Tag Archives: Immortal

Arc 6.1: Intergalactic Sherlock

Intergalactic Sherlock: Part 5

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Next to me, Haley paused as she’d been turning back toward the dashboard. “A pretty good time?”

Lee smiled wider. “The best. In moments like that people stop worrying about how you get things done. They need it done, and they don’t have time to care how. Say you have a Skerrish battle station orbiting the planet. Normally you’d try to talk them into leaving, but if you’re in the middle of a battle, barely anyone cares if you ram them with one of their own heavy cruisers. As long as the battle station’s out of the fight, no one complains.”

Haley turned back to the dashboard without saying anything, and we took the jet out the underwater airlock into Lake Michigan, the engines humming as we traveled underwater. Continue reading Intergalactic Sherlock: Part 5 →

Arc 6.1: Intergalactic Sherlock

Intergalactic Sherlock: Part 4

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“That, and I suppose when you kill as many people as he has, the enemies add up.” Plus he wasn’t exactly nice about it. The few times I’d seen him fight outside of training, he’d pushed people’s buttons deliberately.

That’s the kind of guy who would end up on the run from his entire species, leaving them pissed off enough that they destroyed any planet they found him on. Granted, it wasn’t just because of that, but it put things in perspective.

Normally they committed genocide over the long term. When they found he’d influenced a planet, they did it immediately.

“Exactly. You need someone to balance out the crazy.” She sounded amused.

Continue reading Intergalactic Sherlock: Part 4 →

Arc 6.0: The Unusual Suspects

The Unusual Suspects: Part 7

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I thought about that. “I wonder if they can export their information into a format I can use, or if I’ll have to stay up there to look at it?”

I thought about it some more. “Never mind. The League jet’s got to be able to use standard alien file formats.”

Günther laughed. “I can’t say I thought about file formats at all.”

He glanced out the door. “I’ve got to prepare for the next class. Any other questions?”

Continue reading The Unusual Suspects: Part 7 →

Arc 6.0: The Unusual Suspects

The Unusual Suspects: Part 6

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As Dayton shut the door, I realized I was alone—not completely alone because there were people in the room. Since most of them were heading toward the door or talking quietly, however, and I was basically alone.

Günther waved me over, probably to help him put things away. We’d used rings, poles, and balls in the course of the class. The class had put them into boxes, but the boxes were still sitting on the floor.

Within a minute, he’d waved the other assistants over, and we were carrying boxes into the armory. He wasn’t carrying any.

It didn’t take long to clean up. As I put the last box inside, he walked through the door, and leaned against the wall. Continue reading The Unusual Suspects: Part 6 →

Arc 6.0: The Unusual Suspects

The Unusual Suspects: Part 5

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I didn’t ask him what the problem was. There were so many options, and it’s not as if I wanted to go into it.

Anyway, Günther started splitting up the groups as the last people walked through the door. Sean ended up in one of the groups for physically normal people. I directed a group for people with mid-level physical abilities. There’s no reason to go into detail about it except to mention that Dayton was in the group.

A big guy in a roomful of big guys, Dayton stood out not because he looked like a football player stereotype, but because he had great coordination and learned any move he saw instantly.

In the comics, you’d think that it would instantly make him the best hand to hand fighter alive. In reality, no. Continue reading The Unusual Suspects: Part 5 →

Arc 6.0: The Unusual Suspects

The Unusual Suspects: Part 4

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I pointed at the back of the chest section. “If you could pick that up and hang it on my back, it would be a lot easier.”

Tara’s gaze followed my hand, and I realized that I wasn’t doing all that well. Almost everything was in the same place. I clarified. “Uh… The piece with the rocket pack on the back. It’ll be heavier than you’d expect.”

“This?” She picked it up without a problem, and placed it on my back.

I felt the weight, and stepped backward with one foot to brace myself. Then I started plugging cables into the stealth suit, and pulling out sections of frame that the breastplate would lock into.

Tara handed me each piece of armor, and it went quickly.

Continue reading The Unusual Suspects: Part 4 →

Arc 5.5: Rachel in Infinity City, Area 551

Rachel in Infinity City: Part 21

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Not that we had time, and to judge from how they handled the True, if they were anything but decent, we were so screwed.

I’d never seen Vaughn target more than one person at a time with lightning. He’d told me that he didn’t think he had enough control to do it without straight out killing people. Whoever the person behind the lightning I’d just seen was, he’d taken out everybody near the entrance to the alley all at once.

Glancing upward identified him instantly—the red costume with a lightning bolt under an arch with Egyptian hieroglyphics on the chest? That was Red Lightning’s costume. I’d always thought the lightning, plus the arch, plus the hieroglyphics was a little busy, but I’d never gotten to complain to Red Lightning himself about the questionable logo design due to him being dead.

It appeared that I might get the chance now. This wasn’t Vaughn. This wasn’t Vaughn’s cousin Lucas, or his Uncle Russ, Lucas’s father. It was Giles Hardwick, the original Red Lightning.

Continue reading Rachel in Infinity City: Part 21 →

Arc 4.8: Being Watched

Being Watched: Part 6

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After we finished talking, Lee said, “The advanced class is coming in soon. I’d have you stay except you’re already going to stick out.”

“I am?”

“You’ve been training with me for years. You’ll stick out. Oh… And by the way, bring the full suit next time. You’ll need the protection.”

“Yeah?”

“Count on it.”

Not long after that, I walked out of the door, finding a group of ten people waiting outside. Continue reading Being Watched: Part 6 →

Arc 4.8: Being Watched

Being Watched: Part 5

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He’d never told anyone exactly what he was, but when Lee took a form, it became near impossible to think of him by any name but the one he’d chosen.

Gunther smiled at us, a wide grin full of white teeth.

Picking up a long spear from the pile of weapons in front of him, he said, “Today we’re going to talk about the Greek phalanx—not because I expect you to fight with spears, but because of what it represents.

“The Greeks, and most armies that were any good, fought as a group, not as a bunch of heroes who happened to be on the same side. They had shields that covered themselves and the man next to them.

“Sometimes you’ll be in that situation. Sometimes you’ll be fighting enemies alone. What I intend to teach you is when to fight in formation, when not to, and when to avoid fighting at all. I’m told that other people will talk about loyalty, duty, courage and other values you’ll need to live up to, but let’s be honest, that’s not my field.” Continue reading Being Watched: Part 5 →

Arc 3.9: 1943

1943: Part 6

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Arik gave a grunt, and his body fell forward as Gunther stepped to the side, and out of his way.

A great gout of flame erupted from his back where Gunther’s blade slipped through.

The flames around Arik’s body grew higher, and pine needles on the ground around the castle caught fire. Continue reading 1943: Part 6 →