Accidental Hero (Jack Blank Adventure) (26 page)

Allegra relaxed her posture. “Oh. Okay. Sorry, it’s just… the only reason I didn’t hit this button on Wrekzaw Isle was because I couldn’t find it. You know that. That’s the only reason I passed that test,” she added, shaking her
head. “When Prime told me he was proud of me, it was probably the greatest feeling I’ve had since I got here. I don’t want him to find out that I’m still afraid.”

“Come with me tonight,” Jack said. “Help me catch the Rüstov and there won’t be anything for Prime to find out. You’re brave enough. You are. You came here tonight, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know…”

“You can do it,” Jack said. “You need to do this for
yourself.
Forget about Prime for a minute. Tonight you can prove to yourself that you’re not afraid. And I can finally find out who I am.”

“Why does that matter so much?” Allegra asked. “Is that worth maybe getting killed for?”

“It matters,” Jack said. “You don’t understand.” He paused, thinking back a moment to his time at St. Barnaby’s. “I’ve wanted to know that stuff my whole life. You don’t know what that’s like. You were lucky. Well, not really
lucky
… that’s obviously not the right word, but at least you know who you are. You know what happened to your family and how you ended up here. I want the same thing. I know my family is probably gone. I do know that. I just
want to know for sure, and I think this Rüstov can help me find out.”

Allegra groaned. Jack could see she didn’t want to do this. “I can understand where you’re coming from. And, of course, I owe you for what you did on Wrekzaw Isle, and for keeping your mouth shut about it, but…” Allegra paused a moment, then let out a resigned groan. “Promise me I won’t regret this,” she said.

“You’re in?” Jack asked eagerly.

“Where would we look first?” Allegra asked.
“If
I were in, that is.”

“If you were in?” Jack smiled. “I’d start in Karateka.”

Jack and Allegra flew into downtown Karateka on Allegra’s AirSkimmer, which was just big enough to hold the two of them and maybe one more, Jack hoped, if they did manage to catch the Left-Behind. Allegra wanted to know just how they were supposed to find this Left-Behind when every hero in Empire City couldn’t. Jack replied that Skerren wasn’t the only one who spent all his free time training. “I talk to machines, remember?” he said. “I can use my powers to track it.”

On the way in, Jack told Allegra everything he knew about Cyberai’s untimely demise. As he spoke, Allegra flew past floating NewsNets and she saw Cyberai’s grisly fate for herself. The sight of it gave them both the chills, but they pressed on.

“Do you think you can control it this time?” Allegra asked, brimming with nervous energy. “The Left-Behind, I mean?”

“I don’t think I’ll have to,” Jack said. “I can trick it. The Left-Behind thinks I’m royalty. It thinks I’m some upper-class Rüstov with a fresh host. We can use that. Turn left here.”

Jack’s first trip into Karateka made him think of the incredibly busy and overwhelming megacities found in most science fiction movies. Shiny new HoverCars and LaserBikes fired down MagLev highways at breakneck speed. AirSpeeders, Skimmers, and Skiffs raced around the borough’s lively skyline. It was a lot like Machina and Galaxis in that regard. However, instead of taking on a clean robotic style or exotic alien design, Karateka’s towers were fitted with a retro-Asian look.

All the buildings in Karateka were designed to mimic
the castles and temples known to traditional Japanese and Chinese architecture. On every building multiple tiers of curving roofs brandished sharp peaks and endpoints at multiple levels. Rectangular shapes of steel and glass were stacked together like boxes covered with ornate ridge-topped lids. For every sleek vertical skyscraper there was another jagged rectangular one, each styled after the temples of old.

A gentle rain fell and the wet streets became mirrors that reflected the multicolored lights of a million bright advertisements. Dynamic Asian letters were illuminated everywhere with giant characters written from top to bottom on long, vertical flashing signs, some of them spanning entire buildings. It was like flying through a giant jukebox.

Allegra followed Jack’s directions around the city and swerved in between mammoth skyscrapers and flashing lights on the AirSkimmer. They weren’t far from where Cyberai’s body had been found. With any luck, the Left-Behind wouldn’t be too far off.

