Take Aim

by Charles Case

  He hunkered down behind the section of fallen ceiling and called out to the mechanized troops, “State your business!”

  All twelve of the helmeted heads turned his way. Without comment, they opened up with their heavy machine guns. Corbin immediately dove into the grooved track behind him, taking as much cover as he could. The rounds the security troopers were using were some of the special power-infused ones the Lieu Corp was known for.

  As each bullet hit the foot-thick chunk of vertical ceiling they exploded with the force of a small grenade, blowing holes in the composite as if it was made of paper. Corbin saw that the section he had been crouching behind was now holier than the Pope.

  “Well, that answers that,” Corbin murmured while focusing his power on the remaining section of barricade.

  With a rush of power, he increased the gravity of the composite directly at the gathered troopers. A grinding noise filled the room as the edge of the holed debris slid toward them. With a final push, the several hundred pound slab took off at a few hundred miles an hour.

  Six of the troopers dodged out of the path of the projectile, but barely. A seventh was almost clear but it clipped his right shoulder and threw him back a dozen yards as the impromptu projectile tore through his fellows. Blood and pieces of armor blasted away as the chunk of ceiling kept going until it smashed into the far wall. A mess of blood sprayed out from the impact site.

  The six mechanized troopers quickly regained their feet and opened fire on the spot where Corbin ducked down into the track. Chunks of platform flew into the air, each bullet taking a larger bite out of the crumbling platform than the last.

  However, Corbin wasn’t there anymore. He had taken the opportunity to move farther down the track before popping his head up. This time, he grabbed one of the troopers with his gravity power and flung him into one of his fellows further back. Both bodies tumbled through the open room until they smashed into one of the collapsed staircases. A loud crack let everyone know that they wouldn’t get up.

  The four remaining troopers changed target, but Corbin was gone, once again moving farther down the track. The machine-gun fire stopped after he had taken a few steps, which worried him. That meant they were on the lookout for where he was going to be, rather than assume he was still in his original place.

  Corbin laid flat in the track, breathing steadily. He didn't want to simply stick his head up and see what they were doing—that was a sure-fire way to get his head blown off. He might be a super, but those enhanced bullets would split his skull open faster than he could try to heal.

  “I can take a few hits from those guns. We have absorbed enough metal to deflect some, but not many.” Corbin nearly jumped at the sound of Leela’s voice. He chuckled to himself. “What’s so funny? I can do it.”

  “Sorry, it’s not you. I forgot about my armor.” He laughed out loud, knowing the four troopers had to take that as bad news. “I’m still getting used to the idea of having you on my side, even though it’s been weeks, now. Okay, let’s do this.”

  With barely a thought, Leela enveloped him head to toe in black and white armor. He felt the metal flow from his face and form into his fox mask and grinned. He glanced down at himself and fingered the yellow sash around his waist, marveling at how much it felt like fabric despite knowing that it was all metal. He pushed up to a crouch, still keeping his head below the lip of the platform.

  “You ready?” He wasn't sure if he was asking Leela or himself, but decided it didn't matter. His power flowed through him much easier now that the metals covered him. He felt powerful. Almost invincible.

  With a rush of power, he reversed his own gravity and shot into the air in a long arc that took him close to the glowing ceiling. When he reached the apex, he directed his power into the closest trooper and increased the man’s weight by a factor of a hundred. The floor under the mech-suited trooper cracked, and he folded down flatter than anyone could be and still have a skeleton.

  The ceiling exploded in a rapid series of flashes as the three troopers still standing opened fire.

  Corbin redirected his fall to the side and increased the acceleration by ten. He shot to the right, out of the line of fire, before focusing on another black-clad trooper. The trooper shot directly toward another as Corbin experienced a sucking feeling in his well. The second trooper dodged to the side as his fellow smashed into the ground where he had just been standing.

