Tag Team

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

Right now, Bait was cursing more than he had ever cursed in his life.

Oh, he wasn’t cursing aloud. No, cursing aloud wouldn’t help. It would just make everyone more anxious and possibly distract Arachnid from coming up with a plan to save them. Besides, Bait didn’t like cursing all that much. It reminded him too much of Mom, who was always very liberal with her usage of swear words, and if there was one person whose life he did not want to emulate, it would be Mom’s.

But he was cursing inside. He was cursing Switch for disobeying Arachnid and getting them in this situation in the first place. He was cursing the girl for walking into the middle of a heated battle between Arachnid and the Neo-Visionists in the first place. And, of course, he was cursing the Neo-Visionists themselves, who had turned what Bait had hoped would be an interesting, educational, and informative field trip into a hostage situation. Maybe they hadn’t killed anyone yet, but Bait knew that, whenever terrorists were involved, someone was bound to die, usually in a very gruesome way.

The heat from the flames around them was intense. Though Bait, Switch, and the girl had retreated into the very center of the ring, that wasn’t much help, because the flames were so hot that Bait figured even Arachnid had to be feeling it from where he stood. Neither of the two hooded Neo-Visionists showed much of a reaction, although given how warm those cloaks looked, they also had to be sweating like crazy.

Bait wiped a line of sweat off his forehead, watching the fiery Neo-Visionist and Arachnid, hoping that Arachnid had some kind of plan to rescue them figured out already. Bait’s own super strength was useless against fire and, while Switch’s nail bullets might be able to pierce the flames, they wouldn’t be of much use against a man who was literally made of fire. Besides, Switch was the one who had put them into this situation in the first place, so Bait didn’t trust her to get them out of it.

Unfortunately, Arachnid merely looked at the fiery Neo-Visionist in confusion. “Wait, what? Did you say you wanted to destroy the Museum?”

The fiery Neo-Visionist nodded once. “Indeed. This is the reason we’re here in the first place. We have come to burn this building and all of its contents to the ground, as well as anyone stupid enough to be inside it when we do it. Hence why I, Burning Skull, was sent, because my powers are perfect for this job.”

“Why do you want to destroy the Museum?” said Arachnid. “What’s so bad about it?”

Burning Skull made a fist with his other hand. “Of course you can’t see, for your privilege prevents you from seeing how oppressive this place is. This Museum is one of many institutions and buildings which promote the oppressive teaching that superpowers are genetic in origin, rather than the social constructs they really are. By burning down this Museum, it will mark the beginning of a new era, the era of the Neo-Visionists, led by our great leader, the Neo-Visionary!”

“Oh,” said Arachnid, now sounding bored. “So you’re just as crazy as the old Visionists.”

“All visionaries are called crazy by their contemporaries when they first speak up against the oppressive power structures that oppress the powerless,” Burning Skull said. “The old Visionists may have failed, but they paved the way for the Neo-Visionists to succeed. And this time, not even the Neohero Alliance will be able to stop us.”

“Wait, did he say that superpowers are just social constructs, not genetic?” said Switch. She wiped sweat off her face. “Please tell me I misheard him because of the flames or whatever.”

“No, you heard him right,” Bait said. “The original Visionists believed the same thing. It’s pretty insane.”

Suddenly, the flames grew taller and hotter, and the Burning Skull snapped, “Silence! Or be silenced!”

Bait shut his mouth, but Switch—true to form—blurted out, “Hey, if you guys believe the same things as the old Visionists, what’s with the whole ‘Neo’ thing? Just because it sounds cooler or something?”

Burning Skull chuckled. “Whereas the old Visionists believed in subverting major superhuman institutions, we believe in destroying them, as well as anyone who supports them. We’ll even kill children who oppose us, because oppression starts young and can never be cured after a certain age.”

“If you kill my students, I’ll kill you,” said Arachnid. His voice was scarier and more threatening than Bait had ever heard it before, as if he was just waiting for an excuse to carry out his threat.

