Blackjack Wayward

Chapter Twenty-Eight

We flew and I dreamt.

A real dream, not the jacked-in, mind-wipe bullshit from Utopia. And there were two reasons I knew the difference. First, I woke up with a jolt just as it began, as the dark swirls in my brain started a pattern, and I noticed I was standing before a castle, dressed in heavy plate mail armor and wielding a sword and shield like some knight from the round table. The very second I had full realization of where I was and what I was doing, my mind snapped me back, as if reminding me that we weren’t in a fake dream, that I could bow out of this one whenever I wanted.

“Dude, you snore like whoa,” Ricochet said once my eyes had focused. I was still sitting in the uncomfortable chair in the back of Superdynamic’s plane.

“F*ck you,” I muttered, and let the stillness of sleep come back over me, washing away the exhaustion and frustration that had my body twisted into a knot.

The second reason I knew it was a real dream was that Apogee was in the castle. Not a wannabe, or a construct or homunculus, or a crazy witch along for the ride to get her jollies; the real Apogee was in that castle, waiting for me to rescue her. I didn’t know how I knew for certain, but she was there, in danger, and I was the only person who could save her.

Lining the ramparts were dozens of men at arms with crossbows, two massive cauldrons of boiling oil overlooking the heavy drawbridge and portcullis that I would have to beat down to save Apogee. The walls were too treacherous and tall to climb, and I had no ladders to help me anyway. I had no battering ram, either, to knock down the gates, nor army to help me wield it. It was me versus a roaring horde in a strong defensive position.

I didn’t hesitate, rushing forward the first moment I could; for my courage, the archers rewarded me with a tidal wave of crossbow bolts. The first couple bounced off the heavy plate, but one stuck deep into my thigh, and I knew I was in trouble. But wait, I had a shield! It was a round wheel of thick wood surrounding a heavy metal boss, and when I angled it over my head, the steady stream of bolts was no longer a problem.

The crossbowmen jeered as the portcullis rose and the drawbridge came down, revealing another host of men at arms marching toward me from the castle entrance. These guys were longbowmen, wielding English yew bows much like my original one. They didn’t wait long before drawing back and firing at me.

I couldn’t defend both the high arcing attacks of the crossbows and the lower, straighter assault of the longbows, so I crouched low and continued my forward assault, trying to ignore the painful strikes that breached my defense.

The men ahead of me suddenly parted, halting their attack, and the men on the walls followed suit, giving me a momentary reprieve. Through the gap rode a dozen knights, armored like I was, riding heavy destriers and leveling long lances in my direction. They formed a wedge around their leader, the most formidable of the bunch. They spurred their horses to a full gallop and each rider tightened up the formation so that they rode knee to knee with the man on either side. It was a wall of flesh, armor, and death that I knew I couldn’t overcome.

Freed from the harassment of the archers, I took a moment to compose myself, noticing the dozens of arrows and quarrels jutting from my shield and armor. Many of the missiles had punctured through the mail and padding beneath to tear into my flesh, but I felt no pain. I felt no fear. Only the cold comfort of knowing that nothing would betray my cause, nothing would stop me from entering the castle, freeing Apogee, and riding off into the sunset.

Between us was a charging band of knights, thundering toward me. The beasts’ hooves churned at the earth, leaving an angry, mangled wake like a scar on the ground. The knights couched their lances, aiming them inward in an attempt to get as many of their silver tips into me as possible.

It was hopeless to think I had a chance against such overwhelming odds, but as they neared, instead of spurring their horses even harder, the lead knight lifted the point of his lance and eased his massive horse to a halt, making his companions follow suit. Instead of riding over me, the warriors ringed me, giving me no chance for exit.

So it was to be man-to-man combat? I smiled, hoping it was what the lead knight was discussing with his second in command. The lieutenant swung off his horse, and in a single motion, the remainder of the knights followed suit, leaving their commander the only person still mounted. Their lances disappeared and they wore heavy shields with longswords strapped to their sides – this was a dream; those kinds of things happened for simplicity’s sake. The knights formed a tighter circle around me, but none drew their weapons. Instead, the lieutenant took his helmet off, and I looked into the stark eyes of Epic, his handsome face framed by long curly blonde locks. The others did as well, and soon I saw that it was all the great heroes surrounding me, including Superdynamic and Mirage, whose faces I knew, and even some who I was just projecting random faces for, like Global and Paladin.

