Chasing Shadows
1
Tyson Lewis, The Mocker, waited in an alley across the street from Pico's, an arcade where the kids from his former school hung out. He wore the makeshift costume he had made after some members of a street gang had placed him in a coma for six months. The chemical injected in him had changed him while he slept.
Tyson waited, confident that no one could see him. The chemicals in his system had not made him invisible. It had done the next best thing. He could become one with any shadow, and ride it wherever he wanted.
It had allowed him to break the man behind his transformation, as well as continue as one of the city's vigilantes. There was no place he couldn't break into, or person he couldn't follow as long as a shadow was near by.
Tyson saw the guy he was interested in leave Pico's. He let his subject take a considerable lead before using the shadows to trail along invisibly.
2
Cory Chase looked each way before crossing the street. Church Hill was a long away from his usual haunt of Cutter Bay. He had grabbed a train on a feeling. Something whispered in his ear that this was where he needed to be.
His life had become so strange since he had been left the gold ring he wore on his left hand. It had one central stone, one smaller emerald, and eleven empty settings around that centerpiece. He had gained that one stone after a battle with a sea serpent.
He still had no idea who Oliver Hunt, the man that left the ring to him, had been, or why he was supposed to keep it from whomever wanted it from him. He also was not sure if the sea serpent was connected to the ring, or a random event.
He looked up at the clock tower that dominated the area, wondering what he was supposed to do now.
3
Tyson Lewis used the heavy shadows as his road as his subject led him on the subway, then across town. It was child's play for him to ride along in the train's shadow. He waited in a dark pool as the young man, still almost a kid, stepped off the car and headed for the entrance to the street.
Tyson shifted across the available shadows, becoming visible for a brief instant as he followed his lead up the stairs to the street. The night gave him more freedom than the sterile lighting of the subway station.
Chase started walking, hands in his pockets. The ring on his hand tugged him away from the Clock Tower, away from the busy streets. Another jewel must be pulling on him.
He wondered what this one would let him do, day dreaming of being able to fly without wings, walking through walls, running like Cutter Bay's hero, the Blinker. After all, the one stone he did have made him as strong as he wanted to be.
Chase's mindless wandering led him into the urban jungle of Bolan Square. He barely paid attention to the loud lights of Pico's as he ventured down the sidewalk. One of the local pros almost asked him what his pleasure was until she saw the blankness of his eye when he glanced at her. She retreated from that empty gaze.
Tyson stood in a shadow cast by a light pole. He frowned under his goalie helmet as a man in a light jacket and jeans approached, head bent to look at the ground.
A friend of his guy?
Tyson's quarry stood with four others, sporting the Street Shark fang on their clothes. They spotted the lone intruder, pointing and laughing. They spread out in front of him as he kept walking.
Cross the street, Tyson thought. Cross the street.
The walker came to a stop at the living barrier. He stood for a moment as if waking up. Then he turned left to go around the group. He pulled up short when two of the young men blocked his path.
Cross the street, Tyson thought, clenching his fist. Get out of there.
The man smiled, rubbing his hands together.
Chase hoped none of the yahoos in front of him pulled a weapon. He didn't want to overreact and kill one of them by accident. He didn't need any more entanglements than what he was already stuck with by the ring on his hand.
"Look, guys," he said as a last chance to negotiate. "Just let me pass. I have had a hard week, and I don't want any trouble."
"Listen guys," Lewis's quarry said. "He doesn't want trouble. Then pay the toll, my man."
Chase pulled out his empty pockets. He let a piece of lint drop to the ground.
"Sorry, fresh out of cash."
"We'll take that ring on your hand," said the tough. "It looks expensive enough to cover our expenses."
He laughed at his joke. They all started laughing. Chase started laughing too. He laughed so hard that everyone else stopped just to watch him shake in his amusement.
"It wasn't that funny," said the spokesman.
"For who?," said Chase.
One hand reached out to grab the gang member's jacket. It hooked up and to the left. The man flew on top of an awning and bounced. He fell off with a thud on the hard concrete.
"Who's next?"
Tyson wondered if he should interfere in what looked like a wolf in sheep's clothing helping himself to coyotes. He couldn't help smiling under his hockey mask. Maybe he should save the attempted muggers.
A small vortex attracted the Mocker's attention. It spouted from the sidewalk behind the strong man. Tendrils formed shapes, formed connected masses of shimmering black steel. The vortex died, spraying wispy streamers of dust into the street and along the storefronts.
The strong man turned at the sound of clanking metal and the pulling of a large wooden baton from a belt sheath. He pushed the thugs back as the obsidian knight's black baton became ten more floating in the air in front of him.
Now is the time to interfere, Tyson thought.
