Sidekick

by Carl Stubblefield

  “We share goals. You are… notable. An anomaly.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” Gus rasped, coughing up a little blood. “But what goals could we possibly share?” Gus blurted, not expecting an answer as he shakily got back to his feet, defiance in his eyes.

  “Absorption. Reappropriation. Equality,” Voltekka responded, as if this explained everything. He pointed at Gus. “They told me.”

  With another nod, Voltekka took off towards space, heading for the station to continue his plans, utilizing the small triangular bit of Endurium he had procured. He had big plans that had waited far too long to implement. There were other sources, and they would be acquired.

  Gus and Aurora watched the robot leave, white contrail evaporating and slowly floating away.

  “What in the hell was that!?” Aurora shrieked when the shock of the moment wore off.

  Gus only shrugged, staring upwards. When the robot was out of sight, Gus dropped to the ground. He managed to burble out, “Gels,” from bloody lips.

  Snapping to herself, she fished out a gel and popped it in Gus’ mouth. He didn’t know how he had been able to hold it together with his Nth practically yanked out of his body. Aurora kept the supply of red gels coming as Gus was able to take them, and after four he’d lost the internal bleeding debuffs as well as a nasty brain bleed. He wasn’t at full HP, but he was stable and not losing any more HP.

  She kept feeding him until he had regained most of his health, the gels losing efficacy as more and more were eaten. Aurora then helped him walk to the elevator, hitting the level to his room. By the time they reached the floor with living quarters, he was standing on his own.

  “Make sure you get some rest, you’ve been through a lot,” she advised, evaluating him leaning against the wall of the elevator as she stepped out.

  “No. I can’t sleep; I’ve absorbed too many abilities. Don’t look at me like that, I’ll be fine. I just need some time to recuperate. Trust me.” Gus smiled weakly then hit the button to the control room.

  Aurora surveyed Gus’ haggard appearance, biting the inside of her cheek. She was exhausted herself, and felt guilty she was going to sleep.

  “Okay, but keep the comm open. If you need anything, let me know right away. Nick, don’t let him sleep, okay?” Aurora asked.

  “That will be difficult for this lazy boy.”

  Gus groaned. Chiun was back. He waved wearily as the doors started to close.

  “Take care of yourself,” she urged.

  Gus just nodded and shooed her away and the doors closed, cutting her off.

  She stood staring for a moment after the doors closed, then shrugged and made her way to her room, the strain of the day and captivity hitting her more fully. Despite her concerns, when she reached her room and laid down, she fell asleep almost instantly, and slept more deeply than she had in a while.

  “Aurora, come meet me in the control room, I have more good news.”

  “Whizza-what?” Aurora exclaimed, sitting up in bed with her hair sticking up on one side. She blinked and coughed, trying to make her thoughts coherent.

  “You sound like hammered heck. Get ready for the day and meet me in the control room when you’re ready. I should do the same, meet in a little bit, then?”

  “Okay, I might be a bit, though,” she murmured in affirmation, and rubbed her eyes. One thing Aurora liked and was unwilling to compromise was her long showers. She didn’t allow herself a lot of indulgences but this was incontrovertible. It was one of the first things that separated her old childhood from her new life as a super.

  When her mom had been around, she only got an occasional shower, and it was always cold. Later, when she stayed with Auntie, the large shower head that heated the water as it came out only worked intermittently. So once again cold showers more often than not.

  Plus she had the added fun of possibly shocking herself to death if she reached up and touched the bare wiring that fed into the contraption if she forgot while washing under her arms. She had earned her hot showers. Gus sounded back to normal, he could wait.

  Half an hour later, she rolled into the control room, hair still wet. “Okay, what was this good news?”

  Gus was excitedly looking through the facility’s console. Gone was the tired, rough appearance she had seen just a few hours ago.

  “When Basileus and crew took over the manor, they unlocked a ton of things. They must have used over a hundred-thousand legacy FP!” he exulted, like a kid on Christmas day.

  “Did they get anything good?”

  “Take a look.” He slid his chair to the side to show the list of recent upgrades.

  A siren sounded and they both looked at each other, Gus eyes shifting from jubilant to a harder stare she hadn’t seen on his usually placid face.

  “You think that’s more of Manticorps’ men?” Gus snarled as he checked the monitors.

  “Maybe. It could be Purple Faction, if they happened to get my distress message.”

  Gus’ heart tensed a little as he wondered which way Aurora would go if it came to a choice between him and Purple Faction. He had a pretty good idea where her loyalties would lie.

  “This island is getting as busy as Grand Central Station. Let’s go see who’s here now, I’m getting tired of this,” Gus growled.

  He pushed his chair away, clearly upset about another intrusion and stomped out of the room. He made a beeline to the beach and they stood ready to meet the next challengers.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Father Figure

  Gus stood watching with his arms folded across his chest as they approached. He zoomed in his display, as he noticed the color of their uniforms. “You were right, it’s Purple Faction. Wait, is that Tempest?”

