Tag Archives: Nick

Arc 8.6.5: Harvest

Harvest: Part 4

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From behind me, I heard the sound of a seatbelt clasp clicking open. After a few footsteps, Rod pushed his way to the front between Amy and me.

“Hey,” Cassie said, but Rod ignored her.

“The Graffiti Knight. Rumor in the magical community is that the Council got some guy to wear that armor. I heard that it’s cursed or connected to an old god or something. There’s a price for using it, so they only get it out for emergencies.”

“So, it’s got powers?” I glanced over at Rod, and he nodded. Continue reading Harvest: Part 4 →

Arc 8.6.5: Harvest

Harvest: Part 3

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“The gun thinks I should shoot him now.” Cassie stood, pointing the gun in his general direction, but not directly at him.

“Does it have anything nonlethal?” I watched Alden as he stood. The combination of speedster and being infected meant that he’d be able to do more damage than I liked to think.

The only person fast enough to counter him inside the city was Kid Biohack, and he didn’t have a ward to protect him.

Thinking strategically, killing Alden was a good choice. Morally, killing someone who was controlled by an outside force struck me as questionable—except that if keeping him alive destroyed the city, killing my parents and untold others…

I ignored a wave of worry—mostly. Continue reading Harvest: Part 3 →

Arc 8.6.5: Harvest

Harvest: Part 2

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I thought about that. “If the animals were summoned by wizards, I’m not sure I’m impressed. If you think about it, The Thing That Eats is powerful enough when it’s taken over supers that animals can’t hurt it much, but it can hurt them.”

Amy cocked her head, thinking. Then she straightened. “When I was back home, my father used to say ‘think sideways’ a lot. My mother is the queen. My father acts as her spymaster. My guess is that they’re using the animals for reconnaissance and maybe to scare normal people away from the battle. If they do make them fight, it’s probably because The Thing can’t possess them.”

Over the comm, Haley made a noise. “I hope they know cougars are on the endangered species list in Michigan.” Continue reading Harvest: Part 2 →

Arc 8.6.5: Harvest

Harvest: Part 1

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Amy looked over the group. “I wish we could take all of you. You don’t know right now how much I wish we had time to construct more wards, but we don’t.”

We had a large group, but we were leaving one too—Kayla, Chris, Dayton, Julie, Shannon, and even Kid Biohack could have helped. Despite his lack of powers, Jeremy might have too. That went for the injured (Haley, Sean, and Jody) and the infected as well.

It was depressing to think about as well as pointless. I might as well wish for Daniel, Izzy, Rachel, and Jaclyn to show up. Continue reading Harvest: Part 1 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 10

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Even though I wasn’t sure that he was on our side, I decided to act as if I thought so. “How soon?”

He made a gurgling noise. “I can’t say—-”

Whatever he said after that turned into indecipherable noise, and then he hung up.

I stood there, smelling my own sweat and a faint burned smell that seemed familiar. Then I knew why. It reminded me of the smell my arm had given off when I’d been hit by dragon fire. Continue reading Revelations: Part 10 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 9

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Amy bounded into the hanger in her Bloodmaiden form—all black armor and glowing gems. Cassie, Samita, and Rod followed her in, all of them in costume. Between Cassie’s flag against a navy blue background, Samita’s hooded red robe, and Rod’s black, leather duster, they had an interesting look.

Amy stopped once she saw that Travis and Lucas were within the wards and that the wards had been activated.

The transparent, red walls were a fairly obvious clue. Continue reading Revelations: Part 9 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 8

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Loosening my choke hold, I dropped to the ground, putting Lucas body in the center of the wards Samita had set up on the floor. The Thing That Eats’ head had disappeared, revealing Lucas’ face.

As he lay on the concrete between black lines and symbols that I didn’t recognize, I reminded myself that he had to be alive. I’d choked him correctly, and I’d timed it. The Thing That Eats had a talent for playing on people’s fears. My longstanding one was that I’d kill somebody who didn’t deserve it, and he’d done his best to play on it. Continue reading Revelations: Part 8 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 7

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Travis’ voice came over the comm. “Don’t get too close. I’ve got a plan.”

I didn’t have time to ask him about the plan. The Thing disappeared through the wide hangar door. We could have closed it. It would have bought Travis time, but on the other hand, he didn’t seem to need it and The Thing would have trashed our door.

It was a big metal door that ran from the ceiling to the floor—not exactly the kind of thing you can pick up at Lowe’s.

The Thing flew through the doorway, past the concrete wall on one side and the door on the other. Continue reading Revelations: Part 7 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 6

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Haley’s face tightened as her other arm raked it across the eye while her legs dug in to the underside of its globular face. Blood spurted out from under the The Thing’s chin and it spit her arm out.

Haley had the presence of mind to land on her feet, but wobbled as she landed. Her costume, in the meantime, had already repaired itself. I might have taken it as a tribute to my work, but that wasn’t nearly as high in my mind as the question of whether the costume had adjusted correctly to the change. If it were pushing broken bone into flesh or muscle, it could only be hurting her.

She could adjust the suit though. I had to get it away from her, so she could get away from the fight. Continue reading Revelations: Part 6 →

Arc 8.6.0: Revelations

Revelations: Part 5

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Before anyone else could respond, Haley looked me in the eye (as much as the foot and half difference between her height and the Rocket suit’s would allow), saying, “We’ll all meet him.”

She had a point. Lucas had the exact same powers as Red Lightning—strength, toughness, flight, and obviously, lightning. Even if he wasn’t in the Cabal’s league, he was definitely in mine.

“Ok, but let’s not be too obvious about it. If he’s not infected, we don’t want to freak him out. Night Cat and I go first to meet him. That won’t seem weird. If Storm King and Gravity Star stand in the command center, they’ll look inconspicuous, but still be able to act. Essentially they’re our last line of defense. After that, those of you without wards will have to blast him with whatever distance weapons or powers you’ve got because if he touches you, you’ll be on his side.”

I considered suggesting how they might go about it, but Travis spoke over everyone else, “Go. I’ve got this.” Continue reading Revelations: Part 5 →