Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 167
With a final twitch, the white and gold-clad newcomer went limp. Boyd flicked on his Black Flame Vision on just long enough to confirm that he had driven his pitch-black arm through all three of the man’s cores at once. Confirmation of this were the golden motes of light that began to leak into the air.
He grabbed the man by the spine just below his ribcage and ripped his arm back out, making a complete mess of the man.
Boyd scrambled back, holding the spine and shattered skull of the man like a weapon as he jumped to his feet, prepared to face the other five.
He kicked the decapitated and gutted corpse at one of the floating men at random. He growled, “Again… I am Dashing Devil, a Hero of the Authority. Get on your knees and interlace your hands behind your head or be treated as hostile Powered Criminals. Like him.” He jerked his chin at the man he had just brutally killed.
At least this time it had been in self-defense.
“Delta is deceased,” one of the women said in an emotionless monotone.
“Confirmed,” one of the men agreed. They sounded more like machines than people.
“The target is a threat to the mission, it must be eliminated,” another of the men said in a matching tone.
“Negative,” the man Boyd had kicked the corpse at stated emotionlessly. “The target has displayed the ability to eliminate us, and the mission requires five to complete. Losing another of us would risk mission failure. The odds of the target interfering with the mission are low. The mission demands we withdraw from this conflict.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the other four said in perfect unison.
Then, before Boyd could even formulate a reply, a panel slid open in the wall and all five of them turned into white blurs that shot through the opening and out of sight. The sense of impending danger that threatened his loves faded, and Boyd took deep breaths as he stared at the circular opening in the wall.
He didn’t like the relief he felt at their retreat in the least—probably because it meant he wasn’t sure he could have defeated all five of them if they came at him all at once.
“Who the fuck were they?” Raev asked, anger and confusion blending with fear in her tone.
Regardless of the emotions attached to it, she’d voiced Boyd’s thoughts rather succinctly. The big demon shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d exerted himself so hard. Compared to what he’d just experienced, his fights with Victory Seeker or even Omega Ray were easy and under his control.
When Boyd finally replied, there was uncertainty in his voice. “I’m not sure who they were. But they definitely aren’t normal Powered. Their Power distribution was as machine-like as their voices.”
“They said that Article Three of the Authority’s Code required Changed be killed on sight,” Hope added. She sounded concerned and a little hurt. “What did they mean? I thought Article Three was about legal representation and a citizen’s right to a Hero’s defense.”
“That’s clause three of the Authority’s Charter… there is no Code.” Boyd shook his head as he approached his angel, intent on pulling her into a reassuring hug until he remembered he was absolutely drenched in blood. He had been liberally coated—with both his own blood and that of his enemy during the vicious fight.
While adrenaline still had his heart pounding in his ears, it was already leaching away. He knew he would crash hard without it, especially given the day he’d had. Boyd was spent.
‘Come home,’ Mindy said into his thoughts. ‘We’ll regroup, recuperate, and then figure out what that was about.’
“I don’t know who they were, but we aren’t going to figure it out standing around here,” Silvie said. “Let’s go home, Darling. We can come back with Tinker tomorrow or the next day and see if she can figure anything out about these systems.”
“I would be happy to give you all a lift home.” Stepper stepped forward as she inserted herself into the conversation.
Boyd turned to her and got the distinct impression from her guarded expression that she knew something about the group Victory Seeker had lured him here to awaken. It was just as clear that she had no intention of sharing whatever she knew.
“You’re not even going to pretend you don’t know where our base is?” Boyd grumbled, focusing on that to start.
“Oh, I don’t know the exact location.” Stepper shook her head and patted the air. “I’m offering you a lift in the hopes of scoring an invitation to see it. I can see why you would think that I would already know, since Sinoe does, but our leader told her not to reveal it, and forbade anyone from asking her. She said you needed to develop at your own pace after moving out there.”
The dark elf Changed shrugged. “All I know, is that it is somewhere in the same mountain range I picked you up in.” She grimaced. “It would take forever to search the entire range for what I am sure is a well-hidden base… even for me.”
“Tell you what, I’ll extend that invitation if you’ll tell me everything you know about whoever that was.” He nodded at the passage the beings had fled down.
“I… I can’t. I’m sorry.” Stepper frowned and seemed to mean it. “I’ve been forbidden from revealing anything to you that might affect your destiny—and they are definitely a part of your destiny. I would need to ask my leader what I can tell you before I can say anything.”
“I don’t have a destiny,” Boyd growled, rolling his eyes. He scoffed at the very notion of fate; he was a proponent of free will.
“Is that so?” Stepper raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. “You may not believe in destiny, but the universe certainly has plans for you… plans that were known long before you were born.” The hint of a smile turned into a smirk. “You have been fulfilling those pre-ordained plans to the letter.”
Boyd scowled at her, but Silvie pursed her lips and Raev tilted her head to the side, obviously deep in thought.
“But we’re venturing into conversation topics I should probably avoid,” Stepper admitted. “Can I take you home, or not?”
