From where she stood next to Nataw, Kee smiled. “You met him in the future, and he chose not to kill you. I think Govan will be reasonable, provided we’re talking to the version of him who spared you. If we’re about to talk to a version of him that doesn’t know anything about that, it could become messy.”
“Great,” I thought back to her.
Tiger, meanwhile, had begun to sniff Nataw and Lee, starting with their butts and crotches.
I wondered if he’d still do that if he understood that they were older than our universe. Then it struck me that, given his understanding of English, he might have decided to start there because he’s a dog.
Nataw watched him and then scratched Tiger behind the ears. Then he said a word that my implant translated as Hideaway’s name in the language of a long-fallen galactic empire. “[Hideaway]. You’re a long way from home. I never liked the Abominators, but I did like what they did with your people. Dogs for hunting dinosaurs. Who’s a good boy?”
Tiger leaned in to the head scratches. Continue reading Engine: Part 8
“Good,” Grandpa said. “I’m sure I must have told you how I met him. He’d been summoned by a Nazi sorcerer and trapped. We later came to suspect he’d allowed himself to be trapped, simply so that he could meet me. He never fully explained why.”
I nodded, “I don’t know either, but I think I’ve got enough of a picture of his long term goals that I can guess.”
Grandpa laughed. “I’m in the same position. Too bad comparing notes might have disastrous consequences for both of us.” Continue reading Engine: Part 3
I didn’t know when the team had realized that Red Lightning had turned supervillain, but if Grandma was pregnant with Uncle Steve, this was too early.
My best bet was to stop thinking about it at all because Daniel’s grandfather might hear. The second best was to hope that if he did figure it out, he’d know not to break it too soon.
All of that would be wasted though, if either Ray or Red Lightning blew the secret. Continue reading Singularity: Part 11
C’s eyes narrowed, “They don’t have a daughter named Joan.”
My grandparents turned to look at each other and back to everyone else as Grandma said, “But that is a name we were talking about. Joan, if we had a girl, and Stephen, if we had another boy. So, we’re going to have a daughter?”
“Stephen?” My eyes darted toward Grandma’s belly. She wasn’t showing, but maybe that hint of a curve was Uncle Steve? Even in the 50s and 60s, superhero costumes didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. “Well, if you haven’t had a Stephen yet, no. My mom was born in 1963.”
Grandpa glanced over at the Mentalist, and Daniel’s grandfather nodded, his top hat making the nod more obvious. Though I’d never told him, I’d always thought the Mentalist’s era of magician-themed costumes looked silly. Continue reading Singularity: Part 10
Prentkos eyed Ray, “And what are we going to do if, upon seeing you, Magnus notices that you’re with the people he told you to kill and decides to end our lives? I don’t know all of the people down there, but the ones I do recognize are far from weak.”
“Well,” Ray said, “that just means that I’ll have to be extremely persuasive. Look, we’re not going to be able to fight our way in or out, and this isn’t what I’d call a stealthy group.” Continue reading Singularity: Part 9
Joe restrained his response, hoping that he wasn’t grinding his teeth. The group didn’t need more right now. Something was off about Giles. He couldn’t put his finger on what. If that wasn’t enough, new people with powers were appearing.
Man-machine, of all people, had visited by his office to tell him about it. Wearing a cheap suit, the kid claimed to be starting a business that made auto parts. He couldn’t hide his nervousness, constantly checking out the window. Continue reading Before Midnight: Part 3
The seat must have been designed assuming that the Frog suit would have a load of missiles on board when it blew up because it shot him far into the air. He found himself far on the other side of the hangar as the Frog suit exploded.
Because it was behind him, he didn’t see the explosion directly. The afternoon became brighter, giving a reddish-white tinge to the hotels, sidewalks, and palm trees. Black smoke followed—along with flying debris.
Larry felt something small hit the back of the ejection seat, but managed to keep control of the seat’s flight. He redirected the seat lower, and flew down toward the hangar, landing in front of it.
He gave a passing glance to the earth elemental’s body as he got out of the chair. It covered the runway in a pile of smoking rubble—dirt, rocks, and gravel. Its head and limbs were still intact even though its body had lost its shape. That bothered Larry, and he stopped to make sure that it wasn’t moving. After a moment, he was satisfied, and he stepped toward the hangar.
He couldn’t see much inside. It was dark, and the black smoke made it appear even darker. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 22
Unfortunately, if he didn’t do anything about it, who would? No one, unless Romy found the guys soon.
He could just wait, but who knew when Romy would be back. He could try to talk some sense into the kid, but it hadn’t worked so far. At this point, Joe figured the best thing he could do would be damaging the kid’s suit enough that he couldn’t fight.
Down below, Man-machine raised his gun arm and began to fire. None of the shots hit, but Joe cursed himself and started moving, thinking how much of an idiot he had to be to hover when his opponent had high powered weaponry.
Continue reading 1953: Part 8
It felt like he’d set half the city on fire.
It wasn’t true, of course. He’d burned down a couple bars and a car dealership. Giles and Chuck had taken a restaurant and the warehouse.
They’d gotten into a rhythm after the first two buildings. Romy would fly through to make sure that nobody was inside. He would break through the door and spray the inside with trails of the flamethrower’s fuel. It didn’t take much to start it burning after that.
Continue reading 1953: Part 6