School Spirit

[csyphrett]

School Spirit

1

Jeff Ashcroft looked over everything they had gathered again. Nothing jumped out

at him. He didn’t want to admit they had failed. Failure by his team put the country,

and the world, in danger. He couldn’t allow that.

 

On the other hand, all they had were a bunch of negatives. He didn’t have any proof

other than what he and the others had seen at the building that had been dropped in

Manhattan.

 

They didn’t even have a lead on Larry Elbe, the right hand man.

 

Jeff refrained from slamming the table with anger. He gritted his teeth and thought

about his next move. They had to do something. They couldn’t let the Father take

initiative.

 

How did they stop him? He had already played them to get free from his prison. What

was he doing now?

 

How did they track him down and get rid of him for good?

 

What were they missing?

 

Maybe the Chemist had come up with something they could use. He hated to ask for

help from other agencies, but he didn’t think he had a choice. The School was short

on magicians, and this looked like a case of magic all the way.

 

Father had driven three of them, four if you counted Buddy, out of his building and

out of the fight with little effort. What was he planning now that he had hidden

himself from them?

 

That was what was driving Jeff crazy. What was his enemy doing now that they

couldn’t find and engage him? How were they going to track him down when his

magic could hide him anywhere?

 

He hoped the Chemist had an answer for them. He wanted to pay back his enemy for

trying to drop a building on him.

 

His phone buzzed at him. He pulled it from its holder as he turned away from the

collected evidence. Maybe this was good news.

 

“Pointer?” The Chemist didn’t sound as cheerful as he could have.

 

“Do you have anything?” Jeff glared at the collection for not telling him what he

wanted.

 

“I think he is still in New York somewhere.” The Chemist didn’t go into the spells he

had written out to give him that discovery. Pointer would not care about the effort,

just the results. “I’m going to try to narrow it down.”

 

“Thanks.” Jeff nodded at the news. “Do you need anything from our side?”

 

“We might need access to the Watcher’s satellite cameras.” The Chemist obviously

had been talking to his science expert. His craft didn’t need technology to work.

“Maybe some extra feet on the ground.”

 

“Do we need to meet?” Jeff reached for his suit jacket. He shrugged it on while

holding the phone up to his ear.

 

“No.” The Chemist knew that his counterpart wanted to be in the thick of the action.

“I just need you to wander around town and wait by the phone.”

 

“I can do that.” Jeff straightened his jacket. “I’ll let the others know.”

 

Jeff found his crew working on interview reports with the people who had invested

in the destroyed building. None of them seemed to know anything, or were really

good at concealing things.

 

“The Chemist called.” Jeff nodded at the sudden interest. “He wants us to walk

around the town and check for any strange problems.”

 

“Anything is better than reading these reports.” Poster Girl stood up. Her papers went

down on the desk they had borrowed for her.

 

“He also wants access to the Watcher’s info feed.” Jeff broke in before they could

break up. “Poster Girl, let him know so he can call the Magistracy so we can get

something going.”

 

“Will do, Boss.” Poster Girl rushed from the room, thinking about her part in things.

 

“We’re going to split up, but I want each of you to check in every ten minutes until

we find out where Father went to ground.” Jeff hoped his team could stand up to the

monster better than he, Watcher, and the Chemist had.

 

The Saint was the only one that Jeff trusted with being able to return Father to his

space. The man had miracle hands that could deal damage to magic creatures with a

touch.

 

It was something they needed to weaponize if they wanted to save the world from

whatever the ancient convict wanted to do to it.

 

The only question that blocked Jeff from that line of thought was how were they

going to get the Saint close enough to touch Father. That was the only way they could

exorcize him.

 

“So we’re going to wander around New York until we come across something the

Chemist can use.” Currenta broke in.

 

“Yes, but you get the East River.” Jeff smiled at her. “Good luck with the pollution.”

 

“You’re a sick man.” The fish woman glared at her boss. “I just want you to know

that.”

 

“That’s how I axe the bad guys.” Jeff smiled at her one more time. “Let’s get

moving.”

 

The group broke apart and headed for the doors. They didn’t speak because they

knew something as simple as walking around looking for trouble might cause real

trouble to appear to challenge them.

 

And Father and his cult were real trouble as far as the team was concerned.

 

Jeff decided to walk back to the downed building. Maybe he would come across

something he could use without having to wait on the Chemist to get a lead for them.

 

The antenna had been broken, but maybe it was still broadcasting something out there

in the ether. Maybe there was a key to finding Father there.

 

He would love another chance to shoot that clown in the face to protect the world.

 

What was his next move to threaten the world?

 

How did they hunt the guy down?

 

His phone buzzed as he looked at where the building had been. New York had moved

to clear the debris away.

 

“Go.” Jeff scanned the street. He didn’t want to be caught flatfooted again.

 

“I’m getting a trace of energy, Pointer.” The Chemist sounded farther away than a

phone call. “It seems to be heading toward Central Park.”

 

“Where in the park?” Jeff turned and headed toward the greenery that ran part of the

length of Manhattan.

 

“I don’t know yet.” The Chemist made a button pushing noise on his end of the line.

“The satellites are helping me immensely.”

 

“Helping you do what?” Jeff kept walking. “What’s going on?”

 

“Something technical.” The Chemist said it like he was smiling. “I’ll let you know

how it works if it does work.”

 

“Don’t give me a reason.” Jeff spotted the park wall in the distance. “How far do you

need me to go into the park?”

 

“I’m not sure.” The Chemist took a moment. “Just keep going until I can give you

something to look for from where I am.”

 

Jeff didn’t like that, but he had nothing on his own. If this got him closer to dealing

with Father, then he was all for it. If it didn’t, he would have words with the Chemist.

 

“You are close, Pointer.” The Chemist sounded excited now. “You are almost on top

of whatever it is.”

 

Jeff paused to look around. He was in a part of the park where they let trees grow

close to a jogging path. It provided shade for those who wanted to just sit on the

grass. He scanned the area intently.

 

He found a rock half-buried in the ground.

 

“I found a rock.” Jeff didn’t touch it. “It looks like the rock we found that started

this.”

 

“Don’t pick it up.” The Chemist didn’t need to tell him that. “I’ll be right there. This

might be what we need.”

