Killing Olympia

Was it normal to be this nervous about meeting new people? It's not like I was against it, and back in high school, house parties were my weekends, until a supervillain decided to ruin my day and I'd have to ditch Em in some twelfth grader's house across town. Being a superhero meant I was going to meet new people everyday, but just not superheroes. The first ones I'd met a couple of months ago tried to arrest me and semi-offered me a contract to throw away my morals and come work in their dreary office building. I didn't particularly have a great experience with them, at least not with the current flock. And to be fair to myself, the last contract I signed went pretty void pretty quickly. If I cared, I would've gone and checked what was doing on with the SDA, but it's not like they'd reached out either. I don't know. My answer was gonna be a no if they asked me to sign up. I'm a solo act who needs help.

Just not a cozy contract with benefits and another new costume. The one I had on right now was just fine, and yeah, I know, I've been through dozens of them by now, and I might've kinda lost the red and white one I got from my future self (which meant someone in Lower Olympus was running around in my shit), but whatever. I was meeting them to shake hands and play nice and maybe take what Europa had said a little bit more seriously. I did have anger issues, we've kinda figured that out. But I guess she was right. I mean, I was on the subway right now, and every single person in here could go deaf if I sneezed just that little bit too hard. I'd been on such a trip lately that I hadn't really noticed how powerful I'd gotten. I mean, this version of myself wasn't even close to last year.

And that was kinda scary, because suddenly, the world was that little bit more malleable. I wasn't exactly the poster child of restraint over here. A brick wall and a supervillain went together like milk and cookies for me.

Maybe I've got to start pulling my punches a little bit, I thought. About time, Ry.

I also didn't know what Bianca thought about the entire thing. We hadn't spoken about me being Olympia outside of her knowing who I really was, and that was kind of driving my nuts. Everyone had an opinion about me. It was even on the newspapers an old man was reading beside me, and on the posters littering the train walls that read: Be Better, Don't Be Her—Join the Olympiad Today! I leaned forward and massaged my face, then looked at my boots. I slowly shook my head because dude, my guts were spaghetti right now just thinking about how Bianca might start looking at me. I mean, she should be disgusted, right? I've ripped people's guts out of their bodies and broken backs by smashing them against dumpsters. I'm fucked up, I get it! But what if she thought I was insane?

Normal people didn't force a gangster through a sewer grate then waltz into class an hour later like everything was a-okay. But to be fair, like, really fair, it was a phase. I was eighteen and I was angsting about my dead dad, and if the thugs of Lower Olympus wanted an apology, I'd write them all an open letter, how about that?

Maybe not all of the thugs deserved a letter. Some of those guys deserved it. Sometimes.

Most of the time.

Like, eighty percent of the time.

"Nice costume," someone said. I looked up and saw a dude sitting opposite me. It was nighttime and cold, the subway rattling over the tracks and the wind blowing through slightly open windows frigid. He was in a red and white varsity jacket and baggy black trousers, sitting a little slouched with hands in his pockets. Dark hair, grey eyes, kinda handsome in all fairness. "I just didn't know they had conventions this late into the night, though."

I smiled a little. I had a zipped up hoodie over my costume, but my legs were out, so I guess it really wasn't that hard to figure out what the rest of the costume looked like. "Thanks. I stole it from a dead person. Fits, though."

He laughed, showing sharp canines. "Whatever works. Life's pretty shitty when you've got no job."

"Because your generation doesn't like putting any work in," the old man beside me muttered. He turned the newspaper and shot a look at both of us. "All you kids ever want to do these days is waste away your lives."

"Chill out, old timer," the guy with black hair said. "It's a nice night, let's keep it that way."

"Bah," he said, waving his hand. Then he looked at me. "And you, in that awful costume. Don't you know what she represents to the American people?" Oh, here we fuckin' go. "She's a fascist, that's what. Hates our laws, turns her back on her own government. She could be great! But all she does is commit terrorism on home soil. She should be jailed for life after the stunt she pulled with the Olympiad. She's lucky her daddy isn't around anymore. Would've put some manners into that girl. I swear, there must be something in the water to make you that stupid."

Restraint was chewing my tongue, restraint was smiling a little as the train plunged into a section of the subway where the lights were turned off, leaving us in inky darkness. Restraint, everyone, was letting my eyes glow for those dark several seconds as I stared at him, before the subway lit back up again, and watched his face go pale.

