“We take advantage of our abilities where we can,” Rachel said breathlessly, then paused to breathe in and asked, “Circe? Could you get our equipment ready, please?”
“Your armor is prepared and waiting. I detected a burst of comm traffic from Destruction Corps approximately thirty seconds before you were called, and began preparations,” Circe replied promptly. “I believed I should allow you a few more moments of rest, since Decarin doubtlessly would detect them shortly thereafter.”
“Thanks, Circe,” Gina said, looking at Lilith and hesitating. While she did, Lilith began pulling on her suit quickly. She was mostly thankful that it was made to go on quickly, but it still was taking more time than she wanted.
“Just go, if you want to,” Lilith said, letting out a faint sigh of frustration. “You two are probably the ones he really wants there, in the end. I’ll catch up.”
“Fair. Sorry, Lil,” Gina said, a guilty look flickering across her face, but then she looked at Rachel and nodded before the pair rushed out of the room.
Lilith had almost finished putting on her undersuit when Circe spoke again, her voice soft. “My apologies, Mistress Lilith. A few additional moments for you to prepare might have helped. I had not considered that.”
Lilith glanced up, then smiled wryly as she shook her head, her frustration dimming a little at the AI’s apology. She made certain her voice was gentler as she replied, though. “It isn’t your fault, Circe. Even if you’d woken us earlier, the same thing would have happened. I just…”
Lilith stopped, not saying anything as she secured her collar, then sighed and headed for the door, following Gina and Rachel, but far belated in comparison. Finally, she finished. “I just wish I felt more useful. I’m barely even support, most of the time.”
“I think I understand, Mistress Lilith. I will see if I can come up with something to assist you,” Circe replied, and Lilith couldn’t help a smile as she nodded, rushing down the stairs.
“Thank you, Circe,” Lilith murmured.
It didn’t help a lot, though, as Gina and Rachel were already gone when she reached the armory.
Chapter 22
Monday, April 29th, 2031
Paragon State University, Paragon City
Okris dodged another blast of plasma, frustrated beyond belief by the temerity of the savage attacking it. It was far more important than any savage on this horrid mudball of a planet, and they deserved to be conquered.
Beneath its rage was fear, though. Its physical attacks thus far had been destroyed by the waves of surging plasma that shrouded the savage, and it couldn’t come even close to the creature’s mind, which limited what it could do greatly. Even worse, the savage was determined not to let Okris get away, as he had blocked every attempt to retreat that Okris had made.
Now Okris’s exoskeleton was cracked, and it was running out of ideas with which to deal with the savage, while the burns were doing worrying things to its host. It needed a chance to escape, and was mostly hoping that some of the foolish ‘heroes’ of this world would arrive to give it an opportunity. That was part of why it had been deliberately ensuring that some of the savage’s blasts hit other buildings when it dodged.
Plasma blasted across the sky, and Okris channeled energy into a shield, bouncing the majority of the blast away from it and into a nearby clocktower, destroying half of its supports. The structure teetered, then slowly began to topple with an earthshaking crash. The dark-skinned savage didn’t seem to care, though, as it rushed after Okris unerringly.
The vibration from above wasn’t quite enough to distract Okris, not with potential death bearing down on it. The odd sounds that immediately preceded dozens of brass-armored figures landing all around the open area at the center of the university, though… that distracted Okris a little, as it internally grew confused. None of the savage ‘heroes’ it had learned about wore armor like that, and it couldn’t help growing more confused as it reached out to touch one of their minds, only to slam into a painful barrier of psychic energy blocking its touch.
“Ah, there you are!” a female voice exclaimed from behind, and Okris didn’t have time to act before pain suddenly wracked its senses, and it was thrown backward into an object hard.
Bright orange blood was leaking from its right leg, Okris realized a moment later, and the pain from its host had almost exceeded its ability to process the sensory input, something which shouldn’t have happened. The savage which had attacked it was standing only a few strides away, grinning at it viciously.
