Julian felt unstoppable when he returned to the Complex.
It was the morning after the fight when he walked in. He’d wanted to deal with his injuries on his own back at his apartment and take a few hours alone to relish his victory. The downside was that hadn’t slept much, unable to stop his racing mind from wondering what Blazar’s reaction to the news had been. What he would say when he saw Julian.
“Julian!” Blazar was waiting when Julian entered, leaning against the wall by the elevator with his arms folded. “You actually did it. I must admit, I’m—”
“Impressed?” Julian tried.
“Surprised.”
Julian frowned. “What, you didn’t think I could beat him?”
“Not by yourself.” Blazar shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. Storm Warning’s been around for a long time. I was starting to think he’d never go down.”
Blazar’s strawberry blonde hair was long, for him—a couple of inches. It must have been a few days since he last shaved it for his villain persona. Most days he was Blake Sullivan, and his odd ability to manipulate his super speed into accelerating his hair growth provided a convenient addition to his civilian disguise. The nice suit also suggested he’d been at his day job recently.
He was a formidable man as a civilian, but when his head was shaved and he wore his villain suit, it really emphasized the militaristic look he gave off. Blazar had never actually been in the military, but he’d acted enough like a drill sergeant when training Julian to give the impression, anyway. The muscles and strong, wide jaw helped.
“Well, he’s down now,” Julian said. The last of his stress faded away, the tension in his shoulders easing. Things were finally going his way.
Blazar stepped away from the wall and straightened up, reminding Julian that even with his above-average height, the older man towered over him. “I assume you found the stormoid?”
Julian frowned. “The what?”
The shift in Blazar’s expression made Julian tense.
“The source of Storm Warning’s power,” Blazar said, his voice tinged with annoyance. “We don’t know exactly what it is—yet—but we know it was inside of him. It usually showed up as a sphere in his chest on Saturn’s scans. Sometimes it took on a liquid form in his blood, mainly when he was healing from bad injuries.”
“No one told me any of that!” Julian forced himself to pause a moment and get his tone under control. Blazar didn’t take kindly to being yelled at, even if he was the one in the wrong. “How long have you known?”
“Hm. Not sure. A couple years?” Blazar rubbed his chin. “I really thought we mentioned it to you.”
“You didn’t.”
Footsteps sounded from the hallway. Lord Saturn and Damselfly emerged together and entered the living room.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Blazar said, not acknowledging their arrival. “We need the stormoid.”
“What for?” Julian asked.
“To train a new villain, of course!” Blazar laughed. “Can you imagine if we had someone with Storm Warning’s power on our side? We’d be unstoppable.”
Of course it hadn’t been enough to defeat the seemingly invincible hero. Of course Blazar would find some way to be disappointed in Julian’s success.
Julian shook his head as if to shed his growing dismay. “Well, it must still be in his body, right?” he asked. “I can…retrieve it.”
“You’d better hope you can,” Blazar said. “We need to scare off any heroes who think they can take his place.”
“I’ll get it,” Julian promised. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “Where do you plan to find someone else to train?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find us some candidates,” Blazar replied. “Now, I’m off to work. You get this taken care of.”
Julian stepped aside so Blazar could pass him and leave the Complex. While the elevator door slid shut behind him, he turned his attention to Lord Saturn and Damselfly.
Out of costume, Lord Saturn—or Sophia Novak, as she was known at the car manufacturer where she worked as an engineer—was a woman in her mid-thirties with light skin and dark red-orange hair kept up in a bun. It was as striking as natural red hair could get. “I’m surprised Blazar wasn’t more pissed,” she said. Her arms folded, rustling the fabric of her dark red button-up. “He’s wanted to get his hands on the stormoid since we figured out it existed.”
Julian crossed the living room to stand in front of her and Damselfly. “No one ever mentioned it to me.”
Saturn shrugged. “I picked it up after I started taking full-body scans of heroes in fights. Blazar said he’d mention it to you.” Over the years, she’d been able to implement tech into her helmet to run x-rays, thermal scans, and night vision. There was probably more, but Julian had a hard time following her when she explained her inventions. Still, he was fairly certain she’d been taking those full body scans for a few years now.
