends when the Queen is in Check. 

Despite her instincts screaming at her to face her foes head on, Alexandria disengaged, zooming up over and away from the two shades as Eidolon, Legend and Narwhal went after the risen parahumans. 

To Alexandria’s surprise, she found Freebird hovering over the battlefield with Punk on a gilder. The two of them nodded to Alexandria, and Freebird shouted, “On you!” 

“Have you seen her?” Alexandria asked, her eyes scanning the battlefield as the building below them was rapidly demolished by the clash of shades and heroes. 

“Below you, on your 8 o’clock, heading for the river,” Hero’s voice said in her ear. “She’s under some kind of stealth, but I’m tracking her. I’d paint her, but you left behind your helmet, honey.”

“Copy that,” Alexandria said, a foolish grin spreading over her face despite the danger. Even in the midst of all this, if Hero was alright, then her foundation was solid. “This way!” 

She dove, and the two Vision holders swooped after her. “She’s cloaked! Can you locate her? She’s making for the river.”

“That makes it easy,” Freebird called, and the winds suddenly roared around them. Punk shot lightning into the vortex that formed, and purple sparks flew.

 In a moment, a bubble where the anemo and electro energies couldn’t enter was obvious, and Alexandria concentrated, forming a great spear of ice. She hurled it with such force that it shattered the crumbling road and kicked up great chunks of earth and rock as the ground buckled. The bubble itself bent, then popped, revealing the shadowy figure carrying a parasol over the head of a blonde woman who appeared to be in her early teens, wearing those fluttering dark green robes. 

The fairy queen looked up at Alexandria, lips pursed. If not for her enhanced hearing, she wouldn’t have heard Glaistig say, “How odd. Your faerie has taken on a new role. I can hardly hear their song at all.”

Then the dark queen gestured, and two more shades rose up out of the ground. Glaistig’s voice grew deeper and gained a reverberating echo as she commanded, “Niddhoggr, Trickshot, I tire of this. Dispose of the false ones.”

The shades responded with a moaning like that of the tormented demons they were, and moved to attack. 

That was when Hero and Miss Militia appeared, both wielding massive guns. Hero’s was some sort of futuristic raygun as long as his torso, while Hannah was using a Vulcan gatling gun. While the lasers Hero fired were visually impressive, the thunder and spectacle of Miss Militia striding forward with red, white, and blue tracers ripping apart the shades was terrifying. Even though she was immune to bullets, Alexandria wouldn’t have wanted to face that level of firepower. 

How the ghosts of Nidhoggr and Trickshot fared, Alexandria didn’t see: the script was clear. She had to focus on taking out the Queen and ending this, because only when Glaistig was dealt with would this all be over. Already, she was vanishing behind the invisible barrier with her shade again, and Alexandria couldn’t waste any more time. 

“Don’t lose her!” she barked at Freebird and Punk. Forming another spear of ice, she nodded to the purple haired woman. “Imbue it!” 

“Let’s bring the house down!” Punk cried, her Vision shining as she shot out a bolt of violent energy, which crackled around Alexandria’s missile. Then she flung at at the spot where the barrier had been, and the spear detonated in an explosion of Elemental power. The barrier crumbled, and the shade that had created it let out an eerier wail, then vanished into smoke as the furious Glaistig whirled about. 

Even as she did so, Alexandria was already moving, diving downwards as she summoned more ice. Her goal was not, in fact, to slay Glaistig. Though the Fairy Queen was deadly dangerous and a persistent boogeyman to the Parahuman community, she was also one of the most powerful capes known. They had to find a way to preserve her, then gain her loyalty for when the End of the World arrived in only a few scant years. 

And Ice was the perfect way to do it. 

Summoning up all the latent energy in the frozen air and water around her, Alexandria unleashed a wave of Cryo, hoping to catch her target in its grip. To her horror, however, another shade manifested, this one bearing a great sword of shadow. Tristan, an LA Protectorate Cape who’d been harvested only a week ago. With a mournful cry that almost sounded like an apology, the ghost brought his blade down, shattering the wave of ice. 

And then, before Alexandria could react, Glaistig was there, a smile on her lips, her eyes sparkling with delight. “Oh, how long I have waited to call you to my court, noble sidhe. We shall do great things together…”

As the delicate fingers reached out for Alexandria, she tried to jump back, but another shade had appeared behind her and had shoved her towards Glaistig and her deadly touch. As death approached, it was not Alexandria’s own life that flashed before her eyes. It was Wyatt, kneeling with his ring. It was having a beer with David and Keith after a successful mission. It was eating donuts with Doctor Mother and Contessa as they went over reports. All those she loved, all that was important to her: those she had to protect. 

And her Vision rejected a future where she was not there for them. 

With a cry of passion, Alexandria unleashed a massive wave of Cryo that sapped even the heat from her own body, knocking back Glaistig and her shades. The glimmering pale blue barrier was half a foot thick, but Alexandria knew that once Tristan recovered, it would be destroyed in a moment. 

“ALEX! HEADS UP!” Hero called. She turned, just in time to see him throw two grenades up in the air. Miss Militia fired, and they exploded into a torrent of water that washed over Alexandria and Glaistig both. 

“FLY HIGH!” Freebird roared, and the air trembled, then vibrated, absorbing the water and permeating everything with moisture. 

With a snarl, Alexandria broke through her own wall, an icy ball coating her fist. Glaistig turned towards her, extending a hand, but Alexandria didn’t care. If she ended this now, all she loved would be safe. 

Cryo blasted out of her fist at the last moment, enveloping the soaked Glastig. Instantly, she was frozen solid, like a statue carved from ice, her expression wistful as she was locked down. The shades vanished, and a few moments later, the sounds of battle behind them dimmed. 

