Are you sure it is wise to have a mass driver rifle on this version? I know you like the idea of the weapon, but once it is detached from the armor... if people were to figure out how to reverse engineer it the consequences could be dire.
I nod at his comments. I know, but I’ve built in every safety system I can think of. The weapon will only fire if it’s physically connected to my suit and I’m in the suit. Epic has to unlock the firmware. It has not one, but three tracking systems in it. An RFID chip for GPS, a passive radio beacon that I can ping, and a capsule of tritium that will decay over a long period. Like, twelve years. I can trace that from just about anywhere. My worst-case scenario if none of those work is a dead man’s switch; if anyone tries to fire it when Epic or I am not around… boom. I could just make it not fire, but there isn’t a scenario I can think of where someone else would fire it without Epic or me being there to give them the okay. The weapon uses only ten megajoules, but it’s enough to punch a hole in a tank. I smile, thinking of the look on their faces the next time the Armory messes with me.
“Okay, enough of this. Kill the news; I can’t control other people’s fears, only my own. Listening to some politically motivated talking heads who have never done an honest day’s work in their life pontificate about mine, isn’t going to help me.”
With pleasure. Would you like an update about Luke?
Excitement buzzes through me, and my hairs stand on end. “You have something?” I sit up straighter in my chair, all my worries about the news vanish at the thought of having Luke home.
I have a 47% match in Branson, Missouri of all places. I do not have a theory as to why he would be there right now.
“Forty-seven percent ain’t much buddy. What makes you think it’s him?”
Gait analysis, height and build, mannerisms. I have several hundred hours of direct observation of Luke to compare against.
“Then why such a low percentage?”
I will show you.
The big monitor that stretches across the far wall lights up. Traffic cam footage splits into six different squares, three top, three bottom. Epic highlights a figure moving from the bottom to the top, representing three different blocks as he goes from left to right. I can’t tell who it is; the angle is terrible. Whoever they are, they have a rain hat on and a large coat. It could be Luke. The figure is certainly built like him and even walks like a Marine.
“I see what you mean. How long ago was this?”
Ten minutes.
“I guess we’re going to Branson, Missouri. Message Kate, let her know what we’re doing.” As I speak I roll over to the special chair I have installed in the wall. Grab bars allow me to easily transfer using my upper body. It takes a second, but I get myself seated comfortably. The chair rocks backward like a recliner and waits for me to start.
“Epic, initiate!”
Ten minutes later I’m breaking Mach 4 and leaving a long boom behind me as I hit twenty-thousand feet in the all-purpose MK VI. Flying has always been, and will always be, my favorite part of all of this. Even if I had to give up the hero gig, retire my armor or whatever, I’d still do this. Well, unless I was pregnant, but then Luke and I would have to have had sex for me to be pregnant and while I am not as religious as my mother, I’m certainly saving myself for when we’re married.
I’m not sure where that thought even came from? I’ve never really thought about having children before. I can; it’s not like I’m infertile or anything... but kids? I’m twenty-one, biologically, twenty-two if I count my time as an Amelia-cicle. Which is kind of a stupid thing to think considering my mom was eighteen when I was born.
Kids huh...? Well, when I find Luke, we can have a long conversation about our future. That thought brings a smile to my face.
It doesn’t take too much longer for us to hit the Ozark mountains and start the process of slowing down and dropping out of the sky. Nothing like going four times the speed of sound to wake the neighbors. Epic checks Air Traffic Control and gives us the green light. I can’t say I miss the days where I was restricted to just Arizona. Being part of a national team certainly has its advantages.
Flightpath is clear. We will be coming in over Table Rock Lake.
I double check my load-out. I have three all-purpose suits. The one I’m wearing which is installed permanently in the Spire. The lightweight one in my chair, and the third is in Emjet 01. I couldn’t put one in all three aircraft, so I settled on one Emjet that was just mine, and the other two for the rest of the team and the Spire employees as needed.
