The Pestilential Prison, Part 3

Death needs to take a holiday.

Welcome to Olympus City, where super-powers, physics-defying tech, and unearthly creatures are all possible now. Human nature, however, remains unchanged.

No one is born a perfect superhero, but a few strive to live up to the ideal anyway.

Previously: A woman’s pestilential power is out of control, endangering the residents of the New Mount Olympus resort. Lance and Hailey want Ken to telekinetically kill this woman to save everyone else, but Miranda prefers to seek out a better option.

Part 3

The air shimmered and split over a parking space outside Hephaestus Enterprises. Miranda and Hailey hopped through the opening, and the latter sealed the breach behind them.

Miranda smiled at a frazzled scientist who gaped at the new arrivals and their unorthodox port of entry. His laptop bag slid halfway down his arm.

“Hi!” Miranda said. “Is Carey in? Or Sibyl?”

The scientist blinked. “I just got here.” He blinked twice more. “I’ll go check.”

“Thank you so much.”

As he hustled inside, Miranda gestured to the hangar facility.

“Hephaestus Enterprises,” she told her companion. “They solve problems here. And they don’t always land on the easiest solution.” She bit down on that last part to make sure Hailey got it.

“What we asked of Ken,” Hailey began, eyes drifting to a random patch of asphalt, “we didn’t do it lightly. We’ve known him a long time, longer than you.”

“Don’t be so sure of that.”

Miranda thought of the gentle boy she knew back in high school. He was the sort of kid who never got into any trouble and never had an unkind word toward anyone. Kind of like Peyton was now. And not like Miranda was back then.

Sibyl poked her head outside and held the door open.

“Ultra Woman. Carey’s not here. Is there something I can help you with?”

Miranda concealed her disappointment. “I hope so,” she said, entering the lobby. Hailey took the hint to follow. “By the way, this is …” Miranda hesitated. “What name would you like to use?”

“My real one.” Hailey shook Sibyl’s hand. “Hi, I’m Hailey. I open long-distance portals.”

Sibyl’s eyes widened, the ocular equivalent of salivation. “How long of a distance?”

“More immediate concerns.” Miranda explained how a woman named Della had developed an ability to drain the life out of any person, plant, or animal within a certain radius, and that power was now spiraling out of control. So how could they stop her without hurting her?

Sibyl listened carefully. Miranda could almost see the activity flickering behind her eyes, all sorts of complicated ideas the superhero couldn’t hope to comprehend. Didn’t matter so long as Sibyl did comprehend it all.

“I may have something.”

Pushing her glasses up, Sibyl set out into the maze of workstations and led her visitors to one in particular. Along the way, Hailey cast curious glances into the various cubicles, until a drone circled her head and buzzed past. Transfixed, she watched it disappear around a corner.

“Did I just see a tiny man in there?”

“Yes,” Sibyl said, pressing onward.

Sibyl entered a cubicle that was vacant other than a long steel chest. She pulled out a set of keys, efficiently located the correct one, and opened it.

A single apparatus lay inside. It resembled an industrial vacuum cleaner that was blessed with a few idiosyncrasies.

“We haven’t tested this on people yet,” Sibyl explained, “but the animal testing showed promise. You two, and everyone like you, are saturated with a particular element that is—or rather, was—unique to Carey’s native universe. This machine siphons that element. In tests, it managed to extract roughly fifty to eighty percent of the particles, resulting in a proportionate reduction in powers.”

Questions swirled in Miranda’s head, competing for first release. “You’re trying to remove people’s powers?”

“No. We’re preparing in case the need arises. As it evidently has.”

“And what do you mean by animal testing?” The moon cat clawed its way to the surface of Miranda’s memory. “What exactly have you been doing here?”

Hailey interrupted. “Can that wait? This sounds exactly like what Della needs.”

“You’re right. It does,” Miranda said, gritting her teeth. “So let’s go.”

“I’ll need to come with you to operate and monitor the equipment,” Sibyl said. “Ultra Woman, I trust you’ll be able to get close enough to this woman to set the clamps on her?”

Queasiness struck as Miranda contemplated the attempt. “I can make it work.”

Sibyl informed an employee that she’d be stepping out for a bit. Miranda closed the chest and hoisted it as Hailey opened a portal.

