I pulled out the controller, opened the pouches, and started by turning on a scout bot.
It crawled to the edge of the pouch, extended its wings, and then the rocket in its abdomen ignited.
The controller’s monitor gave a blurry view of trees, branches, and then the roof as it ascended, passing the edge of the flat roof, shutting off the rocket, and gliding to a stop.
A few small, rectangular windows hung open near the top of the wall. Continue reading War: Part 20
Daniel turned away from his monitor. “We should go down there. Not too close, but down there and see if we can learn anything. Maybe we could bug their place.”
“They could turn us to paste,” I said.
Daniel gave a slow nod. “You’re right, but we don’t have to be seen. I think we’ll want to know what they’re up to. Imagine what happens if they show up while we’re dealing with Ray, and we haven’t planned for them.”
Continue reading War: Part 17
Haley and I met Lucas late Friday night on the roof of an old, empty, print shop on the southeast side of Grand Lake. I couldn’t guess the age of the building. The flat roof had three different levels, one of which might have been the roof of the original. The rest were probably additions, but I couldn’t be sure. Sagging, white, aluminum siding covered the outside walls, making the whole building look dilapidated in the same way.
It stood on the northeast side of an almost unused five way intersection. A 80’s era, brown Buick came by just as we landed. It was the only moving car we saw. Continue reading War: Part 15
For a moment, Lee and I must have been the only people who realized that Prime was dead.
He grinned as I looked up from the head, and saluted me with the bloodied blade. In that moment, someone shouted, and it seemed like everyone turned to see him standing in front of Prime’s body.
“Rocket, grab the head and dump it someplace!”
Continue reading War: Part 11
I checked the the sky, searching it for Vaughn’s cloud.
It floated above the field, smaller than most clouds, and, it struck me, smaller than the last time I’d seen it.
Daniel hadn’t been joking about not being alone in the air. At least fifteen people flew toward the cloud, dark figures outlined against the moon and stars.
Continue reading War: Part 10
Bluish sparks surrounded Rachel’s gloves, and the man let go, trying to grab her, but only passing through her body without touching anything.
Knowing that he was strong, and guessing he might be able to rip my armor off, I gave the rockets some fuel, and shot into the air, hovering forty feet above the ground. Continue reading War: Part 9
Between the unconscious bodies on the ground from Jaclyn’s attack, and my sonic blast, Prime’s people hung back until one of of them shouted, “Move!”
Well, if I could call them Prime’s people.
Some of them looked professional — black (probably bulletproof) vests, belts with pouches, knives, and guns. The rest looked like they’d been pulled from local (and not so local) street gangs.
They had guns too — not submachine guns like the professionals, mostly handguns.
Continue reading War: Part 8
Prime stood at the front of the crowd. He didn’t look like someone who had lived most of the way through two millenniums. Under the single light, his brush cut, blond hair shone. His face, all hard lines, but still smooth, could have easily passed for thirty.
As we stepped closer to him, he pulled a sword out of his trench coat. Between Lee’s teaching, and Daniel showing me some books on Roman history, I recognized it as a gladius, the Roman legions’ traditional sword.
Behind me, Marcus muttered, “There can be only one.”
Continue reading War: Part 7
“So after years of silence, the New Heroes League appeared out of nowhere. How did that happen?”
“I came in late,” Rachel said. “You’ll have to ask the Rocket.”
Erika turned her attention to me. “So?”
“A few of us got to talking,” I began.
“Us?”
“We’re all connected to the original League one way or another. We got together a few times, and we decided we wanted to bring it back instead of letting it end.” Continue reading War: Part 2
Instead of doing something with Haley on Friday night, I found myself flying through the air with Rachel toward the Rocket’s first ever intentional TV interview — or if not the Rocket’s first, my first as the Rocket.
Rachel let go of my shoulder as I pointed myself upright, stopping the rockets for a moment, but then making the rocketpack start a new burn, slowing my descent.
Below me I could see the parking lot where I’d fought Man-machine — until his heart attack, anyway.
It looked a lot like it had that night, half full of cars, and darkness. Continue reading War: Part 1