  Corbin felt a searing pain in his side and dropped to the ground behind a low pile of ceiling rubble. He sucked in a breath and his hand came away from his side bloody. He directed some power into healing the wound while grumbling, “I thought you said you could take a few shots.” He sucked in another breath between clenched teeth as he felt his side knitting back together. He glanced down to see the metal of his suit reform over the blood-smeared skin.

  “I may have overestimated that a bit. But you’re still alive, so I was able to keep most of the blast out. That shot would have killed anyone else.” Leela sounded a little defensive, but her feelings were those of someone who had made a mistake and felt really bad about it.

  Corbin drew a deep breath and quickly glanced over the short pile of rubble he was hiding behind. the rock at The top of the pile Immediately exploded, followed by several shots that went wide. Ducking back, Corbin fed power into himself and used a slight sideways pull to slide out from the side of his cover on his back. He was moving fast and sparks shot up from where the metal of his suit dragged across the platform. The move surprised the trooper, who was slow to turn Corbin's way.

  Corbin snatched up a fist-sized stone from the floor as he zipped past it. A second flow of power shot the stone from his hand with the speed of a railgun. The tumbling rock hit the trooper square in the chest and passed right through his armor and torso without slowing down. Blood poured from the hole and the trooper dropped to his knees, dead.

  Corbin slid to a stop, a smile on his face. Then he heard the familiar click of a trigger and felt pain explode in his chest. The last trooper had regained his feet after dodging his comrade. Corbin had completely forgotten about him. Groaning, Corbin saw blood coming from his chest, and had trouble lifting his arms.

  The last trooper stepped into his view, looming over him, the blank black helmet expressionless except for a cock to the side. The trooper raised his rifle and aimed it at Corbin’s face.

  Feeding as much power as he could into healing his chest, Corbin knew it wasn't going to be fast enough.

  BOOM!

  The trooper’s helmet exploded in fire and gore, making Corbin's eyes go wide. He looked past the trooper and saw Seena lowering one of the dead trooper’s rifles. She was glistening with sweat, as if she had just run a marathon. The rifle fell from her hands and she collapsed to the ground.

  4

  Corbin slid to one knee beside her and gently cradled her head. “Hey, there. You okay?”

  Seena's eyes fluttered open and took a second to focus. “Ye…yeah. I think so.” She used the palm of her hand to wipe some grit from her cheek.

  “Good thing you finished with your new partner in time, or I would have been short one head.” Corbin smiled,trying to make light of the situation while his heart rate came back down.

  Seena sat up with Corbin's help and surveyed the carnage. “Actually, I didn't finish. Gert said there was something I needed to do before we could bond all the way.”

  “Gert? Is that your suit’s name?” Corbin helped Seena stand.

  “Uh, yeah. She seems a little formal, but nice enough. She took me into a vision. By the way, you were right about those things being intense. I couldn't tell the difference from real life. It was kinda creepy.”

  Corbin let go of Seena's arm when she seemed stable and mentally retracted his suit. The mask was the first thing to go, followed a second later by the entire suit melting back into his skin. “I was pretty sure I was going mad when Leela first took me into a vision. They can take a little getting used to. But they’re a grea
t way to practice using your powers.”

  “I’ll bet they are. Anyway, we were talking about what it means to be bonded and all that when she stopped and went quiet. Then she asked why I was broadcasting, and I had no idea what she was talking about. Told me to fix it, then ended the vision. I had no clue what she was on about until I reached the top of the ladder and heard you fighting these guys.” She unzipped the front of her jumpsuit all the way down past her belly button, and shimmied out of the sleeves. She had a white tank top on underneath, but it was tight and she was obviously bra-less.

  Corbin's cheeks turned a little red, but she seemed to want to show him something, so he didn't look away. However, he did make a point of not looking at her chest.

  She pulled the suit down over her hip bone. Corbin thought she was going to take it off completely when she stopped and presented her hip bone to him in a thrusting motion.