 

Jeff put his phone up. Of course one of those cursed rocks was what they needed to

avert whatever crisis was about to take place.

 

The rocks were linked to the big guy somehow. That should lead his team right to the

guy so they could shut him down once and for all.

 

Then they could worry about the cult following him and put them down too.

 

Jeff didn’t believe in letting them walk because they could have been mind warped.

That was for a judge to decide. He just didn’t feel they should get a pass to join

another cult so they could take another shot at him and his.

 

He wanted to make sure they regretted any thought of ever doing that.

 

The Chemist appeared in the trademark hum caused by the teleportation system used

by the Magistracy. He adjusted his sunglasses as the letter on his gray coveralls

changed to other letters as he got his bearings.

 

“This thing is radiating energy.” The Chemist smiled. “It’s a good thing you didn’t

touch it.”

 

“Is that useful?” Jeff frowned at him.

 

“Yes.” The Chemist pulled out a card from a pocket. He produced a pen and wrote

on it. “It gives us a way to trace him.”

 

“That is useful.” Jeff nodded in agreement as the card burned away.

 

2

Lights danced in the air. Jeff frowned as the will-of-wisps headed into the city. The

implication was clear that the mysterious Father had taken up residence in the city

where civilians could be used as human shields.

 

“Good thing he didn’t move to Japan.” The Chemist’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“His energy drain would have a field day there.”

 

“So we’re looking at his table?” Jeff looked around for more of the lights. The ones

he saw seemed to be moving in a straight line away from him.

 

“In a way.” The Chemist started following the lights. “He feeds on living energy. The

more people around him, the more he receives. It will be hard to stop him in the city.

We’ll have to think of some way to get him out in the middle of nowhere.”

 

“Can he see this?” Jeff waved at the glowing sprites with one hand. “That will let him

know we’re coming to get him if he can.”

 

“He can see any magic display I put up.” The Chemist didn’t pause in his walk. “The

best we can do is use this as cover for our real search.”

 

“So he sees we’re tracing the supply line, but doesn’t see the other spell?” Jeff

followed. “Sounds good to me.”

 

“It’s only good if it works.” The Chemist paused when he reached the wall separating

Central Park from the rest of the city. He awkwardly climbed over it and dropped to

the sidewalk on the other side.

 

Jeff did the same with less trouble. He frowned at the dozens of lights lining the

surrounding streets that he could see.

 

“It looks like the web is heading south from here.” The Chemist turned and headed

down the street. “I wonder where he set up his headquarters.”

 

Jeff didn’t offer an opinion. Manhattan had tons of people that lived and worked

there. The surrounding boroughs had almost as many. They were crammed into a

small space next to the ocean. It was the perfect feeding ground for a human eating

monster.

 

There were just as many places for the monster to hide in a city that vast.

 

“The links are heading toward the financial district.” The Chemist frowned. “Maybe

he’s using Wall Street to help feed his power. He might need some emotion on top

of the rest.”

 

“We can figure out how he’s eating when we catch up with him.” Jeff flexed a hand,

feeling an imaginary gun take shape for a second, then vanish. “After that, he won’t

have to eat again.”

 

“Don’t think this will be easy.” The Chemist shook his head. “This thing is old and

stronger than anything we have faced so far. We might not be able to beat it.”

 

“We can if we can find it before it gets too much of a charge.” Jeff paused as more

of the lights started flooding the area. “Right now is when he’s most vulnerable. If we

miss this chance, then we’ll have to worry about trying to beat him.”

 

The two men kept walking until they found themselves at the charging bull statue on 

Broadway. The lights formed a tangled knot floating in the air over that part of the

city. Cries and laughter sounded just inside the normal hearing range to form

whispers that threw people off when they heard them.

 

“I think we are close.” The Chemist adjusted his sunglasses. “He’s laired up in one

of these buildings.”

 

“Which one?” Jeff had a weapon in hand as he looked at each one. If he saw Father,

sound would fly.

 

“I don’t know.” The Chemist frowned. “We’re going to have to narrow it down. He

might notice us but we’re going to need to set up a cordon.”

 

“I’ll call the others.” Jeff reached for his phone. “I can get them down here in a few

minutes.”

 

“I can get the Magistracy here.” The Chemist reached for his own phone. “We’ll need

to create a square of some kind and see if we can find a central point.”

 

“Do it.” Jeff dialed the command center. The Watcher should be there coordinating

traffic with his overhead view of the city. The other team leader could get everybody

on the spot so they could start on the Chemist’s scheme.

 

Then they could start the rest of the job before Father tried to get rid of them again.

 

“Go ahead, Pointer.” Aaron Stark sounded distracted. “I have you down on Broadway

next to the Bull.”

 

“I need you to bring both teams down here.” Jeff watched the buildings as he talked.

He wanted one indication of where his enemy was. Then he could move in as fast as

he could shoot. “We’re going to need some help singling out where our guy is.”

 

“I’ll get the others.” Stark cut the connection. Jeff looked at his phone. He usually cut

off the people he talked to on the phone. He put the cell away. Watcher would get

their people there as fast as he could.

 

He had nothing to do but wait.

 

The Magistracy appeared on the sidewalk a few seconds later. Their teleportation

system allowed them to reach anywhere in the world anytime they wanted.

 

“My guys are on the way.” Jeff hated to get the other team involved. His paperwork

had exponentially increased just having them show up in New York.

 

“All right.” The Chemist nodded. “We can get the Magistracy started, and then slot

your guys in to cover anything we missed.”

 

Jeff made a go ahead gesture with one hand. It didn’t matter who started what as long

as he was in on the action.

 

If he could dump the paperwork, that would be a bonus for him.

 

“All right.” The Chemist turned to his team. “I’m going to give you some sigils. I

need you to spread out for six blocks from right here. We know the target is here

somewhere. We just need to narrow it down until we find his lair.”

 

“How narrow are we talking about?” Luna spoke up. She wore a purple tunic and

short hair.

 

“We need at least some kind of address.” The Chemist wrote on cards. He handed

them out. “Don’t take this guy on alone. He is possibly the most dangerous opponent

we have ever faced.”