Boyd felt a real temptation to let her take them straight home—mostly because he didn’t want to spend another hour in an underground stone sphere before he could rejoin those who had stayed behind. But he knew it would be prudent to keep the location of their home from the teleporter he wasn’t quite sure he trusted.
She had helped them today, and his encounter with her at the arena had been mostly positive, but Boyd wasn’t going to forget the time she’d attempted to steal him away… or the face plant into the pavement at full speed that she’d orchestrated.
“Take us back to where you met up with us today. We’ll have Sinoe take us home from there,” Boyd rumbled, sure that Mindy could help him pass the time like she’d done before.
Besides, a little time to think about a future that wouldn’t include Royce would probably be a good thing as he started the grieving process. The big demon missed his handler already. At this point, Royce would have stepped in and accepted Boyd’s account of what had happened—likely grumbling about Boyd being reckless.
Knowing the man who had become a constant in his life as he did, Royce was sure to have come up with some witty remark to lighten his anxiety about the five unknown threats he’d released into the world. His Handler had been good at smacking him upside the head with logic mixed with humor to put things into perspective.
Boyd could almost hear Royce joking about how the big demon would do fine without him, that all his gorgeous women would pamper him into oblivion until he forgot all about his old and raggedy handler. Given that Boyd sensed the concern, worry, and adoration that flowed down each of his Bonds, he suspected the words he’d imagined Royce would say would be proven correct in the end.
Epilogue
“The following is an approved statement regarding yesterday’s events as they pertain to Dashing Devil and The Devoted,” Assistant Deputy Commander Ellis said into the array of microphones set into a podium in The Tower’s press room. “During the afternoon, The Devoted deployed for a sanctioned mission against what remained of the terrorist organization called The Ascended Coalition. We had received intelligence that a large number of Powered Criminals associated with the group had gathered so the team was sent and successfully captured over fifty potential threats, with no fatalities.”
He paused for a spattering of polite applause from the members of the press who had gathered for the conference. “Later that evening, while The Devoted were transporting the Powered Criminals back to Glorith city, a former S-Ranked Hero, Mentor, and Handler named Victory Seeker launched a premeditated attack on The Tower. He fought through Pinnacle Watch and achieved his goal of murdering a member of the Authority’s staff.”
A rare picture that showed Royce smiling was projected on a screen to Ellis’s right. “Royce Gibson was The Devoted’s sole Handler.”
Ellis paused for another moment, this time for a series of gasps and mutters. The Handler of the city’s premier Hero team had likely spoken to every member of the press who’d gathered in one form or another.
The Assistant Deputy Commander pressed on once the murmurs died down. “It has been determined that this murder occurred for the sole purpose of eliciting an emotional response from Dashing Devil, who was very close with his Handler. It should also be noted that Victory Seeker had a history with both the Hero and the Handler, in that he served as Devil’s primary Mentor at the Powered Adolescent Center where he was raised. While the records remain classified, I am authorized to inform you that Victory Seeker had an antagonistic relationship with both Devil and Royce during their time in the PAC. Victory Seeker also had ties to the Ascended Coalition, and shared their views on Changed, which was the source of most of this antagonism.”
The statement was designed to lay out what they hoped would be enough information to justify what happened next.
“Upon returning to Glorith, and discovering his Handler and friend had been murdered, Dashing Devil immediately set his status as unfit for duty on the grounds of emotional instability,” Ellis said. “He was therefore off-duty and not acting in an official capacity when he used the resources available to him to track Victory Seeker to where he had hidden deep in the Wild Lands. Devil then launched an unauthorized mission against Victory Seeker, during which he killed the Powered Criminal.”
Ellis paused again, waiting for the murmurs his last statement summoned to die down. He raised his voice before it fully faded. “We wish to be clear, that while there was no kill order issued, and the mission itself was unauthorized, the Authority condones this outcome. A kill order has since been issued, written retrospectively to cover Devil’s actions. There is a long history of similar orders being written; The Authority does not take the intentional killing of civilians or Authority staff to emotionally harm our Heroes lightly.”
“However,” Ellis said after a pause for dramatic effect, “the fact that Dashing Devil acted without authorization cannot be ignored. While our leadership understands and sympathizes with the emotions that drove him, he must face some form of punishment. One cannot kill—even when justified—without repercussions. It has been decided that this punishment will take the form of a sixty-day administrative leave without pay. The rest of The Devoted, however, will remain on duty throughout Devil’s enforced leave. Rest assured that our city is still secure.”
The clip cut away, revealing the news anchor, Jill, sitting beside the Hero analyst, Phil, at the News2 desk.
“To those of you just tuning in, the clip you just witnessed was taken from a press conference this morning,” Jill explained.
She turned to her colleague. “What do you make of it, Phil? I’ve heard some people are saying that Dashing Devil’s punishment is far too lenient.”
“Not in the least, Jill,” Phil said with a stern shake of his head. “Anyone who says that, wants him punished for killing Victory Seeker—a killing which doesn’t warrant punishment. They didn’t lie when they said it was standard practice to retroactively issue kill orders against those who intentionally murder someone to hurt a Hero. Retaliation is not encouraged, but has historically been condoned when it happens. It’s the only thing we’ve found that seems to keep Powered Criminals from going on rampant killing sprees.”
