Amelia, what if we strip away the armor component but leave the exo-skeleton intact? That would allow you to walk and fly. As long as you do not try to stop a bomb, you should be okay.
Epic is a genius. Here I am trying to figure out how to make the armor work again, and really all I need to do is reconfigure the Animetal exo-skeleton and maybe rewire a few things.
“Good thinking, buddy. This won’t look awesome but it will do the job.”
“You figure it out?” Luke asks from over my shoulder. He’s acting as my assistant, holding tools and fetching things for me so I don’t have to move too much. Without a wheelchair I’m stuck in one seat.
“Yep! Well, Epic did. When we designed the new modular suit system, it was all based around an Animetal Exo-skeleton. That part is self-repairing—as long as it doesn’t take too much damage—but the armor on the leg is a loss. However, I don’t need the armor to function, just the bits underneath. Give me an hour and I’ll have this up and running.”
“Uh-huh, an hour? You always underestimate how long these things take,” Luke says with a smile.
“Your doubt in my ability is duly noted.”
He presses his lips together in a thin line. “That’s not what—Oh. You’re joking. Ha ha,” he says.
I wave him over and give him a peck on the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re flustered. Now shoo. I need to focus, and you make that hard.”
With Epic’s help and a little luck I dive right in and figure things out. We have two and a half days to acquire and assemble the Protector’s Armor; I can’t waste a single second of it. Even if this makes me less sturdy, at least I’ll be able to walk and fly. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be facing anyone with superpowers in this time.
A few hours later (Luke was right; I underestimated) and I think I have it. “Epic, run a systems test and let me know when you’re done.”
Affirmative.
While I wait I glance around the cave; I notice things that I hadn’t before... Somehow Pithia managed to summon a military style cot for Luke, including a green footlocker next to it. Also, the bed of pillows is gone, replaced by a fancy four post affair with frilly pillows and a down comforter that looks yummy. Frank is relaxing on the bed reading a book. Pythia is nowhere to be seen.
“Luke?”
He hops off the cot and fast-walks over to me.
“What happened?” I ask.
“She said that with the new Protector coming she needed rest to conserve her power. She walked behind the waterfall and vanished. After that, things”—he turns and gestures to the room— “things started changing. It’s weird because neither Frank or I noticed until after they had changed—almost like it had always looked this way.” He runs a hand through his hair, bringing it to rest on the back of his neck. “That woman gives me the creeps. I thought the week we’d spent with her on Lux’s ship was weird, but this...”
I nod. I know what he means. It’s hard… no... impossible to read that woman. Is she telling the truth? What is she hiding? Reading a book written in invisible ink would be easier than divining that woman’s true intent.
Epic beeps and his cool voice fills the cavern. Amelia, I have some good news; the suit is one-hundred percent operational. Even with the removed armored section it does not impair the functionality as long as we have sufficient Animetal to patch the hole with, which we do. I would suggest you not have any more holes torn or blown in you, though.
“Yes!” I pump my fist in the air. “Good news at last.” I turn to Luke and smile. “Okay Baby, help me get dressed,” I say to Luke.
Luke stops for a second, looking me up and down with a gleam in his eye. Heat builds up in my cheeks and ears and I look down to the ground. “Not like that, jerk.”
“You said it,” he teases.
“Luke, when we get back... I want you to ask. I’m ready if you are,” I tell him as he leans down to pick me up.
“Ask you— Amelia, are you sure?” He freezes as he realizes what I mean. Once upon a time he was going to ask me to marry him. I cut him off before he could with a ridiculous reason. I realize now how short-sided and fear based that decision was. I want to undo it now.
I nod. Suddenly the cave is far too small. I reach up and put a hand on his square jaw, letting my fingers linger over his face. He needs a shave, but other than that he looks amazing. Not trusting my words, I pull him in for a kiss.
