The Debut of the Hero: Part Five

There were four tanks left. Samara counted this fact as lucky as she ran into the plaza where the hospital stood. It was a tall, multicolored building painted to bring even a small bit of joy to sick and injured kids, with a gleaming statue of Saint Elebeta surrounded by children in front.

The tanks surrounding the building, their guns ready to fire, felt obscene to her.

Worse, they were spread along different streets leading to the hospital. Her sword could cut through multiple targets, but there was no way she could take out all four before they fired.

She had no other choice.

“Oh, I hope this works. Riktar wanted to test this, but…”

Samara ran to stand in front of the statue, Mutterklinge held high, channeling all the energy she could muster into it, words bursting from her lungs.

“YOU ATTACK CHILDREN AND HEALERS WITH BRAZEN COWARDICE. UNFORGIVEABLE. TRY IF YOU MUST, BUT YOU SHALL KNOW DEFEAT WHEN FACED WITH MUTTERKLINGE!”

If fear could be felt in the mana controlled brains of the tanks, they did not display it.

Their batteries in back glowed.

Their cannons aimed.

Pure mana plasma fired from them, concentrated directly at Samara.

She knew it was possibly her last moment alive.

Her thoughts went to her husband and children.

Mutterklinge swung.

The beams crashed against its power.

Moments later, the woman stood still, her sword glowing red hot from the power it had deflected, multiple gashes cut in the street from the diverted beams.

“I…I did it…boy, do I need a spa day now…” Samara said, smoke rising from her body.

The guns began to power up again.

“Oh come on! I can’t…” She shook her head, raising her sword again. “But I have no choice. I won’t abandon these children…”

The tips of the cannons glowed red…

…and powered down.

“Pardon?” Samara asked as the tanks began to jerk around. The cannons swung, and the machines charged ahead at random, running over light poles and carriages with reckless abandon. Samara dodged one, running her sword through a tread and crippling it.

“Need a minute to get back to full power,” she muttered.

“We’ve got your back!”

Furion leapt onto one of the tanks, slashing glowing wounds into its metal hide. His sister, Iline, conjured a miniature blizzard through her blade, freezing a tank’s treads to the ground.

“These things seem to be confused! But so long as their weapons aren’t working, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble mopping up here!” Iline said, her frozen sword beginning to cut her tank open.

“Yeah, get out of here, Hero! We saw you take four cannon blasts at once! Take a breather and go kick the spider freak's ass! Us peons can finish with the drones!” Furion called out.

“You sound bitter, brother.”

“Not at all. Being overshadowed by a muffin baker is great!”

He laughed a bit too heartily at those words. Samara stood, nodding, and began to dash back towards the castle.

“Hang on, everyone. Momma's coming…”

*

Alec sat in the pulsing center of the mana control system deep within the castle’s walls. His co-workers stared in awe as his fingers ran over the controls, hacking into the invisible waves of mana energy which flowed through the air.

“I didn’t even know you could do this from here,” his supervisor said, quietly watching Alec work.

“I did it as a kid with an old vision screen control box and some wiring. You gotta be able to see the correct patterns. It’s all simply energy. I only had to find the deviant one,” Alec said.

“You talk as if it’s simple.”

“Oh hell no. My head is killing me right now,” Alec said with a slight laugh. "But Samara is out there. Putting it in those terms, finding a little pattern line is comparatively simple.”

Alec focused on the deviant energy signal on the screen he was constantly attempting to interrupt.

“I hope this is helping you, love. Please come home to me…”

*

Hunter ushered his sisters into the carriage while Mira poked at the controls for the magitech horses. “Up this way, quickly! No need to worry, everything is completely under control!” he said, helping Daisy up.

“The princess is smacking the control box,” Rose said, pointing.

“I’m sure it’s fine! Up you go!” Hunter said, throwing Violet in with a little oof before going to the front. “What is happening, princess? Why is your fancy mechanical pony not going?!”

“I’ve never actually worked these things!” Mira hissed.

“Oh, well, okay, I can fix this,” Hunter said as he hopped up on the horse. He began pressing a series of buttons, seemingly at random until smacking it one final time. The magitech horses sprang to life, steam spouting from their noses and mouths.

“How did you…”

“Your dad brings home enough junk from work, you learn which buttons look important and how to smack something correctly.” He jumped down and held his hand out to her. “Come on, let’s get you in one of these things before…”

The upper wall exploded outward as two figures flew through the air and crashed into the courtyard where the carriages were. Tech Mind stood on shaky legs, grabbing his head as Riktar laid at his feet, clinging onto consciousness, his metal form receding.

