Corpies (Super Powereds Spinoff Book 1)

by Drew Hayes

  “Dispatch, what’s the situation with civilians around me?”

  “This area was a business district that began evacuations during the first wave of attack,” Dispatch told him. “The last stragglers were seen fleeing several minutes prior, though not all were successful. By current accounts, the area is considered fully evacuated.”

  “Glad to hear it. And my clearance for property?”

  “The DVA has ruled that if Jeremiah’s theory proves true, targeting the large robots would be far more prudent than fully unleashing Manhattan-level Heroes. They want to see a big one brought dropped as soon as possible, and with the civilians gone, you are in one of the best positions. Clearance is Full Demolition: do what’s necessary to bring your target down,” Dispatch instructed.

  “Understood. I’ll still try to minimize where I can.” It wasn’t always possible to get DVA clearances in the heat of battle, but for a fight this big, Owen knew damn well doing so would make things easier. There was going to be a lot of cleanup and insurance claims when this was all said and done, and the last thing he needed was to be held for reckless destruction. But now they’d given him their blessing, and he knew the area was as clear as possible.

  He could finally get down to work.

  “You know, I’ve had to fight robots before. Not this many or this often, but your kind pops up from time to time when some smart Super wants a machine to do their dirty work.” Owen grabbed a pair of the robots that were trying to attack and crushed them in his hands, scattering their debris as he moved forward. Another came at him; seconds later it was in pieces. With no other Heroes or civilians around, he didn’t have to worry about where the hurled shrapnel might land.

  “Personally, I’m not really a fan. I prefer opponents who can think on their feet and maybe use enough wisdom to give up when they know the fight is unwinnable.”

  This time, five of them ran for him. Owen met them head on. The things were strong, no doubt about it, but Owen had fought stronger, and that was all it took. Raise the bar once and that’s where it lived forever on. His power was a brutish, simple one that paled in comparison to some of the more grandiose out there, but it was effective. In seconds, the five robots were pieces in his wake, and the large mech was only a few feet away.

  “There is one good thing about dealing with robots, though. Especially ones as big as you. It’s probably the only time I get to have a fight where I don’t need to hold back. And I have to say, from time to time, that is an absolute pleasure.”

  The mech turned to launch another pointless barrage of projectiles at him, but Owen was no longer there. He’d leapt into the air, turning the ground below him into utter rubble as he soared upward. His course was the center of the mech’s torso, but as he’d expected, it wasn’t going to let him land so easily. One of the four arms swept through the air, intent on smacking Owen back to the ground. Instead, he grabbed on as it struck, his fingers bending the metal as he pulled himself up, getting into position just above where the massive gun joined to its wrist.

  “You big guys always seem tough, but beating you is just about knowing the simple trick. It’s the same way you eat a whale. One bite at a time, you bastard.” He reared back, spreading out his palm to get as wide a surface area as possible, then slammed his hand through the metal wrist. It took several more blows, but eventually the wrist was so shattered that the entire gun broke away, smashing to the ground and flattening a few robots in the process.

  Owen looked up at the six-eyed head. He was pretty sure at least a few of those orbs were gazing angrily at him. If the thing was pissed now, it would be livid by the time he was finished.

  He began to climb up the remaining section of arm, slowly making his way closer to the torso. A loud whooshing sound ripped through the air, and suddenly Owen found himself and the arm he was holding in free fall. They crashed heavily on to the street, and before he could react, one of the six legs was above him and dropping fast, clearly intent on crushing him like a bug.

  “Detaching parts, pretty clever,” Owen admitted as he rolled out of the way. “But you’ll run out of arms eventually.” The leg kept pace with his movements, and as he pushed off the ground, it slammed into his back, pinning him to the concrete below.

  “Holy shit, are you okay?” Gale’s voice came through his comm, and even though he couldn’t see where she was at the moment, she obviously had line of sight on him.

  “Been better,” Owen admitted, his voice a bit strained. “But I’m pretty sure the gravity thingie they put in these to make them light enough to function reduced its weight. Normally I’d expect this to be a lot worse.”

