H.E.R.O.: Nightmonger

By Kevin Rau

Nightmonger, a crime boss in Metrocity, stumbles upon an alien drug after the starship battle between the Gahranii and the Kurcet. He puts his drug lab to work crafting a new designer drug, and releases it for testing in the clubs of the city. Due to the actions of his people, a creature formerly held captive by the Kurcet breaks free and tears through the city.

Celestia begins to learn the basics of being part of the Goth mutant "kingdom." She becomes involved with Nightmonger's agent as he distributes the drug at Blacklight. The Ladies of the Goths take offense to the interference by a crime boss dealing in their territory and strike back.

Borgz discovers a signal emitted by the alien creature's containment unit, and wreaks havoc with Nightmonger's people and the heroes as he returns to Metrocity.

H.E.R.O. - Nightmonger continues the ongoing saga of the superheroes of Metrocity. Many of the heroes, such as Psystar, Diva, Spartan, Black Tiger, Razorwing, Rayna, Duff, and more return to action in this action-packed, full-length novel of over 102,000 words.

Here is the full lineup of novels in the H.E.R.O. saga:
H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis (1)
H.E.R.O. - New Markets (2)
H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (3)
H.E.R.O. - Dark Research (4)
H.E.R.O. - Horde (5)
H.E.R.O. - Paragon (6)
H.E.R.O. - Illustrated Guide
H.E.R.O. Shorts – Gatecrasher (7)
H.E.R.O. Shorts – Silverlash (8)
H.E.R.O. - Gene Front (9)
H.E.R.O. - Incursion (10)
H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum (11)
H.E.R.O. - Malice (12)
H.E.R.O. - Dark Breach (13)
H.E.R.O. - Nightmonger (14)
H.E.R.O. – Battlefronts (15)
H.E.R.O. – Riftguard (16)
H.E.R.O. – Augments (17)
H.E.R.O. – Summoned (18)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Rau
• Release date: Mar 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310359842

Kevin Rau

Born in 1970, I've been interested in fantasy and science fiction since perhaps the age of 10. I believe my love of medieval knights came about when my father built a wooden shield and sword for me to use in elementary school for some event.Through my school years I read hundreds (or thousands? - it's hard to recall at this point) of fantasy and science fiction novels. Comic books and super heroes came a bit later, although I recall seeing the Christopher Reeve Superman movies at a very young age (and loving them). Since my later teens I believe I've watched nearly every major fantasy, science fiction, and super-hero movie that has come out.I still love reading fantasy and science fiction, although I wish there were more novels based on superheroes. This is something that drove me to create my own supers universe and heroes in written form. I love supers, but I've always wanted more character depth than a comic book can provide. (Not to mention the immense length of time it takes for a comic series to do a story is just plain too long to me.)Writing is a hobby for me, I'm a full-time computer programmer and systems administrator for a small company. Fortunately the skills I've learned allow me to work with 3D programs to render the characters (and covers) for my books. My hope is to put out a novel or two a year, time allowing. At this point I'd like to grow the H.E.R.O. Universe with more novels, as well as start a fantasy series at some point.

Book preview

H.E.R.O. -

Nightmonger

Kevin Gerald Rau

H.E.R.O. – Nightmonger

Kevin Rau

Copyright © 2013 by Kevin Gerald Rau

Published at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the online store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

Editors

Frankie Sutton

Kimi Johnson

All characters are original and fictional. Any likeness to real people is purely incidental. Cover created by Kevin Rau.

Also written by Kevin Rau - the H.E.R.O. series:

H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis (1) - free on most online retailers!

H.E.R.O. - New Markets (2)

H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall (3)

H.E.R.O. - Dark Research (4)

H.E.R.O. - Horde (5)

H.E.R.O. - Paragon (6)

H.E.R.O. - Illustrated Guide

H.E.R.O. Shorts – Gatecrasher (7)

H.E.R.O. Shorts – Silverlash (8)

H.E.R.O. - Gene Front (9)

H.E.R.O. - Incursion (10)

H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum (11)

H.E.R.O. - Malice (12)

H.E.R.O. – Dark Breach (13)

H.E.R.O. – Nightmonger (14)

H.E.R.O. – Battlefronts (15)

H.E.R.O. – Riftguard (16)

H.E.R.O. – Augments (17)

H.E.R.O. – Summoned (18)

Other Novels by Kevin Rau:

Necromancer’s Ascent (World of Dur)

Want more information on Kevin's books? http://www.kevinrau.com has information on the author's novels, as well as images of the H.E.R.O. superheroes and villains.

