Yesterday's Heroes (Consortium of Chaos Book 1) (44 page)

Cynic looked over at him.  “Actually,
that sounds like a better plan.”  He nodded as if giving the matter serious
consideration.  “Yeah…yeah, I’ve changed my mind; I’m with him.”

Vaudeville didn’t look up from his
card game, completely ignoring Cynic.  “Whoever you send after Dauntless isn’t
coming back, you know.”

“Yes.  I know that.”  She nodded.

“And don’t forget Honey Badger.” 
Cynic leaned back in his chair.  “You KNOW he’s going to be pissed about this.”

 “He’s
still
dead, Steven.” Wyatt
rolled his eyes.  “I KNOW you keep
insisting
that he’ll come back, but…”

“Of
COURSE
he’ll be back! 
He ALWAYS comes back!  Haven’t you been paying ANY attention all these years!?! 
I watched Hazz crush him with a fucking TRUCK once, and he still came back!” 
He paused.  “And I’m still not talking to you, because you’re still a trifling dick
and your betrayal hurts too much.”  He shook his sad in accusation.  “After
everything I’ve done for you too.”

Wyatt ignored him, his gaze meeting
hers.  He gestured to the other people around the table.  “I expect the rest of
them to be idiots.  I knew that coming in, and I’m used to it by now.  But
you’re
smarter than that, so I don’t know what you could
possibly be
thinking
here.  Why are you so determined to kill yourself?”     

Cynic looked back and forth between
them for a minute.  “Whoa.  Trouble in paradise?  Are mom and dad breaking up? 
We going to have to choose which of you we want to live…”

“
Shut up, Steven!
”  They
shouted in unison. 

Cynic put his hands up in
surrender.

She refocused on Wyatt.  “Everything
we do here comes with a risk, Wyatt.  All the times we’ve gone out there with
half a plan and no chance of success?  This is no different.”

“Oh, this is
very
different.  You’re playing for keeps now.  They’re not going to try to arrest
you; this time they’ll
kill
you if you get in their way.”  He shook his
head.  “You don’t have to do this
.  Don’t
.  Just…don’t.”  His voice was
growing even more emotional.  He gestured to the door.  “Let’s leave.  Right
now.  We’ll just get in one of the cars and we’ll drive out of here, and let
someone
else
clean up this mess.”  He held out a hand to her.  “We’ll
go; you and me.”

“What about your plan?”

He was silent for a minute.  “The
hell with the plan.  This is about
you.
  Just come with me, and we’ll
get out of here.  We all will.”

She cleared her throat, trying to
sound sure of herself, and then realized there was no chance of that.  Plus,
she really didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone.  “Can we
talk about this in the other room, please?  I’ll be there in a minute.”

Wyatt sighed, looking almost hurt. 

“I’ll go with you, Wyatt.”  Hench
sounded very hopeful.  “Let’s get out of here.”

Wyatt rolled his eyes.

She watched as he shuffled from the
room, obviously still less than happy about her plan.  She cleared her throat
and looked back at the group.   “So, we’re agreed then; we’ll go deal with the
heroes, and help people.”

Sargassum’s face was emotionless as
he stood up.  “
No. 
The fate of your dry arid world is of no concern of
mine
.” 
He began stalking from the room.  “Better learn to swim, mortals, because the
tide is rising.”  He turned and pointed his trident at them.  “It’s going to
rain…and rain…and rain…and when the deluge finally slows, the whole sorry mess
that is the surface world, will have sunk beneath the waves…and then I can at
last have peace in my kingdom.”

 “So, that’s a ‘no’ then?” Cynic
scoffed and watched the other man storm out.  “Awww…too bad.”  He laughed, his
voice dripping with sarcasm.  “I don’t know
what
we’re going to do on
this mission if
The Bitter Mermaid
and all his undersea friends aren’t ‘part
of our world’ and lending a fin.”  The door slammed shut as Julian left the
room, and Cynic refocused on the table, his voice suddenly serious.  “Shit.  We
really could have used him, but he just storms out on us
as usual
.  Some
people just give
no
thought
to other’s feelings, you know?  No consideration
for those around them.  Selfish.”  He paused.  “One selfish shellfish.”