“You’ve made a terrible mistake, evil beast,” shouted their leader, still wearing his helm. “Now you are ours! Now you cannot run!” it continued, and in one swift motion, he ripped off the heavy helm.

It was Apogee.

“Time to be slain, foul monster!” she continued, now in a frenzy, and her knights drew their swords in unison, each muttering “monster” under their breath. They closed on me, too many to defend against, and through the mass of men and armor I saw Apogee’s face, smiling, content.

The monster was slain.

On my last leg across the globe, I had flown from Lagos, Nigeria, to south Florida at such a high altitude that breathing was difficult and I could see Earth’s curvature on the far horizon. As we returned on Superdynamic’s gleaming ship, which he called “Cicada,” I couldn’t help but notice how low we were flying, as if we were avoiding radar.

Only Superdynamic spoke during the first part of the voyage across the Atlantic, occasionally asking Ruby to adjust the flaps or help him with the fuel mixture. The others either slept, as I did, or monitored the situation on their consoles. I could tell from the apprehension the rest had that they hadn’t faced a world-ending threat enough times to become as apathetic as Mirage had, who was busy researching some spreadsheets for who-knows-what. He’d look in my direction every fifteen minutes or half an hour and scowl, shaking his head with displeasure. About an hour into the trip, Superdynamic put the ship on autopilot and called for a meeting, gathering all of us around Moe’s main computer.

“What do we have?”

“I think a more pertinent question is who’s hitting supers?” asked Templar, the young guy with the dragon tattoos scrawled across his chest.

“I don’t know,” Superdynamic said. “The Revolution’s AWOL, Global’s AWOL, Paladin’s AWOL. The Sentinels are AWOL.”

“It’s just us, now,” Ruby said looking at me.

“That’s f*cked up,” Moe said.

Whatever exuberance Superdynamic and the crew had as we had flown out was now gone, replaced with a dark pall cast over all of us.

“So we go to Washington,” Focus said. “It’s up to us.”

“And do what, Focus?” Ricochet said. “We don’t know who’s good, we don’t know who’s bad. It’s the army beating itself up down there. If we jump in we might make things worse, you know?”

“We have to do something,” she said, as close to exasperated as I think she could possibly get.

“I’m all for that,” he said, “but we have to be real careful here. All the big guys that could turn the tide are gone. Our group is, with all due respect, just a bunch of rookies, two bonafide vets, and a scumbag villain who we’re told is on our side. No offense.”

I laughed, “None taken. You know, this is all fine and dandy, and I wish you well on your endeavors, but I just have one question; what does this have to do with Apogee?”

“What?” Ricochet said

“Apogee,” I said, making it sound like a question. “We were just at her house. It’s the reason I’m here.”

Superdynamic shook his head, waving his arms dismissively as he said, “Blackjack, this is bigger than her and her mom.”

“Don’t tell me that,” I said.

“Think, man. For goodness sakes,” Ruby snapped, unable to contain her frustration with me. “Use your other head for once, you daft prick. People are dying on the streets of your capital.”

“Yeah, and if this goes the wrong way all, hell could break loose,” added Ricochet.

“I don’t care,” I said. “I just want to–”

“How could you not care?” Templar said. “This thing is two days old and already the world markets have lost 35% valuation. The Chinese are mobilizing their fleet and armies, as are the Russians, and all hell’s breaking lose in the Middle East.”

Almost on cue, Moe put silent footage of a column of Egyptian tanks racing across the Sinai Peninsula, under fire from Israeli helicopters. This footage, intermingled with street to street fighting between Israeli regulars aided by some civilians and hooded Arab youths armed with AK-47s and RPGs.

“Yeah, there you go,” Templar continued. “The world’s falling apart and you’re concerned over one person?”

“They’re right, Blackjack,” Superdynamic said. “If this rogue general captures or kills the President, it’ll be chaos. I mean, that’s something Apogee would leave your ass behind for.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know shit.”

“She would,” he snapped, standing and walking towards me. “She’s probably my best friend in the whole goddamned world. I know her better than anyone. Better than you. She would do the job. She would do the job. Even if it meant leaving you, or me, or anyone else behind.”

“Well, I don’t care. Is that what you want to hear? I don’t give a f*ck. Those are the same bastards who put me away after I saved the world. That’s right, I saved all your asses once before, and as a reward, they threw me in a f*cking mind-prison and tossed away the key.”

I glanced around, standing over them with as much menace as I could.

“Even your boy here,” I shot a finger out at Superdynamic, “he was on the wrong side of things. And you know it.”