Feel free to like the author's page on Facebook, and to ask questions or make comments! http://www.facebook.com/herobooks

Chapter 1 – Alien Crash

Ragequit’s Viewpoint

I sat on the reinforced couch, one of those built to handle my five-hundred-pound butt. Not that I had any fat on me, as a superhuman brick, I was simply massive compared to the normal-sized guy next to me on the couch, or as I liked to call him and all the other normal humans, Pint-size. We faced the hi-def television as we played the latest Call of Duty game on the console during a Friday night at Nightmonger’s penthouse rather than at a club.

I ran through the city in the game with my machine gun, tearing up a pair of bums from the other side, when my head exploded.

I growled, Stupid snipers.

Darian, the Pint-size next to me, replied, I like snipin’.

My character came alive again at the respawn point, and a grenade immediately went off, fragging my soldier again. I swore. I respawned one more time at another location and barely made it a few dozen steps before some guy snuck around a corner and knifed me to death.

I screamed, Of all that’s holy! I crumpled the wireless game controller in my hand until it was a tiny, mashed-up ball of plastic. My strength was so great that I melded the plastic and circuit board into an unrecognizable mass of material. Being able to lift a tank did that sort of stuff.

I stood up, and Darian said, Yo, Ragequit, come on, man. What about the team?

I looked at him for a moment, my face beet red and distorted in rage. He put his hands in the air and said, Okay, we’ll figure it out. I had not gained my nickname of Ragequit by being a calm guy when it came to games.

I gestured rudely at the television and marched to the sliding glass door, walked out onto the fifteenth-story terrace on the skyscraper, and threw the ball as hard as I could up into the air. It went out of sight into the night sky, and probably flew for a good mile or more before it crashed into someone’s building. I didn’t care. It wasn’t as if I left fingerprints any longer. One of the great benefits of being a super was not sweating, getting oily skin, or needing a bathroom any longer.

In the dark sky, bright laser lights and orange bursts of fire erupted in the west. Two aircraft were in the midst of a heavy firefight, involving weapons that I hadn’t seen in person, such as lasers and missiles. One of the planes was so large that it had dozens of weapons on it, making it look more like a science fiction craft than a real plane. For that matter, I had never heard of a giant-sized jet with white and green lasers.

Then they flew closer, maybe a mile above Metrocity as they flew from the west side of the city to the east. The huge rear craft had the upper hand, and it looked like the smaller leading craft was going down. As they passed only a mile or two away, it became clear that these weren’t United Stated Air Force jets. They had to be alien in origin.

They continued east and went out of view. I stepped to the edge of the balcony, leaped up and landed on the rooftop of the skyscraper with a heavy thud. I jogged around the rooftop pool and furniture to the far side to watch the smaller ship crash at the far eastern side of the city, maybe a dozen miles away or so.

It lit up brightly for a moment as something exploded, and then the area went back to the normal city at night with millions of lights shining in the dark.

The big ship went dark and dropped fast at one point. I thought it would crash into the middle of the city, but the engines lit back up and it leveled off and flew northeast out of town.

After memorizing the area it crashed in, I ran to the rooftop door of the penthouse. A pair of guards leveled their submachine guns at me for a moment until they saw who I was. Not that normal bullets could get through my skin, or even dent in my muscle much.

One of the Pint-sizes opened the door for me, and I went into the upper portion of the penthouse. The boss, Nightmonger, was in the large living room. He was a brick, but was unusually short at less than six feet tall. He also had a thick beard, which was strange for our kind.

As I entered the lush chamber, I said, Hey, boss, you shoulda seen this…

The bearded man held up a hand and said, Quiet, Ragequit.

I shut my mouth and walked in. The boss and several of his supers were in the room watching television, as were a few strippers, who now sat to the side, quietly waiting for instructions.

They had the news on. Channel 13 News had their anchorman, Tom Gates, on the screen.

Gates was in the midst of speaking, Whatever we’re seeing, these aren’t Air Force planes, and the weapons are beyond anything we’ve seen on this planet. Even the smaller ship is nearly triple the size of the largest aircraft known to man. We’ll discuss this further as we can bring in specialists to speak with. In the meantime, here is a repeat of the footage…

They switched to a video of the fight, along with the crash. We were all quiet as we watched the scene, and then Nightmonger turned to me.

He said, What is it, Ragequit?

I pointed at the television, Uh, I just saw that go down from out by the pool.