“Guess he forgot.” Damselfly took a handful of popcorn out of the bag she was holding and shoved it into her mouth. The oversized t-shirt she wore displayed a cartoon crow with a knife in its beak, an odd pairing with her hot pink sweatpants.
“He’s not like you, Damselfly,” Saturn said. “He doesn’t forget things.”
Julian turned around to face the elevator. No point sticking around, especially if all the other two had to offer was bickering. He had a job to do.
“Where are you going?” Damselfly protested through her mouthful of popcorn. She swallowed. “I was going to make all of us pasta for lunch.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Julian said as he started toward the elevator. Not that he wanted to eat Damselfly’s cooking. “I’m going to go find Storm Warning’s body.”
“City’s taken it,” Saturn said. “They’ve already announced a funeral.”
Julian paused. Damn it. “When?”
“Tonight, at seven.”
“Then I’m going to my apartment for a few hours.” Julian sighed. “Guess I have a funeral to get ready for.”
“Wait!” Damselfly took to the air and flew into Julian’s path, wings fluttering. She dropped to the ground in front of him. “We should tell you what we know about the stormoid.” Her gaze darted expectantly to Saturn, and Julian got the feeling she didn’t actually know much at all.
Before Saturn had the chance to help Damselfly out, Julian glanced back at her. “Saturn can just email me the information, right?”
“Sure.” Saturn walked toward them, grabbing her suit jacket off the back of the couch as she passed. “You should also take this scanner.” She pulled a small electronic device from one of the jacket’s pockets and held it out to Julian. It was a bit smaller than the average phone, and a screen took up its entire surface. “Point it at Storm Warning’s body and turn it on, and it will show you the stormoid.”
Julian slid the scanner into his pocket. “Thanks.”
“I’ll send you my files on the stormoid when I get back to my apartment,” Saturn added.
Damselfly huffed. “Fine. Screw you guys. More pasta for me, then.” She flew into the kitchen.
Julian felt a twinge of guilt as he resumed his walk to the elevator. Damselfly was the only one who didn’t have a home outside the Complex, or another identity to use. Her wings couldn’t bend or fold, so it simply wasn’t possible for her to hide them.
He let Saturn enter the elevator first. As he followed, he hit the button for the ground floor. The only button.
The door slid shut, leaving them in silence. After a long moment, Julian asked, “Did you see the fight?”
“I saw the highlights on the news,” Saturn answered, sounding a little distracted. “Work ran late for me last night. But it looked like you did great.”
“Thanks.”
They were quiet the rest of the way down. When they stepped out of the alley, they went separate ways. Saturn headed toward the nearest subway station, and Julian started the walk to his apartment. It would take nearly half an hour, but he found the stroll enjoyable in the spring weather.
He took an even longer route today, one that would take him past the scene of last night’s fight. The city had brought in equipment to dismantle the walls he’d left up. Julian had taken a few sections down before disappearing the night before, not seeing any point in keeping everyone hostage after accomplishing his goal. But he’d been too exhausted to deal with all of them.
Back at his apartment, with plenty of time to kill before the funeral, he found himself checking the news frequently. He was concerned when he heard heroes had come in from New York to help with funeral preparations, but it sounded like they were gone by the afternoon. Good. More heroes were the last thing they needed in New Atlas.
Well, the last thing Julian needed.
Finally, the time came for him to leave. For attire, he went with a simple suit. He’d briefly considered showing up as Citadel but decided the better option would be to assess the scene without drawing attention. He doubted Blazar wanted the public knowing about the stormoid, anyway.
So, Julian told himself, he was simply going to the funeral see where they buried Storm Warning. He would return once it was dark. The Fallen Heroes Cemetery had guards, of course, but they were to keep out civilians. Not him. He could get in and out without anyone ever knowing he was there.
It was a long walk to the cemetery, but crowded sidewalks were more tolerable than a crowded subway. Julian followed the masses through a tall iron gate. He’d never been here before, and as he passed statues of heroes who’d died long before his time—before Blazar even—a discomfort he couldn’t shake settled over him. He didn’t belong here.
Was he the only villain to ever visit? Or had others come to watch heroes they’d killed be put in the earth?
