by Ekeke, C. C.
The robot, clenching broken fake teeth, advanced furiously.
Before Hugo could consider his next move, the sound of approaching jet thrusters caught his ear. He looked up.
Twin yellow energy beams floodlit the night, slicing down through Fake Aegis’s chest and legs. The android collapsed in smoking pieces before Hugo’s eyes. Still it tried crawling for him—until half a dozen tiny missiles needled his body, then detonated.
Hugo shielded his eyes from the fiery plume. When the flash subsided, another android in smooth, silvery armor with angular blue lines landed on the smoldering debris. Its smooth face had a line for a mouth, narrow and slanted eyes pulsing deep blue.
Goddammit, Hugo seethed. Another potential foe. “And you are?!”
“Relax, Bogie!” the android assured in a digitized yet feminine tenor. “It’s me!” The android’s head split open and slid into its shoulders like liquid metal.
It took a few seconds of Hugo staring for his brain to recognize the cute and freckled face grinning at him. “J-Tom? Your new suit…it’s amazing!”
This wasn’t the armor that J-Tom had worn to Ramon’s house. The finish and design were gorgeous, like Dynamo’s suits.
J-Tom smiled broadly. “Right?” She gave a nimble twirl as if merely wearing another layer of clothing. “Ramon and I worked in his lab for hours, vibing like we shared a brain. It was in-SANE!” She couldn’t stop smiling. “This suit had so much cool shit, and it’s just a prototype, so I’m going back tomorrow to Ramon’s to upgrade. And now I’m rambling!”
Her enthusiasm coaxed a laugh out of Hugo. Ray-Ray’s still a sucker for pretty girls. He then realized they both were unmasked. “Put your helmet on!” he hissed.
J-Tom blushed. Her helmet quickly slid back over her head. “Sorry!” she apologized, eyes burning blue.
Hugo scanned his surroundings, sensing nobody else for miles. Good. “Wait. How’d you find me?”
“Simon texted me. Then I tracked your cell.” J-Tom stepped away from Fake Aegis’s smoking remains. “What happened?”
Hugo recapped the ambush, starting with the Morro Bay Carnival attack.
J-Tom gasped in surprise. “Did anyone see the robot grab you?”
Hugo gulped. “God, I hope not.” That would cause problems for his alter ego. “Was busy getting air-tackled.” Hugo then considered his friends at the carnival, who must’ve been freaking out. “Does that armor have telescopic zoom?”
J-Tom scoffed. “Does Jodie have big boobs?”
“So yes?” Hugo replied. “I need you to scan the carnival from above.” He looked at the Fake Aegis debris. Half of the head appeared intact. “Make sure Brie, Jodie, and the others are okay. I don’t know if there are more Aegis-bots. Stay high and out of sight.”
J-Tom nodded her smooth, silvery head. “Got it. What else?”
“Call and tell Simon I’m okay.” Hugo squatted over the android, his mind spinning. “But have him tell you what happened to me out loud so it seems like you’re just finding out.” Meanwhile, Hugo needed a cover story.
“Oooh, smart,” J-Tom marveled. “What about you?”
Hugo pulled out his cellphone, somehow undamaged. “I’m finding out where it came from.”
After wishing each other luck, J-Tom launched into the skies. The burn of her jet boots left trails in her wake.
Hugo texted Ramon, then gathered up as much of Fake Aegis as he could carry.
The former hero waited in his wheelchair at his compound’s courtyard when Hugo arrived.
“Sorry to bother you twice today.”
Ramon waved off the concern. “You saved me from a boring family dinner. By the way, J-Tom is awesome! She’s got potential.” Ramon paused, staring at Hugo and his cargo. “What happened?!”
Hugo smiled grimly. “This attacked me.” He motioned with the charred cybernetics in his arms. “In public. I need to know what this is and who sent it.”
Ramon hastily gestured him forward. Once inside Ramon’s lab, Hugo placed the android parts on a table slab. Under the lab’s potent lights, he gave himself a thorough onceover. His shirt was in tatters, jeans torn, and a shoe was missing. Plus, his beanie had gone missing. The other guy looked worse.
He then noticed Ramon staring at the android parts in clear recognition. “This is Vulcan’s handiwork.”