I shrugged and leaned back on the seat. "Well, maybe people should say it to her face and she'll start to listen some more, but I guess everyone's just a little bit too afraid. And maybe don't call people fascists—she's saving the city and trying her best, and sometimes guys like Adam just deserve to get beaten to death and back."

The old man folded his newspaper and looked away, staring at the seat opposite him. He breathed slowly, then cleared his throat and glanced at me. "Whatever you are," he said quietly. "You're still not what we need."

The train coming to a stop saved him from listening to what 'we' needed in this city. I got up and brushed past him, nearly making him stumble back onto his seat. He muttered something, but I was already on the platform, standing in a muggy station filled with people trying to get inside the subway. I slipped through the crowd until I was at the stairs, and only noticed the guy with the varsity jacket walking beside me as I continued up the stairs and onto the street. It had just rained, meaning the pavement was wet and shined under the yellow streetlights and neon shop lights. Little Olympus was a single winding street that had somehow managed to cram the entire city into its buzzing hive of a sweaty street. It was the kind of place you didn't tell your mom you were going to, but also the kind of place where vigilantes go for tips and tricks and cheap plastic toys they could use to fight crime for little less than your allowance. Lucas told me to steer clear of this place. Europa told me she wanted me here tonight.

Why she picked this street, I've got no clue. The sound alone nearly drove me half insane, and that meant my earphones went in to drown out the voices. I looked around, but nothing jumped out at me—well, several things jumped out at me, like the back alley drug deals and the sleazy, greasy guys lit by neon signs over their heads trying to pawn off single-use guns. If you were wondering how this place managed to operate, ask the police officers parked a few meters away from the entrance to the street, smoking cigarettes and chatting up hookers.

Superheroes, supervillains, and everyone in between lived here. Apartment buildings were forced together and clothes lines hung between alleyway gaps. A perpetual hum of noise hung in the same air that neon-lit smoke from old cigarettes did, and the smell, oh, man, it sucked. My nose shriveled the longer I wandered down the street, checking my phone every few minutes, but no messages, no calls, nothing at all from Europa, and just the guy in the varsity jacket a couple of footsteps behind me. I stopped. He stopped. I turned, he glanced at the stall I was looking at. And eventually, this little game of very obviously following me around led me into an alleyway where a tattoo shop was open at the end, lit by lanterns hanging off a clothing line. I stopped, then turned to face the guy.

His hands were in his pockets, gum between his teeth. He blew a pink bubble in my face and looked over my shoulder, then back at me. "Sweet," he said. "I've always wanted a dirty needle tattoo right beside some trash."

The chick on the plastic chair getting her shoulder tatted glowered. "Mind your own business."

"Why're you following me?" I asked him. "'cause you're not doing a great job at it."

He shrugged one shoulder. "You're kinda going where I'm going. Just a coincidence, really."

I made a face. "There's dozens of places you could go, but yet you're literally right here."

He spread his hands. "Dunno what to tell you, it's just pretty ironic, I guess."

I grabbed his t-shirt collar and opened my mouth, then paused, quietly muttered under my breath, and let go of him. Chill out, you're getting worked up over nothing. I breathed out, then left him standing in the light drizzle as I flew above the street and landed on the ledge of a crumbling boxing gym. The stink of sweat had bled into the concrete, meaning it lingered in the air and you've got to be fucking kidding me. The guy was standing right beside me, leaning over the edge and watching a fight breaking out on the street below between two girls.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Five bucks on the broad with the tanktop wins this fight," he said. "Ten bucks on her using those heels."

"Time's up," I said, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. "Who are you?"

He smiled a winner's smile, kinda like a quarterback after rushing it halfway down the field and scoring a touchdown. Harper would've been all over him in another life. "Depends, are we being intimate right now, or…"

"Can you fly?" I asked him. "Because that's a three story fall, and two broken legs suck."

"Fifteen bucks says I land between those two girls and stop their fight."

"Yeah, when your shins explode through your kneecaps, genius."

"I like you," he said, nodding. "You've got a lot of spunk. Where I come from, everyone is so serious. They don't take jokes that lightly, but I guess that's Washington for you, am I right? All government buildings and such."

"Washington?" I asked. "Then what the hell are you doing all the way down here?"

