Tag Archives: Jenny

Arc 14.9.5: Reality Tweaks

Reality Tweaks: Part 7

5 Comments

“It’s better than the alternative,” I said, and thought about what I might be getting. In addition to the practical knowledge of the Nine’s operations which we’d need to track whether we’d succeeded, Rook and Dr. Mind weren’t the only inventors who’d ever served the Nine.

We’d get in trouble with the government for stealing the Nine’s tech, but not for using their ideas—probably.

It did worry me that Rook had likely brought back Abominator tech from the Moon and Mars. I didn’t even know where it was if I wanted to destroy it. 

In the main channel, Hal asked, “I’ll appear above the main building shortly.” Continue reading Reality Tweaks: Part 7 →

Arc 14.9.5: Reality Tweaks

Reality Tweaks: Part 5

3 Comments

Looking over the place I found myself in the middle of a few different unrelated thoughts. First, that the island was a beautiful place. Especially around the platform where we exited the stairway, the vegetation all but screamed, “tropical island paradise.”

Colorful birds flew through the air above us. Others perched in the trees or on volcanic mound.

Noticing that, I hoped again that it was inactive, and decided to be grateful that Larry wasn’t here. While he was closer to me than some family members, he had the worst luck with fire and natural disasters.

Grandpa told me Larry had been in the fight that made Mount St. Helens blow early. Continue reading Reality Tweaks: Part 5 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 62

13 Comments

“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I was ready to take a chance on it. We will have to face the Nine and it would be easier with whatever you got out of Arete.”

He gave a weak nod and coughed, “There’s another chance. I knew you had to destroy us completely. I created a spore, separated from us, and encased it as completely as I could. Look past me. I’d give it to you, but I shouldn’t touch it.”

I stepped around him. Hidden from direct view, a ball made of a pearl-like hard substance sat on a bare spot of concrete. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 62 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 61

4 Comments

I pushed the bot views into the background and paid attention to the world around me. Alex pointed at the mounds around us and the ceiling. All of them sagged and dripped viscous, brown goo. More liquid puddled beneath the withered skin.

“We should grab everybody,” I said. “We might be able to get away with leaving Flame Legion. I know she doesn’t exactly enjoy dying, though.”

Alex nodded, “Yeah. That hasn’t changed, but she’s more used to it. I’d leave her.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 61 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 57

10 Comments

That knowledge gave me the confidence to let “Amy” and Kals protect Alex while I did my best to protect Daniel and the various Jennys.

Her ability to duplicate herself made it worse when every copy represented a tunnel into her brain.

I fired off a series of armor piercing bots. They weren’t as effective as killbots, but they were simpler and faster to produce. Plus, they didn’t have monomolecular blades constantly sucking energy until they dulled. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 57 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 52

7 Comments

The humonsters ran after us, ignoring Cassie and they didn’t just run. They leapt. They tumbled. The talons that grew out of their hands and feet clacked against the floor.

They weren’t slow. Only the fact that Alex, Jenny, Kals, and Katuk had started first kept them from being caught—that and Katuk’s shooting ability.

Without looking, he pointed the gun under his forearm backward and fired, scattering blasts of white light behind him. The first two caught humonsters full on, severing the right arm from one and the entire lower half of the other. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 52 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 51

3 Comments

I can’t read them very well, Daniel thought at us, but for lack of a better analogy, I think it’s the heart, the center of the organism’s circulation. I wish we had a biologist because then I could ask better questions, but I know that as long as we get Alex there, it’ll die.

Noticing, no doubt, that we hadn’t started tearing Amy limb from limb, the humonsters shouted as one, “Kill her now!”

As the noise overwhelmed the sound of the buzzer again, I had to fight the urge to charge Amy, hearing Julie’s command in my head again.  Continue reading Courtesy: Part 51 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 42

4 Comments

Izzy laughed.

Alex eyed her, “What?”

She shook her head, “You’re confident.”

“I’m stating a fact. You brought me here to do a job and I’m ready.” Alex looked over at a group of Jennys, possibly for support. More than one of them rolled their eyes.

Over the comm, Brooke AKA Portal AKA Guardian’s daughter and Alex’s girlfriend said, “Alex…”

Daniel interrupted before the conversation went any further, “Our chances of success start going down the longer we take here.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 42 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 41

7 Comments

It took less time than I expected even though it seemed to be a disaster when it began.

As I’d stepped forward, burning through the legs of next nearest Prime clone, more barreled into the area all at once. Arms bashed me from more than one direction, knocking me sideways. Even as I began to push myself off the ground, I wondered if I’d be able to do anything. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 41 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 40

11 Comments

Remembering the last time we’d fought these things, I couldn’t forget that we’d just sent a few of our heavy hitters away so that they could breathe safely.

That time though we didn’t face the prime clones plus a near-infinite number of mooks. It was just them and we’d all trained together.

Jaclyn shouted, “Use the wall,” and everyone knew what she meant. Everyone who could go hand to hand with them went to the outside. Everyone else went toward the wall with us between the two.

That meant that as the first three took huge leaps, bounding into our space, Izzy flew in, hitting the nearest one, throwing it backward hard enough that it flew in a straight line toward the wall on the far end, cracking the concrete.

It fell to the ground. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 40 →