It lasts for a lot longer than normal; when I pull away from him, we’re both breathing heavy. “I think kissing you is my favorite thing in the whole world.”
He shakes his head. “Liar. Science is your favorite thing,” he says while nuzzling my nose.
“Nope. Right here and now.... You are.”
We hug for a few seconds and I just don’t ever want this to end.
“Ahem,” someone behind us says.
Luke jerks around, standing in front of me protectively because whoever made that noise isn’t someone we know.
The woman walking out of the waterfall wears a pair of brown desert colored boots, khaki pants, and a button-down shirt that looks vaguely like a military uniform shirt. Her long black hair is severely pulled back. The only reason I know it’s Pythia, is her eyes—languid pools of blue that are incredibly hard to look at for more than a few seconds. Whenever I try to stare at her, I feel like she’s looking into my soul.
“You changed?” I say.
She nods, her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I guess Fate knows who my next Protector is, because this is what he needs,” she says.
“Don’t you normally change after you meet them?” I ask.
She nods. “This is new territory for me, though. There hasn’t been a Protector in a long, long time.”
I shrug. “Let’s go get the dude his armor then. Luke,” I say with a grin, “initiate.”
“Oh, you’re funny. Which piece first?” he asks with a perplexed look.
Yeah, it’s going to take a while to gear up.
NINETEEN
Three hours, four cokes, and a ham sandwich later, I’m standing on the Delphi Hill. I smile as I walk up to the top. It’s nice to be able to move again, even if it is artificial. Epic is back to projecting his words on the screen for me, and he’s busy running through all the last-minute checks. I don’t want to get up ten thousand feet only to have a critical system fail.
He starts putting everything on the HUD for me to see.
ZPFM... 100%
Kinetic Manipulates... 100%
IP Cannons... 100%
Particle Beam... 100%
Emdrive... 100%
We are as ready as we are going to be, Amelia. Let us go break some laws.
I chuckle. “Activate Emdrive in three...” It’s not like I think the suit is going to explode or anything but... the damage Red Gem-Luke did to the ankle and knee was pretty extreme.
“Two… One… Launch!”
The Emdrive saps power from the ZPFM and the whine they generate fills the air around me. The suit shakes for a second then shoots into the air like a rocket.
“Woohoo!” Excitement runs through me as we blow past the sound barrier. A slight shaking of the suit tells me my flight controls need some calibration, but other than that, everything works perfect.
“Epic, let’s take a look at the Basilica, the area around it, and pull up anything we know about Vatican city at this time in history.”
For one, there is no Vatican city at this time. The area that will later be known as the city is just called The Vatican. The Papacy is legally confined to that area.
“Cool. I feel like Indiana Jones. We’re looking for an honest-to-gosh religious artifact.” The implication of that hits me. “Epic, mom is going to freak when she finds out what we’ve done. Oh man, the look on her face is going to be priceless.”
You are correct. Given the importance of faith in her life, this will be a very significant event for her. Cruising speed of Mach 3 achieved. Time to target: thirty-nine minu
tes. Would you like to watch a movie?
“Tempting, but no. I need to fill in some gaps. Find me every major event that happens over the next two days and let’s read about it. I want to brush up on my history.”
All I have is a scattering of pictures, journals, and newspaper articles that are questionable at best.
On that cheery note, Epic starts filling me in on things. Before I know it, we’re descending over Rome, decelerating to a manageable three hundred miles an hour.
The Italian peninsula at night is gorgeous; I’ve only ever seen it from orbit as I flew to and from Greece, and then only a handful of times. I cut the power a few thousand feet up and freefall—more out of habit than any need for security. They have no radar, no infrared, nothing at all that can detect me.
I power back up at three hundred feet, throw my hands out in front and hit the jets. The thrust slows the suit down so that I land on the thousand-year-old cobblestone outside the Basilica as light as a feather.
I hold still for just a moment while Epic scans the area. At four A.M. I don’t expect there to be a lot of foot traffic—it’s the ideal time to break into a place.
