Category Archives: Book 06: Glory

Arc 5.7: Doom

Doom: Part 4

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Cassie sat back on her bed, leaning back against the pillow. “So, when’s it going to be ready?”

“Uh…” I thought about that while the suit continued to post messages about testing the systems.

“Well, there are a couple different issues. The first one’s easy. The second is going to depend on you. See, first off, I need to get the suit’s boot up time down to something reasonable. Right now you can get it on in maybe a minute, but by the time it’s done testing everything, twenty minutes have gone by.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? That’s worse than when you put the suit on by hand.”

Continue reading Doom: Part 4 →

Arc 5.7: Doom

Doom: Part 3

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Once I was off the call with Rachel, I checked the time, and it was seven-fifty something, so I walked toward the lab.

I would have gone there from the beginning if I’d thought it through. I wasn’t quite finished with Cassie’s suit, but I was almost finished, so if I was in the lab when I talked to her, I’d be able to show it to her more easily.

This was great logic, but it didn’t account for one possibility—that Cassie might call a little early—which she did.

I heard the phone ringing from both directions—behind me at the main table, and ahead of me in the lab.

I broke into a run, crossing the old, olive green carpet, dodging forty years worth of the original League’s mementoes, trophies, and awards in their cases. As I did it, I remembered that I’d left my socks and shoes in front of a register in the main room.

Obviously, I wasn’t going back for them, but the lab didn’t have carpet at all.

Continue reading Doom: Part 3 →

Arc 5.7: Doom

Doom: Part 2

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Walking over to the school’s parking garage turned out to be every bit as cold as I thought it might be.

I hadn’t thought to wear my boots, and when I cut across the lawn, snow got into my shoes.

During the drive across the city, the van’s heating system warmed up enough to melt the snow still on my shoes. By the time I arrived at the house I’d inherited from my grandparents, and taken the elevator down to the Heroes Leagues’ headquarters, my feet were cold and wet.

I felt every inch the budding supergenius as I walked to the front of HQ’s basketball court sized main room, leaving wet footprints on the carpet.

Continue reading Doom: Part 2 →

Arc 5.7: Doom

Doom: Part 1

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I finished all my homework by seven—giving me more than enough time to get to headquarters, and finish what I was really excited about—Cassie’s armor.

I closed my laptop, pushed back my chair, and stepped away from my desk. Then I looked out the window. From the third floor of DePuit Hall, I could see most of Grand Lake University’s main campus. Lights came from dorms and lecture halls, standing out in the night, and illuminating the snow that covered the grounds.

It was January in Michigan after all, and that meant winter.

I considered whether I really wanted to cross the city in weather this cold. I’d fixed up my van, but I’d paid more attention to adding armor than making it comfortable.

Continue reading Doom: Part 1 →