The tall female figure had black armor, and it wielded a deadly-looking, painful lash with triangular teeth and glowing red edges, while her dark hair was pulled back in a bun. She also was radiating pleasure at the pain she’d had caused, causing Okris to mentally recoil from the savage, as it felt far too similar to a Dominant for its taste.
“I thought that an alien was lurking about in the area,” the woman said, grinning at Okris. “Deal with the other one; this is mine.”
“Yes, Corporal!” one of the armored men exclaimed, raising his rifle to aim at the plasma-emitting savage, but Okris didn’t have time to worry about that. Instead, it was trying to recover, so it did something it despised. It tried to buy some time.
Behind her, the soldiers had opened fire on the plasma-wielder, forcing him to defend himself. It was odd, but Okris couldn’t feel any true conscious thought from the savage, which made it think the creature was functioning on pure instinct, which infuriated it.
“Oh, you can speak, after a fashion!” the woman called Corporal said, tilting her head as she looked at it. “As to that… I do like being called a savage from time to time. I also enjoy pain. Inflicting it, that is.”
The lack of any hesitation on the woman’s part startled Okris, and it swiftly put up a shield as the woman lashed out with her weapon. Its shield blocked the attack, as well as the following one, but with each strike its shield weakened alarmingly. If it hadn’t been in battle only moments before, perhaps Okris would have been in a better state, but it was far weaker than normal. A few more strikes might break its barrier, and if that happened—
The lash stopped in midair suddenly, as ropes of darkness grabbed onto it, holding it tightly for a few seconds. The woman snarled, tearing her weapon free, then spun around as a figure in flowing black robes floated out from between two buildings, and she snarled, “Shade.”
“Corporal Punishment,” the man replied, his voice booming, and his thoughts utterly opaque to Okris’s senses. “You shouldn’t have come to Paragon City.”
“You’re welcome to try to stop me, you robed pansy,” Corporal Punishment retorted, and she rushed at the man, even as he began weaving symbols in the air, glittering with dark energy Okris recognized as magic.
Beyond the two it could see the soldiers, most of them still firing at the plasma-wielder, but a couple were turning to aim at Shade. At that moment a flash of blue light entered the area, as a savage woman with a weapon in each hand moved across the battlefield rapidly, pointing her weapons and unleashing lightning into two of the soldiers. They staggered but didn’t fall, their armor smoking a little, and Okris recognized her as the heroine Spark.
The two were definitely a good distraction, though, so it quickly used its powers to render itself invisible.
Now was an excellent time for it to retrieve its survival case and run, since it wasn’t actively under attack.
“Missile!” Morgan snapped out, and Warden stopped so suddenly she was slightly worried about whiplash.
Channeling her magic, a bubble of blue-streaked gold energy burst out from Warden’s hands to surround her and Morgan, solidifying into a near-impregnable barrier. Warden didn’t see the missile until a moment later, then winced as it slammed into her shield and exploded, enveloping the shield in a ball of fire and smoke that obscured everything. It barely rat
tled her shield, which was reassuring, but she’d really rather avoid missiles entirely.
“I thought that Decarin’s drones were occupying the Reaper!” Warden protested, letting her shield fade enough that they could continue forward.
“They were. However, while Decarin’s drones are capable platforms, they are no match for a well-piloted Destruction Corps Reaper,” Circe said calmly, almost as if they were discussing the weather. “Furthermore, I believe that another Reaper may be present as well. Please stay on your guard. Lilith cares about you.”
“Thank you for your concern,” Morgan said dryly, shaking her head, then gestured forward toward the battlefield. “Let’s go! It looks like that’s a right mess.”
“You’ve got that right,” Warden agreed, shooting forward again as she looked around, but most of her attention was focused on the battlefield, and she frowned. “Where’d the orange guy go?”
