Supervillains 2 Chapter 15 (Patreon)

The heroes were all flying off to their pre-established positions around the city. I, along with the rest of the Point City managers, were welcomed into Mountain City BSH.

Instead of a stately hall, theirs was a hard looking, steel building.

The city’s name made sense as you looked at it; the entire thing was built into the side of the mountain.

There was a large cavity in the mountain, where most of the city resided, a small half circle spanning out in every direction from that point. You could see the lip, where the city was slowly excavating into the mountain.

I left my fellow managers and headed into the offices to meet the directors. They hadn’t met us here, instead several of their senior managers had been briefing us.

As I walked in, I had to school my face to not show my surprise.

"Hello, you must be Miles. I'm Lachesis." A short blond grinned up at me. Her eyes seemed to see far more than just that before her. Her iris was a gold four-pointed star, with little pupils in the center.

Beside her, two more women stood, looking almost identical to the first. One other had eyes like the night sky that seemed to stare off into the distance.

The third, well, she was shaking and holding onto the first, looking at me with utter terror. It was like she knew something that I didn't want her to know, and it made me uneasy.

Her eyes had no iris making her pupils spooky dark pits.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Ah." Lachesis turned to her sister. "Atropos's power is interesting. I told her she shouldn't come."

"I had to see him for myself." Atropos's voice quaked as she spoke.

"He won't kill you, not if you let me speak." Lachesis said with some confidence. "I'm able to see the paths of people's futures. Sorry for this, but I had to see you given some of the possible paths I'd seen."

At least she would not keep me guessing.

"Paths?" I asked, not quite understanding.

"It’s easiest to explain as a branching strand. I can clearly see the actions and consequences of near term actions, because there are limited options. But as time goes forward, the number of options increases. Though I can nudge things, I can't perfectly lead someone to their desired outcome."

She then pointed to the last of the sisters. "Clotho here has far sight. She's watching The Roc for us, though I'm fairly certain it will attack from the east. That likelihood continues to be growing."

"You see the future, and she can see anywhere in the present. Now, don't leave me wondering what she sees." I glared at Atropos, who looked like she was about to pee herself.

She was seeing my past? Everything? I felt my blood run cold as I wanted to kill her.

"We won't tell a soul. I swear on it. I'll even do you one better. We'll trade favors. I have three to ask of you, and in return, I'll answer any three questions you might have." Lachesis was calm and collected as she faced me. "And she doesn't see the past; she sees powers."

I locked all three of them down with a cage of kinetic force.

"Don't you want to ask three questions?" She continued to dangle her offer out before me. "I can't answer them if you kill me. Plus, I can help you avoid Stella's death."

A nearby office chair exploded as my anger spiked. She’d succeeded in grabbing my attention. "Tell me."

"First, you promise me you won't kill the three of us."

I glared at her. If she saw paths in the future, she knew I kept my word. If I promised to spare them, there was a very low chance of me killing them.

Now I understood her power. The future wasn’t fixed. All she could do was try to steer it to her desired path.

That didn’t always mean that it was in my favor, though. But for now, I’d have to work through this with her.

"Deal. Now tell me." Stella's life was worth that.

"Simple, and it is one favor I would like to ask of you. Don't fight Angel."

I frowned. "Why would I fight him?"

"He's an ass." Clotho came back into the conversation. "He's also corrupt as fuck, but we have a plan."

"Why don't I just--" I drew a thumb over my neck.

"Because Stella will die if you fight him. She will try to help you. You also only have about an eighty-five percent chance of winning, and almost every time you two wreck the city. We have another plan in motion. That plan can be sped up if you go visit a college kid before you leave and help his power mature a little sooner." Lachesis held up a second finger as she rattled off her asks.

"Finally, do what you came here to do and help us with The Roc, but please use your power in the background to help save more lives."

I crossed my arms, not liking the position of talking to someone who could see the future. It was much harder to argue. "What's the chance I'll agree with this?"

"Giving you how to save Stella opens up the option that you walk away, but significantly reduces the chance of you killing me." She shrugged. "I'd like to live."

Again, she was brutally honest, but she could see the future enough to know that I reacted well to her brutal honesty.

"Fine. I'll agree with those three asks. Give me the kid’s location." I hadn't played with powers much, but if that's what she wanted, I could go take a crack at it. It must work out if she wanted me to visit with him. "Can I ask my three questions now?"

"If you wait until you are about to leave, they will be clearer." Lachesis grinned. "And you'll be interested enough in leaving quickly that you won't kill Atropos for looking at your power."

I didn't like her or any of their powers. It was so... invasive for them to be able to see things. "You think you know everything?"

"I don't. But I'm comfortable rolling the odds with my power. That's all I can do." Lachesis looked at Atropos. "I told her not to come, but she ignored me, and now there's a chance she dies. So, questions now or later?"

