Sidekick

by Carl Stubblefield

  And that is my cue to get the hell out of here. Gus ran back to the manor and Basileus just laughed maniacally at his retreating back.

  “Scurry away, little roach! Go get him!” he roared at the other supers and they took off after him. Gus activated Gemini and ordered his double to flee in an erratic pattern. Meanwhile, Gus ducked and dodged the shots and beams upturning the ground around him as he activated Hyper, doubling his Agility as he fled to the manor. A blast hit him in the back but his new armor absorbed the shot without even heating up. More supers broke after his double, assuming that he was the fake, not having been damaged by the hit.

  Thank you, hybrid-Nth! At last he was at the entrance, and he slid inside. He signaled for Nick to drop the security slab into place, and launch his countermeasures. Gus could hear grinding gears and scraping of metal as panels shifted over vulnerable accessways, changing the exterior look of the manor before the other supers could reach it.

  “Entryways protected,” Nick reported.

  Gus saw red stars swarm over the manor, searching for weaknesses. It was only a matter of time before they found a way in. Gus headed for the control center. The atrium was dark with the windows covered, and he had to change filters to find his way.

  He rushed to the control center to watch the results of his efforts. Sliding into a seat, he rubbed his hands, ready for the show.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The Future Soon

  All of the mercs spilled off the dais and more joined from the support craft, racing toward the manor. One super remained on the dais, watching it all impassively, previously unnoticed by the others and unmoved at the opportunity to fight.

  He was neither on one side or the other, and since he hadn’t been provoked, he did not rush to retaliate. The super named Voltekka watched as the others chased after the retreating man on the beach.

  His employer grew restless and urged his pilot to land the dais near the structure. Hopping off and following the other supers onto the beach, he paused to look up at the large mecha before following the others.

  “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” Basileus yelled, eyes wide with excitement.

  “I will join you shortly,” Voltekka responded, his voice a perfect imitation of Optimus Prime. It was totally unnecessary; he could have synthesized his actual voice, the one he used when he was merely Merlin Vandezon. However, people almost expected the voice with his appearance as a real life mecha. In truth, he did it just to toy with them. He had lost some things as he mechanized himself, removing all physical weakness through engineering, but his personality was intact.

  Voltekka hovered over, adjusting the thrusters on his mechanized suit. No. Suit wasn’t accurate. The transition had happened over time, but the line between technology that he wore and technology that he was had blurred long ago. He cast his mind back to when he had crossed over. Was it on the station? Or after? No matter.

  One of the advantages of the transition was his perspective. He had obtained a level of patience he had never possessed when he was merely human. With plans as ambitious as his, he had much to do to accomplish them. Many, many preparations.

  He could sense what he came for nearby and the man would provide the most efficient way of locating what he sought. It would be no big loss if he died, Voltekka would get what he came for either way.

  He looked up to the heavens and his display rendered the orbital ring that would span the planet. The exquisite isolation, away from the frenetic distractions down here. He longed to be up there again, building and making his vision a reality. Were it not for the specialized resources here, he wouldn’t be wasting his time. He had tracked a large shipment of Endurium to Manticorps decades ago, when it had inexplicably disappeared. Years of searching had turned up nothing.

  When the virus Voltekka had planted in the Manticorps network began pinging keywords, he tore himself away from his work. The components that should be here were too valuable to be used for any purpose but his own. At last, he would eliminate this bottleneck to his plan’s progression.

  He prepared a quick communique to his followers, delineating his plans and intentions, then sent the burst data packet to the converted remnants of the Von Neumann Space Station. This completed, he surveyed the manor and floated past it, traveling over the jungle.

  If the man was caught, he would know about it in party comms. He adjusted the filters to reduce the near-constant updates and chatter. The invasive nature of comms forced him to slow down his processing to manage the maddeningly slow nature of spoken conversation. So inefficient. It was good he was almost done with this objective.

  Pulsing out a deep scan, Voltekka zeroed in on the strongest signal. He increased his speed, realizing that it was unpurposed. Arriving at the location, he noted a primitive camp. Landing deftly, his metallic feet crushed coconut shells that had been strewn about. Muffled pops sounded as he walked forward and fished a small triangular piece of metal out of the sand. He held the tiny piece in front of him, turning it about in wonder.

  “Interesting,” his synthetic voice droned as he tilted his head slightly. He weighed the small piece of Endurium in his hands, determining it to be 50.2 grams. The further calculations were instantly done. It was sufficient. He could now begin crafting his army. This was the key to creating mecha duplicates. Ones with a stable mental matrix, and with which he could communicate via hive-mind. His followers would still be useful, but he could only rely on himself.

  Now that he had a sample, this would vastly aid his ability to scan and extract more of the material. Voltekka shot into the air, making a sharp 90-degree turn after clearing the canopy below, and flew toward the manor.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Breach (Walk Alone)

  According to plan, the enemy supers rushed toward the manor. Gus activated the new stealth drones who unleashed a barrage of laser blasts and launched a myriad of missiles that locked on the nearest targets and sped off as the drone dropped back into cover to recharge and reload.

