Tag Archives: Travis

Arc 2.9: Rivalry

Rivalry: Part 4

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It was the first time I could think of that Jaclyn got involved in a case. She’d always had a kind of “take it or leave it” approach to the Heroes League since we’d reformed. For this, she took the same approach she took toward homework — focus.

Within half an hour, we knew who the Maniacs were, and what they’d been doing for the last fifteen years. With a of couple exceptions, they’d been in jail. Jack Maniac and Christine Maniac apparently still robbed banks together. Jason and Chucky Maniac were in jail. Freddy had died.
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Arc 2.8: Uncontrolled Substances

Uncontrolled Substances: Part 2

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“So you just told him?” Jaclyn didn’t seem to be able to contain her disbelief.

“It’s not like I invited him to train with us,” I said. “I just told him the same thing I’ve always told anyone curious about who I’m taking martial arts from.”

“It’s not that bad,” Haley said. “Of all Sean’s friends, Dayton’s the only one who’s actually nice.”
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Arc 2.2: Rattling Cages

Rattling Cages: Part 14

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Flying in the winter is cold.

The full Rocket armor feels warm even in the worst weather, probably because Grandpa spent a lot of time flying during the winter. By contrast, Grandpa’s main focus when he created the stealth suit was for it to fit under clothes. Even after pulling the supplementary jacket, pants and gloves over the basic suit, the stealth suit still felt colder.

Adding a guitar to the mix didn’t make things any easier.
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Arc 2.2: Rattling Cages

Rattling Cages: Part 13

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Jaclyn started moving a couple minutes after the door shut.

I could hear her push herself up, fall once, push herself up again, and then I saw her black, heeled boots on the floor in front of me. She stopped for a moment, looking (I assumed) at the people on the floor, and then ran to the window on the far side of the room.

I heard the kitchen door open, followed by a gasp.
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Arc 2.2: Rattling Cages

Rattling Cages: Part 12

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I couldn’t quite understand what any of them were saying, but the tone of the conversation sounded ugly.

“Ugh,” I said, “I can’t make out who it is. Can you?”

Haley listened and frowned, “I think it’s the agents from the coffeehouse. We’d better hurry.”

We both stood up and she looked over the side of the railing as if she were considering jumping over.
Continue reading Rattling Cages: Part 12 →

Arc 2.2: Rattling Cages

Rattling Cages: Part 8

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Sorry about the lateness of this one… I’ve been pretty bad on the consistency front lately. For better or for worse though, I found that my posts have also been growing longer. I may have to think about how I’m doing this and try for more consistency there. The current installment verges on a size more typical of Tales of MU.
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Arc 1.4: In the Public Eye

In the Public Eye: Part 59

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Inside the police department looked like most institutional buildings — beige walls, tile floor, cubicles — but with the obvious addition of men and women in blue carrying guns.

We ended up standing inside a conference room. “We” in this case meant new and old Heroes League members, the Midwest Defenders, the FBI representatives, PsyKick, Larry, and a few police.

It was a big conference room — two, actually. They’d taken out the divider between two rooms as we came in.

The tables had been pushed to the wall and the sleeping bodies placed in the middle of the room. All the rest of us stood around the edges while Daniel, his dad, the Fed with the psychic helmet, and PsyKick deep probed their minds.
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Arc 1.4: In the Public Eye

In the Public Eye: Part 58

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“No. There’s no way I’m doing that,” I said.

“That was a joke. I wasn’t suggesting you let Mindstryke take over, but you need to listen to the guy. No one thinks about it when they start, but managing your image is a major piece of the job.”

Guardian pulled a couple pieces of pepperoni pizza onto a plate.

Flick leaned in toward the table and smiled briefly. “He’s right. Some of you have heard about what happened when I joined the Defenders. I think the most important thing I’ve learned in the past two years is how to handle myself in public.”
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Arc 1.4: In the Public Eye

In the Public Eye: Part 56

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The house only blew up a little bit — at least by comparison to an atomic bomb, for example. It didn’t have a mushroom cloud, just gouts of flame pouring out the kitchen windows and doors. To judge from what it looked like afterwards, it must have blasted out a couple pieces of wall too, but I was too distracted by the flames and smoke to notice.

We had already gotten out when it happened. The explosion destroyed the kitchen, part of the dining room, and started most of the back of the house burning. Even through my armor I could feel the heat a little.

I hit the ground when it blew like everyone else, realizing belatedly that I probably didn’t have to.
Continue reading In the Public Eye: Part 56 →