Julian found a spot near the edge of the crowd where he could see the casket from. Ropes blocked off the area around the burial site, and the only people allowed in were cemetery guards, police, a few reporters, and the mayor.
Location was good. A feel for the area would be even better. Julian closed his eyes, letting the earth below steady him for a moment before he sent his senses rolling through the dirt. Good. It wouldn’t be difficult to manipulate the ground here.
When he opened his eyes, Julian caught a glimpse of blue moving through the crowd. Blue hair, pulled back in a braid. Even though she was facing away from him, he recognized the girl from the cafe.
The girl who’d approached Storm Warning’s body after his death.
She was different. Noticeably different. Taller, for starters. And she looked like she’d somehow packed a six-month gym routine into a day. Even the long sleeves of her black dress couldn’t completely hide that. Someone walked next to her, a person in a suit with blonde hair up in a ponytail.
Julian followed the two through the crowd. He tried to keep his distance, but it was difficult to avoid losing them with so many people around. He was forced to move closer, to shrink the space between them.
When the two finally stopped in a thinner part of the crowd, the girl’s friend turned his head and noticed Julian watching. Julian looked away, but when he dared to glance back, the man was elbowing the blue-haired girl. He jutted a thumb toward Julian, and the girl looked his way. Their eyes met.
And then she was walking toward him.
Julian only had seconds to think up an excuse for following her. “I owe you a dollar.” He reached into his pocket, praying he had a bill on him somewhere.
She laughed. “I don’t want you to pay me back.”
Julian paused. “No?”
“It’s a dollar! I don’t need it.”
Julian wondered if he should bring up the height thing. There might be another explanation, the timing only a coincidence, but…could she have the stormoid?
She had approached Storm Warning’s body. But how would she have taken it? Or even known it existed? Intuition could only be trusted so far, but she didn’t strike Julian as the type of person to pursue a source of power like that.
Before Julian could decide where to take the conversation, she held out a hand. “I’m Charlotte, by the way.”
“Julian.” Julian pulled his hand from his jacket pocket to shake hers. Electricity jumped between them, making him flinch.
“Sorry!” Charlotte yanked her hand back. “Static electricity, I guess.”
A small smile touched Julian’s lips. He decided not to mention that there was no way she could have built up a charge out here on the grass.
“Charlie!” Charlotte’s friend walked up to join them. There was something in his expression that Julian suspected was amusement. Oddly, it put him on edge. He flexed the hand Charlotte had shocked and slid it into the pocket of his suit jacket.
“Oh, uh, this is Spencer,” Charlotte told Julian. “He’s my cousin. And roommate.”
“Nice to meet you.” Spencer gave Julian a quick nod before glancing at Charlotte. “They’re about to start the service.”
As the words left his mouth, a hush fell over the crowd. Charlotte nodded, waved goodbye to Julian, and followed Spencer back to the spot the two had picked out. Julian remained where he was, turning his attention to the casket carrying the fallen hero.
A microphone had been set up in front of the casket. Mayor Song stood in front of the mic, and once the cemetery quieted, he spoke. “For the past decade, New Atlas has been beyond fortunate to have a hero as great as Storm Warning as our protector and guardian.”
Julian spent the next few minutes unable to take his eyes off the casket, barely processing the mayor’s eulogy. Had he really caused all of this?
Time passed in a blur.
Finally, the mayor’s speech drew to a close. “I cannot tell you what will come next,” Mayor Song said. “I can only promise that I will do my best to keep New Atlas a city that Storm Warning—that any hero—would be proud to serve.”
The casket was lowered into the earth. Dirt filled in the hole. As soon as they were allowed to approach, civilians crowded the plot, tossing flowers onto the freshly disturbed dirt.
Julian sat on a bench along one of the cemetery’s paths and watched the crowd thin. People streamed past him, talking quietly as they headed for the gate. After half an hour, a few still lingered, but they’d moved on to looking at memorials for other heroes. They couldn’t stick around much longer. The place closed at sundown, and the red sky was darkening quickly.
And then Julian could do what he had to do. Maybe the stormoid had been taken from Storm Warning’s body already, but he had to be sure.
He supposed he should leave now and come back once it was dark. He rose to his feet. But instead of heading directly for the gate, he walked to the headstone over Storm Warning’s grave.
