Got the Grimoire, Chapter 45

Chapter 45

I stepped out into the slightly overcast daylight, already rendered invisible and silent thanks to the always useful Lunatic Eyes. The Empire had arranged their forces in a loose U shape around the outside of PRTHQ, both as a show of force and also to make sure there were no easily identified and exploitable gaps in their lines. Pretty basic siege formation. Definitely waiting for something… Couldn’t immediately spot any of their capes, but I was sure they were there, ready to be deployed at the drop of a hat.

Now the pragmatic part of me said to stay under the cover of Lunatic Eyes and just take them out in bits and pieces. Stealthily, slowly, just peel them apart layer by layer until they were forced to flee or be pushed back by the PRT. But another part of me knew that a message had to be sent. That criminals and villains had to be spoken to in the only language they understood: Violence. The PRT and by extension, the Protectorate, had to be seen as the most powerful group of capes in America, otherwise supervillains might start getting… ideas. Dangerous, idiotic ideas that would result in chaos and war on the streets.

The PRT had taken me in and treated me fairly. The everyday men and women who just wanted to serve as best they could or have an honest job in a city filled with crime. The capes, my fellow Protectorate and the Wards, took their suffering, their pain as parahumans, and turned it into a force for good, showed me what being a hero was like. I owed them for that. And then here was the Empire and the Fallen, seeking to ruin all of that.

I wasn’t going to put up with it any longer.

Speak softly and carry a big stick, right? Valefor couldn’t have Mastered each and every single one of the people I was about to fight. They were probably smart enough to know when Kaiser’s orders were crossing a line, but they still went ahead with it. Evidently, speaking softly hadn’t worked against any of these people.

It was time they met the Stick.

I rose slightly into the air and clapped my hands together, summoning forth my Vestment in it’s entirety, embracing the full breadth of my powers as a Lord of Order and revealing myself to the gathered crowd at the same time. The pain wasn’t even close to as bad as I’d imagined it would be. That’s how it always was with pain: I dreaded and anticipated it, but once it had arrived, it was surprising what could be dealt with. Especially when I was feeling as pissed as I was.

“Surrender!” I bellowed, my voice taking on multiple overlapping tones. “For today, Balance shall be restored to this city!”

The crowd of Empire Eighty-Eight members rippled and leveled their weapons. I summoned forth a burst of pure kinetic force that threw back and scattered their front ranks with just a wave of my hand. The twin valkyries suddenly began to sprout to their full heights from hidden positions and I spotted Hookwolf beginning to assume his bladed shape. From the back of a van, Purity burst forth, brought back to full health by Othala.

Four capes who were capable of battling Endbringers, yet chose to waste their powers as petty criminals instead.

Pathetic.

A massive sword was swung and I shattered it’s blade with a single blow from my fist. I weaved around the point of an enlarged spearhead before blasting it’s owner in the chest with a bolt of searing golden light. Her power meant that the damage was lessened to an extent, so she was merely thrown back instead of having a hole blasted through her torso.

Above, my host.

I heard the thoughts and knew they weren’t mine, but obeyed, twisting out of the way of one of Purity’s helix shaped beams, the bolt of energy ripping through the ground below and the pandemonium of the Empire’s rank and file. Most had chosen to flee, but a brave few, the core soldiers, had chosen to charge the PRT HQ.

Foolish. A hardened target that they could only have assaulted with the aid of their parahuman masters. They would be captured easily while I dealt with the true threats.

You’re the Lord of Balance, aren’t you? I thought as I dodged one of the Menja’s massive fists and floated just out of the reach of Hookwolf’s blades.

That I am. It has taken you long enough to truly embrace your mantle once again.

It’s been you whispering in my ear then? Kaiser tried to skewer me from a dozen directions at once as I drifted by surfaces he could use, but my aura melted or shattered every blade that came for me.

Indeed. You have cemented our bond with this second donning of the Vestments.

Neat. You aren’t going to try and eat my soul, are you?

The voice definitely had an amused tone. Even if I was not bound by your other peculiar gifts, I am not the type to consume mortal souls.

Well that’s reassuring.

It should be. There are many fouler beings you could have called upon to serve.

And here I thought you were a Lord of Balance.

Balance does not imply ‘good’, my host.