All clear. Bear in mind we are going to have to do some searching. It is not like there is a computer I can hack to tell us where it is.
“Spoilsport,” I mutter. The building is a magnificent replica of Roman architecture. Columns hold up the roof, past those the external walls are marble with intricate carvings on them.
“Epic, make a note; if we ever build a base, we need marble, and lots of it. This is beautiful.”
Note made. Intricate religious carvings for evil mountain lair.
I chuckle as we move past the exterior to find a hallway that leads to a heavy wooden door. A quick IR scan doesn’t reveal anyone on the other side, which makes this easier. I hesitate and I reach for the door.
This door is far more modern than the rest of the architecture Amelia. You may break it without destroying history.
“Thank you, Epic, I was worried about that.” With him giving me the go ahead, I place a hand flat on the door and heave. Despite the slim size of the flight suit, the Animetal core is what provides the enhanced strength. While my combat suit has far more rigidity and allows for greater feats of strength, my flight suit will still rip a door off its hinges.
Metal pings as it gives way and the door folds inward, hitting the marble floor with a clatter. I shake my head. I should have tried to grab it as it fell but I wasn’t fast enough.
Well done. I am sure there is someone here who is not alerted.
“Right. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” I move in, kicking in the Emdrive and flying down the hallway into the large open interior. “We need stairs going down. If there is a vault of some kind it won’t be on the higher levels... I hope.”
Turn right.
I cut over, switching to night vision as I go. The door Epic locates for me is far more normal than the one I broke open. As the seconds tick by, I can hear people rushing to the noise. Thankfully I’m long gone. This door is also locked, but I decide to take a stealthier approach and crush the handle. It comes apart then swings open freely. I step through and take flight down the stairs.
“This is a lot less nerve-wracking when we can listen in to their conversations,” I say to Epic.
Agreed. No Internet or electronic networks makes me feel a lot like a blind person must. I do not like it. Not one bit.
At the bottom of the stairs is a large sub-basement that looks more like a modern subway tunnel; concave roof, a platform, the whole bit. Then I see the tracks in the center.
“Epic?”
Scanning. Wait one moment.
“Hurry,” I tell him. Between each of the archways that run parallel to the tracks there is a large metal door.
This is their vault; however, the train tracks would indicate this is just one of many. We may have to start guessing.
“Frell,” I mutter. I go to the first door, grab the handle, and pull. When I hit five hundred pounds of force the suit’s alarms start ringing. Whatever these doors are made of, it’s frigging heavy. When I’m at maximum force and it still isn’t budging, I switch tactics.
I step back and spin up my particle beam, slicing the blue beam through where I think the locks are. Sure enough the door swings open easily.
“Ha!”
Well done circumventing one-hundred and twenty-year-old locks. You should write a book about it.
“Spoilsport,” I say sticking out my tongue at him as I walk through. Night vision is great, but it doesn’t provide the ability to see details. “Max LEDs please?” I ask.
Exterior LEDs pop on, lighting up the room like a small sun.
We need to re-think our plan, Amelia.
“You don’t say?” The vault is three hundred feet long and fifty feet wide and it’s absolutely packed with crates and boxes. It really is like Indiana Jones. I step back out and look down either end of the tunnel; it goes on for as far as I can see in both directions. Every fifty feet there is another door.
Perhaps we can find someone to ask?
“Do you really think they’ll talk to us?”
Someone approaches.
“Kill the lights,” I order.
I duck behind a large crate, kneeling as best I can. While the suit is nimble, it isn’t easily crammed into small places.
Based on the footsteps, I am 83.7% sure it is a woman.
Flickering light filled the room. Quite pitiful compared to my own LEDs but I imagine they make do with what they have. The light grows brighter as the footsteps close in, then she’s walking past me. It’s hard to tell what she looks like with the robe and hood on. She holds a small lantern in one hand.
