Abnormals

Alyssa was loitering. She’d expected superheroics to involve a lot less sitting with books, especially ones in an alphabet she didn’t recognize.

Tetra—Victoria—was searching for something, and Alyssa had no clue what.

“Do you need anything?” she asked, “I brought donuts.”

From her and Berserker’s favorite shop. She wanted to feel useful, and food was a good place to start.

“I need a weapon, a target, and a goddamn answer!” Victoria yelled

“Loud,” Alyssa said. Victoria glared at her.

“Rex told Catherine to stop researching, which is good for her and her child, but it leaves me as the only person with a clue.”

“Don’t sell Birdie short, Foursie,” Alyssa said, “Not to mention the kid’s a reporter.”

“Can you refer to anyone by their actual name?” Victoria asked.

Alyssa shook her head.

“Real names come and go. Nicknames are forever.”

Victoria’s expression turned to one of vast confusion.

“So what are you actually working on?” Alyssa took a seat at the table, setting her box of donuts down and handing Victoria a maple log.

Victoria sighed and closed her book.

“Every recording we have on this man, but they’re all too sparse to tell me anything. He takes power, he’s seen for a flash of a second, then he’s gone for another several decades.”

“Then maybe the Magek sources aren’t what you need,” Alyssa said.

“What sources should I use then?” Victoria asked, “It’s not like Catherine found any data on him beyond what she knew of him personally.”

“I don’t mean intelligence agencies and rich people.” Alyssa looked around for a computer, “You don’t use the internet, do you?”

“Of course not,” Victoria said, “I’m a mage.”

“Good for you. I’ll be back with a laptop. Ask G-nik for the Wi-fi password or an ethernet cable.”

Several conspiracy websites later, Alyssa had a list of potential identities, photos, and a record of someone with his abilities escaping the British government a few decades ago.

“I think he wanted to lure you out,” Alyssa said.

“And why is that?” Victoria 2 asked. The first one was still reading books.

“Because every record seems to indicate he’s not this sloppy. Either The Coven told him to do something he didn’t want to do, or he wanted your attention.”

“But what is he going to do with it?”

“Suck every bit of power you have left?” Alyssa offered, “It’s weird that he’s murdered my friend, cursed Sparky’s son, and left you untouched.”

“He offered a reward for bringing me to him the night we discovered his presence.”

“That’s just what I think,” Alyssa said, “Maybe he’s got a death wish, since you have one of the few weapons that can kill him.”

Victoria seemed to ponder for a minute.

“Maybe he’s just fucking with you,” Alyssa added.

“Well, we can fuck right back with him then,” Victoria said, “Get him where we want him.”

“How?” Alyssa asked.

She watched the flames rise up. The air felt greasy from all the oil involved, as every person had been given Victoria’s Dark Magek luring potion. It would also hopefully reduce his power, and definitely reduce Victoria’s, but they weren’t discussing that.

The room turned black, then lit up bright. Then the shadows came up again.

As the figure of a man began to appear, Tesla Coil swung one of her arms, activating the anti-teleportation measures. None of them were leaving the building any time soon.

Dark Magek’s eyes were turned to Tesla Coil, rather than anyone else.

“Consider my offer revoked, Dr. Piec.”

Nightingale jumped up, smacking him with her staff to bring him to the ground.

“Don’t you dare speak to her.”

A plume of smoke tossed her several feet away. He stood up, sword in hand.

“Who else wants to make their feelings known.”

“Loosening it,” Alyssa muttered to Tetra. Dark Magek was waiting for them to attack, which felt a little too easy.

Alyssa ran forward, ducking under Xer’s plume of flame, which Dark Magek swiftly redirected.

She clenched her fist, feeling the change in her body as new powers set in. She pointed her fist in Dark Magek’s face, the energy from the reaction knocking him down.

“That’s for Berserker, asshole!”

She almost kicked him before he disappeared in smoke.