Burning Skull chuckled again. “Oh, please. Your webs can’t even touch me. You’ve been very good at dodging my flames and distracting me, but now that I have some of your brainwashed students in my grasp, you can’t waste more of my time jumping around and trying to wait for the calvary to arrive. You must either acquiesce to my demands or watch as three of your students burn to death in front of your eyes.”

“Actually, I’m not a student,” the girl muttered. “I’m just a scared blind girl who got caught up in something straight out of a comic book.”

Burning Skull ignored her. He simply stared at Arachnid, a constant chuckling coming from his throat, or where his throat would be if he wasn’t made out of fire. Arachnid glared at Burning Skull, but he didn’t move or say anything. He seemed to be trying to find a way out of this situation, a way to save Bait, Switch, and the girl, but given his silence and stillness, it was obvious that he was having a hard time of it.

And we don’t have much time left, Bait thought. Even if Burning Skull doesn’t kill us, we might die of heatstroke or maybe inhale the smoke into our lungs or whatever. Times like this I wished I had Tsunami’s powers. At least then I would be able to put out the fire.

“Well?” said Burning Skull. “What is your choice? Are you going to do as I say or are you going to watch as your students die of an easily preventable death?”

The flames grew higher and hotter once again. Sweat now broke out all over Bait’s body, making his school uniform cling to his body. Switch and the girl were also sweating like crazy. The girl looked close to fainting, though since she was blind, it was hard to tell for sure. Even so, Bait figured they probably didn’t have much time before one or all of them fell unconscious.

And if that happens, then we’ll definitely die, Bait thought. Man, what a terrible way to go. We beat Tsunami, only to get killed by some guy who believes that you can get superpowers if you just believe. This isn’t the way I saw my superhero career ending, to be honest.

At that moment, however, Bait heard a shattering of glass and he looked toward the exit, wondering if the calvary had finally arrived or if more of Burning Skull’s fellow fanatics had arrived instead. At this point, Bait would have even been happy to see the police, even though they would have been just as ineffective at fighting Burning Skull as Arachnid.

The glass doors of the Museum had been shattered, their pieces scattered across the floor. Standing in the doorway was a woman who Bait had never seen in real life before, though he had seen plenty of her pictures on the Internet. She looked like a Greek warrior, wearing old-fashioned Amazonian armor that also somehow looked modern. She was tall and muscular, with a sword in one hand and a spear in the other. She looked at them all with anger etched across her features, her dark hair done up in such a way so as to keep out of her eyes.

“No way,” said Bait. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. “It’s not her, is it?”

“It is,” said Switch, clapping her hands together gleefully. “Lady sss herself!”

Bait couldn’t deny it: The woman who had come to their rescue was indeed the legendary Lady sss. She was one of the original Four Founders of the Neohero Alliance, as well as a current sitting member of on the governing Leadership Council. She was perhaps the most famous female superhero in the world, with a fair amount of victories under her belt, such as the time she defeated the supervillain Pharaoh or the crucial role she had played in the defeat of the first Pokacu invasion.

That she was here, in the flesh, was extremely unusual, because all Council members were usually too busy with their duties on Hero Island to deal with these kinds of supervillain attacks personally. Based on Arachnid’s surprised expression, Bait guessed that he had not expected Lady sss to be the back up he had called in earlier.

“Fear not, my friends,” said Lady sss, her voice loud and authoritative, “for I am here to defeat those who would harm our children or our history.”

“Lady sss, huh?” said Burning Skull. “No matter. All you privileged superheroes are the same. Your arrival here changes nothing, for the Vision shall come to pass, regardless of who stands in our way.”

“The words of a man who is about to fall,” said Lady sss. She cracked a vicious grin. “I’ll give you one chance, burning man, one opportunity to let the children go and go to jail peacefully. If you do not let them go, I will not stop until every one of you is down for good.”

“Foolish woman,” said Burning Skull. He gestured at his chest. “Can’t you see that I’m made of fire? I am familiar with your powers. You rely on your super strength and speed to fight your enemies. Such powers are useful, but only when dealing with a physical enemy who you can lay hands on, not someone like me, who is made of fire itself.”

