Tag Archives: Rachel

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 14

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Within seconds of that conversation, I’d landed and so had not only Daniel and Izzy, but we’d also been joined by Sean, Dayton, Camille, Sydney, Vaughn, and Haley. Jaclyn had already been on the ground, of course.

Cassie, Julie, and Rachel all opted to stay on the roofs of the buildings around Justice Fist’s base. It wasn’t a bad idea. For all we knew, Jody had signaled for help. Someone needed to be in position to act.

Upon landing (Justice Fist seemed to have metal woven into their costumes), Dayton looked around the yard and said, “Wow. What a mess.” Continue reading Jody: Part 14 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 9

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This spot wasn’t too bad as mushroom goo went. While near downtown, it was on the edges. Best practices for superhero bases amounted to giving them some distance from nearby civilian buildings to avoid collateral damage when attacked and to make it obvious when someone was approaching.

Justice Fist’s base adhered to that as best a building in the middle of a city could.

With money from Futuremen Capital, they’d bought most of a small city block that used to hold an old warehouse, demolished the warehouse, and put up a squat, circular tower that I’d once heard Vaughn refer to as the “Justice Penis.”

I’d laughed because my sense of humor hadn’t emerged from adolescence either. Continue reading Jody: Part 9 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 1

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Vaughn grinned, “They’re already involved. They were reporting to Daniel’s dad about Futuremen Capital. They thought Magnus was involved.”

“I remember,” I said. “Sydney wanted buzzers for them. I genuinely don’t remember if I provided them at this moment. I know I provided people in the community with designs.”

I hoped none of them got to the Nine, but chances were good that they might have. Plus, during the mushroom zombie fight, I learned that you could overwhelm them if you had enough people with voice powers. Continue reading Jody: Part 1 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 9

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Fun. That wasn’t the first word I’d apply to a multi-year fight for the future of your civilization, but as a way to keep your spirits up when facing a struggle you knew you could only begin to imagine, it was worth a shot.

I was glad they’d found my killbot tech useful even though I didn’t love being partially responsible for political assassinations. The Human Ascendancy deserved what they got, but the precedent would linger. If Kal’s group were lucky enough to win and future generations celebrated their success, assassination might be viewed as a legitimate technique for people dissatisfied with their government. Continue reading Castling: Part 9 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 7

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I would have asked how we would connect, but Rachel leaned forward and said, “I’m going to have to hold your hand.”

I disassembled the glove with a command and she leaned forward to take my right hand.

In my head, she said, “This is how the Ghosts do interstellar flight—at least when I’m involved. I don’t have enough power to manage it alone. Could you start pulling in power?”

“How much? A lot?” Continue reading Castling: Part 7 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 6

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We couldn’t blast away with the main engine without risking that Dixieclone might notice the sound and realistically there was no “might” about it. Izzy would. If he had the same powers as her grandfather, so would he.

Trying to stay conscious of what was around me and hoping I wasn’t mumbling nonsense words, I said, “Fly anywhere I point and quickly, but not too quickly. Use our anti-gravity systems.”

Concentrating on the ambient energy around me, I couldn’t tell what was going on outside my head, but I knew I wasn’t dead. That would have to be enough. Continue reading Castling: Part 6 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 5

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I watched the jet’s stats as we climbed. It had no issues. Then I thought of a possibility, “Ghost are you feeling anything?”

Rachel said, “No,” but she also gave the smallest shake of her head as if I shouldn’t talk about it.

Then she started tapping on her left forearm, using the “keyboard” I’d built into our suits. It was just a setting that made letters appear on either sleeve and turned the spots touch-sensitive.

Her text appeared in my HUD. Continue reading Castling: Part 5 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 4

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Artemis flinched, “Sorry, sir, but my point is that it feels like internal warfare. No one else would know.”

I made a mental note that whoever Artemis was, she didn’t believe she was the goddess. If she had, she wouldn’t be quite so deferential.

Dixieclone nodded and then sighed, “That’s not a good sign. The moment’s too crucial to handle everything we need to and that too.”

Artemis looked from side to side as if to check who was in earshot, saying, “That’s my worry.” Continue reading Castling: Part 4 →

Arc 14.3.5: Castling

Castling: Part 2

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Rook’s ships went straight for the runway to no one’s surprise.

I flew a more direct route, aiming for the control tower at the end of the runway. Stopping there, we all stepped out of the hatch, floating downward with anti-gravity and our suits’ camouflage engaged.

It might not be invisibility, but if no one had anything specific trained on us, we might be able to pass it off as a teleport in. That at least was the theory behind all of us turning visible together as we touched the ground. Continue reading Castling: Part 2 →