As soon as they left the room, Edda White was back to her imperious self. She swept through the crowd like it was her god-given right that these lesser people make way for her. Yet, at the same time, she still managed to find a personal smile and a nod for each of those that looked her way. Daniel was agog once again, but in the other direction. It would have been impossible to believe this angelic socialite was his jokester skeleton of a partner if he hadn’t been granted a look through the facade just moments ago.
Exchanging smiles and pleasantries, the two cut through the crowd and toward the opposite end of the great hall. From his taller vantage, Daniel tried to catch a glimpse of Annie in the throng, but wasn’t able to pick out her brown hair or black dress anywhere around them. He’d have to explain what had happened later, and make proper introductions. Judging by how understanding she had been earlier, however, he felt confident that she’d agree with him taking this next step first.
“Father doesn’t often attend the party proper,” Edda explained, expertly snatching a wine glass as they passed a well-groomed servant, “He’ll be in the smoking room, entertaining the most important guests.”
“The smoking room? Where’s that?” Daniel asked, still craning his neck this way and that.
“Stop that gawking, you’ll embarrass yourself. The smoking room is… here.”
As she finished speaking, they arrived in front of a door that looked to Daniel just like any of the others lining the hall. This one, however, had a man in a suit standing in front of it, hands clasped politely behind his back. Compared to the rest of the servants, this door guard seemed to Daniel to be somewhat scruffier. His suit was noticeably crumpled, and his graying hair slightly unkempt. It wasn’t as though his appearance was slovenly, but compared to the perfection surrounding him, it was a difference that stood out. Presently, he was eyeing Daniel’s ears with an expression that implied he was already tired of the rabbit-man’s company.
“You must be Hopper,” he deduced, then gave a respectful nod to Edda, “And the young Miss White. Oliver White is expecting you, you can go in.”
Daniel gave Edda a look. “He’s expecting us?”
She returned it with a composed smile. “My father must have guessed that you’d want to speak with him yourself, as one of the guests of honor tonight.”
“Right,” he breathed deep and made one last attempt at adjusting his bow tie. The blasted thing didn’t seem to want to stay straight no matter how many times he put it in place. After checking that the guests were ready, the doorman knocked twice, cleared his throat, and pushed the door open. Inside, the smoking room appeared much as Daniel had expected.
A thick cloud of tobacco smoke hung around the ceiling of the room, and the walls were decorated with glass-fronted bookshelves each packed with aged volumes. A fire was merrily blazing in a stone hearth, around which four luxurious red plush chairs were arranged. In one of them sat Oliver White himself. He had changed his suit, but otherwise looked just the same as when Daniel had met him the previous night. A wooden pipe sat low in his mouth, and his lion-headed cane rested against the chair beside him.
Of the other seats, only one was filled. Slender, wiry, and with a nervous aspect about him, the man who accompanied Oliver White started visibly as Daniel and Edda entered the room. He composed himself quickly and stood. Oliver himself made no such motion, though he did flash a welcoming grin at their arrival.
“Ah!” the stranger exclaimed, smoothing down the front of his suit and extending a hand, “You must be Hopper. Oliver has told me all about you, yes.” He extended one hand and Daniel took it with as much force as he dared. This man gave an impression that he would snap in two at even the slightest pressure. Something about him was oddly familiar. Perhaps he reminded Daniel of Mort. Despite only meeting the other hero once, the inventor had made a strong impression on him. Putting the thought out of his mind, Daniel gave what he hoped was a charming smile and introduced himself.
“Er, yes, I am Hopper. Or Daniel Montgomery to my friends.”
“Of course, Daniel, we’re all friends here. I see you’ve already met Edda. Have a seat you two.” It wasn’t exactly a command, but the tone in Oliver White’s voice still made Daniel rush to obey. He sat down a bit too quickly and the plush chair beneath him groaned in protest. To his right, Edda took her seat as gracefully as a feather touching down.
They remained there in silence for a moment, the fire crackling as Oliver White took a long drag from his pipe. Daniel had just started to sweat when he spoke again.