I grunted in acknowledgment and created a whirling barrier of arcane sigils to absorb Purity’s latest attack. Where was Valefor at? Was he truly going to just sit back in the shadows and wait?

Of course he is. Think of his goal: To defeat you. To prove his false god superior. He knows how much raw power you have. What good would his bodyguard be in a direct battle such as this? No, the one you call ‘Valefor’ is most likely nearby, watching, waiting for you to lose or become vulnerable before striking.

You think he’s going to try and Master me?

That could be one of his goals and would certainly aid the cause of his cult far more than killing you would.

I think I got it. He wasn’t showing his face because I was winning. I was easily fending off the Empire’s strongest capes. I had to make a show of it. Make myself look weaker than I was. Like I was slowing down.

Something struck me in the back and I turned an irritated eye on Alabaster as the albino cape shot at me with an over-sized handgun. Well... I couldn’t look too weak. I gave a contemptuous flick of my wrist and immolated him with crimson flame.

“Reset from that,” I muttered.

I turned my attention back to the main fight only to grunt as a car slammed into me from above. Rune. I’d forgotten about the telekinetic. I reinforced my muscles and bones with magic and heaved the vehicle off of me, only to get a second and third car to the face, each one bigger than the last. I sighed, more out of annoyance than any kind of true pain or irritation and allowed my aura of power to expand violently. The cars were atomized, but an instant later, I allowed the glow to fade dramatically, as if I’d just used some large expenditure of power.

It worked as intended, Kaiser appearing from behind some cover and dramatically motioning with one gauntlet. Iron and steel came bursting forth from the ground and even nearby surfaces like street lamps or even cars. A thicket of metal, not just blades, but also tubes and columns, a lattice meant to hold me in place. Everything that struck me, I allowed to at least impact the wards on my clothing, rather than just outright shattering against them as before.

Let them think your defenses are weakening. Lure them in.

I made a show of trying to free myself, beginning to melt some of the closest bits keeping me pinned in with precise bursts of energy, but noticed rather quickly that Fenja and Menja were bearing down on me with their weapons drawn. Where Fenja had gotten her new sword, I wasn’t sure, though based on it’s appearance, I was guessing Kaiser. I raised a barrier over my head just as both weapons came slamming down onto me, driving me a good few inches into the already beaten and battered concrete. I flexed my knees experimentally, wincing as they ached and the burst forth in a corona of red-tinged lightning. Having experienced said electricity before, Menja backed away quickly while Fenja hunkered behind her shield.

I bared my teeth and gathered more power around myself, purposefully slower than I could usually put together such magic. It had the desired effect and I felt one of Purity’s beams hit me in the back and drive me face first into the concrete. I’ll admit… that one did hurt, even with defensive spells in place.

I struggled to my feet spat to the side to clear my mouth of grit and just a bit of blood from where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek.

Don’t pretend too well now, my passenger said with more than a little mirth.

Gotta make it look authentic.

Hookwolf came barreling down on me, but Kaiser raised his voice loudly. “Hold!”

The ball of hooks, blades, and overall metallic fury slowed just shy of shredding me. “What are we waiting for?” Hookwolf spat, his voice coming out distorted through his Changer form.

“Killing him will just make him a martyr,” Kaiser sneered. “Fighting this pretender is one thing, but would you truly wish to face Legend or Alexandria in a real fight?”

“Might be fun,” Hookwolf leered at me and started inching forwards.

“And you might be dead,” Kaiser snapped. “No, killing him brings it’s own problems, especially now. Maybe if our plan the other night had gone right…” The Empire’s leader trailed off and shook his head. “But what’s done is done. And I have a different idea in mind for you, Magus.” He made a sharp motion with his hand and another lattice of ferric material grew up and around me, keeping me firmly in place. “What better fate for one such as you, who defies the Endbringers… Than to be forced to serve their worshipers?”

Yeah, definitely Mastered, if I hadn’t worked that out already. No sane cape would give another over to the Fallen, they were almost universally reviled thanks to their habit of kidnapping other capes and of course, worshiping the Endbringers.

At some hidden signal from Kaiser, they appeared. Like a parody of the Endbringers they worshiped, Valefor and Eligos stalked towards us, the latter trailing faithfully behind the former like a loyal hound.