He stared back at me, a mixture of rage and shame crossing his face.

“I know she told you, so don’t bullshit me. I know she told you.”

“She said I could count on you,” he said, defeated. Superdynamic was genuinely hoping I would come on his stupid rescue mission to the U.S. capital. To save the world and then go back to Utopia like a good little boy. That’s how he thought, how his Boy Scout mind worked. He wanted me to do exactly what Apogee would do, what any hero would do: save the day, do the mission, everything else we worry about afterwards. Well, I wasn’t built that way. I wasn’t a hero. I didn’t owe these people anything.

Then again, he was right about one thing: Apogee would have run off and risked it all to save her country, and I owed Apogee a debt greater than I could ever repay, regardless of what had happened at the trial. If I was to honor that debt, I’d have to respect her wishes. I had to help Superdynamic and his team to keep the rest of the flaming world from slipping out from under us.

I looked around the ship, feeling the anger in their expressions.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “This isn’t easy for me.”

“Isn’t easy for me, either,” Superdynamic said, looking around at the rest of his team. “But we have a job to do and I don’t know what to do with you. For now we’re headed to our Africa base, only for long enough to figure this whole thing out. Focus, while we’re there, you make sure Blackjack has what he needs.”

“What, a chaperone?”

Superdynamic allowed himself a half-smile, which was as comfortable as he was willing to get with me this quickly. “You’re the nefarious villain Blackjack,” he said, and the smile faded just as fast as it had come, replaced with a toothy scowl. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

We approached Superdynamic’s home base as the heavy midday sun beat on the West African plain. My first impression of the Tower was that it was something that should have been in orbit, not in the middle of nowhere. I had slept most of the trip, too exhausted to help the others work on the mystery of what was happening in our nation’s capital, waking only when the ship touched down on a landing platform that floated outside the main structure. Superdynamic’s tower was often referred to as the “Tower of Babel,” though not by its creator and founder. The tall spire stood as a stark contrast to the shattered country that surrounded it.

Located in the middle of the sub-Saharan desert, just fifty miles from Timbuktu in the West African country of Mali, this had been a lawless place, the northern reaches of the country taken over by known terrorist organizations led by ruthless warlords. I’d like to think that was the reason Superdynamic chose it: to stamp out the dark powers from the inside out, striking in their midst with a pillar of justice and freedom to a region overcome with famine and death. The city he was founding sprawled in every direction from the tower, with homes and jobs for everyone who could make the journey here, hydroponic labs to feed all the inhabitants, and the world’s largest university, all with the hope of turning one of the poorest, most undeveloped nations in the world, into a shining beacon of civilization.

The tower was a seamless glass structure, taller than anything else on Earth, surpassing the Burj Khalifa by over two thousand feet. It twisted upward, growing narrower toward its highest point, where a huge dome rotated in place. Surrounding the tower were dozens of small islands of the same glass material, like satellites around their planet, one of them the landing platform where Superdynamic had landed his ship. A light bridge crossed from the floating island to the main structure, engaging only long enough for the whole crew to cross, and then disappearing once again into the ether. I wanted to ask Superdynamic how he had created a structure out of solid light, but he was off too fast for me to find out.

Once the ship was still and the engines off, the only sound we could hear was from the heavy winds buffeting us at high altitude. As we filed out, Moe shifted in front of me, facing me down with his head cocked to one side for maximum threatening effect, and cracked his knuckles before turning and following his crew. The last to leave was Superdynamic, who wanted a heart-to-heart as we crossed the light bridge. I have to admit it was one of the weirdest experiences of my life, to walk on solid light, and I’ve been to a different galaxy and seen bubble aliens.

“Moe’s a lot tougher than you give him credit for,” he said strolling casually, his long stride forcing me to walk faster to stay in tow, making me swallow all my apprehension at walking on a beam of light if I intended to keep with the conversation.

“The guy’s a walking cliche.”

Superdynamic chuckled.

“Before we go any further,” he said. “I need something from you.”

“What’s that?”

“I need your word.”

“Didn’t Apogee vouch for me?”

He shook his head. “I’m vouching for you. That’s the only reason we’re not strapping you back into Utopia.”

I looked down, a bit ashamed and curious as to what Apogee said about me.

“But we’re not there, we’re here. That alone should tell you where I’m coming from. This is my home, my sanctum, and you’re here as a guest.”

“I get it. You don’t want me to break any of your pretty stuff.”

