SSV3 Chapter 29 (Patreon)

“You’re kidding me.” Kim rubbed at her face as we stood in the BSH lobby. I’d meant to go up to her office, but she must have been waiting for me in the lobby.

I’d stopped to talk to her while the ladies went around me and headed on to the locker room.

They moved a little faster than normal, clearly not wanting to deal with the storm that was clearly Kim at the moment. Her hair sparked and popped as she glared at me.

I shrugged. “Sorry I wasn’t much help this morning. I checked out while I was on my date; it was supposed to be time off. Although I do wish I could have been involved yesterday. Maybe I could have stopped that colossal mistake.”

“Stella made it seem like Mona could get in touch with you last night.” Kim eyed me.

“She did, this morning.” I quickly replied not technically lying. “But I’m here now. So tell me, what the fuck was Pratt thinking?” I knew we’d get into the truth soon, but I couldn’t do that in the lobby.

And I didn’t hate the idea of dragging it out a little more. Trying to tell her that I was Void suddenly made my throat feel like it was full of razor blades that would cut me if I tried to speak.

“Well, you are about to find out. He’s here. He has been in The Spine with Hendricks most of the morning. Everybody is just waiting for Void to attack.” Kim replied.

Raising an eyebrow, I tried to be less than subtle. “I don’t think Void is attacking.”

“Me neither.” She smiled. “Not with you, our lucky charm here.”

I smirked. “Yep. Not with me here. So, how do we talk them off the ledge? I don’t particularly like having either of them around.”

“That’s the big question. Just wait until you see Hendricks.” Kim smirked and badged into The Spine.

Analysts were working in the amphitheater shaped room, their monitors casting a blue light over the room. The three main screens up front were all focused on reports from the city.

Up at the top level there was a space, mostly for walking, but presently it was for pacing as Hendricks walked back and forth while Pratt was dressed to a tee with his boots freshly shined.

He’d shown up for some sort of war room by the look of him. But Hendricks looked like she hadn’t slept all night.

“Director. There you are. Please tell me you have good news.” Hendricks chewed at her nails. She was pretty frayed. But she probably should be. She’d given the order to kill one of the strongest supers ever known, and if he didn’t come for her, he may do enough damage in the city to hurt her chances of reelection.

I was curious which possibility scared her more.

My mind swirled with all the possibilities.

“Miles, you okay?” Kim asked from the side, breaking me from my daydreams.

“Not really. These two fucked up a ton of my work. I’ve been communicating with Void through Melody these last few days, working to set everything up, as we discussed. We were this fucking close to getting him to agree to leave the city.” I pinched my fingers together. “Then you all go and fuck it up. I should clock you both upside the head.”

“Excuse me?” Hendricks might be fraying with worry, but I had crossed a line. And I didn’t care.

“You fucked up my project. I wish I could hit you, but that wouldn’t be productive. Although, if I decided to hit a target, you can be sure that I wouldn’t miss.” I gave a knowing look to Pratt, who did not seem to like my implication that he’d failed.

“We had eyes on an extremely volatile target. It could have been our only chance. I had backup on backups. I still don’t understand how he knew our invisible super was there.” Pratt was steadfast in his decision.

I had to rub my forehead for the impending headache. “He’s powerful, yes. But he hasn’t made a single aggressive action towards the city. Hell, he saved Kim. You have no reason to go after him.”

Our conversation was starting to carry over into the analysts area, and I had to keep myself from shouting.

“You listen here.” Hendricks stepped forward. “No matter what you think of this Void, the reality is that he doesn’t work for me.”

She caught herself “He doesn’t work for the city.” She corrected. Her words made me frown again.

I started playing back her desire to have a strong contract with Void, and I began to wonder what power she might have.

Pratt had always been her little lapdog, but for the first time I wondered why.

People like Hendricks rarely came into power because they wanted to do good for the people. They typically were the type to want control.

And she had no influence over Void. Is that why she was hell bent on taking this shot?

It seemed the silence after her correction pushed her to keep going.

“This city runs on law and order. But this Void remains outside the system. With his level of power, he cannot be allowed to operate outside the law. I authorized Pratt’s use of force in the city to keep this city in order.” Between the lack of sleep and her fraying nerves, Hendricks had lost some of her normal collectedness.

“Understood Mayor.” I swallowed any retort. I realized I didn’t need Miles’ profile growing any larger. ‘Miles’ needed to be able to slip away.

“Now. Pratt, what is the state of our forces should Void attack?” Hendricks turned to Pratt, who looked like he’d repeated the information several times already.

“I’ve brought the forces that were clearing the wilds close to the city. If we need them, we can bring the full muster of their abilities to bear on Void.” Pratt rattled off.

It was everything I could do not to sputter at his words.

Kim gave me an ‘I told you so’ look. Things were getting far too out of hand.

“Why is the military even getting involved? This is a villain. It should be BSH handling this.” Kim argued.

Hendricks shook her head. “You failed me. Simple as that. Pratt has more forces. Sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t a terrible decision to remove the heroes from the military.”