Energy blasts ripped through the early morning, illuminating the university grounds in flashes of gold before some of them slammed into buildings or people. Spark was a flickering afterimage of electric blue as she darted through the Destruction Corps soldiers and downed a couple of them after a few shots, proving that at least they didn’t have suits that could negate her powers. Nearby was Corporal Punishment in her black armor, the glowing red edges of her whip starkly visible as she attacked Shade viciously. The hero was hampered by the occasional stray shots of the Legionnaires, as well as how every so often he had to hastily dodge an all-out attack by the other super on the field.
On the field wasn’t the right term, of course. Warden could see the man floating in midair now, and she was a little shocked. The man looked like a college student, with mussed brown hair and bloodshot eyes, along with dark brown skin, and he was wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt. Really, he looked like one of any number of Rachel’s students that she’d seen, which made it particularly disconcerting to see him floating in midair, randomly moving from one spot to another as a raging torrent of red-white plasma swirled around him, lashing out in random blasts that targeted anyone in the area, but most of the time it was blocking the energy blasts of the Legionnaires, rather than almost melting some of the other people in the area. Warden couldn’t decide if that was good or bad, considering that it was Destruction Corps.
But the orange figure that she’d heard about earlier wasn’t anywhere to be seen, which was odd. While it was possible the super had fled, Warden thought that she would’ve heard if they’d left the battle.
“I don’t know. Circe?” Morgan asked, flicking her fingers through the air, and magic swirled out of her jewelry into several purple missiles. With a gesture, they flashed out into the night, just as the Reaper came around a building, revealing its sleek, deadly brass expanse. Her spell lanced after it, and the Reaper changed course as it tried to outrun the attack.
“I am not certain, but I believe they either teleported or went invisible. I saw the creature via the news crew, being attacked by Corporal Punishment just before Shade arrived, but I lost sight when they shifted their shot. The creature was gone when they shifted back, and thus—you’ve been spotted,” Circe interrupted herself as they moved still closer, though Warden didn’t need the AI to tell her that.
The plasma-wielding man spun toward them, his teeth bared and his eyes wild as he raised a hand, sending an incredible torrent of plasma at them. Warden flinched but solidified her barrier before the wave could hit them, channeling still more of her magic into it.
Plasma hit her shield and parted around it, seething and increasing the temperature inside, but nothing more than that. Warden relaxed a little as she got a sense of what he could do, growing more certain of herself. After she’d managed to contain Black Harbinger’s attempt to self-destruct, she’d realized that there was very little that she couldn’t block with her barriers, assuming she wasn’t trying to protect too large of an area, but there was always the chance she was wrong.
The blast came to an end and Warden dropped her shield, rushing forward as she spoke. “I’ll occupy that guy! You try to deal with the Legionnaires, would you?”
“What about Ms. P?” Morgan asked, following Warden closely.
“I’m sure that Shade can handle her,” Warden said, and hesitated before adding, “Keep an eye out for the orange guy?”
“Sure!” Morgan replied, angling off toward Spark. Then she asked, now through the comm. “Did Circe call it a creature?”
“I did. It appears to be either a biological construct, or an alien life form. Considering the recent loss of a satellite and some local military activity, I believe it to be an alien,” Circe interjected. “I believe it wise to keep an eye on the creature, as the fact it appeared now indicates it doesn’t have anything beneficial to your lives planned.”
“Right,” Warden said, flinching as another blast of plasma came at her, and she spun away rather than blocking it, as the blast was rather poorly aimed. “I think I’m going to be a bit busy.”
“You’re telling me!” Morgan replied, and swore, adding, “Reaper coming back for more!”
Part of Warden deeply wished she hadn’t gotten out of bed, as she brought up a shield just in time for the Reaper to put a few dozen energy blasts into it. That was closer than she’d prefer.
“Circe, you’re keeping things from me,” Lilith said, edging the thrusters of her suit up even higher.
While she’d been preparing to leave, she’d heard some of what Circe had said, and the bits and pieces had bugged her. The conclusion that Circe wasn’t telling her everything wasn’t pleasant, but it also brought to mind another possibility. One she was loathe to tell Gina or Rachel about, not without confirmation.
