To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 39

Joe was the best robot ever created.

After we spent two torturous days climbing down the mountain with only one bottle of water and a box of crackers, he informed me that the city at the base of the mountain was where Odette lived and he knew how to get there.

I found myself gaining more strength the closer we got to her house. It was a tiny building, probably with no more than two rooms, and had walls the color of cherries. I shouldn't have been surprised by the design choice.

She must have been sleeping because it took six rings for her to answer the door, dressed in white shorts and a red tank top. Even though she didn't look that different without makeup, seeing her face did give me start for a moment.

The middle aged woman looked at me once, then twice. Then she rubbed her eyes before dropping her jaw. "Mary, is that really you?"

I nodded, so relieved to see a familiar face. "Odette, you need to help me."

"Of course! Get in here!" She hurried Joe and me inside before checking both sides of the street to make sure no one had followed us. It wasn't until she shut the door and sat me down in the kitchen that she started talking.

"It's been three years! Where have you been? Everyone thinks you're dead!"

Now that I was in a safe place, my mind had settled down and I could tell the whole story without stuttering. As I related the whole tale to her, she started piling snacks on top the counter for me, probably in reaction to my substantial weight loss. I was nothing but pale skin and bones now.

"That's awful."

"Yeah." I completely agreed.

"No. I don't think you know how awful it is. Because of your death, Jala and Maddox and Ace are fugitives. Derek's been killing people to find them and Zora's been even worse."

I knew about the first part but hadn't heard anything about Zora.

"At least Derek is focused on finding these three and only kills if he's suspicious. When Zora goes out with the raiders she'll burn entire towns to the ground. She's got some kind of intense hatred for humanity. It's insane."

"What about Polly?"

"Hmm? I haven't heard much about her."

Then she's probably being used as a battery for the alien artifact and spaceship just like in the comics. That meant she was dependent on the artifact now and, if Zora decided to disconnect her, she would die.

"I need to save Polly and Derek. You need to help me get this off so I can find them." I held up the shackle.

Odette stared at it, then sighed, which was discouraging. "I can't do that," she told me, shaking her head without even bothering to ask what it was for. "...But I know someone who can."

"Who?"

The woman walked around the counter, stood next to me, then slammed her feet on the floor multiple times. Confused, I furrowed my brow for a moment until the carpet next to us lifted and revealed a trap door. Out of the secret door stepped Ace, followed by his two other partners in crime.

As soon as Ace saw me his eyes went wide, Jala wasn't affected, and Maddox was impossible to read. He was still dressed in the same outfit he'd been wearing three years ago.

"Maddox can get it off," Odette told me as the trio surrounded me. They didn't even bother asking how I was still alive. All they cared about was if I'd be able to stop Derek or, as he'd apparently been calling himself, Dark.

◑○★☆●◐

My heart was beating wildly as Maddox brought one of his special torches to my hand. The scientist's words about cutting off my arm still had me nervous and I found it hard to calm down as the helmeted man started melting away the thick metal.

I didn't feel anything until the concentrated flames were a millimeter from my flesh. Then, the searing pain was replaced by a feeling of light. As the shackle finally fell, I felt as though I'd lost twenty pounds. I also felt my body start to readjust to my old powers and my wounded body.

All four of my friends backed up when they saw what was happening to me. As I gripped my stomach and collapsed to my knees, my skin turned as white as the aliens' had been. Veins popped out on every part of my body and my eyes bulged as I gasped for air.

I could feel the blood rushing through my veins at the speed of light. My limbs were readjusting themselves, rubbing their bones together as they undid the damage Alphenstine had made. My muscles rippled and, with them, the pain increased, sending my brain spinning in circles.

Finally, the screams reached a limit and the pain completely disappeared, leaving my body completely whole and healthy, although I was still too thin from lack of food.

As I rose from the carpet, sighing loudly, I smiled evilly. I was healed. My powers were back and had fixed me. Being healthy never felt good unless you'd been really sick for a long time. Only then could you appreciate it. I'd never felt so good in my life.

As I lifted an apple into the air with my mind and took a bite, Odette smiled deviously.

"We've been hiding for years," she told me. "But now that you're here, we can become the hunters."

Hearing that made me nervous. Not only was her line super lame and cliché, but in the stories they had spent three months trying to reach the Hikarius station and it had taken a whole week to fight their way to Polly so they could kill her and lure Dark out. Then they'd killed him and gone off to participate in other, less interesting adventures. The popularity had started to dwindle after Dark died.

How would I save Polly? When we found her inside that box, controlling the ship and acting dependent on the artifact, would I be able to rescue her? Or would she be so desperate for death that she'd kill herself?

The thought of it made me want to vomit. I considered telling the others what to expect but thought better of it. Derek had known what had happened and look where that got him.

Jala was just beginning to discuss a plan of attack when Maddox lowered his head, pressed a finger to the side of his helmet, and nodded. "We've been discovered," he informed us, motioning to the front door before climbing back inside the floor and throwing weapons out for us to grab.

As though they'd done this a thousand times, the group leapt into action, arming themselves and barricading the doors. Meanwhile, I walked toward the nearest window and peered through the glass, trying to see who it was. Had Derek been the one to come?

My heart dropped into my knees when I saw Zora standing outside, a devilish grin on her face and a small army of soldiers at her side. She was the last person I wanted to see today.