Her words were a subtle threat to Kim that wasn’t so subtle to either of us. She wanted to make sure Kim knew she could take it all away, make her life’s work pointless.

“What if Void never shows?” I suggested. And I felt pretty good I was right.

“Oh, he’ll come out to play. I’ve made sure of it. Melody came into work today, so I’ve already sent her out into the field.” Pratt had a smug smile on his face.

“Excuse me?” I nearly shouted.

“Oh, don’t be such a poor sport. She’s hanging out with Void. I bet she’s already cheating on you.” Hendricks was quick to needle me with a nasty smirk on her face.

I found myself missing the smug but more composed mayor she was when she got some sleep.

“That’s not the point. Your callous disregard for life is disgusting.” I’d had it.

Kim pulled at my arm. “Not now.”

I ran my hand through my hair and tapped the secret comms I had with Melody. “They are going to put Melody, one of my heroes, in danger. And all just to draw Void out?” I wanted to fight someone, but I had to be strategic. I was fairly certain Melody would get the message as I tried to give her information within the conversation here.

Kim shook her head. “We’ve been overruled.”

“Bullshit. Pratt and Hendricks don’t get to come in here and do that to one of mine.” I argued.

Hendricks had a venomous smile. “She’s working for the Military right now, so she is not one of yours. If Pratt wants to use his resources this way, who are we to object?”

Despite her regard, Pratt wasn’t smiling. Instead, he still had his shoulders set like he was bracing for impact. “It is for the good of the city that we sacrifice a few to take Void out of the picture.”

I wanted to fight them more, but I realized that neither of them were going to listen to reason. My time was better spent elsewhere. “Wonderful. I’ll be busy getting ready to deal with the fallout. Kim, let’s go to your office.”

We got two steps away, and Kim tried to speak. “Miles—“

“Not now. We can talk when we get to your office. Right now, I need to calm down.” I let out a heavy breath. Pratt and Hendricks were on a warpath against my alter ego, and I wasn’t just going to stand by.

What I was going to do, I wasn’t sure yet.

Kim’s flame red hair swished from side to side, rubbing against her suit jacket as we walked. It was the only sound between us on our walk to her office.

But as we neared the office, a soft voice sounded. Melody spoke over the comms. “Thanks for the warning, Miles. I’m watching my back. Melody out.” I wanted to say more in reply, but it was better if she didn’t have any distractions for whatever they were throwing at her.

Kim closed the door and rounded her desk, bending over and giving me a show of her backside as she fished out a bottle of Whiskey and two glasses, giving them both a long and sloppy pour. “Figured you’d want one.”

I took it and quietly snuffed out any sound from escaping our conversation. Then I did a sweep of her office for any faint electronic signatures that would indicate a bug.

“Thanks. I don’t understand what they are thinking.” Taking the drink, I sat down, trying to get comfortable. I wanted to be sitting for the conversation we were about to have.

“They are scared. Void is… incredibly powerful. Powerful enough that if he wasn’t grounded by society, he could topple everything Hendricks has built.” Kim shrugged as if it was obvious.

And it was clear enough to me.

Hendricks was scared of Void. Not just because of his power, but because he wasn’t part of the system she controlled.

“Can you explain why she wants a written contract?” I asked, already having my suspicions.

Kim winced. “Yeah. Pick up on how badly she likes things in writing? She isn’t just a die hard bureaucrat. Her power allows her to make contracts binding.”

I leaned forward. “Are you bound?”

“I’m from before her time.” Kim smirked. “Any physical contract I had signed is long gone now. Same with Pratt. She doesn’t have his contract, but you can be sure anyone she’s hired as Mayor is likely bound by them.”

“Do I have anything to worry about in the BSH?” I asked, suddenly far more concerned.

“Nope. Everything here is signed digitally. And I keep it that way. As far as I understand, she can’t affect that with her power. It has to be a physical paper, signed by both parties. From the intel we have gathered, it’s like signing a deal with the devil. Whoever she’s bound can’t go back on the agreement without facing extreme consequences.” Kim took a long drink. “Fuck her, but she’s so firmly rooted in power that there isn’t much that I can do besides do my job and wait for her to die of old age.”

I snorted. “Perks of being immortal?” Taking a sip, I realized she’d gone for a different, fancier brand of whiskey. Like she knew this was about to be an important conversation.

“Something like that.” Kim tapped at her glass, seeming to enjoy the tinkling noise. “So, how are we going to save Melody?”

I leaned back. “Who says that Melody needs saving?” A smile played on my lips. “What does the press call her now? Darkstar? Well, Darkstar is a fucking beast out there.”

“It’s still an active power set.” Kim tried to play devil's advocate.

But I felt relatively secure. I regularly filled each of my girls to the brim with ki, which seemed to give them a significant boost to healing and durability. Even if Melody got shot, as long as it wasn’t a head shot, I was pretty sure she could pull through.

And I could also reach out if she called me and give her help from a distance.

But my concern wasn’t just on Melody. This seemed like Pratt’s best move for drawing Void out. Even if one attempt failed, he’d likely keep trying. I couldn’t let Melody suffer a battery of mishaps, something would go wrong if he took enough shots.