"Sightseeing," he said with a small shrug.

"Oh, wow, that's so awesome," I said. "I can boot you off this building and show you our hospitals next."

"You really hate people getting to know you," he said. "I figured, though. I've read up on you, and it was pretty easy to understand what kind of person you were, and relax, I'm not a threat—how can I be? I'm just a guy trying to get through to sunrise, but if there's one thing you gotta know about me, it's that the ELS sent me here."

I frowned. "You?"

"I might not look it, but I am pretty good at what I do," he said.

"Like stalking people?"

He nodded. "Like stalking people, Rylee."

I laughed a little and let go of his shoulder. He frowned a little as I said, "Half of this city knows who I am by now, so that doesn't really bother me all that much anymore. Word of advice, though: do not go and try to sell my name to the supervillains around Lower Olympus—they'd rather kill you than deal with me, so stay safe, dude."

He smiled, his teeth sharp. "Got it. I'll keep that in mind, since we'll be together for a while."

I snorted. "I'm here for important business. The ELS, Europa herself, wanted me here."

"Cool," he said. "All I got was a text message and some money for a plane ticket."

"Must've sucked," I said. And yes, I did feel a little good about myself.

He shrugged again. "I've gotten pretty used to this city, anyway. The others took a little longer to figure this entire thing out, but New Olympus is a mess. Dude, Washington is a viper's den, but this place is like a dog kennel full of rottweilers and everyone's just going at it, all the time, everyday, no tapping out until you're done."

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean by the others?"

He opened his mouth to speak, paused, then put a finger to his ear. I frowned and flew a little closer, but he put a finger up to shush me as he listened to something even I couldn't hear. Unless he was doing this for some kind of gag, or simply just wanted to keep me quiet for several seconds, then he was probably some pretty-faced crazy guy with loopy thoughts…and no, it didn't count that I had voices in my head too—those voices came from a creature that wanted my soul, which was different than simply just hearing voices chattering inside your dome.

I really need to sort my life out.

He glanced at me, then turned his back, massaged his eyes, and muttered, "Fuck me."

I looked around. "Are…are you talking to me?"

"Hey," he said, looking over his shoulder. "You can fly pretty quickly, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"And you like assaulting people, right?"

"Assault is a pretty loaded word, but sure, if they deserve it."

"How do you feel about manhandling a drug dealer?" he asked. "It'll be fun, plus you'll get paid."

Yeah, right, I've heard this one before. Go off on a little side quest, and the next thing I know, I'm gonna end up in the past fighting Liberty or something. That's not happening. Not anymore. It was actually my New Year's resolution. The only one on a very short list. Besides, tonight was supposed to be important. If I was going to meet an entire organization of superheroes as large as the ELS, I wasn't going to throw it all away for some guy I just met.

I've got trust issues, so what? After the year I've had, it's amazing I didn't fly away the first chance I got.

So I did the responsible thing and left him on the rooftop, deciding to leap off the ledge and land in between the two fighting women, breaking them apart when they startled backward. I glanced upward, and all I found was a ten dollar bill floating through the air, the shadow on the ledge vanishing after I blinked. I caught the cash and couldn't help but smile as I stuffed it into my hoodie, even though he just shorted my five bucks. Well, whoever he was, I hoped he didn't die doing something stupid. Kids like him get a taste of being a vigilante when someone thanks them for handing back their purse from a thief, and then their egos inflate and they try to do something just like he was planning on doing, and personally, I just wasn't going to fight a losing battle tonight.

Fighting dealers in New Olympus was like plugging holes in the Titanic—kinda pointless. It wasn't a bad thing to keep trying, by all means, do your thing, but at the end of the day, there were bigger fish to fry right now.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I checked to see who was calling.

I paused, making several people stumble as they ran into me. Under the humming scarlet light above me, I read the Breaking News notification on my screen. This has to be fake, right? I clicked on the banner and swore.

Cleopatra was shaking hands with Cassie Blackwood right in front of the brand new and rebuilt Olympiad entrance, the cameras bright, the woman in gold and white armor with a sword of light hanging off her belt smiling wide. I stared. I zoomed in. I squinted and I forgot how to breathe for several seconds as my stomach slowly coiled into a tense ball that unfurled and nearly made me want to puke my guts. My mouth dried the longer I looked at it. And then I called her number and waited, pacing between buildings and trying to block out the shouting and the barking and the swearing coming from every single person on this street. And then she finally picked up her phone.