Harlot glared at him.  “You know he
doesn’t like it when people make fun of his powers like that.  I think you hurt
his feelings.”

Cynic nodded his head sadly.  “I
did; I really did.”  He smirked.  “That Poor Unfortunate Soul.”

Meg watched the door for a moment,
and then turned back to Harlot.  “Fish Man has left the Table Room.”

“Thank you, Meg.  We saw him.”

 “Wow.”  Cynic gave Meg a thumbs-up.
 “Thanks for helping out the team like that!”  His fake, almost manic smile of
gratitude and approval was ear to ear.  “I sure am glad you’re here on the team,
Meg!”  He nodded emphatically, his voice dripping with phony sweetness.  “
We
all are
.”

Hench’s voice sounded full of
terror.  “What about
Dauntless?  He’ll kill us!”

Gurrier stared down at the table
and then focused on her, his voice deadly serious.  “I’ll go.  I can take him.”

 “Excellent idea, Hazard.”  Tyrant
laughed.  “Your senseless death will go entirely unremembered…except for the
amusement
it brings to everyone who witnesses it…for the
thirty seconds
the
confrontation lasts.”  He lounged back in his chair, and steepled his fingers
as he turned to look at her.  “I could dispose of your Dauntless problem for
you, girl…
IF
you and the group stand aside when I make my move against
this world come my
Day of Days
.”

“Shut up, Kass!”  Holly threw a
balled up copy of the agenda at his head.  “If you can’t help, then don’t
interrupt!”

He pointed a gauntleted finger at
her.  “Come my day….first YOU, and then your father and his diminutive helpers
will feel my wrath.  I shall extinguish your flame and look into your eyes as
you scream in agony.  And when that happens?  When you lay dying in a pool of your
own impure blood and bodily fluids, and with your last moments of life, you
watch
as I
gorge
myself on the fresh venison you absurdly use as a means of
travel, I want you to think back on this moment and
remember
that I gave
you the chance to die quickly and
relatively
painlessly….but then you foolishly
angered me
.”  His eyes were dead cold.  “You will be found to be
unworthy
when I judge you; just like all the others.  I have
littered
the
multiverse with broken
shreds
of you, Holly, like giftwrap on Christmas
morning; effortlessly torn asunder and then
forgotten
.”

Holly rolled her eyes and snapped
off a piece of the candy cane she was chewing; entirely unimpressed with his
words.

Pastiche made an aggravated sound
like she was in pain.  “DAMMIT!  I’m so SICK of hearing about his fucking
Day
of Days
!  My whole life is people yelling about killing each other, yelling
about fucking each other, and yelling about turning each other into fish
people.”  She shook her head in frustration.  “You people suck.  I should have
stayed in the overseas branch.”

 “Oh, those guys are no fun!”  Usurper
laughed.  “This branch is the BIG LEAGUES!  Plus, our arcade room is way
better.”

Cynic gave a fist pump of
approval.  “
Burgertime
, motherfuckers! 
Yeah!
”

Megaris ignored everyone, and
stared up at the acoustic ceiling tile.  “It matters not which ant triumphs in
this insignificant skirmish; both are fragile and easily crushed.  Go with
Dark-haired Girl or stay here with Jaywyattferral, you will all come to your
end; putrefying and cast forever into the interminable darkness of oblivion.” 
She turned in her chair, so that she was kneeling on it and looking over the
backrest.  “You are the masters of this plane of existence, are you not?  Why
not simply command these other creatures to destroy
themselves?
  They
will, of course, be obligated to follow your directives.”

 “
Absolutely
.”  Cynic
nodded.  “I think that just might work.  Great plan, Meg!”  He let out a fake
sigh of relief.  “I’m sure glad you solved that for us.”

Stacy pounded a fist down on the
table, and then pouted as it made far less noise than the other members were
capable of creating when they did it.  “People are going to DIE!”

Megaris nodded.  “The Tiny Blonde One
is correct, though.  You are all going to die.  There will be rivers of blood
running in the streets by the end of this night.”

Vaudeville looked at her out of the
corner of his eye, as she wandered from the room as if chasing an imaginary
firefly that only she could see.  “Um…is she going to go with you?  Because if
she is, I’ll just stay here and perfect my tango, and forget all about the ‘dying
as a TV comeback gimmick’ thing.”