Phil turned to look directly at the camera. “Think about it this way… an S-ranked Powered former Hero committed a murder. That made him a Powered Criminal. For his crime, he was killed by Dashing Devil in response. Those facts don’t change just because you support Victory Seeker’s message.”
“Do you think the punishment for launching an unauthorized mission is fitting?” Jill asked.
“If anything, sixty days is a bit harsh, given the conditions,” Phil replied with a scowl. “Not only will these events cost our city’s Hero supporters for him becoming the next World Hero, he won’t be able to do anything for the next two months to try to win them back. This could be the end of Dashing Devil’s run at the title, but how this will affect Dashing Devil’s popularity remains to be seen. I do understand, however, that The Authority needed to send a message—and that message is that any Hero, no matter how popular, must act within the constraints of their duties.”
“Thanks for your input, Phil.” Jill smiled. “Now, let’s see what the citizens of Glorith think. Kayla Bailey is out on the streets asking them directly. We’ll go to her now. Kayla, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Jill.” A feed of Kayla standing in a shopping district replaced the newsroom on the screen. “I’ve been out here for a few hours, asking people how they feel about what happened and the Authority’s response. Many seem to think the sixty-day leave too harsh, and that it punishes the citizens of Glorith more than Dashing Devil by denying us his protection. There were a few who thought the punishment isn’t harsh enough, and they question his eligibility to be the next World Hero. One man even stated that Dashing Devil should immediately be removed from the running for World Hero. I asked one young couple to share their views live.”
As Kayla finished talking, she walked over to a college-age couple. Both the man and the woman were smiling. “This is Kara and Steven,” Kayla introduced them. “Thank you both for agreeing to share your thoughts. We’ll start with Steven, what do you think about Dashing Devil’s unauthorized mission and how he is being punished for it?”
“The punishment seems excessive to me,” the young man said with a frown. “Given everything that Devil has done for Glorith, I would expect that to be taken into account. We've seen him save countless lives, putting the safety and needs of others before himself time and time again. It feels like a blow to the city's safety, sidelining him like this.”
“You think the punishment for executing an unauthorized mission to kill the man who murdered his Handler is excessive?” Kayla reiterated.
“If anything,” Steven said, “he should be commended for taking down Victory Seeker—especially since it sounds like it was only a matter of time before a mission to do so was approved. When you think about, Devil was just being efficient.”
“Thanks, Steven,” Kayla said with a wide and easy smile. “And how about you Kara?”
“Well…” the young woman hesitated, glancing at her boyfriend before sighing and continuing, “I have to say I disagree. I think it’s a good thing The Authority is forcing Dashing Devil to take some time to reflect on what he did—not because the mission was unauthorized though, just because well… I don’t believe Heroes should kill, even those they are protecting us from. It hasn’t even been two weeks since he killed Mightbreaker, then there was Archangel and Omega Ray before that. It’s starting to feel like a pattern.”
“What?!” Steve sounded shocked by his girlfriend’s opinion. “Okay, first off, Dashing Devil didn’t kill Archangel—even though Archangel challenged him to a duel to the death, he found a way to win that avoided killing him. And Omega Ray? Are you *BEEP* kidding me?!” The young man was getting heated, and Kayla retracted her microphone and walked away from the brewing argument once the censor protocols against swearing started kicking in.
“Sorry about that, folks at home,” Kayla apologized with a chagrined smile. “And if you watch this later, sorry for kicking off a fight between you two, Kara and Steven. But as you can see, opinions are divided, though I would say that most people are supportive of Dashing Devil and feel the length of this enforced administrative leave is extreme. I’ll keep asking around, but for now, back to you in the station, Jill.”
Lilith flicked off the view screen, letting herself process the complex emotions that swirled within her heart. She knew that the loss of the man who was the closest thing Crimson Paw had to a supportive father figure would tear open her dearest Crimson Paw’s heart. And yet, she had stood by and let it happen—all for the future that he would go on to build because of it.
A future in which he could be truly happy.
She knew it wasn’t right. She couldn’t justify letting him suffer for all of them. But it wasn’t like she had a choice. If she tried to interfere with his destiny, something would have prevented it. That was always how it went. No matter how much she rebelled against fate—her own or anyone else’s—she found that what was destined to happen, would happen.
She wasn’t only filled with sorrow for what her dearest was suffering. There was a contradictory excitement that stirred within her heart as well. His current tribulations meant it was very nearly time for them to meet. Any day now, they might finally come face to face.
“What’s next?” Stepper asked.
The dark elf Changed had been watching the recording with her.
Lilith blinked as Stepper broke the silence that followed the screen winking off and her sinking into her thoughts. She turned to her subordinate and pondered the question the young woman had asked.
“We must keep track of the five remaining emissaries. That is our top priority. They won’t stay together; each will have assigned tasks to complete to prepare the world for His awakening.” Lilith refused to name that monster. “We need to gather as much information on their actions as possible. That way, when Crimson Paw comes home, we can provide him with all the information he needs to decide how best to counter them.”