 

“We got it.” Luna headed north. Pantheon flew after her on a trail of fire.

 

The rest of the group spread out in a rough square. They set up on Wall Street, Broad

Street, Beaver Street, and Greenwich Street. They called in when they had found

places to station themselves.

 

The two command centers the School used dropped out of the sky as the Magistracy

headed out. The Replacement and Poster Girl stepped away from the large vans.

Poster Girl wolfed down the rest of a twinkie before Jeff could start issuing orders.

 

There was no need to let food go to waste if you could eat it before your boss ordered

you to get rid of it.

 

The two teams filed out of the vehicles. Aaron Stark carried his helmet in his hand.

He paused at the lights in the air, but said nothing. He didn’t believe in magic, and

didn’t like seeing it in action.

 

“What’s going on, Jeff?” He pulled his helmet on, letting it hook up to the satellites

he kept in orbit overhead to give him a better view of what was going on.

 

“We’re trying to narrow down where our bad guy is hiding and trying to stop him

from draining the Big Apple dry.” Jeff smiled. “The Chemist has some things to give

you. We want to spread out a net to find this guy before he figures out what we’re

doing.”

 

“So we can finally put a stop to this monster making business.” Stark nodded. His

basic schtick was doing the same for his team when they were in the field.

 

“If we can find him.” Jeff smiled. “Let’s get started.”

 

The Chemist provided more cards for the School. The fliers took to the air, circling

the area as far north as Exchange Place and as far south as Bowling Green. Those on

foot spread out to cover the foot accesses.

 

“We’re ready as we’re going to be.” Jeff flexed his hands. Imaginary weight told him

his weapons were ready to use at the first sign of trouble.

 

“Let’s see what happens when I activate the spell.” The Chemist pulled out another

card and wrote on it. “Get ready.”

 

Jeff made a go ahead gesture. He was always ready.

 

The Chemist activated his magic. The card burned away in a flash of flame and

smoke. Lines formed in the air, writing letters, as they converged on the Bull. A flare

went up in the square. One of the buildings lit up under the onslaught.

 

Jeff smiled. He started toward the place. It was time to turn off the lights of the

monster. Holo, Replacement, and Poster Girl would be there before the others thanks

to their flying speed. He hoped they didn’t do anything stupid before he could get in

position.

 

Quick appeared at the door. She rushed into the building before anyone else could do

anything.

 

“Quick went inside.” Jeff rushed to the door. She might already have taken Father out

with her super speed.

 

“Could be a problem.” The Chemist jogged after him. He wrote on a card for a shield.

 

Jeff pushed into the lobby of the building. He ignored the people and decorations.

Quick was nowhere in sight. She must have gone up to search for their elusive

mastermind. That was bad news if she didn’t have the pull to hit outside her weight

class.

 

Where had Quick gone?

 

Jeff ran to the steps. She could run up them faster than an elevator could be called to

the lobby. He opened the door. He looked up the stairwell. She had already picked out

a floor and hit the landing door.

 

He started up the steps. He had to get up there before she ran into something she

couldn’t handle. She knew better than running ahead without a plan.

 

And Father was immensely more powerful than anything Jeff had seen, much less

faced in open combat. Speed wouldn’t stop him if he knew she was coming.

 

Jeff hated to think his own power wouldn’t do any good either. He was going to try

at least. His team expected that, and he had already vowed to mix it up with this

thing. He planned to be there, win or lose.

 

He kept going up the stairs.

 

3

Jeff paused when he thought he was close to whatever was in the building. He sensed

a chill in the air that couldn’t be explained by the air conditioning. He leveled his

imaginary guns down the hall as he looked for a target.

 

Where had Quick gone? That bothered him more than he liked. She should be able

to take care of herself, but he felt she was in trouble.

 

“What will it take to get rid of you?” The familiar voice drifted from the air. “You

keep coming on despite knowing you are walking to your doom.”

 

“You have to go back to your cell.” Pointer swept his pistols in an arc in front of him.

“You’re not supposed to be out here with us.”

 

“It’s much too late for that.” Laughter filled the space. “I’m never going back.

Humanity will be my slaves, and people like you will be excommunicated for being

too stubborn to change your ways.”

 

“I beg to differ.” The Chemist threw one of his cards out in the air. It burned away in

a cascading effect that changed the hall from something business ordinary to gothic

castle.

 

Father stood at the other end of the hall. He had Quick on a leash. She knelt at his

side, head bowed. He was grinning way too wide.

 

“I think you should kill them, my dear.” Father looked down at Quick. “Then we can

play some more.”

 

Jeff fired the left hand pistol before he got halfway through his sentence. He didn’t

know what had happened to Quick, but her captor wasn’t using her as a weapon

against him and the Chemist.

 

She normally would have dodged the projectile out the gate before he pulled the

trigger. Instead, she went down under a pack of spreading gel that stuck her to the

floor.

 

Jeff fired the right hand pistol a second later. Stopping Quick seemed more important

since her speed could make the difference in a fight. The other pistol blasted out

pulses of thunder at the grinning figure in front of him.

 

Father caught the blasts in his hands with a laugh. He gathered up more energy to

augment the thunder. He sent it back like a man throwing a basketball. Nothing was

going to stop him from reascending to his rightful place as the ruler of the world. That

included a gunslinger and a magician he overmatched in raw power.

 

The Chemist wrote on the palm of his hand and stepped forward, holding the

appendage in front of him. The thunderball struck and spun in place as he slid back

across the stone floor. He fired it back when he came to a stop.

 

Father caught it again with a smile. He could do this all day if he wanted. He prepared

to throw it back when holes appeared in his body from high energy beams. He looked

down at the holes with a frown.

 

Jeff fired again with both pistols. He didn’t know anything about magic but he was

buying the Chemist time. He couldn’t do more than that.

 

Father flung the sound ball at him with a snarl. The holes in his body made the

Pointer the first he wanted to kill with his bare hands.

 

Jeff ducked the ball. He kept up the firing rate with both pistols. The more of an

annoyance he could be, the better distraction he was.

 

The ball blew a hole in a wall down the transformed corridor. Stone and more modern

construction materials blew out on the street. Broadway appeared beyond.

