The Heroes' Guild

Roy finally broke the rock behind the rune circle, but the circle remained intact.

“That can’t be good,” he muttered, glad the sound couldn’t carry clearly through the water.

He turned to the distant mage on the other side of the gorge.

“The circle isn’t part of the rock,” he signed.

Mirsham manipulated the water between them, so words could carry.

“That means we need a hydrokinetic to disrupt the portal.”

“Can’t you disrupt the water?”

“Magek should not mix with this circle,” Mirsham warned. “Get Lyra down here.”

Unlike most of the anthros in Atlantis Pacifica, Lyra was mammalian, rather than fishy like Roy was. She specifically had hair covering her body and certain muscles like a sea otter. She used this skill to lay perfectly on her back above the waves as she used ropes of water to hold a Sea Serpent in place.

“Are you busy?” Roy asked.

“What would make you think I’m busy?” she asked through gritted teeth, thickening the binds in the meantime.

“Mirsham needs your help disrupting the portal.”

“And AtPac needs my help keeping a giant sea monster from wreaking havoc.”

“Well, the portal is what let it in, so if we don’t destroy it quickly, we might have more serpents on our hands.”

Lyra’s gaze moved slightly askance at Roy.

“Why can’t Mirsham disrupt it himself? He can do everything I can do.”

Roy shrugged, a less visible motion while bobbing in the ocean.

“He thinks—”

“Evia, relieve Lyra,” The wonderful voice of the Ember Phoenix called, “Singe, see if you can calm it down. Lotus, start working on the runes.”

The moment the monster was securely held in ice, Roy guided Lyra down to the portal.

The portal remained, even as Lyra disrupted the water enough for Roy to feel it several feet away.

Lyra moved her hands in a similar motion to Mirsham, letting sound travel between the three of them.

“It is as I feared,” Mirsham announced, “This is Dark Magek.”

Roy stared at the portal. He guessed the runes looked darker than most, but he didn’t have much experience with runes.

“The Elementals will understand,” Mirsham answered their confusion, “And they’re our best shot at resolving this.”

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?”

“I’ll secure the area around the portal. Go secure a chat with our allies.”

Lyra took Roy’s hand.

“What are you—”

“They always take Morda’s boat. That’s the best place to talk with them.”

They shot like a rocket, landing in the small boat of Morda Jones, who didn’t acknowledge them from his place at the helm.

“What is she doing?” Lyra asked, pointing at the serpent currently being burned by the Ember Phoenix’s flames.

“Purification,” Wizard Sylvan, apparently the only Elemental still on the boat, answered, “If we don’t remove the infection, it could kill the entire population of Mineria in a week.”

“What are you going to do if you can’t remove the infection?” Roy asked.

“Offer it mercy.”

“You’re just going to leave it to—”

“Killing it is a greater mercy than any attempts at leaving it alive. After that, the infection will dissipate, and we can send it back safely.”

Lyra and Roy took a step back.

“What is it you actually wished to speak about?” the wizard asked.

The flames disappeared, and the serpent smaller and brighter than when Roy last saw it. The Wizard slammed the piece of metal in their hand with a clang, causing the runes on it to glow and the monster to be covered in copper until it suddenly disappeared. The copper moved to the Wizard’s gauntlet, which the metal disc receded into.

“Go on.”

Roy gulped. He hadn’t watched the Elementals handle a creature before, just trusted Mirsham when he said they could handle it. The sudden calm as the others joined the boat was overwhelming.

“Mirsham says you’ll understand when we say Dark Magek is involved,” Lyra said.

The Elementals shared glances.

“Because you knew that already,” she concluded.

“Yeah,” The Ember Phoenix admitted, “There’s been a rapid influx of creatures, all of them infected with Dark Magek.”

“The portals stick around too,” The Black Dragon added, “Not that any of them have been used a second time.”

“I’ve wondered,” Mirsham said, appearing from a puddle in the middle of the deck.

