Tag Archives: Haley

Arc 14.4.5: Regression

Regression: Part 16

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Amnesia Angel’s wings faded away, replaced by nothing—no glowing wings, no feathered wings, just holes for wings in the back of their costume where the wings had emerged.

The holes inadvertently answered another question I’d had, revealing a bit of bra strap. That didn’t necessarily reveal the person’s internal sense of their gender, but statistically speaking, it would most of the time.

Anyway, I didn’t have time to ask pronouns at that moment because she (?) was more than 50 feet in the air, powerless, and either dead or unconscious. Continue reading Regression: Part 16 →

Arc 14.4.5: Regression

Regression: Part 14

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The bad news? Amy had zero chance of telling me everything I needed in the next few seconds.

Considering the speed that Amnesia Angel came at me with, I doubted I’d have seconds. They rushed me, sword out and slashing.

I twisted to avoid them, giving the rockets extra power and hoping the reaction time I’d saved by sending commands to the Rocket suit through my implant made a difference.

It did, but not enough. I felt pain in my thigh, burning but not unbearable. A glance downward showed no physical damage,  the follow-through of the angel’s blade missing my right leg. Continue reading Regression: Part 14 →

Arc 14.4.5: Regression

Regression: Part 10

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I checked with Hal via my implant, “Do you know anything specific about how soon they’re going to get here?”

[No. Many of the command center’s staff became engaged in online arguments this morning. They’re distracted and engaging with the discussions at unpredictable intervals.]

I decided not to inquire further about that, choosing instead to watch the horizon for attackers. Continue reading Regression: Part 10 →

Arc 14.4.5: Regression

Regression: Part 8

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Vaughn pointed at the lawn outside with its new hole, burned spots, and the damaged store window. “Sounds like a plan to me, but if you wipe his memory of the last few minutes, you’ll have to explain that—not to mention your clothes.”

Like Jody’s, Jaclyn’s and Izzy’s costumes had been spattered with dirt, grass, and gray mushroom bits that must have been leftover in the soil.

Daniel looked over the room, “Right. I’ll also have to explain why there are more of us in the room than before the fight. I’m thinking we did an impromptu training session after the meeting?” Continue reading Regression: Part 8 →

Arc 14.4.5: Regression

Regression: Part 7

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And do you know what? In some ways, that was the most interesting part of the training montage because Jody learned surprisingly little. I mean, sure, Jody did learn how to phase through matter, but he wasn’t great at it.

As we learned in our fight with him, he barely controlled it. Any additional distractions and he wasn’t able to concentrate enough to use it. Continue reading Regression: Part 7 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 14

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Within seconds of that conversation, I’d landed and so had not only Daniel and Izzy, but we’d also been joined by Sean, Dayton, Camille, Sydney, Vaughn, and Haley. Jaclyn had already been on the ground, of course.

Cassie, Julie, and Rachel all opted to stay on the roofs of the buildings around Justice Fist’s base. It wasn’t a bad idea. For all we knew, Jody had signaled for help. Someone needed to be in position to act.

Upon landing (Justice Fist seemed to have metal woven into their costumes), Dayton looked around the yard and said, “Wow. What a mess.” Continue reading Jody: Part 14 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 11

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Dayton’s eyes widened for a moment, but only a moment before he said, “Of course not. We’ve got a lot to discuss today, but what do you think Magnus saw in us?”

As Dayton talked, Jody had gripped the table’s edge in his hands as if he planned to flip it over or push himself back.

“Look,” Jody said, hands tightening on the table, “I did talk to him, okay? You don’t throw away a chance like that. The guy had power, but you weren’t sure if you wanted to sign with Futuremen. You were going to throw it all away because having Magnus show up made you nervous.

“Well, I wasn’t. I wanted to see what he could give us and if you weren’t going to be involved, what he could give me.”

Sean stared at him, “Are you kidding me?” Continue reading Jody: Part 11 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 10

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“That… fits,” I replied. “Do you think his shield is natural or the product of technology? Because if he’s blocking you, that’s something I can’t do.”

Daniel nodded, “I know. With you, a telepath can get in, but then they’re hit by waves of madness. Getting out with sanity intact is the bigger challenge. His telepathic shield might be a device. It feels too consistent to be natural. Even with a strong natural shield, there’s an ebb and flow. You feel like it’s moving. This feels solid, but the hints of madness-inducing interference pulsing through it feel natural.”

Izzy shook her head, “How did we not notice this before? Didn’t your dad put in his Stapledon block?” Continue reading Jody: Part 10 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 9

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This spot wasn’t too bad as mushroom goo went. While near downtown, it was on the edges. Best practices for superhero bases amounted to giving them some distance from nearby civilian buildings to avoid collateral damage when attacked and to make it obvious when someone was approaching.

Justice Fist’s base adhered to that as best a building in the middle of a city could.

With money from Futuremen Capital, they’d bought most of a small city block that used to hold an old warehouse, demolished the warehouse, and put up a squat, circular tower that I’d once heard Vaughn refer to as the “Justice Penis.”

I’d laughed because my sense of humor hadn’t emerged from adolescence either. Continue reading Jody: Part 9 →

Arc 14.4.0: Jody

Jody: Part 8

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“Okay,” I said, “I’ll be ready then.”

The next hour was dominated by inserting implants into people. It wasn’t much work, but the egg didn’t spit out implants instantly. It made one at a time and each had to be physically manufactured, loaded with software, and tested.

While I could describe the process in a sentence, each word encompassed thousands of actions, all of them culminating in a device that hooked into the body as, for all practical purposes, a secondary brain—a support brain, maybe? Continue reading Jody: Part 8 →