 

The Chemist flung a card at the Father. They needed to cut this monster off from his

power so they could put him back where he belonged. A cube of letters appeared

around the creature. He tapped the shell with a finger and a smile.

 

“I’m impressed by your determination.” Father put his hand against the wall of his

cell. “But it will take more than the two of you to stop me.”

 

Jeff wondered where the others were. He wanted to take this mook down, but his

pistols were just annoying the monster. The only thing he was getting out of this was

the satisfaction of target practice.

 

He hoped the Chemist had better tricks up his sleeve to deal with this guy.

 

Father pressed against the wall of letters. They went out one by one until the cage

vanished under the pressure of his touch. He laughed at them.

 

“I think it’s my turn now.” He raised his hands to deal them a fatal blow of energy.

Jeff shot him in the face first. “Do you mind?”

 

A figure in black roared into the hall from the opening. It hit Father in the face with

a gloved hand. That sent the menace sprawling when it hit the floor.

 

“Thanks, R.” Jeff smiled. “That was great. Can you do it again?”

 

The Replacement strode forward, hands clenched into fists. He grabbed the villain by

the shoulders to lift him. A bolt of lightning hurled him away. He landed in a smoking

heap a few feet away.

 

“I’m done with playing with you.” Father glared at the three heroes. “You will bow

to me like your comrade. You will be obedient to my will.”

 

Jeff shot him in the face again.

 

“That’s enough of that.” Father threw a thunderbolt at his enemy. He missed the

diving hero by inches. “No more potshots from you.”

 

“How about from me?” A bandaged man in old clothes helped the Replacement to his

feet with bandaged hands. “Are you ready for another contender?”

 

“The protector of the universe.” Father grinned. “Finally someone I can exercise my

full power against.”

 

Jeff gestured for the Chemist to back up. He didn’t want to be a hostage in a struggle

that could wreck the city. Either side could crush them by mistake.

 

“I told you that the world doesn’t have room for you anymore.” The Protector fired

a bolt of energy at his enemy.

 

“Nonsense.” Father caught the bolt with a hand. He examined it for a second before

flinging it back.

 

Buddy dodged the blast. He rushed forward. He swung a massive arm. His fist

connected. Energy blasted him away from the contact.

 

“I told you.” Father advanced on them. “I am stronger now than ever. You won’t beat

me, you won’t stand in my way, you won’t be more than an annoyance to me.”

 

A figure in black slammed into him like a human bullet. He flew through the wall as

the shape powered him on. Then they were gone.

 

“It looks like the Replacement is a big annoyance.” Jeff ran to the hole in the wall. He

looked out but he didn’t see the combatants.

 

The Chemist went to Quick. He wrote on an exposed part of her skin. She vanished

from the shell that covered her. He didn’t know what she had gone through, but it

couldn’t have been pleasant.

 

The protector of the universe shambled to the hole in the wall. He jumped through

and floated to the roof a building across the alley. He landed gently and looked for

the battle that must be taking place between the monster and the revenant.

 

“Any ideas?” Jeff hoped the Replacement was holding the monster to a standstill.

 

“I think we need to get him out of the city.” The Chemist wrote on his sunglasses.

“His existing power can only increase as long as the stones are feeding him. Soon, we

won’t be able to stop him at all.”

 

“I can agree with that.” Jeff took aim and fired a pistol from the hole in the wall to the

next building. He pulled on his weapon and the line retracted. He flew across the

alley and grabbed the next roof. He pulled himself over the rampart, looking around

for flying energy and fists.

 

He pulled out his phone. He needed backup if he wanted to stop this power play in

its tracks.

 

He needed to get the Saint on the scene and let him perform an exorcism.

 

“We need the Saint ASAP.” He spoke as soon as Watcher answered his call. “This

guy is holding the Replacement by himself.”

 

“We have problems here in the street, Jeff.” The Watcher sounded distracted over the

phone. “There’s a lot of faceless zombies trying to stop us from acting.”

 

“Great.” Jeff put the phone away. He knew his enemy was behind that. How did he

reverse it?

 

“He’s drawing power from the weaker willed people.” The Chemist appeared by

Jeff’s side. “He’s turning the population into zombies. The stronger he grows, the

more people he can infect.”

 

“That’s awesome.” Jeff frowned. “We need to get him away from New York.”

 

“I have a way.” The Chemist smiled. “It might solve the problem with his magic

sucking on the ley lines.”

 

“We need anything you can do.” Jeff jogged across the roof. He spotted some

lightning in the distance and thought that was where the battle would be.

 

“I think the teleporter will help us with that.” The Chemist floated behind Jeff like a

balloon. He activated his personal radio. “Reilly? I have a job for you.”

 

Jeff tuned out the rest of the conversation. He knew enough about how the

Magistracy’s transport system worked that he didn’t need to know what the technical

problems would be in getting rid of a magic monster in a city full of people.

 

All that mattered was could Reilly hit the joker in the middle of a battle with

Replacement and the Protector of the Universe. For all his apparent power, the two

were forcing him to draw on power reserves that he had planned to use to reshape the

city into his own reserve.

 

How many people could die if the battle kept going since Father had started draining

them like batteries?

 

They needed a takedown and to shut him off.

 

“Get ready.” Chemist paused to get a bead on the battle going on. “They are about

forty feet ahead of me. You’re going to have to act fast if you want to hit the target,

Reilly.”

 

Jeff configured an imaginary gun. He took the Chemist’s radio and loaded it in the

gun. He handed his phone over to his counterpart. The Magistrate called the Tower

and connected to the Bridge.

 

“When I give the signal, Reilly, transmit my com to the remotest place on Earth.” The

Chemist liked that more than pitting his magic against the powerhouse they were

observing.

 

Jeff pointed his weapon at the confusion below. He needed a break in the action. And

he needed to get the Replacement to back off for the few seconds he needed to carry

out his part in their shaky plan.

 

He raised his other hand. A weapon formed long enough for him to shoot. The shell

burst into a bright light. Everyone froze in their blindness. He shot the other weapon

in the few seconds he had before everyone adjusted and went back to work. The slug

with the com struck Father and exploded in a ball of glop that knocked him to the

ground.