"Later." I already had an idea of what I wanted to ask. "Atropos. What do you see in my power?"

"You are a human titan." She still clung to Lachesis. "You could wipe out cities and rob supers of their powers."

"What is Angel's power?" I asked, knowing that she knew.

Atropos looked at Lachesis for confirmation. The fortune teller nodded for her to speak.

"His power grows. I'm not exactly sure how, but he now has physical powers just below that of a titan. Comparatively, he might be as strong as Fortress once was."

Lachesis’ golden eyes nearly popped out of her head and she tapped Atropos, likely to shut up or change subjects.

I had a suspicion of what very faint possibility popped into her future sight given she had mentioned Fortress.

"We should focus on protecting the city. The Roc is almost upon our city." Lachesis protectively grabbed Atropos, whose mouth went tense, understanding her sister's actions.

"Do you have someone who can fly me a little closer to the action?" I asked, ready to get to work and away from the creepy women.

***

"Can I just say that is just so cool you are going out into this storm as just an enhanced?" Ribbit squeezed my butt and played it off as she was just holding tightly to me.

The wind around the city had already picked up, and The Roc wasn't even here yet.

Planning where to fight the titan was a delicate balance. If the heroes went too far outside the city, The Roc could bypass them and leave them stranded, fighting monsters in the wild.

But the closer to the city they fought, the more danger and destruction that could occur.

The triplets had lent me one of their heroes to get me out closer to the fight so I could manage the Point City teams.

But I was annoyed that their hero was getting a little handsy.

"Just get me a little closer." I grumbled, resisting the urge to slap her hand away, but it was what she used her power for.

"Don't worry, you can snuggle up as close as you'd like." Her hand glowed green where it touched me as she flirted.

Ribbit had two powers. One was a physical enhancement that focused on her legs, allowing her to jump across the rooftops with ease. The second power allowed her to stick things together. Apparently, it was near permanent.

According to Lachesis, I'd be safe from any level of wind with her.

It also meant she wanted actual physical contact with me, which was why she had one hand under my shirt, but it kept wandering.

I would have liked for her to deliver me and leave me be so I could just put up a barrier to protect me from the wind, but it didn't look like that would be happening.

"Venus, Demoness, Pulsar. Everyone in position?" I spoke over the comms.

"Yes. I'm gonna send this bird brain flying!" Demoness yelled over the wind, and I could tell which of the dots in the distance was her just by her excited bobbing back and forth as she said it.

Looking past her, I could see another hero. That hero’s white wings were obvious of his namesake, Angel.

"So, what's up with Angel?" I asked Ribbit.

"Physical enhancement and a wing mutation. He's also a complete hunk." She sighed.

Raising an eyebrow at her, I pushed a little more. "I heard he was a bad egg."

"Oh, he just needs a few girls that can tame him. I'm sure he'd mellow out if he got a few good girls. But he is getting a rowdy reputation, fighting and killing more often than arresting villains now." She just shrugged it off as if that was only secondary to his attractiveness.

People would really forgive a lot about a person's character if they were attractive.

Far off in the distance, I watched a cloud explode, and the sky seemed to part around the beating of a colossal bird's wings. The heroes in the sky looked like ants compared to it.

"It's here." I said, though no one needed a reminder.

Reaching out to my three, I boosted their powers as much as I could.

"Venus, start gathering light."

"On it."

I reached out and helped her, gathering more particles of light for her and then sending them into a ball for her.

The telepathic link allowed for me to hand off what I gathered to her easily.

Swiping my comms, I opened them up to listen to the triplets. "Hold. It isn't time yet." Lachesis said.

I imagined she could predict the likelihood of The Roc engaging the heroes versus continuing after the city.

While we were holding, the wind picked up. It went from a harsh wind to the kind that required you to bolt everything down or have it be swept away.

Ribbit sealed my feet to the ground. "We might want to get down from here, actually. I didn't realize it would be so intense."

"I'll be fine, but please descend if you are uncomfortable."

"Can't. Need to keep you safe." Ribbit pressed herself close to me. The green mask she wore did nothing to hide the lecherous gaze.

"Ten seconds." Lachesis spoke. "I want all ranged attacks to commence on my mark... now."

Venus was in my head, so she didn't need prompting. Her beam lanced through the air, traveling for several miles before it hit The Roc.

Her attack was followed by dozens of little attacks that looked comparatively pathetic.

"That's an attack." Ribbit commented.

"Yes, she's my hero. Even lives with me." I said, hoping to deter the hero next to me a little.

And as I said it, I felt a spike of excitement from Venus' mind.

She had felt the possessiveness of her in my thoughts and voice. It excited her to a degree that her mind swirled and focus more on my mind than on her own situation.

