Category Archives: Book 05: Freshman Year

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 8

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Rook’s control room sat near the middle of the dome, and like the other rooms at the center, the ceiling rose to the top of the dome.

The rooms on the second floor shared a transparent wall with the corridor below. People on the second floor could look down into the labs and control, but they weren’t just then.

I gave the Rocket suit a little thrust, and I hovered a little higher, out of the Rook suit’s reach.

On the second floor, people in blue jumpsuits and masks lay down or crawled on all fours.

Out in the first floor’s hall, pieces of concrete fell. On the second floor, a monitor fell off a desk, throwing sparks as the screen shattered.

Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 8 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 7

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I’d have gone for the gun except it had no trigger, and so far as I knew fired at the mental command of only one person on the planet—Cassie.

Instead, I raised my arms, targeting Rook’s arm. Knowing that someone’s about to kill your best friend, your sister, and your girlfriend doesn’t make for clear thinking.

I fired off the roachbots, not paying attention to what I was firing or how many, aiming at his arm.

The roachbots hit, knocking his arm sideways while simultaneously exploding—again and again, like popcorn.

Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 7 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 6

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Not all of the Rook suits were the kind I’d fought back in Grand Lake. Most seemed to be stripped down. You wouldn’t want to be tapping on a keyboard with enough force to smash a tank.

You’d run through a lot of keyboards that way. I knew that from experience.

Anyway, the stripped down models seemed to have smaller guns under the forearms. Sub-machine guns, maybe?

That wouldn’t be a big threat to the Rocket suit unless they had special ammunition—which I couldn’t rule out.
Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 6 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 5

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You notice the weirdest things in moments like that. For example, I noticed that (at least in the helmet’s sonar) the heavy duty version of Rook’s armor didn’t actually have a straight beak like a rook might. Its curved beak reminded me more of an eagle’s.

Not that this was the kind of moment best used for criticizing Rook’s grasp of bird anatomy.

I fired off more roachbots—the exploding kind this time. They zipped around the corner almost instantly.

With any luck, I could try an EMP from the inside if they made a crack. Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 5 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 4

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They weren’t normal footsteps either. They reminded me of Jaclyn’s when she was running slowly enough that they still sounded like footsteps, but close to the point where her footfalls blended together into a hum.

So, a speedster was behind me, and a huge suit of powered armor stood in front of me. Normally I’d have tried to move myself so that they could only come at me one at a time, but with a speedster that would be nearly impossible.

I didn’t even have time to come up with a plan before he hit me. Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 4 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 3

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I digested that information in my head, and said, “I think the two of you should get out. Neither of you are immune to nerve gas, right?”

Jaclyn shook her head. Izzy looked down at me, asking, “But what about you?”

“The suit’s air tight, and the original Rocket fought gas using villains in the 80’s. Actually, he fought Dr. Madness as far back as the 50’s. So the suit should be able to handle it.”

“Should?” Jaclyn raised an eyebrow, and looked steadily at me.

“Will,” I said. Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 3 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 2

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“Don’t move, or we’ll shoot!” Some kind of gun hung under each forearm of the lead guy—just like they’d hung under the forearms of Grandpa’s armor during World War 2.

On the one hand that could be a fanboy thing—Rook had said he’d admired Grandpa. On the other, it could just be more convenient.

The robot birds hovered near the top of hall, staying between us and them.

Filtering out the wings’ flapping, the Rocket suit’s newly enhanced ability to amplify sound turned noise into speech.

A tenor voice with a Midwestern accent said, “Teenaged girls? I’m shaking in my boots.” Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 2 →

Arc 5.3: Breaking & Entering

Breaking & Entering: Part 1

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Jaclyn punched too quickly for me to see her arm move, but the dome dented. She struck a second time as I registered the dent, and that time her hand went through.

She put both hands into the hole, and pulled back, tearing the roof like I might tear fabric.

I thought about reaching in to help, but I didn’t get the chance. Izzy reached in and tore it from the other side.

In seconds, they’d ripped a hole large enough for all three of us to jump through at the same time.

Izzy stared down into the gap, undoubtedly listening.

“They heard the roof tear, and they heard the jet. They’re sending people up.” Continue reading Breaking & Entering: Part 1 →

Arc 5.2: Here We Come

Here We Come: Part 6

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“Oh,” I said, looking over the instrument panel in preparation for take off, “by the way, we’re thinking that they’ve got psi-blocking devices all over.”

Alex said, “Well, that screws us over big time.”

“Yeah, we’re hoping to take them out, but if we’re lucky we won’t need to. Our first group’s got a good chance of getting Captain Commando out by themselves.”

“Good, because without teleporting, we’re not going to be much help. No one here can fly.”

So if we got in trouble, and couldn’t take out the psi-blockers, anyone coming to help us would have to do it the hard way. Continue reading Here We Come: Part 6 →

Arc 5.2: Here We Come

Here We Come: Part 5

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I thought about it a little more. No, my basic plan was still possible. We could have a rescue group and a distraction group. We just might have to join up afterward instead of having the distraction group get away quietly.

No, better yet, I thought—only risk the people who can take a lot of damage and whose powers allow them to get in and get out quickly.

“OK,” I said, “here’s the plan now that I’ve got an idea of what’s going on.”

Continue reading Here We Come: Part 5 →