 

“Go, Reilly.” The Chemist couldn’t stop himself from shouting in the phone. “Do it

now. Do it.”

 

Father vanished in a trail of sparks jumping in the sky. The beam bounced around the

orbital network of satellites before dropping him on a rock surrounded by water. He

shrugged the ball of goo away in trailers of flame.

 

He took a breath. He was in the Pacific, with none of the energy he needed to carry

out his plans. He needed to get somewhere with a large population. Japan should do

for a start, then he could move to China. The populations would give him enough to

sweep his enemies off the board.

 

A fist knocked him flat. He hit the ground and braced an arm to keep from bouncing.

He looked up to see the black clad revenant readying for another blow to his skull.

 

He blocked the hand. He didn’t have time for this battle. These mortals had stood in

his way for too long.

 

Father raised his other hand. Concentrated energy ripped through the man in black.

He dropped to the ground with his chest smoking. That should be the end of that. The

demon got to his feet.

 

A hole appeared in his head. He healed it while looking around. Where was Pointer?

 

“I can do this all day long.” Jeff put another hole in his target. “Thanks for standing

around like a sitting duck.”

 

“I will not let you take pot shots at me.” Father saw the agent standing on the other

side of the rock.

 

“You can’t stop me.” Jeff fired another slug into the healing head. “You’re a loser.”

 

“You could have been my servant and lived.” Father threw a wire of fire at the mortal.

“Now you’re just meat for the larder.”

 

Jeff threw himself out of the way of the counterattack. He shot a grenade at his enemy

as he rolled across the rock. His target blew up in the air.

 

“Need to work on your aim, imbecile.” Jeff shot the falling body a few times before

it hit the ground.

 

Jeff smiled. This was his speed. No fancy tricks. No hostages. Nobody getting in the

way. It was just him and the bad guy. And that was the way he liked it.

 

The Chemist and Watcher could come up with a plan to deal with this guy for good.

That was what they were good at doing. He was good at shooting things he didn’t

like.

 

“You can’t hurt me.” Father stood, healing the holes almost immediately.

 

“Sure, I can.” Jeff fired a blast of sound across the rock. It flung his enemy down

again.

 

“Enough.” Father climbed to his feet, floating off the ground. “I am done with you,

mortal. I’m going to kill you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

 

A black gloved fist punched him in the face to his further annoyance.

 

4

The Chemist stood at the edge of the desolate island. Reilly picked a place that fitted

the bill of uninhabited, away from civilization, and devoid of magical energy with his

usual skill.

 

Now it was up to him to close the box on their enemy and get rid of him before he

escaped Pointer and the Replacement. The members of the School seemed to be

holding their own at the moment. He had to use that borrowed time wisely.

 

The first thing he needed to do was block Father from leaving the island under his

own power. That would keep him in place until the rest of the work was done.

 

The Chemist ignored the blasts of power as he took out a small pocket knife. He used

to inscribe his first spell. He carved the syllables as carefully as he could with the

knife, signing it when he was done. The ground glowed at his feet as the spell went

to work.

 

That should help Pointer and the Replacement.

 

Now he had to close the island. That should be easier to do. All he had to do was

draw a line around the edge of the whole island.

 

That part may be easier said than done.

 

The Chemist wrote an anchor for his spell, and linked it to the first one. He drew a

circle around the assemblage. He fashioned a staff from a piece of rock laying around

so he could stick the knife to one end. He set the blade into the ground and pulled it

behind him as he walked.

 

The work went fast with the first spell feeding the second to ease the containment line

drawing. He paused when he reached the battle. Pointer and the Replacement were

holding Father in place with their powers, but they weren’t really hurting him. He

needed to get by the battlefield without being noticed.

 

If Father saw what he was doing, he would just run away and amass more power by

draining innocents. Keeping him on the island was paramount. He needed a

distraction to get by and complete his spell.

 

An explosion ripped a hole through Father, almost splitting him in half.

 

The Chemist ran. He dragged the knife behind him as he sprinted across the

battlefield. He reached the other side and kept going. No blasts of energy struck him

in the back. Pointer’s weapon had covered his action completely.

 

He tried to catch his breath as he worked his way back to his starting point. He

connected the end of his line to the bubble. The line glowed as the spell activated.

 

A dome of light appeared for a second around the island. Father would have to beat

them, and then batter down the spell. Since it ran on stolen power from him, that

might take him a long time.

 

Now the Chemist had to send the demon back to his prison. That would be a little bit

harder to do.

 

At least with a circle in place, he had a designated target area.

 

He carved another long sentence next to the bubble holding the first two spells. He

drew another bubble around that. Then he hooked the bubbles together with a line.

He smiled as the spell began to work to shift them to where Father should be

incarcerated.

 

The sky changed to a sheet of rainbow light. The island floated in a dark space with

similar islands floating around it. One had a throne built out of the stone as it floated

by the island.

 

The shield glowed against the alien atmosphere. The Chemist realized that the energy

from Earth still leaked to the prison for Father. His spell gathered it up to hold the

shield in place. He had inadvertently set things up to use the very energy the godling

had used to help his escape to keep him trapped.

 

How did they escape was the key question now. They were trapped in the bubble with

Father. No way would he allow them to return to Earth while he remained in his cage.

 

So how did he get himself and the two agents from the School out of this mess.

 

The crackle of gunfire and energy burning the air told him that Pointer was still doing

what he did. A lot of villains hated the gunman for his bad attitude and tendency to

shoot first. Now he was buying time for the magician to figure out a solution.

 

What would Silver do? The grouchy old man would shoot a bolt of lightning with

enough juice to power Paris at night into their problem. He didn’t have the base for

that kind of direct assault.

 

He needed something a little more subtle.

 

Maybe he could call for help.

 

He pulled Pointer’s phone from his pocket. He dialed the number for the Tower,

boosting the signal with his magic and hooking it to the energy beam coming in from

the real world.

 

“Talk to me.” Reilly answered on the first ring. “I don’t have a visual.”

 

“I need you to put some music on, Kevin.” The Chemist smiled. He had a chance for

a rescuing them from their predicament. “Maybe something with a trumpet. I need

you to put it through the phone if you don’t mind.”