"Stay focused. Gather another attack." I tried to keep the suddenly excited super on task.

The Roc turned to focus on the cluster of heroes just outside the city, its wings angled down.

"Demoness, get ready. It's coming your way. Venus, it will pick you out after the next attack. Go along the edge of the city, but not inside of it if you need to move." I saw Demoness get up in front of the supers, and she was joined by the white-winged Angel.

I disliked the sight of the two of them flying next to each other.

Venus spoke over the comms. "Demoness, you should go remind Miles of how much you love him after this. He's feeling jealous that he can't be out there with you."

"What? I'll come back right now!"

"Demoness, focus on the task before you." I interjected, using a voice full of authority. "You have a fucking titan before you. Venus, don't distract them."

My mind swirled for a moment, wondering if Venus would ever try to get her killed to limit the competition.

No! I'd never betray you like that. Venus spoke in my mind.

Sure. But you'd like for there to be less competition, wouldn't you? I responded.

I mean, Ribbit might lose a leg if she doesn't stop feeling you up. But if I harmed anyone you considered yours, I know you'd abandon me in a heartbeat. Venus growled into my mind, frustrated with the hero feeling me up.

At least she understood. "Focus. Demoness you got this." I kept her power boosted as she and Angel took on the titan head on.

As the titan opened its beak, Demoness shot suddenly upward and Angel split below. Both of them dodged.

From this distance, I had to sense with my powers to know what was happening. At the moment, Pulsar was helping Demoness, changing the gravity on her.

Then the gravity slammed back down on Demoness as she hurtled back down on top of The Roc's skull.

Angel attacked from below. Between the two of them, The Roc stalled in midair with a startled squawk and beat its wings to blow the two of them away.

Even miles away, it went from intense winds to full force hurricane gales.

Heroes and debris flew up all over the city. I even watched as a compact car was picked up and thrown down the street.

I had to hold my tablet against my chest and tuck my head as the wind pushed me into the wall I was braced against.

Across the city, I moderately increased the gravity to help reduce things being blown about too much.

Ribbit was trying to say something, but I couldn't make out a word over the wind.

Luckily, the communicators send vibrations straight through my jaw. "Demoness, are you okay?" Venus managed.

"Fine." She sounded strained.

I had to look up. Creating a small bubble of force to protect my face, I looked out over the battle.

The Roc's huge red wings beat slowly, but each flap was wrecking the edge of the city. Anything not bolted down was being blown away.

A van crashed into a home and created a pocket for the wind to pressure the house, cracking the walls and lifting it, smashing it into another building.

Reaching out with my powers, I tried to stop some of the cascade. Soon there would be a domino effect and buildings would continue plummeting through each other, the wind adding momentum to their mass.

"Venus, fire." I saw she had built up enough light for another blast.

She hit The Roc's wing and lit some of its red feathers on fire.

Concrete was flowing like water over the ground and rushing up to form a thick windshield for the heroes. I watched as patches of the air glowed briefly before the wind pushing on me died down.

It had been less than a minute, but the damage to the city was intense.

These heroes, at least, had managed to come forward and protect it from further damage.

The Roc wasn't the most dangerous for heroes to fight, but its ability to rip a city to shreds was terrifying. Just powerful beats of its wings had flattened the outer edge of the city, even with a small army of heroes trying to erect barriers.

I could imagine the terror if it came into the heart of a city.

And it was still in the air, flapping away. It was trying to put out the fire in its feathers, but Venus had left a hole in its wing.

Heroes from Mountain City attacked. A group of heroes took to the air behind the barriers and circled around the Roc.

Their attacks were aiming for the hole that Venus had made.

But I was more concerned with my heroes. "Demoness, Pulsar, report."

"Fine." Demoness sounded unsteady.

"We took a tumble through the air. We just need a moment to catch our breath before we can take to the air again." Pulsar reported.

"Gonna beat that bird brain." Demoness grumbled.

"Get in the air and get it done."

The Roc had diverted its attention away from the city as the cluster of heroes were shooting ice, mud and other substances to weigh down the Roc's wings.

And that gave me an idea. "Melody, hit it with the strongest gravity you can."

"I can't hit the whole thing." She whined.

"You haven't gone all out in a while." I reminded her of my upgrade and the boost I was currently giving her. "Give it a go."

And she wasn't alone. I reached out with my own powers, grabbing onto the feathers and the wing that was being attacked, quadrupled the weight of the heroes and that of the materials of which they were shooting onto its wing.

It had an obvious effect as the Roc tipped towards the side, struggling to remain in the air.

And that gave us the golden opportunity.

I swiped my comms so I could speak to the triplets. "I think we can finish The Roc here today."

Lachesis paused, searching with her power. "There is actually a decent chance. I understand the plan and will support you from here."