CHAPTER 33.

Two hours after it left, the helicopter carrying Lance returned to the power plant. The military had evacuated a twenty-mile radius around the battle zone: The fight was still raging.

As they reached the perimeter the pilot said, "Sorry, sir. This is as close as we're allowed to get."

"Says who?"

"Says Colonel Morgan-it's been declared a no-fly area. If we attempt to breach it, we'll be shot down."

"Get him on the radio, will you?"

A few seconds later, the pilot passed Lance a headset. "Go for it."

Lance put the headset on. It was too big for him and he had to adjust the microphone. "Colonel Morgan? This is Lance McKendrick."

The colonel's voice came back crackling with static. "Who? No, not the kid Paragon brought in?"

"That's me."

"What do you want, McKendrick? We're kinda in the middle of something here!"

"We need permission to get to the battle."

"No chance, kid. You're a civilian, and you're not superhuman. I'm not putting anyone else at risk. That monster has taken everything we can throw at him and he's still going strong. You cross the perimeter and we will use whatever force is necessary to bring you down."

"Wait. . . . In order to protect us from getting killed by the Fifth King, you're willing to kill us? Wow, that's smart."

"Stop wasting my time, McKendrick."

"So you've recovered from the infection, then? Oh, of course you have. Because it was me who got the cure to Quantum and got him to pass it on to everyone else. You're welcome, by the way."

Lance thought he heard a muttered curse, then the colonel said, "All right. Get the pilot to drop you no closer than five miles from the site. Then he's to fly back here-a copter is just another source of ammunition for the Fifth King. You're on your own out there, Lance. I don't know what good you're going to be able to do."

"Me either, but I'm sure I'll think of something." He removed the headset. "Better take it in low and slow."

The pilot nodded. "Yes, sir."

Lance smiled to himself. He decided he liked being called sir.

The copter crossed the twenty-mile perimeter and a minute later, over the constant roar of the rotors, Lance heard a knocking on the copter's hatch. He unclipped his seat harness and started to rise, then paused. "OK, I don't know much about helicopters but I'm guessing that's not normal."

Then a silver shape darted around to the side of the canopy-and Paragon saluted to Lance. The armored hero pointed back to the hatch, and beckoned to Lance.

"Is it safe to open the hatch at this height?" Lance asked the pilot.

"Safe enough," the man replied, "long as you hold on to something."

"OK. Steady as she goes. Or whatever the proper expression is. No loop-the-loops or sudden dives."

Lance got out of the copilot's seat and opened the hatch. The wind rushed through the copter and he had to brace himself against the bulkhead to avoid being pulled out.

Paragon had dropped back a little, and was now flying level with the hatch. He reached out his hand to Lance, and nodded.

Why not? Lance asked himself. What's one more crazy stunt after everything I've done in the past couple of days? He took hold of Paragon's arm and jumped.

We're beaten, Roz thought. There's no way we can stop him now.

Max was once again trying to get inside Krodin's mind, but it wasn't working. The Fifth King had already adapted to his attacks. Even with Pyrokine's aid, they were still only barely holding the warrior at bay.

Exhausted, and in almost constant pain, Roz wanted nothing more than to lie down. She knew she couldn't do that. She had to keep going.

If Max is right about Krodin being able to adapt to any attack, then we need to find something he hasn't encountered yet.

Roz knew then what she had to do, and the thought of it sickened her.

She walked over to Slaughter, who was still lying on the ground, feebly trying to remove Abby's sword from her stomach. "You can't remove it until your strength returns, and that won't happen until you're healed, right? And you can't heal with the sword inside you."

The woman swore at her.

"Slaughter, you know what's going on here. We can't control the Fifth King. He's going to defeat us and he's going to remake the world in his own image. Do you honestly believe that he'll let you live?"

"Go to hell, Dalton!"

"We need you. With your strength and speed we might be able to turn this around. All of us working together. You, me, Abby, Max, Thunder, and Pyrokine. That's a lot of firepower right there. The deal is this: You help us defeat him and everything is forgiven."

"You know you can't trust me-why should I trust you?"

"Because if he wins he's going to destroy you anyway. Max told him, spoke into his mind," she lied. "At that level they don't need language-only images. The Fifth King knows that it's The Helotry's fault that he was taken from his time. He'll never see his wife and children again. So your only chance is to work with us. What do you say?"

For a long moment, Slaughter was silent. Then, "I'll do it. Get this thing out of me."

Roz reached down and grabbed the sword's hilt with both hands, pulled the blade out of Slaughter's stomach.

The woman winced in pain. "Give . . . Give me a few minutes to recover."

Roz nodded. The sword floated from her grip and sailed over to Abby, who snatched it out of the air.

And when Roz looked back, Slaughter was gone.

CHAPTER 34.

Abby ducked under the Fifth King's reach and slashed at his thigh with her sword-though she knew it wouldn't do any damage. She'd already struck him dozens of times, blows that would slice a normal man in two, and each time the wounds healed within seconds He made a grab for her and she threw herself backward, rolled head over heels, and landed on her feet.

Before he could get any closer, Pyrokine swooped at him, his body wrapped in a sheath of blue-white fire. The Fifth King swept out his arm and knocked Pyrokine to the dirt.

Abby darted in again before the king's powerful foot could stamp down on Pyrokine. Her sword flashed twice, and for a moment twin streaks of red appeared on the warrior's bare back.

From a hundred yards away, Max Dalton shouted, "Abby, pull back! Roz, take over!"

Abby threw the sword into the air as she retreated-Roz caught it telekinetically and resumed her attack.

"You holding up OK?" Brawn asked as Abby collapsed next to him.