 

“Hold on.” Reilly started typing on the Bridge keyboard where he sat. “I’ll put on

Coltrane, or Monk.”

 

The Chemist smiled as the music started from the phone’s speaker.

 

He made an adjustment to the phone with his fingertip. The screen glowed as it

hooked up to the bubble around them. He smiled at the portable door. Now he had to

get the three of them out of there before Father figured out what he was doing.

 

The demon definitely couldn’t get the phone. He would be able to get back to Earth

and leave them stranded in his prison.

 

“Replacement!” The Chemist didn’t know how good the man in black’s hearing was,

but they were on a small floating island in a sky of rainbow colors. How loud did he

have to shout?

 

The agent appeared out of the air, his speed resembling teleportation. He looked at

the magician with dead eyes behind the cowl concealing his face.

 

“I need you to get the Pointer so we can go.” The Chemist smiled. “I have a solution.”

 

The Replacement vanished as quickly as he arrived. There was a noise like a steam

whistle, then the sound of an impact. He reappeared with Pointer in hand.

 

“Time for you to go.” The Chemist pointed the phone’s screen at them. The agents

streamed into the phone in ribbons of substance as they flattened out to make the

transition.

 

The music still played, but he heard the arrival at the other end. Reilly and Pointer

exchanged words about their ancestors from what he could tell.

 

A fireball missed him as he moved down the inside of the screen. The energy

dissipated on contact with the shell around the island.

 

“You caused this.” Father held on to his human shape, but things weren’t going well

in that direction from the looks of it. “I want to be free again. It’s time for you to

make that happen.”

 

“I don’t think so.” The Chemist reversed the phone in his hand. “The Earth doesn’t

have a place for you anymore. It’s time for you to settle down and just accept that.”

 

“Why should I?” Father stepped forward with a rising hand with two many fingers.

“I still have a way to escape.”

 

“No.” The Chemist pressed the picture button. He slid into the phone, dropping it to

the rock island’s surface.

 

“Kill the music, Reilly!” The Chemist dropped to the floor of the Tower’s Bridge.

“Hurry!”

 

Reilly reached over and thumbed a button. The music instantly died.

 

“What did you do?” Pointer didn’t bother to help him off his stomach. “Where’s my

phone?”

 

“I sacrificed it for the greater good.” The Chemist smiled. “Unless Father was able

to stop it from coming apart when I triggered my spell, it’s a million bits that can’t be

used ever again.”

 

“Are you sure about that?” Pointer frowned at his colleague. “Are you willing to bet

your life on it?”

 

“It wasn’t a perfect plan, but the alternative was him killing us and keeping the

Replacement busy for the next thousand years.” The Chemist picked himself up. “It

had to be done to save our lives.”

 

“Are you sure he won’t be able to escape?” Pointer’s frown deepened at the thought

of a reprieve, instead of a total victory.

 

“His magic is powering the cage.” The Chemist shrugged. “The life force he had been

using to breach his wall is now also feeding into the cage. If he does escape, it won’t

be any time soon.”

 

“So we won for right now.” The Pointer didn’t smile at that thought. “You owe me

a phone.”

 

The Chemist looked at his face to see if he was joking. He smiled at the knowledge

he wasn’t.

 

“I’ll have one sent to your office.” The magician nodded. “I’ll get Maker to whip one

up for you as soon as things are back to normal.”

 

“Right.” Pointer nodded. “We have to get back to New York. The others might still

be having problems with the crowd.”

 

“We’ll use the Step.” The Chemist led the way to the pad. “Reilly will put us down

in Manhattan in a second.”

 

“All right.” Pointer flexed his hands. “Let’s get this over with as fast as possible.”

 

The three stepped on the pad. Reilly fed in the end point. They became energy waves

beaming to the network of satellites the Magistracy used. They became solid on a

rooftop in Manhattan a few seconds later.

 

“Let’s split up and help with damage control.” Pointer headed for the roof access

door. “Things should be easy with the source back in his cell.”

 

“The people he used should be coming back to themselves.” The Chemist looked out

over the skyline.

 

“That makes it easier for us.” Pointer used his gun on the door and descended into the

building.

 

5

Jeff Ashcroft punched a faceless woman in the head. He waited for her to try to

recover before he glued her to a car on the sidewalk with a quick gesture of his hand.

He looked around as he moved down the street.

 

He didn’t have the ability to free Father’s mooks. His speciality was making sure they

couldn’t hurt anybody while others removed the psychic hooks that had been put in

their brains.

 

The attack had affected most of lower Manhattan from the looks of things. He wished

he had a head count of the population transformed. That would give him a rough

estimate of how many people he had left to subdue.

 

At least he wasn’t on his own. His team, and the Magistracy, were out in force with

the police and fire fighters not caught in the blast. They were rounding up the faceless

people as fast as possible.

 

At least Father was somewhere he couldn’t do anything else like this for a long time.

His cell in the other place should hold him until his power and the worship of his

followers wore off. Then he could try to get back to reality without any might at all.

 

Jeff wasn’t convinced that he couldn’t escape before that happened. The Chemist was

good, but everybody missed something. The magician was sure he hadn’t left any

holes, but Jeff didn’t believe that.

 

Father would get free eventually. He would want a rematch. The personality that he

had displayed demanded it.

 

Jeff was ready for it despite being unable to hurt the thing with his imaginary pistols.

He would have to keep working on that.

 

He wanted to be able to do more than put easily healed holes in his enemy.

 

A group of faceless civilians came at him with clubs and knives in hand. He supposed

he should be happy none of them had a handgun. He smiled as he walked forward to

meet them. Twin guns appeared as he took aim with his fingers. He blasted goop at

them to hold them down for someone else to take them away when the emergency

was over.

 

They might be hanging around for hours before the Saint could come around to

exorcize them.

 

That wasn’t Jeff’s problem. The Watcher had his eyes on the sky directing traffic. He

would be the one directing people to pick up the faceless crowd off the street.

 

The agent kept moving down the street. He had three more blocks to walk before

turning right and heading down another five blocks before he had to make another

right turn.

 

Walking a circuit lured the faceless people out of the buildings. It made them easy

targets for him. If they had stayed inside, he would have to spend time to hunt them

down. Their rage made them sitting ducks, and that was the best type of duck of them

all.