My all-purpose suits are a lot like my MK 3.5 suits. A particle beam on one arm, Kinetic Lance, IP Cannon, AG Pod launcher, enhanced strength and shields of course. Upgraded with the new spray-on synthsuit and Animetal core like all my suits, and of course, it includes all the software upgrades and sensor suits.
Branson is a small town of twelve thousand people east of Table Rock Lake. The lake itself looks more like valleys filled with water than an unbroken lake as we have in Arizona. The topography is vastly different than what I’m used to; lots of trees, hills, and valleys.
Once Epic signals the all clear, we slow down to a few hundred miles an hour and come in over Branson from the southwest. The armor locks up, keeping me from exhaustion as the suit fights the wind currents to circle the city.
“Okay, Epic. Go full active on all sensors. Tap into the local cameras, do whatever you have to do but let’s find Luke. I don’t want to leave Branson without him.”
Affirmative.
Screens open up on my field of view, adding my MK I eyeballs to Epic’s impressive list of scanning arrays.
There are so many things about this situation that bother me. First and foremost, what could the gem want with Luke? I mean, I love the big lug, but he isn’t exactly a genius or a mastermind. He’s smart enough, but in a very narrow field of expertise.
I double check the readiness of my ZPFM powered ECM. If it’s powerful enough to stop Ericsson and Heart, then it should free Luke from the gem’s hold. I hope.
Twenty-seven percent match. Adjusting course.
The suit rolls over, heading due west before diving down to two hundred feet. From this altitude I can make out the people beneath me. With the flick of my eyes, the HUD zooms in on different faces.
Forty-one percent match.
We drop down a little more. “Unlock the armor,” I order Epic. My limbs jerk free, letting me control the suit again. I stretch for a second, suppressing a yawn as I do. The street we’re flying over is full of people, mostly tourists it looks like, shopping in the local stores as people head for different theatrical venues that make up the towns largest source of interest.
Why is he here, though? There isn’t anything he could want in this place, right?
Eighty-four percent match… no ninety-three. Amelia, I have located Luke—follow the yellow brick road.
All the screens vanish, replaced by one showing the rain hat-wearing figure in the too-big coat. He turns around for a second and my eyes go wide as I suck in a breath.
“Luke...,” I whisper. He’s ragged. Large dark circles are visible under his bloodshot eyes. He looks like he hasn’t shaved since he left. “Epic... battle stations.” The HUD flips over from green to red. The ZPFM switched to max power mode, energizing all the systems at once.
I want to surprise him and not give him time to react.
“Charge the ECM, full power. Activate the directional beam as soon as we land.”
Will do.
I punch the engines, hitting two hundred before throwing it all in reverse and slamming down on the asphalt right in front of the man I love. Concrete cracks under me from the force of my impact.
“Hit it!” The HUD dims for a second as electromagnetic noise explodes out of my suit, disrupting every phone, camera, and anything else with an ECM signature larger than a pacemaker for a hundred feet. “Retract faceplate.” The mirrored faceplate retracts so Luke can see my face. His eyes go wide as I smile
at him. “Hey stranger, wanna ride?”
He opens his mouth then clamps it shut. His fists ball up, and his eyes fill with water.
“Amelia,” he spits out finally. “You have to leave. Please, leave,” he pleads.
“Luke, you’re free. I’m disrupting whatever hold the gem has on you. It uses alpha waves to control people and just like everyone else we’ve faced with telepathic powers; I can jam them!”
I thought he’d be happy. The music would swell, we would hug and kiss, and then he’d come home.
“No, Amelia, you don’t understand. It’s not controlling me. It doesn’t have to. Not anymore.”
157
A crowd of people forms near us, cameras and cell phones flashing pictures. They can’t connect to the Internet or cell towers through my interference. Which is good—it will give Epic time to access their devices and delete anything that would compromise us.
“Luke, what are you talking about?” I step toward him, closing the distance to put an armored hand on his shoulder. He bats it away as if I were trying to hurt him.