Cynic brightened.  “Why don’t we
just sic Megaris on Dauntless and Badger?  She could handle them both, and a
couple of their friends, and not spill her hot chocolate in the process. 
That’d fix our problem.”

Harlot closed the file folder.  “Yeah,
it would solve our problem of not being able to find enough ways to
DIE
. 
We don’t send her out in the field, and you KNOW that.  She’s too
unpredictable, even for us.  We want to try to keep her from realizing that
there’s no way anybody here could stop her, and setting her loose on Earth’s
strongest man isn’t really the way to accomplish that goal.  Best if she just
sits on the sidelines and watches.”  She paused.  “And Badger’s
STILL
dead.”

 “OH MY GOD!”  Hench was near
hysterics now.  “‘
RIVERS
OF BLOOD!?!’  REALLY!?!  WE’RE GOING TO…”

Mr. Sanderson’s head popped into
the room.  “Have any of you seen the building manager?  The ice machine on our
floor is broken and…”

Behind him, his youngest daughter Julie
tugged on his shirt.  “Ask them about the
pool
, Daddy.”

He waved a hand.  “I will Princess,
I will; don’t worry.”

 “How about you, Sanderson?” Cynic
pointed at him.  “You want in on this field trip to the Rivers of Blood too?”

 “A field trip!?!”  Julie cheered. 
“YAY!  Can we go, Daddy?  Can we, can we, can we!?!”

Mr. Sanderson patted her on her
head.  “Only if you’re a
good
girl, Julie.”

The girl was all but jumping up and
down in enthusiasm.

Cynic nodded.  “Some balls-to-the-wall
villainy, right there, Sanderson.  Good on you!”  He refocused on the table. 
“The Sandersons are on my team.  I think we should call them…’The Iron WASPS’…or
how about, ‘The Suburbanites.’  Yeah.  Me and the Suburbanites are gonna go
fuck
some heroes up!  Old school!
”  He made a pistol with his fingers, and
turned it sideways as he pressed it to an imaginary hero’s head.  “*BA-BLAM!*”

Harlot glared at him as his new “teammates”
left the room.  “We are
NOT
taking
Chip and Helen Sanderson
into
the field with us, Steven.  They are civilians who are only here by mistake,
and they will be
leaving
as soon as we find them somewhere else to
live.  They’re NOT going on a suicide mission with us.”

 “Hey, whatever you say, Harl.”  He
shrugged.  “Just thought the Sanderson kids would be easier to control if we
brought their parents along too, that’s all.”

Gurrier ignored the byplay, and
kept his gaze on Harlot still focused on the Dauntless problem.  “I’m telling
you, I can take him.”

Cynic frowned, looking confused.  “Sanderson? 
I don’t know, man, he looks like he works out…”

“No.” Harlot shook her head,
ignoring Cynic.  “Dauntless is
my
responsibility, and no one is going
after him but me.  If we can’t beat him, we’ll have to try to talk him down.”

Cynic laughed.  “Yeah, I can see it
now;
Hey Rog, you ever try NOT being a crazy murderer, buddy?  Huh?  We’ll
be your friends…
”  He rolled his eyes.  “That meeting is going to end with
him sticking his foot so far up your ass, he’ll be wearing you as one of his shiny
knee-high red stripper boots.  It’s a really
bad
plan.  Hell, why don’t
you just get Cory to send the cape wearing little fuckrag into
A World of No
or one of those other stupid teenage soap operas he’s always watching.”

Vaudeville gasped, as if
horrified.  “Because it’s SWEEPS right now, you insensitive asshole!  His
arrival is the LAST thing Oak Valley needs, the residents have enough trouble,
what with the simultaneous earthquake, wedding and midterm at McCaughey High. 
And Veronica is pretending to be pregnant with Kyle’s baby, just as Skylar is
returning from that lost Amazonian expedition she disappeared on
TWO YEARS
ago!  Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for Veronica to get a
front-burner storyline like this?”

“Two years?” Cynic deadpanned.