4
Tyson dove into a pool of shadow that reached across the street. His hand caught an armored ankle in its grip. He tried to pull the new arrival off his feet as he passed. The baton whacked his hand with crackling force. The hand vanished in shadow as the Mocker tried to concentrate through the pain of broken bones.
Chase wondered if this guy was connected with the sea serpent he and the Blinker had beaten in the water off Cutter Bay. He didn't see how that could be. Still he had gotten the ring, and weirdos were coming out of the woodwork.
"Can I help you?," Chase asked as he looked around for something he could use as a weapon.
"The ring," said the knight. His batons danced in front of him, spinning in place. He held out a gauntleted hand.
"You want it," said Chase. "Come get it."
Chase flexed his knees. He straightened his legs, pushing against the sidewalk. He flew straight up, one hand grabbing the edge of a cornice. He flipped over the edge, landing lightly on his feet.
"Come on, stooge," Chase shouted down. "Come get it."
Tyson watched as the thing in armor used his batons to climb after the mystery man. His hand screamed at him every time he moved it. He couldn't let that stop him. He had to catch up and find out what was going.
Tyson pulled himself up the side of the building, swimming through its shadow like a fish in water. He reached the roof as the strong guy leaped to another roof across the street. The flying batons tried to smash the man in his back as he ducked around the brick roof entrance.
The Mocker winced as the batons smashed against the hard wall, knocking fragments in all directions.
Chase peeked around the corner of the square entrance. Those batons would keep him at a distance so he had to try to use that to his advantage somehow. He needed a weapon. His eyes fell on the metal fire door.
Chase knocked a baton aside as it swung for his head. His other hand grabbed the edge of the fire door. One yank sent it flying at the black knight. The batons formed a picket fence in front of their master. They slowed the door, but it still plowed through and connected. The armored thing stumbled backwards to the edge of the roof.
"I wonder if you can fly," Chase said as he leaped forward, feet extending in front of him.
The Mocker tensed as the flying door struck the knight across its metal body. He leaped forward, unintentionally mirroring the flying stranger as he arrowed across the roof. Both men collided with the baton wielder as he tried to recover from the door punching against its breastplate.
The double impact from the charges knocked the knight over the edge of the roof. Tyson slid into a shadow to stop his forward motion. Chase went over the roof with the knight. He had been flying too high, and too fast to twist and grab a hand hold on the building.
Tyson stood as the floating batons followed their master into the alley between the impromptu battleground and the next one over. He heard the crash of metal on concrete as he looked over the edge. The batons descended toward the fallen combatant, forming a litter to lift him up and away.
"Thanks, buddy," Chase said, gripping the brick wall with his fingers. "You came along at the right time."
"I wouldn't celebrate yet," said the Mocker, watching the batons dance on the alley floor. "That thing looks like it wants more."
"If he wants to dance, we can dance," said Chase, pulling on the wall. He hopped up enough to grab the roof edge and swing over the low rampart.
Tyson dropped into a shadow, and drifted away from the center of the field. His hand still hurt, but adrenaline was keeping him sedated as he waited for the next move to occur. His sudden partner seemed relaxed and confident, hardly sweating after what had already happened.
The Knight of Wands floated upward, his batons supporting him in a matchstick chair. He stood on the roof, letting his wands dance in front of him like wooden swords in the hands of invisible swordsmen.
Tyson blinked his eyes at the display. Something was wrong with the number of batons spinning in place. Something a little off. As the Knight closed in on the strong man, he realized what it was. One of the batons was missing.
Chase waited in the center of the rooftop arena. His ring glittered as he flexed his hands, wondering what he would have to do to beat this guy. That sea serpent in Cutter Bay had been easier to deal with than this.
The short staffs leaped forward, swinging in rainbow arcs. Chase leaped over them, dropping in front of the Knight. His fist shot out as the pieces of wood tried to react to his tactic and protect their master. A dent turned into a flattened helmet as he followed through on his swing. The entity crumpled against the low brick wall around the roof.
"Eat that," Chase said.
One of the batons flew over to the stricken Knight. It pressed into its metal chest, sinking into the metal with the sound of bacon cooking. The crushed helmet popped back to the roughly spherical shape it had before being pushed into a pie plate by the sailor's fist.
"That's a neat trick," Chase said. "I wonder if I can wear out your healing sticks."
Tyson suddenly had a bad idea. He didn't know if it would work, but it might do the job if he could get ahead of those flying broomsticks. All he needed was the right distraction to get the operating room he wanted.
The remaining magic sticks split in two groups. Half rushed at Chase, swinging in abandon. The other half spun in front of the knight to prevent another loss of power. Neither group seemed to notice Tyson readying himself in his shadowy hiding place.
