Page 94 of Protector Unmatched

Daphne looked around. Several of the demons were dead. Others stood there, frozen, distracted by the applause. Batman was gone. Suddenly, a demon at the edge of the stage made a movement with his hand and conjured a vortex, a swirling mass of fog and smoke, and jumped into it. The remaining demons rushed toward it, grabbing their dead cohorts on the way, and jumped after him, before the Stealth Guardians and the vampires could stop them.

More applause erupted. The audience cheered loudly, clearly impressed.

“Curtain!” somebody yelled. A moment later, the curtain closed.

Daphne let out a sigh of relief. Pearce clutched the dagger and stood up, then gave her a hand to help her up, while the rest of the gang crowded around them.

“What now?” Daphne asked, motioning in the direction of the audience. “They saw everything. You’re exposed.”

Manus, in his Wolverine costume, said, “We were lucky that this is a stage, and the people think this was a show.”

“But we’d better get out of here now, before people catch on,” Pearce said, and took Daphne’s hand.

From the corner of her eye, she saw James Harcott approach. He looked a little shaken. “Hey, what was all this?”

Without flinching, Pearce turned to him and shook his hand. “Mr. Harcott, congratulations on winning the audience participation slot in our mock fight. You were outstanding!”

Harcott hesitated, then started smiling. “I was?”

“Are you kidding me?” Pearce patted him on the shoulder. “The way you cracked that bullwhip! I don’t think we’ve ever seen an audience member with such skills.” He waved to somebody behind Harcott. “Isn’t that right, Thomas?”

Thomas, in his Stormtrooper costume, sidled up to Harcott. “Excellent. My word.”

Harcott beamed. “Wow! I had no idea. Nobody told me this was a mock fight. I mean—”

“Well, that’s the whole point,” Pearce said. “Why don’t you explain it all to him, Thomas? And then make sure he gets his cash prize.”

Harcott pointed to the dagger in Pearce’s hand. “And my dagger.”

“Of course. Let me just have one of the stagehands clean it properly. Germs and all—you can’t be too careful. I’ll get it back to you in a minute.”

Harcott nodded, and Thomas pulled him away.

“But you can’t give him the dagger back,” Daphne said.

“I won’t. We’ve thought of this—that’s why Manus brought a similar one from Baltimore in case we needed to do a swap.”

Daphne shook her head. “You guys thought of everything.” Then she looked to where Thomas and Harcott were talking. “Do you think he’s gonna believe what Thomas is telling him?”

“I’m certain. And if he needs a little push, then Thomas will employ mind control to make him believe what he needs to believe, namely that he was chosen to participate in a mock fight.” He smirked. “I hear it’s a great honor in cosplay circles.”

Daphne was about to laugh when she saw a man in a Yoda costume hurry into the backstage area.

“Claus.”

He walked toward her. “What the fuck was that?”

“Would you believe me if I said that we just fought demons and saved the world?” Daphne asked.

Claus made a don’t-bullshit-me face. “Daphne, this time you’re really gonna get me in trouble. Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Listen, why don’t you help us get out of here, and we’ll be out of your hair? It won’t happen again.”

“And what do I tell my bosses?”

Pearce cleared his throat. “Just tell them we were the mystery guests. You know, a special performance troupe to entertain the visitors. We’re really hot in Japan. Everybody knows us there. And look at you: you were able to get us for free. What a boon!”

Claus rolled his eyes. “You guys are insane.” Then he motioned to the bloodstain on Pearce’s chest. “Neat trick, though. Looked awfully real.”

Pearce winked. “Hurt like a bitch.” Then he put a hand on Claus’s shoulder. “Now, would you please get us out of here before we have to sign autographs?”

Claus cast a long look at Daphne. “You owe me one for this. And don’t you forget that.”

“You’re the best.”