Amnesia Angel’s wings faded away, replaced by nothing—no glowing wings, no feathered wings, just holes for wings in the back of their costume where the wings had emerged.
The holes inadvertently answered another question I’d had, revealing a bit of bra strap. That didn’t necessarily reveal the person’s internal sense of their gender, but statistically speaking, it would most of the time.
Anyway, I didn’t have time to ask pronouns at that moment because she (?) was more than 50 feet in the air, powerless, and either dead or unconscious. Continue reading Regression: Part 16→
Was I willing to take a wound to take the angel out? I had a bad feeling that the right blow might kill me. Fighting with swords that arguably attacked your “soul” seemed like it might have different rules, and I hadn’t learned them yet.
That also meant that everything I’d learned about how to avoid killing my opponent also couldn’t be trusted.
The bad news? Amy had zero chance of telling me everything I needed in the next few seconds.
Considering Amnesia Angel’s speed, I doubted I’d have seconds. They rushed me, sword out and slashing.
I twisted to avoid them, giving the rockets extra power and hoping the reaction time I’d saved by sending commands to the Rocket suit through my implant made a difference.
It did, but not enough. I felt pain in my thigh, burning but not unbearable. A glance downward showed no physical damage,the follow-through of the angel’s blade missing my right leg. Continue reading Regression: Part 14→
Much as I had in the jet, I felt Magnus’ attention. Strictly speaking, it was the presence of Magnus using Artificer senses through what I’d heard called the Galaxy Core Device, but whatever.
Along with that attention, I also felt burning energy coming this direction. It wasn’t a question of being able to pretend I wasn’t here and avoid it.
There was no time to get myself into that mode of thinking, no time to dodge. At the moment that I’d noticed it, it was here.
As I drew near, I saw the angel’s blade and felt a dull ache in my mind, realizing that the being I faced had some connection to the Artificers.
I also realized that even though I’d gotten a decent sleep, I’d used my minimal Artificer abilities to the limit yesterday in the jet.
Except for the time I’d manifested Lee’s blade and fought Magnus (?) in that vision, I’d only ever managed to use my abilities defensively. Knowing how I felt, I wasn’t sure I’d even manage to do that now. Continue reading Regression: Part 12→
Vaughn, for example, hit him with lightning again, and Power Burst’s slower speed made that easier. And Vaughn didn’t only target Power Burst. He targeted all of them—Scream Eagle and the two others speeding after them.
The hit on Scream Eagle was, if anything, a disappointment. Whatever designers the military had used for Scream Eagle’s armor before he stole it (or Rook after that), they’d thought ahead about lightning. The suit sparked, but he didn’t fall over.
Put bluntly, Camille’s gravity already held him to the ground, where Sean’s balls pummeled him from all sides (heh). Continue reading Regression: Part 11→
I checked with Hal via my implant, “Do you know anything specific about how soon they’re going to get here?”
[No. Many of the command center’s staff became engaged in online arguments this morning. They’re distracted and engaging with the discussions at unpredictable intervals.]
Aloud, I said, “The Nine are sending someone for Jody. I’m getting more details. Be ready to fight.”
Everyone turned toward the windows. To give credit to their base’s designers, the conference room had a great view—windows on all four sides and even the ceiling.
You’d definitely see it coming if you were about to be attacked. On the not-so-bright side, you’d better hope the windows weren’t made of glass.
Vaughn pointed at the lawn outside with its new hole, burned spots, and the damaged store window. “Sounds like a plan to me, but if you wipe his memory of the last few minutes, you’ll have to explain that—not to mention your clothes.”
Like Jody’s, Jaclyn’s and Izzy’s costumes had been spattered with dirt, grass, and gray mushroom bits that must have been leftover in the soil.
Daniel looked over the room, “Right. I’ll also have to explain why there are more of us in the room than before the fight. I’m thinking we did an impromptu training session after the meeting?” Continue reading Regression: Part 8→
And do you know what? In some ways, that was the most interesting part of the training montage because Jody learned surprisingly little. I mean, sure, Jody did learn how to phase through matter, but he wasn’t great at it.
As we learned in our fight with him, he barely controlled it. Any additional distractions and he wasn’t able to concentrate enough to use it. Continue reading Regression: Part 7→
The Legion of Nothing: A Series of Online Superhero Novels (Updates Monday and Thursday)