Nightmonger stroked his thick beard. He was still dressed in his expensive suit, as he liked to be seen as more important than the rest of us.

Apart from the maid and guards, Shadow Angel and Planetbuster stood in the room. Both were focused on the news. Supers or not, the idea of aliens was of interest to us all. Planetbuster was the only one in an actual costume, as he seemed to relish the idea of being a villain.

Shadow Angel was a mutant. She could make spears out of dark stuff. I wasn’t sure what they were, but they could somehow cut me in our tests. She was entirely midnight black, from her long hair, to her eyes, nails, and skin. Even her teeth were pointed and black. She was a tall woman, nearly six feet tall, and was faster and stronger than most mutants were. That had gained her a place in the room with Nightmonger, especially after the Goth chick, Sharae, had burst into the Sundown Cabaret and injured some of Nightmonger’s guards a few days before.

Planetbuster was part of the old guard among Nightmonger’s men. He could do some great stuff with rocks and earth, like making them explode. Unfortunately, he destroyed just about everything in the fight zone, so Nightmonger didn’t keep him around as a bodyguard often. The man was an African American, and was bald and thin, at least compared to most supers. Next to Nightmonger or me, Planetbuster appeared tiny, even though he was about as tall as Shadow Angel.

Nightmonger said, Planetbuster, you go with Ragequit to that crash site. See if you can find anything interesting. The military is bound to get there soon, so move fast.

I said, You got it.

Planetbuster nodded and approached me. He walked past and slapped me on the arm. I nodded to Nightmonger, turned, and followed the small man back out to the rooftop. Near the pool was a thick slab of concrete. He walked up on it, and I followed. As soon as I was next to him, the slab flew into the air and moved east.

We were too late. The military had units on the east side, and helicopters were already in a firefight with a pair of big ebony-skinned guys next to the crash site of the big ship. The soldiers were going all-out against the two big aliens, but nothing seemed to injure them.

It had taken out the parking lot of a car dealership when it came down. A giant trench lay behind the remains of the ship, and burning and smashed cars and trucks were in piles around it, at least those that weren’t covered in piles of dirt and rocks. I hoped the boss didn’t have a stake in the company, because it had lost most of its cars.

Planetbuster flew us around the crash, keeping us far enough away to avoid getting involved in the fight. It seemed lopsided as the two aliens shot down or threw stuff to take out the helicopters, and soon after, the first ground vehicles that arrived.

Planetbuster said, They use a different metal.

I said, Huh?

The metal in their ship, I can detect it. There are bits of it to the east. Let’s check out some of the farther ones.

Do it. I don’t think the boss wants us involved with the military.

Planetbuster glanced at me and smiled, Afraid of getting shot?

Yah, right. As if they could hurt me. Just don’t want the Guv getting into Nightmonger’s biz.

I get that.

We flew lower to the ground as we headed into the farmland east of Metrocity. The space ship had crashed on the very outskirts of the city, and parts were scattered for a hundreds of yards. Planetbuster narrowed his eyes. They glowed with a brownish-gold light from within as he concentrated, and he led us a quarter-mile away.

Lights flashed and bangs went off as the military brought in more vehicles behind us to the west. Planetbuster passed several bent pieces of metal, parts of the ship that had bounced or been thrown this far. He flew over them, and I pointed at one, wondering why he didn’t stop to look at it. He ignored me, and appeared to be focused on something further out.

Planetbuster landed by a big metal box on the ground. It was taller than I was, and about my hand span wide in each direction. It had funky lights flashing, a computer panel on one part, and a tube of fluid that had cracked. The entire thing was at an odd angle and the tube leaked a yellow fluid.

I found a couple of handholds on two sides and lifted. The box was light for me, maybe a ton or two at most. The tubes and construction didn’t look like anything from Earth that I had ever seen.

I looked at Planetbuster, Could be some loot in here. Take it back?

Yeah. Bring it on.

He moved to his left, and I brought the big metal box onto the concrete platform. After I set it down, I kept my right hand on one of the bars on a corner, and Planetbuster made the concrete fly into the air.

He brought us northwest, closer to the fight between the soldiers and the two ebony giants. The aliens were tearing up the tanks, aircraft, and any men that came close to them. Our guys even brought out some wicked cool new tank-like vehicles with weird cannons on top. I figured they might be microwave guns or something like it. Nothing worked, and the military began using larger and larger ordinance … none of which worked.