“I’ve faced far worse enemies than you, fire man, and come out victorious,” said Lady sss. “But if you refuse to let the children go, then I won’t show you even the slightest hint of mercy.”

“Too late,” said Burning Skull. “The children will die and their blood will be on your hands.”

All of a sudden, the flames not only grew hotter and higher, high enough to scorch the ceiling, but also tightened around Bait, Switch, and the girl. Switch and the girl huddled together, putting their hands over their heads, while Bait put his arms around them and tried to keep them both safe from the flames. He knew that covering them with his body wouldn’t keep them safe for long, but he wanted to protect them anyway. It was what a real hero would do, he knew, and he wanted to die a hero, not cowering like a criminal. He could already feel the flames starting to eat at his back, and soon the flames would devour all three of them.

But then he heard a rushing wind, followed by a pair of strong arms picking up him, Switch, and the girl in one swift motion, followed by them rushing through the surrounding flames, and then appearing next to Arachnid. Though Bait, Switch, and the girl were still hot from the flames, they were no longer inside the ring of fire, which was now burning uselessly on the floor in front of the gift shop.

“What?” said Burning Skull as he and his fellow Neo-Visionists looked at them in shock. “How did you rescue them through the fire like that?”

Blinking, Bait realized that Lady sss was standing right next to him. He looked up at her and realized, for the first time, just how strong she was. She could probably beat him pretty easily. He wondered if his super strength was a match for her own super strength, though he didn’t think he would find out anytime soon.

Lady sss drew her sword in one smooth motion and held it out toward Burning Skull. “My skin cannot be pierced or burned. I barely even felt the heat. You can try to burn me as much as you like, but it will do you no good.”

Lady sss suddenly rushed toward Burning Skull and his fellow Neo-Visionists. The two Neo-Visionists rushed to meet her, but they didn’t even get a chance to use their powers before Lady sss slashed them both with her sword so fast that Bait didn’t even see her arm move. One moment, the two Neo-Visionists were standing. The next, they were lying unconscious on the ground, their chests nearly cut open from Lady sss’s sword.

Burning Skull, on the other hand, transformed into fire, allowing Lady sss’s sword to pass harmlessly through his body. Rather than attack her again, however, Burning Skull’s fiery ball form flew toward the exit.

“He’s trying to get away!” Switch shouted. “Get him!”

Lady sss, however, said nothing in response to that. She just launched herself through the air, flew over Burning Skull’s fire ball form, and landed in front of the shattered glass doors, effectively cutting off his escape route.

“You dumb woman!” Burning Skull’s voice roared from within the fireball. “I might not be able to burn your skin, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go around you!”

Burning Skull’s fireball form tried to go around her, but Lady sss tossed her sword aside, reached out, and caught the fireball in one hand like an annoying fly buzzing around her head.

“Holy cow,” said Bait in surprise. “Doesn’t that hurt her hands?”

Arachnid shook his head. “Probably not. Lady sss has skin as strong as stone. My guess is that Burning Skull is hurting more at the moment than her.”

Arachnid appeared to be correct, because Lady sss didn’t look to be in even the slightest bit of pain. She just held Burning Skull in both hands, grunting in effort, while Burning Skull’s fireball form grew brighter and hotter in intensity.

“Let me go!” Burning Skull shouted, his voice barely distinguishable from the crackling of his fiery form. “Let me go now or burn along with this Museum!”

Suddenly, Lady sss smirked. “You want me to let you go? Very well. Arachnid, catch!”

Lady sss hurled Burning Skull’s fiery form toward Arachnid. Arachnid immediately leaped into the air and fired off a seemingly endless amount of webbing at the fire ball. The first few bits of webbing melted before they could touch the Burning Skull, but he fired off so many so quickly that soon the Burning Skull’s form was completely covered in a thick coating of spider web. The fire ball—now heavy with web—fell onto the ground and rolled a couple of feet before coming to a stop. Bait expected the ball to burst into flame, but it never did. Burning Skull was defeated.