All three marched through and arrived at New Mount Olympus, where Ken and Lance were keeping an eye on things. They reported no change as Miranda set the chest on the ground.

“What’s this?” Ken asked.

“It’s what you were looking for.” Sibyl removed the apparatus from its container, then handed Miranda a pair of clamps. They connected to a long cable that was coiled up inside the tank. “Tighten these around her. Anywhere should suffice. I’ll do the rest.”

“Hold on.” Ken held up his hands like he was trying to stop time itself. “How are you going to get close enough? Let me do this.”

Miranda had no objections. It did seem like a job for telekinesis.

Ken’s power lifted the machine and positioned it closer to the cabin, just outside the radius of Della’s power. Lance shouted at the window to explain their plan.

To which Della responded, “Get back or I’ll kill you!”

Hailey stepped forward, then immediately tottered back as she grew suddenly pale. Steadying herself, she called out, “Do you want to kill us? Or will you let us help you?”

A phony scowl creased Della’s face. “Either I kill you all or you kill me.”

“I don’t accept those choices,” Ken said as the clamps floated and the cable uncoiled.

The clamps flew toward the front door, which swung open as if by a ghost. Della marched onto the porch and stretched her hands toward the group, hissing like a snake. The drama was excessive, but the effects were real.

The clamps plunged to the dirt, and Ken followed a second later. Lance grabbed Hailey and withdrew to a safe distance.

Sinking to her knees, Sibyl flipped a switch on the machine and issued a concise plea: “Ultra Woman.”

Dizziness struck Miranda as well, but she steadied her legs. Taking slow, deep breaths, she focused her gaze on Della, who stood on the porch, appearing rather drained herself.

Miranda struggled toward the cabin. Her chest tightened, stomach roiled, and head burned. She concentrated on her breath, which allowed her to keep everything down. Barely. She reached down and grabbed the clamps. Getting back up was a challenge, but she managed.

“I’m not buying your act,” Miranda said.

“This power is no act.”

Repeated blinking failed to clear her vision or tame the dizziness. “Yeah, I’m with you there. But you’re no villain, Della.”

“I might as well be. I’m too dangerous.”

Miranda nodded at the machine behind her. “This should fix that.”

“Should. But what if it doesn’t? What if this death field returns next week and someone gets hurt? What if it expands? Just end this now. Save the world from me.”

Head swimming, Miranda trudged closer to Della. She just wanted to crash and pass out, but she kept trudging.

“You should know … I’m afraid of myself, too … afraid of what I might do if I’m not careful.”

“But you’re Ultra Woman,” Della said. “And I’m just … death.”

“Only one part of me. And this—only one part of you.”

The clamps dragged her arms down. They shouldn’t have been so heavy. These same arms had towed a cruise ship mere hours ago. Miranda remembered that, kept the image of that feat at the front of her mind. If she could do that …

She dropped to her knees and lifted the clamps up to Della.

“Just try,” Miranda said, arms quivering.

Della retreated into the cabin. “Get back.”

Miranda crawled through the doorway, clamps in hand.

“I’ll kill you,” Della said. It wasn’t a threat, not even a phony threat this time. It was a sincere statement of what would happen if Miranda persisted. Authentic fear tinged the woman’s voice.

Miranda pulled herself across the floor.

Flinging the back door open, Della ran outside.

Nature shriveled in her presence. Conifer trees shed their leaves while the grass cleared away. A squirrel started to flee, but it stopped and lay there, as suddenly as if a car had run it over. A bird plunged to the balding soil.

Miranda kept coming. Sweat dripped from her face. Eyes were bloodshot. Lips were turning blue. Her whole body was a furnace. But she kept coming.

“Let them kill me!” Della shouted. “I don’t want … this!” She indicated the decay around her. “I’m not worth the risk.”

Miranda dragged limp legs across the dirt.

Della backed up, then stopped as more trees died. “Don’t make me kill you. You’re far more important than I am.”

A single, creaky word passed through brittle lips. “No.”

Taking a labored breath, Miranda tugged the clamps. But they wouldn’t come any farther. The cables had reached full extension. She wasn’t sure whether they’d retract if she let go, so she held on, even as her face crashed against the dirt.

“Just try.”

