Letter forwarded from St. Rita’s to the Fox Foundation

  They say that this is the best way to reach you. Gem Blade said you were just out of costume. Thank you for helping me.

  I had a very bad day.

  But when I look back on that day, I remember someone speaking up for me. And, it makes me feel like maybe I’m not so alone. Also, I know this wasn’t you so much as Gem Blade, but I remember flying.

  Sometimes, I close my eyes, and I’m flying again, above the city. I hope one day you can convince her to take you up there too. She spoke very highly of you, so I’m sure it won't take much convincing.

  The online classes are going well. I was never that good of a student, and I hate getting up in the morning, so these classes have been much more to my preference anyway.

  I’ve also switched my major to social work. Maybe I can help others in a similar way to those at the shelter here who have helped me. Maybe I can be some small version of the hero you are to me.

  Gratefully,

  Sherry

  Red Fox Action Log 53 cont:

  Other than some concern from the FAA about Bronze Boy flying so near us without the proper radio telemetry — Draden the helicopter pilot reminded them of the Superhero Safety Norms act — the flight out to Boston was uneventful. There are only so many times that you can check and recheck your kit.

  Then we saw it, the Boston Technology Tower. Only ten or so floors tall, it hardly rose very high. The shudders of red lightning that arced around the tower was cause for concern though.

  Sleuth checked the straps on his chute, a precaution were the worst to happen. Draden couldn’t take us down on the helicopter pad. We’d all have to jump.

  Gem Blade grabbed Sleuth and deposited him on the roof swiftly. Then she took my hand, and we waved Draden off, who banked the helicopter, swerving to safer skies.

  “It’s arcane runoff from a hell portal,” Bronze Boy said over comms.

  “How many hostiles do you think we’re working with?” I asked.

  I’m sure it wasn’t trivial for her, but she sent a dozen arcane eyes shivering around and through the building in a blur.

  “At least a hundred and growing,” she said.

  “Any survivors?” I asked.

  “Some. Security is dug in near the portal and someone is trying to close it. I don’t think we have much time.”

  “Gunnar,” I said over comms, “get us Emergency services for the wounded ASAP.”

  “I’m working on it but someone at BITS is trying to strangle the call. I think they are worried about proprietary information leaks.”

  “That’s stupid! Find a work around.”

  “On it!”

  The building began to lurch to the side.

  “That’s not good,” I yelled.

  Bronze Boy began throwing spectral chains, anchoring them to the building, and flying back as hard as she could. The things a real Superhero could do sent a thrill through my heart.

  She was holding the building up.

  “How long can you hold it?” I asked her over comms.

  “Not very long! Maybe 2 minutes? The building is tearing itself apart.”

  Lets grab Sleuth, then drop us near the parking garage, I told Cynthia.

  Got it.

  She flew fast, and grabbed Sleuth from the roof. Once on solid ground, Sleuth pulled his gun.

  “We’re getting to that portal. I’ll try to see if we can’t shut it down. You sweep the upper floors for survivors, then help BB.”

  “All in a day’s work, eh?” she asked with a wink.

  “Only if we finish this,” I said.

  Sleuth and I ran. I punched the door to the stairs off its hinges. Behind it was a green skinned demon, reeling from the door colliding with its face. A flurry of laser blasts knocked him back. I leapt and kicked him with enough force to dissemble the magic holding him and he splattered into ichor against the wall.

  I took the stairs two at a time.

  “What happens when this thing goes down with us under it?” Sleuth asked.

  “We just have to trust they can keep it up,” I answered. “Plus, we’ve got over 800 effective power between the team. Had to give us a real test of it at some point.”

  “Good point,” he said. “But the majority of that 800 sure isn’t with us right now.”

  “We need them up there,” I said with a laugh. “Unless you want to go hold the building up?”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Not right now, no.”

  Made it to the bottom floor. Kicked the door open. I will not apologize for smiling while I did it. Super strength kicks ass.

  And there were the next set of demons. One on the ceiling, and one running right for us. Both purple. Huh.

  “You go low!” I said, indicating to Sleuth that he should shoot the guy on the ceiling. I came in with a wild haymaker from my good arm. The critter ducked and raked its claws across the gem field. Nothing. Awesome! I kicked it in the chest, and it collided with the one falling from the ceiling.

  Two more kicks, and they too were goo.

  “Top floors clear,” Gem Blade said over comms. “Had to tangle with two dozen demons, but they’re weak ones. Found two civvies hiding. They’re on the roof.”

  “I have Draden coming in for a pickup,” Gunnar said. “And I got emergency services on the way. Get me into their systems, and I think I can get that portal closed.”

  “On it,” I said.

  At the end of the hall were closed ballistic doors. Behind the clear laminate, was the hell portal. Couldn’t see much into it but swirling darkness, and red lightning. Looked like three guys with Assault Rifles aimed at it, held their ground.

  A bright arc of red electricity seared through the closed doors, and deposited a demon right in front of us.

  It had somehow traveled through the lightning. The Fox Instinct drew taut.

  Its skin was red, and its eyes burned like coals. Large iron spikes impaled its arms at regular intervals. Electricity arced from the spikes. It laughed.

  “You must think you’re special,” I said.

  “I will feast on your flesh!” it roared.

  Sleuth opened up, pelting it with green bolts of energy. I ran forward. It blocked my first kick — quick little bugger. I paced back right out of range of its counter swipe.