“TWO
YEARS
!”  Cory shook his
head.  “No.  The arrival of a psychopathic unstoppable homicidal superhero is
the LAST thing they need.  It might push them over the edge and convince them
to sell out to Brandenburg’s oil company.  And you KNOW that the Brandenburgs
can’t get their greedy hands on Oak Valley!  Scott’s Glen must remain in Kyle’s
family, or that gypsy curse will never be broken!”  He paused to regain his
composure.  “Why don’t YOU fight him, Cynic?  If you’re so badass and all?  You
could…”

Harlot stood up, cutting him off.  “I’ve
made my decision; I’m going.”  She stalked from the room as the arguing
continued.

A
great conflict was about to come off between the birds and the beasts, but the bat
hesitated on which to join.  The birds that passed his perch said: "Come with
us"; but he said: "I am a beast."  Later on, some beasts said:
"Come with us"; but he said: "I am a bird."  Luckily at the
last moment peace was made, and no battle took place, so the bat went to the birds
and the beasts, and wished to join in the rejoicings, but they all turned away
from him.  "Ah," said the bat, "I see the moral now; he that is
neither one thing nor the other will have no friends."

Wyatt paced back and forth in the
rec room.  Things were falling apart.  Just when they seemed to be getting
better, Harlot had to go and ruin it all with her damn do-goody plans.

Heroes.

What a ridiculous concept.  You might
as well ask this bunch to try to be astronauts or elephants or something.  They
were too inept to be capable VILLAINS,
let alone
heroes.  No, the plan
was doomed from the start and would only distract them from his larger goal. 
It had taken him months to get these idiots to concentrate on his mission. 
They weren’t the best at focusing on things, and this new complication would
set him back
considerably
.  Now half of them would decide that they
really WERE heroes, and the other half would be EXTRA evil just to act out and
prove their villain chops.  It would take forever to get them to forget this
nonsense and go back to what
really
mattered.

And whether or not citizens died
had NOTHING to do with his plan.  They were immaterial in the larger scheme of
things.  It was unfortunate, sure, but…well, they had really brought it on
themselves
by trusting the heroes in the first place.  They had EARNED this, and Wyatt
didn’t see how it was
his
responsibility to save them from their own
stupidity anymore.  He had spent decades of his life on that fool’s errand, and
had only recently seen that it was entirely futile.  The truth of the matter
was that heroism would never succeed in the long run; it couldn’t, because some
people just can’t be saved.  They don’t want to be helped.  It’s best to just
write them off, and move on.  And Wyatt had long ago written off most of the
people in this city.

He sighed and fished into his
pocket for a letter.  He really hated opening any of them anymore.  He was
running out of them, and his last contact with his brother would be gone
forever.  He ripped one open and looked down at the four remaining familiar
envelopes in his hand.  Almost gone now.

“
Well, Bro, time for you to make
that decision I told you about, again.  Go or stay.  Choose.”

He rolled his eyes.

Yes, remarkably helpful.  He had
already established that, Peter, but thanks for the insight.

His pacing continued for a few
moments more when it was interrupted by Harlot.  She strode into the room and
opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.  “Listen, before you say
anything, I just want to say that you’re making a mistake.”

She sat down in one of the chairs. 
“I’m doing what’s right, Wyatt.”

“No, you’re not.”  He shook his
head.  “You’re just getting caught in a trap that I only recently escaped from. 
It
sounds
like the right idea; it always does.  But in reality, it can
only bring pain.”  He stopped.  “Take it from someone who knows, okay?  Good or
bad?  It doesn’t matter once the dying starts; you’re still just as dead.”

“Someone has to protect people, and
there’s no one left to do it.”

“What about the people themselves? 
Huh?  Why can’t they protect themselves for
once!?!
”

She walked around him, towards one
of the chairs.  “They wouldn’t stand a chance and you know it.”

He began pacing again.  “YOU don’t
stand a chance and you know it, yet somehow that doesn’t stop you.”

She sighed and flopped down into
the chair.  “Which is why I’m the one who has to do something.”

“I did NOT sign up for this, Angel. 
This was NOT in the recruitment pamphlet.  I don’t know why we can’t just keep
going with my plan.  It’s working nicely, and all of this is distracting from
it.”