  “This.” She made it sound like he should know what the hell she was talking about, but to be honest, he was more concerned with where to look than to be able to infer anything from a hip thrust.

  “Uh, what?” Corbin's confusion was written across his red cheeks.

  Seena cocked an eyebrow at him and then barked a laugh. “My implant, dummy.”

  Then it all came together for him. Her implant. The one that her father had put in her so that she could pretend to be a super. Of course, it would have a tracking device in it. That made him think of the blood monitor they had injected into his arm while he was held prisoner.

  “Oh, shit.” He pulled up the sleeve of his jumpsuit. Sure enough, he could still see the blood monitor’s bulge. “Leela, remember how I told you not to get rid of the thing they injected into us in the cell?”

  “Yes?”

  “Yeah, we need to go ahead and get rid of that. I bet you anything there’s a tracker in it as well.”

  She sent metals flowing through his body without a word, giving him the feeling of things crawling under his skin. He was about to comment when a ripping feeling began deep in his forearm. He fell to his knees with a scream, making Seena’s eyes grow wide with concern. She reached out for him.

  The skin on Corbin's forearm split and blood ran down to drip from his fingers. With clenched teeth, he watched as a metal device the size of one of the large vitamins he was given in the army popped out and fell to the floor with a clank. Corbin immediately flowed power into his healing ability and the wound closed with new pink skin. He took a few breaths then wiped the blood away, revealing his fully-healed forearm.

  “Well, that was terrifying,” Seena mumbled as she picked up the pill-sized device. A red indicator light flashed. She dropped it and started to stomp down on it when Corbin quickly snatched it up.

  “Don’t. We might be able to use this to lead them on a wild goose chase. We could use the breathing room.”

  Seena considered that, then nodded. “Now the question is, how do we get this out?” She tapped on the slight bulge in her hip.

  The device was an anti-gravity drive, similar to what was used in aircraft but on a much smaller scale. Corbin considered how much money and engineering went into it, then thought about all those resources being used so that William wouldn't be embarrassed to have a daughter who was not a super, and it made him sick.

  “We need to cut it out.” Corbin pulled a folded knife from one of his many pockets. With a flick of his wrist, he extended the blade.

  Seena's eyes went wide and her face paled a little, but she nodded, her jaw set. “This is going to suck, isn't it?”

  Corbin frowned then gave her a half-smile. “I’ll be as fast as I can, but yeah. This is going to suck. The good news is, I’ll be able to heal you right after I’m done.”

  “Gert wants me to come and commune with her while this happens.” Leela’s voice was full of doubt, but she pressed on. “I’ll be able to help her get out here so they can bond as soon as the device is out of Seena.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Seena could bleed out if you two take too long.”

  Seena, not hearing Leela’s side of the conversation, balked at his words. “Wait, what? You said you could heal me.”

  “Gert wants to bond with you and do the healing herself. Leela is going to go get her while I cut the implant out. I want to be sure they get back in time.” As Corbin talked, Leela formed into her two-tailed fox form and leaped from his shoulder. Her metallic paws clicked ever so slightly on the composite flooring.

  The small fox nodded and trotted off toward the maintenance office.

  Seena and Corbin looked at one another for a second before her eyes flicked down to the blade in Corbin's hand. She bit her lip and nodded. “Ready?” she asked.

  “Am I ready? Are you ready?”

  She laid on the floor and pushed her jumpsuit down to expose more of her hip. “Let’s get this over with. I don't know how much time we have before they send more troopers, and I want to be out of here before we find out.”

  Corbin pulled a rag out of a pocket and twisted it into a tight band. “Bite down on this. I don't want you to break any teeth.”

  The look she gave him said that his words didn't make her feel any better, but she opened her mouth and bit down when he held the twisted cloth between her teeth.

  Corbin drew a deep breath and focused on the small lump in her hip. He felt around the bulge with tender fingers, finding the edges. Her skin was soft and supple, and made a chill run through him at the intimate moment. He stalled as long as he could but there was nothing else to do but get on with it.