5
The Mocker rode the shadows at the Knight, his good hand securing a hold as he yanked the menace to the roof and pulled him forward. That threw the sticks into some confusion, unsure of how to protect their master. Chase grabbed the surrounding rods and hugged them close to buy as much time as he could for his new ally.
Lewis cleared the roof before dropping the Knight back down to the alley floor almost in the same place that Chase had dropped him earlier with that tackle. The batons that weren't in Chase's grip flew after the pair.
Now came the tricky part, Tyson thought as he raced the dowels to where the Knight had impacted.
He grabbed another handhold and dragged the Knight behind him out of the alley. He felt a charge of static electricity run up his arm. That's when he dragged the armored menace in front of a bus. The public transport bounced over the sudden speed bump, almost cutting it in half.
Tyson dragged the distorted piece of metal from under the bus and headed for the subway. His small plan was working. He just needed to keep the gimp off balance and unable to counter him.
The Mocker dragged his prey down the next subway entrance's steps. A baton had already been sacrificed as he pulled it through the turnstiles and headed for the nearest platform. Only his wild abandon kept the Knight from freeing his leg and getting back on equal terms.
Tyson dragged his victim onto the tracks, making sure to let him go on the third rail. He watched as electricity fried the Knight until his seams burst in slight ribbons. The floating batons hovered in place, waiting for the punishment to end so they could recharge their wielder.
Then the next train arrived to plow through the trapped piece of metal a few minutes later. The metal man flew down the track, rolling when it hit.
Two of the remaining batons plunged into the knight as he tumbled down the tracks. Glowing ribbons repaired the torn seams of the armor, straightening the dents. The hunter rolled to a halt, climbing to its feet. Three wands hovered at its side as it seemed to orient itself on where its quarry should be outside the subway system.
Tyson used the shadows in the tunnel to get behind the automaton as it used its batons to vault on the platform. It turned towards the exit, unaware of where the Mocker hid, or uncaring of anything other than its target.
Tyson tried to think of a new tactic, something to use up those last few charges. Three spun in place, no telling how many the strong man still held in his arms. He needed something that would wipe out the whole set of recharges. His hit and run had worked for a little bit. Maybe he could make it work again if he had something to use, something harder than his hand.
Tyson looked around for something he could use, anything he could carry. He saw a magazine rack, and hoped it was strong enough to do what he wanted to do. He smiled under the helmet as he hefted it. Maybe he could use it after all.
Tyson shook the magazines off as he charged forward. The metal spindle seemed to glide by itself along the floor until it leaped forward like a javelin. A dark hand briefly showed itself before sinking into a shadow at the base of a wall. The rack punched through the knight of wands, knocking it to the concrete floor. The metal man clanged after he went down, pulling at the metal rod.
Take that, Tyson thought.
6
Cory Chase smiled as he let the batons in his grip drag him along. That little shadow guy had come through for him. He could feel the beating through the wands. They didn't like being held back from helping their master.
Hunt's ring was the reason for this, but why would anyone want it this bad? The empty settings said it wasn't as strong as it could be.
Did whomever want it so bad, they couldn't wait for him to assemble it in his own time?
Chase let the batons drag him to the subway. He needed to get rid of the metal guy so he could find the second stone in peace. He crested the wave of frightened people heading up the stairs as he descended gently through the mass.
He smiled again when saw the black knight trying to pull a metal shaft out of its body. He bunched his animated prisoners under one arm as he staggered forward. He thought he saw a chance to stop the mayhem.
Chase grabbed the metal man's head with one hand, and began to squeeze. He didn't know how strong he really was with the ring on, but the dark steel compressed like a piece of bread under his grip. He let the wands go so he could grab the knight in both hands, then he began to roll the steel body into a ball. The flailing limbs tried to stop him. The ring bearer smiled slightly as he fended off the weak attempts to finish what he started.
The wands hovered helplessly, unable to regenerate their master while the magazine rack was folded into and around him. The minions floated wherever Chase waved the ball in the air. The ring bearer nodded, glad his solution had worked.
Now to get rid of the thing.
Epilogue
Cory Chase and the Mocker stood looking out on the dark Atlantic. Chase held the ball that used to be a mobile suit of armor in his hands, trying to ignore the wands fluttering around him. He cocked his arm, then let fly. The thing vanished with the speed of a cannonball, dragging its strange retinue behind it.
"What was that about?," the shadow man asked.
"Heck if I know," said Chase, slapping his hands together. "It's over and that's all that matters to me."
"If you say so," said the Mocker. "Next time I might not be around to help out."
"Thanks for the help this time," said Chase, turning to walk away. "I'll see you around."