“Kaiser!” Valefor said with a bright grin. It oozed insincerity. “You do indeed come through with your promises, don’t you?”

“Valefor,” Kaiser said curtly. “I am nothing if not a man of his word. You have the payment?” With Lunatic Eyes, I could sense Kaiser’s brainwaves. They definitely didn’t feel normal anymore. Much more at ease.

“Of course.” Valefor held up a metallic case. “And the rest shall be delivered once we are back home with our newest family member.”

“We’re working with Endbringer cultists now, Kaiser?” Hookwolf rumbled dangerously, shifting on his paws.

“The enemy of my enemy, Hookwolf,” Kaiser said soothingly. “And with a cape like Magus in their ranks, the Fallen will be a most valuable ally, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I don’t like it,” Hookwolf snarled. “They’re lunatics. Whats to say they don’t turn on us the minute they have Magus, huh? Or leave us out to dry here in Brockton? You think the Protectorate will let their newest celebrity just get whisked away by these guys? That’s almost as bad as killing him.”

Even Menja and Fenja looked ill at ease at Hookwolf’s words. If he was the one talking sense… well it would make anyone with two brain cells feel more than a little nervous.

“You will do as you’re told!” Kaiser snapped at Hookwolf. “These are my orders!” He turned towards Valefor. “Do what you need to, before there are anymore objections.”

Valefor nodded curtly and approached me. “Hello, Magus,” the Master said as he looked me in the eye. “Let’s get acquainted, shall we?”

Our gazes met and I could feel his powers trying to get a hold on me, but he was outclassed. I was a Lord of Balance now, not to mention much greater control over my mind and soul thanks to numerous powers stacked on top of one another. I was able to resist the Simurgh’s Scream, though perhaps that wasn’t common knowledge. If it was, the fool wouldn’t have even bothered with his hypnotic stare. I grinned back at him and he flinched away.

“You-!”

No more words were uttered as a beam of energy seared from the sky and pierced him through the back. He blinked, looked down with shock written across his features, then collapsed onto his face. There was a moment of confused silence…

Then laughter filled my mind as the Lord of Balance that I could call upon absolutely lost it. Mortals and their free will! Oh how I forget how much I love it at times.

Laserdream descended like a vengeful goddess of war, more lasers blasting out from her hands with vicious accuracy. “Get away from him, you bastards!” She snapped.

I like this mortal…

Hookwolf used his massive bulk as a shield, placing himself between Kaiser and Laserdream, while the twins began to advance while raising their weapons. The Empire’s leader looked vaguely confused and I didn’t need Lunatic Eyes to tell me that weird things were happening in his brain. I took pity on him and flared my powers, undoing the Master’s lingering effects. I wanted the Empire crushed, humiliated, and broken. I didn’t need them dead, now that I was tapping into the full weight of my abilities.

My aura flared as I kindled it back to full strength and all of Kaiser’s makeshift prison evaporated away. Eligos let out a scream of rage and began launching blades of wind at Laserdream’s back, but I stepped forward and called upon my own air magics, canceling him out.

“Be a good dog and sit,” I said lazily then amplified the gravity around him several times over.

He collapsed onto his feet and struggled to crawl toward Valefor, but it was a moot point. I’d ensured he could barely breath, let alone go very far.

Laserdream glanced at me with some surprise as I stepped up next to her. “Hey, babe.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t you ‘babe’ me. You weren’t actually in trouble?”

“No, just luring Valefor out. Nice shot.”

“Thanks…” She grimaced as the valkyrie twins got closer. “You got something for these two?”

I wordlessly blasted them both off their feet with bolts of golden energy. Piggot wouldn’t care for the property damage, but I could contribute some time into rebuilding what I’d destroyed. Good optics for the PRT anyway. Not like we started this particular fight.

Rune was in full retreat mode it seemed, flying away on her platform. Seeing two capes die already within the span of a couple of minutes must have really messed with her. I ignored her as I took the skies and began flying after Hookwolf and Kaiser as they retreated, Laserdream following after only a second of hesitation.

Now what was I forgetting…?

I felt a tingle on the back of my spine and I spun around just in time to block one of Purity’s blasts. Dammit, they had their own air support. “Keep after them!” I shouted to Laserdream.