“Or any of the people here,” he said and my nod was enough to satisfy him that I would behave. “Come on,” he continued, turning down the boarding ramp.

Outside, a half-dozen techs in blue jumpsuits were already at work checking the plane and refueling her.

“Nine man-hours of service and repair for every hour of actual flight,” he beamed.

“That sounds like a lot,” I said.

“No, it’s a lot less of what it takes to keep an average F-22 in service. They’ve got a 24-1 ratio. We’ve totally revolutionized the process. We’ll be sharing it with the Defense departments of most friendly nations and saving them millions, hell, billions.”

He stopped suddenly, “Blackjack…I know you’re in a hurry to go help Apogee, but you need to understand the situation. We have to make sure our next move is the right one. This team I’m putting together is still young and untested. I can’t just go flying off the handle. And besides, we’ve lost contact with everyone who’s just rushed in there.”

I nodded. “I understand. By the way, what’s Mirage’s problem? Is he a jealous ex or something?”

Superdynamic laughed, “Of Apogee’s? No, not at all. He’s…fatherly, I guess. You have to understand, Chen knows her longer than anyone. But don’t mind him, okay? I’ve asked him to do the same. And please, be patient.”

“I’ll be patient,” I said, but he just went on, over me.

“I’ve got the whole tower working on this. As soon as we know what’s happening for sure, and how to help, we’ll get moving.”

“How long?”

He shrugged.

“Four, maybe five hours? More than that and we’ll be too late to the party.”

Superdynamic cocked his head suddenly, cupping his right ear.

“Hang on,” he said then spoke to someone through his comms system. “This is Superdynamic, go ahead…I understand,” he said. “I’m on my way.”

“What’s going on?”

He just put his hand up to silence me a moment.

“Sorry,” he said. “Wait right here and someone will take care of you. I have...something’s come up.”

Superdynamic took to the air and flew away, staying high enough that he didn’t have to dodge the dozens of people strolling through the halls. They didn’t seem to care that he flew a few feet over their heads.

I had no chaperone, so I decided to roam a little.

As beautiful as it was on the outside, the Tower’s interiors were even more impressive, with styling out of a Disney wet dream, white and clean, and lighting that seemed to come from everywhere. The floors were pristine, and small machines moved along with the people, keeping the place clean. The inhabitants of Superdynamic’s dream-come-true came in three different kinds: techs, scientists and guards. The techs wore the same tight leather jumpsuits as Superdynamic, except pale whitish-blue instead of gleaming silver, with some sort of electronic collar around their necks that interfaced with the rest of the suit. They walked in small numbers, the lighting of their collars giving them some weird illumination as they moved through the halls. It was interesting that they didn’t speak, even to each other, but their faces mimicked the expression of someone talking, some even going as far as mouthing gestures. The scientists, I called because they wore the same jumpsuits as the techs but also had long white lab coats, with pockets brimming with pad computers and other equipment. I saw a few of them, usually surrounded by techs. They would speak to the techs as if they were subordinates. They also had the neck collars, but these were more elaborate, and connected to earplugs and goggles like an Olympic swimmer would wear, only lacking the leather strap. The guards were soldiers, wearing a heavier version of Superdynamic’s suit. I could tell they were security because they either roamed in pairs or stood at hallway intersections, watching the busy throngs move past. They noticed me and nodded, as if the place’s security was well aware of my little excursion, but they did nothing to stop me, nor did they seem to have any weapons with which to do it. In fact, their demeanor was friendly and even kind, completely opposite of what you’d expect from a security detail.

Then again, there was a lot about this place that was odd.

I found a wide viewscreen overlooking the growing city that surrounded the tower.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” said Focus, who had silently walked up to me.

She had changed her garb, now wearing a white silk robe with a gray crane flying across her chest. Her long brown hair was pulled up into a pair of tails, with a pink hairclip bearing the same crane symbol. Her pants were a matching white silk, and she wore a pair of black slippers, Bruce Lee-style. I got a better look at the gold arm circlet and noticed it was engraved with the same crane. She wore blush-colored lipstick on her small lips and subtle pink eye shadow, and her eyebrows were thin wisps, long and straight. Her facial features were a dichotomous combination of softness from her young skin and a severe look of the eyebrows and small mouth.

“It’s something,” I said, trying not to be too obvious that I was giving her a once-over. She smiled, blushing slightly, so I guess I failed miserably.

“I’ve been sent to fetch you,” she said.