“Back off, Amelia. I have to do this. If not...” he looks at me, his eyes pleading again. My heart hurts seeing his beautiful crystal blue eyes filled with such pain.
“Luke, whatever the gem is forcing you to do, you don’t have to. We can handle it together.” Times like this I miss Epic being in my head. I know he’s scanning everything and trying to help in any way he can.
“Amelia, if I don’t... if I don’t do as he says, he will kill you, and Kate, and everyone I’ve ever loved,” he says.
“Luke, don’t be ridiculous. Its already tried to kill me, with a giant frigging robot I might add. I’m still here.” I try to smile in a comforting way. Goosebumps are crawling up my skin, and a shiver runs up my spine. What does he mean by he? “Luke, who's making you do this?”
He looks down at the ground, fists opening and clenching impotently. “The Gem isn’t a jewel Amelia... it’s a thing, an entity far older than—” Luke falls to his knees, mouth stretched wide in a soundless scream of agony. His hands clasp his head, pulling his hair and pressing hard against his temples. “Amelia,” he spits out as his face turns red. Veins pop out of his neck and face. Fabric stretches as his body swells, pushing against the limits until his clothes rip at the seams. I’ve seen him get big before, but this is something else. His skin takes on a red hue, and he finally finds his voice.
“Faceplate down,” I scream as I back up. Luke roars like a lion with a megaphone. The concussive force of his voice knocks the crowd back. “PA, now.” I wait for a heartbeat. “Evacuate the area, immediately!”
Luke slams the ground with a massive fist, cracking the pavement and sending seismic ripples out around him like water. He’s still growing, raging with snorts and growls as he reaches toward the heavens and howls again.
He has stopped growing. His mass now exceeds that of a semi-truck, and I estimate his level of strength at F5.
“Epic, how is this possible? He’s an F4 at his most worked up; he’s never hit F5 before!”
Does this look like Luke to you?
He’s right. Luke’s skin is the color of molten rock, glowing like there’s a million-watt light inside of him, shining through his blood. Despite the cold weather, the temperature of the immediate area shoots up ten degrees and the air around him shimmers from the heat pouring off him.
In the last few years, we’ve run up against people who had powers they shouldn’t have—like the sonic teenager in the Riot Boys and Girls. I thought maybe the DMHA database wasn’t being updated, but now... now I think this Red Gem has been behind a lot more than I thought.
“Amelia,” Luke howls, slamming his fists into the ground again. “Run!”
“Like hell. Let go of my man!” I scream back at him. I fire off a rapid pulse of IP Cannon that rips through the air in a burst of blue light. The energy hits him square in the chest. Luke takes a step forward, growling as the energy swirl of the cannon ripples around him. “Continuous fire, full power!” I order Epic.
ZPFMs whine as they dump more power into the IP Cannon. Alarms ring as the capacitors reach max. I don’t usually use them as a beam weapon—they’ll shut down after a few minutes of continuous use. At least they’re not like the particle beam, which could set my suit on fire.
He stomps the ground, sending a shockwave rolling through the pavement. The cars parked along the street closest to him flip over. Every window I can see shatters, and if it weren’t for my kinetic shields I’d be paste just from that. Then he takes a step forward, followed by another, then one more.
Amelia, the IP Cannon is affecting him, but not enough. I suggest you take flight immediately.
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” I ignite the Emdrive, leaping into the air and turning as I do. Alarms wail as the armor jerks to a halt. I look back—Luke leaped forward, catching my ankle on one giant hand. He reverses course and slams me down onto the road like a child with a fly swatter. I scream as we hit, my voice drowned out by the alarms. “Full power to shields.”
I can’t see Epic’s response since I close my eyes before Luke swings me around again to crash into a parked F-150. “Luke, let me go!”
“Luke’s not here, woman. There is only me!”
He doesn’t even sound like himself. The monster hoists me up, hanging me upside down in front of him, a huge smile splitting his face. I can see Luke in him; I can see the man I love.