Except it was Europa who answered, "Rylee! Hi there, superstar! I might have to rain check until sunrise. But don't worry, I'm not blowing you off. It's just that there's been a little bit of a slight conflict of interests here."

I put a finger to my free ear, my heart already fast, but now slowly dropping through my chest. Right, of course, they're probably having second thoughts before they've even met me. "Put Cleopatra on, I need to talk."

"You're on loudspeaker, she's here right alongside—"

"Kayana, what the fuck is going on?"

"Cassie made a promise about bringing the Olympians back, didn't she?" Cleopatra said. Her voice was a lot more level than I was even close to being. "I suppose this is one of her first steps toward making New Olympus great again." Her words had bittered. My heart got faster. That bitch actually kept her promise. "The ELS aren't thinking twice about extending their hand to you and New Olympus. This is just a sudden change in atmosphere."

"Atmosphere?" I said loudly, making several people glance at me. But phones were out, huddles had formed around shop front tv screens, because the news was on, and eyes were glued on one thing alone. The entire Little Olympus, for just a moment, was silent. Market grills sizzled, scratchy speakers crackled with various news channel chatter. "That's one hell of a way of saying that Cassie's actually insane. What're we gonna do about this?"

"We're evaluating our options," Europa said. "Bianca's case is still actively being taken care of, but Rylee, if it turns out Cassie Blackwood has the technology to do this and to sustain it, then…" She sighed. I slowed, then stopped walking, my hand clutching that little bit harder around my phone. "Our resources are tight, but we'll—"

"You're not planning to focus on helping Bianca right now."

"Beurocracy plagues every organization," Europa said, and ain't that such a sweet fucking answer. I swear, why do I even bother with these corporate types? I tried not to grind my teeth flat as I pinched my nose, trying very hard to keep myself grounded. "Coming to New Olympus was already a strain, but now that Cassie has gone and done this, I'm afraid we've got a duty to the people of not only this city, but to the world. If she's somehow found a way of re-creating superheroes to this degree and at this speed, then what else can she do? Armies. Humans. Her stock price alone will shoot up in just a few hours' time if she reveals that human body parts can be perfectly cloned, too. She'll change industries and governments, because suddenly, a privately owned company can—"

"Create fucking superheroes," I whispered. "Right, so I guess I'll deal with Bianca."

"Rylee," she said softly, more quietly. "I really wish I could change that. Being alone and dealing with this shouldn't be your burden, and it doesn't have to be. I have people I can rely on to help you, it just won't be us."

I pulled the phone off my ear, then stared at my screen.

I pressed the end call button, and before I knew it, the screen shattered. I stared at my reflection, at the tiny fragments of glass that fell onto the pavement. I breathed out shakily. I swallowed. My gut pitched and slowly rose.

I dropped what was left of my phone and ran both my hands through my hair. I shut my eyes. Breathed in slowly. Tried to breathe in slowly. The world whined. It spun. It made me feel so dizzy I almost felt like puking into the sewer grate I was standing beside. But I swallowed, took several steps forward, then stopped. I put a hand on the brick wall next to me and leaned against it, unzipping my hoodie because it felt like a fist was around my throat, choking me that little bit harder the more I tried to drag air into my nose and down my throat to fill aching lungs.

Restraint.

They had to save the world, I get it—it was their duty, their responsibility.

Restraint.

Cassie Blackwood was a threat. A growing one.

Fucking restraint.

The bricks cracked. I pulled my hand away and looked up at the smog-filled clouds above.

And suddenly, it all made a lot more sense.

If the ELS was busy trying to save the world.

I'll just go out there and save mine.

Easy.

Very, very easy.

Good thing Ava kept his head, I thought. Lucas had plenty of secrets in there.

All I needed to do was crack his skull open and get them for myself. He knew Ben better than anyone, and that meant he knew exactly what the hell was going on with Bianca. I walked. Slowly. Neon lights flickered. Smoke stung the back of my throat as I swallowed. I shed my hoodie, left it on a trash can. The shadows followed. People glanced as my eyes glowed, glinting off pocket knives and busted storefront windows. Then I suddenly stopped.

I thought I'd never admit this, but I needed Lucas right now.