“I really was impressed with your heroics last night, Mister Hopper. We have you and your teammates to thank for a lot of lives saved in that apartment building.”
“Er, thank you, sir.” Daniel answered, and mentally kicked himself. He was supposed to be here to get more information about Caduceus and any relationship he might have with White. In the man’s presence, however, he felt like he’d already lost control of the conversation.
“I’m sure you’ve been wondering why I was so forceful in driving you away from the warehouse as well.”
Daniel could only nod. Surprisingly, the conversation seemed to be going that way of its own accord. Or, at least, of Oliver White’s accord.
“Well,” White breathed out a plume of smoke. The man next to him fidgeted visibly. He clearly wasn’t comfortable in the room either, but whether it was because of Oliver White’s imposing presence or the thick tobacco smoke Daniel couldn’t tell. As the white mass dissipated, he began to speak again. “It sets a bad precedent, having a government organization rummaging around my property like that. Nothing against you or the B.S.A., but I have my own interests to consider.”
“That makes sense,” Daniel agreed.
“But Father, what if Caduceus really was hiding there? Surely it would have been good for your image if a villain were to be caught out in one of your warehouses.” Edda chimed in suddenly. Her voice was refined, but it had a forcefulness and confidence to it that Daniel felt he wasn’t matching at the moment. Even so, Oliver White gave her a sharp look. It seemed speaking so bluntly wasn’t in character for her. Or, at least, what White believed her character to be. Daniel felt he knew better at this point.
Oliver made no further comment, however, and instead appeared to consider the question. “Even if it were true that Caduceus were hiding there; a very broad assumption to begin with… Tell me, Hopper, have you ever heard of the villain Caduceus or his men taking a life?”
“What?” Daniel was caught off guard by the question. He racked his memories, but Caduceus was known for taking money, not lives. “Er, no. Not as such. Not unless you count the apartment building.”
Oliver White waved the comment away, dispersing his pipe smoke as he did so. “Obviously an accident. It wasn’t just you who held the building up, was it?”
Daniel frowned. If he were being honest with himself, he was surprised that this was the first time anyone else had brought this up. The memory of two hulking mutants sharing the load with him was vivid in his mind. Surely others must have seen that as well.
“No, sir, but… if you’ll excuse me for saying so, even if he isn’t hurting anyone, Caduceus still needs to be brought to justice for the robberies, doesn’t he?”
Daniel tried to exchange a glance with Edda on his right, but she was staring straight ahead, and failed to meet his eye. He’d be getting no more help from her, it seemed.
“On that subject,” Oliver White answered, leaning forward with an intense expression, “I happen to have some information I think you’ll want to hear.”
Daniel’s ears perked up. He leaned forward as well, eliciting another groan from the chair, but whatever White was about to say was lost in a sudden cacophony from outside. Edda sprung to her feet, as did the nervous man to Oliver White’s side. Daniel himself was slower to rise, and White himself remained seated. Instead, he merely leaned back and fixed his gaze on the door. As if on cue, the iron-haired doorman slipped inside with a pained expression on his face.
“Mister White, sir. We’ll need to relocate.”
“What’s happened, Avery?” Oliver White made no attempt to move from his spot, unmoved by the increasing noise of panic from outside the door. As he looked between the two, a thought occurred to Daniel that shook him from his toes to the tips of his ears. Annie! He hadn’t seen her out there before, but she should still be in the hall. Without waiting for Avery’s response, he rushed past Edda and the doorman, bursting onto the gala floor.
A chaotic mess of people was waiting for him. A sea of partygoers in suits and dresses surged away from the back of the entrance hall, clustering as tightly as they could against the far wall as they trickled out the doors and into the fresh night air. It didn’t take long for Daniel to determine why. There, at the opposite end of the chamber, a noxious-looking cloud of greenish smoke was billowing up in a rapidly-expanding cloud.
“Mister Hopper!” a hearty man in a suit called out to him as he swept past. Daniel thought he recognized the fellow as one of the many partygoers he had been introduced to during the festivities, but it was hard to tell in the hubbub of pressing bodies. “They’ve taken her!” the man managed before rushing away.