  The attack disoriented and broke their blitz on the manor. They scattered, looking for cover, while flying supers soared higher in an attempt to get out of range.

  Pylons rose out of their hiding spots, and electricity arced between different pylons in unpredictable patterns as they shot up and down, like deadly whack-a-moles. Gus was pleased to see he placed the bases for the pylons well.

  “Sorry to tase you, bro!” Gus cackled as a few supers were hit and twitched on the ground.

  All too soon, one of the aerial supers shouted, “Enough!” and thrust his hands downward. Pylons were crushed and smashed, along with foliage that hid most of them, crushed in a way that reminded Gus of Graviton’s abilities. All too soon the stealth drones were also dispatched, and the remaining supers formed ranks, on guard now.

  Two supers stepped forward and formed a shield bubble around them as they moved forward cautiously. They were on the lawn when Gus launched another attack. Some special debuff gels that Aurora had designed were aerosolized in a mist underneath the supers. Orange and yellowish-green smoke billowed underneath the group, the shield trapping the noxious material closer to them, concentrating it. Soon Gus could not see them amid the roiling vapors.

  The shield was modulated and the gas was being expelled somehow, but the damage had been done. Most supers rubbed at their eyes, blinded temporarily and they suffered a huge -10 Perception effect. On top of that, Agility should have taken a similar hit. Gus rocked back in his chair, fistpumping. With Aurora’s skillful upgrades the effect would last twelve hours or more.

  Even though they had destroyed the pylons and drones, the manor would replace them at no additional charge; the only drawback was the time it took to fabricate the items.

  Gus was hoping they would retreat, and give him more time to build up defenses. As he turned back to the monitors, another super was bathing the others in a green light. Those affected walked out of the beam, their red eyes gone and HP bars refilled.

&nbs
p; “At least the blast doors should hold; they held off those juggernauts for a long time.” An alarm sounded just as Gus was trying to think of other traps and defenses he could enable. Red circles flashed on the display along with warnings across the tops of the displays.

  Breach detected, main entrance…

  Gus changed the view to the front entryway. He expected to see the blast doors peeled away by some Minmax supers, but there was a shimmering purple portal spanning it, allowing easy access for the others to walk right in. He rubbed his eyes and refocused on the monitor.

  “That’s it, just a little bit more,” Gus coaxed as he brought up the menu. When most of them were in position, Gus hit the Electro-floor button. Ankle high electrodes extended from the walls and blue energy cracked and arced as the mercs jiggled and shook.

  “Dance party!” Gus cried as the floor pulsed and arms flailed. Gus couldn’t help cracking up until one of the supers following touched the panels and deactivated them, one by one. “C’mon, that was a good one.”

  “If you say so,” Nick replied.

  Gus frowned at the prospect of having this wet noodle as his mentor for ten more levels.

  One of the supers was leaning down and healing the ones affected by the electricity. “Where was that guy when I needed him? I still don’t have a self-heal.”

  One was unconscious and they left her there rather than take time to revive her. “Nice loyalty to the team.” Checking the minimap, there were others that the group had left behind from the initial attack, lying outside, represented with hollow circles.

  “You expect honor among thieves?”

  “I think what goes around comes around.”

  “So you believe in karma?”

  “I’d like to think so. You try your best and hopefully it comes back to you.”

  “Be careful what you wish for, especially when it comes to cause and effect.”

  “Lighten up, dude,” Gus said, shifting in his chair.

  “You take the manor from its owner. The manor is taken from you. Symmetry.”

  Gus growled to himself and focused on the monitors, trying to ignore Nick’s words for the moment. The supers were breaking into three different groups, moving cautiously.

  Gus triggered one of the decoys to run across at the end of a hallway. The other supers pursued, just as Gus had planned. As they turned the corner, he activated the PyroMatic 2.0 system. Tiny sprinklers coated the supers with a fine mist as they ran through. Some did not notice, but others skidded to a stop and looked for the source. The nozzles were quickly rendered useless, but then the system activated phase two and showered the supers with sparks.

  The fine mist ignited like lighter fluid and instantly many were aflame, as the gel coating them lit up and would not go out despite them patting or rolling on the ground. One super extended her hands and a black fog billowed out like living shadows. The cloud wrapped briefly around the worst of the flailing supers and swiftly moved to another, leaving them extinguished and smoking.

  After another round of heals, the group was none the worse for the wear, and they were nearing the elevators.

  “Aw, hell to the no!” Gus growled as the supers pushed the button to summon the elevator. He activated the EMP to see if that would stall their movements. The whine began again and Gus watched on another monitor. Four augments rushed together and interlocked arms. Another super waved their hands as if casting a spell and then in an instant, yellow glowing lines formed a cell-like structure over the augments.