Hugo staggered backward. “Your Vanguard teammate Vulcan?” From what he’d heard, the Greek hero had semi-retired after Vanguard’s demise, focusing his talents on medical and green energy tech. And android versions of me. “Why?”
Ramon eyed him as if the question was idiotic. “You kicked Vulcan’s ass on live TV.” He typed a string of code into a workstation keyboard. “He wanted a practice android in case you two locked horns again. He asked for my help, but I declined.”
Then Paxton-Brandt wasn’t the culprit. Hugo felt immense relief. “When?”
“A few months ago.”
“Months…” Hugo choked back anger. “Now who’s keeping secrets?”
“I told Lady Liberty,” Ramon threw back. “She ordered Vulcan to mothball this project.”
“Vulcan disobeyed her?”
Ramon shook his head. “He followed her orders. But this android was stolen a few days ago.”
Hugo’s breath caught. So Paxton-Brandt could still be the culprit? “That must have been the person following me. Do you know who stole this?” He gestured at the remains.
“No clue,” Ramon said. “Security footage in Vulcan’s lab revealed it there one moment, then gone the next. No fingerprints or DNA traces.”
Hugo swore under his breath as his cellphone buzzed from incoming texts.
Simon: DOOD!! Spoke with J-Tom.
ME: I’m okay. Getting some answers. How’s Brie?
Simon: Worried out of her mind about you. Jodie called the police.
ME: Where are you guys?
Simon: Heading to your place. J-Tom told your mom too.
ME: Thanks, uso. I’ll be home soon.
Hugo stashed his phone in his pocket and found Ramon watching him. “Can you do your analyzing ninjutsu to find the thief?” he requested. “Whoever they are knows my secret.”
Ramon nodded. “On it.”
“Thanks.” Hugo shook hands with Ramon. “Gotta calm the masses at home.”
Once in the courtyard, Hugo took off toward Paso Robles. And without a cover story.
Chapter 17
“The cops?” Hugo exclaimed, floating miles over his neighborhood. The homes resembled small dark squares delineated by glowing yellow. A police car sat outside his home, which brimmed with chatter. Most of his friends from the carnival were inside.
The most recognizable voices were Briseis and Jordana, both barely holding back tears. Hearing their sorrow struck Hugo harder than he’d expected.
Better get down there. He landed in a crouch five houses away. Making sure no one saw, he pulled off his remaining shoe and supersped through shrubbery and shadows behind the row of houses. Pale lights spilled from the kitchen windows onto the backyard. Hugo hopped his own fence and peered inside.
Simon leaned against the refrigerator while AJ sat on the kitchen counter in dog-covered pajamas. The mood was dour. The door to the living room was closed.
“You’re sure he’s okay?” AJ whispered.
Simon nodded. “J-Tom saw him half an hour ago, and he texted me.”
Hugo whipped out his cellphone, speed-texting Simon.
ME: Backyard.
Simon started at his cellphone buzzing. He checked it, gaped, and shoved the device in AJ’s face. Both scrambled for the backdoor. AJ slowly opened it, wincing at the squeaky hinges, then dashed outside with Simon. “UCE!” He hugged Hugo.
“I know, I know,” Hugo sighed after side-hugging Simon. “I’ll explain later.” Tonight’s adrenaline was wearing off. But thorny fears began jutting through. He still had no clue who’d stolen the Aegis-bot and knew his secret. Hugo gestured at the closed kitchen door.
“I heard lots of people in there.”
Simon snorted as the three boys headed back indoors. “The regular group, a cop, and your mom. We headed back here after the drama. Things got crazy after you were nabbed.”
Hugo gulped. There had to be like fourteen-plus people in the living room. Jesus. “I better go say hi.”
AJ slid open the kitchen door, revealing a jam-packed living room. Brent, Raphael, Wale, Groban, Marin, and Karin gathered around the TV watching news of some building collapse in Shenandoah.
To Hugo’s surprise, J-Tom sat in regular clothes at the bottom of the stairwell with an arm around a dumbfounded Grace. How had J-Tom shed her armor and gotten here so fast?
But he zoned in on the couch where Mom and Jordana sat consoling Briseis.
Her dark-auburn hair was disheveled. She sobbed while answering the uniformed officer standing before her. Brie was clutching something with a death grip. Everyone but the cop seemed shellshocked.
