I stumbled sideways, realizing that Haley crouched underneath the soldier’s punch.
She didn’t stay there. Even as I realized what was happening, she was already punching back—and upward.
Hitting him in the middle of his diaphragm, she’d have killed a normal person with her strength and winded even some of the tougher supers. Continue reading Before Midnight: Part 10
I heard a weary laugh from more than one person on the comm. A few more laughed a little too hard.
Ex-Mayer Bouman, Synergy, or whatever he now called himself kept on talking, “People of Grand Lake, you might be afraid of what’s coming, afraid maybe that you’ll be absorbed and stop being you.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. You’ll be you but fulfilled. You’ll share your hopes, dreams, and worries with all your brothers and sisters in this city and sharing your burdens will make them light.”
Over the comm, Cassie muttered, “This guy does not understand how much it sounds like joining a cult.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 11
Izzy’s voice came over the comm, “I don’t see anyone dangerous. One man must have pulled out a rifle during the fight, but right now he’s putting it back into a locked cabinet.”
“Good,” Jaclyn didn’t hesitate. “Drop off Mr. Klein in the house and we’ll grab Shift to go help Travis. Night Cat says the Rocket and Bloodmaiden can stay here in case something goes wrong. Rocket, are you sure you don’t need medical attention?”
I found myself frowning inside my helmet, “Pretty sure. Alien tech says I’m not in imminent danger.” Continue reading Sudden Changes: Part 2
The shouting didn’t do anything. A few of the giant elephant/rhinoceros things looked over at us without much interest. The ones nearest the dog made grunting noises and began to sniff the wind, a good idea except that we were upwind. Then a few began to move forward, away from the barking, swinging their heads around to look for the noise.
When they saw the dog, one of them made a deep noise somewhere between a growl and a roar. Some of the smaller ones bolted away, but the large one turned toward us.
We weren’t intimidating enough, and why would we be? Judging from the Rocket suit’s readouts, the nearby creatures ranged from two to thirty tons. Continue reading Release the Hounds: Part 6
If Mom’s voice wasn’t the last one I expected to hear then, it would be hard to name a less likely one.
Ok, not that hard. Dad’s would be less likely.
Rachel turned and her eyes widened. “Mom?”
She’d been saying something to Jaclyn, but she stepped toward Mom as Jaclyn stepped out of her way. Jaclyn blinked, and muttered something to Rachel.
I missed whatever it was, and I’m not sure Rachel caught it.
Not sure where else to go, I said, “We could go to the lab. It’s over—“
Quietly, Mom said, “I know where it is.”
Given that she was down here, it made sense that she would. Given that she’d never made any reference to it during the entire rest of my life… Well, it felt a little weird. Continue reading Spin: Part 8