Capes & Clockwork: Superheroes in the Age of Steam Page 6

  “Things have changed. The cannons are not the only things we’ve spotted in Wissant. They are constructing a flotilla of vessels and amassing a landing force,” He said. “Things have changed, Dr. Laybourne. This isn’t about our long-term survival. This is about preventing an invasion.”

  *****

  “You’re going where?” Mattie and Dr. Hunter yelled together.

  I sighed in despair and explained again, “The Admiralty has requested, no … ordered me to travel on board the airship that will drop Henry. I’m to make sure the bomb is prepared properly before deployment and then observe the effects after detonation.”

  “And you’re taking her because…?” Mattie asked.

  I looked out the back window at Keely as she danced and chased the sunlight. “The Queen was rather taken with her exploits, just as the populous seems to be. After the official meeting ended, the officers made it known that they want to put her to use.”

  “What kind of use?” Hunter asked.

  “Since the people are fascinated with her, they mean to use her to bolster the war effort. Make her a poster girl for the war. If the bomb works, the higher-ups mean to invade the Continent and reclaim it for the Crown,” I said and looked again at her. “Mattie, since she is going to be a poster girl, can you design something for her to wear? Something patriotic and inspiring.”

  She nodded and stepped to the table. In short order, she’d begun sketching out ideas. Dr. Hunter chattered on for a bit about the war efforts and the foolish notion of retaking Europe alone. I just tuned out his words as I watched her dance. But something began to form in my mind, it was a notion at first but the more I watched her, the more I started to realize the truth of it all.

  “Sun light…” I whispered. I didn’t respond to Hunter immediately when he asked what I meant. “Don’t you see? The missing ingredient is sunlight. That first day, when she fell, a ray of light came into the room. She’d not stirred until that moment. Each time she uses these abilities, she is weakened, but then she chases the rays of the sun around, bathing her hands in the light. She is absorbing it.” I looked at him and saw the confused expression. “Think about a plant. The leaves collect sunlight and use it, photosynthesis. She does something similar. That’s why she was naked when she fell and why she tears all her clothes up. She is bearing as much of her skin as she can to collect the sun’s energy.”

  “That would make sense,” he said.

  I rushed to Mattie’s side and looked at her drawings. She’d sketched out a nice dress with a flowing long skirt. It was totally unacceptable. I knew that Keely would immediate rip the skirt and the sleeves away.

  I snatched the pencil from her hand and made some alterations. “No, Mattie. Let’s shorten the skirt to here. This is about where she usually rips them up to anyway. And the top … let’s do away with the sleeves, and open the front down to here. It may show more cleavage than fashionable, but we’ll have to make do and her midriff should be bare.”

  “You might as well have her naked,” Mattie said. “I’ll tell you this, I ain’t making an outfit like this. It’s positively scandalous.”

  I glared at her for a moment and then struck on an idea that would bring her to my way of thinking.

  “Yes, this is revealing, but you heard what we were saying. Her skin collects the sunlight. She needs to have as much skin showing so as to collect the maximum amount. Besides that…” I stooped beside her and looked into her gray eyes. “If she is the Empire’s poster girl for the war effort, everyone and I mean everyone will see her and see the clothing she wears. Imagine being able to say that her clothing was made at Warner’s Dressmakers. If I’m correct, despite her scandalous attire, every woman in the Empire will want to mimic her style. Especially young women, who always want to look like the royals or celebrities. Imagine how many people will flock to the dressmaker of Britain’s newest heroine.”

  Her eyes lit up at the prospect. She nodded and took to redesigning Keely’s new look.

  “I can do all that, but I want to give her a cape,” she said and looked up at me. “Something to wrap around herself when needed … for modesty’s sake.”

  “Wait here,” I said and dashed from the room only to return moments later. “Use this.”

  She looked up at the Union Jack, the one I’d wrapped her up in on the day she fell.

  “A Jack?” she twisted up her face.