“We’re close to capacity,” Morda warned.

“I know of at least one Master doing similar vigilante work to yourselves,” Mirsham noted, “Though if the increase is as stark as you make it out to be, then it might be beyond her territory.”

The wizard sighed.

“We share a mutual acquaintance,” The Snow Siren said with the wizard translating her signs.

“Our efforts are extrajudicial,” the Black Dragon said, “Contacting a Master risks a forced end to all of it.”

“But this is beyond us already,” the Ember Phoenix acknowledged, “And it would be better to have them resolve this then let it fester anymore, even if it means the Elementals retire.”

“You have the Pacifica Guard’s gratitude,” Mirsham confirmed, “And any cooperation you may ask of us.”

Roy and Lyra awkwardly bowed.

“Thanks,” the Ember Phoenix said, “We’ll get on that.”

Mirsham led the other two off the boat. Lyra immediately connected the three of them again.

“A Master?” she asked, “What mage thing is that again?”

“Warriors trained to subdue other mages and cursed beings like the one that made our portal.”

“And what vigilante are they asking for help?” Roy asked.

“Our hope now lies in Tetra, the Shadow Master.”

Evil the Water Master was concerned.

Chimeras were rare. Rarer still were Chimeras that walked the abandoned thoroughfare of old Scone.

There wasn’t a body of water, but the air offered enough humidity to form chains around the creature.

The chains quickly thinned on contact, and the spots on what he’d assumed to be a leopard hind grew, appearing even on the snake-headed tail.

“A creature infected by Dark Magek,” he breathed, “The reports are true.”

Ordinary procedure was to build an anti-magek circle, then fight with whatever armaments available. The problem was he had no armaments that wouldn’t lead to him being killed by the creature, leaving it unsubdued with a corpse to snack on.

Not to mention he didn’t know if that would work when the host wasn’t a mage to begin with. Anti-Magek didn’t work on Dragons.

Before he had a chance to swear, a figure appeared in a dark green cloak, tossing a card from somewhere within.

“Scuro!”

From the card emerged a woman made of shadow. Evil took a step back. He’d met, even trained, shadow mages before, but none that seemed so infected by their power.

“Here, Kitty,” a voice said to the other side, revealing a woman in harlequin patterned dress with seemingly all-white skin aside from the symbol of clubs dotting her arms and legs.

She landed, then threw something bright enough to catch the Chimera’s attention as she walked backward.

“Scuro,” the cloaked man said, “Can you handle this?”

The woman of shadow bowed to him, then extended her hands as she stood up.

The Dark Magek absorbed into her extended arms, leaving a still spotted, but less aggressive chimera. It soon fell into deep slumber as the shadow woman collapsed and disappeared.

“This isn’t a spirit,” the harlequin said, “Not even a summons.”

“Any idea what we’re supposed to do with it?”

Evil finally came to his senses.

“I believe that’s my jurisdiction.”

His rescuers froze, staring at him in surprised panic.

“We interfered in something unconnected to a spirit,” the cloaked man noted.

“So the unseen isn’t around to guard us,” harlequin replied, “I understand.”

“Thank you, sir” the cloaked man said, “We’ll leave you to it.”

The harlequin threw something in front of them as they ran off, disappearing.

“Strange duo,” Evil said to the sleeping chimera, “Let’s get you home.”

Victoria nursed her drink in the corner, watching her companion.

As the youngest Abnormal, Jet seemed innocent compared to the others, but here he was with shadier contacts than any other member could offer.

Such a large series of animals infected with Dark Magek had to mean the Dark Mage bringing them had some history in that area. The only reason Victoria could think for someone to have that experience was smuggling, or saving animals from smuggling. Either way, Jet’s contacts should know if someone from either of those circles disappeared or wildly changed behavior.

She was interrupted in her watch by a phone call.

“Hello,” she said in a quiet tone, hoping no one else at the establishment was listening.

“So how much of a problem do you have with the Elementals, in your dutiful capacity?” Mandie asked.

