Endocrine Kingdom

33. Martyr

Something had happened and Mother Martyr was not happy.

Davy had first noticed that the structure seemed different somehow. It was not as reflective as it had been moments before. Davy could no longer see his reflection. Shortly after, Davy felt the rain stop. He looked up at the sky and noticed the storm clouds were dissipating.

Mother Martyr was manic. She also noticed the weather clearing up. She raised her arms in the air and began wailing. "No!" she screamed. "What is happening!" She wandered towards the edge of the roof closest to the beach and began sobbing in confusion.

Davy wasn't sure what to do. It looked like Steve and Vulcan were able to shut down the device, and he knew that Olivia needed help, but he also didn't feel like leaving the crazed supervillain alone was very responsible. Still, he found himself edging back towards the door to the stairway, which was in the other side of the structure and out of Mother Martyr's sight. He made it to the door and saw Steve waiting for him there.

"Dude," Steve whispered. "We did it. We shut down the device."

"Great," Davy whispered back, elated. "Where's Vulcan?" he asked.

Steve looked down at the ground. "He, uh, sort of sacrificed himself to save me. Where's the Night Retcher?"

Davy also looked down at the ground. "Um, so Mother Martyr zapped her with lightning from her hands then threw her off the building."

They were both silent for a moment. "Well, shoot," Steve finally said. After another moment of silence, he added, "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Davy answered. "We need to find the Night Retcher and make sure she's okay. But we also need to stop Mother Martyr from trying to do anything dangerous."

"Yeah, she sounds like she's about ready to snap," Steve replied. "Which is weird, because I was sure she snapped a long time ago, crazy nun lady and all."

Davy sighed as he tried to come up with a plan. "Look," he began. "You go down to ground level and try to find the Night Retcher. Mother Martyr dropped her off the north side of the building." He pointed to where he saw Olivia fall. "I'll stay up here and try to subdue Mother Martyr."

"Are you nuts?" Steve whispered back. "You said she could shoot lightning out of her hands. She'll kill you."

"Maybe," Davy replied, not sure whether he was being really brave or really stupid." But it's the right thing to do."

"Woah, back up there, eponymous robot from 1999's The Iron Giant," Steve interjected.

"What?" Davy asked.

"I mean, we need you alive for your quest thing. You're the chosen one or whatever. The Steward of the Endocrine."

"Steward of the Endocrine?" Davy had forgotten all about this title.

"Yeah, that's what they call you," Steve responded. "That's what Mother Martyr called you."

"Really?" Davy asked. He still wasn't too crazy about the name.

"I know, right? What kind of lame J.R.R. Tolkien rip-off junk is that? And you're a steward? Is there also, like a King Endocrine, or a Duchess Endocrine? Is there like some kind of stupid Endocrine Kingdom we're dealing with here?"

"Steve," Davy snapped, cutting him off.

"Sorry," Steve said. "Went off on a tangent there. Anyway, Mother Martyr knows about your quest. If she knows you're the Steward, she won't hesitate to take you down. You can't stay up here and be a martyr. We already have a martyr, and she sucks!"

The two of them were interrupted by Mother Martyr shouting from behind the structure. "Where are you, child!?" she screamed. "I know you did this. Come and face me so I can end your wretched life. And once I'm done with you, I am going to go into this fires amen city and kill everyone I see with my bare hands!"

Davy and Steve could see blue light flash from behind the structure as Mother Martyr shot lightning bolts into the sky.

Davy was still on his brave and/or stupid streak, for better or for worse, when he turned back to Steve. "I mean, it's not like you're any better equipped to face her, and somebody needs to stop her. I'll at least try to divert her attention instead of facing her head on. Just please go down and find the Night Retcher. Then try to get help."

Steve groaned in frustration. "Fine, but if I find out that you're the second person to sacrifice their life tonight in order to save me, I'm going to track down your ghost and kick its ass."

"That's fair, Steve," Davy replied as he watched his friend go back down the stairs. He took a deep breath and turned around. Mother Martyr had come around the structure and was looking directly at him.

"You evil creature," she said with a glare. "Just who do you think you are?"

Davy knew this was about to go poorly but braced himself anyway. He looked at Mother Martyr dead on. "My name is Davy, and I have a golf club!" he shouted as he charged towards her.