She nodded. "Think so. Exhausted, though. How long have we been fighting?"

"About four hours," Max told her. "Brawn? You're up next."

The giant pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah. I know. Don't see you taking a turn, Dalton."

"That's because I'm not much stronger than an ordinary human. I wouldn't last a second against him. Get ready." Max resumed barking orders at Roz and Pyrokine. He'd been doing that almost since the moment he was cured.

Abby found Thunder lying on his back, still trying to catch his breath. A few minutes earlier, the Fifth King had struck Thunder a glancing blow across the chest-they had all heard his ribs crack.

"Anything I can do?" Abby asked.

He shook his head. "No. . . . Look, don't worry about me. I can't fight him physically, but I can still use my power."

"He's not even tired yet."

"Abby . . . I don't think he gets tired. I think he's actually enjoying himself."

A familiar low whining noise came from the west. Abby raised her head and saw Paragon preparing to land-he was holding on to Lance with one arm.

With every muscle burning and every joint feeling like it was made of sandpaper, Abby slowly walked over to them.

"I got to Quantum," Lance said. "Passed the cure on to him. He's spreading it everywhere else." He grinned. "It's working, Abby. The geniuses at the CDC created an airborne strain from Quantum's blood and right now Titan, Heimdall, Energy, and-uh, the guy with the thing . . ." Lance tried to describe it with his hands, and gave up. "Can't remember his name. Anyway, they're seeding the atmosphere with it."

Paragon said, "Abby, I got the police to check on your family. Your mom and sister are worried about you, but they've recovered. They're fine. And so are the boys." He looked toward the battle: Brawn had the Fifth King in another headlock. "Nothing's working, is it?"

"He's unstoppable." Admitting that out loud made Abby's heart pound faster. "I can cut him, but he heals almost immediately. I'm hoping that eventually he'll pass out from loss of blood."

Max Dalton approached, shook Paragon's hand. "If we can stop him long enough . . . I have an island off the coast of Newfoundland. Nothing but sea and rocks for fifty miles in every direction. I'm thinking that we can strand him there. I doubt he can breathe underwater."

Lance said, "Yeah, but maybe he can swim."

Max briefly looked at him, then back to Paragon. "The other option is to wait for Titan."

"The Fifth King is stronger than Brawn," Abby said. "And Brawn is stronger than Titan."

"I know that," Max said. "But Titan is still strong enough to lift him. Strong enough to carry him out of the atmosphere and throw him into the sun."

Abby's mouth dropped open. "What? You're serious?"

"Do you have a better solution? Abby, if we don't stop him he'll kill us all and keep on killing."

Lance said, "No. We don't kill. We have to stop him long enough that we can talk to him, let him know what's-"

Max jabbed a finger at Lance. "You don't have a say in this. You're not a superhuman. You shouldn't even be here."

Lance muttered, "Saved your life, you ungrateful jerk."

Then a roar echoed over the battlefield.

Abby saw the Fifth King slam his fist into Brawn's throat, grab his arm, and throw him into the air. The giant collided with the floating Pyrokine.

"Enough!" the Fifth King roared. "I have had enough!" He began to stride toward them. "You-mind-speaking man!" He pointed at Max. "You lead these people?"

Max nodded. "I do."

The Fifth King stopped ten yards away. "I grow . . . weary of this . . . confrontation. You cannot best me-you know this to be true. You will stop. Now."

Lance said, "OK, exactly when did he learn to speak English?"

"I am Krodin, the undefeated!" the warrior bellowed. "Ruler of Assyria, Sumeria, Egypt, and all the lands of the world. In my time no man could stand against me. My word was law. I have beaten your . . . champions again and again. If this does not stop, I will kill them. Do you understand? I am invincible. I am immortal." He glared at Max. "You lead these people, so you are the most powerful warrior of this land, this . . . America. Yet you have not faced me in battle. Do so now. Prove your worth and I might allow your people to live."

Max swallowed. "I . . . I am not the most powerful warrior."

"You are a coward, then. You are not fit to lead." Krodin turned to Paragon. "You, man-of-metal. Strike him down."

"I will not," Paragon said. He took a step forward, putting himself between Max and the warrior. "You have no dominion here. You have great strength, but we do not follow strength. In this time, we follow wisdom, and justice."

The Fifth King seemed to consider this. "Your ways are no more." He raised his hand, clenched his fist. "This is justice: Power. And I am your king. You will kneel in my presence or you will die." He watched them for a moment. "You fear me, yet you do not obey. I have seen such courage before, sometimes even from the weakest of men, but bravery is a poor weapon against an enemy who cannot be defeated. You will die. I will hunt down your families and kill them slowly. By the end they will be cursing your names."

Max roared, "Everyone at once! Now!"

Abby charged at Krodin with her sword raised. Paragon aimed and fired his armor's grappling gun. Brawn launched himself into the air and came down on the Fifth King's back. Pyrokine streaked in low over the ground, slammed into the king's legs. At the same time, Thunder hit him with a sonic shock wave and Roz attacked the loose ground under Krodin's feet.

The Fifth King grabbed the grappling gun's hook out of the air, backhanded Abby and sent her soaring, threw Brawn over his shoulder, and jabbed down at Pyrokine with his elbow.

Then he wrapped the grappling gun's thin cable around Pyrokine's neck, pulled it tight. There was a loud snap, and Pyrokine slumped to the ground.

"No!" Roz screamed. She reached out with her telekinesis, lifted Pyrokine up, and pulled him back to the others.

The Fifth King said, "He is but the first."

Brawn's massive hands locked around Krodin's head from behind, lifted him off his feet. The giant roared, raised his arms above his head, slammed Krodin downward with every ounce of his strength.