“On it!”

I flew up into the air and spoke, using Lunatic Eyes to ensure that only Purity would be able to hear me. “If we get Kaiser today, you won’t have to worry about him anymore,” I said. “Just take off the costume and pretend you know nothing. The unwritten rules still mean something.”

“He’ll find a way to ruin everything still,” she hissed back. Another flare of energy was already building in her hands. “If his identity is exposed…”

“Just take your kid and run then,” I snapped. “I already know who you are, Kayden, and I haven’t said a word to the PRT.” Well Assault technically knew her face now, but who really counted that? “I don’t take you trying to kill me personally. I know it’s for the kids. Surrender or run, but don’t make me take you in violently.”

Her hands trembled, then her eyes hardened with resolve.

I was giving her a golden opportunity and she still wasted it. A true holder of the idiot ball if ever there was one.

“I’ll do what I can for them,” I muttered, more to myself than to her, then backhanded the incoming beam of light.

I blitzed forward until I was right in her face and then hit her with a bolt of Chaos lightning. The glow went out and she would have fallen to her death if I didn’t catch and lower her gently to the ground below.

I can’t save everyone it seems…

Yet you are brave to try. Free will cuts both ways.

I took off into the sky and found Laserdream still harassing Hookwolf and Kaiser. The two Empire capes unable to hit her with her high mobility, but her lasers couldn’t burn through Hookwolf’s metallic form quicker than he could replenish it and he used himself as a meat shield to protect Kaiser. Guess the dog had some kind of loyalty in him after all. I flew down and then sped ahead of him to land in front of the charging Brute. I heard him laughing as he approached, his voice wild with glee at the prospect of fighting me again.

“Out of the way or get shredded!” He roared.

Yeah, I was done playing games. I reared up and then hit him with a Hero Punch charged uppercut that shattered his steel body like glass and sent him in a parabolic arc that should land somewhere outside the city limits. I’d find him later.

Kaiser ground to a halt as the dust settled and glanced nervously above to Laserdream as she tracked his every twitch and movement. “Magus… My apologies for all of that. Surely you must be aware that I wasn’t in my right mind,” the villain said smoothly. “Valefor it seems, was a Master of a much higher caliber than was thought…”

“True,” I said agreeably. “But you’re still a rot in this city that needs to go away. If it wasn’t today, it was going to be tomorrow. I am sorry about those that I killed, your little ambush rattled me more than I expected.”

“Such is our way of life,” Kaiser said somberly. “But I am afraid that I must beg you to allow me to continue my flight. Something tells me you’re going to be needed elsewhere in just a moment…”

Well that sent a small tingle of dread down my spine. And then I remembered… “What did Valefor do with Lung?”

“You must understand, I was under his sway at the time and I-“

“Just answer the damn question and maybe I’ll let you go while I’m busy dealing with-“

“He ordered the Dragon to be on standby to rage, should he fall or you proved more than a match for my Empire,” Kaiser said hurriedly. “I swear, this was not my idea and I must imagine that Lung is a far greater threat when motivated than myself.”

“Where!?”

“I do not know! Nearby, so that the Fallen could call upon him quickly if needed.”

I heard an explosion in the distance. Screams that echoed in the urban environment of the city. I closed my eyes. “Shit.”

“Yes,” Kaiser agreed. “Now if you would simply allow me to-“

I blasted him in the chest with a beam of light before he could keep talking, sending flying through a nearby storefront with a crash of shattering glass. Not enough to kill him, but his smarmy voice was getting on my nerves. Maybe we’d get lucky and he’d still be there when the containment team arrived.

I rose up into the sky with Laserdream. “I am so done with today.”

My girlfriend laughed bitterly and glanced towards the rising column of smoke. “Cheer up. I’ll buy dinner when this is all over.”

I gave her a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, Ms. College Student? With what money?”

“My parents’ of course,” she laughed again, this one more genuinely mirthful. “Last one to the Rage Dragon has to pay for drinks!”

As she took off, I had to stifle a laugh of my own.

It was funny when she forgot I could just teleport…
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A/N: So uh... I did a thing. And by a thing, I mean a second chapter this week. Just gonna go edit and format that and leave a note there.