“I thought he wouldn’t be able to teleport!” she yelled at Tesla Coil

Alyssa felt what should have sliced her arm, but just bounced off. By the time she turned around, he was gone.

Blaster got knocked down, as he held his hands out like there was a forcefield.

Tesla Coil sent her discs after Dark Magek, not managing a single hit, but luckily no one else got hurt.

“One guy can’t be this hard to hit.”

Alyssa kicked as she saw the beginning of his teleportation, definitely hitting something, but he quickly disappeared again.

“Fuck!”

“You’re losing your shields, Shadow Master,” he taunted.

Tetra multiplied.

“Wait!” Xer yelled before being knocked into a wall.

Nightingale popped back up for a moment, before being forced back down.

This wasn’t a challenge for him. They were a game, and an easy one.

One of the Tetras turned with her sword toward the Dark Magek shadow, only for Tetra and sword to disappear.

“One.”

Alyssa didn’t see what happened to “Two”

“Three” was in front of her. The way the body froze like a corpse told Alyssa he was hitting her harder than the rest of them.

“If I make the final blow,” he asked the fourth one, “Will you just multiply again, or will I add another Master to my victories?”

He pulled Tetra’s helmet off and paused.

Everyone ran to attack. Tetra swung her sword, but he just pushed her back, and teleported to a further back part of the warehouse.

“Your work is impressive, Dr. Piec,” he said, “Let me out before I hurt your friends.”

Alyssa, Nightingale, and Xer ran over to Tetra, as Tesla Coil and Blaster charged toward Dark Magek.

Tetra looked weak. She was far from dead, but she definitely wasn’t going to kill anyone any time soon.

Xer grabbed the sword, only to sharply inhale and drop it.

“It’s picky,” Tetra warned, failing to push herself up.

Nightingale lightly brushed it and pulled away.

Alyssa looked at the sword.

Berserker sometimes talked about other lives, and how he taught her to swordfight, even though he never did.

“A sword killed you, a sword will avenge you.”

“What?” the others asked.

The sword burned like something terrible. She understood why the others pulled away. Tesla Coil’s son was disabled, but he was alive. They didn’t want him to be without someone. Alyssa just had the Dayburys, and they could move on.

“Hate me all you want,” she told the weapon, “But we’re going to kill this asshole.”

Tesla Coil and Blaster were down again. She could tell Xer was shooting fire again, but she wasn’t paying attention to anyone but her target. She wasn’t paying attention to the way her hands had moved from burning, to freezing, to just pure pain.

He blocked her first blow, but her sword removed his from existence. She went for the heart next, but he pulled away. He tried to push her with smoke again, but the sword sliced through it as she held it in front of her.

She sliced his arm.

“That’s for the kid.”

Other arm. The fact he seemed to bleed like a real person almost gave her pause.

“That’s for Foursie. And this is for Berserker.”

Just before she stabbed him in the heart, his expression turned surprised, and he disappeared.

Alyssa dropped the sword, as it became clear that he was no longer in the building.

“Did you let him out?” Xer asked. Tesla Coil shook her head.

Tetra picked herself up surprisingly fast.

“I would feel if I was losing energy like I was before.”

“Something grabbed him,” Alyssa said.

“So we didn’t get the bad guy?” Blaster asked.

“I think we spooked him at least,” Alyssa consoled.

“This isn’t over,” everyone else said.

I found myself on Alyssa’s couch. Something was different, aside from the fact I’d just been stabbed. I checked my chest about that actually, but it was clean, not even a scar to prove it.

I closed my eyes for more of a nap, so of course that was when Alyssa opened the door and screamed. I heard the thunk of groceries on the floor.

“Are you real?” She asked, leaning over the couch and poking my face. I tried to lick her bandaged hand. She quickly pulled it away.

“Yep, definitely you.”

“What’s up?” I asked. Clearly something had happened.

“I’ve been invited as your replacement for the team.”

“What team?”