Panting, Alexandria stood before the frozen Faerie Queen. She slowly moved around her, then nodded to herself. A moment later, Hero was there. “Stand back! We’ve got the containment unit ready.”

Two drones detached themselves from Wyatt’s toolbelt, growing in size until they were as large as serving trays. One hovered over Glaistig’s head, the other slid under her feet. A moment later, a cold blue light enveloped her, and icy mist began to fall over her. 

“Cryostasis set,” Hero declared. “Let’s find a door and get her to her new accommodations ASAP.” 

It didn’t take long to find a mostly intact door, then to call Doormaker to open a path. The door swung open not to the rotting interior of an old coal miner’s shack, but to a pristine and somewhat comfortable looking room with bolted down furniture and fluorescent lighting. The two drones hovered through the door, which was instantly slammed shut behind her. 

“Where the hell did you stick her?” Freebird asked, frowning as the door opened again to reveal the crumbling interior of an abandoned building. 

“A top secret facility code named BIRDCAGE, that you don’t have the clearance to know about,” Eidolon said, landing beside them. 

Punk glared at Eidolon, and Alexandria smiled and shook her head. “It’s called the Birdcage. It’ll be publicly announced soon. We needed a special facility to hold rogue capes, especially since for someone like Ms. Dunn, it’s questionable if we could ever actually kill her. Construction was finished just a few weeks ago. Hero and our other top Tinkers collaborated with our best Thinkers to complete it.”

“Wow, a superjail that you don’t need any sort of legal procedure to lock people up in? That sounds super constitutional and above board,” Punk said with a snort. 

“We have a signed Kill Order and arrest warrant for Glaistig Uaine. Do you seriously think this was wrong?” Eidolon demanded. 

Alexandria held up a hand to prevent an argument breaking out.. “I understand your concerns, but this is the best we can do. There will be a trial, but right now what’s important is that she can’t kill and enslave anyone else. It might be a violation of her freedom, but it’s better than seeing more of those we love die. I knew some of those shades we fought today. And I’m grateful that none of you joined them.”

Punk hesitated, then sighed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, sorry. Fuck, I just…I really hate to see us turning into jackboots, you know? Shit, the world is so fucked up, with cape warlords running everywhere…Tell it to me straight, Alex. You’re not going to become another dictator, are you?”

Alexandria met Punk’s gaze. “I’ll do whatever it takes to preserve those I love. But I will swear to uphold and preserve the Constitution of the United States. I love this country. I’d never destory it.” 

“You’ve got my vote,” Miss Militia put in with a nod. “I’ve seen what evil dictators look like. You’re not one of them.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Punk, she’s 19, she doesn’t vote,” Freebird said with a laugh. 

Punk went bright red. “Hey, fuck you, old man! This is the first election I CAN vote in, and I’m going to make sure my vote counts!” 

“Politics,” Eidolon said with a disgusted shake of his head. “We have more important things to do. Alexandria, make sure you get the credit for this capture. I’ll do my job, you do yours. Good work, team. Let’s head back to base and debrief.”

Then Eidolon opened a portal, and stepped through, leaving the others behind him. 

“Asshole,” Punk said with a snort. 

“He’s America’s greatest hero,” Miss Militia disagreed. “He’s Noctis, like me. The man doesn’t rest, and he never asks for glory.”

“He could be a little more personable though,” Freebird said with a shrug.

Narwhal chuckled and shook her head. “I appreciate the business first attitude. Not all of us want to play PR. Come on, this way’s the easiest. Door me, Los Angeles.” 

The rickety old door swung open again to the debriefing room where Eidolon already had his mask off and was filling out paperwork. The others stepped through, but Alexandria grabbed Hero before he could file through, pulling him to the side and into a hug. 

“Thank you,” she said, putting her head against his ear and sniffing his hair. He smelled like that cheap shampoo he used, engine grease, and sweat, but it was a good smell. His smell.

He put his arms around her and kissed her tenderly, then more passionately. “I thought I’d lost you there. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“You gave me the strength to finish the fight,” Alexandria told him. “I mean that.” She reached behind them and closed the door, then picked Wyatt up in a princess carry, making him laugh. 

“Oh, so I get the personal touch this time?” he joked as they lifted off. 

“We don’t get enough alone time. I’ll take it slow, give us some time together,” she told him, even as she accelerated past the sound barrier. Fortunately, he had a device in his belt that put up an air bubble to keep them from being bug splattered and unable to hear one another. 

“It’s pretty incredible what you can do now. We have to study how exactly those elemental reactions work in more depth, but initial results are promising,” Wyatt mused as they flew. 

Alexandria nodded. “Yes, but more importantly, we have to find the Cryo Archon. She’s a good one, like Nahida. I can feel it. Her heart is so full of love.”

“Love can make you do some crazy things,” Wyatt teased, but he nodded. “Yeah. We might actually be turning a corner. We can win this.”

“We have to,” Alexandria said. “For those we Cherish.”

“Oh ho, are you trying to turn me on, Brother Captain?” Wyatt laughed. 

Alexandria gave him a blank look. “Is this another nerd thing?”

“Sweetheart, I am an endless fountain of nerd things. You know those little plastic miniatures, the space ones?” Wyatt prompted. 

“Oh, your Space Marines. What, are you turned on by giant men in power armor now?” Alexandria laughed. 

“No, but I am turned on by giant muscle bound women with ice powers. Wanna join the mile high club with me?” 

“Bit late for that, I think we’re lifetime members,” Alexandria laughed. She kissed him, but shook her head. “When we get home. The last thing we need is someone getting a candid picture of me only a few months before the Convention.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Wyatt agreed. “Speaking of, about our wedding…”

That brightened Alexandria’s mood considerably, and they spent the rest of their flight planning their future of love together. For today, fate seemed to finally be on their side.