  “Normally? One day we need to have a talk about what you consider normal,” Gale said. “Can you get out?”

  “Not easily. I’m strong enough to move, but with this much weight, if I try to shove off the ground my arms will probably go right through it, especially given how much we’ve wrecked the street. Little help?”

  “Pretty sure I can hit it hard enough to knock it aside, but you’ll need to scramble,” Gale warned.

  “Even a second is plenty. I just have to flip over. Then I can grab the damn leg and start tearing it apart.”

  “Yeah, I heard your whole ‘one bite at a time’ spiel. Personally, if I had to kill a whale, I think I’d rather a harpoon to the heart.” Even as she spoke, Owen could hear the wind picking up around her. He mentally readied himself for the impending attack.

  “Those arms are quick, they’ll knock me aside if I do a direct run,” Owen told her.

  “In a hurricane, winds blow so fast that pencils get embedded in trees. I’m pretty sure I can get you past a few waving arms. Now get ready: that leg is about to move.”

  “If you can do it, I’m in.” Owen barely got the words out when a tremendous blast of wind deafened him. It struck the leg at one of its joints and bent it outward. The pressure on Owen vanished. He pushed himself forward, getting on his feet before the leg could pin him again. He’d made it all of ten steps before another blast of wind hit him in the back, lifting him skyward at a rapidly increasing speed.

  “Pretend you’re doing a cannonball off the high-dive,” Gale instructed, yelling to be heard over the comms. “Tuck everything in and prepare for impact. As of now I’m Captain Ahab, except we’re killing our damned whale.”

  110.

  It had been a long time since Owen was in a real fight. Picking off stray robots here and there didn’t exactly test his limits, and while the work with his team was rewarding, it usually demanded more effort to keep control than to push himself. The assessment with Elemental Fury was the nearest he’d come, and even that was closer to a dance than a brawl since he had to evade and subdue without seriously injuring. He’d been so long outside of a true battle that he’d almost forgotten the thrill of danger and adrenaline that coursed through one’s system.

  That familiar feeling came rushing back as he tore through the air, moving so fast that he couldn’t even see the giant mech’s arms as it reached uselessly for him. Gale had built up too much speed for the thing to have a shot in hell.

  Owen roared past all its defenses and slammed directly into its chest. Were he human, or even less-established in his career, Owen would have been a smear on the metal surface. Instead, he left a sizable dent and merely shook his head, more dizzy from the ride than hurt from the stop.

  Already he could see the remaining arms reaching for him, so Owen didn’t waste the time he had. Bending the metal under his fingers to get a solid grip, he reared back and punched directly into the dent he’d made. Unlike when fighting the robot’s arm, this time he tried to concentrate the force as much as possible. His fist effortlessly broke through the armored barrier. Grabbing both sides of the hole, he tore it wider and then tumbled through, only a few feet ahead of the metal appendages trying to knock him away.

  Truthfully, he hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect once he was inside. Robots might be semi-regular occurrences in the Hero wor
ld, but the giant type weren’t exactly run-of-the-mill. Part of him expected the cavity within to be filled with the smaller bots operating the big mech like some sort of weird puppet. Instead, it seemed like he’d just thrown himself into a gigantic car engine. All around him were motors, pistons, and wires so tightly bunched together that he could barely move without bumping into something.

  Owen was a little disappointed, actually. Silly as it might have been, he would have loved to have seen the puppet theory in action. On the upside, however, this made his job a whole lot easier. He didn’t know how these things worked or what critical parts would take it down, so Owen was just going to break everything, which was much easier, especially when it was all neatly packed in like this.

  Setting his sights on the nearest cluster of moving metal beams, Owen braced himself and threw a punch that he hoped would be just strong enough to send the heavier bits bouncing around inside the armored torso.

  * * *

  No one was sure exactly what came bursting out of the mech’s back like buckshot, flying into the air before they could make out so much as a blurry detail, but the PEERS team had a pretty good idea of what had caused it. After all, witnessing Gale fling Titan into the giant robot’s chest had significantly narrowed down the need for conjecture.