“The Abnormals,” she put her hands up to wash herself of the association, “It’s some kind of in-joke with Elemaster and Tesla Coil. Don’t ask me.”

She poked me in the face again.

“But now that you’re back, I can be a civilian again, like I was planning to be.”

I sat up, making eye contact.

“But you were great.”

“You weren’t there.”

“But you were, so I know you were great.”

She flicked me in the arm.

“Help me put away the groceries, I’ll tell you everything.”

I stood up and joined her on the floor, but instead of her purchases, I grabbed her, holding her in the tightest hug I could manage.

“Are you done?” she asked after a minute.

“I could hold you forever.”

“After groceries though, okay?”

I let go, grabbing groceries so we could get them done quickly.

“You know what else you can do?” Alyssa asked as I was about to reward our completion with more physical contact.

“What?”

“I have the address for their big announcement of the team. They told me to show up if I wanted to join. You should show up and freak them out.”

I kissed Alyssa on the forehead, feeling exactly what I needed for my new mission.

“Snuggles when I get back?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes.

“Sure.”

“As a Master,” Tetra told the crowd I’d joined, “It has been my duty to protect this part of earth against the threat mages can represent. While my duty alone, it is a task I have often borne assistance with, primarily from Xer. It is impossible to stop all such threats, Mages, Empowereds, and even Humans, especially alone.”

Tetra finally looked back at the four behind her.

“The five of us have occasionally helped each other as we take the burden of helping the world, an informal agreement in the interest of keeping people safe, but that alone is not enough. Berserker often helped us as well—”

“Still do!” I yelled, turning the crowd and the heroes on me. There was a moment of awkward silence that made me grin.

“He suffered grave injury last time we worked together, because we were still on our own, even among allies.”

I nodded along, impressed by the improvisation.

“Much like the Elementals, we are better off together than apart. That is why we have begun training together, becoming more than allies. We are the Abnormals. If you fight one of us, you may well fight all of us, and we are unafraid of the challenges.”

The crowd burst into questions.

Why the name? Personal Reasons.

Will there be more press conferences? If necessary.

What does this have to do with Electron? Long rambling answer about legacy from Tesla Coil.

Who’s Xer? A raised hand was all the answer we got.

Is Berserker a member of the team?

“Yes,” I announced to that one.

“No further questions,” Nightingale said, pulling everyone away. I followed.

The moment I joined, Nightingale punched me in the face.

“Oww.”

“Is it him?” Blaster asked.

“How am I supposed to know? His face just feels like a face.”

Tetra held her sword to my throat.

“This looks like his sword,” I noted.

Tetra’s expression turned harder.

“Blaster saw you die,” Tetra said, “Stabbed through the heart.”

“We lost the body,” Nightingale said.

“Because I went and healed up.”

“Without telling Alyssa?” everyone asked.

“Who do you think sent me here?”

They all gave me angry looks.

“Here,” Tesla Coil said, carefully pushing down the sword. She put a hand to my face, “May I shock you.”

“What?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“My gloves are laced with power suppressant. Most shapeshifters will be exposed if I shock them, and you’ll probably go to zero power for a few minutes, but we can be sure it’s you.”

“Or Nightingale could check,” Xer said.

“Berserker gives me a headache. I don’t read his mind enough to be sure of his identity.”

“But if he gives you a headache…”

“He’s not the only one.”

“Shock me,” I said, shrugging. I’d be fine.

The shock was bad enough to knock me to the ground.

“Call Alyssa,” Coil said.

“What?”

“Any psychic manipulation would have disappeared, and Alyssa wouldn’t be fooled by just any imitator. Once we confirm your identity, you can join the club if you want.”

I looked at the crowd before me. Five swords. I was the sixth, but what was the seventh?

“Nah,” I said, “Feel free to call me though.”

“What?” Nightingale asked, “At the press conference—”

“People lie at press conferences, like how Tetra said you guys were training.”

“We have been,” Xer confirmed.

“Convincing,” I said, “See you later!”