She held out both her hands like
the answer was obvious.  “It’s going to be hard to turn this city against the
heroes if the entire populous is
dead.
”

He laughed and absently grabbed a
porcelain figurine from a shelf, and began tossing it between his hands as he
paced around.  “I think you’re being a little
overdramatic
, don’t you? 
A few people might die, true, but…”

Her voice went up an octave.  “
Listen
to what you just said, Wyatt! 
Your anger is blinding you.”

“I’m not blind!  I know what I’m
doing.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose
and suddenly looked very, very tired.  “Yeah, killing people.”

He stopped in front of her.  “I’m
not killing anyone.”

“Yes.  Yes, you are.  People are
going to
die
, and you’re doing nothing to stop it.  That’s just as bad
as killing them yourself.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“No.  That’s EXACTLY how that
works.  You get to help people and stop your enemies; this is the perfect
opportunity for you to…”

“To what?  Die?  Spend the rest of
my life in the futile attempt to save idiots who hate me?”  He shook his head. 
“No thanks.  Been there, lost my mind doing that.”

She looked down at the floor.  “Well…if
you’ve really become so hardened by the world and are no longer the man I’ve
always known you are…won’t you at least come with us?  We need you…”

He placed the figurine down on an
end table and sank into the chair opposite her.  “I…I can’t.  I won’t get
dragged down that road again.  I told you that already.  We don’t NEED to do
this!  I can take care of the heroes in my own time and…”

“I realize you think your whole
life is wrapped up in your quest for revenge, Wyatt, and I understand.  I do. 
But your ‘whole’ life is starting to interfere with our ‘
actual’
life. 
These people are my family; I love them.  And you turning into Charlie Bronson
and going all
Death Wish
on the forces of heroism?  That’s fine.  We
think you’re doing a really great job, and I’ve been so proud of you, but you
aren’t going to drag us down with you.  You’re taking it too far now.  If you
want to kamikaze yourself, and go out in a blaze of glory, you will be doing it
on your OWN.  This accomplishes your goals and helps people.  I don’t know why
you can’t see that this is a better option than continuing to strike at them
from the shadows?”

He looked down at his feet.  “I
know what I’m doing.”

“Yes.  We all do.  You’re planning
on taking them all down with you.  But you can’t get them all, Wyatt.  You
can’t take your pain out on the whole city.  You’re going to have to let it go
at some point, or it will end up destroying you.”

He snorted.  “I’m doing a pretty good
job of getting them all so far, aren’t I?  Most of the heroes are in jail and
the remainder are teetering on the edge of madness.  And NOW they’re going to
settle my score with this fickle traitorous city for me.  All in all?  I’d say
so far so good.”

She stared at him.  “You don’t
believe that, Wyatt.  Not deep down.  The people of this city don’t deserve to
die and you damn well know it, you’re just too stubborn and hurt to admit it.” 
She looked down at her hands.  “Don’t…don’t make me choose between you or my
family.  That’s not a choice I want to make.”

He glanced away.  “I’m not asking
you to.”

“Yes.  Yes, you are.”  She met his
eyes.  “I’m going to go do this, Wyatt.  I love you, but this is what I have to
do.  If you want to come, you’re more than welcome.  But I’m
going.”

           He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened
it again.  “Why are you so determined to die?  Huh?”  He met her gaze.  “Why
are you trying to leave me?  I just…I just found you, and now you’re throwing
your life away, and you’re asking me to be fine with that, and I’m
NOT
. 
I can’t sit idly by and watch you get yourself and all our friends killed.”

“And I’m not going to sit idly by
and watch innocent people die.  And neither should you.”

“That’s
exactly
what I’m
going to do.  Because…I’m…I’m not a hero.  I know that’s who you’re always
trying to turn me into, but…”

“That’s who you ARE.  I haven’t
forgotten that, even if you have.  You
are
a hero, Wyatt.”

He shook his head.  “I tried that
once before and…and I’m not that guy anymore.  I’ve given up enough for this
city, and I’m not losing you too.  I won’t do it. 
I can’t
.  I’m
not
that
dream hero the media made me out to be, Angel.  Maybe he could watch you die,
but I can’t.”  He cleared his throat, trying not to lose it.  “So, if you go
out there, you’re going alone.  I won’t help you kill yourself.  Your life
might not mean anything to you, but it means a
hell of a lot
to me.”