  “If she is going to be a patriotic symbol, why not wrap her up in the very symbol of Britain and the Empire itself,” I said and looked out the window at her as she danced. “Let’s make her the hero that this nation needs. We may die in the end, but let’s leave this world with hope in our hearts.”

  *****

  I spent that day and the next pushing my men to finish construction of Henry the 8th. Certain that the weapon was ready, I lay in bed that evening and contemplated the coming events. We’d be transported to the airfields outside of town, the bomb would be loaded and we’d depart. And after that, most of the morning would be spent in the air until our target was reached. And then…

  “Thomas?” Her voice, barely a whisper resonated through the darkness.

  I cleared my throat and sat up. In the doorway, I could just make out her silhouette against the flickering glow from the fireplace downstairs. She moved into the room, letting her robe drop in the process.

  Without thinking, I scooted to the side as she slipped into the bed next to me. Guilt gnawed at me briefly, but the feel of her flesh against mine eradicated all doubts that my actions were wrong. My head dropped back to the pillow as she laid hers on my chest and pushed herself against me. I wanted her, needed her in the worst way, but that wasn’t why she had come to me. Content, she nuzzled her face against my neck and let her hand move to my chest, where she found contentment running her fingers through the light patch of fur there. I turned slightly and kissed her head, over and over. The rush from each one never diminished.

  It didn’t take long before her eyes closed and she fell asleep. My eyelids were heavy and sleep was taking me, but I held onto consciousness as long as possible. I didn’t want the moment to end. I didn’t want to lose the sensation of her flesh against mine, the feel of the heat of her body warming me, and listening to the rhythmic sound of her breathing. And then the fear set in, fear of losing her to the weapon or worse, having the government take her away. I kissed her once more before I closed my eyes and mouthed the words to her that I didn’t have to courage to say out loud.

  *****

  It’d been designated R178 when christened but the airship was known to its crew as ‘Firebrand’. Since the war began, the shipyards had churned out vessels like this at an alarming rate. Each class usually had a dozen built before improvements were added along with an increase in size. The Firebrand was roughly the size of a battleship, with a few cannons that could fire down at an enemy along with a tremendous bomb payload. When unleashed, over a hundred bombs could rain down on a target. The problem was that the slugs had developed anti-airship guns that could bring down an airship if they hit it enough times. As a result, our airships had to fly higher than their guns could shoot. This made bombing accuracy almost impossible. Our bombing attacks were like shooting a quail with a scattergun. A few pellets may hit, but the majority wouldn’t come close.

  I watched Keely walk around the decks, looking over the railings and watching the world pass under us. Her new outfit kept my eyes, as well as the crews’, occupied, despite our best attempts to be gentlemen.

  Mattie’s creative flair had proven to be to Keely’s liking. Her pleated navy blue skirt only dropped down enough to cover the upper third of her thighs, and was held in place with a maroon belt and sparkling brass buckle. Her white blouse lacked sleeves but the edges and plunging neckline were trimmed with lace. The top was cut obscenely short, just covering her breasts and leaving her midriff bare. Attached on the back of it was the cape. Just as I’d asked, Mattie had fashioned the Union Jack perfectly. The final touch was a pair of short red boots with brass trimmings.

  As I stepped onto the control deck, the ship’s commander shouted out, “Take her up ‘nother hundred yards. Gotta make sure we’re out range of their gun.” Captain Hicks, a man about my age turned and looked me over. “Doctor Laybourne, a question about this bomb of yours. What altitude should we be at when it is dropped? Just how big of an explosion are you really expecting?”

  “I’m not certain, but we should be safe at this height.” I lied. Truth be known, I had no idea of what would really happen.

  A crewman chimed out from the foreword section of the deck, “Coming up on the coast, Captain.” He lowered the binoculars and looked back at us with a smile. “I see the guns. This should be quite a show.”

  “Please remember to have your men put on their goggles,” I reminded the Captain. “The flash from the explosion could be hard on the eyes.”

  He nodded, “I doubt a flash would affect the Eagle.”