 

He paused at the corner to look both ways. Nothing moved as he looked around.

Where was the rest of his targets?

 

He needed a phone. Maybe he had taken all the ducks in his area. He might need to

move to another hunting ground. The Watcher would know.

 

“Hey, Pointer!” Poster Girl descended from the sky. “They’re going to try to use the

Saint’s mojo to cover this part of the city. It should get rid of any faceless guys we’ve

missed and part of the magic network set up to feed Father.”

 

“That’s good.” Jeff flexed his hands as he kept an eye on the block. “That’ll let us

close this operation down sooner than I thought.”

 

“That’s even better.” Poster Girl started floating upwards. “I’m missing the diner.”

 

“Give me a lift back to the command van.” Jeff held out a hand. “I don’t see anything

moving out here.”

 

“Sure.” She grabbed him under his arms and took to the air. She hummed to herself

as she flew across the city blocks like a rocket. She slowed down to come down to a

gentle landing without too much effort.

 

“Thanks.” Jeff made sure he could walk before he tried to take a step. Falling down

in front of the contingent they had mobilized would be extremely embarrassing.

 

“No problem.” She smiled. “I have to raid the buffet before it shuts down.”

 

“Leave some for the rest of us.” Jeff watched her go with a shake of his head. She

could pack in the food.

 

Jeff looked around until he saw the Watcher standing by the Chemist and the Saint.

A bandaged bum stood in the background watching things.

 

Jeff walked around the trio so he could confront the protector of the universe. He

wanted some answers, and the bandaged man seemed to know everything.

 

“So.” Pointer didn’t know if his imaginary guns would do anything against the

bulkier man, but he was willing to find out. “How long have you known about this

invasion thing?”

 

“A while.” The protector of the universe stood with his hands in his pockets. “The

hope was that Larry Elbe would give up before things went south.”

 

“Didn’t work out for you, did it?” Jeff glared at the glowing eyes that seemed to burn

through the wrappings.

 

“There’s a ton of rules that keeps me from dropping every nut I come across.” The

protector of the universe shrugged. “The powers that be don’t like to execute people

before they actually do something wrong. They’re inflexible on that kind of stuff.”

 

“So you can’t stop a monster invasion before it invades.” Jeff considered that. “That’s

stupid.”

 

“The rules are not meant to be broken.” The protector shrugged again. “It supposedly

causes too many troubles down the line.”

 

“How do you get anything done?” The agent remembered the assault on Kansas. The

protector had played a small part in the resolution of that mess.

 

“Mostly through hard work and some careful application of brute force.” The

bandaged man raised a hand. A spark of light joined with the Chemist’s floating

signs. The Saint raised his hands and began to lecture in Latin. Lines of power flowed

from his feet like rivulets of milk.

 

Jeff covered his face with a forearm to protect his eyes. Beams of white light reached

out like lightning. A phantom wave of screaming reached his ears.

 

“It looks like the job is done, Tex.” The protector of the universe smiled. “It’s time

for me to move on to the next trouble spot.”

 

“Do a better job.” Jeff frowned at the mummy walking away. “I get tired of bailing

you out.”

 

“It’s a good thing it doesn’t matter what you think.” The bandaged man waved as he

walked into an alley at the next corner of the building behind their exorcism setup.

 

Jeff turned his attention back to the glow surrounding everything. There was nothing

he could do against the protector of the universe. He had to get back to doing stuff

against transformed civilians.

 

Shooting innocent minions was one of his specialities.

 

“It looks like things are going to be okay.” Aaron Stark smiled under his helmet. “The

eyes are tracking the wave across the island.”

 

“So we win.” Jeff smiled. “I like that.”

 

“All we have to do is clean up any of the cultists supporting Father, and we’re done.”

Stark kept an eye on his feeds. “We still haven’t found Elbe.”

 

“We will.” Jeff visualized his target wandering loose in the country, cut off from

support. “He’s on his own now. We just have to figure out where he’s going to go

now that he has no way to clear his master from his jail.”

 

“Do you have any idea where that could be?” The Watcher turned his helmeted gaze

on his opposite number.

 

“Something will come to me.” The gunslinger smiled. “Then we can just go pick him

up.”

 

“What did you get out of Buddy?” The Watcher turned his gaze to where he had last

seen the protector of the universe. “Still can’t track him.”

 

“Nothing.” Jeff shook his head. “Larry Elbe is small fry to our friend. Finding him is

up to us.”

 

“All right.” The Watcher nodded. “We’ve been looking for him for months. What’s

a few more days?”

 

“How long do you think cleaning up will take?” Jeff had immobilized more than a

few of the faceless zombies. He doubted they would be able to stand up to the wave

coming down on them.

 

“It depends on how many are left over once the Saint’s healing aura hits them.” The

Watcher gestured vaguely at the white wave spreading out.

 

“We’ll have to sweep the buildings and work out way down to the river.” Jeff didn’t

like that, but it had to be done. The offices could potentially block the exorcism wave.

 

“We’ll get the Pee Dee to coordinate with us.” The other team leader nodded. “They

already have a cordon at the edges of the area.”

 

“At least we know we’re hurting him now.” Jeff nodded. “The Chemist used his own

power against him, and this will turn his feeding off if we disrupt enough of his

network. He might starve to death over there.”

 

“At the very least, it keeps him from coming back since every new follower will keep

him locked up.” The Watcher looked around. “I hate magic.”

 

“You, and me both, brother.” Jeff smiled. “Let me get my guys together. We’ll get

started clearing the buildings. It’s going to be a long night.”

 

Epilogue

He sat on the floor of his prison, examining what little he had left.

 

His one previous defeat had never seemed as total as this one. The humans had

advanced far enough to hurt him it seemed.

 

He thought of the protector and growled. Those champions always stood in his way.

And one of them had helped the humans trap him this time. He knew that. He could

feel the touch in the events that had happened.

 

He should have done something more permanent that dropping his antenna on the

meddler.

 

He should have reduced the protector to scattered pieces across the tree of everything.

That would have stopped his interference. His successor would have been picked too

late to interfere in the subsequent taking of Earth and its surrounding cosmology.

