Chapter 10

Shatter

With a final and furious straight punch to the cracking ice, Hectors fist construct bursts through the wall in a spray of melting ice and slush. A cascade of cracks riddled the wall of ice while Frostbite did everything in her power to try and reinforce the structure. In a second booming crash the wall came tumbling to the ground, leaving only a wet pile between the candidates and Eclipses crew. Scrambling over the slush TJ bodily tackles Frostbite to the floor, sprays of frost crashing against his torso causing grunts of pain from the youth.

Hector and Jack came shortly after as Hardstone and Eclipse came out with their duffles of loot. Hardstone raised a hand and fired off a salvo of small obsidian flechettes that caught Hector on the defensive as he raised his constructs to block. Jack was already tumbling to the side as he skidded his riot baton across the battlefield before teleporting behind Hardstone and thumping her in the back with the baton.

“AGH! You little shit!” she screamed as she turned to swing at Jack who had already somersaulted away.

Eclipse withdrew a knife from a bandolier on his breast and threw it at TJ, catching him in the shoulder which gave Frostbite the opening she needed to blast him off, icing him to the wall.

In Eclipses ear he heard the crackle as Shiver spoke to him. Wait, something's weird here.” she said as Eclipse ducked underneath a swing from Hectors giant fists. “How is this kid able to teleport in the base.”

Eclipse drew a flashbang grenade from his belt and tossed it down the hall as he grabbed Hardstone and pulled her into the Armory for cover. “Not the time!” he growled through clenched teeth.

Hector slid on his knees to slam his constructs over the flashbang just as it erupted, containing the worst of the blast but still completely dissipating the fists in a shower of blue energy. Frostbite took a swing at Hector causing the youth to backpedal while Jack came in from behind.

Jack swung with his baton catching Frostbite on her left shoulder which made the supervillain cry out in pain. Rushing in Eclipse grabbed at Jack, attempting to wrestle him to the ground but Jack flicked his baton back down the hallway, teleporting straight out of Eclipses hands. Hardstone had made what looked like a crystal bat and swung it at Hector who only managed one fist construct up to block the assault. Clenching his fists Hector switched up his strategy, instead summoning a swarm of a dozen small fist constructs that he sent out like an angry hornets nest to harass Hardstone.

Hardstone was then on the defensive as she batted at Hectors swarm of fists. Slapping his hands together all of the fists descended on Hardstone at once in a cacophony of pummeling that forced the supervillain to ball up on the ground. Jack ran to try and free TJ from his icey web against the wall when Eclipse slammed Jack against the ice, the teens body crumbling to the ground.

Rounding on Hector Eclipse drew his and pointed the weapon at Hector “ENOUGH!” he shouted as he advanced on Hector. Hector froze in place as he stared down Eclipses gun barrel. The villain thumbed back the hammer, keeping it trained on Hector. “Get down on the ground, and you live.” Eclipse said with a grim tone.

Hector dropped to the floor, his hands going wide as he tried to control his breathing. The brave teen had put up a hell of a fight, but he wasn’t sure he could conjure a construct fast enough to stop a bullet. They had failed, and he had no idea what kind of state TJ or Jack was in. He swallowed a growing lump in his throat as Eclipse approached him, kneeling down as he pressed the barrel to Hectors head.

“I need you to understand that if I think you do anything, anything that looks like typical hero bullshit. You die. Right here, right now with nothing but maybe a wall plaque and a very upsetting letter sent your family.” Eclipse gestured at Frostbite who nodded and began icing Hector to the floor.

Hardstone grew a sharpened silicate knife in her hand and walked forward gently tracing it’s tip across Hectors face. His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the opaque dark blade, fear and instinct beginning to take over as he tried to wrench away from that terrible knife.

“HARDSTONE!” Eclipse shouted.

Hardstone rolled her eyes and drew the blade quickly across Hectors face, drawing blood. She leaned down and purred into his ear. “Remember me, remember the mercy kid.”

