Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 19

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Armory met them in front of the hangar. He had Lim and Cheryl with him, each one guarded by a security guard in armor.

More armored security guards stood around Armory, all of them in silver except for a couple whose armor had referee stripes on the top. Larry wondered what it would be like to be those guys—dealing with a real security problem while dressed to manage a game.

Standing behind all of them, Neil Sloan stood just to the side of the hangar. Larry mentally marked the spot, and checked his helmet’s panoramic vision of his surroundings. The earth elemental had followed him and stood behind him on the runway. It wasn’t close, but it was close enough to strike if it came to that.

So basically Armory had taken hostages to encourage his good behavior—except he didn’t realize that all Larry had to do to even the odds was wait. He had six minutes before the Rocket showed up. He could figure out a way to kill six minutes. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 19 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 18

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It was bigger than before, and creepier by far. Before it had been a mixture of dirt, rock, concrete, and asphalt. Now it was almost entirely asphalt with bits of the other materials mixed in, but that wasn’t the creepy part.

Before had been shaped like a humanoid. Now its legs and arms had been replaced with tentacles of asphalt. Its face was still shaped roughly like a human’s, but when Larry zoomed in, he saw that even its face was now made of thousands of slender asphalt threads. It writhed, and moved.

It looked like something that ought to be on the cover of an H.P. Lovecraft book. Larry took a picture with the suit’s camera. Joe would probably know a wizard who’d want to see it.

Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 18 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 17

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Before he could move out of the way, it pummeled the armor again.

Warning messages rolled across the bottom of the HUD while the armor slid down the runway. Larry decided he didn’t want to get hit like that again—not when he knew Armory and half of Metafight Games’ security team was on its way. He set the suit to stand upright and jump backwards, further down the runway.

It did, moving too quickly for the elemental to hit.

The creature’s punch plowed into the tarmac, and lost its balance. That at least was the same as last time. It was strong and fast, but not light on its feet. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 17 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 16

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Larry zoomed in on Lim’s feet, and realized why Lim and Cheryl hadn’t run away. Their feet were surrounded by the concrete.

He supposed that qualified as earth somehow. Could be elementals weren’t fussy about the difference. He shook his head. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Lim and Cheryl were hostages until he took Sloan down.

He was about to tell Alexis more when a deep voice from behind them said, “Rhino. Come down to the hangar, and bring your friend.”

Larry checked the helmet screen. The creature behind him appeared to be made of concrete, and vaguely human-shaped.

As he watched, it sank into the sidewalk next to the hangar, leaving an odd indentation that reminded him of a face. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 16 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 15

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The beauty of the panoramic view in his helmet was that he didn’t have to turn around to check—just let his eyes dart to the edges of the screen. He didn’t see anyone, and decided not to wait. Having your enemies too far behind you to see them was a good thing.

At the moment he stepped inside the hall, he did see them—a security guy followed by one of the black and white striped referees.

He’d suspected that the ref models were more than just protection, and hoped that Armory hadn’t put as much work into them as he had in his own suit. Otherwise this might be a short fight.

He took a few steps down the hall, Alexis close behind him.

“Turn!” Alexis said, and whipped around, assisted by the jets built into his armor’s arms and legs. The Frog suit didn’t let Larry turn as quickly, but he came around as the person in security armor stepped through the door.

Each of Alexis armor’s arms made popping noises, and the security armor fell backward into the ref. Larry hit them both with the black goo, covering them and sticking them to the armor, and the doorway. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 15 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 14

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Bounding through the doorway and into hall, Larry kept control of the suit, stopping from sliding across the concrete floor. The Frog suit’s claws left scratches, but Larry doubted that anyone would care.

Assuming he survived and got away, the worst the arena’s management could do would be refusing to return his room deposit.

He accelerated and the Frog suit moved, lifting a few feet into the air with every leap. Larry kept it at a steady pace, expecting to face the security team at any time.

They didn’t appear.

He met up with Alexis a few hallways down. Alexis wore his armor—red, white and blue. It could have passed for a odd version of the Rocket suit except that most of the chest was red with a single white star. Blue and white stripes alternated to the right of the red section.

Alexis said, “I expected them to be chasing you by now.” Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 14 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 13

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A man opened the door. He didn’t give Larry the impression of being a brilliant inventor, superhero, or villain.

Len’s combover was painfully obvious, and his small moustache reminded Larry of Hitler’s. It was wider, but had a similar look. Larry pegged the man as being in his mid-thirties, and guessed that his clothes dated from the late 70’s. His shirt’s collar seemed a little too wide.

Len looked up at Larry, and tried to close the door.

Larry didn’t let it shut. He put his foot in and pushed forward, stepping into the room.

Len’s room was a bigger version of Larry’s suite—except Len’s main room included a hot tub. Plus, a significant part of Len’s workshop had migrated inside. Most flat surfaces held tools. A mech’s arm lay across the coffee table.

Len let go of the door as Larry pushed his way in, beginning to turn, and probably to run. Larry grabbed his arm. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 13 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 12

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Walking quickly down the hall, he tried to remember how long it had been since he’d talked to her. Hopefully she’d wait five minutes—if he’d only talked to Cannon for five minutes. It might have gone longer.

All that really mattered was that she hadn’t spent enough time waiting for him to get bored and leave.

He passed through the suites, and into the arena’s halls. It wasn’t like it had been the day before. The arena’s halls were crowded with people talking, some of them carrying food and drink.

Larry considered grabbing a beer, but didn’t. The lines were too long. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 12 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 11

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Larry thought about it for a second, and then opened the door.

Cannon was almost, but not quite his height, and less muscular. To judge from the tightness of his face, he also wasn’t happy. Larry held the door open, “Come on in, man.”

Cannon started to open his mouth, stopped and then said, “My suit was the last, and I mean the last thing I expected to see here today.”

He stepped around Larry, and started walking toward the workshop.

Larry put his hand on Cannon’s shoulder, and stepped in front of him. “Wait a second. What are you doing?”

“It’s my property in there. My design. My ideas. I’m not leaving them with you.”

Larry stared down at him, and didn’t let go of the man’s shoulder. “I don’t want to hurt an old guy, but if you try to take the suit, I’m going to deck you.”

Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 11 →

Arc 5.6: Enter the Larry

Enter the Larry: Part 10

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Larry hit Rook with enough force that he felt it inside the armor. It wasn’t concussion-inducing force, or even particularly painful, but solid. He grabbed for a good hold on Rook’s armor, but missed the wings. The Frog suit’s claws scraped all the way down Rook’s sides, and for a second Larry thought he felt the armor give, but then it ripped out of the suit’s grip.

He fell, and hit the ground. It wasn’t a big deal.

The suit could easily take a forty foot drop. It was made for it. The hind legs hit first, absorbing the hit. The front legs followed, doing the same while all the legs adjusted position to balance. Larry hit a button, sending the suit after the glowing red dot that indicated Rook.

The suit twisted and turned quickly enough that Larry couldn’t remember if the suit was designed to prevent the user from turning so quickly he blacked out. If not, he thought, that would be something to add. Continue reading Enter the Larry: Part 10 →

The Legion of Nothing: A Series of Online Superhero Novels (Updates Monday and Thursday)