Daniel’s mind immediately drew a white-hot line between “her” and his wife, but he shook his head quickly. There wasn’t anything to indicate that it was Annie who had been abducted by Them, whoever They were. Another thought occurred to him. Did it matter who was abducted? He was supposed to be the hero here, and he needed to act.
Daniel took a few loping steps forward, breaking free from the crowd. Ahead, pale smoke roiled around and obscured his vision, but he thought he could make out a door standing open beyond the fog. He wasn’t sure exactly what the cloud was composed of, but it certainly looked poisonous. Could he trust his enhanced physiology to carry him through something like that? Did he have the luxury of wondering? If he didn’t act now; if he waited for someone else to deal with it or take charge, he might regret it forever.
With these thoughts in his mind, he bounded forward. A single, great leap carried him across the hall and into the sickly cloud, smashing easily through the door on the other side and into a new hallway. There, at the other end, he could just make out a pair of figures. One was dragging the other bodily away from the crowd and further into the mansion. Eyes stinging from whatever gas clouded the air, Daniel pumped his legs and leaped forward once again.
Or… so he tried. As he flexed his muscles, his throat tightened and searing pain rushed into his lungs with every gasp of air. He managed a sort of lazy jump forward, then crashed into the ground with a mighty sound and impact. His vision was blurring. Daniel couldn’t even make out the silhouettes ahead of him anymore, and each breath brought with it more pain.
As darkness began to close in at the edges of his vision, he saw something enter his field of view. A pair of skeletal feet strode jauntily past him and down the hall in pursuit of the other dwindling shapes. Daniel wanted to call out to Numbskull, to yell for help as his body seemed to shut down beneath him, but when he opened his mouth to shout it only seemed to quicken the encroaching shadows. At this rate he-
Seeing the confusion taking hold in the rest of the entrance chamber, Edda slipped quietly out of the room and almost certainly managed to escape the notice of both her father and Avery. Something was obviously afoot, and Hopper was probably going to get involved with that billowing green smoke over on the other side, so she wanted to be ready. It occurred to Edda that she should be more worried about something like this happening within her own family’s manor, but that seemed a secondary concern at the moment.
Hiding within the crowd wasn’t going to be an option; not with how remarkable she looked tonight, if she did say so herself. Instead, she quietly exited via a side door and padded through some back hallways toward where she knew the noxious cloud to be in relation. Checking carefully that she was alone, she mumbled the incantation beneath her breath as she loped along. Moving quickly became easier as her flesh seemed to dissolve off of her. It was still there, in a way. She could still feel the sensation of skin and muscle holding her bones together, but that’s all they were doing now. Her heart wasn’t beating, and her lungs weren’t taking in any air. It was a terrifying experience, at first, feeling like she was dead, but Edda had quickly gotten used to it. Now, it was freeing.
Numbskull’s bony toes made a clacking sound on the tile floor as she turned one last corner and reached a door just before her destination. Green smoke crept into the air here, and she waved one skeletal hand through it. Wasn’t this a bit much? Noxious green gas? It seemed more like something found in a comic book than in real life. Thought the walking skeleton. She grinned to herself. Not that she had many other choices of expression, but this time she meant it.
Pulling the door open, she waltzed through with a spring in her step, only to find Hopper lying on the ground in front of her. That probably wasn’t good. The gas wasn’t exactly stinging her eyes, and her lungs were on vacation, so Numbskull was safe from whatever was happening to him. Walking over, she stood above the prone form of her hulking rabbit friend and shook her skull sadly. This was going to be a problem. Even if she had all her muscles here with her, she didn’t like her chances of hauling this big oaf all the way down the hall and to safety.
On the other end of the hall, something else was happening. A shadowy figure, obscured by the smoke, was dragging another bodily down the hall with a few grunts and swears. She couldn’t make out the details, and started to step closer, but before she could make much headway something huge and powerful slammed into her spine from behind. Numbskull suddenly found herself flying down the hallway, green smoke whistling past and collecting in her eye sockets. Turning her skull as much as she could manage, she found that Hopper himself was the culprit. His unconscious body, limp as a ragdoll, was shuttling through the air at high speeds toward the end of the hall, and had taken Numbskull with it. She would have winced as the opposite wall approached far too quickly, but didn’t have the proper equipment.
