To Rescue a Villain

Chapter 42

I would have described the boring halls of the station but there wasn't much to describe. The white and blue halls were empty other than the occasional security cameras and blank television screens. The only soldiers we encountered were easy to avoid and those who weren't were quickly escorted to the closets.

Despite knowing that the climax of the story was almost upon us, I wasn't feeling especially nervous or excited. Trudging through these uninteresting halls wasn't doing much for me. Maybe spending three years asleep had taken the thrill out of me.

It didn't really strike me that we were still being hunted until we almost literally ran into Zora and her men. As soon as we spotted each other we immediately froze and took a defensive stance.

"Oh." Zora's face lit up and she stalked toward us, her heels clicking against the shiny floor and her lips curling upwards. "What a coincidence. How ironic that we would meet on today of all days."

Jala frowned and matched her stare, pistol in hand. "And why is that?"

"We decided to stop hunting you this morning," Zora informed us in a giggly voice. "Yet here you are, ready to surrender."

"Well, if you're not hunting us then I suppose we'll just be on our way." Jala answered.

"I said I stopped hunting you, not that I stopped wanting to kill you!"

Ace aimed his machine gun at the evil woman's head. "Touch a hair on her head and I'll riddle you with bullets."

Zora snickered. "Aww. Is she your girlfriend now?"

Ace clenched his teeth but didn't answer. His finger was lingering over the trigger and the only reason he hadn't fired was because he didn't want to be at the mercy of the rest of the soldiers behind her.

"And who are you?" Zora asked, finally drawing her attention to Odette and I. She was having fun messing with us. "I don't think I've seen you two before."

Odette shrugged nonchalantly. "Nobody important. And who are you, other than the woman who killed Dark's wife, of course."

Zora's face reddened at that and the hooded soldier behind her finally stepped forward, reaching into the folds of her cloak for a weapon.

"Who told you that?" Zora hissed at the older woman, pursing her lips.

"Enough." Jala pulled a shotgun off the back of her left leg, pressed it against Zora's chest, and fired with a sneer.

I immediately looked away, the shot echoing in my ears and my skin anticipating the splash of blood it would create. One second passed. Two. Nothing. We were still dry.

I turned back and my eyes went wide. Zora was still standing before us, perfectly healthy.

After a moment, my eyes were drawn to a slight shimmer hovering in front of Zora and I realized what had happened. Some kind of clear shield had wrapped around her body and the shards of Jala's bullets were lying at her feet.

Jala turned to me, mouthing the word "what?" before nodded toward the empty hallway behind us. She waited a moment, then turned and ran. "Run!" she called over her shoulder.

As I retreated I dared to look over my shoulder once more. I watched as the shield melted away and the masked soldier behind Zora finally start started after us, their steps slow and precise. Something about that person sent a chill down my spine, as though they knew we had no way of escape.

"This is bad," I whispered as I used my powers to slam one of the doors behind us in the hopes that it would slow them down.

Polly asked if we were okay but none of us gave an answer, unwilling to waste our breath. We were no longer bored. Zora and Dark were a legitimate threat now and we needed to reach Polly before they reached us.

◑○★☆●◐

"What was that?" Jala yelled at Polly as we approached her hiding place. "Why couldn't I shoot Zora?"

She would have continued demanding answers had Odette not tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the large, round door before us. It had three separate locks guarding it but as soon as we got close enough they spun around and pulled back, likely from Polly's doing.

I kept my eyes on our rear, slamming one more metal door behind us and melding it into the floor before joining the others. I was just in time to watch the doors slowly inch open, controlled electronically by whatever or whoever was within.

As we waited, watching the metal doors slide apart inch by inch, Odette glanced at me. She knew how nervous I was about this. If the person in there truly was my daughter, I would need to somehow convince Jala that we needed to let her live. That would be a battle all on its own. Then I'd need to do the same for my husband, which would be next to impossible.

I had lost all confidence about this plan. My determination had dwindled over the years and now that I was facing the consequences of our actions, I didn't feel ready to face them.

What if I failed? I had asked this question so many times but was still no closer to an answer.

"Once you come inside you must remove the stone from its resting place," Polly informed us once the doors were open, revealing a room so filled with smoke that we couldn't see inside. "Then you must kill or at least weaken Dark enough to get him out of the way."

"And what about you?" I inquired as Maddox and Ace peered into the smoke, probably thinking it was a trap.

"I'll be fine," she told me calmly, a smile hidden in her voice.

I nodded as I walked through the mist, feeling the cold bite into my cheeks and wrap around my wrists. My mind was on high alert, ready to teleport away at the first sign of danger.

I was so on edge that I literally jumped in the air when I bumped into something hard and cold. Sweat beading down my forehead, I looked down to see what I'd happened upon and gasped when I recognized it.

In front of me stood the glass case that had held Polly prisoner through the course of the comics. It was small, barely reaching the top of my head, but instead of holding a frightened child, all I could see was the moon's energy source inside. Its tiny, spherical form was sitting on top of a seat of wires.

"What the--?" I ran my hand over its edge and looked around the room once more, seeing the mist slowly fade away. "What's going on?"

The glass case was empty. Polly wasn't here.

[Gasp!]