Heads turned at the kitchen door opened, followed by gasps.
AJ and Simon popped out from behind Hugo.
“Look who we found,” his brother said, pointing.
“Hello!” Hugo spread his arms. “Why so serious?”
The living room erupted in relief, joy, and other emotions.
“Bogota!” Mom beelined for him, with Jodie right behind her.
Brent and Raphael followed eagerly. “What happened?” the larger boy demanded.
“Are you okay?” the Stanleys asked in unison.
“Lord!” Grace caressed Hugo’s face after she and J-Tom approached. “Your clothes!”
Jordana embraced Hugo, showering him with kisses. “You’re okay! Thank God!”
Hugo and J-Tom exchanged a charged glance. There was plenty to discuss later.
Everyone’s affections and questions crashed together, making it hard for Hugo to answer anyone. An overwhelming experience. The cop, leanly built with combed back brown hair, smiled at the scene.
Amid the chaos, Hugo locked eyes with Brie across the room. She slowly rose off the couch, joy on her tear-stained face. She almost approached and then froze, clutching his beanie even tighter.
In that moment, Hugo’s concern centered on her. “HEY,” he barked, silencing everyone. “You alright?”
Brie sniffled and nodded.
Hugo wasn’t convinced. “You sure?”
“Yeah.” Brie’s voice trembled. Her eyes sparkled with tears.
“I examined her,” Mom reassured. “No injuries.”
“Glad you’re not dead,” Brie said, smiling through her sorrow.
The tension in his shoulders dissolved. “Same here, kid.” That drew nervous laughter around the room.
He beckoned everyone onward. “Continue.” His friends resumed bombarding him with affection.
“Good evening, Hugo,” the police officer greeted cordially after Hugo reached the couch. “Officer Simmons. If you can provide a statement on what happened, we can get to the bottom of this.”
Hugo inhaled deeply for show, starting the cover story he’d crafted on the way home. Meanwhile, Brie quietly shouldered her way into the kitchen. Hugo caught J-Tom’s eye and nodded in that direction.
She nodded back and strode after Brie.
Jodie held Hugo’s hand while he told a version of what happened. Only Brie’s sobs from the kitchen could be heard after Mom muted the TV, which showed news of tornadoes ravaging southern Montana.
Hugo told Simmons that his attacker had been a robot—true. He also stated they’d landed near San Raphael Wilderness—false. His fight against the Aegis-bot had been near Machesna Mountain. But his slightly quivering voice drew unanimous sympathy. Jordana sidled up closer. The lies and calculated façade felt gross. But Hugo needed this to protect his family, his friends, and himself.
“Not sure why it attacked.” Hugo gave a limp shrug. “Maybe it malfunctioned?”
Simmons narrowed his blue eyes. “How did you know it was a robot? And how did you escape?”
Hugo put on an innocent smile. “Aegis was patrolling nearby. He saved my ass.”
His friends approved loudly. Simon, AJ, and Mom looked confused. Hugo ignored them.
“Aegis saved you too?” Brent gushed, raising a fist. “Ring that bell, broheim!”
Hugo cough-laughed and obliged as another worry surfaced. Did Briseis see the Aegis-bot? That could create huge problems. “Did anyone see what grabbed me?” he asked the room.
Simon shook his head, arm around Grace. “Brie said she only saw a blur.”
The cop nodded. “That’s what other bystanders told officers canvassing the carnival.”
Simmons then wrapped things up, seemingly buying his story.
“We’ll call if any more questions arise.” He clapped Hugo’s shoulder. “Be careful out there, son.” Once Simmons left, most of Hugo’s friends departed since it was past eleven at night.
Simon had to kick his girlfriend out. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m crashing here to protect Bogie.”
A smirk pulled at Hugo’s mouth. “I feel safer already.”
Grace marched up, no anger or bitterness in her almond-shaped eyes. “Stop trying to get killed.”
Hugo laughed. “At least I wasn’t trying to be a hero.”
Grace shook her head in commiserating fashion. “Dork.” Receiving her fierce embraces again felt wonderful. When she left, only Jordana, Brie, Simon, and J-Tom remained.
“I’m gonna check on Briseis,” Hugo announced, untangling from Jodie. This sudden clinginess kind of irked him after what had happened tonight. But Hugo wouldn’t address this now.