A tear traced down her cheek. 
“There are a lot of people in the city who are going to lose people they love
tonight, Wyatt.  Unless we do something.”

“I don’t care about them.  I care
about you.  I’m not a hero.”

She stood up, looking crushed.  “I’m
beginning to see that.  Because that guy?  He was the best hero I ever saw. 
Brave and strong and
gorgeous,
and he’d go out there no matter the odds
or how mad he was at the victims
. 
He was
bigger and stronger than
any TV show or movie ever made him out to be.  He was a genuinely good man, who
surpassed all the ridiculous hype surrounding him.  He’d feel exactly what
you’re feeling now, but he’d realize that the best way to protect his family, was
to go with them and help save the city.  He’d be there, whether he wanted to be
there or not, because it was the RIGHT thing to do.  He’d
help
people. 
He’d help
them.
  Because that’s what a hero does.”  She looked down at
the ground, obviously close to tears now.  “But you’re right.  You’re not him
anymore, are you?  …Now I wonder if you ever really
were
.”

He cringed.  He had NOT wanted to ever
hear her say that to him.  “You honestly expect me to be…what? 
Happy
that you’ve decided to get yourself killed and leave me alone?  Why in the hell
would I want to be there and watch you die?”  He shook his head.  “I’m not
doing that.  I want you to
stay here
.  Stay back here where it’s safe,
and let someone
else
handle this.  I don’t care if this whole city sinks
into the sea, just so long as you’re okay.  This city just isn’t worth the
risk.  Nothing is.”

She turned and went back to her
meeting to continue taking a headcount of the noble fools doomed to die.

He watched her as the door closed. 
“What do you think’s going to happen once the city’s saved, Harlot?  HUH?  Once
you’ve risked your life to save them all?  You really think they’ll just accept
you and forget that
you’re a criminal?
  Cause we BOTH know damn well
that once they have what they need from you, they’ll go right back to hating
you and forget all about this! 
IT’S WHAT THEY DO!”

Harlot ignored him.

She just didn’t understand what was
really going on.  She had lived her whole live apart from everything, in her
protected little sphere of love.  Evil love, but love none the less.  She had
no idea how much more villainous the world could be than her “family.”  

Wyatt’s whole LIFE had been spent fighting
and he KNEW from bitter experience how the world actually worked.  Even if he
DID go save the city, it would only get itself into peril again tomorrow.  And
THEN
WHAT?
  His friends and family would have died for nothing.  Was he supposed
to drop everything and come back and save it again?  Lose more?  Because he had
tried that balancing act before, and it ended with a dead brother and an empty
memorial service.  Why did he have to sacrifice his whole life every time the
city got itself into trouble?  Huh?  Just once…JUST ONE GODDAMN TIME it would
be nice to be the one that someone showed up to help for a change.  Let someone
ELSE shoulder all the responsibility, and let him simply be the helpless victim
in need of rescuing.

He was NOT going back to being the
city’s manservant.  He had his OWN life to live and didn’t want to jump when
the city said “frog” anymore.  The lives of the people of this city shouldn’t
be placed on his shoulders simply because he had the tremendous misfortune of being
born to parents who were heroes.  Their job had RUINED his childhood, killed
his brother, and now it was severely hurting his relationship with Harlot.

No.  To hell with heroism, he
wasn’t going.  Decision made.  He wasn’t going, and that was
FINAL!

He sighed.

But if he DIDN’T go…if he made a
moral stand…she’d only get herself hurt.  Or one of her idiot friends would die. 
They’d die, and then she’d blame him.  And the thought of her looking at him
with those disappointed and shaming eyes again was physically painful.  He NEVER
wanted to let her down.  …And there were PROBABLY some innocent people left in
the city.  Maybe.  A few people scattered around who didn’t deserve to die in a
tidal wave or freak lightning storm unleashed by that machine. 

And lord knew that the OTHER people
in the Consortium of Chaos were ENTIRELY incapable of achieving anything on
their own.  Left to their own devices, they’d sit around and argue about
whether Whoppers or Big Macs were better, and then be killed along with everyone
else when the machine went off in their faces.

They didn’t stand a chance on their
own.  A stand up fight with the heroes was just repeating their same old
mistakes again.  Nope.  It was all over but the dying, now.