  A few miles behind us, the Eagle, one of FireBrand’s sisterships, cruised along. It would act as an observer for the drop and then fly over and inspect the damage should we be unable to do so.

  The sounds of muffled explosions caught my attention. The crew seemed unconcerned but the Captain took note of my jumping at each boom.

  “They’re firing shells at us. They’re set to detonate at certain altitudes but their guns can’t lob a round above 2500 feet and we’re cruising at 3500, so we’re safe. They’ll just blow harmlessly underneath us.”

  Keely ran to me, grabbed my arm, and pointed to the edge of the deck where she’d been standing. “Look!”

  I walked with her and glanced down. Directly below us, the line between land and sea passed. I looked up and saw the guns in the distance. They appeared tiny, like little black twigs that sparked on the tips. And below us, the occasional burst of AA rounds puffed out fire then expanded into a black cloud.

  “We’re safe up here,” I said, hoping to reassure her, but I didn’t feel very certain of it, myself.

  Looking down again and squinting slightly, I could make out the fleet of barges. The ships lined the coast, squeezed together so tightly that they appeared to be joined from this distance. A little ways from the sea, I could see encampments. This must be the invasion force Admiral Fabb spoke about. I winced at the size. There could easily be thousands of them, waiting for the chance to spread their destruction across our isle.

  We jumped as another wave of AA fire blasted around the ship. But when shredded metal ripped the deck open a matter of feet from us, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the interior of the flight deck.

  The ship shuttered as more shots struck nearby. The sound of metal shrapnel raining across the decks and structure caused the crew to scramble. The Captain shouted orders for more altitude while others yelled about damage to various sections of the ship.

  “Fire!” Someone shouted. “Aft bags.”

  Captain Hicks yelled for the CO2 tanks to be dumped in that area and looked at me. “Apparently they have new AA guns, too. I’m not sure we’ll make it to the drop point at a safe height.”

  The nose began pitching up and I could feel the deck drop slightly. The ship was slowly losing its battle against gravity and began dropping.

  I held her close and nodded as another volley of AA fire erupted around us, “Understood.”

  The forward gas bags, filled with deadly hydrogen, were torn open, leaking the lighter-than-air gas. The nose dropped and the ship began to plummet toward Earth. I struggled to hold her and stand upright but when she shouted at me, I understood. It wasn’t that she was trying to stay on her feet, Keely wanted free. I opened my arms and let her go. In an instant, she darted to the deck’s edge and shot into the air.

  Circling underneath, Keely positioned herself and I could hear her yells as she struggled to push against the vessel. Although we still dropped, the rate slowed. Several more AA shots hit, ripping the remaining bags open. By the time we hit the ground, the only lift generated was Keely’s doing.

  The impact knocked me to the wooden planks of the deck. I lay still for a short time as gunfire erupted from around us. A few of the braver crewmen, who’d stood, were immediately riddled with bullets from the Otherworlder’s weapons.

  I heard someone from behind me and looked back. One of the bombardiers entrusted with Henry, crawled frantically to the Captain. Occasional shots smacked against the deck, making us remain as flat as possible. Keely landed on the far side of the ship and causally strolled to me. Several bullets struck her and simply bounced off as if she were made of steel. I held my hand and pulled her down, close to me.

  “Captain, doctor, The bomb! I was prepping it for the drop. When we crashed the detonator’s countdown started. We got minutes,” he reported frantically.

  I looked into her eyes and saw the exhaustion within her. What power she had, must have be sapped in an effort to control our crash.

  The boom of a cannon followed by a deafening explosion on the rear of the shipmade us all duck and cover our heads. In the distance, shouts from the slugs could be heard. Cheers and yells erupted from their lines. They’d downed an airship and meant to exact some measure of revenge for our constant bombings.