  “I’m not reading a ping,” Gunnar said. “I can’t close this thing till you get me inside.”

  “Just a second!” I said, ducking a swipe of its claws. They gouged troughs into the floor and walls. I was less confident that the Gemfield could stop that. Something about the metal in its arms seemed to make it stronger.

  Sleuth cranked the dial on his gun and the next shot knocked the demon staggering back. That should have blown a hole in a brick wall.

  This thing was tough.

  I saw my opening. I leapt off the wall and kicked at the metal spike in its forearm. Direct hit! It knocked the electricity running up its arm out of alignment, sending a chord of lightning into his skin.

  He shook his arm as if it hurt. I ducked his next swipe, and kicked another spike. The lightning arced into his neck, and suddenly the whole array over his body went haywire.

  I turned around and pulled Sleuth into a hug, then focused my intention to keep him safe. My body turned translucent.

  The wave of energy from the demon’s explosion bent around me and Sleuth. I turned back and saw smoking ichor.

  Good. I punched through the ballistic doors, easily.

  The men with guns turned to me.

  “I’m here to help,” I said.

  “We have it under control,” the one with the shiny epaulets said, raising his rifle. Must be the guy in charge.

  “We’ve evacuated the building,” I said, “but for you.” I looked at the two scientists in lab coats sweating over the console. “What do you guys think?”

  “We uh,” the man said, “we can’t close it from here without shutting it down forever. All our research —”

  “That’s enough!” the man with the epaulets said, lowering his rifle just a bit. “They don’t have clearance.”

  “Sleuth?” I asked, hoping he’d talk some sense into them.

  Sleuth dropped to a knee, and opened fire on the leader. I leapt into the air and kicked the second guy’s gun, which shattered, and sent him into the wall. Sleuth hit the third guy before he even knew what had happened.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked, moving to the computers and shoving the USB I had to establish a connection for Gunnar into the computer.

  “We don’t have time,” he said. Then turned to the guy with the lab coat. “You interested in being buried by a thousand tonnes of rubble?”

  “Not really,” he said.

  “Then help us close this,” Sleuth barked.

  “I’m in!” Gunnar said.

  While they worked on that, I studied the portal. What had they been doing? Where did it lead? Hell, I guess. But why did demons have an interest here? Why was BITS interested in hell?

  This all made my head spin. The guards were beginning to stir.

  “How long do we have?” I asked over comms.

  “I. Cant. Do. This. For. MUCH. LONGERRR.” Bronze Boy seethed through strained teeth.

  “20 seconds!” yelled Gem Blade.

  “Gunnar?” I asked.

  “I think we got it!” the scientist said.

  The portal collapsed, and was gone in an instant.

  A terrible crashing sound issued from the hall behind me. Gem Blade, and a wave of debris flew down the hall.

  Now, I’d heard Carla Quick talk about this once. Along with her superspeed, she had tiers of perception she called Gears. Basically, when she was moving very fast, she could alter her perception to be able to perceive the world around her better. When she went very fast, the world became very slow. Sometimes. When she needed to.

  Something like that happened now. I could see Gem Blade, her beautiful blue blade shining and sparking, as she shoved it back down in the gem in her chest. And I could see the wave of smoke, and tumbling debris traveling behind her in her wake.

  My Gemfield shone. I reached out my hand to her. I reached back with my prosthetic, grabbing Sleuth. Somehow, Sleuth was able to grab the scientist. I looked past them both, at the woman, the other scientist. Her hair was up in a greasy blonde bun, and her blue eyes were wide.

  I wouldn’t be able to get her in time.

  Then I clicked back into my normal gear, and she was flying us at great speed. The world was a blur. Then we were dangling up in the air, a hundred feet.

  We’d made a chain. I’d extended my field down my arm, over Sleuth, and over the male scientist. We flew in formation.

  The building began to buckle in the middle. Bronze Boy screamed, and let go of her spectral chains. She flew up. The building fell.

  And that was it.

  We rose higher and higher above the debris cloud, then flew off. It was peaceful so high up over the city, and unlike the helicopter, almost entirely silent but for the wind in our ears. The sun shone orange against the smoke in the sky. The buildings shimmered gold.

  Landing on the top of the hospital, the scientist bent over, and threw up. I led him safely past the chopper, into the hospital building. He sat on a bench.

  Bronze Boy gave us the casualty report over comms.

  I spied his name on the lanyard: Holden Fairchild, Project Lead -- Duat. Huh. The Egyptian underworld. Interesting. What did they think they were doing there?

  “Holden,” I said. “How many were at the building today?”

  He cried incoherently into his hands. I knelt.

  “Holden, we did what we could,” I said. “It was very brave of you to help us close the portal. Most people would have frozen. How many showed up to work today?”

  “Um,” he said, snot dripping from his nose. “I think it was just the eleven of us today.”

  “We were able to bring five people with us to the hospital. Six, including you. They weren’t badly injured. Just some cuts, a couple deep lacerations, but nothing some stitches can’t fix. They’re going to need your help. You’re their leader. They look up to you.”

  “No, they hated me,” he said.

  “Eleven of them showed up to work on the weekend because of your leadership. They trust you. And they will need to see your bravery. You can be brave right?”

  “I can,” he said.

  “I have work to do,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  I walked to the roof, took Gem Blade’s hand, and we flew back to the BITS tower. What was left of it. We had five bodies to find.