Circe’s lack of response was telling, though, and Lilith adjusted her sensors before she spoke again, her voice calm. “You’ve never kept things from me the way you have lately, which tells me one of two things. Either you’ve decided I’m not trustworthy now that you’ve gained sentience… or Amber is back and limiting what you can tell me.”
“I don’t believe this is a good time for this discussion, Mistress Lilith,” Circe replied, her tone slightly apologetic. “While I sympathize with you trying to make sense of my actions, you are going into a battle zone, and a stealthed Reaper is turning toward you.”
“Amber it is,” Lilith said grimly, noting the Reaper and letting out an internal sigh. “Tell her hello, please. Any weak points on Reapers?”
“They vary dramatically, depending on whether a weakness has been addressed by Da Vinci or not,” Circe said, a note of relief in her voice. “The only consistent weaknesses are their engines and cockpit, assuming they haven’t removed the windows.”
“Right,” Lilith said, and with a thought she adjusted the view via her HUD, outlining the black shape of the Reaper.
It was coming toward her, she noticed, and she primed her weapons. It easily could have intercepted Morgan and Warden, she realized, which probably meant that it’d been left in place just for her. Lilith supposed she ought to feel flattered, but mostly she was frustrated that it was going to delay her still more.
Missiles burst from the Reaper’s missile pods in a hail of fire, and Lilith’s eyes widened in shock at the sheer number of them as it abandoned stealth entirely, racing toward her with guns blazing.
Her training took charge, as Lilith suddenly had flashbacks to what Circe had called the Bullet Hell Training Simulator. She spun through the air, grunting from the g-forces as she tried to get out from directly in front of the oncoming craft, and several compartments popped open as the suit software initiated automatic point defense.
Energy fire lanced across the sky in either direction, followed almost immediately by detonations as missile after missile was blown out of the sky with methodical precision. Her sensors grew fuzzy as the ship tried to jam them, but it didn’t manage to blind her or her systems. It also gave Lilith plenty of time to process what was happening, as the ship was reacting far more slowly than she was.
It was one of the major advantages of how Amber had redesigned her brain, Lilith admitted, being able to process what was happening more quickly than other people could.
The Reaper had a cockpit, which was almost like a narrow slit in its brass surface, presumably to keep people from easily hitting it, and which was wide enough for a pilot and copilot to sit side by side. It also had three engines she could see, two on the wings, and one on the upper part of the fuselage, almost part of the aircraft’s spine. It also had several gimbal-mounted weapons along its sides, so dodging to its side wasn’t going to keep Lilith from taking fire. So she didn’t really even try, coming to a snap decision, trusting that Circe’s explanation of the inertial sump’s abilities were accurate, and that the Reaper wouldn’t turn. Them heading northwest was pretty much ideal as far as she was concerned.
Several energy bolts glanced off Lilith’s shield as she abruptly changed course toward the Reaper, and she saw the shield’s integrity fall with each strike, though not enough to leave her in significant danger. No, the ones in danger were the pilots of the Reaper, and they realized that a little too slowly.
The Reaper had just started to pull up when Lilith rammed into the cockpit, the suit trying and failing to suppress the sound of shattering glass and metal. Alarms blared in her helmet, but Lilith ignored them, relieved that the inertial sump had absorbed the majority of the impact. The two pilots didn’t look like they were very happy to see Lilith, one of them drawing a pistol at her side, but at least they both had full helmets on, and Lilith couldn’t see their expressions. She really hoped that they had ejection gear.
As a bullet bounced off her armor, Lilith regained her feet and pointed a hand at each of the control consoles in front of the pilots and unloaded energy blasts into them, frying the equipment with a single, ruthless shot each. Then, as the pilots were trying to figure out what to do, Lilith triggered her thrusters and ripped her way back out of the cockpit, noting that at least the engines of the Reaper were still functioning, and she dropped below it and paused to let her shields try to recover as the Reaper raced off toward the Great Salt Lake. That would make sure it didn’t hit anything important if it crashed, she hoped.
Queen's Move (Lilith's Shadow Book 3) Page 17