Tag Archives: Haley

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 14

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Within seconds of that conversation, I’d landed and so had not only Daniel and Izzy, but we’d also been joined by Sean, Dayton, Camille, Sydney, Vaughn, and Haley. Jaclyn had already been on the ground, of course.

Cassie, Julie, and Rachel all opted to stay on the roofs of the buildings around Justice Fist’s base. It wasn’t a bad idea. For all we knew, Jody had signaled for help. Someone needed to be in position to act.

Upon landing (Justice Fist seemed to have metal woven into their costumes), Dayton looked around the yard and said, “Wow. What a mess.” Continue reading Jody: Part 14 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 11

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Dayton’s eyes widened for a moment, but only a moment before he said, “Of course not. We’ve got a lot to discuss today, but what do you think Magnus saw in us?”

As Dayton talked, Jody had gripped the table’s edge in his hands as if he planned to flip it over or push himself back.

“Look,” Jody said, hands tightening on the table, “I did talk to him, okay? You don’t throw away a chance like that. The guy had power, but you weren’t sure if you wanted to sign with Futuremen. You were going to throw it all away because having Magnus show up made you nervous.

“Well, I wasn’t. I wanted to see what he could give us and if you weren’t going to be involved, what he could give me.”

Sean stared at him, “Are you kidding me?” Continue reading Jody: Part 11 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 10

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“That… fits,” I replied. “Do you think his shield is natural or the product of technology? Because if he’s blocking you, that’s something I can’t do.”

Daniel nodded, “I know. With you, a telepath can get in, but then they’re hit by waves of madness. Getting out with sanity intact is the bigger challenge. His telepathic shield might be a device. It feels too consistent to be natural. Even with a strong natural shield, there’s an ebb and flow. You feel like it’s moving. This feels solid, but the hints of madness-inducing interference pulsing through it feel natural.”

Izzy shook her head, “How did we not notice this before? Didn’t your dad put in his Stapledon block?” Continue reading Jody: Part 10 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 9

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This spot wasn’t too bad as mushroom goo went. While near downtown, it was on the edges. Best practices for superhero bases amounted to giving them some distance from nearby civilian buildings to avoid collateral damage when attacked and to make it obvious when someone was approaching.

Justice Fist’s base adhered to that as best a building in the middle of a city could.

With money from Futuremen Capital, they’d bought most of a small city block that used to hold an old warehouse, demolished the warehouse, and put up a squat, circular tower that I’d once heard Vaughn refer to as the “Justice Penis.”

I’d laughed because my sense of humor hadn’t emerged from adolescence either. Continue reading Jody: Part 9 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 8

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“Okay,” I said, “I’ll be ready then.”

The next hour was dominated by inserting implants into people. It wasn’t much work, but the egg didn’t spit out implants instantly. It made one at a time and each had to be physically manufactured, loaded with software, and tested.

While I could describe the process in a sentence, each word encompassed thousands of actions, all of them culminating in a device that hooked into the body as, for all practical purposes, a secondary brain—a support brain, maybe? Continue reading Jody: Part 8 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 7

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In less time than I expected (no more than twenty minutes), my implant notified me, “Project complete. The implant constructor will now create Xiniti implants.”

I thought back, “Including citizen implants? Not just local auxiliary?”

“There is no functional difference except in the information provided and access permissions. Should an auxiliary become a citizen, the changes will require downloads, not physical replacement.” Continue reading Jody: Part 7 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 5

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I thought about our other options, “What about Daniel?”

Vaughn snorted, “Well since Jody knows you’re friends from Stapledon, it’s probably best that he’s outside too. He’s checked though. Their base doesn’t have any protection from telepathy—not regularly.”

“Really?” I said, “That seems like a bad idea. I admit that we don’t have them on in our downtown office, but that’s because it’s only for show. I’ve got telepathy and teleportation blockers for the rare meeting.” Continue reading Jody: Part 5 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 1

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Vaughn grinned, “They’re already involved. They were reporting to Daniel’s dad about Futuremen Capital. They thought Magnus was involved.”

“I remember,” I said. “Sydney wanted buzzers for them. I genuinely don’t remember if I provided them at this moment. I know I provided people in the community with designs.”

I hoped none of them got to the Nine, but chances were good that they might have. Plus, during the mushroom zombie fight, I learned that you could overwhelm them if you had enough people with voice powers. Continue reading Jody: Part 1 →

Arc 14.1.5: If Found Please Return

If Found, Please Return: Part 7

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Hey, I thought as I walked across the main room’s concrete floor, did they say anything about clairvoyantly finding Magnus?

I tried, Daniel thought back, he’s obscured either by something Rook made or another telepath.

I considered that, Any chance you might at least be able to predict when he figures out how to use the device? He’s got some control over it, but he could get more even if he can’t get full access unless he beats us to whatever mystery spot they left it at.

I could feel Daniel consider it, I’m not sure. He’s fuzzy and the device is dangerous, but if I can come up with the right side effect, I might be able to predict that. Continue reading If Found, Please Return: Part 7 →

Arc 14.1.5: If Found Please Return

If Found, Please Return: Part 6

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Vaughn stopped, and frowned, “I mean, I probably can’t do much of anything up there except for throwing lightning inside the jet or my suit, but it’s still the moon. It would be cool. It’s just that the more I think about it, the more I think I’ll be a lead weight—no powers except where they could do more damage than help.”

Looking up from my screen at the table, I said, “We can think about it. It’s probably a bad idea, but if there are… I don’t know… Selenites or something up there, for all we know there might be a secretly inhabitable area. It’s not like that never happens in comics.”

“Or Nazis,” Vaughn said, shrugging. Continue reading If Found, Please Return: Part 6 →