Silver Shield - Part 3
Last part! It's been a while, but here it is!
Part 1 Part 2
Silver Shield crept silently through Viktorai’s underground base. He could only guess at what the many machines, gadgets, and bubbling flasks were for. Making his way toward the muted voices, Silver peered around a tall metal container. Viktorai and Gecko – Dagger, it was Dagger now – stood at a large control panel covered in lights, buttons and switches, backs facing the hero.
“It’s almost time, Dagger. We’re about to rule the city. Aren’t you excited?” Viktorai asked, beaming with anticipation. His assistant was more subdued, only giving a sharp nod of their head in response. From where Silver was hiding, they looked nervous, eyes shifting and fingers twitching in the way they always did when they were anxious. Viktorai didn’t seem to notice, more focused on preparations for whatever horrible invention he was going to release on the city.
Silver took a deep breath. It was time to end this, once and for all. He stepped out from behind the container. “Hello, old friend.”
The villain stiffened, not turning around. “Ah. You’re alive,” he said impassively. Lightning fast, he whipped out a gun strapped to his hip, aimed, and fired – right at Dagger. They cried out, stumbling back to fall on the ground. Only then did Viktorai face Silver Shield. “I ought to shoot you as well,” he said, “but that would be too good for you.” He lunged.
They fought, punches flying too fast to follow. Silver swept a leg at Viktorai, forcing him back. The villain retaliated with a fist to the face. Beakers broke, machines were dented, neither one gaining the upper hand. The battle was loud and messy and bloody, with no sign of stopping soon. So focused were they on taking the other down that neither noticed when Dagger struggled to their feet and limped over to the control panel, clutching their side.
An automated voice rang out from speakers scattered throughout the lab. System powered on. Initiating pressure sequence. Hero and villain froze for an instant, processing what just happened, before springing into even more frenzied action. Silver lunged toward the panel as Viktorai pulled him back, landing a heavy blow on Silver’s leg. Crying out, the hero swung around and aimed for the head. Pressure at 10%. The calm functionality of the voice surrounded them, at odds with the violent scene. Dagger was still at the controls, flipping switches and monitoring lights, ignoring the blood running down their side. Viktorai stood between them and Silver Shield, now using his gun to try and hit his nemesis. The villain was laughing madly, shouting out encouragements to his wounded minion. Try as he might, Silver couldn’t get past Viktorai, so he resolved himself to hiding behind a large contraption and counting shots. Pressure at 32%. As soon as Viktorai was out of bullets, Silver launched himself at the villain, driving him against a table. Viktorai snatched a small circular gadget from behind him and slapped it on Silver’s chest. Bolts of electricity shot out of it, electrocuting the hero and sending him stumbling back. It didn’t stop him for long, and when Viktorai tried to take upper hand Silver drove a fist into his stomach. As Viktorai gasped for breath, Silver rushed at the panel, but before he could take down Dagger, the villain shot at him again with some kind of ray gun. Pressure at 57%. Ducking behind a counter, Silver took a quick breather, checking himself over to find any serious injuries. A bullet had grazed his side and he was going to be horribly bruised after the fight, but nothing that would stop him from fighting today.
“Come out, come out, little hero,” Viktorai rasped in a sing-song voice. Silver could hear that the villain was out of breath, though that did little to comfort him. “You’re going to lose. We both know it. As soon as the pressure reaches 100 percent capacity, my machine will release a gas throughout the city, turning the people into my mindless slaves. It must hurt, knowing that your former sidekick will be the one responsible for such a thing.”
Pressure at 85%. Silver drew in a breath. He needed to stop the machine, shut it down before it reached full capacity, but how? Viktorai would shoot him if showed his head above the counter, and Dagger was too far away to take down before the bullets would hit him. Well, there was nothing for it. Steeling himself for the pain sure to come, he leaped over the counter, right at Viktorai. The villain immediately opened fire as Silver ducked and wove, somehow managing to not get hit. Pressure at 98%.