Hunter didn’t hesitate. He hit the button which started the carriage moving. He heard Rose inside as the horse pulled them away.

She was screaming his name.

“Not this time, Rosie,” Hunter said. He was looking down. Amid the debris from the third floor wall was Iron Will.

“Don’t!” Mira said, grabbing his arm and pulling. “You know only the people who own the swords can use them! We have to run and…”

Tech Mind was looking directly at them, his head tilted. Blood seemed to be trickling from his nose and ears, and his hands twitched.

“You’d catch us, wouldn’t you?” Hunter asked.

“Oh yes. No more heroes between me and you,” Tech Mind agreed with a grin. "Though I must say, I feel like hell. Something is splitting my skull from within..."

"Good work dad," Hunter said softly. “If I fought you right here…”

“It wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure the princess knows all sorts of hidden passages. Your sisters would probably get away.”

“All I needed to know.”

Hunter picked up the sword. It felt heavy in his hand, vibrating slightly. He gave Mira a final look before facing the terrorist.

“For months I’ve been wondering why I didn’t get the sword. I was right there. I wanted it more than anything. Now…now I think I get it.”

"I don't care."

Tech Mind came at Hunter. He was clearly in pain, both from his battle with Riktar and the ache in his head. His legs shot forward and Hunter dodged barely in time, striking at them.

“I wanted it. I needed it. For myself. To prove I mattered. To show I existed in the pink fog of my sister’s brilliance.”

More strikes. Hunter stepped back. A forward thrust. Tech Mind went for his legs. Hunter vaulted them.

“But now all I can think of is you, Mira! Of Rose and Lily and Daisy and Violet! Of buying you each second possible to get away!”

An arm slashed at Hunter’s shoulder. He screamed as blood flew. It only made him press forward harder.

“My mom didn’t want to be a hero! She wanted to save me! The difference is so obvious!”

A downward slash. Tech Mind blocked it and wrapped an arm around Hunter, crushing him.

“I want you to know, this isn’t personal. I’m only hurting you because I want to hurt your mom, and I’m only hurting her because it’ll hurt the royals,” Tech Mind said, squeezing harder. Hunter screamed in pain.

“AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS IS PERSONAL!”

Mira ran up from behind and buried a dagger in Tech Mind’s side. He roared in pain, dropping Hunter. The boy fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees.

The dagger tipped ends of the mechanical arms speared towards Mira, fury in Tech Mind’s eyes.

“IRON WILL! I DON’T HAVE A FANCY SPEECH! HELP ME!”

A metallic body blocked the oncoming arms. Mira looked into Hunter’s eyes, her face reflected in the iron covering his. He was gritting his teeth, his body in incredible pain.

“Run…” he rasped.

“Not on your life,” Mira said.

“Gotta say, I’m impressed. It takes a lot of will to use a knight’s sword not enchanted for you, boy,” Tech Mind said, his arms raising. “But you still can’t beat me. All you have is delay and delay and delay. And for what?”

“For me!”

Mutterklinge clashed with his arms. This time Tech Mind was pushed back, and he grunted heavily against the strain. His eyes went wide in surprise.

“Leave my baby alone!” Samara screamed.

“Please don’t call me your baby!” Hunter cried out, turning and swinging Iron Will. Tech Mind began to back up, his arms working overtime to deal with attacks on two sides, one from a rage fueled Hero, the other a teen boy desperate to prove himself.

“I…may have…miscalculated…this attack...” Tech Mind said desperately.

“You’re damn right! Mom, disarm him!”

“MUTTERKLINGE! TAKE HIS WEAPONS! MAKE HIM CRAWL!”

One last, brutal blow came down, slicing all ten arms in half. Sparks and greasy fluid shot from the ends as he bellowed in agony.

“How…you’re only…some woman…”

“Yes. I am. And someday you’ll understand this is exactly why you lost,” Samara said.

She and Hunter reared back and delivered two fists directly into Tech Mind’s face. He flew across the courtyard and slumped against the wall, his body going limp.

Hunter dropped his sword.

His body reverted to normal.

Samara caught him as he fell.

“I’ve got you, Hunter.”

“I know you do, mom…”

She knelt there, holding her son, Mira wearily joining their embrace, victorious in their first terrible battle.