Tag Archives: Amy

Courtesy: Part 22

Sean’s comm started ringing. He stared down at the screen. Thanks to the Rocket suit’s sensors, I’d zoomed in on the screen and read it before I even had time to consider the question of his privacy.

It said, “Mom.”

Bouman nodded, “You’ll want to get that.”

Sean all but snarled at him, “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to scare me. Mom’s either one of you by now and she’ll say anything or she’s surrounded. Either way, I can’t stop you from doing whatever you want to her, but if you kill her, you don’t have any hold on me at all.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 22

Courtesy: Part 21

“Welcome to City Hall,” our ex-mayor said. “I may have said those very words to two of you only a few years ago.”

Daniel gave a short nod, “I think you did. A few things have happened between now and then.”

At that Bouman laughed, sounding like a normal human being. If there were some area of his mind that the fungus had warped, Bouman could still manage normal human responses. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 21

Courtesy: Part 20

My first instinct was to tell him that I doubted it strongly, that the fungus was a parasite that was warping his perception of the world, and that he wouldn’t look back on what he was doing right now with pride later.

Daniel, though, told me, Let’s see where this goes. We heard Bouman. How much independence of thought do they have? Are they still individuals but now they want to preserve the fungus or is it a hive mind? Talking will let me feel him out mentally.

Okay, I thought back at him, but we can’t let it stall us. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 20

Courtesy: Part 18

There weren’t a lot of people on the streets—mushroom-controlled people that is—but the people that were there stopped and stared.

I mean, sort of. With mushroom flesh covering their faces, they had no eyes or ears, merely slick skin. They pointed their heads at the fairy horde emerging from the portal and froze. Then as one, they retreated into City Hall, the parking garage, or any of the half-a-dozen office buildings nearby.

I wondered for a second if this meant that they still felt fear, but couldn’t help but note that they’d disappeared as one, meaning that if they did, they had to wait for orders to express it. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 18

Courtesy: Part 16

We all looked at City Hall and the parking garage next to it. As seeds of humanity’s destruction went, it was unassuming. Little more than multiple floors of concrete with ornamentation styled to fit in with the buildings from the 1880s that stood around it—sort of.

It was still a big grey box.

I wasn’t sure whether the city owned the parking garage and allowed Grand Lake Parking to run it or whether Grand Lake Parking owned the building and rented the lower floors to the city on some kind of long term lease. Either way, the lower floors connected to City Hall below the ground.

We all hovered there looking at them. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 16

Courtesy: Part 15

Over the comm, Vaughn said, “I hope they got everybody inside because this is all for nothing if you get everyone except for one guy—like in horror movies.”

Samita replied before I could, “I told the Wizards’ Council what the zombies do and the Council said they’d figure it out.”

Vaughn’s name blinked on the screen, “As long as the Wizards’ Council has it covered.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 15

Courtesy: Part 14

I asked, “Is that prescience or a guess?”

“Both,” Daniel said. “It’s the first place I imagined trying knowing that Bouman is now part of this mess, but then I directed my prescience at what would happen if we go there. I’m feeling the potential for things to go very badly or very well. Because the potential is so extreme, I’m thinking that it has to be the center of everything. We’ve just got to go in knowing there are no guarantees.”

“Or at least going in with as much information as we can,” I said. “I’d think that would improve our chances.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 14

Courtesy: Part 13

“For right now,” Vaughn said, “I’ll be happy to keep everyone here in the air and uninfected—extra bonus if I can also help the city, but I’m not holding my breath there.”

Sean’s name blinked, “I’d be holding my breath if I didn’t know I just fall unconscious. Do you guys have more of your suits?”

“I don’t know if they’ll work for you,” I said. “I designed them to resist electromagnetism, but any suit on you will be at ground zero all the time. We might have a suit that doesn’t use nanotech back at base. There’s probably a way to get it out safely. Nanotech suits should work for everyone else if we have enough.

“If we don’t have enough, we need to get you guys far enough out of town that you’re safe.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 13

Courtesy: Part 12

A year ago, I might have taken what Guardian said as a criticism or threat, but now I saw it for what it was—he didn’t want to destroy the city even though it made a lot of sense.

Looking over at Daniel as he flew next to me, I tried to give Guardian what he wanted, “Well, first of all, you know what’s under the League’s base and in our storage rooms. Blasting the city won’t destroy all of it and the rest will be available to anyone who comes by. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 12