CHAPTER 2
SIN OF COWARDICE, part 7

I’m still high in the air, clinging to the flying fencer. He tries to shake me off, but I hold on tight.

“Jones, I know you said you didn’t want to hear from me, but I did some calculations. Given your speed and elevation, you should land now. Your altitude has dropped, so I know for sure that you guys will survive.”

“Okay, thanks. I just need to figure out how to land with him. Whether he likes it or not.”

Don’t make me regret this…

I drive my knee, covered in dark matter, hard into the fencer’s abdomen. He loses control of his powers, and we both inevitably fall toward the ground, praying Deck’s calculations were correct.

The mutated fencer plummets into the water, while I tumble across a good stretch of ground. I only manage to stop thanks to a collision—a brutal one—with a tree in the park.

“Jones, are you alive? Please answer me! I don’t know where to find another mutant who hasn’t lost his mind!” he cries in a panic.

“I’m fine. Thanks for the concern, though.”

I get back up and look around to take stock of the situation, trying not to be distracted by the local wildlife that had been startled by my crash landing.

“Deck, I’m going to try to find the mutated fencer now. Tell me how I should handle him. I can’t fight him forever.” And I’m not just saying that because I still need to eat lunch and study literature.

“Jones, you’ve got over fifty acres to work with and not a single civilian per square mile. You know what to do,” he replies in a serious tone.

“I’m not opening a black hole to get rid of the mutant. What’s happening to him isn’t his fault, and I’d never do something like that to a person,” I tell him as I walk through the wooded park in search of the lake. I didn’t realize I’d strayed so far off course after falling from the sky… Now that I’ve thought about it, I see the madness I’ve gotten myself into once again. This time by choice, not by necessity like on the island.

“But you did it with the steel bum,” he presses.

“That was an accident. You know very well I would never have—”

“Liar. You did it because you had to,” he snaps. “Anyway, if it hadn’t been for you, what do you think they would’ve done to him?”

…

I don’t know how to answer that question.

“You’re at a loss for words, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll answer for you. Abuse, vivisection, isolation, and a trial with only one possible verdict: guilty. And all of that assumes they would’ve even been able to contain his notorious murderous rage.”

“I know the odds are all against us, but I refuse to take justice into my own hands. Can’t you find another solution?”

“What solution? Do you want to lock them all in cages? What if your opponent tore the cage open with his blades of wind? What if the steel man destroyed it with his own body? What if you ran into a lava man one day? What would you do, Jones?”

“I—”

“Answer me! Why aren’t you answering now? You, who loves to talk about the injustice of killing in self-defense!” he yells into his microphone.

“I shouldn’t even have to decide! I already told you that I was only going to do this crazy thing today. Keep trying to come up with a solution that’s both feasible and acceptable, or I’ll send you into the black hole,” I say coldly.

“Fine! Let me think… Maybe… if… you gave me samples of your DNA and the fencer’s… I might be able to find a way to suspend the mutant’s powers with a damper. But I don’t know how long it’ll take, assuming it’s even possible to do such a thing.”

“Then try. You owe me that.”

I’ve just emerged from the woods and find myself in a stretch of grass, followed by a paved path—actually, a real sidewalk—and beyond that, the lake where the mutant should have fallen.

“Hey, I’ve made it to the lake, but I can’t find him. If he hasn’t surfaced, he must still be in the water.”

“I can’t guarantee that he didn’t survive. Are you planning to dive in?”

“I don’t think I have a choice. I don’t know about you Nixtrians, but we humans need air to breathe. I don’t like the idea, but I guess it’s up to me this time.”

Just as I’m about to start taking off my shoes, there’s an explosion of wind in front of me. The fencer rises from the depths of the lake and floats twenty feet above the surface of the water. I can feel his menacing gaze even though it’s hidden behind his mask.

Pointing his foil at me, he shouts, “En garde! Quelqu’un doit payer, ce sera ton tour!”