Surprisingly, there was no pain as the two impacted the flowery wallpaper and left a massive dent. That made sense, Numbskull supposed. Her nerves were off with the rest of her, wherever that was. She just had to hope that nothing was broken in the impact. Hopper was still splayed out at an awkward angle, pressing her against the wall as though pushed there by some invisible force. Perhaps it was a very visible force. She couldn’t tell right this moment. With immense effort, she managed to wiggle one finger bone out from the press. Grinning at this small victory, her joy was cut short as both of them fell bodily to the floor.
Alerted by the sound of approaching footsteps, Numbskull thought fast. She muttered a quick apology that no-one could hear, yanked up the back of Hopper’s fancy jacket, and scuttled inside. The big man was so large that she could fit her whole skeleton up against his back if she crouched a little. This she did, praying silently that their captors wouldn’t notice the odd lump wiggling around on their hostage’s back.
It seemed to have worked, at least for now. Nobody was shouting any of the usual things they did when they saw a walking skeleton, so Numbskull figured she was in the clear. Hopper was lifted roughly off the ground, and she with him, then carried through the air. Still disoriented from the crash, Numbskull poked the top of her skull out from her friend’s collar and took a look around. A young woman wearing a cheap-looking gas mask was holding out her hand and apparently levitating Hopper down the hall. That was interesting, but it had nothing on what she was doing with her other hand. Being dragged bodily down the hall by the collar of his green cloak was none other than Caduceus. His face was covered by that surgical mask he always wore, but that was probably little help against whatever this gas was.
Numbskull peered around a bit more then returned to her hiding spot within Hopper’s jacket. Very interesting indeed.
Daniel awoke with a groan. His head hurt, and his lungs ached. Every muscle in his body felt sore. Staring through bleary eyes, he gazed at the unfamiliar wall opposite him with dull incomprehension. As his vision began to clear, everything that had just happened came flooding back like a wave breaking against his smarting head.
Annie!
He stood and lunged forward, uncaring of where he was or what was going on, his only desire to make certain his wife was safe. No sooner had Daniel moved, however, than he was snapped back to the wall with a terrible impact. A flash of pain tore through him as something cracked, but he wasn’t sure if it was his bones or the stone behind him. Either way, he now found himself trussed to the wall as surely as though he had been bolted there with iron bars.
Daniel cast his vision left and right, but nothing seemed to be touching his hands or legs, despite the immense pressure still felt there. An idea itched in the back of his memory. He had seen something like this once before, in the park…
Just as the thought entered his mind it was confirmed. The young woman from the park entered his vision, holding both hands up and concentrating. Her pose was as though she were physically holding him to the wall, despite that she was more than ten feet away from Daniel’s helpless form. It didn’t take him long to put together what must be happening.
“You…” he growled. At least, he tried to growl. In reality, it came out as something closer to a grumble.
“Do not attempt to struggle,” she said in monotone. That was eerie. Her tone lacked any sort of emotion, not even a hint of the concentration evident on her face seemed to make it through to her voice. Daniel found her eyes. Just as before, they were silvery-gray and totally empty of any kind of spark. He found looking at them made him very uncomfortable, so instead put his effort toward ignoring her suggestion and struggling against the invisible bonds.
Pulling his arms forward, Daniel felt his muscles bunch and burn but didn’t make even an inch of headway against whatever force was binding him. The same phenomenon was happening down below with his feet. Though he felt the tendons in his legs flexing mightily, he remained stubbornly affixed to the same position. After a few moments of struggling, he relaxed and fell limp once again.
“I will say it again. Do not attempt to struggle.”
“Just who are you?” Daniel grunted, his voice strained with effort, “Why are you doing this?”
“I am going to release you,” the young woman said, watching him coolly. “If you attempt to attack me or flee, I will bind you once again.”
“Right,” he said through gritted teeth, “Got it.”