  When the EMP finally fired, there was a distortion wave at the cage’s outer edges, but the augments within were unaffected. The elevators arrived and the supers piled in. They were coming straight for the control center.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Break Stuff

  He keyed in a command and the metal plate shielding the control room window retracted. He locked the door to the control room and opened the window. He had expected to take more of them out before he had to fall back on the last part of the plan. Aurora had said they’d have a tough time working together, but that didn’t appear to be the case.

  He sneered as he hit play on a playlist he had crafted a while ago: Kick-ass Battle Mix 1. He stepped out the window and closed it behind him.

  Then he jumped.

  You have created a song-chain. Current multiplier: Geometric x2.

  Flash by Queen. Song Chain Anchor.

  As the music thumped the intro, Gus dove out the window, slowing his speed so he was not in front of any windows on his flight down to the ground. He landed and surveyed the scene, making sure there were no stragglers on his minimap before proceeding. There were a couple disabled supers lying around. Gus began the task of Leeching their abilities, approaching the closest one who looked to be right next to one of the damaged pylons.

  The super was burned badly and gasped as he tried to crawl forward. A spike of anger hit Gus as he realized that his teammates had just left him here like garbage. In their rush to get into the manor, no one had stopped to offer one bit of aid. The man was obviously shuddering and groaning in agony.

  Hustla by Teddybears. Success rates x2.

  The new song put a twinge into Gus, reminding him there wasn’t time to think too much about it. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping the unconsciousness would ease his obvious discomfort. As Gus extracted his abilities, he began to shake uncontrollably and then suddenly stopped. Gus felt for a pulse but unfortunately, the strain must have been too much for him.

  You have defeated Skorzeny (Level 38).

  32,500 XP awarded.

  65,000 FP awarded.

  You have unlocked the skill KritzKrieg (Level 12).

  You have unlocked the skill Schadenfreude (Level 17).

  Gus gasped at the enormous amount of experience and FP. It was easily on par with what he received for defeating Methiochos. He stood there in shock, conflicted with what he had done and for how easily he could have been getting stacks of XP. He stared in shock as the form blanched and crumbled, collapsing like a log in a fire. All that was left was something metal in the ashes.

  He remembered feeling guilty about killing mantids a couple weeks ago, and now his actions led to the death of another human. Was he becoming that callous? No! It was an accident.

  “He would have died anyway,” Nick ventured, startling Gus’ stupor.

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better. I should have given him a gel. I didn’t even check before draining him.”

  “What is done is done.”

  Gus turned to leave and felt a sudden shock, as if he had been struck by lightning. He crumbled to a ball amid the remains of Skorzeny.

  PENALTY!

  You have acted in a manner contrary to a Guiding Principle by directly taking another’s life through your actions. Recent actions are compounded by your desire to retaliate and acting upon feelings of vengeance.

  You lose any XP gained for this level and ALL remaining FP, in addition to losing an entire level.

  This is a serious breach and if repeated will lead to further penalties and ultimate loss of access to this Guiding Principle and its benefits.

  You have lost a level! You are now level 19, last allocated stat points automatically deducted.

  25,000 XP to level 20.

  Gus rolled onto his back, the pain intensifying. It felt like burrowing worms crawling through his system, eating as they moved throughout his body, but mostly in his gut. At last the pain subsided, but he was thoroughly coated with dust and white with ash. His squirming had spread out the remains to a small oval that was not human shaped any longer and Gus saw a ring sitting there among the dust. He picked it up and looked at it, noting an inscription and, if it was authentic, the largest sapphire Gus had ever seen in his life.

  As he looked closer to read the inscription, his watch began to buzz and flicker to life. Gus stowed the ring in a pocket and ran to get somewhere a little less exposed.

  Error. Insufficient level
for Fractal Unfolding.

  Removing stat boost +10 per stat for reaching level 2.

  Refolding unable to be performed… calculating…

  Error

  Run diagnostic sequence…

  Gus now felt a paralyzing numbness sweep over his body, making it hard to coordinate his body and walk.

  Without warning, his left leg stopped working and he pitched forward, barely catching himself from falling on his face. What is happening to me?

  “You are reaping what-t-t-t—” Nick-Chiun’s voice stuttered and then stopped.

  Reversion to previous NIC interface due to level insufficiency…

  “You know, I have to admit, I’m flattered,” Nick said. “Losing levels just to see me again, wow. What a mensch!”

  “I never thought I’d say it, but it’s good to have the old you back.”

  “I told you you’d miss me! I just didn’t know you’d go to extremes.”

  Invincible by DEAF KEV. Success rates x4.

  Note: This song chain has deviated from a single focus. Various buffs will increase functionality but may lose potency in comparison.

  “Are you in the middle of something? I was just kind of yanked back—”

  “Yeah, Nick. The supers have taken over the manor.”

  “‘Nuff said, go get ‘em.”

  Gus’ took one last look at the remains, then moved on and activated Leech on the remaining supers. He didn’t bother moving them. They wouldn’t know what happened when they awoke, and he couldn’t put them in the brig. The fact that he could steal powers would soon be out.