What confused me was that there were only two aliens on a big ship like that. There should have been dozens of men operating such a vessel, even if they had awesome technology that did most things for them. Then I looked at the wreckage, and figured that others might have died inside the ship. It was a disaster. The entire thing appeared crumpled and smashed together. It hadn’t landed flat, but rather crashed hard on the nose before shifting forward on the ground.

A white alien appeared out of a cracked section in the hull of the ship. This one was much thinner and shorter than the two huge ebony guys. She spoke with them for a moment, and then sprinted away from the ship in our direction. A police car followed her as she fled away from Metrocity. The military had lost, and in a big way. I wondered if they would send in even bigger bombs.

Planetbuster looked up at me. Looks like time to bug out.

I nodded. The slab lifted us higher into the air, and we flew around the combat zone and back into the city. In another twenty minutes, we landed on the penthouse near the pool.

Nightmonger came out with Shadow Angel and some of the Pint-sizes. He clapped and grinned as he approached the box. I stepped off the concrete.

I said, There ya go, Nightmonger. It looks alien.

He nodded, Yes, it does. He looked at the cracked liquid container and the yellow fluid that had leaked down the side of the container. Did you break this?

No. It got flung out of the ship and ended up quite a ways away.

He gestured at one of the non-super guards. Call Dr. McCabrio. I want him here immediately to look at this.

The man nodded and walked away, pulling a cell phone from his pocket as he did so.

Nightmonger continued, Why would a liquid be attached to a storage unit? To cool something? To contain a reaction? To make a reaction when desired? Is there a creature in there?

I said, What’s it smell like? I reached out and swiped my finger through some of the fluid dripping down the side. It felt thicker than water, and I rubbed my fingers together with it.

I sniffed it and licked my finger. It tasted sweet, and everything became a blur around me. I felt slow, and as if I had entered some kind of dream state. Someone waved his or her hand in front of my face, and it was a flash of color to me. I barely felt the ground as I crashed to the concrete, trapped in a state of consciousness where everything moved ten times faster than I did…

Chapter 2 – Something Wants Out

Ragequit’s Viewpoint

It took half a day to come out of the weird slow state the weird liquid gave me. The final hour was the strangest, as Shadow Angel had moved me to the lower level’s couch, and Darian had Saturday morning cartoons on. As my view of things sped up, the cartoon slowed down, and it was as if I had eaten mushrooms or taken LSD or something.

I shook my head as the last of the strange effect wore off and said, There, finally back to normal.

Darian laughed, Yo, man. You were trippin’.

What happened?

That stuff you sniffed took you out for, what, twelve hours?

How?

Dunno. Nightmonger’s got the chemist dude checkin’ it out. What did it do to you? You moved in slo’ mo’ to us.

Everything was a blur, like it moved ultra-fast to me. Trippy is right.

I was hungry as all get out, and I hopped up and raided the fridge for food.

Darian followed me, So, did everything change color or anything?

No. Colors were the same. Everything blurred if it moved much. I couldn’t catch up. I couldn’t make sense of what anyone said. You know how sparklers look when someone waves their hand back and forth real fast?

Sure, it’s a lot like fast-motion filming done for some movies, like when they want to show hours or days passing fast.

Right. Everything else was fast, but not me.

Yeah, you did move slow. Boss wants to see you once you eat.

I crammed my mouth full and ate rapidly. As soon as I finished, I washed my hands and went up to the penthouse. The door guards opened the door for me, and I went in to see Nightmonger.

He was in his office, sitting at his large cherry desk. He looked up as I entered, and said, Good morning, Ragequit.

Morning, Nightmonger. You called for me?

Sit and explain what happened.

I sat in one of the heavy-duty chairs in front of the desk, and described the odd sensation of slowing down, as well as how everything slowly came back to normal over the final hour.

He stroked his thick beard. Dr. McCabrio is testing the liquid now. I think it could make for an interesting new drug once weakened. Tonight, you’ll move the container to his lab down near the airport. Then, you’ll be spending your days in the lab to keep an eye on the container to ensure nothing untoward happens.

Uh, why would something bad happen?

The liquid was in a replaceable container. That meant that it was doing something inside the box. Since you were so eager to test it, you get to guard it until the doctor has determined a use for the liquid, and we decide whether to open the container or not.

Sure thing, Nightmonger.

He motioned for me to leave, so I got up and left the room. I went out by the pool to check on the thing, and Larry, one of the other bricks, was standing near the box, watching it.