Amelia, use the particle beam.
“It could kill him!”
He could kill you.
“No. I won’t do it. There has to be another way.” I ball up a fist and swing as hard as I can for his face. With the Animetal core and my kinetic manipulators, I’m pretty frigging strong.
He doesn’t attempt to block it—just takes the blow on his jaw—which doesn’t move.
“My turn,” he says with glee. The ground and sky change places as he swings me back and hurls me at a building. Glass and concrete explode as I pass through the laundromat, flattening a washing machine that bursts in a shower of suds and clothing. I end up on the other side of the building, upside down and covered in dirt and debris.
“Epic, status report,” I say, pulling myself up and doing my best to look away from the damage to my foot.
Emdrive number one is down. You have three left. The damage to your right boot is nearly one-hundred percent. Amelia, fleeing is the wisest course of action.
The ground shakes, sending dust bouncing into the air. I leap up, accelerating hard to avoid the juggernaut coming toward me. The drives whine as we gain altitude. I can’t leave, though. I can’t leave Luke behind—this might be the only chance I have of saving him.
“Epic, call Kate and Carlos, get the rest of the team on the jet,” I say to him.
The team will never arrive in time. Amelia, you have to flee or fight like you mean it. We do not have the tools to capture him when he is like this.
“Dammit, Epic, I’m not leaving him.”
I spin around, scanning the back the way I came, looking for him. I spot the tow truck hurtling up toward me a half second before it hits. “Brace,” I yell. Epic locks the suit up just as it hits. Half a dozen systems flash crimson on my HUD from the impact. Sparks fly and three of my five capacitors short out from the impact.
Amelia, change suits. We might be able to take him in the close combat suit, or even the Turtle.
We spin away from the impact and I nearly hit another building as I fly by. The tow truck lands in the lake. I regain control using the Emdrive and fly back up. Epic’s not wrong—we might be able to take him with another suit, but with the damage to this suit, I’m not sure I can change quickly. The Q-space pocket where I keep my suit delivery system isn’t designed to repair— just suit up or change suits.
“Epic, run the numbers. With the structural damage can we change suits?”
I spot Luke; he’s running down the main street to the East, hitting the ground with his feet so ha
rd that glass shatters in the nearby stores and cars jump around like they’re on springs.
Unknown. However, we cannot stop him in the current suit. He is too strong.
Epic clocks him at eighty miles an hour as he half leaps, half runs down the street. I’ve got altitude now, and the advantage always goes to the high ground. If I can’t beat him into submission I’ll just pod him and deal with him that way.
“AG pods, lock on to a spot on his back he can’t reach.”
Trajectories pop up on my HUD along with a percentage chance of hitting him right. I don’t think I’ll get more than one shot off, which means I want a 100% chance of hitting him where I want. I drop down three hundred feet until I’m fifty feet above and behind him. When the numbers ping 100 I fire. The launcher puffs as the compressed air shoots the anti-gravity pod at him. The pod itself is covered in a gooey, sticky substance. When it hits, the glue splatters against his back, sticking it right beneath his shoulder blades.
He stumbles as the pod lifts him off the ground. Then he starts laughing. Not the kind, funny laugh of my beau, but the evil cackle of something truly horrific. What the hell is this Gem?
“He said you wouldn’t stop. I guess he’s right. Let’s see how far you’re willing to go?” His daemonic voice reverberates through the air—I don’t just hear it, I feel it, and it makes my skin crawl and nauseates my stomach.
“It’s over, whoever you are. You can’t have him.” I fly down to hover out of arms reach of the thing that inhabits Luke. I don’t quite know how I’m going to contain him. But at least he’s stopped.
He grins at me, his face bearing little resemblance to Luke’s, but there is a hint of the man I love in there. He holds up his hand, fingers spread wide. With his other hand, he grabs his thumb...
The crack of the bone and the scream of pain that follows shocks my heart.
Full Metal Superhero Box Set [Books 1-6] Page 84