The boxes had been arranged in odd clusters and patterns, more a maze than easy rows, so it took about two seconds before Silver couldn’t see Gecko anymore. He made his way carefully, quietly, always on the lookout for trouble, whispering into his comm and listening for his sidekick’s response. A staticky, garbled voice hissed inside his ear, punctuated by heavy breaths.

“Silver, I think – I think I found it! It’s over by the – wait, it’s opening… it’s him, it’s Vik—” The comms cut off.

There was a scream from across the room.

Throwing caution out the window, Silver rushed around the crates, trying to find his way towards the sound of his sidekick in danger. He finally made it to a small clearing in the endless walls of boxes, and the sight of the limp form in the middle made his blood run cold.

“Gecko,” he gasped, lunging forwards to drop to their side. “Gecko, are you okay? Please be okay, come on, you can’t do this to me now.” He was so focused on his sidekick that he never heard the soft footsteps coming up behind him. The cold pinprick of the needle in his neck was the only warning he had that someone else was there. Silver spun around and came face to face with Viktorai. He growled and tried to leap up at the villain, but his limbs didn’t respond like they usually did. They felt heavy and awkward, and try as he might Silver couldn’t control them. Soon enough, he was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.

I’m sorry, Gecko, he thought. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry I failed.

Viktorai stood above him, laughing at his feeble struggles. “I wouldn’t fight it too much, if I were you,” he said. “The sedative will put you out quickly, no matter what you do. I engineered it myself.” He suddenly grinned. “But of course, I never would have captured you if it weren’t for my loyal assistant Dagger. I suppose you’d know them better by a different name, though, wouldn’t you? What was it you called them? Oh, yes. Gecko.”  

No. No, it couldn’t be. But there they were, standing beside Viktorai, looking down at him with no emotion. Silver tried to speak, but all that came out was a groan. His eyes were closing against his will and he finally gave himself over to the sedative, head lolling to rest on the ground. Gecko worked for Viktorai. He couldn’t believe that, couldn’t believe that his sidekick of three years, three years, would do this. How could he not have seen this coming? And wasn’t he supposed to be unconscious right now? Though Silver couldn’t move, he could still feel the cold floor under him and hear the villains’ voices.

“Good work, Dagger. You did well.”

“Thank you, master.” A moment’s pause.

“I have a gift for you that I think you’ll like.” Silver could hear the smirk in Viktorai’s voice. “You get to kill him.” Another silence.

“Are you sure, master? You’ve waited a long time to get him in your power. You’re willing to let me deal the final blow?”

“Oh, yes. I think you deserve it after spending so much time with the wretch. It must’ve been torture, always having to ‘do the right thing’ and ‘stand up for the good of the people.’ Ugh. Just, do something terrible to him for me, alright? Cut his fingers off or gouge out his eyes or something. Other than that, as long as he’s dead I’m happy. He’ll wake up in about eight hours, but I’ll give you the whole day off so you can do whatever you like to him. Be back at the lab tomorrow evening. The city is almost ours, Dagger, and no one can stop us now! Now, go grab what you need and get him out of here,” Viktorai finished, chuckling a little to himself. Gecko’s – no, Dagger’s – footsteps echoed around the chamber as they left to go get who-knows-what kind of torture tools. Silver felt Viktorai still above him, and suddenly a voice hissed in his ear.

The villain stiffened, not turning around. “Ah. You’re alive,” he said impassively. Lightning fast, he whipped out a gun strapped to his hip, aimed, and fired – right at Dagger. They cried out, stumbling back to fall on the ground. Only then did Viktorai face Silver Shield. “I ought to shoot you as well,” he said, “but that would be too good for you.” He lunged.

They fought, punches flying too fast to follow. Silver swept a leg at Viktorai, forcing him back. The villain retaliated with a fist to the face. Beakers broke, machines were dented, neither one gaining the upper hand. The battle was loud and messy and bloody, with no sign of stopping soon. So focused were they on taking the other down that neither noticed when Dagger struggled to their feet and limped over to the control panel, clutching their side.

An automated voice rang out from speakers scattered throughout the lab. System powered on. Initiating pressure sequence. Hero and villain froze for an instant, processing what just happened, before springing into even more frenzied action. Silver lunged toward the panel as Viktorai pulled him back, landing a heavy blow on Silver’s leg. Crying out, the hero swung around and aimed for the head. Pressure at 10%. The calm functionality of the voice surrounded them, at odds with the violent scene. Dagger was still at the controls, flipping switches and monitoring lights, ignoring the blood running down their side. Viktorai stood between them and Silver Shield, now using his gun to try and hit his nemesis. The villain was laughing madly, shouting out encouragements to his wounded minion. Try as he might, Silver couldn’t get past Viktorai, so he resolved himself to hiding behind a large contraption and counting shots. Pressure at 32%. As soon as Viktorai was out of bullets, Silver launched himself at the villain, driving him against a table. Viktorai snatched a small circular gadget from behind him and slapped it on Silver’s chest. Bolts of electricity shot out of it, electrocuting the hero and sending him stumbling back. It didn’t stop him for long, and when Viktorai tried to take upper hand Silver drove a fist into his stomach. As Viktorai gasped for breath, Silver rushed at the panel, but before he could take down Dagger, the villain shot at him again with some kind of ray gun. Pressure at 57%. Ducking behind a counter, Silver took a quick breather, checking himself over to find any serious injuries. A bullet had grazed his side and he was going to be horribly bruised after the fight, but nothing that would stop him from fighting today.

