Adam crouched behind the wrecked rental car, his breathing ragged and eyes wide in disbelief. Everything had gone wrong.

  Atria lay still on the ground, the teenager holding a knife to her throat. Stella’s bluff had failed, and the thief was hovering above them. A spike of masonry had destroyed their rental car. And then the car was ripped away by some magical power, slamming against the wreckage of a building wall. A hovering spike of masonry pointed directly at them.

  He felt Stella squeeze his hand. “I’m sorry, my wonderful love,” she said. “I think I just got us killed.”

  The spike accelerated towards them. He raised his hand and tried to cover Stella with his body. And then the world exploded around him in a flash of silver and black and a massive sonic boom.

  Still covering Stella, Adam looked up. His eyes widened in shock. Floating above them, holding the spike in one hand, was a tall figure in silver tights and a black cape. He didn’t need to see the man’s face to know who he was – every boy anywhere comic books existed would know him. It was Captain Infinite, the Man of Titanium, the original superhero, the one who had defined and started the entire genre.

  “Throwing pieces of buildings at people is rather impolite too, don’t you think?” he said in fluent Japanese. With a squeeze of his hand, he crushed the spike into rubble. Then he turned to them.

  “Do you prefer English or Japanese?” he asked in English.

  “E-English,” Adam stammered.

  “Are you two alright?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Adam said. “But our friend–”

  Captain Infinite glanced at Atria. “She seems to have regained her footing.” Adam turned to look. Atria was indeed back on her feet, in a fighting stance with her sabre, facing off against the teenager, who kept looking at Captain Infinite in shock.

  “Who are you?” Stella asked.

  “I am Captain Infinite, but my friends call me ‘Cap’,” Captain Infinite replied. “I hope you will too. How about I take it from here?”

  Stella nodded. “Okay,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.

  Captain Infinite turned to the thief and spoke in Japanese. “I couldn’t help but overhear these fine people saying that you have something that doesn’t belong to you. If you and your friend return it now, I’ll let you both go. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to stop you.”

  “I don’t take instructions from lower beings,” the thief declared. “Even those wearing silly costumes who can fly.”

  “You’re one to talk about silly costumes and flying,” Captain Infinite replied. “Last chance before I get serious. Give back what you’ve stolen.”

  The thief cocked his head and raised his hand. The side of a building exploded towards Captain Infinite, the pieces of masonry bouncing harmlessly off of him. “Well, I tried,” Captain Infinite said. In a flash of silver, he slammed into the thief, driving him through the side of the opposite building.

  Deep in the shadows, Jack Death watched the fight. His eyes widened as a literal superhero – the superhero – descended from the sky.

  He frowned. If Captain Infinite had appeared, this didn’t seem like a very fair fight at all.

  Atria gasped, trying to regain her breath, as the teenager pressed the razor edge of her knife against her jugular. Her pistol had fallen out of her hand from the shock of hitting the building. She still had her sabre, but the teenager had her sword arm pinned, the sharp edge of a blade pressing against Atria’s wrist.

  “I told you it wouldn’t save you,” the teenager said. “Goodbye, anime girl.” The pressure of the blade against Atria’s jugular increased.

  The world exploded in a flash of silver and a sonic boom. The shock wave washed against them, the teenager’s blade jerking away from Atria’s neck. The weight of her body still pressed against Atria’s chest, but the pressure of the blade against the wrist of her sword arm was gone.

  Atria blinked. The teenager was staring at something in the air, slack jawed. She turned her head to look. A man in silver tights and a black cape hovered between the thief and Stella and Adam, the rental car they had arrived in wrecked and smashed against the wall, a spike of masonry through the cab and engine compartment.

  “Throwing pieces of buildings at people is rather impolite too, don’t you think?” the man said to the thief. Atria looked again at the teenager. She was completely rapt. Atria pushed the teenager off her and rolled to the side, bracing herself against the wall as she rose to her feet. Every part of her body ached from the impact and the fall, and she was fairly certain she had cracked at least one rib.

  Dealing with injuries would have to wait, though. Atria returned to a sabre fighting stance. The teenager got up slowly, eyes still on the floating man in silver. The floating man said something to Stella and Adam that Atria couldn’t make out, and then turned to the thief.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear these fine people saying that you have something that doesn’t belong to you,” the man declared in Japanese. “If you and your friend return it now, I’ll let you both go. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to stop you.”

  “I don’t take instructions from lower beings,” the thief stated. “Even those wearing silly costumes who can fly.”

  “You’re one to talk about silly costumes and flying,” the floating man in silver said. “Last chance before I get serious. Give back what you’ve stolen.”

  And then the side of the building opposite them exploded, chunks of masonry falling around them. Impossibly fast, the man in silver streaked into the thief, smashing both of them into the building on the other side. Atria blinked. The only person between her and the orb was now the teenager.

  The teenager turned, shifting into a low combat stance, knives ready. Out of the corner of her eye, Atria saw Stella start to sneak towards the orb. The teenager glanced at Stella as well.