“That way,” Jack said, pointing, and Allegra turned the AirSkimmer to follow his fingers. Jack’s connection to the Rüstov and his ability to talk to machines made him
the perfect tracker. At first, the flashing signs showed him the way. They told Jack what they had seen of the Rüstov, and he repeated it for Allegra. As they picked up the trail, Jack began to feel the pull of the Rüstov, and he started directing things on his own.

Allegra slowed down as they passed a cluster of Smart-Corp high-rises. “The Left-Behind came through here,” Jack said. “I bet the Rüstov’s fight with Cyberai started somewhere nearby.” Sure enough, as they passed between the buildings, they saw battle debris on windowsills and ledges, as well as laser-sword burns and fist-size impressions on building exteriors.

Jack watched the SmartCorp signs cycle between different languages, including English and some Asian languages he didn’t recognize. SmartCorp really was everywhere. Something about the company’s presence in every single borough felt wrong to Jack. Here in Karateka, Smart had ninja Peacemakers and entire blocks of office space and real estate…. Jack wondered aloud if there was any place in Empire City that Smart’s fingers didn’t touch.

“Just Cognito,” Allegra answered. “Prime says Cognito will always belong to Stendeval.”

Jack thought about the supervillains and rival ninja clans he always saw Chi fighting against in his old
ZenClan Warrior
comic books. “I hope Chi has the same grip on Karateka,” he said as they followed the Left-Behind’s trail into a dark corner of the borough. “This place is starting to look a little sketchy.” As Jack and Allegra moved away from the brightly lit business district, the lights began to fade and the shadows began to loom large.

Jack and Allegra descended into what was undeniably the seedy underbelly of Karateka. Allegra said it made sense that the Left-Behind would hide out in a place like this. It was a dark, scary corner of town, lower to the ground, with smaller buildings and narrow alleyways for streets. Dilapidated walk-ups and boarded-up tenements were crammed in on top of each other. The streetlights were either busted and flickering or burned out altogether. The glow from Chinese lanterns strung to fire escapes and draped across the crooked streets provided the only dim light.

Allegra sped up a little as they coasted over the empty rooftops, clearly hoping the trail would lead out of these streets as soon as possible. Everything looked deserted,
but it all felt wrong to Jack, like there was something dark and sinister lurking beneath the skin of these alleys. Allegra was jumpy. They both tried to stay alert, ready for whatever it was that they couldn’t yet see. Jack didn’t like being there either, but knew the Rüstov was close.

They kept moving, taking note of the graffiti marking some of the walls they passed by. They couldn’t read it all, but a number of the symbols were clear. “This isn’t good,” Jack said, running his hand along a wall where a few of the markings were written in English. “ShadowClan,” he read with dread in his voice. “I think… Allegra, I think this is Ronin territory.”

“Ronin territory?” Allegra asked. “What’s a Ronin?”

The sound of breaking glass shattered the night silence. Allegra stepped hard on the brakes as Jack pointed up ahead.

They are.

The moonlight revealed the eerie limber forms of Ronin assassins on the rooftops ahead. Jack’s stomach dropped when the Ronin’s undead, cloudy eyes locked with his.

“Uh-oh,” Jack said. “Not good.”

“Not good is right,” Allegra said.

The Ronin stepped toward them. Jack and Allegra could now run, or they could fight. Jack knew from his comics that there were no other options at this point. The Ronin were ruthless killers that would carve up Jack and Allegra just for setting foot in their territory uninvited. The Ronin said nothing as they inched forward toward the children. It was the exact situation Jack hoped to never find himself in.

“I hate these guys,” Jack said. “I always hated these guys.”

“All right, there’s only a few of them,” Allegra said. “Maybe we can…”

As if on cue, dozens upon dozens of Ronin crawled out of the shadows like spiders, emerging on all sides. The more directions Jack looked, the more Ronin he saw. They were clinging to fire escapes, perching on window-sills, and crawling on walls. They came out of nowhere and occupied everywhere.

“Allegra, let’s get out of here,” Jack said.

“You think?”

Allegra tried to back away, but they had nowhere to go. They were completely surrounded. Jack never imagined
so many creatures could follow them without making a single sound. One by one, the Ronin all drew out three-pronged sai blades. Jack knew they meant to use them. Jack and Allegra tried talking to the Ronin, but it was no use. These creatures weren’t much for conversation. Jack and Allegra braced themselves for what came next.

A trio of Ronin leaped forth to attack and were instantly cut down by a barrage of arrows and ninja stars.