  They awaited the group of ten supers who landed on the beach, all having the ability to fly on their own. As Tempest landed, he raised his hands up in a placating gesture. Recognizing Aurora, he turned and addressed her.

  “Aurora, I’m so glad you’re okay. I got your message right before… changes happened within the Faction. I came as soon as I could, and brought a few of the supers loyal to me to come assist you. I would have been here sooner, but the message was corrupted and I had to work on it a while to recompile. Then there was the hassle of requisitioning a transport. I was getting stonewalled until Rory helped with that when he found out you were in trouble. How can I help? I seem to have a lot of extra time on my hands as of late,” Tempest said, a little edge in his voice.

  Aurora looked at Tempest, then at Gus, confused that he had not recognized his own son. “Um, we’re fine, we defeated Manticorps yesterday. Are you here to let us know you’re taking the island?” She put her hands on her hips in a way that Gus wondered if she was being defiant.

  “Hmm. That sounds like something I would do, doesn’t it?” Tempest rubbed his chin, and Gus squinted as he noticed some rough stubble there. His father usually had dogged insistence on maintaining an immaculate appearance. “That might have been my role in the past, but I’ve been reevaluating a lot of things.” His voice was grim. He stood there with his hands on his hips staring at the sand, thinking. At last he responded, “No, for now I’m just here to help you out and find out anything about what happened to my—”

  Tempest looked up and saw Gus, finally recognizing his son. He was so different in appearance and demeanor that his brain struggled to assimilate what he was seeing. Gus could see the cogs working, trying to associate the confident individual who stood before him that was nothing like the lanky gamer son with poor posture Tempest knew. “How long has it been? It feels like another lifetime ago.”

  “A couple years, at least.”

  “Gus? How long have you had powers?” he stammered.

  “For about a month,” Gus replied stiffly.

  Tempest nodded, wincing slightly at the obvious edge in his words. “Still, I’d like to get caught up and see how you’ve been. I really am glad to see you alive and well. I held out hope when the station crashed
and escape pods were launched, but we’ve found nothing in our searches so far.”

  Gus began to respond but Tempest raised a hand. “Please, let me finish. I’ve wanted to tell you so much but I was advised that I couldn’t.”

  Gus pressed his lips into a firm line. This better be good.

  “You should know that your brother challenged me and took my position within Purple Faction. I worry about him too, especially because I know he’s being manipulated. We will have to deal with that at some point. There’s something bigger going on here that I need to puzzle out, but we can focus on that later. You need to know the most important thing.”

  “Sure, sure,” Gus said folding his arms. Was he fishing for sympathy?

  “Your mother is alive.”

  Gus stood there stunned, so many bombs had been dropped and he was trying to sort through them all.

  “Count me in, if you’ll have me,” Aurora chipped in.

  Tempest let a smile crease one side of his mouth. “They’re never going to know what hit them.”

  Gus heard none of it as he processed it all.

  Epilogue

  Rampage double checked the locks on his private bunker, then activated the comms, wringing his hands in anticipation. A hooded figure illuminated the dark space, his holographic projection glowing blue. The figure leaned forward, awaiting his report in silence.

  “We have established Cyclone in the leadership of Purple Faction, just as you asked.” Rampage stammered out, his chubby jowls jiggling. “It will take some time to groom him and solidify his position there, but he is very pliant. We can mold him however we want.”

  The corpulent man stared into the dark space under the cowl, unnerved by the inability to read his master’s disposition.

  The figure leaned back and steepled his fingers. Rampage had assumed to see bony, thin fingers but these hands were strong and bore the signs of hard toil and struggle.

  “At last! We now have operatives in the leadership of every major Faction. Another phase of the plan is complete,” the voice grated as if being used for the first time in years. “You have your orders. Make sure the boy is ready when I need him.”

  Rampage nodded obediently as the communication winked out and he was left there in the dark, sweat covering his skin. In the ensuing silence, he could hear his heart beating madly. His master was not known for his leniency toward failure. He would have to start working with the boy immediately.

  As he left his hideout, a wicked smile stole across his face as he imagined how things would soon change. He would finally get what he had worked so hard for, and so many would pay. So many!

  Afterword

  We hope you enjoyed Sidekick! Since reviews are the lifeblood of indie publishing, we’d love it if you could leave a positive review on Amazon! Follow this link to be redirected to the Henchman: Sidekick Amazon product page to leave your review.

  Don’t miss out on future releases! Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date. And as always, thank you for your support! You are the reason we’re able to bring these stories to life.

  About Carl Stubblefield

  The author began his plans for world domination by first becoming a dentist. It is a well-known fact that dentists have unearthed the ancient secrets of how to crush the hearts of men and to hear the lamentations of women and children. When this was insufficient, he created worlds where he could torment the good guys before moving to the next phase of his plans. Known for nefarious accomplishments that involve crippling dad-jokes and debilitating puns.