  “Stella, don’t!” Atria barked in English. “She’d kill you before you got halfway there – let me handle this!”

  The teenager turned to face Atria. “Is she like us? A character from a story?”

  Atria nodded. “We’re the good guys, you can trust us. That orb is dangerous.”

  “Well then,” the teenager said. “If she’s fictional too, then when I’m done killing you, I’m going to kill her, just because you annoyed me.”

  “Not on my watch,” Atria said, swinging into action.

  Captain Infinite threw the thief through the wall of another building, following close behind. The thief shook his head and waved his hand. An invisible force grabbed Captain Infinite and slammed him into the ceiling, and then the floor. The floor collapsed beneath them, dropping them to the level below.

  “I can keep this up all day, friend,” Captain Infinite said, getting back to his feet. “Just give back what you stole and you can go on your way.”

  “You face one with all of the powers of a god,” the thief declared. “Now learn what it is to be swatted by one.” He waved his hand, and the invisible force threw Captain Infinite through the building wall, onto the street. Captain Infinite looked up, watching the side of the building collapse, the thief hovering unharmed above the wreckage. He launched himself at the thief, grabbing him and slamming him down into the debris.

  Dust and falling debris clouded his eyesight. Captain Infinite glanced around. Somehow, the thief had gotten out from under him. Then the rest of the building fell on him.

  He punched a hole out of the debris and flew up above it, taking stock. They were at least three streets away from where their fight had started. His hyper-hearing picked up the sound of a sabre clashing against long knives. The thief was nowhere to be seen below him.

  So the thief must be above him.

  Before Captain Infinite could check, the side of the opposite building exploded out towards him, showering him with massive chunks of masonry.

  “That didn’t work before,” he declared, staring up at the thief hovering about thirty feet above him. “It won’t work the next time either.” He rose higher, far enough in the air to get a sense of the street layout. It was too even a match – he needed another approach.

  Captain Infinite nodded. He knew what he would do. Accelerating past the speed of sound in an heartbeat, he smashed into the thief, sending him flying several blocks away. Then he headed back to the street where his new comrades still fought.

  He landed to find the woman in the green uniform still fighting the teenager. The orb hovered a few feet away, unprotected. Captain Infinite approached and put his hand on it. So this must be what the thief stole.

  A wave of nausea and weakness rippled through him. Captain Infinite blinked in shock. It couldn’t be – the orb couldn’t possibly be emitting that radiation, could it?

  A chunk of debris struck him on the back of the head, sending him crashing against one of the few remaining standing walls. His vision swam before him.

  Atria’s blade struck with lightning speed, her body moving with all the benefit of years of close quarters armed combat training and experience. Every move she made, the teenager matched, counter striking with her other knife, forcing Atria into a back and forth that could only end one way if it continued.

  The calculation was simple. She was injured. The teenager wasn’t. She had advanced training. The teenager had unnatural speed and agility. But if she could just get one opening to exploit, she could end the fight. If she couldn’t, it was only a matter of time before the teenager finished her off, and then Stella.

  Atria gritted her teeth. Not on her watch. No more dear friends were going to die on her watch.

  The blades flashed. The back and forth continued. Fatigue began to set in.

  Behind the teenager, Atria saw the man in silver land by the orb. She smiled. Now it would be two against one.

  It was just the distraction the teenager needed. She lunged in, slicing Atria’s side under her sword arm. Atria staggered back, clutching the wound with her spare hand. Slick blood coated her fingers.

  As she watched, the man in silver touched the orb and shuddered. A chunk of masonry flew from one of the piles of debris, striking him in the back of the head and smashing him against one of the remaining walls. The man in silver lay still. The thief descended from the sky, landing in front of the orb.

  It was over.

  “Please,” she said to the teenager, “spare my friend. Kill me if you must, but let her live.” The teenager looked unmoved and readied her knives for a killing blow.

  “We have to leave,” the thief said in English.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man in silver shake his head and start rising to his feet.

  “But I’m almost done here,” the teenager said.

  “The outcome of this battle is still in doubt,” the thief said. He waved his hand, and the two of them floated away, followed by the orb.

  Atria closed her eyes, leaned back and slid down the wall, taking several deep, ragged breaths. The blood remained slick on her hand as she clutched the wound. She heard a rush of footsteps. When she opened her eyes, both Stella and Adam were crouched over her.

  “That’s a lot of blood,” Adam said in English, adding his hand to hers in applying pressure to the wound.

  “I’ve had worse,” Atria stated. “Has anybody seen my gun? I dropped it when I hit that wall.”

  Stella looked around. “I think it’s buried under the rubble. Sorry.”

  The man in silver stepped over. “That’s a pretty bad wound. I can cauterize it, if you want.”

  Atria looked up at him. “You have a first aid kit?”

  “Laser eyes, actually,” the man said. “Long story. It will hurt, but I can close that up.”

  Atria nodded. “Please do.”