  Despite the large crater in its front and smoking holes in its back, the mech continued moving about, seemingly unbothered by the Hero currently tearing up its insides. More of the smaller bots were still pouring out, though they seemed to slow significantly. Whether it was running out of steam or keeping the bots inside to fight the intruder was anyone’s guess, though the latter strategy seemed like it would be pretty inefficient.

  “Just like the good old days.” The voice came from the rooftop’s edge where a man wearing a familiar Hero costume was climbing up from the fire escape. “I mean, not the giant robot part. Tech wasn’t quite as fancy as it is these days so they never got them that big. But dropping Titan into the middle of a fray and letting him do his work, now that takes me back.”

  “A pleasure to see you again, Topsy,” Galvanize greeted him. “What brings you to our rooftop?”

  “Heard Titan’s people were in need of a little help, and seeing as I’m technically just supposed to be a coach anyway, it seemed like a good place for me to lend a hand,” Topsy replied. “Besides, Titan looked out for my team; least I could do is watch over his. Seems like it might have been unnecessary, though.”

  “No, this is perfect,” Bubble Bubble said. “You can go help him! Gale just threw him inside the mech without joining. Even for Titan, that has to be dangerous. If you hurry, you two can bring that thing down before he gets hurt.”

  “The concern is touching, but misplaced,” Topsy assured her. “Do you ever wonder why he’s called Titan?”

  From the battlefield nearby, a huge metal beam suddenly burst out of the mech’s lower torso and was dragged upward, like an inverted stabbing. The behemoth’s legs began to shake, no longer capable of making the smooth, controlled motions that it had previously. Slightly higher, a blast of wind shattered another of its eyes, the third one taken out since Gale began her outer assault.

  “Because he’s really strong, like Titans from mythology,” Zone said.

  “That’s probably why Titan agreed to use the name, but I actually know the Hero who suggested it to him, and that wasn’t the reason.” Topsy paused to glance over the edge of the roof, taking in the shuddering robot with a dark smile. “That fellow was Titan’s rival back in their HCP days, and when they first started out he was much more powerful than our friend currently killing a robot from the inside. But every time he lost, Titan kept coming back, stronger and more determined than before. He just couldn’t be stopped.”

  Suddenly, the mech’s legs gave out. It came crashing to the ground, the weight of its body clearly no longer being offset by a gravitational anomaly. The arms flailed, now too heavy to move properly, and smoke poured out from the holes in its torso.

  “You can never really kill a Titan,” Topsy said, nodding to the fallen monster that only moments ago had seemed so indomitable. “Even the gods could only imprison them. That’s why the name was suggested. Because if you’ve ever seen him in a real battle, walking through blood and fire completely unstained, you understand what it is to witness something that’s truly unstoppable. The man you’ve been working with all this time is a good fellow, but he isn’t the real Titan. Titan is a destroyer, a force of nature, a monster that only the grace of God has put on our side.”

  Topsy raised his hand and pointed to the collapsing mech. Flames began to rise out from the many openings punched in the giant body. Around it, the smaller robots suddenly began to twitch, then collapse, like puppets whose strings had been cut. After one last outward explosion from the place where the torso joined to the metal legs, a figure could be seen walking out from within the mechanical beast’s belly. Even from so far away they could recognize the familiar red and blue costume as the man strolled, dirty and sooty but unharmed, away from his fallen foe.

  “That is the real Titan. And as an over-the-hill Hero who’s witnessed too much evil in his lifetime, I can’t tell you how fucking ecstatic I am to see him again.”

  111.

  The first thing Hexcellent noticed as her eyes fluttered open was the strange man wearing a red and white costume with his fingers on her forehead. The second was Titan, standing over the other man’s shoulder and looking anxious. The third, a realization that quickly dwarfed the other two, was that she was lying in the paw/hand of a massive rabbit, which was stooped over to allow Titan and the stranger access. Surprisingly, it wasn’t panic that welled in her at the sight of the towering creature, but relief, like something long trapped had finally gotten free.