He found J-Tom cradling Brie’s anguish on the other end of the kitchen island, murmuring comfort. They’d been friends since fifth grade, longer than Brie and Jordana. As soon as J-Tom saw Hugo, she rounded the island toward him. Brie turned away, mortified.
J-Tom caressed Hugo’s cheek before leaving, closing the door behind her.
“Hey, Breezy,” Hugo greeted gently.
Brie couldn’t face him, brushing away tears. “Hi…” Her face crumpled beautifully when she broke down. This girl couldn’t ugly cry even if she tried.
“Hey, hey.” Hugo advanced and drew her into his arms. “I’m okay, despite how I look.” His shirt and jeans were ruined. His white beanie lay on the kitchen island.
Brie stepped back to inspect him, still in his arms. Fat shiny tears rolled down her high cheekbones. “How are you so chill right now?” she demanded, her voice rough.
Hugo pursed his lips, doing some quick thinking. “We live in times where Godzilla monsters exist.”
The passion in Brie’s green eyes drilled straight through his brain. “If you’d died.” Her voice got all low and husky and intense. “That would literally kill me.”
The kitchen temperature seemed to skyrocket, staggering Hugo. Whoooa.
Brie, grasping the import of her words, looked ready to die from embarrassment.
Hugo recovered first, placing a finger on her lips before she could recant. “I’m not going anywhere,” he assured quietly. “I promise.” He pulled Brie into another embrace. Her ragged breaths settled as she sank on into his arms. He relished the proximity and her warmth—until the kitchen door slid open.
He froze, recognizing Jordana’s scent and a surprised catch in her breath.
Hugo’s kneejerk reaction was to leap away like Brie was on fire.
But I did nothing wrong. Hugo stayed calm and grounded, partially turning to beckon Jodie. She shuffled forward to hug both him and Brie.
“I know what you’re both thinking,” he murmured, grin stretching wide. “Threesome?”
Brie slapped his chest, which only succeeded in hurting her hand by the ensuing yelp.
Jordana just snorted. “Boy, you need to hush.”
Afterward, Brie was in better spirits. As was Jordana, who wanted to spend the night.
So now she wants to spend the night? Annoyed, Hugo found a legit reason to decline.
“Brie needs you more tonight,” Hugo explained, to Jodie’s clear disappointment. He glanced at Brie chatting with Mom and AJ. “And you’re her ride.”
Simon walked up, hand raised. “I’ll watch over him.”
“Me too,” J-Tom seconded from the couch.
Jordana gave her friend a weird stare but reluctantly accepted this.
As she and Brie prepared to leave, Hugo had to ask, “What did you want to tell me earlier?”
Jodie had a brief, bewildered face. “That I love you.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him.
“Same,” Hugo murmured, meaning it. Yet her lie rang hollow. She probably felt guilty for wanting to end things beforehand. But Hugo didn’t need that drama tonight.
“Jesus,” Simon sighed, peeking through the blinds once they drove off. “I thought they’d never leave.”
Mom plopped down beside Hugo, running gentle fingers through his spiky hair. He didn’t realize how tired she looked until he closely inspected the bags under her eyes. “Now…What really happened?”
J-Tom, Simon, and AJ gathered on the floor around him.
Hugo reclined in his seat, surprisingly wiped. Then he revealed everything, including his visit to Ramon.
Simon clutched his skull after Hugo finished. “Sweet merciful crap!”
AJ shivered angrily when hearing of someone attacking his brother. “Then who stole the Aegis robot?”
“Ramon’s investigating that,” Hugo replied. “Hopefully, he’ll get answers.”
J-Tom placed a hand on his knee, searching his face with worried eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Besides a robot clone of my alias attacking me in public?” Hugo snarked. “I’m great.”
Nobody laughed. Mom’s expression was stony, which meant she’d decided on something. “Go talk to Lady Liberty—”
Hugo’s heart seemed to leap into his throat. “No.”
His mother rose heatedly. “You were attacked in public, Bogota. Someone knows who you are.”
The room hushed. Hugo rose, dwarfing his mother. He couldn’t back down over this one setback. “Ramon Dempsey is helping. I got this under control.”
Mom finally backed down. “Fine.”
Now Hugo had to find his attacker. Not just for his own safety, but the people in this room.