Jack and Allegra spun around in surprise and saw a most welcome sight. A legion of ZenClan ninjas fell out of the sky, coming down on the Ronin from every possible angle. They moved in a unified wave, quickly forming a protective wall around the children. Jack breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Skerren and Chi among their number. It seemed he’d managed to join the Rüstov hunting party after all.

The Rüstov hunt, however, was momentarily put on hold as the Ronin counter-attacked in a dizzying blitz. The outer ring of Chi’s ninjas broke out in every possible direction to meet the Ronin in battle. Chi flipped into the center of the protective circle around Jack and Allegra.

“Are you two unharmed?” he asked.

“We’re fine,” Jack answered.

“Yeah, now we are!” Allegra added.

Chi’s cadre of silent warriors moved against the Ronin with the fearless agility that comes only with years of intense martial arts training. Their attack became a sort of acrobatic dance in the air. A dance of death. It was a breathtaking sight, watching the ZenClan fighters fearlessly go at the Ronin. The children were witnessing the art of the ninja at its best. Flawless technique. Graceful execution. Deadly perfection.

“What’s going on?” Allegra asked Chi, not
quite
screaming. “Why are they attacking us?”

“We are here without permission,” Chi said, plunging a fist of blue fire through the midsection of an advancing Ronin. “And we are not welcome.” Black sand poured from the gaping wound in the Ronin’s chest left by Chi’s blow. The villain fell, but several more Ronin were slipping through the line of defense. Chi’s ninjas were good, but the Ronin were too many. The ninjas needed help.

“Jack, focus on the Left-Behind,” Chi said.

Jack blinked. “What? What about-”

“We’ll last as long as we have to.
You
will have the time
you need.” Chi dispatched two more Ronin with a series of kicks strong enough to topple an elephant. He looked to Skerren. “Our enemy is neither alive nor dead. Hold nothing back.” Skerren bared his teeth in a vicious smile and dove headlong into the fray. He didn’t need to be told twice. Before Jack could blink, Skerren was already slicing Ronin into sand piles with his unbreakable swords. Allegra did not join the battle so quickly, but she didn’t liquefy either. Chi kicked a Ronin from her path, mere seconds before it struck her.

“Allegra, you are needed,” he told her. He said nothing more. He just looked her in the eye and held up his arm. He flattened his fingers, extending them all the way straight. His hand was poised like an ax ready to chop. Allegra nodded, raised her arm to meet his, and it formed into a machete blade. The edge did not quiver. “The ninja’s path is steady and balanced,” he said to her. “We strike without fear or anger. Now, with me… FIGHT!”

Chi sprang forth at the Ronin. Allegra followed him into battle. She morphed her second arm to match her first and swung away. The black sand began to fly.

With everyone fighting the Ronin except Jack, it was
time for him to do his part. Amid the chaos, Jack reached out with his mind, listening for the Rüstov. The sound wasn’t far off. It was like tuning in a weak-signaled radio station. Jack just had to filter out the static. The Left-Behind was nearby… and it was talking to someone.

“KSSSSCCHHHH… Report. Where is the child? The infected? You have failed?”

Jack’s heart jumped. There were more Rüstov here than just the one that got away. And from the sound of it, they were all after him.

Jack jumped down from the AirSkimmer and looked around. The buildings here were close enough to one another for him to jump from one rooftop to the next without any trouble. He followed the voices away from the battle. They led him to the darkest of Ronin streets, where even the lanterns were burned out. He reached out with his senses to try and tune in the Rüstov’s location. He was close. He could feel it.

He ran farther out into the darkness and reached the edge of a roof where a much taller building butted up against the ledge. An old, empty fire escape was clinging to the building’s side. Jack reached up and started to
climb. The rusty metal ladders creaked as he made his way up and looked over the top. On the far side of the roof, underneath a MagLev highway overpass, he saw them. Five Rüstov Left-Behinds—
five of them!—
all talking to one another, all in different states of decay. Jack recognized “his” Left-Behind among them. The fugitive, the one from Wrekzaw Isle. It was the one with the least rust and the highest rank. Its shiny new leg gleamed in the moonlight. Jack crawled onto the roof to get a better look.

“We did not fail,” Jack heard one of them say. “The mission intel failed us. The child was not where our agent said he would be.”