  “Is this. . . Hopcules?”

  It nodded, a gigantic gesture that was impossible to miss, staring down at her with those black shiny eyes. He looked much the same as he had when she was a child, armored and human-like, but easy to cuddle. She wondered if he could still cast light from his mouth, like he did when something in her room had made a noise and he lit it up to show her nothing was there. It was possible, though clearly things had changed.

  Slowly, Hexcellent pulled herself to a reclined lean, noticing for the first time Galvanize, Zone, and Bubble Bubble were also there, albeit standing farther back from the giant bunny. Next to her team stood Gale and an older Hero that she half-recognized as Titan’s friend. Around them were dozens, if not hundreds of the robots, all collapsed lifeless on the ground. There was also a fair amount of damage to the nearby buildings, some in the shape of giant rabbit-like footprints.

  “Oh fuck me running. Am I going to be held liable for all this? ’Cause if so, you can go ahead and just kill my ass now.”

  “Good job, Bedrest,” Titan told the man in red and white. “Looks like she’s back to her usual cranky self.”

  “She should still take it easy for a while; healing or not, that sort of damage takes a toll. I have to get going, though, lots of our people need patching up.” Bedrest walked away from the paw and Hexcellent, over to where a nondescript man in a rumpled suit was standing. Seconds later they were gone, seemingly vanished into thin air.

  “Okay, but seriously, how much of this is on me?” Hexcellent asked, just before Titan wrapped her in a hug so tight that for a moment she worried Hopcules would have to intervene.

  “You damn kids are going to give me a heart attack, and I don’t think I can even get those.” Titan slowly set her down, at which moment the rest of the team swarmed her. Hard as she tried to seem unbothered by the attention, it was impossible not to be a little moved by the influx of warmth.

  “Anyway, to answer your question, you’re technically clear on all this,” Titan told her. “For one thing, it was self-defense, since Hopcules only attacked robots that came after it. Not to mention the fact that you were unconscious, so you had no say in what was happening. I ran everything up the ladder while we waited
for Bedrest, and while there might be some hearings and paperwork, you’ll come out fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Something about his voice made it clear that Titan meant those words, possibly by any means necessary. Hexcellent had a good idea of just how many means the man had. As the others finally let go of her, she turned around to take in Hopcules in all his glory.

  “When I summoned him as a kid, he was like five feet tall, tops,” Hexcellent said.

  “You said you summoned him to drive off your fears, right?” Bubble Bubble ventured. “Well, you’ve seen a lot more since then. Maybe you’ve got much bigger fears.”

  “On the subject of your rabbit, I need to talk with you about something,” Titan interrupted. “We’ve learned that those giant robots are acting as relay points for the smaller ones. Basically, kill the big guys, and the little ones go limp.”

  Something in Hexcellent’s brain wriggled again. Why did that seem familiar?

  “Unfortunately, just like with the little ones, once the big bots are damaged to a certain point, they self-destruct everything we might be able to use, signal relays included. Currently, the Heroes have been able to take down four of the large mechs, and they’re dealing with the fifth right now,” Titan continued. “The sixth will be a special case, however. We’re going to try to infiltrate it, find the device that’s receiving and relaying the master signal, and trace it back to the source. Brewster can’t take another attack like this one; it needs to end today.”

  “So do you need me to unsummon Hopcules to clear space or something?” Even as the words left her mouth, Hexcellent hated the taste of them. She’d just been reunited with an old friend; the last thing she wanted was to send him away again.

  “Actually, pretty much the exact opposite.” Titan pointed up at the giant rabbit, who was still watching everything with those glassy eyes. “Your summon is incredible, and right now it might be the most useful piece on the battlefield. If you’re willing, we’d like to have you and Hopcules help contain the mech while a team hunts through its insides for the signal device. If the robot is fighting something of equal strength, that will keep it from tearing up the city, which will minimize damage and casualties while we take the time to search. It’s dangerous work, though, I won’t lie to you about that. I understand if you don’t want to take the risk, especially so soon after a close call.”