“I think Melody will be just fine. But if she goes to war with Pratt’s people, I’m not sure how we will turn this around later. Is he going to keep her in the city until he can get Void or will we be able to go to New Haven? At this point I think it would be safer for her to move forward and get out of the city.” I replied.

“New Haven?” Kim raised an eyebrow.

I faltered for just a moment, realizing that needed to cover up how I knew that name. Only Void knew that name. “From Melody. That’s what Pix, Daeva’s recruiter, calls it.” I was so used to covering for myself I did it on instinct.

“Ah.” Kim smirked but let it go as she took another sip. “Pix. The displacer. She’s a little terror with her short ranged teleportation. She displaces anything that she teleports to and is incredibly durable.”

“Wait.” I played through how that would work. “If she teleported into someone’s body.”

Kim splayed her hand. “Splat. Blows the person’s guts right out when she displaces the space inside of them.”

I shuddered. It was such a simple, yet incredibly lethal power. “No wonder no one is going after her.” I shuddered a little.

“She’s harmless for the most part.” Kim replied. “The military has even had direct communications with her.”

Silence fell as we sat there, and Kim looked like she was waiting for something.

But I wasn’t ready yet, so I changed the topic. “Yeah, harmless like Mickey Hill?”

I was kicking myself for delaying the inevitable.

Kim looked disappointed as she moved to sit behind her desk. “That’s not what you came here to talk about. Mickey isn’t a problem right now. Void and Melody’s situation are the issue.”

I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “You’re right.”

I cursed, trying to pep talk myself. I could do it. She already knew. Nothing would change.

“How is the research with monster fruit going?” I wanted to clobber myself.

Kim frowned. “I should be asking you that. Doctor Wells has stopped reporting much to me, and I hear she’s now practically living at your place. Speaking of, my analyst has even been over there this weekend and Stella was… having a sleepover with her last night?”

I scratched the back of my head. “Yeah. Stella does things like that. You can’t really stop her.”

“Is that what it took? Her… tenacity is what won you over?” Kim leaned forward, a new intensity in her eyes as little wisps of flame danced down her hair. “Should I be so tenacious?”

She was baiting me, pushing until I’d finally let her in. And we both knew it.

I stared into her eyes, trying to get through the current lump in my throat.

I really wanted to blow something up, but Angelina and I had been working on that as she tired of ordering new therapy couches. I eyed Kim’s desk, wondering if it was extra fortified.

“I’m not quite sure what you mean Kim. Stella bound herself to me, remember? She thinks I’m her master of sorts and I keep her power in check. That’s why you hired me in the first place.” It was feeling uncomfortably warm in here.

Kim hummed and leaned back, easing the pressure on me. “Is that it? Here I thought you had some secret to tell me. Maybe it had something to do with Stella’s attachment to you and why she pursued you so hardily? You know, I’m single. Have been for a while.” She played aloof for a moment.

I played along. It was easier than telling her the truth. “Why is that?”

“First, I have a slight problem. I get excited and my hair catches fire. Not a lot of men can handle that. They aren’t all fireproof.” She paused, giving a sigh as she continued.

“But I’m also married to my job. Taking in supers and turning them into heroes takes a lot of time and focus. And I had a reason to do it. That moment with Fortress… I wasn’t ready to be the leader I needed to be. And people died because of me. Becks died because of me.” The way she punctuated my highschool sweetheart’s nickname made me feel like I was hit by a tuning fork.

“Yeah. Sounds like mistakes were made.” I downed the rest of my drink and decided it was time to get out of the office. After the mention of Becks, I just wanted out of here.

“Then there was Miles Matherson. The kid that killed Fortress. I was a hero. And I plunged into that persona, wanting to do better. Always a hero, never a leader.” Kim saw that I was about to leave and fire erupted from her feet as she flew over to the door and pressed herself against it, preventing me from leaving.

“I fucked up. Since that day, when I tried to arrest the greatest super to have ever lived, the mistake has always haunted me. I prevented him from becoming a true hero, replacing Fortress. Hell, he could even go hunting titans, reforge boundaries between the cities. He could shape the very world, and I fucked it up.” Kim’s rich brown eyes bore into my eyes like she wanted to look into my soul.

“And?” I swallowed.

“And I became obsessed with finding him.” She admitted. “Once I found him, I was cautious, wanting to be absolutely sure. My gut told me I was right, but all the facts told me I was wrong.”

I cursed inside. I wasn’t getting out of the office without spilling my secret.

“So I just tried to do what I’d failed to do back then. Nurture him, lead him. But even then, I now realize I was too cautious. Bold action was required, even if it put myself and the entire city in danger.” Kim rationalized.

“Pratt already provoked Void.” I reminded her.

“Yes, he did. Yet, Void seems to be pretty tolerant. So, I’m going to provoke him too.” She was panting. Every breath was let out in a shudder that made her chest shake. “Tell me. Let me hear it before you leave, because I don’t know if you are coming back.”