“They are incredibly capable at the task they set for themselves, and reduce the labor-load on our end,” she admitted.

“But…”

“But they are a diplomatic incident waiting to happen, so we would prefer if they kept their heads down.”

“But like, you wouldn’t kill them?”

“As long as they don’t exert their power over weaker beings, I will not kill them.”

Victoria was getting an idea of why Mandie started with this line of questioning.

“I am already investigating the Dark Magek infection plaguing most animals coming from Magek,” she said before Mandie could ask anything, “If they have any insight, I would appreciate it.”

“Yeah, they gave a meeting location. I’ll have Catherine send it to you, since she cares so much about secrecy.”

“I’ll take her along,” Victoria said, “I was planning to ask for her perspective on this anyways.”

“Perfect, let me know if you need extra backup.”

Mandie hung up before Victoria could determine whether or not she wanted extra help.

Jet joined her booth before she had a chance to think further on it.

“I got a name,” he said.

“I got a meeting with the Elementals.”

“Need extra backup?” he asked.

“Mandie already offered.”

“Wouldn’t make sense for an article anyways.”

“The name?” Victoria pressed.

“Everett Leone: specialized in extra-exotic pets, got busted by the Elementals about a year ago, then signs of a struggle were found at his place a few months later.

“Get this though: He’d lost all his creatures already. Wizard Sylvan had transported them back. He lived alone and didn’t have a pet. Rumor on the street with the claw marks and everything is either that he tried to summon another animal without proper precautions, or Black Dragon killed him.”

Victoria shook her head.

“Though he’s killed before, it was a duel that held other lives in the balance. No matter how draconic he may seem, he’s not bloodthirsty. Even if he aligns entirely with their nature, dragons aren’t particularly bloodthirsty creatures.”

“You’ll find out when you meet with him, presumably.”

Victoria got a text message from an unknown number, offering a location in longitude and latitude.

“I have a meeting.”

“What about the show?” Jet asked.

“Ignotus has it well in hand,” Victoria assured, “I discussed the broad-strokes with him, and he understands why I can’t assist.”

“Are you going to make it?”

“That remains to be seen,” she said, preparing a teleportation spell, “I’ll keep the two of you apprised.”

Detective Ali Chase finished up her paperwork, locking it in her desk drawer. She’d hand it to the necessary departments directly tomorrow.

“Burning the midnight oil?” Chief Miran asked.

“Pretty much,” she said, “I don’t like waiting to fill out paperwork.”

“Great,” the chief said, “How do you feel about a new assignment? The official offer will be in a few days, but you can at least think about it for now.”

“What would that be?” Ali asked.

“The people in charge think your background would leave you uniquely qualified for the role.”

With Ali’s history that had to mean more interaction with superhumans than she already had. If she was at least still helping people, then she’d probably say yes.

“What’s the job?”

“Hero Watch,” the chief said, “We’re seeing more and more of these vigilantes everywhere: Just the other day in Australia, three girls in a punk band took down a monster.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” These were threats the government couldn’t handle with anywhere near as much tact as a small contingent of superhumans. For public safety, it would be wise for the department to support them, “Besides, Australia is well outside our jurisdiction.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” The Director insisted, “But it needs regulation.”

Regulation was code for red tape, probably causing more damage in the process as these heroes were turned from good samaritans to last resorts.

Better to have at least one person involved trying to keep it to a minimum rather than someone who considered a lack of regulation to be the cause of all superhumans’ problems.

Someday Ali was just going to quit.

“How do you propose that?” she asked.

“That’s the higher ups’ job, higher up than me at least. You’ll probably be able to bring in anyone from your old team you want, but don’t be surprised when some of them say no.”

A subtle way of acknowledging there was no way in hell Kinter would agree to work with superheroes. He could barely stand the idea of talking to superhumans under a level-5 power rating. Ali still had no idea why he was recruited.

“Sounds great.”