The words were barely audible. Miranda had no idea whether Della heard her. She had no idea what Della was doing. Everything was a blur even before her eyes closed. Miranda held onto those clamps, though. She could manage that one thing.

Or perhaps not. They disappeared from her grasp, and she had no strength to pursue them.

Failed again …

The only thing left to do was surrender to the darkness.

No …

A sliver of guilt kept her conscious. More guilt attacked from the other direction, encouraging her to give up and let someone else try, someone better than her.

Just had to try …

Dark light flickered through her eyelids. Humming and rattling, distant and faint, filled the silence.

Miranda’s eyes drifted open as strength gradually returned and her vision cleared. The clamps were clasped around Della’s arms, though she was now taking them off and setting them on the ground. The cables, in fact, did not snap back into the main apparatus. Della—a very much alive, unharmed Della—reached down, offering a frail hand to the costumed woman.

“Ultra Woman? Are you … are you okay?”

Miranda nodded as she rose, her legs once again offering their full support. The renewed lightness permitted a soft smile. “I was about to ask the same of you.”

Face scrunched in contemplation, Della seemed uncertain. She took a tentative step toward a neighboring cabin, keeping her eyes on the trees beyond. They remained sturdy and green. Lowering her gaze to the grass up ahead, she continued forward.

Nothing withered at her approach. The grass bent beneath her feet, then stood right back up. She kneeled down and splayed a hand over a cluster of blades, holding it there for several seconds while she furrowed her brow. The blades slowly browned and collapsed, but only the handful directly below her palm. She removed her hand and released a breath.

“It’s still there,” she said, “but I have to really push myself.”

Miranda helped her back to her feet. “Then you’ll be fine. And so will everyone else around you.”

Della gazed down at the rest of the grass, which remained green despite being so close to her. A tear rolled down her face.

“Thank you. I—I didn’t think that would …” She turned to Miranda, the fear returning. “What if it’s temporary?”

“Then we’ll keep the treatment close at hand.” Miranda shot a look at Sibyl as she and the others cautiously approached. “Will that be okay?”

Sibyl surveyed the area, her gaze sweeping from the decay to the thriving life. “I can construct a spare.”

Smiling kindly, hesitating only a second, Hailey clasped Della’s hand. “It’s so nice to see you outside, Della. Let’s walk and chat. How does that sound?”

Della nodded. “I’d like that.”

Hailey led her to the gravel path. Della kept glancing up at the clouds hanging overhead. Miranda wondered how long it had been since the poor woman had seen the sky.

“Thank you all,” Lance said. “We really didn’t want to suggest what … what we suggested. We didn’t realize something like this was even possible.”

Ken fixed a hard stare at him. Despite the mask, Miranda had no trouble picturing his face in that moment.

“A lot is possible now.” His words strained through clenched teeth.

Lance nodded, eye contact faltering. “I should go tell everyone it’s safe to come out.”

“I’ll come with you,” Ken said. “I want to check on the kids while I’m here.” He turned to Miranda and Sibyl. “You don’t have to wait for me. Hailey can get you home anytime.”

“Sure,” Miranda said. “Go do what you need to do.”

As Ken and Lance strolled up the hill, Miranda turned to Sibyl, who was inspecting a rotted tree.

“So, I still have some questions about that machine,” Miranda said.

“Yes, I thought you might.” Sibyl gave the superhero her full attention. “It goes back to what Carey was telling you earlier. We’re trying to be more deliberate about who wields extraordinary abilities.”

“And who doesn’t.” A frown creased Miranda’s face. “Do you think you’re qualified to make that call?”

“I—” Sibyl lifted her gaze and looked over Miranda’s head. “What’s back there?”

Miranda turned and saw it too—a faint glint in the woods, something catching the sunlight. It was just beyond where Della’s power had thinned out the vegetation.

A mound of leaves and branches covered an unnatural shape. Rusted metal peeked through a few spots.

Miranda rushed back there in a blur of super-speed and cleared the covering away, revealing a vessel. It looked exactly like she remembered.

Crumpled fins. Retro-futuristic design. Scorch marks and dents all over the hull. A shattered front window, which Miranda herself had shattered. She still had nightmares about this interdimensional rocket ship, about everything that had happened that day.

Miranda needed to see New Mount Olympus’s secret benefactor. She needed to talk to Tuck Lewis right now.

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Next: The Idol