“Come out, come out, little hero,” Viktorai rasped in a sing-song voice. Silver could hear that the villain was out of breath, though that did little to comfort him. “You’re going to lose. We both know it. As soon as the pressure reaches 100 percent capacity, my machine will release a gas throughout the city, turning the people into my mindless slaves. It must hurt, knowing that your former sidekick will be the one responsible for such a thing.”

Pressure at 85%. Silver drew in a breath. He needed to stop the machine, shut it down before it reached full capacity, but how? Viktorai would shoot him if showed his head above the counter, and Dagger was too far away to take down before the bullets would hit him. Well, there was nothing for it. Steeling himself for the pain sure to come, he leaped over the counter, right at Viktorai. The villain immediately opened fire as Silver ducked and wove, somehow managing to not get hit. Pressure at 98%.

“I’m so close! Nothing you do can stop me now, Silver Shield. I will rule this city!” Viktorai cackled maniacally, swinging the gun around to follow the hero. Silver gasped for breath as he carefully made his way toward the control panel, disguising his movements as evasive maneuvers. He was so close, just a few more steps and…

Pressure at 100%.

“Yes, yes!” shrieked Viktorai. “Finally, after all these years, my plan has come to fruition. I’ve won. I’ve won!” His laughter echoed off the walls with the sound of bullets. Silver was forced to duck behind one of the villain’s larger inventions. He lost. How could this happen? No, Silver knew exactly how. He had fallen for Dagger’s smiles, the mischievous spark in their eyes, their endless jabber about doing the right thing and the best ice cream flavours. He had welcomed a spy, a villain, into his home, and made them his most trusted ally. Of course it would end like this.

Warning: pressure at 110%. The automated voice spoke over Viktorai’s victory cries.

“What?” Viktorai squawked. “What do you mean, 110%? The gas should be released by now! Unless—“ Unless what? Silver was still trying to process what had happened, and then it clicked.

Not pausing to think, heedless of bullets, he drove himself forward. He had just enough time to take in the scene before him – the villain pointing his gun at his young assistant, still at the controls, frantically flipping switches and typing commands – before colliding with Viktorai, knocking him down. The roles were now switched: it was Silver guarding Gecko now, while Viktorai struggled to attack. Pressure at 129%. Punch after punch was rained down upon Viktorai’s head, never ceasing, never slowing. The villain fought back with all he had, but it wasn’t enough. Pressure at 143%. Viktorai lay on the ground, one arm raised in a futile attempt to block Silver’s blow. With one last strike, the hero knocked him out. Pressure at 152%. Silver turned to the control panel where Gecko still stood. He could see the blood still leaking out of their side where the bullet had hit, but there was no sign of them stopping.

“You need to get out of here,” they said, not turning to face the hero. “When the pressure gets high enough this whole place will blow.”

Silver’s brow furrowed. “What about you?”

“Someone has to make sure the failsafes don’t kick in.”

“I’ll do it. You need to get to safety.”

“Because you know exactly how to work this thing.” He could hear the eyeroll in their voice.

“I can’t let you do this,” Silver said. “I can’t let you die.”

Pressure at 175%.

“Go,” Gecko said. Silver still stood there, staring at the back of his former sidekick, trying to find a way out of this impossible situation. “Go!” they yelled again.

There was nothing else to do.

Silver raced over to the prone form of Viktorai and slung him over his shoulder. He ran out of the base, never once looking back, not able to face the fact that his sidekick, his friend of three years, his betrayer, his nemesis’s apprentice, would die in an act of sacrificial heroism, and there was nothing he could do to save them. The automated voice rang throughout the halls from hidden speakers. Pressure at 179%. His breath came in ragged gasps as he staggered into the fresh air, his injuries from the fight slowing him down. Silver had just made it a few steps from the base when a loud explosion erupted behind him. The shockwave sent him lurching forward, dropping Viktorai and falling to his knees. He stayed there for a while, he didn’t know how long, not having the energy to get up. At some point Vikorai awoke with a groan. Clutching his head as he sat up, the villain stared at the destruction around him.

“All that work,” he muttered, “all that money and time spent, and look at it now. All for nothing.” He grimaced and turned toward Silver Shield. “What are you planning to do with me?”

The hero finally looked up. “You’re not going to try to run?”

Vikotorai laughed hollowly. “I don’t think I would get very far in the state I’m in. Besides, where would I go? They just blew up the only home I had.”