Tag Archives: Vaughn

Arc 13.4.5: Sudden Changes

Sudden Changes: Part 9

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Upon landing, the Cabal soldiers were met with the jet’s anti-personnel lasers, spraying laser beams everywhere with uncanny accuracy, hitting all of the Cabal soldiers.

The jet’s anti-personnel weapons hadn’t been designed with the Cabal in mind. They’d been designed more to slow and discourage than to kill. They could kill, but not Cabal soldiers.

On the other hand, they were still lasers, however thin they might be, and in this case, they were being operated by Hal, our AI, whose primary purpose had once been to model space battles. Essentially, he’d been created to assist aliens in how to most efficiently kill each other, and long before this battle, I’d given him permission to listen to the rest of the team and help them as effectively as he knew how. Continue reading Sudden Changes: Part 9 →

Arc 13.4.5: Sudden Changes

Sudden Changes: Part 3

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Was this a pull-off-the-bandage sort of situation? Because Dad seemed to be right on the edge of understanding everything. On the other hand, Mom had been captured by Ray and the Cabal when she remembered, very much a sudden change, and she’d taken more than a year to talk to us about it.

We needed cooperation right now and we were going to have to hide my family and maybe all of our families in HQ.

There was no way we were going to avoid bringing up awkward memories there. Continue reading Sudden Changes: Part 3 →

Arc 13.4.0: Misdirection

Misdirection: Part 3

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I didn’t realize that even as I felt optimistic, the other shoe had already dropped. The tree in the front yard had started on fire and the mulch and one of the bushes in front of their house had started with it.

Haley started talking to her mother over the comm again, “You need to get out, but don’t exit where they can see you. Go over to the neighbors. We’ll figure out a way to get you out of there… How? The police are coming. How do I know? Mom. You don’t have time for this. Get Dad and get out. And be careful, okay? I love you too.” Continue reading Misdirection: Part 3 →

Arc 13.3.5: Friends & Family

Friends & Family: Part 7

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As if to illustrate how many people we had to work with, Cassie and Travis stepped out of one of the tunnel doors on the wall of the main room. They’d come through the forest entrance. Both of them were in civilian clothes, Travis, at least a foot taller than anyone in the room, had muscles to match. Somehow, he still managed to give the impression of an ambitious young businessman as opposed to a thug. It was probably the combination of his button-down shirt and short hair.

Cassie wore a Georgetown hoodie and jeans, her blond hair in a ponytail. I wasn’t sure what she did when she wasn’t at the League and I suspected that being a superhero was all she did. Continue reading Friends & Family: Part 7 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 9

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Daniel lowered his head, nodding, “I get it, but I felt like it wasn’t fair to hide that I knew you would be in more danger when I knew that it would benefit me.”

Uncle Steve let out a breath, “I get it. I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to let me decide for myself. I don’t think I have much of a choice though. I can’t survive at the expense of my sister, any of your parents who were my childhood friends, or you kids.”

I wanted to say the same in return, but in my case telling him to take the safest route might theoretically kill everyone else I cared about. Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 9 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 8

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“Huh,” I considered that. “It seems as if whoever’s sending people after Uncle Steve might be using it to terrorize us? Because there’s no need to bother all the rest of you if they want Uncle Steve. They only need to go after my mom and dad—though I suppose going after everyone else’s might be insurance.”

Daniel nodded, “That’s what I was thinking, but there’s a wrinkle to it. I think they knew enough to target our families, but I don’t think they know why.”

“Magnus,” Tara’s face became expressionless. “He knows who you are. He’s made no effort to share it, but he has a reason to keep you distracted—the tablets Cassie translated.” Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 8 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 7

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“That’s what we’ve been worrying about for the last few weeks. They really could be. They’ve had years to get into place. We don’t know where. We can’t trust our government contacts too far and even outside, any organization could have a silent observer from the Nine or the Dominators.”

I stopped, unsure of how far to go. For all I knew, Sean might unwillingly be one of the Nine’s brainwashed pawns. Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 7 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 5

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Vaughn frowned, “What about the other engineers? Should we warn them? They warned Steve. I know they’re not good people, but should we let all the other ones die? Maybe we have to go after the Nine’s people first?”

I felt my jaw drop, “Yeah. I was just thinking about keeping Uncle Steve safe. We ought to do something.”

Uncle Steve shook his head, “That’s going to be hard if not impossible. I don’t go by Steve Vander Sloot on my government jobs. I use different names every time and so do the rest of them—the ones that work for supervillains with any regularity.”

I thought about that, “How do you get jobs if no one knows each other’s name?” Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 5 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 4

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Remembering back to when we’d been on Renewal Island and bugging Armory’s lab, I’d seen one of the True alongside a clone of Cassie’s father visiting to check on mechs Armory was building for the Nine.

“I do,” I told him, watching his expression. “Tara is the daughter of people who defected from the True.”

His eyebrows furrowed, “The True?” Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 4 →

Arc 13.1.5: Relative Uncertainty

Relative Uncertainty: Part 3

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Uncle Steve nodded, “They’re the biggest that I know of. I’m asking you for help because my father was the Rocket and I’ve suspected that you’re the current Rocket ever since the suit’s first reappearance.”

“Huh,” I said, “that’s quite a guess if it’s true.”

Uncle Steve smiled while Vaughn managed a surprisingly credible poker face. Continue reading Relative Uncertainty: Part 3 →