  I looked out. All around the remains of the airship, the Otherworlders advanced. Seeing them in person for the first time, I realized that the boasts of their size and repulsiveness hadn’t been exaggerated. Humanoid in shape, they stood a dozen feet tall. Their heads lacked noses and ears like a human, but held four eyes. Their grayish skin glimmered in the way that a reptile’s body would in the sunlight.

  When they moved to a hundred feet or so, several of the crew opened fire with rifles. Six slugs fell on the first volley. Seeing that we weren’t going down without a fight, they halted their advance and crouched in defensive stances.

  “We’re doomed,” I said, looking into her eyes. “The bomb will detonate in minutes.”

  She shook her head and stood. In a defiant tone, she said, “No, Thomas Laybourne. We survive.”

  With that said, she walked across the deck and jumped to the ground. Captain Hicks barked some orders to his men but I was too focused on her to notice what was said.

  She marched forward toward the closest group. One Otherworlder, dressed in elaborate armor and headdress moved out from their line, as if to challenge her. He was obviously their leader or a high-ranking officer, if they had a chain of command like human militaries do.

  She’d gotten half way to him, when the slug raised a hand and shouted something. Immediately, the guns behind him fired off. I saw the rounds striking her and in her weakened state she couldn’t completely resist them. The large bullets smashed into her, knocking her back a few steps but she refused to fall.

  The lead slug scoffed and shouted something in his tongue. A mighty roar arose from the others behind him. He waved and in no time, a deafening roar of a mechanical nature sounded out from behind them. Over a slight rise, a metal vehicle moved toward her. Massive tracks on either side provided the traction needed to move over any terrain, it sported a massive cannon the size of a tree trunk on a rotating turret.

  Keely stopped when she saw it and glanced back at me. I could see the fear in her eyes. I started to jump down and run to her, but the Captain’s hand grabbed my arm.

  “Don’t be a fool,” he whispered.

  The lead slug held up a hand and then brought it down to point straight at her. The cannon on the mechanized vehicle fired. The shell hit her square in the chest and exploded. The blast deafened me and for a moment, all I could see were spots. When my vision cleared, Keely lay a dozen feet back from where she’d been. Her arms and legs were motionless and I couldn’t see any signs of life from her until her head rolled slightly. Her costume was scorched and thin ribbons of smoke rose from the burnt material. My frozen heart began beating again, seeing that she lived, but in her weakened state, I wasn’t sure if she’d survive another hit like that.

  I want to say that it was bravery, chivalry, or some other nonsense such as that, which caused my next actions, but it wasn’t. It was my own selfishness, my own needs that pushed me to act.

  I leapt from the wreckage and ran to her, sliding in the loose soil to her side. I covered her body with my own, in hopes that I could protect her in some manly way. But deep down, it was a fear of losing her that hurt the most. As much as I wanted to protect her, I needed to be the first to die, because I couldn’t stomach the notion of a world without her in it. Even if my life ended minutes or seconds later, the idea that I’d be forced to witness her death tore at my soul. I would die, at their hands or the firestorm that my bomb would bring, but I would die protecting her. I would die knowing that she still lived, for a short time, anyway.

  I looked back at the laughing slugs. They howled at the sight. A puny human protecting the woman he loves. The woman he’d loved since the first moment his gaze fell upon her.

  As I turned back to her, something caught my eye. An idea, born of desperation came to me. I lightly slapped her cheek until she stirred. When her eyes met mine and I saw the spark of life within her, I lifted her weak body and ran.

  The bullet, fired from a random slug’s rifle, grazed my left thigh and I stumbled. Seeing that I wouldn’t reach my objective, I pushed her away and threw her as I fell. I hit the ground hard, as did she.

  “Keely!” I said and saw her look at me.

  I pointed to the ground, a few feet from her. She turned and saw what I’d desperately tried to reach, a patch of sunlight that fell upon the scorched ground, a few feet away. She struggled to crawl and stretched her hand out until the rays hit her. Hearing the slugs roaring with laughter at the spectacle, I turned and pulled myself up. She needed time, time to absorb as much as possible. I only hoped she could fly away before the bomb detonated.