“Epic, let’s prepare a—”
She turns and looks right at me, as if she heard me speak, but that’s not possible. The suit is completely sound proof.
“I expected someone to come, just not a Talos. Who are you?”
Amelia, I am confused as to how she knew you were here...
“Me to, and did you notice the word she used... Talos?”
She thinks you are a creation, a golem, made of bronze and used to fight wars.
“Uh, hi,” I say lamely as I stand. “I’m not a... Talos,” I fumble the unfamiliar word. “How did you know I was here?”
She smirks. Now that I’m standing up I can see her face. She’s pretty, with ashen skin and bright eyes. Her cheekbones make her look like she’s perpetually displeased with everything and everyone.
“You are not the only one with special gifts, golem. But are you here for the spear or did you come for some other reason?”
I reel, taking a step back and bumping up against the crate. I’m so confused right now. This feels like the tricks Pythia pulls
I retract my faceplate, showing her that I am a person. I’m not sure what to do... but if she knows about the spear, maybe she can lead me to it. “Yes, I’m here for the spear...”
“Then follow me. And try to be quiet you metal monstrosity. The guards here are trigger happy.”
Before I can respond she brushes past me, her robes swirling behind her. I follow, not sure what else to do. She leads me out the way I came in, jumps down on the tracks and heads off to the left.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“Nothing you would recognize,” she says.
The light from her lantern doesn’t go very far, so I turn my LEDs back on at half power. They immediately illuminate the cave-like surroundings. There are statues every few yards, but I don’t recognize any of them. Epic brackets each one, scanning and recording for possible future reference.
My guide spins when the light comes on, her eyes going wide. Now that I can see better, I notice a few things about her. She’s not very tall, maybe 5’2”, and she’s wearing boots with tall heels on them. Her white robes are covered with a black poncho and hood. At first I thought she was a nun or something, but now... I don’t know.
“How are you
creating that light?” she asks, a little awe in her voice. Finally.
“You’re not the only one with special gifts,” I say with a smirk.
Her eyes narrow and she glares at me. “Be wary, mortal, it’s not wise to anger your betters.”
Mortal? Now where have I heard that kind of language before?
“Who are you exactly?” I’m regretting tossing the Red Gem on the hill. I was so eager to be away from it, what if she picked it up and somehow the Titan, Chronos, is in her?
She takes a step closer to me, her eyes examining me up and down. “Are you a mortal? I spoke hastily, but now I think I am right...,” she says.
There is something about her eyes and the way she looks at me... I desperately want to take a step back or close my faceplate but I hold my ground. Fear isn’t a new feeling.
“My name is Amelia Lockheart, or Arsenal if you’re so inclined,” I say to her. I reach out with my hand to shake hers. I will extend an olive branch if it gets me what I want.
She smirks. “Your name is unknown to me,” she says, but she takes my hand. Then she jerks me forward with a strength she shouldn’t possess and peers into my eyes.
The fear I felt quadruples and her gaze sends my mind reeling back to when I was a little girl. Every bad thing I ever did, every word I ever spoke that I regret, every mistake I made, runs through me like a slide show. When visions of the Th’un home world come to my mind I see the black hole consuming their world. Millions of them die in seconds—billions follow.
But I... I wasn’t there, so this can’t be a memory; she’s showing me what happened.
Then I’m in Buenos Aires with Tia and Kate. The Red Wizard uses the giant robot made from my metal to destroy parts of the city; every single person who dies while I tried to stop it flashes before me...
My lab is next. Luke reaches for the Red Gem and it possesses him.
“No,” I scream. I hold up my other hand and blast her in the face with a full power IP cannon. The sandpaper sound fills the cavern along with the bright blue light. It hits her in the face, knocking her back a few steps. She lets go of my hand and whatever connection she established with me, vanishes.
Ancient Arsenal (Full Metal Superhero Book 7) Page 9