  From his secret lair hidden in the Pacific Northwest, he lives with his wife and three children. They haven’t left yet, but the mountain is covered with genetically altered wolves and other creatures. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, though.

  Connect with Carl:

  HenchmenUnite.com

  Patreon.com/Henchmen_Unite

  Twitter.com/ouroboros999

  Facebook.com/groups/CarlStubblefield

  About Mountaindale Press

  Dakota and Danielle Krout, a husband and wife team, strive to create as well as publish excellent fantasy and science fiction novels. Self-publishing The Divine Dungeon: Dungeon Born in 2016 transformed their careers from Dakota’s military and programming background and Danielle’s Ph.D. in pharmacology to President and CEO, respectively, of a small press. Their goal is to share their success with other authors and provide captivating fiction to readers with the purpose of solidifying Mountaindale Press as the place ‘Where Fantasy Transforms Reality.’

  Connect with Mountaindale Press:

  MountaindalePress.com

  Facebook.com/MountaindalePress

  Twitter.com/_Mountaindale

  Instagram.com/MountaindalePress

  Mountaindale Press Titles

  GameLit and LitRPG

  The Completionist Chronicles,

  The Divine Dungeon, and

  Full Murderhobo by Dakota Krout

  King’s League by Jason Anspach and J.N. Chaney

  A Touch of Power by Jay Boyce

  Red Mage by Xander Boyce

  Space Seasons by Dawn Chapman

  Ether Collapse and

  Ether Flows by Ryan DeBruyn

  Bloodgames by Christian J. Gilliland

  Wolfman Warlock by James Hunter and Dakota Krout

  Axe Druid and

  Mephisto’s Magic Online by Christopher Johns

  Skeleton in Space by Andries Louws

  Chronicles of Ethan by John L. Monk

  Pixel Dust by David Petrie

  Henchman by Carl Stubblefield

  Artorian’s Archives by Dennis Vanderkerken and Dakota Krout

  Appendix

  Gus’ stats and abilities at the end of book 2

  Agility: 57 (52+5)

  Constitution: 61 (56+5)

  Charisma: 33 (28+5)

  Strength: 42 (37+5)

  Perception: 41 (36+5)

  Intelligence: 64 (59+5)

  Luck: 42 (37+5)

  HP: 1200/1200

  MP: 1180/1180

  Stamina: 1200/1200

  MARTIAL SKILLS:

  Wreck-tums! (Level 3): 5% critical chance that will damn near kill the enemy from the opposing forces of chaos the blade unleashes along its edge. Blade also is auto-sharpening due to this effect. After receiving wear or damage to blade edge, chaos forces will re-balance the fineness of the blade. This item has hidden skills only discovered through use.

  Two-Handed Weapons (Level 3): +10% damage when using two-handed weapons.

  Polearms (Level 7): +1 to initiative when fighting enemies without polearms.

  Backstab (Level 2): Unnoticed attacks from behind deal double damage!

  Sweep the Leg! (Level 3): Upon successfully blocking an attack, have a 25% chance of knocking an opponent off their feet, stunning them for 5 seconds.

  Counter-Attack (Level 1): After completion of a successful parry of an enemy attack, 5% chance of following through with an attack that deals double the damage! Success rates increase with higher levels.

  Chained Attack (Level 1): Hit a second target when a successful Counter-Attack triggers without receiving any damage by either attacker. 50% chance of activating a chained attack with direct attack if no damage is taken.

  Incapacitate (Level 1): Subdue an attacker by restricting their oxygen flow through an ether weave. Success rates decrease by 10% for every level above originator of skill.

  ENERGY MANIPULATION:

  Intermediate Shielding (Level 16) [10MP/minute]: Form barriers around the host. Can be enlarged to encompass more people but will drain MP at an accelerated rate. Energy attacks will weaken shielding and destabilize it.

  Absorb (Level 26) [20 MP]: Extract energy and store for later use, most effective when directly draining MP and HP from others.

  Transfer (Level 13) [15MP]: Distribute energy from Absorb. Cannot change its form or convert energy into another medium. If energy is absorbed, it will be transferred in the same form.

>   Warp (Level 12[30MP]): Distort reality in a localized area, either crushing or expanding items in a 1-meter diameter sphere.

  Zeno Effect (Level 29) [30 MP]: Focusing on the quantum state of an object or target at will freeze its passage through time, preventing physical movement or skill activation while observed.

  Krackle (Level 6) [30 MP]: High energy burst attack of concentrated cascading spheres of energy.

  It’s All in the Tips (Level 22) [10 MP]: Fire beams of energy from fingertips.

  Chi Pulse (Level 29) [150 MP]: Drain internal stored energy to create an intense pulse of energy causing intense damage. Target will also be sapped of stamina regeneration after activation for 10 minutes.

  Dick in a Box (Level 12) [25 MP]: Encase an enemy in an invisible, impenetrable box of ether. Can be sustained by continuous MP drain. Duration at current level: 5 minutes.