Hectors face was slowly cracking as his fear took over, and even when Hardstone rose to join Eclipse who was having a conversation with Frostbite and Shiver over communications.

“Shiver, we’re ready to evac.” Eclipse murmured into his com.

“Yeah, yeah hang on just a sec.”

Eclipse paced in front of the Armory doors “I don’t have -”

A sudden ear-splitting explosion of noise reverberated down from the ceiling and sent Eclipse crashing to the ground, his gun clattering away. Hardstone and Frostbite turned to find their attack as a service door swung open and Decibel came storming through it. She swung her hands together in a forward clap that bowled over Frostbite and Hardstone as she used her powers to manipulate the soundwaves closer to the strength of a percussion grenade.

The villainesses skidded down the hallway as Decibel stalked after the, utter fury written into her features. Hardstone scrambled and fired off another salvo of obsidian flechettes at Decibel who made a cutting motion with her hand. “NO!” she shouted as the soundwaves pulsated outwards and shattered the projectiles into pieces before they could even hit their mark.

The very air in the hallways seemed to shake as Decibel made her presence known, Hector gritted his teeth to try and fight off the vibrational effects that were paint-shaking his brain inside of his skull. As he struggled underneath the carapace of ice Hector was feeling the tension of his prison slowly give underneath Decibels vibrational terrain. Working his whole body, Hector could hear more cracks rupturing and feel more space to move underneath his ice prison.

Decibel unleashed a deafening sonic scream on Hardstone and Frostbite as they struggled to stand, filling the hallway with even more resonate chaos that sent a shower of glass bursting from the ceiling lights. Decibel bristled as she stood over them “You don’t have any goddamn idea what you’ve walked into!”

From behind Decibel, Eclipse was rising from the small pile of rubble that was dropped on him. Seeing this Hectors mouth cried out. “BEHIND YOU!”

Decibel glanced over her shoulder just as Eclipse came tackling her from behind, sending the two of them in a rolling heap of punches and kicks. Another sonic scream from Decibel sent Eclipse flying off of her, Frostbite fires an errant ice spike to get Decibel to give them some space as Hardstone helps Eclipse to his feet.

Shivers voice practically screams in his ear. “JUMP. NOW!”

Eclipses shadow begins to loom as he shoves Hardstone into it, Decibel claps her hand together as another thunderclap blows down the hallway and sends Frostbite to the ceiling, falling limply back to the earth. Eclipse turns his head to Frostbite and lets out a frustrated yell as he and Hardstone disappear into the shadow, and were gone.

Frostbite wasn’t out of fight yet, as she slides forward on a sheet of ice across the ground and swings out Decibel, keeping the hero on the defensive as the two made their way back past Hector on the floor.

Once the two had gotten close enough, Hector made his desperate move and summoned his fist constructs as he pulled himself free of the ice and swung with everything he had at Frostbite. The blue construct ruptures against Frostbite as Hectors face wavers, but the damage is done. The villainess body limply falls to the ground, and remains very still.

In a panic Hector grabs at his head “Oh no, oh man did I?”

Decibel runs to the body and checks it’s pulse, shaking her head “No, she’s just unconscious.” She whirls on Hector “What in the HELL were you and your friends thinking?”

He shifts uncomfortable “I don’t know, we just wanted to help and-”

“Enough” she says holding up a hand as she goes to a compartment on her suit and retrieves a device that looks like a pair of handcuffs on first glance, but had additional technological facets to it. “Lets get your friends down and get this situation under control.”

Hector gently grazed the cut on his chin before nodding silently, going to help TJ and Jack.

Decibel removed Frostbites mask, staring angular features of her face and stark white hair. A grim realization came over Decibels face that caught Hectors attention. “Is everything okay Decibel?”

The veteran hero ran her hand through her hair, a deep and exhausted sigh escaping her lips. “This is Anastasia Dragunov...she’s the Crown Princess of Russia underneath Father Winter, and this just became a lot more complicated.”