  “Here we go,” he whispered, placing the blade to her skin. She jumped a little at the contact but gave a sharp nod. The look of trust in her eyes despite the fear bolstered him, and he focused on the knife once again.

  With a quick and steady draw, he sliced along the top of the bulge. Blood welled from the cut. Seena stiffened but didn't make a sound. He made two more quick cuts perpendicular to the first, making an H shape so he could fold back the skin and get to the baseball-sized implant.

  He glanced up and saw her staring at him, tears of pain running from her eyes, but full of determination.

  “Okay. Now for the hard part. I’m sorry.”

  With as quick a motion as possible, he pried up one flap of skin and folded it back. Seena stiffened. Her muffled scream of pain made him flinch.

  “You’re doing so good. Hang in there.” He quickly folded back the second flap.

  She began to thrash a little and he was forced to hold her down with a firm hand to her midsection. The device was exposed, along with the bone of her pelvis. Blood left a shiny coat on everything, but he could see that the spherical device had been inserted into a hollowed-out section of the bone to hold it steady. He tried to pull it out with his fingers but it was cemented in.

  Seena was sobbing quietly into the cloth, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. When he tried to pull the device out a second time, she tensed and grabbed a handful of his jumpsuit on his thigh.

  “I’m going to have to pry it out. The doctors cemented it into the bone.” He felt a tear roll down his cheek in sympathy. Seena just gave him a sharp nod, her eyes closed.

  He wedged the tip of the knife between the bone and the implant. This caused more tensing and a moan from Seena, but he didn't want to stop halfway through and levered the handle down. The cement resisted and held against his prying.

  Seena screamed through the cloth, biting down hard. Her hand was now clenching his thigh, and squeezing for all it was worth. Corbin hardly felt it and he worked the blade back and forth, wedging the steel deeper into the cut-out socket. Seena's scream rose in intensity until she collapsed, the pain too much and her body shutting down.

  Corbin breathed a sigh of relief and worked quickly before she woke back up. With a hard twist of the blade, the cement cracked and the blood-covered metal sphere popped free with a slight sucking sound. He reached into the wound and picked up the miniature anti-gravity drive, inspecting it.

>   The device was made of smooth surgical steel and had a blinking red indicator the size of his thumbnail. He put the implant down beside the one from his arm and gently folded the skin back over the wound. He found another cloth in a pocket and folded it into a makeshift bandage, pressing it to the wound with quite a bit of pressure to stanch the bloodflow.

  Her jumpsuit was wet with blood and there was a considerable pool of the bright red liquid radiating out from her prone form. He reached up and felt for her pulse. It was there, but weak and fluttering.

  Glancing up, he didn't see Leela or Gert anywhere. He ground his teeth. “Come on. She can't last very long like this,” he yelled into the empty room. There was no response.

  He gently brushed the hair from Seena's face where it had stuck in the sweat during her thrashing. He left bloody streaks on her forehead, and cursed. “You’re going to be fine, darlin’. Just hang in there. I’m sorry I had to do that.”

  The familiar clicking of metallic paws made him look up. Leela was leading a mass of metal that globbed along the floor like a sentient slime. They were taking their time since the blob of metal couldn't move all that fast. Corbin gritted his teeth while watching their slow progress. He wanted to yell and rage at them to hurry up, but he knew it wouldn't help.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Leela stopped a few paces away, out of reach. Her eyes were pained, but she waited as the blob of silver metal made it past her. Corbin knew Leela was waiting out of reach so he didn't heal Seena as soon as they were together. He had already tried, but without Leela his powers were just out of reach. They were a pair—one couldn't use their powers without the other. If he was a gun, then she was the trigger.

  Corbin watched the slow progress as the metal blob, Gert, crossed the last few feet and finally made contact with Seena's exposed midriff. Then, faster than he had seen the blob move before, it flowed into her.

  5