As soon as he voiced the acknowledgement, the force around his arms and legs vanished and Daniel fell gracelessly to the ground. As he pulled himself up into a sitting position, he noticed that a change had come over his captor. Her eyes, which had been grey and lifeless just a moment before, were now a solid brown and screwed up in obvious annoyance.
“Ugh. I hate doing that. Don’t try anything or I’ll have to activate it again.”
Taking the chance to look around him, Daniel took stock of his situation. They were in a barren room lined with empty metal shelves. It looked like some kind of storage closet. His captor, whose identity he still didn’t have a clue about, was brushing herself down and cursing quietly. He caught sight of something silvery and metal on her arm before it vanished back into her thick black sleeves. Whatever she was using, and Daniel had to assume it was some kind of magic gizmo, it seemed like more than even his enhanced strength could handle.
Shaking his head to clear it of a lingering headache, he resolved not to try anything rash just yet. Even if he succeeded in taking out his captor, which seemed like far from a sure thing with the power in her hands, he couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t seriously hurt her in the process. Daniel felt like cursing too, but held his tongue. This was the same situation he had encountered in the park, but this time he was the victim. What’s more, he couldn’t count on Numbskull to get him out of it this time.
“Where’s Annie?” he asked, putting the question still burning in his mind into words.
The woman stopped adjusting her sleeves and gave him a confused look. Daniel took note. This was far from the empty, emotionless affect she had presented before.
“Who?” came her puzzled reply.
“My wife.”
“Look mister, I don’t even really know who you are. I know I’ve seen you once before. A look like yours is hard to forget, but I guess you just got caught up in something this time.”
Daniel frowned. This whole situation seemed to be getting further and further away from him. “Hopper,” he said, “Call me Hopper. You weren’t after my wife at the party?”
“Mister Hopper, I didn’t even know you were married. No, we were there to… borrow something else. I can’t say more, though. Just wait here until we’re ready for you.”
“Ready for me?” Daniel felt a bit silly asking so many questions. It seemed to him that he’d been at a disadvantage in every conversation he’d had for a while now.
“Just…” she waved a hand vaguely, “Stay there.”
Without waiting for a reply, the woman left the room and shut the door behind her. The sound of a key in the lock followed a moment later. Daniel finally stood and walked over to the door. Just as he’d thought, it was firmly locked from the other side. Of course, something like that didn’t present much of an obstacle for him. He balled a fist and considered just punching his way through. If he did that right now, though, that girl would probably just fling him back against the wall again. He guessed that she wouldn’t be too eager to let him go a second time, either.
He sighed. At least they weren’t after Annie. It hadn’t been a very rational assumption, now that he thought back on it, but in the heat of the moment it had seemed the only real possibility. Daniel walked back to the other side of the cramped room and wedged himself between two sets of metal shelving, sitting with his back to the wall. At the very least, he could try to figure out where he was, and who these people were. This was the second time he’d caught the woman engaging in something illegal. They might not be the kind of supervillains he was expecting to fight as a hero, but they were certainly up to no good…
These thoughts slipped by as Daniel closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. His hat had gotten lost at some point, and with it his badge. He was surprised to find how naked he felt without it, despite the article only having been in his possession for less than a day. Still suffering from the pounding headache behind his eyes, he shut them tight and tried to will himself to relax.
The sound of the metal door opening roused Daniel. It seemed he had fallen asleep at some point. Likely, his body was still trying to cope with whatever that gas had done to it. Looking up through bleary eyes, he saw a tall figure silhouetted in the doorway. It was too large to be his previous captor, the woman whose name he still didn’t know. As his eyes focused further, however, he saw her standing behind the newcomer.
What captured his attention more urgently was what the man standing over him was wearing. A long cape and cowl topped with a hood, medical scrubs, and a surgical mask obscuring his mouth. This could be none other than Caduceus himself. Daniel didn’t see the staff itself in his hand, but that was little comfort. The shock of seeing a supervillain right in front of him was enough to jolt him to full wakefulness and he scrambled to his feet.