He turned to me and nodded. I glanced at his stump-arm. He was how I knew about Sharae, the little Goth chick that was so dangerous. After dismembering Larry, Nightmonger had brought in newer supers like Shadow Angel and me to guard him more actively.

Much of the yellow liquid was gone from the clear container. I didn’t see a pool of it at the base of the box, so I assumed that the doc had drained some of it out.

Larry said, I’ll keep an eye on it until dark. Then, you can move it in the truck.

I nodded and left. I blew most of the day playing Call of Duty. When night rolled around, Darian brought around the truck, and I hopped down from the fifteenth story rooftop to the ground of the parking lot across the street. The blacktop snapped beneath my big feet.

I chuckled, They’ll have to fix that at some point. I walked the big container over to the truck. After placing it in the back, I climbed in, and Darian drove us to the lab.

Dr. McCabrio had wild and unkempt brown and gray hair, and he wore a lab coat when I carried the box into the lab. He was a thin man with glasses.

He was off to the far left, where a bunch of machines, bottles with different colored liquids, and other chemist type stuff were all located. The main floor of the lab had machines that apparently made other drugs sold through Nightmonger’s street network.

The doctor looked over and said, Put it in the far corner. I don’t want it near any other equipment.

I shrugged and walked to my right. The metal thumped loudly on the concrete floor as I set it down. I glanced at the broken liquid container, and rotated the box so that was against the wall … and away from me.

I wandered over to the doctor and said, Nightmonger told me to keep an eye on the box, but you wanted it here?

Yes. Don’t bother me over here. Sit somewhere over by the box and stay there to watch it.

That’s it? I’m just supposed to sit by the box? What am I watching for?

You’re here in case something comes out of the box.

Huh?

It’s from an alien starship. It’s possible the device is a cryochamber, or birthing chamber, or who knows. I’ve already determined that the chemical is used on organic creatures. It’s unlikely that it also has any use as a coolant or fuel source. That tells me the device has something in it.

Whoa. So … what am I supposed to do to pass the time?

I don’t care. Have the lackeys bring in some books or games for you. Just stay by the container.

Okay.

Darian still waited over by the box, so I returned to him and said, I gotta stay here and watch over the box. You’re supposed to bring me a console, TV, and some controllers. Oh, and a wifi hookup.

He glanced around the room, How long do you have to hang out here?

Dunno. Probably until the boss decides he wants to open the box.

Huh. I’ll go get the stuff.

Bring food, too. I might have to be here a few days.

He nodded and walked out.

I stood and studied the metal container until he returned with the gear, and then we setup the console. I played shooter games over the next few days. A couple of times, a strange thump or tap came from inside the container. Each time, I halted my game to listen, but the noise was never regular and only seemed to occur once or twice.

The doctor got excited about making some new drug on Monday, a combination of meth and a basic, synthetic version of the yellow goo. It ended up being blue, which I didn’t get, but they didn’t ask for my opinion. Dr. McCabrio was in and out of the warehouse early in the week while he did some tests and saw the boss.

The number of times I heard scrapes, taps and thumps from inside the container slowly increased, making me think that something was indeed inside it. Nightmonger sent down a pair of Pint-size men to help guard it, as well as Larry. The little guys had AK-47’s, and got very nervous as Wednesday progressed, and the number of noises from inside went from once an hour, to once every half hour.

Activity in the lab picked up that same day, as workers and supplies were brought in to help the doctor. Boxes of samples were sent out to the dealers to start up some sales in clubs and on the street. We moved the container to the staging room outside the lab to clear room for the increase in personnel.

Shadow Angel stopped by to see the progress in the lab. She rode in on a Harley Davidson, and I almost got whiplash when I glanced at her as she entered, and then looked back.

A pair of shadowy black wings grew out of her shoulder blades. I was sure she didn’t have those a few nights ago.

I studied them and asked, Hey, Shadow. Have you been hiding those?

No. They’re new. Sprouted today.

How’d that happen?

She shrugged. No idea. I was checking on some of Nightmonger’s clubs tonight, and had a nasty coughing fit and a hot flash went through me.

I chuckled, You had a hot flash.

Her black eyes narrowed, and I realized that she now had small horns on her forehead. Those were new as well.

I said, Sorry.

Everything quiet here?

Mostly. There were more noises from inside this thing today. It’s happening more often.

I’ll tell Nightmonger.

I nodded and she left. About an hour after she left, both Larry and I had a weird coughing fit and a burning sensation. It was like turning all over again, but didn’t last as long. New muscle grew and we both bulked up even more. Not as if we needed it, but I would take all the muscle I could get.

