“No.” With a sharp jerk, he pulled his hand free.
I was about to argue when I caught sight of the black mist spreading along the floor. I’m sure there were a dozen reasons for it, but at a magazine specializing in superheroes and with Aiden, all signs pointed to a supervillain with a grudge.
“It’s Smoke.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing at.”
Several of the other patrons were pointing at the floor. They had a look of glee on their faces, as if it might be special effects to help make the evening more enchanting. It was true what they said about the rich. Not one of them had an ounce of common sense.
The mist collected, rising from the ground until it took on a human shape. A bolt of black slammed into my chest before I could scream a warning. I shot backward, hitting awall with enough force it crumbled about me. Whatever was on the other side softened the blow, giving me a chance to gain my bearings.
The coat closet. It wasn’t exactly a phone booth, but it’d do. Screams filled the main hall as Vanguard’s wealthiest citizens found themselves inside a battleground. I wish I didn’t have to save them all, but at least Aiden and Sebastian were worth the effort. Perhaps they weren’t all bad. Maybe.
“You picked a fight with the wrong hero.” I rose from the bed of furs, hovering in the air as the suit transformed. The fine materials transformed into my skintight suit. Black leather hugged my body until it ended with the mask wrapping around my face. It was time to show Aiden that I wasn’t the villain William claimed.
“Smoke,” I shouted. “SMOKE!”
I pushed through the wall to find that at least half of the patrons had already fled through the entrance. However, like always, Aiden found himself a bit too close to the danger. Smoke was chasing people, scaring them as if he were a kid in a Halloween costume. This wasn’t about robbing them, or even revenge. That jerk simply wanted to terrorize Vanguard.
“Does Vanguard’s newest villain want to tango?”
Who wrote their dialogue? Honestly, this was straight out of a B-rate superhero movie. “No. Its newest hero wants to beat the crap out of its douchiest villain.”
“Going to kill me?” He raised into the air, the smoke billowing from where his legs should have been. It was the powered way of puffing out his chest, but nothing about it impressed me. “Just like you murdered Dozer?”
Screw it. I launched forward, flying as fast as I could, arm drawn back, ready to slam my knuckles under his chin. A pillar of smoke slammed into my torso as I tried to reach him, launching me toward the dome.
My feet barely touched the ceiling before I spun around. Smoke had met me as a novice, and now I had a few more tricks to put on display. I’d revel in the moment my fist connected, bruising flesh and cracking bone. I wouldn’t win by luck. But with ferocity, I was unmatched, and right now I was in a mood and needed to pound something with my fist.
He attempted the same maneuver. A roll to the side and he missed, and even the massive hand of smoke reaching missed as I put on the brakes. This idiot truly believed he was dealing with a rookie. Even the spears of black he hurled disintegrated as they struck a shield of fire.
“Somebody has been practicing. But you forget who you’re dealing with.”
The fire gathered in my palms as I mocked this schmuck. Neon had been more of a challenge. He couldn’t do more than manifested smoke and… crap. I had been so intent on snapping his neck I forgot about the madness in the emergency room. Smoke might be nothing impressive onhis own, but whatever gift he had that let him control innocent victims, that was dangerous.
“Get off me,” Aiden shouted. I spun about to see him tossing a woman over the bar. He clubbed a server in the gut, forcing him to double over before driving an elbow into his back. Aiden wasn’t a shabby fighter, but with two dozen more people stalking him, he’d never be able to come out on top.
“Back up,” I yelled. He jumped backward, falling on his butt as I poured a line of fire between him and Smoke’s minions. I could easily burn them to a crisp, but Hellcat’s insistence on me riding the narrow path of a superhero echoed in the back of my head. I could do this… I could do?—
“Shit.”
Smoke had vanished within his own aura of blackness. By the time I found those glowing eyes, they had manifested behind Aiden. There were too many battles on too many fronts. I couldn’t stop the madhouse and the villain causing them. I prayed the wall of fire held so I could reach the source.
“I told you I’d find him, medic.”
Hellcat’s voice screamed in my ear. The exact thing she warned me about was coming true. Smoke didn’t want to fight me. He wanted to cause me pain. If he couldn’t beat me man to man, he’d go after the one thing I cared about.
So he thought.
With one hand, I grew the wall of fire. With the other, I pointed a single finger, creating a narrow shot of searing flame. It was too far to do anything other than make Smoke dodge, but it gave me time to fly at him like a bat out of hell.
“Duck!”
Aiden curled into a ball as I slammed both fists into Smoke’s chest. I drew back a fist, hammering his face, my knuckles cracking against something in the darkness. His hands caught my fist, and I resorted to slamming my forehead against the space between his eyes.
“You…” Another crack as something wet smattered my face. “Won’t…” I shook free, wrapping one hand around his neck while I punched with the other. “Win.”
Each blow knocked away the darkness, and for a second I could see the outline of a human face. With one more strike, the black revealed skin tones. He was losing, and with a couple more blows, I could end Smoke’s reign of terror.