“Caduceus!” he shouted. Behind the villain, his captor raised a hand threateningly. Seeing that same flash of silver, Daniel made an effort to relax his threatening posture. Caduceus himself watched him over the mask with cold, hard eyes. They remained that way for a moment, in silence, before the other man spoke.
“Mister Hopper. Come with me.” His voice was languid and surprisingly deep. Not at all what Daniel had expected the willowy villain to sound like. Seeing no reason to refuse at the moment, and with his companion’s arm still pointed at him like a loaded gun, Daniel followed.
Caduceus led him into the adjacent room which appeared to be a doctor’s office, if one degraded by age and disuse. Dust had collected everywhere, a dense coating on the large medical chair that dominated the center of the room. Arranged around it were cabinets full of unused supplies, posters with medical diagrams on them, and even a model skeleton hanging limply from a hook on a stand. Caduceus gestured for him to sit down and, with a glance at the girl, he did so.
Daniel tried to squash the tendrils of fear that were rising up from the pit of his stomach, but was only partly successful. To face a legendary supervillain like Caduceus… Worse, to be completely in his power in a medical facility, wasn’t a situation that inspired confidence. Even with his powers to back him up, Daniel felt himself withering under the man’s steely gaze.
“What do you want with me?” he mustered, trying to make his voice more assertive than he actually felt.
“Amber, give me the scalpel.”
Amber, for that was apparently her name, picked up a scalpel from a steel tray and handed it to Caduceus with a grimace. Daniel took note of that. Apparently she wasn’t happy with being ordered around. The villain took the instrument and ran it across his fingers menacingly.
“Tell me, Hopper. What do you know about the incident that occurred three months ago now?” Caduceus didn’t look directly at Daniel as he slowly spoke. Amber, for her part, rolled her eyes.
“...The meteor?” he ventured. That was the only event three months ago that he reasoned the villain could possibly be talking about.
“Correct. Well done. The meteor. Yes, the meteor which happened to strike a ley line and jolted magic back into this world of ours. Not unlike striking a television set to restore its reception.” he drawled this last, punctuating it with a thrust of his scalpel.
Daniel blinked. That was a heck of a claim the man had just made. He didn’t quite know what “ley lines” were, but as far as he was aware the best minds of the world still had no idea how the meteor strike tied in with the strange incidents which followed across the world. Working his jaw for a moment, he found his voice and said as much.
“You’re claiming that the meteor hit something in the ocean and jump-started magic back into reality? That’s hard to believe. Nobody else knows exactly what happened; why should you?”
“Hard to believe?” Caduceus responded with a smile in his voice, “But Hopper, you are living proof. As for the scientists of the world, they are just that. Men of science. It would take a proper magician to understand exactly what has transpired.”
Daniel thought this over. It made sense, in a broad sort of way. At least, it was as believable as any other explanation for why people had suddenly started gaining superpowers. More importantly…
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked. Caduceus twirled the scalpel, and Daniel found his eyes drawn to the motion with nervous fascination.
“Because, Hopper, I think that I might yet find an ally in you,” he paused, apparently to gauge Daniel’s reaction. In response, Daniel tried to keep his face totally blank. “Don’t you think it’s strange that, despite magic suddenly reappearing in our world, society has simply continued on just as before?”
“Huh?” Daniel was finding himself preoccupied with trying to watch both the scalpel and Amber’s annoyed expressions for some clue. More than that, the situation Caduceus was suggesting wasn’t anything he had ever given much thought. Sure, he was certain that superpowers and superheroes would change the world, but that didn’t seem to be exactly what the other man was implying.
“This status quo we’ve all built is based on hard science and technology. The time for such things has passed, and yet the powerful still cling to the now-archaic methods that have brought them this far. Society as a whole needs a jolt. An impact to set it along a new course. Just like the meteor and the new possibilities it brought to us three months ago.”
“And you’re suggesting… you should be the one to make this impact?” Daniel guessed.
“Not just me. We. I want your help. I have the means to make quite an impression on my own, but with your strength to back me… There would be far fewer casualties if we could rely on you, Hopper.”