 

Then he could have expanded across sideways realms until he had a foothold

everywhere.

 

What could he do now? He was stuck in a cage that slowly drained his strength. He

couldn’t make a throne from his rock floor. He would be drained and burned away

long before he could successfully escape his cell.

 

He couldn’t reach his disciples to demand their assistance. Any mental probe he used

drained his strength further.

 

He didn’t like being alone for the first time in a millennium. His pawns had always

been there in his mind as he monitored their progress. Now even that was cut from

him.

 

At least he had a puzzle to keep him busy until he expired.

 

The human magician used a device to escape the cage and return to Earth. The device

became ash after the spell was activated. He had caught some of the molecules before

they became inert dust, as well as the spell used before it burned away completely.

 

He examined the spell now that he had nothing better to do. It was a standard

extradimensional door channeled through a device. If he tried to use the spell for

himself now, he might kill himself.

 

The energy used to bend time and space would go into the cage to strengthen it and

disrupt the door enough that he would die from casting the spell, or be cut in half if

the cage disrupted the spell while he was trying to use it.

 

He didn’t know if either was better than being locked away for another millennium

while humans forgot him altogether.

 

He turned his attention to the device. Maybe he could do something with that.

 

He took the memory of what he had seen from his mind and hung it on the air in front

of him. He compared the molecules that he had to what he remembered. He could

perhaps build one of the things, but it would take years.

 

He looked around the empty space he floated in. He didn’t have anything else to think

about at the moment.

 

He fitted the molecules he had into the picture of what he remembered. They were

scattered across the tiny construct. He would have to make more of the molecules to

fit.

 

Where could he get the raw ingredients?

 

He could scrape them from his island. He would have to change them to fit what he

needed, but that would only take a small part of his reserve every time he used it.

 

He made calculations in his head. He could do small transformations against the drain

for a while, but eventually he would run out of power before he could get the device

back together.

 

He needed a way to breach his cage enough to get power to use. He cast about for a

solution to his problem.

 

He spotted his old throne floating in the void. He calculated distances. Maybe he had

enough pull to use that to open a hole in his cage. Did he dare try it?

 

He had nothing to lose. If the plan worked, he would have a way to regain his

strength. If it didn’t, he was free of his cage permanently.

 

He extended his will through the cage wall. Energy drained from him as he called his

throne to him. The piece of rock floated toward his island. He let go of it as the

trajectory carried the stone chair toward the wall. Parts of him vanished under the

strain but he watched as the escape device hit the island. He pulled himself forward

on legs that were becoming stumps as the chair partially penetrated the screen around

the island. He slipped one hand through a crack before he lost awareness.

 

He didn’t know how long he was asleep. Time had no meaning in his oubliette. He

might have been laying there centuries. That didn’t matter. What mattered was the

crack in the screen that his hand was keeping open so that he could get some of the

energy feeding into the screen from the network he had set up to increase his power.

 

He smiled with too many teeth. He had taken the risk and it had worked out to his

advantage. Now he had the next task to do so he could make his escape and punish

those that stood in his way.

 

It had taken him many human lifetimes to manage his first escape attempt. He could

do it again with the help of the magician’s device. It didn’t matter how long it took

to rebuild the thing. It was an exit that led to his enemy’s stronghold. It would give

him the element of surprise and allow him to destroy one of those who were capable

of putting him back in his box.

 

It would be worth all the trouble he was going through to wipe the smug smile off the

magician’s face.

 

He examined the floating memory. He judged that he could assemble the molecules

from his island and put it back together as long as he had a steady infusion of energy

from the human side of things.

 

It would just take a large amount of time as he created the molecule and slid it into

place. The destructive spell had rendered the material to an almost unreadable mess.

Only the perfect recall of his memory allowed him the chance to pursue this option

to bypass the security on his extradimensional prison.

 

Trying to follow the trail of energy that fed him back to its source would cause

various spells to try to annihilate him. And he wasn’t sure he could heal all the

damage that his body would suffer.

 

Bypassing all of that with the magician’s own spell appealed more to him than

tempting possible extinction by magic.

 

He dug some of the rock out of his prison. He concentrated on making molecules and

fitting them into place.

 

He nodded when the transformation worked as smoothly as he thought it would. He

noted the loss of energy he had to fight to overcome. That would wear him down if

he let it.

 

Now that he had a food source he could work on his problem without worrying about

burning out his body. He had time and patience. The problem would be solved no

matter how long it took.

 

He continued to fit similar molecules together until he had a basic shape. He

compared that with his memory. He needed to push the things together and link them

up more than he had. Now that was the beginning of a rectangle.

 

Other elements were needed to be fitted into his puzzle. He worked on their basic

nature until he had matches for what he remembered.

 

That took a little longer than he liked but he fitted in the screen on the top of the box.

Then he started working on the innards which were a little more complicated than he

liked.

 

He had to get everything just right, or the device wouldn’t echo what it did earlier. If

he made one mistake, years would be added on to his sentence as he tried to figure

out the problem.

 

He had the patience, but he didn’t want to waste the energy.

 

He checked what he had. It looked and felt almost the same. All he needed were the

silicon and copper that went inside the thing.

 

He made those piece by piece, checking the setup as he went. He smiled as he

inserted them into the phone and hooked everything together. A small battery went

in last so he could charge the phone up.

 

He copied the magician’s teleport spell on the phone so he could use it to escape. It

looked like he had succeeded in engineering an escape that wasn’t dependent on his

human pawns.

 

How many of them were left alive after all this time? He hadn’t been able to watch

any of them, or their descendants. He hoped they still worshiped him on Earth.

 

He charged the phone up so he could dial out. All he needed was a number he could

reach from his prison. Who could he call to help him escape?

 

How long had making this device taken him in Earth time? Who did he have to call?

 

He decided to dial the number for the magician’s friend. He remembered the number

from when they had clashed. That would put him in the enemy’s watchtower at his

weakest, but with so much time passing, would they remember him?

 

He pushed the virtual buttons on the screen with a fingertip. This should give him a

good chance at killing his primary enemies before they even knew he was coming.

 

UNABLE TO CONNECT ran across the top of the screen.