“I’m so close! Nothing you do can stop me now, Silver Shield. I will rule this city!” Viktorai cackled maniacally, swinging the gun around to follow the hero. Silver gasped for breath as he carefully made his way toward the control panel, disguising his movements as evasive maneuvers. He was so close, just a few more steps and…
Pressure at 100%.
“Yes, yes!” shrieked Viktorai. “Finally, after all these years, my plan has come to fruition. I’ve won. I’ve won!” His laughter echoed off the walls with the sound of bullets. Silver was forced to duck behind one of the villain’s larger inventions. He lost. How could this happen? No, Silver knew exactly how. He had fallen for Dagger’s smiles, the mischievous spark in their eyes, their endless jabber about doing the right thing and the best ice cream flavours. He had welcomed a spy, a villain, into his home, and made them his most trusted ally. Of course it would end like this.
Warning: pressure at 110%. The automated voice spoke over Viktorai’s victory cries.
“What?” Viktorai squawked. “What do you mean, 110%? The gas should be released by now! Unless—“ Unless what? Silver was still trying to process what had happened, and then it clicked.
Not pausing to think, heedless of bullets, he drove himself forward. He had just enough time to take in the scene before him – the villain pointing his gun at his young assistant, still at the controls, frantically flipping switches and typing commands – before colliding with Viktorai, knocking him down. The roles were now switched: it was Silver guarding Gecko now, while Viktorai struggled to attack. Pressure at 129%. Punch after punch was rained down upon Viktorai’s head, never ceasing, never slowing. The villain fought back with all he had, but it wasn’t enough. Pressure at 143%. Viktorai lay on the ground, one arm raised in a futile attempt to block Silver’s blow. With one last strike, the hero knocked him out. Pressure at 152%. Silver turned to the control panel where Gecko still stood. He could see the blood still leaking out of their side where the bullet had hit, but there was no sign of them stopping.
“You need to get out of here,” they said, not turning to face the hero. “When the pressure gets high enough this whole place will blow.”
Silver’s brow furrowed. “What about you?”
“Someone has to make sure the failsafes don’t kick in.”
“I’ll do it. You need to get to safety.”
“Because you know exactly how to work this thing.” He could hear the eyeroll in their voice.
“I can’t let you do this,” Silver said. “I can’t let you die.”
Pressure at 175%.
“Go,” Gecko said. Silver still stood there, staring at the back of his former sidekick, trying to find a way out of this impossible situation. “Go!” they yelled again.
There was nothing else to do.
Silver raced over to the prone form of Viktorai and slung him over his shoulder. He ran out of the base, never once looking back, not able to face the fact that his sidekick, his friend of three years, his betrayer, his nemesis’s apprentice, would die in an act of sacrificial heroism, and there was nothing he could do to save them. The automated voice rang throughout the halls from hidden speakers. Pressure at 179%. His breath came in ragged gasps as he staggered into the fresh air, his injuries from the fight slowing him down. Silver had just made it a few steps from the base when a loud explosion erupted behind him. The shockwave sent him lurching forward, dropping Viktorai and falling to his knees. He stayed there for a while, he didn’t know how long, not having the energy to get up. At some point Vikorai awoke with a groan. Clutching his head as he sat up, the villain stared at the destruction around him.
“All that work,” he muttered, “all that money and time spent, and look at it now. All for nothing.” He grimaced and turned toward Silver Shield. “What are you planning to do with me?”
The hero finally looked up. “You’re not going to try to run?”
Vikotorai laughed hollowly. “I don’t think I would get very far in the state I’m in. Besides, where would I go? They just blew up the only home I had.”
“If that was your only shelter, your more messed up than I thought,” Silver said, shaking his head. “Come on then, let’s get you locked up.” He placed a heavy hand on the villain’s shoulder, guiding him in the direction of the police station. Neither looked back at the wreckage. Neither looked back to their fallen ally.