“Far fewer casualties?” Daniel shook his head, trying to dislodge those words from his ears, “Look, I don’t know what you’re planning, but if people are going to get hurt then I’m not interested. That’s the opposite of the reason I took this job.”
“Oh?” Caduceus stopped, placing the tip of the scalpel to the bottom of his surgical mask, “I thought the reason you stated was that you… what was it... wanted to make the city a safer place for your family, yes? Once we’re done, I can guarantee you that will be the case.”
Daniel grimaced. The villain had him there. Allowing his daughters to grow up in relative safety. Leveling out some of the chaos that had followed the rise of superpowers. That had been his entire reason for starting down this path. Still, something about how Caduceus was saying things, the way he was conducting himself… Every instinct from the toes of Daniel’s feet to the tips of his leporine ears was screaming at him not to trust the villain.
He became aware that the other man was watching him carefully. Caduceus had ceased toying with the scalpel and was now gazing him over the mask with a penetrating stare. Looking for his reaction, it seemed. Daniel tried again to keep his expression blank as he spoke.
“Can I… have some time to think about it?” he asked. Perhaps he could at least buy himself an opportunity to figure out what to do next.
Caduceus heaved a dramatic sigh, but nodded in acquiescence. “Very well. You will stay here until I have your answer. Amber will keep an eye on you just in case you decide to do anything rash. I wouldn’t, myself. That device of hers has some… side effects, but it’s really quite powerful for all that.”
Daniel frowned but couldn’t help but agree. Indeed, what Caduceus had said was an understatement. He was developing a poignant dislike of Amber and whatever that “device” was. As much as he wasn’t apt to throw his strength around, Daniel hadn’t felt so powerless in a while, and he found that he didn’t like the experience at all.
While the two finished speaking, Amber had pulled up a desk and chair. She now sat, apparently ignoring Daniel with her nose buried in a large leatherbound book. Caduceus gave her a look of annoyance to match those she had been shooting him, but made his way to the room’s door without comment.
“I will be back soon. Have your answer ready, Hopper,” the villain said, flicking his cape in a flourish as he exited.
Once the man was gone, Daniel felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. He looked over at Amber, but the woman was still reading voraciously. The book she held was quite unlike those Daniel was most familiar with. It was huge, for one thing, and bound in leather with a heavy unmarked cover. Perhaps it was a volume of spells, for all that Caduceus had talked about magic returning to the world.
Puzzling over this for a moment, Daniel then shook his head. It seemed his mind was trying to distract itself from the situation at hand, and while he couldn’t exactly blame it, he didn’t have time for such luxuries at the moment. Still, Amber seemed pretty engrossed. If she really wasn’t paying him much attention, this might be his best chance to-
A sudden movement caught the edge of Daniel’s eye. He turned his head and saw, on the hook in the corner, that the skeleton had raised one bony finger to where its lips would have been. Daniel was immediately torn. He couldn’t decide whether to roll his eyes or lift them heavenward in relief.
Turning back quickly, he watched Amber for a moment to make sure she hadn’t noticed. Sure enough, she was still absorbed in her book. When he turned back, Numbskull was holding her whiteboard to face him.
“That jerk is reading one of my books.”
Daniel did roll his eyes this time, then paused. Skeleton or no, Numbskull wasn’t likely to be able to do anything about Amber or, heaven forbid, Caduceus himself. It would be best if she went for help, or maybe created a distraction so he could get out. How could he communicate that to her? If he spoke up, his captor would be sure to take notice. Squinting his eyes, he looked Numbskull’s way and jerked his head at Amber, then flicked his ears meaningfully.
The skeleton held up her index finger pressed to her thumb in an “okay” motion, then detached herself from the hook with a slight twist. The whiteboard was gone to… wherever it went. Daniel made a mental note to ask her about that later. Was that magic too? More importantly…
He looked up with a start, ears standing ramrod straight on his head. Numbskull was creeping up behind Amber with the whiteboard clutched in her bony digits. It looked like she had every intention of making this a repeat of that scene in the park. She’d even written “BOO!” on the board once again.
