Tag Archives: Izzy

Arc 7.6: Remote Control

Remote Control: Part 4

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Izzy’s forehead wrinkled. “Why do you think that?”

“I’m not sure, but I think she may have talked to the invaders in their native language. Anyway, I know that somewhere in there Amy used magic to transform a little in their direction. Something like that. That whole battle’s a little blurry at this point.”

“I think you’re right,” Daniel said, glancing over at Izzy and then back to me. “Judging from the way she made that shield and that she can fly, her magic is pretty flexible. It’s worth a question. Who do we talk to if it doesn’t work?” Continue reading Remote Control: Part 4 →

Arc 7.6: Remote Control

Remote Control: Part 3

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I tested the satellite bot for a while, and then I started to think about the next generation of roachbot. I’d started out creating armor with the nanotech I’d designed, but I ought to be using it to construct roachbots. If I did it right, I’d only have to perfect a design, and then I’d be able to create hundreds if not thousands of them trivially.

Better yet, it would probably make for a faster design process since I’d be able to do the work within a CAD program instead of physically constructing every version. Continue reading Remote Control: Part 3 →

Arc 7.5: Off Campus

Off Campus: Part 1

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Izzy looked up at me, raising her eyebrow a little. Knowing how powerful her hearing was (powerful enough that it was actually sonar), I knew that if my heartbeat had risen, she’d heard it.

She might also be able to see which glands were firing off. I didn’t know that, but having experienced her sonar secondhand through telepathy, I could believe almost anything. She could see a lot, and in a lot of detail.

“If you want me to go into detail,” I said, “we’ll have to go someplace more private.”

Continue reading Off Campus: Part 1 →

Arc 7.4: Burning

Burning: Part 8

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I read the article on my phone. The dead activist had a name I couldn’t pronounce, attended a university in Turkmenistan, majored in engineering, and had been twenty years old.

That boggled my mind. He’d been only a year older than I was.

According to the regime, he’d been executed for treason.

The article didn’t go into any great detail about what he’d actually been doing except to note that he’d organized students to protest after the regime’s recent actions. Continue reading Burning: Part 8 →

Arc 7.3: Entry Assessment

Entry Assessment: Part 6

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Gunther glanced back to the field, and then turned back toward everyone watching him. “But here’s one of the major things you need to get out of this. Fairness is completely irrelevant. This is combat. Fairness is for games. The whole situation is unfair from the beginning. You’re all a bunch of heroes in training. Chances are, you’re not trying to kill them, but they are trying to kill you. Sure, some of them won’t be. Many, even. No matter how many jewelry stores a guy breaks into, he may still have a set of morals that means he won’t kill, but you know what? That doesn’t matter.”

Despite his topic, Gunther managed to sound slightly amused.

Continue reading Entry Assessment: Part 6 →

Arc 7.1: Fresh Meat

Fresh Meat: Part 5

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“No way,” I said, wondering how he’d gotten his powers activated. It wasn’t exactly a casual thing. The League had the first known working device to do it. It hadn’t been hard for me to make it work, but I’d had the benefit of my grandfather’s documentation.

I knew that the government had their own devices. From the news and personal experience, I knew that criminal organizations also had them. I wasn’t aware of anyone outside of those two groups owning any, but almost everything they needed was available on the internet now.

Corporate devices couldn’t be far away if they weren’t already out there.

Jaclyn’s mind obviously went along the same track mine did. She put down her hamburger, and said, “He can’t still be using power juice his uncle brewed. It’s illegal, and they wouldn’t allow him into the program, would they?”

“He’s not,” Courtney said. “I asked him.”

Continue reading Fresh Meat: Part 5 →

Arc 7.1: Fresh Meat

Fresh Meat: Part 4

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Haley’s brow furrowed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

She took a piece of steak and a spoonful of a salad that appeared to be a mixture of corn, tomato and avocado.

“I had no idea. How did you know?” I kept my voice a little lower than normal. No need to broadcast this. Well, more than it must have been already. Haley wasn’t the only person with enhanced hearing, and Daniel couldn’t be the only person with telepathy or clairvoyance.

Hopefully everyone would be too occupied by eating and meeting people to eavesdrop on us.

Just ahead of me on this side of the buffet table, Jaclyn grabbed food without saying anything. I wondered if she was deliberately ignoring us. In her position, I would have. Continue reading Fresh Meat: Part 4 →

Arc 7.1: Fresh Meat

Fresh Meat: Part 3

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“It’s not impossible,” Jaclyn said. “But, I can’t say I’m excited to find out whether they’re ultimately more loyal to humanity or themselves. Lee’s deal with the Cabal gives us a year where they’ll leave us alone.”

Haley bit her lip. “That was last June.”

Jaclyn nodded. “Do you think they’ve been counting down the days?”

Haley sighed and her eyes darted between the two of us. “I hope not. I don’t even know what day it was. Do you?”

I looked over at Jaclyn and she shook her head.

“No,” I said, “but I’m sure I could figure it out. Anyway, I bet one of us knows.”

Jaclyn nodded. “Even with their descendants here, I’m not that worried about us, but Marcus and Sydney are still in Grand Lake. Even if they weren’t, all of our parents are.”

Continue reading Fresh Meat: Part 3 →

Arc 6.5: Glory

Glory: Part 6

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An SUV came soon after that. All black with tinted windows, it was obviously used for carrying people who didn’t care to be seen. To the Rocket suit’s senses, it was also obviously armored, meaning it was just as obviously used by people who expected to be shot at.

We all got in–Rachel, Travis, Sean, Vaughn, Izzy, Jaclyn and I.

Izzy leaned against the wall in the back. When Travis turned back from the second row, and asked how she was doing, she barely opened her eyes, but said, “Fine. I’m tired, but there’s nothing wrong with me.”

Then her eyes shut, and she fell asleep.

Continue reading Glory: Part 6 →

Arc 6.5: Glory

Glory: Part 3

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“Redirecting?” I turned toward her and raised an eyebrow—which was completely hidden by my helmet.

“Pushing on the escape pod’s controls at exactly the right moment to keep him from going where he wanted to, and getting a message out to Lim. Lim called in one of the New York teams that didn’t get sent into space, and what do you know? One more captive alien.”

Rachel grinned below her white mask.

“Wow,” I said. “None of the aliens are supposed to be contacting us in the first place. The moment this gets out, the Hrrnna are in major trouble.”

Rachel shook her head. “Doubt it. My bet is they play the ‘we don’t know anything about that’ card, and pretend the Hrrnna here were acting on their own.”

Travis nodded. “That’s how it works.”

Continue reading Glory: Part 3 →