“Let me guess,” I said, adding; “Ten by ten, a cot and a pot,” but I only confused her. “A prison cell,” I said.

She measured her laughter, covering her mouth with her hand, “No, Mr. Blackjack. Just regular guest quarters. You will no doubt want to bathe and...change clothing.” Focus looked at what I wore and raised an eyebrow.

“Lead on, then.”

We walked through some halls to an elevator that took us higher. I noticed how uncomfortable she seemed, not speaking to me at all, and reverted to my usual nervous-joking ways.

“This tour sucks, by the way.”

She cocked her head, “Pardon me?”

“Well, the tour leader...she won’t give us the full spiel, you know? I paid fifty bucks for this ride.” I tried to be as deadpan as possible, but she misunderstood me, apparently unused to sarcasm and irony.

“I...I don’t know–”

“Fifty bucks,” I laid it on. “And I don’t even get a bit on the place, how it’s built or whatever. I mean, I waited forty-five minutes in line to get on this ride.”

She just looked at me with her mouth wide open, and eyes narrowed, half angry and half bewildered.

“I’m joking,” I said.

Focus blushed again, giving her head a little flutter-recoil as if she were trying to regain her composure. She did this cute thing where she shook her head ever-so-slightly, moving her lips as if the internal conversation she was having was spilling outward.

The door opened, saving her from more of my humor, and she flashed a fake smile and motioned for me to follow her. Again, she led in silence, taking me through an area that had the feel of housing, with a large cafeteria that was full with the dinner crowd. It smelled like some sort of meat, like BBQ, and I almost abandoned my escort to get some food.

“Perhaps you should bathe first,” she said, noticing that I had paused at the door, looking inside the cafeteria at the diners as if I was a ravenous wolf ready to steal a kill.

“Do I really look that bad?”

She nodded.

“Really, really?”

Focus raised an eyebrow, “You look like a homeless person, Mr. Blackjack.”

“Probably smell like one too,” I chuckled.

She leaned closer, took a sniff and nodded.

“Ok, a shower and shave then I’m having whatever they’re serving there,” I said, walking after her again. As I caught up, I gave her bottom a little peek, but she turned and saw me looking.

“Is something wrong?” she said, arching around to look behind her, as if she had a spider on her back or something.

“Nothing,” I said, moving on, and when she came beside me, I noticed her fighting off another bout of blushing. She had a light skin tone that did little to conceal her shyness.

“Here,” she said a moment later, as we reached a door that opened as we approached.

Inside was a simple antechamber with a couch/chair combo and a mini-kitchen. Beyond, another door lead to the bedroom.

“The public mess will be open for another hour,” she said. “So you have time.”

I took a step inside, noticing the slight accents and decorations meant to make the place homey, including a wide HD screen that played a looping video of a fireplace, the low mood lighting, the strategically positioned palms and table plants, and the scattered recessed lighting.

“Mess?” I said, pretending to be confused. “How will I ever find the way?”

She smiled, starting to become accustomed to my little game.

“It’s that way, Mr. Blackjack,” she said, pointing down the hall. “We just walked past it.”

“Ah,” I said. “What if I get lost?”

Focus chuckled.

“You are being monitored at all times.”

“I mean, what if I’m scared to eat by myself? You eat, right?”

She looked down, thankful at the shadows that played over her face.

“I have duties, forgive me.”

I pretended to be sad. “Nice, I offend you. It’s the smell, isn’t it?”

Focus got serious again.

“No, no,” she said. “I’m needed on the command deck. You see, we are investigating the happenings in your country’s capital, and the disappearances of the other major superhero teams. I would normally not mind accompanying you. If I hadn’t eaten already, that is. So you see–”

She stopped, seeing the big smile on my face, again confused.

“I’m joking,” I said, and crimson danced along her cheeks.

“I’m...sorry. I’m not used to your humor,” she said. “Perhaps Superdynamic will assign a different one of us, Moe perhaps, who will be more suitable conversation for you.”

I laughed. “You tell Superdynamic, from me, that I couldn’t ask for a finer hostess.”

Again, that baffled look, not sure if I was joking or not.

“Bathroom that way, I suppose?” I said pointing through the doorway. “If you’ll forgive me, I have to go get beautiful.”

I turned and stripped off my shirt, heading into the other room. I had to admit that confounding Focus was more fun than I had expected, and I would have given anything to have seen her facial expression as she stood there watching me enter the bathroom bare-chested.