“Wait!” he called on impulse, then cursed himself. Both Numbskull and Amber turned to look at him, the latter giving a short yelp of surprise as she saw a walking skeleton suddenly right up in front of her. She fumbled with the device on her hand, but Daniel had made a decision and was already moving. With one heavy shoulder, he shoved Numbskull out of the way. Intended as a soft blow, Daniel’s bulk combined with her low weight sent the skeleton clattering to the ground.
Before he could so much as turn back around, Daniel felt that inexorable force wrap around his arms and legs and violently slam him into the back wall. The seat he had just occupied spun out of the way and a mess of medical instruments clattered to the ground. Daniel himself heaved a mighty grunt as the air was driven from his lungs by the impact. Amber was standing up, her face once again an expressionless mask, and Numbskull was still laid out on the floor rubbing the back of her skull. The merry grin plastered across her face gave Daniel hope that she hadn’t been injured too badly, but maybe that was just what she always looked like.
More importantly, this whole scene had made so much noise that there was no way it wouldn’t draw the attention of Caduceus elsewhere in the building. Put simply, they were in one heck of a mess.
Sure enough, the doors of the medical room burst open violently with a hulking bone-cowled mutant ducking through the frame. Daniel recognized him instantly. It was the same brute he himself had tangled with in the parking lot outside White Financial Trust. That had only been a few days ago, but it felt like an eternity as Daniel struggled to say… something. He couldn’t seem to get any air in his lungs, and the pressure on his chest was increasing. A bubble of panic started to rise within his chest, and he felt himself beginning to sweat as he looked to Amber.
She hadn’t said anything yet, and her face was a mask of calm, blank concentration. Did she
intent to knock him out this time? To end him completely? He struggled against the invisible restraints, but couldn’t find even an inch of give. At the same time, he saw Numbskull drag herself off the floor only to back away from the advancing mutant with hands up in a placating gesture.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Daniel heaved a mighty breath as the mutated giant grabbed not Numbskull, but Amber. With a twist of his arm, he jerked her to the side and broke her concentration. Daniel fell to the ground, but his legs were readier for the fall than he was, and caught him before he could stumble. Reaffirming his concentration, he balled his fists and took a single step forward. The strength he’d been endowed with was a dangerous thing, but was using it more dangerous than doing nothing? Numbskull was still clattering to her feet, and the giant mutant was struggling to prevent Amber from using her glove.
At this point, he wasn’t entirely sure who his allies were, exactly. This was the second time Caduceus’ minions had stepped in to help him. Were they working alone, without input from their (former?) master? The situation became even more confused as, sweeping in from where the mutant had entered was Caduceus himself, holding his staff imperiously forward as though to bat away any who stood before him.
“We’ll explain later, Hopper. Numbskull. We have to get out of here! Now!” The voice that came from under Caduceus’ surgical mask was different from what he’d heard before. More nasally, and with a slight tremor to it. Finally, with this last clue, Daniel started to get an inkling of what was going on.
There was a grunt of expelled air as Amber finally readied her device and pinned the hulking mutant to the opposite wall. Before she could act further, however, Daniel was there. Clearing the medical seat in a single bound, he pushed forward at her with one wide palm in what he hoped was a gentle enough shove. Even with so little perceived force behind the blow, Amber was sent careening into a table and collapsed in a heap of medical supplies. Daniel winced, but there was no time to check to see if she was alright.
Voices were sounding from deeper in the complex now, and his keen ears picked up running feet approaching fast. With a scooping motion, he gathered up Numbskull in his arm and set her on his back, then ran toward the beckoning Caduceus. The skeleton grasped around for a handhold, finally grabbing one of Daniel’s ears and putting her weight on it.
Once again, the world seemed to twist as Daniel’s perception was turned backwards and upside down. He stumbled and crashed into the wall, leaving a veritable crater in the plaster before he was able to right himself. Numbskull tapped twice on his shoulder in what might have been a “sorry”, then found more appropriate handholds on his lapel. Shaking his head and scrambling toward the door, Daniel didn’t bother answering as he followed Caduceus and the giant mutant out into the night air.