  “I need a close look at the wound,” he said, gently moving her and Adam’s hands aside. “You need to hold very still.” She felt the blood flow more freely. Then there was a searing pain. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

  “It’s done,” the man said.

  Atria opened her eyes and nodded. “Thank you, and thank you for all the other help too, whatever your name is.”

  The man held out his hand. “I’m Captain Infinite. I guess you could say I’m a ‘superhero’. You can call me ‘Cap’.”

  “You’re supposed to shake it,” Adam whispered in her ear.

  Atria shook Captain Infinite’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Cap. I’m Major Atria Silversword. Those are my friends Stella and Adam. They’re engaged.”

  “That orb you’re trying to recover,” Cap said, “what is it?”

  “It’s a power source from my world,” Atria said. “The tall fellow in the silly clothes stole it. We’re trying to get it back to my world before the containment fails, and it explodes.”

  “So, I’ve got some bad news, then,” Cap said. “I got hit by radiation from that thing when I touched it. I think the containment is already starting to fail.”

  Atria sighed. “Lovely. We need to get back to Kaguyama’s and regroup. I think we can call this engagement a complete failure. Where’s the car?”

  “What’s left of it is over here,” Adam said, pointing. “And part of it seems to be over there.”

  “So we’re walking then,” Atria said, scabbarding her sword. “Somebody help me up.”

  Cap held out his hand. Atria took it and stood up. Her head swam for a moment. “You look like you need more help,” he said.

  “Give me a moment,” Atria said. “Do you know what is going on, how you got here, and all that?”

  “I know this isn’t my world,” Cap said. “And that you’re trying to recover that orb from somebody who stole it. Otherwise, I’m still figuring everything else out.”

  “The short version is that Stella, you, me, that tall person, and the teenager with the knives are all fictional characters,” Atria said. “This is the world of the people who created us. Stella can fill you in on all the rest.”

  Cap blinked. “I’m not sure how to take that, or whether to believe it.”

  “We can prove it later,” Stella said. “In the meantime, we should start getting back. It’s a long walk.”

  They started walking, Atria leaning against Stella as they went. “Does anybody know who that teenager was?” Atria asked.

  “I think she’s Jenny Calhoun,” Adam replied. “We watched her show back in Canada. She’s a high school girl who fights monsters and saves the world.”

  “She’s a hero?” Atria said. “That’s one pretty unhinged hero.”

  “I take it you don’t know who the tall fellow was,” Cap stated.

  “We’ve been trying to figure that one out for days,” Adam said. “How did you get here, anyway?”

  “I saw that tall fellow poking around in my world, followed by that orb,” Cap replied.

  “What did he steal from your world?” Atria asked.

  Cap shrugged. “As far as I can tell, nothing. He just seemed to be looking around the city, dressed like some sort of shabby supervillain. And then he just disappeared. It was odd – no signs of teleportation or anything of the sort. I spent the better part of a day looking around the streets to see if he had just ducked into a building or alley, but nothing. Then I landed, and fell right through the ground into this world.”

  “Ah,” Atria said. “For me it was a wall.”

  “Floor for me,” Stella added. They turned a corner.

  “So, there was a flash of light, and then everything was strange. It was New York, but not my New York. The skyscrapers were different. I flew down to my cabin by the lake about fifty miles out of the city, but it wasn’t there – and neither was the lake.”

  “Wait,” Adam said. “You commute?”

  Cap nodded. “Beats apartment living.”

  “Right, sorry,” Adam said. “Please continue.”

  “Then I flew to this tower in Antarctica I built back when I first got here in the mid-‘30s. But it wasn’t there, and neither were any of the landmarks around it. After that, I didn’t know what to do. So, I just started flying. I was close to Japan when I started hearing your confrontation with that tall fellow and decided to check it out. You know the rest.”

  “Well, thank you for your help,” Atria said. “If you hadn’t arrived when you did, I think that Jenny girl would have killed us.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Cap said.

  “So, we need to get back to Kaguyama’s and figure out a new plan,” Atria said. “First, though, I think I want to stop by the hotel and grab my street clothes. I think my uniform is done for.”

  “If you’ve got a place to stay, have you got room for one more?” Cap asked. “I don’t have anywhere to go at the moment.”

  “All of that is going to have to wait,” Adam said as they turned another corner, motioning. A line of soldiers with combat rifles at the ready blocked the street before them.

  “They’re Japanese Self-Defence Force,” Cap said. “I worked with these guys back in the ‘80s.”

  One of the soldiers stepped forward. “I must ask you to come with us,” he said in heavily accented English.

  Atria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Guys, I don’t have any fight left in me to get us out of this. I’m sorry.”

  “I think we should go with them,” Cap said. “So long as I’m here, nothing bad will happen to any of you, I promise.”

  “I’m holding you to that,” Stella said.

  As the soldiers took them all into custody and packed them into a truck for transport, they confiscated Atria’s sword. She was too exhausted and sore to even think of resisting.

  NEXT: “Conference“

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