Julian shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the hero’s name carved into the stone. He had to admit that some part of him would miss fighting Storm. Their battles hadn’t always ended with broken ribs and bleeding wounds. Julian often got away before things got too messy, and sometimes he even escaped with whatever money or prize he’d been after.
And Storm Warning, to his credit, was a fun opponent. He was clever, kept Julian sharp, and occasionally managed a decent joke or two between his high-and-mighty speeches.
But that part of Julian’s life was over now. And it was for the better. There was nothing standing between him and whatever he wanted to take from the city. He and the other villains could rob the wealthy without fear of Storm Warning swooping in. Lord Saturn could steal whatever tech she wanted from the city’s manufacturers. Everything New Atlas produced was at their fingertips.
Footsteps approached at Julian’s right. Someone moved to stand next to him. Charlotte.
Julian glanced up at her. “What are you still doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Charlotte smiled.
Fair enough. Julian glanced around. Not many people left… No, even if Charlotte did have the stormoid, he needed to be disguised as Citadel when he took it. He couldn’t have her knowing he was a villain, now that she’d seen his face. And knew his name.
He let his eyes briefly look over her arms as she folded them. If it really was her who’d taken the stormoid, he’d have to fight her for it. How long would it take her to master Storm Warning’s powers, if she had them?
“Is it just me, or are you taller than you were when we met yesterday?” Julian asked.
Charlotte flushed. “Uh, you might be remembering wrong.” She tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear. “I’m guessing you saw the fight last night?”
“You could say that.”
“I was there. In person. I saw him fall.” Charlotte turned to stare at the headstone. Her expression darkened. “I wonder what he’s going to do next. Citadel, I mean.”
What was he going to do next? He wouldn’t need money anytime soon. The only thing he’d cared about for a long time was defeating Storm Warning. Now that he’d accomplished that…
“I suppose he’ll want to brag for a while,” Julian replied with a shrug. “He must be pretty proud of himself.”
The last rays of sun lit up Charlotte’s brown eyes as she lifted her chin. “Well, I guess someone’s going to have to take Storm Warning’s place.”
Now they were getting somewhere. Julian raised an eyebrow. “You think there’s someone who can?”
“I bet there is.”
He studied her for a long moment. She tried to hide it, but there was confidence there. Determination. She really thought she stood a chance against him.
Her head turned suddenly, and for a moment Julian thought she was looking at him. But no, she was looking past him, at the sky darkening over the city.
“The sunset’s beautiful,” she said. “Kind of a nice send-off.”
Julian followed her gaze, even though the view was something he’d seen a million times before. But the clouds were nice, he supposed, with the light hitting them the way it did.
“I should get home.” As Charlotte backed away from the grave, she added, “Maybe I’ll pay for your coffee again one of these days.”
Julian chuckled. “Sure.” Or maybe we’ll run into each other somewhere a little more exciting.
After one last wave, Charlotte turned around and walked toward the gate. Alone, Julian noted. He wondered where her cousin had gone.
Julian stood by the grave for another minute before leaving. He waited outside the cemetery until darkness blanketed the city, and then he waited a little longer. Finally, he shrugged off his suit jacket, slid his half mask onto his face—just in case—and approached the cemetery’s metal fence.
A tunnel opened in the earth, clearing the way for him to walk under the fence. He stayed far below the surface to avoid graves, but he still carved his path carefully, reaching ahead through the dirt with his senses to make sure he didn’t run into anything.
He emerged from the ground next to Storm Warning’s headstone. According to Saturn’s email, the scanner would be able to detect the stormoid through the casket, but six feet of dirt was too much.
“Sorry, Storm,” Julian said as he pulled the device from his jacket. “But I have to be sure.”
Dirt lifted itself out of the grave and hovered in the air overhead, exposing the casket. Julian powered on the scanner and held it out. The screen lit up. An outline of Storm Warning’s body appeared.
No stormoid.
Julian had a new target now.
He returned the dirt to the grave, leaving it just as he’d found it. After exiting his tunnel outside the cemetery, he filled that in, too. No one would ever know a villain had visited the hero he’d killed.