More noise came from the box through the day, and we quieted down as we became paranoid. I didn’t sleep at all Wednesday night, nor did Larry, because the box made more and more noises.

Thursday morning, Dr. McCabrio had the warehouse ramped up, making the new drug in volume. A dozen people were in helping him with the new drug, which he had coined Blue Ice.

The box began shifting as loud scrapes and thumps came from inside. I sent Darian in to ask the doctor what to do, since it sounded as if something wanted out.

The Pint-size jogged back out to us and said, "Move it to the far end of the building.

I glanced at Larry’s missing hand and sighed. I would have to move it myself. The little men surely weren’t going to move something this big and heavy. I grabbed the protrusions on two of the sides and lifted the big crate.

As I carried the container across the warehouse, something shifted inside, and loud thumps came from within. Something was hitting the sides from inside. It sounded like a thick metal, but dents began appearing as heavier thuds came from inside. When the entire thing shook from some of the hits, and one side dented outward by a foot, I stopped by a dock door for loading semis.

I said, Open the damn door.

Darian nodded and hit the button. The door slid upward as more big dents appeared, and the entire thing shook in my hands. Whatever was inside was strong enough to move the crate in my hands, which meant it was capable of moving tons and tons of weight.

As soon as the garage door was open, I chucked the entire thing out the door. It landed and bounced on the asphalt, sounding like a car crash. Then the side erupted out with a squeal of metal. A large black crab claw pulled back inside. The outer part of the claw ended in a wicked sharp point.

Darian and the other lackeys leveled their weapons at it, and I drew my monster-sized, custom .75 caliber pistol and aimed it toward the container.

A big crab claw grabbed each side of the gap and pushed the bent metal wider apart. After a few seconds, a black chest became visible. The thing shifted its arms and crab claws to opposite sides, and shoved to make the opening even wider.

Darian said, Ragequit? His voice wavered as he spoke. Even I felt uneasy. I had never seen a creature like that and it was big.

I growled, Quiet. We only fire if it moves at us.

The creature climbed out the opening like a giant bug. It was ugly, had a chitin-covered spider-like body with four legs, but a long tail came out of the back. It went up into the air like a scorpion’s tail, but writhed and moved in the air more like a snake, and had no chitin or plates on it.

Each leg ended in a hand-like talon, with three fingers that had sharp ends on each. On the front, an upper body looked a lot like a man’s body, giving the thing a horrid centaur-like appearance. The torso was covered in black chitinous armor, as were the arms, and they ended in the nasty crab claws. The head was monstrous, with a pair of big star-shaped irises in its eyes, slits for a nose, and rows of fangs in the mouth. On top of each shoulder was a little L-shaped arm thing that simply ended without a hand. This thing was alien, all right. It was ugly, too. It hissed, and a strange stalk on either side of its head moved back and forth, as if they were guns.

Footsteps came from behind. Dr. McCabrio said, What’s going on? He stopped by us and looked in the direction in which we all had our weapons pointed. What the hell is that?

I replied, It was in the box.

The liquid must have been used to keep it sedated and slow.

The beast had been looking around, but at the sound of our voices, its head spun toward us. It snapped its pincers together a few times, and walked our way. The four legs alternated between the front left and back right, and then the opposite set moved.

I gulped. Brick or not, I didn’t like the idea of being on the food side of an alien.

Darian whispered, Now?

I put up my left hand, Hold…

The creature’s head rose into the air, as though it were sniffing the air, and then it spun and scuttled toward the west like it was on a mission.

All of us sighed in relief.

Dr. McCabrio said, You have to follow it.

I looked at him in shock, What?

Find out where it goes. How powerful is it? Use building tops or stay out of sight. Don’t interact with it. You’re stronger now, right?

I rolled my eyes and tried to hold back from squashing the doc’s head. I said, … yeah. Son of a…

I shook my head and shoved the giant pistol into my holster. I leaped down to the parking lot and jogged after the beast, wondering if I would regret the decision.

Chapter 3 – Mystery Fight

Diva’s Viewpoint

Thursday morning. Psystar had gone off to school, and I flew the two alien women up to the Overwatch to do whatever it was they did there with Razorwing. I was getting used to the pair, after having them stay at

Reviews for H.E.R.O.

[nirrad_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another good read, now I can't wait to find out what happens next. I think Mr. Rau is improving his writing with each book. Thanks for another good book.